My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 784: Taking advantage of the wartime system to do something
Guan Yu's capture of Juancheng and Zhou Yu's forced death of Cheng Yu actually happened only seven or eight days later than Zhuge Jin's victory in the Battle of Guantao in the Hebei battlefield.

Guan Yu was able to successfully intercept Cheng Yu in the end thanks to Zhuge Jin who had controlled this section of the Yellow River in the Hebei war zone in advance and helped Zhou Yu raise enough small boats.

And Zhou Yu did live up to his expectations. He relied solely on the temporarily recruited boats, which had no cabins or defense facilities, no shelters such as arrow slits on the side masts, and relied entirely on these small boats with a bare deck without any shelter to defeat Cheng Yu, who had more troops than him, on the surface of the Yellow River.

This can only be said to be the sailors led by Zhou Yu. Their technical and tactical levels are really strong, and their naval combat quality is already generations behind that of Cao's army.

As the dust settled, it was mid-November of that year. In general, Liu Bei's camp was making steady progress in the Guandong battlefield and the two routes of Henan and Hebei.

There are only forty days left until the end of the year. Zhuge Jin needs to check for loopholes on the northern front and clear up the rear. Zhao Yun will also face off against Jiao Chu and Cao Zhang later.

South of the Yellow River, Guan Yu had just taken Juancheng, but he had only dug a line from Suiyang to Dingtao to Juancheng, all the way north. To the east of this line, there were still many counties in the three central counties of Yanzhou that were not controlled by Guan Yu.

Forty days is not enough to fully digest all the results of the battle. This matter will have to be delayed until at least the first month of next year, or even February. It will be considered good if we can restore local order and take over all the county towns before the spring plowing season next year.

This process was not a bloodless takeover without any battles. Cao Cao had governed Yanzhou for many years, and even though Cheng Yu was cruel and vicious, there were always some people who were loyal to Cao Cao. When encountering die-hard strongholds, he had to mobilize some troops, and all this took time.

A rotten boat still has three pounds of nails. No matter how well Cao Cao ruled, there would always be people with vested interests willing to support him. It would not be a bad thing for Liu Bei's camp if such people jumped out early and were quickly eliminated by open force.

If you calculate carefully, the entire Jizhou, except for a county around Handan-Yecheng, and the entire Yanzhou located east of Puyang, is enough for Liu Bei's camp to digest until the spring plowing next year.

Only after the busy spring farming season was over would Liu Bei consider advancing to the next stage.

……

"How could Ziyu defeat Cao Cao's main force with only the troops from Hebei?"

"Yun Chang led a small army of 40,000 and penetrated three counties of Yanzhou within half a month and took Juancheng directly?"

"God bless our Han Dynasty! This time we will conquer the north and west, and we will surely defeat Cao Cao! Sir and brother, God has gifted me with the power to revive the Han Dynasty."

The news of Zhuge Jin and Guan Yu's great victory reached the Yingchuan battlefield within a few days. When Liu Bei heard about it, he was naturally very excited and hurried to share his joy with Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei.

As for Pang Tong, Wei Yan and other civil and military officials, they are not on the Yingchuan battlefield now. Because Guan Yu and Lu Su abandoned Suiyang and went north to Yanzhou, the battle lines in Liang and Chen on the eastern front were somewhat empty.

Zhang Fei had to withdraw half of his troops, led by Wei Yan, to reinforce the defenses in Liang and Chen.

At this moment, facing Liu Bei's desire to share, Zhuge Liang remained relatively calm. His humility and prudence made him unwilling to be too ostentatious when his elder brother was making great achievements, as if everything was taken for granted and there was nothing to be proud of.

But this calmness only deepened his mysterious image, as if even his extraordinary achievements could not make him show his emotions on his face.

In contrast, Zhang Fei just said whatever came to his mind and could not hide any of his emotions.

My second brother has made such a great contribution. He dug through Yanzhou within half a month and cut off most of the eastern part of Yanzhou. Isn’t such a great military achievement worthy of being filled with several large jars?
"Someone come quickly! Bring us some wine! Let's have a good time today and get drunk!" Zhang Fei didn't care that Liu Bei was still there, and directly ordered the attendants in the hall to fetch some good wine so that they could drink until dawn.

Liu Bei was also very excited, so he naturally would not stop or spoil the fun at this time.

There was no way. Zhuge Jin's contribution was far beyond Liu Bei's expectations, even with Liu Bei's many years of knowledge and understanding of Zhuge Jin.

