【Two Sichuan Alliance】
"Why is my lord so short-sighted?"
Following the reputation, it turned out that it was Zhao Jiliang who stayed in Xichuan only after Meng Zhixiang worked hard.
"Sir, what advice do you have?" Zhao Jiliang is Meng Zhixiang's number one adviser, and Meng Zhixiang obeys his advice.
Zhao Jiliang pointed out to him that the two Sichuan provinces are close friends with each other, and what they fear most is that the imperial court will sow discord, causing the two Sichuan provinces to fight each other and cause internal conflicts. Now, there has been a mistake in the imperial court's strategy, and Dongchuan is willing to join forces to fight against the central government. This is Nishikawa's opportunity. If Dongchuan is lost, Xichuan will die!
In fact, this principle was demonstrated not long ago by Wang Jian of Xichuan and Gu Yanhui of Dongchuan. Wang Jian wanted to annex Dongchuan, so whenever external forces (Li Maozhen, Yang Fugong) invaded Dongchuan, Wang Jian would support Dongchuan without hesitation. After driving away the external forces, he would enjoy Dongchuan alone.
Since Meng Zhixiang wants to separate Shu, he must unify the two rivers. He should study Wang Jian's strategic thinking.
Under Zhao Jiliang's persuasion, Meng Zhixiang agreed to the request for an alliance and political marriage between the two Sichuan provinces.
Dong Zhang added seven fortresses at Jianmen Pass and actively deployed preparations.
Meng Zhixiang sent Zhao Jiliang to visit Dongchuan. As Meng Zhixiang's plenipotentiary representative, he discussed with Dong Zhang the strategy of retreating from the enemy. After Zhao Jiliang returned to Chengdu, Meng Zhixiang couldn't wait to ask him what he had learned from his trip.
Zhao Jiliang looked calm, "I have bad news and good news, which one do you want to hear first?"
"First the bitterness, then the sweetness. Let me tell you the bad news first."
"Dong Zhang is a waste. He is greedy and cruel, loves great achievements, and lacks strategy. The so-called alliance between Sichuan and Sichuan is neither strong nor reliable. He will not only lose the battle and drag down Xichuan, but he will also turn against the enemy and stab him in the back. My lord, you must always be on guard!"
"What about the good news?"
"Dong Zhang is a waste. Dongchuan is yours too."
Meng Zhixiang looked at Zhao Jiliang, and Zhao Jiliang looked at Meng Zhixiang. After a while, the two laughed heartily. It seems that Meng Zhixiang is really going to recreate Wang Jian.
Meng Zhixiang and Dong Zhang jointly submitted a petition, saying that the imperial court divided the two prefectures of Lang and Guo, set up separate military towns, and strengthened the deployment of troops in the two prefectures of Mian and Sui. This had caused serious panic among the soldiers and civilians of the two Sichuan provinces. They requested the imperial court to withdraw the recent The dispatched military envoys and governors withdrew the garrison to eliminate misunderstandings.
This is called taking the lead and shifting the blame for the upcoming war. It should be written by Zhao Jiliang.
Of course, Li Siyuan refused to obey. He just issued an edict to reassure him, "The imperial court really has no other intentions. Don't think too much about it." At the same time, he also granted Meng Zhixiang a written order to show his trust.
The movements of the army are the expression of true intentions. The war between Sichuan and Sichuan is inevitable.
Commander-in-chief Li Renhan and Zhang Ye of Xichuan held a banquet and invited Meng Zhixiang to come to discuss war arrangements. However, a nun came to report that it was rumored that the two generals were hosting a Hongmen Banquet to capture Meng Zhixiang.
After investigation, it was found that the people spreading the rumors were two mid-level military officers, Du Yanchang and Wang Xingben.
Meng Zhixiang cut the two men in half, and then went to Li Renhan's house for a banquet alone without any guards, armor, or weapons.
Li Renhan was so moved that he cried bitterly, knelt down and kowtowed, saying that my lord trusted his subordinates so much, and I could only repay him with death (a public recommendation is to put one's heart into others' hearts, and a veteran can only die to repay his kindness)!
The Nishikawa generals were also greatly moved by this, and their morale was unprecedentedly high.
The sharp blade hanging over Dong Zhang's head - Wu Qianyu, the governor of Mianzhou, made it difficult for Dong Zhang to sleep and eat well. After plotting a joint rebellion with Meng Zhixiang, Dong Zhang listed Wu Qianyu, who was close at hand, as his first target of attack.
