My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 512 Liu Zhang: Trying to keep everything will only hurt yourself

To be honest, if Liu Bei wanted to counterattack Xiahou Yuan alone, he had the ability to do so.

But even at this time, Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong did not forget that this trip to Sichuan to fight against Cao was not just for the purpose of fighting against Cao.

Gradually winning over, controlling, and even puppetizing Liu Zhang is also a very important goal. Zhuge Jin, who is still in Youzhou, had repeatedly told his lord and second brother to pay attention to this matter before they went to Sichuan, and they must not take it lightly.

Among these people, Zhuge Jin is the one who knows best how important it is to "finally resolve Liu Zhang without bearing moral flaws." After all, in history, Liu Bei paid so much for the twists and turns in the process of seizing Yizhou.

Therefore, even if they did not expect Liu Zhang to provide much actual help, Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong still advised Liu Bei to take the opportunity to create problems for Liu Zhang at this critical juncture.

If Liu Zhang agrees, then we can take the opportunity to integrate the reinforcements sent by Liu Zhang during the war.

If Liu Zhang does not agree, he will be put in an unjust position. Once Liu Bei really wants to punish Liu Zhang in the future, the people and scholars in Shu will be more on Liu Bei's side.

You, Liu Zhang, are unwilling to even put in the effort to defend your own home, and you even require the main force of friendly troops to come to your rescue from thousands of miles away. Do you still have the nerve to be the governor of Yizhou?
……

Liu Zhang, although he didn't fully understand these basic principles, at least he had some awareness of them.

That's why he seemed so indecisive when faced with Yan Yan's request to fight.

He knew that if he refused completely and directly, his reputation and the cohesion of Shu would be ruined.

Therefore, he could only ask Huang Quan and Wang Lei for help to see if he could deal with the matter with the least loss of face and the least amount of blood loss possible.

As Liu Zhang raised these questions, the atmosphere in the lobby of the Yizhou Mu Mansion in Chengdu was very heavy for a while.

After a long time, Wang Lei finally gave Liu Zhang some advice: "My Lord, although we all know that it is unreasonable not to send any reinforcements to Liu Bei this time, Liu Bei's ambition is also well known.

If Liu Bei defeated Xiahou Yuan and took advantage of the situation to counterattack and recapture the land of Baxi, would he hand the land of Baxi back to his lord? No way, he would definitely take it for himself.

If that was the case, why was he pretending to help his lord fight the enemy? It was obvious that he wanted to fight Cao Cao himself and then seize the land from him - there was no righteous war in the Spring and Autumn Period.

In my opinion, my lord, you should just assume that the land of Baxi is gone. Send a messenger to reply to Liu Bei, saying only, "Since there have been internal strife in Shu for many years, the troops are not strong enough, and it is difficult to withdraw reinforcements. However, the land you have gained by fighting against Cao thieves can be occupied and governed by your army." Sell this favor to him, and Liu Bei will not be able to put us in an unjust position.

Wang Lei's statement immediately inspired Liu Zhang and also surprised Huang Quan and Fa Zheng.

How could Fa Zheng, who had already been loyal to Liu Bei, tolerate Wang Lei's shifting of blame?

Fa Zheng could not help but think to himself: "If Wang Lei's words are true, Lord Xuande worked hard to defeat Xiahou Yuan, but he was not fighting for Liu Zhang, but for himself. It is only natural for him to fight his own battles, and he did not get any favors at all.

Maybe Wang Lei will go even further and use Jiangzhou Jiangbei City and Yufu County to lend Liu Bei half a county. By then, Lord Xuande will not give up the passage from the Three Gorges to Sichuan, and it will become that Lord Xuande owes Liu Zhang a favor..."

Fa Zheng was thinking like this, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. So he actually stood up and began to think about Liu Zhang's reputation.

He just protested, "Wang Lei! I didn't expect you to be such a traitor! The land of Baxi has been a part of Yizhou since ancient times. My lord, as the governor of Yizhou, how can you cede the land you inherited from your ancestors to others at will?"

"Half of Ba County was a temporary measure, lent to Lord Xuande for food and garrisoning, and it was not a complete cession. Now you want the lord to give up the legitimate title of Baxi, what else is this but selling out the master for personal gain!"

The people of the Han Dynasty still attached great importance to status. In some places, being occupied by others is one thing, but whether the victim admits it sincerely is another.

Even if you are not strong enough, as long as you "put aside the dispute", endure it temporarily, and refuse to admit or submit, you will always have the opportunity to turn the tables and settle the score when you become stronger in the future.

If you give up your status, you will have no chance to fight for it in the future. If you provoke a dispute again, it will be your turn to fall into an unjust situation, not the other party.

Fa Zheng used this kind of words to squeeze Wang Lei, and it was naturally very effective. In the later Song and Ming dynasties, many censors could use this trick to squeeze out incompetent officials.

For example, during the Chongzhen period, no matter which minister of war advised the emperor to move the capital back to Nanjing to avoid the limelight, as long as the censors made a report and put the minister on a moral high ground, the minister would have to die.

Although Liu Zhang was weak, he had not lost face yet. After hearing what Fa Zheng said, he immediately looked embarrassed and had to reprimand Wang Lei. Huang Quan, who was standing aside, did not speak, but when he saw this scene, he felt a little disappointed: "My lord, you are not only indecisive, but also unable to recognize the situation. What should we do... Cao Cao and Liu Bei are so strong, and the local forces in Yizhou are so weak. If you still insist on wanting everything and refusing to let go of anything, you will only hurt yourself.

