Ji Han Liu Zhang

Wudu, next debate.

The summer harvest was approaching, and the northern expedition to Guanzhong would soon begin. Naturally, Liu Zhang could not sit still in Nanzheng, so he left Nanzheng, and after a long journey, he arrived at Bian County, the county of Wudu, and planned the northern expedition to Guanzhong.

As for Hanzhong County, which connects Wudu in the front and Shu County in the rear, he entrusted this most important joint to Huang Quan, who guarded Hanzhong. Huang Quan was promoted by him from the county officials and added He was related by marriage to Huang Quan's sister Huang Wan. With Huang Quan in Hanzhong, he didn't have to worry about any troubles in the future.

Just talking about it, there are four roads from east to west from Hanzhong to Guanzhong through the Qinling Mountains, namely Ziwu Road, Tangluo Road, Baoxie Road, and Chencang Road. Now that Liu Zhang has arrived in Wudu, it is obvious that he plans to march into Guanzhong from Chencang Road. , without considering the other three roads, especially the Ziwu Road that follows the Qinling Mountains to the east and can reach Chang'an in ten days, which is Wei Yan's Ziwu Plan.

Liu Zhang had his own considerations here. Although regarding Wei Yan's Ziwu Conspiracy, most later generations criticized Zhuge and praised Wei Yan. They believed that Zhuge Liang was too cautious, which caused the Shu Han to lose the opportunity to win Guanzhong in one fell swoop. An opportunity to revitalize the Han Dynasty and restore the old capital.

However, the success of Ziwu Qimou first requires ten days to complete the Ziwu Road, which means walking about 300 kilometers of mountain roads in ten days. First of all, the weather is indispensable. The weather must be sunny and there must be no bad weather. Secondly, the location also needs to be ensured, and there should be no road collapse or muddy roads that are difficult to navigate.

It is assumed here that Wei Yan is a lucky boy who can complete the nearly 300 kilometers of Ziwu Road in ten days. Then when Wei Yan arrives in Chang'an, he needs to do what Wei Yan dreamed of: "When I hear that Yan is about to arrive, I must escape by boat." . There are only censors and prefects in Jingzhao in Chang'an, and Hengmen's mansions and scattered people's valleys are sufficient for Zhou's food. '

Xiahou Mao must run away, and the remaining officials such as the censor and the prefect of Jingzhao must surrender. Otherwise, as long as Cao Wei's western defense line has a few reliable officials and hard-core generals, even if Wei Yan has more than 10,000 elite soldiers under his command, he will not be able to win in a short time. The chance of capturing Chang'an City within a short period of time is probably slim.

Assuming that Xiahou Mao really ran away, and the remaining censors, Jingzhao prefects, etc. surrendered, there are two conditions that need to be met here, that is, as Wei Yan said, "it will take more than twenty days to get together in the east, and If you come from Xiegu, you will be able to reach it. 'That is to say, Zhuge Liang's main force must arrive earlier than Cao Wei's Guandong reinforcements, or at least at the same time.

Considering that Zhuge Liang took the rugged Shu Road, Cao Wei was not unprepared for the inclined valley and might be blocked midway. Cao Wei's capital at this time was Luoyang, and the road in western Henan was wide and flat, and the army was It is marching in the middle of the country, without having to consider any obstacles on the road. It is a smooth journey. This last one is also difficult to achieve.

After thinking about it carefully, Liu Zhang believed that the conditions for the success of Ziwu Qimou were too harsh. It was normal for Zhuge Liang to disagree. Shu Han was a small country and weak in power. It was not as large as Cao Wei and had a large number of people. It really couldn't afford such a big bargaining chip. gambling.

More importantly, strategies similar to Ziwu's Qimou in later generations were basically the result of failure. For example, Cao Zhen of the Three Kingdoms used the Ziwu Road to conquer Shu. He encountered a heavy rain and marched for a month without even reaching half of the Ziwu Road. In the end, He had no choice but to retreat in despair. Another example is that in the late Ming Dynasty, Chuang King Gao Yingxiang planned to pay tribute to Wei Yan and marched through Ziwu Road to make a surprise attack on Guanzhong. As a result, he saw Sun Chuanting, who had been waiting for him for a long time, at the mouth of the valley. The Chuang King was directly captured.

