Ji Han Liu Zhang

Chapter 390 Xudu
The first year of Jian'an, early September.

Liu Zhang, who had stayed in Chang'an for a while, could not sit still, so he got up and started inspecting the defense in the east of Guanzhong from Chang'an to the east.

The Guanzhong area is guarded on three sides, and only one side facing east can control the world, so it is known as the 102 Qin Passes.

For this reason, Liu Zhang naturally attached great importance to the defense of the east of Guanzhong. At the moment when Longyou was unsettled, he had to ensure that there was no worry in the east of Guanzhong before he could lead his troops to the west to conquer Longyou and Liangzhou.

In addition, Liu Zhang was not simply here to inspect the defense in the east of Guanzhong, he also planned to see off the angel Liu Ai.

After the angel Liu Ai presented the emperor's edict to Liu Zhang, he had to return to Luoyang to report to the emperor. Liu Ai's return to Luoyang happened to be in the same direction as Liu Zhang's, both heading east, so Liu Zhang also saw the angel off.

On this day, Liu Zhang arrived in Huayin.

General Duan Wei of Ningji, who had been stationed in Huayin for a long time, accompanied Liu Zhang and the angel Liu Ai into the city of Huayin.

"Everyone says that the general is good at comforting the people and making them happy. Today, when I saw the situation in Huayin City, it was indeed as he said." Liu Ai saw that the people in Huayin City were happy and peaceful. He stroked his long beard and praised General Duan Wei of Ningji.

And you know, most of the generals in Liangzhou are brutal, violent and bloodthirsty, treating the common people as cattle, sheep, pigs and dogs, taking and plundering them as they please. It is extremely rare for someone like Duan Wei to go against the generals in Liangzhou, comfort the people and bring them peace.

"Thank you for your praise, Minister. I have only done what a garrison commander should do, and I have not done any merit." General Duan Wei of Ningji responded modestly to Liu Ai's praise.

Liu Zhang said in a clear voice: "What the Minister said is not false praise. In other places in Guanzhong, the people are displaced and running around, which is very pitiful. Under your rule, the people are happy and peaceful, and have never known a bad year. Your general has done a great service to the people in Huayin."

Liu Zhang's words really came from the bottom of his heart. He went eastward, and most of the counties he visited were desolate and barren, with no sound of chickens or dogs. Only when he arrived in Huayin did he feel a little bit of the life of the world, which was truly rare and precious.

"I am deeply ashamed to receive your praise, my Excellency. I have no skills in governing the people, and all my policies are just following the precedents." Duan Wei said modestly as before. He needed to be humble in front of Shizhong Liu Ai, and he needed to be even more humble in front of Minggong Liu Zhang.

Seeing Huayin City, which had a glimmer of worldly life, Liu Zhang, who had always been depressed by the chaos and destruction he had encountered since he set foot in Guanzhong, felt a little relieved. At least there was still a piece of pure land in Guanzhong.

Liu Zhang was in a good mood. He took the attendant Liu Ai with one hand and Duan Wei with the other, and invited them to climb the city wall of Huayin County to enjoy the sunset and the gurgling Wei River. Huayin is not far from the Wei River, and the terrain in Guanzhong is flat, so it is indeed possible to enjoy the scenery of the Wei River.

Following the horse path to the top of the city wall, Liu Zhang stood on the top of the city wall and looked into the distance. He saw the setting sun. Under the influence of the afterglow, the brilliant colors gradually melted into the sky like smeared oil paint, giving the sky a mysterious and poetic halo.

"The sunset is infinitely beautiful, but unfortunately it is getting dark as dusk falls, just like a person getting old and losing his ambitions." Liu Ai uttered a sentence that was full of melancholy and a little decadent as he watched the magnificent scene in front of him.

