The beginning of the Three Kingdoms Cheng Yuanzhi

Chapter 263 Don't be surprised when Liu Bei enters Sichuan

According to Li Yanzhi's words, Liu Zhang sat down in Chengdu and waited for Zhang Song to return from Hanzhong before making plans.

However, after waiting and waiting, half a month and a month passed in the blink of an eye, but there was no news of Zhang Song, as if he had disappeared.

During this period, Wang Lei, Liu Ba, and Huang Quan repeatedly advised Liu Zhang not to lure wolves into the house and invited Liu Bei to Sichuan.

But Liu Zhang was so determined that he couldn't listen to these advices at all, and insisted that "inviting Liu Bei to Sichuan" was the only answer to solve Yizhou's predicament.

Previously, out of concern about the future of Yizhou, Liu Zhang sent an envoy Zhang Song to Hanzhong to listen to Cheng Yuanzhi's tone, to see if the latter would allow him to continue to be the master of an acre of land in Yizhou.

If it is allowed, Liu Zhang doesn't mind leading the state to surrender; if not, we will make another plan.

But after Zhang Song left, there was no news.The Northern Army's attitude was unclear, and Liu Zhang suddenly lost his mind.

If there were no example of Liu Bei, a clan member of the Han Dynasty, who resolutely resisted the Northern Army, Liu Zhang might have closed his eyes and led the state to surrender.But when I think that Liu Bei only has two counties, and he vowed not to surrender, and he owns a whole Yizhou, with 20 soldiers and horses, there is no reason not to struggle!

Therefore, it is a very good way for the clan to hold a group to keep warm and the two Lius to be allies.

At this time, 20 soldiers of the Northern Army besieged Hanzhong, and the battle before Yangping Pass was fierce. Zhang Lu resisted hard. Who knows how long he can resist?
In this unreasonable age, when a big fist is a master, and people who are not destroyed will be destroyed by others, who can protect Yizhou from aggression?
The arrival of Zhuge Liang made Liu Zhang think of Liu Bei.

Liu Bei has been in the Han territory for more than 20 years, pacified the Yellow Turban, and successively took refuge in Gongsun Zan, Tao Qian, Yuan She, and Liu Biao. Although he has never achieved anything, he has also gained a great reputation.

I thought that Liu Bei would conclude his life like this-a complete loser!
Unexpectedly, he fished in troubled waters and picked up a big bargain in Jingzhou. At the age of 48, his failed life suddenly turned around!
While Yuan She (Cheng Yuanzhi) and Zhou Yu were fighting in Nanye City, Yuzhang County, Liu Bei took advantage of the momentum and captured Changsha County, and then joined forces with Sun Quan, who captured the other two counties in Jingnan by surprise, with [-] to [-] troops, faintly possible The mainstay against the Northern Army.

Strictly speaking, although he is also a clan member of the Han Dynasty, Liu Zhang does not trust Liu Bei.

In this age of intrigue and the jungle of the jungle, who can truly trust whom?
But the situation was so compelling that Liu Zhang had to make a choice.

After the Battle of Jingzhou, Cheng Yuanzhi saw that Jingzhou was difficult for a while, so he freed up his hands and sent his troops westward to attack Zhang Lu who was entrenched in Hanzhong.

Although Liu Zhang can't beat Zhang Lu, he knows that the latter is definitely not Yuan She's (Cheng Yuanzhi) opponent, and it will be a matter of time before he is eliminated.

And Zhuge Liang's previous words touched Liu Zhang a lot, making him determined to invite Liu Bei to Sichuan.

Zhuge Liang said: "The cavalry and infantry of the Northern Army are invincible in the world. Once Zhang Lu is defeated, they will definitely come to capture Yizhou. At that time, will the foundation of the general father and son be handed over like this?"

"And my lord Liu Bei and you, the general, are both clansmen of the Han family, and they both regard Yuan She as their lifelong enemy. As long as my lord sends troops to resist the northern army, it will be a piece of cake!"

"In this way, the general will live up to the foundation left by his ancestors, and the general will live up to the expectations of the people of Li, and sit back and relax in Yizhou. Isn't it beautiful?!"

Of course, Liu Zhang is not a three-year-old child, these words alone are not enough to convince him,

These words are only one of the reasons, and there is another reason for his determination to invite Liu Bei to Sichuan.

Inside Yizhou, generals such as Pang Xi and Li Yi all supported their troops with self-respect, relied on their merits and pride, and refused to listen to orders.Once the Northern Army arrives, they are very likely to rebel.

Yizhou has such internal and external troubles, and Liu Zhang has been unable to settle the situation by relying on him, so he can only ask for foreign aid.

It's not that Liu Zhang never thought about it. It is dangerous to invite Liu Bei to Sichuan; but if Liu Bei is not invited, perhaps Yizhou will perish faster!
Considering this, Liu Zhang did not adopt the opinions of Huang Quan and others, and resolutely decided to invite Liu Bei to Sichuan.

Although Liu Bei was invited to enter Shu in the name of rejecting the Northern Army, in fact, Liu Zhang wanted to use Liu Bei to deter the forces opposing him in Shu.

