Lingzhou goes straight north, and you can go along the Yellow River to Shuofang County, and then go to Wuyuan County. However, these places now belong to the settlements of the Southern Xiongnu.

In the 21st year of Jian'an, Cao Cao detained the last Shanyu of the Southern Xiongnu, Huchuquan, and sent the Right Xianwang to the regent of the country. The Southern Xiongnu were immediately dispersed and divided into five tribes. Many tribes of the five tribes were angry at the Wei State.

In recent years, the Wei State and the Huns have not violated the rivers on the surface, but due to the slight rise of Liu Bei's power, the Huns also had the idea of ​​restoring their country. If Zhang He walked along the Yellow River, it would be very likely to break into the Huns' settlement area, and no one knew the consequences.

His cautious personality made Zhang He choose the southern line, that is, he turned around in Lingzhou and walked eastward, running hundreds of miles to Sheyan's supply, and finally entered the pass from Shangjun, Bingzhou.

At this time, the water and grasslands on both sides of the Yellow River were lush, and the grasslands did not desert due to soil erosion. However, due to the extreme grazing, Zhang He's route was 600 miles. There were few grasslands and many Gobi along the way, and there were almost no nomadic Huns.

In winter, the wind outside the border was cold and the physical energy was consumed more than usual. Zhang He robbed the food in Lingzhou, and after leaving the city, he would lose food for two or three days. Fortunately, there were dozens of war horses with him. If he was in poor condition, he would be slaughtered in the middle of the journey. The rider who lost the horse could only get a piece of meat and then fend for himself outside the desolate border.

The more than 70 cavalry who fled with Zhang He, only more than 20 cavalry remained in Shangjun. Without exception, they were Zhang He's personal soldiers. Whether it was to kill horses and eat meat or to keep secrets, the rest were left outside the border forever.

When Zhang He fled, he killed his horse and ate meat, but Huang Zhong was very concerned about the seized horses. Many of the war horses under Cao Zhen's troops from Yongliang came from the Qilian Mountains horse farm, which was more majestic and agile than the war horses of the Han army.

Huang Zhong stayed in Lingzhou for a few days, and saw that Zhang He was really gone forever, so he returned to Gaoping (Guyuan).

It was the end of the year that the year had been successfully recovered, but there were thousands of miles from Gaoping to Wuwei, and half of them were not connected to waterways, so a large number of civilians needed to recruit food to transport them. However, now there is no food or ships in Gaoping, and the population of the entire Anding County is insufficient, so Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun are not able to enter again.

After the two discussed, they decided to supervise grain transport ships in Gaoping, and to purify the public security of the counties and help the people in various places resume production. They also sent people to Chang'an to report the victory and ask for instructions.

In the second year of Zhangwu in the Han Dynasty and the fifth year of Huangchu in the Wei Dynasty (224), the messenger of An Ding arrived in Chang'an in the first lunar month.

Liu Bei was in a good mood after receiving the news from Zhao Yun, so he immediately summoned Fa Zheng and Pang Tong to share the joy.

Seeing the two of them reading the memorial with relish, Liu Bei smiled and joked: "Zilong and Old General Huang defeated Zhang He and completely drove Cao's army out of Guanzhong. Zilong was already building grain transport ships and was preparing to advance into Wuwei next summer. He was not arrogant or impatient. It seems that the outcome of the second Qing bet match seems to be unpredictable."

Before Zhao Yun's victory came back, Zhang Fei and Ma Chao's victory came a few days ago. The army on the west route was invincible after leaving Tianshui. Qiang people in various counties in Longxi responded and surrendered without fighting. Zhang and Ma then followed the Tao River northward and walked around the mountain path of the West Qinling Mountains to the bank of the Yellow River.

Within half a month, the West Road Army won seven consecutive games, and all the seven counties in Jincheng were all settled. Zhang Fei rested in Lingju County for several days. He was originally planning to continue to cross the mountains north to Wuwei, but blizzards suddenly fell in Lingju area, so he had to give up his plan to continue his advance.

When Zhang Fei wrote the memorial, it had been snowing heavily in Lingju for ten days. The Baili Scarlet Valley leading to Wuwei was almost filled with snow. They could only wait for the ice and snow to melt in spring.

"If it weren't for the heavy snow of Lingju, the third general and General Ma would have walked out of the mountains. Maybe they could have arrived at Guzang (now Wuwei) before Cao Zhen. It's really a disaster." Pang Tong shook his head slightly.

