There are five counties at the junction of Yongliang and Yongzhou.
There is Qingshui County in the northeast corner. This county is surrounded by mountains with high mountains and dense forests. Due to the war, many people who fled the country have poured in.
Because the mountain roads are rugged and difficult to manage, over time it gradually lost contact with the outside world and became a lawless place.
At this time, there was an outlaw named Jiang Tuo. This man was standing in the courtyard, blindfolded and shouting.
"I'll count one, two, three. You all stand together and don't move any more!"
"Yes~" A soft and coquettish voice sounded, making people daydream.
"It smells so good, then you must be Qiuxiang..."
"Sir, you are so awesome, I love you so much!"
"Huh? If you are so big, then you must be Xiaoxiao?"
"Oh, sir, you are such a bad person for speaking like this."
"It's okay to be big. Are you afraid of what others will say?"
Jiang Tuo walked a few more steps and arrived in front of a person. He smiled and said, "This person is neither fragrant nor big. Who is he? Let me guess..."
The man took off Jiang Tuo's eyekerchief, then held up several memorials, and kindly reminded him: "Sir, you have been playing for a long time, it's time to deal with government affairs, right? Playing around like this is not the answer!"
"Lu Qing, it's you..."
Jiang Tuo sighed deeply, with a very reluctant expression on his face, and shouted: "Let me play for another half hour, just half an hour, and I will deal with government affairs in a while, okay?"
"Half and half, half and half, sir, it's been two and a half hours!"
Lu Qing was very heartbroken and warned: "Sir, do you want to enjoy yourself just because your life is better? Have you forgotten the expectations of the people back then? Do you want to let them down? Do you..."
"Okay, stop talking!"
Jiang Tuo was very helpless, remembering that he was originally a college student in the 21st century. After graduation, he couldn't find a job, so he could only stay up late and write novels. As a result, he died suddenly and traveled to ancient times.
By coincidence, I became a glorious thief, the kind who just came up the mountain and was bullied by others.
As an excellent time traveler, Jiang Tuo knew that he could no longer let others bully him. He had to reach the top step by step. He wanted to be more than ten thousand people...Jiang Tuo!
Ever since, he dug out turtle shells with words on them, barked like a fox in the middle of the night, and even sometimes foamed at the mouth, pretending to be possessed by the Jade Emperor.
Successfully deceived a large number of robbers, bandits, and bandits...
Then the familiar process of killing the county magistrate and occupying the county government office...
I originally thought of cutting down trees to become soldiers, raising poles to become flags, and the world would gather to respond, and I would gain food and enjoy the scenery.
But when he knew that it was the end of the Three Kingdoms, he readily chose Gou, because in this era of capable people, he neither knew how to march or fight, nor astronomy and geography, nor how to transport grain and grass...
It's a cannon fodder's life!
So Jiang Tuo chose Gou...
But he didn't give up completely, because Qingshui County was really too poor.
There are far more thieves than people, and more rats than food.
Because there is no one to govern, there is no law and no justice. The law of the jungle is the only rule. As a result, the people lived in dire straits, living in dilapidated houses with no clothes to cover their bodies and no food to eat.
The people had nothing to eat, so they had to dig out the Guanyin soil. Later, the Guanyin soil was almost all dug up.
Almost caused a disaster.
As the head of a county, Jiang Tuo began to carry out large-scale land reform, eliminate the evil landlords and gentry, distribute the land to the people, build wells, bridges and other infrastructure, encourage farming and business.
It took another three years to tinker with high-quality corn, animal husbandry methods, iron smelting methods and other inventions, and finally led the people of Qingshui to get rid of poverty and become rich, and embarked on the road to prosperity.
Jiang Tuo couldn't help crying when he thought of his experiences in the past three years.
It’s not easy for me!
Jiang Tuo leaned on the soft pillow. A maid came forward, stood behind the chair, and gently massaged Jiang Tuo's shoulders with her weak, boneless hands.
There was also a maid who brought tea, put a scented handkerchief on Jiang Tuo's chin with one hand, and fed him with a spoon in the other.
I have to say that the water the beauty gave me was sweet and delicious.
There were also two maids, gently waving feather fans and blowing the wind for Jiang Tuo.
Lu Qing's eyes widened as he looked at the decadent style of the evil feudal society. Tears of criticism could not help but flow from the corners of his mouth.
"My lord, you should set an example and practice frugality."
"Why can't I enjoy the family fortune I earned with my own hands?!" Jiang Tuo raised his head proudly and asked, "Lu Qing, how much food do we still have in Qingshui County?"
"Master Qi, our granaries are already full. This year will be a bumper harvest. The government has stepped up to build four more granaries, otherwise they won't be able to hold them."
"Oh, that's good."
Lu Qing couldn't help but ask: "Sir, you once said that our annual grain cannot be sold and can only be stored. But it has been stored for three years. If we don't sell it, it will probably spoil."
"It doesn't matter, it will come in handy this year!"
"Why?"
"Because the Prime Minister is sending troops to the Northern Expedition... When Jieting is lost, the Prime Minister will face a food shortage. By then... our food will be of great use."
