Opportunity

Autumn July.

Hanzhong County, Mianyang County.

The breeze is gentle, the mountain flowers are brilliant, and the orioles are singing and the butterflies are dancing.

Looking around, all the common people in Guizhou are busy in their fields.

They are not afraid of the sun's poison at all, letting drops of sweat fall on the yellow waves of the wheat fields, exaggerating the joy of the farmers.

Close your eyes and listen, you can hear the faint sounds of chickens crowing and dogs barking in the distance, the sound of nearby fishing boats casting nets, the sound of pennies flapping water, the sound of playing, and the sound of running water. It blends into a natural piece of music that echoes in the water.

Above.

Zheng Pu, who had been busy training his soldiers and spent nights in the military camp for several months, rode his horse slowly along the Mianshui River towards the city and returned.

He was recalled by Prime Minister Zhuge Liang to discuss matters.

Although the clerk sent by the prime minister did not tell what happened, Zheng Pu could vaguely guess it.

When the Wei Dynasty was struggling for Liangzhou, the Han Dynasty also faced some helplessness.

First, the price of the war horses sold to Sun Wu has been reduced a lot.

Not only did Sun Quan no longer exchange Shanyue prisoners of war for Jiaozhou natives, he also took a tough stance in his credentials and set the price at half of the previous price.

It's not that the alliance between Han and Wu collapsed.

But two years ago, when Sun Quan proclaimed himself emperor, he also sent the envoy Zhang Gang and Guan Du to Liaodong.

Now, a war horse trade has been concluded with Liaodong Gongsun Yuan.

With the source of war horses from other places, Wu State was naturally unwilling to bear the high price of the Han Dynasty.

The Prime Minister had no objection to this.

On the grounds that Sun Wu was now needed to contain the rebel forces, Wu agreed to Wu's price.

That is to say, he reduced the number of war horses for sale by fifty-six tenths, and when appeasing the courtiers, he showed his wisdom and said: "Permit it first, and wait and see."

It reminds people of the long sea route between Jiangdong and Liaodong, as well as the ever-changing sea wind and waves.

On the other hand, Li Hui, the governor of the Nanzhong counties, died of illness at the end of June in the summer.

Originating from the special geography of Nanzhong and the complicated power entanglements, Li Hui's death was not just as simple as the Han Dynasty losing a loyal and upright veteran.

Because once the successor is improperly selected, it may cause another disruption in South China.

The imperial court appointed Li Hui's son, Li Yisijue, to succeed the Anhan generals and the Jianning prefects, demonstrating to the powerful southerners that the Han Dynasty would not ignore their interests and treat meritorious officials poorly.

Let Ma Zhong, who is quite prestigious in Nanzhong, succeed him as the governor of Xijiang.

Well, Ma Zhong resigned as governor of Zanggan last year.

Because the former chief minister of the prime minister's office, Shi Zhang Yi, died of illness, when the prime minister promoted deputy chief Shi Jiang Wan to take charge of Yizhou affairs, he also summoned Ma Zhong back to Chengdu to lead the prime minister's office to join the army, and also be engaged in the administration of the state and jointly handle affairs.

Now that Ma Zhong has rushed to take up a post in Nanzhong, there are vacancies in the Chengdu Prime Minister's Office and the Prefectural Mufu's Office.

In any case, the land of Bashu is the foundation of the Northern Expedition, and the Prime Minister's Office also leads the national government.

Such as weighing the interests of the Bashu tycoons, providing food and supplies for Hanzhong and Longyou, the daily tediousness of garrisoning in Jiangzhou and Yong'an, and coordinating the forces of Han and barbarians in southern China, etc.

There are many things that cannot be handled by the governor Shi Jiang Wan alone.

In addition, Zhao Yun, who was stimulated by Li Hui's old age and died of illness, had been promoted to General Wei and was stationed in Chenggu County. He also wrote a letter to the prime minister asking for orders, hoping to lead troops into Xiaopingdi (Taibai County area) in the Baoxie Valley of the Qinling Mountains.

That small piece of flat land is the outpost.

Whether attacking Hanzhong from Guanzhong or vice versa.

As long as you take the Baoxie Valley, you must occupy this place first.

For example, when Cao Zhen, the great Sima of the Wei Dynasty, attacked Hanzhong last year, he had previously stored a large amount of grain, grass and luggage here.

Zhao Yun now wants to lead the army to occupy it, which is a preparation for attacking Liangzhou.

In order to contain the troops who would go against Wei to aid Liangzhou in the future.

Because as soon as the Han Dynasty marched into Baoxie Valley, Wei Wei would have to station heavy troops in Xixian County and Chencang City for defense.

However, everyone in the Han Dynasty knew that there was another reason for Zhao Yun's request.

Already old, he was worried that like Li Hui, he would suddenly die of illness at some unknown time, leaving behind regrets: he would never have the opportunity to lead the army to fight for the Han Dynasty to regain the Central Plains.

