Chapter 412: The Battle of Unification! [Subscribe]

Zhang Lu quickly brought out seven or eight volumes of Taoist books and several portraits painted on the leather scrolls.

"Your Majesty, please take a look. These are the only portraits of my ancestors. The others were destroyed due to wars and improper protection and are no longer visible."

Zhang Lu was puzzled, wondering what Cao Cao wanted to do by looking at the portraits of his ancestors.
Those Taoist books have a long history and were written by his ancestor Zhang Daoling.

Cao Cao first looked at the portrait of Zhang Lu’s father Zhang Heng.

There are two portraits of him, one from the front and one from the side, which are well preserved, with vivid brushwork and rich verve.

Cao Cao wanted to see these portraits, which was related to Daozun.

Dao Zun's origin is unknown.

But he is obviously a person with great Taoist background.

Zhang Lu’s grandfather, Zhang Daoling, was a very legendary person.

Both official and unofficial histories record that this man had supernatural powers.

Is it possible that Daozun is Zhang Lu’s grandfather and the founding ancestor of Tianshi Dao?

Cao Cao unfolded another portrait.

The person in the painting is a silhouette and your full appearance cannot be seen.

But the gray hair on his jaw showed that he was Zhang Daoling in his old age, which was completely different from the cold and stern look of Dao Zun and his middle-aged appearance.

"How much do you know about your grandfather's life?"

Zhang Daoling was the founder of the Tianshi Dao. He was born in the early Eastern Han Dynasty and lived to be 122 years old.

Some say he is dead, others say he has shed his body and ascended into heaven.

On the day Zhang Daoling died, six heavenly soldiers appeared in the sky, and golden light illuminated half of the sky.

There are many records of related miracles in official history, saying that he returned to the fairyland and ascended to the immortal throne.

Some of the files handed down by Taoism are even more mysterious in their descriptions.

“My grandfather was very smart since he was young. He had read through the two volumes of the Tao Te Ching and the Dao Te Ching at the age of seven.

After he entered the Imperial College at a young age, he was well versed in astronomy, geography, and books on prophecies and divinations. "

Zhang Lu's brows were filled with pride:
"My ancestor read a wide range of books, both ancient and modern, but he often lamented that the books he read could not answer the question of life and death, so he gave up Confucianism and studied the art of longevity.

When he was 26 years old, he was appointed as the magistrate of Jiangzhou, but he resigned soon after and lived in seclusion in Mang Mountain in the north of Luoyang, where he meditated and studied Taoism.

The two previous emperors, Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty and Emperor He of the Han Dynasty, successively summoned my grandfather to be the Grand Tutor and granted him the title of Marquis of Ji County, but he declined both times.

Later, our ancestor succeeded in his quest for the Tao. He spent three years refining the elixir, and when the elixir was ready, a dragon and a tiger appeared. Therefore, the place where he refined the elixir was renamed Longhu Mountain. Our ancestor lived to a certain age and then attained the Tao and became an immortal.

While Zhang Lu was speaking, Cao Cao unfolded another portrait.

The person in the painting is still Zhang Daoling, but this time he is young, standing on a big rock on the top of a mountain.

In the direction he was looking, there was another person walking away, leaving only his back.

The lines around it outline the flow of wind.

From the picture, the man seems to be floating in the air and moving very fast, like a god.

Zhang Daoling looked at the rear.

This scroll is quite old and somewhat distorted, and is called "Wangxiantu".

But the brushstrokes are lively and have their own charm.

"Who painted this?"

"This scroll was painted by our ancestor, and the name Wangxiantu was given by my father. It is said that this scroll was painted by our ancestor to commemorate his teacher."

Cao Cao asked, "Who was your ancestor's master?"

"Taishang Laojun." Zhang Lu said.

What a bunch of crap... Cao Cao thought to himself.

There are Taoist records in history that say Zhang Daoling was a disciple of Taishang Laojun.

It is said that during the reign of Emperor Shun of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Jade Emperor descended to where Zhang Daoling lived, taught him the art of becoming an immortal, and asked him to destroy the ghost general who was running rampant in Shu.

Later, Zhang Daoling eliminated evil spirits and made great contributions to the world. He accumulated good fortune and finally achieved enlightenment.

In the painting by Zhang Daoling, the receding figure, his bearing and charm, are somewhat similar to those of the Taoist Master.

The Taoist Master is Taishang Laojun...Cao Cao laughed.

He handed all the scrolls back to Zhang Lu and asked about the current situation in Yizhou.

Zhang Lu introduced: "South of Yizhou, the barbarians are called 81 tribes, Qiang, Di, and the Southern Yi, which are 36 tribes of varying sizes.

Yizhou announced to the outside world that they had gathered an army of 200,000 in an attempt to stop the Wei army from advancing southward.

