But is this useful? Any war serves strategic purposes. What is the Sichuan army spending on Ma Teng? What's the use of winning?
Before Liu Zhang could continue, a soldier suddenly came to report: "Report to my lord, Ma Chao broke out..."
"What?"
Liu Zhang stood up suddenly, frowned, and asked coldly: "Our army has surrounded the valley like an iron barrel, and Ma Chao is seriously injured. How can we break out of the encirclement?"
"Reporting to my lord, General Gao Pei heard the sound of thousands of horse hooves and thought that Ma Chao's entire army was breaking out, so he intercepted it. However, he found that what was coming was thousands of horses with their tails on fire. General Gao Pei's troops were in chaos. Ma Chao and his men took the opportunity to escape from the gap.
Breakout."
"Gao Pei, it seems that my good plan was ruined by this bastard." Liu Zhang said bitterly.
"Lord, what's your clever plan?" Fazheng asked.
"Well, if Ma Teng goes south, he will take Han Sui with him. When the two armies go south, Tianshui will be empty. I originally wanted to lead the army to take a detour and attack Tianshui, but no matter what, the horse will run away." Liu Zhang shook his head regretfully.
"My lord, are you serious?" Fazheng looked at Liu Zhang in surprise. He couldn't understand Liu Zhang's thoughts at all. It was foolish enough to plan to continue fighting with Ma Teng on the Hanzhong front line, and also went to sneak attack Tianshui. However, Ma Teng gathered Han Sui
Going south, the sky and water are empty, so the Sichuan army will take a detour and take it.
But does that work?
There are mountains in front of Hanzhong. The mountains can be used to defend against dangers, but it is difficult to get out of the mountains. Tianshui is an enclave. If the Sichuan army really plans to fully conquer Yongliang, Tianshui must be taken. But now the army occupies an enclave in Sichuan and Shu.
, not only are supplies difficult, but the troops inside may be raided by the Xiliang army at any time.
What a stupid strategy this must be, Fa Zhengxin said. Fortunately, Ma Chao ran away, otherwise, I really don't know how to persuade him.
However, Fazheng did not believe that Liu Zhang would make such a wrong strategy. The capture of Tianshui had nothing to do with the establishment of a huge prairie cavalry. The Lord probably had more to say, but now Ma Chaochao has also run away, so it is useless to say more.
.........Thousands of Ma Chao's troops fled in dozens of directions. The Sichuan army not only captured thousands of horses with mutilated tails, but also captured thousands of people. However, Ma Chao didn't know which mountain he climbed over and disappeared without passing the Iron Dragon.
No trace left.
Of Xiliang's 80,000 troops, no more than 20 people would return with Ma Chao.
Some troops were left to guard Shangguan Tielongmutai and other dangerous places, and the Sichuan army moved to Hanzhong.
The whole army broke out of camp and was busy. The Qiang cavalry leaders of various Western Qiang tribes reached a verbal agreement with the Sichuan army and retreated across the wooden platform towards the Western Qiang grassland.
The Qiang people have always had clear grievances, and they must be grateful to the Sichuan Army for being able to retreat safely this time, but Liu Zhang never believed in such moral restraints.
The Qiang people have clear grievances and obey the powerful. Now that Han Sui is the dominant family in Xiliang, Liu Zhang will not believe that the Xiqiang will take the risk of confronting Han Sui and completely rely on him. If he does not take the next step, the ownership of the Xiqiang
, it all depends on Han Sui’s attitude.
Liu Zhang consecrated Pang Rou as a general and was responsible for the training of Huang Zhong's Han cavalry and Hu Che'er's Qiang cavalry.
.........The sound of the cavalry's hooves and the sound of the baggage trains were heard inside and outside the camp.
After Liu Zhang finished practicing his sword every day, he wiped his sweat. After the battle, he felt relaxed, threw his sword aside, and sat on a stone to admire the sunrise.
He was so powerful that he stood behind Liu Zhang with a sledgehammer in hand, sweating profusely.
It was early winter, and the sun rose in the east as red as fire, but there was no temperature. The earth was cool and cool, and Guan Yinping came over.
"Uncle Huang." Guan Yinping shouted.
Liu Zhang looked at her strangely and said dissatisfiedly: "Didn't you promise to change your story?"
"Shu Hou."
"You..." Liu Zhang was very dissatisfied.
Guan Yinping chuckled and snorted: "Who told you to trick me first? You deliberately lied to me. You obviously planned to let Pang De go, and you still want to make money from me. It doesn't count."
"Are the Guan family members also so dishonest?" Liu Zhang asked.
"Please don't get involved with my father."
Guan Yinping stood aside with his head lowered. Liu Zhang moved his butt to the side and patted the place next to him. Guan Yinping hesitated and sat down.
Liu Zhang pointed to the rising sun in the east and said to Guan Yinping: "Look, is the scene beautiful?"
Guan Yinping looked over and saw the undulating mountains in the Northern Range of Dongchuan. The green water and green mountains turned golden under the sunlight. The bottom of the distant mountains were quietly hidden in the unawakened darkness. Everything seemed quiet and beautiful. He couldn't help but nod.
"The two states of Jingyi are like the rising sun. They have just experienced a rebellion and are in ruins. However, the army and the people are united, and the military, agriculture, culture, and commerce are all developing steadily. Sooner or later, they will be like Fangzhong. I also believe that sooner or later, they will be able to
Shine all over the world."
