From Chengdu to Mianyang, there is a journey of more than 800 miles, but there is no accessible waterway.
The Chengdu troops could only go all the way northeast, passing Mianzhu, Chujiange, taking the Jinniu Road and even the Hanzhong Plain.
It happened that the troops under his command had not been on a long-distance march since the formation of the army, so Liu Chan brought out more than 700 troops and used them as outdoor training.
Seeing this, Zhuge Liang simply handed over the defense on the road to Liu Chan's command, and he was happy to bring only his attendants and a small number of subordinates.
Even though it was on our own territory, this was a huge amount of trust.
…
Taking people on a long march is different from before.
It can be said that when there are many people and long distances, shitting is a matter of knowledge.
As for the garrison, there were nearly a thousand people at that time, and each person weighed half a catty, which was 500 catties each time... If the toilet is not repaired, not to mention the stench, it will easily lead to the spread of epidemics.
If there is an epidemic in the army in this era, it is almost as good as the entire army being wiped out.
Cao Cao's defeat in Chibi was largely related to the epidemic.
Where to camp is also a matter of knowledge. There must be a water source, not in a low-lying area, and not like Old Liu in history who was set on fire...
This is all basic common sense, but many illiterate generals who have not read the art of war do not know it.
This is also the reason why the emperor cannot completely abandon the wealthy families. In this era, knowledge is monopolized in the hands of the powerful.
The poor people are barely useful, but the vast majority of the people at the bottom cannot be promoted as they want.
I am afraid that for a long period of time in the future, I will not be able to completely abandon the wealthy family and exercise rule, otherwise I will face an endless wave of resistance.
Moreover, in this era of inconvenient communication, squires and local wealthy families still have their positive side in organizing labor and maintaining public security.
But the premise is... you have to be obedient.
The scenery outside the carriage has changed from the high mountains on the Golden Bull Road to gentle plains.
Hanzhong Plain.
Hurrying slowly, Liu Chan and others finally arrived in Hanzhong in mid-July.
It's about half a day's journey from Mianyang. I'm used to seeing the prosperity of Chengdu and Jiangling, but the desolation here really makes me unhappy.
The houses passing by along the way are either intact or dilapidated, but most of them are uninhabited.
Occasionally, you can see wild dogs digging holes, digging out a few bones and wagging their tails excitedly.
The shape of those bones was clearly that of human bones.
Many people died in the war, and coupled with Boss Cao's emigration policy, which lacked moral integrity, Hanzhong became what it is today.
Boss Cao will not provide you with any food and accommodation when relocating, so you have to bring all that by yourself.
If you die on the road, you will die.
Anyway, even if one of you doesn't survive, I won't let you get what I can't get, so I won't lose anything.
As long as one family reaches the place alive, then I will make a profit.
Liu Chan looked at this scenery with a stern expression, letting the emotions in his chest surge, and his thoughts drifted further and further away.
He didn't notice Zhuge Liang on the other side of the "open carriage" at all, and he didn't wear the calm smile that he usually had when everything was under control.
He also had a serious face, but he did not stare at the scenery outside the carriage, but at Liu Chan in front of him...
…
As the troops approached Mianyang, they first passed by the famous Yangping Pass.
This pass is located at the intersection of Jinniu Road and Chencang Road. It is truly surrounded by mountains and rivers, with Qinling to the north and Mianshui to the south.
Only by seeing it in person can you appreciate the wisdom of the ancients. No matter how many people you have, you can't even line up in this kind of terrain.
If you want to storm this powerful pass, many people will ask Calabash to save Grandpa.
Yangping Pass is like this, and the famous Hulao Pass is even worse.
No wonder Dong Zhuo dared to block the eighteen princes with Hulao Pass.
It's a pity that I was not born yet at that time, so I didn't have the opportunity to meet Lu Bu, the tiger in front of Hulao Pass that year.
After that is Dingjun Mountain, the turning point of the Battle of Hanzhong.
General Miaocai used his own head to send General Huang Zhong into the ranks of the Five Tiger Generals.
Now a large number of corpses have been cleaned up, and after a long time, there is no longer the smell of blood.
But some burnt places still retain the tragic smell of war.
Going further east is Mianyang where Lao Liu has built a mandala.
Each camp can almost be described as connected to the sky...
Lao Liu invested more than 60,000 people in batches to fight Hanzhong, and he doesn't know how many are left now.
But judging from the number of camps, the situation shouldn’t be too bad...
But there were too many wounded soldiers, and wailing and moaning could be heard almost everywhere along the way.
Some men with missing arms and legs were only briefly bandaged, but the wounds had suppurated and emitted a foul odor in the hot weather.
The attracted flies stopped on it, but the numb-looking wounded soldiers had no intention of driving them away - they knew that they had suffered such injuries, and now the wounds were suppurating, and they would not live long.
Liu Chan had seen the scene in front of him many times since he was a child. He could actually be numb, but he often reminded himself not to be numb.
…
Lao Liu still had something to discuss and was having a meeting in his Chinese army tent.
Except for Uncle Zhuge who was summoned to attend the meeting, Liu Chan and others were resting in the tents assigned to them.
Until the evening, Lao Liu's meeting finally ended.
A soldier summoned Liu Chan to go to the Chinese military tent. As he walked all the way to the tent, Liu Chan paused slightly at his feet.
After not seeing each other for two years, I still felt a little uneasy after all.
The old man's low opinion of him was certainly due to some of his strange and ungrateful behaviors when he was a child.
But the more reason is that... I rarely see him.
For his two mothers, he was undoubtedly a widower in parenting.
Sun Shangxiang? She didn't take care of herself. She was left to be taken care of by the servants. She was not a mother.
Lao Liu occasionally fakes corpses, but the frequency is lower than that of migrant workers who visit left-behind children.
Under such circumstances, even if Liu Chan has great abilities, he can't win over Old Liu!
…
Liu Bei was sitting in the central military tent. When he saw a person outside the tent coming with the guards, he immediately moved his buttocks and raised the corners of his mouth.
But immediately, his butt that had not yet been raised fell back down, and his expression became serious again.
So when Liu Chan entered the account, what he saw was his father who always had a poker face, was dignified and unsmiling.
Yes, majestic and unsmiling.
This is the strongest impression Lao Liu left on himself.
This is not a kind person who sheds tears easily and is full of emotions.
When his biological mother Gan passed away, I didn't see him cry.
Maybe outsiders would think Mrs. Gan was a concubine, just a plaything.
However, Liu Chan knew that Lao Liu did not dare to marry her as his first wife, because all of Lao Liu's previous wives did not live long.
In fact, although they spend less time together and more apart, their relationship is very good.
Even so, Lao Liu didn't cry.
He understood that as the leader of a party, it was not a decent thing to be sad about the death of a woman in this era.
But as a soul who has just arrived in the strange and cruel world of the Three Kingdoms, his body is still a baby at the mercy of others.
Mrs. Gan's meticulous protection and care for Liu Chan gave her a very special place in Liu Chan's heart.
In this world, that is your own mother.
So as a son, he always has a knot in his heart.
This is why after that, he only called Liu Bei "old man".
Liu Bei finally made a rare compromise and indulgence in the title, perhaps because he also felt guilty in his heart.
After two years, father and son reunited again.
There is no warm embrace, no looking at each other and smiling without saying anything.
The father and son both had poker faces on their faces at this time, and silence solidified the air in the tent.
They seem to be playing a game where whoever speaks first loses...
