The march of an army is no faster than an individual's journey. Last year, it only took Yang Qing more than ten days to travel from Chengdu to Hanzhong to take office, but it took more than a month for the Northern Expedition army to arrive in Hanzhong. It was still late spring when they set off, but now it is already early summer. fly
At the pavilion ten miles outside Mianyang City, Yang Qing and other Hanzhong officials gathered together to prepare for the arrival of Prime Minister Zhuge and the Northern Expedition army. At such an important moment, Wei Yan and Feng Xian, two senior officials from Hanzhong, also rushed over from Nanzheng.
When approaching Hanzhong, Yang Qing suggested to Zhuge Liang that he should go to Mianyang to prepare in advance. Zhuge Liang agreed to his suggestion, so Yang Qing left the group and returned to Hanzhong three days ahead of the army.
The large group of people will arrive in Mianyang today, so Yang Qing, Wei Yan and others left the city early to greet them.
After a while, the faint sound of horse hooves was heard in the distance. After a while, more than a dozen horses galloped over. Yang Qing, the man in front of him, could clearly see who it could be if it wasn't Ma Su.
Ma Su reined in his mount, turned over and dismounted, handed the reins to his entourage, raised his hands and walked forward: "Mingzhi, General Wenchang." Yang Qing and Ma Su also came up early and called out: "You Chang."
"The prime minister and the army will be arriving soon, so I came over first to inform you two." Ma Su explained his purpose.
Yang Qing nodded, looked back at the people behind him and shouted: "Everyone, cheer up. The Prime Minister and the army will be here soon. Don't lose the grace of all the officials in Hanzhong in front of the Prime Minister." Everyone responded and all dressed up. Keep your countenance and be solemn. fly
Soon, a group of cavalry with bright armor came into everyone's sight. Then the dust was flying, the voices of people and horses were neighing, and tens of thousands of troops stretched for miles and slowly moved towards Mianyang County.
Zhuge Liang's carriage was at the front of the army. Hundreds of knights moved out of the way. Several carriages stopped steadily. A tall man with a white feather fan slowly walked down from the front carriage.
"Yang Qing, the prefect of Hanzhong (Wei Yan, the governor of Hanzhong), led the officials, generals and schools of Hanzhong to greet the prime minister!" Yang Qing and Wei Yan led everyone to bow and salute.
Zhuge Liang waved his feather fan lightly and said with a smile: "That's all, please forgive me."
"Chang Wen, long time no see."
Wei Yan replied: "After not seeing him for many years, Yan often thought about the Prime Minister's past teachings when he was in Hanzhong. Thinking of the old events in the Jian'an period was really emotional. Now I see that the Prime Minister still has the same style, and I am really happy from the bottom of my heart."
Zhuge Liang smiled and said: "Haha, Chang Wen, you are still as majestic as before. It seems that you have not fallen down in Hanzhong for so many years."
"Prime Minister, don't worry, X's sword can still be wielded powerfully. The fake Wei Xiaoxiao is still a chicken and a dog under X's sword." Wei Yan said proudly.
Zhuge Liang nodded and said, "Okay, I am going north this time to witness Wen Chang's achievements." He turned to Yang Qing and asked, "Mingzhi, have the military camps been packed up?"
"Prime Minister, don't worry. The Yangping and Shima camps are fully prepared and the army can move in at any time."
Zhuge Liang nodded and said hello, and then told Zhao Yung and Guan Xing who were coming over: "Zilong and Anguo will lead the army to the military camp to rest."
Zhao Yun and Guan Xing accepted the order with clasped fists, got on their horses again and arranged for the army to go to the Yangping and Shima Second Battalions.
Yang Qing turned back to Yang Xi and said, "Wen Ran, when you go with the two generals, you must make arrangements for the army's arrival."
"No." Yang Xi quickly led his subordinates to follow him. fly
"Youchang, you and Mingzhi will arrange for everyone in the Prime Minister's Mansion to rest in the city first."
"Weishuo, you lead our troops and horses into the city together."
Zhuge Liang issued two orders in succession. Ma Su and Liu Yan did not dare to neglect and quickly agreed. Although Liu Yan, as the rear general, was one of the best in the army, he was not familiar with military affairs, so Zhuge Liang only allowed him to lead more than a thousand soldiers with the army to discuss the matter in a symbolic way.
At present, the location of the Prime Minister's Mansion has not yet been selected, so Zhuge Liang asked Liu Yan's more than a thousand soldiers and horses to act as Chinese army guards to protect all the officials of the Prime Minister's Mansion.