Based on the historical records soaked in the years, Liu Zhang made some considerations and found that since the emergence of Ziwu Qimou, there has been no successful case. In the worst case, the army was defeated and the commander was killed, and in the worst case, the general was killed. Ziwu Qimou was a proper last resort.

Even considering that Li Jue and Guo Si currently only occupy Guanzhong, and Cao Wei, who also occupies the north, has different strength and situation, Liu Zhang thought that Li Jue and Guo Si were not ordinary people. They had grown old in Liangzhou. He is a warrior, and his ability to use troops cannot be underestimated. He will definitely be able to defend Ziwu Road.

Liu Zhang naturally did not want to be beaten by Li Jue and Guo Bang at the north entrance of Ziwu Road, so to be on the safe side, he naturally came to Wudu and prepared to march to Guanzhong from Chencang Road. Here he did not have to worry about Chencang Jian City at the north entrance of Chencang. , after all, while Li Jue and Guo Si were blocking the emperor's return eastward in Hongnong County, he had already ordered Gan Ning and Lou Fa to attack Chencang. Now the road leading his army to Guanzhong is a wide and flat road.

However, if he wanted to send troops to Guanzhong, he would have to wait for some more time until the grain and grass from the summer harvest were collected and the treasury would be full. In addition, he would also need to consider and discuss whether the situation around Shu was stable and whether he would be allowed to march north to Guanzhong.

At present, Liu Zhang was gathering together Xun You, the chief secretary and military advisor, general Wu Yi, Wu Yi, the prefect of Wudu and Pingdi Zhonglang, Fazheng, the military counselor, and Zheng Du, the officer, to discuss the matter.

"According to Huang Taishou's report, Zhang Lu fled to Shangyong. His younger brother Zhang Wei was married to the Shen family of the Shangyong wealthy family. There is currently no major internal turmoil in Shangyong. In addition, Zhang Lu separated Xicheng and Shangyong without permission. The three counties of Fangling and Fengling are each one county. Zhang Wei is the prefect of Xicheng, Shen Gong, the leader of the Shen family, is the prefect of Shangyong, and Zhang Lu is the prefect of Fangling. "As the chief administrator, Xun You has control over confidential matters. The situation at Zhang Lu was explained.

Wu Yi was worried that Zhang Lu was obsessed with Hanzhong and might send troops to attack Hanzhong, so he asked: "Now we are about to send troops to Guanzhong. If Zhang Lu takes this opportunity to send troops to Hanzhong, we still need to consider the possibility of one or two." "

Xun You shook his head upon hearing this. He retorted, "There is no need to worry about this. Last year, Cai Mao and Zhang Yun of Jingzhou were defeated in Shangyong, losing their army and humiliating their country, and also lost Fangling. Jingzhou has never been willing to accept this...Now there is news from Jingzhou that Cai Mao and Zhang Yun are preparing for war with the intention of attacking and destroying Zhang Lu. The two sides have already fought several times tentatively. Although the battle was not very intense, under the current situation, Zhang Lu should not have the leisure to spy on Hanzhong, nor does he have the strength to advance westward."

"If Zhang Lu is defeated by Jingzhou, and then Hanzhong borders Jingzhou, this will not be a good thing for us." Zheng Du said a possibility.

Zheng Du was not really worried about Zhang Lu who only occupied Xicheng, Shangyong, and Fangling. After all, Zhang Lu only occupied a few mountain cities, his power was weak, and his soldiers were sparse. Even if Zhang Lu was determined to capture Hanzhong, Zhang Lu would have to go against the odds to advance westward. Going up the Mian River, under the favorable and adverse circumstances, Zhang Lu's attempt to capture Hanzhong was like a flower in the mirror and a moon in the water. Not to mention that it was Huang Quan who was in charge of Hanzhong. Zheng Du trusted Huang Quan's ability, and Huang Quan had His loyalty to Duke Ming was also unparalleled.

