"Your Majesty, what General Wu just said is true. At this time, we must not obey the Lord's military orders and raise troops to invade Chang'an. To invade Chang'an at this time is to seek death."
"Everything is as General Wu said, Yuan Ke is a thief who is extremely cunning."
"The heads of the two princes Liu Fan and Liu Dan were blatantly sent back this time. The sinister intention lies in the master."
"Now that the master is seriously ill, this has been confirmed."
"I have an ominous premonition that Yuan Ke is going to launch troops against our Yizhou."
Zhang Song said worriedly.
He is a counselor under Liu Yan's account. He is quite strategic and full of tricks.
In one word, he concluded that Yuan Ke was going to attack Shu.
"What? Yuan Ke wants to raise troops to attack Shu? Zhang Qing, do you have any basis for what you say? Yizhou has a lot of rich people, dangerous mountains and terrain, and hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers and horses in the state. Yuan Ke is here Is it possible to invade Yizhou at this time?"
When Liu Zhang heard this, he couldn't help but question Zhang Song's speculation.
He did not believe that Yuan Ke would launch an army to attack Shu.
"Your Majesty, we would rather believe that this matter exists than that it does not exist."
"During this period, we have had a lot of new faces come to Chengdu. Before, I didn't pay attention to their origins. Now it seems that these people are probably spies sent by Yuan Ke."
"Perhaps, as Mr. Zhang just said, the thief Yuan Ke is really going to attack our Yizhou."
"For this plan, we should notify Zhang Lu, the prefect of Hanzhong County, and ask them to immediately send people to guard the pass to prevent Yuan Ke from invading Hanzhong. At the same time, we should also send troops to guard [Jianmen Pass]."
"This pass is a natural danger. With this pass, we in Yizhou will be safe."
Li Yan also spoke.
"My lords, you are all my ministers in Yizhou. Now, my father is seriously ill. Liu Zhang and I are in danger. In response to the important military matter, I hope you can help me to guard Yizhou together."
Liu Zhang said.
"Your Majesty, we will defend Yizhou to the death."
A group of civil and military counselors immediately made a statement.
"Okay, Liu Zhang would like to thank you all."
Liu Zhang bowed to all the civil and military ministers present.
"Your Majesty, I will ask you to recruit soldiers and horses and train soldiers in the prefectures and counties. Firstly, to prevent Yuan Ke from invading. Secondly, we will train the soldiers and horses in advance, and we can also look for opportunities to enter Chang'an, kill Yuan Ke, and save the lives of the two princes. Revenge with the Lord."
Zhang Ren asked for orders.
"General Zhang Ren, this matter is not urgent. We now have tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in Yizhou, which is more than enough to deal with Yuan Ke. Recruiting additional troops and training soldiers is a waste of people and money. It is not advisable. We must not do it. The people of Yizhou add to the burden."
"This needs to be done with caution."
"Let's discuss it later!"
Liu Zhang shook his head and refused Zhang Ren's request to recruit troops.
"..."
All the civil and military ministers and workers in the Yizhou camp were quite embarrassed when they heard this.
They said: Liu Zhang is so naive and confused.
What does it mean to add burden to the people of Yizhou?
Soldiers are also sacred weapons for protecting the country.
With no soldiers at hand, facing the enemy's invasion, they can only be bullied and slaughtered at will.
In today's troubled times where princes are competing for hegemony, if Yizhou does not take advantage of the situation to work hard, innovate, train soldiers, and expand territory, it will surely be destroyed by other forces in the future.
Yuan Ke, a rebellious minister and traitor, openly killed Liu Fan and Liu Dan and made Liu Yan angry. Wasn't it because he also coveted the rich Yizhou?
At this time, if they in Yizhou do not recruit soldiers and horses, train soldiers, and stock up on food and grass as soon as possible, it will be too late when the army comes to the city.
"..."
No one present stood up to persuade Liu Zhang, not even Zhang Ren said anything. Obviously they did not recognize Liu Zhang as the future successor of [Yizhou].
Liu Zhang was weak, suspicious, and unambitious. If this person succeeded Liu Yan and became the new state pastor, it would be a disaster for Yizhou.
Yizhou will die sooner or later.
Many people's eyes were shining with strange light, and they didn't know what they were planning.
clatter!
clatter!
clatter!
At this moment, a middle-aged man wearing armor strode in from outside.
The person who came was Zhao Wei, the general of Zhengdong Zhonglang.
