"What advantages?" As soon as Lu Su's words fell, Zhang Fei, who was the most anxious with the surname, had already rushed to ask.

"First of all, grain, which the states under the lord have received a lot this year. Even if Jingyang Jiao Sanzhou is relied on, the grain is enough to support the 300,000 Northern Expeditionary army for a year. A year later, the new grain was harvested. Moreover, our army's navy is sharp, and the transportation of grain is far faster and more convenient than that by land. In the same way, although Cao Ying has a large number of soldiers and horses, he is trapped in military rations, and he can't mobilize too many military horses at one time! Lu Su said carefully.

"I see!" Everyone is a connoisseur, and they know that when a large army is stationed, it is completely different from the consumption of grain and grass during battle, and the latter is consumed at least twice as fast as the former. At this time, Zhao Feng frowned and said: "Having said that, Cao Ying is strong, and if he wants to defeat him in one fell swoop, I'm afraid it's unrealistic, right?" ”

"Of course, the purpose of this Northern Expedition is only to seize the Central Plains, and it is best to drive Cao Ying back to Hebei and Guanzhong in one fell swoop!" Lu Su said carefully.

"Zijing can be said in detail!" Guan Yu motioned for Lu Su to speak in more detail. Lu Su didn't sell Guan Zi either, and said directly: "Our cavalry is not as good as Cao Ying, and the battle on the plains is very unfavorable. But our army's navy is sharp, but it is far better than Cao Ying. The more than 200,000 Cao troops in Yanzhou rely on Yanzhou to supply grain and grass alone, which is absolutely not enough, and it is necessary to mobilize grain and grass from Hebei and even Guanzhong. Therefore, once the war began, our army cut off the transportation of the Yellow River with the Jingxiang Water Division, so that Cao Ying could not replenish his army rations, and finally the army was confused, thus defeating it in one fell swoop! ”

"If I can occupy Yanzhou, plus the previous Qingzhou and Yuzhou, I can easily occupy the Central Plains. Moreover, Yanzhou is the place where Cao Ying made his fortune. If Yanzhou can be occupied, the blow to Cao Ying's military morale will be great. In addition, Yanzhou can produce horses, and occupying Yanzhou can also make up for the lack of war horses. Lu Su continued.

"That's great!" Everyone knows that among the three points that Lu Su said, the first two points are okay, and the third point is somewhat spoofed. Although Yanzhou and Qingzhou also produce horses in the Central Plains, Shandong horses are inferior to Liaodong horses and Bingzhou horses in terms of size and surname, which is really better than nothing.

I have to admit that although Zhao Feng took precautions to raise war horses, because there was no stable horse-producing area, the problem of war horses has always plagued Liu Bei. Being able to occupy Yanzhou is equivalent to being able to occupy the Central Plains horse-producing area, and this temptation is still very great. However, Zhao Feng, as a traverser, was really not satisfied with only achieving this achievement, and immediately admonished: "Lord, why not march into Xiliang, so as to obtain Xiliang Horse?" ”

"Xiliang?" Liu Bei was slightly stunned when he heard this, and at this time, Pang Tong on the side had already said: "If you want to enter Xiliang, you must march from Yizhou or Hanzhong." It's just that these two places are preliminary, and people's hearts are not stable, so it is not appropriate to use swords and soldiers. After a long discussion, we all feel that in this Northern Expedition, Yizhou does not need to send troops, only food! ”

Damn, do you want Lao Tzu to watch the play? Pang Tong's words made Zhao Feng very unhappy. Snorting lightly, Zhao Feng spoke: "Although Yizhou is preliminary, the 100,000 army can still be taken out. If you can take advantage of the fierce battle between the lord and Cao Ying in the Central Plains, Longxi and Guanzhong will inevitably be empty, if you can take this opportunity to pacify Xiliang in one fell swoop, wouldn't it be wonderful? ”

"There are only 100,000 Sichuan troops, I'm afraid it's not enough to compete with Han Sui Xiahou Yuan's generation!" Pang Tong groaned. Zhao Feng's brows furrowed a little when he heard this, Pang Tongyi likes to take risks, and acting so cautiously is not his style. After repeatedly looking for excuses, it seems that there is no other reason to exclude oneself from this Northern Expedition.

