Ji Han Liu Zhang

Chapter 209

The red armor and white salt pierce the sky, and the mountains are surrounded by wind and rain.

Qutang Gorge is the shortest section of the Three Gorges, but it is also the most dangerous section. The narrowest point of the river is only fifty meters. The entrance to Qutang Gorge is Chijia Mountain in the north of the river. According to legend, it was because General Chijia of the ancient Ba Kingdom once camped on the mountain. It is also said that it got its name because the rocks on the mountain contain iron oxide and appear red; Jiangnan is the White Salt Mountain, because the rocks are rich in calcium and have a gray-white luster like salt.

The two red and white mountains face each other across the river and are shaped like a gate, so they are called Kuimen.

"No wonder Gongsun Shuneng established the title of Shu in the past." Xun You stood on the bow of the boat, bathing in the river breeze, looking at the dangerous Kuimen and sighed: "Even if an ordinary person occupies such a dangerous position, I'm afraid he will be confident that there is no one in the world. A man can do nothing to himself, let alone a hero like Gongsun Shu... The Kui clan can be said to be the most powerful in the world. It's a pity that Liu He, who left Jingzhou last year, actually had the idea of ​​​​leading Jing soldiers into Shu. Don't you know that the Shu people only It is necessary to place a thousand men to guard Baidi, even if there are one hundred thousand Jing soldiers, they will not be able to pass this place."

"What my father said is absolutely true." Xun Shi, Xun You's precocious son, responded calmly: "Yizhou has such dangerous fortresses, and to march from Jingzhou to Yizhou is to go up the river, and the soldiers are tired and toiled... Liu He was so confident that he issued a military order in front of Liu Jingzhou, entered Bajun alone, and incited the people of Badi. Although the momentum was huge, Baidi City was in the hands of Shu soldiers, and soldiers from Jingzhou were not allowed to enter Shu. Liu He The force is weak and it is difficult to support a single tree. In the end, Liu Yizhou will be the leader. This is the natural principle."

Hearing this, Xun You turned around and glanced at Xun Shi, as if he saw a figure on the young face of his second son Xun Shi, the figure of his eldest son Xun Ji, who died young. Things have a unique perspective.

When he thought of this, Xun You's face was half happy and half sad. He was happy that his second son Xun Shi was born with wisdom and was smart. What was sad was that his eldest son Xun Ji had not died young. If Xun Ji had not died young, he would be dead now. He will be a handsome young man.

"Shi'er, although mountains and rivers are dangerous, they are important, but they are not enough to rely on. Morality is not important... The most important reason for Liu He's defeat was that he underestimated Liu Yizhou and thought that Liu Yizhou was as cowardly and incompetent as the rumors said. , how did you know that Liu Yizhou is a hidden dragon in the abyss."

From the mouths of two important ministers of Jingzhou, Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue, Xun You learned the details of Liu Zhang's suppression of the rebellion in Ba County. At this time, he just used it to educate Xun Shi: "Liu He acted in secret and incited the rebellion of the people in Ba County. The situation was detected by Liu Yizhou. However, Liu Yizhou did not immediately send troops to conquer with great fanfare. Instead, he sent Zhonglang Gao Pei to pretend to go south to conquer the Soyi people. In fact, he went down the river and defended the two important places of Jiangzhou and Baidi... ...If Bajun County governs Jiangzhou, Liu He will not be able to get the supplies and food in Jiangzhou City. Secondly, he will not be able to rely on Jiangzhou to block the incoming troops from Chengdu. The rebellion he initiated will not be successful. If Baidi City is not lost, then The soldiers of Jingzhou looked at the Shu land and sighed, and no one thought about entering the Shu land. Liu Yizhou thought carefully and first defended Jiangzhou and Baidi, and then sent troops to conquer Liu He. Liu He was naturally defeated."

After hearing this, Xun Shi thought silently for a while, and then expressed his opinion: "What Liu Yizhou did is a bit like a plan to destroy Guo in a false way. He said one thing on the surface and another behind his back, but it was a bit weird and difficult. Tested."

"The art of war? It's like this." Xun You listened to Xun Shi's somewhat righteous words and began to explain the art of war: "Sun Tzu said that soldiers use deceitful methods. When two armies are fighting, it does not mean that the people on both sides are showing off openly. , attack the dignified formation with the flag of righteousness, you punch me and kick me, you come and go, war is a matter of life and death, as long as you can win, you don’t have to care about the process of winning, win first before talking about other things, the loser is not worthy Who owns anything.”

Xun Shi frowned. Xun You's words focused too much on interests, but did not introduce morality at all. He raised his head and asked: "Father, as long as you can win, is it okay to do anything? Do something that violates morality?" Is that okay too?”

