Xinye, Cao Ying's official residence.

Jia Kui had already taken Pang Tong down to rest, and Cao Ying looked around at everyone: "Do you think this Pang Tong Pang Shiyuan is worth trusting?" ”

"My lord, don't trust this hillbilly." Before Cheng Yu could answer, the general Cao Hong said, "This guy claims to be Jingxiang Qishi, but Hong thinks it's just that, and the plan he offers may not really help the lord to win Jingzhou. ”

Cao Ying asked Cheng Yu, "What does Zhongde think?" ”

Cheng Yu said: "Yu thinks that this Pang Tong doesn't seem to be playing tricks. ”

Cao Ying nodded, and suddenly shouted, "Where is Zhang Liao?" ”

Outside the hall, the general Zhang Liao turned out, and responded with a fist: "The last general." ”

Cao Ying said: "Quickly pick up five hundred elite soldiers and go to Xiangyang with Gu." ”

"Yes."

Zhang Liao suddenly agreed to the promise and took the order to leave.

Cao Ying said to Cheng Yu and Liu Ye again: "Zhongde and Ziyang can act separately. ”

"Command."

Cheng Yu and Liu Ye clenched their fists and walked away.

……

Emperor Jian'an of the Han Dynasty in the spring of 198.

Ma Yue took Gao Shun as the general to lead 20,000 troops out of Hanzhong to camp, and soon after the camp, the 20,000 troops were dispersed, and secretly returned to Guanzhong in the form of a small unit, and ordered the partial general to still lead the 20,000 troops to Hanzhong to join Gao Shun, and so on more than ten times, and in the autumn of that year, it caused more than 200,000 troops to gather in Nanzheng.

Gao Shun sent a large number of meticulous workers and scouts to spy on the terrain and military situation of Xichuan day after night, and sent people into Xichuan to spread the news vigorously, threatening to attack Xichuan before winter.

The situation in Xichuan suddenly became treacherous, and the mountain rain was about to come, and the wind was full of buildings.

When the news reached Chengdu, Yizhou Mu Liu Zhang was greatly frightened, and urgently summoned the military generals to discuss countermeasures.

Here it is necessary to briefly introduce the situation of the Shimokawa sergeant clan.

During the Zhongping period, Ma Xiang and Zhao Yi led the people to revolt, and Ren Qi and Jia Long of the Sichuan sergeant clan recruited private soldiers to suppress the uprising in order to protect themselves, and then welcomed Liu Yan into Sichuan, with the support of Ren Qi and Jia Long, Liu Yan quickly gained a firm foothold in Xichuan, but the good times did not last long, and with the continuous expansion of Ren Qi and Jia Long's power, it gradually posed a serious threat to Liu Yan's status.

Of course, Liu Yan was unwilling to become a puppet at the mercy of the Sichuan Sergeant Clan, so he thought of using the "Dongzhou Shi" to counter the Sichuan Sergeant Clan.

So what is a "Dongshu taxi"?

The so-called "Dongzhou Shi" is actually the collective name of the Sichuan people for the foreign scholars.

Liu Yan brought a group of capable people to take up his post when he entered Sichuan, among which the more famous ones were Wu Yi (Wu Yi's sister in the official history first married Liu Yan's second son, and then married Liu Bei as the queen), Pang Xi, Zhao Wei, Dong Fu, Xu Jing, etc., and later because of the war in the eastern part of the country for many years, hundreds of thousands of displaced people poured into Xichuan one after another, and there were also some talents among these displaced people, the more famous ones were Deng Zhi, Dong He, Wu Ban, etc.

Since following Liu Yan into Sichuan, the "Dongzhou Shi" has been squeezed out and suppressed by the Sichuan sergeant clan headed by Ren Qi and Jia Long, so when Liu Yan and the Sichuan sergeant clan had a conflict, they unswervingly stood on Liu Yan's side. Relying on the strong support of the "Dongzhou Shi", Liu Yan successfully dismantled the forced palace of the Sichuan sergeant clan, brutally suppressed the rebellion of Ren Qi and Jia Long, and almost slaughtered the famous and powerful clans in Sichuan at that time.

