Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1389 Hidden dangers
Seeing the Liangzhou soldiers being blocked under the city gate and screaming in pain from the raging fire, Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao who arrived were speechless for a moment.

Although Cao's army only had more than 10,000 people this time, except for the elite Wei soldiers led by Cao Zhang, most of the others were direct soldiers of the Xiliang warlords headed by Han Sui.

These soldiers are private soldiers raised by the major families in Liangzhou. They have been loyal to the family for generations and have participated in all the rebellious activities of the powerful families in Liangzhou in the past few decades. They are among the most diehard group.

As long as these people are there, even if the powerful families in Xiliang suffer a temporary setback, they can escape to the border to recuperate and make a comeback in the future. This is also the reason why rebellions in Liangzhou have continued for hundreds of years but have not been completely extinguished.

Zhao Yun risked his life to lure the powerful people of Xiliang into his trap and thus capture them all in one fell swoop. This game of chess, in which he gambled his life, finally reaped rich rewards. The powerful people headed by Han Sui were almost completely wiped out, and the Jin army had no intention of surrendering their private soldiers, but simply sent them to hell with a continuous stream of fireballs.

In the dark night, the shadowy soldiers of Cao's army rushed left and right in the raging fire, but their escape routes were blocked by crossbows of the Jin army. People kept falling down and dying, and their bodies piled up, blocking the passage to the city gate.

Zhang Liao couldn't help but sigh when he saw this scene. "The soldiers from Xiliang are brave and valiant. If we can recruit them, they will be a great help. I thought you would surrender them and reform them through labor education, but I didn't expect you to be so resolute."

Zhao Yun said in a deep voice: "The Liangzhou Army has been the source of troubles in the world for decades. Whether it is rebellion on the border, looting Guanzhong, or poisoning the Central Plains, they have committed numerous crimes and offended everyone in the world."

"Let's not talk about the distant past. The most recent one is the Jizhou village massacre, which resulted in the killing of many families of Youzhou and Jizhou soldiers. Naturally, they hated the Liangzhou soldiers to the core."

"If we fail to consider their feelings and rashly recruit the Liangzhou soldiers, it will cause the Youji soldiers, who are the backbone of the Jin army, to lose their morale. This is putting the cart before the horse."

"Although His Majesty has promoted re-education through labor, he has also said that re-education through labor is not omnipotent and it is impossible to turn everyone into a good person."

"He said that conquering the world is about uniting the vast majority of people, not trying to please everyone without any bottom line. Just like the Liangzhou soldiers who committed numerous crimes, if they are not held accountable, then the people who have been harmed by them will definitely not feel fair, and how can they be convinced?"

Zhang Liao sighed and said, "I remember that your majesty said that we should win over some and punish some, and those who are guilty of the most heinous crimes should not be allowed to escape punishment."

"However, although almost all the masterminds of the Xiliang troops were killed this time, Cao Zhang and Ma Chao escaped."

"Speaking of which, Ma Chao was also lucky. He went to Guanzhong to support Xiahou Shang and thus escaped the disaster."

Zhao Yun said in a deep voice: "With Prime Minister Zhuge Liang taking care of things over there, there is no need to worry. However, it is strange that Cao Zhang was able to escape. He was clearly hit by several arrows when we were chasing him. Could it be that he found a place to hide in the city?"

"The soldiers are exhausted after this battle. Let's rest for three days and search the city to see if we can find Cao Zhang. At the same time, we will send a letter to His Majesty to see how to cooperate with him next."

"The fall of Shanggui means that Wei's situation in Tianshui County has completely collapsed. Chang'an will inevitably be in turmoil. It depends on whether Wei will abandon the city this time."

Tianshui County was previously called Hanyang County in the Eastern Han Dynasty. It was a barrier connecting Chang'an to Liangzhou in the north. Now that Cao Zhang has fled and the powerful people in Xiliang have been destroyed, it means that the Jin army can go south to attack Chang'an at any time. The Jin army will no longer have to pass through Tongguan to reach Chang'an.

A few days later, the news reached Yuan Xi in Shan County, Sanmenxia. He held the silk book and said to Zhang He and Yang Xiu with a smile: "Zilong is doing very well, which makes us seem a little slow."

Zhang He said with shame: "I was not successful in the battle. I am ashamed."

Yuan Xi shook his head and said, "No, Junyi's progress has exceeded my expectations. Now we are chasing Xiahou Shang all the way from the Qiaohan Road, forcing him to retreat to Sanmenxia. Gongming is supporting us on the north bank, and we were almost able to take the city, but we didn't expect Ma Chao to come to our aid and save Xiahou Shang's life."

"Even so, Cao's army is badly damaged and it is only a matter of time before they are defeated. This is just the right amount of time. Even if Xiahou Shang retreats to Chang'an, he won't have enough troops to defend the city."

"We did not have any problems along the way. What surprised me was Zilong's group. After a battle, Han Sui and other Xiliang tyrants did not escape. Instead, they were blocked in Shanggui City."

"This will eliminate a major future threat. If Han Sui escapes and then hides and causes chaos again, I'm afraid Liangzhou will not be able to rest for decades to come."

"Now that this hidden danger has been eradicated, Liangzhou can introduce the mixed residence of the Hu and Han people, and the Qiang people can also get their due status, and things will gradually get back on track in the future."

