Sixteenth year of Jian'an, July.

Zhang Fei led the army into Hanzhong, descended Zhang Lu, beheaded Han Sui, defeated Ma Chao, and all of them were based in Hanzhong.

Yizhou, Chengdu.

Liu Zhang looked at the contents of the battle report and gasped.

This Zhang Fei is also too strong, in just a few months, he actually defeated Han Sui and Ma Chao successively, and subdued Zhang Lu to pacify Hanzhong for him, Guan Yu and Huo Jun, who were stronger than Zhang Fei, were not even more terrifying.

Huang Quan was also shocked and said: "Envoy, Zhang Fei surrendered to Zhang Lu and captured Hanzhong." has all the envoys invited Liu Bei to enter Shu, and now Zhang Fei has no need to stay in Shu. In the opinion of power, it is advisable not to send Zhang Fei out of Shu, and appoint good generals and virtuous talents to serve as the Taishou of Hanzhong. ”

"No!"

Zhang Song opened his mouth to stop and said: "Envoy, Zhang Fei has just gone to Hanzhong, and we will send him out of Shu in a hurry. Song thought that I Yizhou should do it slowly, not in a hurry, sent someone to reward Zhang Fei, and ordered someone to send an envoy to Da Sima. ”

"Envoy, Zhang Song should harm me Yizhou."

Huang Quan was emotional and said: "Now Liu Bei and Cao Cao are facing each other in Jiangxia, and they have no time to take care of Bashu. If you don't take the opportunity to ask for Hanzhong today, wait for Cao Cao's troops to retreat, and let Liu Bei withdraw his hands and feet, he will inevitably look west to Bashu. When Zhang Feibing went out of Hanzhong, Liu Bei went up against the river, and Yizhou would be in danger! ”

Zhang Song's face changed slightly, and he said, "Why did Huang Gongcao say this? Da Sima Qiren is beyond what you can imagine. ”

Saying that, Zhang Song arched his hand to Liu Zhang and said: "Envoy, Da Sima has an alliance with my Yizhou, sent troops into Bashu, and was ordered to conquer Hanzhong in the north for the sake of the envoy. ”

As Huang Gongcao said in the past, Zhang Fei entered Shu with the intention of Yizhou. If Da Sima really has the idea of seizing Shu, why not let Zhang Fei refrain from entering. When Cao Cao's troops retreated, Wu and Chu soldiers and horses marched westward, when Zhang Fei was inside and Liu Bei was outside, wouldn't my Yizhou be in danger? ”

Zhang Song talked eloquently in front of Liu Zhang, refuted Huang Quan's questioning of Liu Bei's intentions, and said: "Why bother to conquer Hanzhong for my Bashu." If I close the pass in Yizhou and cut off the Shu Road, Zhang Fei and Wu Chu are separated by thousands of miles, wouldn't it be self-isolation in Hanzhong, this is not the method of using soldiers. ”

Huang Quan sneered a few times and said, "Don't dare to talk about the current situation? Do you dare to talk about the use of soldiers? Hanzhong and Bashu have three Shu roads interconnected, and Jiangzhou also has two Shu roads. Zhang Fei was based in Hanzhong, holding the rations of the soldiers, and when he sent troops south, he could base Jiangzhou. ”

"Jiangzhou (now Chongqing), up to Bashu, down to Yiling. If Jiangzhou is broken by Zhang Fei, then the door of my Bashu will be wide open, and Liu Bei Kexing and Wu Chu's troops will pour into Yizhou. Dare not to drive, don't want Hanzhong now, do you want to wait for Zhang Fei to master Hanzhong, and then ask for it? ”

Huang Quan, as an authentic Ba person, saw the significance of Zhang Fei's Northern Expedition to Hanzhong, and how Zhang Fei echoed Liu Bei's methods in the future.

The road between Yizhou and Jingzhou is generally only the Yangtze River water transport. Yizhou can only rely on the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, Baidi, and Wuxian to prevent the invasion of Jingchu. Jiangzhou is the last line of defense of the Yangtze River.

Once Jiangzhou was broken, Wu Chu's soldiers and horses could use Jiangzhou as a base to enter Chengdu from the inner, middle and outer rivers, and along the way they could not only break the fortress, but also collect and surrender the counties of Yizhou. At that time, the three armies gathered in Chengdu, and Liu Zhang's rule in Yizhou could also be declared over.

Zhang Song wanted to open his mouth to refute Huang Quan, but was stopped by Liu Zhang.

