In early June of the ninth year of Jian'an, Liu Bei reorganized his troops, and about 20,000 elite soldiers, with thousands of carriages and carriages, marched south in a mighty manner.
He was known for his virtuous administration in the Wancheng area north of Nanyang. Not only did he pay very low taxes, but he also visited various counties frequently to help people survive and solve many people's life difficulties. His prestige among the people was extremely high.
Hearing that Liu Bei was leaving, the people of Wancheng wanted to stay, but Liu Bei had no choice but to decline the kindness of the people of Wancheng. Amid countless people sending him off, he left Wancheng with a large force and headed towards Xinye. And go.
A few days later, the army arrived in Xinye. Liu Bei visited Xinye County Magistrate Deng Mao and met Shen Chen at the Xinye County Government Office.
"Little sir."
In the courtyard of the county government office, Liu Bei was surprised and happy to see Shen Chen again, who was already taller than him.
In the past two years, he has always adhered to what Shen Chen told him and tried to keep a low profile. Although he secretly made friends with Jingzhou heroes, such as Yi Ji, Li Yan, Han Ran and others, he never took the initiative to make friends with Jingzhou celebrities. , not to be suspected by Liu Biao.
At this moment, Shen Chen was already waiting in the hall. Liu Bei was naturally overjoyed to see Shen Chen. Shen Chen held up his hands with a smile and said, "General Zuo, brother Yuan Zhi."
When Liu Bei came to visit Deng Mao, he did not bring anyone else with him, but only Xu Shu.
Xu Shu and Shen Chen looked at each other and both smiled.
During the Battle of Cangting, Liu Bei invaded Yingchuan, and Xu Shu took his mother, family and friends south to join Liu Bei. Now that his long-cherished wish has come true, he was very happy. He greeted Shen Chen with a smile: "Ah Chen."
The three of them sat down.
Liu Bei looked Shen Chen up and down and said, "I haven't seen you for two years. He seems to have changed his appearance again. He is much stronger and taller than me."
Shen Chen smiled and said: "Thanks to General Hongfu, I have been able to live a normal life in the past two years. I have practiced martial arts diligently every day and I have indeed made some progress."
"That's good, that's good."
Liu Bei sighed, and then said: "The King of Chu asked me to attack Liu Zhang for him. Taking into account the friendship between my fellow clansmen, I couldn't bear to attack him. What do you think, young gentleman?"
Shen Chen said: "It is human nature to take into account the friendship between the same clan, but in order to revive the great cause of the Han Dynasty, the general still needs to make choices. What's more, Liu Yan and Liu Zhang had evil intentions in their early years and built thousands of chariots. , there is a theory similar to that of Zixia who doubted the saint in Xihe. Such a rebel, why should he care about friendship?"
"Forehead"
Liu Bei thought for a while and said: "Liu Zhang is guarding the natural dangers of Bashu. I'm afraid it will be difficult to defeat him."
Shen Chen said with a smile: "It doesn't matter, I'm not sure about attacking Bashu, but there is no problem in annihilating Liu Zhang's enemies. I have already written to the King of Chu, asking him to give gold and silk to the Wuxi barbarians, and also grant them official positions to open the way for them. , General, please feel free to go to Wuling, I will accompany you then."
"That's good."
Liu Bei nodded. Although he had never been to Yizhou, he was in Jingzhou after all. Occasionally, when he went south to Nanjun to visit Liu Biao, he would walk around and go to Wu County, Zigui, Yiling and other places to see the natural dangers of the Yangtze River.
To a certain extent, the waterway upstream along the Yangtze River is considered an easier path, but even so, it is still very dangerous.
Along the way there are countless mountains and cliffs. It is said that the Baidi City of Yufu after passing Wu County is the most dangerous place in the world. The entire city guards the river, and it is said that one man can guard the gate and ten thousand people cannot open it.
Therefore, Liu Bei was also full of worries about his attack on Yizhou.
After pondering for a moment, Liu Bei said again: "Back then, Mr. Xiao made a plan for me in Kunyang. Now the best plan has come true. Yuan Shao and Cao Cao are fighting in the north, and both tigers will be defeated. We can wait and see the situation in the world based on Nanyang, and then attack Yuzhou to seize it. Jiye, but now that we are going to attack Liu Zhang, is it possible that we should turn to another strategy and take Yizhou?"
