Chapter 1459 Zhuge Jianyan first attacked Hanzhong
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"Hanzhong? Zhang Liang?"
Liu Bei pondered, thinking about the pros and cons of it. Hanzhong is the northern gate of Shuzhong, and its strategic position is beyond words. However, Hanzhong is a place bordering Yongzhou, and it can also be said to be the buffer zone between Liu Bei and Sima Fang, or the only value that Zhang Liang has now exists is this buffering function.
But, does Liu Bei still need this buffer belt now? Under the current situation, will Sima Fang and Liu Bei have a direct conflict? If Zhang Liang is tolerated for a long time, will he raise a tiger?...
"It was Zhang Liang, the lord and Zhang Liang who entered Hanzhong, which triggered changes in the entire Central Plains and directly prompted our army to enter Yizhou. Now Zhang Liang has become a buffer zone between our army and Sima Fang. This is Zhang Liang's value, but now Zhang Liang's value is only like this."
Zhang Song thought for a while and interrupted, "Lord, what Ziyu said is very much. The terrain of Hanzhong is almost fertile. Emperor Gaozu won the world with Hanzhong. From this we can see the importance of Hanzhong. If it were just a buffer, there was no need for this. If Zhang Liang could defend Hanzhong, our army could defend it. Instead of using Hanzhong's food to support the Yellow Turban Army, it would be better to support our own army!"
Zhuge Jin nodded and did not continue to say it for the time being. Let Liu Bei think about these contents first, so he would not seem aggressive.
Liu Bei thought about it and found that was the case! However, there is another problem here, that is, the cost of charging Hanzhong. Now Zhang Liang is not Zhang Liang of that year. Since he gained confidence in the battle of Hanzhong, the combat power of the Yellow Turban Army has been greatly improved, and the terrain of Hanzhong is almost necessary. If the cost is too high, it would be a bit unworthy.
"The two are very reasonable, but Sima Fang dared not attack Hanzhong, because Hanzhong is difficult to capture, and this is the same for our army. If the loss is too heavy, wouldn't it be worth the loss?"
Zhuge Jin smiled faintly: "My lord, there is no problem that the loss is not worth it. Even if the loss is a little bit large, it is acceptable to be able to completely eliminate Zhang Liang and take Hanzhong. Moreover, the loss may not necessarily be very large. The key is to see how the war progresses. Speaking of generals who can fight, is our army inferior to Zhang Liang!"
"This... makes sense. If we talk about combat power alone, our army will definitely be stronger, but the terrain is..."
"Lord, our army has a detailed map of Hanzhong. Zhang Liang does not take advantage of the geographical advantage. If it comes to harmony among people, the lord is kind and moral, and Zhang Liang is a bandit. How can we talk about it in the same way? The right time and place are harmonious, our army has occupied two of them. It is the right time to capture Hanzhong!"
Zhang Song said excitedly, he sang to Zhuge Jin, which made Liu Bei very excited. Capturing Hanzhong can expand the territory, and it is a very fertile territory. More importantly, while obtaining this territory, it can also solve a problem. It seems worth it to pay some price if you think about it like this.
However, Liu Bei is not the type of impulsive personality. Even if he thinks that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages, he still needs to seek more opinions, even if it is a behavior, this is a must.
"This... Xiaozhi thought what?" Liu Bei suddenly pointed Fazheng's name and surprised Fazheng, and even felt a little flattered.
Fa Zheng hurriedly replied in a stern voice: "Report to the lord, my subordinates think that what the two masters said is very reasonable. If the food in Hanzhong does not support our army, it will inevitably raise bandits. It is like raising a tiger to be a disaster. It should be annihilated as soon as possible, but..."
Fa Zheng was recommended to Liu Bei by Zhang Song, so although he might have other ideas about Hanzhong, it is not easy to openly oppose Zhang Song. In fact, he hopes to communicate with Zhang Song in private, but Liu Bei has not given this opportunity at the moment, and he cannot hide anything when Liu Bei asked, so he is quite contradictory.
Zhang Song is not a fool. When he heard the word "just" of Fazheng, he understood why Fazheng was in a difficult situation. Zhang Song could be said to be as kind as a mountain of grace. When Fazheng was in a downturn, Zhang Song kept helping Fazheng. After Liu Bei entered Shuzhong, Zhang Song immediately recommended Fazheng to Liu Bei, so that he could soar into the sky.
Zhang Song and Ken helped Fa Zheng in this way, naturally because they appreciate Fa Zheng's talent and character, Fa Zheng's embarrassment was because he took into account Zhang Song's feelings, and it was enough that Zhang Song understood this.
"Oh, Xiaozhi seems to have some concerns, so why not say it out and discuss it for everyone." Zhang Song took the initiative to relieve Fa Zheng's embarrassment. Fa Zheng looked at Zhang Song gratefully, and Zhang Song grinned.
"That's right, Xiaozhi doesn't have to worry about it, even if it comes to it." Liu Bei also smiled and encouraged. He didn't think so much, but thought that Fa Zheng was new, so he still had some concerns about refuting the old minister's opinions.
