A.D. 218, May.

Meng Da saw that Cao Ren had not written a specific letter for a long time, and he was anxious in his heart, and wanted to write a letter urging Cao Ren to raise troops. However, after Lu Xun learned about it, he wrote to persuade Meng Da to calm down.

Lu Xun said in the letter that Meng Da was the one who surrendered, and he urgently urged Cao Ren to send troops, which was afraid that Cao Cao's suspicion would be aroused. Why don't you rely on your own identity, take the control of the three counties and nine counties as a bargaining chip, and ask for officials and lords in the letter, so as to appease Cao Cao's heart.

Then, the letter also said that the prince of Xiaguan had returned to Wuhan for the first time in the name of recuperation, and it was not appropriate to rush to mobilize troops. But after a few months, when Cao Ren was anxious, he lured him to send troops to attack Fangling.

Lu Xun had a hand in speculating about the enemy's intentions, and under his guidance, Meng Da was not in a hurry to communicate with Cao Ren, but hung Cao Ren. There are Cao Ren's letters in everything, and Meng Daduo is bargaining, giving full play to his side of a philistine.

In fact, Lu Xun was right. With the cooperation of Meng Da's troops, Fan Cao Ren raised troops to the west, and the three counties and nine counties would go down without a fight. As a powerful party, Meng Da is naturally qualified to bargain with Cao Ren.

During May, Meng Da maintained a correspondence with Cao Ren, and in order not to arouse suspicion, he did not urge Cao Ren to enter the army.

Not to mention the exchange of letters between Meng Da and Cao Ren, after Cao Cao entered Xuchang, he played the trick of three invitations and three concessions with Liu Xie, but in the end, he could not resist the kindness of the virtuous monarch Liu Xie, and Cao Cao finally accepted Liu Xie's concession.

After carefully selecting the dates of the officials, Cao Cao decided to ascend the throne in July and temporarily set up an altar in Xuchang, the capital of Wei, as a sacrifice to heaven and earth.

As for the location of the capital, there is either Yecheng or Luoyang. Although Cao Cao wanted to use Luoyang as the capital, due to the withering of Luoyang and the early establishment of the Great Wei Dynasty, he had to temporarily use Yecheng as the temporary capital.

In June, news of Liu Xiechan's order spread throughout the Wei state, and soon reached Wuhan, the capital of the Southern Han Dynasty.

Wuhan, Han Palace.

In the side hall, Liu Bei was drinking with Guan Yu and talking about brotherhood.

Liu Bei held the wine bottle, saw Guan Yu's sideburns white, and sighed: "Brother and Yun Chang met in Zhuo County, and Yun Chang was heroic and heroic. However, at this time, Yun Chang and his brother are both white-haired husbands, and they are both old! ”

Looking at the wrinkles on Liu Bei's face, Guan Yu felt a lot and said, "Xianhe and Gongyou died of illness one after another, and their friends gradually died. When I think about it now, when there are many memories of the past and gather for laughter. ”

Saying that, Guan Yu asked: "The king and his younger brother gathered in Wuhan, but now I don't know how Yide is, I haven't seen him for a few years, and I should miss a lot." ”

Liu Bei shook his head and smiled bitterly, and said: "Yide, as in the past, often drinks heavily and whips soldiers. Bo Yan and Cheng Ming are far away from the office, and the soldiers under the tent can't persuade them. Even if he was persuaded by his brother's letters, Yide often did not listen to the advice. ”

Guan Yu sighed helplessly and said: "Yide is far away in Jiangzhou to lead the troops, no one is in the ear, Gai Duo is a little indulgent. ”

The mountain is high and the emperor is far away, and the letter is not useful. When Zhang Fei was fighting now, because he was the governor, he was afraid of delaying the military, so he didn't dare to drink too much. However, when he was stationed in Jiangzhou, there was no military action, and Zhang Fei was free of himself, and his bad habits were difficult to correct.

Liu Bei picked up the wine spoon to pour wine for Guan Yu, and said with a smile: "When the slave gets married and Yide returns to Wuhan, Gudang must be severely reprimanded and let him restrain his temperament." ”

Guan Yu stopped Liu Bei's move and said, "My brother is the king of Han, how can he pour wine for his younger brother." ”

Liu Bei pretended to be displeased and said: "You and I have been brothers for decades, even if we are kings and ministers, it is difficult to change the affection between you and me. Brother pours wine for brother, why not? ”

Seeing Liu Bei say this, Guan Yu smiled and said, "Even though my brother is not the king of Han, he is also the elder. When the younger brother is young, when the younger brother pours wine. ”

"No need!"

