Chapter 406: No One to Rely On
Chengdu, Liang Palace.

In the quiet room, Liu Zhang held a handkerchief and gently wiped the gold and silver diamond-patterned fish scale armor on the shelf.

On the armor rack was a helmet made of iron, with three heron feathers decorated on the top.

Hearing the hurried footsteps, Liu Zhang rolled up his handkerchief and threw it on the ground. Turning around, he saw Prime Minister Zhang Song standing behind the screen in the quiet room.

Zhang Song held a scroll of silk in his hand and said, "Your Majesty, urgent news from Jiameng Pass."

Liu Zhang staggered when he heard this, raised his hand and grabbed the heavy armor frame to stand firm, and asked, "What's the matter?"

"According to investigation, the Grand Marshal's banner, the three-color long flag, and the umbrella have been set up in Jiangbei."

Zhang Song took a deep breath and asked, "Should we send more troops to Mianzhu?"

To some extent, Jiameng Pass is a dead end.

The enemy in the north controls the Bailong River, so the reinforcements from Shuzhong cannot reach the south bank of the Bailong River smoothly through Jianshan Road, and will not be able to reach Jiameng Pass smoothly.

Jiameng Pass is surrounded by mountains on the south, and the plank road is easily destroyed if it loses the protection of the guards.

"Add more troops?"

Liu Zhang frowned, pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back, full of worries: "I never thought that the Grand Marshal would be so fast..."

When he was preparing to declare himself king, he conducted a careful investigation and the intelligence clearly told him that the enemy had marched to Hexi, but was entangled with the Xianbei in Shuofang and was unable to escape.

It was because of his belief in the reputation of the Xianbei people that Liu Zhang chose King Liang.

As a result, after he proclaimed himself king, new battle reports came in, saying that the enemy swept through the Xianbei camp and killed the new and old kings, forcing the newest Xianbei king to surrender.

It was meaningless to regret at this time, and then a war broke out between the other side and the Qiang people, which more or less gave Liu Zhang some hope.

But the Qiang tribes were still weak in battle. Zhang Lu, who had been suppressing the Bashu tribe in recent years, was frightened and sent envoys to beg for surrender.

Zhang Lu was difficult to deal with, and with Black Bear leading an army of 50,000 to Hanzhong, Liu Zhang really had no intention of resisting.

With Wang Yi, Ma Teng and even Zhong Yao as examples, if he surrendered early, he might still become a rich man.

Liu Zhang was thinking and being alert.

Then Zhang Song said, "Your Majesty, Wu Kuang, the general of Mianzhu, is from Yuxian, Chenliu, so we must be on guard. I think there are many hidden dangers for the Dongzhou soldiers to stay in Chengdu now, so we might as well transfer them to Mianzhu or reinforce Baishui Pass."

Baishui Pass is located north of Jiameng Pass. The Baishui in Baishui Pass refers to the Bailong River.

Geographically, Baishui Pass is upstream of Jiameng Pass.

To the northwest of Baishui Pass is Yinping Pass. As the army advances, Baishui Pass will be the first pass in the north.

However, the enemy came from the south of Yangping Pass in Hanzhong, and could bypass Baishui Pass in terms of road traffic. However, there were more than 10,000 troops stationed at Baishui Pass, who could easily harass the grain route between Hanzhong and the front line.

If the enemy wants to break into Shu head-on, they must honestly conquer one checkpoint after another, otherwise their precious manpower will have to be divided among the checkpoints, causing a sharp increase in logistical pressure.

The road into Shu determines the supply limit!
The number of troops that can be supported and maintained at the front line is limited. It is impossible to distribute the burden everywhere and trap the garrisons at each pass to death.

Unless more granaries are built in the mansions before the war, the supply of the army on the front line can be guaranteed when the war breaks out.

Normally, only by taking down one pass after another in order can we concentrate our forces locally to gain offensive and defensive advantages with limited logistical supplies.

But now the other party has left Baishui Pass and appeared at Jiameng Pass.

This use of troops that was not in line with military common sense made the suspicious Liu Zhang begin to doubt the position of the troops stationed at Baishui Pass.

Baishui Pass is the first pass in the north, and it maintains contact with Wudu... The defenders of Baishui Pass have their own information channels. Could they have been instigated to rebel?

Even if there is no rebellion, will you just sit back and watch the outcome?

Liu Zhang was pessimistic in his heart, but his face was calm, as if he was thinking about Zhang Song's proposal to send more troops.

After a moment of silence, he said, "I still need to discuss this matter with my brother. Baishui Pass is still there, and we must not panic."

"I am worried that the food supply route to Baishui Pass will be cut off and we will be forced to surrender by the enemy."

Zhang Song also lowered his voice: "The Grand Marshal is fighting on all sides, and has gathered warriors from all directions. It may be difficult for the troops at Baishui Pass to break through."

Liu Zhang was now anxious. He had only guessed at the position of the Baishui Pass defenders before, but now Baishui Pass was indeed at risk of being breached. He turned around and walked to the map, raised his hand and pointed at Baishui Pass, with a serious expression: "There are 20,000 soldiers and horses at Baishui Pass. How many months can they sustain the food and fodder?"

