"The third difficulty to overcome, lord, we have no food, and now the recovery of Guanzhong requires the Xuchang front line to transport grain back, not to mention supporting the army to continue to march, go south to Jiangdong, and destroy Jiangdong, but we want a lot of food.

Whether we attack Cao Cao or Sun Quan now, we must increase taxes, which is called drying up and fishing, and Yueying does not approve of it. ”

Liu Zhang thought for a while, and said to Huang Yueying: "Yueying, I have considered all these difficulties you said, but Yueying should know that now the clans in the Central Plains and the north have fully supported Cao Cao, and it can be said that they are bankrupt to support Cao Jun."

Now Cao Jun is still forming new soldiers, and Cao Cao's strength is still at its lowest point, if we don't take the opportunity to attack, I'm afraid that Cao Cao will continue to sit big in the future.

There is also Jiangdong, we finally took Jianye, we can directly attack Jiangdong by land, fighters can be said to be difficult to find through the ages, if it drags on, we will not be able to keep Jianye this enclave, we can only retreat, and it will be difficult to find such a place. ”

"The lord is right, Jiangdong, the main thing is the navy, Cao Cao, now is the weakest time, on the surface, it seems that now whether it is Cao Cao and Sun Quan, they are very good fighters.

But Yueying felt that we had taken too many risks, first, we increased the collection of grain and grass, which was to overdraft the hearts of the people, and the second expedition to Jiangdong was actually to get a burden, and we had already carried a burden from Xuchang.

Yueying feels that sometimes taking a step back will definitely open the sky. ”

"Take a step back?" Liu Zhang was puzzled.

"Lord, the main advantage of attacking Jiangdong now is that we have a landing point in Jianye, and the main disadvantage is that the explosive power of the clan is very strong, right?

But Yueying felt that we didn't have to fight. It is possible to preserve the favorable conditions and remove the unfavorable conditions. ”

"What do you mean?" Liu Zhang asked.

"There is nothing else, negotiate, preserve our favorable conditions, and weaken the strength of the Koto clan. Sometimes war is not necessarily more effective than negotiation, my lord. ”

Huang Yueying solemnly said to Liu Zhang: "Yueying assures you that if the negotiation is carried out, the favorable conditions for retaining the favorable conditions cannot be reached and the unfavorable factors are removed, Yueying will lead the army to the east." Dangping Jiangdong. ”

"No guarantees, I trust you." Liu Zhang said: "What about Cao Cao? Now that Sima Yi has entered the Cao Army, I know that this person is an old fox and is very difficult to deal with. If Cao Jun recovers, he will still be in his hands. I'm afraid it's going to be a hassle. ”

Huang Yueying was strange again. Sima Yi is a bit famous in the world, but is the evaluation of "old fox" a bit excessive? However, he didn't care, and continued: "For Cao's army, we can only use all our forces to fight a decisive battle, so as to inflict heavy damage on Cao Cao again, and to destroy Cao Cao." It can't be done in one go, and Yueying doesn't think it's worth it. ”

Huang Yueying was silent for a while, and then said to Liu Zhang: "Does the lord remember what Yueying once said in Xiangyang?" Cast with iron, not afraid of ten thousand arrows piercing the heart. Contrarily. If you are made of mud, you don't need to be beaten by others, and you will scatter as soon as you shoot.

We now seem to have an absolute advantage over Cao Cao and Sun Quan, but we have too many weaknesses, insufficient food and grass, the people of Xuchang are unstable, and Guanzhong has not recovered.

Moreover, we have been using troops continuously for more than a year since the Battle of Yongliang, what army can continue to fight without resting?

We are now a huge clay figurine, which looks huge, but if we shake it slightly, there will be cracks and even complete collapse. ”

Huang Yueying paused for a moment and said: "Not long after Yuan Shao had just pacified Gongsun Zhan, he went south to fight Cao Cao, he was a clay figure, if he could stabilize Hebei and then go south, even if there was a big defeat in Guandu, it would never be swallowed by the little Cao Cao's snake."

But what did Yuan Shao do? rushed to attack, and finally Zhang Yan, Xian Yufu, Tian Yu, Yan Rou, how much were not completely pacified and the forces were attached to Cao Cao, without these people, could Cao Cao be so easy to level Hebei?

Now seems to be a good time to attack Cao Cao and Sun Quan, but Yueying feels that the real time for us is after a few years of cultivation.

As for Cao Cao, if we can, Yueying also thinks that it is good to attack now, but now Yanzhou has gathered more than 200,000 troops from Cao Cao, and all the elites in the north have gone south, we must destroy these 200,000 people, at least 200,000 of them.