Since Zhongping, Liu Ai, as a member of the royal family, has been following the side of Emperor Liu Xie. Having experienced the disasters brought to the Han Dynasty by traitors such as Dong Zhuo, Li Jue, and Guo Si over the years, he was physically and mentally exhausted and suffered a lot. It was difficult for him to maintain his ambition, and he could only be grateful for surviving the disaster.

"Minister, why do you say such decadent things? Haven't you heard that an old horse in the stable still has a thousand miles to go, and a martyr in his old age still has great ambitions? A real man's ambition will not diminish with age." Liu Zhang greedily took in the splendor in front of him and at the same time raised his voice to encourage Liu Ai.

"An old horse in the stable still has a thousand miles to go; a martyr in his old age still has great ambitions." Liu Ai looked deep in thought when he heard this. He murmured these words of Liu Zhang as if he had opened the door to a new world.

After a moment, Liu Ai put away the dejected look on his face, and his eyes became clear: "The words of the Grand Marshal are awakening and enlightening, and I have learned a lot from them."

"These four sentences are magnificent and will be passed down through the ages and passed down to future generations." General Ning Ji Duan Wei flattered him a little.

into the night.

Liu Zhang held a banquet in the government office in Huayin County as a farewell banquet for the angel Liu Ai. After all, he would head east tomorrow and after reaching the Yellow River, he would have to part with Liu Ai, so there would be no banquet tomorrow.

"Minister, when you report back to the emperor, you can tell me what Zhang is thinking." Liu Zhang raised his cup to greet the angel Liu Ai and said, "What Zhang has done is to support the government and the Han Dynasty. I hope the emperor will not think about Guanxi. I will pacify it all."

"I will pass on the Grand Marshal's words." Liu Ai drank a glass of wine and replied generously.

As they had to travel the next day, the farewell party for Liu Ai did not last too late. When the moon rose, shining brightly in the sky and illuminating the surroundings, the party ended quietly.

Day two.

Liu Zhang and Liu Ai traveled together and sent Liu Ai to Taolinsai. Taolinsai is not well-known and many people in later generations do not know it, but Taolinsai has another name that is very well-known, and its name is Tongguan.

However, Tongguan was established in the first year of Jian'an by Cao Cao in order to prevent military rebellion in Guanxi. At that time, after welcoming Emperor Xian of Han, Cao Cao once set up defenses in Hangu Pass to guard against the coalition forces of Li Jue and Guo Si in Guanzhong and the Baibo Army in Hedong.

However, Hangu Pass was in ruins at that time, and the coalition forces of Li Jue and Guo Si had no further movements. Cao Cao therefore moved further westward and established Tong Pass to the west of Taolin Pass. He also abandoned Hangu Pass and included the gateway between the Central Plains and Guanzhong within his sphere of influence.

But now, Guanzhong is in the hands of Liu Zhang, so Cao Cao is not allowed to set up Tongguan to the west of Taolinsai.

"Grand Sima, the mountains are high and the rivers are long, the day we meet again is not far away, so I say goodbye now." Liu Ai said goodbye to Liu Zhang.

Gongcao Zhang Su, as Liu Zhang's envoy, will accompany Liu Ai to Luoyang to meet the emperor. He also bowed to Liu Zhang and said goodbye: "Mingsir, Su is leaving now. This trip will not disappoint you."

"Everyone, go now, take care of yourself." Liu Zhang bowed and said goodbye, and then Liu Ai and Zhang Su rode away on horseback, heading east. After bidding farewell to Liu Ai and Zhang Su, Liu Zhang checked the topography of Taolinsai, which is said to be the place where Kuafu, who chased the sun, died of exhaustion. This place is located north of Mount Xiao and south of the river, with the later Tongguan in the west and the present Hangu Pass in the east. It is the gateway between Guanzhong and the Central Plains.

Ancient Du recorded: Taolin is located in the east of Huayin County, Hongnong County, and Tongguan is it. From Hangu Pass to here, it is high above the clouds, with deep valleys and dense forests, and the day turns into dusk. It is also called Yuntong Pass and Chongguan. The river water rushes from Longmen to the east of Huashan.

