My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

"What kind of changes have occurred at the front lines that would lead the Crown Prince to make such an incomprehensible decision, abandoning the people of Jing and Yang and instead choosing a force composed entirely of northerners to conquer Zhang Lu?"

Zhuge Liang gently waved the feather fan in his hand, as if to dispel the doubts in his heart, and looked towards the direction of Guanzhong.

"So be it. Since the Crown Prince has made this decision, let's give him a chance to prove himself."

Liu Bei let out a long, helpless sigh, his voice filled with complex emotions toward the crown prince.

She has both expectations for her son's growth and concerns about his abilities.

However, given the current situation, he had no choice but to temporarily suppress his dissatisfaction with Liu Shan's decision.

After all, as a father and monarch, he needed to find a balance between emotion and reason.

On the one hand, Xun Yu's defense of Liu Shan, upon closer examination, does indeed have some merit and is not entirely without basis.

Secondly, by the time this memorial was delivered, Liu Shan's army of 100,000 had already set off south in a grand procession.

They may have already reached the Xiegu Pass by now, or even engaged in battle with the Hanzhong army.

Under these circumstances, rashly issuing an edict to withdraw these 100,000 troops would undoubtedly greatly shake the morale of the soldiers at the front.

If the soldiers were to suddenly receive an order to retreat at this time, they would be filled with doubt, their morale would drop, which would be detrimental to the battle and could ruin everything.

"However, the Crown Prince has acted arbitrarily this time, ignoring the advice of Bowen and others. I cannot sit idly by and condone such behavior."

"As the crown prince, he should know that listening to all sides leads to enlightenment, while believing only one side leads to darkness. How can he be expected to shoulder the great responsibility of governing the country if he insists on going his own way?"

"Kongming, quickly draft an edict for me and send someone on horseback to the Xiegu camp to express my attitude to the Crown Prince and make him understand exactly where he went wrong."

Although Liu Bei ultimately acquiesced to Liu Shan's strategy of dividing his troops, he did not allow Liu Shan to ignore the opinions of Xiao He and others.

It's a compromise solution, I suppose.

Zhuge Liang quickly snapped out of his reverie and bowed to accept the order.

Next, Liu Bei slowly opened Xiao He's second memorial.

The memorial was sealed very tightly, as if it contained some earth-shattering secret.

This was a secret memorial. Before submitting it, Xiao He clearly stated that the contents of the memorial could only be known to Zhuge Liang and must not be leaked.

Upon seeing this, Liu Bei immediately became alert.

This secret message must contain some crucial information, otherwise Xiao He wouldn't have given such a solemn instruction.

At that moment, Liu Bei found a plausible excuse to order Xun Yu and other ministers to leave first, leaving only Zhuge Liang by his side.

Then, with a solemn expression, he removed the seal from the secret document.

The contents of this memorial were actually a request for Liu Bei to order Guan Yu, who was stationed in Luoyang, to secretly dispatch elite troops to Tongguan to strengthen its defenses.

"Reinforce Tongguan Pass? What does this mean? Why the sudden increase in troops?"

A look of bewilderment returned to Liu Bei's eyes, and he then handed the memorial to Zhuge Liang.

"There are now nearly 350,000 troops on the front line in Guanzhong. Even if the Crown Prince sends 100,000 troops to conquer Zhang Lu, Yide and the others will still have more than 200,000 troops under their command."

"The troops at the front should be more than enough, more than sufficient. Why did Bowen ask me to specially transfer troops from Luoyang to reinforce Tongguan?"

"Furthermore, all the land east of Chang'an already belongs to our Han Dynasty and has been incorporated into our territory. So why is it necessary to send heavy troops to garrison Tongguan?" Liu Bei asked a series of questions, his brows furrowed, as if his thoughts were tangled in a mess.

Zhuge Liang took the memorial and carefully examined every word, his gaze seemingly trying to penetrate the paper and see the deeper meaning behind it.

In my mind, a detailed map of Guanzhong and Hanzhong has quietly been sketched out.

Mountains, rivers, cities, and passes are all clearly visible.

"Tongguan, Hanzhong, Hanzhong..."

Zhuge Liang muttered to himself, repeatedly repeating these place names.

His eyes suddenly narrowed, as if he had vaguely guessed something.

Just as he was about to blurt out his guess, he suddenly swallowed the words back, his expression becoming somewhat subtle.

A thought flashed through my mind:
Xiao He knew that among the officials guarding Ye City, he and Xun Yu were the leaders, so why did he specifically remind the emperor that this secret memorial should only be known to him?
This is clearly something they don't want Xun Yu to know.
Clearly, Xiao He intentionally didn't want Xun Yu to know the contents of this secret report; there must be a deeper meaning behind it.

Considering Liu Shan's heavy reliance on northerners, and also considering that Xun Yu was of northern origin and one of the surrendered officials of Cao Wei, Zhuge Liang seemed to have a vague idea of ​​the deeper meaning behind Xiao He's actions.

After hesitating for a moment, Zhuge Liang slowly spoke:

"I also don't quite understand what Bowen's intention was. I can't fathom the deeper meaning behind it."

"However, Bowen has always been a master strategist. Since he has asked Your Majesty to do this, there must be a reason for it. I believe Your Majesty need not doubt him and can proceed according to his plan."

Liu Bei seemed to understand, so he nodded slightly, his expression softening considerably, and his furrowed brows gradually relaxed.
"The Prime Minister's words are reasonable. If that is the case, then I will not investigate this matter any further. Prime Minister, please draft a secret edict for Yun Chang as requested by Bo Wen."

Zhuge Liang accepted the order.

At this time, Liu Bei's health was not as good as before. After this discussion, he was exhausted and felt as if all his energy had been drained.

Upon seeing this, Zhuge Liang advised Liu Bei to rest well, and then took his leave.

After bidding farewell to Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang left the palace and returned home, his mind heavy with worries.

Images of the situation at the front, the Crown Prince's decisions, Xiao He's secret report, and Xun Yu's various actions kept flashing through his mind.

This information was tangled together like a mess of yarn, making it difficult for him to sort out.

When he returned to the Prime Minister's residence, Chief Secretary Jiang Wan and his nephew Zhuge Ke had been waiting for him for a long time.

The two men originally intended to report on political affairs to Zhuge Liang, but they immediately noticed that Zhuge Liang seemed to have something on his mind.

"Uncle, does His Majesty summon you to the palace because something has happened at the front?"

Zhuge Ke was always intelligent and perceptive, and he immediately guessed that something important might happen at the front.

Zhuge Liang did not reply, but instead picked up his pen and wrote a letter.

"Yuan Xun, under the pretext of reporting news from the capital, take this letter to the Chang'an camp and deliver it to Bo Wen. Make sure to hand it to him personally."

"You must find out for me from Ming Bowen what exactly happened to the Crown Prince."

"Remember, this matter is of great importance, and you must get to the bottom of it clearly."

Zhuge Liang solemnly handed the letter to his nephew, giving him instructions in a grave tone. (End of Chapter)