This man was originally the Taicang Order of the imperial court. Later, he resigned and followed Liu Yan to serve in Yizhou. At first, he was the Sima under Liu Yan.
Now, as Liu Yan's power grows, he has been promoted to the position of Zhonglang General. He has tens of thousands of elite soldiers under his command, and he is also one of Liu Yan's most trusted subordinates.
"Zhao Wei pays homage to the Crown Prince!"
"Thank you for your hard work, General Zhao Wei."
"Take a seat!"
Liu Zhang said.
"Thank you, Crown Prince!"
........
While the top leaders of Yizhou were discussing strategies to deal with Yuan Ke, Di Qing, the deputy commander of the Longxiang Battalion, had personally led tens of thousands of troops into the territory of Hanzhong County via Chen Lundao. In less than two days, he commanded his troops to conquer several military towns.
This time Yuan Ke's attack on Shu was divided into three groups: the central army, the vanguard and the rear army.
Because of a special relationship, Di Qing, the commander-in-chief of the Chinese army, led his troops into Hanzhong first.
This move also caught Zhang Lu off guard.
As for Yuan Ke, the original vanguard coach, he was temporarily reduced to the middle army, while the rear army was led by Pang An and was responsible for escorting the grain and grass.
Di Qing, a divine general, defeated thousands of Yang An's troops in Hanzhong outside Qingshui Town. Although this battle was a great victory and they beheaded a thousand people, their whereabouts were exposed. A detailed report was made to Hanzhong that day.
"Report, Yuan Ke's army invaded Hanzhong and Qingshui Town was lost!"
Hanzhong County, Nanzheng City.
In the prefect's mansion, Zhang Lugang received the detailed military report. He was so frightened that he immediately called his brother Zhang Wei and his counselor Yang Song into the mansion to discuss strategies to defend against the enemy.
"Brother, why are you so panicked? Could it be that the sky is falling?"
As soon as he entered the county government office, Zhang Wei started laughing wantonly.
He was just hanging out with Xin Na's sixteen-room concubine, but unexpectedly, he was disturbed by the messenger sent by Zhang Lu.
"I have a detailed report. Yuan Ke, who is entrenched in Chang'an, has taken action against us in Hanzhong. A few hours ago, Yuan Ke's troops defeated thousands of Yang An's troops in Qingshui Town, and are now heading towards [Yangping Pass]."
"Tell me, how should we respond to this battle?"
"Is there any good strategy to defeat the enemy?"
Zhang Lu asked.
"Brother, the most dangerous place in Hanzhong is Yangping Pass. We only need to send troops to defend Yangping Pass, seize favorable terrain on both sides of the pass, and deploy more than a dozen camps along the mountains. We cannot hold on and can only wait for Yuan Ke's troops. When we come to attack the city, we harass it with rocks, trees, and arrows. In this way, it only takes a few months for the traitor Yuan Ke to retreat voluntarily due to lack of food and grass."
Zhang Wei offered his advice.
"Yang Song, you have a strategy, what do you think of this plan?"
Zhang Lu asked.
"General Zhang Wei's plan is very clever."
Yang Song said.
"good!"
"Everything will be done according to Zhang Wei's plan."
Zhang Lu was overjoyed when he heard this.
After that, he sent generals Yang Ang and Yang Ren to lead an army of 50,000 people, with Zhang Wei as the chief general, and set off immediately to rush to Yangpingguan.
At the same time, people were mobilized to send sufficient food and grass to Yangping Pass.
After all the plans were made, he sent a messenger to Chengdu to inform Liu Yan of the situation in Hanzhong and seek support.
It is said that Zhang Wei, Yang Ang and Yang Ren led 50,000 troops. They did not dare to neglect for a moment, and marched from Nanzheng City to Yangping Pass in two hours.
After that, the two armies joined forces and built 17 camps on the mountains on both sides of [Yangping Pass] in half a day to defend Yangping Pass.
After everything was completed, Yang Ren looked at the contiguous camps and said confidently: "General Zhang Wei, our army is so well prepared this time. No matter how powerful Yuan Ke is, he will never be in our hands." If you get half a cent off, I can rest easy."
"What a bullshit big Sima, Yuan Ke is just domineering in Chang'an, that's all. Now, he has actually set his sights on us."
"He's bringing it upon himself."
"If he dares to come to this battle, I, Zhang Wei, will beat him until he goes home to find his mother."
Zhang Wei couldn't help laughing loudly.
He was a little distracted.
