Although Jia Xu was taken aback by Liu Xin casually mentioning that he had served in the Xiliang army, he did not lose his composure. As for Liu Xin's intention of calling him to Chang'an, he had roughly guessed it on the way. However,
Faced with Liu Xin's straightforward inquiry, the wily Jia Xu did not answer immediately. Instead, he lowered his head and pretended to think deeply. After a long while, he said: "My lord has countless talented people and strangers. Compared with all of you, my subordinates,
There is nothing outstanding about it. I thought about it again and again, and the reason why my lord summoned my subordinates must be because they are from Xiliang, and my lord's move must be to conquer Liangzhou."
Liu Xin knew that with Jia Xu's wit, he would never need to think about such a simple question for so long, but he did not point out his pretentiousness. He put his hands on his hands and smiled and said: "Wen He is indeed a great talent! When Liu first arrived in Chang'an, he wanted to confront Liang
However, Fengxiao told Liu that as long as Liu stayed in Chang'an, within a month or so, all the powerful people in Liangzhou would come to join him. Liu was not at ease, so he sent Fan Chou, a surrendered general under Dong Zhuo, to various places in Liangzhou.
The county lobby. Now half a month has passed, but there has been no movement from Liangzhou. Liu is worried about this matter."
Jia Xu stayed in Xiangyang for half a year. He had heard a lot about the civil servants and generals under Liu Xin, and also knew the name of Guo Jia. After thinking about it for a while, he knew the purpose of this strategy, but he said humbly: "
The lord is so complimentary, and his subordinates are really ashamed. Master Guo’s plan is very clever. The heroes in Xiliang are all brave and fierce people. If the lord immediately uses troops, they will definitely gang up to fight against the lord. But it is not good for the lord to wait blindly.
Good idea."
Liu Xin knew that Jia Xu must have something in mind, so he quickly asked: "Since Wen He said this, he should teach me good advice."
Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty "deposed hundreds of schools of thought and only respected Confucianism," who among the scholars in the world has not wanted to find a good background? Those so-called masters and hermits may have failed to appreciate their talents, so they have wasted their years and become disheartened, or they may be flashy and only know a few things.
Talking on paper is useless. Jia Xu studied hard in Hanchuang, and of course he also wanted to be able to stand in the temple one day. Since he had identified Liu Xin as a wise master, he definitely wanted to leave a good impression when he offered advice for the first time, so he was naturally particularly concerned.
careful.
Although Jia Xu had been thinking carefully about how to pacify Xiliang for two days, after hearing Liu Xin's inquiry, he sorted out his thoughts in his mind again to make sure that nothing was missing, and then said: "Back to my lord, Mr. Guo
There is nothing wrong as expected, but it can only treat the symptoms but not the root cause. These Xiliang tyrants are forced to agree with the situation, just to express their dissatisfaction and then turn their backs after a long time. If you want to make Liangzhou permanent, you can only use kindness and power, suppression and appeasement.
!”
"Applying both kindness and power, suppression and appeasement at the same time?" Liu Xin frowned slightly.
"That's right! Use both kindness and power, suppression and appeasement!" After saying these words, Jia Xu no longer hesitated and said confidently, "Even when Dong Zhuo was appointed as the governor of Xiliang, the place was not monolithic. There were many Qiang people in Xiliang, and the Qiang people
There are many conflicts with the Han people, and the powerful people are also at odds with each other. If my lord wants to completely pacify Liangzhou, he must fight some people and pull some people away."
Liu Xin nodded and said: "Wen He, you are asking me to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys! Then, who should I pull and who should I hit?"
Jia Xu confidently said: "My lord can take advantage of the conflicts between the Qiang and Han people to attack the Qiang people and win over the powerful Han people in the counties."
Liu Xin shook his head and said: "The Qiang people are also my Han people. When Liu takes Liangzhou, the first thing he has to do is to ease the contradiction between the Qiang and Han people, so that the Qiang people and the Han people can truly become one family, just like Liu
The policy implemented against the barbarians in Jingzhou and Yizhou is the same. There is one more thing I would like to let you know. A few days ago, Beigong Boyu, the leader of the Qiang people, was captured by our army outside the city of Yiwu. I have let him go.
I also promise not to rebel for the rest of my life, and am willing to persuade all Qiang tribes to obey my orders."
Jia Xu said happily: "The Qiang people are brave and brave. If we get the help of the Qiang people, the peace of Liangzhou will be just around the corner. Since Beigong Boyu is willing to surrender, my lord should win over the Qiang people and fight against the powerful!"
Liu Xin waved her hand gently and said: "Liu will not allow the Han people to oppress the Qiang people, and of course he will not use the Qiang people to massacre Han people. This matter does not need to be discussed further."
The view that "those who are not from my race must have different hearts" was widely accepted at the time, including Jia Xu, who initially advised Liu Xinla to attack the Qiang people violently. Seeing that he had thought about it for a long time before formulating the plan
Liu Xin rejected the strategy of using the contradiction between the Han and Qiang people to establish favor and prestige without hesitation. Jia Xu felt a little nervous, and a little sweat gradually appeared in his palms.
Liu Xin saw that Jia Xu's face suddenly turned pale, so she couldn't help but smile and said, "Wen He, there are only two of us here, you can say whatever you think of, it's okay."
Jia Xu forced himself to calm down, cupped his hands and said: "Back to my lord, if we can't take advantage of the Han-Qiang conflict, then we can only use the relationship between the powerful people in Liangzhou to draw some people and beat others."
Liu Xin muttered: "Liu does not advocate force, but Liangzhou is close to Sili. If it cannot be pacified soon, it will affect the revival of the Han Dynasty. We have no choice but to fight with swords. Wenhe, you are the best.
