Yongzhou, Chang'an.
Liu Bei died of illness in the palace in Chang'an. Zhuge Liang mourned in Chang'an and announced it to the world. Then he would support the late emperor's coffin and return it to Huiling in the southern suburbs of Chengdu for burial.
In fact, when Liu Bei was alive, he did consider giving up the Huiling Mausoleum in the southern suburbs of Chengdu, and instead sought to find a site in Chang'an to build another mausoleum.
However, due to political reasons, Liu Bei never made up his mind.
The emperor's mausoleum was usually built near the capital. If he rebuilt his mausoleum in Chang'an, it would be tantamount to announcing to the world that he planned to move the capital.
Then the Chengdu side must fry the pot.
Today's Chang'an is still the front line after all, and it is not a good time to move the capital. Therefore, Liu Bei has never been able to make up his mind to rebuild his tomb.
In addition, Liu Bei died of illness a year after occupying Chang'an, and there was no time to build a mausoleum. So in the end, Zhuge Liang had to help Liu Bei's coffin back to Chengdu and bury it in Huiling. After all, the mausoleum there had been built for four years. It’s been five years and it’s almost finished.
It's just that Zhuge Liang wants to support Liu Bei's coffin back to Chengdu, so the elite Northern Army, as the emperor's personal army, will naturally follow him back to Chengdu. This will greatly weaken Yongzhou's defense.
It was just decided at the beginning of the year that Zuo Fengyi would move to the civilian army camp. It has been implemented for less than half a year. The border guards from all over the country have just arrived in Yongzhou. They have not yet undergone rest and training, and their combat effectiveness is seriously insufficient. And the local county soldiers in Yongzhou They have just been recruited, they just distributed armors and weapons, they haven't even practiced a few times, and they have no combat effectiveness at all.
If at this time, Cao Wei hears that Liu Bei has died of illness and raises troops to invade, and the Northern Army withdraws from Chang'an, then things will be in trouble.
Although Zhang Xi also feels that with Cao Wei's current strength, it is unlikely that he will launch a war after less than a year of rest. But what if? !
For this reason, Zhang Xi had to go to Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei and ask them to leave at least 10,000 elite Northern troops for him to deal with emergencies.
There is no requirement to stay for a long time, as long as these 10,000 Northern Army elites are stationed in Yongzhou for one more year. When the Yongzhou County soldiers have initially formed combat effectiveness, Zhang Xi really is not afraid of Cao Wei's invasion.
Even if he can't defeat the enemy, Zhang Xi still has the ability to defend the three auxiliaries and wait for reinforcements.
Zhang Fei didn't have any objections to this matter. He actually felt that Yongzhou's defense was a bit fragile. Coupled with the lack of soldiers, it would be difficult to organize a large-scale Yongzhou County army in a short period of time, so some of the elite Northern Army troops were left behind. It is normal to help defend Chang'an.
Zhuge Liang, after careful consideration, agreed with Zhang Xi's opinion.
Although Zhuge Liang also judged that Cao Wei was unlikely to launch a large-scale campaign at this time, small-scale harassment was still possible.
Without the elite defense of the Third Auxiliary, it would be really difficult for Zhang Xi to defend the entire Third Auxiliary area with his 10,000 garrison soldiers and less than 20,000 county soldiers.
Furthermore, after discussing with Zhang Fei, Zhuge Liang also felt that although the current Northern Army had grown somewhat after experiencing the Second Northern Expedition, it still lacked battle experience compared to Cao Wei's elite Forbidden Army.
Therefore, Zhuge Liang planned to keep the Northern Army in Chang'an to garrison in batches, with each batch guarding for one year, so as to accumulate the battle experience of the Northern Army soldiers in a rotating garrison manner.
But if this happens, the number of elite Northern troops stationed in the capital will be reduced, especially in the months when defenses are changed. Of the 30,000 elite Northern troops, only 10,000 may stay in Chengdu.
If we add the 20,000 people from the Southern Army, the number will be enough, but if there is another war elsewhere, such as when it is necessary to rush to Jingzhou to aid, the force will seem a little insufficient.
Therefore, Zhuge Liang discussed with Zhang Fei whether to integrate the 10,000 white soldiers led by Chen Dao into the Northern Army and become the capital's garrison.
Regarding this matter, Zhang Fei agreed in principle, but if it was feasible in detail, he would have to report to the new emperor and ask Chen Dao for his opinion.
The Baijie soldiers have always been Liu Bei's personal guards. They are not included in the establishment of the Northern Army. They only obey Liu Bei's personal command. During the later period of the Second Northern Expedition, the Baijie soldiers stayed in Wuzhangyuan to guard the large army rations leading from Baoxie Road to Wuzhangyuan. Got it.
Now, with Liu Bei's death, the arrangements for Bai Jianbing need to be put on the agenda.
Of course, it is impossible to disband this kind of elite, and Ji Han does not have the luxury to do so. It is also appropriate to transfer him back to Chengdu and integrate him into the Northern Army.
However, even if Zhuge Liang is the prime minister and has the responsibility of entrusting the orphan, he cannot issue this order.
As for Chen, there is no need to worry.
Chen Dao's character is actually very similar to Zhao Yun's. Neither of them is the kind of person who is greedy for power.
