After Cao Pi left Xudu, Cao Chong was also preparing to go to Qingzhou to serve as the assassin. Cao Wei's political situation was relatively stable, and the world also entered a period of stability, and all the princes began to stick to their homeland and recuperate, and the world had a tendency to return to peace. People of insight in the world know that this is the calm before the storm, and after the princes of all walks of life have recuperated, there will be even greater slaughter.

On a high mountain near Jianning County in Nanzhong, Sun Quan summoned Lü Meng to discuss the strategic direction of Sun's army in the future.

"Ziming, what have those heroes in Jianning County done recently?" Sun Quan was eating wild fruits in the cave and asked Lü Meng.

Since Sun Quan retreated from Guilin to Nanzhong, Sun Quan has become a veritable king of the mountain. The Haoqiang of Jianning County are all wary of Sun Quan, and many Haoqiang want to deal with Sun Quan, but because Sun Quan still has 30,000 troops and a large number of baggage in his hands, Haoqiang is afraid.

After Sun Quan retreated to Nanzhong, he was stationed on a large mountain near Jianning County. Sun Quan changed the name of the mountain to Wuyue Mountain, and the highest part of the mountain peak was Goujian Ridge to warn himself of the shame of losing Jiangdong. The Han heroes of the Southern Barbarians were afraid that Sun Quan would change the name of the mountain and concentrate on the army. He repeatedly sent a letter to Yizhou Mu Liu Zhang, hoping that Liu Zhang would send troops to exterminate Sun Quan, but Liu Zhang never responded.

"Back to the lord, recently Jianning's Yonghong, Gao Ding and Zhu Bao are all hunting rare animals outside the city, ready to sacrifice to Liu Zhang. I heard that as long as someone can catch the strange thing, Jianning County is willing to buy it at a high price. Lu Meng arched his hand and returned to Sun Quan.

"Ziming, what do you mean by Jianning County's recent actions?"

"My lord, according to the opinion of my subordinates. This is a bluff by Jianning County, mainly to remind our army that they are still subordinates of Yizhou Mu Liu Zhang, and they should not send troops easily, otherwise Yizhou Mu will not sit idly by. Lu Meng speculated that this was a farce made by Jianning County in order to protect itself, after all, the 30,000 soldiers in Sun Quan's hands made Jianning's Haoqiang quite fearful.

"Remind me of the army? Hmph, as long as our army forms an alliance with the Southern Barbarian King, Jianning County is in my Sun Quan's pocket, how can Liu Zhang control it? Sun Quan smiled slightly, he had already sent someone to ask Meng Fa, the king of the Southern Barbarians, for marriage. As long as you marry the king of the Southern Barbarians. Jianning is in his own bag.

"By the way, Ziming, do you think this marriage will be successful?" Sun Quan thought of his rude sister-in-law, and the first pain was severe. This sister of mine is Sun Xiaomei. That is, Sun Shangxiang in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Sun Xiaomei has been favored by Sun Jian and Mrs. Wu since she was a child. Heaven is not afraid of the earth. Even Sun Quan didn't pay attention to it. Especially in this marriage, Sun Xiaomei let out her words, and she can go to see the son of the Southern Barbarian King. If it doesn't suit your heart, forget it, and you can marry if you agree with your heart. If Sun Quan forces herself, Sun Xiaomei will not guarantee to do anything out of the ordinary.

Something out of the ordinary! Hearing these five words, Sun Quan's head became bigger, and Sun Xiaomei's out-of-the-ordinary things often brought big trouble to Sun Quan. So Sun Quan sent Lu Xun as an envoy, looking at Sun Xiaomei, if Sun Xiaomei is unwilling to marry, forget it, you can see if there are suitable children among the Nanban, and you can also take a wife for yourself. The little sister can't get married, so she can try it herself.

"Don't worry, Bo Yan is the head of the Lu family, he can inherit the head of the family at a young age, his strength cannot be underestimated, and most of the governors were also optimistic about Bo Yan during his lifetime." Lu Meng smiled, Lu Xun's resourcefulness is not under him, if he can't even solve a marriage, then he is not Jiangdong Junjie.

