Shu Kingdom, Chengdu.
"I request the Northern Expedition!"
Liu Chan sat in the upper seat and looked at the old general Jiang Boyue kneeling before him, with a daze in his eyes.
General Wei Jiang Wei returned to Chengdu. Liu Chan was very happy and hurriedly summoned his ministers to reward the general.
However, when Jiang Wei appeared at the court meeting, his first words were to demand another northern expedition.
All the officials in the court were in an uproar.
Several ministers' faces became extremely ugly, but they only signaled Liu Chan with their eyes and did not dare to refute in person.
"Your Majesty! I think this is not allowed!"
At this moment, I saw a minister coming out. This man looked resolute, had a long beard, was broad and strong, and was very powerful.
His face was very solemn. He glanced at Jiang Wei, who was kneeling to worship His Majesty, and then looked at Liu Chan.
"Your Majesty, we cannot continue the Northern Expedition."
"In the last Northern Expedition, the bandit general Zhang Yi died in battle. The casualties were heavy, the treasury was empty, the soldiers were exhausted, and the people were complaining. This war has not been over for half a year, and now General Wei is about to send troops again. Aren't you afraid of causing a civil uprising?!"
Liu Chan frowned and said nothing.
The general who opened his mouth to retort was General Zhang Yi of Zhengxi.
Zhang Yi is the great-great-great-grandson of Sikong Zhang Hao of the Eastern Han Dynasty. His background is quite powerful. His family is Zhang Buyi, a descendant of Liuhou Zhang Liang.
He was upright, conscientious, and brave, and was deeply loved by Prime Minister Zhuge Liang. When Zhuge Liang attacked Wei, he made him the commander-in-chief of the former army.
Now, he is worshiped as the General of the Conquest of the West and is stationed at the northern border of Shuhan. This time he returned to Chengdu with Jiang Wei.
The ministers did not dare to refute Jiang Wei face to face, but Zhang Yi did.
After hearing Zhang Yi's words, many ministers looked happy.
Jiang Wei slowly raised his head.
The veteran general Jiang Boyue is already fifty-four this year, six years older than Sima Shi.
"Why did General Zhengxi say this?!"
Jiang Wei stood up and looked at Zhang Yi in front of him.
"Although we suffered casualties in the previous Northern Expedition, Cao's thief's casualties were many times greater!"
"General Dang Kou died in battle, but I also cut off Xu Zhi's head, wiping out his entire army. Cao's army of thieves was defeated and could no longer stand a fight. We conquered Heguan, Didao, Lintao and other places, and conquered the three counties. The people brought Mianzhu and Fan counties back to live there."
"The losses in the war can be made up by the captured materials! How can you say that the treasury is empty?"
"The soldiers have won consecutive battles, conquered lost territory, made great achievements, and their morale is high. How can it be said that they are exhausted?!"
"When the people learned about the great victory, they were overjoyed and clapped their hands to celebrate. How can it be said that they were full of complaints?!"
"The thief general Guo Huai is seriously ill, and Chen Tai is just a coward."
"Sima Shi dethroned his emperor, which made all the thieves within Cao Cao's bandits suspicious and disloyal. Isn't this the best time for our Northern Expedition?!"
Zhang Yi became furious when he heard these words.
"Do you want to support the country through war?! Even if you win, how long can the materials captured be used? The soldiers have won every battle, won't they get tired? As for the people, if you continue to fight like this, they will not be able to use it for a long time. They can’t even eat, so why are they still clapping their hands to celebrate?!”
"Guo Huai is seriously ill, but the power of Cao's thieves has not diminished. Chen Tai is cautious, but not cowardly! Master Sima is talented, no less powerful than his father!"
"Do you still want to launch troops for the Northern Expedition?!"
When Zhang Yi said this, many ministers actually nodded.
Jiang Wei slowly looked at these people, his eyes were particularly calm and showed no anger.
Liu Chan watched the two generals under his command arguing like this, and asked with a wry smile: "The two generals have come from afar, how many days should we wait to discuss again?"
After Liu Chan finished speaking, he looked at another important minister in the court.
Chen Zhi, Shangshu Ling and general of the town army.
Chen Zhi is much thinner than the two debaters and looks more elegant.
The ministers of the DPRK were actually a little dissatisfied with Chen Zhi.
After this person came to power, he openly befriended eunuchs, changing the temple's previous tendency to attack eunuchs, and he had a very good relationship with Huang Hao and others.
Although they were in opposition to Cao Wei, Shu Han had also experienced the chaos of the late Han Dynasty. They were both scholar-bureaucrats, and no one had a good impression of eunuchs.
Chen Zhi's approach lowered his score.
But Chen Zhi didn't care about these things at all.
When he found that the emperor's eyes were on him, Chen Zhi stood up.
Both Jiang Wei and Zhang Yi's eyes fell on him.
"I think we should make an expedition to the north."
Chen Zhi spoke.
The ministers' eyes widened again. This minister had always been very close to the eunuchs. He knew how to please the emperor and was favored by the emperor. Why didn't he see that he was also a war leader? ?
Zhang Yi became even more angry.
"In the Northern Expedition for many years, we completely ignored the people in the country. What did the big man look like when the Prime Minister was still here? What does he look like now?! Do you have to ruin the Prime Minister's hard work?!"
Zhang Yi shouted angrily.
"shut up!!!"
Jiang Wei's eyes finally showed emotion.
He raised his head and stared directly at Zhang Yi.
