At the beginning of Zhang Wu's fifth year, after half a year, Zhuge Liang completely pacified Nanzhong. In the seven counties of Nanzhong, the kings of Yi everywhere expressed their submission.

Zhuge Liang stayed in Nanzhong for a while, promulgated the laws between Yi and Han, and treated Han Yi equally as Shen Chen did in Liangzhou, and benefited from the Yi people.

However, unlike Liangzhou, Shen Chen's side is governed by Yi and Han, while Zhuge Liang adopts the internal autonomy of Yi people.

The reason is that the policies are naturally different from place to place. Although Liangzhou is mountainous, there are also many plains, and the Qianghu live in the prairie, and there are still fewer tribes living in the deep mountains and old forests, which is easier to rule directly.

On the other hand, the people of Nanzhongyi have many tribes living in the deep mountains and old forests, and the terrain is remote, not as close to Guanzhong as Liangzhou, and geopolitically too far away from the Central Plains, and it is not easy to directly govern.

Therefore, in the case that the Han Dynasty could not vigorously develop Nanzhong, it could only choose to let the Yi people manage themselves, and the Han Dynasty only needed the control of the big cities and the natural resources of Nanzhong.

In the middle of the fifth year of Zhang Wu, Zhuge Liang returned to the dynasty, leaving Li Hui as the governor of Jianning County and Xinggu County, Zhang Wei as the Taishou of Yueshan, Li Guang as the Taishou of Zhu Ti, Ma Zhong as the Taishou of Qike, Wang Kang as the Taishou of Yongchang, and Lu Kai as the Taishou of Yunnan, and the town of Nanzhong.

At this time, it was already 225 AD, when Shen Chen proposed a three-year recuperation, and then at the end of the first year of Zhang Wu, and the beginning of the second year of Zhang Wu.

In this way, at the beginning of the sixth year of Zhang Wu, the Jihan court in the south will officially open the road of the Northern Expedition.

In fact, when Zhuge Liang returned to Xiangyang, he had already noticed something unusual. The city of Xiangyang is still as lively as ever, the wharf in the north of the city is crowded, and the cargo ships that come and go carry goods from the warehouse to the ship, and then carry out trade activities from the south to the north.

But Zhuge Liang found that although the wharf is still prosperous today, most of the wharf workers are carrying sacks woven from linen.

In the Han Dynasty, even linen cloth was very precious and was the source of clothing for the people at the bottom. There is only one case where a sack will be used.

That's when the government used it to hoard food and supplies. Therefore, these people are carrying the spare grain that the government is currently hoarding in Xiangyang, and watching the fleet travel, it is indeed heading in the direction of the north of the river.

Zhuge Liang summoned the officials in charge of managing the wharf to know that now the imperial court was indeed transporting supplies to Wancheng through the water, and some of the soldiers and horses that were originally left in the south were gradually moving north.

Once the war starts, Nanyang's troops will definitely invade Henan on a large scale, and then the troops in Nanyang and Xiangyang will be empty, so it is normal to transfer the troops from the south to the north.

"It seems that Your Majesty is already a little impatient." When Zhuge Liang went to the palace to meet Liu Bei, he said to Ma Liang in the carriage.

Ma Liang said: "Your Majesty just founded the country three years ago, and he wanted to go on a northern expedition, but the hussar general persuaded him, so he did not send troops immediately. Now, after three years of cultivation, the country and the people are rich, so they naturally want to send troops. ”

"Hmm." Zhuge Liang nodded, and said in a deep voice: "The Han and the thief are not separated, and the royal industry is not partial." His Majesty is deeply worried that staying in the south for a long time will not be good for the royal industry, and he is already very old, and it is indeed time for the Northern Expedition. Zhuge Liang agreed with this matter, and at first he opposed it because he had just finished the Battle of Jingzhou and the Battle of Guanzhong, and he was relatively reluctant to send troops to eliminate Jiangdong.

At the scale of Cao Wei and Ji Han's Northern and Southern Dynasties, the war was no longer ended by the victory of one or two large-scale wars.

Rather, it depends on the competition of national strength and strategy between the two sides. In the case of internal instability and withering people's livelihood, rashly sending troops to the north will only exacerbate the internal friction between the two great powers, Cao Wei and Ji Han.

