He Youyi didn't answer immediately, but glanced at Liu Mingsheng, meaning to let him answer first.

Liu Mingsheng opened the paper clip in his hand and read:

"Shake the yellow thief, also known as Yao Huang, and the people are commonly known as the local tyrants. Because there were two large bandits at the earliest, there were two large bandits shaking the sky and Huanglong, so it was named. In the fifth year of Chongzhen, the yellow thief appeared in various parts of Hanzhong. In the winter of the sixth year of Chongzhen, the yellow thief and He Yilong entered the Tongjiang River from Xixiang. Break my Tongjiang, Dongxiang (now Xuanhan County), Taiping (now Wanyuan County), Xinning (now Kaijiang County), Kaixian County, this is the beginning of the Yellow Thief's attack on Shu.

It is rumored that the two of them, Shao Tiandong and Huang Long, participated in the Xingyang Conference at the end of the winter of the seventh year of Chongzhen together with giant thieves such as the thief, the sacrifice thief, and the Cao thief. After the Xingyang Conference, Shaking Heaven and Huanglong returned to the land of Bashan to continue to suffer. In the ninth year of Chongzhen, the yellow thief went out of the mountain to join forces with the thief Mantianxing, plundered Baoning, Shunqing, Dazhou, and Luchuan, and was defeated by the general soldier Hou Liangzhu in the Taohong River of Tongchuan. After escaping back to Guanzhong, he partnered with Gao Chuang in July, and was later exterminated by Sun Chuanting, the governor of Shaanxi.

After the death of the shake yellow, the rest is still called shake the yellow, and the number of shares is very large, and it cannot be counted. There are about thirteen famous people who have a large share. They are Yuan Tao, the king of heaven, Bai Jiaolong, the king of heaven, Zhang Xian, the king of neatness, Wang Gao, Wang Guangxing (Note 1), Xing 100,000 Hu Jiusi, Liu Weiming, Wang Youjin, the king of food, Liang Shizheng, Huang Harrier, Jing Keqin, Ma Chao, Yang Bingyin, Chen Lin and so on.

The local tyrants gather and scatter, and sometimes several or even a dozen families go out together to attack Dayi, a county in our state; Sometimes they are divided into small groups of more than a dozen people, wandering around and robbing. ITS LEADERS ARE CALLED ZHANG PANZI, THE SECOND IS CALLED THE LEADING SENTRY, THE PEOPLE ARE CALLED HAIRY DOGS, AND THE PEOPLE ARE CALLED AUNTS, ALL OF WHOM ARE BORN FROM BORING POOR, XIA, DESERTERS, THIEVES, LOCAL HEROES, ETC., WHICH CANNOT BE DESCRIBED IN DETAIL; Among the minions at the bottom, there are old thieves and habitual bandits, as well as coerced people. After a long time of inquiries from his subordinates, the size of his troops was really unknown. But what is certain is that its equipment is much better than that of the Niujiaozhai bandits, with armor and bows and arrows. As for firearms and horses, there are some, but there are not many of them. ”

"The main source of intelligence of the Intelligence Bureau in northern Sichuan is Zhuangzi of the royal palace in Boryeong Province. He Yongnian heard the important news, so he would send someone to deliver it quickly. He Youyi added.

The Zhuangzi of the palace in Baoning Mansion is the He Jiazhuang dedicated by He Youyi's family. Zhu Pingjin smiled and nodded: "Thank you for your hard work, Mr. He." Bazhou, one state and two counties, have all fallen, and the officers and troops are afraid to attack. Now Langzhong is the front line! Protecting the country and the people is the purpose of the armies of our royal palace. Mr. He lives in Boryeong Mansion, I don't know what to do with these local tyrants? ”

He Youyi bowed his head and said in disgrace, and then said: "The minister is vain, please forgive the son!" ”

"Advice, what is the sin of the position of a gentleman?"

"The minister thinks that the local tyrant must not only suppress, but also sleepy! The local tyrant had his back to Daba Mountain and Micang Mountain, and if he was slightly unfavorable, he retreated into thousands of mountains and ravines, and even if he had a large army of 100,000, he could not surround it. Moreover, the back road of the local tyrants is open, backed by Shaanxi, and the county governments of Chenggu, Zhenba, Hanzhong, Xixiang, and Xing'an have long been looted by thieves......"

"Map!" Zhu Pingjin commanded.