"Prime Minister? Zhuge Liang?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"You want to sell grain to the Han army?"
"It's not selling, it's giving!"
Lu Qing was stunned for a moment and asked in confusion: "Why?"
Jiang Tuo smiled, his eyes full of longing. How could people in this era know the romance that only belongs to Shu Han?
Even after two thousand years, everyone still wants the Prime Minister to win.
With this food and grass, the Han army will definitely be able to defeat the Wei army, right? When the time comes... I will be the number one hero of the Shu Han Dynasty, and will be praised for generations to come. Wouldn't it be wonderful?
Dreaming about a bright future, Jiang Tuo couldn't help but laugh triumphantly.
"Jiejiejiejiejie..."
At this moment, the Han army is encamped.
"Prime Minister, Ma Su was defeated, the entire Han army was wiped out, and now Zhang He has stationed in Jieting!"
When the prime minister heard the scout's message, he trembled and became a little unsteady on his feet. The general beside him hurriedly helped him up.
"Failed?!"
The scout said: "The Han army was defeated miserably. Only Ma Su and Wang Pingping and a dozen of their own soldiers escaped."
Zhuge Liang didn't speak. His body was trembling slightly, his eyes were dim, and he was silent.
The long sky, why is it less than me?
After leaving the orphanage in Baidi City, the late emperor, he pacified Nanjun, pacified the Miao and Yi people, built fortifications, forged weapons, and trained soldiers. After five years of preparation, he barely scraped together 80,000 elite troops and sent troops to the Northern Expedition for the first time, vowing to regain the Han Dynasty. .
The king's industry is not on the side of peace, and the Han thieves are not at odds with each other!
He sent veteran general Zhao Yun to lead a group of suspected troops out of Baoxie Road, occupied Ji Valley, and held back Wei general Cao Zhen.
And he himself led the main force to march into Qishan.
Then attack the Yongliang area with all their strength.
The three counties of Longxi looked at the wind and fell. The prefects of Tianshui and Nan'an gave up their defense and fled eastward. The situation was excellent.
He longed to inherit the late emperor's legacy, use his life to revive the Han Dynasty and return the old capital.
However, the news of the loss came from the street pavilion, shattering the dream in his heart.
This battle... Ma Su was defeated!
Just a little bit, a little bit different.
If Jieting had not been lost, he could have garrisoned the counties of Yongliang, conquered the Rong in the west, looked east to Chang'an, divided Cao Wei into two, gained large tracts of grassland in Hexi, and owned tens of thousands of horses. , will have the strength to compete in the Central Plains.
But... there is no if in history!
He failed miserably.
After this battle, the Shu Han Dynasty was exhausted, lost all its talents, and was no longer able to compete with Cao Wei for the world.
The generals in the camp were talking a lot, their faces full of anger, but Zhuge Liang knelt on the table lonely and said nothing.
The generals looked at him and looked at his gray hair, and were surprised to find that the prime minister was already old.
This scheming and far-sighted prime minister has become an old man over fifty years old.
Veteran Zhao Yun pursed his lips, clasped his fists and asked, "Prime Minister, do you want to withdraw your troops?"
Zhuge Liang took a deep breath, his face was no longer as calm and indifferent as before, but his brows were furrowed, as if he had unbreakable sorrow. He opened his mouth and weakly waved his feather fan: "The army has rested for three days. Then withdraw all your troops."
Wei Yan on the side became anxious and said loudly: "Prime Minister, our army has not been severely damaged, why did we withdraw?"
Zhuge Liang has trouble speaking.
The current situation is like our army gathering elite troops to fight against the dragon with all their might, but the other party has no moral ethics and sends four people to hold us back, while another person goes to steal the house!
If you can't return to the city in time, I'm afraid the crystal will not be saved!
Zhuge Liang shook his head and said: "Wei General Zhang He has already captured Jieting, and will soon cut off our army's retreat. When that time comes...my 100,000-strong army is surrounded in several counties in Longxi, what should I do?"
Wei Yan said disdainfully: "There is nothing to worry about. Zhang He only led an army of 50,000 people. As long as the prime minister gives me 30,000 elite soldiers, I will definitely be able to defeat him!"
"No!" Zhuge Liang explained: "Zhang He's army has taken the retreat. He doesn't have to fight us, he just needs to harass us along the way. And we have no food and grass. If we can't retreat to Guanzhong in time, we will die because of the food and grass problem. There was a mutiny in the army.”
"In order to avoid the annihilation of the entire army, we must withdraw to Shu as soon as possible."
Wei Yan wanted to say something more, but Zhao Yun glared at him and could only lower his head unconvinced.
Zhuge Liang stood up, looked at the tired faces of the generals in the military tent, and said: "Everyone has worked hard these days. The failure of this battle is my fault. It was my fault in assigning tasks that led to the incident at the street pavilion. When we return, After returning to Shu, I will ask your Majesty to punish you."
"Prime Minister, this is God's will, not your fault alone."
"Yeah, who would have thought that Ma Su wouldn't be able to guard the street pavilion?"
"Prime Minister, please don't blame yourself and fight again tomorrow!"
