The battle in Nanzheng was so smooth that even the word "devastating" is not enough to describe the speed of the Shu army's surrender. In less than a month after dispatching troops from Chencang, the Xifu soldiers captured most of the troops in Hanzhong County, which not only reached the original target
The target even has room to expand the results. In contrast, the most successful scenario originally envisioned was to take Yangping Pass in three months. This was when Duan Xuan and others met with Chen Chong in Nanzheng.
Thinking of the previous opposition scenes, everyone felt ashamed, and then praised Chen Chong Shenwu.
Chen Chong was also quite amused and thought happily in his heart: After decades of fighting, this is the first time he has fought so smoothly. This shows that sometimes war requires not only detailed preparations on his own, but also the cooperation of the enemy's idiots.
Yes.
However, even though he was disdainful in his heart, on the surface Chen Chong did not miss a point and still treated Zhang Lu favorably. On the night when Zhang Lu ordered Nan Zheng to be dismissed, Chen Chong personally untied Zhang Lu's restraints and treated Zhang Lu with the courtesy of a prince.
He promised him: "When I return to Beijing, I will ask the emperor to grant him a thousand households." During the meal the next day, Chen Chong said to Zhang Lu again: "Since Gongqi is familiar with the customs of Shu, and I am new here.
, things are difficult to resolve, you might as well stay by my side and give me more advice."
Zhang Lu was flattered, thanked him repeatedly, and then said with emotion: "When the Prime Minister came, I was praying to Yuanshi Tianzun, hoping that I would be prosperous. Who expected that the Prime Minister's troops would arrive at the beginning of the worship, and I was lucky enough to have an interview with the Prime Minister. It can be seen that
It is God's will that brings me to Beitou." Then he said: "I heard that the Prime Minister is quite knowledgeable in hermeneutics, but I don't know if he has studied metaphysics in depth?"
Chen Chong replied: "I am familiar with the Tao Te Ching and the Nan Hua Jing, but I really only have a partial understanding of the Three Cave Sutras of your sect." Seeing that Zhang Lu seemed about to start a long speech, he declined and said, "But
I have no obsession with immortality. If Gongqi wants to preach, he can wait until we return to Beijing and study public discourse in Taipei."
After Zhang Lu surrendered, he spread the orders of Mi Taoist Master to all the counties in Hanzhong, ordering them to offer wine and pacify the people. When the remaining defenders in Shangyong, Fangling and other places in the lower reaches heard about it, they also immediately abandoned the city and fled.
, and fled straight to Xiangyang along the Han River, but this is a story for another day.
What is now before everyone in Xifu is the question of whether to take advantage of the victory and go south. The attack on Hanzhong is progressing so quickly, giving the Han army plenty of time to make strategic choices. According to Zhang Lu's estimation, the number of enemies encountered at Yangping Pass
I'm afraid the intelligence hasn't had time to spread out to Jiangzhou, but now that the Hanzhong Army has formally surrendered to Chen Chong, I'm afraid even the Shu army at Baishui Pass doesn't know about it. If handled properly, it's not just a dream to take advantage of the situation and crush Yizhou in one fell swoop.
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Chen Chong held a military meeting with the generals in the army on this matter. He said on this matter: "Although we have captured Hanzhong, our foundation is not stable. If we continue to move south, although we may achieve a big result, the risk is not small. After all,
The Jinniu Road is full of dangers. If we cannot overcome it quickly, we will be outnumbered by the time Liu Fan brings his troops back from Jiangling. If we are frustrated, we will most likely retreat to Chencang in a single battle, and all the results gained at this moment will not be preserved." After the great victory in Nanzheng, the generals were excited and smug, and were about to follow Chen Chong to build greater achievements. However, unexpectedly, the coach poured cold water on them. This made them unprepared. They looked at each other for a while, and their restless blood was slowed down. Slowly calming down. Duan Yan supported the postponement of the offensive. He said: "Since the goal has been achieved, there is no need to rush it. Your Majesty is currently fighting a decisive battle with the Eastern Bandits in Hebei. It is really impossible to mobilize reinforcements to support us. If the war is further expanded, it will be harmful to the country. It’s not a good thing either.”