Therefore, if it was Zhang Lu who was in Shangyong, Zheng Du thought that there were no hidden dangers in Hanzhong, but Jingzhou attacked Zhang Lu and captured Xicheng, Shangyong, and Fangling counties in one fell swoop. Jingzhou and Hanzhong were connected. , this is something to worry about. Although Liu Biao, the herdsman of Jingzhou, has no enterprising spirit, Jingzhou's land is thousands of miles away and he has hundreds of thousands of soldiers. He is a target that should not be underestimated, and he needs to be careful no matter what.

"There is no need to worry when doing business. There is justice in Hanzhong, and everything will be safe." Liu Zhang, who was sitting at the top, expressed his full trust in Huang Quan, who was in charge of Hanzhong.

Continuing, Liu Zhang analyzed the situation and said: "Looking at the war between Zhang Lu and Jingzhou, it is difficult to determine the outcome in one moment. It is estimated that it will take a long time and will be determined over the years... Since it is east of Hanzhong, there is no need to worry."

"Oh." Zheng Du responded first, and then asked with a smile: "Why did Duke Ming make such an inference?"

Liu Zhang picked up the crystal clear jade Ruyi on the desk and stroked it lightly. He said nothing, but glanced at Fazheng, with a narrow smile on his face, and asked the idle Fazheng, "Do you know the reason for this?" "

Fazheng responded: "I know it naturally."

Following a confident response, Fa Zheng began to analyze Zheng Du: "Although Zhang Lu's scholars are weak, there are four fortresses in the superior land, which are comparable to Hanzhong. In addition, Zhang Lu is cunning and confuses people with ghost ways. Most of the common people were confused by this and used their lives carefully. Although the number of scholars in Jingzhou was far greater than that of Zhang Lu, the two men who commanded the army, Cai Mao and Zhang Yun, were accustomed to naval warfare, but they did not know much about land warfare. Moreover, Cai Mao and Zhang Yun were familiar with the navy. Zhang Yun and Zhang Yun are not first-class generals, so it may be difficult to defeat Zhang Lu and engulf Shangyong... The war between the two sides will inevitably drag on for a long time and cannot be decided in one moment. "

Zheng Du nodded when he heard this, and Liu Zhang gently clapped the jade Ruyi in his hand. He smiled and praised Fazheng: "The words of filial piety and uprightness coincide with me."

Based on the information in his hand, Xun You added: "In addition, there is Yuan Shu in the east of Jingzhou. When Yuan Shu was in Nanyang County, he fought with Liu Jingsheng, the shepherd of Jingzhou, to cross Jingzhou. However, Yuan Shu's general Sun Jian was accidentally ambushed and died. As a result, Yuan Shu lost the opportunity to compete for Jingzhou."

"Now Yuan Shu has sent Sun Ce, the son of Sun Jian, to send troops to Yangzhou. Sun Ce is as brave as his father Sun Jian. Now Wujun, Danyang, Yuzhang and other counties are all under Sun Ce's control. Now Liu Jingsheng and the counties controlled by Yuan Shu are bordering each other. In addition to Yuan Shu's spying on Jingzhou, and the fact that Sun Ce and Liu Jingsheng had a vengeance for killing their father, Liu Jingsheng had no choice but to worry about the east and had no time to go west to Shu."

"It is said that the Sun family is after Sun Wu. Seeing the bravery and military use of Sun Jian and Sun Ce, it is true." Zheng Du sighed with emotion, and then he sighed: "I have heard for a long time that Yuan Shu has disobedience. He wants to seek independence, but now most of the counties in Yangzhou have fallen into his hands, and many of the local heroes in Xu have been seduced by Yuan Shu. If Yuan Shu tries to conquer Jingzhou again in the future, he may become too powerful to check and balance, and will be a great trouble to the Ming Dynasty. "

Faced with Zheng Du's worries, Liu Zhang, who had the whole picture hanging open, didn't take it seriously. He said calmly: "Yuan Shu is a man who likes to be promiscuous and enjoys misfortunes, and is extravagant and extravagant. He is neither a person who cares about his country and his family, nor a man who can do anything." People from Anbangzuo state can say that there are dry bones in the grave..."

