Chapter 330 Zhang Songsheng Xichuan

Xinye, Cao Cao’s official residence.

Jia Kui had already taken Pang Tong down and had a rest. Cao Cao looked around and said, "Do you think this Pang Tong Pang Shiyuan is worth trusting?"

"My lord, don't believe this country bumpkin easily." Before Cheng Yu could answer, general Cao Hong said, "This guy claims to be a talented scholar in Jingxiang. Hong thought that this plan might not really help the lord seize Jingzhou. Maybe this guy came by Liu Biao's order. Wouldn't the lord fall into the trap if he believes it?"

Cao Cao asked Cheng Yu: "What do Zhongde thinks?"

Cheng Yu said: "Yu thought this Pang Tong didn't seem to be making a fool of himself."

Cao Cao nodded and suddenly shouted, "Where is Zhang Liao?"

General Zhang Liao transferred out of the hall and replied with his fist: "The last general is here."

Cao Cao said: "Click up five hundred elite soldiers quickly and follow the orphan to Xiangyang."

"Affect the order."

Zhang Liao responded to the promise and took the order and left.

Cao Cao said to Cheng Yu again, Liu Ye: "Zhongde, Ziyang can act separately."

"Receive the order."

Cheng Yu and Liu Ye bowed their fists and left.

Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty in the spring of the 11th (198).

Ma Yue led Gao Shun as a general and set up a camp in Hanzhong. Soon after, the camping camping was about to disperse 20,000 troops and secretly returned to Guanzhong in the form of a small group. He ordered the side generals to still lead the 20,000 troops to Hanzhong to join Gao Shun. This happened more than ten times. In the autumn of that year, more than 200,000 troops gathered in Nanzheng.

Gao Shun sent a large number of detailed works and scouts to spy on the terrain of Xichuan day and night, and sent people to enter Xichuan to spread news, threatening to move south to attack Xichuan before the beginning of winter.

The situation in Xichuan suddenly became treacherous, and a storm was about to come and the wind filled the building.

When the news reached Chengdu, Liu Zhang, the governor of Yizhou, was frightened and urgently summoned civil servants and military generals to discuss countermeasures. At this time, the convention hall of the provincial and ministerial office was crowded with people, and almost all the well-known figures in Sichuan had gathered together to discuss the plan.

Here it is necessary to briefly introduce the situation of the Xiachuan gentry.

During the Zhongping period, Ma Xiang and Zhao Zhi led the uprising. Ren Qi, a gentry in Sichuan, and Jia Long recruited private soldiers to suppress the uprising in order to protect themselves. Then he welcomed Liu Yan into Sichuan. With the support of Ren Qi and Jia Long, Liu Yan quickly gained a foothold in Xichuan, but the good times did not last long. With Ren Qi, Jia Long's power continued to expand, which gradually posed a serious threat to Liu Yan's status.

Of course, Liu Yan was unwilling to become a puppet at the hands of the Sichuan gentry, so he thought of using the "Dongzhou Scholars" to counter the Sichuan gentry.

So what is "Dongzhou Scholar"?

The so-called "Dongzhou Scholars" are actually the general term for foreign gentry by Sichuan people.

When Liu Yan entered Sichuan, he brought a group of capable people to take up his post. Among them, the more famous ones were Wu Yi (in the official history, Wu Yi's sister first married Liu Yan's second son and Liu Bei as her queen), Pang Xi, Zhao Wei, Dong Fu, Xu Jing, etc. Later, due to years of war in Guandong, hundreds of thousands of refugees flocked to Xichuan one after another. Among these refugees, there were also some talents, and the more famous ones were Deng Zhi, Dong He, Wu Ban and others.

Since following Liu Yan into Sichuan, the "Tongzhou Scholars" have been excluded and suppressed by the Sichuan gentry led by Ren Qi and Jia Long. Therefore, when Liu Yan had a conflict with the Sichuan gentry, they stood firmly on the side of Liu Yan. Relying on the strong support of the "Tongzhou Scholars", Liu Yan successfully dismantled the Sichuan gentry's forced palace and cruelly suppressed Ren Qi and Jia Long's rebellion, almost slaughtering all the famous and powerful families in Sichuan at that time.

