After a long time, the doorman passed the prime minister's order: "The illness is a little fine, and I will go out of the capital tomorrow morning to discuss the matter." ”

Dong Yun and Du Qiong sighed and returned. The next day, a number of officials came to the prime minister's office to wait. From morning to night, Zhuge Liang was not seen to come out to meet him. The officials were so frightened that they had to disperse.

Du Qiong replied to Liu Dan and said: "Please ask the prince to move and go to the Prime Minister's Mansion to ask for advice." ”

Liu Dan immediately led the officials into the palace and played the queen Sun Shangxiang. The queen exclaimed: "Why is the prime minister like this? It is also a matter of His Majesty's entrustment! I'm going to take it personally. ”

Dong Yun said: "Niangniang can't go lightly. The prime minister must have a wise view. Let's wait for the prince to go first. If there is any negligence, please call the prime minister before it is too late. ”

The queen plays. The next day, Liu Dan drove to the Prime Minister's Mansion in person. When the doorman saw the arrival of the car, he hurriedly bowed down to the ground to greet him. Liu Dan asked, "Where is the prime minister?" ”

The doorkeeper replied, "I don't know where." Only the prime minister's decree is to block hundreds of officials, and not to enter. ”

Liu Dan got out of the car and walked, entered the third gate alone, and saw Zhuge Liang leaning on the railing alone, watching the fish by the small pond, looking thoughtful.

Liu Dan stood behind for a while before he said slowly: "Is the prime minister happy?" ”

Zhuge Liang looked back and saw that Liu Dan was here in person, and hurriedly bowed to the ground: "The minister deserves to die!" ”

Liu Dan helped Zhuge Liang up and asked: "Now Cao Pi is divided into three routes, and the situation is very urgent, why is the prime minister unwilling to go out of the house to see things?" ”

Zhuge Liang helped Liu Dan into the inner room and sat down, and said with a smile: "The three-way soldiers are here, and the ministers don't know?" The minister is not watching the fish, and he is also thoughtful. ”

Liu Dan sighed and said, "What can I do? ”

Zhuge Liang said: "Qiang King Cheriji, the anti-general Meng Da, these two route soldiers, the ministers have all retreated. As long as the barbarian king Meng was given this way of soldiers, the minister wanted to personally lead the troops to ask for it, but the minister was the heavy responsibility of staying in the national capital, so he could not move lightly. The minister only needs one person to be the general, and the rate is because he has not won it, so he thinks about it. Why should Your Highness be worried? ”

After hearing this, Liu Dan was surprised and delighted: "Prime Minister Guo has an unexpected opportunity for ghosts and gods!" I would like to hear the strategy of retreating. ”

Zhuge Liang said: "Your Majesty entrusts the prince and Yizhou to the ministers, and the ministers dare to slack off. All the officials don't know the magic of the art of war, but it is important to make people unpredictable, how can it be leaked to others? The prophet Xiqiang King Cheriji led troops to attack Xiping Pass, but unfortunately General Ma Chao went out with His Majesty, otherwise why should Xiqiang be afraid? The minister has sent a person in advance, galloping in the starry night, so that General Huo Jun is stationed in Xiping Pass, and the four roads are full of strange soldiers, exchanging them every day, and rejecting them with soldiers, so there is no need to worry about this way. ”

"The minister also knew that Meng Da led the troops out of Hanzhong, Meng Da and Li Yan had made friends of life and death, and the minister had made a book, only written by Li Yan himself, and let people send it to Meng Da; Meng Da will inevitably not be able to get sick, and with a slow military mentality, this journey is not enough to worry about. ”

"I also heard that Zhu Bao, Yonghong, and Gaoding rebelled, and united with the Southern Barbarian Meng Huo, and the soldiers committed four counties. The minister also flew to send Ma Dai to lead an army to enter from the left and right, and from the right to the left, which was a plan for the suspicious soldiers; The brute soldier only relies on courage, and his heart is suspicious, and if he sees a suspicious soldier, he will not dare to enter. As for Yonghong, Gao Ding, and Zhu Bao, these three people are already in harmony, and they will soon be in chaos! This journey is not enough to worry about. ”

"The ministers are still afraid that they will not be able to fully protect them, and they secretly transferred Guan Ping and Liu Feng to two generals, each with 8,000 troops, and stationed them in critical places to save all roads. None of these dispatches were sent from the capital, so no one was aware of them. ”

Seeing that Zhuge Liang had already become a bamboo in his chest, Liu Dan smiled and said: "The queen also wants to come to see the prime minister, and now I hear the words of the prime minister, like a dream, why worry!" ”

Zhuge Liang and Liu Dan drank a few cups together and sent Liu Dan out of the house.

A few days later, Liu Du wrote to Yizhou City, in which he said: "I have already learned about the affairs in the country, and it is expected that the prime minister has already taken countermeasures. However, I am not convinced, and the country is also in great trouble. Qing should personally lead the army and go to the conquest. Now I have joined forces with Han Xuan and will soon go north to attack Wei. It is advisable to move quickly and calm the south, so as to eliminate my worries! ”

Zhuge Liang had no choice but to act as ordered, and when Liu Dan learned about it, he hurriedly retained: "Cao Pi's army is eyeing me, and now the prime minister abandons me, if the Wei army comes to attack, what can I do?" ”

"The Wei army was newly defeated by the wet beard, and His Majesty's army was in Wuchang, slightly Nanyang, and Zhenyu Prefecture, and the Wei army will devote heavy troops to defend it. Your Highness need not worry! Zhuge Liang appeased Liu Dandao.