He thought that Zhuge Jin, together with Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, Zhang Liao and Taishi Ci, would definitely be able to hold off Cao Cao with half the force or even less and ensure invincibility.

However, Zhuge Jin was able to achieve such a decisive victory and annihilate and defeat more than half of Cao Cao's decisive battle forces. Even though Liu Bei knew him so well, he was still not fully prepared mentally for such a huge result.

This was definitely more grand than another Battle of Guandu, and its achievements were truly great. In Zhuge Jin's report of merit, he also tried his best to divide the credit among the officials, so that Zhao, Ma, Zhou, and Zhang Taishi each had their share of the credit. Basically, he treated everyone equally, which showed Zhuge Jin's profound cultivation.

Soon the strong liquor was brought in. Zhang Fei swept away a jar of mud seal and drank a small portion of it. Then he wiped his mouth with a heroic look and advised: "Brother, why don't we also make an effort to capture Xu County! No matter how many tens of thousands of troops Cao Ren has, we will wipe him out completely!"

Liu Bei was holding the wine glass, and froze when he heard this. He just looked at Zhuge Liang with a smile on his face.

Zhuge Liang cleared his throat and said carefully: "My lord, please do not be impatient. Yide's troops are not superior to Cao Ren's. Our army still has to take on the task of attacking.

Why not wait until the other troops are free? A few months won't be a big deal. By then, the merit of attacking Xu County will go to Yide anyway."

Zhuge Liang was well aware that the troops Zhang Fei had left were much fewer than when he first started the Northern Expedition, and he was currently unable to continue advancing and attack Xu County.

Although the total military strength of Liu Bei's camp far exceeded that of Cao Cao, it was not to the exaggerated extent of attacking on every front and winning on every front.

Zhuge Jin and Guan Yu were both advancing at full speed, while Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, Zhang Liao, Taishi Ci, and Gao Shun were all pinned down on other battlefields, using up so many troops. It was only right for Zhang Fei to take a break and continue to play the role of the anvil.

Anyway, don't treat him unfairly in the end, and make sure the credit is left to him, that's all.

At the beginning of this Northern Expedition, Liu Bei was able to defeat Cao Cao's 470,000 troops with more than 600,000 troops, accounting for 30% of the total force advantage. After the battle in Hebei, 70,000 to 80,000 Cao's troops were killed on the spot, and another 50,000 to 60,000 fled (some of whom may have rejoined the team). In the process of Guan Yu swallowing up the three counties of Yanzhou, Cao's army of several tens of thousands of people was annihilated and forced to surrender.

So in general, without considering Cao Cao's efforts to expand the new army in the rear, and only counting the existing veteran troops, the total strength of Cao Cao's camp has dropped sharply from 470,000 to less than 350,000 in more than a year.

In the next few months, Liu Bei will eliminate the remaining enemies, digest and expand the results of the battle, and kill some marginal enemies. Cao Cao's total military strength may be further reduced to 300,000.

Although Liu Bei's army also suffered tens of thousands of casualties, they also captured many prisoners and forced to land enemies. The tens of thousands of people forced to land in the Battle of Hebei alone were enough to make up for all the casualties of Liu Bei's army and more.

It's just that these prisoners of war need time to slowly reorganize, transform, and adjust their mentality and beliefs. They can't immediately become their own soldiers and return to the battlefield, so for the time being they can't immediately become an effective fighting force.

But no matter what, by the time the results of the war are completely digested next year, the number of available soldiers in Liu Bei's camp will definitely exceed 650,000.

As one side gains strength while the other loses strength, the total numerical advantage over Cao Cao's forces will no longer be 30%, but will directly double.

In addition, Liu Bei's army was becoming more and more powerful, and their equipment had a clear quality advantage. Cao Cao didn't even have a chance to hold out, and if nothing unexpected happened, he could only wait for a slow death.

……

At first, Liu Bei was a little dazed by the great news and did not carefully calculate the comparison of military strength.

He was just a little overwhelmed with general thoughts. When his third brother asked for a fight, he felt the urge to agree directly.

After Zhuge Liang's calm analysis, Liu Bei calmed down from his initial ecstasy and realized that at worst he could just wait out the winter and there was no need to rush in Yingchuan for the time being.

Taking Jizhou and Yanzhou within a year, isn’t that fast enough?
Yuzhou also took over about half, which is exactly two and a half years.

