As soon as these words came out, the originally harmonious atmosphere suddenly fell silent.
A hint of gunpowder quickly filled the lobby.
Yi Ji looked up and found the person who was questioning him. After asking the officials accompanying him, he learned that the person who was questioning him was Huang Quan, a famous scholar from Yizhou.
The subordinate officials ruined the friendly atmosphere, but Liu Zhang just bowed his head and drank, pretending not to hear.
Liu Zhang's move was clearly an acquiescence to Huang Quan's questioning. It was obvious that although Liu Zhang showed great respect for Yan Liang on the surface, he was deeply uneasy about Yan Liang's reinforcement of troops in Jiangling.
Although Liu Zhang was mediocre, he was not a fool. Sun Quan, who was Yan Liang's "neighbor", had been destroyed. Faced with Yan Liang's move to increase his troops in Jiangling, Liu Zhang would naturally feel uneasy.
"Huang Zheng is really worried. Our Lord and Liu Shijun have always been respectful and friendly, so how could he send troops to invade Yizhou?" Yi Ji immediately denied it.
Huang Quan snorted coldly, "Friendliness or not is not just a matter of words. Since Mr. Yi said that Sima Yan had no intention of invading our Yizhou, how do you explain his move to increase troops in Jiangling."
Liu Zhang raised his head slightly and glanced at Yi Ji quietly, as if he couldn't wait to hear Yi Ji's explanation.
However, Yi Ji's expression was as usual and he simply said: "Let's not talk about why my lord increased his troops to Jiangling. I would like to ask Huang Zheng, do you know that Cao Cao in Guanzhong is planning to attack Hanzhong in the south recently?"
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of everyone present, including Liu Zhang, changed slightly.
Rumors that Cao Cao will attack Hanzhong in the south and then capture Yizhou have long been spread. Liu Zhang is worried about what happened in the north, and now Yan Liang is increasing his troops in the east. Liu Zhang is worried about both ends, and this is why he is eager to know Yan Liang's intentions.
reason.
"We have indeed heard the news about Cao Cao's attack on Hanzhong, but what does this have to do with Yan Da Sima's increase in troops at Jiangling?" Huang Quan asked confused.
"Of course it does matter." Yi Ji's expression suddenly became serious, "If Cao Cao captures Hanzhong, the next step will be to take advantage of the situation to capture Xichuan. By that time, Cao Cao will occupy the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and attack the two states of Jingyang and me.
It poses a huge threat, how can it be said that this has nothing to do with my lord."
Yi Ji's words seemed to give a good explanation. Yan Liang sent more troops to Jiangling to guard against Cao Cao's future attack from Yizhou.
But the meaning of what he said was as if as long as Cao Cao attacked the two Sichuan south, the fall of Yizhou would be a certainty.
Huang Quan looked sulky and snorted coldly: "Sima Yan probably underestimates me in Yizhou. My lord has countless elite soldiers and generals. Cao Cao leads the army to attack. What do we have to fear?"
Huang Quan acted very arrogantly, but Yi Ji responded with a sneer that seemed to be disdainful.
"That's not necessarily true. Although there are elite soldiers and generals in Shu, they have been unable to deal with even a small Zhang Lu for so many years. I'm afraid it's doubtful whether they can withstand Cao Cao's attack."
Yiji's remarks were clearly a satire on the incompetence of Yizhou soldiers.
"You actually look down on our Yizhou, seriously-" Huang Quan was angered and was about to explode on the spot.
At this time, Zhang Song said with a smile: "Huang Zhang, don't be excited. Although Mr. Yi's words are a bit unpleasant, it is an indisputable fact that we have won less and lost more in the war with Zhang Lu over the years. What we need to do now
What is important is how to enhance one's own strength to deal with the threat from Cao Cao, rather than just to save face."
Zhang Song spoke up in time, secretly helped Yi Ji, and choked Huang Quan back.
Huang Quan was speechless for a moment and could only hold back his face until his face turned red and his neck became thick.
