Seeing Dong He's expression of embarrassment, Liu Jing came to the rescue at the right time and introduced him to the officials in the hall.
Liu Jing's current subordinates can be said to be full of talented people, including a forest of wise men. Outside, Zhuge Liang, Pan Jun, Xu Shu, etc. have been appointed. In Wei Zhenzhou County, there are Pang Tong, Wang Can, Li Yan, etc. who have settled in and made plans; in political affairs, Liu Jing has Ba, Huanjie, Deng Zhi, Jiang Wan, etc. were famous for their work and principles. For Qingzheng, there were Lai Gong, Deng Xi, Liu Xian, Han Ji, etc., who were famous for their skills. For elegance, there were Sima Hui, Han Song, Fu Xun, and Xi. Zhen, to make the country famous...all the handsome men from all over the country gathered together, and Jingzhou's talents were at their peak, which made Dong He sigh in his heart.
Since the great chaos in the world, Yizhou has also received a large number of northern talents due to its dangerous mountains and rivers, stability and prosperity. Although the overall number is not as high as that of Jingzhou, it is not far behind.
It is a pity that Liu Zhang was cowardly, suspicious, and not a hero. Although he was a generous man, he treated all the people who came to join him as guests, but he did not know how to appoint them. As a result, it was difficult for talented people to develop their ambitions and there were many hidden dangers.
In just a short time after Liu Bei entered Shu, his strength expanded to the point that it aroused the vigilance of the monarchs and ministers of Yizhou, which is not unrelated to this.
After Liu Jing introduced the ministers, he invited Dong He to take a seat. He did not beat around the bush and asked bluntly: "Liu Yizhou sent his men to Xiangyang this time. Why?"
"Reporting to the general, we are here to discuss the big thief who is attacking the country." Dong He stood up from his seat and replied with a straight face, "There is a demon thief Zhang Lu in Shu who uses ghost ways to deceive people's hearts and is a great harm to the country. It is a great harm to the country. He was still not satisfied with stealing Hanzhong. In recent years, he has repeatedly launched swords and weapons. Koluoba, Shu, Yizhou people, and Yizhou were massacred by monsters and thieves. In the past, Zhao Wei rebelled, leaving you with no skills and no time to visit the north. Today, Yizhou is stable. , the soldiers and armor are all ready, so that you can no longer tolerate Zhang Lu harming Ba and Shu, so in the near future, you will mobilize a hundred thousand people from Yizhou to attack Hanzhong to kill Zhang Lu."
Liu Jing secretly shook his head when he heard this. Dong He didn't mention a word about Zhang Lu's rise to power. If Liu Yan hadn't given strong support at the beginning, how could Zhang Lu have captured Hanzhong? And Zhang Lu rebelled against Yizhou because Liu Zhang was good at killing. It was due to his mother and family. Unfortunately, Liu Zhang overestimated himself and underestimated Zhang Lu. He failed to defeat the tiger, but was injured by the tiger. Today, the state is in chaos. No one else is to blame. Liu Zhang is entirely to blame.
Seeing that Liu Jing didn't say a word, Dong He continued: "Zhang Lu has been entrenched in Hanzhong and fooled the people and barbarians with ghost ways for more than ten years. Now in Hanzhong, the people only know that there is a demon master named Zhang Lu, but they don't know There is a country where the emperor, generals and envoys are all members of the Han clan, and they have always had the ambition to help the world and save the people. How can they tolerate the people of the Han clan being enslaved and killed by demons and thieves?"
It was difficult for Liu Jing to answer this. Wang Can was quick in thinking and reacted very quickly. He was the first to challenge Dong He: "That's ridiculous! When the general entered Jingzhou, he thought that he and Liu Yizhou were all related by branches and leaves, and they occupied a land of thousands of miles. Now the Han Dynasty is in danger." , the country is covered in dust, Chu and Shu should work together to support the country. Liu Yizhou has no long-term plans and refuses Jingzhou’s request for an alliance. He concentrates on defending Ba and Shu. He also ignores our advice and insists on taking Liu Bei in. Liu Yizhou’s actions are of great concern to the whole world. If you don't care about the clan, how can you have the face to ask the general for help?"
