My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 599 Seeking Advice from He Qi
He Qi looked at Liu Feng, and was deeply moved.

In the first half of his life, he never encountered a wise ruler. Although he came from a top-tier powerful family in Kuaiji, he was ostracized within the aristocratic circle and could only be used like a knife, suppressing rebellions everywhere but gaining no merit whatsoever. Later, due to Sun Ce, his clan suffered a tragic disaster and was almost wiped out.

But after following Liu Feng, he was like a dragon soaring in the sea and a bird flying in the sky.

Liu Feng not only promoted him to Commandant of Huinan in one fell swoop, but also separated a new commandery from Kuaiji Commandery and entrusted him with a salary of two thousand shi (a unit of grain). Subsequently, he put him in charge of all matters related to suppressing the rebellion in Huinan, and even trusted and beloved generals like Gao Shun were placed under his command.

Although He Qi has now relinquished his positions as prefect and commander of Huinan, he has been promoted to commander of an army, holding the rank of lieutenant general, with his subordinates consisting of his own old comrades and the mountain tribe chiefs he personally subdued.

Such trust, esteem, and support were unprecedented in He Qi's life. He Qi's only response to Liu Feng's trust, esteem, and support was to do everything in his power, even at the cost of his life, to repay him.

He Qi is determined to make new contributions this time he enters Sichuan.

"Our lord is here! Why don't you all pay your respects immediately?"

He Qi turned around and shouted to the people behind him.

He Qi's forces now consist of ten separate divisions, each with two thousand men. The division commanders are He Jin, Yao Hong, Han Yan, Hong Ming, Hong Jin, Yuan Yu, Wu Mian, Hua Dang, Wu Wu, and Zou Lin.

He Jin was He Qi's cousin and was spared because he did not live in Shanyin City. Yao Hong was He Qi's close follower and right-hand man. As for Han Yan, he was a hero recruited by He Qi in Dongye County in southern Kuaiji.

These three men were all trusted and beloved generals of He Qi, and had been fighting alongside the army for many years. With the expansion of the army, they were all promoted to military commanders, each leading a contingent of troops.

As for the remaining seven men—Hong Ming, Hong Jin, Yuan Yu, Wu Mian, Hua Dang, Wu Wu, and Zou Lin—they were powerful figures from the Southern Mountain region and the main force behind the previous rebellion. They were defeated by He Qi, Gao Shun, and Zheng Bao, and subsequently won over by He Qi, Gao Shun, and others, willingly surrendering to Liu Feng.

When Liu Feng appointed He Qi as the chief general to form the Shanyue army, he recruited them into the army and selected elites from among the surrendered Shanyue soldiers and civilians. These seven men are now also appointed as separate commanders, each leading two thousand elite Shanyue soldiers.

Although they were all powerful figures in the mountains, each of them had at least seven or eight thousand able-bodied men under their command, and some, like the brothers Hong Ming and Hong Jin, even commanded twenty or thirty thousand mountain barbarian soldiers.

Now the number has shrunk to two thousand, but instead of complaining, they are happy, and the reason is quite simple.

Firstly, they were completely defeated and subdued by He Qi, Gao Shun, and other Left Army commanders.

Secondly, when Liu Feng formed the Shanyue army, he treated them all equally without any prejudice. He provided them with all kinds of elite soldiers and weapons. They not only ate fresh grains, but also received rations of fine salt and sugar. In particular, the replenishment of military equipment opened the eyes of these country bumpkins.

He Qi's troops were replenished with a total of two thousand sets of iron armor, half of which were lamellar armor and the other half were bright forged armor.

He Qi was quite fair and impartial, and did not concentrate the armor distribution on his own confidants. Instead, he distributed all the armor to his various units, so that Hong Jin and others each received two hundred sets of armor. The last two hundred sets were kept in He Qi's personal guard.

When had Hong Ming and his men ever seen so many armored vehicles?

