After returning from the Hetao, Wang Ding returned to his previous days, working on the line at two o'clock every day. Either at the mansion or in the military camp.
Occasionally, he would go to the palace to meet Liu Xie. Liu Xie would not dare to look at Wang Ding every time.
Obviously Liu Xie was very obedient, but I don’t know why Dong Zhuo always forced him.
Perhaps Liu Xie's young mind had been defeated by Dong Zhuo before.
Regardless of how Liu Xie's life in the palace was before, during the few years under Dong Zhuo's control, he lived on tenterhooks day and night. Every night, he would be frightened awake by the slightest movement.
Or perhaps, the death of his brother Liu Bian greatly stimulated him, and he understood that the emperor would also be killed by his ministers.
Wang Ding summoned Jia Xu and others to the mansion to discuss matters.
Except for Xu Rong and Zhang Ji who were not in Chang'an, everyone else came.
After everyone came together, Wang Ding said: "Several of you, what do you think of the current general trend of the world?"
Fan Chou and Duan Xuan didn't speak, but Li Su said: "In the past, after the eighteen princes allied themselves to attack the Dong thief, the world was already falling apart. Now the princes no longer have an emperor in their eyes, and they are just fighting for power and profit for themselves."
Li Su saw Wang Ding nodding, so he continued: "Yuan Shao fled Luoyang before. In order to appease the Yuan family, Dong thief gave him a Bohai governor, but now he takes charge of Jizhou Mu.
He also sent troops to attack Qingzhou and made his son Yuan Tan the governor of Qingzhou. Such behavior clearly showed his ambition to compete in the Central Plains."
Li Su can be a lobbyist, but he still has some insights.
Perhaps Liu Xie, who was deep in the palace, would still regard those princes as his life-saving straw.
As everyone knows, those people now have ulterior motives and want to replace him and become the new emperor.
After Li Su finished speaking, Wang Ding looked at Sima Lang and said, "Boda, what do you think?"
Sima Lang said: "What General Li said is true. Today, in the Spring and Autumn Period, various princes competed in the Central Plains. Now there is Yuan Shao in the north of the Yuan family, dominating the two states of Hebei and Qing Dynasties, and Yuan Shu in the south, entrenching Nanyang.
Jurisdiction and control of Yuyang, which can be said to be half of the world, has fallen into the hands of the Yuan family."
Sima Lang saw it more clearly than Li Su. Although he had only joined Wang Ding's side not long ago, his family had been hiding from the war in Liyang, and he was studying the general trend of the world every day.
Only then did he discover something worthy of investment, and Sima Lang immediately took the initiative to come to the door.
Although it seems that the Yuan family now occupies half of the world, Sima Lang is not optimistic about the Yuan family.
This is because Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao are at odds, and Yuan Shu is arrogant and arrogant, while Yuan Shao is headstrong.
It is evident that an alliance was formed to defeat the Dong thief, but the result was an anticlimactic one.
The Sima family was originally most optimistic about Cao Cao, who now occupies Yanzhou.
But starting last year, after Dong Zhuo was killed, the Sima family's attention also focused on Wang Ding.
In comparison, Sima Lang chose Wang Ding.
Sima had a large family, so he chose Wang Ding. After a few years, his second brother would grow up and join Cao Cao.
A flowing dynasty, a thousand-year-old family.
Wang Dingdao: "Now that we have captured the Loop, what's the next step?"
In this sentence, Wang Ding is asking about Jia Xu.
Jia Xu said: "There are natural dangers in Guanzhong, which are easy to defend but difficult to attack. Now my lord can advance, attack, retreat or defend. He can wait for the feudal lords in Guandong to join forces and wait for the opportunity to move and reap the benefits."
After a pause, Jia Xu said: "Liu Yan of Yizhou ordered Zhang Lu to occupy Hanzhong. He must be on guard. My lord can take advantage of this opportunity to capture Hanzhong first."
Wang Ding nodded and captured Hanzhong. It would also be easier to capture Yizhou in the future.
Although there are Qinling Mountains between Hanzhong and Chang'an, there are still several small roads in the middle that are feasible.
Wang Dingdao: "Hanzhong is now controlled by Zhang Lu and the roads are blocked. I'm worried that it won't be so easy to win."
