The next day, escorted by officials of all sizes from the Mufu of Yizhou Prefecture, Liu Zhang set off again to return to Chang'an.
This time, we no longer have the convenience of waterway, so we have to go to Hanzhong along the Jinniu Road.
Liu Zhang and Dian Wei had to review the Shu Road again, and once again experienced the difficulty of the Shu Road.
From Chengdu to Luoxian, from Luoxian to Mianzhu, and then to Fuxian and Zitong.
They were only halfway through Jinniu Road, but Xu Shu and Wenpin were already complaining endlessly.
Liu Zhang smiled and said nothing.
The road from Chengdu to Zitong is really dwarfed by the entire Jinniu Road.
For Xu Shu, who was accustomed to the roads of Jingzhou, it was completely difficult for Wen and Pin to reach the sky.
But for Liu Zhang, who was familiar with the road from Jiameng Pass to Hanzhong, it was almost as if he was walking on flat ground.
After passing through Zitong, Liu Zhang led his army to the Big and Small Jianmen Mountains, which is also the location where Zhuge Liang built Jianmen Pass in history.
This is where the difficulties and dangers of the entire Shu Road begin.
Xu Shu and Wenpin also completely understood why Liu Zhang always made fun of them in the past.
Since the beginning of Jianmen Road, the degree of danger has skyrocketed, and it is completely different from before.
Especially where the Jianmen Pass is supposed to be built, only a few people can pass side by side.
If you are not careful, you will fall off a cliff.
Passing through Jianmen Road, we soon arrived at Jiameng Pass, which is currently the most dangerous pass in Shu.
By mastering Jiameng Pass, if the enemy wants to invade Shu, they will have to pay at least several times or even ten times the price.
Three rivers converge, Xiongguan Jiameng.
Xu Shu and Wenpin gained another insight.
Coming here, Xu Shu couldn't help but think of Zhuge Liang's plan to capture Bashu mentioned by Fu Kuang.
Apart from humiliating himself, Xu Shu couldn't think of any words to describe Zhuge Liang's naivety.
At the same time, Xu Shu continued to laugh at himself, who made him think it was reasonable for a while!
But the consternation did not end there. In order to make Wenpin and Xu Shu deeply aware of the door of blessing and misfortune in Yizhou, Liu Zhang deliberately took a detour through Baishui Pass.
There are two gates of fortune and misfortune in Yizhou. One is in Yufu, relying on the steepness of the Yangtze River and Baidi City.
The other one is at Baishui Pass, completely cutting off the Golden Bull Road between Hanzhong and Shu.
After seeing the danger of Yufu, Xu Shu and Wenpin had long been curious about another door to good fortune and misfortune.
The ending did not disappoint the two of them. The steepness of Baishui Pass far exceeded their imagination!
It can be said that since Yufu entered Yizhou, every city and pass they passed by made them astonished.
Even Xu Shu, who prided himself on being extremely meticulous in his military use, had to admit that there was nothing he could do about the many cities and passes.
Many times, victory cannot be achieved by being surrounded on all sides or by having an overwhelming advantage in military strength.
The moment he stood at the gate of Baishui Pass in person, Xu Shu's admiration for Liu Zhang rose to the point of admiration.
Xu Shu was very familiar with the situation when Liu Zhang started his army.
Occupying only one county in Hanzhong, it was hard to resist Zhang Lu, Ren Qi, Zhao Wei, and Jia Long, who occupied most of Yizhou.
If Xu Shu remembers correctly, Liu Zhang started in the first year of Chuping, relying on Hanzhong to launch an attack on Shuzhong.
Let’s not talk about capturing the entire Yizhou, including the Jiameng Pass we passed not long ago and the Baishui Pass we are currently standing at.
How much does it cost to win?
How brave do soldiers need to be without fear of death, how proactive do generals need to be, and how strategizing do commanders need to be?
"When Duke Qin attacked Yizhou from Hanzhong, how many troops did he have?"
There are many rumors in the world, and Xu Shu is eager to ask the person involved for the truest answer.
