Hengdao Sixteen Kingdoms

Chapter 522: Safe
"Liang Guoying is just bluffing." Xie An made a judgment after reading the pile of bamboo slips on the document.

"Di Liang has always been greedy, and the more he supplies, the more urgent the invasion becomes. Our army has strengthened its defenses, and with the advantage of the navy, it should be able to block the invasion of the Northern Army. It is better to take this opportunity to lure out Yuan Zhen's navy and gather at Ruxu River. Annihilating him will bring harm to the country. If Fan Wen is handed over, where will the imperial court's face be saved? This move will greatly hurt the people far away. From then on, people's hearts will be lost, and the Northland will no longer belong to the country!" Wang Tanzhi said with cupped hands.

"Does the imperial court still have the energy to take care of the north now? Huan Wen is pressing harder, and he is afraid that the next step will be to abolish the establishment." Sima Yu looked sad.

Dong Zhuo deposed the Young Emperor in order to establish his authority, and Sima Shi of the Han Dynasty deposed Cao Fang in order to usurp power.

The paths of powerful ministers all come from the same origin.

In the Jiankang court, some changes took place in the power structure between the king and the horse. Xie An was promoted by Sima Yu and participated in state affairs. However, Wang Tanzhi also received a high position and was promoted to the regular attendant of the Sanqi.

Xi Guests are outstanding in their virtues, and Wang Wendu is unparalleled in Jiangdong.

The former is about Xi Chao, and the latter is about Wang Tanzhi.

The Sima family's efforts to win over the Wang and Xie families are also for the sake of the Sima family's power. If these two families side with Huan Wen, things will change in Jiangdong.

Therefore, the problem that faced Sima Yu was not Fan Wen, but Huan Wen.

"This matter was originally decided by Grand Sima. This time Liang Guo sends troops, Jingxiang must be captured, so let Grand Sima fight with Liang Jun!" Sima Yu shook his tail calmly.

Relying on Jiangdong, there is nothing that can be done to Huan Wen, but if Liang Jun and Jing Xiang Jun both lose in a fight, the Sima family's opportunity will come.

It has been more than three months since Fan Wen fled to Jiankang. Sima Yu has been avoiding the matter intentionally or unintentionally in order to put Huan Wen under pressure.

Xie An said: "Liang Zhu worked hard to govern, but the Central Plains is no longer advisable. From now on, the world will be divided into three pillars within ten years, and the north and south will be divided into two decades."

This sentence undoubtedly determines Fan Wen's life or death.

Those who should go south from the north all went south, and the remaining people suddenly became Liang people.

The three-legged confrontation is the best structure, and the division of the north and the south is acceptable. Jiangdong can still be peaceful for 30 to [-] years. As for what will happen in the world in the future, who can say for sure?
Xie An, like many Jiangdong nobles, had already given up on the north.

"Twenty years is enough." Sima Yu said helplessly.

Jiangdong's broken ship can still last for 20 years. What else is he dissatisfied with?
Fortunately, Huan Wen's Northern Expedition failed. If it succeeded, who else in Jiangdong could stop him?The Sima family has long been torn down...

At this moment, on the wall of Xiangyang City, Huan Wen was looking at the north of the river, feeling worried.

On the north bank of the Han River, more and more Liang troops were gathering upstream. Tens of thousands of civilians were building bamboo rafts for crossing the river. The wood chips were flowing along the Han River to the shore of Xiangyang City.

The Han River is not the Yangtze River and cannot reach the level of a natural moat.

It takes less than half a day to reach Xiangyang City from Xincheng County on a sheepskin raft.

Generals such as Wang Meng, Xu Cheng, Qin Biao, and Mi Jin became more and more famous with the rise of the Liang Kingdom.

"Hand over Fan Wen. I'm afraid no one will respond to the Northern Expedition in the future. If you don't hand over, Liang Jun will attack Jingxiang." Huan Wen stood on the city wall and hesitated.

Although Jingxiang's foundation is still there, his vitality has been damaged.

Only nine months had passed since the war, when Liang Jun came again, Huan Wen couldn't even breathe.

"Perhaps Liang Ren is just bluffing?" Xi Chao looked calm.

"What is imaginary is real, what is real is imaginary. Wang Meng and Xu formed an army of [-] and marched to the north of the Yangtze River. If there is a sudden attack, how can I resist it?"