Liu Dan still kept it again and again: "I am young and ignorant, but the prime minister will do it at his discretion." ”

Before Liu Dan finished speaking, one of the people in the class came out and shouted, "No! Cannot! ”

When everyone looked at it, it turned out to be Wang Lian, a native of Nanyang, with the word Wenyi, and now he is a doctor. Wang Lian admonished: "The barren land in the south, the land of miasma; The country is empty, and the prime minister has the heavy responsibility of balancing, and it is not appropriate to go on an expedition. And Yonghong and others are diseases of scabies, and the prime minister only needs to send a general to ask for it, and it will be successful. ”

Zhuge Liang said: "The land of the Southern Barbarians, far away from the country, there are many people who do not practice kinghood, and it is very difficult to ambush, so I should go to conquer it in person." It can be rigid or soft, don't have to consider, and it is not easy to trust people. ”

Wang Lian persuaded again and again, and Zhuge Liang had no choice but to say: "This is Your Majesty's will, and I have to obey it." ”

So on the same day, Zhuge Liang resigned from the crown prince Liu Chan and ordered Dong Yun to stay in the capital as an assistant to him. With Jiang Wan as the army, Fei Yi as the long history; Dong Ju and Fan Jian are Peng Shi; With Zhao Yun's eldest son Zhao Tong as the general, the governor of the army and horses, and dozens of Sichuan generals. A total of 30,000 soldiers left behind in Xichuan marched forward to Yongchang.

Suddenly, Guan Xing and Guan Suo, the sons of Guan Yu, joined the army to see Zhuge Liang, told him about the past, and said: "The two of us learned that my brother was in Yizhou, and we came to Xichuan to meet each other. ”

Zhuge Liang said with a smile: "General Guan Ping, I have sent Nanzhong first, and you two can go with me!" ”

Zhuge Liang ordered Guan Xing and Guan Suo to be the left and right vanguards to conquer the south together. A large group of men and horses, each according to the team. Hungry and thirsty, stay at night. The place he passed through had nothing to do with Minqiu.

On the way to the south, Zhuge Liang heard that Yonghong and Gaoding were not compatible, and Yonghong was killed by Gaoding sergeant in the chaotic battle between the two armies, and everything was as Zhuge Liang had expected.

Guan Ping and Liu Feng heard that Zhuge Liang had led the army to come here and came to greet them. Guan Xing and Guan Suo met Guan Ping and told each other about their longing, and then Guan Ping reported to Zhuge Liang about the current situation in Yongchang.

It turned out that Yongchang County was besieged by rebels, and Cao Lukai, who was a member of the five officials, led and inspired the officials and the people together with the prince of Fucheng to close the four borders to resist Yonghong. Yonghong repeatedly issued documents to Yongchang to persuade Lu Kai. Lu Kai resolutely refused to surrender to the rebels, closed himself off the border, and led the army and civilians to repel several attacks by Yonghong.

Zhu Bao heard that Zhuge Liang was coming to command the army, that is, he discussed with Gao Ding and divided the army into two ways: Gao Ding was on the left, and Zhu Bao was on the right; Each of the two roads led 10,000 troops to meet the enemy.

So Gao Ding ordered E Huan to be the front vanguard. Na Ehuan is nine feet long, with an ugly face, making a square halberd with the courage of ten thousand people. E Huan led the troops of the headquarters and left Dazhai to welcome the Shu army.

However, it was said that Zhuge Liang's army had arrived at the boundary of Yizhou, and the left and right pioneers Guan Xing and Guan Suo had only entered the border, and they were meeting the Ehuan army horses. The two sides faced each other, and Guan Xing scolded: "The anti-thief was surrendered early!" ”

E Huan patted the horse and confronted Guan Xing, but the battle was not counted, Guan Xing was defeated and left, and E Huan came later. After walking less than a few miles, there was a sudden shouting of the four screams. The two armies of Guan Ping and Guan Suo came and blocked the back road of the rebels.

Guan Xing led the army back again, and the three generals resisted the battle, and finally captured Ehuan alive and escorted him to Dazhai to see Zhuge Liang.

Zhuge Liang asked Ehuan to loosen his ties and treat him with wine and food. Zhuge Liang asked, "Who are you?" ”

"A certain is a high-level general." E Huan bowed his head and replied.

Zhuge Liang smiled and helped E Huan up: "I know that Gao Ding is a loyal and righteous person, and he is confused by Yonghong, so that this is the case." Killing Yonghong today is for the meritorious service of the imperial court. I will let you go back today, so that Gao Taishou will surrender as soon as possible, so that he will not be in a great calamity. ”

E Huan thanked him and left, went back to see Gao Ding, and said that Zhuge Liang was generous and generous. Gao Ding is also grateful to Zhuge Liang.

The next day, Zhu Bao went to the village to inquire about the battle situation: "How can Ehuan go back?" ”

Gao Ding replied: "Zhuge Liang let it go with righteousness." ”。

Zhu Bao shook his head and said: "This is Zhuge Liang's counter-plan: he wants to make the two of us discordant, so he uses this scheme." ”

Gao Ding half-believed it or not, and hesitated in his heart. Suddenly reported that Shu would fight, and Zhu Bao led 20,000 soldiers to meet him. The two armies fought for a while, and Zhu Bao was defeated. Guan Ping led his troops into a large march and pursued them for more than 20 miles.