amaotonovel Chapter 476 Zhuge Liang's Analysis
Chapter 476 Zhuge Liang's Analysis
Zhao Yun broke the sword hilt, causing a small portion of the paper scroll inserted into the hilt to protrude.
Zhuge Liang took the sword hilt, pulled out the scroll of paper to examine it, and before he could finish reading it, his eyes widened suddenly, his right hand loosened, and the feather fan fell limply to the ground.
Zhuge Liang, however, seemed oblivious and continued flipping through the pages. After reading the last page, his legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground.
Liu Bei quickly stepped forward and put his hands under Zhuge Liang's armpits to hold him tightly, thus preventing Zhuge Liang from having a hard landing.
But Zhuge Liang weighed over 100 pounds, and Liu Bei, exhausted from running all day, couldn't lift such a large person. As a result, the two of them fell to the ground at the same time.
Liu Bei sat down and patted Zhuge Liang on the back, comforting him, "It's alright, don't get agitated."
Can you not be excited?
Who wouldn't be excited about this?
Zhuge Liang sat on the ground, panting heavily. After taking deep breaths for a quarter of an hour, he turned his head blankly and looked at Liu Bei, saying in a daze, "Your Majesty, slap me and see if I'm dreaming?"
Liu Bei, of course, wouldn't do something that would embarrass Zhuge Liang. Instead, he grabbed a muscle on Zhuge Liang's arm, twisted it hard, and asked, "Does it hurt?"
Feeling the pain, Zhuge Liang finally felt relieved. He picked up the battle report again and read it once more, exclaiming in shock, "Anguo is a great talent! After this battle, not only has the situation in Jiangdong been completely stabilized, but the situation in the world has also been reversed."
Liu Bei hurriedly said, "That's why I came here. Now that Eastern Wu's elite troops have been wiped out, Jiangling is empty and the people are restless, shouldn't we take back Jingzhou?"
Zhuge Liang frowned and said, "Let me think about it, let me think about it first."
As he spoke, he pressed Liu Bei's shoulder and struggled to his feet, picking up the fallen feather fan and pacing back and forth in the hall.
Liu Bei knew that this was Zhuge Liang's independent way of thinking, so he sat on the ground and waited quietly for Zhuge Liang's result.
Zhuge Liang pondered for a long time before muttering to himself, "Anguo's battle report was written after Lü Dai was captured. Lü Dai was captured in Lishui, and Zhou Cang had no need to go to Lishui. Therefore, this battle report must have been given to Zhou Cang after Anguo captured Lü Dai and withdrew to Wushang."
"At that time, Wu's two armies had been completely annihilated, and the two generals were still confronting Cao Ren in Jianye. However, Zhou Cang had been on the road for more than a month. It was impossible for Anguo to have been inactive for such a long time, and it was also impossible for Cao Ren to have been inactive."
"Cao Ren will definitely realize that this is a golden opportunity to seize Jiangling. Although he is tied up by the two generals and cannot attack Jiangling with all his might, it seems that Jiangling does not need to be attacked by force now. He only needs to send an envoy to Jiangling to explain the advantages and disadvantages to Sun Quan and make promises. Sun Quan is very likely to surrender. After all, with the annihilation of 50,000 elite troops, surrender has become Sun Quan's only choice."
Liu Bei's expression changed slightly, and he couldn't help but ask, "Are you saying that Sun Quan might surrender to Cao Cao?"
Zhuge Liang shook his head and said, "Surrendering to Cao Cao or Liu Bei is possible, but Cao Ren wouldn't be foolish enough to place his hopes on Sun Quan alone. He will definitely try to win over others, such as traitors like Mi Fang and Fu Shiren, the gentry of Jingzhou like Pan Jun and Huang Chengyan, and Gu Yong, who has a blood feud with An Guo for killing his son..."
"Moreover, Cao Cao may have already received the news. If he does, he is very likely to abandon Hanzhong and rush to Nanyang to assist in the battle. Has Your Majesty not noticed that the Wei army's attacks have weakened a lot recently?"
Liu Bei frowned and said, "It's possible that Cao Cao received the news, but it probably won't be that fast for him to get from Guanzhong to Luoyang and then to the Xiangfan front."
Zhuge Liang shook his head and said, "There is more than one route from Guanzhong to Xiangfan than Tongguan. Cao Cao could take the same route that Emperor Gaozu took when he entered Guanzhong, enter Yaoguan, exit Wuguan, and go directly into the Nanyang Basin."
Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, entered Wuguan from Nanyang, and then marched through Yaoguan and directly into Guanzhong. Now Cao Cao is in Guanzhong, and he can easily take this route to reach Xiangfan quickly.
Liu Bei said, "Continue..."
