My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 581 Worries of Northern Sichuan

Given the current situation in Shu, if Liu Feng wants to seize power, he needs to prepare as many troops as possible. Only a swift and decisive victory can suppress both Zhao Wei and Liu Zhang's forces in a short period of time. Moreover, Liu Feng is already eyeing Hanzhong, even before fully conquering Shu.

"My lord, the southeast winds are growing stronger these days, and the Yangtze River is about to enter its flood season. Once we get through this period, the efficiency of water transport will surely be greatly improved."

Zhang Wen, who was standing nearby, noticed Liu Feng's worries and offered some words of comfort.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Yangtze River's water conditions were far better than those of the Yellow River. It's not that the Yangtze River didn't flood, but rather that it had ample flood discharge areas. The Yunmeng Marsh hadn't disappeared yet, not to mention the numerous lakes like Dongting and Poyang, which were much larger than they were in later periods.

During the Yangtze River's flood season, a large amount of water is diverted to these areas to ensure the safety of the main navigation channel. This is an advantage that the Jianghan, Dongting, and Poyang plains, which have been highly developed in later generations, cannot match.

What Zhang Wen was referring to was that after the Yangtze River reaches its flood season, large ships will be able to sail through the Three Gorges and reach Jiangzhou directly. At the same time, the prevailing southeast winds will help the ships sail more easily and quickly, which will greatly increase the speed of grain transport.

"That's all it can do."

Although Liu Feng was somewhat unwilling, he understood that Zhang Wen's words made sense, so he could only nod and then inquire about the progress of spring plowing in Ba Commandery. At present, Zhao Wei had drawn tens of thousands of young men from Ba Commandery to join the army, half of whom were Ba people, but this still had a considerable impact on the spring plowing in Ba Commandery.

"The more than one thousand curved plows that were transported earlier have all been distributed and equipped with corresponding oxen."

Upon hearing this, Gu Shao immediately stepped forward and replied, "The gentry throughout Ba County are all grateful for your kindness and have agreed to the government's request."

Upon hearing this, Liu Feng finally smiled slightly.

These curved plows in Liu Feng's hands were not given away for free; the powerful clans and wealthy families of Ba Commandery had to exchange them for grain.

Although these people are currently out of food, in another six months, after the summer and autumn harvests, they will have at least 300,000 to 500,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain available for them.

Of the 200,000 shi (a unit of dry measure), it was the grain tax that should have been handed over; the remaining grain was the valuables that these people could use.

Liu Feng wanted to get this grain into his own hands, but outright robbery was out of the question, so purchasing it was a better option. He used the curved plow as bait to lure the local gentry and powerful families of Ba County into signing contracts with him, selling them all the surplus grain for the next two years.

In this way, at the latest by next spring, He Qi and Gao Shun's troops will be able to enter Sichuan to participate in the war. If things go quickly, they can enter Sichuan during the tail end of the rainy season this autumn.

"Youping's troops captured Langzhong six days ago. Where are they now?"

Liu Feng then inquired about Zhou Tai's situation.

Zhang Wen had an excellent memory, so he immediately went to the table next to him, took out a document, and handed it over.

"My lord, this is a report from yesterday. General Zhou has arrived in Cangxi territory."

Seeing Liu Feng take the document and open it to examine it closely, Zhang Wen continued to whisper, "It's only seven or eight days' journey to Jiameng at most."

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cangxi was not yet an independent county and was still under the jurisdiction of Langzhong County. However, the name Cangxi already existed as early as the pre-Qin period. The area is bordered by the Jialing River, with green mountains and clear waters on both banks and lush vegetation, hence the name Cangxi given by the locals. Later, during the Western Jin Dynasty, a new county was established by separating it from Langzhong County, and the name "Cangxi" was used as an alternative name for this section of the Jialing River.

Although Cangxi was not yet a county at this time, it was already a large town with four or five hundred households in the location of a county in later generations. Zhou Tai set up camp in Cangxi town yesterday and replenished a small amount of military rations, as well as chicken, duck, fish and meat.

"Tell Youping that this operation must be swift. Jiameng is no longer heavily guarded, so we must seize the opportunity and take it down."

Liu Zhang had already emptied out the garrison at Jiameng, and Zhao Wei's attention was focused on Chengdu, leaving him no time to look eastward.

The person Liu Feng was worried about was not Liu Zhang and Zhao Wei, but Zhang Lu in Hanzhong, further east.

Most of the passes within Yizhou have the characteristic of being more advantageous to the north. For example, passes such as Mianzhu and Baishui Pass are easy to defend and difficult to attack from the north, while they are relatively much weaker from the south.

Among these, Jianmen Pass stands out the most. Facing north, Jianmen Pass is considered the most strategically important pass of its time. Its northern slope is not only narrow and difficult to traverse, but also has an almost vertical incline of 90 degrees. This made Jianmen Pass the only pass in the entire feudal period that was never breached from the front. In the entire history of Jianmen Pass, it has only been breached by the enemy from the front once.

