Chapter 404: The legendary god knows someone like me? To defeat Cao and destroy Qin, we must first cut off Cao Cao's arm!
"The Five Tiger Generals?"

Liu Bei turned around and looked at Xiao Fang curiously:

"Prime Minister, what are the Five Tiger Generals?"

Xiao Fang started coughing dryly.

The Five Tiger Generals are naturally Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong, five fierce generals of the Han Dynasty.

The martial arts of these five men are the strongest among the generals of the Han Dynasty.

Any one of them could compete with Lu Bu.

First, Zhao Yun returned from Yijing, and now Ma Chao came all the way from Shu to join Liu Bang. It seemed as if there was a divine will in the dark, helping Liu Bang to gather the Five Tiger Generals again.

Xiao Fang originally wanted to take advantage of the situation and promote the names of these Five Tiger Generals.

Just like the reputation of the Four Pillars of Hebei and the Five Elite Generals, they can boost the morale of the Han army.

When the words came to his lips, Xiao Fang swallowed them back.

The Five Tiger Generals of that time all made contributions to Lao Liu and displayed unparalleled martial arts.

Under such circumstances, Guan Yu was dissatisfied with the fact that Huang Zhong, a veteran general, was listed as one of the Five Tigers together with him.

Among the Five Tigers now, Zhao Yun had the great merit of capturing Yuan Shang alive, and Guan Yu knew his martial arts very well. In addition to their friendship in the past, Guan Yu naturally would not have any complaints about Zhao Yun being listed as one of the Five Tigers.

Ma Chao was different. He was a defeated general who returned in a panic. He had not done anything for Liu Bang or the Han Dynasty.

Moreover, Ma Chao's famed martial arts were only known in Guanlong, and no one in the Guandong states had ever witnessed the true strength of his martial arts.

Could Guan Yu submit to such a person and be ranked as one of the Five Tigers on an equal footing with him?

Not only Guan Yu was dissatisfied, but Zhang Fei and Huang Zhong were also definitely dissatisfied.

Even such powerful men as Taishi Ci, Gan Ning and Zhang Liao would not be convinced.

Rashly introducing the title of the Five Tiger Generals now would not only fail to help boost military morale, but might instead cause complaints and grumbling from the generals.

"Ahem, I want to say that with a general like Ma Mengqi, it will be just around the corner for your majesty to destroy Cao and Qin."

Xiao Fangbian withdrew the idea of ​​giving names to the Five Tigers and just casually passed it off.

Liu Bei did not ask any more questions and turned his gaze to Fa Zheng.

This person is what Xiao Fang called a man of great talent who could assist the king. How could he be treated differently or with coldness?

"The Prime Minister once praised me highly, saying that you are resourceful and have the ability to plan and win battles thousands of miles away."

"I have a warrior like Meng Qi, and a wise man like you to assist me. God is truly blessing me!"

Liu Bei promoted Fa Zheng to power and also praised him highly.

Fa Zheng was startled and glanced at Xiao Fang with an incredulous look.

Who is Xiao Fang?
With extraordinary foresight, great wisdom, and great powers, Zhang Liang is reborn, the sage of strategy is reborn...

He has countless dazzling halos on his head, all kinds of fantastic strategies and plots, and amazing tactics of winning with fewer troops time and time again, which have long been known throughout the world.

Even in a remote southwestern place like Yizhou, everyone knows about it.

A figure that is almost legendary.

An existence that even a proud and arrogant person like Fa Zheng could only look up to.

Now, Liu Bei, the great Han emperor, told him that this legendary god had actually known of the existence of him, a small county magistrate in Shu.

And you still regard him as a man who can assist the king?
For a strategist, this can be said to be the greatest honor and the most valuable evaluation!
Even Emperor Liu Bei's courtesy to wise men was not as exciting and inspiring to a strategist like Fa Zheng as Xiao Fang's praise.

"Prime Minister Xiao actually...actually knows someone like me, Fa Zheng?"

Fa Zheng looked at Xiao Fang for a long while before he expressed these feelings.

"Xiaozhi, you are too modest. You are not 'a person like me'. You are a rough jade buried deep in the sand, just waiting for your majesty, the wise ruler, to recognize you from the sand."

