My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 490 Liu Bei Discusses the Situation
Whether it was a northern expedition or a southern campaign, waterway supply was always the top priority.

This is why, throughout history, the Huai and Si regions were always the first to be reduced to no-man's land during southern and northern expeditions. Only after the Huai and Si regions were overwhelmed would Xiangyang become the next main battlefield.

For Liu Bei and his son Liu Feng, the situation is now better than ever before.

They seized most of Jingzhou, and without much fighting, achieving a resounding victory. In particular, the capture of Xiangyang allowed Jingzhou to calmly deploy its defenses along the Xiangyang line.

With an alliance with Cao Cao, Xiangyang only needed 20,000 to 30,000 troops to be stationed there to ensure its safety. Even if it was attacked, with the Han River connecting the two cities, 10,000 troops could be sent to reinforce Xiangyang within a week, at least 30,000 troops could be mobilized within a month, and the number of troops could reach 100,000 within two months.

This doesn't even include the tens of thousands of able-bodied men in Xiangyang City, or the tens of thousands of followers of various wealthy and powerful families.

Even if Liu Feng were to completely break with Cao Cao's forces, he would only need to deploy 70,000 to 80,000 men in Xiangyang to be able to rest easy. Even if Cao Cao mobilized a massive army of 150,000 men, it would be difficult for him to gain a foothold on the south bank of the Han River.

This is the essence of Xiangyang, the largest city in the south.

Now, Liu Feng's army is approaching 300,000, and in terms of quality, it is even superior to Yuan Shao's army. However, he is currently busy trying to reduce the size of the army, cut the old and weak, and train the strong and brave to increase the number of field troops.

This military situation was not only visible to Liu Feng and Zhuge Liang, but also to Liu Bei, Guo Jia, Xun You, Chen Deng, and others.

Soon, Xun You, Lu Su, Liu Ye, and others were summoned to discuss matters.

As the saying goes, great minds think alike. After listening to Guo Jia's account, everyone was pleasantly surprised and unanimously suggested that Liu Bei take advantage of the period before the war began to adjust his defenses.

The original strategy adopted by Liu Bei and his son Liu Feng was to use Liu Bei's Xu, Yu, and Yan provinces as the first line of defense, and Liu Feng's Yang province as the second line of defense, while keeping a watchful eye on Liu Biao's movements in the Jing province.

While this arrangement was the best solution devised through collective discussion, it was not without its problems. However, these problems ultimately stemmed from insufficient strength, not from human error. Therefore, now that our strength has greatly increased and Liu Biao, the greatest threat from the west, has been eliminated, it is time to remedy these shortcomings and even completely rebuild from scratch.

"My lord, the current situation gives our army a huge advantage."

Liu Ye had the greatest desire to perform among all those present.

Xun You was the most talented, but he was naturally low-key and cautious, humble and modest, and always knew when to advance and retreat, and rarely took the lead.

Lu Su's abilities were also first-rate, especially his strategic vision, which was comparable to Xun You's, though he was inferior to Xun You in terms of ingenious strategies and classic texts. In terms of ambition, Lu Su was also quite ardent, no less so than Liu Ye. However, Lu Su was a man of loyalty, with a generous yet humble character, and he would not compete with Liu Ye.

As for Guo Jia, he was in charge of confidential intelligence and was not on the same track as the other three. Moreover, he had already spoken with Liu Bei alone, so he was just observing from the sidelines.

Seeing Liu Ye's excited expression, Liu Bei was also overjoyed.

The previous victories and the vibrant atmosphere of the battles had made Liu Bei happy, but he also felt a sense of unease.

This stemmed from the fact that Liu Bei and his son Liu Feng were surrounded by enormous entities.

Whether it was Yuan Shao in Hebei, Cao Cao in Yan and Luo, Liu Biao in Jingzhou, or Yuan Shu in Huaiyang, each of them had a more solid foundation and deeper resources than Liu Bei and his son Liu Feng.

Just as the brothers Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu despised Cao Cao and ridiculed him as a nouveau riche, and the gentry of the Central Plains regarded Liu Biao, who entered Jingzhou alone, as a miser who picked up bargains, Liu Bei also knew that in the eyes of most gentry, he was probably even richer than Cao Cao and had a reputation for being a petty tyrant who had achieved success than Liu Biao.

Liu Bei was even more worried about the instability of his territory, fearing it might collapse at any moment. After all, he had only held Xu Province for four years, Yu Province for two, and Yang Province had only been newly established last year. The Yuan brothers, on the other hand, had cultivated Yu Province for generations for over a century, making Liu Bei deeply anxious. More importantly, Liu Bei had no relatives to assist him.

Apart from Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who could somewhat replace his relatives, he had no other close confidants from his clan. Even his own clan, the Liu family of Zhuozhou, was now under Yuan Shao's rule, offering no assistance whatsoever and potentially becoming a burden.

These were Liu Bei's concerns, and also the root cause of many powerful clans' suspicions of him.

