Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

From Chapter 454 onwards, job titles are used when referring to one's work position.
"Prime Minister~"

At this moment, Jiang Wei's first thought was...

'Is this prime minister a fake?'

He was just a low-level neighborhood committee director, yet this guy grabbed him and said, "I want to pass on my mantle to you!"

It's not that I don't believe it, it's just that this matter is too bizarre.

Prime Minister Zhuge also came to his senses and realized that he had lost his composure.

But there was nothing he could do; the prime minister was also human and had emotions.

Jiang Wei, who devoted himself to the Han Dynasty and was willing to bear the blame alone after his defeat, undoubtedly struck a chord with the Prime Minister, highlighting his loyalty to the Han Dynasty.

In addition, having reached the age of prime minister, he has a high regard for outstanding young people.

His desire to take him as a disciple and pass on his mantle so that he could succeed him in serving the Han Dynasty was naturally hard to suppress.

The Prime Minister had a hidden plan in his heart.

As a loyal subject of the Han Dynasty, he would never do what Huo Guang and others did.

Although His Majesty is timid and cowardly, and weak, he is still His Majesty of the Great Han Dynasty.

He would supervise, educate, and even cultivate Liu Zhan from a young age, and could even make him the crown prince.

Although he had promised Lin Dao, and even made a vow before the gods.

But he only wanted to obtain aid, only wanted to succeed in restoring the Han Dynasty.

As long as I succeed, I won't care what happens to me then.

Jiang Wei, this loyal young man, was the trusted advisor he left behind for the Han Dynasty, for His Majesty, and for the King of Beidi.

"I hereby appoint you as the head of the Prime Minister's Office."

Prime Minister Zhuge instructed him, "Stay by my side and study diligently."

Jiang Wei, having regained his senses, nodded vigorously.

"This humble general obeys!"

"Still calling yourself a lowly general?" Lin Dao, who was watching the commotion from the sidelines, chuckled. "You're now the Prime Minister's last disciple!"

Jiang Wei was overjoyed and bowed again.

"Master!"

Lin Daozai said, "From now on, when you work, you should refer to your job title."

"Yes~" Jiang Wei cupped his hands and bowed again to Prime Minister Zhuge. "Prime Minister~"

Many places in Longyou have now fallen into the hands of the Shu army, but there are still many places such as Guangwei County, Longxi County, and Shanggui City that refuse to surrender and resolutely resist.

Moreover, Xu Miao, the governor of Liangzhou, who was nearby, also sent his military advisor and the prefect of Jincheng to lead troops to counterattack.

The momentum is good, but fires are brewing in various places, requiring a coordinated effort to quell the unrest.

This is also why, historically, Zhuge Liang could not spare a large army to block the Jieting Pass.

Most of his troops were used to block the counterattack of Cao Wei troops in Liangzhou and other places, and to suppress resistance in various parts of Longyou.

If Lin Dao were to lead the troops, without a doubt, he would use explosives to clear the way first, blowing up any cities that refused to surrender. Then, the soldiers would swarm in and breach the city walls, before attacking Cao Wei's reinforcements and defeating them in one battle.

However, since Prime Minister Zhuge did not have explosives to open the city, he had to leave enough troops to besiege the Cao Wei garrison inside the city to prevent them from launching a flanking attack and cutting off their supply lines.

In addition, Gao Xiang and others were sent to lead a portion of the troops to block the counterattack from Liangzhou and other places.

The actual number of troops taken to Jieting was only 30,000 to 40,000.

However, compared to history, Ma Su led more than 10,000 men, which was a sufficient number, almost a major battle.

"Prime Minister."

Before setting off for Jieting, Lin Dao found Prime Minister Zhuge and said, "It's alright."

This is to inform Prime Minister Zhuge that Wei Yan can depart.

The distance from Hanzhong through the Ziwu Valley to Chang'an is approximately 600 li.

The elite troops, lightly armed and with minimal entourage, could march more than sixty li per day and arrive in ten days.

