Ma Yue said: "What's the matter? ”

Jia Xu said: "Liu Biao is dead, and the Jingxiang clan has already accepted Cao Ying as the new lord of Jingzhou!" ”

"What?" Ma Yue was taken aback when he heard this, and said in a lost voice, "Cao Ying entered Jingzhou so quickly? What's going on here? ”

Jia Xu said: "I don't know much about this, and I won't have any definite news until Ziyan comes." ”

While the two were talking, Fa Zheng and Li Su had also left the table under the pretext of coming to the back hall.

Ma Yue asked Li Su urgently: "Ziyan, what is going on?" ”

"My lord, here's the thing." Li Su sorted out his thoughts and said, "Since the Jingxiang clan urged Liu Biao to welcome Cao Ying to Jingzhou, Liu Biao has always suspected that the Jingxiang clan has the intention of welcoming Cao Ying as the new lord of Jingzhou, so he secretly made a series of plans to eradicate Cao Ying and the major Jingxiang clans. ”

Ma Yue said: "I didn't expect Liu Biao to have such determination? It doesn't seem to be a straw bale. ”

Li Su said: "For Liu Biao, not only the lord has lost his eyes, but I am afraid that even the Jingxiang clan, who is most familiar with him, has also looked away, in fact, for Liu Biao's scheme, the Jingxiang clan is not aware of it at all!" According to the news sent back by Xizuo, Liu Biao was betrayed before he fell short. ”

Ma Yue said: "What kind of arrangement did Liu Biao make? ”

Li Su said: "Liu Biao asked his eldest son Liu Qi to borrow 2,000 savage soldiers from Wuling Mountain in the name of Gongwei Xiangyang, and ordered his son Liu Pan to lead 5,000 elite soldiers from Changsha You County to move to the public security, and ordered his nephew Zhang Yun to secretly prepare to meet Liu Pan's 5,000 elite soldiers to cross the Yangtze River north at any time. ”

"After everything is ready, Liu Biao will hold a feast in the state pastor's mansion, feast all the scholars of Jingxiang and Cao Ying, wait for everyone to arrive, and then order the soldiers to control the whole city of Xiangyang, and wait until Cao Ying and the Jingxiang clan are all ambushed, Liu Pan's army can also rush to Xiangyang, and defeat the Jingzhou army under the command of Cai Mao, Wang Wei and Huang Zu in one fell swoop."

Jia Xu nodded and said: "This plan can be said to be arranged without leakage, if it is not leaked in advance, the possibility of success is very high." ”

Fa Zheng echoed: "That's true, once the Jingxiang clan is ambushed, Jingzhou's land and water army will be leaderless, and it will be easy to be divided and disintegrated by Liu Biao. ”

"But it's a pity." Li Su said, "Cao Ying actually knew Liu Biao's plan in advance, and secretly colluded with Cai Zhong, Cai and the army stationed outside Xiangyang City, Liu Biao didn't have time to do it, the two thousand soldiers in Xiangyang City were killed by the Jingzhou elite soldiers led by Wei Yan and Wen Ping, and the king Shamoke also died under Zhang Liao's gun, and Liu Biao's son Liu Pan, the army was ambushed and destroyed just after crossing the Yangtze River, and Liu Pan himself was beheaded by Jingzhou's fierce general Huang Zhong. ”

"Hey." Ma Yue struck the festival and said, "Cao Ying's guy is really hard!" ”

Li Su said: "My lord, now that Cao Ying has just entered Jingzhou, the situation is not peaceful, why not send troops to the south?" ”

"That's it." Ma Yue shook his hand and said, "Although the current situation in Jingzhou is not peaceful, when the army of the lone general is transferred to Nanyang from all over the country, and then the grain and grass are fully deployed, most of the time has already passed, and Cao Ying should have calmed down the situation in Jingzhou, not to mention that the army is already ready to enter Sichuan, how can it be stopped at will?" ”

"The lord is very worried." Fa Zheng echoed, "Liu Biao is dead, Cao Ying is in charge, and the situation in Jingzhou will inevitably be turbulent, but Cai, Huang, Wang, and Han are the four major gate valves who firmly control the land and water army in Jingzhou, and with the support of these four major gate valves, Cao Ying will soon be able to calm the situation in Jingzhou." ”