Therefore, Taolin Pass is the defense of Guanzhong. If it is lost, Guanzhong will be in danger. Therefore, those who have managed Guanzhong in all dynasties have attached great importance to the defense of Tongguan. On the contrary, those who have established a separatist regime in the Central Plains must first take Taolin Pass to spy on Guanzhong, otherwise they can only watch from afar outside the pass.

"I intend to build a pass to the west of Taolin Pass, named 'Tongguan', which will be the eastern gate of Guanzhong and used to guard the princes in the east of the Guanzhong area. As for Hangu Pass, it can be used as a beacon tower and there is no need to send a large army to guard it." Liu Zhang pointed to the west of Taolin Pass with his whip and said to his civil and military officials, while implicitly asking.

Peng Ying looked in the direction Liu Zhang's whip was pointing. To the west of Taolin Pass was the confluence of the Wei River and the Yellow River. Opposite was Fengling Ferry, an important ferry crossing on the Yellow River, which was also an extremely dangerous place. It could be concluded that if a city was built to the west of Taolin Pass, it would be like one man guarding the pass against ten thousand men.

"Your Excellency has a brilliant idea. It is very appropriate to build 'Tongguan' to the west of Taolin Pass. This pass will surely help you to block the princes outside the pass and stop you from worrying about Guandong." Peng Ying praised and gave a very high evaluation of Liu Zhang's idea.

As an old wily man who had been in Guanlong for many years, Jia Xu was very surprised and admired when he heard Liu Zhang's plan. After all, Liu Zhang's idea coincided with his.

In the past, Jia Xu often traveled through Hangu Pass, from Guandong to Guanxi, or from Guanxi to Guandong. Every time he passed through Hangu Pass, he felt that Hangu Pass was in name only and could not reach the exaggerated level of being able to block a mud ball like in the Qin Dynasty.

Jia Xu, who had read the classics thoroughly, knew that it was because of the great changes that had taken place in the world. The Hangu Pass in the Qin Dynasty was now a crack in the Chousang Plain, where carts could not run on straight tracks and horses could not ride on parallel saddles. It could truly be said that "a ball of mud could be used to block the crack."

Moreover, during the Qin Dynasty, there was the Hongnong River in front of Hangu Pass, which served as the natural moat of Hangu Pass. If the enemy wanted to attack Hangu Pass, they had to cross the Hongnong River first. However, since the Hongnong River flowed close to the east side of Chousangyuan, there was only a narrow road between the river bank and the pass, and the army could not be deployed at all.

As for bypassing the Hangu Pass during the Qin Dynasty, it was indeed difficult to do. After all, the Chousang Plain was covered with dense forests. The more than 100-mile road from Mount Xiao to Tongjin was full of dense forests, making it difficult for pedestrians to pass through, let alone the army.

Therefore, during the Qin Dynasty, as long as Hangu Pass was defended, it was equivalent to cutting off the east-west transportation. Even if there were millions of people, they could only sigh in front of the pass.

But today, Jia Xu's eyes became deep. Today, due to the drop in the water level of the river, the river channel that was originally close to Chousangyuan was exposed to form a river beach. Therefore, the army in Guandong can completely bypass Chousangyuan by walking on the river beach without having to take the Hangu Road.

In addition, the trees on Chousangyuan had long lost their natural barrier function due to excessive felling, so the army from Guandong could also take the Chousangyuan instead of focusing on Hangu Pass.

In this situation, there is little point in gathering heavy troops at Hangu Pass. If there are bandits invading from Guandong, Hangu Pass cannot play the role of keeping the enemy outside the pass. Therefore, when Jia Xu passed by Taolin Pass in the past, he thought that if a pass was set up at Taolin Pass, it could achieve the role of Hangu Pass in Qin Dynasty, with one man guarding the pass and ten thousand men unable to open it. Even if there were millions of people from Guandong knocking on the pass, they would be helpless.