"Although Yuan Shu seems to be in a great position now and has a large number of elite soldiers and generals under his command, it is just a fire cooking oil and flowers blooming brocade. It is a moment of brilliance. If Zhang can save it, it will not be more than a few years, and Yuan Shu will be defeated. "

Listening to the prediction made by his superior Ming Gong, Zheng Du looked dubious. He was dubious because Liu Zhang was sure and seemed to have a 100% plan. He was dubious because Yuan Shu was currently very strong and might not be able to do so in a few years. They would be defeated within a short period of time, but Zheng Du did not raise any questions. After all, there is no point in questioning at the moment. The results will naturally come out later, and time will prove everything. He just handed over his hands and said: "What Ming Gong said is true."

Different from Zheng Du's half-belief, after hearing Liu Zhang's evaluation of Yuan Shu, Xun You, the commander-in-chief of the military strategist, had a few gleams of light in his eyes and nodded casually, but did not say anything further.

At this point in the discussion, Yizhou is surrounded by east, west, north and south. Needless to say, there is a Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and a land in the south. There will be no worries. However, Liu Biao of Jingzhou in the east needs to deal with Zhang Lu and Dong in the west. Sun Ce on the other side will not cause any harm to Shu for a while. Moreover, Yizhou and Jingzhou are in an alliance. Liu Biao will not care about morality. As for the north, Liu Zhang is currently conquering the north, which means Liu Zhang does not have to worry about other things. On the other hand, just focus on the north.

Xun You, the main blogger, attended as usual. Xun You stroked his long beard and then spoke to explain the recent situation in Guanzhong: "According to detailed reports, the Liangzhou Qianghu were lured by Li Jue and Guo Si for their profit. More than 10,000 Qianghu tribe members from the family have rushed to Chencang. In addition to luring the Liangzhou Qianghu, Guanzhong generals such as Li Kan, Candidate, Cheng Yin, Liang Xing and others are currently rushing to Chencang from Wugong. , seems to be interested in helping the two thieves Li Jue and Guo Si. In addition, Liangzhou general Zhang Jizheng is leading his troops to march westward, and seems to be interested in helping the two thieves Li Jue and Guo Si..."

"As for Ma Teng, who is temporarily stationed in Tianshui, according to reports from the meritorious Cao Zhang Su, Ma Teng is very tempted by the position of Liangzhou Shepherd promised by Ming Gong. Therefore, Ma Teng is currently in a state of holding his troops still. If Ma Teng does not move, Jincheng Han Sui was worried that Ma Teng would take advantage of the situation to launch an attack, so he did not dare to mobilize his army to help Li Jue and Guo Si. Therefore, few Liangzhou heroes led troops to help Li Jue and Guo Si... and then there was the garrison in Huayin. According to the news from the scribe Cheng Yu, Duan Xuan had no intention of getting involved in the war in Guanzhong and only wanted to preserve one side."

After a long discussion, Xun You concluded: "That is to say, the thieves gathered by Li Jue and Guo Si now include more than 10,000 people from Li Jue and Guo Si's headquarters, and more than 10,000 Qiang and Hu people from Liangzhou. In addition to the more than 10,000 men from Guanzhong generals Li Kan, Candidate, Cheng Yin, Liang Xing and others, plus Zhang Ji's more than 3,000 men, after careful calculation, it should be Li Jue and Guo Si's side who can fight. There are about 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers.”

"Thirty to forty thousand people? There will probably be thieves lured by Li Jue and Guo Bang later. If the enemy is lenient, it will be 40,000 people, which is a big number." Zheng Du's eyebrows revealed There was a trace of worry. After all, he knew the number of troops mobilized by Shou Ming Gong this time. It was only 50,000 or 60,000 people. By comparison, it was not very different from the number of thieves gathered by Li Jue and Guo Si. There was no There is an obvious advantage in military strength, but considering the combat power of the Yongliang soldiers and the Qianghu, it cannot be said that I have the advantage. (End of chapter)