Although he knew that Pang Tong was making a lot of trouble now, but it was the first time that he had been provoked face-to-face like this, Zhao Feng frowned slightly, and was about to speak, but saw Jian Yong hurriedly walking in, his expression was very strange, and he still handed Liu Bei a letter.

"My lord, look at this letter." Jian Yong's words were full of disbelief. Liu Bei took it and just opened it to take a look, and his face changed slightly. After reading it in a hurry, Liu Bei was silent for a long time, and this time he handed it to Mi Zhu and said, "Zizhong, this is Zifang's letter!" ”

"What?" Mi Zhu was shocked when he heard this, and the hand that took the letter had begun to tremble, and after reading it with excitement, Mi Zhu also let out a sigh of relief, and then said: "Lord, this is indeed Zifang's handwriting." ”

"What are you talking about?" Zhang Fei's surname was the most anxious, and he hurriedly asked. Liu Bei shook his head, and then he spoke: "The letter was written by Zifang to Xianhe, he said that he knew that he was guilty and did not dare to write to Zizhong, so he could only speak through Xianhe." Zifang told me that Cao Ying was going to Liaodong to attack Yuan Tan immediately, and the Central Plains garrison was empty. He was appointed as the Taishou of Xuchang and was willing to offer Xuchang to assist our army in advancing the Central Plains! After the matter is completed, just ask me to surround his surname, and don't implicate the Mi family! ”

"What?" This time everyone was really surprised. Mi Fang's rebellion six years ago caused Liu Bei to suffer huge losses. Now he is ready to go anyway, and he still wants to offer the important town of Xuchang, this temptation is not small, and for a while, the entire conference hall was silent.

Xuchang was not only the former national capital, but also the main route from Yuzhou to Yanzhou. If you march into Yanzhou from Taishan County or Liang County, you need to cross Mount Tai or Woniu Mountain, and the difficulty of marching will be greatly increased, so since ancient times, there has been a saying that those who have won Xuchang have won the Central Plains. If Mi Fang can offer Xuchang, although there is still Xiangcheng between it and Runan, the city wall of Xiangcheng is low, and it is not difficult to fight.

Moreover, Cao Ying has just moved the capital for more than a year, if Xuchang is captured at this moment, then onlookers will naturally think that the reason why Cao Ying moved the capital is purely because he can't withstand Liu Bei, so he has to give up Xuchang. This is an immeasurable blow to Cao Jun's morale. But now the question also comes, that is, is Mi Fang's rebellion again this time true, or is it Cao Ying's plan to lure the enemy? No one dares to play this package ticket. If you make a mistake, you will be trapped in the Northern Expeditionary Army, and no one will dare to take this responsibility. After a while, everyone still looked at Liu Bei, waiting for him to make an idea.

Liu Bei's brows, which had been frowning tightly, suddenly stretched out. Everyone knew at a glance that Lao Liu had figured out something. Sure enough, Liu Bei opened his mouth and said: "I'm thinking, with Zifang's intelligence, even if he has the heart to offer Xuchang, can Cao Ying let him succeed?" ”

There is a way to think about the problem from a different angle, as soon as Liu Bei said this, everyone's heads suddenly became much clearer. Regardless of whether Mi Fang's surrender is true or not, even if he really has the heart to surrender, it is estimated that with his mediocre intelligence, he will be used by Cao Ying to make a fuss.

"Having said that, wouldn't it be better if we could take Xuchang in one fell swoop?" Pang Tong has an unusual enthusiasm for taking Xuchang, which is also the common wish of the Jingxiang people. Everyone couldn't help frowning when they heard this, and finally Zhao Feng spoke: "Lord, in fact, if you can take Yanzhou, then Xuchang will be a lonely city, and sooner or later it can be taken. ”

Liu Bei nodded, and suddenly saw Zhuge Liang shaking his feather fan, his expression was very leisurely, and he knew Zhuge Liang's ability to speak immediately: "Kong Ming, what do you have to do?" ”

"Lord, in fact, Mi Zifang's letter has revealed flaws!" Zhuge Liang smiled, his tone was very affirmative.

"Kong Ming, what are you talking about?" Pang Tong thought about it for a while, and also remembered something.

