Chapter 731 The Armies Join Forces

Zhang Wei originally led the defeated generals with the remaining troops and fled in embarrassment to Nanzheng. Unexpectedly, he met a crony sent by Zhang Lu on the way and told him that Zhang Lu had surrendered.

Zhang Wei let out a long sigh when he heard this. He was too disheartened to run away and instead set up camp on the spot. After the Nanyang Army led by Zhang Jiao caught up, they knelt down and asked for surrender. After Zhang Jiao accepted the surrender, he headed north and finally arrived at Nanzheng two days later.

"The general will pay homage to the general!"

With his jaw still open and his armor still on, he walked straight into the hall and saluted Liu Ye.

"Hahaha, Junyi doesn't need to be polite."

Liu Ye laughed loudly, stood up from the cushion, walked a few steps forward, and held the hand that opened his jaw. Speaking of which, Liu Ye has not seen Zhang Jia for several years. Zhang Jia has not changed much in the past few years. His eyes are still bright, his body is tall and straight, and he seems to have endless energy.

Zhang Jia breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "Finally I can fight under the general again."

Liu Ye smiled and said: "Haha, I don't like fighting. Once the world is pacified and we take off our armor and return to the fields, you and I can hunt, fish, and go boating on the river."

Zhang Jia's eyes lit up: "If that time really comes, I will naturally accompany you."

After saying that, he opened his jaw and introduced Liu Ye: "General, this is the grandson of Duke Fa. Fa is filial and upright."

"Xiaozhi, why don't you come forward and see the general?" Zhang Jia urged a young scholar behind him.

The young scholar took a step forward, cupped his hands and said with a smile: "My subordinate Fazheng has met the general."

Liu Ye looked at him with a smile: "Fa Xiaozhi, I know you are very good."

Although Liu Bei also received the support of Wolong Fengchu, the second position of the civil servants of the Shu Han Dynasty actually belonged to Fazheng. Pang Tong died in the battle of Sichuan, while Fa Zheng assisted Huang Zhong in the battle of Junshan and established his own position.

"May I ask if the general is going to conquer Yizhou this time?" Fazheng then asked.

Liu Ye nodded and looked at Fazheng with interest to see what he was going to say.

Fa Zheng said seriously: "With all due respect, General. The road to Shu is extremely difficult. Although our army has now occupied Hanzhong, it is not easy to pacify Yizhou."

Liu Ye smiled and said, "Oh? What suggestions does Xiaozhi have?"

"I am suggesting that the general give up the conquest of Yizhou for the time being."

Fazheng's words were surprising. Guo Jia and Jia Xu behind Liu Ye both looked at him with smiles. Guo Jia smiled and said, "What next?"

"Then our army will lead the army south to attack Liu Biao!"

Fa Zheng said seriously: "Since Zhang Zhennan defeated the offensive of the Jingzhou Army led by Cai Mao last time, the Jingzhou Army has been as afraid of our army as a tiger. If our army takes the opportunity to go south, Liu Biao will be shocked. Moreover, the four counties in Jingnan have long rebelled against Liu Biao, and now It's just because of the power that we have to surrender. Once our troops arrive, Jingzhou will definitely fall into pieces and fall into the hands of the imperial court."

"Now that Jingzhou has been taken, we can attack Jiangdong to the east, break Baidi City to the west, attack Yong'an, and approach Jiangzhou. At that time, we can order a general to march troops from Hanzhong to contain Zitong, and the general will personally lead the army at Shuojiang. If we go up, wouldn't Yizhou be defeated with a backhand?"

After listening to Fazheng's long speech, Liu Ye couldn't help but his eyes lit up. Fazheng was truly a man of scheming skills, and he was really different.

Jia Xu laughed: "Xiao Zhi's suggestion is good, but you have been in Nanyang for a long time, but you don't know that the general has obtained a magic weapon to defeat the enemy. If you use it to attack Sichuan and Shu, you will be invincible."

