My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 582 The Strange Events in Hanzhong
Yang Song felt reassured. He had only been 50% confident before, but after seeing Zhang Lu's current reaction, his confidence immediately increased to 70%.

So Yang Song straightened up, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Zhang Lu, and advised, "My lord, Jiameng is a strategically important and impregnable pass, and the gateway to Shu. It would be difficult to breach it without an army of at least 100,000. But now Zhao Wei is in rebellion, and Liu Zhang is helpless. At this moment, Jiameng's strengths and weaknesses are entirely in your hands. It is as if Heaven has bestowed Jiameng upon you. If you do not seize this opportunity to take it into your possession, you may suffer the consequences."

It turns out that the events recorded in this silk scroll were written by Cha Xian, a local powerful figure in Jiameng and the deputy general of Jiameng Pass.

Cha Xian not only reported to Zhang Lu in great detail about Zhao Wei's uprising, the chaos in Shu, Liu Zhang's repeated defeats, and the troop withdrawal from various passes and counties in the north to reinforce Chengdu, but also revealed the true situation of Jiameng Pass.

According to Cha Xian's report, Jiameng Pass now only had 500 garrison troops, 200 of whom were Cha family private soldiers, and the other 200 were a coalition of local powerful clans in Jiameng, making it extremely weak. Moreover, it wasn't just Jiameng Pass that was so sparsely defended; the same was true for Baishui Pass to the north, Tianxiong Pass to the south, and Jianmen Pass to the west, each with only 300-500 garrison troops, and some as few as 100-200. More importantly, the commander of Baishui Pass was also a member of Cha Xian's clan, leading 200 soldiers to guard the pass.

Starting from Baima Pass in Hanzhong, and heading south along the Jinniu Road along the Han River, the first obstacle encountered is Baishui Pass. It was here that Liu Bei later clashed with Zhang Lu during his entry into Shu. After passing Baishui Pass, one can directly face Jiameng Pass.

Baishui Pass, Jiameng Pass, Jianmen Pass, and Tianxiong Pass are four passes that form a unified and interconnected defense system.

Now, two of the four passes are set on Zhang Lu.

Jiameng Pass already shows signs of turning against its allies, and Baishui Pass is practically under their control. If Zhang Lu were to send troops to take over these two passes, not only would the situation immediately turn around, pushing the defensive line against Shu to Jiameng Pass, but if there were an opportunity to capture Jianmen Pass, they could even march straight into the three counties of Shu and launch a surprise attack amidst the chaos.

Faced with this situation, not only was Zhang Wei extremely anxious and eager to get started, but even Zhang Lu himself only pretended to be calm, though his heart was actually surging with excitement.

In Cha Xian's words, this was simply a great gift from heaven to Master Jun, an opportunity not to be missed, lest it be lost forever.

Therefore, the first thing Yang Song and Yan Pu needed to determine was whether Cha Xian was reliable.

After confirming that Cha Xian was indeed one of their own, Yang Song did not hesitate to advise Zhang Lu to send troops.

Zhang Lu opened his mouth, ready to give the order, but then turned his gaze to Yan Pu. Realizing that his wise and resourceful confidant had not yet spoken, he took the initiative to ask, "What does Xu Bo think of the Chief Clerk's words?"

Yan Pu snapped out of his daze and quickly bowed to apologize for his absent-mindedness. He then replied, "I truly agree with what the registrar said, but there is one thing that my lord should be careful about."

Zhang Lu was initially pleased, but then became worried and pressed for an answer: "What is it that you mentioned, Uncle Xu?"

Yan Pu then asked, "I wonder what Your Majesty desires, Jiameng or Chengdu?"

Zhang Lu's expression changed. After hesitating for a moment, he didn't answer but asked instead, "How about Jiameng? How about Chengdu?"

Once Yan Pu made up his mind, he replied, "If it is Jiameng, in my opinion, a deputy general can lead an army of two or three thousand men to take it."

Zhang Lu nodded in agreement, then asked impatiently, "Then... what if it's Chengdu?"

