Three Kingdoms: I help Liu Bei grow thousands of miles

Page 187

"It's the first time Shizai leads the army independently, and I'm ordered by my master to hold the battle for you." Song Chen was afraid that Deng Ai would disagree, so he carried him out of Lantian.

Pound was very shocked when he heard this. He knew that Song Chen was definitely lying, because he would have spoken out just now because of Lan Tian's order, and he would not wait until he went and returned.

After all, this child was still young, so he was easily fooled by the shrewd Song Chen.

"It should be inconvenient for General Pang to stay here, right? If Zhang Lu's people find you, it may affect the master's plan." Deng Ai hesitated.

"General Song and I went up to watch the wind. You don't have to worry about us, little general." Pound pointed to the upper left with a smile on his face.

"Okay." Deng Ai saw that it was too difficult to stop, and then led a group of soldiers to deploy ahead.

Pang De and Song Chen climbed up to the hiding spot on the slope, where there were only a dozen soldiers carrying flags, and they found out that it was Zitong Huo Jun's soldiers after they asked.

Because there were too few cavalry in Zitong County, Huo Jun only dispatched 2000 cavalry to let Deng Ai go first, and he led [-] infantry to come here.

After hearing this, Pang De took a reassurance that if he could persist until the arrival of two thousand infantry, he would not be afraid of the hundreds of cavalry sent by Zhang Lu.

"You don't seem to be carrying bows and crossbows. What will General Deng rely on to attract the enemy later? Are you picking up stones on the mountain and throwing them? I don't think there are many stones around here..." Pound was very curious.

Huotou, the leader of the team, explained: "General Deng asked us to be suspicious soldiers. When we hear the order from the mountain, we can stand up and wave the flag and shout."

Weeds were overgrown in the place where they were hiding on the slope, and the road down the mountain was empty now. Pang De didn't know how Deng Ai ordered the suspicious soldiers, wondering if he would just take the dozens of people to retreat?

Although he is a young man with a vigorous blood, he is Mr. Xuan Xiao's disciple after all, so he shouldn't be so reckless.

"General Song, I think Deng Shizai's face is still childish, and he doesn't look like someone who has performed the crown ceremony. How old is he now?" Pang De asked.

Song Chen thought for a while, then counted his fingers, and then said: "I seem to remember that he was born in the second year of Jian'an, so it should be insufficient now..."

"It's really a hero out of a boy..."

Pang De lamented that the world has become too turbulent, and another teenager who went to the battlefield, isn't this similar to the old master Ma Chao?

"Where did General Deng go? Why hasn't he come back for a long time?" Song Chen asked Huotou worriedly seeing Deng Ai gone for a long time.

After hearing that, Huotou shook his head, "General Deng just told us to follow orders. I really don't know what he's doing down the mountain."

At this time, there was a rush of horseshoes, and Deng Ai led dozens of cavalry to appear in sight, but there was a certain distance from the hiding point of the suspect.

Because the distance was relatively far, the archery and stone throwing that Pound considered were completely out of reach.

Yang Ren had not been chasing the Jinniu Road for less than a day. Based on his experience, if Pang De really took this road, he should have chased at least part of it. It made the horse's face numb from the cold.

On the [-]th day of the first lunar month, there were still snowflakes in Bashan from time to time. Under such harsh temperature conditions, cavalry marching quickly was prone to be infected with wind and cold.

Suddenly the scouts who opened the way ahead came to report that there were many rocks on the road more than ten feet ahead. There was no problem with passing but the speed would be reduced.

Stones often fell in the Bashan Mountains, but Yang Ren did not suspect that the enemy did it on purpose, so he asked the cavalry behind him to control the horses to slow down and slowly pass through the tens of feet of rocky road. He planned to clean it up when he returned.

Yang Ren frowned instantly when he was on the scene. This was obviously a man-made rock formation. He wondered if Pang De was really in front?

Yang Ren led the army through the stone formation carefully. When they passed a corner of the mountain, a cavalry team of [-] people came into view. This was not Pang Rou and Pound in his mind.

"Where is this man, how dare you offend Yizhou?" Deng Ai pointed a gun at Yang Ren and shouted.

Yang Ren saw that Deng Ai's clothes and armor were all in place. Although his face was dark and shiny, but the youthfulness and childishness between his brows could not be dispelled, Yang Ren held the reins and said with a smile, "You are a young general under the prefect Huo? Why did you get lost and come to this place?" Here? This place is close to Yangping Pass, which is the boundary of Hanzhong, so hurry back to Jiameng Pass, lest you lose your life in vain."

