When Liang Guo regained Guanzhong, he not only added nine states and more than two million people, but also captured more than 70,000 prisoners of war who could expand his army. The Liang Army's national strength further increased.

Chu State may not feel that strongly about this.

After all, the Chu army's war in Fujian successfully came to an end in late June. Gu Zhilong and Huang Lu met in Jianzhou Prefecture, tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, and escorted the King of Fujian and the local officials and their families. Tens of thousands of people also set foot.

On the way to Jinling.

However, the inner feelings of the kings and ministers of Shu were completely different.

Recovering Guanzhong will completely eliminate the threat to the west flank of the Liang State. It can safely and boldly shift the strategic focus to the north and east. However, the Liang Army can also not rush to attack the Mongolian Army in the north and the Dongliang Army in the east.

The strategic focus shifted southward, first annexing Shu and connecting it with Xuzhou, the enclave that Han Qian had operated for the longest time.

In fact, Gu Qian, Zhu Juezhong and others in the DPRK even advocated using troops against Shu first, which may be possible under conditions.

At this time, the Shu army's combat effectiveness was completely ignored by the generals of Liang Dynasty. Instead, Wang Xiaoxian, Zhao Mengji's surrendered troops and the surrendered troops were used as the vanguard to attack Shu. They could even take advantage of their eagerness to return home, which could produce unexpected results.

At this time, the Daliang soldiers and horses attacked Shu. Not only did the attack channel be smooth, but there was no need to worry about interference from the Mongolian, Dongliang or Chu armies.

After annexing the Shu Kingdom and being connected with Xuzhou, not only will the national strength further increase significantly, but also it will have a strategic advantage in terrain against the Chu Army, Dongliang Army and Mongolian Army.

The monarchs and ministers of Shu were also worried that Liang Jun had covetous intentions, and they were also worried that the previous indifferent attitude toward Qiao Zhiyong and Wang Zhi as envoys would become an excuse for Liang Jun to send troops to Shu. Wang Yong, the leader of Shu, hesitated again and again before finally deciding to send Cao Gan as envoys.

Luoyang.

Cao Gan's mission to Luoyang was not only to explain his previous indifference, but also to probe the reality of Luoyang and test whether Han Qian and the Liang monarchs and ministers coveted the Kingdom of Shu.

Cao Qian set out from Chengdu, headed north, crossed the Han River, took the Tangluo Road through the Qinling Mountains, and entered Guanzhong, which had just been recaptured by the Liang Kingdom for two months.

He stayed in Yongzhou City for two days and met with Jing Zhen, Xi Xunqiao, Han Chengmeng and other key figures in the newly established Yongzhou Province. After taking a boat to the mausoleum to meet Feng Yi, he learned that Han Qian was visiting Meng

He came to Mengzhou and chased him all the way to Mengzhou.

At this time, Cao Gan was riding a carriage and traveling north along the west bank of the Nanguan River. Cao Qian was in a mixed mood, and the past events were still vivid in his mind.

In the 16th year of God's Blessing, Han Qian was sent to the Kingdom of Shu as the Chu State's envoy to welcome his bride. Cao Qian got acquainted with Han Qian at that time, and since then the two parties have mostly cooperated:

Including establishing a foothold in Yuzhou, purchasing sophisticated warships from Xuzhou, and attacking the Banan area with weapons, they even secretly induced the generals of Wang Hongyi, the eldest son of the Zuo Qingjiang Army, to send troops to Wuchuan, which gave Han Qian the opportunity to recruit Ansizhou rebels.

And they also took the opportunity to kick out the direct lineage of the crown prince Wang Hongyi from Zuo Qingjiang's army, and later Han Qian helped them seize the throne, and together they forced Chu Ting to choose Liang Chu to negotiate peace...

Now that Liang and Shu have entered the most critical crossroads, Cao Qian doesn't know where they will go next, but he is not naive enough to think that the old friendship in the past can really be maintained.

What a coincidence. When Feng Yi accompanied Cao Gan to the construction site of Nanguan River Bridge, suddenly dark clouds rolled in and a heavy rain suddenly fell.

Han Qian was informal and used the tent at the construction site to meet Cao Qian.

The imperial camp was surrounded by a dozen accompanying chariots. Some of the imperial guards were sheltered from the rain, but there were still 200 imperial guards standing directly in the rain in a defensive formation to prevent enemies from taking advantage of the rain to cause chaos.

Looking at the heavy rain pouring down, these guards seemed to be cast from iron stone, revealing a cold and majestic aura.

Cao Gan's carriage and its entourage could only wait outside the carriage array. Feng Yi accompanied Cao Gan and two Shu deputy envoys and walked to the big tent holding oil-paper umbrellas.

Along the way from Cao Gan's mission, Liangzhou Prefecture had just gone through the most difficult period, the war in Guanzhong had just ended, the military garrison on both sides from Huatong to Xingyang had just been lifted, and Mengzhou was still a war zone, with everything along the road in ruins.

Except for the priority construction of roads and bridges in these places, other construction has not been carried out very much, and there is no sign of prosperity.