Cao Cao sat in the main seat, and the other Cao Wei people were on both sides.

Upon hearing that the tribes of Yizhou had united, Jia Xu said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report.

Those nobles who fled to Yizhou wanted to ask the king for pardon.

I want to send them a message, saying that whoever can contribute to the conquest of Yizhou by our Great Wei will be spared from death.

As a result, the nobles all tried to survive and schemed against each other, causing chaos within Yizhou.

Cao Cao glanced at Jia Xu.

The plan was a good one, and it took no effort at all to pass the message over. The nobles were used to being selfish in order to save their lives, and with the strength of Cao Wei, they had no choice but to believe it.

If there is a chance to survive, they will definitely make multiple preparations, try secretly, and cause chaos in Yizhou.

Some nobles might even take the risk of killing people, sabotaging the party internally and causing unrest in Yizhou.

Cheng Yu also said: "I heard that the southern barbarian tribes around Yizhou are not harmonious and often fight with each other.

Some tribes were enemies for generations, and when they were short of food, they dried the flesh of people from the enemy tribes for food.”

“Liu Bei used land as an inducement to temporarily bring these tribes together.

But they can never work together.”

“The strategy of Wenhe can also be used among these barbarian tribes. Tell them that if they can bring the heads of their enemies to us, we will grant them land after our army conquers Yizhou.

Use Liu Bei's strategy of gathering tribes from all sides to divide and attack Liu Bei.

With the might of the Great Wei, there will surely be tribes that will come and surrender to us."

Guo Jia and Xun Yousui also had their own plans and offered suggestions.

Everyone was very excited and particularly motivated about fighting this final battle for Yizhou.

Zhang Lu was sweating coldly as he listened.

These people's plans are more vicious than each other. They kill people without shedding blood and take advantage of the situation to sabotage Yizhou.

The key is that Cao Wei had a very obvious advantage, people admired the strong, and there was never a shortage of fence-sitters.

When fighting a favorable battle, these strategies are very feasible.

Cao Cao asked several people to promote their own strategies, and he just sat back and watched the fun.

July.

Cao Cao dominated Hanzhong and climbed to a high place, looking south at the plains of Shu.

At the same time, Cao Wei's army began to march south.

Cao Cao did not intend to use any strategy in this battle. No matter how Liu Bei fought, he would just use his troops to push him flat and crush him to death, thus making Yizhou lose completely. Bashu.

Liu Bei personally took command.

He was at the junction of Guanghan, Zitong and Ba counties, 300 miles south of Hanzhong.

The southern barbarian tribes led by Meng Huo, as well as the tribes west of Yizhou, the Qiang and Di, the Southern Yi and other tribes, as well as the local generals of Yizhou, were all summoned by Liu Bei and gathered together.

In a city in Ba County, there are crowds of people, including hundreds of leaders from various forces.

Emperor Liu Xie was also there and was respectfully welcomed to sit in the first seat.

Kong Rong stood beside him.

Liu Bei, dressed in the official robes of a provincial governor, looked around at the various people in the hall:
"Now, the Han Dynasty is in danger, and someone has stolen the power of the country, causing the Lord to fall into disgrace.

Although I am not very smart, I take it as my responsibility to revive the Han Dynasty.

Your Majesty was still alive, and Cao Wei raised an army to attack us, but their name was not right and their troops were not good. "

"I am unable to resist alone, so I can only place my hopes on you. You are all trustworthy people, and at this moment of life and death, we should work together to overcome this difficulty.

The next day, I wish to share the glory and prosperity with you all."

What Liu Bei meant was that the emperor was with him, but Cao Cao came to attack, so he was not on the righteous side.

And then he made a big promise and gave a big picture.

"You should all know that Cao Wei was very brutal in killing people, especially those from other tribes. They killed their heads and piled them up to build walls, and never took any prisoners.

Their cruel deeds are too numerous to count. Therefore, there is no chance of survival except a fight to the death. "

Liu Bei was not completely confident about these foreign tribes.

He was reminding the foreign tribes not to fall into Cao Cao's strategy of division.

In the past, Cao Wei had been cruel in its methods of killing foreign tribes. Surrender was not an option, and the only way out was to fight to the death for survival.

Liu Bei's words were sincere and his eyes were slightly red:
“If we lose this battle, I will go before you all.

I hope you all will work together to protect the Han Dynasty and ensure its continuation." After saying this, he bowed to the crowd and kowtowed three times to the left and right.

The emperor was also quite moved, with tears in his eyes.

How come he started crying while talking... Meng Huo stood aside, watching Liu Bei suddenly burst into tears, and then looked at the first emperor Liu Xie.

