My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Cao Cao jumped up suddenly, stumbled and staggered to the map while leaning on his cane, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

Zhang Lu, Liu Zhang, Hanzhong, Shu region...

Oh right, how could I forget? Besides his Great Wei, there are also these two bastards still alive.

Hanzhong and Shu together make up a complete Yizhou.

Although Yizhou was only one province, it had not suffered from large-scale wars for decades. It was a land of plenty, with a rich population and a strong nation.

The two traitors, Zhang and Liu, could probably muster an army of at least tens of thousands.

Looking at the world, this is a force to be reckoned with.

Moreover, Yizhou borders Jingzhou, giving it an upstream advantage compared to the Han state.

Moreover, as Sima Yi said, the Han army was mostly concentrated in the north, and the Jingzhou area was relatively weak.

If Liu Zhang and Zhang Lu, those two traitors, could mobilize their entire armies to advance eastward, one going down the Han River to attack Xiangyang and the other going down the Yangtze River to attack Jiangling, they might very well have been able to cut off the head and tail and seize Jingzhou in one fell swoop.

If Jingzhou is lost, Liu Bei will not only be facing a fire in his own backyard, but his entire backyard will collapse!
From Jingzhou, one can sail down the Yangtze River to Yangzhou and seize half of the southern region.

Heading north out of Wancheng, we can directly attack Xuchang and Luoyang, our military might striking right into the heart of the Central Plains!

Back then, Liu Bei started his rise to power by first taking Jingzhou, and then went on to control most of the country.

If his own base of operations were to fall, even if Liu Bei had ten times the courage, would he still dare to continue besieging Jinyang and relentlessly pursuing it, instead of going back to rescue Jingzhou?
Of course not.

In this way, the siege of Jinyang would be lifted.

Wouldn't Xiahou Dun and his 60,000 Wei soldiers be saved?
He even had a chance to recover lost territory and reclaim Bingzhou…

A grand blueprint gradually emerged in Cao Cao's mind.

He became more and more excited and delighted as he thought about it, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but twitch slightly.

"Brilliant! Zhongda's plan is truly ingenious!"

"This is a miraculous strategy that can turn the tide and reverse defeat!"

"Excellent! Excellent! This plan is brilliant!"

"Yuan Rang is saved, the 60,000 soldiers are saved, and Bingzhou is saved!"

Cao Cao was overjoyed and so excited that he was incoherent. He turned around and praised Sima Yi.

Sima Yi's lips curled slightly upward, but he feigned indifference, merely cupping his hands in a smile:
"However, in order to persuade Zhang Lu and Liu Zhang, in addition to bestowing them with generous rewards, we also need to send two eloquent and persuasive men to reason with them and convince them."

Cao Cao laughed heartily and waved his hand, saying:
"You don't need to worry about Zhongda. Although our Great Wei has lost countless elite troops, finding two eloquent persuaders is still no problem."

"There is no time to lose. This plan should be implemented immediately. I will personally write two imperial edicts to enfeoff the emperor and send people to Yizhou to join forces with Zhang Lu and Liu Zhang!"

With the grand plan settled, Cao Cao dared not hesitate and immediately wrote two imperial edicts in his own hand.

One imperial edict conferred the title of King of Hanzhong upon Zhang Lu, while another edict conferred the title of King of Shu upon Liu Zhang. Envoys were dispatched immediately to set off south, heading straight for the Shu region.

With the envoy dispatched, Cao Cao was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

To reassure Xiahou Dun and his 50,000 Wei soldiers, Cao Cao immediately dispatched light cavalry to sneak into Jinyang and inform Xiahou Dun of the news before the Han army could encircle the city, so that he could defend it with peace of mind.

...

Jinyang.

Generals such as Zhang Fei, Zhang Liao, Lu Xun, and Gan Ning successively led their troops and joined forces at the walls of Jinyang.

Within five days, hundreds of thousands of Han troops converged, surrounding Jinyang City in layers, making it impenetrable...

Inside the Han camp.

Liu Bei was riding slowly through the camp, inspecting the various camps besieging the city with Xiao He, Zhang Fei, and other ministers.

At a glance, the area inside and outside the camp was bustling with activity.