However, the generals of the Liang Army seen along the road were all well-dressed and brave. Even the patrol officers who were incorporated into the patrol department and were responsible for local security were capable and courageous, giving people a completely different impression, far from those of the Shu Army.

within reach.

"I haven't seen you for many years. When you first come to Mengzhou, don't be formal."

Seeing Cao Qian enter the tent, Han Qian stepped forward, welcomed him to sit down behind the long desk, and introduced him to the generals of Daliang in the tent.

Zhou Daoyuan and Shen Peng are both former officials of the Liang Army. Guo Rong, Han Donghu, Wang Che, He Liufeng, Lin Jiang, Xue Chuan, Huo Li, etc. are generals of the Tangyi Army. Anji Xiang can be said to be the legacy of the late Red Mansion. In addition, there are

Zhao Shuo, son of Zhao Mengji, is a general.

Seeing Li Zhigao, Li Zhi and his son, Cao Gan's mood became even more complicated. The monarchs and ministers of the Shu Kingdom once hoped that Li Zhigao and Chai Jiancheng could actually separate the Liang and Jin states, thinking that they would be a buffer between Liang and Chu. Who would have thought that the Shu Kingdom had not had time to secretly

Whatever action was taken, Chai Jian was transferred to Longyou as the envoy of the Qinzhou Prefecture. Li Zhigao even entered Daliang Center and served as the left counselor of the Staff Office.

From this small camp, he could see that Liang's generals were a hodgepodge, but under the leadership of Han Qian, they had condensed into the most powerful force in the world.

Zhao Mengji was transferred to Hedong as the inspector, and Han Qian did not temporarily summon him to Mengzhou to meet Cao Qian's old friend.

However, Zhao Shuo and He Xu, whom Cao Qian had met before, now belonged to Liang Shu and sat across from each other, which made Cao Qian feel emotional.

Han Qian was even casual and enthusiastic about meeting old friends, but Cao Gan still remembered his identity as the envoy of Shu, handed over his credentials, congratulated Liang Jun on his successive victories, and did not forget to express his gratitude to the many elite troops stationed in Mengzhou.

Soldiers and horses, concerned about the progress of the Shanxi-Southern Mongolian Army's operations.

"I heard you come here. I originally stayed in Luoyang to see you. After all, the conditions here are too simple and not the way to treat guests. But Zhao Shuo and He Xu were fighting in Wanzi City with their troops, and the Hulu resisted very resolutely.

, I don’t know when we can defeat it, I’m a little worried..." Han Qianhun casually introduced the progress of Mengzhou’s work to Cao Gan. It seemed that he was really worried about the slow progress of the war here, so he came to Mengzhou.

Come to inspect the general situation of the war.

When he first surrendered, Zhao Mengji still wanted to control the military. Even if he reduced the original troops to 10,000 elite soldiers, except for his son Zhao Shuo and his direct general He Xu who served as brigade commanders and directly commanded the two brigades of elite soldiers, the middle-level generals

As well as the junior military officers, they are all Shu people.

After regaining Guanzhong, Zhao Mengji fully realized that his surrender did not play a key role. He realized how disadvantaged the Mongolian army was after the balance of power between Liang and Meng was reversed, and he did not want to arouse suspicion anymore, so he went straight to the point.

He voluntarily resigned from the posts of Mengzhou Prefectural Government, Mengzhou Camping Army Command, Capital Commander, etc., and requested the General Staff Office to send generals to carry out a more thorough reorganization of the Mengzhou Army.

Han Qian transferred Zhao Mengji to serve as the inspector general of Hedong, but for the time being he continued to use Zhao Shuo and He Xu as brigade generals. He only transferred a group of trainees from the military academy to strengthen the soldiers and horses of the two brigades organized into the Second Central Bank Battalion.

The two brigades of Shu soldiers have only been reorganized for a short period of time. A batch of sophisticated war equipment has just been incorporated into the army and is not yet familiar with the training. However, the war is launched without waiting for anyone.

At present, Han Donghu sent the deputy capital commander He Liufeng to sit in Qinyang and use elite troops and horses to build a stronghold in front of the enemy's pass. Then he took turns to move Zhao Shuo and He Xu's two brigades of Shu soldiers to the front line to operate war weapons and bombard the enemy's stronghold.

Use actual combat to strengthen the running-in between dispatched military attachés and soldiers, but you don't have to worry about any casualties.

The main attack on southern Shanxi involves the coordination of the two armies. At least until Kong Xirong and Li Xiu join forces to capture Yangcheng to the west of Jincheng, the Second Central Bank Battalion will not attack alone to block the many passes at Taihangxing.

The enemy troops launched a fierce attack.

If you do that, the casualties will be difficult to control.

"After the rain stops, I plan to go to Qinyang. You can also follow me to Qinyang - many old soldiers from Sichuan and Shu have been living in foreign lands for many years. They will definitely be extremely grateful when they see people coming from their homeland." Han Qian

Invite Cao Qian to go with him to the front line to inspect the military situation.

Of course Cao Gan would not refuse, and he didn't know whether Han Qian was really anxious that the war here was not going well, or whether he wanted to show him the majesty of Liang Jun.

