At the end of the 20th year of Jian'an, Liu Bei met Ma Chao in Hanzhong.

Ma'er's behavior of abandoning his father has always been looked down upon by people. For example, Yang Fu said that he was "strong but unjust", Jiang Xu's mother said that he "betrayed his father and his son, killed the king and the thief", and Wang Shang said that he was "brave but not benevolent." Thinking about meaning".

Even Zhang Lu's adviser Yan Pu despised Ma Chao as a person, saying that "if he doesn't love his relatives, how can he love others", which shows his poor reputation.

However, Liu Bei did not dislike Ma Chao for his evil deed of killing his father and family in order to establish himself as king.

He has been wandering around for half his life and has already become a qualified politician. He knows that there are no eternal friends, only eternal national interests. Therefore, unless Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Shen Chen, Zhuge Liang and others are killed by the enemy, he will rarely act with enthusiasm.

After arriving in Hanzhong, Liu Bei met with Ma Chao in person, praising him for his "faith in the Northern Territory, his mighty power, and the courage of a tiger and a tiger", and appointed him General Pingxi and Commander-in-Chief of Linju.

Where is Linju?

Jingzhou.

Therefore, the so-called Du Lin Ju is naturally false.

Including General Pingxi is also empty.

Because he was not given military power.

Liu Bei currently only occupies half of Wudu County, while Xiahou Yuan occupies Hanyang County and Longxi County. He is currently attacking Han Sui in Jincheng County. The other half of Wudu County is unclaimed land. What will happen if he does not occupy it at this time? hour?

So Liu Bei sent Zhang Fei to send troops, and Ma Chao Pangde went to Wudu in person to recruit Qiang and Di people into the army.

Cao Cao had told him when he came that if Xun Yu had anything to say to him, he should remember to report it back to him without saying a single word.

Therefore, although Liu Bei had been preparing in Hanzhong for many years and hoarding a large amount of grain and grass, now he suddenly had tens of thousands more troops. The troops were eaten by horses and chewed by horses. The consumption was huge and he was forced to withdraw his troops.

Xun Yu looked around, pointing at the broken walls in various directions and murmuring to himself: "There is the White Horse Temple, there is the General's Garden, there is the Imperial Academy, there is the Lingtai, there is the Nangong, there is the Jin Dynasty." City, that’s where it is.”

Jie Cong shook his head. He was a rough man who followed Wei Gong in the war. He couldn't understand a word what the educated man was saying.

These places are close to Guanzhong, such as Anding County and Beidi County, Guyuan City in the south of Ningxia in later generations, Pingliang City and Qingyang City in Gansu Province, and Binzhou City in Shaanxi Province, which are very close to Chang'an.

Historically, Zhuge Liang had to build wood, oxen, and horses to transport grain because of too much logistical pressure, which shows that the road was difficult.

Xun Yu took off the seal on the porcelain bottle, took out the pills, and said softly: "The vines need trees to cling to and grow in order to absorb sunlight. The trees also need vines to cling to their bodies to repel insects and prevent foreign objects from attacking. But one day when the branches of the tree The trunk is very strong, and when the branches and leaves cover the whole courtyard, the tree no longer needs vines, so it blocks the sunlight for the vines, and the vines die."

Therefore, the situation is not good for Cao Cao.

However, the fact that there is no shortage of food in the rear does not mean that there is no shortage in the front line.

The army marched from Hanoi County to Luoyang, and Cao Cao sent someone to recruit Xun Yu to join the army.

At this time, Cao Cao came back.

Jie agreed without any hesitation.

Outside the city, trees block out the sky and the sun, and the trees are towering.

Today it is very different.

His eyes finally settled on the south.

certainly.

At the end of last year, Cao Cao was preparing to return to Yecheng to put down the rebellion. Unexpectedly, the Jizhou rebellion in Luoyang and the siege of Hefei were lifted, so he returned to Guanzhong, ordered Zhong Yao to take charge of Chang'an, and personally conquered Xiliang.

Xun Yu smiled miserably, put the pill in his mouth and swallowed it, then turned his head and said to Jiecong: "If you don't understand, just don't understand. You can tell Duke Cao these words, and he will naturally understand."