However, it is a pity that Liu Yan is not a very scheming and skillful male lord in nature, his ability can only be regarded as average, and after eliminating the threat of the Sichuan sergeant clan, he soon made the same mistake, that is, he let Dong Fu and Zhao Wei, the representatives of the "Dongzhou Shi", sit big.

Although Dong Fu and Zhao Wei are called "Dongzhou Shi", they are actually authentic Sichuan people, and the two used their Sichuan identity to successfully integrate the remnants of the Sichuan sergeant clan, and finally formed a new Sichuan sergeant clan group.

To paraphrase a modern term, the revolutionary achievements of Dongzhou Shi were stolen by the two conservatives, Dong Fu and Zhao Wei.

However, it should be pointed out that there is a difference between the emerging Sichuan sergeant clan represented by Dong Fu and Zhao Wei and the native Sichuan sergeant clan.

After Liu Yan's death, Liu Zhang succeeded to the throne, and the Sichuan sergeant clan formed three distinct scholar groups, namely the Xinxing Sichuan sergeant clan, the indigenous Sichuan sergeant clan and the "Dongzhou sergeant".

For the time being, the Xinxing Sichuan sergeant clan has absolute military and political power.

Dong Fu has a heavy army, almost all the Xichuan magistrates are from Dong Fu and Zhao Wei, and the "Dongzhou Shi" has some military power, such as Wu Yi, who also holds heavy troops. Comparatively speaking, the situation of the indigenous Sichuan sergeant clan is the most miserable, the aboriginal sergeant clan in central Sichuan led by Zhang Song, Fei Shi, and Wang Lei only hold some non-critical idle positions, and the Sichuan generals led by Zhang Ren and Yan Yan are also far away from the core of the army, and there are only two or three thousand men and horses at most.

Chengdu, the hall of the state pastoral government.

Liu Zhang looked around at the Chinese martial arts in the hall, his eyes showed panic, and asked: "Today, the horse butcher is wrapped in more than 200,000 people to commit crimes, what can I do?" ”

General Wu Yi came out and said: "The lord should panic, the horse butcher coerced 200,000 troops to attack, in fact, there is no need to worry, our army only needs to send elite soldiers to strangle Jiameng Pass, Sword Pavilion danger, and let the general Tun soldiers Zitong in the center to respond, the Liang army has been unable to overcome for a long time, and it is difficult to receive grain and grass, so it will naturally retreat." ”

Dong Fu also said: "What Ziyuan said is extremely true, before that, Zhang Xiu, a fierce general under the command of the horse butcher and the Taishou of Hanzhong, had raised troops to attack Jiameng Pass several times, and in the end, didn't they all return with feathers? Although the horse butcher gathered an army of 200,000 this time, he was still afraid that he would not be allowed to enter in the end, so the lord did not have to worry. ”

Liu Zhang wiped the cold sweat on his forehead with his sleeve, and said in a trembling voice: "Then...... Who can guard the Jiameng Pass and the Sword Pavilion? ”

"The last will go!"

"The last will go!"

Liu Zhang's voice fell, and the fierce generals Yan Yan and Zhang Ren in Sichuan were listed one after another.

Liu Zhang said: "In this way, Zhang Ren can lead 3,000 troops to guard Jiameng Pass, and Yan Yan can lead 3,000 troops to guard the Sword Pavilion." ”

Zhang Ren and Yan Yan said: "The last general will take the order." ”

Liu Zhang said to Wu Yi and Dong Fu: "Ziyuan (Wu Yi's table) can lead 30,000 troops to garrison Zitong, and Yuan Zhu (Dong Fu's table) can lead 100,000 troops to garrison Langzhong, and respond in the center." ”

Dong Fu and Wu Yi hugged their fists and said, "Take the order." ”

……

That night, Yizhou engaged in Zhang Song's mansion, and Shu County Mayor Shi Feishi and Wang Lei came to visit.

Zhang Song, Fei Shi, and Wang Lei are all Sichuan people, and they can be described as the leading figures of the indigenous Sichuan sergeant clan, but due to the double suppression of the emerging Sichuan sergeant clan and the "Dongzhou sergeant", the indigenous Sichuan sergeant clan is struggling, and Zhang Song, who has outstanding ability, is only in the position, which can be described as humble.