Hong Qixin heard Shizi's order, walked quickly to the north partition wall of the office, and opened the two satin curtains on the wall, revealing a framed map of Shudi. This picture was found by Zhu Pingjin in the archives of the Dusi Yamen after spending a lot of effort and silver. Because it has been stored for too long, many places have become moldy and black. But in this way, Zhu Pingjin still regards it as a treasure, and intends to use it as a blueprint for revision and reproduction.

He Youyi is very familiar with the office of the prince. He walked over to the bookcase, picked up a bamboo stick from the corner next to the bookcase, then walked to the map and used the stick to draw a line from left to right on the top of the map (Note 2).

"From Guangyuan to the state, there are mountains behind it. Mt. Seomicang, Mt. Dongdaba. To the north of the mountain is Hanzhong and Xing'an (now Ankang City), and to the south of the mountain is Sichuan.

There are many ancient roads in the mountains that connect Han Shu: from Guangyuan out of Chaotianguan, Qipanguan into Mian County (MIAN, now Mian County), Ningqiang Prefecture (now Ningqiang County), Hanzhong, this is the way of the stone ox into the Sichuan, so it is called the Golden Bull Road. From Nanjiang County, the dam patrol division entered Xixiang; From Tongjiang County, Mengba, Yangquan Mountain, two patrol divisions into Dingyuan, Zhenba. These several roads over Mt. Rice Warehouse are collectively referred to as Rice Warehouse Road. From Dazhou, Kaixian out of Taiping County, Dongxiang, can enter Xixiang, Xing'an, this is the Qinba ancient road, also known as Yangba Road.

This number of passes, Chaotianguan, Qipan, Ningqiang all the way, there are my Sichuan Army Chuanbei Town (also known as Guangyuan Town), Lizhou Wei and Qin Army to defend; Dazhou, Taiping, Xing'an Road, the existing Chu army Mo Chongwen Department guarded. Only the Nanjiang River and Tongjiang Road in the middle have all fallen, and the thieves will come and go without hindrance!

Since the sixth year of Chongzhen, Shaanxi thieves have repeatedly entered and exited Hanzhong and attacked our Shu land. In Chongzhen's seventh year, the thieves invaded Hanzhong and were trapped in the plank road, Chen Qiyu accepted bribes from the thieves, let the thieves go, and missed the golden opportunity. Therefore, the minister thought that the danger of Bashan had been shared with me. Han and Shu are interdependent, and blessings and misfortunes are shared. Hanzhong is restless for a day, and my Shu is restless for a day; If Hanzhong is lost, it will be difficult for me to protect Shudi! ”

Hanzhong is the territory of King Duan, Zhu Pingjin can't interfere at will, but He Youyi repeatedly emphasized the importance of Hanzhong, what does he want to explain? The story of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong trapped in the carriage gorge, Zhu Pingjian's previous life was also read in a famous mainstream. At that time, there were few books, and it would be nice to have books to read, where would you screen whether it was nonsense or not.

"The meaning of Mr. lies in the defense of the main, in the defense of the offense." Zhu Pingjin stood up and expressed his opinion.

He walked to the map, took the bamboo stick from He Youyi's hand, and clicked a few times on the names of several cities on the map from left to right.

"We attacked the Yao loess thieves, and in the face of thousands of miles of mountains and attacks, we won but gained nothing, and the defeat left endless disasters. So the first thing is to hold on to several big cities: Guangyuan, Bazhou, and Dazhou, and occupy the first line of defense! Only then can we gradually forge ahead, recapture the counties and passes of Nanjiang and Tongjiang, and slowly trap the thieves in the mountains, so that they will be starved of food, and if there is no food, the soldiers will scatter. Or press it back to Shaanxi and leave it for the future! ”

Zhu Pingjian's views are completely in line with He Youyi's intentions.

"The son of the world is unparalleled! This is the meaning of Weichen! He Youyi lost no time in complimenting, "Guangyuan, Bazhou, Dazhou, and Kuizhou cities are connected by avenues, and the thieves entered Sichuan last year, which is the way they took." Therefore, the occupation of this line is not only necessary to defend against the local tyrants in the north, but also to defend against the enemy from the east! ”

Zhu Pingjian's bamboo stick focuses on the name of Bazhou: "Bazhou must be taken back!" Otherwise, this first line of defense will be interrupted in the middle! Not only that, but the local rioters will also move south from the gap in Bazhou and harass our Baizhang Pass (now Wangcang County), Cangxi, Langzhong, Nannan, Yilong, Yingshan, and Quzhou Zhuzhou County Pass. Thousands of miles of embankment, collapse in the anthill, Bazhou is the deadly anthill! ”

"This is where the ministers dare to argue!" He Youyi suddenly knelt down. Liu Mingsheng and the others next to him were dumbfounded, and they didn't know why he was.