Liu Zhang's head was made big by the noise of his subordinates arguing with each other, and he shouted to stop everyone and said: "Zhang Fei is Yizhou for me, won Hanzhong, and subdued Zhang Lu, and his merits are not small." At the beginning of this time, when he went down to Hanzhong, he drove people out of Shu, and he lost his lonely demeanor. and sent people to the north to reward Zhang Fei's department, and ordered an envoy to find Da Sima and ask about the remuneration. ”

Saying that, Liu Zhang said in a deep voice: "Da Sima has been paid, so he can let Zhang Fei out of Shu, and he can't stay in Shu. ”

"No!"

Liu Zhang is not a fool, nor is he a political idiot. He was able to invite foreign troops to enter Shu to quell the rebellion, on the one hand, he was afraid of the unruliness of the internal generals, and he was afraid that he would repeat Zhao Wei's old things; On the other hand, Zhang Song and Fa Zheng have been brainwashing and admonishing for a long time, so Liu Zhang has this idea.

Now that Zhang Fei spent a few months getting Hanzhong for him, Liu Zhang naturally couldn't let Zhang Fei stay any longer, lest another disaster arise. Of course, with Zhang Fei's honest act, Liu Zhang was not so suspicious of Liu Bei's desire to win Shu.

Wang Ti was worried, and said, "It is not impossible for the king to do the things of etiquette and live in harmony with the great Sima. However, he thought that he should be appointed as the Taishou of Hanzhong and take over the military and political affairs of Hanzhong. And Zhang Lu won the hearts of the people in Hanzhong, and now he should move to Chengdu, or kill or imprison, and must not be used by Zhang Fei and others. ”

Saying that, Wang Ti was afraid that Liu Zhang would not listen, so he kowtowed and said: "I implore the lord to be tired, don't let Hanzhong be ownerless and be taken advantage of by thieves." ”

Liu Zhang sighed and said, "Wang Zhi has such a suggestion, how can he not accept it. ordered the second son, Liu Yan, to serve as the Taishou of Hanzhong, take over the military and political affairs of Hanzhong, bring wine to Zhang Fei's department, and the general Yan Yan escorted him around. ”

"No!"

——

In advance, Cao Cao and Liu Bei each deployed 100,000 troops in Jiangxia and Jiangling to fight across the Yangtze River.

Cao Cao lured Liu Bei to cross the river to fight, but Liu Bei adopted Zhuge Liang's strategy, held on, and used the two fortified cities of Gong'an and Xiakou to consume the morale of Cao Cao's soldiers and horses, and waited for work.

However, Cao Cao was not an unscrupulous person, how could he not know Liu Bei's plan, the soldiers and horses besieged Xiakou City, but did not attack, and then sent a large number of scouts to explore Jiangbei and understand the layout of the Yangtze River defense line.

Gan Ning, who was in charge of the sailors, did not dare to slack off, and patrolled the Han River, the Yangtze River, and sometimes even approached Xiakou City to increase the morale of the defenders.

In such a few months, in addition to forcibly relocating tens of thousands of people from Xiakou to Suixian, Cao Cao separated himself from Liu Bei across the Yangtze River, staring at each other wide-eyed.

Of course, Cao Cao did not forget to show his literary talents, and wrote a letter to Liu Bei to express his heartfelt feelings, hoping that Liu Bei could return to the Central Plains and stop doing evil.

Liu Bei also replied to a few letters, in addition to recalling the past in Luoyang, he also scolded Cao Cao in a weird way.

As time passed, Zhang Fei beheaded Han Sui and the news of the capture of Hanzhong also reached Cao Cao.

In the big tent, Cao Cao listened to the news from Longyou, and the expression on his face was surprised and happy.

"Prime Minister, Han Sui raised troops to attack Yangping Pass, and was killed by Zhang Fei's army. Yan Xing stayed in the camp, gathered the defeated army, ambushed and killed the generals, and now united with Cheng Gongying, wanting to respect Han Sui's young son, raising troops and horses to surrender to the prime minister. ”

Sima Yi summarized the contents of the letter and said: "Ma Chao led his troops to break through Nanzheng, and he had decades of money and grain savings in Hanzhong. He defeated Zhang Fei's subordinates again, and he was extremely brave, and now he will bring soldiers and horses into Longyou to occupy the old land of Han Sui. ”

"Judging from the situation in Kansai, the prime minister should make plans as soon as possible!"

Cao Cao paced in the tent and sighed: "Zhang Fei, brave and unscrupulous, can kill Han Sui in Hanzhong and repel Ma Chao, which is really unpredictable. ”

As he spoke, Cao Cao turned to the left and right and said, "Zhang Fei occupies Hanzhong, and Liu Zhang raises tigers, and he will be counterattacked in the near future." As expected, Liu Bei already had the idea of plotting against Bashu. ”

Cao Cao was already jealous in his heart, and Liu Bei, who was displaced in the Central Plains, entered Jingchu like a fish into the sea. After occupying Wu Chu, it has become a climate, and it is difficult to check and balance by the lack of a naval army.

