"Guan Yu has a thousand-mile red rabbit horse on his crotch, and a green dragon and moon knife in his hand. He is invincible. He cannot surrender to me. He is a serious problem for our Sichuan army. If he encounters it, I will not show any mercy. I will kill him quickly. Yinping, can you face it?
?”
"Lord, I can go and persuade him. Father always listens to me." Guan Yinping raised her head, tears flashing in her eyes.
"Don't be stupid, that's different. Whatever you want to eat or what clothes you want, your father will satisfy you. But when it comes to loyalty, will your father listen to you? Yin screen... go back to Chengdu."
Guan Yinping finally couldn't help crying in a low voice. When she took refuge with Liu Zhang, she thought that this day might happen, but she didn't expect it to come so quickly.
Guan Yinping knows his father's loyalty very well. If Liu Bei is alive, his father will never take refuge in anyone. If Liu Bei dies, Guan Yu will fulfill his oath to die on the same day of the same year and month.
In other words, as long as the Sichuan army defeats Liu Bei, his father will undoubtedly die.
As a Sichuan general, he was an enemy of his father, and had to watch his father die because of the army he served. How could he not feel heartbroken by this helplessness.
"Lord." Guan Yinping raised her head and looked at Liu Zhang: "Lord, I won't go back to Chengdu. I, I... Lord, I want to go to Chang'an to see my father and persuade him. Even if it doesn't work, is that okay?
"Guan Yinping wrung his fingers.
"Going to Chang'an?" Liu Zhang frowned.
"I know that the two armies are currently at war. As a general, I left for private matters..."
"Okay, stop talking, Yinping, I allow you to go, but there are two conditions."
"What?"
"The war is now in chaos, Liu Bei has not taken care of Guanzhong, and bandits are rampant. I asked Rong'er to select a few skilled female barbarian soldiers. You must bring them with you. Second."
Liu Zhang looked at Guan Yinping: "Whether you can persuade your father or not, unless you are willing to stay in Chang'an, you must come back to me. You understand what I mean."
Guan Yinping looked at Liu Zhang quietly, feeling warm and desolate in her heart. How could she not understand what Liu Zhang meant. Loyalty and filial piety are the most difficult choices. If you choose filial piety, Liu Zhang will help you.
But if he chooses loyalty, Guan Yu will not be able to surrender to the Sichuan army, and he will have to face the tearing of loyalty and filial piety. At that time, he is afraid of the future. There is no guarantee that he will not do anything stupid.
The warm thing is that Liu Zhang thought of all this for himself, but the sad thing is that he still has to face everything by himself.
"Screen, take it."
Liu Zhang took out a scimitar from his arms and handed it to Guan Yinping. The scabbard and handle of this scimitar were more exquisite and luxurious than those in Guan Yinping's hand. When Guan Yinping pulled it out, he saw that the blade was terribly sharp.
Man, he can be called the first-class sword in the world.
"This is a gift given to me by Han Sui, who joined the Sichuan Army. It is extremely sharp. Didn't you think that the scimitar was too dull at first? This knife cuts iron like mud and is exquisite. It is easy to conceal and carry when going to Chang'an...
…Remember to come back.”
Guan Yinping held the cold scabbard. The last drop of tears fell on it. She raised her head and said firmly to Liu Zhang: "My lord, no matter what we face in the future, Yinping will come back."
When Liu Zhang walked out of Guan Yinping's tent, Huang Yueying came over in a hurry: "My lord, it's bad, there is a drought in Jingyi, and our food cannot be delivered as scheduled."
"What?" Liu Zhang frowned suddenly. Jing Yi had had good harvests for several consecutive years, so why was there a drought at this juncture?
"My lord, when we set out for the expedition, we expected that the food would last for half a year, and then the first crop of rice would make up for it until October, and the second crop of rice would make up for it until the spring of next year.
But this is all based on a bumper harvest. Unfortunately, God failed to fulfill his wishes. Since Jingyi entered May this year, not a drop of water has fallen, but the temperature has continued to rise. Drought has caused locust plagues in some places."
"Where's Champa Rice?"
"Champa rice does not have much impact. It is indeed more drought-resistant than our waterways, but it will only mature in two months, and the yield is definitely not as good as rice.
Even if the Champa rice can make up for the army's rations, our current food supply can only last for two months at most. By the time the Champa rice output is shipped, our food supply will have bottomed out."
Liu Zhang was a little upset. Every time he thought he was sure of victory, something unexpected would happen. He pressed his forehead and asked, "Yueying, what do you think?"
"Increasing taxes and imposing heavy taxes on first-season rice in non-disaster areas may be maintained."
"How many non-disaster areas can there be in the large-scale drought and locust plague? Moreover, when I went on the expedition, the people of Jingyi had already donated money and food. Many households gave their entire family's rations to the Sichuan army. Now that heavy taxes are imposed, wouldn't it be wrong?
It chills the hearts of the people."
"My subordinates also think it is not feasible. Jingyi is the foundation of our operation for many years. The people's support and the agricultural and commercial foundation are the foundation we have worked hard to lay. If we increase taxes now, the people of Jingyi will complain and defeat Liu Bei. What will happen in the future when we fight with Cao Cao?"
We hope that the people of Jingyi will help us.
However, the people's support can be used." Huang Yueying said solemnly.
Huang Yueying glanced at the ground, seeming to be thinking about something, and seemed to have finally made up her mind: "My lord, I was inspired by the people's donations of money and materials, and there is only one way left.
We can ask Jingyi officials to mobilize non-disaster area people and wealthy households to donate food to the disaster area. The people are sympathetic, especially now that Jingyi is harmonious and people are willing to contribute to the prosperity of Jingyi. Many people will or
If you take out more or less grain, we can intercept it and use it as military ration.
