Although the Pang Rou brothers brought out not many soldiers from Xiliang, they knew Hanzhong's military strength very well. In addition to the relatively complete supply of food and grass, the total number of garrison troops from various places was close to 80,000, which was almost the same as the total strength of Yizhou.
.
Conquering cities and territories is no child's play. After learning the true situation, Fa Zheng and Pang Tong no longer advised to attack Hanzhong, but instead supported Zhuge Liang's policy of steady development.
Seeing Liu Bei's noncommittal, Zhuge Liang mistakenly thought that Liu Bei was disappointed, so he comforted him with kind words: "My lord, don't be anxious. Zhang Lu will not be able to last long if he has troops and no generals. Cao Cao is currently at peace in Jingzhou and Huainan, and Xiahou Yuan has pacified Long last year."
Right, I predict that he will definitely come to capture Hanzhong this year. My lord can send some eloquent people to sneak into Hanzhong and find a way to persuade Zhang Lu to surrender when Cao Cao's thieves come, or he may be able to capture Hanzhong County without any bloodshed."
Liu Bei frowned, "If Zhang Lu doesn't want to surrender to me, what should I do?"
"Zhang Lu has no respect for the Han people. Liang thought that he would be more likely to surrender to Cao Cao's thieves. He sent people to persuade him to surrender. It was just a try. Whether he succeeds or not depends on God's will..." Zhuge Liang smiled bitterly.
"We really can't capture Hanzhong before driving away Cao Cao?" Liu Bei confirmed again.
Zhuge Liang shook his head: "To attack Hanzhong, there are only two roads, Yangping Pass and Micang Road. Zhang Lu has so many troops guarding the pass. If we want to attack Hanzhong hard, we can't win it overnight. The pressure of transporting food to the front is too great.
If we do not recruit civilians, we cannot guarantee supply. Recruiting civilians will cost Yizhou several years of reduced grain production. If we are not sure of victory, Liang does not recommend taking risks..."
"Hey, it would be great if Ziyu could farm on the front line." Liu Bei sighed.
"It's a pity that there is only one Lan Ziyu in the world. It is more important to guard Jiaozhou now. However, he is forward-looking enough and arranged for Deng Shizai to farm in Jiameng in advance. Zhong Miao (Huo Jun) said that Deng Shizai did a good job, but the farmers in the farmland
There are indeed fewer people. If my lord can move tens of thousands of people to work in the fields, he will be able to grow the grain and grass needed to attack Hanzhong in less than two years." Zhuge Liang analyzed.
"The people are nostalgic for their homeland. Yizhou is finally stable. How can we forcefully relocate the population to farm? In addition, the land in Zitong is not fertile..."
"It's good, my lord, that you understand. Nothing can be rushed."
Liu Bei shook his head, "I'm not eager to capture Hanzhong, I just hate that Cao Cao has a better location than us. If he takes the Chencang Road, he can transport grain by water, but we can only take the Jinniu Road mountain road..."
"If we take the Chencang Road, we must also attack Yangping Pass. If I use the main force to take the Chencang Road, and then use a surprise force to take the Baoxie Road, Zhang Lu's mediocre generals will definitely not be able to defend it..." Zhuge Liang said.
Liu Bei asked: "Pang Lingming fled Yangpingguan, and now Zhang Lu is heavily interrogating him. I don't think there is any need to send a rhetorician there. Once he is recognized, it will be dangerous. Why not learn Ziyu's method and bribe Yang Song?"
Zhuge Liang nodded, "This method is safe and feasible. Song Chen was just invited by Deshun (Lai Gong). Liang will go to him again to ask about Yang Song's details."
"Military advisor, please go quickly. Song Chen should return to Jiaozhou after seeing Deshun."
After Zhuge Liang had a detailed discussion with Song Chen, he immediately sent his agents north to sneak into Hanzhong. Even if he could not compete with Cao Cao in Hanzhong now, he could not let the other side take all the benefits.
In March of the 20th year of Jian'an, Wei Gong Cao Cao personally led an army of 100,000 to conquer Zhang Lu in the west. On the way out of Wudu, the troops encountered resistance from the Di people. Generals Zhang He and Zhu Ling led their troops to repel them. Later, they encountered the Di king Dou Mao in Hechi for revenge.