However, unfortunately, Liu Yan was not a very scheming and skillful hero in essence. His abilities were only average. After eliminating the threat from the Sichuan gentry, he quickly made the same mistake, that is, to allow Dong Fu, the representative of the "Dongzhou Scholar", to be the best.

Although Dong Fu and Zhao Wei were named "Dongzhou Scholars", they were actually authentic Sichuan people. The two used their Sichuan people to successfully integrate the remnants of the Sichuan gentry, and finally formed a new Sichuan gentry group.

To put it in a modern term, it is: the revolutionary achievements of Dongzhou scholars were stolen by two conservatives, Dong Fu and Zhao Wei.

However, it should be pointed out that there is a difference between the emerging Sichuan-Chinese gentry represented by Dong Fu and Zhao Wei and the native Sichuan-Chinese gentry.

After Liu Yan's death, Liu Zhang succeeded to the throne, and the Sichuan gentry formed three groups of gentry distinctly divided by Jingwei, namely the Xinxing Sichuan gentry, the indigenous Sichuan gentry and the "Dongzhou gentry". These three groups of gentry were inclined to each other and colluded with each other, forming the intrigue Xichuan officialdom.

As of now, the Xinxing Sichuan gentry has absolute military and political power.

Dong Fu held heavy troops, almost all the local officials in Xichuan came from Dong Fu and Zhao Wei, while the "Dongzhou Scholars" held some military power, such as Wu Yi, who also held heavy troops. In comparison, the situation of the indigenous Sichuan gentry was the most miserable. The indigenous Sichuan gentry headed by Zhang Song, Fei Shi, and Wang Lei only held some non-critical idle positions. The Sichuan generals led by Zhang Ren and Yan Yan were also far away from the core level of the army, with only two or three thousand men under their command.

Chengdu, the prefectural government meeting hall.

Liu Zhang looked around the Chinese civil and military officials in the hall, his eyes were in a panic, and asked, "What if the horse butcher now has a large attack on the horse and more than 200,000 people? "

General Wu Yi came out and reported: "The lord should be panicked. The butcher Ma was attacking with 200,000 troops. In fact, it is not enough to worry. Our army only needs to condemn the elite troops to block Jiameng Pass and Jiange is in danger. He also ordered the general to station troops in Zitong to support him. The Liang army was unable to conquer the long-term attack and the food was difficult to provide for food and grass, so he would naturally retreat."

Dong Fu also said: "Ziyuan said very well. Previously, the powerful general under the command of Ma Butcher, the prefect of Hanzhong, Zhang Xiu, had raised troops several times to attack Jiameng Pass, but they all returned in disgrace? Although Ma Butcher this time, he assembled an army of 200,000, he was afraid that he would still not be able to enter the door. There is no need to worry about the lord."

Liu Zhang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and said tremblingly: "However... who can guard Jiameng Pass and Jiange?"

"I'm willing to go!"

"I'm willing to go!"

As Liu Zhang finished speaking, the mighty generals Yan Yan and Zhang Ren were out one after another.

Liu Zhang said: "In this way, Zhang Renke leads three thousand troops to guard Jiameng Pass, and Yan Yanke leads three thousand troops to guard Jiange."

Zhang Ren, Yan Yan said: "The last general will receive the order."

Liu Zhang said to Wu Yi again, and Dong Fu said, "Ziyuan (Wu Yi's name is prose) can lead 30,000 troops to station in Zitong, and Yuanzhu (Dong Fu's name is prose) can lead 100,000 troops to station in Langzhong to support the situation."

Dong Fu, Wu Yi clasped his fists and said, "Receive the order."

That night, Yizhou was engaged in Zhang Song's residence, Shu County Chief Fei Shi, and Wang Lei visited together.