He is from Xiliang, and he should have a clear understanding of the powerful situation in Liangzhou. Please help me analyze it."
Regarding the situation in Liangzhou, Jia Xu really worked hard and made a lot of preparations, so he leaned over and said: "Going back to my lord, there are more than ten powerful people in Liangzhou, big and small. The stronger ones include Han Sui, Ma Teng, and Yang
Fu, Pei Mao and others, among whom Han Sui is the most powerful. I believe that if we want to establish our authority in Xiliang and deal with those other powerful people who cannot show their strength, we should choose the weak ones among these four and attack them."
Liu Xin nodded and said, "I heard that Han Sui and Ma Teng are sworn brothers. Is this true?"
Jia Xu smiled and said: "Han and Ma did become brothers once, but it was due to their own interests that they worked together sometimes and could not count."
Liu Xin thought for a moment and said: "Wen He, you just said that among these powerful men, Han Sui is the most powerful."
Jia Xu nodded and said: "Back to my lord, Han Sui has eight troops and horses under his command. The leaders and generals are all brave enough to be surpassed by ten thousand men. It is hard for all powerful men to compare with him."
Liu Xin slapped the table and said, "Okay, let's use Han Sui to establish his authority."
Jia Xu did not expect that Liu Xin would choose the strongest attacker, and hesitantly said: "My lord, if we attack Han Sui, I am afraid that the soldiers will be injured a lot. Should you think about it again?"
Liu Xin said disapprovingly: "Since you want to establish your power, you should choose the strong one to attack. As long as Han Sui is defeated, no other powerful person will dare to say 'no'!"
In fact, Liu Xin didn't say a word. In his impression, Yang Fu had always been interested in the imperial court. He didn't know much about Pei Mao, and he probably didn't have any great achievements. The one who had to deal with him should be Ma Teng.
Han Sui had two people. Although Han Sui had a large number of troops, he did not have any powerful generals. On the contrary, Ma Teng, his son Ma Chao, nephew Ma Dai, and general Pang De were all the most brave in the three armies. Therefore, Liu Xin did not use Han Sui as his general.
The eight soldiers and horses took Sui's troops seriously, but they were somewhat interested in trying to win over Ma Teng.
Jia Xu couldn't help but be impressed by Liu Xin's extraordinary courage. He stood up, clasped his hands in his fists, and said: "Since the Lord has made up his mind, I am willing to serve in the army!"
Liu Xin smiled and said: "Wen He, please sit down and talk. You are from Liangzhou and are familiar with the humanities and geography there. You are naturally indispensable in the military today."
Jia Xu did not sit down, but took out a piece of yellow silk from his arms, spread it gently on the table in front of Liu Xin, and said: "My lord, please see, this topographic map of Liangzhou was drawn by my subordinates. Where is it?"
My subordinates have not clearly marked where it is appropriate to set up an ambush, where it is suitable for field combat, and where it is necessary to attack by force."
Most of the maps of that era were relatively rough, not to mention this one was hand-drawn by Jia Xu. Liu Xin didn't pay too much attention to it. He picked it up and took a look at it. Suddenly he was attracted. He pointed to the upper left corner of the map and asked: "
Wenhe, it turns out that this is Yumen Pass and Yang Pass, and going west from now on should be the Western Regions."
Jia Xu cupped his hands and said, "What my lord said is true. Beyond the Pass is the Western Region. I, the Han Dynasty, once set up a Protectorate there to manage the Western Region, but it has been abandoned for a long time."
Liu Xin didn't know much about the situation in the Western Regions. He just remembered that the ancient Silk Road achieved exchanges between the East and the West through the Western Regions. Hearing that the Western Regions had been part of the territory of the Han Dynasty for a long time, he couldn't help but be interested.
After looking at the map for a long time, he said: "Wen He, do you think we can reset the Western Region Protectorate?"
Jia Xu didn't expect that before Liangzhou was pacified, Liu Xin would set his sights on the Western Regions. He couldn't help being stunned, and then he was even more excited that Liu Xin could have such an ambitious plan, and said: "In the early years of the Han Dynasty, the Western Regions Protectorate was in charge of the three regions.
The Sixteen Kingdoms have undergone several changes. Later, the jurisdiction of the Western Regions Protectorate was limited to the east of Congling. Wusun and Dawan were no longer owned by the Han Dynasty. Until now, the Han Dynasty has declined. Although the west of Congling Mountain is called the Han Dynasty,
The position of Protector of the Western Regions has been vacant for many years. If the lord can restore the Han's jurisdiction in the Western Regions, it will be an incredible feat!"
Liu Xinqiang suppressed the joy in his heart and said: "If we want to stabilize the Western Region, we must pacify Liangzhou! It's better to put this matter aside first."
While he was talking, the soldiers outside the door suddenly came to report: "Your Majesty, urgent documents have been sent from Xiangyang!"
Jia Xu took the document from the soldier and handed it to Liu Xin respectfully. The document was sealed with fire paint. Jia Xu had no way of knowing the content inside, but the cover was stamped with the word "Urgent" in red.
The words were particularly dazzling, and it was obvious that something extremely important had happened.
Liu Xin frowned slightly. During the period when she was away from Xiangyang, those gangsters were really bold. Is there anyone else who is plotting against Xiangyang? Holding the urgent document, Liu Xin was not in a hurry to open it.
He silently reviewed the current situation in his mind. Yuan Shu took the initiative to stop his troops, Cao Cao was defeated and returned to Puyang, and Gan Ning and Xu Chu were in Jiangdong, so it was no big deal. Could it be that the war in Central and South China was not going well?
Jia Xu had been watching Liu Xin's movements. He slowly tore open the cover, took out the official document inside, took a quick look, and suddenly his expression changed drastically.