Hong Ming and others, who had long admired He Qi's martial arts skills, were even more impressed by Liu Feng and He Qi's fairness and magnanimity. Coupled with the promising future of the Left General's office, they developed the idea of ​​"a scholar will die for one who understands him" and wanted to serve Liu Feng and He Qi.

Upon hearing He Qi's words, He Jin, Yao Hong, Han Yan, Hong Ming, Hong Jin, Yuan Yu, Wu Mian, Hua Dang, Wu Wu, Zou Lin, and the other ten men immediately knelt on one knee and shouted to Liu Feng, "We pay our respects to General Zuo! We are willing to die for General Zuo!"

Liu Feng burst into laughter, released He Qi's arm, and personally helped each of them up. He would pat their shoulders or squeeze their arms to show his affection and care, which deeply moved He Jin and the others.

“You are all men of fierce courage and bravery, and I truly admire you.”

Liu Feng smiled and said, "Now is a time of great contention. Regardless of your background, you can all earn merit and be rewarded. Our Han Dynasty has always rewarded military merit with titles. If you can make great contributions to the country, it is not surprising that you will be granted titles and gold."

That evening, Liu Feng hosted a banquet to welcome He Qi and the others.

Although the powerful mountain strongmen like Hong Jin were not weak, even the Emperor of Han had never seen stir-fried dishes made with iron pots and lard. Naturally, they were conquered on the spot.

A joyous banquet, with both host and guests thoroughly enjoying themselves.

The next morning, He Qi went to the mansion to ask for orders and inquire about the tasks assigned to his troops.

Liu Feng, however, seemed completely unhurried. He led He Qi into the study and, using the map, explained the current situation, intelligence, and some speculations.

When He Qi was in Jiangling, he often received reports and documents from the Left Staff Office and had some understanding of the situation in Shu, but none of them were as comprehensive and detailed as Liu Feng's introduction and supplement in half a day.

He Qi pondered for a moment, then asked, "What do you think is the likelihood of Cao Cao's army entering Shu?"

"I'm about 70-80% sure."

Liu Feng answered without hesitation: "I have already sent out many scouts to infiltrate Hanzhong from Jinniu, Micang, and Xicheng to gather information. However, a few days ago, a large force from Hanzhong quietly crossed Jiameng without raising its flags or beating its drums. Youping reported back that this force is even more elite than the Daobing. The Daobing are Zhang Lu's personal guards, the elite of Hanzhong, none can surpass them. To be superior to them must be the elite of the north."

Upon hearing this, He Qi nodded slightly, stroked his beard, and pondered, "The General rose from Yanzhou, a place of constant warfare and the heart of the Central Plains. Anyone who can establish a foothold in such a strategically vital location must be a man of great strategy and wisdom. His troops must also be a fierce and battle-hardened force."

Liu Feng smiled with satisfaction: "Gong Miao's insight shows he already has the demeanor of a great general."

He Qi quickly thanked Liu Feng for his praise, his expression showing some excitement.

After a moment, Liu Feng turned to ask, "Gongmiao, now that you are fully aware of the situation, in your opinion, how should our army respond?"

At present, Liu Feng's army has 3,800 men in Jiameng, including 500 Shu soldiers and more than 600 wounded, with a total of slightly over 3,000 available troops. Meanwhile, in Langzhong, downstream of the Xihan River, there are 4,000 Zuo Mu soldiers stationed, of which 3,500 are Zhou Tai's naval forces.

There were also 500 garrison troops in Chongguo, which was adjacent to Langzhong. They were a detachment of Huo Du's troops, totaling more than 8,000 men.

These two armies can cross the Jialing River at any time to reinforce Jiameng Pass, or they can replace the garrison in Jiameng Pass and retreat to Langzhong for rest and reorganization.