Xiao Fang was also very good at handling human relationships. In his speech, he not only praised Fa Zheng, but also flattered Lao Liu in a smooth manner.

Fa Zheng was so shocked and flattered that he was speechless for a moment.

"Your Majesty and I were just planning a strategy to attack Qin. Xiaozhi, you are resourceful and must have a good plan. Why don't you tell us about it for everyone to discuss."

Xiao Fang smiled and pointed his feather fan at the sand table.

Fa Zheng has the talent to be a king's assistant, but he also needs a stage to display his talents and a chance to showcase his talents to Liu Bei and the Han elites present.

Otherwise, even if Old Liu wants to use you, the ministers will not obey you.

Xiao Fang took advantage of the proposal to attack Qin to give Fa Zheng an opportunity to demonstrate his wisdom and strategy.

Fa Zheng was always confident. Seeing Xiao Fang giving him a chance, he did not hesitate and stood in front of the sand table. He raised his hand and pointed:
"I think that although the pseudo-Qin has four states, its essence is not in Yizhou, Bingzhou, or Liangzhou, but in Guanzhong!"

"If you want to destroy the false Qin, you must take Guanzhong. If you take Guanzhong, the false Qin will surely perish."

"However, Guanzhong is a place with four barriers. In the east, there is Tongguan, where one man can block the pass and ten thousand men cannot open it. In the south, there is Wuguan, which is also a strong and dangerous pass."

"Now Cao Cao has also obtained Yuan's Bingzhou, and there is Bingzhou as a barrier to the north of Guanzhong, which can ensure that there is no danger in the north."

"According to common sense, if Your Majesty wants to attack Qin, you can only break through Tongguan or Wuguan and enter Guanzhong."

"But these two fortresses are extremely steep and easy to defend but difficult to attack. Cao Cao will certainly station a large number of troops to defend them."

"Although the Han Dynasty is stronger than the Qin Dynasty, and the troops it can mobilize to attack Qin are several times more than those of the Qin Dynasty, Cao Cao can easily make up for the gap in national strength and military strength with the Han Dynasty by relying on the geographical advantages of these two pass cities." "If Your Majesty follows common sense and gathers all the troops of the Han Dynasty to attack Guanzhong from Tongguan and Wuguan, I am afraid that it will be difficult to break through the pass."

"In the end, the battle will inevitably become a stalemate and a protracted war, until our soldiers are exhausted and their food and fodder are depleted, and we will have to retreat without success."

"So I think that attacking Guanzhong from Tongguan and Wuguan is the worst strategy!"

Fa Zheng pointed at the sand table and analyzed the pros and cons eloquently.

Be it Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang, Tian Feng and other ministers, they all nodded slightly after hearing Fa Zheng's judgment.

What Fa Zheng said was exactly the consensus they reached after several discussions previously.

The fact that he could have such insights was sufficient to show that Fa Zheng was intelligent and wise, and gradually all the ministers began to look at him with new eyes.

Liu Bei then asked, "Xiao Zhi, if we don't attack Guanzhong from Tongguan or Wuguan, where should we start?"

Fa Zheng was waiting for Liu Bei to ask this question, and immediately moved his hand towards the northern part of Guanzhong.

"I believe that the weak spot of Guanzhong lies in Bingzhou!"

"Bingzhou is adjacent to Guanzhong. The area between Hedong County and Guanzhong is as flat as a horse's horse, with only the Yellow River separating them."

"If we can recover Bingzhou first, it will be equivalent to cutting off Guanzhong's arm and eliminating the threat of the pseudo-Qin to our Hebei province."

"Secondly, after taking Bingzhou, our army will be able to march westward from Hedong, cross the Yellow River and enter the Guanzhong Plain from the north."

“No matter how dangerous the Yellow River is, it is not as dangerous as Tongguan. The difficulty for our army to cross the river from Hedong and attack Guanzhong is much easier than that from Tongguan.”

"So my strategy is that Your Majesty will use our main Han army to attract Cao Cao's troops to Tongguan to pretend to be the main force to resist, so that he will have no time to split his troops."