Yan Pu said with great momentum, "We should send a high-ranking general like the Prefect to lead tens of thousands of troops to first take Jiameng, then Jiange, and explore the lands of the Three Shu."

"it is good!"

Zhang Wei jumped up and said to Zhang Lu, "Brother, what the clerk said is indeed the right thing to do."

After thinking for a moment, Yang Song stroked his beard and praised, "Gong Cao is wise and resourceful, and his mind is thorough. The four passes in northern Shu will definitely require tens of thousands of troops to ensure that there is no leaks."

Zhang Lu then realized that Yan Pu wasn't disagreeing; he was clearly trying to solidify his own resolve.

Zhang Lu's true elite force numbered only 35,000 men. Of these, 5,000 soldiers from Nanzheng had already been transferred to the eastern front to garrison Huangjinshu to defend against threats from the Shangyong direction. In addition to Nanzheng, Baima Pass and Yangping Pass (at this time, Yangping Pass was just a simple camp built on Zouma Ridge), there were still 30,000 elite troops that could be mobilized.

Zhang Wei and Yan Pu represented the radical and conservative factions, respectively; the former hoped for expansion, while the latter hoped to preserve Hanzhong.

If it were someone else before, Yan Pu probably wouldn't have supported Zhang Wei's suggestion to attack Jiameng.

In Yan Pu's view, although Jiameng was a good place, there was a defensive system of Baima Pass and Yangping Pass right at his doorstep, and although the route from Baima Pass to Jiameng Pass was dangerous, there were not many people or fields.

Capturing Jiameng Pass would indeed push the battle line into central Sichuan, but it would also extend our supply lines by more than two hundred li. Even if we could use the Jialing River to supplement some of the transport capacity, we would still need to mobilize a lot of manpower to transport food, weapons, and other supplies.

Wouldn't it be better to save these manpower and resources to build Yangping Pass?

But times have changed, and things are not the same now.

Zhang Lu had submitted to Cao Cao, representing the central government of the Han Dynasty. Hanzhong was no longer an isolated local separatist regime, but rather a centrally appointed official, the General of the Garrison Commander and Prefect of Hanning, a legitimate and trusted official of the central government. With Cao Cao, representing the central government of the Eastern Han Dynasty, as his backer, Yan Pu's thoughts naturally changed.

If we could take advantage of the chaos in Shu and really penetrate deep into the plains of Sichuan, and even take over the Three Shu and Ba Commandery, Yan Pu would naturally not dare to have any disloyal thoughts or improper ideas. However, when he faces the emperor to the north, the status and rewards of both Zhang Lu and Yan Pu would rise accordingly.

It was for this reason that Yan Pu changed his attitude and, like Zhang Wei, strongly urged Zhang Lu to commit a large force to find an opportunity.

Seeing that his younger brother and his trusted advisors were all of one mind and agreed to send troops to invade Shu, Zhang Lu himself was already very tempted, so naturally he had no reason to hesitate.

Zhang Lu stood up: "Gongze."

Zhang Wei immediately stood up, cupped his hands and bowed: "Your subject is here."

Yan Pu and Yang Song also stood up and bowed their heads, awaiting orders.

Zhang Lu solemnly ordered: "You shall take two thousand of your personal guards, and I will give you an additional three thousand personal guards, as well as ten thousand Nanzheng soldiers. You shall set out from Baima Pass, march south along the Han River, first take Baishui, then capture Jiameng, and then launch a surprise attack on Jiange. If there is an opportunity, take Zitong."

"Here!"

Zhang Wei was overjoyed and immediately bowed his head to accept the order.

Zhang Lu then looked at Yan Pu and said, "Xu Bo, you have always been insightful and resourceful. I intend to appoint you as a military advisor to assist Gongze. What do you think?"

Since Zhang Lu had put it this way, Yan Pu had no choice but to refuse, both morally and logically.