Even for Chen Dao, Liu Bei is no longer here, so supporting the young master is the best way for Chen Dao to repay his late master.
These matters are all matters that need Zhuge Liang to coordinate after returning to Chengdu. For the Yongzhou Governor's Department, Zhuge Liang agreed to leave Wu Yi to lead 10,000 Northern troops, which was enough to satisfy Zhang Xi.
Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei wanted to help Liu Bei's coffin return to Chengdu for burial, and it was not advisable to stay for a long time. After all, it was already late June when Liu Bei died of illness, and they really couldn't afford to delay.
Therefore, Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei set out as soon as possible after choosing a date, preparing to return to Chengdu.
However, before returning to Chengdu, Zhuge Liang made a special trip to Zhang Xi to discuss the defense strategy in the Guanzhong area with Zhang Xi. By the way, he also made some things clear to Zhang Xi.
The defense strategy in Guanzhong is still focused on key defense because Wuguan and Tongguan are not in hand, so Zhuge Liang suggested.
In the Youfufeng area, garrison soldiers and county soldiers can be arranged to guard several important cities and passes near Wuguan Road, and some military forts can be built to keep the enemy outside Wuguan Road.
Zuofengyi area does not have this condition.
Zhang Xi and Zhuge Liang discussed it and felt that there was really no good way to deal with the Wei army in the direction of Tongguan except to strengthen surveillance, draw up a buffer zone, and stick to the military arteries.
Zhang Xi also proposed to take advantage of the opportunity of foreign aristocratic families to come to Zuofeng Yi Real Estate to expand their industries, and allow these aristocratic families to recruit servants to guard the courtyard and defend themselves on the spot, so as to delay the infiltration of the Wei army. This idea was proposed by Zhuge Liang Denied.
This is not a bad idea, because even if you don't agree, those wealthy families will do it in private. In a border state like this, you can't stop them from doing it.
But Zhuge Liang still didn't want to set this precedent officially, for fear of giving this group of foreign aristocratic families the opportunity to become powerful in Yongzhou, and even, using this as a precedent, other aristocratic families in other places would also demand the same treatment.
For example, Jingzhou.
Yongzhou is the front line, isn't Jingzhou the front line? !
In official matters, the most taboo thing is to set a precedent. Some things are obviously policies tailored to local conditions, but in the eyes of some selfish people, they will become policies that need to be popularized.
Zhuge Liang didn't want to cause trouble for himself, and would rather play it safe.
As for Chang'an's defense, Zhuge Liang is not worried.
As long as Zuo Fengyi and Right Fufeng are not attacked by Wei thieves, Chang'an will not be threatened by any attack. And even if Chang'an is threatened by attack, with Chang'an's city defense, as long as Zhang Xi is not so stupid that he wipes out all the troops, he can hold on For the past few months, it hasn't been a problem.
After the two discussed the defensive strategy of Guanzhong Sanfu, Zhang Xi thought everything was fine and prepared to see off the guests.
But Zhuge Liang said something to Zhang Xi before leaving.
"Do you know, Yuan Chang, why the late emperor made Yuan Chang the Marquis of Bolu before his death?!"
Zhuge Liang mentioned this to Zhang Xi in a casual tone.
Zhang Xi was actually puzzled and had never figured out the reason behind this.
Zhang Xi is from Changshe, Yingchuan. According to the Han Dynasty's usual practice of granting marquisships, if Liu Bei wants to make Zhang Xi a marquis, he should also make him a marquis of Changshe. This can show Liu Bei's commendation to Zhang Xi. At the same time, it can also make Zhang Xi famous in his hometown.
Although the world is still uncertain, even if Liu Bei makes Zhang Xi the chief minister, he can only be a remote leader and cannot truly enjoy the fiefdom of Yingchuan, but it is still a symbol of honor.
Why did a place like Bolu Hou Bolu be sealed, but it was in Youzhou?
Zhang Xi was also involved in a lawsuit, and asked Zhuge Liang for advice, "Xi really doesn't know. I wonder if Mr. Kong Ming has a clue?!"
Zhuge Liang smiled and made it clear to Zhang Xi directly.
"Huo Guang, the great general of the early Han Dynasty, was the Marquis of Bo Lu."
As soon as these words came out, Zhang Xi was stunned.
What does it mean if you are not the late emperor? !
The political implications of this really made Zhang Xi feel a little creepy the more he thought about it, and he subconsciously looked at Zhuge Liang.
What was the final fate of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's four most important ministers? Zhang Xi still knew that Liu Bei appointed him the Marquis of Bo Lu. Was he trying to check and balance Zhuge Liang on his own? !
Zhuge Liang naturally saw Zhang Xi's expression, but Zhuge Liang just smiled and continued, "Liang thinks he is not Shangguan Jie, and Yide will only be a loyal minister like Jin Rixi. But Yide and I, After all, he is older than Yuan Chang. If someone wants to be like Shangguan Jie or Sang Hongyang in the future, Yuan Chang, the Bolu Marquis, will need to step in."
After saying this, Zhuge Liang cupped his hands to Zhang Xi and walked away.
Zhang Xi was left alone, standing at the door of his house in a daze.
Did the late Emperor really mean this? !
(End of chapter)
