Ji Han Liu Zhang

Wudu, next debate.

The meeting of the Northern Expedition to Guanzhong was still in progress. Zheng Du, the leader of the Northern Expedition, was heard sighing that the number of thieves gathered by Li Jue and Guo Si was 30,000 to 40,000, which was considered a large number. Liu Zhang understood that Zheng Du was worried about this northern expedition. The quota of troops recruited is only 50,000 or 60,000. Compared with the thieves in Guanzhong, the gap is not very obvious, so there is no guarantee of victory.

In fact, Liu Zhang currently has a stable and complete Yizhou, which has not gone through a series of historical disasters such as Zhao Wei's Rebellion, Liu Bei's invasion of Shu, Cao Liu's fight for Hanzhong, Cao Cao's removal of Han soldiers and civilians, and Liu Bei's defeat in Wu. , the population and wealth he could control were far greater than those of the Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period, and the troops he mobilized for this northern expedition were only 50,000 or 60,000, which was not as good as the troops when the Shu Han perished. After all, the Shu Han was not equipped with armor when it fell. One hundred and two thousand soldiers.

And there are many reasons for this.

Since Liu Zhang succeeded Yizhou Mu in the first year of Xingping, it can be said that there has been no fighting at all times. Battles in Bajun, Nanzhong, Hanzhong, and Wudu were fought one after another, and the shogunate did not have a moment to breathe.

Although Liu Zhang was sure to win every battle and was invincible, the productivity of agricultural society could only barely support these wars. The treasury of the prefectures and counties was empty. Now in the first year of Jian'an, he is about to launch another campaign. In the massive Battle of Guanzhong, all the three armies could rely on were the upcoming summer tax collection and the grain and grass purchased from the wealthy families of Shu.

As the saying goes, "Three years of farming, one year of savings." 'That is to say, in an agricultural society, it takes three consecutive good years to save a year's savings. However, Liu Zhang currently only has one year's tax savings in Yizhou, which is extremely difficult to support an army of 100,000 for an expedition. Therefore, after some calculations and overall planning by the shogunate officials, Next, he decided to dispatch 50,000 to 60,000 people to conquer Guanzhong.

Sending out 50,000 to 60,000 Shu soldiers to march north, the amount of food, grass and baggage required is not that difficult. Secondly, the 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers are still superior to the troops of Li Jue and Guo Si. In the end, Liu Zhang thought that he With the current military capabilities, it is really difficult to deploy an army of 100,000 people. He is not like Han Xin who orders troops and the more the better, and can control so many legions to fight.

Considering the logistical pressure and his own abilities, Liu Zhang only planned to mobilize 50,000 to 60,000 troops from the north this time, which was slightly better than Li Jue and Guo Si.

Faced with Zheng Du's sighs and worries, the military advisor Zhonglang, general Xun You, comforted him: "Li Jue and Guo Si lured the Qiang and Hu people from Liangzhou, colluded with the generals in Guanzhong, and attracted the old Liangzhou generals. Thirty to forty thousand troops were gathered...these thirty to forty thousand people were not subordinate to each other and were not divided into superiors and inferiors. The reason why they were gathered together was either because the Qianghu people in Liangzhou were tempted by Li Jue and Guo Si's heavy profits, or because the generals in Guanzhong They were worried that Ming Gong would lose his power after taking over Guanzhong, so these people had different goals and different ideas, and they could be called a ragtag group of ants. "

"If the war situation is favorable to Li Jue and Guo Si, they can still join forces to compete with our Shu territory. If the war situation is slightly unfavorable, the birds and beasts will definitely scatter and run around." Xun You targeted Li Jue and Guo Si. When analyzing the camp, he spoke calmly but confidently: "Even if there are millions of people like this group with different intentions, there is nothing to worry about. What's more, their military strength is not as good as ours, so there is no need to worry."

"Our army is united as one, and all the dragons have a leader. With strong armor and powerful troops, and elite divisions, defeating this bandit is just a backlash." The young and energetic Fazheng responded with a shout, and gathered around Li Jue and Guo Si. He didn't take the thieves seriously. All he cared about was how to capture Guanzhong at a smaller cost.

Under the strength of Xun You and Fazheng, Zheng Du calmed down the worries in his heart. His face was glowing, and he nodded and said: "As Chief Xun and Fa Zheng said, Du was overly worried. Even if one or two of the bandits gathered by Li Jue and Guo Si are brave, but their strength is inferior to ours and their morale is lower than ours, they will surely be defeated by me."

Here Zheng Du thought of something, and he continued: "Moreover, there was a message sent to Guanzhong by Ming Gong, clearly telling the Guanzhong elders that only Li Jue and Guo Si would be killed in this trip, and the rest who surrendered would not be killed. Question... I think there must be some people among the mob that Li Jue and Guo Si have lured and attracted, and they must have different intentions, intending to correct the chaos and abandon the dark side. They will only wait for Ming Gong's army to move north, contact and communicate with our army, and stab Li Jue and Li Jue in the back. The two thieves Guo Si.”

