Three Kingdoms

Sichuan.

In Chengdu city.

Liu Bei frowned, looking at the large and small areas circled on the map, and was silent.

War is not about playing house, nor is it about an ordinary man drawing his sword in anger. It involves all aspects of the East and the West. If there is a problem in any link, the war may not be fought, or it may be delayed.

On the large map, the topography of a radius of 500 miles around Chengdu is marked. The large and small circles on it are the schematic diagram of the surrounding acres of land owned by large families with big names.

Near Chengdu, the autumn harvest has generally been completed long ago, but the autumn harvest has not yet been settled.

Although the climate of the Little Glacier has caused the north to become colder and colder, the climate in Sichuan and Shu, which is blocked and protected by hills, does not seem to have changed much. Therefore, the overall harvest is actually similar to last year. However, in terms of reported conditions from various places, either Being eaten by insects or birds, it seems like disasters are everywhere.

Liu Bei also knew in his heart that it was actually not a pest or bird disaster, but a human disaster.

Without food and grass, it will be difficult to support the war situation. Therefore, this year's Autumn Fu is the most important foundation for Liu Bei and the expedition to the west. However, now, there are many gaps in this foundation.

The big families who have been in Chengdu for a long time have homes with as little as a hundred acres or as many as a thousand acres. The rent collected by these big families with big surnames in a year ranges from a hundred dan to a thousand dan. Moreover, these big families with big surnames usually have a lot of rent. It can't be eaten all, so normally, the warehouses in the homes of many wealthy families are full of food. If you spend a few hundred or a thousand kilo of grain to pay all the autumn taxes first, and then disperse the tenants to slowly collect the rent, there is actually not much pressure.

However, at present, these large households cannot produce any of their own food. They can only collect it one by one and then summarize it, which makes Liu Bei very anxious.

What about the excess grain and grass from these big families?

All shipped to Langzhong...

General Zhengxi gave a high price, a very high price, and accepted both new and old grains. These big households in central Sichuan suddenly felt that money was coming so quickly, and they tried their best to transport grain and grass to Langzhong. After all, buying items and weapons in Langzhong requires a lot of money, and General Zhengxi said that it can be exchanged for grain and grass, and by using grain and grass in exchange, you can get a greater discount on the original basis!

Therefore, a wealthy family in Sichuan and Sichuan secretly took out most of the old grain at home and transported it to Langzhong in exchange for weapons and armor...

In troubled times, food and grass are more valuable. All fools know this, but is it okay to just have food and grass without force? Isn’t it like a child walking in a busy city with a baby in his arms? What's wrong with exchanging the excess grain at home for weapons to protect the family and arm yourself so that you no longer allow yourself to be a mermaid?

Then Liu Bei was very embarrassed.

Arrests?

Kill a wave?

Confiscating the family and exterminating the clan?

Don't be ridiculous. If you kill another wave, maybe you won't have to conquer the west. Chengdu will be in chaos first...

The Zhang Song clan was wiped out before, and there were already many complaints from the big families near Chengdu. These big families with surnames in Sichuan and Sichuan have been married to each other for more than a hundred years. Which family does not have any relatives of the Zhang family? Although a group of local people like Fei Shi and Li Hui were attracted, the problem was that Fei Shi and Li Hui did not have much real estate in the first place and could not provide Liu Bei with much extra food and grass in this regard.

Copying the Zhang family has made the big families around Sichuan and Sichuan sad. The reason why they are buying weapons now is precisely because they saw the Zhang family. If Liu Bei continues to kill the goose to get the eggs, maybe the big families in Sichuan and Sichuan will take risks regardless of the situation. …

After all, if the food and grass can be transported out, the soldiers can also find a way to get in!

If it really comes to that point, can Liu Bei be able to defend Chengdu with the internal and external coordination?

But similarly, if no measures are taken and allowed to develop, Liu Bei will also find it difficult to hold on.

Li Hui came out hurriedly. After meeting Liu Bei, he was about to salute, but Liu Bei held him in his arms.

"De'ang, have you heard anything?" Liu Bei asked eagerly.

Li Hui nodded, walked a few steps to the map, drew a route, and said in a deep voice: "I have already understood everything... Please see, these grain transporters and horses passed Mianzhu Zoujian Pavilion and then went down to Lang." The water flows down to Langzhong..."

"Mianzhu... Jiange..." Liu Bei pondered for a moment, "Qianwei Zhang?"

