My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 482 Four Flowers Bloom, Each with Its Own Beauty

Four flowers bloom, each showing its own beauty.

Cao's army wanted to get back the ground because of the loss of Shangyong.

Liu Biao's army was eager to swallow up the vested interests, so they chose to surrender on the surface and coax Cao's army to divert their hatred.

Liu Bei's camp gave advice to Liu Biao's army from behind and provided support in terms of momentum, helping Liu Biao's army to accurately control the temperature and hatred of the situation.

These three parties all have things to do, and the last remaining one, Liu Zhang in Shuzhong, certainly cannot play it safe.

In a world of such contention, if you’re not at the table, you’ll be on the menu.

It is no longer possible to remain aloof and stay out of it.

Of course, all the knowledgeable people in Shu knew this.

Therefore, shortly after Xiahou Yuan conquered Nanzheng and had friction with the Jingzhou army in Shangyong, Liu Zhang had several advisers around him who urged him to find a backer as soon as possible to ensure the safety of Shu.

The one who jumped the earliest and most vigorously was of course Zhang Song, who had been on a diplomatic mission to Liu Bei more than a year ago.

As early as the end of June, when Liu Bei had just led his troops from Hefei south and west and was preparing to go to Wuchang, Zhang Song had already found Liu Zhang for the first time and sold him the plan of "seeking foreign aid".

Judging from the timeline, Zhang Song's move was not too hasty.

Because even Liu Bei had heard the news that Cao Cao had broken through Yangping Pass and invaded Nanzheng, Liu Zhang, who was close to Shu, would of course feel the threat from the north earlier than Liu Bei.

So two days after hearing the result of the Battle of Yangping Pass, Zhang Song hurried to find his lord and described the terrible scene of Cao's army entering Shu:
"My lord! Cao's army has used a trick to break through Yangping Pass. Hanzhong is no longer safe. Zhang Lu's demise is imminent!"

Liu Zhang's first reaction at the time was that he was actually quite happy to see this result: "Zhang Lu is a scoundrel who has threatened Zi Tong for many years. Is he finally going to destroy himself?"

Zhang Song could not help but feel distressed when he saw his lord's lack of foresight and gloating over other people's misfortunes:

"My lord! Is it time to celebrate the destruction of our old enemy? Although Zhang Lu and my lord have a grudge for killing your mother, they are also in a relationship of mutual dependence. Cao Cao is very ambitious and will certainly want to take over Shu. If he destroys Zhang Lu, his next move will be to threaten our Bashu!"

Liu Zhang was not a retard after all. His initial relief was just an instinctive reaction. After being reminded by Zhang Song, he quickly came to his senses:

"We really have to be on guard... Thanks to Ziqiao's reminder, I immediately ordered Pang Xi to heavily guard the key passes along the Jinniu Road and Ma Mingge Road to give Cao's army no chance!"

Zhang Song saw that his lord listened to his advice, but just not to a great extent. He sighed for a while and advised earnestly:

"It is indeed a blessing for Shu that the lord is willing to take precautions. But this alone is not enough. The lord has used Pang Xi to guard against Zhang Lu for many years, but he has never seen Pang Xi counterattack Hanzhong.

The generals in Shu have been thinking about holding their own troops for a long time. The lord used Zhao Wei to plot rebellion, and used Pang Xi to make Pang Xi stay. Now he is counting on Pang Xi to hold off Cao's army. If there are too few soldiers, he will be useless. If there are too many soldiers, Pang Xi will become more and more powerful, and he may become the master in the future.

My Lord, please think about this: with Zhang Lu's fighting power, if our Bashu soldiers were united, how could we end up in the current situation? Facing Xiahou Yuan's offensive, Zhang Lu died in a few months despite the natural barrier of Yangping Pass, which shows that his fighting power was not good enough! In the final analysis, it was the failure of the Bashu generals to work together and to guard against each other that allowed Zhang Lu to live for so many years. "

Zhang Song explained the problems Liu Zhang was facing with great sorrow and his earnest tone showed his loyalty.