Everyone looked at Fa Zheng. Fa Zheng cleared Qing Qing's tight throat, slightly suppressed his nervous mood, and slowly said: "Then let me just say that what Lord Zhuge and Lord Zhang said makes sense, but my subordinates have two concerns. One is that if our army is stuck with Zhang Liang and cannot go down in one go, then will Sima Fang go south to take advantage of the situation and take Hanzhong away? If this situation really occurs, can our army have a way to deal with it?"
"this..."
Zhuge Jin looked at Fa Zheng in surprise. Since Fa Zheng joined Liu Bei's aide, he didn't say much and did not show the ability to match Zhang Song's solemn recommendation. However, today's question that pointed to the core made Zhuge Jin understand a little. Zhang Song's recommendation really makes sense.
Now is not the time to sigh at this. Zhuge Jin has no way to answer the question of Fa Zheng. If you think about it carefully, this situation is indeed very likely to occur. Once this situation occurs, Liu Bei's army has almost no effective way to prevent Sima Fang from going south.
Moreover, Fa Zheng had no other question. Is there so many loopholes in his thoughts? Zhuge Jin couldn't help but sigh in his heart and glanced at Pang Yuan subconsciously. Pang Yuan was shaking his brand new white feather fan that never left his hands and smiling, and seemed to have no intention of expressing his opinion.
Zhang Song also frowned, and he couldn't think of any way to solve this problem.
Liu Bei frowned and said, "So, what about the second concern?"
"The second concern is that my subordinates heard that Zhang Liang was advancing towards Wudu, and the front army had advanced to the vicinity of Wudu City. If our army attacked at this time, they might not be able to win a complete victory. Instead, they would drive the Yellow Turban into Wudu. Wudu is different from Hanzhong. The Wudu Mountain is dangerous. If so, our army will fall into a protracted war in the direction of Wudu in Hanzhong. Will this affect our army's current situation and how should we deal with this situation?"
This problem is the same as the previous one, and it is also an unsolvable problem. If Zhang Liang really enters Wudu, this kind of development is almost certain, then Hanzhong will fall into a long-term state of war, and Sima Fang will even support Zhang Liang to go south to harass Liu Bei. This situation is indeed a troublesome.
If these two situations occur at the same time, it will be even more troublesome. At that time, Sima Fang may use Hanzhong as a bridgehead and vigorously support the Yellow Turbans to go south to Wenchuan, Yinping, and even harass Chengdu.
In other words, if you can't win quickly when attacking Hanzhong, you will have a big trouble. This ending is obviously not what Liu Bei wants, and of course it will not be the original intention of Zhuge Jin and Zhang Song.
"Since Xiaozhi can see these two unfavorable situations, is there a solution?" Zhang Song asked with his eyes turned.
Fa Zheng showed a hint of embarrassment on his face and said with some shame: "The subordinates cannot answer these two concerns, or maybe this is just the subordinates' concerns."
"No, it's not too much. Both situations are very likely to happen. If they happen at the same time, it would be even worse." Zhuge Jin sighed and shook his head.
Liu Bei frowned tightly. He said that Hanzhong could not get it, Jingzhou could not work, Hanzhong could not work, can he really be trapped in Shuzhong to open up land and farm? Is he the only life to open up land?
Liu Bei glanced at everyone and suddenly saw Pang Yuan shaking the fan with a smile, and suddenly he seemed to have grabbed the last straw: "Fuqing, can you think of it?"
"Uh... If you ask how to solve Kojima's two concerns, then there is no good idea for subordinates, but..."
"But what?"
"However, sir, you can not choose to attack Hanzhong. If Sima Fang attacks first, we can't take advantage of it!"
"This... if Sima Fang wanted to attack Hanzhong, it would not be better when the Yellow Turbans had not yet established a foothold. Why wait until now?" Liu Bei shook his head and said.
"Haha, then I can only give up attacking Hanzhong for the time being, at least it is not the time yet."
Liu Bei shook his head and sighed, "Although this Shuzhong is good, it is like a big cage. Although the surrounding mountains block foreign enemies, they also limit our path to expanding our living space outward."
Liu Bei's words made everyone feel helpless. This statement does summarize the advantages and disadvantages of Shuzhong in one sentence. It is indeed not easy to leave Shuzhong.
Seeing that everyone was speechless, Pang Yuan shook his fan and said slowly: "What the adults said is very much, but it is just that the difficulty of development is increased. As long as we are fully prepared, it is not impossible to expand the space. Why should we do this? Moreover, for now, our army is not unable to make any difference!"
Liu Bei's eyes lit up and he looked at Pang Yuan and said, "What suggestions do you have for Fuqing?"
"Simple, it's not going east or north, we can go south! The southern part of Yizhou is vast, not only with arable land but also with a large number of barbarians, but they are all populations! If we take over the southern part of Yizhou, our army will not only gain a strategic rear, but also increase a lot of population and productivity. More importantly, the cost of taking over the southern part of Yizhou is low."
Zhang Song frowned: "The cost is low? The mountains and rivers in southern Yizhou are dangerous, and miasma are everywhere. Barbarians are rampant. How easy is it to take over the southern Yizhou?"
"Haha, it's really not difficult. It's enough for a general who can be both military and political."
Pang Yuan said confidently.
Chapter completed!