Shuhan

Chapter 459: Sacrifice to the Emperor’s Tomb, Liu Bei’s Personality Charm!
"Cough cough."

Liu Bei coughed twice and his face looked a little pale.

But his eyes are very bright.

Because where he is now is Maoling in Guanzhong.

Maoling is located on the "Wulingyuan" that stretches hundreds of miles from east to west. It is far away from Jiuwei Mountain to the north and Zhongnan Mountain to the south.

For the Imperial Tombs of the Western Han Dynasty, the longer the emperor lived, the longer it took to build the imperial tombs.

One year after the emperor of the Han Dynasty came to the throne, he built a mausoleum. One-third of the world's tribute was paid, one for the ancestral temple, one for guests, and one for the mountain mausoleum.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Liu Che, lived a long time that was unique among the Western Han emperors. Therefore, Maoling was built for 53 years. It was built between the second year of Jianyuan (139 BC) and the second year of Houyuan (087 BC), which lasted 53 years. .

The accompanying tombs include the tombs of Mrs. Li, Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, Huo Guang, Jin Rixi and others.

Although Maoling is a mausoleum, whether it was Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty who moved the world's powerful people to Maoling, or whether Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty later established Maoling County and moved more than 6 wealthy families from all over the world here, the population of Maoling reached a maximum of more than 27.7 people.

With nearly 300,000 people, Maoling is considered a large county.

Although Maoling was robbed many times in history, and the Red Eyebrow Army and Dong Zhuo both attacked Maoling, the scale of Maoling still remains.

Moreover, Liu Bei came to Maoling this time not to dig up the tombs of his ancestors, but to pay homage to this ancient emperor who gave this nation the title of Han.

As for why we don’t go to worship the Changling Mausoleum of Han Gaozu, it’s very simple. Changling is too far away and is not yet under Liu Bei’s control.

This time Liu Bei paid homage to Mao Ling, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, to declare his legitimacy and at the same time to pay attention to the common people and gentry of the gentry.

I, Liu Xuande, am the orthodox Han Dynasty!
You were common people of the Han Dynasty before, but you are still common people of the Han Dynasty now!

The Wei State is a rebellion against Wei, a pseudo-Wei State, and a traitorous country usurping the Han Dynasty!

Even though Liu Bei was ill, he still led his ministers and generals, as well as the leaders of the powerful clans in Guanzhong and the leaders of foreign tribes to worship Maoling.

Life still needs a sense of ritual.

After worshiping Maoling with Liu Bei, a sense of cohesion arose in everyone's hearts.

I don't know if it's because the Han Dynasty still has the remaining power, or because Liu Bei's reputation and personality that he has been operating for many years have played a role. Even the leaders of the foreign tribes have bowed at Liu Bei's feet.

In short, after worshiping Maoling, surrendering troops continued to come.

"Pingling ordered Du You to lead the city to surrender!"

"Han Xu, a Qiang man, led three thousand people to join the Han!"

"Han Zhu San killed the county magistrate of Lanchi and surrendered him with the city!"

When Zhao Yun entered Guanzhong, the reactions of various families in Guanzhong were mediocre.

But since Liu Bei entered Guanzhong, nobles or foreigners came to join him almost every day.

It's really like he's cheating, exuding the aura of a king and domineering person, and he can make people bow down to him with courtesy without even realizing it.

For those who came to submit, as long as they had some status, status, or had more than a thousand soldiers, Liu Bei would personally receive them, motivate them with words, lure them with awards, and convince them with loyalty.

In just a few days, the Guanzhong wealthy family surrounding Liu Bei had gradually grown.

Among them, Jingzhao Dushi and Jingzhao Weishi are the main ones.

The Jingzhao Wei family and the Jingzhao Du family are "Wei Du in the south of the city and go to Tianchi Wu", and they can be said to be famous families in Guanzhong.

Although these two families were damaged by several disasters in Guanzhong, the vitality of the noble families in this era was very strong and tenacious. After a short period of recovery, Jingzhao Weishi and Jingzhao Du family relied on their reputation in previous years. , and revived in Maoling and Pingling.

Jingzhao Weishi originated from Wei Meng. Wei Meng's great-great-grandson Wei Xian was not only proficient in "Li" and "Shangshu", but also passed down "Lu Poetry", giving birth to the Weishi "Lu Poetry" school and establishing the family's tradition of Confucian classics.

By the late Western Han Dynasty, there were more than ten people in the clan serving as two thousand stone first-level officials.

Jingzhao Wei's father and son were prime ministers in the Western Han Dynasty. They were granted the title of marquis for four generations and have become a famous family in the pass.

The lineage of the Jingzhao Du family can be traced back to Du Zhou, the imperial censor of the Western Han Dynasty.

Du Zhou originally lived in Nanyang, but moved to Maoling as a wealthy family.

Most of the Du family members in Jingzhao were officials in the past dynasties, and there were also numerous celebrities.

There was Du Du in the Eastern Han Dynasty; there was the military strategist Du Yu in the Western Jin Dynasty.

With the strong support of the Du family and the Wei family in Jingzhao, the logistical pressure on the Han army was immediately relieved a lot.