Although Cao Wei's side had just lost the Battle of Guanzhong and the Battle of Jingzhou, it was also unstable. But their background is stronger than that of Ji Han, and Liu Bei's group can not get the support of the scholars, and Cao Wei can get the support of the northern scholars.

Therefore, Zhuge Liang had the same opinion as Shen Chen at that time, the Northern Expedition must be a Northern Expedition, but it should not be in a hurry, but it should recuperate, recover its vitality, and then send troops to the Central Plains.

The carriage slowly drove down the streets to the palace. Today, the population of Xiangyang has exceeded 400,000, and the city has also been expanded, and the permanent population of the city has reached 100,000, which was already a large city at that time.

The streets and alleys are very bustling, with all kinds of vendors and handicraft manufacturers gathering, and large and small shops are open all over the street.

People from the south and north gather in the city, there are merchants selling goods, there are also people who go south to seek a livelihood, and there are also local people who often gather in teahouses and restaurants, living a market-like life.

Recently, the people of Xiangyang have been hotly discussed, and it is naturally that Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, personally settled Nanzhong, captured seven and seven longitudinal Meng Xuan, and beat the king of Yi in the seven counties of Nanzhong to be convinced.

"That Meng was said to be two feet tall, with a face like a green ox, horns on his head, and a big fork in his hand, fierce and vicious."

"What are you talking about, how did I hear he was emaciated?"

"Nonsense, if he is thin and weak, how can the people of Nanzhongyi obey him? Can it make the prime minister so difficult to catch? ”

"Caught seven times when it was hard to catch?"

"That's Prime Minister Shenwei, before you all said that the Prime Minister is the ability of the Marquis, now look at it, it's right to have the reincarnation of the Marquis, seven capture Meng Huo, and the power of the South!"

"Yes, yes, yes, and I heard that the prime minister knows spells, and with a feather fan in his hand, he has the power of water and fire. Meng Shu found Yunnan Yi King Long Youna, and fought with our Han army with a few zhang high beasts, but the prime minister waved his hand and the beasts were scattered. ”

"Not only that, but there are also ....." The carriage drove past a tea shop, and the tea customers on the street outside the door looked at the newspaper in their hands and discussed.

By the time the carriage drove over, Zhuge Liang had already been reincarnated from Liuhou, turned into a mana, and then became a god descending to earth, which made people have to admire the imagination and creativity of the people in the market.

Zhuge Liang looked helpless in the car. Ma Liang said with a smile: "Back then, Xiaoqing went on a northern expedition to Cao Cao, and won all three battles, and the rumors became more and more bizarre day by day. said that he killed hundreds of thousands of Cao Jun's army, and killed him for several days and nights without blinking, such as Bai Qi reincarnated, and the name of Jingzhou's god of soldiers was also revealed. Zhuge Liang smiled and didn't speak.

Soon the carriage slowly drove towards the palace, and at the gate of the palace, Liu Bei led hundreds of civil and military officials to wait outside.

It's a great honor. Seeing this situation, Zhuge Liang hurriedly got out of the carriage in advance, walked all the way to the gate of the palace, and bowed to Liu Bei: "Your Majesty Lao is out to greet you, and the minister is very ashamed." "Liu Bei is sixty-five years old this year, and he has been dead for two years at this time in history, but he is still alive and in good spirits.

At this time, his hair was gray, his temples were like frost, and his face was a little thin, but when he saw Zhuge Liang coming, he smiled brightly, and his spirit was very good, and he said: "The prime minister pacified Nanzhong, so that the Nanren will never rebel again. ”

"I'm ashamed." Zhuge Liang bowed again. Meng Shu, who was brought together, stepped forward and bent down and arched his hand: "Meng Shu, a Southern Barbarian, I don't know the power of the Han Army, and if I commit the following crimes, please punish Your Majesty!" Liu Bei had already received Zhuge Liang's battle report, and knew that Meng Huo had a high prestige in Nanzhong, so he took him back to the imperial court this time, firstly, to use his prestige to stabilize the situation in Nanzhong, and secondly, to give a signal to Nanzhong.

That is, regardless of the Yi people or the Han people, as long as you submit to the imperial court and obey the call of the imperial court, then you can enjoy the corresponding rights and interests, you can enter the imperial court, and the Han will be treated equally.