"Why is Mr. He like this?" Zhu Pingjin hurriedly helped He Youyi up, "Is this son a faint monarch who doesn't listen to his loyalty?" "The king of Shu is the feudal monarch of Shu, so Zhu Pingjin can call himself the king.

After some politeness, the two sat down again.

He Youyi said: "The minister knows that the prince thinks of thousands of people in Shu and is bent on suppressing the thieves in the north of Sichuan. However, this is not the best time!

One is that our caravan has few major generals and is poorly equipped. Although the local tyrant has a soil character, it cannot be compared with the bandits of Niujiaozhai. Many of the thieves have served as officials and soldiers, and they have been fighting reckless men for a long time, and they have been licking blood for many years. And our caravan was built not long ago, and there was no major battle formation, although it was practiced every day, after all, the battle formation was negligent. Rushing into battle, the odds of victory are still inconclusive!

Second, Bazhou is far away, thousands of miles away, and the supply of grain and grass is very difficult. At present, the price of grain in Boryeong Province has risen to 3421 stone, and the army has come out, making it extremely difficult for the local government to purchase grain. If there is no food, the minister is worried about this military discipline......

The three officers and soldiers gathered here a lot. Those officers and soldiers can't suppress thieves, but they are good at disturbing the people. The minister is worried that once the two sides clash, it will ruin the plan of the world!

On the other hand, in the areas of Luzhou, Xufu, and Jiading in southern Sichuan, they were either poisoned by thieves or attacked and harassed by chaotic people. The slaughter of the gentry in Luzhou, the dilapidation of the two guards of Luzhou and Hunan (Note 1), the displacement of the people, and the basil of the fields are all over the field, which is the perfect time to vigorously expand the Wangzhuang Wangdian. Therefore, the minister asked the prince to transfer to the south of Sichuan and lay out the Yangtze River! If so, from the provincial capital to Meizhou, Qiongzhou, Yazhou, Jiading, Xuzhou, Luzhou, Chongqing, along the Min River to the Yangtze River. Half of the rivers and mountains of Shu are all in my hub! ”

He Youyi was very far-sighted. The chief of staff selected by Zhu Pingjin is very capable, which is one of the reasons why Zhu Pingjin reuses him. He not only knows the geography of Sichuan's mountains and rivers well, but also has a clearer grasp of the layout of the overall pattern. Zhu Pingjin knew that at present, southern Sichuan, especially Luzhou, where the whole city was slaughtered, is just like Renshou County at the beginning of the year, which is a vacuum area for government forces. The rapid layout of southern Sichuan can achieve low-cost entry and strategic bottom-taking. Moreover, Zhu Pingjin also knew that southern Sichuan was the base of the Ming Dynasty to resist Zhang Xianzhong and the Qing army in history. Relying on southern Sichuan and even Guizhou, Yunnan and Guizhou behind it, the Ming army fought tenaciously until the Kangxi period before finally defeating.

Zhu Pingjin stood in front of the map, weighing the two directions of northern and southern Sichuan. He pondered for a long time before he spoke.

"Boryeong, the land of Mr. Honga. He Youyi's proposal to defend the north and attack the south is well understood, which is respectable and lamentable! The matter of southern Sichuan still needs to be discussed!

However, the bandits in Nanba have always been a big trouble for my Shu people! Baoning Mansion is an important town in northern Sichuan, with eight counties in two states and countless people, and it is a place that cannot be abandoned, and must not be allowed to run rampant by local tyrants! If we can't attack militarily, we will defend it; If we can't keep a line, we will keep a point; If a county town can't be defended, we will guard a town and a Zhuangzi! In short, we must be prepared in advance and smash a solid iron nail in Boryeong Province in advance. Preset elite soldiers, hoard grain and grass, and use it as a base for us to enter and suppress bandits in the future! It's best to fight the tyrants, accumulate some combat experience, and let those soldiers see blood! Mr. He, first of all, tell me about your Zhuangzi. ”

When Zhu Pingjin said this, he issued a decision to the General Staff to fight. He Youyi understood that the prince had adopted his advice and determined that the main direction of the future expansion of the palace would be the line of the Yangtze River in southern Sichuan. Shizi also made it clear that the reason why he insisted on using troops in Baoning Mansion in northern Sichuan had the meaning of laying out in advance, but there were mainly two things:

The first is military training and training of generals.

The second is to politically compete with local governments for the hearts and minds of the people.