Zhuge Liang continued, "After news of Lu Xun's defeat reaches Jingzhou, things will definitely change in Jiangling, splitting into two factions: those who surrender to Liu Bei and those who surrender to Cao Cao. At that time, whoever arrives first, Your Majesty or Cao Cao, will likely seize Jiangling."
"Therefore, we cannot delay any longer. We should hand over the Hanzhong defense line to Wei Yan, dispatch elite troops and generals to Xicheng to fight Xu Huang, defeat Xu Huang and recover the three eastern counties, and then join forces with Anguo to retake Jiangling. If I am not mistaken, Anguo may have already taken Nanchang by now. By the time Your Majesty arrives in Jiangling, Anguo will probably have arrived as well."
Thinking of the scene of joining forces with Guan Xing, Liu Bei couldn't help but feel excited again, and said excitedly, "They've even taken Nanchang, how could Anguo act so quickly?"
Zhuge Liang sighed and said, "Your Majesty, you can't treat Anguo as a junior now. This boy's abilities are no less than Huo Qubing's, and his ability to turn enemy troops into your own is probably on par with Han Xin's. What is Nanchang compared to such a commander? Perhaps by the time Your Majesty has fought his way out of the three eastern counties, Anguo will have already recovered Jiangling."
Speaking of this, I can't help but sigh again; this student is truly remarkable.
Zhuge Liang was Liu Shan's teacher, and Guan Xing and Zhang Bao were the same age as Liu Shan, so they naturally took Zhuge Liang's classes with Liu Shan.
From this perspective, Liu Shan, Guan Xing, and Zhang Bao were all students of Zhuge Liang.
Liu Bei laughed and said, "I don't expect to recapture Jiangling. As long as we can prevent Jiangling from being taken by the Wei army before I arrive, that will be enough."
As long as it is not captured by the Wei army, he can negotiate with Sun Quan. If it is captured by the Wei army, it will be very difficult to take back Jiangling given its city defenses.
After pondering for a long time, Liu Bei stood up and said, "Since that's the case, let's split up. I will gather troops to attack the three eastern counties, and you will return to Chengdu to gather troops to attack Yiling. We will then meet up with Anguo in Jiangling."
Zhuge Liang pondered and said, "That's fine. At the same time, send an envoy to Jiaozhou to contact Shi Xie. Now that Sun Quan has been defeated, Shi Xie should surrender as well."
"Make another copy of Anguo's battle report and send it to Nanzhong. The powerful clans of the eight tribes in Nanzhong, including Yongkai and Menghuo, have been making trouble recently. With this battle report, they should be able to calm down a bit."
Liu Bei currently has no time to conquer the Nanzhong region; he can only appease and deter the various tribes in Nanzhong who are constantly causing trouble.
Fortunately, the tribes in the south have always been bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong. They only cause trouble when Liu Bei is weak. The stronger Liu Bei is, the more obedient they become. Sending Guan Xing's battle report to the south should frighten the tribes there and prevent them from making any rash moves in the short term.
As long as they don't cause trouble in the near future, once Liu Bei reclaims Jingzhou and unifies Jiangnan, he won't be afraid even if the various tribes in Nanzhong collectively cause trouble. In fact, even if they don't cause trouble, Liu Bei will still have to find something for them to do.
Liu Bei said, "Let's do it this way. But strategist, can we go all out? After I conquer the three eastern commanderies, instead of going to Jiangling, I'll seize Xiangfan to block Cao Cao. You and Anguo can join forces in Jiangling and then lead the army eastward to work together with my second brother to deal with Cao Ren."
Zhuge Liang: “…”
Your Majesty, you really have wild ideas! Why don't you just take care of Cao Cao directly?
After pondering for a long time, Zhuge Liang shook his head and said, "It's not a good idea. Xiangfan and Fancheng have been destroyed beyond recognition. Even if you capture them, you won't be able to hold them. When Cao Cao arrives, Cao Ren will send a detachment to attack the Han River and capture Yicheng. If they establish a defensive line at the Yi River and attack Cao Cao from both sides, Your Majesty may be forced to retreat to the three eastern counties. Let's capture Jiangling first, and we can deal with the rest after we capture Jiangling."
Liu Bei nodded and said, "Alright..."
After the emperor and his minister finished their discussion, they immediately took action. Soon, several groups of messengers rushed out of Nanzheng and headed to various places to deliver orders to frontline generals such as Zhang Fei and Wei Yan, as well as rear officials in Chengdu.
Zhuge Liang did not return to Chengdu immediately. Instead, he rested for a night and reviewed the specific action plan in his mind. At dawn, he bid farewell to Liu Bei and headed to Chengdu to prepare to mobilize troops for an eastern expedition.