Ji Han Liu Zhang

'Like a fish in water. '

When Xun You woke up, he immediately thought of these four words that Liu Zhang said to him last night. After reading poetry and books, he quickly found out the origin of these four words in his mind. Li Si, the prime minister of Qin Shi Huang's Ying Zheng, had a The article is called "Using the Brushwork", which explains the wonderful use of the brush and ink. There is a saying in it: "Like a fish swimming in the water, the scenery of the mountain and the clouds, sometimes curling or relaxing, sometimes light and sometimes heavy." '

Thinking of this, Xun You chuckled lightly. Liu Zhang's words "like a fish in water" naturally did not refer to calligraphy. Liu Zhang used fish to refer to himself here, comparing him to water, and fish cannot leave the water.

Here Xun You secretly rejoiced. Although he considered himself to be extremely intelligent and strategist, he was only better than ordinary people in terms of tactics. In terms of overall situation, he was far inferior to his uncle Xun Yu. He did not have Xun Yu's strategy. The ability to accurately grasp. However, he guessed what Liu Zhang was thinking by observing Liu Zhang's move of not marching to Shangyong and chasing north to kill Zhang Lu, but instead sending people west to Wudu.

Of course, Liu Zhang's current situation is very similar to that of Emperor Gao in the past. Both of them were sitting on Bashu and wanted to manage Guanzhong. So last night Xun You came up with a set of rhetoric based on Emperor Gao's strategy of returning to Sanqin. I was able to get an excellent evaluation from Liu Zhang as "like a fish in water".

"Mr. Xun, are you awake?" Liu Zhang noticed the movement beside him and asked, and Xun You responded immediately.

Then Liu Zhang and Xun You got up together. After washing, they went to the outer house. Under the service of the servants, they enjoyed the morning porridge.

Adhering to the fine style of saying nothing during food and sleep, after finishing breakfast and washing his hands, Liu Zhang continued last night's topic with Xun You. He first praised: "The strategy Mr. Xun mentioned last night was very much to my liking... Zhang’s original intention was to kill bandits for the country and clean up the small ones. Today’s national thieves, after Dong Zhuo, Li Jue and Guo Si are the most rampant. Above, they intimidate the emperor, and the majesty of the emperor is reduced to dust, while below, they bully hundreds of thousands of people. Officials regard the Chao Gang system as nothing."

"Therefore, Zhang sent Wu Yi to the west to march to Wudu, intending to capture Wudu before the winter snow fell at the end of the year and open up the road to Guanzhong, so that he could conquer Guanzhong next year. He must kill the two thieves Li Jue and Guo Si to thank the world." Liu Zhang Hide nothing and express all your thoughts.

Xun You sighed when he heard this. He raised his hands and praised: "The country is covered in dust and was bullied by Xiaoxiao... Today, I am lucky to have a figure like Ming Gong in the clan. He cares about His Majesty, cares about the people, and is determined to eliminate thieves from the country and make decisions for the people." .”

"Sir, your praise is too ridiculous. Although Zhang has this intention, the situation is complicated and I still need your help to make a plan for me." Liu Zhang stretched out his hand and pressed it down, indicating that Xun You's words were too much and he was a little worried. Sorry.

"For the sake of the country, you should serve your Ming Gong." Xun You bowed sincerely and thought to himself. He was also planning for himself. He had a strategy in mind. He wanted to make a career, and If you want to achieve something, you need to find a master first. Now that the master is only in front of you, he will not waste his talents.

At this time, the soldier Cao Pengyi stepped into the house without permission. As a soldier of the shogunate, he had such qualifications and it was also a concession given to him by Liu Zhang. The current situation was chaotic and the military situation was urgent. Some small etiquette and politeness were not enough. It's all about simplicity.

Xun You was thoughtful, and he could tell at a glance that Peng Yi's behavior did not cause Liu Zhang's displeasure. It seemed that Peng Yi walked into the house without warning, and he must have obtained Liu Zhang's tacit approval. Faced with such a disrespectful behavior, However, he nodded slightly. The current situation was like this, and simplicity was a natural result. "Is there something important?" Liu Zhang asked. Ever since Lord Bo Huang Quan became the prefect of Hanzhong, Lord Bo had been less responsible for the affairs of the shogunate, and Peng Yi was responsible for many confidential matters of the shogunate.

Peng Yi bowed his hands towards Liu Zhang and then took his seat. There was a slight smile on his face, and there were faint dark circles under his eyes: "If it is not an important matter, how can you dare to intrude on Duke Ming? There is more than one thing. Many important things.”

Liu Zhang did not delay, he waved his hand for Peng Yi to speak.

"General Wu Zhonglang sent the news that he had ordered Xu Meng, Xi Su, Meng Da and other captains to clean up the Qiang Di in Xia Bian. Now only Hechi remains in Wudu County, and General Wu Zhonglang has led his army to Hechi. , will attack the city soon... As for the side of Hechi Di King Dou Mao, they still refuse to take risks and refuse guests. They use Hechi County as their stronghold and have built more than ten large and small forts outside Hechi County, which serve as horns to each other. You are trying to resist our army." Peng Yi explained in a few words the current situation of the war in Wudu.

After saying that, Peng Yi turned to look at Xun You and said with a smile: "Advisor Xun is here for the first time. I'm afraid he doesn't know much about Wudu's geography and people, as well as the situation of the important land in Hechi. Do you need to explain it to me?"

Peng Yi's words were kind words and sounded very polite, but in his smile, his words seemed to have a sharp thorn hidden in them, piercing Xun You straight.

Seeing that Xun You didn't answer immediately, Peng Yi couldn't help but show a slightly frivolous and contemptuous look. He didn't have a good impression of the new Xun You, probably because Xun You criticized Liu Zhang as soon as he arrived, but Liu Zhang didn't treat Xun You very well. The treatment was very generous, and Xun You was even invited to sleep on the same bed last night. This was a treatment that even he had never enjoyed before, which inevitably made him a little angry as he was arrogant.

Xun You thought about it for a moment, but he didn't let Peng Yi wait too long: "The land of rivers and ponds is surrounded by rocks and mountains, and the rivers merge; it is connected to the clouds in the east and hundreds of hectares in the west; the passes choke the throat, and the valleys spread their wings; it is the Qin Dynasty. Longzhi Fanping is also the gateway to control Bashu... From the north of Shu to Yongliang, there is the Qishan Road to Liangzhou, and there is the old Chencang Road to Chencang. Most of them need to pass through Hechi. If there is no Wudu , or if the river and pond are not in our hands, there will be no hope of going north to Yongliang."

"Sir, don't forget that starting from the north of Hanzhong, from west to east, there are Baoxie Road, Tuangtuo Road, and Ziwu Road, all of which can reach Guanzhong." Peng Yi asked in response, and his words were full of sophisticated meaning.

Xun You chuckled lightly, and analyzed in a calm tone: "Of course, you can reach Guanzhong from Hanzhong. Baoxie Road, Tuangtuo Road, and Ziwu Road are all passable, but these three are all mountain plank roads, and small groups of elite soldiers can pass them. However, it is inconvenient for the army to pass, and it is not conducive to the transportation of grain and fodder... If the army needs to march north to conquer Yongliang, it is necessary to capture Wudu and control the rivers and ponds."

'There are some ways. Peng Yi put away his disdainful expression, but he still paid attention to capable people. He held up his hands and said, "Unexpectedly, Military Advisor Xun knew the geography of Wudu County so well, yet Peng Yi asked too much about it. "(End of chapter)