Shen Chen smiled and said: "No, General, have you forgotten that I also said that if we advance, we can attack Yuzhou, and if we retreat, we can look to Jingzhou?"
"Jingzhou?"
Liu Bei hesitated and said: "King of Chu?"
Shen Chen shook his head and said: "I think the King of Chu has the intention to proclaim himself emperor. Once we defeat the army sent by Liu Zhang, he has defeated the Jiangdong soldiers and Yizhou soldiers and horses one after another, and is so powerful that he will definitely conquer the south. Could it be that General Do you want to serve the new emperor?"
Liu Bei said angrily: "Of course not. I am determined to serve the court. How can I associate with rebellious ministers and traitors?"
"It's natural."
Shen Chen then pointed Jiangshan Road: "Then the general can wait for the time to move. Just like after Yuan Shu became emperor, everyone rebelled and deserted. When the general raised his arms and shouted, countless people gathered in Jingzhou, then great things can be accomplished."
When Shen Chen was fighting against Kun-Yang, he also said that the best strategic goal was to keep Yuan Shao and Cao Cao in the north at a stalemate and delay Cao Cao's efforts to unify the north.
The only last option is to occupy Jingnan first, wait for the situation to change, and then find a way to seize Yizhou as the foundation and divide the world into three parts.
Now that their best strategy has been achieved, they will naturally start a new plan.
Cao Cao has moved to Yanzhou, and it is no longer realistic to imagine that he can attack outside Nanyang like before. Therefore, after the attack is temporarily out of the question, we must consider the issue of retreat or defense.
It just so happens that the victory in the north has not yet been decided, and Liu Biao's ambitions are already high. So before Cao Cao unifies the north, it is the best choice to conquer the south first.
Yes.
Shen Chen actually knew that Cao Cao would definitely unify the north in the end.
The reason for this judgment is based on the fact that Yuan Shao died early in history. The ups and downs in life are the most hurtful to people's minds. Once some people with weak hearts are too happy or too sad, they are likely to grow old overnight or even die within a few days.
Although the outcome of the Battle of Guandu was not as tragic as in history, it was not much different. Only 20,000 of the more than 100,000 troops returned to Jizhou, which must have dealt a huge blow to Yuan Shao.
Therefore, Shen Chen felt that even if he could hold on for two more years, it would probably not last long. In the end, Cao Cao would still unify the north, but the pace of unification would inevitably be much slower.
And this time gained is their best chance to gain the entire South.
Especially now that Liu Biao is getting stronger and stronger, his ambition to become emperor is also gradually expanding. Once he becomes emperor, Liu Bei will have an excuse to attack him.
This is what Yuan Shu is like.
Immediately after proclaiming the emperor, everyone rebelled against their relatives. Sun Ce took this opportunity to seize Jiangdong and laid the foundation of Soochow.
Therefore, Shen Chen's new strategy is to let Liu Bei follow Sun Ce's example. Once the time comes and Liu Biao proclaims himself emperor, he will raise a banner of resistance and take Jingzhou into his hands.
If it was to seize the inheritance of the same clan, Liu Bei would naturally not bear it.
But if Liu Biao proclaims himself emperor, then all morality and justice will be lost, and he will become a rebellious minister and traitor who will be punished by everyone.
Therefore, after hearing Shen Chen's words, Liu Bei nodded slightly and said, "Well, what the young gentleman said is true. If it is true, as the young gentleman said, that the King of Chu risked the disgrace of the world and proclaimed himself emperor, I will go to the emperor and raise an army to attack him. "
Shen Chen added: "Before this, the general should be based in Jingnan and ask the King of Chu for a large amount of supplies, property, food, weapons, and armor to win over the southern barbarians and strengthen himself. Otherwise, with the troops and horses that the King of Chu has now , it is extremely difficult to capture Xiangyang."
"I see."
Liu Bei stroked his beard and said, "I will go to Xiangyang tomorrow to meet the King of Chu and ask for supplies."
