In 211 A.D., in March of the sixteenth year of Jian'an, the ten departments of Guanzhong were all opposed.

The Mahan clique in Guanzhong and Liangzhou was essentially a loose alliance of ten warlords of different sizes, who did not have a close relationship with each other.

These ten warlords were headed by the partial general Ma Chao and the Zhenxi general Han Sui, and the remaining eight were Hou Xuan, Cheng Yin, Yang Qiu, Li Kan, Zhang Heng, Liang Xing, Cheng Yi, and Ma Wan.

Among the ten departments, Ma Chao and Han Sui are the most powerful, and each of them has nearly 20,000 troops under their hands. The small and medium-sized warlords such as Hou Xuan commanded as few as 5,000 troops and as many as nearly 10,000.

The 10 alliances had a combined force of about 80,000 troops, known as 100,000 to the outside world, and arrived at the front line of Tongguan at the end of March and early April, hoping to keep Cao's army under the banner of the imperial court from the east of Tongguan.

This is the information on the situation in Guanzhong that Liu Bei has just received, and everyone is staring at the situation map of Guanzhong on the map, and their eyebrows are full of excitement.

Liu Bei said excitedly: "Ma Chao is heroic, comparable to Lu Bu of the year, with 100,000 soldiers to rebel, the momentum is huge, I expect Cao Ying will personally lead the main force of the Central Plains to the west, this battle for Guanzhong, the two sides are evenly matched, will fight for several years, we just take advantage of this opportunity, we can calmly take Shu." ”

Fang Shao was not as optimistic as Liu Bei, and said: "Although Ma Chao is strong, his martial arts strategy is still inferior to Cao Ying, and although the Guanzhong army is known as 100,000, it is divided into ten parts, and there are many suspicions between each other. ”

Pang Tong pointed to Guanzhong and said: "Guanzhong is the land of four stops, with Qinling Mountains in the south, Longshan Mountain in the west, Meridian Mountains in the north, and Tongguan and the Yellow River in the east. Although the princes of Guanzhong are not monolithic, as long as they can hold the line of the Yellow River in Tongguan, although Cao's army is strong, it is useless, and it will not be a problem to drag it out for two or three years. ”

Zhuge Liang said with a smile: "What Shi Yuan said is reasonable, but Shi Yuan should not forget that entering the customs from the Central Plains is not just a route." ”

There are actually three routes from the Central Plains to the pass, and the middle road runs along the flat road and enters through Tongguan. The north road goes out of the east of the river, and the Yellow River can also be crossed from Pubanjin to the west. The south road is to go down to Wancheng first, detour to Wuguan and Lantian, and then detour into Guanzhong.

Pang Tong sneered and said, "How could I not know." Among the three roads in the customs, the south road is too far, and it is difficult to walk with twists and turns, and it is inconvenient to transport grain, so Cao Ying will not go. If he wants to come up with a strange plan, he will definitely choose Pubanjin on the north road to smuggle across the Yellow River. However, these two roads can be selected in the customs, as long as Ma Chao and Han Sui are not stupid enough to have no brains, they will definitely divide an army to defend Pubanjin, then Cao Ying will not be able to smuggle out, only choose the middle road to attack Tongguan, with the risk of Tongguan, they will not spend a few years to blame. ”

Pang Tong defined the Battle of Guanzhong as a "protracted war" from a military point of view, Zhuge Liang could only laugh and say nothing, of course he had no reason to refute Pang Tong, because he could not say that Ma Chao and Han Sui were two brainless straw bale princes.

Fang Shao said: "In fact, no matter how long the battle of Guanzhong can last, the pace of our Shu must be fast, the faster Yizhou is taken, the more time we can win to appease the people, and the more time we have to rest and recuperate, and then we can take Hanzhong before Cao Ying, and once Hanzhong is won, Yizhou will be as stable as a rock, and the initiative of attack or defense will be in my hands." ”

Liu Bei nodded and said, "What Zhongzheng said is good. Now that the princes of Guanzhong have rebelled, Cao Ying will not lead his troops westward, and you should also hurry up and prepare, I think the time for us to enter Sichuan is just around the corner. ”

The rebellion of the warlords in Guanzhong hastened the preparations for Jingzhou, and all civil and military officials and naval infantry troops have quietly entered the established positions in accordance with the prior deployment.

At the end of June, when the time entered the middle of summer, the spies sent to Xudu finally brought back the news that everyone had been waiting for for a long time, Cao Ying left his son Cao Pi to guard Yecheng, and Xu Xuan to guard Xudu, and led an army of 70,000 to the west into Tongguan, and the battle for Guanzhong officially began.

Five days later, Liu Bei also set off with 10,000 horses and entered Sichuan at the invitation of Liu Zhang, the pastor of Yizhou.

After nearly five months, Fang Shao finally embarked on the road to Shu again, a few months ago, he was a messenger in his identity, and his task was to fool Liu Zhang and explore the reality in Shu. This time, a few months later, he was acting as a strategist to help Liu Bei realize the second step that Zhuge Liang had in mind to cross Jing Yi.

As soon as Liu Beijun entered the Shu realm, the Yizhou officials from all over the way received an order from Chengdu to entertain them, so these 10,000 horses walked along the road, and they unceremoniously enjoyed a feeling of being at home. Eat and drink all the way, first arrive in Jiangzhou smoothly, and then go north from Fushui to Fucheng north of Chengdu.