So Liu Bei knew that this was the effect of buying horse bones, so he immediately went up with a smile and shook Meng Shu's hand, and said: "The leader can change his mistakes if he knows them, and he is very good." Now that you are returning to the imperial court and appeasing Nanzhong for the imperial court, it is the greatest credit, and I have named you as the doctor of Guanglu and the captain of the cavalry, and I will always comfort Nanzhong. "Doctor Guanglu is now a loose official, and the cavalry captain is a commander, unlike in history, after Zhuge Liang took Meng Shu back, he was named the Imperial History Zhongcheng.

It would be good for Meng Shu to survive, so naturally he didn't have such high expectations, and he was overjoyed at the moment: "Your Majesty." ”

"Prime Minister!" After meeting Meng Huo, an eighteen or nineteen-year-old fat man next to Liu Bei saluted Zhuge Liang.

"Prince." Zhuge Liang returned the salute. The little fat man is Liu Bei's son Liu Chan.

"Let's go inside." Liu Bei beckoned them into the palace. The imperial palace in Xiangyang was still repaired during the Liu Biao period, and the specification system was actually not as large as the imperial palaces in Luoyang and Chang'an.

There is only one palace in the whole palace, that is, the most central Deyang Palace, and the rest of the houses are like ordinary pavilions of the southern wealthy families, which belong to the unique small buildings in the south of the Yangtze River.

Inside is full of greenery, bamboo shadows, there are cloisters, bucket arches, gardens, tile houses, through the vestibule and vestibule, to the atrium to see a large palace.

After Liu Bei came to power, he was diligent in government and loved the people, and was unwilling to spend more on palace repairs, so the overall scale of the palace still maintained the appearance of Liu Biao's period, and there was no large-scale expansion.

However, the problem of the old Liu family is still there, Liu Bei personally greeted Zhuge Liang and held a celebration ceremony for him, everyone in the hall sat down one after another, served all kinds of delicious food, and then there was a singing and dancing banquet, and the dance was actually the dance of Shandong Qi.

Obviously, Liu Bei knew that Zhuge Liang was from Shandong, so he specially prepared these for him. At the banquet, everyone was elated to celebrate the pacification of Nanzhong.

After the banquet was over, Liu Bei summoned Zhuge Liang, Zhang Fei, Wu Yi, Ma Chao, Jia Xu, Fa Zheng, Xu Shu and other confidants to discuss matters in the back hall.

Liu Bei sat in the back hall, Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei sat on the left and right, and after everyone was seated, Liu Bei said: "Prime Minister, I have decided to officially launch the Northern Expedition at the end of this year, what do you think?" Zhuge Liang thought for a while and said: "It's faster than Xiaoqing's scheduled early next year, but it shouldn't hurt, now that the domestic grain and grass are sufficient, the people's livelihood is rich, and the Northern Expedition is at the right time." The minister thought that the three roads were to attack Wei, Guanzhong by Xiaoqing, Nanyang by the general of the Che cavalry and General Wei and Shang Cheng and Menxiaqing. Huainan is under the command of a great general, and he will be able to break Wei. ”

"I want to do it myself!" Liu Bei shook his head and said categorically.

"Your Majesty." Zhuge Liang hurriedly persuaded: "The safety of the country is all related to Your Majesty, and the Northern Expedition is too tiring after all, and I hope that Your Majesty will look at the major affairs of the royal industry, and don't risk yourself." Liu Bei looked at him and sighed: "I don't hesitate to die, what I'm most afraid of is that before I die, I won't be able to see the Han reunified." Zhang Fei shouted: "Your Majesty, I can just go with my second brother, and you can wait for the good news in Xiangyang." ”

"Yide." Liu Bei glared at him: "You and Yun Chang are my siblings, how can you go to the battlefield and miss me?" Xu Shu said: "Your Majesty, the prime minister is worried that if Your Majesty's body is too tired, I am afraid that he will fall ill." Now the situation in the south has just stabilized, and it is necessary to rely on Your Majesty's prestige, and the Prime Minister is also for Your Majesty's good. ”

"Of course I know." Liu Bei nodded, his deep gaze looked outside the door and said: "However, I don't know how long I can live, if I can't raise troops to attack Wei, dominate the world, restore the Han dynasty, I will die without turning a blind eye, and I will not have the face to go to the underworld to see the ancestors of the ancestors." Zhuge Liang persuaded again: "Your Majesty's Northern Expedition, you don't need to go in person, or you can go to Wancheng to supervise the battle." ”

"Yes, Wancheng is close to the front line, His Majesty is supervising the battle in the rear, and the soldiers will fight to the death when they learn that His Majesty is here, and they will fight to the death, break Cao Wei, and recover the south of the river in one fell swoop!" Fa Zheng also persuaded.

