The river valley, straight water flows from east to west, dividing the plain land in the river valley into two sections, north and south.

On the north bank of Zhishui, there is a small city called Zhishui. It was previously occupied by the Wei army and was recovered by the Liang army at this time.

After several days of bloody battles, the Liang army first defeated the Wei army who was trying to go to Ankang, and then took down Zhicheng, winning the key battle.

This place is nearly 200 miles away from Ankang, and is the gateway to the west of Dongliangzhou. If you control it in your hands, Dongliangzhou will be stable.

Dongliangzhou is stable, and the west direction of Xiangyang is foolproof.

However, when the chief general Wang Lin was full of confidence and wanted to continue moving westward to see if there was a chance to recover Hanzhong (Nan Zheng), an order came from the rear to stop at Dongliangzhou.

Because the official army not only recovered the Mianbei region, Li Li, the Marquis of Xinping, also successfully attacked Wuguandao, annihilated a reinforcement of Wei State, and blocked Wuguandao.

Therefore, the first priority now is to strengthen defense in Mianbei, and other matters must be compromised.

Wang Lin's transformation from offense to defense and defending Dongliangzhou can ensure the safety of Xiangyang downstream of the Han River. Only when Xiangyang is safe can the government army gain a foothold in the Mianbei region.

At this moment, right next to the water, Wang Lin looked at the large group of war horses that lowered their heads to drink water, and chatted with Liang Sen and Peng Jun beside him.

"This is the Ziwu Road." Wang Lin pointed to the valley upstream of the river, "I heard that after Emperor Gaozu of Han escaped his life at the Hongmen Banquet, he walked into Shu by Ziwu Road."

"In order to show that he had no intention of returning north to the King of Chu, Emperor Gaozu of Han also burned the pier along Ziwu Road."

Liang Sen read many books and often listened to Zhang Ying telling history, so he knew that what Wang Lin said was the time when the Chu-Han dispute was between the two sides, and Peng Jun also knew it, and then looked to the other side.

That is the west, straight downstream direction.

Several miles away, straight water pours into the Han River, and walks upstream along the river bank at the estuary. First pass through the important water and land tiles on the edge of the Han River, then walk west along the winding mountain road, cross passes such as Huangjin Mountain, and walk nearly 500 miles before reaching Hanzhong.

Now, they stopped here, and unless the Wei army invaded, there would be no war.

Just as we were chatting, Peng Jun heard Wang Lin mention the story more than a hundred years ago and realized that before that, there were troops set out from Xiangyang, advanced west along the Han River, and recovered Liangzhou.

About 1230 years ago, during the Liu Song Dynasty, the king of Qiuchi, Yang Nandang, invaded Liangzhou, and the governor of Liangzhou of Song, abandoned the city and fled. Then, the Song army set out from Xiangyang and advanced west along the Han River.

After passing Ankang, he turned northwest, and from here he entered the Hanshui River Valley again, conquered the upstream Fengdou, and broke through Huangjin Mountain and other places, and finally arrived directly at Hanzhong.

At that time, the opponents of the Song army were relatively weak, so even after the Song army was blocked by the enemy, they could not advance for more than a month, and finally recovered Hanzhong.

Now, the Wei army is strong and ready again. It is always ready to fight along the way. It is indeed meaningless to continue to attack forward.

"Zhikou junction guards the Han River channel. Zhicheng is like the gateway to the west of Ankang. The troops stationed here can serve as an Ankang barrier."

Wang Lin pointed to the west and said slowly: "Ankang is located in Dongliangzhou, and it is also the barrier to Xiangyang west. Although this western expedition failed to recover Hanzhong, it is not a waste of this trip to recover the entire territory of Dongliangzhou."

"Thank you for leading the troops to help the battle, otherwise I will not be able to take down Zhicheng."

This was a polite word, and Liang Sen and Peng both said they were "sassy and dared not take it."

They led the cavalry to help with the battle, but along the way, there were long and narrow terrain, and the cavalry could not perform and had never fought a decent battle, just like a spring outing.

However, it was not a waste of time to witness the battle between the narrow mountains.

Now that he has stopped in Dongliangzhou, Wang Lin does feel a little unwilling, but the overall situation is the most important thing. He cannot be willful and is not qualified to be willful. Because Li Li has returned to Rangcheng, Liang Sen and Peng are going back.

"The two of you are returning east and want to come to garrison with Li Lang to defend Mianbei. If the Wei army invades, there will be a chance to show your skills."

Wang Lin looked at Liang Sen and Peng Jun and smiled and said, "I wish you both in advance and make great contributions!"

......

In Xiangyang, a certain restaurant, Li Li, who was on standby in the city, was having fun with his friends. He was now thrown into the sky, such as swords and iron horses and galloping on the battlefield.

Liang Sen and Peng Jun, who were depressed, felt strange when they saw Li Li drinking so happily: How come they drink so happily for a few big men?

"I have a drink today and am drunk today. What do you want to do so much?"