Outside the siege camp, tens of thousands of Han soldiers were carrying out earthworks. Three moats encircling Jinyang were being dug, and a two-zhang-high earthen wall was rising from the ground around the city. According to Liu Bei's edict, the Han army's siege of Jinyang was directly comparable to the siege of Ye City in the past.

No, it should be said that it is even worse.

Liu Bei's desired outcome was to ensure that Jinyang was completely surrounded, so that not even a single soldier, let alone a fly, could get in or out.

So the generals mobilized nearly 50,000 soldiers according to this standard, and they dug trenches and built walls day and night.

Inside the main camp, more than two thousand artisans were also working day and night to build the Divine Thunder Cannon.

The targets set by Liu Bei were also unprecedented and unparalleled:

Within ten days, we must build more than five hundred Divine Thunder Cannons!

Five hundred divine thunder cannons simultaneously bombarded a city…

Liu Bei aimed to set a record for the largest number of Divine Thunder Cannons used simultaneously since their invention.

"Your Majesty, the soldiers are in high spirits and are working hard with all their might. Rest assured, we will complete the encirclement within ten days and give that scoundrel Xiahou Dun a good beating."

Zhang Fei pointed to the bustling scene before him and smiled confidently.

Liu Bei nodded slightly, his face showing confidence, and smiled:

"Linxian Ferry is as solid as a rock, Puban Ferry is as firm as a rock, Yanmen and Dai County in the north and Xihe County in the west have been recovered by our great Han. Xiahou Dun is already trapped in a jar and cannot escape."

"My lords, we have no more worries. Put all your energy and abilities into focus and besiege Jinyang."

"Whether it's January, March, or half a year, we will not stop until we take Jinyang!"

Inspired by Liu Bei's domineering and extravagant hunting, the generals responded generously, their fighting spirit soaring like a surging tide.

The atmosphere was relaxed and confident...

The Han emperor and his ministers chatted and laughed all the way back to the imperial tent.

Upon entering the imperial tent, a young civil official was already waiting inside.

"I pay my respects to Your Majesty."

Upon seeing Liu Bei's return, the young civil official hurriedly stepped forward to pay his respects.

"Ziheng, why are you suddenly at the front lines in Jinyang instead of assisting the Prime Minister in Yecheng?"

Liu Bei waved his hand slightly, indicating that the young civil official should dispense with the formalities, but a strange look appeared between his brows.

Zhuge Jun, with a solemn expression, cupped his hands and said:
"Your Majesty, this matter concerns the safety of Jingzhou and Xuluo, so my elder brother ordered me to ride at full speed to report to Your Majesty in person."

The safety of Jingzhou, the safety of Xu Luo…

Zhuge Liang even specially sent his own brothers to the front line to report the news!
These few words contained a tremendous amount of information, which alerted Liu Bei and his ministers.

Xiao Hejian's brows furrowed slightly, and he had already guessed seven or eight parts of the truth.

Liu Bei's face showed even more suspicion, and he hurriedly asked Zhuge Liang what urgent matter he had to report and why he needed to send his younger brother, Zhuge Jun, to make the trip in person.

"According to reports from our spies in Hanzhong, Cao Cao seems to have sent an envoy to Hanzhong to appoint Zhang Lu as the King of Hanzhong. Zhang Lu is currently gathering troops along the Shangyong line, seemingly intending to sail down the Han River to attack our Xiangyang."

"There were also spies in Chengdu who reported that the Wei envoy had also arrived in Chengdu not long ago and conferred the title of King of Shu upon Liu Zhang. After that, Zhang Ren, a famous general in Shu, led tens of thousands of Shu troops to garrison Jiangzhou, which seemed to indicate that he was going to move down the river to attack our Jiangling."

Zhuge Jun reported the intelligence, then bowed again:

"My elder brother believes that Liu Zhang and Zhang Lu were persuaded by Cao Cao to attack our Xiangyang and Jiangling from two directions and invade our Jingzhou."

"If Jingzhou is lost, not only will the Jiangnan region be in danger of falling, but also the heartland of the Central Plains, including Xu and Luo."

"This matter is of great importance. My elder brother specially ordered me to come overnight to report to Your Majesty and request that Your Majesty take appropriate measures as soon as possible."

Upon hearing Zhuge Jun's words, Liu Bei's expression changed. (End of Chapter)