Zhang Song, Fei Shi, and Wang Lei are both from Sichuan, and can be regarded as the leading figures of the indigenous Sichuan gentry. However, due to the double suppression of the emerging Sichuan gentry and the "Dongzhou Scholar", the indigenous Sichuan gentry was difficult to make progress, and Zhang Song, who had outstanding abilities, was only engaged in it, which was humble and light.

In the side hall, Zhang Songzheng, Fei Shi and Wang Lei sat across the desk.

Fei Shi said: "The horse butcher gathered more than 200,000 troops in Hanzhong this time, and it is very powerful! Dong Fu and Wu Yi hold heavy troops, but one hides in Langzhong and the other hides in Zitong. Although Zhang Ren and Yan Yan are famous generals in Sichuan, they only have 3,000 troops under their command, so it is difficult to stop the Liang army's troops."

"Yes." Wang Lei sighed, "Usually, I only see Wu Yi, Dong Fu and others acting arrogantly and arrogantly. Now that Liang army soldiers are at the verge of their heads, they all act as turtles, and push us Sichuan people to the front line to act as shields. They don't treat us Sichuan people as humans."

"Shh..." Zhang Song hurriedly signaled the two of them to silence, then got up and walked out the door to take a closer look, and found that no one eavesdropped, then returned to the table, lowered his voice to Fei Shi, Wang Lei said, "Ma Butcher Ma gathered more than 200,000 troops in Hanzhong, but was afraid that it would be bluffing. If it was expected, the Liang army would probably be singing the sound of the east and west attacks, that is, first to make a big move in Hanzhong, and prepare to attack Jiameng Pass. When the Sichuan army was attracted to Zitong and Langzhong, he secretly sent an elite soldier across the Yinping Path to attack Chengdu!"

“Huh?”

"ah?"

Fei Shi and Wang Lei were shocked when he heard this and said in a lost voice: "If as Yongnian expected, the Xichuan army was far away in Zitong and Langzhong, and it was too hasty to return to defense, it would be possible that the Liang army would take advantage of the situation to capture Chengdu!"

"Not possible, but certain!" Zhang Song said, "From Dazhong out of Yinping Road, from Jiangyou to Fucheng, passing Mianzhu and Guanghan, there is no natural danger to guard along the way, and there is no heavy army to guard the city along the way. The butcher Ma only needs to send three thousand elite troops to destroy the city and pull the village, and head straight to Chengdu!"

Fei Shi said: "In this way, you can quickly report to the lord and send elite troops to guard the Yinping path."

"Let's wait." Zhang Song shook his hand and said, "Zi Shu (Fei Shi Prefaces, Fake) is not allowed!"

"Huh?" Wang Lei said in a lost voice, "What does Yongnian mean?"

Zhang Song said: "I want to join Xichuan Xian and the Prime Minister, what do you think?"

"Ah!?" Fei Shi said anxiously, "Yongnian's words are wrong! The policies pursued by the Ma Butcher in Guanzhong are extremely ruthless. The lowly merchants and common people are very ruthless, and they are no different from our scholars. This is simply a blasphemy of the ancient saints and abide by the rituals. The Ma Butcher in charge of such a rebellious manner and forgets his ancestors. How can we join the sects with him?"

Zhang Song didn't argue, but asked coldly: "So do you want to continue to be a human being with Dong Fu, Zhao Wei, Wu Yi and others? When will the interests of our Sichuan scholars be regained? When will our Sichuan scholars truly control the military power in Sichuan, and when will we truly control our own destiny?"

"this……"

Wang Lei, Fei’s poems are speechless.

Zhang Song slapped the table gently and said in a voice: "I have painted a topographic map of Xichuan. I will take this map to Luoyang soon and tell the Prime Minister Ming's interests. If the Prime Minister promises to safeguard the interests of the Hanzhong gentry and does not impose the new policy implemented by Guanzhong on Xichuan, he will present it with a map and then do his best to help him take over Xichuan!"

Wang Lei said: "What if the butcher Ma doesn't follow?"