In the side hall, Zhang Songzheng sat across the case with Fei Shi and Wang Lei.

Fei Shi said: "The horse butcher has gathered more than 200,000 troops in Hanzhong this time, which can be described as menacing!" Dong Fu and Wu Yi have heavy troops, but one is hiding in Langzhong, and the other is shrinking in Zitong, although Zhang Ren and Yan Yan are famous generals in Sichuan, they only have 3,000 men and horses, but they are afraid that it will be difficult to block the soldiers of the Liang army. ”

"yes." Wang Lei said with emotion, "Usually, I only see Wu Yi, Dong Fu and others as powerful and invincible, but now the soldiers of the Liang Army are all shrunken turtles, and they push our Sichuan people to the front line to be shields, and they don't treat us Sichuan people as people." ”

"Shhhhh......h ”

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

Fei Shi and Wang Lei were taken aback when they heard this, and lost their voices: "As Yongnian expected, the Xichuan army is far away in Zitong and Langzhong, and it is too late to return to defense in a hurry, and it is likely that the Liang army will take advantage of the weakness to capture Chengdu!" ”

"Not a possibility, but a certainty!" Zhang Song said, "From the Yinping Trail in the middle of the river, from Jiangyou to Fucheng, through Mianzhu and Guanghan, there is no natural danger to defend along the way, and there are no heavy troops to guard the city along the way, and the horse butcher only needs to send 3,000 elite soldiers to destroy the city and pull out the village, and approach Chengdu!" ”

Fei Shi said: "In this way, you can quickly know the lord, and send elite soldiers to guard the Yinping Trail as soon as possible." ”

"Wait." Zhang Song shook his hand and said, "Zishu (Fei Shibiao characters, apocryphal) can't!" ”

"Huh?" Wang Ti lost his voice and said, "What does Yongnian want?" ”

Zhang Song said: "I intend to dedicate Xichuan to the prime minister, what do you two think?" ”

"Huh!?" Fei Shi hurriedly said, "Yongnian's words are wrong! The policy pursued by the horse butcher in Guanzhong can be described as a great rebellion, and the lowly merchants and commoners are no different from the scholars of our generation, which is simply blaspheming the ancient teachings of the saints, betraying the etiquette and transgressing the system, the horse butcher is so perverse, forgetting his ancestors, how can we be in the same stream with it? ”

Zhang Song didn't argue, but asked coldly: "Then do you two still want to continue to be people with their tails between their legs under Dong Fu, Zhao Wei, Wu Yi and others?" When will the interests that belong to our Sergeant Sichuan people be recaptured? When will our warriors in Sichuan really master the military power in Sichuan, and when will we really control their own destiny? ”

"This ......"

Wang tired, Fei Shi said.

Zhang Song lightly patted the table case, and said in a condensed voice: "I have drawn a topographic map of Xichuan, not to mention that I am going to Luoyang with this map, to explain the interests to the prime minister, if the prime minister promises to safeguard the interests of the Han sergeant clan, and does not impose the new policy implemented by Guanzhong on Xichuan, he will present it with a map, and then do his best to help him enter Xichuan!" ”

Wang Lei said: "What if the horse butcher doesn't obey? ”

Zhang Song's eyes showed a cold light, and he said in a deep voice: "Then report the plan of the Liang army to the lord, and suggest that the lord punish an elite army to guard the Yinping path to thwart the conspiracy of the horse butcher!" ”

"Good!" Wang Lei said in a deep voice, "Since the day of Yongnian's departure from Sichuan, it is limited to March, and there is no news back within March. ”

"Hmm." Zhang Song nodded and said, "After I leave Xichuan, Zishu and Zifu (Wang Lei's words, apocryphal) can secretly connect with Wang Ping, Zhang Ren, and Yan Yan and other Sichuan generals, and prepare in advance to welcome the Liang army into Sichuan!" ”

Wang Lei said: "Yongnian rest assured, Zijun (Wang Ping) is a younger brother of the lower clan, and the two generals Zhang Ren and Yan Yan are also old generals promoted by Ren Gong and Jia Gong when they were in power, as long as they tell them that it is to maintain the interests of the Sichuan Sergeant clan and to avenge Ren Gong and Jia Gong, they will definitely support it." ”

"That's very good." Zhang Song said, "Without further ado, I will leave for Luoyang tomorrow." ”

Fei Shi and Wang Lei clasped their fists and said: "Brother Yongnian cherishes." ”

……

Xiangyang, Jingzhou, the state pastor's mansion, Liu Biao is setting up a banquet to entertain the Jingxiang clan, and Cao Ying also attended as a distinguished guest.

