Ji Han Liu Zhang

Tianshui County, Hebei County.

After the envoy Meng Jie finished describing Han Sui's attitude, Liu Zhang smiled faintly and said to the civil and military officials in the hall: "Many people say that Han Sui is a famous scholar in Liangzhou, who knows the situation and the strengths and weaknesses. However, I didn't expect him to be so ignorant and to intend to resist stubbornly and never surrender. I don't want to see another Wei Xiang today."

Everyone in the hall laughed when they heard this, and this smile was somewhat sarcastic, mocking Han Sui for not knowing the current situation and not being able to adapt. When the strength-weakness situation was so obvious, and Liu Zhang sent an envoy, Meng Jie, to Didao City in Longxi County to persuade him to surrender and gave him an opportunity, Han Sui was determined to hold his ground and would rather die than surrender, and would not give up until he reached the Yellow River.

Fa Zheng attended and said, "Just as you said, Han Sui has made up his mind to become Wei Xiang. However, Wei Xiang at least controls Longyou and has the help of Gongsun Shu, while Han Sui is alone and has not controlled Longyou. He only controls Jincheng and Longxi counties... Han Sui and Wei Xiang cannot be mentioned in the same breath. In terms of strength and military power, Han Sui is far inferior to Wei Xiang. However, the two are equally intelligent and knowledgeable. Both of them are unable to see the situation clearly."

When talking about Wei Xiang, who was similar to Han Sui, everyone couldn't help but show a mocking look. Wei Xiang's behavior was indeed laughable.

At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Wei Xiang occupied Longyou. He was first summoned to the court by Liu Xuan, the emperor of the Gengshi regime. It can be seen here that Wei Xiang did not have any ambition to dominate the world, but was greedy for wealth and high salary. Later, the Gengshi regime was defeated by the Chimei Army, and Wei Xiang had to flee west to Longyou and rule Longyou again. At this time, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu rose, and Wei Xiang intended to surrender. He sent his eldest son to Liu Xiu as a hostage, and sent troops to attack the Sanfu warlords together with Liu Xiu. He also blocked the way for Gongsun Shu in Shu to invade Guanlong for Liu Xiu, and made considerable contributions to Liu Xiu.

Logically speaking, since Wei Xiang had sent a hostage and dispatched troops to serve Liu Xiu, it was a natural thing for him to surrender to Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu. At that time, he would be like Geng Kuang who had six marquises in his family and Zhu Yu who had nine ministers. Throughout the Eastern Han Dynasty, the wealth and prosperity of the Wei family was beyond words.

However, in the sixth year of Jianwu, when Guandong was pacified by Liu Xiu, Wei Xiang lost his mind. On the one hand, he was unwilling to enter the court, and on the other hand, he fought against Liu Xiu. He even turned around and colluded with his previous enemy Gongsun Shu, and tried to resist Liu Xiu, whose strength was almost invincible, with only the land of Longyou. In the end, he was defeated and died, and the Wei family was defeated as well.

Therefore, everyone present felt sad in their hearts. As the saying goes, if one fails to see things clearly, disaster will befall his family. In the past, it was Wei Xiang, and today it is Han Sui.

However, as far as Liu Zhang was concerned, he thought that there were some differences between Han Sui and Wei Xiang. After all, compared with Wei Xiang, who repeatedly provoked and was difficult to settle, Han Sui was determined not to surrender and his attitude was as firm as a rock.

For this point, Liu Zhang had some respect for Han Sui. No matter where they are, people with a firm attitude, perseverance and determination are more likely to be liked by others than those who are indecisive and don't know where to go.

"Even if Han Sui has no intention of surrendering, he will not take the opportunity given to him. There is no need to talk about surrendering him later." Liu Zhang declared. He gave the final judgment on Han Sui's group. In fact, he had never intended to surrender Han Sui. The fact that he sent the clerk Meng Jie to surrender, from Meng Jie's position alone, showed that he did not have much sincerity in surrendering Han Sui. He was just going through the motions and going through the necessary procedures to show that he was kind and broad-minded.

After the discussion, Liu Zhang made arrangements for the expedition against Han Sui. This time, I had the advantage. I would use Guanzhong, Bashu, Hanzhong, and half of Longyou to fight against Han Sui, who only occupied Jincheng and Longxi counties. My chances of winning were great.

But Liu Zhang still maintained a cautious attitude. Yuan Shao had Guandu, Cao Cao had Chibi, and Sun Quan had Hefei. They all used the strong to bully the weak and the big to attack the small. It should have been a sure win, but due to arrogance, they eventually suffered a great defeat.

Wars, especially classical military wars, in which the weak defeated the strong, the small won the big, and the odds of a comeback were countless throughout history.

