All Heavens and Worlds Modified History System

Chapter 353: Ziwu Valley's Intrigue, the Dark Path
"These Black Mountain bandits deserve to die!"

The Black Mountain Army harassed Dongjun. Cao Mengde seized the opportunity to send reinforcements into Dongjun and successfully defeated the Black Mountain bandits.

Along the way, looking at the villages and towns burned down by the Black Mountain bandits, Cao Cao cursed loudly and wished he could kill all the surrendered soldiers.

"My lord." Xun Yu stepped forward and saluted. "Wang Gong (the governor of Dongjun) has died. General of Chariots and Cavalry (Yuan Shao) has agreed to recommend my lord as the governor of Dongjun."

"Good." Cao Cao breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally, I have my own territory."

He had always been living under someone else's roof, and even though Zhang Miao was his good friend, he felt very uncomfortable and had no room for development.

Now that he finally has a territory, he can't help wanting to expand. "The Black Mountain bandits are damnable. They killed civilians along the way. There was no rooster crowing for thousands of miles along the way, and bones were exposed in the wild. Without people, what's the point of being a governor? I intend to leave Qingzhou and take the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou. What do you think?"

“This is great!”

Xun Yu firmly supported the idea and said, "I am willing to go and lobby the General of Chariots and Cavalry to borrow soldiers and food."

Before Cao Cao became powerful, he had always been Yuan Shao's younger brother. He not only fought for territory and status for him, but also lent him money, food, and soldiers.

The two discussed and determined the next action plan. Cao Cao then turned to ask "Fengxiao."

"My Lord." Xun Yu shook his head. "Don't mention this matter until it is done."

"Yes." Cao Cao stroked his beard, "It was Meng Lang."

"If you are filial and wise, you will definitely bring the emperor back with you."

"My lord," Xun Yu said again, "If we are not strong enough, even if we welcome the emperor, it will not last long. The most important thing at this time is to seize the land of Qingyan."

"Good!" Cao Cao nodded, "That's right."

Cao Cao was busy growing, while Yuan Shao, who led a million soldiers, was busy fighting a life-and-death battle with Gongsun Zan.

Liu Biao in the south was constantly fighting with Sun Jian.

The world was still in chaos, warlords were fighting each other for years, and the people were suffering.

At this time, Chen Ran was personally leading 5,000 elite soldiers and struggling forward in the Ziwu Valley.

The so-called Ziwu Valley is a ravine that runs from Chang'an to Hanzhong, located between the mountains of the Qinling Mountains.

The valley is six hundred miles long and the road is difficult to travel on.

"My lord." Guo Jia, who was accompanying the army as a military advisor, stepped forward and said, "Although Zhang Lu would not have expected our army to advance from Ziwu Valley, there must be a garrison at the exit."

"I think we can select smart soldiers and disguise them as a caravan to seize Wukou."

The exit of Ziwu Valley in the north near Chang'an is called Zi, and the exit in the south near Hanzhong is called Wu, so it is called Ziwu Valley.

"Okay." Chen Ran nodded, "Let's do it according to Feng Xiao's plan."

He looked up at the sky and calculated that it was time to eat.

Zhuge Kongming did not agree to Wei Yan's proposal to launch a surprise attack on Ziwu Valley. The main reason was that the road in Ziwu Valley was difficult to travel and logistical supplies were very difficult.

Large quantities of food and supplies are transported through the rugged valleys, which can easily slow down the process and give the defenders time to react and adjust.

This time, Chen Ran did not bring any food or supplies because he had storage space and could take food at any time.

Of course, before setting off, he also distributed 20 kilograms of jerky to each of the 5,000 elite soldiers.

As for himself, he would definitely not eat it.

Even if it was really pork jerky, Chen Ran would not eat it.

The soldiers stopped to rest, and the firemen went to fetch some spring water. The soldiers ate the jerky and drank the spring water with smiles on their faces.