Guan Yinping curled her lips and said quietly: "The sun rises and sets, and the sun sets and rises. Things in the world are ever-changing. Uncle Emperor, you are recuperating, Cao Cao is also expanding his territory, and Sun Quan is also accumulating strength. Even those
The indifferent warlords in Guanzhong all fantasize about becoming powerful.
The emperor's uncle feels that he is the rising sun, and other princes may not feel the same way. Everyone feels that they are the rising sun, but there is only one rising sun. Who will admit that he is the moon? Even the moon and stars are not as good as you. You may all be just fireflies in the night.
It flashed and disappeared the next day.”
Guan Yinping said casually, and the intoxicated expression on Liu Zhang's face disappeared. He lowered his head and pondered. Guan Yinping glanced at Liu Zhang and said nervously: "Uncle Emperor, don't take it seriously. I'm just saying casually."
"You are right." Liu Zhang said: "Throughout the ages, many heroes have thought that they are the rising sun shining on the earth, but there are only a few who really bring light to the people. It's not that they don't want to do that. Once they gain power, they can escape the suffering of the world.
, what status and state of mind, when they really came to power, a few of them remembered their past thoughts.
They're both fireflies, and I might be too."
Liu Zhang turned to look at Guan Yinping. Guan Yinping's pretty face was blank. He didn't know what Liu Zhang was going to do. Liu Zhang suddenly said solemnly: "Yinping, do you know why I always hope that you will join the Sichuan Army?"
"Why do you call her so affectionate?" Guan Yinping was very unaccustomed to Liu Zhang looking at her like this. Guess why? You must have good intentions. I guess what you are here for.
Liu Zhang breathed a sigh of relief: "Actually, I am also afraid that one day I will forget my original intention. I have already compromised on some things. For the sake of the prosperity of business, I forgave a courtier's [***]. Although I will
I am determined that as long as there is a next time, I will definitely deal with it strictly.
But who can guarantee, he said, whether I will forgive again because I care about other things, so that I can't deal with it? I need someone to supervise me."
Liu Zhang solemnly said that after the last rebellion, in order to restore stability as soon as possible, Liu Zhang forgave those officials who had committed corruption in business but did not rebel.
This is not only for the sake of the overall situation, but also because in the early days of business, laws were not standardized, which is an inevitable additional product brought about by reform.
But Liu Zhang felt uncomfortable in his heart. This was completely contrary to his original intention. As a later generation, Liu Zhang knew deeply that once commercial deprivation was formed, it would be a hundred times more severe than the current family deprivation.
Exploitation by businessmen, officials [***] and taxes directly imposed on the people are only visible things. Invisible exploitation, such as uneven distribution of assets and labor, price exploitation, local accumulation of indirect taxes, are all invisible.
During the Three Kingdoms period, the common people's knowledge was exploited and they didn't know why. They just thought it was because they were born with bad luck.
The reason why the family is being curbed now is because the land annexation of the family has reached its peak and must be curbed. If the business [***] is allowed to reach its peak, then you will become a sinner.
The ebb and flow of the tide, the rise and fall of dynasties, are all laws and cannot be changed. However, Liu Zhang thought that if a generation was sacrificed, the Qingming politics should be continued for at least a few more generations. When the time comes, the cycle will be repeated, and the merits will outweigh the faults.
Moreover, the rise of commerce can also promote the development of the Chinese nation, eliminating the need for thousands of years of social stagnation. After all, businessmen are much more creative and pioneering than aristocratic families.
The aristocratic clan is now completely on the opposite side and can be cut off. But in the future, when commerce rises and commerce becomes [***], will you cut off the merchant class? Then aren’t you just messing around?
Because of this, Liu Zhang was even more afraid of uncontrollable [***] in the process of developing business.
To ensure this, you must first ensure that you have a clear mind. In the future, if the New Deal can continue, if a situation occurs one day.
When Qingming politics conflict with political stability and business prosperity, should I conservatively choose stability and prosperity or Qingming politics?
For a ruler, this choice seems very simple, but in fact it is very difficult. However, the vast majority of rulers who are in power and have no enemies will definitely choose political stability and temporary prosperity over tolerance and exploitation.
Compromise to the powerful corrupt class.
After all, stability is more important than anything else.
Liu Zhang did not want to be that kind of ruler one day. Without surgery, cancer would develop sooner or later. This was contrary to his original intention, and it also failed to honor the sacrificed soldiers and the dedicated officials and generals.
"What do you mean?" Guan Yinping looked at Liu Zhang warily.
Liu Zhang looked at Guan Yinping and said clearly: "Yinping, you are kind by nature, do good to the people, don't rub grains of sand in your eyes, are upright, and have the most benevolent heart..."
Guan Yinping rubbed his head, fearing that Liu Zhang would faint and be deceived.
"If one day, because of various scruples and my own power, I tolerate officials, powerful people, and powerful men who harm the people, you use this scimitar to admonish me, and I will definitely remember today."
Liu Zhang handed the Qiang scimitar he had collected to Guan Yinping. Guan Yinping looked at the shining scimitar and said, "You are good at everything now. You dare to kill hundreds of thousands of people and fight with tens of thousands of cavalry. You have the brains."
You have the means and courage, but the only thing you don’t have is scruples. Do you have scruples?
Besides, it’s none of my business what you do.” Guan Yinping added dully.
"If you surrender to the Sichuan Army, it's none of your business. You don't want your lord to become a guardian of the decadent class. If you don't surrender," Liu Zhang hesitated and said, "You can leave now.