At this time, Liu Zhang had finished pretending to be confused and said with a smile: "It turns out that Sima Yan increased his troops to Jiangling to guard against Cao Cao. I'm just saying that. Sima Yan has always been friendly with me, so how could he do anything to benefit from the invasion?"
Such an unjust act by the state."
Liu Zhang was obviously very relieved, but Yi Ji looked at this mediocre master and sneered in his heart.
"Actually, I don't hide it from Liu Shijun. I was sent as an envoy this time because I wanted to discuss the plan to resist Cao Cao with Liu Shijun." After some verbal battles, Yi Ji gradually began to lure Liu Zhang into his trap.
When Liu Zhang heard this, his spirits suddenly lifted. He was originally worried about how to prevent Cao Cao, but now Yan Liang took the initiative to propose an alliance. Liu Zhang could not be happy at the thought of getting such a powerful helper as Yan Liang.
At that moment, Liu Zhang was very interested and asked Yan Liang urgently what his plans were.
Yi Ji took his time and told Liu Zhang and the senior Yizhou officials present about the so-called "union against Cao" plan.
Yan Liang believed that Zhang Lu was incompetent and could not resist Cao Cao's attack. Instead of sitting back and watching Hanzhong fall into Cao Cao's hands, he simply took action first and joined forces to destroy Zhang Lu and take Hanzhong as his own, and then rely on the danger of the Qinling Mountains to stop them.
Cao Cao's march south.
Yan Liang's strategy was to send troops to attack the Shangyong counties that were closely related to Zhang Lu, threaten Hanzhong from the east, and force Zhang Lu to send troops to assist the Shen brothers in the three Shangyong counties.
When Zhang Lu transferred his troops to the east, Liu Zhang sent troops from Xichuan, took advantage of the situation, destroyed Zhang Lu, and captured Hanzhong in one fell swoop.
At that time, Liu Zhang, who controlled both Sichuan and Sichuan, relied on the dangers of the Qinling Mountains with his troops from one state to be far stronger than Zhang Lu, enough to resist Cao Cao's southern invasion.
In this way, Yan Liang will not be threatened by Cao Cao's upper reaches, and Liu Zhang can also keep Yizhou. This is a win-win strategy.
Liu Zhang was excited, unprecedentedly excited.
Yan Liang's plan was perfect for Liu Zhang.
With Yan Liang's help, he can not only destroy Zhang Lu, his old enemy for many years, and occupy both Sichuan, but also block Cao Cao's threat. From now on, he can sit back and relax in the mountains of Yizhou and do whatever he wants.
The local emperor.
For Liu Zhang, who only wanted a little peace, what could be more wonderful than this.
Before Liu Zhang could say anything, Zhang Song was already very excited. He praised Yan Liang's plan and tried his best to persuade Liu Zhang to agree.
As for Huang Quan and other people who were hostile to Yan Liang beforehand, they seemed to be tempted by Yi Ji's plan, and no one expressed any objection.
The excited Liu Zhang had nothing to hesitate about at this time, so he readily agreed.
Yi Ji immediately expressed his joy and praised Liu Zhang for his wisdom and strategy, which made Liu Zhang feel happy.
After several compliments, the atmosphere that had been disturbed by Huang Quan quickly returned to harmony.
The banquet resumes.
After a few glasses of wine, Yi Ji smiled again and said: "The three counties of Shangyong are in a dangerous terrain. If we attack from the direction of Wancheng alone, it will be extremely difficult. Therefore, my lord wants to ask Liu Shijun to pass through Badong County and attack from the south.
If we attack Shangyong by surprise, we will definitely kill the Shen brothers by surprise. I don’t know if Liu Shijun will allow our army to use the passage."
Going north from Badong County, there is indeed a road that leads directly to Shangyong. In history, Mengda went north through this road and captured Shangyong.
At this time, Liu Zhang was completely immersed in the daydream of conquering Hanzhong. He heard that Yan Liang had no additional requirements and just wanted to use his territory. There was no reason not to agree.
Therefore, Liu Zhang didn't think much and agreed immediately.
Hearing Liu Zhang's agreement, a mysterious sneer quietly flashed across Yi Ji's lips.