As for Chen Ran, he went into the forest, found an open space, built a fire and started grilling Tomahawk steak.

He always grills meat well done.

You don’t need any special seasoning, just sprinkle some salt on it.

In Chen Ran's army, this thing can only be obtained as a reward by soldiers who have made military achievements.

On weekdays, the soldiers ate the 100,000 slices of pork that Zhang Fei rewarded them with. Each person was given only a thin slice at each meal as a token of their appreciation.

This is all eaten.

As for the rice with gravy, pressed duck, roasted whole lamb and other dishes, they had already been eaten up.

The meat consumed by the army now, in addition to the poultry and livestock that were gradually being raised in the military villages, was all his roasted camels.

Chen Ran is in urgent need of a reward, but Zhang Lu doesn't seem to have any future fame~~~
While eating steak, he looked out over the endless mountains and said, "Wenhe, hold Zhang Lu back for me!"

Jia Xu led Zhang Liao and, under the banner of the main army, stationed troops in Chencang to attack Xiegu, and fought fiercely with Zhang Lu's army that had stopped at Dasan Pass.

Not only did it attract Zhang Lu's main attention, but it also mobilized his main forces to Dasan Pass.

There is nothing much to say, this is a simple strategy to lure the tiger away from the mountain.

The mountain road of more than 600 miles took even the elite troops more than 20 days to walk.

The twenty kilograms of jerky per person had long been eaten up, and the logistics support depended entirely on the roasted camel provided by Chen Ran.

Guo Jia was very surprised. He was sure that Chen Ran did not bring any logistical supplies, and he really couldn't understand where Chen Ran got the camel meat from.

Chen Ran naturally had no intention of explaining and just led his troops forward.

"What Wei Yan can't do is just a piece of cake for me~~~"

The elite soldiers disguised as a caravan easily captured the Wukou camp in Ziwu Valley. From then on, no one could stop the fall of Hanzhong.

Once you leave the Ziwu Valley and arrive in the Hanzhong Basin, it's like a tiger among a flock of sheep.

Zhang Lu's main forces were all at Dasan Pass. Chen Ran not only captured the unguarded Hanzhong Basin, but also sealed off Xiegu, thus trapping Zhang Lu's troops in Xiegu.

Upon hearing the news, Zhang Lu vomited blood and fainted.

When he finally woke up, the first thing he said was "Send an envoy to surrender~~~"

They had no choice but to surrender. Their retreat was cut off and their food and grass supplies were cut off. Their families fell into the hands of the enemy. How could they have the morale to continue fighting? Zhang Lu was a prominent figure. He was said to be a descendant of Zhang Liang, and his grandfather was the famous Zhang Daoling.

He also learned from Zhang Jue and gained a lot of support by preaching. Taking advantage of the chaos in the late Han Dynasty, he killed officials, rebelled, seized Hanzhong, and founded the Five Pecks of Rice Sect.

In the original novel, Cao Cao used generous rewards to win over Zhang Lu. After all, most of the people in Hanzhong followed the Five Pecks of Rice Sect.

But Chen Ran did not do so. He exiled Zhang Lu to the Western Regions and handed him over to Ma Chao for custody.

As for the local people, more than half of them migrated to the empty Guanzhong.

After conquering Sichuan and Shu, the local people would be relocated here to divert the flow, so as to reduce the influence of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect as much as possible through migration.

That’s right, Chen Ran didn’t even retreat his troops, and was determined to continue moving south to attack Sichuan.

In other words, the essence of attacking Hanzhong was to move south.

"Let's use the same tactics as before." Chen Ran instructed, "Wenhe, you lead the main force to attack Jiange, Fengxiao and I will lead the elite troops to bypass Yinping and head straight to Chengdu!"

"Here~~~"

Guo Jia bowed his head, his eyes flickering slightly.

Late at night, Guo Jia did not go to bed, but ran to the yard to take a cold bath.

