Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 503 Strange bedfellows
Early April, Hanzhong.

In the Nanzheng Mansion Yamen, Lu Xun was sitting in the main seat, while He Qi, Wei Yan, Wang Ping, Zhao Ang, Yang Ang and other civil and military officials were sitting on the left and right to discuss the major issues of conquering Wei.

Lu Xun looked at the generals in the hall and said, "Your Majesty has come to believe his words. He has led a large army to Wancheng, attracting the main force of thieves to go south. Moreover, Wuguan has been occupied by General Wu Yi to clear the dangerous roads for merchants."

"The current situation is favorable to our army. Your Majesty has specially ordered us to send troops from Hanzhong, waiting for your Majesty to lead his troops to march westward, and the three armies will converge in Guanzhong. However, I don't know how to send troops. What good advice do you generals have?"

"Commander, I think we can divide our troops and advance."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wei Yan responded and said: "Cao Pi sent his troops south, and there were few soldiers in Guanzhong. Cao Zhen was lucky enough to advance because of his clan general. He had no long-term plan. Now we invite five thousand elite soldiers and five thousand people to carry food. We will pay tribute directly. From the middle, follow the Qinling Mountains to the east and reach the Ziwu Valley to the north. It only takes ten days to reach Chang'an."

"At that time, Ma Chao entered from Chencang, and the governor led his troops out of Baoxie, and the three armies marched toward Guanzhong together. When your Majesty led his troops to march westward to Wuguan, all the armies advanced together. Cao Zhen's few troops were not enough to divide the army, and there must be some oversights, which would delay the food supply. With the food of the people in Guanzhong, we attacked Chang'an and responded to your majesty in the east and the governor in the west."

Wei Yan spoke excitedly and said: "If we use our troops in this way, we can attack Guanzhong and attack in one fell swoop, and we can send messages to all the counties in Longliang to attack!"

Lu Xun frowned slightly and said, "The road in Ziwu Valley is steep and it is not suitable to use troops. If our troops leave Ziwu today, if they encounter a bandit army and attack them in the valley, General Wei's entire army will be wiped out!"

"otherwise!"

"Haha~"

Lu Xunping calmly said: "Take the Tangluo Road. Although the mountain road is steep, the road is convenient. It is less than two hundred miles away from Chang'an. When your Majesty reaches Lantian, we can look for an opportunity to move east and join Chang'an."

"Captain~"

Since Cao Zhen came to power, he has built strongholds at the entrances of the Qinling Mountains for scouts to live. Once the Han army sends troops, it will be easily discovered by the Wei army, and corresponding troops and horses are deployed in the city outside each crossing.

After being rejected repeatedly, Wei Yan looked unhappy and asked, "What about the governor's opinion?"

"Wealth and wealth are sought in danger. If we can get Chang'an now, we can meet your Majesty's army. When your Majesty's army enters Guanzhong, the governor's troops arrive, and the three armies join forces, with more than 100,000 generals. Don't the people of Guanlong eat pots of pulp? , are you happy to welcome Master Wang?”

During Cao Cao's period, Cao Zhen used his side to fight as a general due to his age. Now that Cao Pi succeeded to the throne, Cao Zhen took over directly and took charge of the military affairs of Yongzhou. Wei Yan despised him because of his lack of understanding.

Lu Xun still disagreed and said: "This time, that time. In the past, the reason why Ma Chao went to Hanzhong was because Han Sui raided Yangping. The general took the Micang Road, Ma Chao attacked Baokou, and Zhang Lu only had tens of thousands of troops to divide the army. The three families were already outnumbered and lacked strength, so Ziwu was unprepared and was attacked by Pang De. "

Wei Yan argued hard and said: "In the past, Ma Chao defeated Hanzhong and ordered Pound to advance from Ziwu. When the soldiers arrived, they were so powerful that Zhang Lu was afraid and ran away. Why can't we go the opposite way now and leave Ziwu and go down to Chang'an?"

Wei Yan sneered and said: "In the past, Han Xin made a strange plan to conquer Guanzhong, but now he is using troops like the governor. How can Emperor Gao succeed!"

Ziwu Valley is steep and narrow, and its exit is adjacent to Chang'an, which is the core stronghold of Yongzhou. Taking the Ziwu Valley Road, the probability of being discovered is really high. Wei Yan's method was too risky, and Lu Xun really didn't dare to gamble.

Lu Xun stood up from the couch and stared at Wei Yan, feeling unhappy. Obviously, Wei Yan's words had offended Lu Xun.

"That's not the case now. Ma Chao's repeated behavior is not enough to be convinced. Although Cao Zhen was lucky enough to advance because of his clan general, he has good military management and careful planning, so he cannot be underestimated. Your Majesty has won Wuguan, and Cao Zhen must be prepared, so he must not be underestimated. "

However, as the governor of Baliang and responsible for the military affairs of Bashu, Lu Xun must investigate Cao Zhen's talents in detail. After Lu Xun's in-depth understanding, Cao Zhen was by no means an incompetent young man, but had considerable talents.