Duan Xuan was quite prestigious in the Xifu. Since he expressed his opinion, even if the other generals were dissatisfied, they were gradually eliminated. Just when everyone thought that the matter was finalized, Zhang Lu suddenly said: "About this matter. , the prime minister can ask a person for his opinion, and if he agrees to help, it will not be difficult to manage Bashu."
Chen Chong was taken aback and asked, "Who is that? Is it possible that there are still great talents in Sichuan?"
Zhang Lu replied fluently: "Why did the prime minister forget Cheng Ming? He was Pan Jun, the governor of Nanzheng appointed by Liu Fan. He was a famous scholar recruited by Liu Fan in Wuling three years ago. He was quite popular with Liu Fan. He was in the Palace of the Prince of Shu. After staying for almost a year, he succeeded Zhang Ren as the governor of Nanzheng. In addition to my Hanzhong garrison, the passes of Jinniu Road were also under his control. He knew the layout of the cities in Bashu well. If he was willing to help the prime minister, what would happen to him? Are you worried about the injustice between Bashu and Bashu?"
Chen Chong suddenly realized it, slapped his forehead and said, "I forgot about this person! Gongqi is right." But then he got angry again
He was a little worried, thinking: Liu Fan treated him so kindly, it would not be easy to get his help. But without further delay, he took people to see Pan Jun.
After Guan Guan surrendered, Pan Jun asked Duan Yan to resign and beg for his release. Since the overall situation had been decided, Duan Yan agreed to his request and returned him to Daonan Zheng's mansion. In these few days, the Western Dynasty was allowed to There were constant mobilizations in the city, so he just closed the door of his mansion tightly, and except for drinking, he did not make any sworn vows on weekdays, looking like a hermit who lived in seclusion in the city.
When Chen Chong came, his son Pan Zhu heard that it was the Prime Minister who was visiting, and he quickly led his family out to greet him, but Pan Jun was not there. Chen Chong asked him for details. Pan Zhu lowered his head and replied, "My lord, while you are reporting to the country, you are thinking deeply." Due to the kindness of my old master, I suffered from heart disease and I don’t know whether I should come to see the Prime Minister."
When Chen Chong heard this, he immediately knew that Pan Jun was willing to surrender, but because of his reputation, he wanted to make a show of his own. So he suddenly became moved and said to Pan Zhu: "I have long heard that Pan Jun has a reputation for loyalty. , now I see it, it is indeed true, but the country is in trouble, it is the time for wise men to use their talents to save the people, so I have to force Pan Jun!"
So under the leadership of Pan Zhu, Chen Chong came to Pan Jun's room. After signing up, he knocked on the door, but no one responded. He had to push the door and go in. Then he saw a middle-aged man sobbing and crying in front of the bed, facing Chen Chong. Said: "The defeated general is ashamed of the king of Shu, how can he have the face to bow to the prime minister?"
Chen Chong didn't expect him to act like this, and was extremely annoyed for a while, but he still suppressed his nausea and persuaded him nicely: "A good minister who has served the country in the Ming Dynasty must give up the country of thousands of people and become loyal to one person?" Then he cited ancient and recent ancient stories. Two examples: "Peng Zhongshuang was originally a senior official of the State of Shen. He came to Chu as prime minister and helped King Wen of Chu establish his hegemony. Cen Peng was a new general who knew the time and fortune. He was driven by his ancestors and eventually became a leader. These are all today. The good talk passed down by word of mouth, Cheng Ming should use this to encourage himself and develop a plan for the people of Kyushu." After that, he took another wet wipe and personally wiped Pan Jun's tears. At this point, Pan Jun stayed down to thank him and agreed to plan Bashu for Chen Chong. , and Chen Chong had no choice but to reciprocate the favor and promoted him to the position of Assistant National Lieutenant General in public.