"It's not all. To win, you must win with dignity and glory... If you are like a rat and do something unethical, such as the current alliance between Jingzhou and Yizhou, but one day, Liu Yizhou will not have any The omen suddenly betrayed the alliance and sent Shu soldiers down the river to attack Jingzhou. Even though Liu Yizhou took advantage of Jingzhou's unpreparedness and won for a while, he lost his moral integrity and lost the hearts of the scholars... At this time, Liu Yizhou, as the winner, was regarded as the winner in the eyes of the scholars. , I'm afraid I look down on his character." Xun You shook his head and said with a smile.

"As for Liu Yizhou and Liu He, the two parties do not have any friendship. At this time, whatever strategies Liu Yizhou comes up with to deal with Liu He are all justified, and no one will criticize them... Furthermore, the chaos in Badi last year was Liu He deliberately instigated it, and he took advantage of the mourning period of his late Yizhou Mu Gang to incite the rebellion of Badi heroes... Liu He deserved to die, but it was easier for Liu Yizhou to kill Liu He with one knife. Liu He."

"My child understands that if you want to win, you must win morally." Xun Shi, whose eyes were like black pearls, revealing clear wisdom, nodded, and followed Xun You's teachings very seriously.

As is the nature of a child, Xun Shi quickly forgot about the military affairs he had just discussed. He tilted his head and asked Xun You: "Father, the post of prefect of Shu County has been taken by Chen Shi, a famous scholar in Shu. Although you are I applied to the imperial court to be appointed as the governor of Shu County, but now, the imperial court’s decree is in Shu, and I’m afraid it is not as important as Liu Yizhou’s orders. I’m afraid that after you rush to Chengdu, you won’t be able to get the position of governor of Shu County.”

"Yes, the current governor of the state is just like the princes in the Spring and Autumn Period. They act arbitrarily and recklessly in the state. How can they recognize the will of the imperial court. I am afraid that it will be difficult for my father to win the position of prefect of Shu County... There are many close relatives. Farewell, my father is an outsider, but Chen Shi has served under Liu Yizhou for a long time, and even more favored by Liu Yizhou." Xun You nodded.

Xun Shiti rolled his bright eyes and said, "So I thought, we might as well go back to our homeland of Yingchuan. Didn't my uncle (Xun Yu) send me a letter saying that Cao Yanzhou was about to defeat Lu Bu?" , return peace to Yanzhou, let us wait in Jingzhou for a while, and then we can return to our homeland safely."

Hearing this, Xun You stretched out his hand and stroked Xun Shi's little head. It was hard to leave his hometown and homesickness was common to everyone. He naturally missed Yingchuan too.

Seeing that Xun You didn't answer, Xun Shi added: "My father wants to go to Jizhou. Jizhou also has an uncle (Xunchen). It must be that when my father arrives in Jizhou, he can get it under Yuan's alliance leader's account under his uncle's advice." Appointed as a high official."

Xun Shi, who had heard about Yuan Shao's reputation and was attracted by Yuan Shao, persuaded him: "With my father's talent and reputation, he will be reused wherever he goes, and the leader of Yuan Shao is no exception... I have heard from outsiders that in the past. The reign name of Chuping corresponds to the name of Alliance Leader Yuan - "Benchu". Although the world is a bit messy now, sooner or later Alliance Leader Yuan will pacify the world and bring peace to the world... Even the man in Yanzhou who was killed by his uncle (Xun) Yu) praised Cao Yanzhou as a talented person. Didn't he also rely on the power of leader Yuan to gain a firm foothold during the rebellion in Yanzhou, and defeated Lu Bu many times during this period... So Ha'er thinks, Although Jizhou is a little further away, it has greater opportunities than Yanzhou."

Xun Shi was given two choices, one to go to Yanzhou and the other to Jizhou, but Xun You rejected both of them in his heart.

Although, as Xun Shi said, Xun You's two clan uncles, Xun Yu served under Cao Cao in Yanzhou, and Xun Chen served under Yuan Shao in Jizhou, both Xun Yu and Xun Chen had letters delivered to Xun You, inviting Xun You to go to Yanzhou. Conspiracy with Jizhou for big things.

Regardless of whether Xun You chooses Yanzhou or Jizhou, he can be reused by Cao Cao or Yuan Shao. Not to mention that Xun You himself is a famous figure in the country. He was recruited by General He Jin in the past, so he will be received grandly no matter where he goes. Just like when Xun You was in Jingzhou, he was grandly received by brothers Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue. "The cunning rabbit has three holes." Xun You said four words one by one, making his thoughts clear.

‘What does this have to do with rabbits. ’ At this time, Xun Shi rarely showed some doubts. He didn’t understand the meaning of Xun You’s words, so he tilted his head and started thinking.

Xun You did not give an explanation. He fell silent, with an extremely indifferent expression. He stood on the bow and continued to look at the mountains, rivers and rivers of Shu.
-

In the school grounds where Liu Zhang inspected Wudang Feijun, the program prepared by Wudang Supervisor Shen Mi for Liu Zhang came to an end.

As for the effect of Shen Mi's performance, you only need to see the faint smile on Liu Zhang's face to know that Liu Zhang was very satisfied.

