The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Zhang Song's suggestion to find out the details of Wei Shi played right into Liu Zhang's heart.

Since taking the throne as Yizhou Mu, the thing he likes to hear most is that Zhang Lu has another opponent.

"Ziqiao, you are interested. I heard that although Wei Shi is from a poor family, he is highly trusted by your majesty. Not long ago, he was asked to give you a letter by your majesty. You might as well go to Fang Ling and find out the truth."

"If Wei Zizhong is really capable, then it would be a clever plan to unite with Yizhou and attack the Zhang bandits in Hanzhong from both sides." When he said this, Liu Zhang beamed with joy.

Zhang Thief.

This is Liu Zhang's bad name for Zhang Lu.

This bad relationship stemmed from Liu Yan's romantic affair.

After Liu Yan became the shepherd of Yizhou, he separatized Bashu and Hanzhong. There were strong opponents around him, and he was very satisfied for a while.

At this time, Zhang Lu's mother, Mrs. Lu, took advantage of the opportunity of the Five Dou Rice Sect to preach and began to get close to Liu Yan.

Although this woman, Ms. Lu, is in her thirties and has given birth, she is good at keeping herself healthy. She is quite pretty and has an open personality. She is the kind of woman who is very charming and very flirtatious.

Liu Yan, an old man with a high position and secret lust, talked with Lu about the ways of gods and ghosts day and night. After some in-depth and simple explanations, Liu Yan soon regarded Lu as his confidante.

Yizhou Mufu.

Then it became a convenient door for Mrs. Zhang to come in and out.

Liu Yan found a new love, so he naturally left his old love in the cold.

Liu Zhang's mother died in depression because of this, Liu Yan loved Wu Jiwu, and although Zhang Lu was not his biological son, he was regarded as his own son, and his treatment was kind and generous, better than that of Liu Hao and Liu Zhang.

With Zhang's mother's encouragement, Zhang Lu rose to prominence and was soon appointed by Liu Yan as the governor of Sima. He and other Sima Zhang Xiu attacked Hanzhong County and killed Su Gu, the prefect of Hanzhong.

Later, Zhang Lu gained power in Hanzhong, killed Zhang Xiu, cut off traffic, and beheaded Han envoys. This caused the Liu and Zhang families to become enemies.

Hanzhong County is the place where the great ancestor Liu Bang stayed dormant and became king. It has always been regarded as the land of dragon prosperity. In terms of comprehensive strength, it governs as many as nine counties and is the second largest county in Yizhou after Shu County.

Zhang Lu, a rice thief from the Five Pecks of Rice Cult, relied on his mother to sell his life and actually occupied a good place in Hanzhong. This unusual thing is also amazing.

After Liu Yan's death, Liu Zhang inherited the position of Zhou Mu, but because he could not regain Hanzhong County, he was often described as weak and could be bullied. This made Liu Zhang even more resentful of Zhang Lu's mother and son's manipulation of power.

Soon after, Liu Zhang simply found an excuse to cause chaos in the Five Dou Rice Cult and took the lives of Lu and Zhang Lu's younger brother. Now, the Liu and Zhang families were even more in conflict with each other, and there was no room for reconciliation.

When Zhang Lu learned that his mother and brother had been killed, he immediately ordered the blocking of Jiameng Pass to prevent Liu Zhang from taking advantage of the opportunity to attack his Hanzhong. The two of them then attacked each other endlessly.

The relationship between Liu Zhang and Zhang Lu is roughly like this.

Because of this, Liu Zhang later supported Liu Bei's entry into Shu, mainly because Liu Bei agreed to help him fight Zhang Lu.

Liu Zhang wanted to test Wei Shi's strength, so he sent Zhang Song as an envoy out of Sichuan.

Because he wanted to avoid the war zone boundaries between Hanzhong and Xiping, Zhang Song deliberately took a detour to Bajun, then took the waterway to Nanjun, and then to Fangling. The journey was long and took nearly a month.

Before leaving, Zhang Song discussed and conspired with his friends, the Lieutenant of the Army and the Xindu County Magistrate, Fazheng Xiang, and accompanied him with the geographical map of Xichuan, preparing to choose another Ming ruler to join him.

——

Wei Shi did not know at this time that his hard work in the East Three Counties would disturb the stalemate between the two hostile forces of Bashu, Liu Zhang, and Hanzhong and Zhang Lu.

