My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 692: It's good to be like Emperor Gao

It was at this welcoming banquet that Zhuge Jin roughly planned out the route map and timetable for taking over the entire Nanyang.

Moreover, one does not need to consider the enemy's reaction, but only needs to consider the rhythm of one's own strength recovery and the time for troop dispatch and supply.

It seems that as long as Liu Bei's army does not make any mistakes, everything will go smoothly and the entire Nanyang County will be in their pocket.

Liu Bei had never experienced this feeling in all his 25 years of leading troops. It was so cool.

To sum it up with a line from later generations, "There has never been such a prosperous war."

After discussing this much that day, Liu, Guan and Zhang were all satisfied and did not ask any more questions.

After all, the things to do in the next stage have been sorted out, and they feel at ease. After drinking, everyone went back to rest and recuperate.

In the next two days, Liu Bei kept in touch with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei every day and had no official duties to worry about.

After all, it's the end of the year and the New Year, who would worry about war and government affairs every day?

Zhuge Jin also arranged various reconstruction tasks, including the repair of Fancheng, the takeover and reorganization of Xiangyang, and the re-dredging of the Baihe waterway.

The dispatch of corvée labor and auxiliary troops, the rations needed for the project, and the survey and management of the construction process were all specifically taken care of by the corresponding civil servants of the interior.

Time passed quickly and it was the New Year of the 14th year of Jian'an.

From the first to the fifth day of the New Year that year, the city of Xiangyang was still peaceful and harmonious.

All officials in Liu Bei's camp, except those who need to be on duty, can get rest vacation as usual.

Liu Bei himself did not have to worry about state affairs. During the five days, he played music, danced, drank and had fun every day. In particular, he brought along a group of former ministers under Liu Biao to build relationships and familiarize himself with their connections.

All the civil and military officials, from top to bottom, were in high spirits and felt that the future of the great cause of restoring the Han Dynasty was bright.

Even the surrendered Yu Jin was summoned by Liu Bei several times, who invited him to have a few drinks in private and gave him a banquet with delicious meat and dishes.

Although Yu Jin had no plans to work for Liu Bei in the short term, Liu Bei did not mind and took the initiative to point out Yu Jin's concerns:
"Don't worry, you have been with Cao Cao for nearly twenty years, and I will not force you to go to the battlefield. If you are willing to turn your sword and gun towards your former master immediately, I will not be at ease.

I have called you here alone this time because there is something concerning you, so it is better to explain it to you - Ziyu had previously plotted to mislead Cao Cao into thinking that you had died in the battle when Xiangyang City was captured, and that Xiangyang had fallen because of Liu Biao's former generals who had turned against him and surrendered.

Just these two days, I just received news that Cao Cao must have believed Ziyu's plan and arranged a memorial service in Xudu at the beginning of the new year, which was for you and Guo Jia. So as long as you continue to lie dormant and don't reveal that you are still alive, your family in Xudu can continue to live a life of luxury.

Since I promised not to bring trouble to your family, I will not allow you to attend the New Year banquet with other officials to avoid exposure. If you need anything in the future, you can ask for an audience alone."

It has been more than half a month since Yu Jin surrendered. Liu Bei did not give Yu Jin an official position or title, but only gave him some money as a reward.

But Yu Jin never felt unhappy about this. Instead, he felt at ease because he knew that he was protecting his family.

Now during the New Year holiday, Liu Bei took out time to invite him to dinner and drinks alone, and talked about these things away from the eyes and ears of others. Naturally, Yu Jin was even more moved.

However, when he heard that Cao Cao also believed Zhuge Jin's deception and held a memorial service for him and Guo Jia in Xudu, giving him the utmost honors, Yu Jin felt even more uncomfortable.

Cao Gong was very kind to him, promoting him from the ranks. He had worked his way up from a junior officer. Now that he was "dead", he gave his family a generous reward.

How could I fight against my former master for Liu Bei?

Liu Bei saw through Yu Jin's mood changes at a glance. He didn't say much, but let Yu Jin ponder it slowly, and finally added a consoling sentence:
"Wen Ze doesn't need to worry. There is a solution that Zi Yu has thought of for you. Our army also has spies in Xu Du. Wen Ze can think about whether there is any token that can be given to your family in Xu Du.

Then you write a secret letter and we will send it to them. Tell them that if Cao Cao intends to move the capital, they can try to escape during the migration of the officials' families. Once your family is safe, you will no longer have to live this shady life and can continue to serve the country. "

After hearing this, Yu Jin finally had a higher level of understanding of Liu Bei's courtesy to wise men and humble people.