Alas, he is an old minister who followed the late Emperor Liu Bei when he was still young.

No words are needed, and it will make people awe-inspiring.

The invitation of a strong man in his twilight years, the old minister did not want to die in bed, and hoped to be buried in horse leather and returned with a sincere heart to serve the country, so the prime minister could not easily refuse.

Therefore, he invited Zheng Pu to discuss the attack on Liangzhou.

Those who fight in the military must mobilize the whole body.

If Zhao Yun leads his army into the small flat area of ​​Baoxie Valley, other soldiers and horses will definitely follow suit.

Because Ni Wei will not remain indifferent and should not be allowed to take advantage of him.

Besides, the autumn harvest is coming soon.

Once harvested in autumn, grain from various places began to be transferred to Longyou, and the attack on Liangzhou was also on the agenda.

Now let's discuss and make a plan first, which can be considered as a precautionary measure.

In fact, the prime minister did not need Zheng Pu to consult the general strategy of attacking Liangzhou.

In other words, looking at the current battle lines between Han and Wei, everyone is vaguely aware of the places where troops can be used.

There are nothing more than Baoxie Valley in Hanzhong, Xiaoguan in Hanyang County, Yuzhong County in Jincheng County, Jishi Gorge in Xiping County, and Siwang Gorge that can cut off Xiping and Jincheng County in Niwei.

Zheng Pu felt that what the Prime Minister really wanted to discuss when he called him was how to coordinate the feint attack and the main force.

Think and act along the way.

When the sun was at its peak, Zheng Pu entered Mianyang City.

When I rushed outside the Prime Minister's office, I was told that the Prime Minister had not returned yet.

In recent months, the Prime Minister has been busy settling the Shenlang Qiang who were forcibly relocated to Hanzhong County, and inspecting the autumn harvest and food protection matters of the troops stationed in various ministries, and he almost no longer stays in the house.

However, the soldiers and minor officials on duty at the office seemed to have been given instructions by the Prime Minister.

Not only did he welcome Zheng Pu into the office and sit down, but he also gave detailed descriptions of the garrison troops stationed in various places and the detailed military information he had discovered. He also carefully asked people to bring him some food to satisfy his hunger.

After about half an hour, the Prime Minister returned.

It is still the rich and graceful appearance of Eguan Bodai, and a hint of tiredness can be faintly discerned between the eyebrows.

"Pu, I have met the Prime Minister."

Zheng Pu, who had finished reading the military report long ago and was resting his mind with his eyes closed, heard footsteps and quickly stood up and saluted.

"No need to be polite, just sit down."

After waving his hand, the prime minister walked to the main seat and took a seat. He glanced at him for a moment and then joked, "I haven't seen you for many days. I don't think Zijin is getting more energetic. Could it be that the governor's soldiers were performing martial arts, which made Zijin even more nervous?"

Feeling at ease?"

"Prime Minister Lao is thinking about you."

With a smile on his face, Zheng Pu cupped his hands in greeting and said, "It's because Pu has not been busy with documents these days, and his soldiers are practicing and performing martial arts, and he is supervised by his generals, so he has quite a lot of free time."

"Heh~~~"

The Prime Minister chuckled lightly, feigning anger and reproaching, "As a governor, you don't want to share the hardships with the soldiers, and you ignore the previous expectations of the court when you were promoted to Pingbei General!" After saying this, he nodded gently and asked, "

Zijin should know that Ma Dexin has been transferred to the governor-general, right? Jiang Gongyan is the only one in charge of Shu today. Many affairs are complicated and he is afraid that he will be overworked. Zijin thinks, who can help him? "

Huh?

Why are you asking me about the candidate who will stay in the government?

Zheng Pu, who had not participated in political affairs since he came to Hanzhong with the imperial conquest in the fifth year of Jianxing, couldn't help but look surprised.

For a moment, I forgot to answer.

When the Prime Minister saw that he was stunned and silent, he couldn't help but laugh. He said, "In the past, as a governor, Zheng Zijin dared to criticize our veteran general in the Han army. Now he dares not speak out after he was transferred?"

"Ashamed."

When Zheng Pu came back to his senses, he quickly handed over his hands and confessed, "Pu lost his mind for a moment."

After thinking for a while, he said, "Going back to the Prime Minister, Pu thought that if Brother Youchang returns to assist him, Brother Gongyan can relieve his worries."

"Youchang?"

Hearing this, the Prime Minister's eyes narrowed slightly, and a ray of relief quietly flashed through his eyes.

However, her face and expression remained unchanged, and she asked with doubts, "Is it just You Chang? Why doesn't Zi Jin mention more people?"

"Pu Shang wants to mention Brother Bosong."

Zheng Pujin smiled and replied softly, "It's just that, on second thought, I felt that the Prime Minister would not agree to it, so I only mentioned Brother Youchang."
To be continued...