SFS Chapter 126 Zhuge Liang's Advice to Guan Yu
Chapter 126 Zhuge Liang's Advice to Guan Yu
Liu Bei was not the kind of ungrateful man who would abandon his brothers for the sake of the country. He could not possibly leave Guan Yu in Jianye and ignore him. While accepting Guan Yu's suggestion to turn back and launch a northern expedition, he was also actively looking for a way out for Guan Yu.
However, Guan Yu's current situation is too dangerous. He is completely blocked from all sides, and the situation will become even more dangerous after the Wei army marches south. Liu Bei is too far away to reach him, and the means he can use are very limited.
After discussing the matter for a long time, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang decided that the best course of action was to lure the Wei army in and then immediately retreat south.
The dense network of waterways in Jiangdong was not suitable for cavalry to move around, and the Wei army was unfamiliar with the terrain of Jiangdong. As long as Guan Yu wanted to retreat, the Wei army would definitely not be able to catch up.
If Guan Yu were to retreat to Jiaozhou, Liu Bei could use diplomatic means to ask Shi Xie for help, so that Guan Yu could retreat from Jiaozhou to Nanzhong, and then return to Chengdu from Nanzhong.
This is undoubtedly the best solution at present, but Guan Yu frowned and said, "Retreating to Jiaozhou is not impossible, but in doing so would be tantamount to completely handing over Jiangdong to Cao Cao. After Cao Cao consolidates his power in Jiangdong, he will definitely launch a western expedition to Jingzhou, and Sun Quan will certainly not be able to stop him. Even if Your Majesty successfully takes Guanzhong, the situation will still be unfavorable to us."
The biggest problem for the Wei army's southern expedition was that they couldn't cross the Yangtze River, but once they did, no one was confident that they could be driven out again.
Faced with the Wei army that had already crossed the river, Sun Quan probably wouldn't have put up any resistance and would have surrendered immediately.
At that time, Liu Bei would take Guanzhong, while Cao Cao would take Jing and Yang provinces, which would obviously be a losing proposition for Liu Bei.
More importantly, without the restraint of Eastern Wu, Liu Bei was left to fight against the unified Cao Wei with only Bashu and Guanzhong. Just thinking about it makes one's scalp tingle.
Deng Zhi smiled bitterly and said, "The King understands what you are saying, but the King has made it clear that he can give up Jiangdong, but he cannot give up you, my lord. As long as you and Prince Anguo can return safely, nothing else matters."
Upon hearing this, Guan Yu felt a lump in his throat. He had made such a grave mistake by losing Jingzhou, yet Liu Bei not only did not blame him but also cared about his safety. How could Guan Yu not be moved?
While moved, he also felt ashamed. Liu Bei wanted him to go back, but he couldn't really go back with his old face, could he?
Guan Yu got up and paced back and forth. After thinking for a long time, he shook his head and said, "No, we must not let Cao Cao unify Jiangnan. If Cao Cao really unifies it, my brother's hope of restoring the Han Dynasty will be very slim."
“As long as I am still resisting in Jiangdong, Sun Quan will not surrender easily. The longer Sun Quan persists, the greater the hope that my elder brother can restore the Han Dynasty. Whether Sun Quan surrenders to Cao Cao or not will have too great an impact on the situation of the world. I must not let Cao Cao get his way so easily.”
"My elder brother gave up his hope of restoring the Han Dynasty for my sake, but I cannot abandon his great cause. I will not leave. If I cannot defend Jianye, I will retreat to the mountains to fight guerrilla warfare and do my best to contain the Wei army in Jiangdong. I will not let the Wei army retreat to the north easily."
"I'm not leaving, I absolutely won't leave."
As if he had expected Deng Zhi to say this, he sighed calmly and said, "Besides retreating to Jiaozhou, Military Advisor Zhuge has also pointed out an escape route for you, my lord. I wonder if you are interested?"
Guan Yu said excitedly, "Strategist, you still have a way? Tell me quickly!"
Deng Zhi said, "As we all know, Jiangdong's shipbuilding technology is unparalleled in the world. The tower ships built by Eastern Wu can sail long distances. The strategist said that if you are unwilling to retreat to Jiaozhou, you might as well retreat to Wu County, then collect tower ships, and follow the example of the raid on Jianye to sail north along the coast and attack the Gongsun family in Liaodong."
"The relationship between the Gongsun clan of Liaodong and Cao Wei is not good. Moreover, if the Wei army marches south to Jiangdong, it will certainly not be able to go north to provide support in a short time. The Gongsun clan's main defense is at Yuguan (Shanhaiguan). They will not expect the enemy to attack from the sea. Your Lordship has a high probability of success."
