Langya King Liu Xi crossed the Huaihe River to serve Liu Bei, which was more of a joke to everyone. However, as time went by, everyone got used to it.
In the seventh month of Autumn, the military advisor and general Zhuge Liang awarded the crown prince the seal ribbon and the son Zen. King Chang of Han Dynasty prepared an edict to Prince Chan to respect his master, be courteous to the virtuous and love the people, and do not neglect him!
In the eighth month of autumn, King Cao Cao of Wei made his son Pi the crown prince, and each added two people, Cao Zhang and Cao Zhi, to live in the city.
In the 21st year of Jian'an, both the Southern Han and Northern Wei had established crown princes. After Cao Cao and Liu Bei, the future contest was destined to start between Liu Chan and Cao Pi.
In the same month, Lu Xun, Guan Yu, and Lu Su each submitted documents to Wuhan for Liu Bei to formulate a plan for the Northern Expedition. The next day, Liu Bei recruited Huo Jun, Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, Fazheng, Zhao Yun, Huang Quan and other core civil and military personnel into the palace.
Sitting on the couch, Liu Bei called on Zhou Buji to deliver the transcribed and integrated military reports to everyone.
After coughing a few times, Liu Bei looked around at the crowd and said, "I am ordering you to enter the palace for no other reason than for the Northern Expedition. I wonder if you have any good ideas to teach me?"
Everyone glanced at the documents issued by Liu Bei and thought about its contents.
"When attacking from the south to the north, there are only three ways to use troops. Go out of Hanzhong, attack Longyou or Guanzhong, and look to the northwest; go out of Jiangling, attack Xiangfan, and capture Yewan; go out of Hefei, attack Shouchun, and look to the Central Plains. Therefore. Your Majesty’s Northern Expedition may be divided into two or three armies, but each army must have a clear priority so that it can contain the enemy and be responsible for the main attack.”
As he spoke, Pang Tong took the scarf and analyzed: "According to the battle reports of the three places, in the land of Yongliang, Ma Chao controlled Wudu, Zhang He guarded Chencang, built Qishan Fort, Cao Hong and Cao Xiu supervised Chang'an, Longxi and Chang'an There are no more than 40,000 soldiers and horses on the ground, and it is difficult to know the detailed arrangements."
"Inspecting the land of Xiangfan, Cao Ren was stationed in Xiangyang, Zhu Zhi guarded Fancheng, and Man Chong ruled Runan. There were many soldiers and horses, with 30,000 to 40,000 victors, to contain the danger; explore Jianghuai and other places, Xiahou Dun was in Shouchun, Zang Ba and Yin Li were guard Go down to Pi and Huaiyin and gather troops from Henan and Xuzhou to garrison."
"In the above three places, Cao Cao's clan members and powerful generals are stationed in the above three places. They have tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. They must not be underestimated because they are strong and dangerous."
As a hero who emerged from the Four Battles, Cao Cao may have various shortcomings, but his proficiency in military strategy and application of tactics are superior to those of other heroes.
Repeated failed expeditions to the south made Cao Cao realize the reality of the confrontation between the north and the south!
Cao Cao did not dare to be careless about the Southern Han Dynasty, which was powerful enough to threaten him, and concentrated on strengthening the control of the border. After all, the threat from the Southern Han Dynasty far exceeded the pressure brought by the Wu-Shu Alliance in history.
Therefore, in order to guard against Liu Bei's Northern Expedition, Cao Cao deployed heavy troops in the core area, reinforced the city walls, hoarded grain and grass, and repaired armored troops. Once Liu Bei makes the Northern Expedition, Cao Cao will raise troops from the Central Plains to rescue the three places.
Liu Bei stroked his sparse beard and asked: "The northern thieves are waiting in danger. If we want to attack them now, where should we go?"
"I thought deeply about the terrain and thought that it would be difficult to send out a large army from Hanzhong. The road to Shu stretches for thousands of miles, and the journey from Wuhan to the northwest is five or six thousand miles away. Moreover, there is a lack of food in Guanlong and it is difficult to supply a large army. Therefore, I thought about the deployment of troops and horses. Hanzhong may send out partial troops, or it may not send out troops at all."
"What the king said makes sense!"
Pang Tong sat down on his knees and said: "Bashu seems to be prosperous, but it is surrounded by mountains and it is difficult to enter and exit. It is difficult to defend the place. The king led the main force to Hanzhong to follow the foundation of the Northern Expedition of the great ancestor. It must not be done. If the king makes a mistake, the center of Wuhan will be destroyed. There will be chaos.”