Just like Liu Zhang's attitude towards Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, he did not think that Zhuge Liang was too aggressive and did not know the will of heaven. After all, before Zhuge Liang's death, no one could be sure that Zhuge Liang had no chance to restore the Han Dynasty and return to the old capital. After all, if Ma Su had been more capable during the Northern Expedition, or Zhuge Liang had lived ten years longer, who would have known that Shu could not defeat Wei.

As before, when dealing with Han Sui, the lone wolf, Liu Zhang adopted the attitude of a lion fighting a rabbit and used all his strength. He made deployments based on his own advantages. First, he did not lead his troops to Longxi County to fight Han Sui. Instead, he stayed in Tianshui and confronted Han Sui in Longxi County.

This is because Liu Zhang's advantage lies in the fact that he controls the rich Shu land. Now that the summer harvest in Shu has been completed, food and supplies are being transported from Shu to Tianshui County in a steady stream. In terms of food and supplies, Liu Zhang is superior to Han Sui.

In addition, since Wudu County was owned by Liu Zhang, the grain and grass shipped from Shu did not have to go through Hanzhong to Chencang Road in Guanzhong and then be transferred to Tianshui. Instead, they could be transported directly from Wudu to Tianshui Road via the Qishan Ancient Road.

The Qishan Ancient Road was quite convenient for transporting food and fodder, as it had water power. One could board a ship at Lueyang in Wudu and go upstream along the West Han River all the way to Tianshui. Zhuge Liang used this road for many advances during his Northern Expedition because of the water power available.

This feature of Qishan Road was also used by Liu Zhang. In the absence of steam engines, the most efficient way to carry out logistics was to transport food by water. A ship could carry as much food and grass as dozens of carts, and the speed was much faster. Even if it went upstream, it was lighter than pulling a cart.

Relying on the Qishan Waterway to transport food and supplies, Liu Zhang was currently receiving a steady stream of food and supplies from Shu. In addition, this time he sent an army of more than 40,000 to Longyou, and did not engage in major warfare or recruit soldiers from the prefectures and counties. Therefore, Liu Zhang felt that he would not have to worry about food and supplies for a long time.

On the other hand, his rival Han Sui only occupied Jincheng and Longxi counties, where the land was not productive and the savings over the years were thin. In addition, Han Sui actively recruited Qiang and Hu people and gathered tens of thousands of people, which consumed a lot of food and fodder, which he could not afford.

"Use my strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses." Liu Zhang planned to make the most of his strengths and wear down Han Sui first. His officers could use this time to recuperate and strengthen themselves. When Han Sui's side faced a food crisis and low morale, they could take advantage of his illness to kill him.

As for whether Han Sui would continue to stalemate with Liu Zhang as Liu Zhang said, Liu Zhang did not speculate on this. No matter what actions Han Sui took this time, he would sit back in Tianshui and wait for a month or two before making any decisions.

……

Longxi County, Didao City. "What a bunch of rats! The army came here directly, but they just sit there and do nothing, just stalemate with us." Song Jian, the King of Heshou Pinghan, cursed. He learned the news that the Shu army had sent troops to Longyou more than a month ago. Now the Shu army has been in Tianshui for more than half a month, but they have not moved a step towards Longxi County.

In Song Jian's opinion, this was a sign of cowardice for the Shu army, and also a display of the unworthiness of the reputation of the Grand Marshal Liu Jiyu: "In the past, many people said that Liu Jiyu was invincible and victorious in every battle, and you have heard so many stories about him. Who would have thought that he was just a silver-plated spearhead, good-looking but useless. He led a large army and came here aggressively, but now he is still dawdling in Tianshui."

Song Jian ridiculed Liu Zhang, and everyone present at the meeting couldn't help but laugh. Many of the people here were Qiang and Hu leaders, who were always brave and fearless. Naturally, they couldn't stand Liu Zhang who seemed to be cowardly and dared not come to Longxi County to fight the enemy.

At this time a Qiang Hu leader came out. He was the leader of the famous Shaodang Qiang tribe. Although the Shaodang Qiang had rebelled against the Han Dynasty in the past and was defeated by the Han army when attacking Longxi County, and the leader fled and his people were displaced, the Shaodang Qiang now took advantage of the decline of the Han Dynasty to reunite and recover some of their vitality.

Today, the leader of the Shaodang Qiang tribe led his troops to help Han Sui. They were a considerable force, numbering more than 4,000. The burly Shaodang Qiang leader said proudly: "The little Liu Zhang is not to be feared. We should send troops to Tianshui to teach him a lesson so that he will not dare to spy on Longyou."

As Shaodang Qiangqu spoke, some people echoed him, while others refuted him. But the one who refuted him said, "Liu Zhang should not be underestimated. There is no news about the tribes we sent to Tianshui County. It is said that they were ambushed by the Shu army, most of them were killed, and the rest were buried alive... In my opinion, we need to be careful."