"Lord, look, Zifang said that Cao Ying was preparing to go on an expedition against Yuan Tan, so the garrison in the Central Plains was empty. However, Yuan Tan is entrenched in Liaodong, with less than 100,000 soldiers, and only the soldiers of Hebei are enough to defeat him, so why should Cao Ying go out in person? Zhuge Liang said confidently. When everyone heard this, they suddenly woke up.

"That's true, then Kong Ming, in your opinion, what should you do?" Hearing Zhuge Liang say this, Liu Bei's mind also became lively, and he hurriedly asked.

Cao Ying used this as bait, and he must have lured the lord's army to Xuchang. Xuchang is located in the plain, once the lord's lone army penetrates, Cao Ying can cut off the way back with cavalry, forcing the lord to fight with him. In that case, why don't we do the opposite? Taking advantage of Cao Ying's large army to gather in the Central Plains, Guanlong and Xiliang were empty, he first took the land of Xiliang in one fell swoop, and then when Cao Ying's army was short of food, he fought a decisive battle with him in Xuchang! Zhuge Liang said carefully.

"Good strategy!" Liu Bei was also thrilled when he heard this. At this time, Pang Tong frowned and said: "Having said that, how can you capture Guanlong and Xiliang in one fell swoop?" Moreover," Pang Tong also paused when he said this, and then spoke: "Xiliang is not under the rule of the lord, and the Ma family is extremely powerful there. Even if he takes Xiliang, he is only making wedding dresses for others in vain, and it is useless with our army! ”

Pang Tong's words are not unreasonable, Xiliang is different from other places, even if Liu Bei can pacify Xiliang in one fell swoop, most of the benefits can only go to Ma Teng. Moreover, Ma Chao's surname is unruly, and his prestige in Xiliang is extremely high, so it doesn't seem to be a good idea for him to occupy Xiliang.

Liu Bei couldn't help but hesitate a little when he heard this, but then he said firmly: "Brother Shoucheng and I are in the same edict to beg for thieves, and now that he is in trouble, how can I sit idly by?" Moreover, after taking Xiliang, even if Brother Shou Cheng can't help the war, it is always possible to contain the Cao army in Guanzhong! As soon as these words came out, Pang Tong was no longer able to persuade him.

"Besides, Zilong has already married Miss Ma Jia, and he can be regarded as Xiliang's son-in-law, so this matter can't be regarded as irrelevant to us!" Liu Bei said again, as soon as Zhao Feng heard this, he couldn't help but admire Liu Bei's political skills. At this time, Fa Zheng took the initiative to come out and said: "Lord, Fa Zheng is not talented, he has been in Guanlong for a long time, and he is willing to march into Xiliang for the lord's work." ”

When the scenery returns to his hometown, no one doesn't like it, and Fazheng is no exception. Although Liu Bei nodded with a smile when he heard this, his eyes still looked at Zhao Feng, his eyes were full of inquiry.

"Lord, if you get the help of filial piety, you will be able to pacify Xiliang as soon as possible!" Zhao Feng said without thinking. Today, unlike in the past, the current Xichuan has just been pacified, and the people's hearts have not yet been completely settled. Even if it is the Northern Expedition, Zhao Feng and Zhuge Liang, the two big leaders, cannot all be dispatched, and there must always be a place to stay to appease. With Fa Zheng's advice, then Zhuge Liang can free up his hands to be busy with logistics. Liu Bei was not surprised when he heard this, nodded and said: "That is the case, filial piety, you will go back to Xichuan with Bo Tao." and Meng Qi, immediately inform him to go with him! ”

Since Ma Chao did not officially defect to Liu Bei, he was not qualified to participate in this kind of big strategic meeting. Of course, with his IQ, it is estimated that even if he participated, he would not be able to say any useful advice. At this time, Liu Bei said: "I will immediately write a reply to Zifang, saying that I am about to wave my army north to Xuchang." After Bo Tao and Kong Ming returned to Xichuan, they immediately sent troops to Xiliang. After Meng Qi pacifies Xiliang, Cao Ying will inevitably move westward, and I will fight with Xuchang again! ”

"No!" Zhao Feng and Zhuge Liang hurriedly got up and answered. A few days later, Zhao Feng, who had met his wife and children in a hurry, returned to Xichuan with Zhuge Liang again. Those who went to Xichuan with them were Fa Zheng and Ma Chao.

(To be continued)