Three Kingdoms: Heir of Wolong, my father-in-law is Guan Gong

Chapter 155: Tired Enemy, Repeating Crossbows (Pursuit)

Yecheng.

Cao Pi summoned the Prime Minister Hua Xin, the Prime Minister Chang Shi Sima Yi, the Prime Minister Chang Shi Jiang Ji, and the Sanqi Chang Shizhong leader Xia Houshang.

"The news came back from Hanzhong that Liu Bei came to the stage to pay homage to the general in June, and Zhuge Liang, the military advisor general, went to conquer the northern general and the military governor of Yongliang. It was a holiday."

"Liu Bei wanted to take advantage of the death of my late father to deceive me into being distracted from suppressing the rebellion when I first took power. He wanted to take the opportunity to rob Yongliang."

"The old thief bullied me too much!"

Cao Pi wears a royal crown and a royal uniform, and he has his own majesty. He is no longer the prince of Wei who used to be obedient and walking on thin ice in front of Cao Cao.

Cao Cao's death caused violent turmoil in the north.

For example, the bandits Zheng Gan and Wang Zhao rose up, and the Qingzhou soldiers under Zang Ba thought that the world was about to be in chaos, and left without authorization, beating gongs and drums.

Cao Pi named Zheng Gan and Wang Zhao as marquises, and asked local officials to distribute food to Qingxu soldiers who returned home.

"Liu Bei has been using troops for many years, and the soldiers and people in his territory are already exhausted. The road from Hanzhong to Qinchuan is quite difficult and dangerous. Even if Liu Bei wants to take advantage of the opportunity to expedition north to capture Yongliang, how can he win if the army and veterans are exhausted?"

If it were just to quell the rebellion, the most it could do would be to allow Cao Pi to secure the throne, but Cao Pi's ambitions were not limited to that.

"This is a strategy for planning a war, not a military strategy."

"Since ancient times, soldiers have been valued and quick."

"If Liu Bei really has the strength to advance north, Shangyong and Xiangyang will definitely support him, but now both Shangyong and Xiangyang are on the defensive."

"It can be seen from this that Liu Bei is now preparing to suspend his troops to support his people and wait for changes in the north."

Cao Pi looked at Xia Houshang.

"Liu Bei won Shangyong not long ago, and the people in the mountains may not be convinced. I am willing to personally lead the troops to fight Shangyong."

"I also agree with Zhongda and Zitong's judgment. Liu Bei is now tired of veterans and just wants to rest his troops to support the people. He dare not use weapons rashly again."

Cao Pi's anger remained.

Zhang Jin from Zhangye captured the governor alive and raised his troops to rebel. Huang Hua from Jiuquan and Qu Yan from Xiping County each chased the governor and responded with troops.

"There are 100,000 troops stationed in Yongliang. It is not difficult to quell the rebellion of Zhang Jin and others."

Xia Houshang laughed: "Although Guan Yu has captured Xiangyang, he has to divide his troops to defend Jiangling."

Cao Pi had two paths.

Want to be emperor.

"After the King of Wei succeeded to the throne, he divided the eight counties in Hexi into Liangzhou, and made Zou Qi, the prefect of Anding, the governor. Although this move strengthened the King of Wei's jurisdiction over Zhangye and other counties, it also took away the interests of Zhang Jin and others. "

"I thought that the King of Wei only needs to focus on countering the rebellion in the northern states now, and does not need to worry about Liu Bei."

"If Liu Bei really wanted to seize Yongliang from the north, he would have sent other generals to Liangzhou long ago to conspire with Zhang Jin, Huang Hua, Qu Yan and others to seize Longyou, instead of making a big splash in Nanzheng and deliberately letting us know Liu Bei’s intention.”

The two rebellions were temporarily appeased with gentle methods, before they had time to rest.

Jiang Ji also echoed: "King Wei, what Zhongda said is absolutely true! Liu Bei now has Shangyong and Xiangyang, and controls the Han River."

"It is expected that these Liangzhou powerful people will rebel."

One is to use military exploits to make the officials and people within the territory surrender, just like Cao Cao's expedition to the north and south to wipe out the bandits.

"If the King of Wei cannot deter the thieves, Liu Bei will definitely use the troops of the two states to advance in parallel."