I did this for several days in a row and as expected, I fell ill and was bedridden.

This is not an illness, it's a serious cold that has caused me to be bedridden.

Chen Ran and Jia Xu naturally couldn't see anything.

"Fengxiao, please go back to Chang'an City to recuperate."

Chen Ran didn’t think there was anything wrong, and even thought that Guo Jia in the original book was just in poor health, which was too normal.

He led thousands of elite troops and marched around Yinping, an area of ​​mountains and hills more than a hundred miles west of Jiange.

This is the gathering place of Di, Qiang and Hu people, and we encountered many scattered tribes on the way.

"A hundred years later, you are still very arrogant."

Chen Ran thought about the tragic scene a hundred years later when the Five Barbarians would spread cholera throughout the Central Plains, with no roosters crowing for a thousand miles and bones exposed in the wild. He thought that he would wipe them out cleanly and efficiently.

He will not let any of these barbarians go.

Once all the heroes are wiped out, the army will surely set out to kill him completely!

Like Shu Han, Liu Yan, who controlled Sichuan and Shu at this time, never thought that anyone would lead a large army to break through from the Yinping Trail. There were no defenders here at all.

The journey took more than a month and covered a distance of more than 700 miles.

They are all difficult and dangerous mountain roads.

In most places there are no roads at all, and there are even steep cliffs that require ropes to descend.

Fortunately, Chen Ran did not require a lot of logistics, which greatly reduced the pressure on the sergeants.

After more than a month of arduous march, they successfully arrived at the plain outside Fucheng.

Fucheng has nothing to do with Fuling Zhacai. Zhacai is in Chongqing, which is now called Jiangzhou.

This is the Mianyang area.

Chen Ran sent people disguised as Liu Yan's subordinates, saying that they were going from Chengdu to reinforce Jiange, and they were passing by here and wanted to go into the city to rest.

The defenders were very lax and didn't even think that they were the enemy. They were allowed to enter the city after only a few questions.

The results speak for themselves.

The soldiers quickly captured the city gate and sent out a signal.

Chen Ran immediately led his main force to attack and successfully captured Fucheng.

This place is actually located between Chengdu and Jiange, surrounded by the flat Chengdu Plain, with no strategic location to defend.

Moreover, most of Liu Yan's troops were attracted to Jiange to fight against Jia Xu, leaving the rear empty.

Chen Ran was not sure whether Liu Yan would surrender like Liu Chan.

He used another trick, disguising himself as Liu Yan's troops and quickly marched south, heading straight for Chengdu.

But when he arrived in Chengdu, he was shocked.

He was not frightened, but was surprised that Liu Yan was so relaxed.

His main force was attacking Jiange, but here in Chengdu, even the city gates were not closed in broad daylight!

The people inside and outside the city were free to come and go and busy themselves with their own affairs. The soldiers guarding the city were not only few in number, but also in very average condition.

When Chen Ran's troops, dressed in Liu Yan's military uniforms and carrying flags, came over, no one noticed.

"You still want to be a seceder and rule the country?"

After being shocked, Chen Ran shook his head and sighed, "Just go to bed."

There is no need to say more about what happened next.

Although he only brought a few thousand troops, it was enough to capture the empty city of Chengdu and capture Liu Yan who was bedridden due to illness.

The rear was lost, food and grass were insufficient, and the lord was captured.

Wu Yi, Zhang Ren, Yan Yan and others in Jiange received a letter of surrender from Chen Ran, which was said to be written by Liu Yan himself. They had no choice but to surrender sadly.

The lord demands surrender, how can they continue fighting?

From then on, Chen Ran's southern expedition was a great victory.

Along the way they captured Hanzhong, Sichuan and Shu, and established a stable base.

When Chen Ran held a banquet in Chengdu to celebrate the victory, Guo Jia, who was supposed to be recuperating in Chang'an, quietly appeared in Lu Bu's mansion!
(End of this chapter)