After three rounds of drinking, Liu Biao suddenly got up and shouted: "I have a word, and you will listen to it." ”

The noise in the hall gradually subsided, and everyone's eyes focused on Liu Biao.

Liu Biao looked around the hall and said loudly: "Gu is old and frail, although he wants to be diligent in political affairs, he has more than enough heart but not enough strength, the second son is young, talented and reckless, not enough to take on the big responsibility, now Gu intends to give Jingzhou to Cao Gong, and implore Cao Gong to guard Jingzhou, I don't know what you think?" ”

There was a dead silence in the hall.

Except for Han Xuan and a few other people who knew Liu Biao's intentions, almost all the Jingxiang clans present were deeply surprised.

Although they also intend to welcome Cao Ying as the new lord of Jingzhou, all this is still only in the gestation stage, and there is no real surname at all, Cai, Huang, Wang, and Han have not even really passed the voice, so naturally they never imagined that Liu Biao would say this at today's banquet.

In a hurry, no one dared to be sure whether Liu Biao's words were sincere, or just a temptation, and all the Jingxiang clans in the hall looked at each other, and no one dared to express their position easily.

In the suffocating dead silence, Cao Ying suddenly stood up and waved at Liu Biao, and said very sincerely: "I am poor to vote, thanks to Liu Jingzhou's refusal to give up, and entrusted with the Xinye County Order, I am really grateful, how dare I think of such a part?" ”

Liu Biao said: "Cao Gong's ability is ten times better than Biao, there is no need to shirk." ”

Cao Ying hurriedly said: "If Liu Jingzhou insists on going his own way, he can only go elsewhere." ”

"Cao Gong is worried that he is trying to be alone?" A smile suddenly flashed across Liu Biao's face, and he suddenly shouted, "Where are the left and right?" ”

Liu Biao solemnly placed the letter and the festival on the case, and then said to Cao Ying: "Today, the letter and the festival are here, and Cao Gong invites me to take a seat." ”

"My lord!" Liu Biao's voice fell, and suddenly a small official took two steps forward and knelt down under the hall, and cried with a pause, "Jingzhou's foundation was created by the lord, how can it be lightly related to others?" If the lord insists on going his own way, the subordinate can only kill the lower echelons to show his heart. ”

"Why do you need to kill the steps?" Liu Biao's face showed a cold and solemn expression, and he shouted, "Where are the left and right guards?" Quickly push out this ignorant man...... Behead for public display! ”

"Yes!"

There were already two wolf-like armor soldiers who rushed into the hall, set up the little official and left, the little official struggled hard, looked up to the sky and howled: "Lord, the lower officials don't look blind to death, they don't look blind to death......

In less than a moment, the armor soldier returned to the hall with the bloody head of the little official.

The Jingxiang clan in the hall never thought that Liu Biao really killed this little official, and they were all awe-inspiring, and no one dared to dissuade Liu Biao from giving up Jingzhou for a while, Cao Ying's eyes couldn't help but have a trace of clarity, if it wasn't for Pang Tong's breakthrough in advance, he was almost deceived by Liu Biao's death.

Liu Biao looked around the crowd murderously and shouted: "Whoever persuades the orphan again, this little official will be the end." ”

Cai Mao took a deep breath, suddenly came out of the queue and waved at Cao Ying, and said loudly: "I respectfully ask Cao Gongmu to guard Jingzhou." ”

Huang Chengyan, Wang Cang, Han Xuan, and others also came out one after another, echoing in unison: "I respectfully ask Cao Gongmu to guard Jingzhou." ”

Since the four major clans have already expressed their position, the rest of the Jingxiang clans are vying to follow suit, and they have come out to ask Cao Ying to take over Jingzhou, Liu Biao watched coldly, with a cold expression, these wall grasses finally said what they really thought in their hearts, since you are unkind first, then stop blaming loneliness and injustice later!

