On the city wall of Chengdu, Wang Zhaoyuan held the imperial edict in his left hand and the iron ruyi in his right hand, commanding freely and issuing various military orders. He looked up to the wind and watched with great satisfaction as a large number of reinforcements left the city one after another and headed eastward.
Inside and outside the city walls, there were many villagers watching. The news of the Zhou Dynasty army's attack on Shu had gradually spread in Chengdu. The people were also very concerned about the victory or defeat of the Shu army. They all rushed to the streets to inquire about the Shu monarch and most of the imperial guards. They were not from Sichuan. They migrated from the north to the south during the Later Tang Dynasty. However, they had been in Shu for decades, and the Sichuanese had become accustomed to their rule.
The Shu regime was not particularly benevolent, and also exploited the people, doing some things that made people complain, such as requisitioning the people's iron tools to mint coins when copper coins were insufficient, collecting a large number of civilian women to serve as concubines, etc. However, overall they did not do too much, and the most important thing was to ensure long-term peace and stability, so most of the Shu people still hoped that Meng Chang's army would win.
With the earnest hopes of his fellow villagers, Wang Zhaoyuan prepared to work hard and return home in glory.
Of course, the ministers were the ones who missed the war the most. Each of them had both good farmland and official positions in Shu, and their personal property depended on the Shu army for protection. There were many officials who came to see him off, and they all looked at Wang Zhaoyuan eagerly.
Wang Zhaoyuan waved his iron ruyi and said calmly in front: Don't worry, gentlemen. The eastern route is nothing more than the Three Gorges and Kuizhou. I will ensure that the country's borders are safe.
An official asked: "What Deputy Envoy Wang said is true.
Wang Zhaoyuan laughed and said, "Mr. Zhang, you look down on me too much. I can't even do such an easy thing as defending the country from a dangerous place. How can I dare to call myself Wolong?"
Wang Zhaoyuan comforted the crowd in the midst of the commotion. Many people still did not think highly of him, but that did not matter, as he could just wait until he had accomplished something great and then come back to use this as an excuse to show off.
At this moment, an old man in a long robe and a futou was seen shaking his head and sighing at the foot of the city. Wang Zhaoyuan was sharp-eyed and recognized that it was Li Hao. Seeing this, Wang Zhaoyuan's calm and contented mood was a little upset.
After leaving the city wall, a subordinate officer came up and whispered: Li Hao just compared the lord with Zhao Jizha.
Wang Zhaoyuan was immediately furious. Who was Zhao Jizha? In the Qin-Feng War, this man volunteered to take charge of the military power of the four states of Qin, Feng, Cheng and Jie. He first boasted about it in Chengdu. However, when the Zhou army arrived, he was so scared that he fled back to Chengdu. The emperor asked him what happened, but he didn't know anything. This fool with no knowledge and talent, the person Wang Zhaoyuan despised the most, Li Hao actually compared him with himself.
My Lord, please calm down. Let's not bother with him now. The most important thing is to find a way to protect the east route first. The staff advised.
Wang Zhaoyuan was about to go to war, so he really had no time to argue with Li Hao. He swallowed his anger, forced himself to calm down, and said calmly: Send an envoy from the north and the east to secretly go out of Sichuan, take my letter to contact the Northern Han and Southern Tang, and deal with the Zhou Dynasty together, so as to gain an advantage in the overall situation first.
The aide said: When the two Lis, Li Chongjin and Li Jixun, rebelled, the Northern Han did not dare to send troops, so it may not be easy; the Southern Tang Kingdom was already trembling with fear in the Zhou Dynasty, so it may not have the courage.
Wang Zhaoyuan said: I know, but there are only benefits and no harm in trying, if it doesn't work, forget it. Recommend two eloquent lobbyists to go. If Shu is in danger, the upper reaches of the Yangtze River will fall into the hands of the Zhou Dynasty; the Southern Tang relies entirely on the Yangtze River, and there is no reason for them to want to see Shu occupied by the Central Plains. The Northern Han is the Zhou Dynasty's old enemy and feud, and there is also a possibility of winning it over.
After hearing this, the staff bowed and said: My lord, what you said makes sense.
Another subordinate hurriedly agreed and said: Deputy Envoy Wang is a man of great vision, courage and resourcefulness. Li Hao actually used Zhao Jizha to slander him, which shows his malicious intentions.
Wang Zhaoyuan snorted coldly: I have already made a plan, the eastern route will be as stable as Mount Tai
On the Yangtze River, Guo Shao stood on the bow of a ship, looking at the wide river. At this time, the fleet had arrived and Luo Yanhuan's troops had taken over the defense of Jingnan. The army attacking Shu advanced by land and sea and had already set out westward. The surroundings were still plains, the river was wide here, the water flow was gentle, and with the help of the east wind, the fleet sailed very smoothly.
Mr. Wolong Guo Shao turned around and looked at Jing Niang in surprise.
Jingniang, Baixiangu and others arranged some spies, including using some people from the Shen, Chen and Li business gangs, and sent spies to various parts of Shu early on.
Zuo You, who was standing by, said: The governor of Kuizhou was Gao Yanchou, and he was not appointed as a recruiting envoy; Wang Zhaoyuan was sent from Chengdu to be the military supervisor of the front camp. According to the rules, Wang Zhaoyuan was in charge of military power and decision-making, and this was the rule in Shu and Southern Tang.
Guo Shao pondered and said: Isn't Crouching Dragon Zhuge Liang? This Wang Zhaoyuan is actually called Crouching Dragon. What is his ability
Zuo You said: I have never heard of this person before, he is probably just famous in Shu State
Jingniang disapproved and said: What Wolong? I heard that he gave himself the name.
Zuo You smiled immediately, and when he saw Guo Shao looking at him, he said: I suddenly thought of another person from Shu, so I laughed. Zhao Jizha also had a high opinion of himself, but he ran very fast in Qinzhou that year, causing the Qinfeng Shu army to be unable to coordinate temporarily and be defeated one by one.
I seem to have some impression of Guo Shaodao, but we must not underestimate the enemy in the details. Respecting the opponent is also respecting ourselves. The Shu army guarded the border in the east, which was nothing more than Kuizhou; Wang Zhaoyuan went to Kuizhou as a military supervisor and held military power. He was the most important opponent in this battle.
Guo Shao said to Jingniang: Send some more people to Kuizhou to find out about Wang Zhaoyuan and record everything related to him. What he did, what he said, even what he likes and dislikes, what hobbies he has, and what kind of women he likes. Find out everything you can.
Jingniang whispered casually: Alang cares about him more than his own relatives and friends.
I have heard a saying that the person who knows a person best is usually his enemy. Guo Shao smiled and said, knowing yourself and the enemy will ensure victory in every battle.
After Guo Shao finished speaking, he looked up and found that at the edge of the clear sky, a dark shadow had appeared in the distant horizon, like a layer of dark clouds pressing down on the horizon. That was the distant mountain range, which could only be seen on sunny days. The plain was almost at the end, and the day to enter the mountains was just around the corner.
The people around him followed his gaze and looked out. Guo Shao looked for a while and sighed: We don't want to stay in a flat place, but have to go into the mountains.
Zuo You said: After passing this mountain range, the hinterland of Shu Kingdom is also a good place.
Guo Shao nodded, thinking: The game of chasing for the throne is an elimination match, and there can only be one winner. So we can't forgive them just because Shu Kingdom does not threaten Da Zhou at this time.