Dong He couldn't help but be surprised, not to mention the benefits of taking in Liu Bei outweighed the disadvantages for Yizhou. Just talking about rejecting the alliance, Liu Jing and Jiangdong Sun Quan initially formed an alliance to fight against Liu Biao. As a result, Liu Biao died, and Liu Jing immediately aimed his butcher knife at it. Sun Quan, a former ally, and Yizhou should be thankful that they rejected Liu Jing's request for an alliance, otherwise Yizhou might be the one who suffered today.
Liu Jing broke the silence and asked: "I heard from people who came back from Shu that Liu Yizhou used Liu Bei to guard Baishui Pass to resist Zhang Lu. Will Liu Bei lead the army in the attack on Hanzhong this time?"
Liu Jing and Liu Bei had a deep hatred. Dong He was not surprised that Liu Jing asked this question, but he replied calmly: "No, this time the envoy will personally lead the army north to conquer Zhang Lu, Liu (
Bei) Yuzhou is only the front of the army."
Liu Jing sighed and said: "Liu Yizhou knows that I have enmity with Liu Bei, but he still wants to recruit me for help. Don't you think he is forcing someone to make things difficult for him?"
Dong He said: "If you want to build great things, you should not be afraid of small complaints..."
Pang Tong immediately interrupted: "These words should be addressed to Liu Yizhou. If Liu Yizhou can remember his merits and forget his mistakes, how can Zhang Lu betray him?"
Dong He ignored Pang Tong's provocation and continued to say to Liu Jing: "The general and Liu Yuzhou are both heroes of the clan. Now that the world is uncertain, the two heroes are fighting. Wouldn't it cause pain to the relatives and happiness to the enemies?"
Liu Jing said with a smile: "What you are saying is not unreasonable. In the past, our great ancestor endured the crime of betrayal by Yong Chi, and our ancestor released Zhu Tuna's revenge for killing his brother. Although I am not as good as Gao, my second ancestor, for the sake of the world, I am willing to put aside my personal hatred for the time being."
The problem is, Liu Yizhou and I are not good allies, how can we send troops to help?"
Dong He often heard that Liu Jingying was a great hero in Shu, and he always compared himself with others. Looking at it today, it is indeed the case. He shook his head and said: "This important matter of forming an alliance is not something I can decide."
"Then I would like to ask you to return to Shu as soon as possible and report back to Liu Yizhou." Liu Jing then pointedly said: "I should know that Zhang Lu's envoy is also in Xiangyang."
Dong He's expression changed slightly when he heard this. Yizhou asked Liu Jing to send troops to help him. He could just sit back and watch, but he couldn't turn to Zhang Lu.
Although Liu Jing said this, it might just be a way to force Liu Zhang, but it was enough to make everyone in Yizhou tremble with fear.
Dong He composed himself and said: "I will keep the general's words in mind, and I will report them to you truthfully when I return to Chengdu."
Dong He was full of thoughts and was eager to return home, so he bid farewell to Liu Jing soon after.
Liu Jing couldn't persuade him to stay, so he got up to see him off in person, and then summoned Zhang Lu's envoy without stopping.
Liu Jing's strategic direction is in the east and north, so Liu Zhang in the west, like Shi Xie in the south, has long been regarded by Liu Jing as a target to win over, but Liu Jing does not want to see Liu Zhang capture Hanzhong and unify Yizhou
.
The reason is very simple. Liu Zhang is really not qualified as a monarch. Before Yizhou, there were Zhang Lu and Zhao Wei who rebelled and counterattacked Bashu. Later, there were Li Yi and Pang Xi who relied on their achievements and arrogance, but there were hidden surprises. These ordinary people Liu Zhang still
If you can't control it, how can you control Liu Bei who has "the style of the great ancestor and the weapon of a hero"? With Liu Bei established in Hanzhong, Liu Jing will probably find it difficult to concentrate on dealing with Sun Quan and Cao Cao in the future.
Maintaining the status quo is in Liu Jing's best interest, so even if it is good to form an alliance with Liu Zhang this time, Liu Jing will not send troops to help.
Although Zhang Lu only had one county, Hanzhong took over the refugees from Guanzhong and Nanyang, with a population of 100,000, and tens of thousands of victorious soldiers. With the blessing of religion, the soldiers were not afraid of death and had strong fighting power.
Historically, Cao Cao chased Ma Chao, followed Han Sui, and raised 100,000 horse infantry elite troops to march south to Hanzhong. It took him nearly a year to force Zhang Lu to surrender and completely pacify Hanzhong.
I believe that without their own support, Liu Zhang and Liu Bei would never be able to capture Hanzhong in the short term.