Chapter 381: Sending Troops Westward
The advice from his civil and military officials did not shake Tian Ze's rhythm at all.
He knew very well that the butt determines the head.
Although these ministers were all loyal to him, their positions meant that they would look at things from different perspectives.
From the advice of Zhang Zhao and others, Tian Ze had a clearer understanding of the various situations under his rule and made minor adjustments to his plans, but he never changed the general direction.
Many times, as a leader, you need to be stubborn and persistent.
Although Tian Ze is not good at micro-management, his grasp of the general situation is no less than that of Jia Xu and others.
The extensive knowledge gained from later generations, coupled with the experience gained over the years, enables Tian Ze to see the situation more clearly than anyone else.
The business continued to operate smoothly for several months.
Thanks to Tian Ze's intervention, although locust plagues and a large number of epidemics occurred again in the Central Plains during this period, they were all extinguished in time, with little loss of vitality, and the north was even more prosperous.
Cao Cao and others had to accept the help from their enemy Tian Ze, but they felt very complicated.
Many of their loyal and benevolent civil officials began to waver.
The benevolent are invincible.
On the road of kingly way, Tian Ze is far ahead of others.
The benefits gained in secret are innumerable.
These seemingly insignificant influences are gradually accumulating and forming a kind of "public opinion", and are even beginning to break away from the control of the princes in the Central Plains.
Xun Yu, Zhou Yu and others were not unaware of this, but they had no way out and were unwilling to go against it.
All the princes and common people in the world have benefited from his kindness. Although some scholars and generals in Tianze did not quite understand this act of aiding the enemy, the wise and far-sighted Jia Xu and others saw it clearly.
"The battle to unify the world has already begun." Jia Xu casually placed a piece on the chessboard.
"Your Majesty has already laid out most of the plans, and the other princes have not yet made their moves. How can we not be defeated?"
Tian Feng smiled slightly and said, "When your majesty leads his army to the Central Plains someday, the scholars and common people will surely welcome you with food and drink."
“The human heart is the strongest wall in the world.”
"Your Majesty's greatest enemy is not the princes of the Central Plains, but the remaining prestige and grace of the Han Dynasty for four hundred years. But if this continues, it won't be long before the name of the Han Dynasty will be completely replaced by our Great Qi."
Enemies in the open are far more terrifying than enemies in the dark.
Because of Tian Ze's intervention, although the chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty continued, it was still under control and the damage to the aristocratic families and the people was not great.
Although this is a good thing, it also brings many hidden dangers.
Many of the parasites that corrupted the Han Dynasty in the past have not suffered much damage.
Tian Ze wants to lay an unbreakable foundation. In addition to guiding the aristocratic families onto the right track, he also has to find ways to identify and eliminate these cancers one by one.
Raising targets such as Yuan Shao and Cao Cao will undoubtedly help these hidden dangers surface and be easier to resolve.
"The war in Xiliang still has some risks after all."
"Are you worried that Liu Xuande will risk everything?" Jia Xu guessed what Tian Feng meant and asked.
Tian Feng nodded.
"Gongsun Zan is not a qualified lord. He may be an excellent general, but it is too risky for him to guard a place without the support of others."
"If our army fights against them, I'm afraid Liu Fan or Liu Bei will take the opportunity to send troops to Xiliang. In this case, even if we win, I'm afraid we will suffer a lot of losses. What's more, Xiliang may not have peace in the future."
Hearing this, Jia Xu shook his head slightly and said, "Liu Bei is kind and righteous, while Liu Fan is young. The former will not take action, while the latter is powerless to do so."
"Besides, even if they take action, what can we do? Should we send troops to garrison there in advance?"
Tian Feng was silent after hearing this. Gongsun Zan was a proud man. If they sent out troops to defend before the duel, even if they could win later, it would undoubtedly be a deep thorn in their side.
For them, this would be a greater loss than the chaos in Xiliang, and they would never do it.
"How sure are you?" Tian Feng still asked with some concern.
Jia Xu smiled faintly: "Zhang Lu from Hanzhong is a Taoist."
Tian Feng was stunned when he heard this.
Then he laughed at himself and said, "Yes, how could I have forgotten about this."
Then he looked at Jia Xu with a sigh and said, "Wenhe, have you also made an appointment with Zhang Lu in advance..."
Jia Xu smiled slightly and said nothing more.
How could he not know the importance of Hanzhong?
As the northern gate of Yizhou, once Hanzhong is lost, Yizhou will inevitably be difficult to defend.
Therefore, he had long set his sights on Hanzhong.
After all, Zhang Lu has a close relationship with Liu Yan, but he may not be on the same page with his brother Liu Fan.
……
In the middle of summer, Tian Ze announced that he would lead his army to personally attack Liangzhou, with Zhang Liao as the commander, Guo Jia as the military advisor, Zhao Yun and Taishi Ci as generals, and he led 100,000 cavalry and 100,000 infantry to march westward.
He also arranged for Ma Teng to lead 50,000 cavalry to garrison Longguan, ready to take over Liangzhou quickly once the battle was over.
At the same time, 50,000 elite troops were dispatched to Sili, totaling 150,000 troops, who were commanded by Zhang He to prepare for the attacks of Liu Bei and Cao Cao.
In southern Hebei and south of the Yellow River, an army of 300,000 was deployed, led by Guan Yu and Xu Huang respectively, with an additional 100,000 naval forces under Gan Ning, to guard against the coalition forces of the Central Plains princes.
Almost all the available military forces were deployed, and such a large deployment naturally could not be hidden from the eyes of the princes in the Central Plains.
Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and other princes who had been ready for action immediately began to march north and attack the land south of the Yellow River.
Liu Bei also immediately surrounded the two checkpoints in Sili to contain Zhang He.
Although Liu Fan knew that his army was weak, he still ordered his general Zhang Ren to lead an army of 50,000 north to seize the territory of Xiliang.
Not to mention dividing Xiliang with Tian Ze, at least they would plunder some people.
Sun Ce and Zhou Yu assembled 150,000 naval forces without hesitation and headed north along the coastline to Qingzhou, preparing for another battle with Gan Ning.
Both sides were very clear that this battle basically determined the future pattern of the world.
If Tian Ze wins, the princes in the Central Plains will no longer be able to march north and can only stick together to defend themselves.
If the princes of the Central Plains win, they will have a chance to turn the tables, break the current predicament and turn the tide.
Both sides put almost all their strength into this gamble without reservation.
Zang Ba and Yuan Shu, who were in the Taishan Mountains, were like crazy at this time and started fighting continuously.
Both sides spared no effort in sacrificing manpower in order to contain the other side and expand the results of the battle as much as possible.
The nail that Tian Ze buried in Mount Tai finally worked.
If Zang Ba was not eliminated, even if Yuan Shao and Cao Cao were willing to risk their lives, they would have to leave enough troops for defense.
Otherwise, once the logistics line was cut off by Zang Ba, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao would have no power to fight against Tian Ze.
The battlefields on all sides were filled with smoke, the situation was changing rapidly, and everyone was prepared to fight to the death.
(End of this chapter)