Liu Zhang also knew these questions, and could not help but said with emotion: "How could I not know these principles? But now that things have come to this, what else can I do? Without Pang Xi, who can help me resist Xiahou Yuan? How about transferring General Yan from Jiangzhou to Badong? Or let someone close to me lead the troops? Among my relatives, I think Fei Guan has some talent for leading troops, and he is also a cousin."

Zhang Song shook his head. "In my opinion, my lord, you should reconsider...borrow the General of Chariots and Cavalry's troops to enter Sichuan to control Cao Cao. Who else in the world can resist Cao Cao? The Han royal family can only look up to the General of Chariots and Cavalry! What's more, the General of Chariots and Cavalry is also the Minister of the Imperial Clan. If the Han royal family's relatives and the Minister of the Imperial Clan are in trouble, how can he not help them?"

Liu Zhang shuddered subconsciously when he heard this, and then the weakness and hesitation in his character took over again.

After struggling for a long time, Liu Zhang finally uttered a few words: "I'm afraid of letting a wolf into the house..."

Zhang Song wanted to persuade him immediately, but fortunately, when the words came to his lips, he saw the expression on his lord's face and knew that today's persuasion could only go so far.

If you continue to push this matter forward rashly and forcefully, the lord will start to doubt whether he is sitting on the wrong place.

Zhang Song could only sigh: "I am loyal to my lord, and the world can bear witness to this. I made this plan entirely for the stability of Bashu and for my lord to be able to concentrate power and intimidate the generals. Since my lord still has doubts in his heart, I have nothing to say. I have only one sincere word: I have personally witnessed the magnanimity and benevolence of the General of Chariots and Cavalry towards the princes of the alliance. Yuan Qingzhou and Liu Qi, the eldest son of Jingzhou, have both been to Xiaopei in person. If the General of Chariots and Cavalry wanted to detain them at that time, it would have been easy.

But the General of Chariots and Cavalry did not do anything unjust. After the meeting, he not only released them all, but also delivered the promised reinforcements of military equipment and troops. Unfortunately, words are not enough. The lord did not see it in person, so it is inevitable that he does not believe it. "

After Zhang Song had prepared the ground for Liu Bei's righteous act, he very tactfully stopped while he was ahead and did not say any more to Liu Zhang.

For some things, it is enough to just mention them to this extent. If he said more, Liu Zhang would think he was betraying his own people.

Sure enough, when Liu Zhang heard Zhang Song's last few words, he became slightly alert.

But Zhang Song stopped in time, left with a sigh, which made Liu Zhang waver again, thinking that he had misunderstood Zhang Song's loyalty.

……

Zhang Song's first round of tests and persuasions did not take effect immediately, but it didn't matter.

The seeds have been planted in Liu Zhang's mind, and they will sprout sooner or later when the situation deteriorates further.

The next day after Zhang Song's secret advice, Liu Zhang calmed down a little and felt that he should listen to both sides to get a clear answer. He then secretly found Huang Quan and Wang Lei, told them his thoughts, and wanted to hear their opinions.

Of course, Liu Zhang did not say that this was Zhang Song's idea. In front of Wang Lei and others, he only said that this was his own idea:

"Xiahou Yuan has broken through Yangping Pass and will soon break through Nanzheng. I am afraid that Cao's army will take Long and aim at Shu, and will target our West Sichuan. Pang Xi is no longer useful. I want to send an envoy out of Sichuan to Wuchang to ask Brother Xuande for help. What do you think?"

Wang Lei and Huang Quan were both shocked when they heard this.

Huang Quan still gave Liu Bei some face. He just felt that Cao Cao's threat was not serious enough, so he gave Liu Bei some pertinent advice:

"My Lord, why do you hold a sharp blade in your hand and give others a handle? Since the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling, have there been few disasters caused by foreign troops? Not to mention the distant past, let's just say that when General He Jin led Dong Zhuo into the capital, he caused harm to the world for fifteen years.

