My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 607 The Hearts of the People in Shu

Fa Zheng succinctly and quickly told Liu Feng everything that had happened in Chengdu.

Liu Feng was quite surprised when he heard that Liu Zhang had also joined forces with Cao Cao.

Originally, Liu Feng believed that with Zhang Lu involved, it would be difficult for Liu Zhang to ally with Cao Cao.

After all, that was the hatred of killing one's mother and brother, an irreconcilable enmity.

But now, Zhang Lu has taught Liu Feng a lesson: for some people, there is no such thing as being unable to set a price for something; if there is, then the price is not high enough.

Although it's unclear what price Cao Cao offered Zhang Lu to make him abandon his revenge against his mother and brother and reconcile with Liu Zhang, the current situation is quite dire.

Yes, for Liu Feng, it was merely bad, not dangerous, not dire, and certainly not a hopeless situation.

Even though Liu Zhang and Cao Cao joined forces, bringing the combined army led by Cao Cao to nearly 100,000 men, Liu Feng remained calm, only feeling that the situation had taken an unexpected turn for the worse.

The fundamental reason is that the Left Army is capable of fighting.

The current Left Guard Army in Shu is extremely elite. In terms of troop quality, training, weaponry, and experience, it is in no way inferior to the two renowned armies in Yu Province. Moreover, not only are the soldiers elite, but the officers and generals are also all of the caliber of famous generals. There is also a top-tier commander like Lu Xun, and the military supplies and logistics are handled by Zhuge Liang, a top-tier minister of the Three Kingdoms. The equipment is all newly made lamellar armor and cold-forged armor from Xu Province, as well as a small amount of newly developed plate armor for officers and generals.

Even the scarce warhorses were replenished by a large number of southwestern horses in Nanzhong, including famous southwestern horses such as Lijiang horses, Dali horses, Jianchang horses, and Dianchi horses.

Southwest horses are small in stature, medium in size, sturdy, and highly adaptable. They are adept at climbing steep slopes and navigating narrow mountain paths, and are capable of both riding and carrying loads. They are an important breed of working horse in the southwestern mountainous region and played a vital role in military and commercial activities in ancient Southwest China.

While these horses are not suitable for tackling cavalry, they are excellent light cavalry. They are fast, have great endurance, and are adaptable to various terrains. Their only drawback is their lack of explosive power, making them excellent light cavalry.

Lu Xun reported this to the emperor, and Kuai Yue submitted a memorial. With Liu Feng's approval, fifty shi of sugar, five hundred shi of salt, and other precious goods that were scarce in the southwest were prioritized for transfer and allocation. In the first half of last year, these goods were exchanged for thousands of horses from the southwest for Lu Xun's troops.

Lu Xun's cavalry force is now mainly composed of these horses, and it already numbers three thousand.

However, most of them were light cavalry, a few were cuirassiers, and there were no heavy armored cavalry.

After all, armored cavalry can only rely on the tall, strong horses from Liaodong, Liangzhou, Bingzhou, and Hedong. Even the best warhorses in the southwest cannot support the weight of armored soldiers.

If Liu Feng were to establish a third or fourth army, he would undoubtedly expand upon this existing force in Shu, and what he would lack would simply be special troops such as armored cavalry.

With such an elite force, and a gathering of famous generals and commanders, it would be too embarrassing for Liu Feng to be intimidated by this small coalition army.

This completely negates the enormous advantage that Liu Feng has gained over the years through various risks, tricks, and selfless dedication.

Liu Feng originally had a grand strategy in mind: to annihilate Cao Cao's army and the Hanzhong army that had entered Shu along the line of Fucheng, Mianzhu, and Zitong. Now, the addition of Liu Zhang in Chengdu, while causing some trouble, had no impact on this grand strategy.

Compared to the trouble caused by Liu Zhang's defection to Cao Cao, Liu Feng found it more interesting that Zhang Song and others were plotting to welcome him.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Ziqiao, a short, dissolute, and unprincipled man, still chose our side.

This Cao Cao did not insult him; in fact, he might even have fawned over him.

Zhang Song is now the Prefect of Yi Province, and rightfully the most powerful man under Liu Zhang.

Zhang Song had a lot of say in whether the whole province should surrender to Liu Bei or Cao Cao.

Otherwise, why would he be able to directly convene a small meeting with powerful figures from Yizhou and Dongzhou, such as Qin Mi, Yang Hong, and Meng Da, simply because he was dissatisfied with Liu Zhang's desire to defect to Cao Cao?

Qin Mi was a great Confucian scholar in Yizhou. The Qin family was the most powerful family in Guanghan. Their family owned vast lands with crisscrossing paths. The common farmers who depended on the Qin family accounted for more than 10% of the population of Guanghan County.