"Hanzhong is also the prefecture of Yizhou. Since you call yourself a general of Hanzhong, how dare you show off your power in front of this general? I am a captain under the command of General Zuo. Why don't you go back to Yangping Pass to defend? My lord will come to seize Hanzhong sooner or later. "Deng Ai's momentum is not weak at all.

Just as Yang Ren was about to speak, the general beside him reminded him: "General, after chasing for seventy or eighty miles, we didn't see Pang De, but met Liu Bei's scouts. They should have run to Chencang Road. Why don't we just lead our troops back?"

"Hmph, if you want to go back, you have to ask for a lot of money. This yellow-mouthed child is so arrogant, I should capture him and present him to the lord." Yang Ren replied coldly.

"Whispering what?" Deng Ai shouted.

"It's true that newborn calves are not afraid of tigers, but they are not young at such a young age? Do you dare to announce your name and fight with me?" Yang Ren asked proudly.

"Nanyang Deng Ai, come and die quickly." Deng Ai patted his horse and stepped forward with a gun.

Seeing this, Yang Ren raised his sword to fight Deng Ai. When the sword and gun met, he realized that the young man had some skills.

It was the first time for Deng Ai to participate in the fight. At first, he seemed jerky due to lack of experience, but he became proficient after a few rounds.

It is said that boxing is afraid of the young, but it is the youth versus the old. A man like Yang Ren who is at the peak of his body actually fell into a disadvantage in the competition with the child. After a few moves, he had other thoughts.

Pang De and Song Chen were watching the battle on the hillside, and found that Deng Ai's marksmanship was becoming more and more proficient, so they couldn't help asking: "General Deng's marksmanship is good. Is this his first time fighting a general? He has gradually taken the initiative. If there are ten chances, Yang Ren will be defeated."

Song Chen nodded, "Before Deng Shizai entered Shu, he often accompanied Mr. Zhang. After entering Shu, he only farmed in Zitong. This must be his first battle."

"This boy can be of great use." Pound sighed.

Song Chen shook his head and didn't respond, thinking that you are completely nonsense, can the master's direct disciple be useless?

Chapter 400 Liu Batou Tie Advises

Yang Ren saw that he couldn't take Deng Ai down in a hurry, and when he returned to the formation, he suddenly ordered the rear army to charge the formation, and then the hundreds of Hanzhong cavalry moved like a torrent in the mountains.

Fighting alone has no chance of winning, but Yang Ren didn't think it was inappropriate to use the advantage of the total force to suppress it.

Seeing this, Deng Ai didn't panic. He took the lead and brandished his spear to block the front, and he joined the cavalry behind him to attack, and the sound of fighting sounded in the valley instantly.

The mountain road between Yangping Pass and Jiameng Pass was excavated along the valley of the mountain stream and small river. Due to the narrowness of the passage and the limited combat area, the cavalry of both sides could not form a position at all, so although Yang Ren's troops were slightly larger , but cannot take advantage.

The cavalry from both sides were crowded together, and only a dozen people at the front could fight, as if there was a traffic jam on a one-way street in the countryside.

"How will General Pang deal with this situation?" Song Chen, who was watching the battle, asked curiously.

Pound said indifferently: "Why should there be hundreds of people in the area to be afraid of? When we meet on a narrow road, the brave wins, and Pang will fight hard to kill the opponent."

Song Chen said to himself: "I don't know what Shi Zai's plan is. Although his martial prowess is not bad, it is still far behind General Guan, General Zhang, and even General Gan..."

At this time, the fire head who was in charge of the suspicious soldiers blew his whistle, and dozens of banners on the hillside suddenly fluttered in the wind, and the sound of shouts and drums echoed in the valley, as if thousands of troops were coming.

The sudden change caused some disturbances in the Hanzhong team at the foot of the mountain, and the calm reaction of Deng Ai's cavalry was in stark contrast to the opponent.

"It's a plan, retreat quickly..." Yang Ren grabbed the reins and turned to retreat.

"Follow me." Deng Ai shouted.

The 'blockage' in the valley immediately began to move like opening a gate to release water because one party turned its direction. Deng Ai's cavalry pursuit was also limited by the terrain, so they couldn't cause too much damage to Yang Ren's soldiers and horses.

After chasing Pound aimlessly before, and now fleeing to Yangping Pass, the Hanzhong cavalry felt that the horses ran faster.