However, Jia Xu was a little confused. These were the results he obtained from his field investigations, and Liu Zhang, who was far away in the remote Shu area and had just arrived at Taolinsai, had the same ideas as him. Could it be destined?

"Wenhe, Xiaozhi, what do you two think?" Liu Zhang tested his two top advisers.

"I think it is feasible. If Tongguan is built, it will be like Hangu Pass in the Qin Dynasty, with a dangerous place that makes thousands of men sigh in despair." Jia Xu responded. Since Liu Zhang had made a decision and his idea was the same as his, he naturally agreed.

As a native of Fufeng, Fa Zheng was naturally familiar with the geographical features around Guanzhong. After pondering for a moment, he nodded and said, "If Tongguan is built, in front of it is Huangxiang Slope, which is only about ten feet wide. It is a dangerous place where one man can block the way for ten thousand men. With this pass, we don't have to worry about Guandong."

"If you all agree with me, we should build Tongguan."

……

Luoyang.

"Moving the capital again?" Emperor Liu Xie, who was living in the house of the deceased Eunuch Zhao Zhong, was reading the memorial submitted by Cao Cao, the Inspector of the Imperial Capital and the Recorder of the Secretariat. Some bad memories popped up in his mind.

The capital was first moved from Luoyang to Chang'an by the traitor Dong Zhuo, and then Emperor Liu Xie, who had finally moved the capital back to Luoyang from Chang'an, was somewhat superstitious about moving the capital. He did not want to and was unwilling to move the capital unless it was necessary.

However, the person who submitted this memorial was Cao Cao, the governor of Yanzhou, who led his troops to protect the emperor. Liu Xie had to think carefully. In this day and age, the situation is stronger than people, and whoever holds the strongest army has the loudest voice.

Liu Xie handed Cao Cao's memorial to his uncle, General Dong Cheng, and said with a worried look on his face, "Mr. Dong, what do you think of this?"

The uncle of the emperor, Dong Cheng, took Cao Cao's memorial and glanced at its contents. Then he handed the document back to the emperor Liu Xie with both hands, and then he said carefully, "We have just moved back to Luoyang, and the court has just been settled. If you move again, I am afraid it will be disadvantageous. If you do not follow Cao Cao's instructions, I am afraid Cao Cao will be unhappy."

Having said this, Dong Cheng's face showed some regret. Previously, Han Xian, Zhang Yang and other generals were arrogant and disrupted state affairs. In order to check and balance Han Xian, Zhang Yang and other domineering generals, Dong Cheng secretly sent a letter to invite Cao Cao, the governor of Yanzhou, with the intention of balancing the court.

However, they never expected that as soon as Cao Cao arrived, Han Xian, Zhang Yang and other generals would be defeated by Cao Cao. Now in the court, Cao Cao's faction is almost the only one that dominates the court. For this reason, Emperor Liu Xie granted Cao Cao positions such as Inspector of the Imperial Guards and Recorder of the Secretariat in order to win over and appease Cao Cao.

Originally, the matter should have ended here. Cao Cao had obtained positions such as Inspector of the Imperial Capital and Recorder of the Chancellery. For a eunuch like Cao Cao, he should have been satisfied.

But what Dong Cheng did not expect was that Cao Cao, like the former traitor Dong Zhuo, actually submitted a petition to move the capital. Although Cao Cao sounded nice in the petition, saying that there was no food in the capital and that he could move the emperor to Xu County so that there would be no problem of food shortage, in Dong Cheng's view, Cao Cao just wanted to hold the emperor hostage.

"You are right. The imperial court has moved to Yue and returned to the old capital. We should prioritize stability and not move the capital." Liu Xie nodded, and then he said solemnly, "Although Cao Cao submitted a petition for this matter, in my opinion, Cao Cao was just informing me."

"Your Majesty." Hearing Liu Xie's words, Dong Cheng hurriedly knelt down and said "Your Majesty" in a pitiful tone.

(End of this chapter)