As a regular attendant of Sanqi, Xiahou Shang was a close confidant of Cao Pi. Naturally, Xiahou Shang was also very aware of Cao Pi's ambitions.

Cao Cao, Cao Pi and his son were originally powerful officials who regarded the emperor as a puppet, so how could they transfer a large amount of benefits.

When Cao Cao was here, all the thieves were convinced. Once Cao Cao died, all the big and small ghosts appeared.

Sima Yi thought for a while and then added: "Liangzhou people are inherently fickle, so the late king did not set up Liangzhou when he was there. From Sanfu to the Western Regions, everything belongs to Yongzhou."

"At the same time, it was also to encourage the powerful nobles in Yongliang who were dissatisfied with King Wei to raise troops and rebel."

Hua Xin frowned: "Guan Yu's eldest son Guan Ping is currently stationed at Shangyong. If he attacks Shangyong, why won't Guan Yu not save him? If he returns without success, wouldn't he lose the prestige of the King of Wei?"

"Therefore, I believe that Liu Bei went on stage to pay homage to the general in Nanzheng just to confuse Zhang He, Mengda and others in Guanzhong."

Seeing Cao Pi's signal, Xiahou Shang asked for orders: "I think the rebellion in the territory is just a minor trouble and can be put down by sending out generals. There is no need for the King of Wei to worry."

"If the King of Wei wants to establish his prestige, he should not just focus on these little thieves, but should focus on Liu Bei and Sun Quan, the two great thieves of the country."

If he can't deter the thieves, Cao Pi will have a hard time keeping the legacy left by Cao Cao, let alone ascending the throne and proclaiming himself emperor!

One is to compromise with the aristocratic families in the territory and share a large amount of benefits.

"The general burned Fancheng. Instead of occupying Fancheng and rebuilding it, Guan Yu instead went to rebuild Jingcheng and Hanjinkou."

If the interests are transferred too much, Cao Pi will become Liu Xie.

Cao Pi can't wait for Liu Xie's position!

There have been no fewer than ten rebellions like this.

"But if Liu Bei wants to suspend his troops and support his people, he has to ask the King of Wei if he agrees."

Licheng County soldiers Cai Fang and others coerced the people of the county to rebel and killed the prefect Xu Zhi.

Countering the rebellion involves too much energy, which is not in line with Cao Pi's intentions.

"Although Sun Quan burned the Lukou stronghold, he still accumulated a large number of troops and horses in Xiakou and Fankou."

"It can be seen that although Sun Quan and Liu Bei have formed an alliance again, both sides have lost trust and are heavily guarding against each other."

"If I attack Shangyong at this time, I only need to defeat Guan Ping!"

"Although Guan Ping is Guan Yu's son, he has never been stationed alone. What is there to fear from a tiger father and a dog son?"

"What's more, even Hua Xiangguo doesn't think you should fight Shangyong, so how could Guan Ping expect that I would fight Shangyong?"

"As long as I go secretly, I can catch him by surprise and attack him unprepared!"

Cao Pi Zhuang said: "Bo Ren is brave and brave. If he can defeat Shangyong, he will surely frighten all the thieves in the territory."

When Hua Xin was about to persuade him again, Sima Yi shook his head.

Xiahou Shang is Cao Pi's regular attendant, and he stays with him on weekdays.

Rather than saying that it was Xiahou Shang's idea to hit Shangyong, it was better to say that it was Cao Pi's idea.

Cao Pi needed a big victory.

Suppressing the rebellion within the territory cannot be called a great victory, that is what Cao Pi should do.

Only by defeating Liu Bei and Sun Quan can Cao Pi's prestige be enhanced.

The dissidents within the territory were dissatisfied with Cao Pi and rebelled, because they felt that Cao Pi was only worthy of guarding his home in the rear.

And if Cao Pi dares to show his fist to Liu Bei or Sun Quan at this time, and wins, it will be tantamount to telling the dissidents in the country: Although Cao Cao is dead, Cao Pi is still here, and if you don't accept it, come and fight.

It is an eternal truth that people are weak and bullied by others!
"King Wei, although the leader in the middle is brave, he is not familiar with the terrain of Shangyong. You can ask the general on the right to go with him!" Sima Yi advised politely.