"Ugh." Jia Xu also said with regret, "It's just a pity that there is such a good opportunity, if you can prepare in advance, even if you can't take the entire Jingzhou this time, at least you can capture Xiangyang and win a water village for General Gan Ning's sailors, so that the chances of winning when conquering Sun Wu in the future will be greatly increased." ”

"There's no hurry." Ma Yue said in a deep voice, "As long as Xichuan can be successfully won this time, Jingzhou will be in the pocket sooner or later." ”

……

At the beginning of August of the eleventh year of Emperor Jian'an of the Han Dynasty (198), Ma Yue took Gan Ning as the main general, Chen Zhi and Meng Da as the deputy generals, and Fa Zheng as the military division, and led 10,000 elite sailors to smuggle through Yinping Xiaodao to attack Chengdu.

In late August, after more than half a month of arduous marching, after paying more than half of the casualties, Gan Ning's troops finally crossed the Yinping Trail, attacked the city without blood, and after a short rest in the city, they waved their troops and approached Chengdu.

At the beginning of September, after learning that Gan Ning's troops had successfully crossed the Yinping Trail, Ma Yue raised an army of 100,000 (in fact, only 30,000) out of Nanzheng to attack Xichuan, and under the response of the Sichuan generals Zhang Ren, Yan Yan and Wang Ping, the Xiliang army successfully passed through Jiameng Pass and Sword Pavilion. After leaving the Sword Pavilion, the Xiliang Iron Cavalry immediately divided into two routes, one was led by Ma Dai and Jia Xu, and the other was led by Ma Yue himself, and came straight to Langzhong.

In mid-September, the two Xiliang Iron Cavalry appeared at the same time under Zitong and Langzhong City.

At the end of September, Gan Ning led 5,000 elite soldiers to the city of Chengdu, Zhangzi Liu Xun and his ministers Pang Xi and Zhao Wei defended to the death, waiting for Dong Fu and Wu Yi to lead the division from Zitong and Langzhong to come to the rescue, Liu Zhang did not obey, and insisted on opening the city gate to surrender to the Liang army. Upon learning of Liu Zhang's surrender, Dong Fu, who was defending Langzhong, committed suicide, and the deputy generals Yang Huai and Gao Pei led the army to surrender.

In October, Wu Yi, the general of Zitong, led the army to surrender, and the Xiliang army pacified Xichuan without blood.

……

Xiangyang, Cao Ying's official residence.

Cao Yingzheng was talking secretly with Pang Tong, and Pang Tong pointed to the map and said: "My lord, please see, there are many plains in the north, and the Xiliang Iron Cavalry gallops vertically and horizontally, and the horse butcher coerces the Son of Heaven to order the princes, and our army cannot compete with it; Although Yuan Shao in the Central Plains is weak, the two prefectures of Yan and Henan are the places of the four wars, and they are in the midst of war and suffering, and the lord is prosperous and fashionable and difficult to keep for a long time, and it is not enough at this time; Although Sun Quan is young in the east, he is united, and the elite of the Eastern Wu naval army, Zhou Yu is not a handsome talent, and he is eager to make an alliance, so he can become an ally to fight against the horse butcher. ”

"Hmm."

Cao Ying listened and nodded repeatedly.

Pang Tong finally pointed to Xichuan and said in a deep voice: "Xichuan is fertile for thousands of miles, the people are rich, and Liu Zhang is weak and incompetent, and it is difficult to keep for a long time. ”

Cao Ying said: "But Lone heard that the horse butcher is crusading against Xichuan. ”

Pang Tong said: "This is the opportunity of the lord." ”

"Oh?" Cao Ying said, "How do you say this? ”

Pang Tong said: "The horse butcher implemented the so-called new policy in Guanzhong, selecting talents from merchants, woodcutters, farmers and even slaves and entrusting them with important tasks, which is contrary to the ancient system pursued since the Han Dynasty and the Han Dynasty, and is seriously weakening the system of levy, inspection, refuge, and lifting advocated by the Shi clan in the world, thus threatening the survival of the Shi clan, therefore, Pang can assert that the horse butcher will be fiercely opposed by the Xichuan Shi clan when he enters Sichuan. ”

Cao Ying said: "Shiyuan means ......"