The general could actually do this for his subordinates? And even help rescue the hostages?

Moreover, when he thought of this, Yu Jin couldn't help but recall.

Especially recalling some of the things I saw and heard during the days after I was captured.

Later he discovered that Liu Bei was indeed much more open-minded than Cao Cao in terms of "detaining the families of his own generals as hostages."

Cao Cao trusted his employees, promoted people from obscure backgrounds, and made good use of people from humble backgrounds, but he liked to keep hostages!

This key difference finally tilted Yu Jin's psychological balance again. Originally, he had only made up his mind to "obediently submit and stop working for Cao Cao", but he had not yet made up his mind to "work for Liu Bei from now on".

Now, the determination in the second half has finally wavered.

Going further, Yu Jin soon realized another problem.

The strategy used by Liu Bei and Zhuge Jin seemed to be based on a premise, that is, "betting that Cao Cao would move the capital." In this way, they could help some of the family members of the courtiers who were loyal to the Han Dynasty escape when Cao Cao was moving their families.

If Cao Cao did not move the capital, the above preparations would be nothing but castles in the air.

Doesn't that mean that Zhuge Jin was very confident that he could force Cao Cao to move the capital in a short period of time?
When Yu Jin thought of this, he felt even more awed.

In just over half a month, has Liu Bei's camp become so much stronger? Previously, they were struggling to capture Xiang and Fan, but now they are considering forcing Cao Cao to move the capital?

Yu Jin's inner defense finally collapsed. He had subconsciously made a new decision: if Liu Bei could really force Cao Cao to move the capital in a short period of time, and take advantage of the chaos to let some of the officials' families escape.

Then he didn't need to worry about the "twenty years of friendship with Cao Cao" and just turned against Cao Cao and helped Liu Bei fight. Because that meant that Cao Cao could no longer turn the tables. Heaven was determined to restore the Han Dynasty, and he couldn't go against Heaven's will. He had to take this opportunity to stand on the same side again.

……

After several banquets, singing and dancing during the New Year holidays, Liu Bei easily won the hearts of many surrendered generals and Liu Biao's old ministers.

Zhuge Jin couldn't help but admire such efficiency.

No matter how capable the lord is in other aspects, Liu Bei is definitely the best in the world in terms of employing people and rallying their hearts.

While eating, drinking and having fun, it seemed like I didn't have to work overtime and I managed to get this done. It was really a piece of cake.

The day we dealt with Yu Jin was already the ninth day of the first lunar month.

After Yu Jin left, Liu Bei thought that this matter was possible, so he became very proud and asked someone to find Zhuge Jin so that he could show off in person.

As soon as Zhuge Jin entered the room, Liu Bei pulled him to sit on the couch and personally handed him a table and a cushion.

"Zi Yu, this plan has been implemented. Today, I saw Yu Wen Ze's expression and he seemed to have made up his mind. As long as we force Cao Cao to move his capital and allow his family to escape in the chaos, he will definitely fight for our army."

When Liu Bei said this, his expression was very happy.

"My lord is courteous to the wise and humble, which attracts talented people from all over the world to join him, just like water flowing into the water. This is cause for celebration." Zhuge Jin also made a pertinent comment.

Liu Bei could tell whether Zhuge Jin's praise was sincere or not. He felt a little flattered by the compliment and couldn't help wanting to speed up the process.

He recalled that at the welcoming banquet a year ago, Ziyu seemed to have only envisioned "how to force Cao's army to retreat so that our army could quickly capture Wancheng and occupy Nanyang", but Ziyu did not seem to have mentioned any subsequent plans at that time.

Now, the plan that Ziyu helped him to plan to completely subdue Yu Jin required "forcing Cao Cao to move the capital." So Liu Bei wanted to know how far this step was and how much more he needed to do to cooperate with all this.

Thinking of this, Liu Bei could not help asking: "Zi Yu, have you ever thought about what our army will do next once we capture Wancheng? When can we expand the Northern Expedition with all our strength? When can we help Cao Cao move his capital?"

During the New Year, have you learned about the latest situation of the army, money, food and weapons? Can our army's current reserves support a large-scale and continuous offensive? "

Zhuge Jin was slightly stunned when he heard Liu Bei's understatement, knowing that his lord was a little too proud.

Maybe I need to step on the brakes myself so that my lord doesn't oversimplify the problem.

