In the middle of the pass, on the hundred-foot remnant building, Zhuge Liang wrapped the thin cotton jacket on his body tightly, looked at the crescent moon that was bent like a hook in mid-air, and remained motionless.

The moonlight was not bright enough, and the Chang'an City in the distance was pitch black, and even the lights could not be seen. The Weishui in the distance is faint, and it is not very clear to see. The wind blew through the treetops of Shanglin Yuan, like a whisper, and occasionally there was a roar of a tiger and a leopard, and then it dissipated in the night wind.

Zhuge Liang looked at the night quietly, motionless. If it weren't for the occasional blink of an eyelid, he would be about the same as a stone statue.

Jiang Wei stood behind him, leaning on the railing, not knowing what he was thinking.

Zhuge Liang had just received an urgent letter from Fei Yi. The letter gave a detailed account of the situation of the battle received up to the fifth day of October. These battles came from three battlefields, and without exception they were all good news, and they were good news that he couldn't believe.

In just five or six days, Wei Ba once again shocked the world with his achievements, and also pushed Zhuge Liang into a dilemma.

Sun Quan refused to submit to the Han Dynasty, and Wei Ba was ordered by the general to go out to fight and declare war on Wu, and the alliance between the two sides ceased to exist. Even if Sun Quan asked him for help at this time, he couldn't say anything, otherwise Li Yan would definitely seize this handle and deduct him from the charge of collaborating with the enemy. Not only could he not give Sun Quan any funding, but he also had to consider whether to send troops to help, not just nominally.

The reason is very simple, no matter whether he sends troops or not, Li Yan must have the intention of sending troops, and he can't let Li Yan monopolize the great merit of destroying Wu, otherwise, the battle between him and Li Yan will be settled, and there is no possibility of turning over.

Zhuge Liang regretted it a little, he shouldn't have hurriedly launched an offensive against Bingzhou last year. Because of poor preparation. Snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. If he prepares for an extra year, such as sending troops now, his food can be supported for at least half a year longer, and the chances of capturing and annexing the state will be greatly increased, and he will not face such an embarrassing situation.

The defeat in the state made him have fewer and fewer chips in his hands, and the initiative has gradually shifted to Li Yan's hands. Wei Ba's strange move is undoubtedly to make matters worse. If Li Yan is allowed to destroy Wu because of this, even if he recaptures Jingzhou, it will put him at a disadvantage.

Take one thing with another. Together with Li Yan and Wei Ba, he sent troops to attack Wu. Competing for merit is one of the most haode choices. There is an advantage in the cavalry in the pass, which can play a greater role in the battle to destroy Wu, and it is definitely no problem to overpower Meng Da. It is even possible to become the most important liliang on the entire battlefield. And he is respected as a prime minister. It is also enough to be on a par with the general Li Yan.

That's it. The possibility of the destruction of the state of Wu has only increased by a few percent.

Zhuge Liang is also worried about another thing, it is impossible for him to let go of Guanzhong, after destroying Wu. Who will master the land of Wu? Whether it is Li Yan or Wei Ba, it can't be him Zhuge Liang anyway. No matter who masters Wu Di, he will become a new liliang, enough to match him who has mastered Guanzhong.

It is difficult to advance, and it is difficult to retreat.

Zhuge Liang felt that he was a little exhausted, as if he was stuck in a quagmire, and the harder he struggled, the faster he fell. It is like an old horse pulling a heavy cart downhill, pushed forward by the cart, unable to stop at all, unable to control the direction, and can only watch the abyss.

Jiang Wei took a step forward and reminded: "Prime Minister, it's windy, go back." You've just picked up a little bit, so don't get cold. ”

"It's fine." Zhuge Liang sighed and said: "I am very upset in my heart, and it is good for my body to climb high and look into the distance here to relieve it." ”

Jiang Wei lowered his head: "Is the prime minister worried about the war in Jingzhou?" ”

"Well, Beryo, what do you think?" Zhuge Liang turned his head and looked at Jiang Wei. Jiang Wei's face was not very good, slightly pale. During this time, his mental pressure was also very high, and the results of the rewards and punishments of the Battle of Bingzhou have not come down, like a sword hanging above his head, not knowing when it will fall, making him worried and unable to sleep.

"I think Wei Ba is just bluffing." Jiang Wei's voice was a little dry and unnatural. "According to Fei's letter to join the army, Changsha has 70,000 soldiers, of which 40,000 are newly recruited reserves, no combat experience, the real battle is the 30,000 standing soldiers, in the face of 40,000 Wu troops, his advantage is limited, even if he occupies the entire Changsha, he may not be able to capture Yiyang and Linxiang."

Zhuge Liang listened silently, not in a hurry to evaluate.

"As for Deng Ai's way, it's even less worth mentioning." Jiang Wei was a little disdainful. "Deng Ai is just a farmer, he was appointed because of his maternal relationship with Wei Ba, he has never fought at all, and the reason why he can have his current momentum is just a surprise. Once Wu Jun is prepared, he will have no advantage, and it will inevitably be scattered. ”

Hearing Deng Ai's name, Zhuge Liang also frowned. This is probably the most incomprehensible place for him, although Deng Ai is not young, he has no experience in leading troops, and it is said that before defecting to Wei Ba, he was just a farmer in Xiangcheng. Wei Ba made him a heavy responsibility all of a sudden, isn't it a bit reckless? But thinking about Wei Ba's previous experience in employing people, he has never made such a big mistake. Is he discerning and discerning, or is it really cronyism as Jiang Wei said?