"Your words are still sound, sir. Cao Cao doesn't have much time left, so we should be cautious." After Liu Bei figured it out, he made a final decision on the matter. Zhang Fei next to him was a little disappointed, but he had already understood the reason, and his elder brother had spoken, so he naturally would not insist.

Seeing that his lord was willing to accept his advice, Zhuge Liang also hurried to help persuade him, saying, "My lord, in fact, at this stage of the war, it would be beneficial to slow down the war a little, avoid over-employing the people, and avoid delaying the farming season when sending troops every year.

Not only can it reduce the damage to farming and make life easier for the people, but it can also speed up some reforms while we are still in wartime. When I first entered Shu, my lord asked my brother and me about the strategy of governing the country.

At that time, my elder brother made many suggestions, including those on selecting officials, governing officials, finance, and taxation. In the end, we only accepted and decided to reform the finance aspect. Over the years, we have also fully implemented the rent and labor service system and the labor service fee.

However, we have only implemented about half of the reform of the civil servants' examination system, and the reform of the official selection system was not implemented from the beginning. At that time, even I opposed my brother's proposal.

Because in times of war, whether a petty official is competent, whether he can raise money and food, and do a good job in construction, the performance is obvious to all. Whether a military general is good at fighting and can manage the army can also be seen immediately, so there was no need to take too big a step and force the new method of selecting officials.

But now, I am afraid that the war will be over in less than three years, and the lord has already gained an absolute advantage. Perhaps by the end of this year, we can renegotiate a proper solution. After the spring plowing next year, when our army has completely cleared Guandong and captured Xu County, Yecheng and other throat places, even if Luoyang has not yet been captured, the lord can also moderately announce the implementation of some reforms.

While it is still wartime, everything must give way to the military. The local powerful families should not be too opposed. If there are those who insist on jumping out, they can be suppressed by force.

If the world is completely peaceful in the future and Cao Cao is completely destroyed, the resistance to forceful reforms will be much greater than it is now. "

After hearing these profound truths, Liu Bei finally understood.

Zhuge Liang's idea obviously cannot be regarded as "opening champagne at halftime". Instead, it is to first confirm that one's side has gained an absolute advantage, and then take advantage of the wartime system to speed up the completion of some things that are inconvenient to do in peacetime.

In history, Zhuge Liang carried out many drastic reforms when he was in power after Liu Bei's death. The key to Zhuge Liang's full implementation of all the reforms was the "Northern Expedition" banner in front of him.

The Northern Expedition to restore the Han Dynasty requires the concentration of resources and the deployment of manpower and material resources in an unconventional way. Anyone who resists does not support the Northern Expedition and does not want the Han Dynasty to be completely restored.

With this banner, and the fact that Zhuge Liang himself was absolutely morally upright and set an example by never using manpower, material resources or financial resources to carry out reforms for his own personal gain, everyone from top to bottom was convinced.

Although history has changed greatly now, Zhuge Liang's understanding of this truth is still very profound.

He knew that he had to seize the good opportunity when the situation was gradually stabilizing and push forward some things. He could wait for his elder brother to come and discuss the specific details together.

To put it bluntly, he hoped to sort out future policies before re-unifying the world. This move was more similar to the meetings held in Xibaipo in later generations - of course, the ancients certainly did not know the specific place names.

After Liu Bei understood the key, he also agreed with this view and immediately made the decision:

"It is indeed time to take this opportunity to rectify the many accumulated problems. In the 400 years of the Han Dynasty, twice before, the country fell to a state where the rich had fields stretching for miles while the poor had no place to live. First there were the Green Forest and Red Eyebrows, then there were the Yellow Turbans and Black Mountain rice bandits, and there were also the powerful aristocratic families that had three dukes for four generations and five dukes for three generations, which were so entrenched that they could not be eradicated.

Now, before the final attack on Cao's bandits, let's not say that all these problems have been solved, but we will try to take the opportunity to solve some of them as well.

Let’s put it this way. In a few days, I will write a letter. When the war in Hebei subsides and Ziyu can withdraw, I will invite him to cross the Yellow River to the south and meet me in Suiyang.