And that night, Pan Jun also changed from Liu Fan's previous attitude of being a loyal minister. He quickly took out an extremely detailed geographical map of Bashu mountains and rivers from home and told Chen Chong about Liu Fan's arrangements in various counties.
After leading his army out of Jiangling, Liu Fan divided the remaining legions in Yizhou into five parts, which were deployed in Hanzhong, Langzhong, Mianzhu, Zitong, and Nanzhong. Among them, the Hanzhong part with 40,000 regiments was the largest, and now they are all gone. He was captured by the Xifu. The remaining troops totaled only 30,000. Among them, Mianzhu was the capital of the Shu Dynasty, with 10,000 people left, and Nanzhong was used to pacify the southern barbarians, with 10,000 people left. The remaining Zitong and The two divisions in Langzhong are only garrisoned by 5,000 people.
When Chen Chong heard this, he thought in his mind that the 10,000 people in Nanzhong were too far apart and out of reach. It can be said that the enemy forces that need to be dealt with at the moment are actually only 20,000 people in Langzhong, Zitong, and Mianzhu. In terms of military strength, Generally speaking, Xifu does have an absolute advantage, but this is only the situation of one place. Leaders must observe the overall situation and make more considerations.
So Chen Chong asked again: "How many people did Liu Fan take away? When is it expected that Liu Fan will get the news and when will he be able to return to help Shuzhong? Who are these four generals? In your opinion, where can I attack? ?」
Pan Jun was well prepared for this and immediately replied: "Now the king of Shu has moved eastward, and there are about 60,000 Shu people under his command. After taking Jiangling, he has gained another 50,000 Chu people. But if he wants to return to help Bashu, I am afraid he will have to keep some people." To defend Jingzhou, I estimate that I can bring up to 80,000 people back to help. But the mountains are high and the roads are far away, and the rivers are difficult to travel. If we want to reach Jiangzhou, it will take two months at the earliest."
As for the generals of each department, Pan Jun also knew them well. He pointed to the map and said: "The chief general of Zitong is Leng Bao. He has defeated many rebels. He is known as a veteran general in Shu. He is not familiar with me, but the deputy general I am from the same hometown as Gong Zhi of Youyang, and maybe he can help me. The prime minister should know the chief general in Langzhong, Zhang Liao of Yanmen. He made great achievements in the battle of entering the pass last year, so he was promoted by the king of Shu, and the deputy general It is Nanyang Li Yan. Their unit is the most elite, with about three thousand cavalry, which should not be underestimated. As for the prefecture governance of Mianzhu, Liu Jiyu is in charge, led by Liu Zichu (Liu Ba) of Haoyang and Wu Ziyuan (Wu Yi) of Chenliu Fuzuo, these two are both famous men who have been famous in the world for a long time, but they can only defend the city, but cannot fight in the field."
"As for the art of attack, Jun did not dare to compare with the prime minister. He only knew how to adapt to people's conditions. Among the three, Zhang Liao was the best.
Brave, Leng Bao is second, Liu Zhang is the last, but in fact Liu Zhang is the dominant one. But Liu Zhang has a weak nature. Although he knows benevolence and righteousness, he has no ambition and cannot control brave generals. As long as the prime minister can defeat Zhang and Leng, , the troops came to Mianzhu City, even though there was a lot of food and property in Mianzhu City, enough to support 100,000 people for a year. But as long as Liu Zhang loses courage, he will definitely put his head down and wait for the prime minister to distribute him."
This conversation can really be said to be full of information. With the help of Pan Junxiang, Chen Chong had a clear understanding of the situation in Yizhou and was quite sure of how to act. He held another military meeting the next day. held a meeting, discussed strategies with the generals, and finally decided on the direction to continue the attack. The meeting was then written into a memorial and sent to the Chang'an court.