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Chapter 419: Stay Steady and You Will Win

Chapter 419: Stay Steady and You Will Win

After Xiliang was pacified, the person who suffered the most was Liu Fan of Yizhou.

Originally, he planned to continue to make trouble for the Qiang people, instigating these people to cause trouble for Tian Ze and make Tian Ze give up the idea of ​​going south to Yizhou.

As soon as it began, it ended.

"Waste! What a bunch of waste!" Liu Fan said hatefully in the hall.

His Highness's Zhang Song and others looked at each other without saying much.

To be honest, they didn't expect much from the Qiang people in Xiliang.

After all, these Qiang people listened to Gongsun Zan very much and would not pay any attention to them.

Even if Tian Ze could not subdue these Qiang people, as long as he had Gongsun Zan in his hands, these Qiang people would be obedient.

What's more, they are just Qiang people, how could they possibly tie down Tian Ze?

The barbarians from all directions of this era were nothing compared to the Han people.

In the past, when the Han Dynasty was in power, it could still be a bit dominant. After all, these negative conditions such as internal corruption, power struggles, checks and balances among aristocratic families, and separatist forces were all added up, and it was impossible to exert even a little bit of its full strength.

And after the world was in chaos, which of these barbarians dared to stand up?

The barbarians in the north were almost wiped out by Tian Ze, and those who were still alive called themselves Han people.

The Shanyue in the southeast have now become Sun Ce's whetstone, specifically for dealing with those disobedient aristocratic families and powerful people. When there is a shortage of soldiers, he will suppress them and replenish their blood.

The barbarians in the southwest have been relatively peaceful under Liu Fan's governance over the years.

Unlike Liu Yan, who wanted to establish his own regime and suppress the powerful families in Yizhou, Liu Fan had much greater vision and skills.

Although he was not as flawless as Liu Yan, he was honest.

After taking control of the Dongzhou faction and Dongzhou soldiers left by Liu Yan, Liu Fan did not continue Liu Yan's policy of suppressing the local forces in Yizhou. Instead, he began to make use of the local forces in Yizhou as well.

Seek a balance between the two.

Although the means were a bit immature, everything went smoothly as the external environment was stable and the general direction was correct.

Liu Bei next door was not the short-sighted Liu Biao. He did not cause trouble for Liu Fan, but instead helped him a lot.

With Liu Bei's assistance, Liu Fan's process of taking control of Yizhou went very smoothly.

In addition, Liu Fan himself was much stronger than Liu Zhang, so the many rebellions in Yizhou in history did not occur at all, which gave a sense of political stability and social harmony.

As a result, the barbarians in southern Yizhou were quite stable.

If Liu Fan can do it, how can Tian Ze not do it?

Therefore, in the eyes of Zhang Song and others, the rebellion of the Qiang people was just a useless move, and they did not expect it to have any effect.

"Your Majesty, Tian Ze's troops are too strong, and the defeat of the Qiang people was expected. The top priority now is how to defend Yizhou." Huang Quan stepped out and said.

"After Tian Chengze conquers Xiliang, his next move will be to Yizhou. He will attack us in one year at the earliest and three years at the latest. We must prepare for this in advance."

The situation is better than people.

With the defeat of the princes in the Central Plains, the current situation in the world has become completely clear. Huang Quan no longer deceives himself by talking about taking the initiative to march north and attack instead of defending, but directly talks about defending.

The situation Liu Fan faced with Tian Ze at this time was much more severe than that of Shu facing Wei in the late Three Kingdoms period. The population and strength comparison between the two sides were not at the same level at all.

Although the national strength of Shu Han in the later period was much inferior to that of Wei, it was at least within a certain range.

Therefore, Jiang Wei, who firmly believed in restoring the Han Dynasty, changed Wei Yan's defensive strategy despite knowing the great risks. He turned to luring the enemy deep into the territory and swallowing them, so as to destroy a large number of Wei's living forces and gain a short-term advantage.

But now Liu Fan should just forget about Tian Ze.

I am afraid that even if all the soldiers in Yizhou are killed, Tian Ze won’t suffer much damage, so it is better to defend to the death.

At this moment, Liu Fan was only angry for a moment due to the mixture of fear and disappointment, but he soon calmed down. When he heard what Huang Quan said, he nodded slightly.

"Gong Heng is right. Tian Chengshou is ambitious and will definitely come to attack our Han Dynasty in the future. Do you have any good strategies to resist him?"

Another major advantage of Liu Fan is that he is pragmatic and knows his own strengths and weaknesses.

Although he had ambitions to rule the world, he was also aware of the gap between himself and Tian Chengze. He did not directly boast about how he would defeat the invading enemy of the Pseudo-Qi, but instead agreed with Huang Quan's point of view.

Zhang Song heard this and stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, Yizhou has a dangerous terrain and many mountains and rivers, which is a natural barrier against the enemy. We can send more troops to various passes and strengthen the fortifications to make it difficult for Tian Ze's army to invade easily."

"As long as we hold on to strategic locations like Jiange, even if Tian Chengze's million-strong army attacks, they won't be able to advance an inch. But..."

"Just what?" Liu Fan asked.

"The key to Yizhou's defense lies in Hanzhong. Hanzhong is the first line of defense against Tianze and is also the northern gate of Yizhou. It is of vital importance." Zhang Song said

"But Hanzhong is now guarded by Ba Wang Zhang Lu. I'm afraid..."

After Liu Fan proclaimed himself emperor, in order to appease his "brother" Zhang Lu, he directly named him King of Ba and rewarded him with many Shu brocades and treasures.

However, Zhang Lu's attitude towards Liu Fan was always lukewarm.

Facing Liu Fan's temptation, he responded quite well. All the personnel sent over were treated generously, put aside, and kept delaying their coming.

Hanzhong was like an independent kingdom, and no one could get in. Over time, Liu Fan had to give up other ideas to avoid forcing Zhang Lu to rebel.

"Although Zhang Lu only obeys orders and not declarations, he still attaches great importance to Hanzhong. He has a lot of soldiers under his command, and their combat effectiveness is quite good. It should be no problem to give him a little reminder." Liu Fan said.

Liu Fan really had no way to deal with Zhang Lu.

It was all the mess left by his father Liu Yan. To be honest, Zhang Lu could be considered his "sworn brother". He not only made great contributions to Liu Yan's secession of Yizhou, but also controlled the military and political power of Hanzhong.

In addition, with the existence of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect, which was trying to seize both faith and power and win the support of the military and the people, it was quite difficult to capture Hanzhong.

In history, Cao Cao almost fell at the hands of Zhang Lu. The reason why he was able to successfully capture Hanzhong was largely due to God’s help.

Cao's army attacked Hanzhong for a long time but failed to capture it. They suffered heavy casualties and their food supplies were running out, so Cao Cao announced his retreat.

As a result, when they were preparing to retreat, the rear army got lost and stumbled into Zhang Lu's camp. Then wild beasts rioted and attacked Zhang Lu's camp.

This caught Zhang Lu's army off guard and caused them to flee. Cao Cao took advantage of the situation and pursued them, eventually capturing Hanzhong.

Liu Fan was well aware of Zhang Lu's ability, which was nothing more than his lack of determination. But with his strong support behind him, Zhang Lu could rely on the dangers of the mountains and rivers to completely stop Tian Ze's army.

After all, everyone knows how difficult the road to Shu is, and it is impossible for Tian Ze to send a large number of troops to attack.

As long as Zhang Lu keeps calm, he can win.

(End of this chapter)

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