Zhang Song is Zhang, the capital of Shu, and there is another Zhang in Sichuan and Shu, the Jianwei Zhang family, and if it is said to have a long history, Jianwei Zhang is even more famous. Because Jianweizhang is known as Liu Bang's adviser Zhang Liang, even Zhang, the capital of Shu, is a split surname from Jianweizhang.

Jianwei Zhang Zhong was once a Sikong and a prefect. The current head of the family, Zhang Xu, was once the doctor and Taichang of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty. Later, because of Dong Zhuo's rebellion, he resigned and returned to Sichuan to avoid trouble. His son Zhang Yi He is the guard of Jiange.

Due to well-known reasons, Mianzhu is now basically in a state of no one's jurisdiction. Therefore, these big Sichuan and Sichuan households secretly took the Mianzhu route without being discovered for a while. However, if they want to pass Jiange, they must pass Jiange Pass, so Zhang Yi is bound to It has nothing to do with this matter.

"Qianwei Zhang..." Liu Bei pondered for a long time and said, "Now if we can't stop the flow of food and grass, we will have no soldiers to fight! The sword pavilion... will be handed over to De'ang..." Zhang Yi couldn't kill him, but he couldn't stay. Jiange could only be replaced by Li Huiqi. After all, Jianwei Zhang is different from Shudu Zhang, and they are involved in too many things.

"Don't worry, I won't let a grain or a drop escape the border!" Li Hui also knew that the matter was urgent, so he accepted the order without any excuses. This matter was of great importance to Liu Bei, as well as to Li Hui. If Liu Bei's status cannot be guaranteed, then Li Hui's interests cannot be stable either.

As for Zhang Yi of Jianwei Zhang, as well as the relevant personnel involved in this matter, Liu Bei also recorded them in the small notebook in his heart. However, now is not the time to take action. When the time is right, he will definitely take out the small notebook. Get it back one by one...

The news coming back from the front line was not optimistic. Zhang Fei, Yan Yan and Zhang Fei had their own victories and defeats. Zitong in Fu County was harassed by soldiers who conquered the west. Without knowing the true situation, Liu Bei did not dare to march forward brazenly, and the troops in Li County were Guan Yu, because of Wu Yi's relationship, couldn't believe that Guanghan only had a few soldiers, and thought it was a trick to lure troops. In addition, Guan Yu originally had no intention of attacking Guanghan directly to attack the city. There was not much grain and grassland in the country, so after seeing that a feint shot could not lure the Guanghan people to conquer the west, they could only retreat to Qixian temporarily and wait for the grain and grassland for the autumn harvest to be ready before they could choose to attack or defend.

After Liu Bei sent Li Hui away, he returned to the hall and stared at the map. Liu Bei was also very embarrassed about how the battle would unfold next. However, one thing was certain, General Zhengxi did not have many men. Maybe , this is the breakthrough point for the next stage...

However, all this must first solve the current food and grass problem.

By the way, there seems to be some room for maneuver in the matter of food and grass. Liu Bei was almost lying on the map, his eyes flickering, wondering what he was planning...

…………………………

Not only Liu Bei but also Liu Qi were also troubled by food and grass. However, this problem was quickly solved, and it was Liu Bei who was troubled by food and grass who solved this problem.

In Anhan City, the banquet is in full swing.

Three thousand Sichuan and Sichuan soldiers, originally belonging to the Dongzhou series, were incorporated into Anhan City, and were divided into half by Liu Qi Mengda. Everyone was happy. At the same time, along with these soldiers came a large number of laborers, and for a time Anhan suddenly became plump.

"Young Master Liu!" Meng Da laughed loudly and raised his wine cup to Liu Qi to invite him, "I said before that Xuande took Chengdu because of the situation and not to disrespect Young Master Liu! What do you think now? The autumn harvest in Chengdu has not yet ended, and the young master’s food and grass have arrived. It can be seen that Xuande is still a nostalgic person, so the young master can rest assured..."

Meng Daxin gained a lot of profit, and naturally the situation became bigger. Although there was no time to completely repair the county magistrate's office that was a little dilapidated, brocade barriers were put up in the damaged areas to cover it for the time being. Although the weather has not yet reached the level of severe cold, the temperature is still low in the morning and evening in autumn. In order to avoid being stuffy and catching wind and cold while drinking, all four windows of the banquet hall were opened, and at the same time, earth dragons were installed under the floor. There were also fire pots one after another set up outside the window, and the bamboo charcoal sent from Shu was burned one after another without hesitation, just so that these nobles could still be dressed in thin clothes and show their suaveness when the doors and windows were open. color.