Liu Bei patted Guan Yu's outstretched hand, poured wine for him, and said with a smile: "Brother vaguely remembers when he lived in Xiaopei, when the weather was cold, you and I were all warming up and drinking by the fireside, discussing the matter of recovery, and Yide was drinking water beside him. ”

Guan Yu showed a look of reminiscence, and said: "If my brother's memory is correct, it should be that Yide lost Xiapi, and my brother and I were exiled in the East China Sea, and we were relieved by Mi Zizhong, and then transferred to Xiaopei. In the cold winter of that year, Yide regretted losing the city drunk and did not drink water for several months. ”

On that day, when the elder brother saw that Yide was remorseful, he called him to pour wine and let him have a few sips. Unexpectedly, Yide drank until he was drunk, and his brother scolded Fang Xiu. Yide is a lifelong drinker, and he is not happy if he does not drink. ”

Liu Bei didn't say anything, but he saw Wang Cang walking into the hall, his steps in a hurry, as if there was something urgent.

"King!"

"Zhong Xuan, why are you in such a hurry?" Liu Bei asked.

Wang Cang stopped and saluted, and said: "King Qiqi, according to the rumors of Xuchang, Cao Cao forced the Son of Heaven to practice the law of three generations and cede the throne to him. At this time, the Central Plains mostly know that Cao Cao may usurp the throne in the near future. ”

"What?"

Even if he was prepared, when Liu Bei learned the news, he was also angry in his heart.

Liu Bei slapped the case angrily and said angrily: "After Cao Thief is a eunuch, the world will receive Han'en, and he will have the honor of his Cao family." After killing, he became the king, and now he usurped the throne and ascended the throne, which is tolerable, but which is unbearable. ”

Guan Yu looked angry and said: "When Xuchang was hunting in the past, if Yu killed Cao Cao with an arrow, there would be no usurpation of Cao Cao's throne today. ”

Liu Bei raised his head and sighed, and said: "It is the blessing of the country that Cao Cao should not be easily moved. At this time, Cao Cao has become a disaster for the country, and the blessings and misfortunes are like the clouds and sunshine of the sky, which I cannot expect. ”

At that time, Cao Cao, who was hunting in Xu Tian, welcomed Liu Xie, the son of heaven. At that time, the two parties were at the end of the honeymoon period, and the two sides had not yet turned their faces.

At that time, Liu Bei joined Cao Cao, and it was precisely because he took a fancy to Cao Cao's banner of supporting the Son of Heaven. Later, although he recognized Cao Cao's face, he didn't dare to do it directly.

At that time, Liu Bei asked Guan Yu to make a move to Cao Cao, but he didn't say whether it was successful or not. Even if they succeed, Liu Bei and Guan Yu are afraid that they will not be able to escape death, and they will be benefited by Yuan Shao at that time.

The hope of the world, Yuan Benchu. It's not a mortal's boast, it's a real thing.

Therefore, Liu Bei called Cao Cao at that time for the blessing of the country, and there was a reason for it.

Guan Yu felt helpless in his heart, and said: "If Cao Cao usurps the throne, the hope of rejuvenating the Han is only on the elder brother, I don't know when the elder brother wants to enter the throne and rejuvenate the Han family?" ”

Liu Bei frowned and sighed slightly, and said: "The matter of becoming the emperor is not in a hurry, or it can be discussed after Yunchang's northern expedition to Xiangyang." ”

Guan Yu pondered for a while and said: "Please rest assured, if Meng Da's strategy of deception is successful, Cao Ren dares to send troops to the west, Yu will make contributions to his brother, destroy his division, and defeat his army." ”

As he spoke, Guan Yu bowed his hand to Liu Bei and said in a deep voice: "If you don't go down to Xiangfan, you will rest in addition to death." ”

Wang Cang's expression moved slightly, and he said, "Junhou, it's important to die!" ”

Hearing this, Guan Yu's expression was slightly correct, and he said: "Soldiers, this is a murderous thing. If you don't say die, don't you say what you say, retreat in fear of war, and don't want to forge ahead? ”

Liu Bei interrupted and said, "Zhong Xuan didn't mean this, his heart was for Yun Chang's sake. Yun Chang, as a general, how can the governor say 'death' lightly? ”