Therefore, the Qin family deeply resented Zhao Wei and also hated the Hanzhong army that was now exploiting Guanghan to the core.

Compared to the Qin family, the Yang family is even more powerful.

In peacetime, the Yang family's status was naturally inferior to that of the Qin family, but now it was a chaotic world, and the Yang family happened to have guns in their hands.

As the most powerful clan in Jianwei County, the Yang family not only maintained thousands of clan soldiers, but was also the largest private iron merchant in Yizhou. Their home was filled with workshops and craftsmen, producing hundreds of farm tools and dozens of long and short weapons every day.

During Lu Xun's invasion of Jianwei, the Yang family swiftly and decisively demonstrated neutrality. At this time, neutrality was undoubtedly an olive branch extended to the Left Guard Army. Especially during the Battle of Wuyang, the Yang family remained completely hidden, and even after the Left Guard Army entered Wuyang, they immediately stepped forward to help maintain local order and restore public safety.

After the Left Guard Army occupied the capital of Jianwei County, they showed no wrongdoing and respected the legitimate interests of the local gentry and powerful families. At the same time, they appeased the people, cleared up wrongful convictions, promulgated laws, and established taxation.

This series of events not only demonstrated the strict military discipline and excellent conduct of the Left Army, but also revealed the Left General's headquarters' intention to cultivate Jianwei and even the entire Yizhou region.

Don't underestimate this display; it is extremely important to the local gentry and powerful families.

If you don't intend to develop your business locally, the local bigwigs have been rooted in the area for decades or even centuries. Why would they invest their capital in you?

The attitude and performance of the Left General's shogunate completely dispelled the last shred of doubt among the local gentry and powerful families, who then completely submitted to the Left General's command.

Yang Hongjia immediately expressed his willingness to contribute half of his troops to the war effort, and also to provide the Zuo Mu Army with two hundred long and short weapons free of charge every month. In addition, he was willing to sell all of his weapon production at a fair price.

Don't underestimate this; the benefits amount to millions of dollars annually.

Not to mention that the two hundred long and short weapons delivered each month add up to two or three thousand pieces a year, the value of these supplies is close to one million coins.

Based on prices during a peaceful period in the Eastern Han Dynasty, a standard iron spear cost between one thousand and two thousand coins. According to industry practice, it usually cost one thousand coins. The spears issued to lower- and middle-ranking officers were worth between one thousand five hundred and two thousand coins, while those for mid- to high-ranking officers cost more than three thousand coins. As for swords, they were even more expensive, often costing at least several times more than iron spears.

With the world in chaos, the price of military equipment has naturally skyrocketed. A doubling or tripling the price of military supplies would be considered quite cheap.

Unless they produce it themselves, this is the prevailing market price. Therefore, given the fierce fighting in Sichuan and the imminent major battle, the Yang family's willingness to sell all their production to the Left Army at a flat price is not merely financial support, but also a resolute stance of taking sides.

By taking this step, the Yang family essentially assumed that the Zuo Mu would be the ultimate winner in the Shu campaign, leaving themselves no way out. Even if the Cao family were to take Yizhou, or even if Liu Zhang hadn't moved his forces, the Yang family would still face their doom.

This is one of the fundamental reasons why Yang Hong resolutely stood on Zhang Song's side.

The current situation is different from when Liu Bei entered Shu in the original timeline.

Liu Bei's army entering Shu numbered only a little over 10,000, less than 20,000, and was even stationed far away by Liu Zhang at Baishui Pass to defend against Zhang Lu's attack from Hanzhong.

The journey from Baishuiguan to Chengdu is at least a thousand miles, and heading south from Baishuiguan involves passing through places such as Jiameng, Tianxiong, Jiange, and Zitong.

Apart from Zitong, which still has some economic activity and population, the other places are all insolvent and rely on central government subsidies. These are strategic locations that don't generate much output themselves.

At that time, only Zhang Song, a die-hard, and Fa Zheng and Meng Da, people from Dongzhou who were out of favor, dared to bet on Liu Bei. Almost none of the local bigwigs sided with Liu Bei from the beginning.

Even the Qin family only made some contact with Liu Bei after he besieged Chengdu. Their support for Liu Feng was far less than their support for Liu Zhang, let alone their support for Liu Feng.

As for the Yang family, they remained completely neutral.

The reason for such a big difference is that Liu Feng's current reputation and status far surpass that of Liu Bei after the Battle of Red Cliffs in the original timeline, and his Left Army has won every battle without a single defeat.

More importantly, the Left Army is already close to Guangdu.

Liu Zhang was able to hold out in Luocheng for a year and a half, but he surrendered quickly after his army approached Chengdu. Now, the Left Guard Army has indeed appeared at the gates of Chengdu.

