Chapter 289 Fa Zheng’s Choice
Full of honor and with the title of a rising star of the Legalists, Fa Zheng returned to Liangzhou in high spirits.
"Xiaozhi, your trip to Jixian has only been three months, and your reputation has spread throughout the world. This is cause for celebration!" Gongsun Zan praised as he looked at this rebellious young man who was quite similar to himself when he was young.
"No, no, it's just an empty title." Fa Zheng said modestly, but the upturned corners of his mouth could not be suppressed.
"Hahaha!" Seeing this, Gongsun Zan did not think Fa Zheng was frivolous at all, but laughed out loud.
This kid is so similar to me. Both of them are straightforward and can't hide things.
As for being a little arrogant.
If you are not passionate, can you still be called a young person?
Gongsun Zan is not the same arrogant person. He has the capital to be arrogant, so he can be arrogant.
"What a pity! What a pity."
The more he thought about Gongsun Zan, the more he felt sorry for him: "Xiaozhi, you are a great talent, it's a pity for you to follow me."
Although Gongsun Zan was arrogant, he was not confused.
He knew what his situation was.
In today's world, the princes are divided, the Tianze family is the only one that is powerful, and the four major princes in the Central Plains each have their own abilities and have the foundation to achieve success.
But it was difficult for him.
"My lord, why do you underestimate yourself? You have 100,000 Xiliang cavalry at your command. The world is so big that we can roam freely." Upon hearing this, Fa Zheng hurriedly comforted him.
Gongsun Zan smiled and shook his head. "Alright, stop comforting me. I know what I am capable of. When it comes to cavalry combat and conquering foreign races, no one in this world can match me. Even that guy Lu Bu can't compare to me."
"But if I want to dominate the world, I really don't have the ability to do so. Besides, the current situation does not allow me to show my ability."
When Fa Zheng heard this, his expression dimmed slightly.
Gongsun Zan was right, they really had almost no chance.
In the place of Liangzhou, the war between Han and Qiang lasted for hundreds of years and never stopped. You can imagine what the situation was like under the rule.
The Han population was only about 500,000, and the Qiang population was just over a million.
It would be bad enough that the population is small, but the supplies here are extremely scarce and the ruling foundation is too poor.
The productivity of the Qiang people was far inferior to that of the Han people, and coupled with the lack of control by the government, the productivity of the entire Liangzhou was only comparable to that of a large county in the Central Plains with a population of 400,000 to 500,000, and this was only after Fa Zheng had raised it a level.
Gongsun Zan could take advantage of local specialties and support 100,000 cavalrymen, but this was already his limit.
Moreover, most of these cavalrymen had extremely backward weapons. Not to mention iron armor, they even lacked leather armor.
Although Gongsun Zan did not think that he would be defeated by others in a battle, he could fight two or three battles but could not withstand more large-scale wars.
Yuan Shao's defeat in Hebei has proved a fact.
When the power gap between the two sides reaches a certain level, the tactic of adding fuel can also win, and it is almost a sure win.
Tian Ze seldom took the initiative to attack, and almost always faced the enemy passively, but it was by constantly encroaching on the enemy that he drove Yuan Shao out of Hebei silently.
The difference in strength was not enough to scare Gongsun Zan, but this style of fighting made Gongsun Zan feel desperate.
Even if he won five or ten times, it would be meaningless because he was far behind Tian Chengshou in absolute strength.
I'm afraid that after they won a battle and destroyed an army of 100,000, they had only been resting for two months before Tian Ze's troops came to reinforce them.
You can beat them, but you can't afford to fight them.
But soon, Fa Zheng perked up again.
"My lord, you are right. In the current situation, we have no chance, but do Yuan Benchu and the others have one?" As early as when he chose Gongsun Zan, Fa Zheng had already faced up to their inevitable failure.
But failure is not necessarily the end, but more of a beginning.
"After another trip to Youzhou, I have reaffirmed my thoughts. The world will definitely belong to the Tian family in the future. No matter how the princes of the world struggle, they are just like a mantis trying to stop a chariot."
"The resources, people's hearts, and geographical advantages are all in the hands of the Tian family. Yuan Shao and his men have no chance."
"Failure is inevitable for all of us. But failure is just the beginning for all of us. Just like Lu Fengxian now."
"In Envoy Tian's eyes, the world is very big. It's big enough to accommodate all of us."
Fa Zheng said with a burning gaze.
Hearing Fa Zheng say this, Gongsun Zan immediately thought of his second brother who was always calm and reserved when he was young, and a complex look appeared in his eyes.
Compared to him, Tian Ze seemed to be extremely mature since childhood and never competitive.
But when the fight really comes, they never retreat, let alone lose.
He had once been tempted to fight with him, but after just a little bit of fighting, he realized he couldn't win. Although Tian Ze gave him enough face and the fight ended in a draw, he knew he had lost.
I thought that was only when he was young, and martial arts were just the courage of a common man. What Gongsun Zan was best at was fighting on the battlefield.
However, he never imagined that his former second brother, even on the road to dominating the world, was still far beyond his reach.
If he was the only one who didn't have the chance, Gongsun Zan might have felt a little regretful, but when he learned that no one else had the chance, Gongsun Zan felt much more comfortable.
Fa Zheng saw this and continued, "What's more, although I am capable, who else can I turn to except my lord?"
"There are many talented people under Lord Tian's command. Yuan Shao has Shen Pei and Feng Ji, Cao Cao has Xi Zhicai, Liu Bei has Pang Tong, and Sun Ce has Zhou Yu. The rest are just mediocre people. Only you can give me room to display my talents."
Hearing Fa Zheng's straightforward words, Gongsun Zan couldn't help but feel amused and moved.
He patted Fa Zheng's shoulder gently and said, "You, Fa Xiaozhi, are no worse than them. But what you said is true. It is much more comfortable to be under my command than under theirs. You will always be my first military advisor."
"Thank you, my lord!"
Gongsun Zan nodded in satisfaction, then spread out the map and said, "Last year, we finally brought the entire Liang Province under our control. What should we do next? Should we attack Yizhou, Sili, or Bingzhou?"
Fa Zheng frowned and said, "My Lord, I'm afraid none of these three places are suitable."
"The Xiliang cavalry under our command are not good at attacking cities. Yizhou is a place with natural dangers, and Liu Yan is quite good at management. He has guarded Yizhou tightly. It is quite difficult to conquer it, and it will take a long time. It is not the best strategy."
"There are also many checkpoints around Sili, and Li Jue and Guo Si have deployed heavy troops around Mei County and Chang'an. If we attack, I'm afraid we will be making things difficult for Tian Chengshou and Cao Mengde."
"Even if we wait until these two attack Sili and Chang'an, the strongholds will not be good for us Xiliang soldiers to fight. It is tantamount to using our short hand to attack our strong hand, unless we wait for the best opportunity."
"As for attacking Bingzhou... the terrain is not favorable to us, and the two legions under Tian Chengshou are stationed here. We are not strong enough, and we are fighting away from home, so I am afraid it is not a good idea."
After hearing this, Gongsun Zan nodded repeatedly. In fact, he thought so too.
But he couldn't just do nothing, as he was surrounded by three states, but none of them was suitable for attack.
It was still the same problem, Gongsun Zan started too late. The chaotic Liangzhou wasted too much of his time.
"So what should we do? We can't just wait for others to come and fight us."
Seeing that Gongsun Zan was still a little impatient, Fa Zheng smiled slightly and pointed to the northwest of Liangzhou: "My lord, don't forget that there is also the Western Region. It is said that the small countries here are quite rich."
(End of this chapter)