This road was passable by troops because Wang Mang had spent a great deal of effort repairing it.

Excluding forest trails, there have been four actual instances in history of traversing the Ziwu Valley.

Two years later in history, Cao Zhen attacked Hanzhong, leading more than 50,000 men through the Ziwu Valley.

Unfortunately, they were unlucky and encountered the rainy season.

The Yi, Luo, He, and Han rivers are all experiencing torrential rains.

The plank road was destroyed, and the valleys were filled with water. After enduring this for more than a month, they couldn't take it anymore and simply withdrew their troops.

The second time was in the tenth year of Yonghe, when the Eastern Jin launched a northern expedition against the Former Qin.

Sima Xun's army did manage to cross the Ziwu Valley, but was ambushed by the Former Qin army at the valley entrance, resulting in a disastrous defeat.

The third was the famous rebel leader Gao Yingxiang.

He successfully completed the process in just fifteen days.

As a result, he was ambushed and suffered a crushing defeat when he left the valley. He was captured alive and subjected to the excruciating punishment of being slowly sliced ​​to death.

The fourth time will be omitted.
In other words, so far, Lin Dao has been the only one in all the myriad realms to have succeeded.

Will Wei Yan be able to reach Chang'an in ten to fifteen days without being ambushed?

On the one hand, you need to check the weather forecast to avoid heavy rain.

On the other hand, it depends on the general guarding Chang'an.

Lin Dao didn't go along, probably because it might rain, but everyone had a full set of modern rain gear.

As for the general guarding Chang'an, he may be the key to the success of this operation.

Historically, it was Cao Rui who personally went to Chang'an to oversee the situation, while Wei Yanzhen went to Ziwu Valley, which would likely have led to the same fate as Gao Yingxiang.

However, Cao Rui has not yet set off due to the constraints imposed by Eastern Wu and Meng Da. He must wait until either Eastern Wu or Meng Da is subdued before he can set off for Guanzhong to concentrate his efforts on dealing with Shu.

Wei Yan's opportunity lies here.

Prime Minister Zhuge nodded and handed a brocade pouch to Ma Su.

"Send a fast horse to Hanzhong immediately to inform Marquis Duting that he can send troops."

"Give him this brocade pouch and instruct him to open it before he leaves the Ziwu Valley."

Ma Su accepted the order and immediately took the brocade pouch and went out to make arrangements.

Having witnessed the famous scene of Prime Minister Zhuge's secret plan, Lin Dao also smiled.

The Prime Minister saw this and asked curiously, "Zihou, why are you laughing?" "Nothing."

Lin Dao smiled and waved his hand, "I'm just happy to have witnessed such a classic scene."

He often heard strange and unusual phrases from the forest path, which Prime Minister Zhuge would analyze carefully.

However, most of the time, it's still unclear why.

But he understood something from those words.

After all, I had seen similar scenes before in that magical world of glass.

Thinking of this, Prime Minister Zhuge stroked his beard and smiled.

Jiang Wei, standing to the side, was completely baffled.

What's so funny?
The army set off, heading north along the Longshan Mountains.

Longshan is a north-south trending mountain range, with its precipitous terrain separating Guanzhong from Longyou.

The entire Longyou region is roughly surrounded by numerous mountain ranges, including the Longshan Mountains, Duanshan Mountains, Qinling Mountains, Qishan Mountains, and Liupan Mountains.

Historically, Prime Minister Zhuge's plan was to make full use of the terrain to isolate Guanzhong.

They then conquered Longyou and Liangzhou further west, gaining abundant population and resources.

However, they failed to keep Cao Cao's army outside Longshan and were forced to retreat after being overrun.

There is also an exit along the Longshan Mountains from Guanzhong to Longyou.

Further south is the Guanlong Road.

Further north is the Bansudo Road.

As the name suggests, the Guanlong Road was the main route between Guanzhong and Longyou.