Although Liu Bei has no bad record, our Yizhou soldiers can resist Cao Cao on their own, so why should we rely on others? As the saying goes, less trouble is worse than more trouble. We can just prepare for war on our own and must not create any complications. "

Liu Zhang frowned, looking sad: "If I can resist Cao Cao by myself, it would be great. But Zhang Lu, who had the advantage of Qinling Mountains, failed to stop Cao Cao and was destroyed so quickly.

I am afraid that Cao's army is much better at fighting than you and I imagine. Once the battle is over, it will be too late to ask Brother Xuande for help! "

Huang Quan hurriedly comforted him, "Don't worry, my lord! I have also made a detailed inquiry about the loss of Hanzhong. My lord only knows one thing, but not the other: Zhang Lu's retreat was not due to his lack of fighting power or the terrain being dangerous, but purely because Zhang Wei was incompetent and lacked wisdom, and fell into Jia Xu's trap to lure the enemy.

He thought he had repelled Xiahou Yuan, and dared to chase him out of Yangping Pass to expand his victory, which led to his ambush and destruction! As long as our army learns from Zhang Wei's lesson, no matter how Xiahou Yuan shows weakness or what tricks Cao's army uses, we will just defend the passes along Jinniu Road and Ma Mingge Road and never go out to fight.

In this way, we can respond to all changes with the same attitude. With the difficulty of the Shu Road and the steepness of the Qinling Mountains and Daba Mountains, even if Cao's army comes with hundreds of thousands of people, what do our Shu soldiers and civilians have to fear? As long as the lord can keep calm and not force his generals to fight under any circumstances, I have the confidence to go to Zitong to supervise the army and defend the Jinniu Road to the death! If you fail, you can behead me to apologize!"

Seeing that Huang Quan spoke so confidently, Liu Zhang's insecurity, which had been provoked by Zhang Song, dissipated a little and he became more hesitant.

He couldn't help thinking to himself: What Gong Heng said makes sense. Zhang Lu was defeated so quickly. In the final analysis, he was courting death by daring to fight Xiahou Yuan in the open field. I have learned from Zhang Lu's experience. No matter how Cao's army humiliates me or shows weakness, I will just hide and not fight. Cao may not be able to do anything to me...

From this point of view, there is not much need to ask Brother Xuande for help. No matter how kind and righteous Brother Xuande is, it is better to do less than more.

When Huang Quan and Wang Lei saw their lord hesitating and his eyes darting around, they knew that their lord's indecision had been aroused again.

Wang Lei immediately struck while the iron was hot and continued to advise from a different angle: "My Lord! What Gong Heng said makes a lot of sense. No matter how strong Cao Cao is, he can't do anything about the dangers of the Shu Road. Moreover, Liu Bei is ambitious. I once read Zhuge Jin's strategy for Your Majesty, which mentioned the virtue of Emperor Gaozu. He said that Emperor Gaozu's virtue matched the whole world because Xiang Yu killed Emperor Yi and Emperor Gaozu avenged Emperor Yi.

After Liu Bei got Zhuge Jin, he imitated Emperor Gaozu in every way for seven or eight years. He seemed to be benevolent, righteous, and made friends with the princes. In fact, he was waiting for Cao Cao to be the villain, the modern Xiang Yu, to take the initiative to provoke a war. Then Liu Bei could imitate Emperor Gaozu and save whoever Cao Cao attacked. But as he saved them, the princes he rescued became his puppets!
Liu Bei and Zhuge Jin's intentions were so sinister and hidden that it was difficult for the world to detect them. But in the long run, Yuan Tan and Liu Qi were both manipulated by him. If the lord asks Liu Bei for help, he will end up like Yuan Tan and Liu Qi sooner or later. You must be careful!

Zhuge Jin's fallacy of "gaining the virtue of the world" is actually to induce an ambitious and ambitious man to become Xiang Yu, so that he can let Liu Bei become Emperor Gaozu!"

(End of this chapter)