: Pacify Xichuan

Ma Yue said, "What's the matter?"

Jia Xu said: "Liu Biao died, and the Jingxiang gentry has accepted Cao Cao as the new lord of Jingzhou!"

"What?" Ma Yue was shocked when he heard this and said in a lost voice, "Cao Cao entered Jingzhou so soon? What's going on?"

Jia Xu said: "I don't know much about this. I have to wait until Zi Yan comes before there is a definite news."

While the two were talking, Fa Zheng and Li Su had already left the seat on the pretext of an excuse and came to the back hall.

Ma Yue asked Li Su urgently, "Zi Yan, what's going on?"

"Lord, this is the thing." Li Su sorted out his thoughts and said, "Since the Jingxiang gentry strongly advocated that Liu Biao welcome Cao Cao to Jingzhou, Liu Biao had always suspected that the Jingxiang gentry had the intention to welcome Cao Cao as the new lord of Jingzhou, so he secretly made a series of plans to eradicate Cao Cao and the major geniuses of Jingxiang."

Ma Yue said: "I didn't expect that Liu Biao would have such determination? It seems that he is not a fool."

Li Su said: "For Liu Biao, not only did the lord take a look, but I'm afraid that even the Jingxiang gentry who was most familiar with him had also taken a look. In fact, the Jingxiang gentry had no idea about Liu Biao's plan! According to the news sent back in detail, Liu Biao was betrayed and failed."

Ma Yue said: "What arrangements did Liu Biao make?"

Li Su said: "Liu Biao asked his eldest son Liu Qi to borrow two thousand savage soldiers from Wuling Mountain in the name of guarding Xiangyang, and ordered his son Liu Pan to lead 5,000 elite soldiers from You County, Changsha to move to the public security. He also ordered his nephew Zhang Yun to make preparations secretly and to receive Liu Pan's five thousand elite soldiers from the Yangtze River at any time."

"After everything is ready, Liu Biao held a banquet at the provincial governor's office to invite all the gentry of Jingxiang and Cao Cao. When everyone arrives, he ordered the foreign troops to control the entire city of Xiangyang. When Cao Cao and Jingxiang all the geniuses were killed, Liu Pan's army could barely arrive in Xiangyang and defeated Cai Mao and the Jingzhou army under Wang Wei and Huang Zu."

Jia Xu nodded and said, "This plan can be said to be arranged without any leakage. If it were not for someone to leak the secret in advance, the possibility of success is very high."

Fa Zheng agreed and said, "That's true. Once the Jingxiang gentry was executed, the Jingzhou water and land army would be easily divided and disintegrated by Liu Biao."

"But it's a pity." Li Su said, "Cao Cao actually knew Liu Biao's plan in advance, and secretly colluded with Cai Zhong, Cai and the army stationed outside Xiangyang City. Before Liu Biao could take action, the two thousand soldiers in Xiangyang City were killed by Wei Yan and Wen Pin's elite troops. The foreign king Shamoke also died under Zhang Liao's gun. Liu Biao's son Liu Pan was destroyed as soon as the army crossed the Yangtze River. Liu Pan himself was also beheaded by the powerful general Huang Zhong of Jingzhou."

"Hey." Ma Yue said, "Cao Cao is really a tough guy!"

Li Su said: "Lord, Cao Cao has just entered Jingzhou now and the situation has not yet settled. Why not send troops to the south to fight?"

"Forget it." Ma Yue shook his hand and said, "Although the situation in Jingzhou is not yet settled, I can wait until the army is transferred from all over the country to Nanyang and then fully allocate food, grass and supplies. Half a year has passed long ago, and Cao Cao should have pacified the situation in Jingzhou. What's more, the army's entry into Sichuan is already on the verge of arrows, so how can we stop at will?"

"The lord is very worried." Fa Zheng agreed, "Liu Biao died and Cao Cao took over. The situation in Jingzhou will inevitably be turbulent. However, the four major clans, Cai, Huang, Wang, and Han, firmly control the water and land army of Jingzhou. With the support of these four clans, Cao Cao will soon quell the situation in Jingzhou."

"Oh." Jia Xu said with regret, "It's just a pity that such a good opportunity. If you can prepare in advance, even if you can't take down the entire Jingzhou this time, you can at least conquer Xiangyang and win a water camp for General Ganning's navy. In this way, your chances of winning will be greatly increased when you conquer Sun Wu in the future."

"No hurry." Ma Yue said in a deep voice, "As long as you can successfully take Xichuan this time, Jingzhou will sooner or later be the only one in his pocket."