"If my lord commands me, how could I dare to refuse?" Yan Pu immediately bowed deeply and accepted the order: "Although I am not wise and have few plans, I will do my best to assist the Commandant and help my lord expand the territory and penetrate deep into Shu."

"good!"

Zhang Lu showed an encouraging look, then looked at Yang Song and said, "Chief Clerk, the general's army is going on a campaign and will need provisions, supplies, weapons and equipment. I will have to trouble you to take care of these."

As a local figure in Hanzhong, Yang Song's political views were roughly the same as Yan Pu's, and even their mentality was identical.

Upon hearing Zhang Lu's instructions, Yang Song readily agreed: "My lord, please rest assured. The treasury in Nanzheng is now full, with tens of thousands of carts overflowing. We will ensure that the soldiers on the front lines are well-fed and rewarded."

“Very well, then this matter will be entrusted to the chief clerk. When the task is accomplished, he will be rewarded accordingly.”

Zhang Lu was overjoyed. After promising Yang Song a lucrative deal, he took the sword from his waist in front of the three men, held it horizontally with both hands, walked down the steps, and came to Zhang Wei: "Gongze, this sword is my personal possession. I now bestow it upon you. With the army far away, communication must remain unchanged. I grant you the authority to make decisions on the spot. Anyone who disobeys may be executed with this sword!"

"Here!"

Overjoyed, Zhang Wei hurriedly kowtowed to thank Zhang Lu for his kindness, and carefully took the sword from Zhang Lu's hand.

Zhang Lu concluded by saying, "During this southern expedition into Shu, you must be extremely careful and cautious. Consult the Chief Clerk on all matters and never act arbitrarily."

Zhang Wei nodded repeatedly, agreeing to everything Zhang Lu said. As for how much of it he truly took to heart, only Zhang Wei himself and Heaven knew.

The next morning, Zhang Wei led 5,000 Dao soldiers and 10,000 Nanzheng soldiers out of the west gate of Nanzheng City, splitting into waterways at Baima Pass, and then advancing by both water and land, rushing along the Han River towards Baishui Pass.

The distance from Baima Pass to Baishui Pass is more than 200 li. The road is rugged and the mountain path is difficult to travel, so it takes much longer to walk than on flat ground.

Even with the convenience of the Jialing River waterway, Zhang Weijun's marching speed was only about 30 to 40 li per day.

However, this was not because Zhang Wei was not putting in the effort; on the contrary, he was being extremely reckless, as this was a mountain trail, unlike the plains.

Given Zhang Weijun's speed in raiding, if this were in the Central Plains, he could cover sixty or seventy li in a day. The price, of course, would be the soldiers becoming increasingly exhausted and the near-complete abandonment of defensive measures during the march.

If it weren't for sufficient inside informants and intelligence proving that Liu Zhang had already depleted Shu's northern forces, Zhang Wei and Yan Pu wouldn't have dared to act this way. It's important to understand that at this time and place, any Shu army force of two or three thousand men setting up ambushes along the way could easily defeat Zhang Wei's troops, perhaps even achieving a decisive victory by killing generals and capturing flags.

Fortunately, the facts were just as the intelligence reported: the defense line in northern Shu was extremely weak; not only were there no defenders, but even scouts had not been seen.

When Zhang Wei marched straight in and arrived outside Baishui Pass seven days later, the Shu army did not react at all.

Zhang Wei immediately followed Zhang Lu's instructions and successfully contacted Cha Mao, the general guarding the pass, and then captured Baishui Pass without bloodshed.

Baishui Pass was the first line of defense against Hanzhong and a forward base for the Shu army to advance northward to attack Hanzhong. It was previously garrisoned by at least two or three thousand troops, and its terrain was extremely dangerous, making its defensive capabilities against the north even stronger than those of Jiameng Pass.

When Zhang Wei entered the city, there were still a large number of rolling stones and logs at the foot of the city walls, and a lot of raw oil was stored in the city's warehouses, which made Zhang Wei's heart tremble. He secretly clicked his tongue, thinking that if it weren't for the Cha family's inside help in surrendering the city, he probably wouldn't have been able to enter the gate of Baishui Pass even if he had fought to the last of his ten thousand men.

