Tianshui County, Jicheng.

Jiang Wei and Ma Dai walked into the central army's tent side by side and bowed to Zhuge Liang who was writing at his desk.

"Prime Minister, we are back."

"Well, okay, okay, sit first." Zhuge Liang said without raising his head, and said while waving his hands. He did not wear a crown, and his gray hair, which was neatly combed neatly, looked very dazzling under the light. Jiang Wei and Ma Dai exchanged glances and sighed at the same time.

Compared to when they left a month ago, Zhuge Liang seemed to have a lot more gray hair. Jiang Wei was in a heavy mood than Ma Dai, because he knew how big a worry was in Zhuge Liang's heart.

After defeating Tian Yu, Zhuge Liang moved his troops to surround Ji County. Ji County is a strong city, and Hao Zhao is also a veteran who has been in the battlefield for a long time. Zhuge Liang knew very well that it was not easy to attack Ji City, so he surrounded Ji County, cut off contact with Yuzhong, blocked and gathered the remaining soldiers, and sent Jiang Wei and Ma Dai to the Qiang tribe to lobby.

In the battle of Longguan, under the arrangement of Zhuge Liang, Guan Xing, Zhang Jing and others fought a beautiful ambush. Not only did they capture Xiahou Ru alive, but they also captured many Qiang leaders. At Jiang Wei's suggestion, Zhuge Liang did not make things difficult for these Qiang leaders, but instead treated them with courtesy and promised that as long as they no longer rebelled, they could go back. If they were willing to support him, he would give them land and let them live and work in peace.

In this regard, Zhuge Liang had a good reputation. After he attacked Nanzhong, he did not start a large-scale killing, but adhered to the strategy of attacking the city as the best and attacking the heart as the best, and appeased the barbarians in the south. Although it was not as magical as later legends, it was a fact that Nanzhong had generally settled down. Many barbarian troops became the main force of Zhuge Liang's troops, such as the Wudang Army led by Wang Ping.

The Qiang people had heard of these things and respected Zhuge Liang very much. Many people expressed their willingness to abandon the darkness and turn to the light and be loyal to the Han Dynasty. Zhuge Liang asked Jiang Wei and Ma Dai to send the Qiang leaders back, and at the same time lobbying the Qiang tribe. The Jiang family is a large clan of one of the four surnames of Tianshui, and Jiang Wei is also a young talent, and has a great status in the minds of the Qiang people. Ma Dai was the cousin of General Tian Ma Chao. He also received the consent of many Qiang people. Although Jiang Wei's father Jiang Yu died under Ma Chao's hands, it did not prevent them from working together for the Han Dynasty at this time.

Over the past month, Jiang Wei and Ma Dai have been visiting nearby Qiang tribes without stopping, and have only returned to Ji County today.

Zhuge Liang put down his pen and read the official document he had just written again. Then he looked up at Jiang Wei and Ma Dai. A faint smile appeared on his tired face: "Look at Bo Zhan, Bo Yue's expression must be smooth all the way, thank you for your hard work."

Jiang Wei and Ma Dai quickly stood up to thank him. Jiang Wei said, "It's all about Your Majesty's power, the Prime Minister's benevolence and righteousness. Wherever he goes, the Qiang people look back and forth. Prime Minister, more than a dozen Qiang tribes have agreed to send troops to help. I roughly estimated that it can increase by about 50,000 to 60,000 people."

Jiang Wei roughly explained his itinerary over the past month.

"That's great." Zhuge Liang nodded with satisfaction: "With these 50,000 or 60,000 people, Longyou is ours. Thank you for your hard work, let's take a rest first."

Ma Dai stood up to say goodbye, but Jiang Wei did not move. Ma Dai was not surprised. He knew the special relationship between Jiang Wei and Zhuge Liang. They were not only related to superiors and subordinates, but also had a teacher-student relationship. Zhuge Liang had a very beautiful eye for this Liangzhou senator and was even closer to Ma Su at that time. This was something that everyone could see.

After Ma Dai left, Jiang Wei stood up and walked to Zhuge Liang's desk, knelt down again, held the desk with both hands, raised his head, and looked at Zhuge Liang's haggard face: "Prime Minister, you must cherish your body. Seeing that Longyou is about to buy, you can't be surprised."

Zhuge Liang smiled tiredly: "I'm just a little tired. When you come back, I can relax and will naturally improve. There will be no accidents. Boyue, if there are Qiang people to help, that's a good thing, but too much is too much. If there are too many people, the pressure on food and grass will increase greatly, which will be difficult to last. What we need is Qiang warriors who can fight, but there is no need for the elderly or the weak."

Jiang Wei nodded: "Don't worry, Prime Minister, I have agreed with them that the elderly, weak, women and children will not come for the time being. When Longyou is taken down, they will arrange land for them and then bring their families."

"Well, then I'll feel relieved." Zhuge Liang let out a long sigh, clenched his fists, and pounded his sore waist. Jiang Wei quickly moved behind him and put his hand on his shoulder: "Prime Minister, I'll pinch it for you."

Zhuge Liang was in a good mood and said half-jokingly: "You are a dignified general. You can learn these behaviors of slanderers. You are not afraid of being seen, and your reputation will be hindered."

Jiang Wei said seriously: "The Prime Minister treats me like a son, and I respect the Prime Minister like my father, which is beyond my original intention. Why do you fear others' words? Furthermore, the Prime Minister works hard for the country and works hard. I cannot share the worries of the Prime Minister. It is my honor to do my best to do my best. Who would say what?"

