Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 531 Backstab
Dankou, the Han army's partial tent.

Inside the tent, the smell of herbal medicine was particularly strong. Fazheng's face was sallow, his breathing was rapid, and his eyes were hazy and slightly squinted.

Going on an expedition with the army for half a year almost exhausted Fa Zheng's energy. However, in order to help Liu Bei regain his great cause, Fa Zheng maintained his strong spirit with that tone.

Today, Cao Zhang is killed in pursuit, and Liu Bei leads his army back home without any hindrance. Fa Zheng, who has been holding on for so long, can no longer hold on.

"filial piety~"

Liu Bei hurriedly entered the tent from the outside and saw Fazheng lying on the bed. He asked anxiously: "How is your condition?"

The doctor shook his head, lowered his head and said, "I'm sorry for my incompetence, but your condition is getting worse and worse, and there is no cure for me."

"Quack doctor!" Liu Bei couldn't help but cursed.

"His Majesty!"

Hearing Liu Bei's voice, Fazheng slowly opened his cloudy eyes and said, "Where is your Majesty?"

In this Northern Expedition to Guanzhong, Liu Bei himself wanted to take advantage of others. Now that Cao Wei is alert, he is afraid that he will not give the big man another chance. After the Northern Expedition, Liu Bei planned to get serious and compete with the Northern Wei Dynasty for the Central Plains. Therefore, the target of the next Northern Expedition is either Wancheng or Shouchun.

"I'm here!"

"Bo Yan has ordered two generals, Wei Yan and Wang Ping, to divide their forces to attack. With their large army behind them, the two Longnan counties will be captured soon," Liu Bei said.

Fazheng raised his head and saw Liu Bei's beard passing by him, and said: "Your Majesty's great kindness, Zheng, even though he may die ten thousand times, is not enough to repay him."

After Liu Bei retreated, Lu Xun took the initiative to burn down the plank road and got rid of Cao Zhen's pursuers. Now I have gone to Hanzhong and am ready to rush to Longnan at any time.

Fazheng opened his lips and said with difficulty: "What I am worried about now is not my own illness, but the strategy of the Northern Expedition. Due to the decline of Han Zuo, Your Majesty built the Han Dynasty in the southeast and mobilized troops for the original plan. So far in the war, although the Han Dynasty has repeatedly defeated the Cao family, the foundation of the Wei people is still there. "

Fazheng turned his head and looked at Liu Bei beside the couch, and said slowly: "Your Majesty, how are the two counties of Longnan doing now?"

As he spoke, Liu Bei held Fazheng's hand tightly and sighed deeply.

Liu Bei nodded slightly and said: "After this battle, we cannot rush to Guanzhong. From now on, the Northern Expedition should be slow and gradual. First Wancheng, Shouchun, and then look at the Central Plains. This is what I am thinking about now."

"Guanzhong can send out a partial army!"

"Hey!"

Fa Zheng was very moved and said, "Xi Zheng may not be able to follow His Majesty from now on!"

Fa Zheng's voice gradually weakened and he said: "Now that Ma Chao is separatist in Longyou, it is not a bad thing, but a happy event for me as a big man. Ma Chao has no long-term vision. If your Majesty drives it properly, it may not be unable to be used for our country." If Ma Chao disrupts Guanxi, Guanzhong is not unstoppable. It is a good strategy to send troops to the side and use force."

"No need!"

Hearing this, Liu Bei didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said: "If Xiaozhi can be cured, why not mention the beard? I would not regret cutting off the black and white hair!"

"If you are filial, upright and cultivate yourself, you will surely recover!" Liu Bei said.

"I should remember your words of filial piety and uprightness!"

Liu Bei sat on the side of the couch, looked at Fazheng, who was thin and sallow, and said sadly: "Today's Northern Expedition to Guanzhong has made you travel a long distance, which has made your condition worse. I feel uneasy!"

After a pause, Fazheng forced out a smile and said, "It's a waste of time for Your Majesty!"

Seeing that Fazheng was getting weaker and weaker, Liu Bei said with concern: "Xiaozhi is critically ill, why not take medicine and rest for now?"

"Therefore, from a righteous perspective, Your Majesty should not use troops hastily. You should cultivate Wu and Yue deeply, strengthen your troops and horses, and look for opportunities to use force. Wancheng and Shouchun are the barriers to Henan. If Your Majesty wants to achieve great things and compete with Wei for world supremacy, the two cities must be destroyed. When the two cities are destroyed, Your Majesty will march northward with your elite troops, hoping to sweep across Henan."

