My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 602: Zhuge Liang Makes a Strategy, Liu Bei Declares War

Pang Tong certainly knew that after learning that Zhang Ren's gun accidentally fired the first arrow that caused the conflict between the two sides, he would immediately push the army stationed in Zitong over and expand the war. From a military perspective, this would be the best way to gain the advantage of a sneak attack and catch the enemy off guard.

But Pang Tong certainly knew that this kind of thing must not be done. Otherwise, not only would Liu Bei not forgive him, but he himself would also not be able to face the stigma of his whole life, and even leave a stigma in the history books.

Liu Bei's army must not appear to have "deliberately planned" to fight this battle. They must go through the formalities on the surface before marching out in a dignified manner, even if it means delaying some opportunities for battle and missing out on some benefits of quickly stealing cities in the early stages.

Pang Tong's messenger rushed all the way to report, and put on a good show. Two days later, they arrived in Jiangzhou, and four days later, they arrived in Yufu, and then the boat sailed out of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River.

As for Liu Bei and Zhuge Jin, they also left Wuchang in advance and went to other places in southern Jing to inspect the recent government affairs. When Pang Tong sent out the envoys, Liu Bei and Zhuge Jin arrived in Zigui a few days in advance to inspect the river defense.

However, Liu Bei was very sensible. He never crossed Zigui and went to Wu County. Later, Wu County belonged to Chongqing, while Zigui still belonged to Hubei. At the end of the Han Dynasty, Zigui also belonged to Jingzhou, while Wu County belonged to Yizhou.

Before the war, Liu Bei never entered the territory of Yizhou, but wandered around the territory of Jingnan. This was obviously Zhuge Jin's design.

This was to ensure that in the future history books, when the conflict between the two sides began, Liu Bei was in Jingzhou and did not personally set foot in Yizhou. So Liu Bei was not deliberately plotting against Liu Zhang, but it was an unexpected incident on the front line, an accidental firing, and the breakdown of negotiations.

It was thousands of miles from Zigui to Wuchang by water. Liu Bei's deployment naturally created conditions for the envoys to travel quickly. After Pang Tong's envoy set out, he met Liu Bei in Zigui after only six days and five nights, and then reported the situation on the front line directly.

The messenger almost missed the target on the Yangtze River because the messenger was originally ordered to take the Yangtze River to Wuchang to report the news. After the boat passed Jiangling, if the river flow was not as fast as the horse, then they would ride horses instead. Even Pang Tong himself did not know that his lord had gone to Zigui in advance.

Fortunately, when the envoy's speedboat passed through the Zigui section of the river, it was discovered by several former Jiangdong naval generals under Gan Ning's command who were on patrol. They then reported the situation to higher authorities and brought it to Zigui city and Liu Bei, who delivered Pang Tong's report.

……

When Liu Bei learned that there had finally been an accidental shooting in Zi Tong, he naturally took it very seriously.

Zhuge Jin was invited immediately to discuss the report with him.

Although he knew that Pang Tong and Fa Zheng were going to cause trouble, he could not predict how the trouble would start and develop, even if he was as wise as the Zhuge brothers.

Because in this kind of situation, it takes two to tango. You also have to see whether the other party is willing to cooperate with you and how to cooperate with you.

On the opposite side, only Fa Zheng's reaction was that of an undercover agent and controllable by Liu Bei, while the reactions of other generals such as Zhang Ren, Ling Bao, Deng Xian, etc. were uncontrollable.

Therefore, Liu Bei and Zhuge Jin were very anxious and carefully read Pang Tong's description.

"It turned out that Xiaozhi was the one who pretended to be angry during the negotiation and attacked the reputation and integrity of our army. Zhang Ren's army also refused to pay the promised military rations and did not implement the agreed agreement. Finally, they took the initiative to shoot and kill the patrol team of our army that prevented them from transporting the grain back."

Zhuge Jin read very quickly and immediately summarized the three reasons that the enemy had provoked so far for starting a war.

Liu Bei hadn't finished reading yet, but after hearing Zhuge Jin's summary, he quickly grasped the main points and confirmed that this was the case.

Liu Bei couldn't help but frown. In his opinion, these reasons were a bit far-fetched.

After all, it was just accusations during negotiations, refusal to fulfill contracts, and small-scale frictions led by middle-level officers.

The third point in particular seems very serious. But what if Liu Zhang's army arrested the officer who shot and killed Liu Bei's patrol team and sent him to Liu Bei for punishment? If Liu Bei still insisted on destroying Liu Zhang, the reason would still not be sufficient.

When Tao Qian's subordinates killed Cao Cao's father Cao Song, Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou to avenge his father. Tao Qian wanted to surrender, compensate and hand over the criminal, but Cao Cao still thought he was making a fuss - of course, in history, Tao Qian also failed to hand over the main culprit Zhang Kai. After Zhang Kai killed Cao Song and robbed the property, he fled south to Cao Cao's enemy Yuan Shu and did not come back to Tao Qian.

If Liu Zhang now handed over the criminals, he could still salvage some moral integrity. But at this time, he could only hope that the frontline generals of Liu Zhang's army would be more hawkish.

If Zhang Ren was stubborn and refused to give in, and refused to sell out his men, then the Zhuge brothers and Pang Tong would definitely be in luck. After Liu Bei roughly sorted out the excuses for starting a war, he could not help but ask Zhuge Jin for advice with some uncertainty: "Zi Yu, can you tell me, are these specific reasons enough? Do we really want to start a war now? Sigh."