What Sima Yi said was soothing.

First, he praised Xiahou Shang for his bravery, and then pointed out that Xiahou Shang was not familiar with the Shangyong terrain, and then asked the right general Xu Huang to go with him.

If we win, everything will be easy.

If they lose, it is because they are not familiar with the terrain, and it is not a crime of war.

Xu Huang was also the deputy general, so even if Xiahou Shang could not defeat Shangyong, he would not be defeated.

Cao Pi was well versed in scheming, and he understood as soon as he heard Sima Yi's words: "What Zhongda said makes sense!"

"Bo Ren, the right general is my father's favorite general. He has the style of Zhou Yafu. In the battle of Xiangfan, he marched straight in and killed the rebel general Hu Xiu and Fufang."

"It's a bit unfair to have General You as deputy general. Don't underestimate your status and disrespect General You."

"When you achieve excellence, I will personally express my merits for you."

Xiahou Shang responded with enthusiasm: "Don't worry, King Wei, the late king loves his generals, how can I be scornful?"

Nanzheng.

After Liu Bei came on stage to pay homage to the general, Zhang Fei returned to Langzhong, and Huang Zhong, Ma Chao and Zhao Yun also returned to Chengdu.

In the entire Nanzheng, except for the generals such as Huang Zhong, Ma Chao, Zhao Yun and others who stood up to show off their flags, the only ones Zhuge Liang could really use were Wei Yan's troops and horses in Nanzheng.

Even Feng Xi, Zhang Nan and other generals went to their respective stations.

"Military advisor, I can't understand why you, as the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition, want me to recruit warships and wait in the Han River."

"Do you still want to go down the river and attack Nanxiang County?"

Wei Yan couldn't understand Zhuge Liang's arrangement.

Zhuge Liang admired Wei Yan, who Liu Bei promoted against all opinions.

Watching Wei Yan's military training these days, Zhuge Liang couldn't help but think of Guan Yu in Jingzhou.

Wei Yan's military training method was almost modeled after Guan Yu's.

In fact, Liu Bei did train Wei Yan in this way.

One article is long and the other is cloud long.

The text is Liu Bei's hope that Wei Yan can learn more about literature and assist military affairs with literature; the text is Liu Bei's expectation for Wei Yan, hoping that Wei Yan can be the next Guan Yu!
"Chang Wen, although I am the head coach of the Northern Expedition, I will not need the Northern Expedition at least for a year."

"We are bluffing in Nanzheng to build momentum for the Northern Expedition. Mengda in Guanzhong will definitely dispatch troops and generals to guard the key roads out of Qinchuan."

"If he wants to defend it, let him defend it."

"As long as this status quo is maintained, Mengda will not dare to take the initiative to send troops to attack Hanzhong."

"All the way to Guanzhong, we don't need to worry for the time being."

Zhuge Liang slowly expressed his thoughts, and then pointed his finger at Shangyong.

"Compared to Meng Da in Guanzhong, I am more worried about Shangyong's safety."

"Yun Chang wants to guard against Sun Quan of Jiangdong and Cao Ren of Wancheng in Jingzhou. It is difficult to take care of Shangyong."

"Not long after your Majesty first gained Shangyong, the people's hearts in the Shangyong area have not yet truly attached themselves to Shangyong. Frankly, he may not be able to defend Shangyong."

"There must be someone around Cao Pi who can see this disadvantage."

"If Cao Pi sends his generals to attack Shangyong, the only ones who can support Shangyong are Wen Chang and his troops."

"That's why I ordered Wen Chang to prepare more warships and be on standby. If something happens to Shangyong, Wen Chang can lead his troops and horses down the river southward."

Wei Yan frowned: "But taking the Han River to Shangyong is a road with no return. If I lead my troops south, I won't be able to go back through the Han River if I want to go back."

"It doesn't matter." Zhuge Liang had already calculated: "Meng Da and others didn't know that I was bluffing by waiting in Hanzhong." "When Wen Chang went south, don't go directly to Shangyong, but go directly to Nanxiang City. Let Wei General mistakenly They think we are not going out of Qinchuan but to seize Wancheng."

