The sun sets, the water is sparkling, and the sunset in the sky is very gorgeous.

On the bank of the water, the Han camp is set up near the water, and the infantry sergeants shuttle through the camp, and the smoke curls up.

In the big tent, Liu Bei carried his hands behind his waist, pacing and meditating.

Fa Zheng's strategy to take Longzhi is a bit thrilling in Liu Bei's opinion, if the operation is not appropriate, I am afraid that Ma Chao will deviate from him, and even be used by Cao Wei.

But I have to say that if the plan can be successful, not only can we win the two counties of Yinping and Wudu, but also can not turn against Ma Chao, the results of the Northern Expedition will be maximized.

"Bingbo, what do you think is the policy of filial piety?" Liu Bei asked.

Bingbo, the word of Fei Guan, is a native of Jiangxia County, Fei Yi's uncle, and Liu Zhang's son-in-law.

Although Fei Guan is the uncle of Fei Yi's family, he is actually not very old, only in his early thirties, smaller than Zhuge , Fa Zheng, Huo Jun and others.

When Xiguan and Zhang were in Shu, Fei Guan joined the army and Li Yan was the protector, and the two led their troops to surrender to the Southern Han Dynasty and helped Guan Yu break through Jiangzhou City.

Since Shuping, Fei Guan was worshiped as a partial general, led Yuzhang Taishou, because of his outstanding political achievements, he was promoted to Wuhan, and was valued by Liu Bei.

It was the Northern Expedition, and Fei Guan joined the army and led the Nanyang Taishou to go on the expedition with the army.

Fei Guan pondered for a while and said, "Your Majesty, the policy of the decree monarch is right in the current situation. Ma Chao is ambitious, not unscrupulous, if the thief army has the intention of attacking Longyou, Ma Chao will not dare to fight with our army, only to cut the land and seek an alliance. ”

Liu Bei hesitated and said: "The policy of filial piety is to benefit the country, but if you seek two counties, Ma Chao will turn his back on the Han and become a thief, which will be a big loss because of the small!" ”

"That's not the case!"

Fei Guan corrected and said: "Your Majesty, Ma Chao is called a minister, and he will pay tribute to His Majesty." Not because Ma Chao was loyal to His Majesty, but because Ma Chao was afraid that after our army retreated, Cao Pi attacked Longyou. His people are capricious, sacrificing their relatives and betraying their righteousness, if they can take profits, will Ann not squander to His Majesty? ”

The strategy offered by Fa Zheng to seek Longxi was actually formulated according to the geographical pattern of Longyou and the diplomatic pattern of the three parties in Kansai.

In ancient times, the west was right, so the area west of Longshan was called Longxi and Longyou. In a broad sense, Longyou does not only refer to the four counties of Longyou, but includes the Hehuang Valley and the Hexi Corridor area.

Taking the generalized Longyou region as the geographical unit analysis, it can actually be divided into Hehuang Valley, Longxi Plateau, Longnan Mountain and Hexi Corridor.

The territory occupied by Ma Chao today includes the Longxi Plateau and the Longnan Mountains, and the Hehuang Valley is inhabited by the forces of Cao Wei and the Qiang tribe, while Hexi is completely under the sphere of influence of Cao Wei.

Fa Zheng suggested that Liu Bei use force to exert maximum pressure and force Ma Chao to cede the Longnan Mountains, only to keep the Longxi Plateau.

Longnan mountainous area, Wudu, Yinping two counties; Longxi Plateau, Tianshui, Nan'an, Guangwei four counties.

As for why Fa Zheng was sure to let Ma Chao hand over Wudu and Yinping County, it was judged according to the current situation.

After the Southern Han retreated, Ma Chao, who had seized Longyou, would be targeted by Cao Wei because of his rebellion against Cao Wei, and Cao Wei would inevitably take the opportunity to send troops and seek revenge. In this case, Ma Chao must have a request from Han.

The Han could take advantage of the situation, use force to exert maximum pressure, make the appearance of attacking Ma Chao, and force him to hand over the second county of Longnan.

Ma Chao saw that the Han and Wei sides were at odds, and after careful consideration, when the meeting gave up the small and protected the big, signed an alliance with the Southern Han Dynasty, and used the two counties of Longnan as a condition in exchange for the covenant of the Great Han to protect independence.

So why did Fa Zheng think that Ma Chao would agree to the conditions of the Southern Han Dynasty?

Without him, Ma Chao and Cao Wei were separated by Longshan as the border line between the two sides, and he must not allow Cao Wei to cross his forces beyond Longshan. Of course, Ma Chao did not allow the Southern Han generals to penetrate deep into the Longyou Plateau, thus endangering his rule.