Zhuge Jin knew that he could not hesitate at this time, and finally encouraged Liu Bei: "Things have come to this point, the arrow is on the string and has to be shot. Although these reasons are not perfect, they are definitely useful!"

Zhuge Jin knew the original history, so he was able to "compare himself with himself" and deeply analyze the quality of Liu Bei's status in Sichuan.

Historically, Liu Bei's final excuse for starting the war was that "he had helped Liu Zhang guard the gate for two years to defend against Zhang Lu in Hanzhong, but Liu Zhang left without giving him money, food, and reinforcements. In addition, Liu Zhang took the lead in closing the gate and blocking the roads to guard against him, which might cut off his food supply." He finally started the war reluctantly.

This reason cannot be considered sufficient, and it is indeed the most obvious stain on Liu Bei's life of righteousness in history.

However, compared with the many eye-catching articles in later generations that "Liu Bei's entry into Shu was completely treacherous, he seized the foundation of his clan, and he always did so, including Liu Biao before", the real Liu Bei was much more honest. He did not seize the foundation of his clan right away, he actually spent a year or two guarding the door for Liu Zhang, waiting for the opportunity, waiting for Liu Zhang to let him down first.

When Zhuge Jin compared this historical record with the current situation in his mind, he could easily conclude that the conditions for going to war today are much more legitimate than in history.

Of the three reasons Pang Tong described today, the first and third are extra and have never existed in history.

Only the second point is similar to the original reason in history, but the degree is also deeper than the same period in history - in history, Liu Zhang only refused to give Liu Bei soldiers and food, but Liu Zhang did not make clear the obligations in advance. This life is different. Before, it was agreed that Liu Zhang should promise to fulfill the contract. It is much more serious to tear up and not give after having already promised.

Now that it has come to this, why not fight?
Zhuge Jin felt that the current excuse was enough, and he believed that Pang Tong and Fa Zheng were at the front and would definitely continue to work hard and contribute to the natural expansion of the situation. It was just that they were more than a thousand miles apart, and it would take at least ten days to go back and forth, so it was impossible to report everything all the time.

Trust the wisdom of counselors on the front lines.

……

Zhuge Jin couldn't tell Liu Bei the original historical situation before the war.

But he could remove the parts that could not be said, analyze the remaining considerations carefully, and explain to Liu Bei how good the time was to start a war and how urgent the time was.

Finally, Zhuge Jin added some words of encouragement, which ultimately had the final say:

"My lord, regardless of whether Shi Yuan and Xiao Zhi can find more excuses to blame the enemy later, the current time to start a war is absolutely the most favorable! At this point, the two sides have already torn their faces apart. Once mutual suspicion begins to spread, it will never stop on its own.

My Lord, please think about this. Even if you withdraw your troops now, Liu Zhang will be frightened by this. Will he be willing to cooperate with our army and give us money and food in the future? No, he will be afraid, and then he will collude with Cao.

He doesn't want to fight us now because our army hasn't started fighting Cao Cao on the eastern front yet, and Liu Zhang thinks he has no chance. But Liu Biao is already seriously ill. What if Liu Biao dies in a year and we start a full-scale war with Cao Cao again? If we let Liu Zhang take control of the real power until then, will he stab us in the back?
Therefore, even if the lord is worried that the reasons for the war are not sufficient, we can still declare that we are fighting to eliminate the hidden dangers within the anti-rebellion alliance. Liu Zhang has already committed the crime of breaking the alliance and refusing to provide money and food to support his allies, and he may be colluding with Cao thieves.

Therefore, in order to prevent being stabbed in the back by Cao Cao in the future when we go to war with him, we hope that Liu Zhang will give up his post as governor of Yizhou and transfer him to a large county as governor, or make him a senior minister of the court. You can even recommend him as a minister of state. As long as Liu Zhang is willing to hand over the real power of Yizhou, you will naturally promise him a lifetime of wealth and honor, and titles for his descendants. "

After hearing Zhuge Jin's clear plan for the way out, Liu Bei finally understood and could not help but draw inferences from one example: "Indeed... if we have this guarantee, it will be clear from the beginning that we are not going to do anything to Brother Ji Yu, but just to eliminate the hidden dangers and the pro-Cao faction in Yizhou, and finally keep him rich and powerful, so that he will not suffer too much loss in terms of righteousness.

I hesitated at first because I always thought of the time when Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou in the name of revenge and threatened Tao Gong. I will never forget that incident. So when I encounter a war in the name of revenge again, I always think of it and worry that I can't do the opposite of Cao..."

Zhuge Jin had been listening quietly, and after hearing this, he finally understood Liu Bei's worry: he was worried that he would become a person who acted like Cao Cao, and wanted to be different...

Since he had figured out the knot in his heart, Zhuge Jin would certainly have the right words to enlighten him: "My lord, why do you say that? How can Cao Cao compare with you? When Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou, he massacred everyone in his path, so he was despised by the world. My lord, you can enter Yizhou without harming the people, and the difference will be obvious.

Moreover, Cao Cao said that if he caught Tao Gong, he would cut him into pieces and exterminate his entire family to avenge Cao Song. Now my lord has said that he can recommend Liu Zhang as the governor of a large county, or even a high official in the court, and make his descendants rich and powerful. Can he do the same as Cao Cao?"

(End of this chapter)