If Liu Bei fights back this time and both sides suffer losses, then there is still hope for you. If either side wins, you will probably have to pay the price for your poor decision-making..."

As he thought about it, Huang Quan became a little disappointed with Liu Zhang.

As the one being criticized, Wang Lei could only defend himself: "My Lord, at this moment, fame is no longer a concern. I am advising you to do this for the sake of the interests of the people of Yizhou."

Liu Zhang raised his hand and said, "There is no need to say those words that clearly hand over the land of Baxi to others. Firstly, it will lose your reputation, and secondly, it will seem that you look down on Brother Xuande. Some words will only hurt the relationship if they are made clear.

I think we should just let it go. Xiaozhi, Gongheng, you two can tell me, if we must give Brother Xuande some reinforcements, how much should we give? As long as it is acceptable for the sake of face, and does not cause our army to lose too much strength, it will be fine. "

Fa Zheng had been too aggressive in his criticism of Wang Lei just now, so he naturally had to hold back a little to avoid being suspected of collaborating with the enemy by Liu Zhang. So in response to this question, he acted like he didn't know anything about it, and immediately said humbly, "I don't know military affairs, I don't manage money and food, I really don't dare to speak nonsense, please forgive me, lord."

Liu Zhang didn't make things difficult for him. He waved his hand in disdain and looked at Huang Quan again.

Huang Quan knew that he had to be the bad guy in this matter. After thinking for a while, he gritted his teeth and said:

"I heard that Liu Bei has been in Jiangzhou for half a year, and he has been courteous to the wise and humble, and has won the hearts of the people. Even if the lord wants to deal with it and send some reinforcements, he must not let General Yan lead the troops to assist Liu Bei.

Liu Bei was very good at winning over talented people. Once a general was recruited by him as a reinforcement and fought side by side with him, he would often go directly to Liu Bei and no longer be loyal to his former master.

My lord, please do not think that I am exaggerating. Thirteen years ago, during the Battle of Jie Bridge, Zhao Yun, who was still under Gongsun Zan's command, was persuaded by Liu Bei in this way.

Although the Lord and Liu Bei are close, they are only nominally of the same clan. In reality, how can they compare to Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei? They are true brothers from the same school. Liu Bei even tried to win over Gongsun Zan, let alone our army?
So if he had to give him reinforcements, he could at most let General Yan pick some of the remnants of the defeated troops that had been withdrawn from the counties of Baxi and hand them over to Liu Bei. He could be more generous and not say that he was borrowing troops, but just say that he was sending them to him, and he didn't have to return them after the battle.

These defeated soldiers were originally driven back by Xiahou Yuan. After Liu Bei recaptures Baxi, their hometowns will fall into Liu Bei's hands. Even if the lord forces them to stay, they will no longer be loyal. "

Huang Quan's statement was a compromise between Wang Lei and Fa Zheng's opinions. He avoided talking about the status, but for the defeated generals who were destined to be unwinnable, he would do them a favor and just regard them as reinforcements.

Liu Zhang was a hesitant and weak person, so he really liked the idea and nodded in approval: "It's a fair and impartial opinion, just right for you. But the defeated soldiers who retreated from the counties of Baxi should be few, right? Wouldn't it be too insincere and give people a chance to criticize you?"

Huang Quan thought for a while and added: "If the lord thinks this is not enough and feels that he cannot cope with it, then he can assign the defeated Qiang and Bantun barbarian soldiers from Jiangzhou to Liu Bei, and then tell Liu Bei, 'Our army is behind the enemy in Baxi, and there are several Bantun barbarian tribes loyal to our lord who will cooperate with Liu Bei in the battle.

As long as Liu Bei has the ability to open up the road, these troops can be dispatched by Liu Bei. In this way, we don't have to cut off too much profit. These reinforcements are all for Liu Bei to get by himself. "

Liu Zhang's eyes suddenly lit up: "This is a good idea! Let's add this one as well! Tell Xuande that those Bandun Man trapped behind enemy lines are all reinforcements for our Yizhou army. He can command whoever he can contact. I just need to send a few letters from the Yizhou governor's mansion."

Liu Zhang hardly needs to shed any blood for this condition. Those Bandun barbarians are now trapped in Xiahou Yuan's control area. If Liu Bei wants to take them, he has to go and take them himself. Liu Zhang is happy to do this favor.

Fa Zheng was listening at the side and knew Liu Zhang's plan very well, but he did not want to point it out. He just praised Liu Zhang for his wisdom and careful planning.

Seeing that his subordinates all supported him, Liu Zhang finally dealt with Brother Xuande at the lowest cost. He felt relieved and finally overcame another hurdle.

He immediately wrote a letter to Yan Yan, asking Yan Yan to follow his orders and to hand over the military orders to contact the Bandun barbarians and the Qiang people to Liu Bei, so that Liu Bei could make the contacts when he had the chance.

The letter was sent directly to Jiangzhou at a speed of 600 miles a day and arrived in Yan Yan's hands on time three days later.

Yan Yan had been expecting his lord to allow him to go to battle and join forces with Lord Xuande to defeat Xiahou Yuan. He did not expect that in the end he would only receive such an order.

Yan Yan was greatly disappointed, but could not disobey the order, so he gathered three or four thousand remnants of the defeated soldiers and the Bantun barbarians who had escaped from Bashu last year in the army, and gave them to Liu Bei as troops for Liu Zhang's side.

Because of this matter, Yan Yan even held a special banquet to apologize to Liu Bei.

(End of this chapter)