Chapter 362: The Opportunity of the Northern Expedition, Zhang Song Enters Jing After leaving the mansion, Qin Zhen headed towards the General Zhengdong's Mansion. Along the way, every place in the city seemed very busy. This was because Jingzhou was now full of dignitaries, and in order to accommodate his subjects, Liu Bei ordered the expansion of the city. It is impossible to demolish the city wall directly, so an outer city needs to be built outside the inner city, and a large number of people are hired to build the city. This city was the first to use cement shipped from Jiangdong, and the laborers only needed to build the frame and then pour the cement. In addition, the arrival of Liu Bei’s army also brought a number of merchants from Jiangdong. The prosperity of business has brought people coming and going in the city, and the city is in a thriving state. As usual, Qin Zhen was picked up and dropped off by cars when he went out, and he only got out of the car when he arrived at the general's mansion. After the notification, he entered the mansion and saw Liu Bei playing with his young son Liu Baitun. Just like him, Old Liu now has two sons, the eldest son Liu Baitun and the second son Liu Jie, but the eldest son is a concubine's son, while the second son is the legitimate son.

However, the difference between legitimate and illegitimate children did not affect Liu Bei's preference for him. When the little guy was only two years old, Liu Bei kept him by his side all day long to teach him personally. When Qin Zhen saw this, he stepped forward and saluted. Liu Bei looked up and smiled, saying: "I thought Zixuan would take a long time to arrive, but I didn't expect him to come so quickly!" As he said this, he ordered the maid to take his son away, and then pulled Qin Zhen into the main hall. After the two of them sat down in the main hall, Qin Zhen asked Lao Liu why he was called here. When Liu Bei heard this, he didn't waste any more words and immediately told Qin Zhen about his own situation. To put it simply, their spies discovered that envoys from Yuan Shao and Liu Zhang were approaching, and wanted to ask Qin Zhen for his opinion. When Qin Zhen heard that the two envoys were coming, he looked surprised and said to Liu Bei with a smile: "This must be because they think our army is more powerful and want to come and make friends with us first." "But Liu Zhang is fine, but it is rare for Yuan Shao to take the initiative to send an envoy." "From this, we can see that Yuan Shao may not have a good time this winter!" In his opinion, it was normal for Liu Zhang to send an envoy. After all, when Cao Cao captured Jingzhou, Liu Zhang had already shown goodwill. Although they were now the ones who could seize Jingzhou, Liu Zhang obviously did not dare to fight them. On the contrary, Yuan Shao was different from Liu Zhang. In this Battle of Guandu, a considerable portion of the territory of Qingzhou and Yanzhou was occupied by them. It's like Yuan Shao suffered a loss, but now he specially sent an envoy to show his goodwill. On the other hand, it can be said that Yuan Shao was seriously injured in this battle and could not afford to offend them anymore. When Old Liu heard this, he smiled complacently and took out a piece of paper to report: "Yuan Shao is having a hard time. According to our spies, Yuan Shao's troops have run out of food." "Before the autumn harvest this year, Yuan Shao's soldiers had little food, so they lived on mulberries." "If the autumn grain was not coming, Yuan Shao's troops would probably cause chaos everywhere!"