As for the two counties of Longnan, Wei Yan and Wang Ping each led 5,000 troops and defeated the prefects appointed by Ma Chao. Because Ma Chao moved his headquarters to Ji County, the two counties in Longnan did not have many troops. Moreover, the two counties did not expect that Wei and Wang would launch a sudden attack, and were directly defeated and left.

"The two counties of Longnan will soon be available!"

Hearing these words, Fa Zheng felt much more relaxed. Since he served Liu Bei, he has come up with many strategies, but he has not achieved too many real achievements. Now that he can obtain the two counties of Longnan for Liu Bei, he is satisfied.

Fa Zhengchang exhaled and said happily: "If Bo Yan can win the two counties of Longnan, Ma Chao will be under your Majesty's control!"

Fazheng helped Liu Bei obtain Longnan, but Ma Chao's strength was frustrated, and due to the external situation, Ma Chao could only keep Longyou by getting closer to the Southern Han Dynasty. Once the opportunity comes, the Han Dynasty can take over Longyou, move to Guanzhong, and pacify the territory of Guanxi.

"I have the wings of filial piety and straightness, so I can soar like never before. I can't copy it!"

Liu Bei saw that Fazheng's condition was so serious and he was still worried about his great cause. He couldn't help but hold Fazheng's hands and said with emotion: "After Chrysostom, Bei won Jingzhou because of Zhongmiao, and then he took Bashu because of his filial piety. Bei won the auxiliary wing of filial piety. , soaring over the Yangtze River, it cannot be copied!"

Fazheng's eyes were red, and he choked with sobs and said, "Fortunately, His Majesty appreciates it. Zheng will have no regrets in his life."

"filial piety~"

Liu Bei couldn't bear it anymore and finally shed tears.

For the Han Dynasty, Fazheng's status was not as good as Huo Jun and Zhuge Liang, and slightly lower than Pang Tong. But for Liu Bei, Fazheng's character with a clear distinction between love and hate was very appealing to him, so he often listened to Fazheng's words.

Now that Fa Zheng is seriously ill and dying, how can Liu Bei not feel uncomfortable?

The monarch and his ministers chatted for a while, and finally left Fazheng's camp under Zhao Yun's persuasion due to Fa Zheng's physical weakness.

Returning to the camp, Liu Bei lamented and was in a bad mood. Upon seeing this, Zhao Yun asked someone to bring a hot towel to Liu Bei and guard him.

"Zilong~" "Your Majesty!"

Liu Bei wiped his face with a hot towel and asked, "How many years have Zilong been with me since I first joined the family?"

"It will take twenty years to recruit troops from Hebei!" Zhao Yun said.

Liu Bei was in a depressed mood and said: "In the past, when Xuzhou fell and Yunchang was captured, I had no choice but to surrender to Hebei. The happiest thing at that time was that Zilong came to follow me. However, as time passed, Yunchang, Xingba, Zijing, Jun Yi has passed away one after another, but now even filial piety and uprightness are required~"

Zhao Yun wanted to comfort Liu Bei, but he didn't know what to say.

After hesitating for a while, Zhao Yun said: "Although Cao Cao is dead today, his son Pi has usurped the throne. Your Majesty has the mission of saving the world, and you should shoulder the hope of reviving the Han Dynasty. Whenever you put important things first, you must not lament and hurt your body. "State affairs."

"Zilong always gives good advice!"

Liu Bei sat down hugging his knees and said: "In the past, Zilong advised me not to accept the surrendered soldiers and join the army, but it turned out to be true. When the army withdrew, seven or eight out of ten of the surrendered soldiers fled and sneaked into the mountains to return home."

Previously, the Southern Han Dynasty surrendered 30,000 Wei soldiers, and Liu Bei collected 5,000 surrendered soldiers and joined the army. Zhao Yun thought it was inappropriate and persuaded him, but Liu Bei disagreed. Today's Northern Expedition out of Wuguan, just as Zhao Yun said, when the army retreated, more than a thousand soldiers took the opportunity to escape from the army.

After saying that, Liu Bei looked at Zhao Yun and said: "From now on, if Zilong has any good words of loyalty, he should send them to you to correct my mistakes."

"promise!"

That night, after Fa Zheng saw his son Fa Miao, who had come all the way from Wuhan, he no longer had any worries in his heart.

At midnight, Fazheng passed away peacefully in his sleep.

At that time, Liu Bei, who was sleeping, learned that Fazheng had died of illness. He hugged Zhao Yun and cried bitterly.

The next day at dawn, Liu Bei ordered the troops to hang white flags and the musicians to play for three days as a farewell to Fa Zheng. And in compliance with Fa Zheng's wishes, his body was buried in Dankou.