After all, in this era, imperial power does not go to the countryside, especially when it comes to a newly occupied place.

Liu Bei was able to conquer the city and capture the city's household registers, but where were the people and how to collect taxes was impossible without the help of local gentry and subordinates.

The matter of collecting food can really only be left to these local snakes.

Therefore, Liu Bei recruited many children of Jingzhao Du family and Jingzhao Wei family. On the one hand, he used them as imperial guards, and on the other hand, he recruited the elders and prestige in the clan to his staff, such as Pingling Lingdu. You, was directly promoted to the title of Shizhong, from an official in a county to a central-level official position where he could speak to the emperor.

It can be said that it is a meteoric rise.

Jingzhao Du family and Jingzhao Wei family were not highly valued in the Wei court. Now that Liu Bei has such trust, they naturally reciprocated and assisted Liu Bei wholeheartedly.

"Your Majesty, our Han army can be said to be invincible in the world. Now the front army is approaching Chang'an. From my point of view, we should move to Chang'an as soon as possible. I will cooperate with the Pei family of Hedong, the Liu family of Hedong, the Xue family of Hedong, and the Yang family of Hongnong. , are all related, and may be able to help His Majesty capture the land of Hedong and Hongnong, and reach Luoyang in one fell swoop!"

Du You, the new servant, stepped forward to offer advice to Liu Bei.

"If you can live up to your words, that will be great."

Now Chang'an has not been captured, and only a few counties in Guanzhong are in control. The Han army itself is worried about insufficient logistics, and there is also the threat of Cao Zhen behind it. Reinforcements from the Wei army in the direction of Luoyang will arrive soon. What else do you want? After taking control of Hedong, we want to cross Hongnong and attack Luoyang?

Not to mention doing this, Liu Bei wouldn't dare to do it even in his dreams.

"The current matter is how to capture Chang'an."

In the main tent of the Chinese army outside Maoling City, Liu Bei was still wearing the crown and ceremonial dress he had just worn after worshiping Maoling and had not changed it.

Wearing a solemn dress, Liu Bei's emperor's majesty is set off like a god.

Du You didn't even dare to raise his head and look directly at Liu Bei.

"A month ago, Chang'an guard Xiahou Mao summoned all his troops to assemble in Chang'an, but then he inexplicably canceled the summons. Although the Han army withdrew its troops, they still had resentments in their hearts, while the Hu soldiers were looting around Chang'an, and the chaos has remained till now. There are still aftermaths, I heard that Xiahou Mao was afraid of His Majesty and withdrew in embarrassment. Now the only people guarding Chang'an are the puppet Wei Zuo General Zhang He and thirty or forty thousand people."

Du You took a breath and continued:
"Three to forty thousand people may seem like a lot of people, but nearly half of them are Hu soldiers. It was they who set up troops to plunder the suburbs of Chang'an. In Chang'an City, the people's morale is uncertain and the military's morale is chaotic. Now that your Majesty sends troops there, they will definitely be able to defeat them with one blow. Go to Chang'an!"

This Duyou is truly an optimist.

Liu Bei's face was very calm and he said: "Xiahou is a squirrel, so it's not worth worrying about. However, Zhang He is the pillar of the court in Hebei, so he should not be underestimated!"

After speaking, Liu Bei looked around at the people in the main tent of the Chinese army and asked: "Now, should our army concentrate its forces and besiege Chang'an, or should we clear out the counties and counties around Chang'an, and even capture Tongguan first?"

Now there are two choices before the Han army.

One is to fight against Chang'an.

Once it is captured, everything will be fine, and there is a high probability that Guanzhong will be captured by the Han army.

However, Chang'an is now guarded by Zhang He. There is sufficient food and grass in the city, as well as sufficient defensive equipment. In addition, there are 30,000 to 40,000 people guarding the city, which is destined to be a tough nut.

If the city cannot be captured before reinforcements from the Wei army arrive, then the Northern Expedition will fall short.

The second option is to let go of Chang'an first, clean up all the counties and counties in Guanzhong, and capture Tongguan, forming a closed-door and dog-fighting situation. By then, if everything goes well, there is no need to send troops to attack Chang'an, but only to surround Chang'an and wait for it. Just run out of food and grass.

Of course, the second option also has many drawbacks and uncertainties. Whether we can quickly capture all parts of Guanzhong and conquer Tongguan is a question.

Secondly, when the Han army divides its troops to attack other places, will the 40,000 people in Chang'an City come out to cause trouble?

In short, no matter which option you choose, it is risky.

Zhuge Liang's eyes flashed and he said: "Chang'an is a fortified city, and Zhang He is guarding the city. In order to guard Chang'an, Zhang He summoned almost all the Wei troops in Guanzhong to Chang'an City. At this moment, whether it is Jing Zhaoyin or Zuo Fengyi, the defenses are all empty, maybe we can knock down these places first, and also collect military supplies for our army."

As Zhuge Liang, who is responsible for all logistics matters, he is very clear about the consumption of the 300,000 people entering Guanzhong.

In order to satisfy the needs of these 300,000 people, Zhuge Liang used all his abilities.

