Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 341 Liu Bei enters Shu
  Zhuge Liang received the battle report from Jiangzhou, so how could Wuhan, located downstream, not receive the battle report from Hanzhong?

Although the waterway between Jiangzhou and Wuhan is thousands of miles long, when the river rises, the journey of thousands of miles begins at night.

Wuhan, Da Sima Mansion.

Liu Bei was reviewing the memorial with a sad look on his face. Many county guards from various places wrote letters to advise Liu Bei to cherish the people's strength and not to resort to militarism.

Liu Xian, the governor of Changsha, wrote the most sincere memorial. He discussed the changes in the number of household registrations of the people under his rule since he became the governor of Changsha.

Since he took charge of Changsha, he has appeased the scattered people and increased their household registration. After his rule was stable, he cracked down on powerful people and naturalized many hidden households. However, in recent years, due to successive wars, the people have been engaged in corvee labor and the farmland has been abandoned. The household registration of the people under the rule has been reduced day by day, and it is no longer as prosperous as it used to be.

Liu Xian believed that the people became hermits not because they were stupid, but because they were deceived by the powerful, perhaps because the people chose to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. If the people live too hard under the government's rule, they will become hermits. If the cost of becoming a hermit household is higher than the cost of naturalization, they will choose to naturalize.

Liu Xian hoped that Liu Bei would pay attention to the people's sentiments instead of blindly going to war, thus affecting the foundation of Liu Bei's rule.

Looking at Liu Xian's memorial, Liu Bei sighed. He was not a blind man who ignored the suffering of the people and forcibly sent troops to fight. However, we were forced to fight by the current situation.

Bashu is located in the upper reaches of Wu and Chu. Cao Cao has Bashu and lives under the river, so Wu and Chu will definitely not be able to protect it. If he captures Bashu, the north and south forces will be established, and he will be able to confront Cao Cao from the north to the south and advance and retreat freely. Therefore, no matter how difficult the battle between Bashu and Bashu is, he must fight it. This is related to his future inheritance.

The people of Wu Chu could only endure the suffering. After the eighteenth year of Jian'an, the war might be over.

Liu Bei wrote a written reply to Liu Xian's memorial. Yu Shuzhong highly praised Liu Xian's loyalty and mentioned the war in Yizhou, saying that the war might end this year and he would be able to rest and recuperate next year.

While Liu Bei was annotating documents, Wang Can walked into the hall holding the battle report, his face glowing red, and he shouted: "Lord, Hanzhong is victorious!"

Liu Bei, who was tortured by the paperwork, raised his head and said happily: "But Zhongmiao has solved the siege of Mianyang?"

"Not only that!"

Wang Can handed over the battle report and said with a smile: "Huo Du entered Ba under his surname and made a surprise attack on Hannan. Xia Houyuan fought against him. He fell into Huo Du's plan and was killed by General Huang Hansheng. Cao's army was defeated and fled to Hanbei. Huo Du had already Relieve the siege of Mianyang!"

"color!"

Liu Bei put his pen down on his desk, stood up, and laughed and said: "The siege of Mianyang was originally thought to be difficult to solve, but it was unexpectedly easily broken by Zhong Miao. Xia Houyuan died in the battle, and this will break Cao Cao's arm."

As he spoke, Liu Bei gloated and said, "Xia Houyuan is a relative of the old thief. If this man is killed in battle, the old thief will definitely be very angry. It seems that I can see the old thief's headache relapse, which will break his heart!"

Liu Bei was extremely happy about Xia Houyuan's death in battle. Xia Houyuan was like a brother to Cao Cao. Although he is not as favored by Cao Cao as Xiahou Dun, it is not much different. Huang Zhong's execution of Xia Houyuan today was like cutting several knives into Cao Cao's heart.

"Ha ha!"

Wang Can smiled and said: "It is Huo Du's contribution to attack Hannan and command the entire army. He killed the Xiahou and defeated the enemy with bravery. This veteran general's courage should be rewarded by the lord."

Liu Bei paced in the hall and said with emotion: "Although Han Sheng is old, his bravery is still the same as before. Now he kills the Marquis of Xia and destroys the enemy. He must be rewarded!"

After pondering for a while, Liu Bei said: "According to the order of Chuangu, he moved to Han and was promoted to the general of the Southern Conquest. The merits of Zhong Miao and other generals will be rewarded after the battle in Hanzhong."

"promise!"

Wang Can took out two more letters and said, "My lord, Governor Huo and the military advisor each have letters. It is your duty to let your lord read them personally."

