Ji Han Liu Zhang

"Sir's strategy is somewhat inappropriate."

When Guo Bang heard that Jia Xu had made plans for them to return to Chang'an, a look of disbelief suddenly appeared on his face.

He retorted: "The direction in which Liu Zhang, the herdsman of Yizhou, mobilized the masses to send troops is undoubtedly the Chencang Road. It is like the Ziwu, Baoxie, and Tangluo Roads. They have to go through mountains and ridges and travel on plank roads in the mountains. It is really not suitable for large-scale marches. ”

After throwing out a factual situation, Guo Bang followed the actual situation and said: "Liu Zhang's son came from Chencang Road. I didn't wait to block him on Chencang Road. Instead, I returned to Chang'an and allowed Liu Zhang, the tiger, to trample on the road without any scruples." Entering the land of Sanfu... Even though I, Guo Duo, am not a wise man, I know that letting a tiger out for a moment can cause trouble for a thousand days. "

Jia Xu didn't respond. He changed the subject and asked Guo Bang: "How long can the army sustain food and grass?"

"Ah." Guo Si was surprised. The quantity of food, grass and baggage was an extremely confidential matter in the army and would not be disclosed to others under normal circumstances.

Although Zhang Ji and Jia Xu came to help and were considered their allies, there were some things that he was not comfortable disclosing. However, even if Jia Xu asked, he would not respond.

In the moment of dilemma, Guo Bang turned to look at Li Jue and asked for the opinion of his die-hard ally Li Jue.

Li Jue had no intention of hiding any secrets. He replied in a calm tone: "Sir, the food and grass in the army can still last for one year."

"Huh?" Jia Xu looked suspicious, completely in disbelief. He shook his head and half-squinted his eyes, as if he was very dissatisfied with Li Jue's answer.

Seeing Jia Xu's displeasure, Li Jue knew that Jia Xu must have a rough estimate of the army's grain and grass. He thought about it for a moment and said, "Sir, I remembered wrongly. The army's grain and grass can still support the army for half a year."

Jia Xu sighed helplessly after hearing this: "General Li, General Zhang and I came to help you regardless of life and death. Why are you not honest with me and General Zhang about the mere amount of food and grass... Besides, the general even called me here. When he came up with plans, he didn’t tell me the truth and taught me how to make plans and how to make plans.”

Li Jue stretched out his hand and scratched the back of his head. He laughed sarcastically, as if he was a little embarrassed, but through his smile, you could see the chill in the depths of his eyes: "I knew I couldn't hide this from Mr. Although there are many, there are currently many people and horses, numbering thirty to forty thousand, so the food and grass in the army can only last three months... However, it is the summer harvest now, and in the Guanzhong area, although the household registration is rare, it can still be collected. We have enough food for several months, but there is no risk of running out of food.”

Li Jue said it nicely, just saying it was confiscation, but everyone in the tent knew the true meaning of Li Jue's words, which was to plunder Guanzhong and dig out grain and grass from the teeth of Guizhou for military use. Otherwise, people with few household registrations would In Guanzhong, how can we confiscate enough food and supplies to feed thirty or forty thousand people for several months?

'I believe you ghost! Jia Xu shook his head nonchalantly. He was also very skeptical about the number of three months that Li Jue finally gave. He thought that this number was mixed with water. He estimated that the food and grass in Li Jue and Guo Si's army would be difficult to achieve. Support for three months.

Jia Xu nodded: "That's it. The army has only three months' worth of food and grass, and the general's places to store food are Chang'an and Huangbaicheng. Transporting food from Chang'an and Huangbaicheng costs a lot of money on the way. ...If the general returns to Chang'an, the amount of food and fodder consumed on the road can be reduced, and I think he can eat for an extra month or two. "

"Moreover, most of the wives and children of the general's sergeants and soldiers are in Chang'an and Huangbaicheng. Now there are Shu army flags waving in Ziwu, Baoxie, and Tangluo roads. If the general insists on staying in Chencang, I'm afraid the officers and soldiers in the army will not be convinced. But the morale is not good. It would be better to retreat to Chang'an to boost the morale of the soldiers. "

"Furthermore, the general has been attacking the city of Chencang for several months. The Art of War says that attacking a strong city is not a good strategy. Now most of the soldiers are tired. It would be better to retreat to Chang'an and sit down for a while to rest... and the Shu army is behind us. Rushing from Chencang to Chang'an, our army can wait for work in Chang'an and defeat it in one fell swoop."

"Wonderful." Guo Bang was like a lightbulb being lit, he praised.

"We were in Chencang, and the Shu army was waiting for work. We were in Chang'an, and it was us who were waiting for work. The situation was reversed in an instant."

Guo Bang gave a thumbs up: "You have to be sir."

"Listen to Mr. Jia, there must be no problem. Last time, it was Mr. Jia who made the plan. We, a group of headless people, joined forces and broke through Chang'an, except Wang Yun. Otherwise, we would have been kidnapped by the chief of the pavilion. If he is strangled, how can he still be rich and noble now?" Zhang Ji praised Jia Xu's strategy.