"The Wei general who made a sneak attack on Shangyong would also mistakenly think that you attacked Nanxiang City to cut off the Danshui and prevent the troops from Guanzhong from going south through Wuguan."

"When General Wei returns, you can slowly withdraw your troops back to Hanzhong. Don't really attack Nanxiang City."

Wei Yan asked: "But if I withdraw my troops, what will happen if Wei generals attack Shangyong again?"

Zhuge Liang smiled and said: "The terrain is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Without a sneak attack, it is difficult to attack by force."

"With Chang Wen taking the Han River south this time to surprise Nanxiang City, Cao Pi will definitely station heavy troops in Nanxiang City. Beware of me using surprise troops again."

"What the king needs most now is to rest his troops and support his people. However, with a small number of troops, Wen Chang restrained Cao Pi's three heavy troops in Chang'an, Luoyang, and Nanxiang, leaving him exhausted to deal with them."

"This is the result of exhausting the enemy. Although we failed to capture the city and conquer the stronghold, for the king, this achievement is far better than attacking the city and conquering the stronghold."

Wei Yan was convinced and asked: "It is difficult for the scouts who went to Shangyong to return to Nanzheng. How can they send the message in time?"

Zhuge Liang said: "This is easy. Wen Chang can follow Yunchang's arrangement in Nanjun and build beacon towers up and down the river. If he learns of Shangyong's changes, he can light beacons to send messages."

"If Cao Pi dares not send his generals to attack Shangyong, the beacon towers along the river can also make Cao Pi misjudge our intentions."

Seeing Zhuge Liang's careful deployment, Wei Yan became less scornful and followed the order.

Zhuge Liang continued to stare at the map, carefully figuring out the possible attacks and defenses of both the enemy and ourselves.

This is the difference between Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei Ma Chao Wei Yan and other generals.

If Zhang Feima overtakes Wei Yan and other generals as the Northern Expedition coach, he must be thinking only about how to win Guanzhong. Even if he wants to defend, he will simply defend Hanzhong.

But Zhuge Liang is different.

When he became the head coach of the Northern Expedition, his original intention was to persuade Liu Bei to stop his troops and support his people, and to focus on defense rather than offense.

The defense in Zhuge Liang's eyes will not be limited to Hanzhong, but will look at Liu Bei's entire Jingyi defense line.

This is also the reason why Zhuge Qiao strongly recommended Zhuge Liang to be the coach of the Northern Expedition, because Zhuge Liang is best at playing strategy, and those who play strategy will not be limited to one city or one county.

a few days later.

Wang Ping came from Chengdu and presented Zhuge Qiao's letter.

In addition to mentioning family affairs and some major events in Chengdu to Zhuge Liang, the content of the letter also focused on Guan Ping, who was Shangyong.

"Brother Tan will inevitably make mistakes when he first controls a place. Cao Pi will always covet an important place."

"If Cao Pi secretly sends his generals to attack Shangyong, Tan's brother may not be able to deal with it."

"Although my father-in-law is in Xiangyang, the summer flood is approaching, and the Xiangyang naval force will be delayed for many days by going upstream. The road to Jiangling is far away, and it is difficult to respond in time."

"Therefore, the boy thought that beacon towers could be set up along the Han River to serve as suspects."

"If something happens to Shangyong, please ask my father to send a general to help."

Zhuge Liang smiled when he saw the letter and said, "Bosong has the same idea as me. Zijun, you can return to Chengdu quickly so that Bosong doesn't have to worry."

"I'm far away in Hanzhong and can't take care of everything in Chengdu and Nanzhong, so I'll let Bosong work harder."

Wang Ping accepted the order and traveled back to Chengdu at night to relay Zhuge Liang's reply to Zhuge Qiao.

Zhuge Qiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "I am worried too much. My father is Zhuge Wuhou, who is always known for his caution!"

"Longzhong's strategy is also my father's favorite work. Shangyong is the core of the Han River defense line. How could my father not be on guard!"

While thinking.

People reported that Li Zhuan had arrived.

Zhuge Qiao quickly stood up and went out to greet him.

Li Zhuan, courtesy name Qin Zhong, was from Fu County, Tong County. He once traveled to Jingzhou with Yin Mo from the same county and studied under famous officials such as Sima Hui and Song Zhong.