"Diaohujin, when did you become so afraid? From your tone, I can tell that you are very afraid of that Grand Marshal... Victory and defeat are common in the military. Winning a battle and losing the next are all common occurrences. Besides, those Qiang and Hu tribes who were sent to harass Tianshui County were going to test the strength of the Shu army. Their tribes had as many as a thousand people and as few as a few hundred. Isn't it reasonable that they were destroyed?" When the leader of the Shaodang Qiang tribe heard what the leader of the Xianrong Qiang tribe, Diaohujin, said, he sneered.

One reason was that the leader of the Shaodang Qiang tribe couldn't stand Diaohujin's cautious style of doing things. The other reason was that there was a great blood feud between the Shaodang Qiang and the Xianling Qiang, and the two families had been displeased with each other for a long time. He just took this opportunity to scold Diaohujin a few words to ease his mind.

"Bullshit." As a Qiang man, Diaohujin, the leader of the Xianling Qiang, had some brains, but not much. In addition, he was not very broad-minded. In addition, there were some old grudges between the Xianling Qiang and the Shaodang tribe. Therefore, after being ridiculed by the leader of the Shaodang Qiang, Diaohujin immediately cursed back.

Diao Hujin called out the name of Qiang Qushuai Shaodang: "Shaodang, when did Naigong say that he was afraid of Liu Zhang? Don't fart here, and don't fart like that."

Shaodang, who used the clan name as his name, chuckled and said, "You don't dare to go to Tianshui County, and you still say you are afraid of Liu Zhang..."

Hearing this, Diao Hujin sneered: "You barbarian, your brain is not working well." Then he said earnestly: "Nai Gong is not afraid of Liu Zhang, but he cares about everyone's life. The Shu army can easily wipe out the several tribes we sent to Tianshui County, which shows that the Shu army is also very powerful. Moreover, the Shu army has a large number of soldiers. If we want to fight against the Shu army, we need to be cautious step by step."

Diao Hujin spoke earnestly and kindly, which reached Shaodang's ears. However, Shaodang still thought that Diao Hujin was timid. He raised his voice and said, "Liu Zhang stopped in Tianshui County and was afraid of us as if he were a tiger. He was afraid that we would eat him... and you, Diao Hujin..."

Shao Dang pointed at Diao Hujin and said, "You keep talking about playing it safe and taking every step carefully. It seems that it is not that the Shu army is afraid of us and dares not send troops to Didao City, but that we are afraid of the Shu army."

"You are such a coward, how can you be the head of a clan? You'd better resign and let others take over." Shao Dang seized the rare opportunity to belittle Diao Hu Jin. He took a few steps closer to Diao Hu Jin, almost drooling on his face. He taunted, "Yong'er, if you don't dare to lead your army to Tianshui, then let Nai Gong go."

"Why not..." Diaohu Jin also took a few steps forward and said loudly. He was about to refute Shao Dang, but at this time the master of Didao City saw that the situation was becoming more and more chaotic, so the master of Didao City, Han Sui, stood up and stood between Shao Dang and Diaohu Jin, who were very close to each other and had extremely sharp conflicts, to prevent the two from crossing the line and preventing the situation from getting out of control.

"Please go back and take your seats, both generals. We are discussing this matter in order to defeat Liu Zhang, but we must not join forces with our allies." Han Sui advised Shaodang and Diaohujin in a gentle manner not to be impulsive and to remember who their current enemy is.

Han Sui had a kind face, but when it fell into the eyes of Shaodang and Diaohujin, who were in a furious state, their anger stopped instantly. Han Sui had been in Liangzhou for many years and was quite famous in Liangzhou. The two of them had some respect and fear for Han Sui, so they sat down again.

After Shao Dang and Diao Hujin's interference, the meeting came to no conclusion. After a few more words of idle chat, everyone dispersed.

"They are just a bunch of brats, not worth discussing with." Looking at the departing backs of the Qiang and Hu leaders, Han Sui felt depressed and sighed.

Hearing Han Sui's sigh, Cheng Gongying comforted him, "The Qiang and Hu people are always straightforward. It is common for them to curse each other during discussions. Although this is noisy, these people don't have any tricks, and we don't need to figure out their true intentions. This can be considered a mixed blessing."

"Yeah." Han Sui nodded, but his face was still filled with depression. He was in a bad mood and suddenly remembered something. He said angrily: "Liu Jiyu underestimated me and sent people to persuade me to surrender, but he sent a clerk without any preferential treatment, but pardoned my death penalty. I didn't expect that I was so worthless in his eyes..." At the end of his angry words, Han Sui laughed angrily.

"Liu Jiyu controls Guanzhong and Bashu, and now he has a strong army and sufficient food. It is natural that he is a little arrogant. It is understandable that he sent clerks to persuade people to surrender and did not give any preferential treatment." Cheng Gongying analyzed.

"Pride." Han Sui murmured the two words from Cheng Gongying's words, his eyes looking somewhat deep. (End of this chapter)