Zheng Du had a wonderful idea. He thought that when Liu Zhang only wanted to kill Li Jue and Guo Si, it would not be impossible to get rid of the stupid Liangzhou Qianghu among the Liangzhou generals and Guanzhong generals. Some people jumped out to rebel, responded to the call of the Shu soldiers, and brought order to the chaos.

"Let's wait and see." Liu Zhang responded. He did not confirm or deny Zheng Du's speculation, but just planned to observe and observe first.

However, based on Liu Zhang's thinking, Zheng Du's words were almost in line with his inference.

Since he swore by Dahe and Mount Tai that he would only kill Li Jue and Guo Si, not everyone among the Liangzhou generals and Guanzhong generals would be willing to follow Li Jue and Guo Si all the way to the dark side, so naturally they would One or two people with double-minded intentions jumped out, but at the moment he had not mobilized his army to move north, so he followed Li Jue and Guo Si, but the hesitant generals had not yet made up their minds.

The reason why the Guanzhong or Liangzhou generals who had their own intentions in mind were not worried about Liu Zhang going back on his word and getting fat later was because of the sanctity of oaths in today's world.

Before Sima Yi took the oath to Luoshui, observing the oath was valued and the bottom line of being a human being. After all, the two Han Dynasties inherited the wind of the Spring and Autumn Period. The world regarded faith as more important than life, and would not break the oath even if it cost their lives.

For example, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu besieged Luoyang after he unified Hebei. Facing Zhu Jun who had a brother-murder in Luoyang City, he made a promise and swore on Luoshui: "The river is here, I will not break my promise!" 'Promise that Zhu Tuna only needs to leave the city and return to surrender, the past grudges will disappear, and Zhu Tuna's title and honor will be preserved.

Later, when Zhu Kun surrendered, Liu Xiu did not break his promise. He put aside his brother-killing feud with Zhu Kun and made Zhu Kun the Marquis of Fugou, allowing Zhu Kun to enjoy his wealth in peace.

At this thought, Liu Zhang felt something in his heart. As Sima Yi did not destroy the sanctity of the oath and at the same time lowered the bottom line of the political struggle, the oath he made in his statement must have shaken the determination of one or two Guanzhong generals to fight him to the end. Communicating with him behind the scenes will help him successfully win Guanzhong.

Of course, Liu Zhang didn't have much hope. He was eagerly hoping that there would be generals in Guanzhong who would turn against the enemy and turn to the bright side. After all, his current strength was enough to deal with the thieves gathered by Li Jue and Guo Bang.

And the reason why he made the oath that he would only hold Li Jue and Guo Si accountable for their crimes was just to shake one or two Guanzhong generals, and secondly to make Li Jue and Guo Si not dare to attack the Guanzhong generals who came to help them. Telling the truth is a psychological tactic that can play a certain role and is beneficial to the Northern Expedition to Guanzhong.

The meeting continued, and Fazheng's eyes flashed, and he gave a suspicious plan: "Ming Gong, I thought that although the masses were mobilized from Chencang Road this time, Ziwu Road, Tangluo Road, Baoxie Road, etc. Three paths can also make a lot of sense.”

"You can order Huang Taishou to put up flags at the north entrance of Ziwu, Tangluo and Baoxie roads, so that Li Jue and Guo Si will be suspicious and worried that our army will attack their rear route and even Chang'an, so that Li Jue and Guo Si will not Dare to stay in Chencang for a long time, and at the same time, even if Li Jue and Guo Si are focused on death in Chencang, the people in the army will be unstable, which can also reduce the pressure on Colonel Gan who is guarding Chencang City. "

"This is a good plan, Yi seconded it." After hearing this, Wu Yi, the governor of Wudu, nodded in approval and raised his hand to Liu Zhang to second his proposal.

Liu Zhang, the leader, nodded in the same way. Fazheng had a good strategy and he should use it. This strategy may not be very effective, but it can make Li Jue and Guo Si panic. In addition, it may be able to It’s hard to say whether it will have miraculous effects. Liu Zhang looked far away and ordered to Meng Jie at the end of the seat: "Written a document and send it to Hanzhong as soon as possible."

"No." Meng Jie responded with his hands raised.

The meeting didn't end until late at night. When Liu Zhang stepped out of the conference room, a full moon had already risen to the zenith. The moonlight, which had not been polluted by the industrial era, was extremely bright. The moonlight flowed quietly like clear spring water. Going down, the four fields in the Xiabianguan Temple are clearly visible, as if it were daytime.

'Good moonlight. Liu Zhang only glanced at it, and after sighing, his thoughts turned back to the final discussion at the meeting, which was the vanguard of this northern expedition to Guanzhong and the first batch of former army commanders.

With Huang Quan guarding Hanzhong and Gan Ning guarding Chencang, Wu Yi, the general of Pingdi Zhonglang and the prefect of Wudu, was appointed as the vanguard coach. As for Wudu, Liu Zhang planned to temporarily let Huang Quan, the prefect of Hanzhong. Wudu is connected to Hanzhong and serves as the logistical lifeline of the army. Huang Quan is also the best choice.