"Could it be the Thunderbolt Chariot developed by Mr. Ziyang?" Fazheng asked: "The Thunderbolt Chariot uses manpower to throw stone bombs to attack the city. It is indeed a powerful siege weapon. However, Zhang Ren has been in battle for a long time, and Jiameng Pass, Jiange and other passes are built on the mountain. , It is all a natural hazard, even if there is a thunderbolt chariot, it will be difficult to capture it in a short time."

"Haha, no."

Jia Xu smiled and said: "Zhang Songyue, the official of Yizhou, came to visit the general before and presented a "Map of the Mountains and Rivers of Yizhou"."

Fazheng showed an expression of "I see" and said, "In that case, Yizhou is within easy reach. Congratulations to the general."

Liu Ye waved his hand: "Although we have the "Yizhou Mountains and Rivers Situation Map", we can't be careless. That Zhang Ren is a good general in Sichuan, so we can't be careless."

Zhang Ren and Yan Yan were both famous generals in Shu, especially Zhang Ren, who resolutely resisted Liu Bei when he entered Shu and shot Liu Bei's military advisor Pang Tong to death. This put Liu Bei in a dilemma. He had no choice but to seek help from Zhuge Liang, who was in Jingzhou. This shows Zhang Ren’s talent.

However, compared with his talents, Zhang Ren was more praised for his loyalty. After Liu Bei captured Zhang Ren, he wanted to force him to surrender. Zhang Ren replied: A loyal minister will not serve the two masters, and then die loyally and bravely, just like Gao Shun who died generously.

"Our army is entering Shu this time to fight. We need to leave some troops to guard Hanzhong and transport grain and grass. How about 10,000 people?" Liu Ye asked.

"Ten thousand people can do it. After all, Hanzhong is a newly acquired territory. If Zhang Lu has a second thought, our army will inevitably be in trouble." Jia Xu agreed.

Guo Jia added: "In addition, our army can also order the Hanzhong Army to enter Shu to fight. Firstly, it can weaken Zhang Lu's strength, and secondly, it can also increase the number of our army."

Zhang Jia suggested: "Our army can still divide into two groups, attack Jiameng Pass directly on one side, and pass through Bazhong on the other side, pointing directly at Langzhong. In this way, our two armies will form a cornering force and attack from a pincer. With Zitong, Guanghan County can be established."

Liu Ye nodded and said approvingly: "Okay, as before, I will personally lead an army of 40,000 to Jiameng Pass, and Jun Yiru will lead his troops out of Bazhong to attack from two directions."

Guo Jia, Jia Xu, and Fazheng are all first-class counselors in the world, while Liu Ye, Zhang Jha, and Ma Teng are all good generals. In a few words, these three people formulated a complete attack plan, using Zhang in detail. Song's copy of "Yizhou Mountains and Rivers Situation Map".

Ten thousand soldiers from Liangzhou stayed in Hanzhong. On the one hand, they guarded Hanzhong to ensure the supply of food and grass, and at the same time, they stayed behind to take care of the wounded soldiers.

Zhang Lu, on the other hand, sent his younger brother Zhang Wei to lead ten thousand troops to follow Liu Ye and conquer Yizhou together. At the same time, he donated all the grain and grass stored in Hanzhong for many years as food for the army.

As the saying goes, before the three armies move, food and grass will go first; when food is transported thousands of miles, soldiers will be hungry. Transporting grain all the way from Guanzhong to Hanzhong will cost a lot, and then transporting it to Guanghan County will also cost a lot. It would be much more convenient to allocate grain and grass directly from Hanzhong County.

In November of the second year of Jian'an, Liu Ye led his army to swear an oath in Nanzheng. Then he divided his troops into two groups and led his army to attack Yizhou.

Liu Ye led 50,000 troops, including Zhang Wei's 10,000 Hanzhong troops, and marched out of Guangyuan, aiming directly at Jiameng Pass.

Zhang Zha led 30,000 troops and led the army out of Bazhong, aiming directly at Langzhong.