Liu Bei opened Huo Jun's letter and took out the towel, only to see the content above.

In the letter, Huo Jun said that Xia Houyuan died in battle and that he occupied a dangerous position in Hannan. As long as the troops and food supplies were sufficient, there was nothing he could do even if Cao Cao came in person.

In the second half of the letter, Huo Jun vaguely mentioned that Liu Bei held Wu Chu on his left, and although he repeatedly retreated Cao Cao's troops, he did not achieve any special feats. Today, Cao Cao will move south soon, and Hanzhong is in an emergency. The battle in Yizhou is going well, but Liu Zhang is not convinced. He hopes that Liu Bei can lead his army to help Bashu and relieve Hanzhong's emergency.

Seeing Huo Jun's seemingly contradictory words, Liu Bei couldn't laugh or cry. He swore that Hanzhong would be safe, but later he strangely said that Hanzhong was in danger and needed Liu Bei's support.

How could Liu Bei not understand the profound meaning of Huo Jun's letter?

Liu Bei took over Jingzhou from Liu Qi. No matter what, he could not escape Liu Qi's shadow. Some scholars often used this aspect to gossip, criticizing him for his improper career and being far inferior to Cao Cao in the north.

If he captured Bashu, retreated to Cao Cao in the north, and surrendered to Liu Zhang in the west, those scholars would have nothing to talk about. It can also make him overwhelm Wu Chu and convince the people of the south.

Liu Bei increasingly felt that Huo Jun knew how to advance and retreat and was sensible.

"Lord, what did Huo Du say in the letter?" Wang Can asked.

Liu Bei put away the letter with a smile and said vaguely: "Cao Cao may go south to Hanzhong soon, and Zhongmiao will send a letter asking for help!"

Some things can be tacitly understood between the monarch and his ministers. It would be unbecoming to let the servants know about everything.

Then, Liu Bei opened Zhuge Liang's letters.

Zhuge Liang was not like Huo Jun who asked Liu Bei to enter Shu because of the crisis in Hanzhong, but he wanted Liu Bei to enter Shu on the grounds of coordinating the war in Yizhou.

In the letter, Zhuge Liang talked about the choice between the war in Hanzhong and the war against Shu, and believed that the war in Hanzhong had higher priority than the war against Shu. It was suggested that Guan Yu and his sergeants should be stationed in the new capital, and Liu Zhang might be powerful outside Chengdu, and he should eat the land of Shu. Zhao Yunke led his army into Shu to support the Hanzhong battlefield.

He had asked Zhang Lu to mobilize the religious people of the Han Yi in Bazhong to transport grain for the Hanzhong soldiers. The grain and grass from Wu and Chu were transported to Jiangzhou, which could be transported up the Bucao River, and the Ba people were transported over the mountains and ridges to Hanzhong.

However, Zhuge Liang said that the army attacking Shu and the army in Hanzhong were not under each other's control. Now there was no governor in Yizhou to coordinate the two armies. He hoped that Liu Bei could enter Yizhou and lead the battle between Bashu and Bashu. "My lord, what did the military advisor say in the letter?" Wang Can couldn't restrain his curiosity and asked again.

Liu Bei handed Zhuge Liang's letter to Wang Can and said: "The military counselor said that in the battle between Bashu and Bashu, it is difficult for the various ministries to coordinate, so I ask you to go to Shu to take charge of the army."

Wang Can read the letter, frowned and said: "Now Cao Ren threatens Dangyang, my lord has entered Shu, fearing that Wuhan will be uneasy!"

Cao Ren was ordered by Cao Cao to lead his army south to invade Gong'an. Liu Bei went to the battlefield in person, led Wenpin and ten thousand soldiers to fight, attacked from the east and west, and burned Cao Ren's boat. Cao Ren had no ships and was afraid of the Han navy, so he retreated to Xiangyang and peeked at Dangyang.

Liu Bei clasped his hands behind his back and said, "Cao Ren's attacking troops are unlikely to be in serious trouble due to scabies."

After reading the letters between Huo and Ge, Liu Bei longed to enter Shu. He knew that by entering Shu, he would not only gain political prestige, but also better coordinate the two armies.

As Liu Bei's founding battle in Bashu, how could he be missing from it?

"My lord, why not follow the strategy of besieging Wei and rescuing Zhao, Cao Cao attacks Hanzhong, and my lord sends troops to attack Xiangyang." Wang Can advised Liu Bei, not understanding what he was thinking.