Forcing Cao Cao to move the capital is one thing, but launching a full-scale northern expedition is another.

In Zhuge Jin's view, forcing Cao Cao to move the capital did not require a full-scale Northern Expedition, but others might not understand this logic - because Zhuge Jin could copy the answers from history.

He knew that the original text of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" clearly stated that when Guan Yu besieged Xiang and Fan and flooded Yu Jin's seven armies, Cao Cao discussed the issue of moving the capital. Of course, in history, because the situation did not deteriorate to that extent, Cao Cao's discussion was just a discussion, and in the end he was dissuaded by Sima Yi.

But Cao Cao's situation is now much worse than the same period in history. When Wancheng is lost, Zhuge Jin is sure that Cao Cao will definitely move the capital from Xu County.

At that time, we only need to show an aggressive posture and continue to attack, and there is no need to really go on a long expedition or deep pursuit.

However, the current reserves of money, food and military equipment of Liu Bei's camp are indeed insufficient to support a large-scale and long-term Northern Expedition. The territories of Liu Zhang and Liu Biao have not been fully digested and converted into usable combat power.

If we attack hastily, we may win, but it will easily lead to back-and-forth and a stalemate, which will increase the suffering of the people and cause more internal friction for the Han Dynasty, so it is not cost-effective.

After Zhuge Jin sorted out his thoughts and concerns, he sincerely explained to Liu Bei:
"If we just want to force Cao to move the capital, I think we can do it before the autumn harvest this year. However, to force Cao to move the capital, we don't need to launch a full-scale northern expedition immediately. These are two different things. According to our army's plan, we will continue to advance northward in April, focusing on attacking various places in Nanyang County. When the war here is over, Cao Cao will definitely feel that Xudu is unsafe due to the heavy pressure on the southern front, and then he may consider moving the capital.

As long as he is determined to move the capital, he will definitely make a formal decision before the tax and grain are collected this year.

Because if it is delayed any further, a situation will arise, that is, after the tax grain is collected this year, it will be transported to the vicinity of Xudu as usual, and then transferred to the new capital after the official decision to move the capital is made.

Wouldn't that be a waste of effort, at least hundreds of thousands of tons of grain would have been wasted in transportation? Cao Cao was so smart that he would not make such a low-level mistake because of hesitation.

Therefore, to force Cao Cao to move the capital, our army does not need to pay any additional price after taking Wancheng. We can do it with some deterrence and feints. My lord, don't worry."

After hearing the follow-up plan, Liu Bei realized that there was a good chance that Cao Cao could be forced to move the capital without having to fight another major battle. He felt relieved but also a little regretful.

Of course, I am relieved because the cost and difficulty of this matter have become lower.

It's a pity that he seems to have missed an opportunity to expand his victory.

Liu Bei was still ambitious. After figuring it out, he turned to the next question and asked intently: "So when do you think the future full-scale northern expedition should be launched?
Now that I have obtained the inheritance of Brother Jingsheng and Brother Jiyu, I am the only one left in the world, Cao the thief. It is time to make some plans. The sooner we can end the suffering of the people, the better. "

As Liu Bei spoke, he recalled the plans that the Zhuge brothers had painted for him and the blueprints they had envisioned for him over the years.

It's true, even the Longzhong Plan that Zhuge Liang originally said in history only mentioned in the end "When there is a change in the empire, order a general to lead the troops of Jingzhou to attack Wan and Luo, and the general will personally lead the troops of Yizhou to march out of Qinchuan, then the world can be settled and hegemony can be achieved."

It can be seen that the final stage of Zhuge Liang's deduction was also very rough. As for how to attack Wan, Luo and Qinchuan specifically, and whether there were more detailed steps, it was still too far away at the time and there was no need to think too much about it.

But now, the situation is different. Liu Bei's camp has basically completed all the links in the Longzhong Plan that Zhuge Liang had envisioned in history, up to the penultimate step, and even completed them better.

The entire south was completely unified under one banner, and the Sun family no longer existed. Liu Bei also occupied Qingxu, Huainan, and half of Youzhou.

Of the thirteen states of the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao now owns six and a half, Liu Bei owns five and a half, and the newly divided Jiaozhou is not included. If Jiaozhou is formally split in the future, then from the perspective of administrative divisions, it will be six and a half versus six and a half.

Of course, this kind of thing about playing tricks on the map's name has no practical significance, and will not really affect the power comparison between the two sides.