Zhang Wei was unaware that in the original timeline, because Zhao Wei did not receive Liu Biao's full support and only had his own troops, the pressure he brought to Liu Zhang was far less than it is now.

Therefore, Liu Zhang never mobilized troops from the four passes in northern Shu to reinforce the area. Zhang Lu of Hanzhong had no way to deal with the Baishui Pass line and could only turn to the Micang Road to enter Ba County, expanding his territory in the Bazhong area.

Ba Commandery was originally inhabited by a large number of Ba people and Ba barbarians, and the areas that Zhang Lu expanded into were mainly areas where Ba people and Ba barbarians were active. In addition, after the Zhao Wei Rebellion, Liu Zhang's strength was also severely damaged and greatly weakened. Even though he still regarded Zhang Lu as a thorn in his side, he was unable to send troops to Ba Commandery to counterattack.

Later, Cao Cao seized the opportunity to break through Yangping Pass and enter Nanzheng. Zhang Lu fled all the way to Bazhong.

Upon receiving the news, Liu Bei hurriedly sent Huang Quan to welcome Zhang Lu, but Zhang Lu instead discriminated against him, preferring to surrender to Cao Cao rather than Liu Bei, and instead ran back to Nanzheng to beg for surrender from Cao Cao.

In this timeline, Liu Feng provided substantial assistance to Zhao Wei, not only supplying him with food and weapons but also personally leading tens of thousands of troops into Shu. Although they had not yet joined the battle, they conquered cities and seized many key locations in Shu, putting immense pressure on Liu Zhang.

This was undoubtedly the fundamental reason why Liu Zhang ultimately decided to empty the northern defense line, thus creating an opportunity for the Zhang brothers, Zhang Lu and Zhang Wei, to enter Shu.

At this moment, Zhang Wei was naturally unaware of all this, but he heard Yan Pu offer a suggestion from the side: "Commander, now that Baishui Pass has been captured, we should select elite troops and rush to Jiameng as soon as possible to join forces with the Tea Commissioner. That is the right thing to do."

Although Zhang Wei's journey had only taken seven days, his army was already exhausted.

They had persevered earlier because of their high morale, the encouragement from Zhang Wei and Yan Pu, and the promise of rewards. Now that they've entered Baishui Pass, they've finally relaxed, and it will be difficult for them to get back on the road without a proper two or three days of rest.

However, they couldn't afford to delay at Jiameng Pass either. Although Zhang Wei, Yan Pu, and the others didn't know that Zhou Tai was also heading north with his sights set on Jiameng, they understood the importance of speed in warfare and that delay could lead to unforeseen circumstances.

Zhang Wei frowned, looking troubled, and said, "I completely agree with what the clerk said. However, the soldiers are exhausted now, and if we force them, things might go wrong. Does the clerk have a good plan?"

Yan Pu understood the situation and continued, "In my humble opinion, it would be better to send the Daoist troops first, followed by the Nanzheng troops. Jiameng is currently undefended, and with the Cha family as an inside help, taking it will be a piece of cake. As long as our army reaches Jiameng, we need not worry about the situation changing."

The Dao soldiers were Zhang Wei and Zhang Lu's personal guards, a carefully selected elite force, now numbering no more than ten thousand.

The soldiers carefully selected and generously supported by the Zhang brothers were naturally far more elite, courageous, and hardworking than the soldiers of Nanzheng County.

Zhang Wei already had two thousand personal guards, and for this expedition, Zhang Lu added another three thousand guards to the enemy, bringing the total to five thousand.

Although the Dao soldiers were in much better condition than the Nanzheng soldiers, they were still quite exhausted.

However, if Zhang Wei insists on mobilizing them, the Dao soldiers can still be mobilized, unlike the Nanzheng soldiers, who cannot be mobilized at all unless a large number of soldiers are killed.

Yan Pu's method was indeed a good one, but Zhang Wei hesitated.

(End of this chapter)