novelSusiti Chapter 105 The Conquest of Shu!
Chapter 105 The Conquest of Shu!
Chapter 105 Conquest of Shu! (Tenth update, please vote!)
The brothers Han Tai and Han Li were waiting outside the door. When Liu Chen came out, they both bowed respectfully. Noticing the box in Liu Chen's hand, the two brothers exchanged a glance, a strange light flashing in their eyes. That box was originally meant for the Crown Prince.
Liu Chen nodded slightly to the two brothers, then took the box and left.
After Liu Chen left, Han Tai and Han Li went into the bedroom together to say their last words to their father.
Liu Chen returned to the room where he had been sitting, nodded to his brothers, and then sat down in his seat.
The crown prince and the other princes were quite surprised and curious when they saw the box in Liu Chen's hand. Their relationship with the other brothers was not particularly close, so they didn't dare to ask rashly.
Liu Zan, however, had no such reservations and asked, "Brother. Our teacher kept you behind alone and gave you a box; he certainly favors you. What's inside the box?"
No matter how close the brothers were, Liu Chen wouldn't utter a single word. He reached out and stroked the box for a long time, then sighed, "My teacher left me these bamboo scrolls."
"Bamboo slips." Liu Zan blinked, losing interest. He hated bamboo slips the most.
The crown prince and the other princes also lost interest and withdrew their gazes.
The brothers sat there all day, and by evening Han Ji had died. The mansion was filled with mournful cries.
The Liu brothers, with the respect due to their disciples, changed their teacher's clothes and expressed their grief.
Liu Shan reacted extremely quickly, sending a physician with imperial credentials to the Han residence, bestowing upon the Han family 500,000 coins, and appointing Han Tai as a physician.
The Han brothers originally had no intention of going, and everyone expected Han Tai to refuse. But to everyone's surprise, Han Tai accepted the position of physician to his beloved son.
This is the posthumous honor bestowed upon the deceased.
Then came the normal funeral rites.
Liu Chen and his brothers left that night, and when Han Ji's funeral was held, they all dressed in mourning clothes and came to the funeral home to see Han Ji off on his final journey.
After Han Ji's burial, Liu Chen frequently studied the annals of Emperor Wen and Emperor Xuan of Han. Han Ji's second son, Han Li, often visited the palace of the King of Beidi. Although it was not explicitly stated, Liu Chen had developed a tacit understanding with the Han brothers.
In the sixth year of Jingyao in the Great Han Dynasty, at the end of the seventh month of autumn.
Luoyang, the General's Mansion, inside the inner courtyard.
Sima Zhao woke up early in the morning, ordered his servants to bathe and change his clothes, had breakfast, and then sat down in his study.
After sitting for a while, he couldn't stay still any longer. He stood up and paced back and forth, his sleeves swaying as he did so. A smile spread across his face like spring flowers in bloom. Lately, he had been in very good health. Even the number of times he got up at night had decreased, which made him happy.
Secondly, the plan to attack the Shu Kingdom was progressing very smoothly.
Although he made war preparations, the outcome still depended on whether things would proceed smoothly. The time from preparation to deployment was too long.
Many things could change his plans.
For example, natural disasters, and man-made disasters.
In recent years, Cao Wei had enjoyed relatively favorable weather, resulting in ample granaries in the prefectures and counties. This enabled him to mobilize laborers from all over the country to transport grain to Guanzhong.
This year has been exceptionally blessed with favorable weather, and good news has arrived from all prefectures and counties across the land. The imperial court predicts that the autumn harvest this year will be even greater than last year. This indicates that the people will have an abundant food supply.
Sima Zhao had already made long-term plans, stockpiling large amounts of gold, silver, and copper coins in various regions and purchasing grain from the people as military supplies.
Firstly, God is helping him.
Secondly, according to the information he received, the Shu court had not reinforced its troops at Yinping Bridge, and there was no indication that it intended to defend this strategic location.
