Wuhan, the state capital.

"Smack!"

Liu Bei angrily threw the towel to the ground, and said angrily: "Cao Apu actually dares to call Wei Gong, so unsightly, his heart can be punished!" ”

"Lord, stop your anger!"

Xu Shu picked up the towel that was thrown on the ground, patted the dust on it, and said: "Cao Cao coerced the Son of Heaven to order the princes, and his heart is known to the world. Today's important matter, we should quickly lower our chins, take advantage of the river and the danger of the mountains, in order to rejuvenate the Han Dynasty. ”

Liu Bei paced impatiently in the hall and asked, "What is the war in Jiangzhou today?" ”

Zhuge Liang hesitated a little and said: "Liu Zhang repeatedly sent rescue troops to aid Jiangzhou, although the reinforcements were all defeated by General Guan, but Jiangzhou City was dangerous, Liu Xun defended the city, Zhang Ren and Deng Xian were minions, and our army was really difficult to break. ”

"Can't wait any longer!"

Liu Bei tried to calm his mood, and said anxiously: "Now Cao Cao returns to Xuchang to claim the title, if our army does not capture Jiangzhou, Cao Cao will inevitably go south next year, and the army that attacked Shu will withdraw to Wu Chu at that time, and several years of hard work will come to naught." ”

"Lord!"

Xu Shu wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Liu Bei reaching out.

Liu Bei paced in the hall and said, "Cao Cao's soldiers returned to Xuchang to claim the title, and they were unable to take care of foreign affairs. Now that Jianghuai is stable, Zilong and Han Shenger will return to Wuhan, how about the second general of Lone Rate to conquer Bashu? ”

watched Cao Cao in the continuous pacification of Guanzhong and Longyou, and then he was going to be called a prince. It is impossible for Liu Bei not to be in a hurry, as he said, if it drags on any longer, it will be Cao Cao's southward intervention in the war, and his plan to seek Bashu for many years will be in vain.

Seeing that Liu Bei was so anxious, Zhuge Liang arched his hand and said, "Can the lord hear Liang's words?" ”

"Please tell me more!"

Zhuge Liang held the feather fan and asked, "What does the lord think about the civil and military forces of Shu?" ”

Liu Bei pondered a little and said: "The three generals Yunchang, Yide, and Xingba have the courage of ten thousand people, and they are rare generals in the world. Filial piety and Shiyuan Erjun are resourceful, good at military strategy, and are soldiers of the country. The rest of the generals are loyal and diligent in state affairs, and they are all trusted henchmen. ”

Zhuge Liang fanned Liu Bei and comforted: "The elite soldiers of the Shu army dare to fight, and they are the henchmen of the lord and the military command, so it can be seen that the battle of Jiangzhou is not the generals' dedication to fighting, nor is it filial piety and the wisdom of the two gentlemen of Shiyuan." ”

"The city of Jiangzhou is strong, located in Jiangjin and precipitous, there are sergeants who dare to fight, and there are reinforcements from outside to continue to help. Therefore, Jiangzhou must not be broken now, not because of the school! ”

"This~"

Seeing that he couldn't convince Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang took out the map of Jiangzhou from his arms, pointed and said: "The lord, the one from Jiangzhou, faces the river on three sides, has heavy mountains on his back, and controls Jiangjin." When Liu followed the city, Liu Zhang came to the aid outside. However, the lord wants to help Jiangzhou, but he doesn't know how to break the enemy? ”

Liu Bei looked at the Jiangzhou city defense on the map, and he was also in trouble.

Jiangzhou City is located on the Yuzhong Peninsula, surrounded by water on three sides, and bordered by heavy mountains in the west. To the north is Fushui, to the south is the Yangtze River, and to the east is the confluence of Fushui and the Yangtze River. Although the west side is connected to the land, the west side is mostly mountainous. Such cities are not only difficult to besiege, but also difficult to break.

Jiangzhou is Chongqing, and everyone often says that Xiangfan is difficult to overcome, but they don't know that Chongqing is also a rare strong city in the world.

During the Song and Mongolian Wars, everyone heard about Diaoyu City, but Diaoyu City was only a part of Chongqing's outer defense line.