"So he sent an envoy this time, most likely to contact our army to cease fire." Qin Zhen listened to Liu Bei's words and couldn't help but glance at the military report on the paper. He smiled and said: "Yuan Shao has run out of food and will most likely not fight again this winter. This is our chance to march north!" The Northern Expedition was one of the strategic goals set by Qin Zhen after he joined forces with Liu Bei. The main goal was to seize the main grain-producing areas under Cao Cao's command, such as Nanyang, Yingchuan, and Chenliu. Because although Cao Cao was defeated, his troops did not suffer much damage, especially in Chenliu and Yingchuan counties, where he had 100,000 soldiers deployed, which posed a huge threat to them. Similarly, these three counties are also the main population gathering areas under Cao Cao, with more than two million people in the three counties. As long as he could capture the three counties, Cao Cao would only have Liangzhou, Yongzhou, Sili and Shangdang County left. The remaining places have long been in decline due to years of war, and their total population is less than two million. It is difficult to support a large-scale cavalry with a population of less than two million, which will be of great benefit to their future strategy. Liu Bei naturally knew this strategy, and nodded immediately, pointing to the report on the table: "This is also the reason why I summoned the military advisor. Yuan Shao has no strength to advance, so this is our army's opportunity to march north." "However, Cao Cao still has a total of more than 200,000 troops. Apart from those guarding against Yuan Shao, there are 100,000 troops in Yingchuan, Chenliu and other places alone." "If our army marches north now, Cao Cao will definitely use all his strength to defend, which will be disadvantageous to our army!" Their problem now is not that Yuan Shao is harassing from the side, but that Cao Cao still has a lot of troops. Although Cao had lost a large area of ​​grain-producing land in Yanzhou, the remaining food was still enough to support his troops for several months. If Cao Cao was determined to fight them to the death, the one who would benefit would be Yuan Shao, not them. So Liu Bei was still hesitant about whether or not to send troops. Qin Zhen listened and knew what Lao Liu was thinking, so he was ready to persuade him, but then he changed the subject and said: "Let's not talk about the Northern Expedition for now. Didn't you say that Liu Zhang also sent an envoy?" "I wonder if there is any news from Liu Zhang, and why he sent an envoy here?" Liu Bei also knew that Qin Zhen's mind was quick, so he didn't take it seriously and took out another intelligence report: "Liu Jiyu has also received news. It is said that Liu Zhang originally intended to send troops to guard the important roads." "Unexpectedly, he was dissuaded by his subordinate Zhang Song, and Liu Zhang then sent Zhang Song as an envoy." "This time he brought a lot of money, food and supplies, most likely to form an alliance with our army." Qin Zhen looked at the words "Zhang Song" written on the paper and couldn't help but smiled strangely. "Then I wonder how you intend to respond to the envoys from Yuan Shao and Liu Jiyu?" "After thinking about it, I really can't make a decision. I wonder what your military advisor thinks is the best response?" Old Liu looked like he had a headache and was obviously struggling with how to respond to Yuan Shao and Liu Zhang. After all, Liu Zhang and Yuan Shao are now their potential enemies, and they might turn against each other at any time.

But after all, they have sent an envoy specially to show their goodwill. You can't just reject them directly, right? Furthermore, Cao Cao has not been dealt with yet, so it would be irrational to either create an enemy or form an alliance. After he finished speaking, he turned his gaze towards Qin Zhen, obviously wanting to see what Qin Zhen thought, but Qin Zhen did not speak directly, but smiled again and said: "If you have not yet decided how to respond to the two envoys, I may have a plan to defeat Cao Cao!" "Not only can Cao Cao be defeated, but our army can also bring the emperor back directly. I wonder if you are interested?" When he heard that he could welcome the emperor back, his body was immediately shaken, and a gleam of light flashed in his eyes as he said: "Is what the military advisor said true? What plan do you have to bring back the emperor? Tell me quickly!" Liu Xie has now become a thorn in Liu Bei's side. As Liu Xie is still in Cao Cao's hands, he feels like he is doing something fishy. If Liu Xie could reach Jingzhou, he would not be afraid even if Cao Cao and Yuan Shao joined forces. Seeing Lao Liu's excited expression, Qin Zhen stopped keeping him in suspense and directly expressed his thoughts. Simply put, his strategy was to join forces with Liu Zhang and Yuan Shao to attack from three directions, making Cao Cao unable