Soldiers come to the world

"But Liu Bei wanted to sneak attack on Jiangling, but was thwarted by Zhongda?" Liu Jing asked with a smile.

Sima Yi nodded, but shook his head again, "Liu Bei really wanted to sneak attack on Shuizhai, but he failed miserably, but the gift I'm talking about is not this, but that we captured Guan Yu."

"Caught Guan Yu!" Liu Jing was surprised and delighted at the same time. Guan Yu was Liu Bei's number one general, and he was very powerful. He was caught, even more important than Liu Chan. Liu Bei could have a son, but he couldn't have a brother.

"How did you do it?" Liu Jing asked again.

"The key is that Guan Ping was the vanguard, but the boat was smashed and fell into the water. Guan Yu refused to leave his son and retreat. In the end, his boat was also smashed and he was captured by a military lord named Zhou Xin."

Liu Jing nodded, "This person has made great achievements, and he really needs to be rewarded. Where are Guan Yu and his son now?"

"They are now being held in Jiangling, where they treat their father and son with respect."

Guan Yu's arrest was indeed good news for Liu Jing. Of course, Liu Jing did not expect Guan Yu to surrender, but would have a great effect. This news came very timely, and Liu Jing's thinking suddenly became clear.

Putting aside the matter of Guan Yu for the time being, Liu Jing smiled at Sima Yi again: "Please sit down! I just plan to send someone to invite you to talk about the Bashu issue." [

Sima Yi's greatest wish is to lead Yizhou's strategy, but he has never had a good talk with Liu Jing, so that Jia Xu used Meng Da, a key pawn, to gain an advantage in the big strategy, making him lead Yizhou's strategy. His wish came to nothing, which made Sima Yi a little frustrated and anxious.

Fortunately, Jia Xu used the strategy of Hanzhong, which gave Sima Yi another glimmer of hope. He was eager to convince Liu Jing that he would lead the subsequent Yizhou strategy, and he could establish his position in Jingzhou.

Sima Yi sat down, but Liu Jing was not in a hurry to talk about Bashu, but asked with concern: "How is the situation at home?"

Sima Yi's wife died of puerperal fever last year due to postpartum weakness, and left behind a son who was just one month old. So far Sima Yi has not had the chance to see him. His son should be one year old. He said sadly: " The child is by my father's side, so it's fine, and next year my father will bring the child to Xiangyang."

Liu Jing nodded and said with a smile: "My father is a great Confucian in Hanoi and has a long-standing reputation. If he is willing to come to Xiangyang, I will hire him to go to Jingzhou Academy."

"Thank you Zhou Mu for your concern. I will also persuade my father to work for Zhou Mu."

The two exchanged a few pleasantries, and the topic turned to Bashu. Liu Jing pondered for a while and said, "The so-called injustice is not right, even if Cao Cao attacked Jingzhou, he would have to find an excuse to rebel and get the emperor's edict. If I attack Yizhou rashly, I’m afraid it’s untenable legally, so I’ve been thinking about how to take Yizhou? I want to hear your thoughts.”

Sima Yi thought for a while and said: "At the beginning, Liu Bei thought of keeping the household for Liu Zhang and assigning Badong County to him. In return, he promised to return Jianping County and Yidu County to Yizhou, and sent his son Liu Chan to Chengdu. As a hostage, under Zhang Song's repeated persuasion, Liu Zhang was moved, and as long as Liu Bei entered Bashu, he could provoke Bashu civil strife and annex Bashu under the pretext of calming the "chaos."

Liu Jing frowned, "Zhong Da wouldn't suggest that I send my son to Chengdu!"

"No! No!" Sima Yi quickly shook his head and smiled, "At the beginning Liu Bei dared to agree like this because his son Liu Chan was in the hands of Cao Cao. Now that his son is back, of course he would not agree. Fake son, so it is not advisable to have a son as a pledge, I am talking about the latter, we can also make this idea."

"You mean the civil turmoil in Bashu?"

