In Chengdu's Zhou Mufu, the hall was full of orioles singing and dancing.
Liu Zhang was sitting on the main seat. On the cloth in front of him, there was a painting of a graceful lady with a hairpin, which made her almost blind.
"Report to the lord!"
Without raising his head, Liu Zhang raised one hand to Huang Quan and Zheng Du, and holding the pen with the other hand, he lowered it slowly, "When dotting the eyes, you must not be distracted. If you are even slightly distracted, the painting will lose its charm.
"
After finishing the painting, he put away his pen and looked at the two of them, "Tell me, what's the matter?"
After Liu Zhang finished speaking, Zheng Du almost shouted, "My lord, Cao Cao is recuperating, and Liu Cong is attacking Jiangdong. My lord, as the leader of a party, is painting leisurely here. Is this what a master should do?"
"
Liu Zhang had a big head, and he suddenly missed Zhang Song. If it were Zhang Song, he would definitely praise the woman in his painting for being more charming than the dancers in the hall.
When facing Zheng Du, Huang Quan, Wang Lei and others, they will just keep telling you that the world is in chaos, that you need to work hard, and that you need to strengthen your military preparedness...
"My lord, please promise me that you will never play with things like this again!"
"Okay, okay, didn't I just draw a picture? What's going on with you two? Just go down if you have nothing to do." Liu Zhang really didn't want to hear these two beeping here.
Huang Quan then took the newspaper in his hand and handed it to Liu Zhang, "My lord, please read this newspaper."
"I'm tired of reading Jingchu's newspapers. Why are you still reading? Are there any anecdotes?" Liu Zhang took the newspaper casually.
After looking at it for a while, he stood up directly and said, "Is what is said here true?"
Zheng Du replied, "My lord, in my opinion, it is nine out of ten times true. Otherwise, why would Liu Bei deliberately bribe Zhang Song's servants?"
Liu Zhang was a little in disbelief, "But, but, why did Xuande do this?"
"My lord, Liu Bei is the first great hero. Of course he is plotting against Xichuan!" Huang Quan blushed with anxiety.
"Ah?" Liu Zhang sat down, "I...he..."
His face turned pale, "Impossible, I just helped him take Hanzhong, how could he want my Xichuan? Xuande is a loyal man, he will never repay kindness with enmity."
"Haha, I understand." Liu Zhang suddenly stood up again and laughed, "This must be Liu Cong's counter-intentional plan to drive a wedge between us and Xuande, and then he can reap the benefits!"
Huang Quan asked again, "Have you forgotten, my lord, that when Liu Bei was in Jingzhou, he kidnapped Liu Qi and wanted to stand on his own in Jingnan?"
Zheng Du also echoed, "Yes, my lord, Liu Bei is ambitious and unscrupulous in doing things, but he still manages to win the hearts of the people and has a good reputation. My lord, you must not let down your guard against Liu Bei!"
"Then what do you think we should do?" Liu Zhang still doubted Liu Bei in his heart.
"My lord, now that things have come to a point, we can only test Liu Bei!"
"How to test?"
Zheng Du cupped his hands and said, "My lord can summon Liu Bei to Chengdu. If he comes, it means that he has no rebellious intentions. If he is put under house arrest, Hanzhong will be in my lord's pocket!"
"What if he doesn't come?"
"That means he must be plotting against Nishikawa!"
Liu Zhang walked up and down on the ground and thought for a long time before he said to Zheng Du and Huang Quan, "Let's do it this way. Which one of you is willing to go to Hanzhong as an envoy?"
Zheng Du smiled and said, "I was the one who offered the advice, so naturally I am the one who came to Hanzhong as an envoy."
"Then there's Mr. Lao."
Naturally, Liu Bei in Hanzhong also received the news.
Liu Bei looked at the detective report in his hand, "Liu Xiye just fought against Jiangdong and suffered such a defeat. I'm afraid it's not easy for him to win Jiangdong."
Yan Pu cupped his hands and said, "In my opinion, Jiangdong is just struggling to the death, and will surely be destroyed by Liu Xiye sooner or later."