After Liu Bei and the others exchanged greetings, he began to dispatch the troops and said:
"Order the various tribes of the Yi people to garrison Zitong.

If Cao Wei goes to war with me, you should lead your troops to the battlefield from the west and attack Cao's army."

Several tribal leaders stepped out from the ranks of the various tribes of the Southern Yi and all said that they had received the order.

One of the leaders of the Nanyi tribe said to Liu Bei:
"Liu Yizhou, just rest assured. You have given us land, and we, the other tribes, are just trying to see what Cao Wei has to rely on to occupy our Shu land.

Once we have defeated Cao's army, we will take the head of Cao's general and present it to Yizhou."

The leader of another tribe was a sturdy man, a well-known brave man among the Southern Yi people. His name was Yixiong.

"Liu Yizhou, our southern barbarian tribes are good at fighting in the mountains. We are heading to Hanzhong. The mountains are undulating. We want to sneak in and ambush the Wei army on the road in the mountains. We can expect our first victory.

What do you think? "

Liu Bei looked at Zhuge Liang on the flank and saw him shaking his head slightly. He couldn't help but sigh:
“Your intentions are good, but the last time Cao’s army came to Hanzhong, I used many strategies to try to attack Hanzhong and seize Dingjun Mountain.

However, all of this was anticipated by Cao Mengde, who had taken precautions in advance.

It's the same this time.

He will not be caught unprepared for an ambush, and if we set one, we may fall into his trap."

Yixiong curled his lips in indignation and retreated again.

Liu Bei continued to assign troops: "Wen Chang, you lead one group and stand on the left wing of the central army to assist the Yi people in their operations."

Wei Yan stepped out and received the order.

"Yunchang, Yide, the two of you will lead the central army as the main force, and the other will lead the vanguard army, responsible for breaking through the enemy lines and killing the enemy."

Guan and Zhang agreed in unison.

Liu Bei also appointed Zhuge Liang and Fa Zheng as military advisors, and Mi Zhu, Sun Qian and Jian Yong to be in charge of various matters and coordinate the army in fighting.

Among them, Mi Zhu, whose courtesy name was Zi Zhong, was an important official under Liu Bei.

He started following Liu Bei from Xuzhou.

He was a man of outstanding talent and good character, and was deeply trusted by Liu Bei.

Mi Zhu was originally a wealthy businessman in Xuzhou. Later, he was appointed as the assistant to the governor of Xuzhou, Tao Qian.

After Tao Qian's death, he welcomed Liu Bei in accordance with his will.

When Liu Bei was poor and down and out, Mi Zhu gave him a lot of help. He supported him with his family wealth and enabled him to go west, which led to the Liu Bei we know today.

After Liu Bei entered Yizhou, he appointed Mi Zhu as General Anhan and ranked him first among his ministers.

Historically, Mi Zhu was the de facto second-in-command of Shu Han before Zhuge Liang rose to become the prime minister of Shu Han, and his position was equivalent to Zhang Zhao of Jiangdong.

Liu Bei held a swearing-in ceremony and dispatched troops from various places.

late July.

The northern part of Shuzhong Plain.

The two armies faced each other with flags flying.

Liu Bei stood at the back of the army, with Guan Yu leading the main force in the front, and Zhang Fei and Wei Yan on his left and right, each commanding two troops.

The two wings of his army were Meng Huo's Nanman tribe and the coalition forces of the Nanyi tribes, both of which were strong in manpower.

On the other side, Cao Wei only had 30,000 troops.

The main force of the central army was arranged in a square formation.

The two wings are pointed and conical.

The 30,000 soldiers of the Great Wei were all wearing fine armor, and were equipped with bows, crossbows, spears and lances, flashing cold light in all directions.

At the front of the phalanx is the Xianzhen Camp, covered in black armor. They are as immovable as a mountain when defending and invincible when attacking.

After Cao's army formed up, the murderous aura, as well as the steadiness and ruthlessness that came from having gone through hundreds of battles, were absolutely incomparable to the coalition forces gathered by Liu Bei from all sides.

thump—

The sound of war drums suddenly rose.

The moment of life and death battle has come!
A thought suddenly flashed through Liu Bei's mind: Where is Cao Cao!

At this moment, a burst of shouting and killing suddenly came from the Southern Yi tribes on the flank of the Shu army.

Hearing the sound of war drums, the tribes of the Southern Yi actually started fighting first.

Another part of the Southern Barbarians rushed towards Cao's camp.

Liu Bei looked in horror. Who was it that disobeyed orders and used troops without authorization?

what happened?
What’s going on with the team rushing towards Cao Wei?

At the same time, Cao Wei's troops pushed forward suddenly, the sound of armor clanging.

The war breaks out suddenly!

Ps: Please vote

(End of this chapter)