The territory of Hanzhong is not big, but it is separated by the Qinling Mountains. Zhang Lu has burned down the plank road between Guanzhong and Hanzhong. If Wang Ding wants to raise his troops to attack, the nearest road, starting from Chencang Road and passing through Sanguan, has to go around a long circle, and the road is dangerous
, very difficult to walk.
The main thing is that in Wang Ding's memory, it seems that Cao Cao attacked Hanzhong, but in the end he had no choice but to withdraw his troops, leaving behind a useless story and beheading the clever Yang Xiu.
Now that he is about to attack Hanzhong, Wang Ding really has no confidence that he can win it in one fell swoop.
Jia Xu said: "Hanzhong leads to Jingxiang on the left, Qinlong on the right, Guanzhong in the north, and Bashu in the south. It is a battleground for military strategists."
Hanzhong is easy to defend but difficult to attack, but in Jia Xu's view, even if there is a natural moat in front of him, at this moment, he should work hard to capture it instead of letting Zhang Lu occupy Hanzhong.
Now Zhang Lucai has just taken control of Hanzhong, and people's hearts are unstable. It is a good time to take Hanzhong.
If we wait a few years and Cao Cao, Lu Bu and others are eyeing the Eastern Revolution, we may not have the energy to take care of Hanzhong by then.
Wang Ding also knew the status of Hanzhong, otherwise Liu Bei and Cao Cao would not have suffered a bloody blow. Even Cao Cao's general Xia Houyuan died in that war.
Wang Dingdao: "If we send troops to Hanzhong, when is the best time?"
Jia Xu said: "Hanzhong is mostly mountainous and it is difficult for cavalry to move. Gao Shun can be sent as the vanguard. The army led by the lord can wait until after the autumn harvest."
Since Jia Xu said that now is the best time to attack Hanzhong, Wang Ding no longer hesitated and said: "Just let them see the power of being trapped."
Wang Ding is very confident about the trapped camp trained by Gao Shun.
Jia Xu said: "On the Xiegu Road connected to Hanzhong, during this period, people can also be sent to rebuild the plank road."
There doesn't seem to be anyone particularly powerful under Zhang Lu, but before that, Wang Ding still plans to send a spy to Hanzhong to investigate and collect some useful information.
Wang Ding also adopted all Jia Xu's suggestions.
There is nothing to hesitate about.
Gao Shun's trapped camp should show up again and let Zhang Lu give it a try. This knife is not very powerful.
Today we are just discussing at Wang Ding’s house, and all are people close to Wang Ding.
After making the decision, Wang Ding rarely entered the palace the next day.
Hanzhong is the territory of the Han Dynasty, and Wang Ding also wants to make a name for himself and win the hearts of the people.
"Your Majesty, the humble minister Wang Ding has something to report." Wang Ding, who was rarely wearing court clothes, stood in the center of the hall. Only when he raised his head did he see Liu Xie sitting on the dragon chair.
Liu Xie was stunned for a while and then said: "General Wang, what can I say?"
Wang Dingdao: "Your Majesty, I heard that there were bandits in Hanzhong. I killed the prefect Su Gu, burned the plank road, and separatized Hanzhong. I want to establish myself as king. I would like to report to your majesty and send troops to conquer the bandit Zhang Lu."
Before Liu Xie could say anything, Liu Fan, the general from the left, said: "Your Majesty, the general from the right has just returned from the expedition against the Qiang people. Now the soldiers are tired, and the autumn harvest is approaching. In addition, Hanzhong is dangerous and difficult to transport food and grass. I think it is not appropriate to mobilize troops at this time." Wang Ding looked at Liu Fan and sneered in his heart. Even if this was not the case in Yizhou, some people couldn't help but jump out.
"I think Zuo Zhonglang's words are reasonable."
"I second the proposal."
After Liu Fan's voice fell, several people agreed with Liu Fan and opposed sending troops to Hanzhong now.
Wang Ding said nothing, just looked at those people coldly.
To be honest, Wang Ding didn’t know many of the people in the court.
But now, he can remember these people.
I don’t know if they are deliberately targeting themselves, or if they really think it is not appropriate to send troops now.
But it doesn’t matter.
Wang Ding looked at Liu Xie who was sitting on the dragon chair. At this moment, Liu Xie looked expressionless, but in fact he was already flustered and uneasy inside.