"Well, Gongjin has made a good start for us in Guilin County, and we must seize the opportunity to expand our forces in Nanzhong, and compete with Cao Cao again." Sun Quan remembered Zhou Yu who died in Guilin County, although Zhou Yu was not completely loyal to himself, but he was also dedicated to the Sun family.

"Please rest assured, the last general will definitely train the elite soldiers, the barbarians here in the Southern Barbarians are strong, stronger than the ordinary soldiers in the Central Plains, and the last general will definitely be able to train more trouble-relieving troops and serve the lord."

"Oh? That's really God helping General Ben, Zi Ming went to train the troops quickly, and if there was any need, General Ben would give his full support. As soon as Sun Quan heard Lu Meng's words, his eyes lit up, if he could train more trouble-relieving troops, his own strength would be able to annex Yizhou.

"No!"

A month later, in the Chengdu Taishou Mansion, Liu Zhang was summoning his eldest son Liu Xun.

"Father!"

"Well, Xun'er is here, sit down." Liu Zhang saw his eldest son, nodded with satisfaction, and asked Liu Xun to sit down.

"Thank you, father!"

"Do you know why your father summoned you here?"

"Father, is it for the sake of Sun Quan in Nanzhong?" Liu Xun is Liu Zhang's eldest son, and he is a leader in Shu in martial arts and culture, and is especially loved by Liu Zhang, who is also determined to pass on his state pastor to Liu Xun.

"Yes, now that the general trend of the world is gradually becoming clear, if our army wants to stick to Shuzhong, Sun Quan in Nanzhong will be the biggest threat." Liu Zhang took out a map of Xichuan, with Liu Zhang's annotation on it, there is Hanzhong in the north, although Zhang Lu has enmity with himself, but there is still Cao Cao in the north to contain it, which is not enough evidence.

Jingzhou has just been pacified by Cao Cao, Cao Cao's army in Guilin County after the battle, basically wiped out, there is no threat to Dongchuan in the short term, that is, Cao Cao raised troops to attack, Shangyong and Yong'an are offensive and defensive to each other, Cao Cao can not easily take it.

In addition to Nanban, there are also strong forces in Jianning and other places, originally the two forces contained each other, and Liu Zhang's mediation was able to maintain stability, which was the basis for sticking to Xichuan, but after Sun Quan entered Nanzhong, this balance would soon be broken.

"Father's meaning that Sun Quan may annex Nanzhong, and then attack my Bashu?" Liu Xun saw Liu Zhang's instructions and quickly understood his father's thoughts.

"It's not possible, but it's certain, Sun Quan is weak and in charge of Jiangdong, Pingdongyue, which thing is not done in an orderly manner? If it weren't for the more powerful Cao Cao, I'm afraid Jiangdong would have unified the south of the Yangtze River by now. "Although Liu Zhang is a king who defends the city, his knowledge and strategy are not under the princes of the world, but they are limited by objective conditions, otherwise Liu Zhang also has the possibility of unifying the world.

"Father, you mean that Sun Quan will send troops soon. Pacify Jianning, and then send troops to Bashu? But we have just gained a foothold in Xichuan, and if Sun Quan uses troops, I'm afraid. Liu Xun listened to Liu Zhang's words, and couldn't help but worry about the safety of Shuzhong, could it be that his three generations of efforts were about to be robbed by Sun Quan?

Starting from Liu Yan, the Liu family was the ruler of Shuzhong, but like Liu Biao in Jingzhou, the Liu family also had a lot of restraints in Shu. The containment of the family, the restraint of the local heroes. The containment of the leading generals threatens Liu's rule.

Liu Yan and Liu Zhang, father and son, have been governed for many years. Now he can finally grasp the overall situation in Shuzhong, but if there is an invasion by a strong enemy like Sun Quan now, I am afraid that Liu's efforts will be in vain.

"Xun'er is very smart and can see the big picture clearly. Therefore, his father decided to send someone to Nanzhong to appease Sun Quan. At the same time, Xun'er led the army to send troops. Immediately following the messenger of the father, as long as Sun Quan slacked off a little, we sent troops to destroy Sun Quan. Liu Zhang pointed to the map in the guide. gave Liu Xun a military order.

"Father's meaning is to use the wealthy clan of Jianning to fight against Sun Quan?" Liu Xun quickly understood Liu Zhang's plan, and the plank road was darkened!