But now, with Liu Feng winning three battles in a row and taking Xiangyang without bloodshed, and capturing six of the seven counties of Jingzhou, he has overthrown a powerful warlord like Liu Biao in just over half a year. The world is terrified by the sharpness of his military force.

Now, the threat to Liu Bei from the west has been almost completely eliminated.

Liu Zhang was trapped in Shu and never ventured east. The defense of Jingzhou was almost entirely in Xiangyang, which was a fortified city that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and impossible to cross.

In this way, Liu Bei and his son only needed to allocate 70,000 to 80,000 troops to Xiangyang, while the remaining 200,000-plus troops could be concentrated in Yu and Xu, instantly reversing the balance of power. And Cao Cao's territory was right on the front lines, so he didn't need to worry about his own land becoming a battlefield—it was simply ingenious.

"What are your thoughts, Ziyang?"

Liu Bei straightened his expression and looked at Liu Ye with a friendly and encouraging look.

Liu Ye's spirits lifted, and he continued, "Young Master, you have won a great victory in Jingzhou, sweeping away all threats from the west. Although Jingzhou enjoys all the advantages of the world, it is only lacking in waterways."

The blockage of waterways was not a dead end. Yue Fei had launched a northern expedition from Jiangling and captured Xiangfan within a year. He then continued north from Xiangfan, crossed Fangcheng, broke out of the Nanyang Basin, and his army marched straight towards the old capital.

Yue Fei's route took him through Xiangyang, Fangcheng, and Yingchuan, a route through which hundreds of miles of waterways were cut off. However, Yue Fei was helpless. He wanted to march north from the Huai and Si rivers, but his defense zone was in Jingzhou, and his troops were insufficient to support a campaign in the Huai and Si direction.

When Yue Fei launched his northern expedition from Jingzhou, he only had 50,000 troops. However, when Zhu Yuanzhang launched his northern expedition from Nanjing, he used a full 500,000 troops along the Huai River and the coastal route.

The reason for this difference is that the Huaihe River and the coastal passage are all plains, and there are no small mountains before reaching Xuzhou.

In this situation, the Southern army was highly vulnerable to cavalry raids, and the Northern cavalry could exert great mobility. The Southern army had to set up defenses everywhere and divide its forces in many places to protect its logistical supply lines and the flanks and rear of its main force. In this way, having fewer troops would be of no use.

Comparing the two options, any wise ruler would not choose to send 30,000 to 50,000 men out of Jingzhou, but would certainly choose to send 100,000 troops out of Huai and Si.

This was also the purpose of Liu Ye's suggestion.

"My lord, you can order the young master to select 100,000 elite troops and station them in the Huai and Si regions. To the north, they can support Yu Province, occupy the center of the land, and confront the main force of Yuan Shao's army. To the east, they can enter Xu Province, and to the north, they can raid Qing Province, threatening the flanks of Yuan Shao's army. To the west, they can join forces with Cao Cao to fight Yuan Shao at Wanluo. If this is done, my lord only needs to leave 30,000 to 50,000 men in Yu Province, and the rest can be stationed in Pengcheng, Pei, Lu and other commanderies, like a tiger in the mountains, ready to strike." Liu Ye spoke eloquently: "In this way, Yuan Shao will feel attacked from both sides. If he is wise, he should attack Hanoi first. Once Hanoi is taken, whether he marches south across the river and heads straight for Luozhong, or goes down to Hedong and bypasses Guanzhong, it will force Yuan Shao and Cao Cao to fight to the death. This is a plan to drive the wolf to devour the tiger."

After listening to Liu Ye's speech, Liu Bei stroked his beard slowly and pondered carefully.

After a moment, Liu Bei asked the crowd, "What do you all think of Ziyang's opinion?"

Xun You and Lu Su happened to turn their eyes to observe each other's expressions, but their gazes met unexpectedly. They found it amusing and burst into laughter at the same time.

Immediately after seeing Xun You back down, Lu Su spoke first.

“My lord, Ziyang’s opinion is very reasonable, but I would like to add a few points.”

After receiving Liu Bei's approval, Lu Su said, "Yuan Shao dominates Hebei and has amassed the remaining forces of Gongsun Zan. His army now numbers over 300,000, truly a large and prosperous nation with ample supplies. I have heard that the registered households in Ji Province alone number no less than 500,000, or three to four million people. This is indeed a formidable enemy for our lord, and we must not underestimate him. A decisive battle would be swift, but it is fraught with risks and should not be undertaken lightly."

Liu Bei nodded in agreement and asked curiously, "I didn't expect Zijing to be so inclined to delay?"

Lu Su nodded solemnly: "That's right, that's exactly what I meant."

Liu Ye, standing beside Lu Su, was somewhat displeased. He and Lu Su were from the same hometown and had always had a good relationship. However, he never expected that Lu Su would disagree with him on the overall strategic situation.

After much hesitation, Liu Ye couldn't help but speak up and argue, "Zijing, you are unaware that the Hebei troops are indeed as you say: strong soldiers, brave officers, powerful forces, and well-equipped. However, Yuan's army has a fatal flaw, which, in my opinion, makes them easy to defeat!"