Pang Tong said: "Why don't the lord lead the army into Sichuan in the name of supporting Liu Zhang, and then pretend to attack Yu Keye." ”

"False Dao Felling?" Cao Ying was happy to hear this, "Good plan! ”

"My lord." Cao Ying's voice fell, and Liu Ye hurriedly entered, saying, "Just now, Xizuo sent back an urgent report from Xichuan, saying that Liu Zhang had surrendered the city, and the horse butcher had pacified Xichuan. ”

"Huh?" When Cao Ying heard the news, he couldn't help but change color slightly, and exclaimed, "How is this possible? From the time calculation, the battle of Xichuan should have just begun, and the horse butcher's Xiliang army is only afraid that it is still attacking Jiameng Pass, how can it hit Chengdu so quickly and force Liu Zhang to surrender the city? ”

"There is a horse butcher's internal response in the Sichuan army, and the Liang army soldiers passed through Jiameng Pass and Sword Pavilion without bloodshed, and Wu Yi and Dong Fu's hundreds of thousands of Xichuan troops were directly surrounded in Zitong and Langzhong City!" Liu Ye said, "The horse butcher sent another surprise army from Yinping Xiaodao to attack Chengdu, and the Sichuan army was killed by surprise." ”

Cao Ying said awe-inspiringly: "I see. ”

Pang Tong's ugly face couldn't help but pass a trace of embarrassment, he was just saying that the horse butcher would be fiercely resisted by the Sichuan sergeant clan, but before he finished speaking, news came back that the horse butcher actually entered Sichuan easily under the response of the Xichuan Shi clan, which was undoubtedly a cruel denial for Pang Tong's ability.

Cao Ying obviously saw Pang Tong's embarrassment, and comforted: "Shiyuan doesn't have to worry about it, there are many factions and infighting in the middle of Sichuan, and it is not surprising that some people defect to help the horse butcher." ”

Pang Tong sorted out his thoughts for a moment and said to Cao Ying: "Lord, if Xichuan is owned by the horse butcher, the situation in Jingzhou is in danger. ”

Liu Ye said: "Why don't you take advantage of the fact that the Liang Army has a stable foothold in Xichuan to send troops to seize it." ”

"There's no chance anymore." Cao Ying sighed regretfully, "The horse butcher is in Xichuan now, even if the lonely relatives lead the army to fight, I am afraid that they will not be able to bargain, and if they are not good, they will be taken advantage of by the Xiliang army to seize Jingzhou, then the gains outweigh the losses, after all, the situation in Jingzhou has not been completely calmed, and there are still many variables." ”

"However, if the lord wants to plot against Xichuan, it is not without a chance." Pang Tong said, "If the unification is not bad, Zhou Yu is likely to make a move against Yuan Shao in the Central Plains in the spring of next year, if there is a change in the Central Plains, the strategic focus of the horse butcher is bound to shift to the east, and when the Liang army and the Wu army are inseparable in the Central Plains, the opportunity for the lord to seek Xichuan will come." ”

"There's no better way to do it right now, so it seems like we'll have to wait." Cao Ying nodded and said, "However, the top priority is to immediately send an envoy to Lujiang and sign an offensive and defensive alliance with Sun Quan. ”

Pang Tong said: "I want to go." ”

……

Chengdu, Zhang Song's Mansion.

Zhang Song, Fei Shi, and Wang Leizheng discussed the future distribution of power in Xichuan on behalf of the Xichuan Shi clan with Jia Xu and Fa Zheng.

Of course, Ma Yue is not suitable for such an occasion, if Ma Yue is present, it will make Jia Xu and Fa Zheng get in the way and make it difficult to play, so Ma Yuesuo threw this matter to Jia Xu and Fa Zheng, and he took Dian Wei and Ma Dai to explore the seclusion. After all, Ma Yue is a modern person, and he knows that Xichuan is a nest of beauties.

This time I finally entered Sichuan, so I naturally wanted to collect a few beauties to return to Luoyang.

In the secret room, Zhang Song, Fei Shi, and Wang Lei behaved like three businessmen, and Jia Xu and Fa Zheng also tried their best to see the moves, and the two sides asked for the price all over the sky, sat on the ground and bargained, and quarreled for a long time before each showed the final hole card.