Sima Yi nodded slowly, "The key is Liu Zhang. If this person dies, Bashu will be the lord's land. At this time, if we provoke a "chaos" in the middle of Shu, we can enter Bashu under the pretext of suppressing the rebellion, and then make Liu Zhang's youngest son Yizhou. Lord, once we secure Bashu, the state shepherd will be able to stand on his own."

"Is it that easy for Liu Zhang to die?"

"If you want him to die, it's actually easy."

Liu Jing knew that Sima Yi dared to say that, there must be something to rely on, he walked a few steps with his hands behind his back, and asked, "Who is Liu Zhang's youngest son?"

"He is the son of a concubine of his. He is only six years old this year. Make this son Yizhou Mu, and the Zhou Mu can establish himself as a general and take over the power. He will be abolished after a few years."

"inappropriate!"

Liu Jing shook his head and rejected the suggestion, "Establishing Liu Zhang's son will cause future troubles. Let me become Cao Cao's second. I am suspected of bullying the young master. I must never admit Liu Zhang's son as Yizhou shepherd again."

"That's okay, but I'm afraid that the court will appoint a new state pastor."

Liu Jing laughed, "Zhongda, although you used to join the army of Cao Cao, I know Cao Cao better than you. He will do everything possible to prevent me from taking Bashu, but once I take Bashu, he will face you. Face the reality, because he knows that if he dares to appoint a new Yizhou Mu, he will pay a heavy price."

Sima Yi nodded silently. He had to admit that what Liu Jing said made sense. Making Liu Zhang's son the Yizhou shepherd would cause future troubles. Although the immediate problem could be solved, it would not be good for the long run.

He pondered for a moment and said: "In this way, the timing must be very precise. If you don't enter Bashu, it's fine. Once you do, you must attack Bashu with a destructive force. It can't be too long, and you can't give the courtiers enough time to make a decision. "

"You are right. This is the key. Let Liu Zhang fall into injustice first, then Liu Zhang's death, and the "chaos" in Bashu. opportunity."

At this time, Sima Yi became a little excited. Although Liu Jing had different ideas from his in the details, Liu Jing was obviously inclined to his suggestion in the general direction. This encouraged Sima Yi, and he continued: "With us In terms of strength, it is not difficult to take Bashu, the key is to control Bashu, which involves the struggle between Dongzhou soldiers and Bashu local faction, this is the focus of our consideration.”

What Sima Yi said touched Liu Jing's heart. What he was most worried about was the struggle between the two factions. For him, Bashu was the most important source of money and soldiers for him in the future. It will be chaotic for a long time, completely contrary to his intentions. This is an important factor that Liu Jing must consider. He needs to balance the two major factions in Bashu.

Liu Jing cheered up, sat up straight, and listened to Sima Yi's suggestion. Sima Yi cleared his mind a little, and then said slowly: "The conflict between Dongzhou scholars and Bashu has a long history. During the "chaos" of Zhao Wei, the two factions forged It is almost impossible for him to reconcile blood feuds, and it is precisely because the Dongzhou scholars support us to take Bashu that the Bashu local faction is suspicious and opposed to us. My plan is to let the Dongzhou scholars faction withdraw from Bashu."

Liu Jing understood Sima Yi's meaning, he frowned slightly and said, "You mean to let Dong He go back to Jingzhou and Pang Xi go to Guanzhong, is that what you mean?"

Sima Yi nodded, "Dongzhou Scholars are the alliance of the Jingzhou and Guanzhong factions. If the Jingzhou faction is transferred back to Jingzhou and the Guanzhong faction is transferred back to Guanzhong, the internal conflicts in Bashu will naturally disappear. Then we can support the state shepherd to take control of Bashu."

Liu Jing looked at the top of the tent with his hands behind his back and said, "I originally planned to take advantage of the conflict between the Bashu faction and the Dongzhou faction to control Bashu. If the Dongzhou scholars disappear in Bashu, will the Bashu local faction become stronger?"

Sima Yi said with a smile: "Actually, there are also great internal conflicts in the local faction of Bashu. Wu Yi and Zhang Ren, Wang Lei and Huang Quan, they are all factions. They are only temporarily united because of dealing with Dongzhou soldiers. Once Dongzhou If the power of state scholars disappears in Bashu, then there will inevitably be internal contradictions in the Bashu native lineage, and the state pastors can use their internal contradictions to achieve a balance of power."