Liu Bei became interested, bowed respectfully to Liu Ye, and then asked, "I wonder what flaws Yuan's army has that make them so dangerous?"

Liu Ye immediately replied, "Nothing more than factional strife!"

Liu Ye cupped his hands in greeting to Guo Jia and said, "I presume that Fengxiao has already reported to the lord that the scholars of Hebei and Yingchuan under Yuan Shao are sworn enemies, their factions and governments nearly locked in a life-or-death struggle. Moreover, Yuan Shao has a large number of surrendered soldiers, whose composition is extremely complex, with clear distinctions between Han and non-Han peoples, and officials and bandits mixed together. Therefore, although their troops are numerous, they cannot cooperate effectively. Once a decisive battle is fought, under the pressure, their weaknesses will inevitably crumble!"

Liu Bei glanced at Guo Jia and then nodded. Guo Jia had indeed mentioned this matter to him, and it was a rather serious report. He originally thought he was already struggling quite a bit, but he didn't expect that the struggle under Yuan Shao's command was ten times more serious than his own.

When Liu Bei first heard about it, he was skeptical and simply couldn't believe it.

Lu Su then coughed lightly and slowly uttered a sentence that left Liu Ye dumbfounded, Xun You with a smile on his lips, Guo Jia with shining eyes, and Liu Bei utterly astonished.

"How could Ziyang be so sure that the Grand Marshal is unaware of his own weaknesses and would definitely send troops south to fight our lord?"

After thinking about it carefully, Liu Bei suddenly realized that what Lu Su said made a lot of sense.

I always thought Yuan Shao would march south because he had an absolute advantage; his family's size was greater than that of the Cao-Liu alliance.

But the situation is different now. With Liu Bei and Liu Feng joining forces, they have already surpassed Yuan Shao.

Liu Bei and Liu Feng's Xuzhou, Yangzhou, and Jingzhou were almost entirely intact, and they also controlled most of Yuzhou. If compared, Yangzhou was at least on par with present-day Jizhou, perhaps slightly inferior. Although Xuzhou suffered two massacres at the hands of Cao Cao, after Liu Bei and Liu Feng's recuperation and land reclamation, it was already a strong contender against Yuan Shao's half of Nanyouzhou. Most of Yuzhou was undoubtedly superior to the smaller, repeatedly contested Qingzhou. Finally, Bingzhou, with only two commanderies, was naturally no match for Jingzhou, which controlled three-quarters of Xiangyang and Xiangjiang.

This doesn't even include Jiaozhou, which we haven't had time to deal with yet.

Currently, Liu Bei and Liu Feng have surpassed Yuan Shao in terms of their paper statistics.

Even though Liu Bei and his son Liu Feng expanded too quickly, giving the impression that their foundation was unstable and they could be defeated in a single battle, it was still questionable whether Yuan Shao would dare to march south in the face of Liu Feng's terrifying record of winning every battle and conquering four provinces in four years.

After figuring this out, Liu Bei couldn't help but gasp.

If Lu Zijing hadn't pointed this out, I wouldn't have been able to see things clearly.

If we add Cao Cao's Yanzhou, Sili, half of Yuzhou, and a quarter of Jingzhou, wouldn't Yuan Shao be even more afraid that Cao Cao and Liu Bei would cross the Yellow River?
"My lord, the situation is in our hands."

After bowing respectfully to Liu Bei, Lu Su continued, "Now the court has entrusted Jiaozhou to the Left General. Of the thirteen provinces in the world, you, my lord, already possess five! The more time we can rest and recuperate, the stronger our army will become, and the more solid your foundation will be. My lord, the Left General's abilities are known throughout the world. You are not the one who should be worried."

Yup!

Liu Bei suddenly realized that his eldest son's abilities had already become known throughout the land.

With such a successor, the advantage is indeed in my favor.

Among the sons of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, who can compare to my son, the Qilin?
I'm afraid even they themselves might not dare to claim victory so easily.
Liu Bei suddenly understood the hidden meaning in Lu Su's words.

Our strength lies in Liu Feng's extraordinary talent, excelling in both literature and military strategy, and conquering vast territories, making his military might unparalleled among all heroes. Our weakness, however, is that our expansion has been too rapid. Although we and Liu Feng have tried our best to mediate, our foundation is still not as solid as that of the Yuan and Cao families.

However, the foundation can be gradually strengthened, and now my family owns five of the thirteen provinces, which can be said to be one-third of the world. With such a prosperous situation, it will naturally increase the recognition and loyalty of the local gentry and powerful families to Liu Bei and his son Liu Feng.

If Yuan Shao and Cao Cao did not want to see themselves grow stronger, they had no choice but to take the initiative to attack.

This instantly put him in the dominant position, which was exactly what Lu Su wanted to remind him of.

After figuring this out, Liu Bei felt as if he had been enlightened, and his whole body felt clear and refreshed.

Just then, Xun You straightened up, first bowing respectfully to Liu Bei, and then said something astonishing: "Your subject Xun You humbly requests that Your Majesty send troops to Eastern Qi."

(End of this chapter)