In early August of the 11th year of Jian'an (198), Emperor Xian of Han, Ma Yue took Gan Ning as the main general, Chen Da and Meng Da as the deputy general, and Fa Zheng as the military advisor, and led 10,000 elite navy troops to smuggle Yinping Road to attack Chengdu.

In late August, after more than half a month of hard marching and after more than half of the casualties, Gan Ning's troops finally crossed the Yinping Path. The soldiers attacked Dazhong without bloodshed. After a brief rest in Dazhong, they rushed to Chengdu.

In early September, after learning that Gan Ning's troops had successfully crossed the Yinping Path, Ma Yue formed a 100,000 army (actually only 30,000) to go out to Nanzheng to attack Xichuan. With the support of Sichuan generals Zhang Ren, Yan Yan and Wang Ping, the Xiliang army successfully passed through Jiameng Pass and Jiange. After leaving Jiange, the Xiliang Iron Cavalry immediately divided into two groups, one led by Ma Dai and military advisor Jia Xu to head straight to Zitong, and the other led by Ma Yue himself and rushed straight to Langzhong.

In mid-September, the two Western Liang Iron Cavalry appeared at the same time in Zitong and Langzhong City.

At the end of September, Gan Ning led 5,000 elite troops to the city of Chengdu. Zhang's son Liu Xun and ministers Pang Xi and Zhao Wei insisted on defending the country. Jing waited for Dong Fu, Wu Yi followed Zitong and Langzhong to lead the army back to the rescue. Liu Zhang refused and insisted on opening the city gate to surrender to the Liang army. When he learned that Liu Zhang surrendered, Dong Fu, who was guarding Langzhong, committed suicide. Deputy General Yang Huai and Gao Pei led the army to surrender.

In October, the general of Zitong, Wu Yi, led his army to surrender, and the Xiliang army pacified Xichuan without bloodshed.

Xiangyang, Cao Cao's official residence.

Cao Cao was talking to Pang Tong in a secret conversation. Pang Tong pointed to the map and said, "Lord, there are many plains in the north, and the cavalry of Xiliang galloped and was unparalleled. In addition, the horse butcher took the emperor to command the princes, so our army must not compete with him. Although Yuan Shao in the Central Plains was weak, the two states of Yan and Yu were the places of four battles, and they were in chaos and were suffering from war. The lord was prosperous and fashionable and difficult to defend for a long time, which was even more indecent. Although Sun Quan in the east was young, he was united and the elite of the Eastern Wu navy. Zhou Yu was a talented man in the world and was eager to make a plan. He could make an allies to fight against the horse butcher together."

"Um."

Cao Cao nodded repeatedly after hearing this.

Pang Tong finally pointed to Xichuan and said in a deep voice: "The West River has a fertile land of thousands of miles, and the people are rich and rich. Liu Zhang is weak and incompetent, so it is difficult to defend for a long time. This heaven gives it to the lord. Why not take it quickly and think that the king wants to dominate the king?"

Cao Cao said: "But I heard that the butcher Ma was attacking Xichuan."

Pang Tong said: "This is the lord's opportunity."

"Oh?" Cao Cao said, "How do you say this?"

Pang Tong said: "The Ma Butcher implemented the so-called new policy in Guanzhong, selecting talents from merchants, woodcutters, farmers and other common people and even slaves, and entrusting them with important tasks. This practice is contrary to the ancient system pursued since the Han Dynasty, and is seriously weakening the system of conquest, investigation, detention and promotion advocated by the gentry in the world, thus threatening the survival of the gentry. Therefore, Pang can assert that the Ma Butcher enters Sichuan and will be fiercely opposed by the Xichuan gentry."

Cao Cao said: "Shiyuan means..."

Pang Tong said: "Why don't the lord lead the army into Sichuan in the name of supporting Liu Zhang, and then pretend to attack Guo Ke."

"Fake a lie to attack Guo?" Cao Cao was happy to hear this, "I'm pretty good at it!"

"Lord." As soon as Cao Cao finished speaking, Liu Ye suddenly rushed in and said, "I just wrote a detailed report from Xichuan that Liu Zhang had surrendered the city and the butcher Ma had pacified Xichuan."

"Ah?" The hero, like Cao Cao, suddenly heard this news, couldn't help but change his expression slightly, and exclaimed, "How is this possible? Judging from the time, the Battle of Xichuan should have just begun. The Xiliang army of Ma Butcher's Xiliang army is still attacking Jiameng Pass. How could it be so quickly to fight to Chengdu and force Liu Zhang to surrender in Xiancheng?"