Zhuge Liang shook his head: "You don't need to say more."
After the military discussion was over, Zhuge Liang came out of the tent. The wind blew over his shoulders, and he felt that the burden on his body was so heavy that he couldn't breathe.
He turned his head and looked at the veteran Zhao Yun who was walking out of the tent. Although his face was resolute, his beard and hair were white and he was tired.
Changshan Zhao Zilong, who has always been brave, is now old!
"Zilong, can you go out for a walk with me?"
Zhao Yun was slightly surprised, but he still responded: "Yes, Prime Minister!"
The two of them changed into casual clothes, got into the carriage together, and drove away aimlessly into the distance.
On the way, the two looked at each other in silence. I don't know how long they walked. Zhuge Liang suddenly asked: "Zilong, did I do something wrong? Shouldn't I trust Ma Di, who joined the army, and send him to guard an important street pavilion? Did I let him down? The late emperor’s legacy?”
"Prime Minister, no one is a saint, how can anyone be without fault?"
Zhao Yun consoled him: "After the death of my lord, Yizhou was exhausted, rebellions broke out in various places, the court had no money and food, and most of the generals died in Yiling. If it hadn't been for the support of the prime minister in these years, the Shu Han might have perished."
Zhuge Liang shook his head and sighed: "I have been preparing for this Northern Expedition for five years, but I didn't expect that I would fall short... It's really disappointing!"
Seeing this, Zhao Yun said: "Prime Minister, we finally occupied the three counties of Longxi, and now we have to give them away. It is really inappropriate. How about I lead an army to station here to resist Zhang He?"
"I have great trust in Zilong's ability. However, if we want to occupy these three counties, we have to transport food from the middle of Shu. The logistical pressure is too great and the gain is not worth the loss. It is better to retreat to the middle of Shu first and then make plans. "
"Yes, it's a matter of food and grass."
The most important difficulty restricting Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition was food and grass.
The road to Shu is so difficult that it is simply a sight to worry about.
Transporting grain from Shu is almost impossible, which leads to the fact that every time Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition must be carried out quickly, otherwise he will be defeated by Cao Wei.
Wei General Zhang He has been insisting on the shortcomings of the Shu army's lack of food. He has repeatedly said, "Liangxuan's army is deep and short of food, so it cannot fight for a long time."
"How about... let's collect food nearby to meet the consumption of the army." Zhao Yun suggested.
Zhuge Liang shook his head and refused: "Tianshui, Nan'an, and Anding counties have just surrendered. The people's attachment to the Shu Han is not high. The main thing is to appease the people. Requisitioning food at this time is tantamount to forcing them to rebel."
Once again speechless, Zhuge Liang opened the car curtain and looked out. A desolate and dilapidated scene came into view.
Years of war have caused the Han, a powerful nation, to suffer too much.
White bones are exposed in the wild, and there is no rooster crow for thousands of miles.
Occasionally, I encounter some people who are fleeing. Their faces are tanned, their skin is dry and cracked, and their lips are cracked and peeling.
They walked away into the distance with sad faces.
Even Zhuge Liang, who had experienced many wars, couldn't help but blush when he saw this scene.
Before he was born, he thought that with his own strategies, he would be able to bring peace to the world. When he retired, he could go back to the mountains, forests and lakes to sing songs.
However, he later discovered that there were no chess pieces in this troubled world, but only living people, all of whom had wives, children, and children.
So he began to become an important minister of the country with the world in mind from a military advisor who guided the country.
"The people are suffering so much... The land of Yongliang is already desolate, and coupled with the years of war, how can the people survive?"
Zhao Yun advised: "Prime Minister, there is no need to blame yourself. When we regain Yongliang and settle down for a few years, the people will become rich."
"I hope so."
Just as Zhuge Liang was sighing with emotion, Zhao Yun suddenly exclaimed and hurriedly reminded: "Prime Minister, look quickly, what is that lush green thing in the distance? Isn't your eyes dazzled? Could it be a wheat field?"
Zhuge Liang was stunned for a moment, then looked into the distance and saw a golden ocean spreading out in the rolling fields. The densely packed wheat ears compete with each other, covering the entire land with a golden cloak.
"This... this place has not been affected by the war at all?"
"Not only that, the wheat here is dense and plump. I have only seen this kind of scene in my dreams!"
Zhao Yun's voice trembled, and his eyes were full of disbelief.
More than thirty years have passed since Dong Zhuo wreaked havoc in Kyoto. During these years, the world has been in constant war. The people have suffered from wars and wars. Grain production has declined year after year. The people have no food to eat and no clothing to wear...
"What is this place? Why is the wheat so dense? Why aren't there even weeds?"
Even with Zhuge Liang's intelligence, he couldn't figure it out at this time.
"Prime Minister, look at this road!"
Zhuge Liang hurriedly lowered his head, and then he realized that there was an endless black-gray flat road under his feet, which was as wide as eight carriages.
Looking back at the road we just walked, we saw it was muddy and extremely narrow.
"Zilong, am I dreaming?"
"of course not!"
"Let's go along this official road and see what the reason is."
"yes!"