Next, what will happen if Liu Bei takes Bashu again?

It will inevitably threaten the Central Plains and form a pattern of confrontation between the north and the south with its own containment and danger.

After pacing and pondering, Cao Cao asked: "The drastic changes in Guanxi, Zhang Fei entered Hanzhong, do you have high opinions?" ”

Sun Quan spoke actively and said: "Although the prime minister unified China with soldiers and horses, Guan Long surrendered with restraint. Ma Chao, Han Sui, Yang Qiu, Hou Xuan, Cheng Yin, Li Kan and other generals of Guanlong held military power in their hands and were not inferior. Among the generals, only Ma and Han are the only ones. ”

"From the perspective of power, now Han Sui died, and Ma Chao wanted to enter Longlong to seize the land, which was the time to use soldiers. The prime minister can take advantage of this good opportunity to lead his troops to level Guanlong and enter China. When the northwest is calmed down, the water division will be built, and Liu Bei will be recruited again. ”

Cao Cao bowed slightly, agreeing with Sun Quan's suggestion, but he was not very satisfied, but hoped for a way that could not only pacify Guanxi, but also restrain Liu Bei.

Sima Yi sensed Cao Cao's thoughts and asked, "Does the prime minister know about Long Wangshu?" ”

"How can you not know!" Cao Cao replied.

Sima Yi sorted out his thoughts and said: "Longyou is connected to Liangzhou, Guanzhong in the east, and Bashu in the south. In the chaos in today's pass, Liu Bei has the heart to take Shu, if the prime minister can quickly pacify Guanxi, then he can go south to Bashu. ”

Cao Cao narrowed his eyes slightly and said: "Zhongda is to let Gu quickly pacify Guanxi, and when Liu Bei is fighting Shu, take advantage of the civil strife in Yizhou to conquer Bashu in the south?" Benefiting the state, defeating Liu Bei, living in the upper reaches of the river, to face Wu Chu. ”

"Exactly!"

Sima Yi inferred: "If Liu Bei wants to become a foundation, Yizhou must take it." Today, Zhang flew into Shu to prepare for the capture of Shu. In Yiguan, there must be a battle between Liu Bei and Liu Zhang, and when there is civil strife in Bashu, it should be the time for the prime minister to be brave. ”

Pacing and groaning, Cao Cao looked at Jia Xu and asked, "Does Wen He have a high opinion?" ”

The success of Jia Xu's two tigers' food competition strategy made Cao Cao happy. No matter what the process is, Han Sui is at least dead, which makes it less difficult for him to pacify Kansai.

Jia Xu stroked his beard and said: "The prime minister lacks boats, crosses the Yangtze River in the south, takes Bashu, competes with Liu Bei, or is a feasible strategy." However, he thought that Liu Zhang was weak and Liu Bei was cunning. Liu Zhang confronted it and it was difficult to hold it for a long time. ”

"What about Wen He?" Cao Cao asked rhetorically.

Jia Xu smiled and said, "The prime minister sent people to Shu to spread rumors, saying that Liu Bei wanted to seize Yizhou. Why don't you order someone to send a letter to Liu Zhang from Longyou when Liu Bei seized Shu. Yan Zhongyuan army marched south to Hanzhong, and then came to Wu Chu, and swore to be an ally with him. ”

Cao Cao's eyes lit up, he laughed a few times, and said, "Wenhe's strategy is not bad. In the past, Yizhou was mostly close to Lonely, but after Chrysostom, Liu Zhang and Liu Bei allied with each other. If Liu Bei captures Shu, Liu Zhang is isolated and helpless, and he lends his hand to help, which should make him strengthen his heart to resist Liu. ”

Although Liu Zhang is weak, it is true that he owns Yizhou. If he is firmly determined to resist Liu Bei and pull Wu Chu's soldiers into the battle of Yizhou, then Cao Cao can enter Shu from Longyou. Maybe he can defeat Liu Bei and thus capture Bashu.

"Hmm!"

Cao Cao's eyes wandered over Sun Quan, Sima Yi, and Jia Xu, and he was very satisfied with the strategies offered by the three.

With his hand on his belt, Cao Cao said with a smile: "There is such a talented person alone, why worry about the uneven northwest and the difficult world to decide." ”

After a pause, Cao Cao said: "Horses are greedy and have little foresight. If the horse wants to enter Long, then let him enter Long. and let Yan Xing lead Han Sui's old troops to fight with Ma Chao. Fate Miaocai led his troops into the west of the pass and was the lone vanguard. ”

"Prime Minister, what about our army?" Cao Hong asked.

"After the arrangement is completed, take the Wuguan Road to enter the customs." Cao Cao commanded.

"No!"

(End of chapter)