The most poisonous person in the Three Kingdoms, Boss Cao advised me to calm down!

Chapter 342 Zhang Tianshi's Worries
Cao Cao then passed the letter to everyone and said with a smile:
"The best person in Jiangdong is Zhou Yu."

"With Zhou Gongjin gone, the remaining people can't make any big waves."

"Besides, Liu Bei is sending troops south to fight with Shi Xie for the South China Sea."

"I'm already so busy, how can I have the energy to join forces with Sun Quan?"

"I heard that as soon as Zhou Yu died, Sun Quan asked Lu Su to take over."

"Take 4,000 troops and station them in Wuchang, confronting Changsha across the river."

"It's obvious that the Sun and Liu families have started to get along."

"It's easy to talk when the interests are tied together, but when the interests are gone, they will naturally fall apart."

"They rely on each other for strength, and if the strength is gone, they will fall."

“The situation now is completely different from last year.”

"Once we have resolved the current situation, our army will turn back and march south, heading straight for Sun Quan!"

"As long as we take over Jiangdong, Liu Bei will be no problem!"

Cao Cao's eyes were full of determination after he said this.

His advisers and generals nodded in agreement, and the atmosphere was lively.

Obviously he had great confidence in Cao Cao's decision.

Then Cao Cao stroked his beard and said with a smile:

"Earlier, when our army set out from Guanzhong."

"I have already written a letter and sent it to Yangping Pass."

"I think there will be news in the next few days."

Upon hearing this, all the civil and military officials present were delighted.

"The Prime Minister is wise!" "Our army will surely win!"

When Cao Cao heard the compliments from everyone, he couldn't help but laugh.

But Sima De stood on Cao Cao's side.

At this time, he looked into the eyes of the old fox Jia Xu.

Afterwards, they all understood what he meant.

The two had already had a discussion during the march.

Even Jia Xu knew that Zhang Lu had occupied Hanzhong for a long time.

Will not surrender easily.

Sima De also understood that they had to fight at Yangping Pass.

But as long as we can get through Yangping Pass.

Then Zhang Lu had no choice but to surrender.

However, this is how it should be according to the original history.

What the actual situation is remains to be seen.

After all, scouts had reported it before.

At this time, Ma Chao had already led his troops to join Zhang Lu.

They had already entered Yangping Pass long before they arrived.

With this kid Ma Chao around, the situation in Hanzhong is bound to change.

At this time, in Hanzhong City on the other side of Yangping Pass.

Zhang Lu, who has been running Hanzhong for many years.

When I heard that Cao Cao’s army was about to attack, I almost got scared to death on the spot!

This is because Zhang Lu was well aware of the bravery of Cao Cao's men.

Wherever his army went, all the princes surrendered.

Now there is no one who dares to confront Cao Cao and will not be destroyed.

There is only Sun Quan who is far away in Jiangdong, but what can Zhang Lu use to compare with Sun Quan?

Sun Quan controls the six counties of Jiangdong and has the natural advantage of the Yangtze River.

And he, Zhang Lu, is just a religious leader!
He does not have the courage that Han Ma has to fight against Cao Cao.

Nor does he have the indomitable perseverance of Liu Bei.

Although his ancestor, Zhang Lu, was Zhang Liang, Marquis of Liu, a founding hero of the Han Dynasty.

His grandfather Zhang Ling was also a top student in the Imperial College in his early years.

His knowledge is admirable and his character is also impeccable.

What about Confucian classics and the various schools of thought.

He is proficient in astronomy, geography, medicine and divination.

Unfortunately, at that time, eunuchs and relatives of the emperor were in power in the court.

Zhang Ling was aloof and unwilling to go along with them.

He fled to Shu and lived in seclusion.

He has written more than twenty books on Taoism.

He also used the theories of Confucianism and Taoism to annotate the Tao Te Ching.

It is widely circulated in Shu.

Later, he recruited many disciples and treated the villagers.

He was revered as "Tianshi" by the people of Shu.

As more and more people followed him, he founded his own sect called "Tianshi Dao".

Because those who study Taoism have to pay five dou of rice.

That’s why people also called them “Five Bushels of Rice Sect”.