In the seventh year of Jian'an, it falls in October.

At the invitation of brothers Shen Dan and Shen Yi, Zhang Lu sent Yang Ren, the wine-provoking winemaker, to lead the rice soldiers eastwards.

Since he only had to go down the Han River, Yang Ren's march was very fast. By the time Wei Shi received the scout's report, Yang Ren's army had already reached Xiping City.

After Xiping, there is Shangyong.

If the armies of Yang Ren and Shen Dan and Shen Yi were to join forces, the pressure on Wei Shi would increase exponentially.

When Yang Ren, the general of Zhang Lu in Hanzhong, was killed, Wei Shi was shocked.

Since the establishment of the military palace mausoleum, Wei Shi has had a smooth journey and has almost never encountered a strong opponent.

In the Battle of Danshui, although the opponent was Huang Zhong, due to Huang Xu's reasons, the battle was finally resolved peacefully. Huang Zhong withdrew his troops and returned to You County, while Wei Shi went straight to Fangling City.

Compared to Huang Zhong, although Yang Ren is not as well-known, he is a practical general.

According to historical records: Cao Cao led an army of 100,000 when he attacked Hanzhong, but Zhang Wei and Yang Ren blocked him at Yangping Pass and could not advance.

Yang Ren fought against the fierce general Xu Chu. Although he lost to Xu Chu in the end, he was able to retreat unscathed. The history books described this battle and even used the phrase "Tian Zuo defeated the Wei Dynasty, and Lu defended himself."

Taking into account the threat of Yang Ren and the Mi soldiers, Wei Shi no longer hesitated and immediately mobilized the entire army, mobilizing follow-up fresh troops from Junshan, Shangluo Mountain, and Xiong'er Mountain to launch a fierce attack on Shangyong Gucheng.

After Wei Yan received reinforcements, he led Guo Peng, Hou Yin, Wang Ping and four thousand elite troops to attack the city.

Shen Dan was besieged in the city, and the clan soldiers suffered heavy losses every day. In panic, Shen Yi was sent out of the city to ask for help.

Shen Yi left the city and walked to the vicinity of Yunguan Pass. He was intercepted and killed by Liao Hua again. This time, Shen Yi's fighting spirit fell to the bottom from the beginning. As soon as the two armies came into contact, he abandoned his clan troops and fled.

Liao Hua took advantage of the victory and pursued him all the way up the Han River until he reached Mulansai, an important pass between Xiping and Shangyong, when he was blocked by Yang Ren's rice soldiers.

Mulansai is a dangerous place in the Han River. Later, Meng Da wanted to rebel against Wei and establish himself, but was attacked by Sima Yi. Zhuge Liang sent Shu troops to rescue him, but he was blocked in this place.

In Shangyong City.

Shen Dan struggled to support himself, thinking that Shen Yi could bring in rice soldiers to rescue him.

As a result, within two days, Liao Hua escorted a large group of captured Shen clan soldiers to the city walls.

Facing all the close clan members, Shen Dan in the city finally despaired. After raising the flag of surrender, Shen Dan surrendered the city.

Wei Shi was also happy when he learned that Shen Dan had surrendered.

Although the army under his command expanded during this period, the total number was only about 10,000, and this did not include the subsequent young and strong rural soldiers.

These young men can transport grain and fodder, but if they are damaged too much, it will inevitably lead to instability in the house.

"Ming Gong, the thief Shen Dan has been taken into custody, how should we deal with it? Yan believes that he should be killed to frighten the enemy's vigor and enhance the prestige of our army."

Wei Yan, wearing heavy armor and carrying a black-patterned knife, came to Wei Shi with murderous intent.

Lou Gui, who was standing by, heard Wei Yan's words and quickly advised him: "The Shen family still has strength in Xiping, and my subordinates believe that after their wife and children have returned to the clan, and if they treat them generously, they will be able to return home.

"

When Wei Shi heard Lou Gui's words, he couldn't help but frown.

Historically, after the brothers Shen Dan and Shen Yi surrendered to Liu Bei, one was appointed as General Zhengbei and Prefect of Shangyong, and the other was appointed as General Jianxin and Prefect of Xicheng.

Logically speaking, the Shen brothers should be grateful to Liu Bei and not betray him easily.
Chapter completed!