Guo Si agreed, Zhang Ji agreed, and among Liangzhou's old generals, only Li Jue, who was currently the speaker, had an opinion.

Li Jue seemed a little moved, but he still had one or two doubts: "Sir, if we retreat without a fight and just retreat to Chang'an, although we ourselves know the inside story, others will think that we are afraid of Liu Zhang's son. I'm just afraid that if the people's hearts are shaken, some Qiang and Hu Qu commanders will abandon us, and it's even more concerning that the lieutenant general will find out that he is secretly working with Liu Zhang."

"As a result, our strength has been weakened, which is somewhat inappropriate."

Jia Xu smiled indifferently, and explained to Li Jue: "What the general said is not unreasonable, but the general thinks that among the Qiang and Hu Qushuai and Guanzhong generals who are coming to help, how many of them are really here to help? How many of them are just Is it called helping, but actually waiting and watching?”

"Most of them probably don't come here sincerely." Guo Si said with certainty, and he tried to save others by himself: "The Qiang and Hu Qushuai were just lured by the heavy money from me and Zhiran, so they came to help, and the generals in Guanzhong , are all hesitant and a little afraid of Liu Zhang's entry into Guanzhong. If Liu Zhang vigorously recruits people, it is unlikely that many people will join him... These people are rarely reliable. "

"That's it." Jia Xu still had a faint smile on his face: "These people are not sincere, and they will not try their best to help us. Keeping these people around is just a nuisance on the bedside, so it's better to just let it go Return to Chang'an, and use this to screen out one or two, and select the Qiang, Hu, Qushuai and Guanzhong generals who are sincerely helping us... As for those who separated in the middle, let them go, there is no need to force them to stay, soldiers are more valuable than more valuable. , Only when people are united can the mountains be moved.”

Li Jue slapped his forehead and felt like he was enlightened: "You will know what a wise man is when you listen to your words. My shallow opinions just now are really unbearable and may have stained your ears."

"Among the wise men in Liangzhou, Mr. should be number one." Guo Si praised.

When Jia Xu heard the praises of Li Jue and Guo Si, he didn't take it seriously and continued to talk about the benefits of returning to Chang'an: "The terrain in Guanzhong is flat, and there are many cavalry in the area. However, our army has many cavalry and the Shu army has few cavalry. When the time comes, The Shu army rushes to Chang'an to confront our army. On the way the Shu army transports grain from Chencang to Chang'an, we can send light cavalry to attack the Shu army's grain road. If we seize the opportunity well, we cannot let the Shu army retreat without a fight. It’s also the reason for returning to Chang’an.”

After Li Jue and Guo Bang looked at each other, Li Jue stood with his sword in hand and declared loudly.

"I have made up my mind to return to Chang'an, where I can wait for work and defeat the Shu army in one fell swoop." At night, Zhang Ji was in the camp.

There were only Zhang Ji, Zhang Xiu, and Jia Xu in the huge Chinese army tent. Outside the tent, Zhang Ji's confidant Captain Hu Che'er was on duty outside the tent. Hu Che'er stood with his sword in hand and patrolled back and forth. , to prevent outsiders from peeking into the Chinese army's tent.

"Sir." Zhang Ji spoke, with a hint of urgency in his tone: "Since returning to Chang'an is beneficial to Li Jue and Guo Si, why don't you advise Li Jue and Guo Si to stay in Chencang? Instead, advise Li Jue and Guo Si Si returned to Chang'an. Ji has some questions, and I hope you can answer them."

Jia Xu responded with a hint of elusiveness: "Blessings lie where misfortunes lie, and misfortunes lie where blessings rely. Returning to Chang'an has advantages and disadvantages for Li Jue and Guo Si, but for Liu Yizhou , but it allowed Liu Yizhou to easily enter the land of Sanfu and recruit the heroes from the land of Sanfu to destroy Li Jue and Guo Si. This matter was of great benefit to Liu Yizhou, so I advised Li Jue and Guo Si to return to Chang'an. "

"In fact, regardless of whether Li Jue and Guo Si stay in Chencang or return to Chang'an, Xu is sure that Li Jue and Guo Si will be defeated by Liu Yizhou. Who?" Jia Xu asked and answered.

"As the saying goes, soldiers have no permanent momentum, and water has no permanent shape. When Liu Yizhou runs the army, he has always had few enemies. Now he has a general as an internal response. Therefore, it will be easy to destroy Li Jue and Guo Si. When the time comes, the general will achieve great achievements and be rewarded with official titles. Sir, your future prospects are immeasurable.”

"That's it." Zhang Ji nodded and smiled: "I hope if Mr. Ruo said, Liu Yizhou doesn't mind my identity as a Liangzhou thief and can accept you and me, then you and I will be able to put things right in one fell swoop. Assist Liu Yizhou to defeat Li Jue and Guo Si."