Fa Zheng smiled and responded: "Shi Yuan is too optimistic. According to Zilong's last information, Cao Zhen sent the general Guo Huai back to defend Wuwei before we sent troops. Yide and others may not be able to take advantage of loopholes. Guo Huai is also a famous general of Wei. If he sends troops to guard the valley exit, how should the Western Army respond?"

"Can Deng Shihuan take him away? His ability to explore the path is excellent." Pang Tong was still struggling.

"No matter how absolutely, I can't stop the snow. However, Zhao and Huang are fighting steadily. They may be able to send troops first next year. The three-month salary of Shi Yuan will be 80% of it." Fa Zheng smiled with a smile.

"Not necessarily." Pang Tong decisively denies it, frowned and continued to add: "Although the terrain from Gaoping to Wuwei is relatively flat, the distance between the marching is too far. I don't know how much food is needed after this battle, and more than 200,000 civilians must be recruited. The situation in Guanzhong has just improved and stable. The people's livelihood of the two counties in the north are in decline. Where can we recruit so many people? I still think Yide and Mengqi will be more secure, at least the transportation distance is 70% less."

"Shi Yuan didn't know anything. There was heavy snow in the north of Lingju all year round. The snow in the valley would not melt until late spring or early summer. However, it was easy to cause mountain collapses and mountain torrents at that time. It was luck to be able to pass smoothly." Fa Zheng shook his head gently.

"So." Pang Tong suddenly realized, and thought that Xiaozhi actually cheated my salary. He bullied me from Xiangyang and didn't understand the climate of Liangzhou. He also blamed himself for not asking Jiang Wei much at the beginning.

"Xiaozhi is sure to win, Shi Yuan, you have to save money." Liu Bei ended with a smile and joked, and then turned around and asked Fa Zheng seriously: "Surve the Western Front Mountain Road is so dangerous, I will not let Yide take risks again, but Shi Yuan's concerns are not unreasonable. Where can we go to recruit so many civilians? The people of Sanfu can't stand the tossing."

Fa Zheng was calm and bowed and bowed and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry. If the people are not enough, please don't seek less. The Yinpan and Linjing people are enough."

"It's enough? Is filial pseudonym a joke? That's only 20,000 people, and it's at least 200,000 to go to the expedition to Wuwei." Liu Bei was very surprised.

Pang Tong seemed to think of something, and he frowned and guessed: "The people of Yongliang have many livestock. Could Xiaozhi have to use animals instead of human power? But the people in the two places were exploited by Cao Zhen, and the herdsmen had very few livestock, so they probably wouldn't play much role."

After hearing this, Fa Zheng said seriously: "The entire Yongliang strategy is integrated. The expedition to Wuwei cannot rely solely on Zhao Huang's troops, and the troops on the Western Front must work together."

"Xiaozhi, you're confused." Liu Bei looked confused.

"Please move to the White Tiger Pavilion, and I will help you solve your doubts from the physical sand table." Fa Zheng bowed and asked for instructions.

"Then let's go." Liu Bei waved to Pang Tong.

On the right side of the Weiyang Palace, Liu Bei was born in a military service and loved sand tables. After ascending the throne, he did not have the chance to lead the army to fight, so he asked this pavilion to make sand tables based on the thirteen states in the world. This is where he often goes. Seeing the vivid mountains and rivers, Liu Bei felt that he already owned the whole world.

After a while, the monarch and ministers came to Baihu Pavilion and in front of the sand table in Liangzhou.

Fa Zheng pointed at the location of Jincheng with a small stick and said in detail: "The land around Jincheng County is fertile, and Deng Shizai is there. He can grow corn here widely, and then use the Yellow River waterway to cross the mountains to this open place, and join Zilong's Eastern Front Army. He almost doesn't need much manpower in the first half."

"It is easy to handle water in the first half of the year. The key is that in the second half of the year, although most of the north of the Yellow River are grasslands, how can we transport grain for the six or seven hundred miles? Just rely on Zilong to recruit those 20,000 people?" Liu Bei asked anxiously.

Fa Zheng smiled and said, "Since it is a vast grassland, why not move the herdsmen from all over the country?"

"Moving the herdsmen?" Liu Bei still didn't understand.

"Is it because Xiaozhi said that she was driving the sheep west? Lamb is the food for the soldiers?" Pang Tong took the lead in reacting.

"That's right." Fa Zheng nodded.
Chapter completed!