Zhang Song replied: "Most of the grain stored in Jiange was transferred to Jiameng Pass. Originally, we thought that the enemy would attack Baishui Pass and our army would transport grain from Jiameng Pass to Baishui Pass. We never expected that the Grand Marshal would use his troops in a cunning and changeable way."

Liu Zhang asked again in a gentle tone: "Prime Minister, how many months can the grain stored in Baishui Pass last?"

"If nothing else happens, the stored grain will last until early February next spring."

Zhang Song responded with an affirmative tone, but at this moment he also looked pessimistic.

Hanzhong, where Zhang Lu was located, could directly attack Jiameng Pass. The Hanzhong soldiers, who were good at mountain running, could even cross Jiameng Pass and invade Baxi and Langzhong.

The enemy can attack Jiameng Pass while besieging Baishui Pass. Then, when Baishui Pass falls, the troops can be divided into two groups.

One route goes along Jianshan Road and directly attacks Shuzhong, while the other route goes east and attacks Langzhong.

King Liang and his prime minister were filled with pessimism at the moment, and neither could find a reliable strategy to defeat the other.

They couldn't even defeat the Hanzhong soldiers, let alone the Guanzhong soldiers.

If they can return home, the Dongzhou soldiers’ fighting spirit has been destroyed and it will be difficult to revive them; if we can’t count on the Dongzhou soldiers, can we count on the Yizhou soldiers?
According to Yizhou's tradition, it is also possible to mobilize the vassal armies of the various barbarians; but at present, time is too tight.

Liu Zhang didn't believe that the defenders of Baishui Pass could hold out until February of next year, and he didn't believe that the big families in Yizhou, headed by Zhang Song, could hold out.

Liu Zhang wanted to retreat, so he said, "They have come from a long distance, so it is difficult to fight for a long time. I want to strengthen the defense of Mianzhu to keep the enemy out."

"Yes."

Zhang Song agreed and then asked, "Do you want Baxi to send troops to support us?"

"Don't act rashly. The Grand Marshal has many elite troops under his command. It would be better if the Brazilian troops don't move. If they move and fall into the Grand Marshal's trap, the dam will collapse."

Liu Zhang once again rejected Zhang Song's proposal. After getting rid of Zhang Song, Liu Zhang returned to the inner house and asked his wife to pack up his personal belongings. At the same time, he sent someone to summon Liu Mao.

The two lived very close to each other. Liu Mao was startled by the envoy sent by Liu Zhang, so he asked Wu Yi, who was accompanying him, "Is it a good omen or a bad omen that Ji Yu sent an envoy to summon you at this time?"

Wu Yi was also confused, so he analyzed it according to common sense and said, "Recently, there have been many rumors in the city, saying that the fierce army under the command of the Grand Marshal will soon attack Shuzhong. Many wealthy families in the city have left the city to live in the mountains. Now it seems that the King of Liang may have something to do with this matter."

The main force of the Dongzhou soldiers who were friendly with Liu Mao were outside the city, while the Dongzhou soldiers inside the city were mainly from Jingzhou and had an average relationship with Liu Mao.

Now either leave the city and raise troops immediately, or go and meet him.

Liu Mao thought about it again and again, and then said to Wu Yi: "I will go to see Ji Yu, and you brothers will act according to the situation. If things don't go well, take my family out of the city to gather the troops and march to Mianzhu!"

"Yes!"

Wu Yi and Wu Ban bowed, while Liu Mao straightened his robe a little and followed the envoy out.

When he met Liu Zhang in the quiet room, Liu Zhang said, "Brother, the Grand Marshal has come from afar and cannot last long. I want to retreat to the south and wait for him to leave before heading north to fight him."

Liu Mao was stunned and instinctively advised: "No, my father and I have killed many people in Shu, and our gratitude is not good. If we go to Nanzhong, we will be killed by the left and right!"

"Brother, you don't know yet. There is an urgent report from Jiameng Pass saying that the Grand Marshal has deployed his troops on the north bank of Baishui River, intending to take advantage of the situation."

Liu Zhang lowered his voice and said, "Zhang Song persuaded me to have my brother lead the troops to reinforce Mianzhu. I was afraid that if my brother led the troops to leave Chengdu, he would usurp Chengdu, hold the civil and military officials of Yizhou hostage, and beg for surrender to the Grand Marshal."

Glancing at Liu Mao who was stunned again, Liu Zhang spoke in a lower tone with a lost look: "When I went to Nanzhong, I would also wait and see the situation. If the situation was bad, I would retreat to Yufu City. Brother, you don't have to defend it to the death. If there is a chance, you can offer Chengdu to the Grand Marshal. In this way, you can also be a duke."

Liu Mao's mouth was half open, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself. In the end, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

Liu Zhang felt even more frustrated when he saw this. He raised his hand and patted Liu Mao on the shoulder, and held back what he wanted to say.

For a moment, Liu Zhang couldn't hold back his tears: "Zhao Wei harmed me..."

Liu Mao remained silent. It was precisely because Zhao Wei pushed Liu Zhang to succeed to the throne that led to the internal division of the Dongzhou soldiers and the betrayal of Zhang Lu. Zhang Lu was also a Dongzhou native.

As for Zhao Wei, he had rebelled the year before and had been attacked and killed.

If these things had not happened, the people of Dongzhou would have been able to suppress the big families in Yizhou all the time and would not have had so many concerns right now.

(End of this chapter)