Zhang Xiu interjected, he had doubts: "Everyone in Yunei hates us Liangzhou people, I am afraid Liu Yizhou will not accept us easily."

"Young general, there is no need to worry too much." Jia Xu said with confidence, "Looking at Liu Yizhou's deeds, his ambition is not small. He should be in the world and have the ambition to encompass the whole world."

Jia Xu smiled and said, "If you want to win the world, how can you repel those who surrender because of a small anger? For example, Emperor Guangwu, in order to win Luoyang, swore to Luoshui that he would not kill Zhu Jun, and then Emperor Guangwu did not kill Zhu Jun. And the high officials and marquises are waiting for him. This old thing is in his mind, so there is no need for the general to worry."

"Today, among the generals in Liangzhou, none of the famous generals have surrendered to Liu Yizhou. However, the general surrendered privately and became the first person to be respected by Liu Yizhou. Liu Yizhou will definitely buy horse bones with thousands of gold and give them to the generals, high-ranking officials and marquises to show to the world. He knows that he doesn't hold back any old grudges, but he communicates sincerely."

Zhang Ji nodded frequently after hearing this, and he asked a question: "Sir, when will we send people to Liu Yizhou to show Liu Yizhou that we are willing to surrender anyway?"

"Let's wait a few days. Only Liu Yizhou's front troops have arrived at the Chencang crossing. Liu Yizhou himself has not yet arrived. As for the general's surrender, no one but Liu Yizhou can make the decision." Jia Xu stroked his beard gently and gave an approximate time.

"It's just a general. To carry out such a confidential matter, you must have someone close to you. You need to be careful and choose a good person first."

Zhang Ji smiled slightly and replied: "Hu Che'er is my confidant and loyal. When the time comes, Hu Che'er can carry the letter and go to Liu Yizhou to express our intention to surrender."

Jia Xu thought about it for a moment, and he actually preferred Zhang Ji's nephew Zhang Xiu to go. After all, the uncle-nephew relationship was very close, and Zhang Xiu's military agility was better than Hu Che'er. Zhang Xiu was more reassuring than Hu Che'er.

But Jia Xu also knew that Zhang Jixin loved Zhang Xiu, so when Liu Yizhou's attitude was unclear, Zhang Ji was reluctant to let Zhang Xiu go to avoid any accidents.

However, Hu Che'er is also a qualified choice. Jia Xu nodded: "Hu Che'er is indeed suitable."

The next day.

On top of Chencang's city wall, Gan Ning asked the scouts, "Are you saying that Li Jue and Guo Bin are setting up camp and making moves to retreat?"

As a scout under Gan Ning's command, this scout was meticulous and very transparent. He answered Gan Ning's question with his hand: "General Zhonglang, I have been watching for a long time, but I saw Li Jue and Guo Si packing their bags in the camp. , the camp was set up, and the wind and dust suddenly rose, spreading for several miles, and it was obvious that the troops were about to retreat. As for where to retreat, judging from the movement of the forward, the villain thought it was to retreat to Chang'an. "

"Return to Chang'an?" Gan Ning stretched out his hand to rub the short mustache on his chin, feeling a slight surge of pleasure.

He said to himself: "It's strange. If Li Jue and Guo Si were afraid, why didn't they retreat back to Liangzhou? Liangzhou is so vast that they can swim with their fishes despite the vastness of the sea, but instead they They have retreated to Chang'an, and they are the turtles in the urn."

"Is this a way to lure the enemy deeper?" Gan Ning seemed to realize something in an instant, and he thought about it.

"Luring the enemy deep, we rely on the strong city of Chang'an. We plan to attack the city of Chang'an. The old soldiers of the division are tired and they will break it?" Lou Fa, who rushed over at this moment, followed Gan Ning's speculation and added in detail.

Gan Ning shook his head slightly: "Maybe, maybe not, but it's something we can't deal with now. Let's take a look at the situation first... Xu Meng, the vanguard of General Wu Zhonglang, arrived at the Chencang crossing yesterday and sent The letter was delivered, and we will go to the city to repair it soon. Let’s think about it first.”

"Xu Meng's command didn't encounter any problems, right?" Lou Fa asked caringly.

Gan Ning smiled, "We did run into them. A group of Qiang and Hu tribesmen, seemingly under the orders of Li Jue and Guo Si, went to harass us a bit... But they didn't know that Xu Meng's troops were mostly from Guanzhong, and their desire to return home was unstoppable. The Qiang and Hu tribesmen were like a nail and hit the hammer like Xu Meng, and their edges were blunted."

"That's a victory. No wonder I heard a magpie chirping when I went out today. It was from here." The old-fashioned Lou Fa showed a faint smile.

Gan Ning nodded: "We have won. There were more than a thousand Qiang and Hu cavalry, leaving more than 200 corpses. There were also hundreds of people who surrendered. In addition, a Xiaoqushuai named Roji was beheaded by the formation, which can be regarded as a victory." Big win.”

"Victory in the first battle is indeed a good sign." Lou Fa smiled openly. (End of chapter)