Tianshui County, Jicheng.

Jiang Wei and Ma Dai walked into the Chinese army's tent side by side, and bowed to Zhuge Liang, who was writing at the desk.

"Prime Minister, we're back."

"Well, okay, okay, sit down first." Zhuge Liang said without raising his head, and kept waving his hand as he spoke. He was uncrowned, and his neatly combed gray hair looked very glaring in the light. Jiang Wei and Ma Dai exchanged a look and sighed in unison.

Compared to when they left a month ago, Zhuge Liang's gray hair seemed to have a lot more. Jiang Wei's mood was even heavier than Ma Dai's, because he knew how much worry Zhuge Liang had in his heart.

After defeating Tian Yu, Zhuge Liang moved his troops to surround Ji County. Ji County is a strong city, Hao Zhao is a battle-hardened veteran, Zhuge Liang knows very well that it is not easy to attack Jicheng, so he surrounded Ji County, cut off the connection with Yuzhong, blocked and collected the remnants of the army, Tian Yu, who has been haunted, and sent Jiang Wei and Ma Dai to the Qiang tribe to lobby.

In the first battle of Longguan, under the arrangement of Zhuge Liang, Guan Xing, Zhang Ling and others fought a beautiful ambush battle, not only capturing Xiahou Ru alive, but also capturing many Qiang leaders. At Jiang Wei's suggestion, Zhuge Liang did not embarrass these Qiang leaders, but treated them politely, promising that as long as they no longer rebelled, they could go back, and if they were willing to support him, he was willing to give them land and let them live and work in peace and contentment.

In this regard, Zhuge Liang's reputation is good. After he pacified Nanzhong, he did not go on a killing spree, but adhered to the strategy of attacking the city and attacking the heart. Appease the barbarians in the south. Although it is not as godly as the later legends, it is also true that Nanzhong has generally settled down, and many barbarian troops have become the main force of Zhuge Liang's department, such as the Wudang army led by Wang Ping.

The Qiang people had heard of these things, and they also had great respect for Zhuge Liang, and many people expressed their willingness to abandon the darkness and surrender to the light and be loyal to the Han family. Zhuge Liang asked Jiang Wei and Ma Dai to send those Qiang leaders back, and at the same time lobbied the Qiang tribe. The Jiang family is one of the four surnames of Tianshui, and Jiang Wei is a young talent, and his status in the hearts of the Qiang people is not low. And Ma Dai is the younger brother of the heavenly general Ma Chao. It has also been convinced by many Qiang people. Although it is said that Jiang Wei's father Jiang Jian died at the hands of Ma Chao, this time does not prevent them from contributing to the Han family together.

In the past month, Jiang Wei and Ma Dai have visited the nearby Qiang tribe non-stop, and only returned to Ji County today.

Zhuge Liang put down his pen. I read it again, and I just wrote the haode official document. Only then did he raise his head and look at Jiang Wei and Ma Dai. A faint smile appeared on his tired face: "Looking at the expressions of Bozhan and Boyo, I think the journey must have been smooth, thank you for your hard work." ”

Jiang Wei and Ma Dai hurriedly got up and thanked them. Jiang Wei said: "It's all bixia Tianwei, the prime minister is benevolent and righteous, and everywhere he goes, the Qiang people look forward to it." Prime Minister, more than a dozen Qiang tribes have promised to send troops to help, and I have a rough estimate that it can increase by about 50,000 to 60,000 people. ”

Jiang Wei roughly described the itinerary of the past month.

"That's great." Zhuge Liang nodded again and again with satisfaction: "With these fifty or sixty thousand people, Longyou is ours." You've worked hard, so let's go and get some rest. ”

Ma Dai got up to say goodbye, but Jiang Wei didn't move. Ma Dai was not surprised, he knew the special relationship between Jiang Wei and Zhuge Liang, they were not only a relationship between superiors and subordinates, but also a teacher-student relationship. Zhuge Liang has a good eye for this Liangzhou sergeant, and he is even closer to Ma Jian than at the beginning, which everyone can see.

After Ma Dai left, Jiang Wei got up and walked to Zhuge Liang's case, knelt down again, held the case with both hands, raised his head, and looked at Zhuge Liang's haggard face: "Prime Minister, you have to take care of your body, seeing that Longyou is about to start, you can't have any accidents." ”

Zhuge Liang smiled tiredly: "I'm just a little tired, when you come back, I can be more relaxed, it will naturally get better, where will there be any accidents." Boyo, it is of course a good thing to have Qiang people to help, but if there are too many people, the pressure on grain and grass will be greatly increased, and it will be difficult to last. What we need are Qiang warriors who can fight, but we don't need to be old and weak. ”

Jiang Wei nodded: "Don't worry, Prime Minister, I have told them that the old and weak women and children will not come for the time being, and when they take Longyou, arrange land for them, and then bring their families." ”

"Well, then I'm relieved." Zhuge Liang let out a long breath, clenched his fists, and pounded his sorely swollen waist and eyes. Jiang Wei hurriedly moved behind him and stretched out his hand on his shoulder: "Prime Minister, I'll pinch it for you." ”

Zhuge Liang was in a good mood, and said half-jokingly: "You are a dignified general, how can you learn from these courtiers, you are not afraid of being seen, and your reputation will be hindered." ”

Jiang Wei said: "The prime minister treats me like a son, I respect the prime minister like a father, out of my heart, why not be afraid of people's words." Besides, the prime minister has served the country and worked hard, I can't share the worries for the prime minister, and it is my honor to do this meager effort, who will say anything. ”

Jiang Wei said while pinching Zhuge Liang's shoulder, Zhuge Liang closed his eyes comfortably, and his body slowly swayed with Jiang Wei's movements, as if he was about to fall asleep. Jiang Wei saw it in his eyes, hurt in his heart, and became more and more careful. After a while, Zhuge Liang suddenly said: "Boyo, in addition to taking Ji County, you have to come forward to talk to those families, and ask them to take into account the overall situation and give up some land." Their loss, I will keep in mind. ”

Jiang Wei's hand froze for a moment, and then moved again. "Don't worry, Prime Minister, I will do my best to convince them."

