As Liu Zhang personally led his army back to Chang'an, the Yizhou Army took advantage of the situation and occupied Fufeng on the right and Fengyi on the left.
Jing Zhaoyin's counties around Chang'an were also conquered one by one by Pang Tong's partial troops.
The entire Guanzhong area from Chang'an to the west was completely owned by Liu Zhang.
Liu Zhang stationed his troops at the foot of Chang'an City and was not in a hurry to expand his territory again.
After occupying Chang'an, Liu Zhang's ultimate goal of leaving Hanzhong north had been achieved.
All subsequent military operations will be dominated by the defense of Guanzhong.
There are only two roads between Guanzhong and Guandong, one is to Nanyang via Lantian and Shangluo, and the other is to Luoyang via Hongnong County.
Because they are all roads in the mountains, each road is guarded by a strong pass, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Among them, the road in the direction of Nanyang mainly deals with the Jingzhou Army.
This road has a checkpoint at the most dangerous point, which is Wuguan, one of the four checkpoints in the pass.
Wuguan was built on the mountain tops and is a natural barrier. It is definitely a dangerous place that cannot be opened by one man.
As long as Wuguan is occupied, Jingzhou's army, even if it has millions, will not be able to deter Guanzhong.
However, Wuguan was still in the hands of Liu Biao at this time. Due to his alliance with the Jingzhou Army, Liu Zhang could not forcefully send troops to attack.
Moreover, Wuguan is located in a dangerous pass, making it extremely difficult to capture it by force.
Another route leads to Luoyang via Hongnong, which originally had Hangu Pass as a barrier.
Unfortunately, the Yellow River changed its course and over-logging caused the natural danger of Hangu Pass to disappear.
Both Hangu Pass in the Qin Dynasty and Hangu Pass in the Han Dynasty have been abandoned.
But these are no longer problems now, there is a new pass to replace Hangu Pass.
Five years ago, Cao Cao re-established a pass at the end of the ancient Xiaohan Road, near Huayin, named Tongguan.
Tongguan occupies a favorable terrain and completely blocks both ends of the Weihan Ancient Road.
Fortunately, Tongguan was not completely built at this time, otherwise Cao Cao would send people to occupy it, which would cause great trouble to Liu Zhang.
In fact, when Guandong attacks the Guanzhong area, it can also rely on ferries to forcefully cross the Yellow River.
Troops dispatched from Hedong County can reach Tongguan directly from Fengling Ferry, and the hinterland of Guanzhong can be reached from Jinpu Ferry and Longmen Ferry.
However, as long as troops are stationed at these crossings, all enemies can be stopped on the Yellow River.
Liu Zhang was already familiar with the methods of guarding Guanzhong, and he only had to wait for everything to stabilize before deploying them one by one.
Jing Zhaoyin, Chang'an City.
The once glorious palace has been destroyed many times and is no longer as majestic as it once was.
Especially the successive destructions by Dong Zhuo, Li Jue, Guo Si, Fu Luohan, Ke Bineng, Bu Dugen and others made this palace that has stood for hundreds of years slightly dilapidated.
But after all, it was the capital of the Han Dynasty for two hundred years, and its scale and layout were not comparable to Chengdu.
After Liu Zhang settled in Chang'an, the former imperial palace naturally became Liu Zhang's residence.
Soon after, Liu Zhang proclaimed himself Duke and founded the country, and the capital was also established in Chang'an.
But now there was a very serious problem before Liu Zhang.
All ten rooms in Guanzhong are empty!
To serve as the capital, Chang'an must become the most prosperous city under Liu Zhang's command.
However, the entire Guanzhong is in a state of vast territory and sparse population. It is difficult to sustain even self-sufficiency, not to mention prosperity.
If the status quo is not changed, even the most basic military rations cannot be guaranteed.
The current status of the Yizhou Army is simply unable to sustain large-scale population migration.
If Pang Tong hadn't intercepted Cao Cao's 200,000 stones of grain and grass, there would have been a grain and grass crisis in the army.
This was also the main reason why Liu Zhang did not take further measures.
Weiyang Palace, as the main palace of the entire palace, is now used by Liu Zhang to discuss military affairs.
Due to various problems, Liu Zhang only asked people to do simple cleaning, and the entire Weiyang Palace looked extremely dilapidated.
The seats once set up by Ke Bineng and Fu Luohan have long since been removed, and the furnishings have been replaced with the original layout.
Liu Zhang sat on the main seat, quietly appreciating the beauty of this position.
This position was once where Liu Zhang’s ancestor Liu Bang, the great ancestor of the Han Dynasty, sat when he ascended the throne!
This is where the emperors of the Han Dynasty sat!
If in peacetime, Liu Zhang could be sentenced to death just by sitting in this posture.
But today, he was able to sit on the main seat majestically.
"call..."
Liu Zhang took deep breaths several times, but still couldn't calm down his excitement.
After nearly twenty years of raising troops, the original goal was finally achieved.
Follow the trend of the pre-Qin Dynasty, imitate the emperor of the Han Dynasty, and gradually pacify the world!
From this moment on, it can be said that the first step towards dominating the world and revitalizing the Han Dynasty was taken!
It is also the most solid step!
"Lord!"
Liu Zhang opened his eyes gently, and at some point, Xun You walked in from outside.
"Gongda, sit down!"
Xun You was stunned for a moment, then smiled mockingly.
"Thank you, Lord!"
"I'm still a little uncomfortable coming to Weiyang Palace all of a sudden..."
In the past, Liu Zhang always worked in the palace, and no matter how big the room was, it could not compare with the main hall of Weiyang Palace.
"Haha, to be honest with you, I feel like I'm dreaming!"
"In the past, you, me, Wenhe and I were talking about the world in the Hou General's Mansion in Luoyang. After seventeen years, we are finally sitting here!"
Xun You's eyes were full of excitement, and the scene of the three of them discussing important matters for the first time appeared in his mind.
It was Liu Zhang's impassioned spirit and proper planning that successfully recruited Jia Xu and himself.
"Yes! It's been seventeen years in a flash..."
Time flies, years pass, Xun You can only be glad that they did not waste time.
Maybe in another seventeen years, the world will be unified again...
Xun You kept looking forward to it in his heart.
"Gongda, is something wrong?"
Upon hearing Liu Zhang's inquiry, Xun You immediately brought his thoughts back to reality.
"My lord, the census figures for the three counties of Jing Zhaoyin, You Fufeng, and Zuo Fengyi are out."
Liu Zhang's eyes lit up. He had been waiting for this result.
"How many people are there?"
Seeing Liu Zhang's expectant expression, Xun You suddenly felt a little embarrassed.
"Lord, I'm not very optimistic..."
"Except for the Jingzhaoyin counties that we have not yet occupied, the total population of the three counties...is less than 10,000!"
Liu Zhang's eyes widened and he looked at Xun You with some confusion.
This is not optimistic at all. It is simply a disaster.
"Hey! I really don't know whether I should thank Wei Chong or blame Wei Chong..."
I was really happy that Wei Qian helped me at first, but now I hate him so much.
There are only 10,000 people in the entire Guanzhong area!
Xun You nodded helplessly, it was indeed the same moment!
"My lord, the land of Guanzhong has no population, so it is completely unable to give full play to its advantages!"
"Currently, we can only forcibly recall the people of Guanzhong, and then relocate the people, so that Guanzhong can become the land of Longxing again!"