Deng Ai's pursuit stopped abruptly at an obstacle. Yang Ren didn't have time to clear the rocks on the road, so when the horses were running, they were tripped due to crowding, and more than thirty unlucky ghosts were thrown to the ground, which completely blocked Deng Ai's pursuit. path of.

Easily repelled the pursuing Yang Ren, Deng Ai cleared the battlefield and led the army back. Song Chen, Pang De and the suspects were already waiting at the foot of the mountain.

"Thank you to the two generals for standing up for me." Deng Ai expressed his thanks politely with cupped fists.

Song Chen and Pang De looked at each other with a smile, and then clasped their fists in return: "Shi Zai is brave and resourceful, and he is worthy of being the disciple of the master. He will be pleased when he knows."

"Ashamed, ashamed, it's not suitable to stay here for a long time, let's go first..." Deng Ai nodded.

"Very good." Song Chen and Pang De replied at the same time.

Afterwards, everyone went all the way unimpeded, and met Huo Jun's reinforcements on the way south to Jiameng Pass, and those Xiliang soldiers felt that they had completely escaped from the sea of ​​suffering.

From the time Shangyuan Ye escaped to the final arrival at Jiameng Pass, the Xiliang soldiers were too tired to move due to lack of rest.

According to Lan Tian's wishes, Deng Ai warmly entertained the Xiliang soldiers who fled from Hanzhong. Many of the new Dengzhuang villagers who entered Shu had learned good cooking skills. Pang Rou and Pang De ate delicious meals here. , Thinking of what happened in Hanzhong is really heaven and earth.

While Pang De and others were resting at Jiameng Pass, Zitong prefect Huo Jun sent a letter to Chengdu on Pegasus, whether to send the Xiliang cavalry to Chengdu or to Ma Chao, neither Huo Jun nor Deng Ai dared to make an opinion.

After Liu Bei occupied Yizhou, he used people from Jingzhou and Yizhou such as Zhuge Liang, Fazheng, Pang Tong, Huang Quan, Li Yan, etc., because the distribution of benefits was more reasonable, and these people's ability to govern was stable, and the overall situation in Shuzhong tended to be stable and positive. development trend.

The situation in Yizhou at this time is similar to that of Liu Zhang. Liu Bei's main control area is still the central part of Yizhou, and the Hanzhong area in the north and the barbarian areas in the south are still not under actual control.

The high and dangerous mountains of Hanzhong in the north are the only way to go out of the Central Plains in the north. The sparsely populated mountains in the south are difficult to travel. It will take time to completely complete the unification of Yizhou.

Fazheng, Pang Tong, and Huang Quan all suggested using military means, but the transportation of grain and grass to the two places is a big problem. Right now, Yizhou is developing steadily and resuming production, and it is not suitable for large-scale foreign operations. Zhuge Liang thinks that the army will attack the heart For the top.

In the first month of the lunar year, when the coldness in Chengdu was still there, Liu Bei set up pot-boiled meat in General Zuo’s mansion, and discussed the government affairs of various places with important ministers in Jingzhou and Yizhou. Lantian’s drastic reforms in Jiaozhou aroused great interest and even dissatisfaction among some people.

Lantian set up a Meng school in Jiaozhou, using a large number of officials from poor families in the head of Guizhou as officials. Although those official positions are not important positions, Liu Ba is under great pressure to speak to Liu Bei, hoping that he can Restrain Lan Tian's crazy behavior, otherwise the law of the ancestors will be shaken.

Liu Ba is from Zhaoyang, Lingling County. He was born in a family of officials. His grandfather Liu Yao was the prefect of Cangwu, but these two places are now under the rule of Lantian, so he has a big prejudice against Lantian.

Although Liu Ba's advice is mainly selfish, he is knowledgeable, simple and noble, and has no personal relationships. This kind of arrogant personality is destined to have few friends.

In the Han Dynasty, being able to sleep with a friend was a very elegant thing, and it could prove a symbol of the close relationship between the two. Zhang Fei admired Qicai and invited Liu Ba to sleep with him, but Liu Ba declined in silence.

"What do you think, military commander?" Liu Bei threw the question to Zhuge Liang.

The officials in the palace were all from aristocratic families, and they would have opposed Lan Tian because of the interests of the gentry, but Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong and Lan Tian had an unusual relationship. Fazheng, Huang Quan and others got along with Liu Bei on a daily basis. Even if you object in your heart, don't say it.

Zhuge Liang smiled and said: "I think Zi Chu's words are serious. The problem you mentioned is the result of prosperous times. It is understandable to use some heavy codes in troubled times. Besides, if Ziyu did not plan, Jiaozhou should now fall into Sun Quan's hands. Jingnan The four counties may have lost a lot, and Liang thinks it is reasonable to take some new measures to develop Lingnan..."