Zhang Song's eyes were cold and said in a deep voice: "Then report to the lord's plan to attack the east and west, and suggest that the lord condemn an ​​elite soldier to guard the Yinping path to defeat the conspiracy of the butcher of horses!"

"Okay!" Wang Lei said in a deep voice, "From the day when Yongnian left Sichuan, it will be limited to three months. No news will be sent back within three months. We will report to Liu Yizhou to send troops to guard the Yinping Road."

"Yes." Zhang Song nodded and said, "After I leave Xichuan, Zishu and Zifu (Wang Leibiao's name is fabricated) can secretly connect with Wang Ping, Zhang Ren, Yan Yan and all Sichuan generals, and prepare to welcome the Liang army into Sichuan in advance!"

Wang Lei said: "Don't worry, Yongnian, Zijun (Wang Ping) is the younger brother of the lower tribe, Zhang Ren and Yan Yan, and the old generals promoted by Gong Jia when he was in power. As long as they tell them that it is to maintain the interests of the Sichuan gentry and to replace Gong Ren and Gong Jia, they will definitely support it."

"It's so good." Zhang Song said, "No need to delay, I will set off for Luoyang tomorrow."

Fei Shi, Wang Lei clasped his fists and said, "Brother Yongnian takes care of you."

In Xiangyang, Jingzhou, Liu Biao set up a banquet to entertain the gentry of Jingxiang, and Cao Cao was also a distinguished guest.

After drinking for three rounds, Liu Biao suddenly stood up and shouted, "I have a word, please listen."

The noise in the hall gradually subsided, and everyone's eyes were gathered on Liu Biao.

Liu Biao looked around the hall and said loudly: "I am old and weak. Although I want to be diligent in government affairs, I am not capable of doing things. My second son is young and has a dull talent and is not enough to take on the great responsibilities. Now I am willing to hand over Jingzhou to Cao Gong and beg Cao Gong to guard Jingzhou. I wonder what you think?"

The hall suddenly became silent.

Except for a few people such as Han Xuan who knew Liu Biao's intentions, almost all the Jingxiang gentry here were deeply surprised.

Although they also intend to accept Cao Cao as the new leader of Jingzhou, all this is still in the brewing stage and there is no substantial operation at all. Cai, Huang, Wang, and Han have not even really passed the voice, so naturally they would never have thought that Liu Biao would say this at today's banquet.

In a hurry, no one dared to be sure whether Liu Biao's words were sincere or just a test. The Jingxiang gentry in the hall looked at each other, and no one dared to express his opinion easily.

In the suffocating silence, Cao Cao suddenly stood up and bowed to Liu Biao, and said sincerely: "Cao comes to surrender to Liu Jingzhou and entrusted him with the magistrate of Xinye County. I am really grateful. How dare you have such a bad idea?"

Liu Biao said: "Cao Gong's ability is ten times better than that of the show, so there is no need to refuse."

Cao Cao said anxiously: "If Liu Jingzhou insists on his own, Cao can only go to another place."

"Did Mr. Cao worry that he is trying to test his will?" Liu Biao's face suddenly flashed with a smile, and he suddenly shouted, "Where are you left and right?"

A minor official had already held a seal in his hand, and Jieyue turned it out from behind the screen. Liu Biao placed the seal and Jieyue solemnly on the table, and then said to Cao Cao: "Now, Jieyue is all in the seal, and Cao Gong asks you to sit down."

"Master, no!" As soon as Liu Biao finished speaking, a minor official knelt in the hall two steps before his first crying, saying, "Jingzhou Jiye was created by the lord, how can he be with others lightly? If the lord insists on his own, the subordinate officials can only hit the lord and die to express his intentions."

"Why do you need to kill the stairs?" Liu Biao looked cold and solemn, shouting, "Where are the left and right guards? Let this ignorant of the current affairs be pushed out... beheaded and displayed to the public!"

"Abide by the order!"

Two soldiers, like wolves and tigers, rushed into the hall quickly, and raised the minor official and left. The minor official struggled hard, and said to the sky, "Lord, the official will die with his eyes open, and he will die with his eyes open..."
To be continued...