"Yes, the Hao clan in Jianning will definitely not allow outsiders to get involved in their power in Nanzhong, those barbarians in Nanzhong may be dependent on Sun Quan, but the Hao clan in Jianning will not, as long as we suddenly send troops, it is not impossible to solve Sun Quan."

"But, father, there is still a doubt, if our army cannot defeat Sun Quan, but is taken by Sun Quan to go north, then our army?" Liu Xun is also worried, now the army that Shuzhong can transfer to the south is 30,000, which is comparable to Sun Quan's strength, if Sun Quan can't be defeated, then Shuzhong will be in crisis.

"Afraid of what? It's a big deal, our father and son surrendered. Liu Zhang smiled slightly and patted Liu Xun.

"Father? Surrender? Liu Xun was stunned for a moment, his father couldn't beat Sun Quan, so he would give Shuzhong to Sun Quan!

"Xun'er, you should understand that you and I are not the talents of Anbang in this troubled world, Shuzhong is only temporarily in the hands of you and my father and son, it is good to be able to divide one side and claim hegemony, but the trend of the times, you and my father and son should still save their lives! The prestige of the Great Han is gone, how can the clan be spared? If it weren't for that, my father wouldn't have abandoned Youzhou and guarded Xichuan. Liu Zhang shook his head and explained to Liu Xun the strategy that Liu Yan had set for his father and son.

"I see, Grandpa is very far-sighted, but it is not comparable." Liu Xun listened to Liu Zhang's words, and suddenly realized that Liu Yan was very aware of the situation of the Han Dynasty, and also knew very well the strength of Liu Zhang's father and son, and he was by no means a person who could pacify the troubled times.

What a beautiful scenery Liu Yan was in Youzhou back then, sweeping the yellow scarves, leveling the barbarians, even the three brothers Liu Guan and Zhang were all ministers under the account, why Liu Yan could agree to leave Youzhou and come to Yizhou, it was to see the situation clearly, so he chose the strategy to save his life.

Now it seems that Liu Yan's strategy is very successful, at least Liu Yu, who has the Youzhou Iron Cavalry, and Liu Biao, who has the Jingzhou Water Army, have been wiped out one by one, and only his own Xichuan is still intact. The Liu father and son now hold the big cake of Xichuan, and they can enjoy their old age and remain rich and prosperous to any prince.

"Xun'er, it's good if you understand, this matter will be handed over to you, although our father and son are mainly to save their lives, but the country will not be handed over easily, let the princes of the world see the strength of our father and son." Liu Zhang patted Liu Xun and had high hopes. Even if you want to surrender, you must be a person who is admired by your opponent, otherwise surrendering will be worthless.

"Father don't worry, the child understands!"

Xichuan is full of conspiracies, and Jizhou in the north is also hiding a huge conspiracy in the tranquility.

In the Plains Taishou Mansion, Liu Bei and Pang Tong were drinking in the pavilion in the courtyard.

"Lord, now that the lord has been able to return to his hometown, recruit troops and buy horses, and his strength is gradually recovering, why is the lord still not happy?" Pang Tong took a long sip of his gourd.

"Doesn't Shi Yuan know that he is worried? Beizhi's civil and military forces were transferred to the north by Yuan Xi, and even the military division went to the north, Gongsun Kang was destroyed, and the army sent Wuhuan, Yuan Xi's power became bigger and bigger, although the strength of our army gradually recovered, but it was not as good as the expansion of Yuan Xi's power. Liu Bei took a sip of wine, how could he not be worried about this situation?

"Hahahaha, don't worry, Kong Ming and the generals are all henchmen of the lord, and they will definitely not betray the lord, the greater their merits, the greater the lord's power, and Yuan Xi is strong on the surface, but in fact it is already the end of the strong crossbow, Yuan Xi's main force is left by Yuan Shao, how can it be compared with the lord's newly recruited soldiers? The lord's morality is much higher than Yuan Xi's, and he is afraid that he will not be able to replace him in the future? Pang Tong smiled slightly, Liu Bei's worries were unnecessary.

Liu Bei raised troops in Hebei, and his prestige in Hebei was much higher than that of Yuan Xi, although Yuan Xi inherited Yuan Shao's old department, but he was just a balanced person. More importantly, the main force of Yuan Xi's army are all veterans in their forties, while Liu Bei's new army is all young and strong men under twenty. In a few years, Liu Bei's advantages will be obvious.