The rain came hard, but it stopped quickly.

It rained heavily, and the weather was not so hot. The two capital's cavalry, surrounded by carriages and horses, headed north along the Nanguan River. The peaks and ridges at the southern foot of the Taihang Mountains appeared under the blue sky.

Qinyang was originally Hanoi County and was the prefecture of Huaizhou. Countless wars occurred here during the decades of Liang and Jin Dynasties. Huaizhou prefecture was moved eastward and Qinyang became a pure military town.

Zhao Mengji's surrender made Qinyang City completely included in the territory of Daliang.

With Qinyang City as the core, the troops currently deployed against the south entrance of Taihang County are mainly composed of He Liufeng, Zhao Shuo, and He Xu. The other troops have not yet been mobilized in a hurry.

Han Qian's visit to Qinyang City to inspect the army was already the limit that the accompanying generals could bear. He also wanted to go to the enemy village Wanzi City to observe the enemy's situation. Han Donghu and other Mengzhou generals, as well as Zhou Daoyuan, Guo Rong, Wang Zhe and other accompanying generals were all

Despite strong opposition, he had no choice but to give up.

In fact, Qinyang City is only seven or eight miles away from the frontline battlefield. The weather is fine, and you can clearly observe the situation of the enemy and ourselves on the battlefield with a copper telescope.

Han Qian was pinned down in the safer Qinyang City by everyone, but Han Donghu invited Cao Gan to follow them to the front line to visit a foreign land. At this time, he had become a veteran of the Shu army, and Cao Gan happily agreed.

Wanzi City was built on a low ridge at the south entrance of Taihang County. The walled city was only 300 steps square. It was backed by the entrance of Taihang County. Unexpectedly, it was cut off from Zezhou in the north of the mountain. The other three sides had steep slopes.

Defend a difficult place.

Many veterans of the Shu army are not based here, and military achievements are of little significance to a certain extent. It is difficult to expect them to be able to charge to the top of the mountain regardless of their own safety and casualties in such a disadvantageous terrain. However, the current attack on the enemy's stronghold

, mainly using a large number of obstacles, dry trenches, and fence walls at the foot of the low slope mountain to block the enemy's passage out of Wanzi City to counterattack along the slope - the trenches can also effectively prevent Wanzi City from rolling down from a high position.

Then he took advantage of the weapons and equipment to get close and smashed the walls of the enemy's stronghold, attacking and smashing them indiscriminately.

Liang Jun will not rush to seize the city and seize the stronghold for the time being. This is a conservative strategy of slowly draining the enemy's blood.

At this time, the enemy generals did not dare to stand on the city head easily. Fortunately, the cyclone cannon had a limited upward attack range and could not pose a threat to the interior of Wanzi City. However, it could not restrict Liang Jun from bypassing Wanzi City and attacking from the east side.

On the steep slope, a path was re-opened and interspersed into the Taihang Pass behind Wanzi City.

The southern slope of the mountain is quite steep, so it is naturally quite difficult to re-open a three- to four-mile winding mountain path. But fortunately, we are on the Daliang side at the moment, so we have enough time to do this kind of water grinding skill.

Cao Qian was also a man who knew military skills.

Facing Liang Jun's actions, the Mongolian army seemed extremely passive. He couldn't help but wonder whether it was because the Mongolian army was unable or dared not easily send troops out of Taihang Xingnankou to fight against Liang Jun, or whether it was because the Mongolian army intended to borrow a small number of troops.

The dangerous terrain of Taihangxing will delay the Liang Army advancing north from Mengzhou, so they can concentrate their forces on the west flank of Zezhou to engage in a decisive battle with the Liang Army advancing eastward from the southern foot of Taiyue Mountain?

Cao Qian had just arrived, so of course he could not guess what the Mongolian army was thinking, but the Liang army only had 30,000 elite troops in Mengzhou, while the Dongliang army had 78,000 or 80,000 troops in Bianliang and Wuzhi on the south bank, but they could not even cross the river.

There was no fighting attitude, he saw it all.

Xu Mingzhen and Sima Tan each had their own thoughts. Liang Shixiong and the last elite Wei Bo soldiers were surrounded and annihilated in Xingyang City. Zhu Rang, Liang Ren and others could no longer pose any threat to Liang's army.

This is a fact that Cao Qian is unwilling to accept but has to accept.

Accompanied by Han Donghu, Feng Yi, Zhao Shuo, He Xu and others, Cao Gan walked around the forward camp and headed back to Qinyang City at nightfall.

"Since the Lord of Shu is unwilling to accept the exiled soldiers and generals to return to Shu, can they bring their families to Mengzhou? I want Mr. Cao to have a nice word with the Lord of Shu after he returns to Chengdu!" Han Donghu accompanied him.

Cao Qian rode his horse side by side and said with a smile.

Han Qian met Cao Qian in Mengzhou. He had no intention of changing the relationship between Liang and Shu for the time being. At the moment, he mainly wanted to promote as many Shu generals as possible to bring their families over to stabilize people's hearts.
To be continued...