Li Li hummed, holding a wine pot in one hand and an arrow in the other, aiming at the long-necked copper pot one step away, and gently throwing it into the pot.

"There is no war in Mianbei, why are you anxious? Come and drink it!!"

After drinking another drink, Peng Jun asked: "Li Lang, are we just putting our knife in the sheath?"

"Otherwise? The battles that should be fought have been completed, so of course I will have to withdraw my troops."

After Li Li finished speaking, he laughed: "What is the cause of this expedition? I offered the method of siege to attack the city, and told Your Majesty to send troops to recover Jiangling and Xiangyang."

"Then, the government army was unstoppable and recovered Jiangling and Xiangyang in a short time, and the Wei State had not yet reacted, so we would strike while the iron was hot."

"Now, the iron has been defeated, heading west, regaining Dongliangzhou, north, and regaining Mianbei area, blocking Wuguan Road, annihilated a Wei reinforcements, killing many generals, and capturing the general Yang Zhong alive."

"It's over, and the battle has been completed. We who are helping the war will withdraw our troops, right?"

Li Li made sense, but his friends were a little unwilling to give up. Liang Sen scratched his head: "Okay, but next, all parts of Mianbei need to be stationed, so let's leave like this?"

"When fishing, use a fishing rod. After fishing, the fishing rod will not be put away. Could it be that you used it to poke fruits from the tree?"

Peng Jun was a little dissatisfied: "This...isn't this just treating us as toilet chips, using it when needed, and throwing it away when it's used up?"

"Don't say it so badly, although the reason is right." Li Li smiled and shook his head, "It should be that the birds were hiding all their bows."

Peng Jun was just dissatisfied: "Why? Why is this happening? We can also fight. The Wei army always invaded in large quantities and did not allow us to garrison the important areas. Could it be that there were too many soldiers?"

Li Li knew that Peng Jun was upset for him and smiled and said, "There are two reasons. First, Mianbei, Yongzhou and Sizhou are now connected together. The court must reconsider the offensive and defensive arrangements, which involves many appointments."

"The county magistrates and county magistrates in various places need to defend the land, guard the lord, and assist in the defense. Many people need to be appointed, and His Majesty has the final say."

"However, Your Majesty is busy with all his time and cannot think about the candidates for each official position. Therefore, the senior officials and important officials in Fang Town gave suggestions and candidates to be decided in the end."

"Then, these Fangzhen officials and important officials have left their familiar civil servants and military generals, disciples and old officials, and their relatives do not recommend them. Why should I recommend this person who is a small person?"

In just a few words, I named the essence of the matter: war is a fight on the battlefield, an appointment of an official position is a fight on the officialdom.

If Li Li can fight on the battlefield, it does not mean that he can fight in the officialdom.

Li Li had no decent connections at all, so where did he get the support? Why did others let him get a share of the large-scale personnel appointments in Mianbei, Sizhou and Yongzhou?

Peng Jun understood, Huang? But he was thinking about what he wanted to say, but still didn't say it. Li Li then said:

"Secondly, I actually have a noble person to support me, but that noble person is His Majesty, so what I want to do next is His Majesty, and who dares to talk too much?"

He poured his wine glass full of wine and raised his glass to signal to his friends: "It can be said that I cannot vote for any noble person to ask for support, because my noble person is unspeakable, so I can only be an isolated minister."

"What is an isolated minister? Orphan means being isolated and helpless. Orphan ministers are lonely ministers who do not form cliques. The only thing they can rely on is the emperor."

"So, no one will support me, so that I am doing nothing now, because the only person who can support me is His Majesty."

"Now, I can only wait in Xiangyang and wait for Your Majesty's decision."

"I'm free, and as my subordinates, you naturally have no war to fight, so you can only drink with me here."

This was a little sad, and Wu Xiang suddenly said: "How many people want to win the favor of His Majesty but not, Li Lang stood out, why do everyone have a bitter face?"

Wu Xiang calmed down the dull atmosphere for Li Li, but what he said was reasonable: if you can be favored by the emperor, your future will be bright, so there is no need to worry.

There is no need to be in a hurry for Li Li, let alone in a hurry for them.

Li Li drank the wine in the glass and said, "Originally, we should be busy in Poyang this year, so why did we come here? Of course, it is to share your worries."

"The situation in Mianbei is stable now, but it does not mean that it will be stable. If the Wei army invades in the coming year, we can't say that we have to share our worries for His Majesty, right? At that time, are you still afraid that there will be no war?"

"We can fight and win battles. This is the greatest reliance we have for His Majesty. When you return to Poyang, you must not slackew. Continue to train troops, summarize experiences and lessons, and be prepared to fight again."

Liang Sen asked again: "Li Lang, by the end of the year, you will have been in office for three years. The previous agreement will undoubtedly be completed. So, will Your Majesty have another appointment?"

"Who knows?" Li Li shrugged and raised his glass again: "However, since everyone is still unsatisfied, I can find a way to launch another big project this year!"
Chapter completed!