When it comes to the full-scale Northern Expedition, how should we split the overall goal into several phased small goals? How should we prioritize each of these small goals and how should they be coordinated?

Liu Bei had never thought about these issues in detail before, but now he had to think about them.

Zhuge Jin knew what his lord was expecting, but at this time he had to put the brakes on Liu Bei and make him more pragmatic.

So Zhuge Jin also carefully sorted it out and then analyzed:
"In fact, if the lord insists on attacking Xudu this year, there is hope. But the combined strength of the enemy and our army is only roughly equal at the moment. Once the battle begins, it will be a protracted and drawn-out battle.

Cao Cao is facing a life-and-death struggle, and fearing that his prestige will be completely destroyed and his people will scatter, he will never retreat. He will definitely do his utmost to resist, and his determination is far beyond anything he has experienced in previous battles.

I remember that Kong Ming once thought that the land of Yizhou would take two to three years to reorganize and recover. The lord also made an oath in Chengdu in front of Liu Zhang's generals and surrendered ministers that if he did not march north within three years, people all over the world would condemn the lord for seizing the foundation of his fellow clan out of selfish desires.

Now, I have been governing Yizhou for a whole year, so I might as well make full use of the remaining one or two years.

The situation in Jingzhou is better than that in Yizhou. The lord taking over the legacy left by Liu Biao after his death is more legitimate than in Yizhou, and the resistance of the surrendered generals is also less. Therefore, the time required for integration and recuperation in Jingzhou is one year less than that in Yizhou, which I think is just right.

Therefore, at most two years later, when Yizhou has rested and reorganized for three years and Jingbei has rested and reorganized for two years, they can then launch a full-scale northern expedition. It will be a perfect opportunity to sharpen the knife before chopping wood.

This year, after our army has captured Wancheng and forced Cao Cao to move the capital, we can rest and recuperate, and then rest until at least the end of the autumn harvest next year. If it is fast, our army will wait until the autumn harvest next year to march north, and at the latest not later than the beginning of spring next year.

By then, the old armies of Jing and Yi would have been fully reorganized and trained, and the tens of thousands of Cao's prisoners captured in the Battle of Xiangfan could be subdued and used as much as possible.

At present, the total strength of our army and Cao's army is basically the same, with our army exceeding Cao's army by less than 10%. When these two parts of the army are reorganized and transformed, the total gap will be at least more than 100,000 people.

By then, our army will have 500,000 or 600,000 soldiers ready to fight, while Cao Cao will only have 400,000 or so. Our army will also have better weapons and more money and food, so we can launch a war to destroy the country."

Liu Bei listened very carefully and nodded slightly, thinking that this schedule was reasonable.

By then, the comparison of the two sides' military strength will be roughly the same as the number Zhuge Jin had envisioned.

"We'll start the war after the autumn harvest next year or the spring plowing the year after. This plan is fine. So in your opinion, how long will it take to see results, and where should we focus on first?"

Liu Bei asked again about the specific steps of the attack and the priorities.

Zhuge Jin had already thought of everything, so there was no need to hesitate and he continued to talk:

"Our army already has a lot of land bordering Cao's army, so there are many points we can attack. We couldn't attack casually before because our total strength is not as good as Cao's army, and we are afraid of getting stuck in a continuous war of attrition in the plains without strategic locations.

By that time, our army's total strength will have surpassed that of the enemy, so there will be no need to avoid decisive battles on the plains or encirclement and annihilation battles in depth.

In my opinion, the road between Yizhou and Guanzhong is too difficult to travel, and the attacking side will suffer a great loss. When Cao was strong and we were weak, Cao Cao suffered a great loss because he attacked through Hanzhong. When we are strong and the enemy is weak, our army must not make the same mistake as Cao Cao.

Therefore, the idea of going north from Yizhou should be abandoned. The troops of Yizhou, as well as the money and food that Yizhou can provide, can go down the Yangtze and Han rivers, gather in Jingzhou, and then go north from the middle route. At that time, Xudu can be attacked from Wancheng and Runan, and Yingchuan can be captured.

As for the rest of the states in Guandong, we can select one or two key points for attack depending on the situation. We can use the troops from Xuzhou and Huaibei to attack Huaibei. If Cao's garrison in Hebei is attracted to move south in large numbers, our army can even launch a resolute offensive in Qing and You as well.

In short, according to my idea, the war to destroy Cao can be divided into two stages. The first stage is mainly to seize the land east of Hulao Pass and Taihang Mountain, including the three states of Yan, Yu and Ji.