"There are internal supporters of the Ma Butcher in the Sichuan Army. The Liang army passed Jiameng Pass and Jiange without bloodshed, Wu Yi and Dong Fu's more than 100,000 Xichuan troops were directly surrounded in Zitong and Langzhong City!" Liu Ye said, "The Ma Butcher sent another surprise soldier to attack Chengdu from Yinping Road. The Sichuan Army was killed and caught off guard."

Cao Cao said sternly: "So that's it."

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Pang Tong's ugly face. He was just saying that the Ma Butcher would be fiercely resisted by the Sichuan gentry. Unexpectedly, before he finished speaking, news came back that the Ma Butcher had entered Sichuan easily with the support of the Xichuan gentry. This was undoubtedly a cruel denial of Pang Tong's ability.

Cao Cao obviously saw Pang Tong's embarrassment and comforted him: "There is no need to worry about Shiyuan. There are many factions in the Sichuan gentry, and there are constant internal struggles. It is not surprising that someone turns against him to help the Ma Butcher."

Pang Tong sorted out his thoughts and said to Cao Cao: "Lord, if Xichuan is owned by the horse butcher, the situation in Jingzhou will be in danger."

Liu Ye said: "Why not take advantage of the Liang army's foothold in Xichuan before it was stable?"

"There is no chance." Cao Cao sighed with regret, "Ma Butcher Ma is in Xichuan now. Even if he personally leads his army to fight, he is afraid he will not get any advantage. If he doesn't make a good deal, he will take advantage of Jingzhou by the Xiliang army. That will be a loss. After all, the situation in Jingzhou has not been completely settled, and there are still many variables."

"But the lord is not completely out of the chance to plot against Xichuan," said Pang Tong. "If Tong expected it was not bad, Zhou Yu would probably attack Yuan Shao of the Central Plains in the beginning of next year. If there is any change in the Central Plains, the strategic focus of the Ma Butcher must shift to the east. When the Liang army is in trouble with the Wu army in the Central Plains, the chance of the lord seeking Xichuan will come."

"There is no other good idea at the moment, and it seems that I can only wait." Cao Cao nodded, "However, the most urgent task is to immediately condemn the envoy to Lujiang and sign an offensive and defensive alliance with Sun Quan."

Pang Tong said: "Tong is willing to go."

Chengdu, Zhang Song Mansion.

Zhang Song, Fei Shi, and Wang Leizheng represent the Xichuan gentry and Jia Xu, and Fa Zheng discusses the future distribution of power in Xichuan.

Of course, Ma Yue is not suitable for such an occasion. If Ma Yue is present, it will make Jia Xu and Fa Zheng in a way and it will be difficult to perform. Therefore, Ma Yue simply threw this matter to Jia Xu, Fa Zheng, and he took Dian Wei and Ma Dai to search for the inward scene. Ma Yue is a modern person after all, and he knows that Xichuan is a beauty nest.

After finally entering Sichuan this time, I naturally had to collect a few beauties back to Luoyang.

In the secret room, Zhang Song, Fei Shi, and Wang Lei acted like three unscrupulous merchants, and Jia Xu and Fa Zheng also used all their skills to counterattack. The two sides asked for prices and bargained for a long time. They quarreled for a long time before they showed their last trump card.

"150,000 Sichuan troops must leave Xichuan!" Jia Xu said in an unquestionable tone, "And the county soldiers in each county in Yizhou are only allowed to retain three thousand people, and everything else is easy to discuss. However, there is no room for negotiation. I can't help you. I hope the three of you will not be too persistent."

"Okay." Zhang Song said helplessly, "But I should know where the 150,000 Sichuan troops will be heading?"

"Of course, this can be done." Jia Xu said, "As far as we know, these 150,000 Sichuan troops will go to Nanyang for farming. If you are willing to go with your family, you can go to Nanyang for farming with your army. However, the three gentlemen must make it clear to the Sichuan soldiers and their families that the four- and six-component system used by the military farming income is far less than staying in your hometown and living a prosperous life."

Fei Shi said: "Ba County is vast and borders Jingzhou. Only three thousand soldiers in the county are afraid that it will be difficult to deal with the Jingzhou soldiers."

Fa Zheng said: "The three of you don't need to worry about this. The prime minister has made arrangements. At that time, the prefect of Hanzhong, Zhang Xiu, will be moved to the prefect of Ba County. General Zhang Xiu originally had 5,000 elite soldiers in his headquarters. In addition, the 10,000 elite soldiers of the Han army of Zhang Wei, Yang Ren and Yang Ang, it would be more than enough to guard the small Yong'an city."

"Since the Prime Minister has made arrangements, we are worried about it." Zhang Song said this and continued, "However, I hope the Prime Minister can keep his promise and not harm the interests of the Xichuan gentry."

