Chapter 260 Entering Hanzhong
Baoxiade is the shortest passage between Hanzhong and Luoyang, and also the easiest one to travel. Even so, Liu Bei and his companions did not travel very fast. The irregular rainy days and the hot and humid climate caused great trouble to the march.
Zhang Lu led his men to Baoguan, loaded with abundant wine, meat and grain, ready to give to Liu Bei. After the handover, he was ready to slip away to Luoyang. Compared with Hanzhong, he was more eager to preach in Luoyang.
Flags fluttered like the sea, and countless soldiers marched forward. The sound of their footsteps was deep, powerful and majestic, like war drums beating in people's hearts.
The plank road was filled with a sea of people, seemingly endless. Every soldier was wearing heavy armor, and one could tell at a glance that they were all elite soldiers. Even if they were moving slowly, the pressure they exerted on others was extremely strong.
The general who led this army was Qin Liangyu. These were the White Spear Soldiers, a powerful army trained by Qin Liangyu herself.
Liu Bei had no cavalry, and Guo Hao really couldn't spare any cavalry for Liu Bei. However, Yizhou was mountainous and the environment in southern Xinjiang was even more harsh, so the lack of cavalry didn't have much of an impact.
Guo Hao was not stingy with the equipment. Chen Xi was there to back him up, so Guo Hao gave Qin Liangyu and Chen Dao whatever they wanted for their trained army.
Liu Bei only had two legions, the White Spear Soldiers and the White Ear Soldiers. The rest were veteran soldiers from Yizhou, who were brought out from Yizhou by Yan Yan and Zhang Ren to participate in the alliance of princes.
In total, Liu Bei only had 30,000 people under his command. The Danyang troops that Guo Hao had originally promised were also dispersed among the various legions. The Danyang troops had a good effect no matter what unit they were mixed in, and were very beneficial for improving the organizational ability of the legion.
Although Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun were envious, they only led 800 soldiers in training. After all, they were all latecomers and although their martial arts skills were amazing, they had little knowledge of commanding troops in battles.
Even Huang Zhong only led Changshui and Shesheng to be on standby. That was the central imperial guard, and Huang Zhong's command was not needed at all. Huang Zhong was a commander in name, but in fact he was just a figurehead. When fighting Yuan Shao, Huang Zhong did not do anything at all, and the Shesheng Camp and Changshui Camp had to play freely.
Guo Hao allocated two thousand Changshui and two thousand Shesheng to Liu Bei, and now they are all under the command of Huang Zhong. However, Huang Zhong is also commanding the troops with great difficulty. He is not much stronger than the other three. They are all undisciplined people who have changed their ways halfway. They are the best in the world in fighting, but they really have a lot to learn about commanding troops.
If Wei Yan hadn't helped Huang Zhong, Huang Zhong might not have been able to manage four thousand people.
But after all, they were all famous generals who left their names in history, and their growth rate was terrifyingly fast. By the time they arrived in Hanzhong, Guan Yu's troops had become double talents.
Moreover, Guan Yu's talents are particularly suitable for Guan Yu himself. His first talent is speed, and his second talent is sharpness. They are exactly like Guan Yu himself.
The soldiers under Liu Bei were all single-talented soldiers who had participated in the war at that time. They were all soldiers who had truly experienced war, and soon they became double-talented soldiers.
More than half of the 30,000-strong army have dual talents, and the strength of Liu Bei's troops is stronger than that of Zhu Jun and others.
Liu Bei's driven Zhang Lu was walking in the front. Zhang Lu looked on calmly without any fear. The military might was truly terrifying. His brother Zhang Wei almost knelt down.
Zhang Lu raised his head and stared into Liu Bei's eyes. Although he was willing to give up Hanzhong , Zhang Lu still wanted to examine Liu Bei's character. Taoism advocates inaction, but he has not become an immortal yet, so he is still very responsible for the people of Hanzhong.