Except for the transportation of grain from Yecheng through the Taihang Mountains, and the transportation of grain from Guanzhong to Tianshui through the Longshan Mountains, almost all other places are plain areas with flat roads, and the speed and scale of grain transportation are much faster than Liu Bei's.

In April of the 21st year of Jian'an, Duke Cao Cao of Wei set out from Yecheng again, preparing to go to Guanzhong to confront Liu Bei on the front line.

In the Han Dynasty, a family was often divided into households, with a small household consisting of about four to five people.

For example, Cao Cao moved the Xiongnu tribe to the south, with a total of more than 30,000 tribes, with a population of nearly 200,000. He moved more than 10,000 tribes of Wuhuan tribes, with a population of 200,000. Later, tens of thousands of Qiang, Di, Si, and Ba tribes, with hundreds of thousands of people, respectively

Placed in Luoyang, Guanzhong, Hedong and other places.

Lu Bu had already suffered a setback once, and Ma Chao's behavior was even worse than Lu Bu's. At most, Lu Bu killed his adoptive father, while Ma Chao harmed his own father and brothers. He did not dare to entrust Ma Chao with such a heavy responsibility.

It's just that although the Longguan Road is good, it has to make a big circle and bypass Longshan before entering Liangzhou.

His cloudy eyes seemed to be full of nostalgia and reluctance for the once vast imperial capital.

As soon as he withdrew, Cao Cao breathed a sigh of relief and gathered his troops to defend Tianshui and Ji County, and stopped sending troops to attack Han Sui.

It's not that Liu Bei is stingy, but that he knows that Ma Chao even wants to abandon his father and family in order to establish himself as king. This shows his ambition.

Jie Cong below just watched quietly.

And the journey is also very long. The straight-line distance from Chengdu to Tianshui is more than 500 kilometers. Then take the Jinniu Road north to Qishan Road, which is more than 700 to 800 kilometers in a winding way, which translates to nearly 2,000 miles in Hanli.

It can be said that when transporting grain from Chengdu in the rear to the front line, more than 80% of the road transporting grain is through steep mountains and forests.

But this time he no longer chose to take the route from Fukouxing to Hedong in Guanzhong via Shangdang County. Instead, he took a long detour and took the route from Luoyang to Jingzhaoyin via the Qinling Mountains.

More than twenty years ago, Dong Zhuo took the emperor hostage and fled to Chang'an in the face of the offensive of the Guandong princes. Not only did he take away countless people, but before leaving, he also set off a fire and burned this prosperous city to the ground.

As for Liu Bei's army, his main force is 30,000, and the Qiang and Di are 50,000 or 60,000, for a total of 89,000. Cao's army has more troops than Liu Bei's.

This west county is located in the northwest of Longnan City, Gansu Province in later generations. Its other name is the famous Lucheng. When Zhuge Liang left Qishan for the second time, he was cutting wheat in Shanggui. Sima Yi chased Liang to the outside of Lucheng and dug a camp to defend himself.

The sarcastic phrase "fear Shu as much as you fear tiger".

The last time he took this route back to Guandong was because Huainan was in an emergency at that time. He was afraid that reinforcements from Yecheng would not be able to go to Huainan due to the rebellion in Hejian, so he chose to support himself. This way, it would be faster to get to Huainan through Luoyang.

At the end of January, Cao Cao ordered Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Yu Jin, Xu Huang, Zhang He, Zhong Yao, Sima Yi, Liu Ye and others to guard Guanzhong, mainly to defend against Liu Bei, and after relocating the population, he returned to Guandong.

There is only a little bit of the afterglow of the West left in the world.

After that, you can take Lianyun Road to the east of Hechi and enter Baoxie Road into Hanzhong, or you can continue to take Chencang Road from the south of Hechi to Lueyang and arrive in front of Yangpingguan in Hanzhong.

The Chengdu Plain is thousands of miles of fertile fields. Over the years, Zhuge Liang ruled Shu, digging canals, building dams, farming diligently, and even promoting cash crops such as mulberry and hemp. As a result, the people of Bashu were prosperous and the people had enough food and clothing.

Immediately afterwards, dusk crows and flying birds hung back and landed in the forest. As the birds chirped, the sky and earth gradually became dark.

Therefore, in history, when Zhuge Liang went out for the third Northern Expedition, in order to change this defensive passivity, he sent troops to occupy this place, which greatly improved the defense situation in Hanzhong. Not only did he regain control of Chencang Road, he could also send troops from Wudu County

, counterattacked Xiliang and prepared for the fourth Northern Expedition.

