Two months later, Liu Zhang led his troops from Luoyang via Chang'an and finally arrived at Nanzheng City in Hanzhong County.
On the road to Hanzhong, Liu Zhang struggled for a long time.
From Guanzhong to Hanzhong, due to the obstruction of the Qinling Mountains, there are only four connected roads, namely Ziwu Road, Tangluo Road, Baoxie Road and Chencang Road from east to west.
Ziwu Road, as its name suggests, is world-famous for the Ziwu Valley. The environment of Ziwu Road is extremely harsh, and the road is very narrow. It is not only narrow but also very steep. As long as there is someone blocking the road, no matter how many people there are, they will be blocked on the road!
There are almost no roads in many places. If you are unlucky and it rains, you will almost be stuck in a quagmire! Liu Zhang decisively gave up this road.
The Tangluo Road has only one advantage among the four roads, and that is proximity! The closest road from Guanzhong to Hanzhong is the Tangluo Road, but it is even more dangerous than the Ziwu Road! There is still a way to go on the Ziwu Road, but
In many cases, there is no road on the Tangluo Road. If there are only a few people, they can still climb mountains and cross rivers, but if there are large groups, it will be absolutely difficult for them to pass!
The Tangluo Road is named after Tang Valley and Luo Valley. Although the Luo Road has the advantage of being short and quick, the height of several mountains climbed on the way is much higher than that of other roads, making the road extremely difficult and dangerous. Liu Zhang had plenty of time when he first came.
They didn't want to take these risks. The three of them also decided to give up because it was almost meaningless to take the Tangluo Road. It would be difficult to use this road now or in the future.
What troubled Liu Zhang the most was Baoxie Road and Chencang Road. These two roads were very important to Liu Zhang and were the only roads he would pass in the future.
Baoxie Road and Chencang Road were relatively famous in this era. At that time, Han Xin built a plank road to assassinate Chencang secretly, which is referred to as Baoxie Road and Chencang Road.
Baoxie Road is entered from Xiegu. It was originally dug manually. It was the road Liu Bang took when he entered Hanzhong. The road environment is obviously better than that of Tangluo Road and Ziwu Road, but it does not mean that it is very passable. It is just that
Compared with the Tangluo Road and the Ziwu Road, it is better, but in fact it is also very dangerous. Because it is manually excavated, the dangerous places are almost all plank roads. Once it is destroyed by humans, the Baoxie Road will be cut off directly!
Finally, there is the Chencang Road. Chencang Road is the easiest of the four roads. Han Xin also took the Chencang Road to finally defeat Zhang Han and then capture all the land in Guanzhong.
Liu Zhang finally chose Chencang Road between Baoxie Road and Chencang Road.
First of all, Chencang Road will pass by Chencang City, which will soon be the starting point for Han Sui's attack on Guanzhong. Secondly, after entering Chencang Road from Chencang, it will also pass by Dashan Pass, one of the four fortresses in Guanzhong. The most important point is that Liu Zhang
I want to personally confirm whether there is still a river on Chencang Road.
Why did Han Xin dare to lead a large army to the Chencang Road and never worried about the risk of insufficient food and grass? But Zhuge Liang would be restricted by food and grass if he took the Chencang Road?
Liu Zhang knew that the main reason was the diversion of the Western Han River. So he wanted to take a closer look at what Chencang Road looked like, and also make preparations for sending troops to Guanzhong in the future.
But along the way, Liu Zhang was disappointed. Not to mention the Western Han River, he didn't even see the shadow of a river. There was only the Mangmang Mountain Road, with only high mountains on both sides!
After experiencing Chencang Road personally this time, Liu Zhang also deeply understood Zhuge Liang's difficulties! No wonder Zhuge Liang only went to Chencang Road once during the five Northern Expeditions! Not only did he have to go through Dashanguan and Chencang City, but he also had to transport food across mountains and ridges!
No amount of emotion has any practical significance. Liu Zhang knew that from now on, the history of Sichuan and Sichuan would definitely change! Zhuge Liang would never again end up with several unsuccessful Northern Expeditions and eventually die with hatred!
Liu Zhang led his troops out of Chencang Road smoothly. The end of Chencang Road intersected with Jinniu Road, and then reached the last pass of Hanzhong Plain, Yangping Pass.
