October of the first year of Xuande.

Since the end of the Tang Dynasty, the feudal towns have been divided, the sea has been divided, the heroes have risen together, attacked each other, and the Central Plains is still victorious!

It seems that every time there is trouble, it is a time of great religious prosperity.

A large number of people in the prime of life want to be "born", pouring into temples and Taoist halls, the number of Taoist monks has increased greatly, and temples and Taoist temples do not have to pay taxes, which will cause great damage to the national finances, and the number of Taoist monks and monks is too large, and most of them are not engaged in production activities, resulting in land famine and famine and other consequences, which will also affect the stability of the country and shake the foundation of the country.

In view of this, the emperor issued an edict that all provinces, prefectures, counties, towns, villages and squares should have monasteries, and everything is still the same, and those who have no quota should be abolished, and no monasteries should be created in the future, and it is strictly forbidden to become monks and nuns without permission.

At the time of the aftermath of the Central Plains catastrophe and the withering of the people's livelihood, China (the dynasty founded in the Central Plains) was short of money, and the edict banned the world's bronzes.

……

Chen Xu bought a mansion near the road that he had to pass every day on his way to the guard division, used it for discussion with his cronies, and ordered his own soldiers to guard it.

"The imperial court intends to map the land of Longxi in the west, and recover the four states of Qin Fengcheng that were seized by Shu during the turmoil in the (later) Jin (later) Han Central Plains, and the above will send me to fight this battle." Chen Xu sat on the main seat and asked, "Should we prepare for this in advance?" ”

"Big brother, we haven't been to Guanzhong, and we don't know anything about the terrain and terroir of Qinfeng and other states, so we really need to prepare." He Meng said solemnly.

"The second brother is right." Chen Xu nodded, he really needs to prepare, as the so-called knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent will not be defeated in a hundred battles.

"Huh." Chen Xu suddenly thought that Yuan Jizhong's father had served as the defense envoy of Jiezhou, so he should have some understanding, so he asked, "Jizhong, have you ever been in Jiezhou?" ”

Yuan Jizhong understood it at one point, and immediately reacted to what Chen Xu wanted to ask, and said with a somewhat embarrassed expression: "My father was the defense envoy of the Jin Dynasty, but I was only ten years old at that time, and I had been away for too long. Oh, by the way, there are some people of the same clan over there, but in the past ten years, there has been no contact between the two sides, I don't know if they have moved away, I'm afraid I won't be able to help the lord. ”

The idea was broken.

"The imperial court will not carry out a western expedition this year, otherwise when it arrives at Fengxiang in Guanzhong, it will enter the cold winter, and it is not suitable to start a war at all." Chen Xu explained to Xun at the beginning, "It is very likely that the imperial court will start a war against Shu in the spring of next year. ”

"In that case, we'll have a few months to prepare." Chen Xu continued.

"The lord is right, but now the imperial court has not yet issued a decree on whether to start a war against Shu after the spring of next year." Yuan Jizhong added on the side. Chen Xu has the heart to make contributions, and the subordinates who follow him are naturally happy and happy, but it is also the duty of the staff to remind the lord when he has not thought of it.

"Jizhong reminded me." Yuan Jizhong's words reminded Chen Xu.

The fact that the imperial court will start a war in the spring next year is just their speculation, and they have not received a clear official statement, if they run to Guanzhong in a hurry, if the time of the Western Expedition is not right, it happens that the imperial court will not be there at that time, where to find him? This really needs to be done.

"It's just that the Guards Division only knows that I was reassigned to the Hujie Army, but when will I go on the expedition, such a military event, the people of the Guards Division may not know, right?" Chen Xu groaned.

"My lord, I think that before taking leave from the Guards, it is better to ask someone who knows about this military affairs." Yuan Jizhong said, "Didn't the lord say last time that General Xiang Xun was recommended by Wang Xiang? Since His Majesty asked Wang Xiangxi about the candidates for the military generals, the approximate time is naturally understood. ”

"You're right, you can ask Prime Minister Wang first." Chen Xu said with a smile.