"Your Majesty, you can send another general to attack Bingzhou from Hebei to the west!"

"Once Bingzhou is taken, the two armies can meet in Hedong, cross the Yellow River in one go, and march into Guanzhong!"

"In this way, the Guanzhong defense carefully constructed by Cao thieves will surely collapse!"

"Guanzhong can be conquered, Chang'an can be conquered, and the fake Qin can be destroyed!"

Fa Zheng spoke eloquently, giving advice on the country's affairs and displaying his strategy to destroy Qin.

There was an uproar in the hall.

Liu Bei's eyes widened and he stared at the sand table, savoring what Fa Zheng said, surprise gradually welling up in his eyes.

The rest of the counselors and generals were all able to see the moon in their eyes, as if Fa Zheng's strategy had suddenly opened up a new situation.

Only Xiao Fang smiled faintly and nodded slightly to show his appreciation for Fa Zheng.

This Fa Zheng is indeed worthy of being Lao Liu's historical strategist.

This strategy of attacking Qin by first taking Bingzhou can be said to coincide with his own.

As far as Xiao Fang could remember, there were few times in history when the Guandong army attacked Guanzhong through Tongguan.

As early as the time of the Seven Kingdoms in the Warring States Period, Wei was the first to rise and suppress Qin, and each time it attacked Guanzhong from Hedong.

In the early Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan took Guanzhong by going south from Bingzhou, first taking Hedong, and then easily crossing the Yellow River to the west from Hedong and entering Guanzhong.

Even in the original history of the Three Kingdoms, when Cao Cao conquered Guanzhong, he used a tactic of feinting to the east and attacking in the west, sneaking into Guanzhong from Hedong.

Countless battle examples have proved that crossing the Yellow River from Hedong and attacking Guanzhong is the strategy with the highest success rate.

If they want to take Hedong, they must take Bingzhou, otherwise they will be attacked from both Guanzhong and Bingzhou.

Xiao Fang was a man of foresight, so how could he not have thought of the strategy of taking Bingzhou first in order to destroy the pseudo-Qin.

Originally, he was about to present this strategy to Lao Liu during the military meeting, but Fa Zheng came to Lao Liu at this time.

Xiao Fang wanted Old Liu to make use of Fa Zheng, so he gave this opportunity to Fa Zheng. It was also a good opportunity to take a look at Fa Zheng's ability.

Facts have proved that Fa Zheng lived up to his appreciation and respect, and the strategy of attacking Qin was indeed what he thought of.

It is said that wise men think alike.

When Fa Zheng proposed this strategy, Zhuge Liang, Tian Feng and other counselors quickly understood the subtlety of this strategy.

Everyone secretly praised him in their hearts, and when they looked at Fa Zheng, they couldn't help but look at him with a little more admiration.

"Your Majesty, I believe that the strategy proposed by Fa Xiaozhi is indeed the best strategy to destroy Qin."

Zhuge Liang was the first to agree, but then he changed the subject:
"It's just that Cao Cao must understand the importance of Bingzhou. Even if his main force is attracted to Tongguan by our army, Bingzhou will definitely have a large number of troops stationed there."

"According to the intelligence we have, Cao has stationed at least 50,000 troops in Bingzhou, and Cao Ren, the Cao clan's top general, is in command."

"Cao Ren has also sent elite soldiers to garrison the various passes in the Taihang Mountains that connect Hebei to Bingzhou, especially the Jingxing Pass that guards Jinyang, which has 20,000 troops stationed there."

"Given the defensive posture of the Pseudo-Qin in Bingzhou, it may not be easy for our army to quickly break through their Taihang Mountain defense line and quickly capture Bingzhou."

"Once Cao Cao realizes our strategic intentions, he will certainly withdraw troops to strengthen the defense of Bingzhou and even the Hedong line."

"By then, Fa Xiaozhi's strategy of taking Bingzhou first would be in danger of failure."

While Zhuge Liang agreed with Fa Zheng, he also saw the flaw in Fa Zheng's strategy.

Fa Zheng's eyes moved slightly, and the confident expression on his face gradually faded.

(End of this chapter)