Zhuge Liang shook his feather fan and said, "My lord, Yan Pu is right. Now, we must take advantage of this opportunity to capture Xichuan. Otherwise, when Cao Cao annexes Xiliang, we will have no chance at all!"
Liu Bei picked up another newspaper and said, "But if Liu Cong said this in the newspaper, Liu Zhang will definitely be on guard against us."
Zhuge Liang smiled and said, "Liu Zhang is hesitant and will definitely send someone to ask first. When the time comes, we will act according to the opportunity and we will definitely be able to capture Xichuan."
Liu Bei sighed and said, "Cui Wei of the Jiangge can be blocked by one man and cannot be opened by ten thousand people. It is difficult to attack. Even if the Jiange is captured, there are also Jiameng, Jiangyou, Mianzhu, and Fucheng. This Xichuan is not easy to enter."
Jiange also has another name, Jianmen Pass!
After Liu Bei took control of Hanzhong, he took control of Yangping Pass, the gateway to the north of Hanzhong. He was quite happy at that time.
But think about Jiange. Anyone who encounters that magnificent pass will have a headache. The magnificent pass is ten feet high! You can’t even climb it with a ladder!
The sword pavilion is actually a city wall up to three feet thick, with towering mountains on both sides, which is very dangerous. Behind this wall, there is just a military camp, but this wall alone is enough to block hundreds of thousands of troops.
.
In history, Jiang Wei relied on the sword pavilion to stop Zhong Hui's 100,000 troops, but who knew that Deng Ai would steal his home?
It can be seen that Jiange is simply the gateway to Yizhou!
Jiameng, another name is Jiameng Pass, but it is actually a city. Historically, after Liu Bei entered Shu, he changed it to Hanshou City, which means Han Zuo Yongshou.
Thinking about how many fortified cities had to be conquered before entering Shu, Liu Bei was also very worried.
Facing Xichuan with such majestic passes and fortified cities, Zhuge Liang had no good solution for a while. He could only say solemnly, "Lord, no matter how difficult it is, we must capture Yizhou. Otherwise, there will really be no one in the world in the future."
There’s no place for us.”
"I understand."
"My lord, the envoy from Yizhou, Zheng Du, wants to see you!"
Liu Bei was a little confused, "Why did Liu Zhang suddenly send an envoy?"
"Hahaha!" Zhuge Liang laughed loudly, "Lord, I have the certificate to enter Shu!"
"What does Kong Ming mean by this?"
Zhuge Liang smiled and said, "My lord, Liu Zhang must have sent him here because of what happened in the newspaper. My lord, you can sincerely state your position to him and say that this is Liu Cong's plan to alienate you."
"Then, the lord asked him to go to Chengdu to meet Liu Zhang, and we could take the opportunity to seize the sword pavilion!"
Liu Bei was surprised and said, "Kong Ming means to use Zheng Du to seize the sword pavilion?"
"Exactly." Zhuge Liang said with some regret, "Unfortunately, even if we capture the sword pavilion, we still have to face many fortified cities."
"That's not bad. Jiange, this majestic pass, gives me a headache just thinking about it. Bring Zheng Du up."
"Zheng Du has met Uncle Liu Huang."
After Liu Bei captured Hanzhong, he went to the emperor and made himself the prefect of Hanzhong. At this time, Zheng Du called him Liu Huangshu, which was even more obvious that he did not recognize his status in Hanzhong.
In Zheng Du's eyes, Liu Bei was able to capture Hanzhong only with Liu Zhang's help. How dare you have thoughts about Xichuan now?
Liu Bei didn't care either. All he could think about now was to take down Jiange first. "Sir, please rise. I wonder why my brother sent you here?"
"Liu Cong is attacking Jiangdong. My lord is worried that if he takes Jiangdong, he will use troops against Xichuan, so he specially invited the emperor to go to Chengdu to discuss important matters together!"
Okay, I don’t need to ask for it, you just put it forward yourself. Liu Bei was ecstatic in his heart, but there was a bit of embarrassment on his face, "Hanzhong is determined, and we can't live without each other."