As for the generals who followed Wu Yi, there was no surprise here. Naturally, they fell on Xu Meng and Xi Su, whose third assistants had fled to Shu. On the one hand, they thought about making achievements, and on the other hand, they wanted to return to their homeland in Guanzhong. Together with the two of them, they are the best vanguard generals.

Liu Zhang concluded that for this vanguard army heading towards their homeland of Guanzhong, no matter who stood in front of them, as long as they did not show a desperate posture and had the thought of facing death, it would be difficult for them to reach Xu Meng and Xi Suyiji.

Time passed very quickly, when the first batch of grain and grass collected after the summer harvest entered the treasury. Although the grain and grass from Shu had not yet been transported here, only the grain and grass collected from the nearby Wudu County and Hanzhong County, Liu Zhang We have decided to send troops.

Although it was a document sent back by Gan Ning who was stationed in Chencang, it did not mention that the situation was critical or that foreign aid was needed, and it promised to hold on and knock out more teeth of Li Jue and Guo Si. It seems that Liu Zhang did not send troops in advance. necessary, but he still planned to send troops as soon as possible.

Since the founding of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the land of Guanzhong has been harassed by the Qiang and Hu from Liangzhou from time to time. In the Western Han Dynasty, the land of Tianfu was depleted and sparsely populated during the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the modern era of Huanling, the Qiang and Hu were even more harassed, so there was no need for it. After Dong Zhuo moved the capital to Chang'an, the Guanzhong area was harassed by Qiang and Hu on the one hand, and plundered by Liangzhou generals on the other.

Now Guanzhong's vitality is being worn away bit by bit.

Liu Zhang, who wanted to occupy Guanzhong, the homeland of the Qin Dynasty, and move eastward to fight for the world, naturally did not want Guanzhong to be harmed by Li Jue, Guo Si and other Liangzhou bandits, and Guanzhong's vitality continued to be worn away.

Therefore, if he sends his troops earlier and conquers Guanzhong earlier, he will be able to retain more of Guanzhong's vitality. This is an important matter for him to lay a solid foundation for his future efforts to dominate the world and stabilize the world. important things.

That is to say, he was sending troops to Guanzhong and the Northern Expedition to Sanfu. It was inconvenient for Liu Zhang to stay in Xiabian, so he moved to Hechi, which is an important point leading to Chencang Road. His vanguard army will gather in Hechi and will head north soon. .

With the command of General Ping Di Zhonglang Wu Yi and the joint assistance of the shogunate officials, the vanguard army of more than 10,000 people was ready in a few days, and the troops were just around the corner.

The night before sending troops.

Liu Zhang recruited Wu Yi as the vanguard coach, and Xu Meng and Xi Su who were assigned to Wu Yi's command. On the eve of this seemingly peaceful and ordinary night, but it could change the fate of China, he gave some detailed instructions. people.

"In this northern expedition to Guanzhong, Ziyuan is the vanguard, and his responsibilities are self-evident. Qing is the vanguard commander. You can do your own thing and act according to the opportunity." Liu Zhang granted Wu Yi the authority to leave the festival and let Wu Yi Qu responded according to the situation.

He has no idea of ​​remote control, and the communication speed of this era cannot allow him to ask the machine gunners on the front line to move ten steps to the left with just one phone call. He can only ignore the orders of the generals outside and the generals outside according to changes in the situation. Make your own decisions and deal with it yourself.

Liu Zhang made some plans for the overall situation, but when it came to the confrontation in front of the battle and the battle between the two armies hundreds of miles away, it was the wisest choice to let the generals on the front line make the decision.

"Nuo, Yi is the vanguard coach and will live up to Duke Ming's instructions. This trip will definitely give Duke Ming a good start and frighten Li Jue, Guo Si and other Liangzhou thieves." Wu Yi solemnly accepted the order. , bowed to Liu Zhang, patted his chest and assured Liu Zhang.

Faced with Wu Yizhong's diligent and confident attitude, Liu Zhang smiled and nodded. Then he swept away the vanguard generals present and said with a straight face: "I also ask you to act prudently, so as not to cause the army to be frustrated in the first battle, and to show your power in Guanzhong. This A trip to Zhang will help all the ministers."

"Please don't worry, Duke Ming. The gang of thieves in Liangzhou will be defeated by Duke Ming." Xu Meng, who has always been rough-tempered, declared with great pride.

"My lord, please be considerate. Even if Su is killed, he will not be humiliated by the army." The courageous Xi Su promised.

Seeing the assurances of the generals, Liu Zhang smiled and agreed one by one. In fact, many soldiers in the shogunate had agreed that after Wu Yi, who was the vanguard, arrived in Chencang, he would not fight Li Jue and Guo Si, but would only force Li Jue and Guo Si back. Si surrounded Chencang's army and relieved Chencang's siege.

It was indeed prudent to act this way and would be beneficial to the subsequent battle situation, but Liu Zhang believed that it would not be a good thing if Wu Yi's military strategy restricted his hands and feet, so he made a statement here and asked Wu Yi to go ahead with it, hoping that Wu Yi would go ahead and do it. Yi, a pioneer, can make one or two meritorious deeds. (End of chapter)