Jiang Wei said while pinching Zhuge Liang's shoulder. Zhuge Liang closed his eyes comfortably, and his body slowly shook with Jiang Wei's movements, as if he was about to fall asleep. Jiang Wei saw it in his eyes, and felt more and more careful. After a while, Zhuge Liang suddenly said, "Boyue, take down Ji County, you have to come forward to talk to those families, ask them to take the overall situation into consideration and give up some land. I will remember their losses in my heart."

Jiang Wei's hand stagnated for a moment, then moved again. "Don't worry, Prime Minister, I will try my best to convince them."

"This is the best." Zhuge Liang opened his eyes and straightened his waist: "As long as the Central Plains and the revival of the Han Dynasty are pacified, the meritorious ministers who will receive the reward they deserve. However, the biggest task now is to capture Ji County first. Boyue, do you have any suitable candidates to enter the city to persuade them to surrender?"

"Prime Minister, if you want to persuade the surrender of the Tianshui clan, Yin Shang is a suitable candidate. If you want to persuade Hao Zhao to surrender, Jin Xiang is a fellow villager of Hao Zhao, it is the most suitable."

Zhuge Liang responded, very satisfied with the two people recommended by Jiang Wei. Although Jiang Wei couldn't see his face, he could feel Zhuge Liang's thoughts and couldn't help but smile. While Zhuge Liang was in a good mood, he asked again: "Has the Prime Minister replied to Wei Ba?"

Zhuge Liang's smile gradually faded. He said nothing, but just shook his head.

Jiang Wei was relieved. "Prime Minister, that's right. I can't agree to him. Wei Ba was bold and reckless and actually did such a thing. If he didn't punish him, it would be difficult for him to do something more ruthless in the future. The Prime Minister did this for his own good."

"Boyue, how do you think the war in Nanyang will change?" Zhuge Liang turned his body slightly and looked at Jiang Wei behind him with the corner of his eyes. "Does Wei Ba have a chance to seize Nanyang?"

"It's so slim." Jiang Wei said without hesitation.

For more than a month, others have been traveling around the mountains, but they have never stopped thinking about the battle situation in Nanyang for a moment. He is also very familiar with Wei Ba’s tactical deduction. He even discussed it with Ma Dai, and the final result is very pessimistic.

As far as the strength of both sides is concerned, it is already an unexpected surprise that Li Yan can conquer Xiangyang. If he can conquer Fancheng again, it should be the greatest victory. This is based on the fact that the Shu Han army's naval army can completely control the Han River. Once he enters the hinterland of Nanyang, although the waterways are crisscrossing, it is obvious that insufficient water volume will lead to the role of the navy. It would be unrealistic for Li Yan to win with the power of the navy.

Once the war enters a stalemate, Sun Quan's attitude will change. When there are common interests, the differences between the two sides will be temporarily covered up, but once the interests no longer exist or have succeeded, the differences will appear again. What's more, the differences will be made to the Eastern Wu. The Shu Han navy has an advantage, so who knows that one day they will go down the Han River and attack Wuchang?

Therefore, from the overall situation, it is very difficult for Li Yan and Wei Ba to make great progress in Nanyang. However, due to the motive of competing with Zhuge Liang, Li Yan did not achieve decent results and he had no shame to retreat to Chengdu. He was already in a difficult position, and this situation was the result that Zhuge Liang expected.

He trapped Li Yan in Nanyang and was in a dilemma. Zhuge Liang took all Longyou and then returned to Beijing in triumphantly. Will the winners and losses of both sides be discussed?

It has to be said that although Li Yan is a cunning person in the court, he is far from the prime minister. Not to mention anything else, he has the prime minister's eyes and ears around him but he can see the level of both sides.

"I just received the news that Wei Ba conquered Shunyang and wanted to work with Ma Su to retake Wuguan Road."

"What?" Jiang Wei was shocked and didn't bother to massage Zhuge Liang. He turned to Zhuge Liang, with a little nervous look on his face: "Ma Su is going to go out of Wuguan Road, how many troops are he going to bring?"

"Ma Su was vague and said it was more than 10,000, but I think he was eager to make contributions, and it would not be less than 20,000." Zhuge Liang looked at his hand. The skin on the back of his hand had relaxed and another light brown spot was added. He couldn't help but sigh in secret. He was old and his energy was not as strong as before, but the situation became more and more complicated. Even Ma Su began to become disinterested. What kind of situation would appear next? Can Jiang Wei alone control it?

Zhuge Liang raised his eyelids and looked at Jiang Wei. Jiang Wei was stunned for a moment, and slowly returned to peace. "Although Ma Su's strength can be strengthened, his advantage is still limited. What I am more worried about is whether he is too close to the Hanzhong people? In this way, whether our food and grass can be sufficiently supplied. The Prime Minister must prepare in advance to avoid being caught off guard and giving up halfway."

Zhuge Liang raised the corner of his mouth gently: "I'm not afraid of this. Liao Hua and Ma Zun have controlled all the accumulated grains in Fufeng County and asked for some from Chang'an. In addition, I got some ships from Wei army. After improvement, I can transport grains from Hanzhong. Hanzhong's harvest this year is also good. Although Wu Yi was sick, he did not delay his official business."

Jiang Wei was relieved.

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ps: The second update is here, please give me a monthly ticket!
Chapter completed!