Chapter 405 Whoever I support will become popular! Conservatives, radicals, and plagiarists compete for the hearts and minds of the people!
"Kong Ming's words make sense."

"Xiaozhi's strategy is indeed a good strategy to destroy Qin. Attacking Guanzhong from Hedong is also the easiest shortcut."

"It's just that, as Kong Ming said, Cao Cao also has a large number of troops stationed in Bingzhou, so he is not completely defenseless."

"How can we seize Bingzhou before Cao Cao realizes his mistake and sends more troops to Bingzhou? I'm afraid we need to discuss this carefully."

Old Liu was also a veteran of many battles, so he naturally saw the pros and cons of Fa Zheng's strategy, and the surprise on his face faded a little.

"Your Majesty is right. How to quickly capture Bingzhou is indeed the key."

"Rong Chen, please think about it again. Think about it again."

Fa Zheng frowned, staring at the sand table and began to think again.

After all, he had just arrived in Yecheng, and Liu Bei had given him too little time to plan. Coming up with the strategy of taking Bingzhou first was already the limit of his intelligence.

It would be a bit too much to ask him to come up with a strategy to quickly capture Bingzhou in such a short period of time.

Even with Fa Zheng's resourcefulness, he couldn't do it.

"Jingxing Pass, Huguan Pass, Jinyang..."

Fa Zheng muttered to himself, his thoughts racing, thinking hard about how to break through the passes in Taihang Mountains with lightning speed and quickly capture Jinyang.

Xiao Fang's eyes slightly raised, and he already had a plan in mind.

But good things should be done to the end. Since we are going to promote Fa Zheng today, we should naturally push him to the end. How could I take action halfway and steal Fa Zheng's limelight?

"All roads lead to Jinyang. If you want to take Jinyang, you don't have to start from the east..."

Xiao Fang stood beside Fa Zheng, pretending to mutter to himself, but in fact he was giving hints and reminders.

This seemingly unintentional mumbling seemed to suddenly open a window for Fa Zheng, making his eyes suddenly brighten.

"Yes, why should I insist on attacking Bingzhou from the east?"

Fa Zheng's gaze quickly moved from the east of Bingzhou to the south, to Henei County, and finally landed on an inconspicuous city wall.

"Jiguan!"

"It's Jiguan!"

Fa Zheng's eyes widened and he suddenly shouted.

Liu Bei and everyone else were startled by his sudden shout. They looked at Fa Zheng in confusion, unable to react for a moment.

"Your Majesty, we can use a chain of tactics, two feints to the east and attack in the west, to attack Bingzhou from Jiguan unexpectedly and break through the Taihang Mountain defense line of the pseudo-Qin!"

Chain tricks?
Two strategies to make a feint to the east and attack in the west?

Liu Bei perked up, his eyes filled with surprise and confusion.

"Your Majesty, you can first use the main force of our Han army to feint and attack the Tongguan line to attract the main force of Cao's Qin army."

"Then he sent a general to lead the northern army to attack Bingzhou from the Jingxing Pass line, thereby attracting the main force of Cao Ren's Bingzhou Qin army to the Taihang Mountains line."

"At this time, Your Majesty can send another surprise force, transported by the navy across the river, suddenly enter Henei County, and attack Jiguan with lightning speed!"

"The Qin State has limited military strength. It has to defend both Tongguan and Jingxingguan. It is impossible to station too many troops at a small pass like Jiguan."

"Our army has the advantage of water transportation, so we can create a time difference with Cao's bandits and capture Jiguan before he can send more troops there."

"Once Jiguan is breached, our army can march straight into Hedong County from Henei County, and head west to Pubanjin, blocking the Yellow River and cutting off the Qin army's route to rescue Hedong."

"Then your Majesty's main force can cross the river in a large force, enter Hedong County from Henei County via Jiguan, and completely cut off the connection between Bingzhou and Guanzhong."

"Then your majesty can lead my main army, march north along the Fen River, and take Jinyang directly!"