The army that could achieve such a terrifying breakthrough is self-evident; it could only be that top-tier, red-clad military force.

Compared to the imposing and precipitous Jianmen Pass, the southern slope of Jianmen Pass is not only smooth but also has a large amount of flat land. Compared to the northern slope, the flat southern slope can not only be used to build military camps and station troops, but also for farming, making it the best military supplement.

However, for enemies coming from the south, the southern slope of Jianmen Pass became a classic example of a pass that was easy to attack but difficult to defend. All the historical breaches of Jianmen Pass, except for the one by the Red Army which broke through from the front, were all attacks that came from the southern slope.

Most of the passes in Sichuan are almost identical to Jianmen Pass, only differing slightly in degree, without the exaggerated contrast of Jianmen Pass.

However, Jiameng Pass is an exception. Not only is Jiameng Pass treacherous to the north, but it is also easy to defend and difficult to attack to the south.

Jiameng Pass is located in Zhaohua area of ​​Guangyuan County, Yizhou, at the confluence of the Bailong River, Jialing River, and Qingjiang River. It is not only a plateau terrain but also surrounded by water on three sides, with only a 30-meter-wide land passage on the east side connecting it to the outside world, forming a defensive fortress where "rivers serve as moats and mountains as barriers."

This unique geographical environment makes it difficult to break through the dual defenses of waterways and land routes, whether attacking from Hanzhong in the north or Chengdu in the south.

Backed by Niutou Mountain, Jiameng Pass is located 20 li to the northwest of Jianmen Pass, 30 li to the west of Tianxiong Pass, and 3-5 li to the south of the city is Jiameng Fortress. It can be said that it can be called upon by many.

Chengdu controls Jiameng, which allows it to defend against threats from Hanzhong and Guanzhong. Conversely, Hanzhong controls Jiameng, which allows it to counter attacks from Chengdu.

Liu Feng worried that if Zhang Lu learned of the internal strife in Shu and the vulnerability of Jiameng, the Hanzhong army would disregard everything and come to seize Jiameng.

If the Hanzhong army were to seize Jiameng first, Liu Feng would be in a difficult position. Jiameng Pass is impregnable, and if left unattended, it would immediately become a thorn in his side. If Jiameng is taken first, it might trigger a full-scale war with Hanzhong.

Liu Feng had considered letting Zhang Lu pass Jiameng Pass and drawing Zhang Lu's main force out of Hanzhong to fight. However, after careful consideration, Liu Feng realized that this plan, while seemingly brilliant, was actually a huge loss.

The reason is that the terrain of Jiameng is even more treacherous than that of Bodao, making it difficult for even counterweight catapults to have a good firing angle. In addition, the mountains of Jiameng are a natural fortress, a natural wall that even counterweight catapults cannot penetrate.

In addition, there is another very important factor, which is the intelligence that Liu Feng just received: Hanzhong has not yet built Yangping Pass, which will cause Cao Cao and Liu Bei great suffering in the future.

Zhang Lu captured Hanzhong in 191 AD, and then spent another year eliminating Liu Yan's confidant Zhang Xiu before becoming the sole ruler of Hanzhong.

However, in the following ten years, due to his extremely poor relationship with Liu Zhang, he attracted several attacks from Liu Zhang. During these ten years, Zhang Lu was only busy defending and expanding his military strength, and had no spare capacity to build Yangping Pass.

It wasn't until after the Battle of Guandu, when Zhao Wei rebelled, causing chaos in Shu for a year and severely damaging the productivity of the three counties of Shu and Ba County, that Liu Zhang was able to switch from offense to defense, giving Zhang Lu time to recuperate.

Before the Zhao Wei Rebellion, Liu Zhang launched an attack on Hanzhong almost every two years. However, after the Zhao Wei Rebellion, Liu Zhang never launched another offensive against Hanzhong. Instead, Zhang Lu invaded Bazhong from the Micang Road, launching an expansionist and erosive offensive against Shu. This led to Liu Zhang's later fear of Zhang Lu, and his willingness to travel thousands of miles to invite Liu Bei to Shu to help him block Zhang Lu.

The renowned Yangping Pass was a formidable fortress that Zhang Lu built during his twelve years of recuperation, raising funds, manpower, and surveying the terrain. But right now, not a single brick has been laid; Yangping Pass remains a forested mountain area.

Without Yangping Pass, the difficulty of conquering Hanzhong would be greatly reduced, not to mention that Liu Feng was sending troops to Hanzhong from the direction of Shu.

"Here!"

Zhang Wen immediately obeyed the order, went behind his desk and began to write down Liu Feng's command, which he then sent to the front lines.

Liu Feng suddenly remembered something and then added, "The two passes of Jiange and Baishui in the northwest of Jiameng, and Tianxiong Pass in the southwest, also need to be taken control of in time. After they are brought under my control, remember to block the transportation and cut off the inside and outside, and do not let the north know about the changes in Shu."

