Seeing this, Ma Le knew that Liu Qi was too busy to spare any time, so he said helplessly, "Since this is the case, I can only wish the general to crush the rebellion as soon as possible, stabilize Xichuan, and then discuss the matter of Guanzhong."
Liu Qi advised: "The Cao thief has many tricks. He is not moving his troops because he is waiting for the Xiliang army to become lazy and cause chaos. If it is difficult to break through the Wei River, I would like to advise General Ma to act according to the situation. A gentleman's revenge is never too late. If you see that things are hopeless, you should temporarily retreat to Longxi."
Ma Le sneered, "Sima Yi has killed so many of my Xiliang men. Everyone in the army hates him. We are determined to avenge General Ma. We will not stop until we defeat Cao Cao."
Liu Qi sighed in his heart. He tried to persuade Ma Le with kind words, but Ma Le obviously did not take it to heart. What's more, Ma Chao was young and hot-tempered and eager for revenge
Most people are wise after the event. They are self-righteous beforehand and regret it afterwards. Only after they get hurt will they lick their wounds and remember the bloody lesson.
This time, when Cao Cao fought against Ma Chao in the upper reaches of the Wei River, he had already secured Chang'an and felt at ease, and was not in a hurry to advance. Although Xu Chu fought against Ma Chao, there was no such tragic defeat as cutting off his beard and abandoning his robe.
This situation is similar to Zhuge Liang's expedition to Qishan, but there is no Zhuge in Ma Chao's army, and Cao Cao is better than Sima. If this continues, the Xiliang army will collapse sooner or later.
Thinking of Cao Cao's letter to Han Sui, he had to make a plan for him: "General Ma has come from a long way, and it is inconvenient to transport food and grass. There are also many Qiang people mixed in. If it takes a long time, there will be rebellion. If Cao's enemy insists on defending the Wei River, you can divide your troops with Han Sui to attack Chang'an: attack Youfufeng on one side and Zuofengyi on the other. Divide the troops to divert Cao's army and look for an opportunity to fight."
Ma Le nodded and said, "General, you are right. When I return to Chencang, I will tell Meng Qi about your brilliant plan."
Liu Qi added: "Although I have no time to split up the army, I will order the Wuguan garrison to go out and use the strategy of confusing the enemy to contain Cao's army. When I pacify Xichuan, I will definitely help him to take revenge."
Although Ma Le felt that Liu Qi's tone was too arrogant, he also knew that he meant well, so he thanked him in person and chatted for a while about the situation in Xiliang. After the banquet, he hurried back to Chencang.
Liu Qi sent Ma Le away and sighed at the Qinling Mountains, wishing that if Han Sui was transferred away, Ma Le would be able to rise up and change his fate.
But on the other hand, if Ma Chao was defeated, according to historical trajectory, he would flee to Hanzhong. Wouldn't that mean he would have to gather the Five Tiger Generals
However, among the Five Tiger Generals, Ma Chao had the worst fate. His father, son, and brothers were killed, and his entire family was wiped out. Later, he was not valued and died in depression. He was the youngest, but died the earliest!
We can only wait until he retreats to Longxi and then act accordingly. If we can catch up with him, it will not be too late to help him.
While he was sighing, Wei Yan reported carefully: "Scouts reported that the people of Ba were instigated by Zhang Wei to rebel. It is rumored that Zhang Lu was imprisoned in Hanzhong. In order to avenge him, they have sent more troops to the passes of Micang Mountain to cut off the road to Hanzhong."
Liu Qi sneered, "This Zhang Wei, he refuses to take the road to heaven and insists on breaking into hell. It's just right for me to use him as a stepping stone to enter Shu!"
When the two men arrived at the government office, they happened to meet a group of officials including Sun Qian who had also arrived from Jingzhou. They then discussed the matter of sending troops with Xu Shu and Yan Pu.
Sun Qian said: "Zhang Wei did not listen to Zhang Lu's advice and proclaimed himself King of Hanning. Hanzhong has sufficient money and food, and the troops are intact. We should take advantage of his unstable foothold to attack him, otherwise he will be a big threat."
Liu Qi nodded and said, "Now that Hanzhong has been pacified, taking Batu Shu is the established strategy. However, I am worried that Liu Zhang will take back Jiangzhou as promised. How should Yide respond? If he does not return it, I am afraid that Zhang Song will not be able to report to Liu Zhang, and he will be caught in a dilemma and endanger his life."
Xu Shu smiled and said, "Don't worry, General. If Zhang Wei hadn't escaped, this would have been a very difficult matter. Now that we have to send troops to Bazhong, it's a good opportunity to transfer troops from Jiangzhou to the north along the Ba River. The north and south will respond to each other and capture Zhang Wei together."