Guan Yu sighed slightly and said, "Xiangfan is steep, rare in the world. There must be Xiangfan, but you can look at Wanluo in the north, Guanzhong in the west, and take Ru and Ying in the east. The reason why the strategy of conquering the north offered by the military division could not be achieved was that Xiangyang was not in the hands of our army. If Xiangfan is obtained, the three roads will echo with soldiers, and Cao Cao will be in panic all day. ”

"Yu was entrusted by his brother to guard Nanjun, and he couldn't wait to go down to Xiangfan, thinking that his brother would revive the Han family. Looking at the situation in the world in the past, I am afraid that it will be difficult for Yu to become the trust of his brother for a long time. Now that there is a good opportunity to conspire, how can Yu not take it away with death? ”

Huo Jun's Bo Wangzheng is right, which belongs to the limit of the territory that Liu Bei can have. It's not that his ability is inadequate, but that Cao Cao's power at that time was too strong.

No matter how strong Zhuge Liang and Lu Su's strategic vision is, they cannot break free from the shackles of the situation. However, since this is the case, Zhuge Liang tried to put forward a strategy of attacking the north from the south according to Huo Jun's strategy.

With the middle road as the fulcrum of Jingzhou, through Fangcheng Xia Road and Wuguan Road, to pry the situation in Xuhuai and Guanzhong. However, now that the north and the south are separated, why can't Zhuge Liang's strategy be realized?

There is no other reason!

is the same as in the previous life, the Jingzhou in Liu Bei's hands is not a complete Jingzhou, but a Jingzhou that lacks Jingbei.

This is also the reason why in the last Northern Expedition, Liu Bei changed to Shouchun. He tried to change the strategy of the Northern Expedition, and by taking Shouchun, he went to fight for the Central Plains.

Therefore, it can be said that once the Southern Han broke through one of the points of Shouchun or Xiangfan, the shackles of its struggle with Cao Wei for the Central Plains would be broken. Both were in the hands of the Southern Han Dynasty, and the Southern Han Dynasty occupied the initiative in the Northern Expedition.

In such a vast front, the only place that can have the ability to change the situation of the battle is Xiangfan. There must be Xiangfan, and the Southern Han Dynasty can go to complete the Jiangshang strategy proposed by Zhuge Liang.

Such an important strategic base really tied up the dream of reviving the Han Dynasty.

In Guan Yu's opinion, although he is dead, if he can win Xiangfan for Liu Bei, it is enough!

Liu Bei held Guan Yu's hand and persuaded him: "Yun Chang's heart, how can you not know it. But victory and defeat are common things in soldiers, and Wangyun Chang should not be overly eager. ”

"Please rest assured, brother!"

Guan Yu arched his hand and said: "The elder brother and the princes have been planning for the younger brother for a long time, and Zhong Miao has been going south to Jiaoling since Gannan in order to make Cao Thief unprepared, and the younger brother should work hard." ”

After Lu Dai and Buqi took the two counties of Yulin and Hepu, according to the previous words, they sent a letter to Liu Bei asking for help.

In order to confuse Cao Cao, he pretended to be anxious about the war in Jiaozhou, saying that he had no intention of the Northern Expedition, and Liu Bei appointed Huo Jun to supervise Jiaoguang and Erzhou, responsible for pacifying Shixie. Therefore, after Huo Jun and Guan Yu met in Wuhan, they led the soldiers south and rushed to Jiaoling to quell the rebellion.

It can be said that in order to lure Cao Renxi into Fangling, almost everyone was mobilized to participate in this strategic deception.

For example, Liu Feng and Meng Da sang and harmonized, and Lu Xun pointed out in Hanzhong; Huo Jun took advantage of the matter of the king of Huainan and pretended to be suspicious of Liu Bei; Buqi and Lu Dai slowed down the pace of attacking Jiaoling and asked Wuhan for help; Guan Yu adopted Lu Meng's strategy, saying that he was sick and returned to Wuhan to recuperate.

It can be said that in order to create Liu Bei's heart of the Northern Expedition, the three counties and nine counties of Fangling, Shangyong, and Xicheng were easily accessible, and most of the high-level officials of the Southern Han Dynasty joined them.

Guan Yu's Northern Expedition to Xiangyang was not a one-person Northern Expedition, but a concern that affected the hearts of the high-level people in the south. In order to win the empty Jingzhou troops, it is convenient to follow up the attack on Xiangfan.

(End of chapter)