Hanzhong, Mianyang.
After nearly a month of advance, Zhuge Liang led the majority of the Imperial Palace's army and two thousand central military forces from Chengdu's nearby areas, and have now arrived at the city of Mianyang.
The terrain of Hanzhong Prefecture was basically a basin.
During the seven years that Wei Yan garrisoned Hanzhong, the headquarters of the military command, Nanzheng, was approximately located in the center of the Hanzhong Basin.
Mianyang was located on the westernmost edge of the Hanzhong Basin.
In the past, when Liu Bei, the late founder of Shu Han, led his troops to battle against Wei forces and Huang Zhong killed Xiu Huan Yuan, the mountain that was known as Dingjun was next to Mianyang.
By all accounts, Chang'an of the Wei state is to the northeast of Hanzhong.
The Wei army's reason to attack Hanzhong from the west via Qixian and Wuдуo was essentially due to the Qin Mountains blocking their way. The routes from Guanzhong, such as the Ziwen, Baohe, Tanglao, and Tangluo passes, were very difficult for large armies to travel through.
For this reason, Zhuge Liang chose the site for his Imperial Palace in Hanzhong to be on the west side of Mianyang. From there, heading northwest would lead to Qiushan.
On the first day of their arrival in Mianyang, it was late and everyone had retired early. Early the next morning, Zhuge Liang convened a meeting in the imperial palace.
The morning sunlight shone through the windows and doors, casting a slanted beam into the hall. Zhuge Liang's demeanor had an air of confidence and vitality.
Zhuge Liang looked at the assembly within the hall and said, "Lords, I presented an imperial petition to the Emperor in March for a northern campaign. Today, both the imperial palace and our troops have arrived in Mianyang. Before we discuss our strategy for capturing Wei territory, I shall first make preliminary arrangements for operations at the palace."
All in the hall stood in solemn attention.
"Xunlong." Zhuge Liang looked at Wei Yan and said, "You were entrusted by the late Emperor to serve as the military commander of Hanzhong. Please brief the imperial palace's staff on the current state of Hanzhong's military affairs."
"Wei Yan accepted the order and bowed respectfully, saying, 'Reporting to the Prime Minister, in the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an, when I first became the military governor of Hanzhong, our total military force was about one thousand."
"Over the years, as the court relocated people to reinforce Hanzhong, the military strength in Hanzhong has also gradually increased."
"At present, the total number of local garrisons in Hanzhong is 15,000."
Wei Yan looked up at Zhuge Liang and continued, "Eight thousand troops are stationed at Nanzheng; two thousand troops are stationed at Baozhong. One thousand troops defend Yangping Pass, one thousand troops defend Wuxing, two thousand troops are stationed at Xingshi Circuit, and one thousand troops are stationed at Huangjin Circuit."
"That is how the military forces were distributed in Hanzhong before Prime Minister Zhuge Liang led the army here."
Zhuge Liang nodded slightly and asked, "Have you all heard what Wei Yan just said about the current distribution of military forces in Hanzhong?"
"Who will explain to everyone why we must distribute the forces in this way?"
Seeing Zhuge Liang presenting his military deployment to test the Imperial Palace's staff, Wei Yan, the Prime Minister's marshal standing at the forefront, along with his assistant Xiang Lang, who stood in a row with him, couldn't help but show a faintly self-satisfied smile on his lips.
At present, only a dozen people stood in the hall.
At this time, Zhuge Liang's system at the Imperial Palace was, in fact, not too different from that of Cao Cao's hegemony. For instance, Wei Yan, as the Governor of Gansu Province, the Military Governor of Hanzhong and the General of North Commanding Trenches, also had to hold the title of 'Marshal' in the system of the Imperial Palace.
Yang Yi stepped forward and bowed, indicating, "I would like to make an explanation."
Zhuge Liang pointed at Yang Yi and said, "General, you may explain."
Yang Yi spoke calmly, "In my opinion, General Wei's arrangement in Hanzhong is simply following the late Emperor's deployment and combining it with the strategies of the past when Zhang Lu guarded Hanzhong."