It took more than 30 years for the Mongols to attack Chongqing, during which time Möngke Khan also died in the Battle of Diaoyu City. The Chongqing defense line laid out by the Southern Song Dynasty was so strong that it eventually forced the Mongols to bypass Chongqing and storm Xiangfan. Lay down Xiangfan, and then eliminate the Southern Song Dynasty. However, even so, the Diaoyu City held out until three years after the surrender of the Southern Song Dynasty.

It was still so difficult for Mongolia to fight Jiangzhou, not to mention the Guan, Zhang and other Shu armies that counterattacked Bashu from the downstream.

You let Huo Jun come, and in the face of the mountain city of Chongqing, you still have to honestly gnaw the city. Conspiracy is only an auxiliary in military operations, and the real victory still depends on the two sides fighting and confronting.

In history, Liu Bei's ability to Kebashu is actually mostly his own credit.

When Liu Bei and Liu Zhang tore their faces, Liu Bei was only more than 300 miles away from Chengdu, attacked all the way to the south, broke the generals, besieged the city, and restrained the Bashu army. The external military force was empty, and Zhuge Liang, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun entered Bashu to support Liu Bei's battle, and it took two or two or three years to take Bashu.

Now the situation has changed too much, Zhang Fei took Hanzhong, not in Shudi. Only by taking Jiangzhou first can we advance into Bashu. Historically, Liu Xun stuck to the city for a year, but now he is going to Jiangzhou to stick to the city, and the situation has changed so much that it is completely different from the historical trend.

Liu Bei sighed, sat back on the couch, and asked, "Since the city of Jiangzhou is beyond the power of manpower, I don't know what Kong Ming thinks?" ”

Zhuge Liang stroked the feather fan and said with a smile: "Zhong Miao is good at fighting, and he has said that the battle of attacking the city lies in attacking the heart, not in breaking the city." People's hearts are scattered, although the sky is difficult to keep. If you want to break Jiangzhou City, you may be on top of this language. ”

"Oh?"

Liu Bei showed surprise on his face and said: "Kong Ming has a plan, why not send a letter to Jiangzhou to help the army break through the city." ”

Zhuge Liang thought about it and said: "Liang can know this policy, how can Shiyuan and Xiaozhi not know." The lord can order people to enter Shu and grant the cloud long holiday festival, whether the city can be broken or not, it will be between the past two months. If the city cannot be broken, the lord can lead the soldiers to conquer in person. ”

"If the lord personally conquers Bashu at this time, the Shu people will know that the lord is in a hurry, but will strengthen his heart to defend the city, and I am afraid it will be even more difficult to break. Liang lives thousands of miles away, and it is difficult to talk about the war in Jiangzhou. However, Liang Liang thought that the Lord should be convinced of the generals and the advisers under his account. ”

Zhuge Liang persuaded Liu Bei not to enter Shu for the time being, not unreasonable, but at this time, Liu Bei really can't move lightly.

Now Cao Cao has returned to Xuchang to claim the title, and he will soon be exposed to the world. Bashu and Longxi communicate with each other, and they must know the movements of the Central Plains.

If Liu Bei personally conquered Bashu, he actually did not put pressure on Liu Zhang, but let the wise man see through Liu Bei's anxiety and persuade Liu Zhang to firmly resist. Once Cao Cao launched an attack from the north, Bashu survived Liu Bei's personal expedition, and Wu Chu's army had no other way but to retreat.

Keeping it as it is, conveying a mood of not being impatient or impatient, it is conducive to the army's attack on Jiangzhou. Once Jiangzhou is broken, Liu Bei's entry into Shu will accelerate the speed of the army to take Shu.

Liu Bei thought for a long time and said: "According to what Kong Ming said, you can't enter Shu alone, so I don't know if Zilong and Han Sheng can lead the army into Shu?" ”

Zhuge Liang pondered a little and said: "Zilong and Han Sheng's second generals will go to Jianghuai for a long time, and they can rest in Wuhan for a few days to watch the progress of the war in Jiangzhou. ”

"Good!"

Liu Bei sighed and said, "I hope to break through Bashu as soon as possible, if Cao Cao is allowed to withdraw from the south, he will abandon his previous achievements!" ”

Hearing this, Zhuge Liang frowned slightly and said: "With the current situation, even if our army breaks through Jiangzhou, it will take time to take Bashu. When he was next year, Cao Cao saw that our army was fighting in Bashu, and he was afraid that he would take the opportunity to go south, so he had to worry. ”

Liu Bei stroked his scarce beard and said in agreement: "Our army is fighting a fierce battle with Bashu, and with Cao Cao's heart, he will definitely go south, and he will never sit back and watch our army break Shu." ”

"Hanzhong, Public Security, Hefei!"