"That's for the best." Zhuge Liang opened his eyes and straightened his waist slightly bowed: "When the Central Plains is pacified, the meritorious ministers who revive the Han Dynasty will be rewarded." However, the biggest task now is to capture Ji County first. Boyo, do you have any suitable people to persuade you to come into the city? ”

"Prime Minister, if you want to persuade the Tianshui clan, Yin Xian is a suitable person, if you want to persuade Hao Zhao, Jin Xiang is Hao Zhao's fellow countryman, the most suitable."

Zhuge Liang responded, and was very satisfied with the two people recommended by Jiang Wei. Although Jiang Wei couldn't see his face, he could feel Zhuge Liang's thoughts, and he couldn't help but smile. Taking advantage of Zhuge Liang's good mood, he asked again: "Has the prime minister replied to Wei Ba?" ”

Zhuge Liang's smile gradually faded, he didn't say anything, just shook his head.

Jiang Wei was relieved. "Prime Minister, that's right, I can't promise him. Wei Ba was so bold that he actually did this kind of thing, if he was not punished, it was difficult to guarantee that he would not do even more rebellious things in the future. The prime minister did this for his good. ”

"Boyo, how do you think the war in Nanyang will change?" Zhuge Liang turned sideways slightly and looked at Jiang Wei behind him with the corner of his eye. "Does Wei Ba have a chance to capture Nanyang?"

"Minimally." Jiang Wei said without thinking.

For more than a month, others have been running around in the mountains, but they have never stopped thinking about the battle situation in Nanyang for a moment. He is also very familiar with Wei Ba's tactical deduction, and he even discussed it with Ma Dai, and the results of Zuihou are very pessimistic.

In terms of the strength of both sides, Li Yan's ability to conquer Xiangyang is already a surprise, and if he can conquer Fancheng again, it should be the biggest victory. This is all based on the fact that the sailors of the Shu Han army can completely control the Han water, once they enter the hinterland of Nanyang, although the waterways are vertical and horizontal, it is obvious that the lack of water will lead to the limitation of the role of the sailors, and it is unrealistic for Li Yan to win with the liliang of the sailors.

Once the war enters a stalemate, then Sun Quan's attitude will change. When there is a common interest, the differences between the two parties will be temporarily covered up, but once the interests do not exist, or have been successful, the differences will reappear. What's more, Shu Han's occupation of Xiangyang and Fancheng was not beneficial to Eastern Wu by sticking a knife in his chest. The Shu Han Naval Division has another advantage, who knows which day they will go down the Han River and attack Wuchang?

Therefore, from the analysis of the overall situation, it is very difficult for Li Yan and Wei Ba to make great progress in Nanyang. But out of the motive of competing with Zhuge Liang, Li Yan did not achieve decent results, and he did not have the face to retreat to Chengdu. He has already ridden a tiger, and this situation is exactly the result that Zhuge Liang expects.

Trapped Li Yan in Nanyang, in a dilemma, Zhuge Liang took Longyou, and then returned to Beijing in triumph, do you want to talk about the victory or defeat of the two sides?

I have to say that when it comes to the power and scheming in the court, although Li Yan is also an old treacherous and cunning, he is too far behind the prime minister. Not to mention anything else, he has the eyes and ears of the prime minister by his side but doesn't know it, so he can see the superiority of both sides.

"I just received news that Wei Ba has conquered Shunyang and wants to join forces with Ma Jian to recapture Wuguan Dao."

"What?" Jiang Wei was taken aback, he didn't care about massaging Zhuge Liang anymore, and turned to Zhuge Liang, his eyes were a little nervous: "Ma Jian is going to go out of Wuguan Road, how many people and horses is he going to bring?" ”

"Ma Jian was vague and said that it was more than 10,000, but I think he is sincere in his meritorious service, and it will not be less than 20,000." Zhuge Liang looked at his hand, the skin on the back of his hand was already loose, and there was another light brown mark. He couldn't help but sigh secretly, he is old, his energy is not as good as before, but the situation is getting more and more complicated, even Ma Jian has begun to centrifuge, what kind of situation will appear next, can Jiang Wei be able to control it alone?

Zhuge Liang raised his eyelids and looked at Jiang Wei, who was stunned for a moment, and slowly regained his composure. "Ma Tan is out of Wuguandao, although he can strengthen his strength, but his advantages are still limited. I'm more worried about whether he and the Hanzhong people are getting too close? In this way, if we can still get an adequate supply of grain and grass, the prime minister should prepare in advance, so as not to be caught off guard and give up halfway. ”

The corners of Zhuge Liang's mouth twitched slightly: "I'm not afraid of this, Liao Hua and Ma Zun have already controlled the grain accumulation in Fufeng County in their hands, and they have asked for some from Chang'an." In addition, I got some Wei ships, which I could improve to transport grain from Hanzhong. This year's harvest in Hanzhong is also good, although Wu Yi is sick, he has not delayed his business. ”

Jiang Wei was relieved...... (To be continued......)

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