Things went well, and Wang Pu nodded in favor of Chen Xu's early preparations.

Wang Pu is the prime minister of the Wei Dynasty, and the candidates for the Western Expedition are all recommended by him, so he naturally knows everything about this kind of military aircraft, and since he nodded, he naturally doesn't need Chen Xu to worry anymore.

After receiving tacit consent, Chen Xu asked the guard department for leave in due time, saying that he had asked for leave to visit relatives in Guanzhong. This is naturally an excuse, there are no so-called relatives, and he has no relatives and no reason in this world.

Chen Xu took He Meng, Suo Hu, Yuan Jizhong, a group of four, out of Tokyo, through Xijing (Luoyang), Huazhou, Jingzhaofu (Chang'an), to Fengxiang.

Since the mid-to-late Tang Dynasty, the Guanzhong region (present-day Shaanxi) has become increasingly dry due to the reduction of vegetation and soil erosion, and the prosperity of the past is no longer there, and the status has been replaced by the Daliang Mansion in Tokyo.

Although Meng Chang, the current lord of Shu, is addicted to wine and abandons political affairs, he seems to have no intention of winning the Central Plains. It's just that Shu occupies the country of abundance, far away from the civil war in the Central Plains, has been peaceful for nearly 30 years, the country is rich, although the military is deserted, but strategically there is no small threat to the Wei Dynasty of the Central Plains.

Fengzhou, one of the four states of Qin Fengcheng, was in the north of Hanzhong, and Shu could enter Guanlong through Fengzhou, and then threaten the Wei forces in Guanzhong.

With four states in hand, Shu can be attacked and defended. The defense can be used as a strategic buffer zone in the core area in the future, and the attack can be used as a source of war against the Wei Dynasty. Although it seems that the lord of Shu is only interested in beauties at present, and has no intention of the Central Plains, but between countries, there is not so much to talk about.

The strategic goal of the Wei Dynasty this time was to recapture the four states and trap the Shu forces in the Sichuan Basin.

When they arrived at Fengxiang Mansion, Chen Xu and the four of them naturally went to visit Wang Jing, the current envoy of the host Fengxiang Festival, and were warmly received by Wang Jing.

Early in the morning of the second day, after settling down and visiting Wang Jing, Chen Xu and his entourage went out of Fengxiang non-stop, the purpose of this trip was not to play, but to collect geographical information about mountains and rivers.

The south of Fengxiang is the famous Chen Cang in later generations, "Ming Xiu Plank Road Darkness Chen Cang", it can be said that it has been passed down through the ages, and the west side of Chen Cang, called Sanguan.

Lu You's "Lou Boat Night Snow Guazhou Crossing, Iron Horse Autumn Wind Dasan Pass" in the Dasan Pass refers to this pass.

A few people went to Chencang first, and then rushed to Sanguan, and then Sanguan went forward, which was the territory of Shu. Therefore, the "tour guide" Fengxiang Shogunate sent by Wang Jing on the side reminded him: "The Sanguan is further ahead of the military control of the Shu State, and Chen Dulet should not risk going out of the Sanguan."

Chen Xu nodded and asked, "Wei Changshi, what we just walked through is Shu Dao?"

"Exactly." Wei Yuan replied, "The road we walked from Chencang to Sanguan belongs to Chencang Dao. ”

"Is there only one way to enter the Shu road from Sichuan and Shu to Guanzhong?" Chen Xu looked at the towering mountains on both sides in front of him, only the valley road in the middle was quite flat, and asked suspiciously.

Compared with the rookies who first arrived here, Wei Yuan, who was the shogunate of Fengxiang, should know more than them, so Chen Xu began to inquire about the local traffic situation.

"There is not only one Shu road from Shuzhong to Guanzhong, but Chencang Road is the smoothest and easiest road to walk." Wei Yuandao.

Chen Xu had heard that there were many Shu roads before, such as the more famous Meridian Road, Bao Slope Road, and Qishan Road, but for the later war, it was either too far around or not suitable.