Liu Ba argued: "General Lan has made great contributions to the establishment, but how can the merits and demerits be offset by right and wrong? Moreover, he is building a new city in Panyu, which is not at all an attitude of recuperating with the people, and it is said that the city of Guangzhou is bigger than Chang'an. The usurper of the lord must be checked..."

Liu Bei replied calmly: "Ziyu has learned a lot, and his thoughts are very accessible to others. The Changjiang newspaper and military workshop he organized in Quanling are all new things that did not exist in his ancestors. In my opinion, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Why bother Zichu with the little Meng school? In addition, I already knew about the construction of Guangzhou City, and the Wuxi Man from Samoco participated in the construction, and there was no recruitment of peasants to affect production."

"Building a school on a large scale is afraid of being hated by the world's aristocratic families. It is not beneficial to the lord's advancement of the world. Although Guangzhou City did not recruit civilians, the food and clothing costs will also consume the state and county financial resources. General Lan really does not deserve to enjoy it like this..." Liu Ba Still did not give up.

Chapter 4 and Chapter [-]: The Trouble with Rewards

Liu Ba's words were very destructive, and Liu Bei didn't know how to refute for a while. Seeing that Pang Tong seemed to have something to say, he quickly waved his hands happily: "Shi Yuan has something to say?"

Pang Tong clasped his hands and replied: "My lord, what Kong Ming and Zichu said are both reasonable, but Ziyu is not limited to the ancient methods and often has miraculous effects. They all think that without Quanling Academy, there would be no Changjiang Newspaper, let alone those military workshops. Also, now that he has set up a Mentorship School in Jiaozhou and built the big city of Guangzhou, maybe it is a new cause, why don’t you just wait and see the result?”

Liu Bei nodded and said: "Shiyuan's words are reasonable. It's a good metaphor for planting karma and reaping fruit. Ziyu is a master of agronomy who is good at planting. I deduce that Jiaozhou must have good fruits."

"My lord, I definitely don't have any selfish intentions. Although General Lan is a genius, he still needs to be reminded. It is often said that drowning a child is like killing a child. It may not be good for him if you let General Lan do whatever he wants..." Liu Ba Continue to persuade.

"There are very few people in the world who can be masters of Ziyu. Zichu still has more confidence in him. I will let Meng Xuetang not go out of Jiaozhou, so there is nothing to worry about. Let's skip this matter and discuss other things first..." Liu Bei shook his head and said Thin mud, implying that Liu Ba's level is not enough to teach Lan Tian.

Zhuge Liang didn't wait for Liu Ba to speak, and immediately raised the topic: "My lord, about the establishment of a newspaper in Yizhou..."

Liu Bei stretched his waist, then smiled and looked at everyone: "We really can't get around Ziyu, the public opinion effect of the Yangtze River News is very good for governing the region, should we ask the Book and News Agency to add more manpower and make more publications to ensure three used by the state."

"The main reason is that Yizhou and Jingzhou are too far away. Although it is convenient to communicate with the Yangtze River waterway, the timeliness of such back-and-forth communication is not strong. It is not very good for governing Shu, so the supplementary publication is meaningless." Fazheng analyzed.

"That would be a pity..." Liu Bei sighed.

Zhuge smiled and said, "My lord, don't be sorry. Liang recently communicated with Yuanzhi and learned that Ziyu is going to move the Yangtze River Newspaper to Jiangling, and then transfer Jiang Gongyan to Jiaozhou to run a new newspaper. Why don't we run a Shu newspaper in Chengdu?"

"The military master's plan is very clever. This can solve the time limit problem that Xiaozhi said. Should we transfer experienced people to Chengdu, or send people to Jingzhou to learn how to run a newspaper? I really want to ask Jiang Gongyan to come here directly, hahaha. "Liu Bei laughed.

If people want to drink soup, they use a bowl to scoop it up, but you are just taking the pot away, Zhuge Liang quickly waved his hand, "Ziyu is in need of people, so let him leave Gongyan, I have already recommended the Ma brothers to assist Yuanzhi to handle it." It will be enough to transfer some people from Jiangling to Chengdu when the time comes."

Liu Bei nodded, "Gongyuan (Liao Li)'s fierce comments on the Yangtze River Daily are very effective. In the future, Shu Daily will also keep the column of current affairs commentary. I think Wenxiu (Xu Jing) is very suitable for commenting. This matter will be handed over." Let the military division do it for you."