"With the view of unification, we use boats and boats as horses to supervise the transportation of grain and grass, and take advantage of the river water to send troops out of Xiangfan or to the Jianghuai River for a great cause!"
Pang Tong supported Liu Bei's entry into Shu, but did not support Liu Bei's Northern Expedition from Hanzhong.
The waterway from Wuhan to Hanzhong is more than 3,000 miles, and it goes against the current, so the time loss is even longer. When Liu Bei leads his army to Bashu, he will march thousands of miles to Hanzhong. Then we send troops to Longyou or Guanzhong, which is another thousand miles away.
Based on this calculation, the march alone will take several months, and the military rations consumed along the way will be one hundred thousand dan. If you include the return journey, which is several months, hundreds of thousands of people will be conscripted into corvee during the march.
It was too difficult for Liu Bei, who was based in Wu and Chu, to send heavy troops from Bashu to attack the northwest.
As for why the soldiers and horses of Bashu could not be used in the Northern Expedition?
This is because after Liu Bei took Bashu, he did not allow Bashu to retain a large number of troops in order to prevent Bashu from separatist rule. Moreover, fighting a war does not rely solely on the number of soldiers, but on quality. The more than 40,000 forbidden troops in Liu Bei's hands are the core combat force of the Southern Han Dynasty.
Fazheng hesitated for a long time and said: "Although Bashu is closed, Hanzhong leads to Guanzhong in the north and reaches Longyou in the west. Longyou is above Guanzhong, with Longshan as a danger; Guanzhong is above the Central Plains, with Tongguan and Dahe as dangers. Now that the northwest has returned to Cao Cao for the first time, many of the barbarians are disobedient and will be frightened when the troops come out."
"Does the idea of filial piety and uprightness allow the king to march north from Hanzhong?" Pang Tong asked.
Fazheng shook his head again and said: "We thought that Hanzhong could send out partial troops to attack the key points, disturb the northwest, and attract Cao's army to the west to cooperate with the army's Northern Expedition."
Liu Bei pondered for a while and said, "Is it possible to go north from the Jianghuai River?"
"I report to your Majesty that the northern expedition from the Jianghuai River might be better than the northern expedition from Xiangfan."
Pang Tong couldn't help but stood up from the table and said: "From Xiangfan to the north, take a boat up the Han River to collect the food and supplies from Wu and Chu. When the summer water rises, order the army to isolate Xiangyang and block the enemy in the north. We will slowly plan. Of."
"You can also order the Lu Governor to go down the Han River, pass through Shangyong and Xicheng, and restrain the troops in Nanxiang, Nanyang and other places; let Wen Jiangxia lead his troops to Xinye and out of Suixian County to stop the troops in Runan; the Lu Governor can come from Hefei Send troops to attack Shouchun and contain the people in Huaibei."
"Cao Cao led his army southward. The king gathered the people of Wu and Chu, and used boats and boats to control them. He conquered Xiangfan, and the city of Fan was useless. At that time, the king advanced to devour Xiangfan, and sent out troops to slowly encroach on Nanyang and restore the old land in northern Jing."
Pang Tong behaved in a high-spirited manner, revealing extraordinary self-confidence. He said: "The old land in the north of Jing can be restored. At that time, troops from the Central Plains can enter Guanzhong; from the west, they can join forces with Bashu to capture Guanzhong; to the east, they can echo the Jianghuai people and sweep across Henan. , capture Qingxu. At that time, the king will gather all the troops in the world, cross the river, and destroy Wei Er in one fell swoop!"
It has to be said that Pang Tong's strategy of the Northern Expedition from Jiangling was outstanding, and he captured Xiangfan to complete the last territory in the southern defense system. Then use Xiangfan as a stronghold, gather the strength of Wu and Chu to capture Nanyang, and then wait for an opportunity to expedition north to the Central Plains.
Nanyang Basin is located in the middle of the world, and people are sent through a revolving door. It reaches Luoyang in the north, the Central Plains in the east, Jingchu in the south, and Guanzhong in the west.
In history, many people took Pang Tong's Northern Expedition route. For example, Huan Wen's Northern Expedition left Xiangfan, entered Wuguan, and captured Guanzhong; or crossed Funiu Mountain and captured Luoyang.
In addition to Huan Wen, Yue Fei took Xiangfan as his base and made a northern expedition to the Central Plains. After ten years of hard work, he reached Kaifeng and forced Wanyan Zongbi to abandon Henan and want to retreat to Hebei. However, Zhao Gou ordered Yue Fei to retreat, and in the end Yue Fei had no choice but to give up the Northern Expedition.
"Expedition from Jiangling to the north?"
Hearing Pang Tong's heroic words made Liu Bei very excited.
