"Report! Overlord! According to reports from Jingzhou spies, Guan Yu has mobilized his troops one after another. He is afraid that he will attack me in Yangzhou!"
Spring has not yet arrived, but Guan Yu has already taken action.
Xiang Ji was really surprised by this.
This Liu Bei has been very arrogant recently. How dare he take the initiative to provoke me?
Originally, when Xiang Ji came here, Liu Bei's Jingzhou, Guanzhong and even Xiliang were all newly occupied, and it would probably take at least a year to completely reorganize them.
Never thought that it had only been a few months before Liu Bei was so aggressive that he took the lead in attacking himself?
But how would Xiang Ji know? If it weren't for his letter, Liu Bei might not have wanted to initiate a war.
At most, it's just verbal intimidation and verbal harassment.
But just because of that letter, the disgraced Liu Bei couldn't sit still.
If he did not send troops, even public opinion would ridicule him to death.
You know, just Xiang Ji's words don't matter.
But when you compare the whitewash he did to find a gunman, it really becomes a big joke.
No one is a fool. What is the truth about Liu Bei's past and how can we not tell it?
Therefore, Liu Bei could only be forced to send troops.
At the very least, if the war breaks out, these idle people will no longer pay attention to his past.
"Send the order! Let Ding Feng and Gao Lan each send out 10,000 cavalry, and give 20,000 cavalry to Lü Meng.
Let Lu Meng lead Yanzhou soldiers and horses to go south immediately and take charge of the Yangzhou war.
In addition, the several generals who had been surrendered by Wu State were also transferred to Lu Meng."
Yanzhou has an army of 50,000, including the 20,000 cavalry, the number is 70,000.
Yangzhou, together with Zhou Tai's navy, had a total of 120,000 troops.
Even though Guan Yu in Jingzhou claims to have an army of 300,000, Lu Bu is not weak at all against him.
In terms of military generals, Huang Zhong was originally under Lu Meng, and now with the addition of Zangba, Zhou Tai, and several surrendered generals from the Wu Kingdom, he was equally worthy against Guan Yu.
As for why Xiang Ji didn't lead his army there in person?
You know, this is just the prelude before a full-scale war, and Liu Bei's main force has not yet moved in Guanzhong.
If Xiang Yu is attracted to the southern front, then when a full-scale war breaks out, the situation in the Central Plains will be out of Xiang Yu's control.
What's more, if Lu Meng faced off against Guan Yu, it would be a natural defeat!
Who captured Guan Laoer in history? It was Lu Meng!
As for the defense of Luoyang? There are many generals in the country. Wouldn't it be the same if they were randomly sent to replace them?
As Xiang Yu's order was issued, soldiers and horses from various northern towns mobilized one after another, which shocked Liu Bei who was in Chang'an.
"Prime Minister! Does that lunatic from Chu State want to start a war with me now?"
Now, winter has not passed yet, so the south can still take the lead in launching troops.
The north is still in a state of ice and snow. Is this crazy? A full-scale war is about to begin at this time of year. Is it possible that his army will freeze to death in the wild and suffer countless frostbites after leaving the military camp?
"Your Majesty, from my perspective, the Chu State's actions are not to start a full-scale war with Your Majesty, but to deal with the Second Master Guan who is in Jingzhou."
It is not impossible to march troops in winter, but if it is a full-scale mobilization and hundreds of thousands of troops marching, it will be too reluctant in winter.
Whether it's the damage caused to soldiers and armor by the weather or the pressure on logistics and transportation, the consumption will be doubled.
Now, because of Liu Bei's anger, Guan Yu in Jingzhou took the lead to take action, so it is easy to understand Chu's actions, which must be to deal with Guan Yu in Jingzhou.
What makes Zhuge Liang more regretful is that Guan Yu's actions did not attract Xiang Ji.
Yes, this is actually a strategy of Zhuge Liang.
Zhuge Liang had always remained a silent observer of the previous farce.
Because Zhuge Liang knew that after becoming emperor, Liu Bei valued face issues more than anything else.
Now that his face has been damaged, Liu Bei will definitely become angry.
In anger, it is not surprising that Liu Bei asked Guan Yu, who was in Jingzhou, to take the lead in attacking.
All this was seen by Zhuge Liang and plotted in his heart.
In Zhuge Liang's view, there is nothing wrong with Shu Han taking the lead in attacking now.
Although the territories were all newly occupied, most of the soldiers and armor were from various tribes.
However, all this is not a problem.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the current situation in the world has entered into the struggle between Chu and Han for hegemony hundreds of years ago.
Then the choice is very simple for everyone.
Either return to Chu or surrender to Han, there is no third way for you to choose.
In the absence of any choice, whether it was the territory occupied by Liu Bei or the various soldiers who submitted to his command, they would not easily change their minds.
What's more, after building momentum, Liu Bei also occupied the title of Dayi with the help of the clan.
This made the people under his rule even more heartwarming.
Now as long as Guan Yu, who is stationed in Jingzhou, takes the lead in attacking, he will have a chance to attract King Xiang Ji of Chu who is near Yangzhou.
Once Xiang Ji's attention is diverted to the south, the Shu Han can gain a strategic advantage after spring begins.
You can launch an all-out attack on Chu State, and launch attacks on Bingzhou, Sizhou, Yuzhou and other places at the same time.
Although the Chu State has well-equipped armies and strong combat power, its greatest weakness is the number of soldiers.
As long as the Chu State is successfully dragged into the quagmire of all-out war, no matter where the Chu army is defeated, the Chu-Han War will have a major turning point, and the Shu Han army can take advantage of the situation and capture the Chu State in one fell swoop.
Zhuge Liang knew that if he wanted to defeat the Chu State, he had to fight quickly and completely annihilate it in one fell swoop.
Otherwise, if it drags on and becomes a protracted war, the Shu Han will definitely lose to Chu.
You know, Liu Bei is now over fifty years old.
In this era, people over the age of fifty are considered elderly.
If this continues to be a protracted war, Liu Bei may die first before Chu is destroyed.
If this were the case, even the Shu Han would have followed the same path as Liu Biao of Jingzhou and Liu Yan of Xichuan, and ended up getting that title in vain.
Zhuge Liang's evaluation of Liu Bei's successor Liu Chan was only two words, haha.
Moreover, there is another reason why Zhuge Liang cannot accept a protracted war.
That is national strength!
Yes, it is national strength.
Due to Xiang Ji's foresight, the total domestic population was more than twice that of Shu Han.
If this drags into a protracted war and enters the stage of competition for national strength, I am afraid that even Shu Han will not be able to defeat Chu.
But no matter how hard he tried, all he could do was make Zhuge Liang sigh.
Guan Yu made such a big move in Jingzhou, why was Xiang Ji, King of Chu, so confident that he didn't confront him personally?
But how did Zhuge Liang know that Xiang Ji was waiting for Lu Meng to copy history...