Suddenly, the corners of Liu Biao's mouth had a trace of hideous murderous intent.

"Dang!"

A crisp sound of gold and iron suddenly sounded in the hall.

When everyone heard this, they saw the son Liu Qi turn out from behind the screen, Liu Qi was holding a double sword, his face was full of murderous anger, he glanced around at the Jingxiang clan in the hall, and shouted: "In vain, my father treats you so kindly, I don't want you to wait for the villain to be treacherous, and he wants to accept Cao Ying and betray his father, it is unbearable to be familiar with it, come here!" ”

"Drink!"

As soon as Liu Qi's shouting fell, a burst of thunderous shouts suddenly sounded outside the hall, almost shattering everyone's eardrums.

When everyone looked back hurriedly, they saw that a group of wild men with scattered hair and animal skins had already rushed in from outside the hall, and the first wild man was particularly large, more than a foot long, with eyes like copper bells, skin like coals, holding a heavy and heavy iron thistle bone, and the thing hanging from his neck was actually a bone chain made of human skulls!

This savage is none other than the son of the old king of Wuling, Sha Tuo, and the new king Shamoke.

Seeing Shamoke's fierce and vicious appearance, Cao Ying, who was as well-informed as Cao Ying, couldn't help but gasp.

Liu Qi waved his hand and shouted: "It's all tied up with this son!" ”

"Drink!"

Shamoke responded violently, and with a wave of his hand, dozens of savages behind him swarmed up, knocking the Jingxiang clan in the hall to the ground.

Although Cai Mao was Liu's cousin-in-law's brother, he was not fortunate enough to be famous, so he said angrily to Liu Qi at that time: "Liu Qi, are you crazy? How dare you be so rude! ”

"Crazy?" Liu Qi said coldly, "My son is not crazy, you are crazy!" ”

"You!" Cai Mao was furious and said to Liu Biao, "Lord, what's going on? Why not stop Childe right away? ”

"No need." Liu Biao's face suddenly flashed with a trace of hideous murderous intent, and he said coldly, "The meaning of the son is the meaning of loneliness." ”

"Huh? Is it the meaning of the lord? Cai Mao, Huang Chengyan, Wang Cang and others were suddenly taken aback, and lost their voices, "But just now it was obvious that the lord himself wanted to give up Jingzhou ......."

"Ugh." Cao Ying, who had not said a word, suddenly sighed, and looked around at Cai Mao, Huang Chengyan and others, "Haven't you seen it yet, today's feast is clearly the Hongmen banquet designed by Liu Jingzhou in advance. ”

"Huh?" Cai Mao, Huang Chengyan, Wang Cang and others urgently asked Liu Biao, "Why is this lord?" ”

Liu Biao said coldly: "If you want to abandon Lonely, why can't Lone kill Lone?" ”

"Liu Biao, are you crazy?" Cai Mao shouted angrily, "If it wasn't for a certain back then, how would a scholar become the lord of Jingzhou?" I also married my sister to you, but I didn't expect you to take revenge today, I am really blind, and I will serve you as an ungrateful villain! ”

"Horn!"

Cai Mao's voice fell, and Liu Qi's strong slap had already slapped Cai Mao's face hard, Liu Qi pointed at Cai Mao's nose and scolded: "It's you who are ungrateful!" ”

"Liu Biao, Piff!" Jiangxia Taishou Huang Zu struggled twice without breaking free, and couldn't help scolding, "Even if you can kill Lao Tzu today, your Liu family will not end well, Lao Tzu's son Huang Jie will lead the Jiangxia army to kill Ben Xiangyang to avenge Lao Tzu, hahaha." ”

"Lone in Xiangyang waiting for your son to take revenge." Liu Biaoyin smiled and shouted, "Push them all out...... Owl Head! ”

[Digression: If the current Liu Biao had the external environment when Liu Yan entered Yizhou, would the integration of the Jingxiangshi forces be successful?] Everyone is welcome to discuss. ]

……

Luoyang, Xiangfu.

Zhang Song gave Ma Yue a long sway, and sang respectfully: "In the next Zhang Song, I am engaged in Yizhou, see the prime minister." ”

"Yizhou Zhang Song?"