The Yangping Pass at this time was still the ancient Yangping Pass, not the Yangping Pass during the Shu-Han period. Yangping Pass was built on Zomal Ridge and could guard Chencang Road and Jinniu Road at the same time, thereby facing the pressure from both Guanzhong and Bashu.
After passing Yangping Pass, there will be no danger to defend, and you can go straight into the Hanzhong Plain, and then directly to Nanzheng City.
When Liu Zhang and his troops arrived at Nanzheng City, Su Gu, the prefect of Hanzhong, was already greeting him at the city gate, and Liu Zhang had already sent his cavalry to inform him.
"Is this Prefect Su ahead?"
Liu Zhang sat on the horse and looked at the middle-aged scribe at the head.
"It's Su Gu, may I ask, but in front of General Hou?"
Liu Zhang got off his horse and walked up to Su Gu and bowed his hands in greeting.
"Excuse me, Prefect Su, to welcome you here. Thank you!"
Su Gu was well aware of Liu Zhang's status and did not dare to neglect him, so he quickly bowed and saluted.
"The general is so polite, Su Gu is scared!"
Liu Zhang did not hesitate anymore and directly took out the imperial edict in his hand.
"Prefect Su, please accept the order."
Su Gu didn't hesitate at all and knelt down on the ground along with the others.
"The Grand Administrator of Hanzhong will be succeeded by General Liu Zhang from now on. The former Grand Administrator of Hanzhong, Su Gu, can return to Beijing and be put in another important position. I appreciate this!"
"Your Majesty Su Gu, please accept the order and thank me!"
Su Gu once again knelt down and bowed to the imperial edict in Liu Zhang's hand, then stood up and took the edict.
"Su Taishou, it is not Liu Zhang's intention to be the Hanzhong Taishou. The situation in Liangzhou is actually corrupt, and the imperial court has no spare power to attack him at the moment, so I have been asked to guard this place."
Su Gu didn't expect Liu Zhang to explain to a little person like himself, and a look of panic suddenly appeared on his face.
"General Hou is so polite. Su Gu is a mediocre person. He has no kindness to the 300,000 soldiers and civilians of Hanzhong County. He has long felt guilty! It is really a blessing for the soldiers and people of Hanzhong that General Hou can take over as the prefect of Hanzhong this time!"
"You're welcome, Governor Su. The people of Hanzhong can live and work in peace and contentment all thanks to Governor Su!"
After all, he was taking someone else's position, so Liu Zhang still needed to be polite.
In fact, Liu Zhang does not need to be polite to Su Gu, but Su Gu should thank Liu Zhang! If Su Gu is still in Hanzhong, in a few years, Zhang Lu will go north from Yizhou, kill Su Gu and lead himself as the governor of Hanzhong.
Liu Zhang was equivalent to saving Su Gu's life! Of course, Liu Zhang would not tell Su Gu about these things, nor would Su Gu believe them, and would think that Liu Zhang was taking the opportunity to blackmail him!
"General Hou, the county governor's mansion has prepared a banquet specifically for the General Hou!"
Liu Zhang smiled and nodded, with a look of gratitude on his face.
"Wouldn't this cost Prefect Su a lot of money? Liu Zhang is so grateful!"
Liu Zhang was so polite that even Su Gu felt embarrassed.
"General Hou is truly worthy of his reputation. He is admirable both for his talent and his conduct!"
"This banquet is also attended by various officials and noble families from Hanzhong County, specifically to welcome the general!"
Su Gu's words aroused Liu Zhang's interest in the officials and aristocratic families of Hanzhong County. He really needed to get to know these.
Most of the officials still have to use these people. After all, Liu Zhang only has four scribes, so he cannot send them all to serve as county magistrates.
Secondly, there are the aristocratic families. The aristocratic families are always the targets that Liu Zhang wants to both win over and guard against. He also wants to see what kind of aristocratic families there are in Hanzhong.
"Gongda, Wenhe, and Erai, the three of you will go with me to the banquet. The rest of you will go to settle the troops first!"
After giving the order, Liu Zhang and three of his men followed Su Gu to the governor's house.