Liu Bei shed tears for days and refused to leave Dankou. Finally, under the guidance of Zhuge Liang and Zhang Zhao, he led his army back from Jianghan.

On the way back to his country, Liu Bei mourned Fazheng's contribution and posthumously named him Fazheng as a Marquis of Yi, and named his son Fa Miao as a Marquis of Guannei and a partial general.

"Han Ji·Fa Liu (Ba) Zhang (Zhao) Pan Biography": "The comment says: 'Fa Zheng sees success or failure, has wonderful plans and plans, and assists the emperor. He is not called a virtuous man, but he is regarded as an ancestor. , between Gai and Chen Ping.'"
-
Not to mention that Fazheng's death made Liu Bei extremely sad. Now Wei Yan and Wang Ping defeated Yao Jing and Dong Zhong respectively and occupied the two counties of Wudu and Yinping.

Yao Jing and Dong Zhong led the defeated army to Tianshui to plead guilty to Ma Chao.

Ma Chao, who was drinking, heard that the two counties were occupied by the Han army. He was furious and smashed the wine bottle to the ground, spilling the wine all over the floor.

"Den!"

Seeing this, Yao Jing and Dong Zhong were so frightened that their faces turned pale and they lowered their heads and did not dare to say anything.

"Little Lu Xun, how dare you seize my county!"

Ma Chao smacked the case angrily and said: "I kindly joined forces with the Han Dynasty and gave Liu Bei a thousand horses as a gift. But now Lu Xun has violated the oath of alliance and sent troops to attack and seize two counties. This is tolerable, but who can't tolerate it!"

Ma Chao could not tolerate being angry, so he accepted Ma Liang's canonization, thinking that he had signed an alliance with the Han Dynasty. In order to gain Liu Bei's favor, he also spent a lot of money to send a thousand Qiang horses to the Han Dynasty.

Unexpectedly, just after the war against Wei ended, Liu Bei actually attacked him. The feeling of being stabbed in the back was really uncomfortable.

Everyone on the right side of the hall looked at each other, and those who were interested already felt that Ma Chao's broken ship was unstable. Now that the Han are coming to seize the two counties of Longnan, will Wei raise troops to attack?

There are strong enemies in the east and south. Ma Chao's regime has just been established, and now it feels like it is on the verge of collapse.

Ma Chao was pacing in the hall, scanning the people in the hall with angry eyes. He was suspicious and felt that someone was questioning his authority.

"Your Majesty, now that Lu Xun has seized our two counties, we should make plans early." Pang Rou said.

"Intend?"

Ma Chao snorted coldly after hearing this and said: "Now that the Han soldiers are raising troops to seize our two counties, besides sending troops to the south, what else can we do?"

As he said that, Ma Chao stared at Cheng Gongying who lowered his head, feeling very dissatisfied with him now.

We should not have listened to Cheng Gongying in the first place and waited to see success or failure.

Ma Dai asked worriedly: "Cao Zhen is in the pass. If he sees that Longyou is empty and sends troops to seize it, what should he do?"

Ma Chao sneered a few times and said: "The troops will block us, the water will block us, and the water will block us. What's there to be afraid of? Just watch me quickly retreat to Lu Xun and return to Longyou."

Although the words were so harsh, Ma Chao was actually very worried. Liangzhou is to the north, Hanzhong is to the south, and Guanzhong is to the east. Ma Chao originally wanted to befriend the Southern Han Dynasty and have an affair with Cao Wei, so as to maintain his neutral stance.

Unexpectedly, the Southern Han Dynasty did not care about personnel at all and did not give any signals. As soon as the war in Guanzhong ended, it sent Wei Yan and Wang Ping to surprise Yinping and Wudu counties. They really did not care about martial ethics.

Now the Southern Han Dynasty forced a war with him. If they could not defeat Lu Xun quickly, the two armies would be in a panic. The empty Longyou will inevitably attract Cao Zhen's peeps.

Once the Wei people send troops to seize Longyou, they will be attacked from both sides. Those powerful scholars who surrendered due to the situation would probably abandon themselves and surrender to Cao Wei.

If he does not send troops southward and thus accepts this matter by default, he may avoid the prying eyes of Cao Wei. But if you show yourself to be weak, you will inevitably lose your prestige. How will I govern Longyou now that I have lost my prestige?
Send troops, must send troops!
Ma Chao did not hesitate and immediately ordered: "Ma Dai, the governor of Guangwei, will stay in Ji County, and the remaining civil and military personnel will follow me on the southern expedition."

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)