, Cao Cao broke through the walled city where the Di people lived in May, and all the men, women, old and children in the walled village were slaughtered.
Cao Cao used the thunderous method of slaughtering the city to frighten Xiao Xiao, a nearby foreign race. Han Sui, who was far away in Siping and in the direction of Jincheng, was frightened and his subordinates beheaded the owl's head and gave it to Cao Cao. The warlords on the border of Liangzhou disappeared and never came back.
No one dared to resist Cao Cao.
The news that Cao Cao wielded the butcher's knife reached Hanzhong. Although Zhang Lu knew that he had slaughtered many cities, he was frightened because he was so close to him. He called his brother Zhang Wei to discuss surrender with Cao Cao Yanpu.
"Cao Gong's troops are invincible, and the horses are so brave that they can't resist, so why should we use the mantis as a chariot? I want to lift Hanzhong and surrender to Wei, so that the people in the county will not be in trouble..." Zhang Lu sighed.
Lu Di Zhang Wei quickly clasped his fists: "Brother, there are still 70,000 to 80,000 elite soldiers in Hanzhong. As long as we hold on to the dangerous pass, we may not be able to retreat from the enemy. We brothers are free and happy here. Why bother to live a life of relying on others? I would rather fight now."
"Public policy must not be reckless..." Zhang Lu shook his head.
Yan Pu saw the determination in Zhang Wei's eyes, so he advised Zhang Lu: "My lord, you can follow the public rules. Surrendering easily will not be taken seriously. It is good to fight a few games to show your strength."
"Since you say so, I can't stop you. Hanzhong soldiers, horses, generals, and generals can be deployed at will by Gongzhi. I will do my best to ensure your food supply. I just don't know which way Cao Guild came from..." Zhang Lu frowned.
Yan Pu replied: "When Cao Gong is in Hechi, he must have come through Chencang Road. Then he can go to Yangping Pass to strengthen the city defense."
Zhang Wei nodded and was full of confidence. When he sent troops from Hanzhong to support Yangping Pass, he forcibly recruited thousands of people along the way. Zhang Wei planned to build a city along the Yangping Pass and across the mountains to maximize the geographical advantages of Yangping Pass.
When people in Hanzhong were panicking, another guest came to Yang Song's house, bringing news about his old friend "Song Jiang" who had disappeared for several months.
Yang Song learned from Xi Zuo that Song Jiang (Song Chen) had safely transported grain to Yizhou and made a fortune with the two thousand shi of grain. Now he bribed several Liu Bei generals and prepared to take advantage of Cao Cao to attack the people of Hanzhong.
When he had the opportunity to escape, he set up porridge shacks in Zitong and Langzhong areas as a 'relief', and told Yang Song not to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a fortune.
Yang Song naturally understood what Song Chen meant by "relief", and he had to let the people of Hanzhong flee south as much as possible. The more people who fled to Yizhou, the more money they would make.
The opportunity to achieve 'financial freedom' was presented to Yang Song, and he was greedy by nature and quickly made up his mind.
Yang Song sent his servants and troops to spread the news in all counties and villages in Hanzhong, saying that Cao Cao, who liked to massacre cities, had arrived in Hanzhong, and gave an example of Xia Houyuan's massacre of Xingguo in the 19th year of Jian'an. Unexpectedly, Cao Cao himself massacred Hechi not long ago.
The Di people of the county.
Cao Cao's reputation for liking to massacre cities has spread far and wide. Nowadays, a large part of the people in Hanzhong are refugees from Sanfu. They fled here after experiencing the rebellion of Li Jue and Guo Si in their early years and the natural disasters in Guanzhong. However, less than twenty years have passed, and these poor people have returned.
To prepare to run away, the Hanzhong area suddenly fell into panic.
Those legends about Cao Cao failed to attract the attention of Heavenly Master Zhang Lu. After all, these news were not rumors at all.
Cao Cao's army was getting closer and closer to Yangping Pass, and the fleeing people in Hanzhong were getting closer and closer to Yangping Pass and the Micang Mountain Trail. At this time, Zhang Lu was still practicing for the believers in Nanzheng, and he had no idea that there was a mess outside.
Chapter completed!