My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 578 Huang Quan Offers a Plan
The biggest problem with this plan is not that Pang Xitong disagrees, but whether Liu Zhang in Chengdu will agree.

Therefore, Huang Quan dared not mention this matter to Pang Xi before receiving a response from Liu Zhang.

Finally, after discussion, Huang Quan temporarily opened the treasury in Luocheng and took out local wealth to reward the entire army. He also took this opportunity to reiterate the order to defend the city and ordered all units to hold the city and not retreat.

On the other hand, Huang Quan recorded the situation in Luocheng and his own considerations in a document and sent it secretly to Chengdu, requesting Liu Zhang to make a decision.

**
While Liu Zhang and Zhao Wei were locked in fierce battle, Liu Feng was also reporting frequent victories.

First, Zhou Tai, who was marching north, brought good news: after his army arrived at the gates of Anhan, Anhan did not resist and surrendered directly.

This was mainly because Liu Feng and Zhao Wei were still close allies, and Liu Feng's army had a good reputation and excellent discipline. Anhan was not afraid of being looted and slaughtered after the city was opened, so they surrendered very readily.

In addition, Anhan City was too empty at this time. As Zhao Sheng's hometown, not to mention Anhan City, most of the powerful families with certain martial strength in the entire Anhan County had long gone south to join Zhao Wei and were now following Zhao Wei all the way to Luocheng.

There were really no powerful figures left in the city who could command a large following and resist Zhou Tai.

After capturing Anhan, Zhou Tai left a thousand men to guard the city and then continued north, heading towards Langzhong and Chongguo. These two counties were very close, less than twenty li apart. Although the Xihan River blocked their way, travel between them was not too difficult, and their connections were quite close.

Therefore, both cities need to be considered comprehensively.

Zhou Tai was very cautious at this time. Langzhong, as an important town in Ba County, still held a high status. Although it was not as wealthy as the cities along the river, it was still a famous city in Sichuan.

Ba County, situated on the middle reaches of the Xihan River (now the Jialing River), served as a transit point for the canal transport between Chengdu and Hanzhong, with frequent merchant ship traffic.

It could travel upstream to Jiameng (present-day Guangyuan) and downstream to Jiangzhou (present-day Chongqing). By land, it connected to the Micang Road (connecting to Hanzhong) in the north and Chengdu in the south. It was a vital passage for merchants and soldiers and the logistics hub of northern Sichuan.

Meanwhile, because there are alluvial plains along the Jialing River, which are suitable for cultivation, and although there are many hilly terrains in the surrounding area, as early as the reign of Emperor He of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Langzhong had already built a water conservancy facility called Yantang (the predecessor of the later "Pengdaojiangchi"), which made the yield per mu in Langzhong soar to two to three shi.

Although its yield per mu was still three to four shi lower than that of the Chengdu Plain, it was already enough to make it the envy of the entire southwest. Moreover, Langzhong also had salt wells and iron mines, and it was a place of trade between the imperial court and the Cong people (Bantun Man) tribe. Its economic value was also extremely high.

Geographically, it is strategically important, with Hanzhong to the north, Chengdu to the west, control over the Zong people, and Jiangzhou to the south.

Since the Eastern Han Dynasty, the imperial court has stationed between two and three thousand troops in Langzhong. Adding the one thousand troops from the neighboring Chongguo County, the military strength was quite formidable.

Zhou Tai only had 8,000 men to begin with, and he left another 1,000 in Hanyang. It was reasonable for him to be cautious in attacking two cities with 7,000 men and 3,000 to 4,000 men.

Zhou Tai was unaware that Liu Zhang had already completely depleted the military forces in Langzhong and Chongguo, leaving only two or three hundred men in the two cities. They still had to rely on local neutral powerful clans to maintain order and defend against the Ba people.

Once Zhou Tai's army arrives, Langzhong and Chongguo will have no choice but to surrender. However, Zhou Tai is still cautiously discussing with Huo Du how to take the city, which is quite conservative.

Zhuge Liang, on the central route, advanced with unstoppable momentum, capturing the important towns of Fujie and Jiangyang, and arriving outside the city of Bodao.

Fu Jie and Jiang Yang each had a thousand troops stationed there, but they were summoned by Chengdu and, together with one or two thousand local strongmen and their retainers who supported Liu Zhang, sailed north and headed straight for Chengdu.

Currently, the most powerful military force along the entire Yangtze River is that of Bidao, which is guarded by a full five thousand soldiers, and whose commander is Yan Yan, a famous general from Sichuan.

As for Jiang Qin's troops, they turned at Jiangyang, entered the Jianshui River, and headed towards Han'an County.

Throughout history, the most troublesome aspect of conquering cities and seizing territory has always been the siege of cities.

The Sichuan region is particularly mountainous, making cities even more difficult to conquer.

In the original timeline, Liu Bei started his rebellion at Baishui Pass and marched south to Chengdu, but it took him a full fourteen months.

Where is Baishui Pass?

It is located in Baishui County, about fifty miles to the left and above Jiameng.