But don't forget that between Ma Chao and the Southern Han Dynasty, there are two counties in Longnan as a buffer zone for both sides. Even if the Southern Han Dynasty occupied the Longnan Mountains, it was difficult to penetrate deep into the Longyou Plateau because of the Qishan Fort.

And with the current situation of the Southern Han Dynasty, it is unable to compete with Cao Wei for Longyou. The Southern Han Dynasty would allow Ma Chao to divide Longyou, and would never allow Cao Weixin to get Longyou.

Of course, this is only a unilateral reflection of the Fazheng, and when it is really implemented, there are very high requirements for the executors, especially the grasp of the situation.

The reason why Liu Bei hesitated now was not that he did not approve of Fa Zheng's strategy, but that he was thinking about the feasibility of the strategy. If something goes wrong in the execution process, I am afraid of angering Ma Chao and letting Cao Wei benefit alone.

Liu Bei stopped and said: "If according to the policy of filial piety, the words of Bingbo, non-eloquent, and heroic people, it is not enough to unite the alliance of the two families." ”

Fei Guan thought about the candidate and said: "Your Majesty, Li Hui, a native of Jianning in Nanzhong, can speak well and be brave and brave. Now it is better to let Li Hui be the envoy, to Zuo Lu Governor, and let him say Ma Chao, for the benefit of the country, and form an alliance between the two families. ”

Li Hui, whose name is Deang, was the governor of Jianning County at the beginning, and Dong He, a native of Zhijiang in Nanjun, was the master of it.

In the process of leveling Shu, Li Hui surrendered to the Southern Han. Later, because of Zhang Song's case, he was unfortunately falsely accused and imprisoned, but fortunately, Liu Bei saw everything clearly, found Li Hui innocent, and promoted him to the rank of squire. Today, Liu Bei led the army to Guanzhong, and Li Hui also accompanied him.

"Good!"

Liu Bei pondered and said: "Li Deang is thoughtful, both civil and military, and is a rare talent in Nanzhong. Now he is ordered to be an envoy, enter Lu Xun's army, participate in the military, and pass on the edict. ”

After a pause, Liu Bei instructed left and right, and said: "Pass the generals into the account to discuss the withdrawal of troops." ”

"No!"

Fa Zheng is not in good health, and he will not attend ordinary military meetings. Unless it is something that Liu Bei cannot solve, he will ask Fa Zheng to participate in the discussion.

Needless to say, Liu Bei wanted to lead the army to retreat, and Li Hui had to follow Liu Bei's order to cross the Zhongnan Mountain Trail, smuggle to Luokou, and pass the edict to Lu Xun.

Luokou, Han military camp.

In the big tent, Lu Xun sat on the couch, and the generals of Bashu sat on the left and right.

Li Hui presented the two letters to Lu Xun and said: "Governor of the capital, because autumn is approaching, the river is gradually slowing down, the Danhan waterway is inconvenient, and the grain and grass are insufficient. And the thief army is so large that there is no chance to win, so His Majesty wants to withdraw his troops and return to the country, so that he will try China again in the coming year! ”

Lu Xun opened the letter separately and browsed the content on it. The first letter was an edict for Liu Bei to let Lu Xun withdraw his troops; The second letter was to let Lu Xun plan the affairs of Yinping and Wudu County.

Holding the letter in his hand, Lu Xun invited Li Hui to take a seat and asked, "When does Your Majesty want to withdraw the army?" Is the arrangement complete? ”

Li Hui sat down and replied: "Your Majesty wants to withdraw the army on July 26, and ordered the generals Fu Wei and Feng Xi to stay behind the two palaces, and leave the deputy army general to govern Shang County, and Zhao Junhou led his troops to the west to respond. ”

In order to consolidate the fruits of victory and lay a solid foundation for the next Northern Expedition, Liu Bei was named the history of Sizhou Thorn and stayed in the town to merge.

In order to prevent the pursuit of the Wei army, Liu Bei arranged Fu Wei and Feng Xi to be behind the palace, and asked Zhao Yun to lead the horse against Danshui to the west.