Then, Yiji continued to toast Liu Zhang, and continued to compliment Liu Zhang generously without sparing his words.
This banquet ended perfectly in the joyful atmosphere of the guest of honor.
In the following days, Liu Zhang had a small banquet for three days and a large banquet for five days. He entertained Yi Ji warmly and rewarded Yi Ji with a large amount of gold and silver before leaving.
A few days later, Yi Ji, who had completed his mission as an envoy, took Liu Zhang's reward and Liu Zhang's envoy Zhang Song and set off east to return to Jingzhou.
…
The journey went smoothly, and soon Yi Ji took Zhang Song back to Jiangling City by boat.
When Fang Zi landed, Yan Liang was already leading the civil and military personnel of Da Sima Mansion to greet him on the trestle. Yan Liang was as enthusiastic as before.
The guest of honor met happily. Zhang Song, as Liu Zhang's envoy, fulfilled the tasks assigned to him by Liu Zhang very responsibly in public. He sent Liu Zhang's greetings to Yan Liang and discussed the joint resistance against Cao Cao.
He made a big plan and attended a grand welcome banquet organized by Yan Liang for him.
After the banquet was over, all the accompanying officials retired. Only Pang Tong, Yi Ji and a few other confidential confidants were left in the hall.
At this time, Yan Liangfang suppressed his false smile, and a look of emotion appeared on his knife-like face.
"This time Ji Bo went to Yizhou as an envoy to plot against Liu Zhang. Thanks to Yongnian's secret help, Yongnian really lived up to his original promise to Chai Sang. Come, I will thank you for this glass of wine." Yan Liang raised his glass.
Zhang Song stood up in a hurry and said sternly: "Song De meets the Lord of the Ming Dynasty. I dare not go through fire and water for my lord. This thank you from my lord is really a shame."
Zhang Song expressed his loyalty, and Yan Liang couldn't help laughing when he heard that he was happy.
There were no outsiders here, so Yan Liang had nothing to hide, so he frankly revealed his plan to Zhang Song, the insider.
Badong County is in danger of the Three Gorges, which is the biggest obstacle for Yan Liang's troops to enter Yizhou. Now Yan Liang has sent Yi nationality to Shu and proposed to Liu Zhang the so-called strategy of communism against Cao Cao. This is just to let Liu Zhang relax his vigilance about gathering troops in Jiangling.
tick.
And the so-called request to take advantage of Badong to attack Shangyong in the north is just a trick to confuse the enemy. Yan Liang's real purpose is to catch them unprepared, suddenly capture Badong County, and open the passage to Shu in one fell swoop.
Zhang Song had speculated about Yan Liang's intentions before, but now that he heard Yan Liang's honest confession, he suddenly realized it.
Before that, he had been worrying about how to let Yan Liang successfully enter Shu, but he didn't expect that all his worries would be easily resolved by this plan.
With emotion, Zhang Song could not help but excitedly praise: "The unknown lord actually has such a clever plan. It is really exquisite. The lord's resourcefulness is really incomparable."
Yan Liang looked proud, but he did not take credit for it, so he smiled and said: "The person who came up with this wonderful idea is actually the lonely military advisor Pang Shiyuan."
Pang Tong stroked his short beard and smiled slightly, quite proud of himself.
Zhang Song looked at Pang Tong, but he didn't expect that this famous Xiangyang man with the same humble appearance as himself could come up with such a clever plan.
When Zhang Song was in Shu, he heard that Pang Tong had become Yan Liang's adviser, and he was still thinking about what was so special about this person that he could gain Yan Liang's trust. When he met him today, Zhang Song truly saw Pang Tong's extraordinary resourcefulness.
.
With emotion in his heart, Zhang Song couldn't help but smile and sigh: "My lord, with a resourceful person like Feng Chu to assist you, and Song as an internal support, why worry about Yizhou not being able to conquer, and why not worry about not being able to achieve hegemony!"
Yan Liang was filled with excitement. He looked at each other with these two top wise men and understood each other's thoughts. The three principals and ministers couldn't help but burst into laughter. (To be continued.)