Liu Zhang was in a good mood. In just a few months, Shen Mi had trained the lazy Qingqiang in a decent manner. He could command and ban according to the sound of flags and drums. Marching with drums and retreating with gold seemed like the same thing. This shows that Shen Mi is careful and has made great efforts in training Qingqiang.

Although compared with the people's army Liu Zhang had seen in his previous life, the formation of the Qingqiang in front of him was not very neat, like a twisted earthworm, but it could still form a line.

Liu Zhang did not make excessive demands based on the memories of his previous life. After all, he did not have such high requirements for the army in the feudal era, and the times could not meet his high requirements. In an era when farming was the main output, it was not easy to get a bunch of soldiers who were out of work. It would be even harder to have the soldiers who are out of work to be close to the integrity of the people's army.

After reviewing the Wudang Feijun, Liu Zhang led a group of generals back to the Chinese army's tent.

After taking his seat, Liu Zhang spoke slowly and praised Shen Mi without any surprise: "Wen Yuan has worked hard during this time. Although Qing Qiang is brave and warlike, he is lazy by nature and has never liked strict orders in the army, and Wen Yuan It had only been a few months since Yuan had been in charge of the Wudang Prison, but he, like our Han army, advanced at the sound of drums and retreated at the sound of gold, which can be said to be an order and a prohibition... It can be seen that Wen Yuan has put a lot of effort into this matter. It’s meritorious.”

"It's hard work to serve Duke Ming. As I take up the post of supervisor, I should discipline the Qingqiang generation and make them understand the military orders." After hearing Liu Zhang's praise, Shen Mi immediately avoided the table and thanked him. .

Liu Zhang waved his hand, smiled and shook his head: "The training of Qingqiang was my original intention in appointing Wen Yuanqian as the Wudang Supervisor, but if it is done well, it will naturally be meritorious, not to mention that today I inspected Wudang Feijun, I can say that I am overjoyed... If I don't reward meritorious service, wouldn't it mean that I am unfair in the rewards and punishments? Wen Yuanzhi does not have the position of supervisor, and he has his own position as a school captain. I intend to add the word "trap" to it. Before becoming Captain Wenyuan, he was known as 'Captain Lieutenant'."

"Thank you Ming Gong." Like Liu Zhang, Shen Mi was a little overjoyed when he heard this. He attended and solemnly thanked Liu Zhang and accepted the post of Lieutenant Colonel.

Liu Zhang, who was at the top, smiled and nodded. He had been thinking about appointing Shen Mi as the captain of the camp for a long time. Shen Mi spoke little and didn't like drinking very much. He was steady and reliable. Among the two thousand soldiers under his command, eight of them were. Hundreds of people were wearing heavy armor, all of which were well-equipped and well-organized. During the battle to pacify Nanzhong, they were able to break through all the attacks. The word "trapped in formation" was exactly in line with Shen Mi's performance.

After reviewing the Wudang Feijun and commending the Wudang Feijun, Liu Zhang continued his journey back to Chengdu. Liu Zhang, who was sitting on the carriage, was quite proud. Shen Mi had trained the Wudang Feijun very effectively. For him to take over The upcoming Battle of Hanzhong will be quite helpful.

The road to Shu is difficult. The roads in Shu have never been smooth and tidy. Marching in Shu often requires climbing over mountains and ridges and walking between cliffs. As a barbarian from the mountains, Qingqiang’s daily activities are to climb over mountains and ridges, and they can even Wearing iron armor and striding forward on the mountain road, he can be a few points better than the soldiers under Zhang Lu's tent.

Liu Zhang made up his mind to let Zhang Lu, the master of Tianshi Taoism, have a taste of the Wudang Feijun, and at the same time, it would be a good start after the Wudang Feijun became an army.

Taking Hanzhong and fighting out of Shu in the future will also require Wudang Feijun to use their ability to cross mountains and ridges. The road out of Shu is more rugged and difficult than the road from Shu to Hanzhong.

Liu Zhang, who had been daydreaming for a moment, flipped through the documents sent from Chengdu. The first one was from Huang Quan who had arrived at Baishui Pass.

Huang Quan stated in the document that he planned to take advantage of the summer harvest to make a tentative gesture of sending a large number of troops to attack Yangping Pass, panicking the rice thief Zhang Lu and recruiting Hanzhong people to join the army, thereby disrupting the rhythm of the summer harvest in Hanzhong and setting the stage for the real thing later. The Battle of Hanzhong got off to a good start.

Although it was Huang Quan who sent the document, he had the right to act arbitrarily at Baishui Pass given the leave given by Liu Zhang. The document in Liu Zhang's hand was just a notification. Huang Quan had probably already sent troops to Yangping Pass.

Liu Zhang took up his pen and wrote the word "accurate" on this document as a sign of his agreement as a Yizhou shepherd. Although Huang Quan had the right to take holidays and declare them later, in the document declared afterwards, Liu Zhang You must put the word 'accurate' that you agree with to maintain his authority.

(End of this chapter)