There were 6,000 men stationed in Guanghan, of which 3,000 were Liu Feng's personal troops led by Xu Chu, 2,000 were Su Fei's naval forces, and the remaining 1,000 were Zhao Wei's troops stationed in Deyang and Guanghan. There were 3,000 men stationed in Niubi County in the Jianshui River basin. In addition to the 2,000 men under Quan Cong, there were more than 1,000 strong and brave men from the three counties of Han'an, Zizhong, and Niubi who had come to join them. All of them were capable soldiers.

This force may seem like a group with little to do, but when necessary, they can carry their own rations and risk crossing the Longquan Mountains to strike at the three key locations of Xindu, Luocheng, and Chengdu. Meanwhile, Jiang Qin's 6,000-strong force, originally stationed here, has already sailed south along the Jian River and returned to Jiangzhou.

Next came the western army in Wuyang City, which was the elite main force of the Left Army that entered Shu.

This force consists of nine divisions totaling 18,000 men, including Lu Xun, Lü Meng, Wen Pin, Lü Dai, Sun Ce, Huang Zhong, Wei Yan, Xi Zhen, and Cuan Yang. In addition, Liao Hua leads his own troops and two thousand newly recruited local Yizhou troops to guard Nanzhong. If necessary, they can also go north to reinforce.

The other force of the Western Army was Zhuge Liang's troops, who were temporarily stationed at Bodao.

This force included Zhuge Liang's main force of 2,000 men, Gan Ning's force of 6,000 men, and the troops of Ling Tong, Zhang Nan, and Feng Xi, totaling 14,000 men.

Gan Ning's troops have now marched north, and there are still 8,000 men from four different groups led by Zhuge Liang in the Bo Road.

Finally, there was Liu Feng's main force in Jiangzhou, including the remaining three thousand personal guards, six thousand naval troops under Huang Gai, and one thousand newly recruited soldiers from Ba County, totaling ten thousand men.

Excluding the vassal troops from various regions who were not formally recruited, the Left Guard Army had a total strength of 84,000 men in Sichuan, plus another 4,000 to 5,000 vassal troops, bringing the total strength to nearly 90,000.

If we include the newly arrived 20,000 Yue soldiers from the mountains, as well as the tens of thousands of laborers mobilized from Jingzhou and Shu, the army truly numbered over 100,000.

In addition, Zhou Yu's troops had been transferred from Xiakou to Jiangling at this time, and could be deployed to reinforce Shu, Jingbei and Shangyong at any time.

Although the troops in Shu had been fighting for many days, the intensity of the battle was low, the city was captured extensively, and many Shu soldiers were taken prisoner. By selecting prisoners and recruiting local heroes from various parts of Shu, the troops were kept at full strength.

Liu Zhang's army still has a total strength of over 50,000 men, but its main force has suffered heavy losses. More than one-third of the Dongzhou soldiers have been killed or wounded, and the remaining Shu army elites have also lost over 10,000 men. If they want to be able to fight again in the short term, they will have to spend a lot of money to reward them.

Zhao Wei's troops were surrounded by the Shu army outside Chengdu. Although his forces still numbered 40,000 to 50,000, at most 20,000 were actually capable of fighting. Morale was low and the troops were in turmoil, barely able to defend themselves.

If it weren't for Zhao Wei's subordinates looting and plundering throughout Shu, incurring the deep hatred of the people of Shu, some might have already surrendered to the Shu army by now.

Although these two forces combined number nearly 100,000, they are not a major concern for the time being. The biggest opponent for the Left Guard Army at this stage is actually the Zhang-Cao allied forces that are advancing south from Hanzhong.

The Hanzhong army had over 20,000 elite troops, and Cao Cao's army had over 20,000 elite troops. These nearly 50,000 men were not only a fresh force, but also had high morale. They occupied many key points along the line from Baishui Pass to Mianzhu, as well as most of the territory of Guanghan County. They had truly penetrated deep into Shu, and naturally became the most threatening force to the Left Army.