Seeing that Liu Bei had already made arrangements for the withdrawal of the army, Lu Xun was a little relieved and continued to ask: "Our army has retreated, and most of the thief army is advancing eastward, how can Huo Du deal with himself?" ”

Li Hui pondered for a while and replied: "Your Majesty said, Huo Du uses water to replace the soldiers, and he wants water to decide on Pi, and it will be clear in the near future. After our army withdrew, the thief army marched eastward, at least one month, and at most two months, when Huo Du either had succeeded and retreated, or did not retreat. ”

After a pause, Li Hui asked: "Dare to ask the governor, is the second county of Longnan profitable?" ”

Lu Xun put the letter on the table, thought about it and said: "As the edict said, the two counties of Longnan should be profitable. But with Ma Chao's temperament, he must not easily give up the second county, I am afraid that it will take a lot of effort. ”

Li Hui glanced at the generals in the account, saw that most of them were core high-ranking officials, and boldly asked: "Is it in the opinion of the governor?" ”

Lu Xun paced and thought, and said: "Ma Chao thinks very highly of himself, and he can retire lightly without words, so he needs to use force first, and then speak of interests, so that he can become good with him." ”

"Then I'm afraid it's difficult!"

Li Hui frowned and said: "If you start a war with Ma Chao, I am afraid that it will benefit the thieves." If the thief does not move, what should he do? ”

"What is so fearful about Ma Chao?"

Wei Yan got up from the table and said, "The former governor couldn't accept the strategy of the Meridian Valley, so the soldiers and horses were trapped in Luokou. Jinyan invited another 5,000 elite soldiers to attack Wudu. When the city has fallen, the governor raised troops and then arrived, the wood has become a boat, and the horses and horses have overtaken the troops, and it is difficult to change the overall situation! ”

"And if Ma Chao is incompetent, I and the governor can join forces to defeat him, and Shi Longyou can also seek it. If Bing Ge can't occupy the county, he can let Ma Chao cut the land just by words? ”

Wei Yan had a lot of grievances about the strategy of Meridian Valley, and in his opinion, if Lu Xun listened to him, he was afraid that he would have been able to enter Chang'an a long time ago, and it would not be like this.

Of course, Wei Yan never knew that Ma Chao had already sold them clean when he raised the army. Whether it is walking the Meridian Valley or taking the Fu Luo Road, Cao Zhen can raise troops and arrange them properly. If he led his troops out of the Meridian Valley, he was afraid that he would be defeated in the middle of the road.

Regarding Wei Yan's words, Lu Xun looked indifferent, not annoyed or impatient.

In his eyes, although Wei Yan has a strong temperament, he is really brave and brave, he is a sharp minions, how can he cut off his own minions because of trivial things?

Lu Xun stroked his beard under his chin and said, "I thought it was true!" ”

"If you want to take the second county of Longnan today, you need to get the second county city first. When our army was in Longnan and the thief army was in Longdong, Ma Chao was afraid of difficulties and knew how to retreat, so that he could match his heart with words and form an alliance between the two families. ”

It is not easy to take the policy of the two counties of Longnan to be thought up by Fazheng, and it is even more difficult to implement it. As Lu Xun said, Ma Chao has a strong temperament, and unless there is nothing to do, he will categorically not agree to cede the land. Not to mention that after the land was cut, he also maintained friendly relations with the Southern Han Dynasty.

"Could it be that the governor wants to go down to the two counties of Longnan, and then use the army to base Ma Chao and divide the territory by the covenant?" Li Hui asked.

"Yet"

Lu Xun smiled, looked at the generals in the tent, and ordered: "Where are Wei Yan and Wang Ping?" ”

"The last general!" Two of them are listed.

"Order the two of you to each lead 5,000 soldiers and horses, and rush back to Hanzhong at the same time, and supply the sergeants on the spot. Then divide the troops to take Yinping and Wudu two counties, and if Ma Chao rises to take it, be sure to stick to the moon. and when our soldiers arrive, their soldiers will retreat! Lu Xun said.

"No!"

Wei Yan stepped forward to receive the military order and retreated happily; Wang Ping looked serious, checked the details with Lu Xun, and Fang led the army to retreat.

After the second general left, Lu Xun sneered a few times and said: "Our army retreats, Cao Zhen will come to pursue, and at that time, let Cao Zhen get a letter from the strategy of Longyou, and ask him to help me." ”

"Color!"

Hearing this, Li Hui thoroughly understood the meaning of Lu Xun's arrangement, and couldn't help but applaud.

With Lu Xun's army alone, Ma Chao would raise troops to resist in the south, which was not enough to make him succumb. But with Cao Wei's help, it would be different, Cao Wei had an attempt to completely annihilate Ma Chao. At that time, the Southern Han Dynasty was able to force Ma Chao to sign an alliance on the condition of the two counties of Longnan.

(End of chapter)