For us now, this is very difficult, and it is to overdraft the people's hearts, delay the recovery of Guanzhong, and even drag the unstable burden of Xuchang.

But if we recuperate and Cao Cao is supported by the clan to develop, won't we develop? When Guanzhong is prosperous, we have the natural danger of Hangu Pass, and the Yangtze River water army, and under the people's will, the lord's territory is an iron wall for Cao Cao. Cao Cao is in no danger.

And the clan supports Cao Cao, can he support a Xiliang army? Can you support the world's first infantry? Cao Cao formed a new army, we don't fight with him, even if the training is diligent, it is still a new soldier, and it will be easy to crush them when the time comes.

And after the clan supports Cao Cao, I'm afraid Cao Cao will be the next Sun Quan, the clan will not only give grain, gold and silver, will they be so selfless and completely disregard themselves? No, even in the face of the lord, it will never be, this is the nature of the world, and it will never change.

The Race will gain power by their efforts, and never forget that the nature of the Race means that they will fight back. ”

"Take a step back and open the sky, my lord, Yueying's suggestion is to give up the war, recuperate, restore Guanzhong, and stabilize the people's livelihood, what we have to do now is to negotiate with Jiangdong, as for Cao Cao, who is supported by the clan, it seems to be in full swing, but in fact it is turbulent."

Liu Zhang was silent, thinking carefully about Huang Yueying's words, indeed, the Sichuan army has been fighting for a long time, although he also wants to crush it like this until he unifies the world, but it is obviously impossible.

The Sichuan army finally wants to rest, not to mention that it is very dangerous to crush it like this, and their opponents, Sima Yi, Guo Jia, and Lu Xun, are not easy to get along with.

It is indeed time for the Sichuan army to rest, at least those prisoners should be absorbed, and Guanzhong must also be restored, which is the lifeblood of the Han world, and Jing Yi's taxes can no longer continue to support the war.

Attack, endless troubles and hidden dangers, retreat, can make up for the rifts after countless battles, and cast the Sichuan army into an iron plate again. It's really a big sky.

However, at the peak of the convergence of the edge, Liu Zhang still felt a little awkward, and now Liu Zhang finally knows why those heroes in ancient times were always arrogant in their heyday, such as Xiang Yu in Xianyang, Liu Bang in Pengcheng, Yuan Shao in Guandu, Cao Cao in Chibi, and Liu Bei in Yiling. Fu Jian of the water.

But these people are gone.

Liu Zhang realized that he was also an ordinary person, and after a series of big victories, he was a little arrogant, ignoring the tired weakness of the Sichuan army. I want to swallow the world in one bite.

But fortunately, I have a good military advisor, and I am always so wise. Calm down.

Huang Yueying saw that Liu Zhang's expression was a little wrong. Apparently misunderstood, and my heart chuckled.

Huang Yueying didn't think about anything else at this time, the only thing that made her think was Liu Zhang's illness, maybe Liu Zhang really wanted to attack, because he wanted to see the day when the Sichuan army unified the world. Even if Huang Yueying knew that it was impossible, she still planned to obey Liu Zhang.

Just thinking that Liu Zhang still wanted to continue attacking in his heart, Huang Yueying hesitated and said, "Lord, if you insist on attacking." Yueying did her best. ”

Liu Zhang waved his hand: "Yueying, what do you mean when you just said that we have an iron wall against Cao Cao, and Cao Cao has no danger to us?" ”

Liu Zhang has already figured it out, even if he wins one after another, it is impossible to directly sweep the world, that is just his wishful thinking, war is not only determined by superficial strength, and now his own foundation can no longer support himself to fight.

It is necessary to re-accumulate grain and grass, and many contradictions and hidden dangers must be resolved.

Perhaps, as Huang Yueying said, a temporary truce, it would be better to have Zhang and Chi.

It's just that Liu Zhang didn't understand what Huang Yueying meant when he said that Cao Cao's attack on the Sichuan army was an impregnable wall, and the Sichuan army's attack on Cao Cao was a flat river. Now that he has occupied Xuchang, it is a flat river for Cao Jun, and defense is needed everywhere.

Huang Yueying frowned, raised her head and said, "Lord, Yueying suggests giving up Xuchang and withdrawing to Guanzhong." ”

"What?" Liu Zhang was surprised as soon as he heard Huang Yueying's words, Xuchang is the imperial capital, it is of great significance, and the prosperity is not comparable to Chengdu, withdraw to Guanzhong? Don't you want such a large piece of land from Xuchang to Hanguguan?

Huang Yueying said: "Lord, if we give up the battle against Cao Cao and take Xuchang, we will not have the slightest benefit, my lord, think about it, we occupy Xuchang, in order to prevent Cao Cao's sneak attack, how many places do we have to defend?" We need to defend on all sides, how many troops will we have to hold back?