Jia Xu's face on the side changed slightly, and he stepped forward and whispered in Ma Yue's ear.

Ma Yue hurriedly took two steps forward to help Zhang Song up, and said overjoyedly: "Sir, please get up quickly." ”

"Prime Minister Xie."

Seeing Ma Yue treating him so politely, Zhang Song showed a slight smug look on his face, bowed to the table again, and sat across the table from Ma Yue.

Ma Yue said: "Mr. came to Luoyang from Xichuan thousands of miles away, but I don't know what to see?" ”

Zhang Song stretched out his hand and touched the short beard under his chin, and said: "The prime minister thinks that there is no one in Sichuan, but he can't see through the plan of the prime minister's voice?" ”

Ma Yue pretended to be puzzled and said, "Why did Mr. say this? ”

Zhang Song said: "The prime minister wants to use suspicious tactics to attract the army in central Sichuan to the front line of Zitong and Langzhong, but secretly he will send the elite soldiers out of the Yinping Trail to take advantage of the weakness to smash Chengdu, yes or no?" ”

Ma Yue was shocked and said, "How did Mr. know?" ”

Zhang Song said: "Just ask the prime minister yes or no?" ”

Ma Yue said: "Sure enough. ”

Zhang Song said: "Isn't the prime minister afraid that Liu Yizhou will send an elite army to choke the Yinping Trail?" The elite soldiers condemned by the prime minister can't advance, can't retreat, and have no place to bury themselves for fear of death! ”

"Lonely and small." Ma Yue exchanged in a cold sweat and said to Jia Xu, "Wenhe, General Gan Ning can be recalled from Chang'an to Luoyang as soon as possible, and the surprise attack on Xichuan can be suspended." ”

"The prime minister doesn't have to be so nervous." Seeing that Ma Yue was so nervous, Zhang Song was very useful in his heart, and raised his hand to stop him, "Although there is no shortage of celebrities in Sichuan, there are few people who can see through the plan of the prime minister's voice to attack the west, and even if there are those who know through it, they may not be willing to be used by Liu Zhang." ”

"Oh?" Ma Yue said, "I would like to hear about it." ”

Zhang Song said: "Liu Zhang is cowardly, Pang Xi and Zhao Wei monopolize power and do nonsense, the Sichuan sergeant clan is full of complaints, and the people are miserable, looking forward to the prime minister becoming the ruler of Xichuan...... It's been a long time. ”

Ma Yue said: "Lone also intends to benefit Xichuan, but Shu Road is difficult and cannot be entered. ”

Zhang Song solemnly took out a scroll of silk from his sleeve and said to Ma Yue: "I have tasted all over Xichuan, and I have drawn a topographic map of Xichuan by hand, and now I intend to dedicate it to the prime minister and help the prime minister to enter Xichuan, but ......."

Ma Yue hurriedly retracted his half-stretched hands, and said solemnly: "Sir, it doesn't hurt to say it." ”

Zhang Song said solemnly: "I need the prime minister to make an oath, after entering Sichuan, he should put the interests of the Sichuan people first, and never impose the new policy pursued by Guanzhong on the people of the Sichuan sergeant clan, I don't know if it is possible?" ”

Ma Yue hesitated when he heard this: "This ......"

Zhang Song saw Ma Yue's hesitation, and said: "If the prime minister is willing to make an oath, he can persuade the famous generals in Sichuan, Zhang Ren and Yan Yan, to turn against each other, let go of Jiameng Pass and Sword Pavilion, and welcome the prime minister's army into Sichuan!" ”

"Oh?"

Ma Yue's heart pounded when he heard this.

Since the conquest of Hanzhong, the Liang army's intelligence collection of Xichuan has become frequent, and Ma Yue has also heard of the famous generals Zhang Ren and Yan Yan in Sichuan many times. Hanzhong Taishou Zhang Xiu raised troops to attack Jiameng Pass several times, wanting to clear the way for Ma Yue's army to enter Sichuan in the future, but in the end he was defeated by Zhang Ren's men several times.

Zhang Renneng has defeated Zhang Xiu several times, which shows his ability!

……

(To be continued)