These places are mainly large plains with no strategic location to defend, densely populated, and rich in resources. As long as they can be captured, Cao's money, food, and manpower will be cut by at least half. Since ancient times, whoever controls the Central Plains controls the world, and this is also the most fertile and concentrated plain in the Central Plains.

The big goal of this stage can be divided into two small goals. Henan and Hebei should be considered separately with the Yellow River as the boundary.

We must definitely take Yanzhou and Yuzhou in Henan first. As for Jizhou in Hebei, it depends on how strong Cao's reinforcements are when we take Yanzhou and Yuzhou, and whether Jizhou is also empty.

The general principle is to see when Jizhou is drained of strength and reveals its weaknesses, and then our army can let Zilong, Ziyi and Gongjin take action.

This big goal can be achieved in one or two years of continuous and fierce fighting if it is fast. If it is not smooth, or there are some twists and turns, it may take three to four years. In this kind of thing, the success or failure is difficult to predict.

After completing this great goal, what was left for Cao Cao were Si, Bing, Yong and Liang. These places had few people and little money or food, and were considered poor and dangerous.

If the morale of Cao's men collapsed, these places could be pacified in one or two years. If he could still rally the people and hold on to the dangerous places, it might take a little longer, but it would not change the overall situation.

So in general, our army still needs nearly two years of accumulation of strength and preparation, three or four years to pacify Yan, Yu, You and Ji, and one or two years to annex Yong and Liang. If it is fast, it will take five or six years to destroy Cao, and if it is slow, it will take seven or eight years. "

After hearing this schedule, Liu Bei didn't think it was slow at all. He was already very satisfied to be able to do this.

After all, he and Cao Cao are still evenly matched at the moment, and he has just overtaken him, but the extent of the overtake is not large.

Being able to completely defeat an opponent of the same size as oneself within five or six years or seven or eight years is quite good considering the history before.

Emperor Gaozu won the world very quickly. He destroyed Qin in three years and Chu in five years, and finally won the world. When he fought Xiang Yu, it was only because Xiang Yu was deserted by his friends and relatives that he was able to win in five years.

Cao Cao has already firmly controlled the internal situation, and the two sides are fighting one-on-one. It is unlikely that the situation of "vassal states defecting one after another" like Xiang Yu will occur. Liu Bei will of course need more time.

Liu Bei calculated the progress and his own age in his mind, and suddenly laughed.

"Last year was the first year of the all-out battle between me and Cao Cao. From then on, there were only the Liu and Cao families in the world, and no other rivals. That year, I was forty-eight years old. Now, after the New Year, I am forty-nine.

When Emperor Gao started out, he was just a village headman. At the age of 48, he started his army. In three years, he overthrew the Qin State. In five years, he destroyed the Chu State. At the age of 56, he ruled the country. He reigned for seven years until he was 63 years old.

If I can also fight Cao Cao for the world at the age of 48 and settle it in eight years, and achieve great success at the age of 56 like Emperor Gaozu, I will be satisfied. There are still seven years left, do you think you have a good chance?"

Zhuge Jin was stunned. He didn't expect that Liu Bei was secretly comparing his age and resume with Liu Bang.

However, he just estimated that it would take five to eight years to complete his great cause, and Liu Bei hoped for seven years, which was also within this range.

Zhuge Jin knew history, and he quickly realized that in history, both Liu Bang and Liu Bei lived to be 63 years old. But Liu Bei didn't establish his career until he was 60, so he only reigned for three years. Liu Bang established his career four years earlier than him, and he was emperor for a total of seven years.

Liu Bei was 49 years old after the Chinese New Year, and he hoped to get everything done before 56 years old. It was a good wish and it seemed that he could achieve it.

Of course, there is no need to be the same later. In history, Liu Bei was defeated in the Battle of Yiling, and his mentality collapsed, and he soon died of depression.

In this life, there are no more setbacks and blows, and my brothers are all there, so it is inevitable that I will live longer than Liu Bang.

Given Zhuge Jin's cautiousness, he originally wanted to say, "We should do our best."

But in this private occasion, Liu Bei opened his heart to him, and the topics of conversation could even be said to be "treasonous".

Liu Bei had only just begun to fight against the rebellious princes, yet he dared to make such a detailed comparison with Emperor Gaozu. If Zhuge Jin continued to make excuses, it would inevitably be somewhat inappropriate.

So Zhuge Jin took a deep breath and said calmly and firmly: "Seven years is fine, it's enough."

(End of this chapter)