After some thinking, Dong Zhang decided to outsmart him.
Dong Zhang took the initiative to report that Wu Qianyu was the commander of Dongchuan March and asked him to come to Zizhou to guide the work. The imperial court was asking for it. Since Dong Zhang took the initiative to place spies beside him, let him do it.
Wu Qianyu happily came to Zizhou and threw himself into a trap, and was imprisoned by Dong Zhang.
Interestingly, the day Dong Zhang listed on the watch was April 1st.
After implementing a small plan and unplugging the time bomb of the imperial court, Dong Zhang believed that the time was ripe, so he gathered his troops, held a grand military parade, and mobilized the people for war.
Dong Zhang ordered his troops to shave off their hair and tattoo their faces to express their determination to rebel. To the north of Jianmen Pass, Yongding Pass was newly built and a beacon tower was added. Ready for war.
Dong Zhang is really going to rebel. What a bitter irony. Because the Li Siyuan court's early policy of "leaning on the east and destroying the west" was to support Dong Zhang and work together with Meng Zhixiang.
Xichuan has 13 prefectures under its jurisdiction, which is almost three times that of Dongchuan (5), and its overall strength greatly exceeds Dongchuan. Uniting the weak to destroy the strong is the only correct way to break the tripartite trend. Because they are independent, they have no say in dividing the spoils, and they are more likely to be "blackmailed."
And if Li Siyuan unites with Xichuan to destroy Dongchuan, the outcome will be that the imperial court takes chestnuts from the fire for Xichuan, and the war dividends are swallowed up by Xichuan.
Therefore, Li Siyuan's strategy of "leaning on the east to destroy the west" is the only correct policy between Sichuan and Sichuan.
However, under An Chongjie's cunning maneuvers, Dong Zhang overtook at a curve on the road to rebellion and walked in front of Meng Zhixiang. They sent troops to attack the enemy, but the imperial court had already lost in "strategy" before the war broke out.
Undermining the imperial court's two-sichuan strategy also became one of the main reasons for Ding'an's heavy injunction of death sentences in the future.
At this time, the scheming Meng Zhixiang must seize the last opportunity to take advantage of Li Siyuan again.
Meng Zhixiang went to the court to avoid the current sensitive topic of the situation between Sichuan and Sichuan, and asked the court to transfer 13 salt fields in Yun'an to Xichuan, so that the salt profits could be used to subsidize the money and grain shipped to Kuizhou.
Dong Zhang yelled, but Meng Zhixiang pretended to be good.
The imperial court's grand strategy overturned and its rhythm was disrupted. Li Siyuan agreed to Meng Zhixiang's petition, hoping to win over Meng Zhixiang and check and balance Dong Zhang. In this way, the imperial court's policy on Sichuan and Sichuan underwent a 180-degree reversal.
Li Siyuan continued to increase military investment in Langzhou and Suizhou. Dong Zhang sent troops to intercept and plunder the Central Task Force, in order to demonstrate to the court and demand that the Central Committee stop military infiltration in the Sichuan and Sichuan areas.
The situation between Sichuan and Sichuan has further deteriorated, and surrounding business travelers no longer dare to enter the Bashu region.
Dong Zhang's son Dong Guangye worked in Luoyang as a palace envoy and managed the imperial garden. Dong Zhang wrote to him, saying that the central government divided my land, set up another military town, and sent heavy troops to garrison it. This was to kill me! You should take this letter to An Chongjie now and warn him for me that if the central government dares to send another soldier, I will rebel! This letter bids you farewell.
Dong Guangye quickly followed his father's instructions and moved to the center.
Dogs that bite don't bark. Many times, showing off his teeth and showing off his power just shows his inner fear and weakness. He just wants to use force to intimidate the other party, force the other party to make concessions, sit back at the negotiating table, and "promote peace through war."
Dong Zhang's series of high-profile "rebellion" actions were all to threaten and intimidate Li Siyuan. Aren’t you, Li Siyuan, weak? Aren’t you appeasing and compromising? Aren’t you trying to make concessions to Gao Jichang, who is a tiny person in Jingnan? Why can’t you accommodate me, Dong Zhang?
Isn’t it said that crying children can eat sweets?