On the tables, there are all kinds of delicacies on display, including beef, mutton, and fish dumplings made from river fish. They are piled on the plates, and you can add more as you eat. Various fruits are also placed on one plate after another. Some of the food and wine on one table were left over, and they were immediately replaced with new ones on another table.

Isn’t it true that a real man should sing loudly, drink freely, eat meat and drink wine, and be at ease?

As for the soldiers in the bitter cold at the border who were starved of food, and the farmers who had lost their fields and froze half to death in their dens, what did they have to do with the nobles who were above them?

Although Liu Qi didn't say anything, his expression was obviously slightly better than before. At least on the surface, Liu Bei has not lost Liu Qi's face too much. Of course, it is impossible to say that he will let it go completely. However, there is still a General Zhengxi in the north, and he is somewhat wary. He does not want to fight among themselves and take advantage. It's just General Zhengxi.

Although Kuai Qi on the side said that she had some opinions in her heart, she couldn't just take advantage of others and immediately wipe her mouth and turn her back on the person before the oily spots on her mouth were gone, right? He still wanted to save face, so he just glanced at Meng Da and did not refute him.

Meng Da laughed, then waved his hand to ask the attendants to stay away, put down the wine baron, and said in a deep voice: "In the current situation, division will cause two harms, and unity will benefit both sides! The conquering tiger is occupying Guanghan, waiting to devour you. You are my biggest enemy!"

Liu Qi glanced at Meng Da, pondered again, rolled his eyelids slightly, and nodded. If it weren't for this, I would have turned against you a long time ago. Do you still need to say this?

Meng Da didn't care whether Liu Qi's attitude was good or bad, and went straight on: "Xuande's intention is to divide the troops into three groups, one in Fu County to contain the enemies of Guanghan, and one in Fu County to attack In Langzhong, troops from Anhan will be sent to attack Nanchong. The three-pronged attack will prevent the expedition to the west from being taken into account at the same time. In this way, we will definitely win a great victory. When Hanchang is recovered, the Sichuan and Shu lands will no longer have worries. Talking about the division of counties... I wonder what the young master thinks?"

Liu Qi thought for a while and was about to say something. Suddenly Kuai Qi next to him coughed and closed his mouth.

Kuai Qi cupped her hands and said, "I dare to ask Meng Lingjun, but do you mean the agreement with Xianyang?" Attacking Nanchong, Kuai Qi thought it was not too difficult. After all, Liu Bei had already had success before. Could it be that he was better than Liu Bei? Difference? Therefore, Kuai Qi is not opposed to dividing the troops into three groups, each pursuing their own goals. She does not think she has any objections to Nanchong, but feels that there must be some guarantee before cooperation, although this guarantee may not have much effect.

Meng Da was stunned for a moment and frowned.

"It's not that we don't believe in Meng Lingjun, but... haha..." Kuai Qi laughed, somewhat mockingly, and said, "If there is no covenant, wouldn't he be as good as Liu Yizhou... I wonder if Meng Lingjun thinks so?"

Speaking of which, Liu Zhang's invitation to Liu Bei to Sichuan was also a verbal agreement. It was not like setting up a serious altar like the Jujube Alliance, and then engaging in some blood-based alliances and other rituals to advertise to the world, so later on Liu Bei's fall out is somewhat morally unjustifiable, but strictly speaking, it cannot be said that Liu Bei has betrayed his trust...

Of course, even if there is a covenant, in the face of huge interests, you will still fall out when it is time to fall out. However, after forming an alliance, going back on your words and breaking the covenant will cause your reputation to plummet, at least for a long time, and become a source of criticism from others. at. Therefore, to put it bluntly, a covenant is a credibility dam that can be used to intercept a certain amount of benefits. When accumulated to a certain extent, it will collapse, but it will not be irresistible when benefits, big or small, come.

Meng Da thought for a moment, then nodded and said: "I immediately reported this intention to Xuande... In this period of instability, we should join hands to fight against foreign enemies... This is how the covenant should be... "

To a certain extent, there is a certain consistency in the interests of Liu Qi and Liu Bei. At least in dealing with General Fei Qian of the Western Expedition, there is indeed the possibility of cooperation between the two parties. Therefore, when Kuai Qi proposed that they need to do exactly that During the covenant ceremony, Mengda also agreed to this. Of course, both parties actually knew that any covenant was prepared for the future, it was just a matter of time.

After having a unified opinion, the atmosphere between the two parties became much more harmonious, and it even seemed to have returned to the way it was before Liu Bei annexed Chengdu...