He is well versed in the Five Classics and other scholars, and is involved in a wide range of subjects. He is fond of arts and crafts, and can think carefully about arithmetic, divination, medicine, bows and crossbows, and mechanical ingenuity.

Due to Li Zhuan's light-hearted personality, he was neither as good at making suggestions as Fazheng, nor was he as focused on the moral cultivation of famous officials as Xu Jing.

Chen Shou's evaluation of Li Zhuan was "the body is light and the body is light, the drama is good, and the old world cannot be emphasized".

There is a saying in Zuo Zhuan: If you are lighthearted, you will be ill-informed, but if you are rude, you will be offended. Xiecheng just likes to ridicule people.

Therefore, although Li Zhuan studied under famous teachers and was well-educated, he had not made much achievements in his official career. He was only a small secretary in Yizhou at the age of thirty.

Zhuge Qiao only remembered Li Zhuan when he was reviewing official documents.

It is true that Li Zhuan is not good at being an official, but he is an academic talent!

Moreover, he is still a miscellaneous scholar who is not recognized by mainstream Confucianism.

If Li Zhuan was willing to concentrate on studying the Five Classics, he would definitely be a great Confucian. However, Li Zhuan did not like the rules and regulations of Confucianism. He preferred to dabble in various schools of thought, especially arithmetic, divination, medicine, bows and crossbows, and mechanical ingenuity. .

In other words.

This is a science and engineering man who was born at the wrong time! He is also a man in science and engineering who went straight to a key national university without any particular subjects.

"Brother Qin Zhong, you are finally here." Zhuge Qiao's attitude was enthusiastic.

Li Zhuan laughed: "I didn't come to see you today, Bosong. If Bosong hadn't said that you have mechanical skills that I have never seen before, I would rather do my carpentry work at home."

Zhuge Qiao had long understood Li Zhuan's personality and smiled freely: "I will definitely not disappoint Brother Qinzhong!"

Inviting Li Zhuan inside, Zhuge Qiao moved out the wooden box that had been prepared and took out the crossbow in the wooden box.

"The crossbow?" Li Zhuan squinted his eyes, and soon discovered something was wrong: "No! The crossbow is not that light. Is it an iron arrow?"

Li Zhuan immediately became interested and went directly to the crossbow, playing with it carefully: "What a great idea! What a great idea! What a great idea! Bo Song, you are so amazing!"

Zhuge Qiao shook his head gently: "Brother Qinzhong, this is not my idea, it is my father's idea, but this repeating crossbow is only a semi-finished product."

"My father referred to the tactics used by Qu Yi to defeat Gongsun Zan's cavalry in the past, and believed that strong bows and powerful crossbows would be the main weapons on the Yongliang battlefield in the future."

"However, strong bows are expensive to make and require strong arm strength to use; powerful crossbows are bulky and inconvenient to carry; therefore, strong bows and powerful crossbows can often only be used in surprise attacks and cannot be used in regular combat."

"My father was wondering if he could reduce the cost and tension of the strong bow, or reduce the weight of the crossbow. At the same time, the lethality would not be reduced."

"But it is currently almost impossible to reduce the tension of a strong bow; my father has focused his research on the powerful crossbow."

"The reason why the crossbow is bulky is because the tension required by the crossbow requires heavy wood to withstand it."

"After weighing it, my father decided to make the crossbow lighter at the expense of reducing the tension of the crossbow."

"At the same time, the previous bamboo crossbow arrows were renamed iron arrows to make up for the lack of lethality of the crossbow arrows after the tension weakened."

"However, iron arrows are heavier than bamboo crossbow arrows, and the tension of the crossbow is too small to achieve effective lethality."

"My father changed the iron arrow to eight inches, which is the maximum lethality that the iron arrow can achieve under the current crossbow tension conditions."

"Because the lethality of this crossbow is much smaller than that of ordinary crossbows, and it is too useless, so my father thought of continuous shooting."

"If they can shoot ten arrows in a row, or more, the soldiers holding the repeating crossbow can make up for the lack of single-target lethality through quantity."

"It's just that when I was studying continuous fire, my father encountered difficulties. It was always difficult to increase the number of continuous fire to five. If it was increased to five or more, the interval between continuous fire would increase with the increase of crossbow arrows."