Although Xuchang is prosperous now, once it becomes the front line of our confrontation with Cao Cao, it is impossible for us to develop the economy here, because it may be attacked at any time.

And this place in Xuchang has always been the heart of Cao Cao's rule, Cao Cao's lair, Cao Cao's power is deep-rooted, this is not only the family, these families must be against us, but are those cold families really good to us?

I dare to say that Cao Cao has been running Xuchang for so many years, and even the street vendors and innkeepers may be Cao Cao's meticulous work, in such a Longtan tiger's den, the lord is afraid that he will not sleep peacefully, and he will be spying on all kinds of information. ”

Liu Zhang nodded, it is true, a prince has been operating in his lair for a few years, and the power is absolutely intertwined, far worse than the other party's army can be shaken, not to mention Xuchang, it is now Chengdu, Liu Zhang believes that even if an army suddenly occupies Chengdu, it will be absolutely difficult to rule.

Huang Yueying continued: "If we withdraw from Xuchang and retreat to Guanzhong, we have several advantages, first, we can greatly speed up the construction of Guanzhong, and we can all move the population from Xuchang to Hangu Pass.

Now Guanzhong has ten rooms and nine emptiness, and the population is much smaller than that of a county in Yizhou, if there is a population supplement from Xuchang to Hanguguan, the population of Guanzhong can be restored immediately, and these people are not homeless people.

If these people are relocated to Guanzhong, even if many of them are Cao Cao's meticulous works, they will all be scattered by us, and after the re-registration and registration, the threat will be greatly reduced.

In addition, when we retreat to Guanzhong, we only need to defend a few checkpoints from Hangu Pass to Qingni Pass, which can greatly reduce the number of defensive troops, and it will be easier for us to rest and recuperate, and use more resources to restore Guanzhong and hoard combat readiness. ”

Liu Zhang thought about Huang Yueying's words, Xuchang was a quagmire, a very deep quagmire, and Huang Yueying was now going to pull out the iron hooves of the Sichuan army from this quagmire and retreat to a clean Guanzhong.

Liu Zhang suddenly thought of the chicken ribs that Cao Cao said in history, the food is tasteless, and it is a pity to abandon it, now Xuchang is not like this, the geographical location here is too unfavorable to the Sichuan army, just like the Kaifeng of the Great Song Dynasty, it is simply a consumption basin of strength, only passively beaten.

But do you want to return such a large territory to Cao Cao for nothing?

Liu Zhang was a little reluctant, but he suddenly realized, I am afraid that what Huang Yueying thinks in his heart is afraid that Cao Cao will not come to occupy it.

After the Sichuan army retreated from Xuchang, since the population was moved, would there be anything left? I'm afraid that there will be nothing left, and if the Cao army comes to occupy it, not only will it not be beneficial, but the form will be reversed immediately.

The Sichuan army occupied Xuchang, the Sichuan army was attacked on all sides, and the army was pinned down on the front line.

Isn't it the same when Cao's army occupied Xuchang? The Sichuan army from Hangu Pass, Qingni Pass, Fancheng, no matter which direction to send troops, can go straight to Xuchang, even if it can't be defeated, it will consume the Cao army.

It is conceivable that if the Cao army really occupies it back, how many troops will need to be put in Xuchang, and only Xuchang, and other places will be attacked as well.

If the Cao army wants to occupy Xuchang, under the continuous harassment of the Sichuan army, I am afraid that even if he has the support of the clan, he will not be able to recover.

"Sure enough, it's a step back and the sea and the sky, Yueying has retreated very much, but she wants to move to Guanzhong, will the family of Xuchang agree?"

Huang Yueying took a sip of tea and stopped talking, but from this action, Liu Zhang already knew what Huang Yueying was going to say.

It's not that he didn't want to kill Xuchang's clan, but he killed people for no reason, which was contrary to his original intention, and the previous massacres were all for a reason, and Liu Zhang didn't want to kill all the way.

Even if they knew that the Xuchang clan was against the yin and the yang, they did support the new policy on the surface, and they killed them for no reason, which made no sense.

The most important thing is that there are really too many Xuchang clans, originally Xuchang was only a small city in Yuzhou, but after Cao Cao made Xuchang the capital, the city expanded several times, and dozens of big clans moved their main forces here.

Each family has thousands of children, and the Sichuan army captured Xuchang too quickly, and there were no less than 50,000 people in Xuchang, and more people were implicated in the world.

With such a big deal, it is really a bit difficult for Liu Zhang to make a decisive move. (To be continued......)