Old strategies? How come in your mouth, my military arrangements as Wei Yan are all derived from others?
Standing at the frontmost position, Wei Yan was rather unpleased and turned to look at Yang Yi with a furrowed brow.
Yang Yi was someone Wei Yan had heard of long ago, but he had almost never interacted with him. Why was this man so rude in what he said?
Moreover, when discussing matters in the Imperial Palace, one should address by the title held within the palace. Just now, Yang Yi should have addressed me as 'Wei Marshal,' not 'General Wei.' Is this treating me, Wei Yan, as an outsider to the Imperial Palace?
Yang Yi's gaze was fixed on the Prime Minister Zhuge Liang in the hall, as if he had completely overlooked Wei Yan's expression.
Zhuge Liang of course noticed the expressions of both Wei Yan and Yang Yi, but he momentarily did not care about it.
"Continue," Zhuge Liang said in a calm tone.
Wei Yan heard Zhuge Liang speak and turned around to face the front, indicating that he was going to listen to what Yang Yi had to say.
Yang Yi, whose given name was Wei Gong, served as Gong Cao for Guan Yu at an early stage. Later, Guan Yu sent Yang Yi to Chongqing to report to Liu Bei on official business and discuss the affairs of the world. Consequently, he was summoned by Liu Bei to his Left General's Mansion.
When Liu Bei was enfeoffed as the King of Hanzhong, he promoted Yang Yi to the position of Secretary.
Later, Yang Yi had conflicts with the then Minister of State Liu Ba while serving as the Secretary, which caused a commotion among Liu Bei. In the end, Liu Bei withdrew Yang Yi from the State Council.
Although Liu Ba was not exactly a person with a good temper, for Yang Yi to have clashed with Liu Ba to such an extent speaks volumes about his own temperament.
Yang Yi bowed and said, "I have heard that during the late Emperor's tenure in Hanzhong, he dispatched Prime Minister Zhuge Liang to build a fortification at Xingshi Pass in the south of Tangle Pass to defend against Wei forces. The late Emperor also established the Military Command of Wuheng to the west of the Yellow River in Wu County, to prepare for defense against Wei forces coming from Wudu."
"And when Zhang Lu was in Hanzhong, he stationed troops in Golden Valley to the east of the Ziwen Pass. General Wei, over the past few years, built Huangjin Fortification, which is likely a reference to Zhang Lu's old strategies."
Speaking of which, this was Wei Yan's first day working in the Imperial Palace, and he was a newcomer who wasn't yet well-acquainted with his colleagues. Therefore, even though Yang Yi said this, Wei Yan did not wish to argue with him.
Wei Yan bowed and argued, "Reporting to the Prime Minister, the things I have done in Hanzhong were only based on local conditions. It is common sense to station troops at strategic locations in a basin like Hanzhong."
Wei Yan paused for a moment before continuing, "With such terrain in Hanzhong, anyone would arrange the military forces in this way. It is not, as Lieutenant Yang said, following an old system or emulating someone else's old strategies."
Zhuge Liang nodded and said, "What Wei Yan said is correct. Your words also went a bit too far."
Yang Yi bowed respectfully, then returned to his place in line as if nothing had happened.
Zhuge Liang continued, "As Wei Yan mentioned just now, there are eight thousand troops stationed in Nanzheng in Hanzhong Prefecture, and two thousand troops in Baozhong."
"Prime Minister, the two hundred thousand troops I have brought with me are all training in the area between Mianyang and Nanzheng."
"It is now the fourth month, and training troops, stockpiling supplies, and preparing weaponry will take some time. From now until next spring, I hope the staff of the Imperial Palace will work together in unison to prepare for the northern campaign."
The assembly members all bowed.
......
In the afternoon, Zhuge Liang and Wei Yan had a private conversation in the Imperial Palace.
Of course, Wei Yan was a military general, but as the Governor of Hanzhong for several years, almost all matters concerning Shu Han's affairs with Wei had to pass through his hands.
Wei Yan bowed and said, "Prime Minister, the mission to infiltrate the Qiang people and stir up discord in the Liang Province has yielded results."