"Of course no one dared to break the contract when the Prime Minister agreed." Jia Xu looked cunning, and Yufeng continued to say, "However, the Prime Minister only agreed to protect the interests of the Xichuan gentry, while Dong Fu, Zhao Wei and others are all Dongzhou scholars, but the interests of the Dongzhou scholars are not among the protection. This should not be difficult to understand, right?"

"This..." Zhang Song frowned and said with some displeasure, "The Prime Minister will inevitably be suspicious of going back on his word, right?"

Fei Shi and Wang Lei also said: "Ninety percent of the tenants in Xichuan are concentrated in the hands of Dongzhou scholars like Dong Fu and Zhao Wei. The tenants' land should belong to the Xichuan gentry, but since Liu Yan entered Sichuan, they have been occupied by Dongzhou scholars. If the Prime Minister takes all these tenants and land into national ownership, how can they protect the interests of the Xichuan gentry?"

"There is nothing to do." Jia Xu said foolishly, "At the beginning, the Prime Minister only agreed to protect the interests of the Xichuan gentry, and never said that he would protect the interests of the Dongzhou gentry."

Fei Shi said angrily: "Since the Prime Minister has this attitude, there is no need to continue talking."

"Hey, Lord Fei Shi, don't be anxious." Fa Zheng came out to smooth things out, "I have something to say, and I have something to say, haha."

After persuading Fei Shi, Fa Zheng said to Jia Xu again: "Military advisor, it is better to do this. Everyone gives in to each other and divide the tenants, land, houses, household slaves and other property of Dongzhou soldiers into two, and both parties account for 50% each. How about it?"

"No." Jia Xu said decisively, "at most three to seven points."

Zhang Song stretched out four fingers and gritted his teeth and said, "Four and Six points!"

"Okay!" Jia Xu made the decision, "The deal is completed."

Fa Zheng quickly opened the Xichuan household registration and land property statistics list on the desk and said to Jia Xu, Zhang Song and others: "According to the list, there are 200,000 households in Xichuan and more than 930,000 people. Of course, this is just the number of registered population. The actual population of Xichuan is at least more than 5 million, which means that more than 4 million people are not registered. These more than 4 million people have become private tenants of the Xichuan gentry, and are also the main property distributed by the 46th this time."

"According to the 46th distribution agreement reached by both parties, Xichuan needs to pay the tax on the court based on the population of 3.3 million, according to the head. The three lords, aren't they wrong?"

[Offtopic: During the Three Kingdoms period, the population of Shu was not as recorded in history as more than 900,000, but at least 5 million. However, the power of the Sichuan gentry lost control, and more than 90% of the population became private tenants of the gentry. It was no longer counted on the list, and the taxpayer population that truly belonged to the central government was only more than 900,000.]

Zhang Song, Fei Shi, and Wang Lei said with a bitter face: "That's right."

"The three masters don't have to be so discouraged." Jia Xu smiled treacherously, "As far as I know, the world's edict will be coming soon. Lord Zhang Song is about to be the governor of Yizhou, and Fei Shi and Wang Lei are about to be the high-ranking position of Yizhou. The three masters are about to be promoted, so why not be happy?"

Zhang Song and the other two finally showed a smile on their faces, and they clasped their fists to the east and said, "Thank you for the Prime Minister's erection, Song and others are dull and may not be able to do anything."

"Haha, Yongnian doesn't have to be humble." Jia Xu patted Zhang Song's shoulder and said with a smile, "You can't be competent? I'm afraid no one in the world can be competent for the position of governor of Yizhou."

Lujiang, Shu County.

When Sun Quan was reading the military books at his desk, he was suddenly alarmed by footsteps. When he looked up, he saw Xu Shu stepping in. Sun Quan pushed the military books forward and said to Xu Shu: "I heard that Cao Cao sent an envoy to come. Is Yuan Zhi here for this?"

Xu Shu bowed and said, "The lord is really a god."

Sun Quan shook his hand and said, "Yuan Zhi doesn't have to joke about being alone. Did Cao Cao come to seek an alliance?"

Xu Shudao: "That's right."

Sun Quan said: "Yuan Zhi thought he should form an alliance with Cao Cao?"

Xu Shu said: "It should."

"Haha." Sun Quan smiled, "Justice sent someone to send an urgent letter to persuade Gu to form an alliance with Cao Cao. It's ridiculous that some people even encourage Gu to take the opportunity to attack Jingzhou. It's really ignorant of the times. Only Yuan Zhi and Gong Jin can keep a clear mind and get help from both of them. It's true that God will never abandon Gu."
To be continued...