"If you, my lord, can defeat the Gongsun clan and occupy Liaodong, you can also restrain the Wei army in the northeast and contribute to the restoration of the Han dynasty."
"The main advantage is the terrain of Liaodong. As long as you hold Yuguan Pass, you will be basically safe."
Guan Yu's eyes flashed instantly. He grabbed the oil lamp and walked to the map of the Han Dynasty's territory on the wall to examine it carefully. After staring at the map for a long time, he said, "Going north along the coast to attack Liaodong is indeed a way out and can be considered as an alternative. But I think it is more useful to stay in Jiangdong. We can go to Liaodong when we really can't hold on any longer."
Deng Zhi helplessly rubbed his forehead. That damned Guan Yu thought the same way the King and the strategist; once he got stubborn, he wouldn't listen to anyone.
Guan Yu asked, "Does Your Majesty have any further instructions?"
Deng Zhi replied, "I told you not to attack the Wu army too hard. Sun Quan is very sensitive right now, and his will is constantly wavering between surrendering and persisting. We must try our best to stabilize Sun Quan's emotions and not let him surrender to Wei in a moment of impulsiveness."
"After all, the Wei army is also stationed in Xiangyang, and has even accepted Meng Da's surrender and captured Fangling and Shangyong. They can move south to Jiangling at any time."
Guan Yu: “…”
I was already preparing to launch an offensive against Lü Meng and seize Wu's supplies, and you're telling me this?
Wang Fu seized the opportunity to continue, saying, "General Deng is right, but in that case, our plan will have to be changed. After the Wu army withdraws and the Wei army moves south, we should immediately go to Wu County and gather shipwrights to build long-range warships."
"Moreover, the shipyard cannot be located in Wu County. Wu County is too close to Jianye and is a plain, where Wei cavalry can easily drive in. If the shipyard is built in Wu County, the ships will be trampled flat by Wei cavalry before they are even finished."
Wang Fu walked up to the map, examined it carefully by the light of the oil lamp in Guan Yu's hand, and finally clenched his fist, tapping the map with his knuckles, saying, "I think this place is the most suitable."
Deng Zhi walked over and, upon seeing this, exclaimed in surprise, "Zhang An?"
The location where Wang Fu hit the object was Zhang'an County in Kuaiji Commandery, which later became Taizhou.
Wang Fu said, "That's right. The location of the shipyard cannot be too close to Jianye, as it would be easily destroyed by the Wei army. But it also cannot be too far away, as we cannot get there. Zhang'an is just right, neither too close nor too far."
"Moreover, Zhang'an is surrounded by mountains on three sides and the sea on one side, so the Wei army's cavalry cannot get in. However, we can transport all the supplies and boatmen from Wu County to Zhang'an by sea, and then cut down trees around Zhang'an to build multi-story ships. When we really can't hold out any longer, we can retreat to Zhang'an and take the multi-story ships north to Liaodong."
"But in that case, someone would need to lead the army to Wu County to collect supplies and shipwrights during the gap between the Wu army's retreat and the Wei army's arrival. After all, the shipbuilding craftsmen of Eastern Wu are mostly in Jianye and Wu County. Without craftsmen, retreating to Zhang'an would be like being at a loss."
Shipbuilding is a technical job, and skilled craftsmen are far more important than resources. Zhang'an is a small county with insufficient talent reserves, so the only way to quickly build a shipyard is to transfer resources from Wu County.
Guan Yu pondered, "Guoshan is right. Moreover, Zhang'an is not far from Wushang. If we build ships there, Anguo should be able to help. As for the person who went to Zhang'an to be in charge of shipbuilding, Bo Miao, why don't you make a trip there?"
Deng Zhi said, "No problem. The King ordered me to stay in Jianye to assist the Lord and obey all orders. So I will go to Zhang'an to build ships without hesitation. Wait, the Lord just said that Prince Anguo can help. Where is Prince Anguo?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Fu immediately perked up and excitedly laughed, "After taking Jianye, Prince Anguo went to fight guerrilla warfare outside the city to attract the attention of the Wu army and reduce the pressure on you, my lord, to defend the city."
"The original plan of the Lord was to have Prince Anguo retreat to Wushang, and then withdraw from Yuzhang to Jingnan to meet up with Prince Tanzhi. Who would have thought that Prince Anguo would be so talented as to repeatedly defeat the Wu army, and even capture the Wu army's commander Zhang Cheng twice, annihilating 50,000 to 60,000 Wu troops."
"Before you arrived, we had just received news that Prince Anguo had annihilated 50,000 troops who were marching south to conquer Wu, and captured the commander-in-chief Zhang Cheng, as well as the deputy commanders Quan Cong, Zhou Xun, and Zhuge Ke."