After a pause, Sima Yi said again: "If the state pastor feels that the factional struggle within Yizhou is not easy to grasp, in fact, he can also use the opportunity of Liu Zhang's two sons competing for the position of state pastor. Perhaps this will be easier."

"You mean Liu Xun and Liu Wei?"

Sima Yi nodded, "It is these two brothers. Liu Zhang has not established a son so far. The reason is that these two brothers are at odds and are secretly competing for the throne."

"Looks like another Yuan Shao Second!"

Liu Jing laughed, he nodded and said: "Zhongda said a lot today, my mind is a bit confused, let me think it over again, this matter can be discussed in the long run."

Sima Yi felt happy, so he stopped talking about Bashu. He smiled lightly and said, "If I'm not wrong, Zhou Mu intends to use this opportunity to drive Liu Bei out of Bashu once and for all."

"Zhongda's guess is right, otherwise, wouldn't it be too much for me to bring [-] troops to reinforce?"

The two looked at each other and laughed together.

Although Zigui County is close to the Yangtze River, its main wharf is still two miles away from the county seat. From Bashu, Zigui is the first stop for crossing the Yangtze River, so the wharf is extremely important.

Zigui Wharf is not only an important place for military affairs, but also a place where commerce and trade are concentrated. Due to the prosperity of commerce, a small town was formed called Ping'an Town, and the wharf was also called Ping'an Wharf.

Ping'an Town is a small town of [-] paces. There are various shops and warehouses on both sides of a main street.

In the south of Ping'an Town, a strong castle was built on a high ground close to the pier. The castle is made of big stones, with a circumference of about three miles and a maximum of 500 troops.

The castle itself is three feet high, and it is built on a high place. Looking from the low-lying place of Ping'an Town, it seems to be a castle standing in mid-air, overlooking the ships and boatmen on the pier.

And this castle has become the focus of contention between the two sides.

The war has been going on for three days, and more than 100 houses and shops in Pingan Town have been burned to the ground by the fire. Corpses are piled up in disorder under the castle, and blood pools in low-lying places. Burnt bodies can also be seen everywhere in the wall.

Although Liu Bei's army had only 1000 troops in Zigui Town, they repelled the Jingzhou army's attacks time and time again by virtue of their favorable fortification. The city and Ping'an Fort were still not captured.

Based on Xinling County, the Jingzhou Army invested more than [-] people to counterattack Zigui. After the first attack failed, Li Yan immediately adjusted his offensive strategy and temporarily stopped attacking Zigui County. Instead, he concentrated his forces to attack Ping'an Fort. , Take the Ping An Fort, and you can cut off Liu Beijun's aid from the south bank of the Yangtze River.

Li Yan divided his troops into two groups. Lieutenant Huo Jun led 3000 men to attack Zigui County, while Li Yan personally led more than [-] troops to storm Ping'an Fort.

Li Yan hadn't slept for two days, his eyes were bloodshot, and the guilt of dereliction of duty was pressing in his heart like a mountain.

It is indeed his negligence that caused such a passive situation today. The natural danger of the Yangtze River and the consistent weakness of Liu Bei's army blinded his eyes, so that he never dreamed that Liu Bei's army had already built fifty ferries in Gong'an County. It is these fifty ferries that have caused today's serious situation.

Li Yan knew very well that if he could not win Zigui City or Ping'an Fort before Liu Bei's reinforcements arrived, the entire Bashu strategy would be ruined.

At this time, a soldier rushed over and reported in a loud voice: "Report to the prefect, Zhou Mu has led [-] reinforcements past Xiling County and is heading towards us, and will arrive in Zigui County tomorrow at the latest. "

This news made Li Yan both happy and worried. He was happy because his reinforcements had finally arrived, but worried about how he would explain to Zhou Mu?

anyway?He had to take down the Fort of Ping An before the State Shepherd arrived. Thinking of this, Li Yan was even more worried, and he ordered loudly: "Pass my order, the first person who breaks into the Fort of Ping An will be rewarded with a thousand taels."

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