It's only a little over 600 li from Baishui Pass to Chengdu, but it took Liu Bei more than a year to cover that distance. This was only because Jingzhou launched a timely attack, forming a pincer movement that effectively dispersed Liu Zhang's forces and attention.

This shows how lucky Liu Feng was to enter Shu this time.

However, although Liu Feng's entry into Shu seemed easy, he had actually been laying out plans in Nanzhong for more than two years.

Without the support of the southern forces, Zhao Wei would not have given up Jiangzhou so easily.

Feeling threatened by the Southern Central forces, Zhao Wei was gripped by fear and panic, worried that he would be attacked from three sides by Liu Zhang, Liu Feng, and the Southern Central forces. This is why he decided to take a desperate gamble and head north to Chengdu.

Although Lu Xun was also heading north, it turned out that Zhuge Liang arrived at Bodao first.

Bodao is located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, where the Yangtze, Lujiang (now Jinsha River), and Minjiang Rivers converge. The terrain within its borders is mainly flat, with relatively low hills.

Zhuge Liang first set up a large camp on the north bank of the Yangtze River, cutting off the connection between the Bodao and Nan'an on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.

Subsequently, Zhuge Liang sent Gan Ning with 2,000 men to set up camp south of the Bo Road, facing the river (Lujiang), while another 4,000 men remained at the main camp, temporarily under Zhuge Liang's direct command.

After the two major water fortresses were established, Zhuge Liang appointed Zhang Nan as the vanguard and led his troops across the river to set up camp in the triangular area formed by the Yangtze River and Lujiang River, west of the Bodao. This put the camp right up against the Bodao and placed it in a desperate situation with its back to the water.

Within this triangular area, Zhang Nan was confronted by the fortified city of Bodao and its 5,000 Shu troops, while behind him lay the Yangtze River and the Lujiang River. Once defeated, he would have no way out.

But the Bo Dao did not react at all.

There were indeed brave warriors in the city of Bodao who wanted to fight, hoping to gain the upper hand and drive Zhang Nan's troops down the river. This would not only effectively weaken Liu Feng's army but also greatly boost their own morale.

But Yan Yan flatly refused.

In his view, this was an unnecessary risk.

Success would certainly boost morale, but morale in the city is currently not a problem, and there is absolutely no need to take such a risk to boost it. Moreover, if the operation fails, not only will there be losses of soldiers and generals, but morale will become a new problem.

Besides this, Yan Yan's primary task now is to hold the line at Bodao and buy time. This task has no deadline, or rather, the deadline is unclear.

Yan Yan must hold the line in Bodao until Chengdu quells Zhao Wei's rebellion before he can spare the resources to rescue Bodao.

This task was so arduous that it was almost despairing. Even Yan Yan thought that he should hold on for as long as he could.

Therefore, he would never take any risks.

The lack of response from the city of Bodao disappointed Zhuge Liang, but he did not expect to capture it. He continued to work methodically to build siege weapons.

Eight days later, a cloud of dust suddenly rose from the south of the Bodao, and an army of more than a thousand men appeared in the distance.

This put both Bo Dao and Liu Fengjun on edge.

Liu Fengjun's side was alright, because he had long anticipated that Lu Xun's southern central forces would come from the south. He was just worried that the approaching force might be the garrison of Zhuti.

Neither Zhuge Liang nor Yan Yan knew that Zhuti had been captured by Lu Xun, and even Deng Xian had been captured alive.

About an hour later, the army approached, carrying red flags and banners bearing the character "Liu". However, the garrison inside the city clearly understood that these were not their own Zhuti garrison, but rather the same army as Liu Feng's troops outside the city.

Lu Xun had initially considered disguising himself as a defeated soldier of Zhu Ti to escape into the Bidao region and launch a coordinated attack from within and without, but ultimately abandoned the plan.

The reason is simple: they are unfamiliar with the situation.

First of all, Deng Xian was forced to surrender, and he had almost committed suicide to serve Liu Zhang.

While such a person is highly regarded for his loyalty, it is equally impossible to expect Deng Xian to have the initiative to help Lu Xun deceive the city.

Meanwhile, most of the garrison in Zhuti consisted of Liu Zhang's reinforcements, who were very familiar with the reinforcements from Bodao, making it difficult for strangers to infiltrate.

In addition, most of Lu Xun's elite troops were from Jiangdong and Jiaozhou, which were completely different from the people of Sichuan. As soon as they spoke, their accents immediately gave them away.

Furthermore, Lu Xun had inquired with Deng Xian about Yan Yan, the garrison commander of Bodao, and learned that although he was old, he was quite knowledgeable in military strategy, calm and composed, yet adaptable, and was a famous general in Sichuan.

Moreover, although this man was strong-willed, he was quite capable of winning people's respect. Whenever there were rewards in the army, he would distribute them to the soldiers and not keep a single bit for himself. He was always admired by the soldiers.

Such a person guarding the Bo Road would certainly not be careless. Once the elite troops who had infiltrated the city were exposed, given Yan Yan's abilities and reputation, the most likely outcome would be total annihilation.