When Zhuge Liang saw that everything had been assigned, he said to Wei Yan, "Chang Wen and I rode into the city in the same car." After not seeing each other for many years, he naturally had a lot to say to this one of the best generals in the army.
The entry of the Northern Expedition army went very smoothly. Yang Qing and others were fully prepared and did not make any plans.
trouble. The soldiers were at peace and the soldiers and the people were sincerely convinced, but the arrival of the army made the entire atmosphere in Hanzhong become solemn.
The news that Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of the Shu Han Dynasty, personally led tens of thousands of troops to Hanzhong, quickly spread to all directions. The Cao Wei, Sun Wu, Qiang and Hu forces continued to send detailed information to Hanzhong to inquire about the movements of the Han army. fly
In fact, as soon as Liu Chan issued the imperial edict for the Northern Expedition, Cao Wei Xizuo in Chengdu immediately rushed to Luoyang to send the information that Zhuge Liang led his army north to Hanzhong to wait for an opportunity to attack Wei.
Cao Rui was shocked. He didn't expect that not long after he changed Yuan Taihe, Xi Shu failed to understand the current affairs and prepared to raise troops to invade the country. He remembered that he had repelled Sun Quan's invasion last year, and then changed to Xi Shu after the new year. He had a headache and hurriedly Convene civil and military ministers to discuss countermeasures.
"My lords, not long ago Western Shu issued a false edict and sent the false Prime Minister Zhuge Liang to lead his troops north to Hanzhong, intending to raise troops to invade our borders. How do you think we, the Wei Dynasty, should respond?"
When Cao Zhen heard this, he first went out to play. "Your Majesty, I think we can send a large army to Hanzhong to take action first and wipe out Zhuge Liang in one fell swoop. Since Zhuge Liang is dead, the country of Western Shu will be like an empty city. If the army follows the trend and goes south, it will definitely capture and kill Liu Chan's son and regain the land of Yizhou."
In December last year, Cao Rui recounted his previous victory over Soochow and awarded all the civil and military officials.
Zhong Yao was granted the title of Grand Tutor, Cao Xiu was granted the rank of Grand Sima, Cao Zhen was granted the rank of General, Hua Xin was granted the title of Taiwei, Wang Lang was appointed Situ, Chen Qun was appointed Sikong, and Sima Yi was appointed General of Hussars. The other ministers and workers also received various awards. For a time, everyone was grateful, and Cao Rui's throne became more stable.
At present, Grand Sima Cao Xiuyuan was in Yangzhou to supervise the military defense against Sun Wu, so Cao Zhen was regarded as the first person in the army. What he said was very important, and Cao Rui nodded repeatedly when he heard it. fly
"Your Majesty, I second my opinion, General." Situ Wanglang also agreed to strike preemptively.
"Since the two battles of Jingzhou and Yiling, the elite soldiers and generals of Western Shu have been almost completely destroyed. Now, although Zhuge Liang has gathered tens of thousands more troops, most of them are new soldiers who are neglected in battle formations and have low combat effectiveness. They are fighting grass bandits. , The Southern Barbarians are okay, but if you want to compete with our great Wei Heavenly Soldiers, you will undoubtedly be chasing death by hitting an egg against a stone.
In the past, the late emperor saw that the road to Western Shu was difficult and dangerous, so he did not send a large army to conquer it. He hoped that his benevolence would inspire Zhuge Liang and the whole country to surrender. Unexpectedly, now Western Shu not only does not appreciate the grace of Heaven, but also makes rude remarks in false edicts, slandering the late emperor and even Emperor Taizu Wu.
Such a treasonous and unethical act is simply outraged by both humans and gods. If we did not send troops to conquer, Sifang Xiaoxiao would definitely think that we, the Wei Dynasty, are weak and can be bullied. Therefore, we should send a large army to attack first and destroy Zhuge Liang, so as to promote the power of Wei Dynasty. "
As expected, Wang Situ was very articulate, wise, and well-spoken. His words were eloquent and well-founded.
After hearing this, Cao Rui was already ready to send troops. Defeating Sun Quan last year greatly enhanced his confidence. If he defeats Xi Shu again this year, he will be able to rival or even surpass the late emperor in terms of martial arts.
"Your Majesty, no."
A loud shout interrupted Cao Rui's rising fighting spirit and beautiful thoughts. He and his ministers looked around and found out that it was Zhongshu who ordered Sun Zi to stand up and oppose sending troops.