Liu Zhang smiled and began to recall Guowang in his mind.
"Haha, thirty thousand elite soldiers!"
Thirty thousand!
A look of astonishment flashed in Xu Shu's eyes.
Thirty thousand elite soldiers are definitely a huge burden for a county.
Especially a small county like Hanzhong with a population of only 300,000.
But this was not what shocked Xu Shu the most.
How did Liu Zhang defeat Baishui Pass and Jiameng Pass with 30,000 troops?
Xu Shu asked himself, even if he was given 30,000 iron-blooded troops, he could only look back and sigh in the face of such a great challenge!
"If I remember correctly, it was the cavalry of Wu Feng Camp that Duke Qin was famous for, right?"
"I didn't expect Duke Qin's infantry to be so powerful!"
Apart from the fact that Liu Zhang's soldiers and horses were too elite, I really can't think of any reason to explain all this.
Liu Zhang smiled and shook his head. There was really no need for him to hide anything from his own people.
"Yuanzhi, where can 30,000 people capture Baishui Pass?"
"If Zhang Lu hadn't had evil intentions and wanted to lure Gu to Shu to get rid of him, Gu Ye would have been unable to do so!"
Only then did Xu Shu suddenly realize that Liu Zhang was following his plan!
With Liu Zhang's strategy, he could easily catch people like Zhang Lu.
"There is not only one Jinniu Road between Baishui Pass and Jiameng Pass."
"There is a small road between Jiameng Pass and Hanzhong, which can bypass Baishui Pass."
"Back then I sent a large number of soldiers and horses to sneak across, and then I was able to completely annihilate the enemy forces at Baishui Pass, and then deceive the gate of Jiameng Pass!"
Xu Shu nodded repeatedly, his eyes filled with astonishment.
Although it was just a few words, Xu Shu could still feel the danger from the simple language.
I couldn't help but admire Liu Zhang even more.
"Everyone in the world thinks that Duke Qin is in a high position and he is lucky to get everything he has today!"
"Xu Shu now realizes how ignorant the world is!"
Once upon a time, Xu Shu also held a contemptuous attitude toward Liu Zhang's rise.
But today we know that the foundation for Qin Gong's rise is far inferior to that of Cao Cao, Liu Biao and even Liu Bei.
Compared to the Yuan brothers, they are even more different.
Cao Cao, like Liu Biao, got a county or even a state almost for nothing.
Liu Bei did not hesitate to make too many concessions. He got the land of Xuzhou for no reason, only to give it to others for nothing.
Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu's start was even more shocking.
At that time, the most powerful prefectures and counties in the world, Jizhou and Yuzhou were the territories of the two brothers respectively.
Yuan Shu even got Nanyang, which has a population of more than one million!
A lot of people, a lot of money, and a lot of food can almost cover the Yuan brothers' start.
Xu Shu vaguely remembered how much the princes in the world looked down upon Liu Zhang when he fled to Hanzhong.
Even the ignorant people think that the Yellow Turban Rebellion was the pinnacle of Liu Zhang's life, and Dong Zhuoqian was the end of Liu Zhang's legend.
In the end, no one expected that leaving Hanzhong would be the real beginning.
Everything before was just a small test!
To this day, Liu Zhang has proved himself with facts.
He claimed the title of Duke and founded the country, and firmly established himself as the number one overlord in the world!
No wonder Xu Shu made such a fuss. When Liu Zhang looked back on this journey, he felt it was very legendary.
Especially the journey south to Yizhou made him grow at an astonishing speed.
"Yuanzhi, we only occupy one of the three-thirds of the world now. There are still legends that need to be written in the future!"
"Let's go, together with Gu, to create a new big man!"
Xu Shu's eyes lit up and he wished he could immediately kneel down and swear to die.
When it comes to boosting morale and rallying people's hearts, Liu Bei is really far behind!
Without lingering too much at Baishui Pass, the army immediately set off for Hanzhong.
There is still a long way to go from Hanzhong to Guanzhong Chang'an.
Liu Zhang believes that Xu Shu will have a long way to go in the future and will give him a special surprise!