Liu Feng's blockade was not in vain. In fact, after Liu Zhang succeeded to the throne, he soon fell out with Zhang Lu. From that time on, Shu cut off contact with Hanzhong, and even caravans were not allowed to travel between the two regions.

However, Liu Feng also understood that Zhang Lu would eventually find out about the turmoil in Shu.

In stark contrast to Liu Zhang, Zhang Lu was much more friendly towards ethnic minorities.

Many ethnic minorities in Shu who could no longer endure Liu Zhang's exploitation often had no choice but to head north to seek refuge with Zhang Lu in Hanzhong. Zhang Lu welcomed all these ethnic minorities, provided them with food, and settled them in the Daba Mountains between Hanzhong and Ba Commandery.

Therefore, Zhang Lu had a fairly good relationship with the ethnic minorities, especially the Ba people. Even if Liu Feng could block the Micang Road, he could not block all the mountain paths, and the situation in Shu would eventually reach Zhang Lu's ears.

However, Liu Feng naturally hoped that Zhang Lu would find out about the situation in Shu as late as possible. Even if he knew about the turmoil in Shu, not knowing the specifics would still make Zhang Lu hesitate and not dare to act rashly.

"Here!"

Zhang Wen responded again and then wrote Liu Feng's supplementary requirements into the document. After writing it, he handed it to Liu Feng to review. Once he confirmed that there were no errors, he would affix the seal of the Left General.

After the documents dried, Zhang Wen neatly stacked them, placed them in a dry bamboo tube, sealed it, and then sealed the opening with hot oil and stamped it with a seal to prevent outsiders from peeking at it.

After doing all this, Zhang Wen took the bamboo tube to the outer hall, summoned Zhou Fang who was on duty, and ordered him to arrange for his personal guards to set off on a fast boat to catch up with Zhou Tai.

**
Let's go back to a dozen days ago, to Nanzheng, Hanzhong.

Yan Pu, the clerk of Hanzhong Commandery, strode into the back hall. As soon as he entered, he saw Zhang Lu and Zhang Wei sitting upright in the hall.

Zhang Lu was alright, though he seemed a little dazed, while Zhang Wei beside him was filled with anxiety, a mixture of trepidation and surprise.

"Lord."

Yan Pu stood in the hall and called out, startling Zhang Lu out of his reverie.

"Uncle Xu is here."

Upon seeing Yan Pu, Zhang Lu waved to him and said, "Please take a seat."

Yan Pu, courtesy name Xubo, was Zhang Lu's chief clerk and most trusted confidant at this time.

"Thank you, Lord."

Yan Pu bowed and thanked him before turning to sit down at the table.

As soon as he sat down, Zhang Wei couldn't wait to say, "Brother, the Chief Clerk has arrived. We should make a decision on the grand plan as soon as possible."

"Be patient and calm."

Zhang Lu rebuked the other party, and then said to Yan Pu, "Uncle Xu, please sit for a moment, and we will discuss this when the registrar arrives."

The chief clerk here is Yang Song, a local scholar from Hanzhong. He proactively joined Zhang Lu when Zhang Lu first entered Hanzhong, providing him with money and provisions to help Zhang Lu attack and kill Su Gu, the former governor of Hanzhong, as well as Zhao Song, a powerful figure from Nanzheng, and Chen Diao, a powerful figure from Chenggu. Furthermore, during the subsequent internal strife among Liu Yan's loyalists, he devised strategies to eliminate Zhang Xiu for Zhang Lu, making Zhang Lu the sole ruler of Hanzhong, and preventing Liu Yan and his son from replicating his success.

Therefore, Yang Song was also regarded as a confidant by Zhang Lu, and together with Yan Pu, Zhang Wei and others, he became Zhang Lu's right-hand man.

Before long, Yang Song also rushed over and bowed before entering the hall.

"Registrar, please don't stand on ceremony. Please take your seats."

Zhang Wei turned to Zhang Lu and said, "Brother, the chief clerk has arrived. Can we speak now?"

Zhang Lu wanted to reprimand him, but he also understood Zhang Wei's feelings. Not to mention Zhang Wei, even he himself was very agitated.

"Member and Registrar, you two may take a look first."

Zhang Lu pointed to the documents on the table in front of him, picked them up himself, and handed them to Yan Pu and Yang Song.

Yan Pu and Yang Song were both surprised and suspicious. After exchanging a glance, they opened the silk scroll and examined it carefully.

A moment later, the two of them suddenly looked up, their eyes filled with a mixture of smugness and surprise.

"My lord, is this news reliable?"

Zhang Lu nodded decisively and said, "He is very reliable. He has long been a member of our sect and has repeatedly brought me information about the situation in Sichuan over the years. His heart is truly sincere and his loyalty is extremely genuine. You two need not doubt him."

Yan Pu and Yang Song nodded slowly, their eyes flickering uncertainly.

After a short while, Yang Song spoke first: "Congratulations, my lord! Congratulations, my lord!"

Zhang Lu's expression flickered slightly, but he feigned composure and asked, "I wonder what brings you, Registrar?"

(End of this chapter)