Three Kingdoms: I help Liu Bei grow thousands of miles

Page 130

Liu Bei raised his head and sighed: "It's hard for the people in Jingzhou to eat, so I'm worried that the locusts will ravage the people and suffer..."

Pang Tong comforted: "My lord often said that farming is not difficult for Ziyu, and he will have a way to fight borers."

"The newspapers only talked about the disaster relief of the whole people, but did not point out how to prevent borers." Liu Bei said to himself.

"I think this was done on purpose, Lan Ziyu didn't want to reveal the method..." Pang Tong guessed.

Liu Bei asked worriedly: "Without Zhou Gongjin in Jiangdong this time, can Cao Cao's attack be stopped? The longer Cao Cao prepares, the more troops he will have..."

Pang Tong stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Leave Sun Quan's troubles to Sun Quan. We have to make up our minds about our own predicament. Now Zhang Lu's troops have completely retreated, and Jiameng Guanbei has no soldiers in Hanzhong. We need to find Zhang Lu." Lu Xunzhan had to enter the mountain by a small path, and it is estimated that he will meet him when he enters the hinterland of Hanzhong, but if the lord does not move, Liu Zhang may be suspicious, and now is a difficult time..."

"I know that the military division wants to take Xichuan as soon as possible, but the time is not yet ripe. If the so-called name is not correct, the words will not go well, and if the words don't go well, the project will fail..." Liu Bei shook his head and smiled wryly.

Yang Huai and Gao Pei, the two warlords that Liu Zhang placed next to Liu Bei, often sent Liu Bei's combat situation to Chengdu, and Liu Zhang would wake up no matter how stupid he was.

Now that he was in a dilemma, Pang Tong decided to add fire. He imitated Liu Bei's handwriting and wrote a letter to Liu Zhang.

The letter said that Cao Cao wanted to attack Sun Quan in the east, and Liu Bei wanted to return troops to rescue for the sake of the alliance. He complained that the loss of troops at Jiameng Pass was heavy. Now the 2 people brought from Jingzhou were not enough, so he borrowed [-] troops from Liu Zhang Related materials.

Liu Zhang was very depressed when he received Pang Tong's letter. He had carefully read the reports of Yang Huai and Gao Pei. Liu Bei was just playing around in Jiameng Pass, spending a lot of military supplies in Yizhou, and he didn't even win a decent battle. , but now it is said that the soldiers will be lost?

Chapter 261

Liu Zhang looked at the letter and was hesitant, when a waiter outside the door suddenly brought in a piece of paper, which was the Yangtze River newspaper produced by the Lingling Book and Newspaper Office, brought by businessmen traveling to and from Yizhou and Jingzhou.

From the second issue of the Yangtze River News, Lantian has "actively" spread it to various places. Yizhou has been closed since ancient times and it is difficult to get news in and out. It is rare to have such a thing that informs the world.

Those who can speak eloquently are mostly knowledgeable scholars, and the power of verbal warfare comes from the reserve of knowledge.

Liu Zhang was born in the clan of the Han Dynasty and had good conditions. He was not a studious person who liked to study. Due to his lack of knowledge reserve, when he chatted with people, most of them were listeners until the Changjiang Daily appeared.

The newspaper covers a comprehensive range of information. With this knowledge channel, Liu Zhang has added this unique source of conversation, and he has become more confident in chatting with his officials and friends. For this reason, Liu Zhang paid a lot of money to the newspaper delivery businessman, and asked the Yangtze River Daily to be delivered to Chengdu as soon as possible after each issue is published.

Cowardly people also need to be respected. The chicken thief Liu Zhang bought out all the newspapers in Shu, preparing to monopolize this source of knowledge, and wanted to establish himself as a learned king in front of his officials.

Because the staff of the Books and Newspapers Office were transferred to count the disaster situation, and the content was to add new content of the Changjiang Review, the fourth issue was not released until late August. Liu Zhang, who was "eager to learn" and wanted to urge an update, was flustered recently.

Sitting in front of the case, Liu Zhang leisurely browsed the newspapers, and seemed to understand why Liu Bei wanted to save Sun Quan. Jiangdong general Lu Meng was defeated by Lai Gong's thousands of people in his life, and his combat power was indeed no match for Cao Cao.

When Liu Zhang saw the locust plague, his face changed. He had seen the horror of this kind of famine in the capital. At that time, Li Jue and Guo Si brought disasters to Chang'an, and the locust plague in Guanzhong had no harvest. Under the trend of survival desire , Hungry people eat grass roots, bark, loess and even people.