Zhang He looked at the silk book and sighed: "The general risked his life and used himself as bait to break into the city. This is truly beyond the reach of ordinary people. He is so brave."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi burst out laughing and said, "Junyi is right. Zilong is indeed a brave man."

"Now that the route to Liangzhou is open, we have the upper hand. Xiahou Shang could only hold out hard before, but now that he has received the news, he will definitely retreat to Tongguan at full speed. We just need to prepare to pursue him."

Zhang He heard this and said confidently: "Don't worry, my lord. I will definitely chase Xiahou Shang and capture him alive!" Yuan Xi reminded: "Although Xiahou Shang is good at commanding troops, his martial arts skills are average. I am not worried about him."

"But there's Ma Chao over there, who is in his prime. If he were to ambush and attack, the threat would be great. You and Gongming must be careful."

Zhang He also knew that Ma Chao was difficult to deal with, so he took the order and went out to organize his troops.

After Zhang He left, Yang Xiu said, "My lord has given Ma Chao a lot of money and goods in the past two years, but it seems that he is still a wolf that can never be fed, just like Han Sui."

"To put it bluntly, the Wei Kingdom gave them more benefits and privileges, and they just couldn't bear to give them up."

"In comparison, the benefits given by the lord are a bit conservative."

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "That's good. If we only make unrealistic promises for the sake of recruiting, it will be a hidden danger in the future."

"Anyway, Jin State has already formed a system, so it doesn't matter if he is missing. If we break the rules, other generals and officials will be dissatisfied."

Yang Xiu nodded and said, "That's true. When I was under Cao Mengde, he often offered extremely generous conditions to recruit talents."

"Although it can impress many surrendered generals, it will also cause dissatisfaction among the old men in Cao's camp. Cao Cao tried to recruit General Guan and General Zhao, and the conditions he offered were very high, which made the generals in Cao's camp very dissatisfied. Later, the same was true for Zhang Xiu and Ma Chao."

"This also led to Zhang Xiu and Ma Chao being excluded and slandered by Cao Ying's generals in private, which in turn led to internal discord and endless strife."

Yuan Xi said: "This is the hidden danger of having no principles. Although it is impossible to treat everyone equally, at least we need to establish a set of rules that everyone can accept so that people can work together instead of undermining each other."

"In fact, I think that although Cao Pi's civil and military skills are much worse than Cao Cao's, he is very clear about one thing, that is, the Cao family is too powerful to be eliminated. If this continues, generals from other families will not work hard, so he deliberately suppresses the generals from the family."

"But he also promoted and reused clan generals like Xiahou Shang, and made good use of the checks and balances method. If he is given time and space to develop, it will be a big hidden danger."

"Fortunately, the Wei Kingdom under his control is a mess. A good cook cannot cook without rice. Now that Liangzhou has been lost, the strategic depth of Guanzhong on which he depends for survival is in jeopardy. As long as we continue to exert pressure, the Wei Kingdom will collapse sooner or later."

Yang Xiu said: "That's true, but I didn't expect that the first breakthrough would be the one in Liangzhou."

"I originally thought it was the road that Prime Minister Zhuge Liang took in Jingzhou."

Yuan Xi looked at the battle reports sent from Jingzhou these days and said, "Although Kong Ming is a genius, he is not invincible. There will definitely be countless enemies standing on his way who can fight against him. If he wants to grow up, he can only overcome these obstacles one by one, otherwise he will only be able to stop moving forward."

"We can't help him with these things. He can only rely on himself. Fortunately, Wei Yan and Huang Zhong are helping him in Jingzhou. I believe that even if he has a small setback for a while, he will be fine."

Zhuge Liang was indeed a little upset these days.

Since he came out of seclusion, everything has been smooth sailing for him. On the one hand, he relies on the platform of Jin State, which allows him to recruit soldiers and equipment at will. On the other hand, Zhuge Liang does have military talent and is good at guessing his opponent's thoughts. Some time ago, Sima Yi's thoughts were repeatedly guessed by Zhuge Liang, so he was restricted everywhere.

This also gave Zhuge Liang an illusion that there was no opponent in the world who could compete with him.

However, in the past two months of fighting, the Wei army guessed Zhuge Liang's thoughts twice and responded in advance, causing Zhuge Liang's tactics to suffer a considerable setback.

Although Zhuge Liang had made countermeasures plans in advance and therefore did not lose many soldiers, this was a big blow to his confidence. After all, the opponent he suppressed suppressed him in turn. Did this mean that the opponent had already guessed through him?

Zhuge Liang suddenly realized that as the commander of an army, he should not over-guess the enemy's thoughts, otherwise he would fall into a cycle of doubt and rebuttal, which was a wrong path!

The correct way to employ troops is to grasp the enemy's movements, eliminate one's own loopholes, and block the enemy's actions to take advantage of one's own weaknesses. No matter how the enemy plots, one can remain unmoved and respond calmly. This is the correct way of using troops!

After figuring this out, Zhuge Liang's mind suddenly became clear. He was still too eager for quick success. The Jin army already had an advantageous situation and did not need any tricks or strategies. Let the other party guess whatever they wanted. What he had to do next was a head-on confrontation to see how the other party responded!
(End of this chapter)