"From Hedong to Jinyang, there are no dangerous passes along the way. Jinyang can be easily captured and Bingzhou can be quickly taken!"

Fa Zheng pointed at the sand table and told Liu Bei and his ministers his two-pronged strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west.

The hall was boiling again.

Zhuge Liang nodded repeatedly and praised:

"What a great double-layered strategy. Cao Ren would never have expected that we would attack Hedong from Jiguan."

"Your Majesty, I think Fa Xiaozhi's plan is feasible."

Tian Feng and several other counselors also agreed.

"Xiaozhi's plan is indeed a brilliant strategy to quickly capture Hedong and crush Bingzhou."

"Okay, okay, that's a good plan!"

Liu Bei nodded and praised him. In his heart, he couldn't help but secretly admire Xiao Fang's ability to judge people. He thought that Fa Zheng was indeed a rare man with extraordinary strategies.

This time, Fa Zheng did not dare to show any arrogance, but glanced at Xiao Fang quietly.

At this moment, he realized that Xiao Fang's mumbling just now was an intentional hint and reminder to him, prompting him to think of the plan to attack Jiguan.

It seems that Xiao Fang had already planned this so-called double strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west.

But Xiao Fang refused to say anything and just reminded him secretly so that he could present this plan and show off in front of Liu Bei and everyone else.

This Prime Minister Xiao is intentionally helping him gain credit.

After understanding the deeper meaning, Fa Zheng looked at Xiao Fang with a look of respect and gratitude in his eyes.

"Okay, according to Xiaozhi's strategy, you should work out a specific battle plan as soon as possible."

"After I return to Luoyang, I will start to attack Qin and destroy Cao!"

Liu Bei made the final decision.

The ministers accepted the order with a roar.

"Your Majesty, there is another piece of information that I think we must take seriously." Zhuge Liang changed the subject and took out a silk book and presented it to him.

"This is the information that the spy sent back from the Pseudo-Qin not long ago."

"Not long ago, Cao Pi, the son of Cao Cao, presented Cao Cao with a set of methods for selecting officials, called the Nine-Rank Official System. Cao Cao has issued an edict to implement it in the pseudo-Qin Dynasty."

"I have carefully studied the Nine-Rank System, and I believe it is indeed a good system for selecting talented people and appointing capable people to positions. It can also help Cao Cao win over the hearts of scholars in the pseudo-Qin regime and even the world."

"I think this will be very difficult for us to defeat the pseudo-Qin in the future. Your Majesty should pay attention to it and take some measures."

The Nine-Rank System.

These five words officially appeared in the court of the Han Dynasty.

For a moment, the ministers began to discuss the matter, and it was obvious that they had heard of the Nine-Rank Official System before.

It was only after Zhuge Liang proposed it during his reign that people began to take it seriously.

Only Xiao Fang smiled slightly, as if he was not surprised at all.

Liu Bei also became alert and hurriedly took the silk book and examined it carefully.

His brows gradually furrowed, and a hint of fear flashed across his eyes.

"It is true what Kong Ming said. This Nine-Rank Official System is indeed a good method for selecting talented people and winning the hearts of scholars."

"I didn't expect that Cao Cao's son, Cao Pi, would have such vision and perspective."

"That's amazing. That's amazing."

As a king, Liu Bei could naturally see the power of the Nine-Rank Official System, and he could not help but admire Cao Pi, the son of his mortal enemy.

Xiao Fang smiled and said disapprovingly:
"Your Majesty, this Cao Pi does have some talent, but this Nine-Rank Official System was not his work."

"If my guess is correct, this method should have come from Chen Qun."

Chen Qun!

A familiar name, after ten years, rang in Liu Bei's ears again.

When he was the governor of Xuzhou, Chen Qun had served as his aide and once advised him not to accept Tao Qian's offer to give Xuzhou to him.