After Zhang Ling passed away, his son Zhang Heng took over the mantle, and a wizard named Zhang Xiu from Ba County joined the group.

When it came to Zhang Lu's generation, Liu Yan had just entered Shu and planned to split Yizhou and become king.

So Zhang Lu was appointed as the Duyi Sima, and Zhang Xiu was appointed as the Beibu Sima.

Let them attack Hanzhong Governor Su Gu.

After the battle, Zhang Lu won.

Not only did he kill Su Gu, but he also blocked the road to Baoxia Valley.

He did not even return to Chengdu to report to Liu Yan, but instead took care of Zhang Xiu.

Then he annexed his followers and occupied Hanzhong himself.

As for Liu Yan, he was determined to become a local emperor in Shu.

Zhang Lu's commotion gave him a reason to cut off ties with the court.

Zhang Lu blocked the road into Shu and labeled Ti as a "rice thief".

Later, the Central Plains court could no longer take care of it.

So they had to give Zhang Lu the title of General of the Town People and Grand Administrator of Hanning.

This was considered as tacit approval of his rule in Hanzhong.

Although Zhang Lu held the title of prefect.

In fact, it does not follow the rules of the court.

They governed the place with their own doctrines.

Zhang Lu relied on the teachings of Tianshi Dao to govern the people.

The Tianshi Dao emphasizes honesty and trustworthiness.

The believers built a charity house to provide assistance to the refugees from Guanzhong.

Anyone who is sick should write down the wrong things they have done and pray to the gods.

If anyone commits the same mistake again, he will be punished.

However, the punishment was just hard labor in building bridges and roads.

It is much more humane than killing in other places.

This method of local governance is a bit idealistic.

But living in a simple and fair world, and in troubled times, the poor still support it.

Therefore, Zhang Lu ruled Hanzhong for thirty years.

Although it has not yet reached the point where we leave our doors unlocked at night.

But it can also be said that the people's hearts are at peace.

But now, this ideal state of governing Hanzhong with Taoism is about to be shattered.

Now that Cao Cao's army is approaching, Hanzhong is facing an unprecedented crisis.

In fact, Zhang Lu had already anticipated Cao Cao's attack.

So he secretly supported Ma Chao and Han Sui.

There were also forces such as the Qiang, Hu and Di tribes causing chaos in the Guanlong area.

Thinking that these people could stop Cao Cao's progress.

But now, these people have been defeated one by one by Cao Cao.

The territory of Guanxi still fell into the hands of Cao Cao.

He, Zhang Lu, had to face this powerful enemy head-on.

But how many cards does Zhang Lu have in his hand?
To be honest, it's only half of Hanzhong County.

Although the county seat of Nanzheng and several cities in the west were in his hands.

But the two counties of Shangyong and Xicheng in the middle.

In fact, it was controlled by local tyrants Shen Dan and Shen Yi.

It can be said to be a small separatist regime within the separatist regime.

The counties in the east were occupied by Liu Biao twenty years ago.

Liu Biao also set up Fangling County at that time.

Let Kuai Qi, who came from a prominent family in Jingzhou, be the prefect.

After Liu Biao fell, that place naturally became Cao Cao's territory.

So compared with Cao Cao, this half of Hanzhong County is not enough.

Although there are natural barriers like the Qinling Mountains.

But how long can Zhang Lu last?
In March, Cao Cao's army set out from Jincheng.

He did not take the Baoxiade Road at all, but entered Wudu County from Sanguan in the west.

Dou Mao, the leader of the Di tribe in Hechi, relied on the dangerous terrain and refused to surrender.

As a result, he was defeated by Zhang He and Zhu Ling, vanguards under Cao Cao.

In the end, Dou Mao's more than 10,000 troops were completely wiped out by Cao Cao's army.

The bloody battle in Hechi was like a thunderclap.

The Qiang and Di forces, who were already not very obedient, were frightened.

After witnessing Cao Cao's ruthlessness with their own eyes, these barbarians dared not cause trouble again.

They sent people to ask for surrender.

In this way, the entire Wudu County belonged to Cao Cao.

And Hechi is only a short distance away from Hanzhong.

As long as Cao's army breaks through Yangping Pass southeast of Qishan.

Hanzhong is totally spicy!
(End of this chapter)