Liu Bei shook his head and objected, saying: "Cao Ren has thirty thousand soldiers and is defending Xiangfan. How can we defeat it with the troops of Wu and Chu?"

In short, Liu Bei has no troops at all. Jiangbei and Jiangnan can barely muster [-] soldiers to garrison, and they are unable to attack Xiangfan. On the Jianghuai side, there are more than [-] sergeants spread over hundreds of miles, which is more than enough for defense but not enough for offense. Sixty thousand people went to Jianghan and Jianghuai.

If you ask where Liu Bei's soldiers went, of course they went to Shu.

Three generals, Guan, Zhang and Zhao, attacked Shu and divided their troops into three groups with [-] soldiers. Huo Jun, Gan Ning, Lu Xun and other Hanzhong generals had [-] troops. Including the troops stationed in Bashu, Yizhou has at least [-] troops.

One hundred and fifty thousand soldiers is already the limit that Liu Bei can support, otherwise Liu Bei would not have let Huo Jun lead the Baiji Imperial Army into Shu to relieve the siege.

For Liu Bei, Bashu was a battle to found the country. The core purpose of sending such a large number of soldiers and his close men and women to Shu in batches was to ensure that nothing went wrong.

Liu Bei will fight whoever touches Bashu!

"This~"

Hearing Liu Bei's firm determination, Wang Can asked: "If my lord goes to Shu, who will stay in Wuhan and who will be in charge of the sergeants?"

As he spoke, Wang Can thought about it and said: "My lord has entered Shu, and perhaps he can transfer General Guan back to Chu to take charge."

"Ha ha!"

Liu Bei thought for a moment, then stroked his beard and smiled, and said: "Yunchang has made outstanding achievements since he entered Shu. Now that the army has arrived in Chengdu, he will accomplish great achievements. If he is allowed to return to Chu at this time, he may be dissatisfied. And without Yunchang sitting in Shu, To intimidate Liu Zhang, I am afraid that the war in Shu will be difficult to end!"

As the commander-in-chief of the Conqueror of Shu, Guan Yu has been gnawing at Jiangzhou for so long, killing generals along the way. Now he has reached Chengdu and will conquer Yizhou in the near future. This makes Guan Yu return to Wuhan, which he probably cannot accept based on his temperament.

After a pause, Liu Bei read Zhuge Liang's letter, which talked about Zhao Yun and Guan Yu's arrangements, but did not mention Zhang Fei's whereabouts.

After pondering for a while, Liu Bei said: "Go to Shu alone and help Hanzhong in the north. General Yide can be in charge of Wuhan, and there are two generals Zhongye and Zijing, which are enough to secure the border. When Zhongxuan lives in Wuhan, he should give more advice to Yide to avoid it. Drinking makes things worse!”

"promise!"

Hearing that it was Zhang Fei, Wang Can couldn't help but be happy, and said: "Please rest assured, my lord, Zhang Bao is studying in Can's house, and General Yide will listen to Can's advice."

Among all the scholars, Zhang Fei licked Wang Can the most. Wang Can came from the Central Plains and had an old relationship with Cai Yong. Wang Can should be the first in Liu Bei's study of Confucian classics and poetry.

Zhang Fei spent a lot of effort before sending his son Zhang Bao to Wang Can's house to study under him.

Liu Bei stroked his beard and said with a slight smile: "Now that I have entered Shu, Wuhan will be consuled by four people: Xu Shu, Zhang Zhao, Mi Zhu, and Jian Yong. If the four have any objections, Yuan Zhi will be the one to take charge. I will hold a pen alone and draft a draft. Clerk, advise Yide!"

"correct!"

Liu Bei called to Wang Can and ordered: "General Zhuge Liang, the military advisor, will go to Yizhou as governor and live in Jiangzhou to take charge of military affairs. All officials in Bashu counties can be appointed by Zhuge Liang."

"My lord, when we enter Shu this time, which troops will we send to accompany us?" Wang Can asked.

"Let Feng'er follow the orphan to Shu!" Liu Bei said

"promise!"

Wang Can responded.

Liu Bei walked to the window sill, looked at the river view in the distance, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Bashu, the foundation of an isolated country, must not be lost."

"Cao Mengde is coming alone!"

ps: In the Han Dynasty, miles were different from kilometers. From Jiangzhou to Chang'an, it was about two thousand miles (Tang Dynasty) by taking the Lychee Road.

(End of this chapter)