"Doesn't the military advisor know that Yuan Xi is also training the new army?"

"Don't you know that Yuan Xi's new army is not more than my new army?" Liu Bei raised the question that Yuan Xi would also recruit new troops, and Pang Tong replied to Liu Bei that the number of Yuan Xi's new army was not as large as Liu Bei's new army.

"Lord, it is easy to change the soldiers in the world, and it is difficult to recruit new soldiers in troubled times!" Then Pang Tong pointed out the biggest advantage between Liu Bei and Yuan Xi, Liu Bei has no burden, but Yuan Xi is a person with a heavy burden.

In troubled times, people will fight for survival, and in peacetime, it is easy for new and old soldiers to take over, because the country's policy is good, and many soldiers want to retire early. But in the troubled times, it is different, the national welfare is gone, and the princes of all walks of life will use their financial resources on active soldiers in order to maintain their combat strength, and retired veterans will of course have no benefits.

Therefore, the sergeants in troubled times will desperately extend their service age and leave something for their children and grandchildren and their families. Although Yuan Xi has many troops, most of them are middle-aged soldiers. Yuan Xi couldn't lay off everyone in one sentence, so without Liu Bei's action, Yuan Xi would be killed by the soldiers.

It takes a lot of financial resources to raise troops and replace the old with the new, which is not only a problem faced by Yuan Xi, but also a problem faced by all princes in the world except Liu Bei. Although Liu Bei was disabled by Cao Cao, he had no burden, and it was easy to rise again.

"After listening to the words of the military advisor, I suddenly became enlightened, but Yuan Xi has always been the son of Yuan Shao, and there are also many forces in Hebei, if we fight hard with it, I am afraid it will be cheaper Cao Cao." Liu Bei admitted that Pang Tong was very reasonable, but when the time came, there were two heroes in Hebei, and the two tigers would fight, and one would be injured.

"Don't worry, when you arrive in Hebei, you are more sure of Kong Ming's speculation, and Hebei will definitely return to the lord!" Pang Tong swore to Liu Bei that the future Hebei would definitely be Liu Bei's.

"Please Shi Yuan for advice?" Liu Bei was stunned for a moment, why did Shi Yuan avoid his own question.

"Does the lord know that Shiyuan will meet? And can you predict the life span of a person? Pang Tong replied to Liu Bei lightly, with a hint of desolation in his words.

"What? Can Shi Yuan predict the life span of a person? Liu Bei was stunned for a moment, how could Pang Tong have this ability?

"Shi Yuan is joking." Liu Bei smiled slightly, he never believed in fate, only in himself.

"In that case, then Shi Yuan said about the life expectancy of Beizhi? Yuan Xizhi's lifespan? Liu Bei thought that Pang Tong was joking, so he naturally joked about it.

"The great blessing of the lord and the great blessing of the young lord are all long-lived people. Yuan Xi's life is thin, and in recent years, he will be able to control Hebei when the time comes. Pang Tong arched his hand and replied to Liu Bei.

"Borrowing Shi Yuanji's words, I hope so!" Liu Bei shook his head, maybe Pang Tong was drunk and even said such a thing. Liu Bei then made an excuse and left.

Looking at Liu Bei's figure, Pang Tong shook his head, Liu Bei didn't believe himself. But if you think about it carefully, even you suspect this kind of ghostly thing, how can Liu Bei believe it?

Pang Tongyi swayed back to his study and took out a jade bamboo slip from the study. There are four words written on it: Book of Destiny!

Pang Tong got this strange book by chance, which recorded the laws of life of all things at the time, and could speculate the life span of all things through appearances. Pang Tong didn't believe in this kind of strange book at all, but after many tests, what he said in this book was correct, especially inferring people's lifespan based on their faces and complexions.

"Impossible, how can I, Pang Shiyuan, be a short-lived person, I still have to assist the lord and achieve hegemony!" Pang Tong took the Book of Destiny back into the cabinet, came to the bronze mirror, and screamed like crazy, he never believed in fate, only in strength! (To be continued......)

PS: One Friday more, the rest of the time to prepare a new book, thank you for your great support.