Its traffic conditions will inevitably be better.

But why did Zhang He choose to go the long way north to attack the even more distant Fanxu Road?
The reason for this lies in Lie Liu City, which is located at the Longshan Pass of the Guanlong Road.

"This is a city!"

Upon seeing this city of willows, Lin Dao understood why Zhang He had taken a detour.

This is a fortified city built against the mountains and guarding the strategic pass of the Qingshui River Valley, directly blocking the exit of the Guanzhong Road.

Zhang He's troops were mostly cavalry.

How could cavalry forcefully attack a fortified city in such a dangerous environment?

Even if we manage to win, it will take a month or two.

With such a long time, Zhuge Liang would have already subdued all the counties in Longyou.

"General Chen Shi, the Protector of the Army!"

Upon hearing Prime Minister Zhuge's call, Chen Shi immediately stepped forward and saluted, "Your subordinate is here!"

"I hereby order you to lead an army of ten thousand to garrison Lie Liu City."

Prime Minister Zhuge Liang earnestly instructed, "If the Wei invaders attack, you must not go out to fight. You must defend the city and block the passage."

"Remember this! Remember this!"

Clearly, Prime Minister Zhuge was shocked by the story of Ma Su's loss of Jieting, as shown in the Kunlun Mirror.

It is unacceptable for someone to disobey instructions and act on their own.

Chen nodded repeatedly in agreement, indicating that he would certainly keep the Prime Minister's teachings in mind.
They're practically signing a pledge.

Continuing north towards Jieting, Lin Daoxiao asked, "Prime Minister, is this an overreaction?"

"There are some, though."

Prime Minister Zhuge shook his head and chuckled, "He was genuinely frightened."

Ma Su's unauthorized decision to go up the mountain led to the failure of the Northern Expedition.

His cautious nature dictates that he will definitely plug any loopholes and prevent the same thing from happening again.

"Zihou".

Prime Minister Zhuge, sitting in his carriage and waving a feather fan, asked, "May I borrow your Kunlun Mirror, which can see the past and the future?"

Lin Dao immediately looked towards Jiang Wei, who was riding a Forever brand 28-inch bicycle, not far away.

"Show it to him?"

"Isn't this a bit too much of a push for growth?"

"He should first learn from the Prime Minister for a few years before being sent out to gain experience."

"Only in this way can one be given an important position."

Prime Minister Zhuge Liang thought to himself, 'Do you think I don't understand these things?'

"I really don't have time!"

Once the Northern Expedition succeeds and the Han Dynasty is restored, I must abide by the agreement and establish a new emperor.

But how could I, Zhuge Kongming, do such a thing!

If I break the agreement and a celestial being descends to punish me, how will I have time to teach Jiang Wei and pass on my mantle?

All we can do now is try our best to help him grow up as quickly as possible.

When the time comes, he must take over from me and continue to uphold the Han Dynasty.

Lin Dao didn't say much about it; he figured it was no big deal to lend it out.

He has actually been tempered through countless trials in the heavens, and his experience and ability to judge people are also outstanding.

However, they had a preconceived notion that the prime minister would not do something that violated his oath.

After all, it was just a change of emperor, with the surname Liu, who was still Liu Da'er's grandson and Liu Shan's son.

It's not like we're about to change dynasties.

What was unexpected was that Zhuge Liang, having learned about the past and future, evolved into his strongest form.

Hindsight is 20/20!
When he saw in the Kunlun Mirror, countless Shu soldiers at Wuzhang Plains were shouting for the Prime Minister to see them off.

He understood everything.
All I ever sought in my life was to restore the Han Dynasty and repay the kindness of my lord.

My lord entrusted Liu Shan to me back then, how could I let him down!
Compared to my lifelong pursuit, nothing else matters.

of course.

It cannot be revealed before the great undertaking is accomplished.

That so-called "successor of the immortals" over there is a guy who's smarter than a monkey when it comes to hair!
(End of this chapter)