During the day, the straw mats that starved to death were sent to the mass grave, and at night, some people secretly carried them home, and even waited at the neighbor’s house to help collect the corpses. On the surface, they were helpful, but in fact they were just for the sake of eating.

The victims who are about to starve to death are no longer human beings. They are indifferent animals and two-legged sheep.

At that time, the Sanfu refugees fled with their families, and many of them chose Yizhou in the south. Along the way, fewer and fewer people accompanied the old and the young.

At the same time, Liu Zhang was escorted into Yizhou by Yilang Pangxi. He saw too many miserable scenes on the road. Perhaps Liu Zhang's cowardly character was related to this journey. He understood the horror of famine better than most Yizhou people.

The bones of the dead are exposed in the wild, there is no rooster crowing for thousands of miles, people are meat in a bowl, let alone chickens and dogs?

In ancient times, as long as there was no famine war, it would be a prosperous age, that's all.

Fortunately, there was no locust disaster in Yizhou, at least during Liu Zhang's tenure, and finally understood why Liu Bei wanted to steal Yizhou's soldiers and food. It turned out that Jingzhou suffered a disaster.

Although Liu Zhang did not meet all of Pang Tong's requirements, he gave [-] soldiers and half of the listed military supplies, and it was easy to get together because of Liu Beiyuan's help.

It was necessary to prepare soldiers, horses, money and food to send Liu Bei back to Jingzhou. The news was soon known by Zhang Song, an insider in Chengdu. Zhang Song couldn't hold back and wrote a letter to persuade Liu Bei not to leave.

While waiting for Liu Bei's reply, the fifth issue of the Yangtze River News, which was issued in October, was secretly sent to Chengdu by businessmen.

Liao Li, a famous scholar from Jingxiang, commented on the Yangtze River: "My lord recruited powerful enemies for Yizhou, and the teachers and apprentices worked hard and accumulated wealth and rewarded them. Why did the scholars and officials fight to the death?"Liu Yizhou is petty and shameless, he really deserves to be a guard dog.

The gatekeeper dog was commented by Cao Cao when he was cooking wine and talking about heroes, and then somehow spread to Liu Zhang in Yizhou. These four words became a forbidden word for officials in central Shu.

"Bastard, Liao Lipiff bullied me too much."

Liu Zhang was so angry that he slammed the case. He heard that there were thousands of copies of the first issue of the Changjiang Daily, so he became famous passively like this?The waiter who entered the palace to report the news knelt down on the ground in shock.

"What's the matter with you?" Liu Zhang shouted angrily.

"My lord, Zhang Taishou of Guanghan, please see me..." the waiter replied tremblingly. Liu Zhang was ecstatic when he saw the piece of paper before, and he didn't understand why he suddenly fell ill today.

Liu Zhang frowned, why did this guy come to Chengdu?He folded the newspaper on the case and put it in his arms, and then called Zhang Su into the hall.

Zhang Su entered the hall with a solemn expression, knelt down, and professed his guilt on the ground.

Liu Zhang looked bewildered, but the anger just now hadn't subsided, so he asked in a deep voice, "Why is this so, Jun Jiao?"

"This matter is Zi Qiao's alone, Su really doesn't know the inside story, please forgive my family..." Zhang Su banged his head loudly.

"Zhang Junjiao, what are you talking about? What did Zhang Ziqiao do?" Liu Zhang raised his voice.

"My lord doesn't know? Then why did you get angry just now?" Zhang Su raised his head suspiciously, his forehead was already covered with bruises, and those few slaps just now were really sincere.

Liu Zhang didn't want the scandal to spread, so he frowned and asked coldly, "Why do I need to report to you when I'm angry? Tell me something quickly..."

Only then did Zhang Su understand that Liu Zhang's anger was not for Zhang Song. He then told about his brother's collusion with Liu Bei, and repeatedly stated that he had no accomplices.

The Zhang family is a big family in Yizhou, and the interests of the family are above everything else. The younger brother Zhang Song seeks to make progress for the benefit, and the older brother Zhang Suqiuwen is worried about the loss of the original interests, so the two brothers sell their master and the other sell their brothers. Their behaviors are very similar.

Liu Zhang's jaw almost dropped when he heard this. He was shocked that Zhang Biejia, who advised him, had been plotting against Yizhou from the very beginning, and Liu Bei's true thoughts were exposed.

Later, Zhang Song's family was arrested and executed. Liu Zhang also ordered the gatekeepers to strictly guard against Liu Bei and not allow Liu Bei to leave the customs and return to Jingzhou, intending to eliminate him in Yizhou.