He Qi, holding a whip and pointing at the map, said loudly, "My lord, you are wise. In my opinion, it would be better to send a large army north to Guanghan, join forces with General Xu's troops, feign an attack on Fucheng to create a false impression, while secretly sending elite troops to take the Tongshui River and launch a surprise attack on Zitong under the cover of night."

After speaking, he pointed the tip of his whip at Zitong, a strategically important location on the map, and continued, "If we can capture this city, the Hanzhong army will immediately be caught in a predicament where they cannot support each other, and with their supplies cut off, their morale will collapse, leaving them powerless to turn the tide. Zitong is situated at a crucial point on the Jinniu Road, historically a vital passage for those entering Shu from the north. In this way, we can also block Cao Cao's elite troops north of Zitong, trapping them in the Jinniu Plank Road, leaving them with no way to advance or retreat. At that time, our lord will have ample time to calmly deal with Zhao Wei and recapture Chengdu. This is the best strategy!"

Finally, He Qi cupped his hands to Liu Feng and volunteered, saying, "My lord, if you do not mind, I am willing to lead my troops north to help General Xu achieve this great feat!"

"Gong Miao's plan is upright and righteous, and it conforms to the essential principles of military strategy. It is truly a superior strategy!"

Liu Feng first praised He Qi's plan, but then changed the subject and said, "However... although this plan is brilliant, I find it difficult to follow."

He Qi looked surprised and doubtful, clearly puzzled by Liu Feng's words. His lips trembled slightly as he hesitated, unsure whether he should voice his doubts.

Fortunately, Liu Feng quickly explained: "Gongmiao, if I wanted to lead Cao Cao's army into Shu, what would you say?"

He Qi suddenly realized what was happening and was greatly surprised.

He never expected Liu Feng to have such a big appetite, not only wanting to swallow up Yizhou, but also wanting to eliminate Zhang Lu in Hanzhong and Cao Cao's army heading south.

But after calming down, He Qi realized that Liu Feng's actions, though seemingly dangerous, were actually quite reasonable.

Although Liu Feng and his son and Cao Cao and his son were allies, their relationship was growing increasingly cold.

On the one hand, Liu Feng's takeover of three provinces put enormous pressure on Cao Cao. On the other hand, in order to strengthen his power, Cao Cao had to snatch food from the tiger's mouth, not only taking in Liu Biao, Cai Mao and others, but also extorting the entire Nanyang Commandery from Liu Feng.

The final reason lies with Yuan Shao. Due to the alliance between Cao Cao and Liu Bei, Yuan Shao's choices were drastically different from those in the original timeline. After the Qingzhou campaign ended, he unusually chose to have Ju Shou, Tian Feng, and others manage Hebei and focus on recuperation. More than a year has passed since then without any military action.

As a result, the pressure Yuan Shao put on Cao Cao was greatly reduced. And how could a man of Cao Cao's stature be willing to sit idly by and wait for death? Naturally, he would take advantage of this great opportunity to expand his territory and strengthen his own power.

Therefore, even if a falling out between Cao Cao and Liu Bei wasn't imminent, it was already a very difficult thing to avoid.

The Shu Road has been notoriously difficult, more difficult than ascending to heaven.

If Liu Feng takes over Yizhou, he will inevitably expand northward.

At that time, whether attacking Hanzhong from Sichuan or attacking Guanzhong from Hanzhong, it would be an extremely difficult and troublesome undertaking. This was not only due to the dangerous passes and obstacles along the way, but the biggest problem was the Qinling Mountains, which stretch for eight hundred miles.

For the logistics supply lines, this was a nightmare within a nightmare.

If that's the case, why not take advantage of Cao Cao's desire to seize Yizhou and deliberately let him in to attack?

In this way, it became Zhang Lu and Cao Cao's side in Hanzhong who were responsible for crossing the mountains to resupply.

If we can wipe out their elite forces in Shu, the subsequent Northern Expedition will be a piece of cake.

(End of this chapter)