"Wei." Zhuge Liang embraced the order, and then did not forget to praise, "My lord knows people and uses them well, and promotes them with Xu Wenxiu's (Xu Jing) talent, and the effect of the Shu newspaper in the future will not be weaker than that of the Yangtze River newspaper."

"Everyone should make the best use of their talents." Liu Bei nodded.

The next group of people continued to discuss political affairs, and everyone deliberately avoided the topic of Lantian, Jiaozhou, so there was no such fierce voice as Liu Ba in the hall.

With Liu Bei as a formidable 'lubricant', all the big and small officials in Chengdu are very harmonious, and even if there are conflicts of interests, they are secretly digested, and they are rarely put on the table to fight like Jiang Dong.

After the court meeting, Liu Bei left Zhuge Liang alone for a small meeting to discuss the appointment of the Pang De brothers and Ma Chao.

Zhuge Liang had an outstanding vision for internal affairs. He was Liu Bei's right-hand man when he was in Jingzhou, and he relied heavily on him after taking down Yizhou.

"Ziyu made friends with Meng Qi (Ma Chao) in Jingzhou, and sent people to Hanzhong to rescue his remaining parts, saying that he was preparing for my attack on Liangzhou in the future. Is he taking too big a step? Pang Rou, Pang Germany and Germany made it difficult for me to settle down."

Liu Bei seemed a bit embarrassed in his words. Ma Chao had a bad record in the past. Seeing that he and Ma Dai went to Shu alone and had no one to rely on, Liu Bei made a heart for a high-ranking official and generous salary, but he could not easily give the actual military power, only using his name rather than effort.

Sending Ma Chao to Jingzhou as Linju Supervisor to assist Guan Yu also intentionally separated him from Ma Dai, so that he would have no wings and no chance to repeat the same mistakes, but now Lantian has given him a problem again.

Zhuge Liang understood Liu Bei's thoughts, and after thinking about it, he replied: "No matter what the Lord's arrangement is, we should send someone to Jiamengguan to pick him up first, otherwise the Lord will be criticized for his contemptuous attitude, and he will be transferred after they arrive in Chengdu for observation. "

"Bei has sent Jibo (Yiji) and Bozhan (Ma Dai) to meet him, and he should return to Chengdu in a few days." Liu Bei replied.

Zhuge Liang nodded and said: "That's very good. The Pang brothers escaped from Hanzhong, and they should know Zhang Lu's details very well. When the time comes to attack Hanzhong, the lord will have to use them."

"It's still a military adviser who has thought carefully." Liu Bei deeply agreed after hearing this.

At the end of the first lunar month, Yi Ji and Ma Dai led Pang De back to Chengdu, and Liu Bei personally held a banquet to welcome them.

Seeing Pound's good appearance, Liu Bei liked it very much. After the reception banquet, he found Zhuge Liang and expressed his intention to make Pound a miscellaneous general.

After hearing this, Zhuge Liang hurriedly stopped him: "General Pang has just come to the same level and has not made a single contribution. If he is rewarded with a high official position, what will this make other bloody generals think? The current official position of the lord is General Zuo. I suggest that we should proceed gradually. It won’t be too late to seal him after he has made meritorious service.”

After taking Yizhou, there were many voices in private, hoping that Liu Bei could have a higher official reward, because in this way the people below could all be prosperous, especially after Cao Cao became a prince and proclaimed himself a duke, the voice became louder, and some people even secretly suggested that Liu Bei become king.

With the lessons learned from Yuan Shu's proclaiming himself emperor, and Lantian's entrustment to "slowly proclaim himself king" in his early years, Liu Bei has always been very restrained about false fame, but he is really helpless now. Although he now has the control of three states, his official position is only General Zuo and Miscellaneous Generals of the imperial court are also the most capable official positions, and they are not as generous as Sun Quan in Jiangdong.

"Okay then, I can only give more property, and after I have made meritorious service, I will be promoted to the rank, but they didn't propose to go to Linju. What's the reason for this, military adviser?" Liu Bei asked curiously.

Zhuge Liang smiled and said: "Good birds live on broken trees, virtuous ministers choose their masters, and Meng Qi has now surrendered to the master. If the Pang brothers insist on following General Ma to Linju, they should not put Meng Qi on the fire and roast him. Does it make the lord suspicious? Although they are warriors, they are definitely not reckless..."

"The military adviser is right. I know how to settle them down. But what about Song Chen?"

"Song Chen is a soldier of the fallen army. My lord can just ask Ziyu to reward him. Why bother?"