Sun Qian praised: "The Ba people rebelled repeatedly, so Liu Zhang divided the land of Ba into three parts. As the saying goes, we must eradicate all evil. Since we want to capture Zhang Wei, I believe Liu Zhang will not push them too far."
Liu Qi looked at Yan Pu and said, "Baxi Governor Pang Yi has fought many times with Zhang Jun. How capable is this man?"
Yan Pu thought for a moment and slowly said four words: "Old and cunning."
Without waiting for Liu Qi to ask in detail, he continued, "This man is close to Liu Zhang, so he was appointed governor of Baxi to defend Hanzhong. However, he was arrogant and conceited, and secretly recruited people from Baxi as his followers, wanting to monopolize power and prepare for rebellion. Later, Liu Zhang suspected him, so he had to prepare generous gifts and send people to Chengdu to apologize, and then there was no trouble. Later, he fought with us, and both sides won and lost. He was more defensive than offensive. I guess he must be worried and worried that he would be abandoned after his rabbit died, so he did it on purpose."
"So that's it!" Liu Qi suddenly realized that he had finally solved the case.
No wonder Liu Zhang, who had the troops of Yizhou under his command, couldn't even deal with a small person like Zhang Lu. It was actually because of Lao Liu that he was hindered.
As a trusted and important minister, he did not fight well on the front line, but only wanted to retreat and protect himself. Isn't this a mini version of Sima Yi
He pondered and said, "So, although Pang Yi is an important official of Liu Zhang, he may not be loyal?"
Yan Pu nodded and said, "It's even possible that the two of them have already been in harmony for a long time."
Liu Qi laughed and said, "It seems that my entry into Shu will depend on this man. There is no need to wait for Liu Zhang to come and ask for Jiangzhou. I will go to him for help first."
After everyone had discussed it, Liu Qi ordered Sun Qian to go to Chengdu to meet Liu Zhang and ask Pang Yi to send troops from Baxi to attack Zhang Wei together.
He ordered the troops to set out three days later, with Shen Dan and Shen Yi transporting provisions, Chen Dao as the vanguard, and Yan Pu as the military counselor. He left Wei Yan to guard Hanzhong, and led the main army directly to Bazhong.
Liu Qi subdued Zhang Lu and took over Hanzhong. When the news reached Shu, the whole area was shocked.
Zhang Lu, who had caused headaches for Liu Zhang and his son for decades, was easily captured by Liu Qi in just two months. What kind of means was this
When Liu Zhang heard the news in Chengdu, he suddenly felt regretful and discussed with his chief clerk Huang Quan: "If I had known that Zhang Lu was so vulnerable, I should have sent troops to attack Hanzhong directly. Why did I ask Liu Qi for help?"
Huang Quan thought that if Pang Yi had been replaced earlier and someone else had been sent as the governor of Baxi, Zhang Lu would have been destroyed long ago, and there would not have been the current situation.
Pang Yi, the governor of Baxi, was a close friend of Liu Yan and risked his life to rescue Liu Yan's descendants from Chang'an. His daughter Pang was the daughter-in-law of Liu Zhang.
Pang Yi failed to capture Hanzhong after a long siege and was defeated several times by Zhang Lu. Although he managed to hold on to Baxi, the outcome was far from satisfactory.
Zhang Lu is the governor of Yizhou, but he is repeatedly bullied by the governor of Hanzhong. He has no generals under his command, and everyone in Shu is ashamed of this. Is there no one available in the vast West Sichuan
Since Zhao Wei's rebellion, Liu Zhang has been more inclined towards Pang Yi and other Dongzhou soldiers. Yizhou officials have seen that Liu Zhang is weak and incompetent, and does not know how to employ people, and gradually people's hearts have become divided. Zhang Song's making friends with Liu Qi this time may have ulterior motives.
Huang Quan had already anticipated that Yizhou would be lost. He and Wang Lei had advised Liu Zhang not to ask for help. Giving up Jiangzhou was outrageous enough, and he also wanted to help Liu Qi take Hanzhong. Wasn't this digging his own grave
But the estrangement cannot separate the relatives, and at this point, he can only do his best to plan and said, "Since Liu Qi has already taken Hanzhong, please ask Zhang Biejia to meet Zhang Fei and take back Jiangzhou in time."
"Gong Heng is right!" Liu Zhang let out a long sigh, relaxed, and said with a relieved smile: "Hanzhong has been pacified, and my biggest worry has been eliminated. Liu Bowei is worthy of being a relative of the Liu family. I should reward him with a generous gift."
Huang Quan was delighted to see that Liu Zhang was not worried, and he sighed secretly. In order to drive away a vicious dog, he invited a tiger in. How could its appetite be satisfied so easily
The vicious dog only barked twice to scare people, but the tiger wants to eat people!