Liu Bei's route into Shu was previously negotiated with Liu Zhang, and the 10,000 men and horses did not go directly to Chengdu, but went to Fucheng in the north along the mountain road, on the one hand, because Liu Bei's mission to enter Shu was to be invited to fight Zhang Lu in the north, on the other hand, it may also be that Liu Zhang was influenced by his subordinates and took certain precautions, and did not dare to let Liu Bei directly lead troops into Chengdu.

After the smooth arrival of Fucheng, it is already the end of July, Fucheng is not more remote than the eastern part of Sichuan, here is located in the Chengdu Plain, very rich, after the arrival of the guest army in Jingzhou, the local officials of Fucheng are full of wine and meat, Liu Bei then gave the wine and meat to the whole army to comfort the hardships of the march. These 10,000 Jingzhou soldiers seemed to have entered heaven, eating and drinking all day long, waiting for Liu Zhang, the generous owner of Yizhou, to comfort them personally.

In the south of Fucheng, in the big tent of the Chinese army, Liu Bei was staring at the map of Yizhou on the screen and pondering, and the soldiers outside the tent were drinking, but his mood was very uneasy.

After a short time, Pang Tong, Fa Zheng and Fang Shao entered one after another, Liu Bei's frowning brows immediately relaxed, and asked with a smile: "How is the morale of the soldiers?" ”

Pang Tong smiled and said: "The wine and meat in Shu are really more delicious, the soldiers are full of food and drink, and their morale is booming. ”

Fa Zheng also said: "I heard that these wine and meat were sent by Liu Zhang from Chengdu, it seems that Zhang Ziqiao coaxed Liu Zhang to believe it, if the soldiers like to eat, when they come to Chengdu, there is an inexhaustible supply of wine and meat for them to enjoy." ”

The two of them were excited, but Liu Bei looked worried.

Fang Shao knew what he was thinking, so he said: "The lord doesn't think that Liu Zhang treats us so well, but the lord wants to take away his family business, and he can't go away in his heart." ”

Liu Bei sighed and said, "That's right." You have also seen Liu Jiyu's courtesy along the way, he is so gracious, how can I bear to do it. ”

The three of them glanced at each other, and Fa Zheng said first: "The lord doesn't have to be moved by Liu Zhang's little favor, he offers a little wine and meat, nothing more than wanting the lord to shed blood and sacrifice for him, he Liu Zhang just wants to use the lord, since what he values is only the word 'profit', why should the lord carry that senseless burden." ”

Liu Bei's expression seemed to look a little better.

At this time, Pang Tong said again: "Fang Cai has received a secret report from Zhang Ziqiao, saying that Liu Zhang is going to come to Fucheng to greet the lord in person, and then we can take the opportunity to capture Liu Zhang according to the predetermined plan, and then use it as a hostage to kill Chengdu in one fell swoop. ”

Liu Bei thought for a while and said: "Now that we have arrived in Shudi, the kindness has not been established, and the people's hearts have not been attached, so I will immediately take Yizhou with strange tricks, but I am afraid that the people of Yizhou will regard me as an unkind and unrighteous person, and they will not be attached to it." ”

Pang Tong waved his hand and said disapprerovitically: "The lord is too worried, when Liu Zhang is here, they are all ordinary scattered sand, each taking care of their own affairs, once Liu Zhang is finished, how can they resist again." As for the hearts of the people and the like, after taking Yizhou, it is not too late to buy it slowly. ”

Fa Zheng followed: "What Shiyuan Junshi said is extremely true, as long as the lord can protect the interests of the scholars and let the people live and work in peace and contentment after receiving Yizhou, then the people's hearts will naturally be attached, which is the benevolence of the king." And if you want to do the benevolence of a king, you can't stick to the righteousness of mortals. ”

Under the persuasion of these two heavyweights, the tendon in Liu Bei's brain gradually began to loosen.

At this time, Fang Shao also appeared on the stage, and persuaded in a serious voice: "My lord, the current situation is actually very different from the time of Xuzhou, at that time, there was no name and no power, and the only capital was to do the way of benevolence and righteousness, but after all, it was still no match for Cao Ying's deceit. And now the lord sits in Jingzhou, the soldiers are strong and strong, and the talents are abundant, not only there is "benevolence", but also "strength", with "strength" to attack the city and plunder the land, with "benevolence" to calm the people and raise soldiers, is it not the same when Gaozu took the world? If the lord thinks that this is wrong, it means that what Gao Zu did is also wrong, and in this way, the lord has become a great rebel and unfilial person! ”

Fang Shao's trick is called Gao Ming, what are the three emperors and five emperors, the five hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period, that is all false, he is now moving out of the Han Gaozu Liu Bang, and clearly telling Liu Bei, if you only blindly believe in "benevolence and righteousness" and deny deceit, then you are blatantly denying what your ancestors did, which is a great rebellion.

Fang Shao's words were really effective, only Liu Bei was shocked and shocked when he heard it, and hurriedly said: "Gaozu hangs the people and kills crimes, and opens up my Han dynasty for four hundred years, so dare to be disrespectful to Gaozu." ”

Pang Tong glanced at Fang Shao with a whimsical smile in his eyes, which meant to say: Boy, you can do it, your eloquence is about to catch up with your teacher's sharp teeth.

Then he said: "In this case, then the lord does not need to hesitate anymore, for the sake of today's plan, let's just eat and drink well, arrange everything by the way, after the wine and meat are full, just sit and wait for Liu Zhang, the big fish, to come to the bait obediently." ”

Liu Bei stood up, paced back and forth in the tent, and after a long time, Fang said: "This matter should not be rushed, you can prepare first, as for whether to move or not when the time comes, let me think about it again." ”

(To be continued)