Liu Zhang is very aware of the situation in Yizhou.

If for a long time, the crisis of his rule in Yizhou was mainly due to "people attacking the inside", then the northern army's attack on Hanzhong at this time obviously added another pressure on him to "enemy attacking the outside".

Originally, Liu Zhang wanted to use the prestige of Yuan She (Cheng Yuanzhi) to convince the young people in Yizhou to obey his rule.But Zhang Song didn't know what happened, he never came back, and there was no news at all.

Under such dual internal and external pressures, besides Liu Bei, Liu Zhang actually has no other choice.

Huang Quan and others may not be fully aware of these reasons.

Liu Zhang didn't intend to say anything either.

In November of the 14th year of Jian'an, Liu Zhang, using Fazheng as his envoy, went to Jingzhou to invite Liu Bei to enter Sichuan to resist the Northern Army.

Liu Ba, Wang Lei, Huang Quan and others persuaded: "Liu Bei is good at fighting. Now that he has won the two counties of Jingzhou, his power has greatly increased. Yizhou is bound to suffer endless troubles, and I hope the lord will take it back."

Liu Zhang was annoyed by the persuasion, so he demoted Wang Lei and Huang Quan, and sent Liu Ba to serve in marginal areas.

In December of the 14th year of Jian'an (209), Liu Bei led 8000 troops, accompanied by Pang Tong, the right army division, and Huang Zhong and Wei Yan, who were surrendered after conquering Changsha, and entered Sichuan by land.

Although Liu Bei's original intention here was to capture Xichuan, he only brought eight thousand soldiers and horses.

This amount of soldiers and horses is actually not enough to look at in front of the 20 troops in Yizhou.

It's not that Liu Bei doesn't want to bring more soldiers and horses, but that there are only so many people who can be taken away from Wuling.

Before taking down the four counties in Jingnan, Liu Bei's troops were not many. In addition, Liu Qi's troops were about 1, and Guan Yu's more than [-] sailors.

After taking Changsha County, more than [-] soldiers and horses were obtained, with a total force of more than [-].But the current situation in Jingzhou is complicated, and most of the soldiers and horses need to be left to guard.

Furthermore, entering Sichuan was nominally to aid Liu Zhang, but in reality it was plotting against Yizhou. In order to avoid arousing Liu Zhang's wariness, Liu Bei could not bring more troops into Sichuan—this is why Liu Bei left Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and others to guard Jingzhou. The reason for bringing Huang Zhong, Wei Yan and others who were not well-known at this time into Sichuan.

Paralyze Liu Zhang and take trouble from it!
Cheng Yuanzhi, who was personally commanding troops to besiege Hanzhong, did not know what happened in Yizhou.

Until the new year, in January of the 15th year of Jian'an (210), the Northern Army conquered Yangping Pass. Seeing that the general situation was over, Zhang Lu led his troops to surrender.

This Western Expedition lasted nearly half a year. For Cheng Yuanzhi, the process was very difficult. The hard attack on Yangping Pass resulted in the loss of countless soldiers.

But the payoff is big.

In this battle, not only won Hanzhong County, took control of the gateway to Yizhou, but also gained political bargaining chips that could "go further".

For Zhang Lu, this is not only not a bad thing (surrender), but also an important turning point in his life. Although he can no longer be a prince, he has preserved himself and his family in troubled times, and his five sons have each received a reward.

As a devout "Tianshi Dao" believer, after Zhang Lu surrendered, he could lead the majority of believers to gradually spread the Tianshi Dao to the north - this is Zhang Lu's goal for the rest of his life.

It wasn't until this time that Cheng Yuanzhi had time to care about the situation in Yizhou, and realized that Zhang Song had been gone for two months, and Liu Zhang still hadn't made a statement.

"Will Yizhou surrender or fight?"Nobody knows.

After sending someone to inquire, Cheng Yuanzhi was shocked.

Liu Bei has entered Sichuan!
At this moment, Liu Bei is leading 2 troops stationed in Jiange (more than [-] of them are sponsored by Liu Zhang), waiting for an opportunity.

All the counselors were amazed by Cheng Yuanzhi's reaction, and Jia Xu, a counselor, was puzzled and said, "Why is my lord so frightened and pale when Liu Bei enters Sichuan?"

Cheng Yuanzhi looked around at the crowd, and said in a deep voice, "You don't know that the land of Xichuan will belong to Liu Bei!"

Jia Xu laughed and said, "So what? Shu is a palace of heaven and a cage. Why should Liu Bei be surprised when he enters Sichuan? If he is still in Jingzhou, it will be a problem for our Northern Army; now he has entered Yizhou...Your entry into the urn, there is no need to be surprised." How scary?!"

That's right, so what about Liu Bei's entry into Sichuan? Cheng Yuanzhi nodded, deeply convinced, and said: "Wen He's words are absolutely true, Shu is a heaven and a cage."

Now that Hanzhong has been won, next, do we have to look forward to Shu, or accept it as soon as it is good?
Cheng Yuanzhi fell into deep thought.

(End of this chapter)