Chapter 364: Troops leave Hanzhong, huge deficit In late October of the sixth year of Jian'an, Zhang Song returned to Shu County and first found Fa Zheng and Meng Da. It is said that after entering Jingzhou, he was treated by Liu Bei. Judging from his words and actions, he was indeed a wise leader. Meng Da was fascinated when he heard this, but Fa Zheng smiled bitterly when he heard that Liu Bei wanted to join forces with Liu Zhang to seize Hanzhong: "From this perspective, although we want to offer Yizhou, this achievement must be accepted by Qin Zhen!" Zhang Song heard what he said and knew that Fa Zheng must have discovered something. He could not help asking why. Then he saw Fa Zheng saying: "Brother, I only heard that Qin Zhen wanted to take Hanzhong, but I didn't understand Qin Zhen's intention to take Hanzhong!" "Because now Cao Cao was defeated at Guandu, but his troops still have a strong pass to guard it." "If Liu Zhengdong wants to go north, he will suffer heavy casualties and it will be difficult to defeat him effectively." “And if Liu Zhengdong takes Hanzhong, he can join forces with Liu Jiyu to head north to Guanzhong.

"Therefore, once Cao Cao knew that Liu Zhengdong had sent troops to Hanzhong, he would have to personally lead the army to resist." "From what I have seen of Qin Zhen's plan, on the surface it is to help Xichuan, but in reality it is intended to lure Cao Cao's main force here." "In addition, Yuan Shao's envoy has arrived. Seeing that Liu Zhengdong intends to take Hanzhong, he will send troops to attack Cao Cao's rear." "When Cao Cao is attacked from both sides and his troops are scattered, Qin Zhen can seize Nanyang and other places." "This is a plan by the three families to plot against Cao Cao. If Cao Cao falls into the trap, Guanzhong and the emperor will fall into Liu Zhengdong's hands." "Wouldn't it be easy to take Shuzhong after Guanzhong and Nanyang fall?" "We are still here trying to offer Yizhou, but Qin Zhen is already plotting to conquer the world!" "Once this plan is accomplished, we will offer Yizhou to you, and our contribution will be far less than that of Qin Zhen." The two looked at each other in bewilderment as they listened to Fa Zheng's analysis. They had never expected that Qin Zhen's suggestion actually contained a plan to destroy the country! No wonder even though Zhang Song had expressed his opinion, Liu Bei did not seem very interested. Compared to completely defeating Cao Cao, the attraction of Xichuan is obviously far from enough. Thinking of this, Zhang Song couldn't help but frown and said, "Now that things have come to this, what can we do?" Now he has received Liu Bei's order to persuade Liu Zhang. Even if he discovers Qin Zhen's plan, he can only accept it silently. But compared to him, Fa Zheng was not too panicked and directly stated: "No matter what, this is our chance to make a contribution. You can go and persuade Liu Zhang." "After Liu Zhang agrees, I will recommend you to go to Jingzhou to help. After the matter is accomplished, I will persuade Liu Zheng to go southeast." "In this case, I can serve under Liu Zhengdong first, and I can guarantee our contribution to Xianzhou." When Meng Da saw that he was preparing to meet Liu Bei, he immediately expressed his willingness to go with him. Seeing the two of them like this, Zhang Song nodded in agreement, and went into the mansion to meet Liu Zhang the next day. He then told Liu Bei about all the things Liu Bei had requested, and then gave Liu Zhang some advice:

"Now Liu Zhengdong is kind to others and has no intention of taking Xichuan. Cao is a traitor to the Han Dynasty and wants to usurp the world. This is unacceptable." "Why not borrow Liu Zhengdong's power to attack Hanzhong? This way, we can get rid of the bandits and keep Sichuan safe!" When Liu Zhang heard that Liu Bei was so friendly, he was very happy. Seeing that he was still preparing to attack Zhang Lu, he smiled and said: "I have had this wish for a long time. Fortunately, Liu Zhengdong has thought of this. I will follow it, but I don't know who can be my envoy?" Upon seeing this, Zhang Song suggested sending Fa Zheng and Meng Da to lead troops to help, allowing Liu Bei to attack from the east while they would attack from the south. This is also the cooperation idea that Qin Zhen told Zhang Song. Liu Bei’s army will not pass through Shuzhong, but will set out directly from Jingzhou! When Liu Zhang heard that Liu Bei would not cross the border, he was happy that Liu Bei was sincere, so he simply agreed to the matter and summoned Fa Zheng