In the next two or three years, how to thoroughly pursue and eliminate the bandits, how to promote reforms, which reforms to promote, and whether there are any areas that need personnel adjustments can all be carefully sorted out during the New Year and implemented next year. "

Zhuge Liang followed Liu Bei's thoughts and looked at the map. When Liu Bei mentioned the place name Suiyang, he felt that it was a bit radical. He couldn't help but remind him:

"My lord, Suiyang has not been conquered yet. Why do we have to meet in Suiyang? If we go to Dingtao in Jiyin County to the north, or Qiao County in Qiao County to the south, that would also be fine. Qiao County is Cao Cao's hometown. Going there to discuss the next stage of the great cause may be more symbolic and can also boost the morale of our army and shake the hearts of Cao's subordinates."

Liu Bei nodded without comment: "If it's too late, Qiao County or Dingtao will also be fine. Dingtao is where Xiang Liang died in battle, and Qiao County is Cao Cao's hometown, both have good meanings.

But I think that Wei Yan might not have been unable to capture Suiyang City before. Cao's army had defended Suiyang because Suiyang was the waterway gateway between the Yellow River and the Huai River, and was located at the hub of the Sui River.

But now that Yunchang has conquered the three counties of Yanzhou, he will be able to get food directly from Yanzhou in the future. The gateway to Puyang and Chenliu in the west is completely open. What is the point of Cao Cao defending the isolated city of Suiyang? Maybe by the time of the New Year, Suiyang will have changed hands. "

Zhuge Liang knew that what Liu Bei said was right. Sui Yang only had value as a transportation hub, but had no significant political value.

This is completely different from Xu County and Yecheng. Xu County and Yecheng not only have economic, transportation and military value, but also have great political symbolic significance. Cao Cao would not abandon these two important towns unless he had no other choice.

However, Chen County and Sui Yang are only valuable as transportation hubs. Before this, the main force of Cao's army had not collapsed and the defense line had not been completely broken. In order to block Liu Bei's logistics, the enemy would do its best to defend these nodes.

Now that Cao's front line is completely broken, Liu Bei's army can persuade enemy cities to surrender and collect food locally wherever they go on the North China Plain. Basically, they can eat wherever they go. There is little point in trying to block Liu Bei's army's logistics.

Perhaps, Wei Yan can also take advantage of the last forty days before the New Year to give his lord a surprise.

Since Zhuge Liang no longer objected, Liu Bei followed his own wishes and wrote a letter back to Zhuge Jin, inviting Ziyu, Zilong and Gongjin to come to Suiyang before the New Year to meet and discuss important matters.

After receiving the letter, Zhuge Jin explained the situation and said that he would definitely be there at the appointed time. However, something unexpected happened to Zilong and he needed to fight Jiao Chu and Cao Zhang in Dai County and Shanggu war zone, so he could not come because the journey was too long and dangerous.

After receiving the reply, Liu Bei naturally did not force it. He knew that as a cavalry general, it was normal for Zhao Yun to suddenly encounter an emergency situation and have a temporary mission. Anyway, Zhao Yun did not know much about government affairs, so Zhuge Jin and Zhou Yu would be enough.

……

Liu Bei's plan soon spread throughout the army.

All the generals on the battlefield of Xuhuai also knew that their lord planned that "if Suiyang City could be captured before the end of the year, he would meet with Situ and other high-ranking civil and military officials in the north in Suiyang to discuss the overall strategy for the final stage of the counter-attack."

If we cannot take it before the New Year, we will use the backup plan and go to Qiao County in the south or Dingtao in the north.

After Wei Yan heard the news, he naturally could not admit defeat.

He was a man of violent temperament and liked to win. Previously, in order to seize the three central counties of Yanzhou, Guan Yu was urgently called north, leaving the Suiyang battlefield to Wei Yan, who was on the front line to fill in.

Now that Guan Yu has definitely taken over the three counties of Yanzhou, Wei Yan is certainly not willing to just come here to fill in the gaps.

Having achieved such great victories on the northern front and in Yanzhou, can’t I take over the city of Suiyang?

Therefore, in the last few days of November, and even for most of the twelfth lunar month, Wei Yan personally braved the arrows and stones and strictly supervised the battle, ordering his troops to intensify the attack, attack the city scientifically, and use all kinds of siege equipment and methods to the fullest.

Under Wei Yan's desperate attack, Suiyang City was finally captured by Liu Bei's army on the 18th day of the twelfth lunar month. At the same time, in the last ten days of the twelfth lunar month, other small counties around Liangdi were also forced to land and taken over.

When Liu Bei heard about it, he was overjoyed and rewarded Wei Yan again. Then he personally brought Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei to Suiyang to meet with Zhuge Jin, Guan Yu, Zhou Yu and Lu Su to discuss the plan of unification.

(End of this chapter)