"The 150,000 Sichuan army must leave Xichuan!" Jia Xu said in an unquestioning tone, "And the county guards of each county in Yizhou are only allowed to keep three thousand people, and other things are easy to discuss, but this one has no room for negotiation, and there is nothing to help below, I hope the three of them will not be too persistent." ”

"Okay." Zhang Song said helplessly, "But I should always know where these 150,000 Sichuan troops are going, right?" ”

"Of course this can." Jia Xu said, "As far as I know, the 150,000 Sichuan troops will go to Nanyang Tuntian, and those who are willing to go with them can go to Nanyang Tuntian with the army, but the three gentlemen must make it clear to the Sichuan soldiers and their families that the four- or six-component system used for Tuntian's income is far worse than staying in their hometown to live a rich life." ”

Fei Shi said: "Ba County has a vast territory and borders Jingzhou, and there are only 3,000 county soldiers, so I am afraid that it will be difficult to deal with Jingzhou soldiers." ”

Fa Zhengdao: "On this point, the three of them don't need to worry, the prime minister has already arranged, at that time, Zhang Xiu, the Taishou of Hanzhong, will be relocated to the Taishou of Bajun, General Zhang Xiu has 5,000 elite soldiers of the headquarters, plus 10,000 elite soldiers of the Han army of Zhang Wei, Yang Ren, and Yang Ang, it is more than enough to guard a small Yong'an City." ”

"Since the prime minister has made arrangements, then it is unfounded for me to wait." Zhang Song said this, and then said, "However, I also hope that the prime minister can keep his promise and not harm the interests of the Xichuan clan." ”

"What the prime minister promised is naturally that no one dares to break the contract." Jia Xu's eyes showed a cunning look, and he turned his tone and continued, "However, the prime minister only promised to protect the interests of the Xichuan scholars, and Dong Fu, Zhao Wei and others are all Dongzhou scholars, but the interests of Dongzhou scholars are not protected, this should not be difficult to understand, right?" ”

"This ......" Zhang Song frowned for a moment, and said with some displeasure, "The prime minister will inevitably be suspected of backsliding by doing this, right?" ”

Fei Shi and Wang Lei also said: "Ninety percent of the tenants and properties in Xichuan are concentrated in the hands of Dongzhou scholars such as Dong Fu and Zhao Wei, and these tenants and fields should have belonged to the Xichuan scholars, but since Liu Yan entered Sichuan, they were occupied by Dongzhou Shiqiang. ”

"It can't be helped." Jia Xu said, "At the beginning, the prime minister only promised to protect the interests of the Xichuan scholars, but did not say that he would protect the interests of the Dongzhou scholars. ”

Fei Shi said angrily: "Since the prime minister has this attitude, there is no need to talk about it anymore." ”

"Oh, don't worry, Lord Fei Shi." Fa Zheng hurriedly came out to play a round and said, "There is something to say, there is something to say, hehe." ”

After persuading Fei Shi, Fa Zheng said to Jia Xu again: "Military advisor, it's better to look like this, let's make a step to each other, and divide the tenants, fields, houses, house slaves and other properties of Dongzhou Shi into two, and each side accounts for fifty percent, how about it?" ”

"Nope." Jia Xu said categorically, "Three or seven points at most." ”

Zhang Song stretched out four fingers, gritted his teeth and said, "Four or six points!" ”

"Good!" Jia Xu clapped his hands and said, "Deal." ”

Fa Zheng quickly opened the Xichuan household registration and land statistics books placed on the desk, and said to Jia Xu, Zhang Song and others: "According to the register, Xichuan has a total of 200,000 households and more than 930,000 people, of course, this is only the registered population, the actual population of Xichuan is at least more than 5 million, that is to say, there are more than 4 million people who have not been registered, and these more than 4 million people have become the private tenant farmers of the Xichuan Shi clan, and they are also the main property of this 46 distribution. ”

"According to the four-six distribution agreement reached by the two sides, Xichuan needs to pay money and grain to the imperial court according to the capitation based on a population of 3.3 million.

[Digression: During the Three Kingdoms period, the population of Shu was not more than 900,000 as recorded in history, but at least 5 million, but the power of the Sichuan Shi clan lost control, and more than ninety percent of the population became private tenants of the Shi clan, and they were no longer counted, and there were only more than 900,000 taxpayers left who really belonged to the central government. ]

Zhang Song, Fei Shi, and Wang Lei said with bitter faces: "That's right. ”

"The three adults don't have to be so discouraged." Jia Xujian said with a smile, "As far as I know, the edict of the world will come down soon, Lord Zhang Song is about to ascend to the position of Yizhou Assassin History, and Fei Shi and Wang Lei are also about to ascend to Yizhou's high position, the three are about to be promoted, why not be happy?" ”

Zhang Song finally showed a smile on his face, and hugged his fists to the east and said: "Thanks to the promotion of the prime minister, Song and other qualifications are reckless, I am afraid it will be difficult to do it." ”

"Hehe, Yongnian doesn't have to be humble." Jia Xu patted Zhang Song's shoulder and said with a smile, "You can't do it?" I'm afraid that no one in the world can be qualified for the position of Yizhou Assassin. ”

……

Lujiang, Shu County.