Nanyang was in the north and Xincheng County was in the west. They controlled the upper reaches of the Han River, so Jingxiang had to devote a lot of energy to defense.

Even if he knew that Liang Guo was bluffing, Huan Wen did not dare to take it lightly.

"King Langya must have wanted to use Liang Jun's help to weaken our army if he doesn't hand over to Fan Wen. Duke Huan must be on guard." Xi Chao changed the subject. "It's so stupid that if there is no skin left, how can the hair be attached? Once Jingxiang is lost, where will Jiangdong be?" Huan Wen said angrily.

Xi Chao said quietly: "Handing over Fan Wen will undermine the prestige of the imperial court. Forced protection of this person will lead the Liang army to attack me."

After such an analysis, the matter could not be more obvious.

The actions taken during this period were also aimed at attacking the prestige of the Jiankang court and weakening the Jiangdong gentry.

"But...the great cause of the Northern Expedition..." Huan Wen looked regretful.

"The general trend of the world has been determined. The foundation of the Liang Kingdom is solid and Jiangdong is weak. Not only is there no chance of the Northern Expedition, but we also need to be prepared for the Liang Army to go south. The Northern Expedition can only be considered in the long term."

What Xi Chao fears most now is Huan Wen's Northern Expedition.

Without the last Northern Expedition, the Jin Dynasty could still maintain a somewhat orthodox scene. A Northern Expedition exposed Jiangdong's true colors and also sent grain, grass, and population to the Liang Kingdom...

With the current situation, it would be good to be able to hold on to one-third of an acre in Jiangdong.

"The above letter tells the court to hand over the person." Huan Wen could only accept the reality.

"The important thing now is not only the Liang Kingdom, but also Shuzhong. Di Qin has repeatedly attacked Chengdu but failed to defeat it, and will definitely come again."

In fact, after the Northern Expedition was defeated last year, Huan Wen had already given up on Shuzhong and did not send any supporting troops.

But unexpectedly, veteran Zhou Fu withstood the pressure and defended Chengdu.

"Did the guest say to increase the number of troops for defense?" Huan Wen frowned. He didn't think much of Chengdu from beginning to end. The cost of governance was too high.

"No, my subordinates believe that the soldiers and people of Chengdu should be relocated. It is not appropriate to invest too much here. To reduce the number of troops, Jiangdong will be settled first."

"Abandon Shuzhong?" Huan Wen glanced at Xi Chao.

"The gateway to the middle of Shu, the three counties of Badong, Bajun, and Danqu are all in my hands. I can advance, attack, retreat, and defend. Chang'an is thousands of miles away from Chengdu and is blocked by mountains. Qin can capture it, but cannot defend it. If it is managed, You are wasting your national power to make wedding clothes for us. As long as Duke Huan secures Jiangdong, Shuzhong can be taken back at any time. In the future, we can join forces with Liang to attack Di Qin and regain Shuzhong again. Therefore, I think it is better to give it up!"

Huan Wen actually didn't care much about any territory except Jiangdong and Jingxiang.

They will not invest troops for Shu, especially at this precarious time. There are only some barbarians, mountain bandits and water bandits left in Shu, and the value of defense is not great.

Di Qin took advantage of the defeat of the Northern Expedition to capture Jiange Mianzhu. The door to the middle of Shu was already wide open and he could not defend it even if he wanted to.

What's more, Huan Wen has to face the pressure from Wang Meng and Xu Cheng in the north, and he also has to deal with Jiangdong, so he doesn't have the mental strength.

"If Fu Jian wants it, I will give it to him and order Zhou Fu to retreat to Bajun." Huan Wen waved his hand and didn't pay much attention.

Nothing is more important than his great cause of seizing power and usurping the throne in Jiankang.

"With the national power of Di Qin, it is already the limit to capture the center of Shu. Now the world is competing to see who can restore the national power first. If the Northern Expedition fails today, we can use the expedition to Shu to establish prestige in the future." Xi Chao has a long-term vision.

The Liang State was so powerful that the Northern Expedition brought humiliation to itself. No one in Jiangdong now dares to raise the slogan of "recovering China".

If you want military glory, you can only find a way from Di Qin.

It is also a clever plan to invite Di Qin into the urn in a broken Shuzhong.

"Wonderful!" Huan Wen breathed a long sigh of relief and relaxed his tense brows.

(End of this chapter)