Liu Bei hesitated slightly, but after a while, he still said firmly: "You mothers must persuade again, I will personally go on a northern expedition, and the rear will rely on the prime minister. ”

"Your Majesty......" Zhuge Liang sighed and said seriously: "Minister, respect Your Majesty's edict!" ”

"Honorable Edict!" Seeing that Zhuge Liang no longer objected, Fazheng, Xu Shu, Pang Tong and others no longer persuaded and responded one after another.

In the second half of Zhang Wu's five years, Jihan Group spent time in this busyness. At first, the people were not aware of it, but until a cart of military rations and supplies, a boatload of equipment, and a stomach drove into Wancheng along the Nanyang Wilderness and on the Huashui River, everyone knew that maybe a new wartime was coming again.

Jihan Group has three large granary reserve bases, one in Xiangyang, Xiangyang north of Nanyang, south to the Yangtze River, waterways are extremely developed, so more than half of Jingzhou's taxed grain and grass are stored here, once there is a problem in Jingzhou and even all over the country, grain can be quickly arrived through the waterway, so as to quell the trouble.

The second is in Jianye, Jianye is the Jiangdong front, connecting the Yangtze River in the west, entering Xuzhou in the north, and going north from the mouth of the river to Hefei City.

Therefore, the taxes of the rear base in Yangzhou were also stored in Jianye, and if Guan Yu went on a northern expedition, he could attack the Huainan land occupied by Cao Wei by land and water.

The third is naturally in Bashu, a Shu Chengdu, and a Badi Jiangzhou. Chengdu Jinniu Road connects Hanzhong, and Bazhou has Micang Road to connect Hanzhong.

Therefore, grain and grass are concentrated in this place, and grain and grass can be transported to Hanzhong continuously. Over the years, Liu Bei has accumulated a lot of grain and high walls in Xiangyang, while attaching importance to craftsmen, improving the status of craftsmen and craftsmen, and offering heavy rewards to build advanced siege equipment.

By the end of the fifth year of Zhangwu, more than 10 million stone grains had been piled up on the Nanyang front, and there were countless weapons, armor, bows, crossbows, and instruments.

And at the end of the year and the beginning of December, a flying pigeon passed down into Shen Chen's hands.

"The Northern Expedition has begun." Ji County, Liangzhou, Shen Chen, who had returned from Hanzhong to sit in Liangzhou, looked at the many generals below.

In the middle of this year, Liu Bei had already told him that he wanted to send troops at the end of the year. So Shen Chen also actively prepared and began to arrange in advance.

Now Liangzhou has about 100,000 soldiers and horses, and the total number of troops before was less than 60,000, but after three years of governance by Shen Chen, the Qiang and Han gradually stabilized.

Shen Chen began to recruit new soldiers, because of the preferential policy, the Qiang people actively enlisted, and the Qiang soldiers alone expanded by 30,000, plus more than 10,000 Han soldiers, a total of 100,000 horses.

In terms of cavalry, the scale reached 30,000, including 8,000 heavy cavalry, about 20,000 light cavalry, and Shen Chen's 2,000 elite personal guard iron cavalry, all equipped with stirrups, saddles and horseshoes.

Therefore, at this time, Liangzhou Hanzhong is already strong and strong, and it is about to step on the pass!

"Ladies and gentlemen." Shen Chen read the letter and said to Deng Zhi, Pang Shu, Ma Dai, Li Yue and other generals of the civil and military forces: "The king industry is not partial, and the Han and the thief are not separated. Your Majesty's Northern Expedition and the domination of the world are today. The order was sent to General Huang, and ten days later, the troops were out of Chencang! ”

"Yui!" Everyone roared in unison, and the Northern Expedition officially began.