Zhuge Liang asked, "It seems that Wei Yan is not going to bring any good news. If so, he would have reported the results immediately."
Wei Yan nodded and said, "Reporting to the Prime Minister, that is indeed the case."
"Wei Yan, stationed in Hanzhong, has heard that Quru Ying in Xiping Province of Wei State revolted in January and was suppressed by the end of March. This person, Quru Ying, was also subdued by General Hao Zhao garrisoned at Jin City."
"Hao Zhao has been in the Hexi region for about ten years, hasn't he?" Zhuge Liang said. "Did Hao Zhao lead the army by himself this time?"
Wei Yan's expression remained serious: "Prime Minister, it was not only Hao Zhao. It is said that the newly appointed Governor of Liang Province, Xiahou Bagua, as well as the general stationed in Tianshui City, Lu Pan, both sent people."
"Xiahou Bagua is the son of Xiahou Yuan, and he is now under forty. And... there is another person, whom I find rather strange, and I'm not sure if this information is true or not."
Zhuge Liang looked at Wei Yan and said, "It's alright, Wei Yan said it."
Wei Yan said, "I've heard that a new Commandant for the Pacification of the Qiang is appointed in Luoyang. It was Lu Xun, who led the Wu army in combat against the Wei army earlier this year and later surrendered to Wei State."
"Lu Xun, Lu Boyan?" Zhuge Liang exclaimed: "He has actually come to Liang Province?"
Wei Yan nodded, "After Zhang Wen of the Wu State came to Chengdu as an ambassador, this matter was also mentioned in the monthly letters from the Imperial Palace to me."
"If calculated by time, Lu Xun should have been sent to Liang Province immediately after surrendering to Wei State."
"Wei Yan heard the report and initially couldn't believe it. But Lu Xun's arrival in Liang Province was indeed too far-fetched, and there was no way it could be fabricated."
So outlandish that it can only be true?
Zhuge Liang sighed lightly, "How soft the people of the Jiangdong region are?"
Wei Yan said, "Regardless of whether Lu Sun is soft or not, the situation in Liang Province now is significantly different from what it was several months ago."
"From a military standpoint alone, there hasn't been any news of the Wei State sending additional troops to Liang Province. But the fact that Xiahou Ba has been appointed as the Governor of Liang Province, rather than a civilian official like Zhang Ji or Wen Hui as before, is already a sign of some change."
"Also, the Wei Court recently summoned Xiahou Jun back to Luoyang and appointed Zhang He as the General of the Guandong and Liang Province. This person is even more difficult to deal with."
"Hanzhong...," Zhuge Liang said, "Regardless of the situation, the strategy I discussed with you earlier to capture Liang Province first is still not to be changed."
Wei Yan also became solemn and replied, "Prime Minister, you are absolutely right!"
"From Hanzhong to launch a northern campaign, there are only two directions: one is to cross the Qin Mountains and reach Qianzhong, and the other is to head northwest to Liang Province."
"The power in Qianzhong is strong, and if we take it, we will face Wei's central troops directly in Luoyang. Early this year, Wu State suffered heavy losses in combat against Wei State. I think it's time to reassess the strength of Wei's central forces."
Zhuge Liang said, "Ten days. Starting from Luoyang and heading west, it will take ten days to reach Chang'an."
Wei Yan continued, "That's right. It is difficult to defend the region of Guanzhong, so it is better to take Liang Province first."
Zhuge Liang looked at Wei Yan with a smile, "I remember that Wen Chang has been saying in his letters that we can take Chang'an directly from Hanzhong."
Wei Yan said, "This is a different time from that time."
"The general responsible for guarding Chang'an previously was Xiahou Jun, a prince of the Wei State. This person has always been not good at military affairs. He just gained Wei Pi's trust because of his royal status."
"Now that the general has been changed to Zhang He, it is indeed necessary to be more careful."
Before Zhuge Liang could speak, Wei Yan said again, "Prime Minister, but in my opinion, leading an army to attack Guanzhong is still feasible." (End of chapter)