In November, when news of Zhang Song's death reached Jiameng Pass, Liu Bei was shocked and called his military adviser Pang Tong to discuss countermeasures.

"Military division, Liu Jiyu killed my nephew, what should we do?"

"I have received news that Liu Zhang is secretly gathering troops to block the escape route leading to Jingzhou. He wants to besiege us in Yizhou. This is a plan to close the door and beat dogs..."

At this time, Liu Bei went deep into the hinterland of Xichuan. Although there were still [-] soldiers and horses on his side, Zhang Lu's soldiers were in front of him, and Liu Zhang closed the door and beat dogs in the back. The most important food and grass could not be continued. war.

Liu Bei drifted around in the early years, and he could just change places if he lost, but now he has a different mentality because he has a family background in Jingzhou.

Thinking of the difficult situation in front of him, Liu Bei asked nervously: "The military division is unparalleled in resourcefulness, must there be a clever plan to break this dangerous situation?"

Pang Tong smiled bitterly, isn't this what you want?Now that Liu Zhang is delivering it to you, he blinked and said, "Since the lord is inquiring, there are three strategies for the lord to choose."

"Sir, please tell me."

"The best strategy is to select elite soldiers to travel day and night, and take small roads to directly attack Chengdu; the middle strategy is to return to Jingzhou to summon Yang Huai and Gao Pei to kill them, seize their soldiers, horses, food and grass, and then march to capture Fucheng; the worst strategy is to retreat to Baidi City and wait for an opportunity."

Liu Bei frowned and said, "The best strategy is too hasty, the worst strategy is too slow, we should take the middle strategy."

Pang Tong nodded, "I'll make arrangements now."

Chapter 262 Who Goes Who Stays

"Military division?" Liu Bei stopped Pang Tong who was about to leave.

"My lord, do you have any orders?" Pang Tong asked.

Liu Bei asked puzzledly: "Is it feasible to send someone to ask Kong Ming for help now? Just as Cao Cao is attacking Sun Quan at this time, Jingzhou should not have much defensive pressure."

At the beginning, he entered Sichuan and left a heavy army in Jingzhou. Even Liu Bei had no idea about taking Xichuan. Now he is forced to fight but suffers from the lack of major generals. With [-] soldiers fighting against Liu Zhang's [-] Yizhou soldiers, the future can only be described as worrying.

Pang Tong shook his head: "Although we and Liu Zhang have not broken up on the surface, they have already started to take measures. I guess the main waterway of Chuchuan is not easy to pass through. It will be very difficult to send the news, but you can try..."

"Military division, go and invite Fa Xiaozhi."

"only."

Liu Bei pinned his hopes on Fazheng, hoping that he could find a way to send the letter.

The situation in Yizhou has changed suddenly, and Jingzhou has ushered in the harvest season.

After intense borer control in summer and autumn, the rice production in the four Jingnan counties reached [-]% in the first half of the year, which is quite an achievement in a disaster year.

In previous harvest seasons, Lantian would send troops to various counties to help, but this season Lantian let them rest.

Lan Tian stood on the ridge of the field with a stern face, watching the people outside the city busy cutting rice.

"Sir, seeing your sad face, are you still dissatisfied with the output?" Gao Shun asked curiously.

"I always feel that something will happen, but I'm just a little anxious..." Lan Tian shook his head.

In Lantian's memory, Liu Bei and Liu Zhang will turn against each other at the end of Jian'an 17th, and some of his arrangements are waiting for this day to come.

Gao Shun didn't ask any more questions, because Lan Tian's prediction and feeling were too accurate, so he thought that there would be no bad luck, right?

The two rode back to the city after seeing a few rice fields. They saw a businessman waiting in front of the prefect's mansion. When they approached, they found that it was Hu Ke, a "red-capped businessman" trained by Lan Tian.

Hu Ke used to be the leader of the reconnaissance battalion of the army that fell into the war. He had outstanding performance in the capture of Jiangling. Later, because of his dexterity and flexibility, he was transferred to Quanling Academy as the head of the guard. Lan Tian is very trustworthy.

"I came back soon this time." Gao Shun greeted with a smile.

"General, sir..." Hu Ke cupped his fists and saluted.

Lan Tian nodded first, and then asked suspiciously: "It's half a month earlier than expected, but what's important?"

"Liu Zhang killed Zhang Song's family, and all the major water and land routes in and out of Xichuan were blocked. My merchant ship was only released because of a special charter. Is this important news?" Hu Ke asked.