If Deng Ai can trap and kill Jiang Wei in Tazhong, then the Shu Kingdom will perish.
Thirdly, there were people like Qiao Zhou who undermined the morale of the Shu Kingdom in Yizhou.
This time, it can be said that the timing and the people were both on his side. The mere Shu Kingdom only had the advantage of terrain and was not worth worrying about.
Today is the day he officially issued the document, ordering the four armies to advance.
He couldn't wait.
He could already see the throne beckoning to him.
"General, all the officials have arrived," a servant said as he entered from outside.
"Hmm." Sima Zhao responded, then took a deep breath, drew his sword, and stepped forward, head held high and chest out, exuding an air of grandeur.
Sima Zhao quickly arrived at the main hall in the front courtyard, but he did not sit down. Instead, he stood with his hand on his sword, looking at all the officials.
All the officials paid their respects to Sima Zhao in an orderly fashion.
Sima Zhao nodded and said, "Order Deng Ai, Zhong Hui, Zhuge Xu, and Liu Qin to proceed with the previous plan to attack Yong Shu."
"Whether it's the soldiers at the front or the officials in charge of transporting grain in the rear, everyone fought bravely. After the victory, everyone was rewarded."
After Sima Zhao finished speaking, all the officials bowed again and loudly replied, "Yes."
The officials then rose and left the hall to begin their formal work, which had previously been conducted in secret but was now being carried out openly.
For a time, countless fast horses and documents entered and left Luoyang.
After the officials left, Sima Zhao sat down, panted, his face flushed, and laughed wildly.
Heaven, ancestors, and gods of the four directions, help me!
Changan.
As Luoyang declined, Chang'an was not far behind.
There were very few people living inside and outside the city.
Vast numbers of houses stood empty, and the streets were eerily deserted. But with Zhong Hui training troops in Chang'an, there were now over 100,000 elite soldiers gathered inside and outside the city.
The number of other laborers coming and going was countless.
The entire city of Chang'an was transformed into a massive military camp, its chilling atmosphere soaring to the heavens and shaking the world.
Hahahahaha.
Inside the study of the general's mansion in the city, Zhong Hui was talking to his two sons when an official suddenly entered with an order from Sima Zhao.
In front of his two sons, Zhong Hui opened the box, took out the cloth inside, and burst into wild laughter.
The official and Zhong Hui's two sons immediately showed joy. The order had been issued.
As expected. After a long while, Zhong stopped laughing, his eyes flashing with a sharp light. He stood tall and straight, his left hand gripping the hilt of his sword at his waist, exuding an aura of dominance.
He said, "The general has ordered me to send troops in ten days. The glory of destroying the country is just around the corner."
"Congratulations, Father (Ming Gong)."
Zhong Hui's two sons immediately stood up and bowed to Zhong Hui along with the officials.
"Hmm." Zhong Hui responded with a beaming smile, as if the Shu Kingdom could be destroyed with a flick of the wrist and Liu Shan could be captured with a wave of his hand.
While in Luoyang, he was somewhat apprehensive in the face of opposition from the officials. But after arriving in Chang'an, he was filled with confidence.
Elite troops and generals from all directions converged, along with endless supplies of food and military provisions. Meanwhile, news of widespread suffering and hardship continued to arrive from the Shu Kingdom.
This boosted his confidence a hundredfold.
The great feat of destroying a nation is about to begin.
Immediately, Zhong Hui gave the order. The soldiers and civilians of Chang'an began to be mobilized. The war machine of Cao Wei began to run at full speed.
Ten days later.
Zhong Hui, standing atop a high platform south of Chang'an, mustered his troops. The army of over 100,000 was divided into two, advancing towards Hanzhong via the Tangluo Road and the Baoxie Road respectively.
Banners stretched endlessly, and armor covered the sky and the earth.
The sound of wind, the sound of killing.
It caused the colors of heaven and earth to change.