Considering so many factors and the severity of the consequences, Lu Xun finally abandoned his plan to raid the city and instead marched north in a grand manner, hoping to dampen the morale of the Bodao people.

Lu Xun's arrival indeed dealt a blow to the morale of the garrison in Bidao. Seeing wave after wave of enemy troops, each numbering over ten thousand, and even more distressing because the enemy was coming from the south, it was clear that Zhuti had fallen, leaving Bidao an isolated city. No matter how high Yan Yan's prestige was, he could not stop the army's morale from plummeting.

The morale of the defenders of Bodao was dampened, but the morale of Liu Feng's army under Zhuge Liang was greatly boosted.

The reinforcement of ten thousand elite troops gave the entire army immense confidence in capturing Bidao. Lu Xun, after reuniting with Zhuge Liang, also breathed a sigh of relief, no longer needing to worry about logistics and supplies.

Even if the logistical support from Jinniu Road in the south can't keep up with the consumption, Jiangyun can provide sufficient replenishment.

Following Liu Feng's orders, after Zhuge Liang and Lu Xun joined forces, Zhuge Liang was appointed as the commander-in-chief and Lu Xun as the deputy commander-in-chief, overseeing all land and naval forces to attack and capture the Bidao Pass.

Objectively speaking, Lu Xun's military capabilities were definitely no less than Zhuge Liang's, but since Liu Feng was a fan of Zhuge Liang, Lu Xun had to be put in a bad light.

**
At this time, the atmosphere in Chengdu Prefecture was very solemn.

This is because among the three forces in Shu, Liu Zhang is under the greatest pressure. All he receives is bad news: either Fucheng and Mianzhu have fallen, or Langzhong and Bodao are in danger.

The situation in Bidao is somewhat better, at least the garrison is strong and the city is fortified, so it can be held. However, Langzhong has been weakened by Liu Zhang and is powerless to resist Liu Feng's northward army. It is very likely that the battle reports and documents about its fall are already on their way to Chengdu.

The people in the hall were still Liu Zhang's trusted confidants, but there were a few fewer than before. Huang Quan, Yan Yan, Liu Gui, Leng Bao and others had already led troops outside.

Liu Zhang's gaze swept over everyone, and he asked with difficulty, "Gongheng has reported from the front lines, and you have all seen his words. Do you think what Gongheng said is feasible?"

What Liu Zhang was referring to was Huang Quan's suggestion to abandon Luocheng and retreat directly to Chengdu, leaving the Dongzhou troops with nowhere to retreat, something far more dangerous than their desperate struggle.

Although the leaders of the Dongzhou faction are all leading troops outside, there are still many Dongzhou leaders in the hall, such as the brothers Wu Yi and Wu Ban, Liu Zhang's son-in-law, Fei Guan, Liu Xun's brother-in-law, who is famous all over the world, and Xu Jing, the chief clerk of the Monthly Criticism. These are all big figures in the Dongzhou faction.

Wu Yi's current position is General of the Central Army, which is equivalent to Zhao Wei's status and even higher than Pang Xi's.

Fei Guan's current position is Gong Cao, concurrently serving as the Military Advisor of Yizhou. He is a prominent official in both civil and military affairs, holding the power to make personnel recommendations and some decision-making power, while also being able to advise on military secrets. His future looks very promising.

The local faction in Yizhou hates the Dongzhou faction for this very reason: why are all the good positions held by people from Dongzhou?

Their local faction also seemed to have considerable influence, including Zhang Song, the Prefectural Governor; Wang Shang, the Chief Administrator; and Huang Quan, the Registrar.

However, these official positions have always been controlled by local people since the Han Dynasty. It has never been heard that outsiders could be selected for positions such as Prefect, Administrator, Chief Clerk, and Registrar. As a result, now a Chief Clerk and a Chief Clerk are both outsiders. This is a disgrace to the local people of Yizhou.

It was one thing for Xu Jing to be appointed as the Chief Clerk, after all, Xu Jing was famous throughout the land and was a great Confucian scholar. Although the people of Yizhou were verbally dissatisfied with his appointment, they were actually proud of it.

But what are you, Fei Guan, to be worthy of being a clerk?
It was precisely because of this conflict between the two sides that, when Liu Zhang asked, the local faction members all kept their mouths shut as if they had been sewn shut, saying that the affairs of the Dongzhou soldiers had nothing to do with them.

Meanwhile, the Dongzhou faction remained silent, pondering why Huang Quan had made this suggestion and whether there was any conspiracy involved.
It's important to know that Huang Quan isn't from the Dongzhou faction; he's a genuine local powerhouse.

Fortunately, with disaster looming, the Dongzhou faction didn't devote all their energy to internal strife. They also considered whether Huang Quan's proposed method was feasible and how effective it would be.

The results were useful.

This result was very upsetting for the bigwigs of the Dongzhou faction. It wasn't that they were in dire straits and still wanted to fight amongst themselves or prevent Huang Quan from making a contribution, but rather that they couldn't agree to it.

(End of this chapter)