When Sun Quan was reading the military book at the desk, he was suddenly alarmed by a sound of footsteps, and when he looked up, he saw Xu Shu stepping in, Sun Quan pushed the military book to the front of the case, and said to Xu Shu: "I heard that Cao Ying sent an envoy to come, but Yuan Zhi came here for this matter?" ”

Xu Shu arched his hand and said: "The lord is really like a god. ”

Sun Quan shook his hand and said, "Yuan Zhi doesn't have to make a lonely joke, did Cao Ying come to seek an alliance?" ”

Xu Shu said: "Exactly." ”

Sun Quan said: "Does Yuan Zhi think he should form an alliance with Cao Ying?" ”

Xu Shu said: "Yes." ”

"Huh." Sun Quan stroked his palms and smiled, "Just now, Gongjin also sent someone to send an urgent letter to persuade Gu to form an alliance with Cao Ying, but it is ridiculous that some people actually instigated Gu to take the opportunity to send troops to attack Jingzhou, which is really ignorant of current affairs, only Yuan Zhi and Gongjin can still keep a clear head, and can get the help of the two, it can be said that God will not abandon Lonely." ”

Xu Shu said: "The lord is serious, and he is ashamed. ”

Sun Quan said: "Yuan Zhi can quickly return to Cao Ying's envoy, and Gu promised to form an alliance." ”

Xu Shu said: "Lord, there is one more thing. ”

"What?"

"Cao Ying's envoy also revealed a piece of news, the horse butcher has no blood to pacify Xichuan, and now Jingzhou is under enemy on both sides, and the situation is very bad."

"Oh?" Sun Quan's eyes flashed, and he said in a condensed voice, "The horse butcher has pacified Xichuan?" ”

Xu Shu said: "That's right. ”

After Sun Quan suddenly walked back to the case, he spread out the military topographic map placed in the corner of the case with an uproar, and beckoned Xu Shu and said, "Come, Yuan Zhi come here." ”

When Xu Shu approached the case, Sun Quan pointed to the map and said: "Although the horse butcher has pacified Xichuan without blood, his Xiliang army is afraid that he will have to stay in Xichuan for a while, isn't this a good time for our army to seek Xuzhou?" ”

Xu Shu said happily: "This is exactly what Shu wants to say to the lord." ”

Sun Quan said: "I heard that Yuan Shao has not established an heir so far, and the three sons and one nephew are deceitful and intriguing for the position of the son, and the strategists and generals under Yuan Shao are also divided into four factions with clear barriers. ”

Xu Shu said: "Shu has an idea. ”

Sun Quan said: "Yuan is straight, but it doesn't hurt to say it. ”

Xu Shu said: "It is said that Yuan Shao is lustful, why didn't the lord choose ten Jiangdong beauties to present to Yuan Shao?" Yuan Shao is dead, three sons and one nephew will fight for the heir, Yuan Shao's territory may also be torn apart, so that the lord can not only achieve the purpose of Yuan to control Yuan, but also use the old Yuan to attack Xuzhou from the west, Xuzhou is a place where the lord can get at his fingertips. ”

"Good plan!" Sun Quan said, "If just ten Jiangdong beauties can be exchanged for Xuzhou's anointed land, and they can also disintegrate Yuan Shao, the lackey puppet of the horse butcher, why not?" ”

Xu Shu said: "Once Xuzhou is owned by the lord, our army will have the foundation of the Northern Expedition, and we will no longer be afraid of horse butchers!" ”

Sun Quan said: "Someone! ”

Outside the hall, Jia Hua turned out, hugged his fists and said, "What do you command?" ”

Sun Quan said: "Hurry up and send the horse to Chaisang, so that the metropolitan governor will come to Lujiang quickly, there must be no mistake!" ”

"Yes."

Jia Hua suddenly agreed and took the order.

(To be continued)