Zhuge Liang pondered for a while, and said in a deep voice: "If Cao Cao marches south in the next year, there are only these three places to march. The public security city is high and strong, Shi Ran is brave and daring to fight, and he can be worry-free; Hefei City, backed by Chaohu Lake, is not conducive to felling. ”

"Hanzhong, near the northwest, hangs thousands of miles away, with few soldiers and many cities. Today's Longyou has been obtained by Cao Cao, Guanzhong Chu'an, if Liang is Cao Cao, he will march from Hanzhong and seek to capture Bashu. When our army fought in Bashu, Cao's army went to Hanzhong, and it will be a time of crisis! ”

Liu Bei finally sat down, and was analyzed by Zhuge Liang, which made him anxious.

Getting up from the couch, Liu Bei said worriedly: "If that's the case, wouldn't Bo Yan be dangerous." Hanzhong was first obtained, and it was to be taken by Cao Cao. Although Shi Bashu is in my hands, it is difficult to be safe! ”

"Kong Ming, is there a way to crack it?" Liu Bei asked.

Zhuge Liang shook his head and said: "Only by breaking Jiangzhou early, based on Badi, and connecting Hanzhong, we may be able to resist the enemy." Ran Liang did not dare to assert that Cao Cao would enter Hanzhong, or that he would use troops to the public security. ”

As he spoke, Zhuge Liang stroked his fan and groaned, and said: "Zhong Miao is the governor of Jianghuai, and he has made outstanding achievements. Now that Cao thieves have withdrawn, the enemy does not dare to offend. Why don't the lord take advantage of the end of the year to summon Zhong Miao back to Chu to report on his work, and let Zijing temporarily sit in charge. ”

Liu Bei thought thoughtfully, nodded and said: "Zhong Miao has been on the expedition for a long time, and his family has left, and it is inevitable that he will miss it, so let Zhong Miao return to Chu now." ”

"Someone came, wrote to Huo Dudu, and asked him to finish arranging Jianghuai military affairs and return to Wuhan to report on his work. Yan Gu hasn't seen him for a long time, and he misses him very much. ”

"No!"

Seeing that Liu Bei finished discussing the military, Xu Shu took out Wen Shu in his arms and said: "My lord, Lu Wu County impeached Mi Danyang, and in the name of sending troops to Yuzhou, he invaded the baggage in the army. ”

"Huh?"

Liu Bei took Wen Shu, frowned and asked, "Zhong Miao can have any of the things that Shang Shu said about Zifang's invasion of the army?" ”

Zhuge Liang saw Liu Bei looking at him, coughed and said, "Lord, Zhong Miao did not report this matter. When Liang was ordered to buy war horses from Liaodong, he often underreported the number in order to sell them to the market to make money. ”

This time, Mi Fang took half a year's grain and grass to the north, but he only lasted about five months from the north to the army. However, the baggage that should have been left disappeared out of thin air. Mi Fang asked Lu Dai for grain and grass because there was no grain in Danyang County.

After Lu Dai gave grain and grass, he found the military rations circulating in the black market in Wu County, and after a deep investigation, he naturally found Mi Fang, so he immediately reported the matter to Wuhan.

You ask Huo Jun if he knows, of course he knows that Mi Fang is greedy for ink. As for why he didn't report it, it was mostly because of Mi Fang Danyang's identity as Taishou, and he was often warned not to sabotage the Northern Expedition.

Liu Bei looked at the content of the text, sighed and said: "When I was lonely in the East China Sea, the people's hearts were scattered, and there was no food in the army, so that people cannibalized. The childless party and the son Zhong have exhausted their family resources and are ready for today. ”

Saying that, Liu Bei put Wen Shu on the desk and said, "Zifang's greed for ink, prepare the current book to warn." As for Lu Dai, he was rewarded heavily and lived up to his loyalty. ”

Mi Fang is corrupt, what do you want Liu Bei to do, naturally forgive him!

After all, for a minister like Mi Fang, as long as he doesn't commit political problems, corruption is really nothing.

"No!"

Zhuge Liang and Xu Shu answered.

(End of chapter)