If Cao Cao's army hadn't joined forces with the Hanzhong army and arrived in Luocheng, Liu Zhang would most likely have been persuaded by Zhang Song to open the city gates and surrender.

The discovery of Zhang Song and his associates as insiders was undoubtedly great news, but it also presented Liu Feng with a difficult choice.

Should we go to Chengdu first?

The advantages of entering Chengdu first are numerous. Taking Chengdu and establishing a new governor for Yizhou would be more legitimate for the entire Yizhou region, thus gaining access to the various resources and manpower produced there.

At the same time, it can also eliminate the power of Liu Zhang's faction, thereby weakening the strength of the coalition forces led by Cao Cao.

However, there are also many drawbacks. Entering Chengdu at this time would inevitably require Liu Feng to make concessions to the local forces in Yizhou. If these local forces were too greedy and failed to grasp the situation, Liu Feng was not a patient man.

This could seriously worsen the relationship between the two sides.

Besides this, there were two other military concerns after entering Chengdu.

The first concern was whether this would scare away Cao Cao's army and the Hanzhong army, affecting the grand strategy of encircling and annihilating them.

The second concern was that without Chengdu as a key point, Liu Feng would lose his leverage to mobilize Cao Cao's and Hanzhong armies. The principle of "attacking the enemy forces will force them to defend" applies here; Chengdu was Liu Feng's easiest way to mobilize Cao Cao's and Hanzhong armies to move west.

As long as the Left Guard Army attacks Chengdu, Cao Ang will inevitably have to come to its aid. Even if he dares not engage the Left Guard Army in direct combat, he will still have to restrain its flanks from the outside, so that the Left Guard Army cannot launch a full-scale attack on the city, thus relieving the pressure on Liu Zhang inside Chengdu.

After much deliberation, Liu Feng slowly shook his head under the expectant gazes of Fa Zheng and Meng Da: "Xiaozhi and Zidu, I won't hide it from you two, now is definitely not the time for me to enter Chengdu."

Fa Zheng and Meng Da were clearly disappointed by Liu Feng's answer.

In order to appease the two, Liu Feng felt compelled to explain something to them.

After a moment of contemplation, Liu Feng did not offer a direct explanation. Instead, he asked, "Xiaozhi and Zidu, both of you are outstanding individuals, skilled in military strategy. In your opinion, how should I proceed?"

Fa Zheng and Meng Da were taken aback at first, then realized what was happening.

They were merely two unsuccessful scholars from Dongzhou. Meng Da was somewhat better off; although his father had a bad reputation, he was still the descendant of a prefect, and Meng Da was skilled at socializing, having friends in Dongzhou and the local gentry circles, so his life wasn't too difficult. Compared to Meng Da, Fa Zheng was far worse off. He even had nowhere to stay in Chengdu at one point, and was forced to leave Chengdu to seek refuge in Jianwei.

As a man of high status, Liu Feng not only considered the two of them to be talented individuals, but also consulted them on matters of great importance to the nation and the military, and even offered words of empathy. This completely shattered Fa Zheng and Meng Da's understanding of the world.

Before Liu Feng, no one had ever treated them with such courtesy. They had never even had the chance to participate in important military and national affairs, let alone speak more than a few words to Liu Zhang.

Comparing the two, even the upright and principled Fa Zheng, and the suspicious and jealous Meng Da, would feel grateful to have met a wise ruler, let alone the self-serving and vindictive Meng Da.

The two were filled with excitement and it took them a long time to calm down. Then, Liu Feng's question came to mind.

To be fair, both Fa Zheng and Meng Da were indeed quite accomplished in military strategy.

Fa Zheng naturally didn't mention it, as this was Liu Feng's father's wing. Although it wasn't as important as being like a fish in water, it was definitely icing on the cake.

Even Meng Da was favored by Cao Pi as a confidant, treated exceptionally well, and entrusted with important responsibilities. This not only broke the conventional suspicion towards surrendered generals, but also allowed Meng Da to retain his own troops and stay in office. This was undoubtedly an unprecedented and irregular act in Cao Wei.

Faced with the persuasion of Sima Yi and Liu Ye, Cao Pi responded by praising Meng Da as "possessing outstanding talent and magnanimity," and further commending him as "a general with the talent of a commander."

Although Cao Pi was not as capable as Cao Cao, he was by no means mediocre; his abilities would rank him in the upper-middle range among emperors throughout history. Meng Da, whom Cao Pi praised so highly, was not merely a figurehead to win over surrendered generals, but someone with genuine talent and ability.

The two exchanged a glance and fell into deep thought at the same time.

These two friends were of one mind, wanting to seize this golden opportunity to win over Liu Feng and gain his favor, hoping to rise above his circumstances and enter the Left General's staff.

(End of this chapter)