"otherwise!"
Zhuge Liang shook his head and refused, saying: "Xiangfan is at the center of the world. Although it is close by going up the Han River, it is not far from Cao Cao. The soldiers in Guanzhong can reach Nanyang by passing Wuguan. The soldiers in Hebei can go down to Luoyang. Arrive at Nanyang.”
"Your Majesty and Cao Cao will fight for a decisive battle at Xiangfan, and they will surely gather the troops of the world. When Cao Cao's troops arrive, the troops of Hanzhong will have to retreat. The troops of Jiangxia will be difficult to defeat, and the troops of Your Majesty Jianghan will be able to hold Cao Cao alone. The Han River is not a natural chasm and can be crossed by a bridge."
"This~"
When Pang Tong saw that it was Zhuge Liang who vetoed it, he couldn't help but became anxious and said: "Kong Ming, you once presented the river to the king and promised to send the king's troops out of Ye and Wan. How can you veto the intention of the northern expedition to Xiangyang now?"
Zhuge Liang stroked his feather fan gently and said calmly: "In the past, when we said that we were facing each other on the river, we meant that after our lord took control of Xiangfan, he would send troops out of Yewan and launch forces from the northwest to fight for Guanzhong. However, the current situation has changed, and it is difficult to follow what we said in the past."
Pang Tong couldn't understand, so he raised his voice and said, "Since Xiangfan has not yet been conquered, it is not impossible to seize Xiangfan first and then carry out countermeasures on the river."
Zhuge Liang stroked his fan and said: "Cao Ren is not a cowardly general. Since guarding Xiangfan, he has expanded the city, accumulated grain and grass, and organized an army. Now there are thirty to forty thousand soldiers and horses. Now the Lord has raised a hundred thousand people to surround him. , Cao Cao raised more than 100,000 people to support him, how will he retreat from the enemy and take the city?"
Pang Tong was slightly displeased and asked, "May I ask what Kong Ming has to say?"
Zhuge Liang raised his head and looked at Liu Bei and said: "I'm reporting to the king that at the beginning of the northwest attack, the king went out from Xiangfan as a feint army to attract Cao Cao's main force. He ordered the general to raise his troops to try to capture the northwest. There may be an opportunity."
"I don't agree with Kong Ming's words."
Pang Tong straightened his back and retorted, saying: "The road to the northwest is thousands of miles long, and we have to carry out the Northern Expedition with heavy troops. How can the enemy be unprepared? When we attack Longyou, we need support from Guanzhong; during the attack, Hedong and Longyou rush to help. The mountain road is steep, even if there is plenty of food, but Under the hasty march, the army is difficult to win for a long time, and many are in danger of being short of food."
"Searching for the northwest is not a one-time achievement. It takes a few years to appoint a general to rule Hanzhong deeply, connect the Qiang and Hu to the west, and slowly encroach. If there is a good opportunity, we can make profit by sending troops." Zhuge Liang said: "If we have the northwest, Xiangfan can't do it without fighting. Down."
Hearing Zhuge Liang's remarks, Liu Bei frowned.
When a general is appointed to manage Bashu, isn't that the president's Yizhou army? He cut Yizhou into Yizhou and Liangzhou in order to prevent someone from separatizing Bashu. Moreover, it would be contrary to his original intention for him to serve as a auxiliary to the monarch and let the generals perform meritorious deeds.
"Kong Ming, if we can win the Northern Expedition to Xiangfan, we will have control of the Central Plains. It may take a few years or ten years to slow down the plan, otherwise it will be difficult to achieve success." Pang Tong said.
Seeing that Liu Bei remained silent, Zhuge Liang knew what he was thinking. It took too long to manage Bashu, and not only could Liu Bei not afford to wait, but it would also easily lead to the formation of separatist forces.
Zhuge Liang sighed in his heart and said: "If we can't pass through Bashu, it may be feasible to attack the north from the Jianghuai River."
"How to send troops?" Liu Bei asked for advice.
Zhuge Liang pondered for a while and said: "Through the Jianghuai River, all the waters are gathered together. The king entered the Huai River from the Hangou, gathered the power of Wu and Chu, and besieged Shouchun. If Shouchun can be attacked, all the people in the hinterland of Henan will look forward to it. The king will take Runan to the west and Runan to the east. To Xiapi."
"At that time, the Central Plains was in turmoil, and Xiangfan was frightened. The troops left Runan and took the road. The general took Xiangfan from the north, and Nanyang could easily go down. Not only that, but when the boat division entered Surabaya, it was possible to capture Qingxu. If we use our troops in this way, we can shock the world."
(End of chapter)