Liu Bei looked at the indifferent Zhang Lu and felt that the rumors were not credible. People all said that Zhang Lu was the leader of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect and that he ruled Hanzhong. However, Zhang Lu in front of him had a calm look on his thin face, and he was wearing a Taoist robe with complex patterns of mountains, rivers, flowers, birds, fish and insects. He looked like a Taoist master.
"Hanzhong Governor Zhang Lu pays homage to Yizhou Governor!"
Zhang Lu's voice was very clear, which made Liu Bei feel favorable towards him. Liu Bei smiled, jumped off his horse and helped up Zhang Lu who was bowing.
"Liu Xuande, a relative of the Han Dynasty, meets Zhang Tianshi."
Everyone was carrying the fancy sedan, and Zhang Lu had humbled himself so much that Liu Bei was willing to talk to Zhang Lu. He originally thought that there would be a fierce battle.
"Come on, come on, everyone please stand up quickly! No need to be so polite!" Liu Bei took Zhang Lu's hand enthusiastically. As soon as he touched hands, he knew Zhang Lu was good at fighting. He guessed that the starting point was an internal energy leaving the body. However, Liu Bei was not worried at all that Zhang Lu would attack him. He was confident that he was good at judging people. Zhang Lu was obviously a master and would definitely not do anything stupid.
A group of people walked into the pass with laughter. Yan Yan and Zhang Ren were also confused. Zhang Lu surrendered immediately? How could this be possible? They had agreed to establish a separatist regime in Hanzhong and block the road to Sichuan. They had agreed to fight a tough battle.
As the backbone of the honest faction, it was naturally impossible for them to understand Liu Yan's outrageous actions. They still thought that Zhang Lu was a rebel.
"I wonder what Zhang Tianshi is going to do next!" Liu Bei asked tentatively. Since Zhang Lu planned to offer Hanzhong, then Zhang Lu's whereabouts became a problem. In any case, he couldn't stay in Hanzhong.
Zhang Lu took the opportunity to introduce the situation in Hanzhong to Liu Bei: "Hanzhong is the gateway to Yizhou. I will leave for Luoyang soon to report on my work. Hanzhong depends entirely on Xuande's management. If Xuande does not mind, you can hire my brother to take charge. I govern Hanzhong by doing nothing, and it depends entirely on my brother's management on weekdays. I hope Xuande will understand!"
Liu Bei became interested, and Zhang Lu was willing to surrender Hanzhong. The person who dared to recommend someone at this time must be a capable person. Otherwise, in such a complicated situation, if Zhang Lu recommended a good-for-nothing, wouldn't that be courting death?
But after Liu Bei's investigation, he was disappointed to find that Zhang Wei was not the kind of talent he wanted. He thought that Zhang Lu had the internal energy to leave his body and had the appearance of an immortal, so his younger brother must be stronger. However, he was greatly disappointed.
To be honest, Zhang Wei's ability is only at the level of a prefect. It would be difficult for him to govern an entire state, but he is more than capable of governing a place like Hanzhong.
However, Liu Bei did not refuse any offer. He was seriously short of talent under his command and he did not mind it.
On the other side, Di Renjie enthusiastically pulled Zhang Wei to inquire about the local rule of law. After all, there were very few political propositions based on the principle of following the laws of nature, which made Di Renjie very interested.
I have to say that Zhang Wei is indeed a talented person. Zhang Lu's various propositions were extremely loose. If he hadn't implemented and promoted them one by one, Hanzhong would not have become a paradise.
Along the way, Liu Bei and his companions saw that the people were living and working in peace and contentment, and it was worth mentioning that there was not even a beggar on the road. At the same time, they could see various construction scenes. Obviously, the work-for-relief policy promoted by Chen Xi had already been implemented in this place, which shocked Liu Bei greatly.
You know, Chang'an has not been able to fully implement these policies, but I didn't expect that the remote Hanzhong has achieved this level.