Lu Xun put his hand on the hilt of his sword and asked calmly: "The reason why Han Xin uses Qi is because he knows himself and his enemy, rather than acting like a king who has no one. Since I am following your majesty's orders, I will arrange the march and follow my orders!"

Seeing that Wei Yan was still arguing about what to say, Lu Xun directly scolded him and said: "General, you must obey the military orders. When the troops leave Ziwu Road, if there is any deviation, the entire army will be annihilated. You don't care about your life, but I can't sit back and watch my son die in vain!" "

As he spoke, Lu Xun softened his words slightly and said: "The Ziwu Valley Road is related to Ziwu Pass, which was established by Wang Mang in the old days. When Cao Zhen took over the military power, he ordered his soldiers to repair it for outpost exploration."

Wei Yan was speechless, obviously dissatisfied. "Now that you have no other opinion, please follow my military orders and send the army from the Tangluo Road."

Lu Xun ordered: "Where is Governor Zhao?"

"exist!"

"Send another envoy to inform Ma Chao that the time has come. If you don't resist, great things will be difficult to accomplish!"

Zhao Ang pondered for a while and said: "Captain, if Ma Chao is standing still, what should we do?"

Lu Xun paced with his sword in hand and said thoughtfully: "I will take the letter to Guanzhong before I die, so that the Wei people know that Ma Chao has conspired with our army to rebel."

Lu Xun had already been prepared for Ma Chao's villainous behavior. In order to prevent Ma Chao from trying to watch a tiger fight, he was ready to reveal to Cao Zhen the truth about Ma Chao's conspiracy with them. The two sides are suspicious of each other, but they have no choice but to unite because they need each other.

Not to mention that Lu Xun sent people to inform Ma Chao to raise troops, and also leaked the news of Ma Chao's rebellion to Cao Zhen. Today, Ma Chao is in Xialu to meet with Deng Zhi, the envoy from the Southern Han Dynasty.

In the hall, Ma Chao looked at Lu Xun's letters and looked slightly happy.

Deng Zhi stood in the hall, raised his hands and said: "General, your Majesty has arrived at Wancheng and will turn his troops westward to Guanzhong soon. Governor Lu has heard of your Majesty's news and wants to send troops from Hanzhong."

"The time has come to raise the army. The general has sufficient food and fodder, and the infantry and cavalry are solemn. I would like to ask the governor to send troops out of the old road, march towards Chencang, and the three armies will gather in Guanzhong. If the general has made great achievements, it is not a bad idea to split the soil and seal the territory."

"Thief Cao bullied me too much, and I will die now!"

Ma Chao laughed loudly and said: "Your Majesty treats Chao Chao as your confidant. The war is going to be successful now, so Chao will definitely raise troops to respond to Your Majesty. We should follow the old example of the Dou family and surrender to Your Majesty with troops and soil."

After a pause, Ma Chao walked up and down confidently and asked deliberately: "I wonder where Commander Lu will send his troops?"

Deng Zhi was greatly alarmed, and with a confused look on his face, he said: "General, Governor Lu's deployment of troops has always been kept secret, and no one but the general can know about it. Zhi is just a civil servant and has no idea where Governor Lu wants to send his troops."

Hearing this, Ma Chao narrowed his eyes and stared at Deng Zhi, then quickly disappeared and said with a smile: "When Commander Lu arrives in Guanzhong, he will send someone to the west to inform someone so that Chao can cooperate with your army. If you have great achievements, don't forget me." also!"

"promise!"

Deng Zhi was neither humble nor arrogant, and said: "Zhi will definitely tell Governor Lu."

When Deng Zhi retreated, Ma Chao threw the letter into the brazier and said: "Come here, write to Cao Zhen, saying that our army's scouts have detected that Lu Xun is about to send troops to the north, and now he wants to take the Ziwu Road or the Tangluo Road to enter the pass. Cao Zhen should be more careful."

"Brother, how did you know that Lu Xun sent troops from Ziwu or Tangluo?" Ma Dai asked.

Ma Chao sneered a few times and said: "Liu Bei went to Wuguan and marched towards Chang'an. Among the roads in Hanzhong today, Ziwu Road is adjacent to Chang'an, but the road is long and dangerous; the Tangluo Road followed, less than two hundred miles away from Chang'an. Our army left Chencang. "If Lu Xun didn't follow these two paths, would he be out of favor?"

Baoxie Road is a smooth road, but its entrance is at Wuzhangyuan, which is too far from Chang'an and is close to Chencang Road. Today there is Chencang Road, and if we take Baoxie Road again, it will have little military effect.

Ma Dai hesitated a little and said, "Brother, now that you have turned your back on Cao Wei, what will happen to my wife and children?"

Ma Chao put his hands behind his waist and said calmly: "Outsiders can't believe it. You and I are brothers and we should work together in the same boat. Since my son is your son, now that I have a son and a daughter, I can adopt him into my brother's lap."

Ma Dai: (□`Chuan)
(End of this chapter)