He will also do this himself.
After all, working for you shouldn’t be in vain. I can provide help, but you also have to pay for food and grass. This is a matter of course.
Shen Chen continued: "The King of Chu has now recruited me, and I will definitely go with the general. After the general arrives in Xiangyang, he can stay for a while, and I will go to Wuling to explore the terrain, understand the local barbarians, and then talk to the general Calculate."
"The land of the Southern Barbarians has always had strong folk customs, but those barbarians are not yet civilized and do not know the rules of etiquette."
Liu Bei said worriedly: "The young gentleman is going alone for fear of danger."
Shen Chen smiled and said: "That's not possible. Didn't the King of Chu send people to send gold and silk to make friends with the barbarians? When the time comes, I will ask the King of Chu for a batch of property and offer inducements. I think everything will be fine."
"How about I let Zilong Ziyi follow Mr. Xiao?"
Liu Bei expressed his opinion.
Shen Chen thought for a while, then nodded and said, "That's fine."
The two discussed some details and chatted for a long time before finally saying goodbye reluctantly.
When Xu Shu was sending Liu Bei off, Xu Shu suddenly turned to Shen Chen and said, "Ah Chen, I heard that Young Master Liu Qi invited Jiangxia County Magistrate to help Huangzu Liu Pan transport grain and grass. Do you know about this?"
"I asked him to go."
Shen Chen said with a smile.
Xu Shu frowned and said: "The king of Chu has always liked the young master Cong but not the young master Qi. The Jingzhou family also supports the second young master more. Wouldn't it be wrong after the eldest young master leaves?"
This is actually a bad thing for them.
Because even if Liu Biao dies in the future and Liu Cong, who is supported by the Jingzhou family, comes to power, he still has to make enemies of so many Jingzhou families if he wants to seize Jingzhou. At that time, the family was powerful, and now Cai Mao, Kuai Yue and others have control of the army. Then the plan can be It would be difficult to implement.
Shen Chen smiled and said: "I advised the King of Chu to make Young Master Qi his heir, and I have reminded him about Mrs. Cai. I think if he checks the people in the house, he will be suspicious. With Zhao Gao and Li Si in front, the King of Chu will not let Cai Mao go. Kuai Yue and others are acting recklessly."
"Since you have advised the King of Chu to make Prince Qi your heir, why did you let him go to Jiangxia?"
Xu Shu was a little puzzled.
Shen Chen muttered: "Brother Yuan Zhi didn't know the current situation of Young Master Qi. Madam Cai, Cai Mao, Kuai Yue and others might have the intention to harm him, so they advised him to go to Jiangxia to avoid trouble. Once things change in the future, the King of Chu will make him the leader. Hey, that will naturally intensify the internal strife between the Jingzhou aristocratic families."
"oh?"
Xu Shu suddenly felt enlightened, looked at Shen Chen up and down, laughed loudly and said: "Ah Chen, I used to think that your strategies were all upright and upright, but they were all conspiracy. Why didn't you expect that you turned out to be full of bad ideas?"
Shen Chen also smiled and said: "It's not that I don't know how to use strange things, but most of the time I am upright and use strange things to avoid danger, so I don't want to do it. This is also the difference between me and Cao Cao. It's just that sometimes, I use strange things occasionally. A strange conspiracy is not a bad thing."
"Hahahahaha."
Xu Shu smiled and said: "You have the same virtue as Kong Ming, okay, let's go first."
Liu Bei looked at the two of them with some confusion.
He only understood that it would intensify the internal strife between the Jingzhou aristocratic families. He had no idea how or why it would intensify.
But now is not the time to inquire about this. Liu Bei cupped his hands to Shen Chen and said, "Little sir, take your leave."
"General, take care!"
Shen Chen also returned the favor.
The two of them left the yamen, got on their mounts at the yamen gate, and headed towards the direction where the army was stationed outside the city.
Vaguely, it seemed that Liu Bei was curiously asking Xu Shu something.
For example, why the Jingzhou aristocratic family is experiencing internal strife.
And who is Kong Ming mentioned before?
And watching them leave, Shen Chen returned to the county government office.