I don’t know how much hair I remove every day.

From his perspective, capturing Chang'an was indeed of great political significance.

After all, reviving the Han Dynasty meant regaining the old capital.

As the capital of the Han Dynasty, Chang'an was naturally one of the capitals.

However, Zhuge Liang has always been pragmatic in his work. In his opinion, the most critical thing is to capture the counties and counties in Guanzhong so that these places can continuously provide the Han army with food, grass and military supplies.

Fa Zheng does not think so.

"Your Majesty, although Chang'an is a huge city, as long as this city is captured, the counties and counties in Guanzhong will surely surrender. This time, we will cross Chang'an to regain the counties and counties in Guanzhong. Not to mention the loss of troops, if the progress does not go smoothly, Wouldn't it be a bad thing to allow Zhang He in the city to find an opportunity?"

Both parties had their own opinions, and Liu Bei didn't know which strategy was better for a while.

"Your Majesty, there is actually another option, which is to recruit Zhang He to surrender. Although Zhang He is brave, he is a surrendered general of Cao Wei after all, and is not a member of the Xiahou of the Cao family. If he is recruited with a high official and a generous salary, he may not be willing to surrender."

Du You stepped forward and said at this moment.

Surrender?

This is indeed a solution.

"Is it just Zhang He who will surrender?"

Although Zhang He was not the Xiahou clan of Cao, his loyalty to Ni Wei was obvious to all.

"I am not talented, but I am willing to be an envoy to recruit Zhang He to surrender."

Du You immediately asked Liu Bei for orders.

It is too dangerous to enter the city now to recruit surrender.

Now Liu Bei still wants to use Du You. This talented person from the Jingzhao Du family is Liu Bei's banner in Guanzhong.

Otherwise, he would not have gone out of his way to give Du You the position of servant.

Such a person naturally cannot die.

Therefore, Liu Bei pondered for a moment and said, "Du Fang can be the envoy."

This Du Fang is Du You's biological brother.

Liu Bei neither refused to agree to Du You's plan nor took this 'credit' away from the Du family.

Du You was naturally convinced.

The aristocratic family is one. Whether it is Du You who takes the credit or his younger brother who takes the credit, there is actually not much difference.

"I would like to thank Your Majesty on behalf of my younger brother!"

"Let's go on an envoy today!"

"promise!"

Du Youni immediately took the order.

News from the Jian Military Division continued to come in. Zhang He's performance during his stay in Chang'an showed that he would not be a capitulator.

The probability of surrender is relatively low.

of course
No matter how low the possibility of surrender is, it would be a pity not to give it a try.

If it surrenders, wouldn't everyone be happy?

but.

Liu Bei didn't have much expectations about whether Zhang He would surrender.

Liu Bei has been fighting for many years, and he is naturally pragmatic to survive until now.

"As for Zhang He, what strategy should he use if he doesn't surrender?"

After all, Liu Bei is not Yuan Shao, and he also knows the disadvantages of swinging.

After all, Yuan Shao's Yin Jian is not far away.

After just a moment of thinking, Liu Bei already had an idea in mind.

"Order the cavalry general's front army to attack Chang'an, and Wei Yan, the commander-in-chief of Hanzhong, will assist him."

If Chang'an doesn't fight, how will he know if he can attack well?
Furthermore, how can this be done without a fight to scare Zhang He and weaken his arrogance?

Even if Chang'an is spared and the counties in Guanzhong are explored, Zhang He must be beaten until Zhang He is so frightened that he only dares to stay in Chang'an City and does not dare to leave the city without permission.

Fazheng's eyes lit up, and he immediately saluted Liu Bei and said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty is wise."

Zhuge Liang frowned at first, but as if he thought of something, a smile appeared on his face. He also saluted Liu Bei and said:

"I obey your orders."

No matter which strategy is used, Chang'an will definitely attack.

Liu Bei, who was in the Chinese army's tent in Maoling, looked through the tent door to the east at the place that haunted him.

Chang'an!

I hope we can really capture Chang'an!
It’s just that my body can support it until that day?
Outside Chang'an City, the Han army had already crossed the Wei River.

In fact, when the Han army crossed the river, Zhang He led his troops out of the city to harass them.

But the Han army did not just cross the river at Changling, Lanchi, north of Chang'an.

At Xiliuju and Duyou, Han troops had already crossed the river.

Therefore, Zhang He came to harass the Han army, hoping to attack the Han army halfway across the river. However, he was beaten to pieces by Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei who had crossed the river from Xiliuju and Duyou.

When he returned to Chang'an, he was even ambushed by Wei Yan and Cao Zhang, which could be said to have resulted in a loss of troops and generals.

They won a victory just after crossing the Wei River, and the Han army gained momentum.

It is more than ten miles south of Chang'an City.

The Han army has already set up camp.

If there hadn't been a defeat at the Wei River, Zhang He might have dared to go out of the city to fight, but now, he only dared to hide in Chang'an City and watch the Han army's stronghold being built bit by bit.

Since going out of the city to fight in the field is not possible, then...
Is it okay for me to guard Chang'an and wait for help?
(End of this chapter)