to cover all the gaps. When Liu Bei heard this plan, he was stunned for a moment, frowned and thought: "Let's not talk about whether the two families will agree to this plan, even if they do, what will happen?" "Yuan Shao is no longer able to fight and it is difficult for him to send many troops to help our army." "Although Liu Jiyu has troops, Zhang Lu is blocking the way in Hanzhong. How can Liu Jiyu attack Cao Mengde?" The three parties attacked Cao Cao at the same time, which was obviously the best strategy to break through Cao Cao's defense. But no matter how Liu Bei thought about it, he felt it was difficult to achieve. After all, the other two families had no reason to help them. However, in response to his question, Qin Zhen smiled leisurely and said confidently: "If you think this way, then our army will not be able to march north. You must know that everything depends on human efforts." "As long as our army takes advantage of the situation, we can guarantee that both families can be used by our army!" "However, this plan requires your cooperation, so that our army can proceed smoothly." He immediately laid out all his strategies, such as how to respond to the two families and how to use them to their advantage. After listening to Qin Zhen's complete plan, Liu Bei smiled and said: "I see. If we follow the military advisor's advice, this plan may work!" He thought about it carefully and felt that this plan was somewhat similar to the way Qin Zhen seized Huainan, so he simply agreed to it. So, the two discussed the specific details of the plan for a while, and Qin Zhen did not return home until night. When he returned home and had his meal, he found that Cai Yan and Daqiao were nowhere to be seen. After calling the servants to ask, they learned that Cai Yan and Daqiao would sleep in the main house with their two sons tonight. Seeing this, Qin Zhen couldn't help but smile bitterly. After hesitating for a moment, he walked towards the courtyard with the small bridge. When he entered the courtyard, he saw dim lights. When the maid saw him coming, she hurried inside to report.

Then Xiaoqiao walked out of the house with a blushing face and welcomed him into the room. With a moan, the lights in the house went out, and there was no conversation that night. On the other hand, Zhang Song was ordered by Liu Zhang to go on a diplomatic mission to Jingzhou, and he was quite nervous along the way. After expressing his stance that day, Fa Zheng told Zhang Song that if he wanted to offer Yizhou, he must first meet Liu Bei. If Liu Bei is really as respectful and humble as the rumors say, we can discuss the matter of offering Yizhou. Otherwise, if they made Liu Bei disgusted by this action, they would be suspected of being trapped in their own web. After hearing this, Zhang Song continued on his way, quietly noting down the geography of the mountains and rivers, and the deployment of troops along the way. He was preparing to examine whether Liu Bei was truly a benevolent monarch, and then use this map as a token of his surrender. With this mentality, he walked into the territory of Jingzhou reluctantly. Unexpectedly, when he just arrived in Yiling, he suddenly saw a boat coming on the river. When he got to him, he saw a general getting off the boat, clasping his fists and saying to him: "Are you Zhang Song, the officer of Shu County? Gan Ning has been waiting for you here for a long time!" When Zhang Song heard Gan Ning's name, he was startled and quickly dismounted and bowed, saying: "Could it be Gan Xingba from Shu? I wonder why the general is waiting for me here?" Gan Ning saw that although he looked ugly, he was quite polite, so he couldn't help but grin and said: "I heard that an envoy from Shu had arrived. My Lord dared not neglect him, so he ordered me to come and serve him wine and food to comfort him!" After saying this, he ordered his men to offer wine and food, and he personally presented them to Zhang Song. When Zhang Song saw this, he couldn't help but think that Gan Ning was the commander-in-chief of the navy and held a high position of power. Now he has come to serve him wine in person. Isn't this proof of Liu Bei's kindness and love for his guests? He then drank a few cups of wine with Gan Ning, boarded Gan Ning's boat, and headed eastward. When they reached Jiangling City, they suddenly saw a bear-tiger general standing outside the city. Before they got close, he shouted: "I am following the order of my elder brother to travel a long way as a doctor and ask Zhang to clean the courtyard of the post station for us to rest." As soon as the loud voice came out, Zhang Song knew without hesitation that it was Zhang Fei, Zhang Yide, who was under Liu Bei's command. Seeing Zhang Fei coming to greet him personally, he was shocked and thought that Liu Bei's etiquette was really too grand! With such a grand welcome, could it be that Liu Bei knew that he was coming to offer Yizhou? (End of this chapter)