Later, when Yuan Shu invaded Xuzhou, Chen Qun also reminded him that Lu Bu might join forces with Yuan Shu to launch a surprise attack on Xia Pi.

Chen Qun's foresight was later proven.

Unfortunately, Xuzhou had been lost, and Chen Qun, like most of the Xuzhou scholars, chose to stay in Xuzhou and continue to serve Lu Bu.

Later, when Cao Cao captured Xuzhou, Chen Qun took advantage of the situation and surrendered to Cao Cao. He was recruited to the Ba Mansion and has served the Cao family ever since.

"Chen Changwen is indeed a man of great talent, but how can the Prime Minister be sure that this ninth-rank official law was written by Chen Changwen?"

Liu Bei looked surprised.

After all, Chen Qun had not made any outstanding performance since he surrendered to Cao. He seemed to have disappeared and never appeared in his sight again.

How could such an unknown person suddenly come up with such a big idea and create the Nine-Rank Official System?

And how did Xiao Fang know about this?
Not only Liu Bei was surprised, but Fa Zheng and other ministers were also very curious.

Xiao Fang just smiled.

How could he not know?

Chen Qun, Wu Zhi, Sima Yi and Zhu Shao, known as the Four Friends of Cao Pi, were his four most trusted confidants.

In history, Cao Pi was able to compete with Cao Zhi and seize the throne thanks to the behind-the-scenes advice and counsel of these four people.

Although the course of history has changed, these four people are still gathered in the Qin State, and it is expected that they will still be won over by Cao Pi.

In history, in order to gain the support of scholars all over the world, Cao Pi adopted the Nine-Rank System created by Chen Qun. Eventually, he successfully deposed the Han Dynasty and proclaimed himself emperor, ascending to the supreme throne and founding the Cao Wei Dynasty.

With Cao Pi's talent, he was not as good as his father Cao Cao, nor as good as his brother Cao Zhi. It would have been fine for him to write literary reviews, but how could he have created the Nine-Rank System?
This method, naturally, just like in history, came from Chen Qun.

"Ahem, it doesn't matter whether this Ninth Rank Official Law was written by Chen Qun."

"The important thing is, as Kong Ming said, this method will be of great help to Cao Cao in winning the hearts of scholars. Your Majesty must take countermeasures."

Xiao Fang coughed lightly a few times, drawing Lao Liu and everyone else's attention back to the main topic.

Liu Bei's thoughts returned to reality and he nodded heavily:
"The Prime Minister's words make sense. What do you think I should do to counter Cao Cao's ninth-rank official law?"

The words trailed off.

Tian Feng was the first to step forward and said with a salutation:

"This Nine-Rank Official Law is nothing more than a law for selecting officials. If Your Majesty wants to counter it, you must naturally start with the law for selecting officials."

"I think that Your Majesty should immediately issue an edict to restore the system of recommendation of the Han Dynasty as soon as possible. This way, we can naturally counter the nine-rank official system of the pseudo-Qin Dynasty."

Tian Feng's political force field was clearly conservative and he advocated restoring the old system.

Zhuge Liang shook his head and said:
"The system of imperial examinations had been in place for more than a hundred years. By the time of Emperors Huan and Ling, the system had become riddled with problems due to corruption and clique-forming among local officials, and was in urgent need of reform."

"Moreover, since the Dong Zhuo Rebellion, the prefectures and counties have frequently changed hands, and the foundation of the recommendation system has been destroyed. It is not easy to rebuild it."

"Therefore, I believe that since Your Majesty has rebuilt the Han Dynasty and brought a new look to the world, the official selection system should also be reformed to adapt to the current situation in the court and the public."

Zhuge Liang expressed his views.

He was obviously slightly more radical than the conservative Tian Feng and advocated the implementation of a new system.

The words trailed off.

Fa Zheng's eyes lit up, and he said,
"Why do we have to bother ourselves here? Since we are going to use the new system, why not just take the Ninth Rank Official Law and use it for our Han people?"

(End of this chapter)