In this way, it not only unites our Jingyi people, but also solves the problem of military rations without causing public resentment."
"What?" Liu Zhang looked at Huang Yueying in disbelief: "Cutting donations? Do you know the consequences of doing so? If exposed, our army will completely lose the support of the people. Once credibility is lost, it will never be regained."
Huang Yueying said: "Yueying knows this, but we don't have to wait for him to be exposed. As long as the food is shipped out of Hanzhong, we will directly announce it to the world and say that the donations have been intercepted. The lord will kill all the officials responsible for allocating donated materials.
In this way, as long as the people's grievances have an outlet, things will be settled, and the food shipped out of Hanzhong will no longer be transported back, and the problem of military rations will be solved."
Seeing that Liu Zhang hadn't finished speaking, Huang Yueying leaned down and bowed: "My lord, Yueying knows that this move is harmful to nature, but our army will defeat Qinchuan immediately. If we retreat for food and grass at this time, all our previous achievements will be wasted, how can the Sichuan army be willing to do so? What if?
If we reorganize our army for the Northern Expedition, wouldn't it be the people of Jingyi who suffer the most?
Lord, morality cannot be the only criterion. As a Lord, the Lord must know what is truly beneficial. It is not only beneficial to the Sichuan army, but also beneficial to the Lord's great cause. It is also beneficial to Jing and the people.
We have been constantly suffering from the chaos, and today we intercepted the donation, which is unethical and unethical, but it is for the sake of greater losses in the future. Please think again, my lord."
"Yueying, is there any other way?" Liu Zhang was silent for a long time and slowly uttered a sentence.
"Lord..."
"Yueying, taking advantage of other people's kindness is the most despicable behavior of this prince, let alone the common people who just donated food and materials to the Sichuan Army?"
Liu Zhang suddenly raised his voice and looked at Guan Yinping's tent. The girl who monitored his original intention was still in the tent. Was he going to betray his original intention?
In order to survive the army, to win a big war, and to save more lives, I can kill some innocent people, but how can I convince myself that I have deceived so many kind-hearted people?
Some evils are kept closed by a gate. Once it is opened, the devil in the heart will spurt out.
Huang Yueying breathed a sigh of relief: "Yueying has already thought about what should be thought of. There is an even more unreasonable way. Now that our army's combat troops have been reduced by half, as long as those seriously wounded who can no longer go to the battlefield... I know
The Lord would never do this.
My lord can cut off the cancer of the family with harsh hands, but he shows compassion to the common people and soldiers. Now there is only one last option left, a quick victory."
"A quick victory? Qinchuan is dangerous. Can it be captured in a short time?"
Huang Yueying shook her head: "Zhuge Liang's defenses are tight. Our army has been attacking, but it is difficult to move forward. A few days ago, the deputy military advisor of the Liang Army, Pang Tong, arrived. Along the way, there were 10,000 troops from Chang'an and 20,000 troops from Liangzhou.
A total of 70,000. It is basically impossible to break through in a short time.
But before I came down, Wei Yan came to see me. Knowing that our army could not sustain food and grass, he came up with a strategy. Wei Yan was stationed in Hanzhong for more than a year and found a road, the Ziwu Valley Trail that Emperor Gaozu walked when he entered Hanzhong."
"Ziwu Valley? Wei Yan wants to attack Chang'an?" Liu Zhang was shocked, but Wei Yan still proposed this strategy.
Huang Yueying nodded: "Ziwu Valley leads directly to Chang'an. Now Guan Yu has led his army into Lantian to deal with Fa Zheng. Mi Fang is stationed at Hangu Pass. Chang'an's guards are empty. After deploying 10,000 troops to Qinchuan, it is like an empty city.
As long as Wei Yan successfully enters Chang'an, he will be able to occupy the key areas in Guanzhong. If Chang'an is lost and Qinchuan's rear becomes unstable, Zhuge Liang will undoubtedly be defeated. However."
Huang Yueying frowned: "This move is very difficult and dangerous. The terrain of Ziwu Valley is dangerous, and it is the rainy season now. Once it rains heavily and the mountain road is blocked, the army will be trapped.
If Guan Yu, who was stationed in Chang'an, found out, he would be able to ambush all of Wei Yan's troops in the mountains without too many men, just one or two thousand men.
Even if we get to Guanzhong, if we capture Chang'an, the Yongzhou clans are basically gathered in Chang'an now, and Mi Fang and Guan Yu return to the army, it will be difficult for Wei Yan to hold Chang'an. If he is defeated, his army goes deep alone, and there is no food and grass, Wei Yan will not be able to come back."
"Reward and adventure always go hand in hand."
"This is not the biggest adventure." Huang Yueying said: "Lord, have you ever thought about it? If we place all our bets on Wei Yan, once Wei Yan fails, our army will run out of food in two months, and there will be no future.
The way to go."
………………
In the Liangjun military camp, Pang Tong was sitting next to Zhuge Liang. He was reading the letter sent by Liu Bei. The letter was full of words of comfort to Zhuge Liang, and he was given a symbolic demotion and a three-month salary to continue to command the army.
Zhuge Liang put down the letter, brushed away his melancholy, and said to Pang Tong with a smile: "Shi Yuan is really a lucky star. This time not only Shi Yuan came, but also more than 30,000 reinforcements came, and God gave us a hundred thousand troops for nothing.
It is reported that Jingyi suffered from severe drought, large-scale locust plague, and no harvest of rice in the first season. I would like to see how Liu Zhang, who has always claimed to love his people like his own son, responds." (To be continued)