Zhang Yi was speechless for a moment.
Jiang Wei turned and looked at Liu Chan.
"Your Majesty, at the beginning, the Prime Minister did not alienate the surrendered generals because of their origins. He promoted them to important positions, always led them by his side, and taught them personally. The world fell, Cao Cao usurped the Han Dynasty, and the people were in dire straits. The Prime Minister has passed away, but we dare not forget the Prime Minister's words. The legacy is to expedition to the Central Plains in the north, support the Han Dynasty, and return the old capital."
Jiang Wei spoke in a very calm tone.
Liu Chan couldn't listen to his subsequent words. He just looked at the old general in front of him.
At some point, the young general's hair also turned gray.
The forehead is covered with wrinkles.
Even his voice became much hoarse.
But the look in his eyes didn't change at all, it was still sharp and sharp.
Jiang Wei was still talking about the Northern Expedition, and Liu Chan just looked at him.
In a daze, Jiang Wei's appearance gradually overlapped with that of another person.
"The Han and the thieves are not at odds with each other, and the king's business is not at peace!"
At that moment, Liu Chan suddenly woke up.
He looked at the ministers in front of him and stood up immediately.
"Northern Expedition!!!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!!"
"I will definitely live up to His Majesty's high expectations! I will sacrifice my life to serve His Majesty!!"
Jiang Wei paid his respects again.
"Get up, General Wei. I don't want you to sacrifice your effectiveness. General Wei will no longer be strong. Don't take the lead, take care of yourself."
Jiang Wei stood up and asked: "What about the transfer of generals to go to war?"
Liu Chan waved his hand, "I don't know the soldiers, so I rely on the general!"
Without saying much, he directly ended the court meeting and left the place in a hurry, leaving Jiang Wei to decide on the expedition.
I don’t know anything about combat, so why are I messing around with it? Wouldn't it be better to leave this matter to Jiang Wei and the others and go play with Huang Hao by ourselves?
Looking at the eunuchs waiting for His Majesty in the distance, the smile on Jiang Wei's face faded a little, but he didn't say much.
Zhang Yi was about to walk out angrily, but Jiang Wei held him back.
"General."
"How could the Northern Expedition be done without you?"
Zhang Yi was still very angry, "This is what the general advocated. I have no talent, how dare I conspire with the general?"
"Isn't the general unwilling to fulfill the prime minister's legacy?"
Jiang Wei asked again.
Zhang Yi fell silent immediately. He hesitated for a moment and finally sat back down.
Jiang Wei left a few generals behind and asked the others to leave.
"General Chariot and Cavalry, you can go out with me this time."
Jiang Wei looked at someone in the crowd.
This person is none other than Xiahou Ba, the chariot and cavalry general of the Shu Han Dynasty.
Xiahou Ba is the second son of Xiahou Yuan, and their family also has a good background. It is said that he is a descendant of Xiahou Ying, the chariot god of the Western Han Dynasty, Xiahou Zao.
When he was young, his father was killed by the Shu Han, so he had the idea of revenge. Later, he followed Cao Zhen to conquer the Shu Kingdom. He was very brave and kind, and was deeply loved by the soldiers and the people.
But later, he learned that Sima Yi had killed Cao Shuang and purged the clan. He was afraid that it would harm him, so he fled to Shu.
Liu Chan was very happy to see him and hurriedly comforted him: Your father was killed in the battle by himself, not by my ancestors.
Then he pointed to his son and said: This is also Xiahou's nephew.
Xiahou Ba stayed in Shu and even became a general of chariots and cavalry, on the same level as Cao Wei's Guo Huai.
Xiahou Ba's father, tall and sturdy, was actually quite embarrassed in the Shu Han temple.
Just like Jiang Wei just now, Xiahou Ba could only lower his head and act as if he couldn't hear anything.
He actually came to Shuhan to avoid trouble, and never thought that he could be reused by the other party.
But this Shu Han didn't follow the routine at all and directly conferred the title of Chariot and Cavalry General. Now he still wants to take him with him to conquer Wei? ?
Xiahou Ba looked a little hesitant.
He didn't even know how to respond.
Jiang Wei seemed to know what he was thinking. He held his hand and said seriously: "General, don't worry too much. You are a talented and famous general. I will rely on you more for the Northern Expedition."
Xiahou Ba did not dare to hesitate any longer and quickly nodded in agreement.
Jiang Wei immediately led them to discuss the specific matters of the Northern Expedition.
Cao Mao believed that once Jiang Wei learned about the discord between Guan Qiu Jian and Sima Division, he would definitely send troops to the Northern Expedition.
In fact, this is wrong.
Regardless of whether Jiang Wei knew the news or not, he would continue his northern expedition.
The previous two expeditions gave Jiang Wei hope. Fei Yi, who used to contain him, was no longer around, and Shangshu Ling supported his Northern Expedition. Jiang Wei believed that now was the best time to attack Cao's thieves.
"General Chariot and Cavalry, I heard that Cao Wei appointed Sima Wang as general and asked him to assist Chen Tailai in the battle."
"What kind of person is this Sima Wang?"
Xiahou Ba frowned, "This man has a cautious character, clear rewards and punishments, strict military management, and a simple and generous man. If this man comes to assist Chen Tai, the Northern Expedition will not be easy."
"Then has he made any military exploits in the past?"
"No."
Jiang Wei immediately waved his hand, "In that case, there is no need to worry too much. This Northern Expedition will definitely be a complete victory!!"