Lan Tian stared wide-eyed, with wrinkles on his forehead.

"Boping, tell Xingba to stop practicing Wuqinxi, and tell him to report to the prefect's mansion as soon as possible, there is something urgent."

"only."

In less than a stick of incense, Gao Shun and Gan Ning appeared in front of Lan Tian hand in hand.

"Sir, what happened?" Gan Ning asked suspiciously.

Lan Tian had a serious expression: "There is a big event happening in Yizhou now, Boping, you put down everything in your hands and send all the generals in the army to recruit soldiers. I demand that there be no less than 3 soldiers by February next year, and at least there must be no fewer than [-] recruits. camp for a month."

"Before February? It's mid-November now, young and old are collecting grain now..." Gao Shun explained the current difficulties.

"I just want the result, is it okay or not?" Lan Tian asked.

"Promise to complete." Gao Shun clasped his fists sonorously.

"What about me?" Gan Ning rarely saw Lan Tian so serious, he saw that Gao Shun had already received the task, and he couldn't wait to know what he was doing.

"Let the transport fleet assemble as soon as possible, first transfer food from the official warehouses in Lingling and Guiyang counties, and transfer [-] soldiers to Jiangling for half a year. Zhuge Military Division will send someone to contact you. This also needs to be done before February. Finish."

"Wei." Gan Ning clasped his fists and accepted the order. Compared with Gao Shun's task, his task was relatively easy.

Lan Tian called Gao Yuan again, "You set off for Jiangxia immediately. General Guan please meet up at Jiangling as soon as possible. I will also set off tomorrow morning."

"only."

According to the original historical process, Liu Bei would capture Chengdu two or three years later, but later Hanzhong was taken by Cao Cao, and the people in Sichuan suffered a lot in order to win the battle of Hanzhong.

The reason why Lan Tian took the initiative to intervene was to save some time for Liu Bei, and maybe he would have the opportunity to get ahead of Cao Cao.

After settling in Lingling, Lantian went north by boat. When he arrived in Jiangling, Guan Yu had already arrived ahead of schedule.

As soon as Lan Tian walked to the door, Zhang Fei went up to meet him and asked, "Did Ziyu call us to invite everyone to eat oysters? The second brother didn't have a good meal last time."

Zhuge Liang smiled and said, "Yide, are you still thinking about it?"

Lan Tian had a serious face: "The oyster production is small and transportation is difficult. If we want to eat it in the future, we should go to Jiaozhou. I really have something important to tell everyone this time."

Seeing this, Zhang Fei muttered: "If you don't have it, you don't have it, why is your face darker than mine..."

"What is Ziyu's urgent matter? Cao Cao's troops are now marching to Chaohu Lake to reach Ruxukou. I will sail away when the plateau arrives a day later." Guan Yu asked anxiously.

"General Guan really wants to go in person?" Lan Tian asked suspiciously.

"Jiangxia Navy only has [-] people, how dare I hand it over to others?" Guan Yu shook his head.

"How many troops will the general send to help?"

"Cao Cao claims to have 40 cavalry, and Sun Zhongmou only has [-] now. I plan to leave three or four thousand to defend Jingzhou, and the rest will go to Xunyang."

"The matter of supporting Sun Quan has to be discussed in the long term." Lan Tian frowned and explained the situation in Yizhou in detail.

Hearing this, Zhang Fei burst into flames, his brows furrowed and he yelled, "Young Liu Zhang dares to bully my eldest brother, second brother, let's go to Xichuan together."

Guan Yu stroked his beautiful beard and narrowed his eyes: "Third brother, don't be reckless, who will guard us when we all go to Jingzhou? Let's listen to what the military adviser has to say."

"Kong Ming and I didn't know about it in Jiangling, but Ziyu, how did you know about it when you were far away in Lingling?" Xu Shu was very puzzled, because from the perspective of geographical distance, the news from Yizhou should reach Jiangling first.

Lan Tian explained: "I sent a secret agent to Yizhou in advance."

Zhuge Liang jokingly said: "Ziyu, you dispatched special workers in advance, and you have been preparing money and food for soldiers, horses, and food. Could it be that you can really count?"

"Prepare for a rainy day, take precautions, the military adviser should understand me." Lan Tian replied.

Zhuge Liangliang nodded: "How about the soldiers, armor, and money you mentioned before?"

"It is under preparation, and it can be completed before February next year." Lan Tian said with certainty.

"I can't believe what a terrible situation it would be if Ziyu was in the camp of Cao Cao or Sun Quan..." Zhuge Liang sighed.