However, there are high mountains and dense forests on both sides of the road, and there are cliffs along the Longshan Mountain. The upper reaches of the Wei River are turbulent, and the river is narrow and difficult to navigate. Therefore, only small groups of troops can be sent, not large-scale marches.

However, Cao Cao also expected this. He knew that Wudu was too far away and Wei soldiers had no time to rescue him, so he had already moved more than 50,000 Qiang Han from Wudu, leaving only an empty county. Even if Zhuge Liang occupied this place,

It can only change the national defense situation, but cannot supplement the population.

Whether transporting grain from Chengdu, Jiangzhou or Jingzhou to the Hanzhong front line, they have to pass through the Qinling Mountains, Wushan Mountain, and Bashan Mountain. There are high mountains along the way, and the road is extremely difficult.

Xun Yu seemed to have some premonition, so he turned his head and said to him: "Let it go."

Although Liu Bei can also retreat from Lianyun Road in the middle of Chencang Road to Baoxie Road, this will undoubtedly be strategically passive. His defense will be to defend Lianyung Road, Baoxie Road and Yangping to the west of Hanzhong.

In the three places of Guan, the troops are severely dispersed, and without the Chencang Road exit, they will be in a passive position to be beaten.

But amidst this withering, there are other creatures that quietly and tenaciously begin to grow.

Jiecong saw that he had swallowed the pills and that his task was completed, so he asked his soldiers to help move a ladder, and half supported and half held Xun Yu up to the roof.

Liu Bei sent troops from Hanzhong, leading Zhang Fei's 10,000 elite cavalry. He also ordered Li Hei, the leader of the tribe, and Wang Gui, the generals, to lead 10,000 tribesmen. He himself took Ma Chao Pangde and led 10,000 elite cavalry, totaling 30,000 troops.

The capital and counties gathered dozens of Qiang and Di tribesmen along the way, and gained fifty to sixty thousand troops. Nearly one hundred thousand troops rushed to Xi County.

Sun Quan sent a letter to celebrate.

Xun Yu opened it and saw that there was nothing inside except a small porcelain vase.

"good."

For example, in history, Liu Bei only gave Ma Chao a high position and did not dare to reuse him. This is the reason.

"Can't understand."

Liu Bei was full of praise for Ma Chao's boasting, but apart from giving him a high position, he would not give him anything practical.

Then take the Qishan Road from Hanzhong to the front line of Wudu where Liu Bei is located, and pass through Longshan, Qishan, and Qinling, which are also large mountain ranges.

That is the direction of Nanyang.

you are right.

In Xun Yu's residence in Luoyang City, one of Cao Cao's personal guards, the Tiger Guard Jun Jie Cong, led a group of guards in.

In fact, Liu Bei now occupies half of Wudu County, because Chencang Road at that time was within Wudu, connecting Chencang to the north and Hechi to the south, which later became Hui County in Longnan City, Gansu Province.

Jie Cong asked.

In this way, grain and grass do not need to be transported long distances from Kanto.

Huweijie strode in, holding a lunch box in his hand, and said in a loud voice: "Xun Yu, Duke Wei ordered me to give you a lunch box."

Therefore, since the Qin, Han and Tang Dynasties, the best road to enter Liangzhou from Guanzhong is Longguan Road with wide roads and flat roads. The second is Xiaoguan Road, and the third is Chencang Narrow Road.

The Qiang, Wuhuan, Xianbei, Barbarians, Yi, Yue and other ethnic minorities use tribes as units, which is different from Han people's households. The population of a tribe is often more than five people, and sometimes it can reach more than ten people.

According to Cao Cao's idea, the Han people were moved to Guanzhong for farming, and the Hu people were moved to Guanzhong for grazing. They were concentrated on the two large plains of Zuofengyi and Hedong to the north and northeast of Chang'an, which were used as sources of grain, grass and horses.

Soon, Xun Yu began to feel pain in his abdomen, his consciousness gradually blurred, and blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. He just sat on the roof, raising his head and looking up at the sky.

Liu Bei did not lack food, but what he lacked was how to effectively transport food and grass to the front line.

Therefore, they can only be given high positions but not real power.
To be continued...