"Cao Wei has many cavalry, and the cavalry will arrive in an instant. If the interval between loading crossbow arrows cannot be shortened, firing ten arrows in a row, let alone fifty arrows in a row, will be useless."

"But if the arrows fired in succession are too few, they will not be able to cause effective damage to the cavalry."

"I have heard that Brother Qinzhong is good at crossbows and mechanical skills. If Brother Qinzhong can help my father improve it, from now on every contribution made by my father in the Northern Expedition will be attributed to Brother Qinzhong!"

Li Zhuan was shocked when he heard this: "Bosong, did you just say that this was the military advisor's idea?"

Zhuge Qiao asked in confusion: "Brother Qinzhong came from the same school as my father's master, how could he not know about it?"

Li Zhuan was a little sarcastic: "The military advisor is rigorous and methodical, and I am a human being. Haha, although the military advisor and I come from the same school, our friendship is not very deep."

Zhuge Qiao also knew about Li Zhuan's reputation in Chengdu.

If you don't cultivate virtue and like to use strange skills and tricks, you will naturally not be liked by others.

Although Zhuge Liang is also good at strange skills, few people know that Zhuge Liang studies these in private.

In addition, Zhuge Liang pays attention to morality and pursues fairness and justice, and his reputation has always been very good.

Zhuge Qiao was slightly shocked: "Brother Qinzhong, I won't mention these side details. I just want to know if brother Qinzhong is willing to help my father improve this repeating crossbow."

Li Zhuan felt itchy in his heart, but he was also worried: "Bosong, did the military advisor know about this?"

Zhuge Qiao shook his head: "Although my father doesn't know, I can guarantee that if Brother Qinzhong can help my father improve, my father will definitely recommend Brother Qinzhong in front of the king."

Li Zhuan took a deep breath.

For Li Zhuan, who is a crossbow enthusiast and likes to study mechanical ingenuity, Zhuge Liang's half-finished repeating crossbow is like a peerless beauty holding a pipa, half-hiding her face.

The irresistible temptation made Li Zhuan want to tear open the beauty's veil and witness the peerless face under the veil!

"I agreed!"

"But I have one more request!"

Li Zhuan gritted his teeth.

Even if Zhuge Liang would blame him for peeking into secrets in the future, Li Zhuan would admit it.

This half-finished repeating crossbow was too tempting to Li Zhuan!

If it can be improved successfully, this will be a miracle that can be recorded in history!

Zhuge Qiao was also delighted when he saw Li Zhuan's agreement: "Brother Qin Zhong, feel free to ask for anything. As long as I can do it, I will be satisfied. If I can't do it, I will ask the king for special approval."

Li Zhuan said calmly: "I have an old acquaintance. My ancestors were all blacksmiths, but because my father offended the local powerful, not only was the family property taken away, but he was also reduced to the powerful craftsman's slave."

"Because both sides are at fault, and the magistrate doesn't want to cause more trouble. Although I want to save him, I can't do anything. My position is low, and even if I pay for redemption, the other party won't give me a chance."

"If you want to improve the Liannu to meet the expectations of the military advisor, you must redesign and build the iron arrow. In terms of talent for making iron weapons, I dare say that there is no one in Yizhou who is more powerful than my old friend!"

Seeing that Li Zhuan spoke solemnly, Zhuge Qiao asked, "I don't know what to call this person?"

"Pu Yuan from Linqiong!" Li Zhuan emphasized his tone.

Zhuge Qiao was shocked.

No wonder I have been reviewing official documents for so many days, but I just can't find any information related to Pu Yuan.

He has actually become a powerful craftsman’s slave!

A powerful private slave is basically a black man whose household has been closed.

Without Li Zhuan's recommendation today, Zhuge Qiao's attempt to find Pu Yuan would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

Zhuge Qiao stood up suddenly and shouted: "Zi Jun! Take fifty soldiers and brother Qin Zhong to Linqiong, requisition Pu Yuan in the name of military advisor general, and bring Pu Yuan back to Chengdu. If anyone dares to stop him, regardless of his official position No matter how big or small the power is, they will all be punished for the crime of destroying military aircraft!"

(End of this chapter)