At this point, Zhuge Liang and Jiang Wei's views are slightly different, if it is said that cronyism, Wei Ba should let Wei Wu go into battle, isn't the brother born to a mother more intimate than a distant relative of the mother's family? If Wei Ba didn't have confidence in Deng Ai, how could he give him such an important task?

"The most lethal is still the sailor who detoured to Wu County." Jiang Wei sighed, a little unwilling, but also convinced. "Wei Ba's mechanical skills are unique in the world, and the warship he built is definitely a sharp weapon. With 10,000 sailors, plus the pirates and river thieves attached to them, even if they can't capture Wu County, it is very easy to control the Yangtze River. As a result, Sun Quan suffered from the enemy on his back, and his future was worrying. Once these sailors go against the grain, it will not be a good thing for Sun Quan to join Wei Ba and Deng Ai in Xiakou and Chaisang. ”

"Well, what shall we do then?"

"Wait and see." Jiang Wei's eyelids were raised, and his eyes were burning. "Prime Minister, Wei Ba's three-way army looks menacing, but they have a fatal weakness."

"What weakness?" A smile appeared in Zhuge Liang's eyes.

"Grain." Jiang Wei raised his voice, "The main force of Changsha is silent for the time being, Deng Ai is deep behind the enemy, and he may be able to eat the enemy, but how to solve the food of that water division?" Did he go on an expedition with grain in a big ship? Wu Jun is not stupid, they will definitely find ways to destroy those grain ships. There is no way to deal with the giant ships, and it is not helpless to deal with these grain ships. Once the food is out of food, what else can this water division do? ”

Zhuge Liang bowed slightly: "Boyo, your thinking is very right, but what you can think of, Wei Ba can't think of?" If he wasn't prepared, how could he make such a decision so easily. Moreover, you only see the battlefield, not the court. ”

"What does the prime minister mean...... Li Yan? ”

Zhuge Liang sighed lightly, Jiang Wei's thinking was always biased towards the battlefield, but he intentionally or unintentionally ignored the battle in the court. In fact, every move on the battlefield is inseparable from the court. Wei Ba was obviously very clear about this, and his advance and retreat had a clear political purpose, and he did not focus solely on the battlefield. From this point of view, Jiang Wei and Wei Ba are still far away.

As soon as he thought of this, Zhuge Liang felt some inexplicable regrets. has come to this point, and there is an indistinguishable relationship with two people. One is Ma Yan, he took refuge in Li Yan, for Li Yan is like a tiger with wings, Li Yan can crush Jiang Wan and others in the Prime Minister's Mansion to death, most of them are due to Ma Yan; The other is Wei Ba, if it weren't for Wei Ba's sudden rise, he would not be in Guanzhong, and he could only sit back and watch Li Yan make waves in Chengdu. If these two people were still his right-hand men like they were during the first Northern Expedition, how could they be in today's situation.

Li Yan can't have any chance at all, maybe he is still struggling in Jiangzhou now.

Zhuge Liang unexpectedly thought of Xiang Yu. The three heroes of the early Han Dynasty, but they all ran to Liu Bang from Xiang Yu, he was a hero, but he gave the real talent to Liu Bang, and finally buried his hegemony.

He's in a similar situation right now. He was a brilliant man, but he sent the two most outstanding talents of Shu Han to his opposite.

Am I wrong?

Zhuge Liang was a little distracted for a while, and he didn't speak for a long time. Jiang Wei saw that he was thoughtful, and he didn't dare to interject. He was also a little disappointed by what Zhuge Liang said just now. He has always wanted to compete with Wei Ba, but he has not been able to catch up with Wei Ba's pace, he ran out of breath and exhausted, always fell down when he thought he was about to catch up, and when he got up, Wei Ba ran away without a trace, and he couldn't even see his back.

He had a sense of powerlessness, and the prime minister's criticism of him just now made him even more frustrated.

Am I really inferior to Wei Ba? No, I'm not as good as him, not because I lack talent, but because I'm a Liangzhou person, and he is a Jingxiang person. My father died on the battlefield for the Han Dynasty, and his father was still alive and well, holding the most elite cavalry of the Han Dynasty. I was alone, and I didn't even have a brother to help me with, but he not only had a brother, but also gained the support of many people through marriage.

We were unfair from the start.

Jiang Wei raised his head and squinted his eyes at the crescent moon. He listened to Zhuge Liang's wheezing sound beside him, and suddenly felt a little calm. Manpower is sometimes poor, as long as you do your best and have a clear conscience. With the prime minister's peerless intelligence, I can't fight Wei Ba with the support of the Jingxiang family, my intelligence is not as good as the prime minister, what's so strange about being backward for a while. As long as I can learn the prime minister's wisdom and understand it thoroughly, in time, it is not yet known who will kill the deer.

Jiang Wei lowered his head, got closer to Zhuge Liang, and said earnestly: "Prime Minister, the power scheme in the court, Wei really doesn't know very well, and I ask the Prime Minister for some advice." ”

Zhuge Liang raised his hand to cover his lips and coughed lightly. "Boyo, the thirteenth chapter of Sun Tzu, the opening chapter is clear, that is, to go to the army to fight. This plan is not a military strategy, but a political strategy. If you want to make the monarch and the ministers and the comrades of the army and the people unified, we should first rectify the court so that no one can restrain ...... the tail and no one will drag the tail " ...... (To be continued......)