and Meng Da. Fa Zheng was appointed as the envoy on this occasion to first establish friendly relations, and Meng Da was also allowed to lead 5,000 soldiers to serve under Liu Bei. While they were discussing, they suddenly saw a man coming in from outside the mansion, sweating profusely, and shouting: "If you listen to Zhang Song, then sooner or later Liu Bei will take over Xichuan!" The man who came was Huang Quan, the chief clerk of Shu County. He was a man of extraordinary insight and said directly: "I heard that Liu Bei was very tolerant and well-known, and he had the courage of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, and the wisdom of Qin Zhen." "The previous person just took Jingzhou, and now he is planning to take Hanzhong. It is clear that he has set his sights on Shu." "If you invite Liu Bei to Sichuan to help, then Xichuan will be taken by Liu Bei sooner or later!" But as soon as he finished speaking, Liu Zhang became angry and pointed at Huang Quan and shouted: "Where did you hear the news that I invited Xuande to Sichuan? Now our two armies are attacking Hanzhong together." "They will advance along the Han River from Shangyong, and I can raise troops to the north to support them." "Even if we take Hanzhong, our army has its own strong passes, so why should we be afraid of their army?" "Your words are really a villain's way of judging a gentleman. Do you want to make me an enemy of Xuande?" After saying that, without waiting for Huang Quan to react, he ordered his men to beat Huang Quan out with sticks. When Huang Quan heard that Liu Bei did not go through the Shu Road, he felt confused. He originally thought that Liu Bei was using the city of Guo as a pretext to attack Sichuan, and he never expected that Liu Bei would not enter Sichuan directly. While he was thinking about it, he was beaten with sticks and had to leave the house in a hurry. After Huang Quan left, Liu Zhang wrote a letter and ordered Fa Zheng to set off that day. After receiving the order, Fa Zheng left Yizhou directly and went to Jingzhou to visit Liu Bei. When Fa Zheng arrived, Qin Zhen was cutting the ribbon at the newly opened university. Because it was the third year of Jian'an, he was sent as an envoy to Jingzhou, and he had promised Pang Degong and others that he wanted to build a university. Originally, when Qin Zhen was appointed governor of Jiangdong, he planned to build this school directly. However, due to the busy affairs at that time and the absence of Master Zheng, the palace was not completed. In the fifth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao moved the capital, and Zheng Xuan resigned in anger and returned home, but was welcomed by Liu Bei to Huainan. In fact, according to the original history, Zheng Xuan had already passed away at this time. However, due to Qin Zhen's butterfly effect, Zheng Xuan was not coerced by the Cao and Yuan families.

In addition, Hua Tuo was in Huainan, which enabled Zheng Xuan to break the 74-year-old limit. Therefore, after the situation in Jingzhou stabilized, Qin Zhen went to invite Zheng Xuan to be a university professor. If Zheng Xuan was asked to be an official, he would most likely not accept it. But when he heard that Qin Zhen wanted to revive the learning of the Hundred Schools, Zheng Xuan said: “When I was young, I sought out the classics to explain the profound ideas of the ancient sages and to sort out the differences among the various schools of thought.” "Now Zixuan wants to revive the Hundred Families, which is indeed a good deed, and I will obey your orders!" As he said this, Master Zheng came to Xiangyang to plan the establishment of a university with Qin Zhen. Seeing Zheng Xuan coming out of seclusion, Pang Degong, Sima Hui and others agreed to come. Also joining in were the great Confucian scholars Song Zhong from Xiangyang, Liu Ying from Jiaozhou, Zhang Ji, Zheng Hun, and Huang Chengyan from Changsha. It was officially established as a comprehensive university and at one time there were countless students. In accordance with Qin Zhen's educational philosophy, the policy of teaching without discrimination was implemented, and as soon as the school opened, it enrolled more than a thousand students. Faced with such a grand event, Liu Bei naturally wanted to show up, so he attended the opening ceremony of the academy with Qin Zhen. After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, someone came to report that Fa Zheng, the envoy from Sichuan, had arrived. When Qin Zhen heard that Fa Zheng was coming personally as an envoy, he smiled and said to Liu Bei: "He is the grandson of the famous scholar Fa Zhen. He is a rare talent and should not be neglected." After years of getting along, Lao Liu understood one thing: those who were called geniuses by Qin Zhen were not simple. So when he heard this, Liu Bei went ahead to meet Fa Zheng. After a conversation, Liu Bei discovered that Fa Zheng was also a talented person. He was overjoyed and tried to win him over. Thus, the two families reached an alliance, and at the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, Liu Bei raised his army again. He led an army of 40,000, with Zhang Fei, Huang Zhong, Wei Yan, Zhao Yun, Meng Da and others as generals, and Liu Ye, Fa Zheng and Pang Tong as assistants, and personally went to war in Hanzhong. At the same time, in order to attack Zhang Lu, Liu Zhang appointed Wu Yi as the commander and led Zhang Ren, Dong Fu, Ling Bao, Liu Gui and others to lead an army of 50,000 north to Jiameng Pass. Zhang Lu was shocked to see the two armies attack at the same time, and he quickly called everyone together to discuss the matter. Everyone was shocked when they heard this, except for his adviser Yan Pu who said: "There are many dangerous places in Hanzhong, and only the Baishui and Jiameng passes can stop Liu Zhang." "We can send an army southwards first, stationed in Baishui and looking for a strategic underground camp, so that Liu Zhang won't have to worry about us." "We are worried that Liu Bei will come by water, and there is nothing to defend along the way. We must ask for help!" "We should quickly send troops north to Chang'an to explain the pros and cons and ask Cao Gong to reinforce our army." "Otherwise, our army can only defend this place for a while, but it is difficult to hold it for a long time!" Zhang Lu asked him what he meant and realized that the situation was urgent, so he quickly sent his brother Zhang Wei and Yang Ang to the south. He also sent Yang Ren to resist Liu Bei, and then sent Yan Pu north to persuade Cao Cao to reinforce. On the other hand, it is said that Cao Cao returned to Chang'an to recuperate after the truce with Yuan Shao at the beginning of the year. After several months, some vitality was finally recovered, but as time entered autumn, a crisis had quietly arrived.

"My lord, since our army ceased fighting this year, we have resettled more than 110,000 refugees!" "Purchase 124,200 kilograms of pig iron, more than 800 oxen, and more than 3,200 horses." "The rest was consumed in huge quantities in the form of farm implements, cloth, and tents, which amounted to 365 million yuan." "There are only 24 million coins left in the treasury, and 79,120,000 coins need to be spent." In Cao Cao's mansion, Xun Yu was holding a booklet and reporting to Cao Cao item by item. But every time Xun Yu reported a number, Cao Cao's face became darker, and his whole face became extremely gloomy. Simply put, Cao Cao was caught in a financial crisis. Even though the war had stopped, the aftermath work was still ongoing. Not to mention the soldiers' pensions, it would cost a lot of money just to appease the refugees he moved south because of this war. And this is just one of the expenses; all damaged weapons need to be replaced. The destroyed tents, vehicles, armor, and military equipment also need to be replaced one by one. As the New Year approaches, the court needs to pay for replacement quilts, thick clothes, and officials' salaries. A large number of places that needed money came one after another, almost emptying Cao Cao's already tight treasury. Perhaps because he sensed Cao Cao’s anxiety, Xun Yu recited for a while and then stopped. Cao Cao was listening, and when he saw Xun Yu suddenly stop, he frowned and said: "Why don't you read it? Just tell me about it. How much has our army gained?" Seeing him like this, Xun Yu couldn't help but glance at the numbers on the book and sighed: "Ever since Qin Zhen started to develop business in Huainan, our army's income has become increasingly less." "This year, the income from salt and iron is less than 80 million coins, and the amount of cloth is more than 50,000 pieces." When Cao Cao heard the name Qin Zhen, he felt annoyed and simply raised his hand and said: "Forget it, don't tell me one by one, just tell me how much you lost this year!" As soon as he asked, Xun Yu closed the booklet and said with a serious look: "Our army has a deficit of at least 270 million coins and 500,000 dan of grain this year!" As soon as this voice came out, Cao Cao raised his eyebrows and his eyes suddenly widened. (End of this chapter)