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

"A Dou, A Dou~~"

Liu Bei was overjoyed and ignored Liu Shan's "rudeness," so he mounted his horse and pounced on him.

"Father."

Liu Shan remained calm and composed, his expression unchanging, showing no joy whatsoever that one would expect from a father and son reuniting.

"Adou, are you really fully recovered? Let your father see you quickly."

Liu Bei patted Liu Shan on the shoulder and looked his son up and down.

Liu Shan smiled faintly and replied:

"Thank you for your concern, Father. I am fully recovered."

Liu Bei took a half step back and carefully examined Liu Shan.

On the surface, his son appeared to be no different from ordinary people in his demeanor and speech, showing no signs of dementia whatsoever.

In fact, Liu Shan's response to his illness was even more composed and calm than before.

His demeanor seemed quite different from before.

"Your Majesty, the banquet is ready. Please return to the palace."

Zhuge Liang stepped forward with a smile and invited him.

Liu Bei's thoughts were interrupted, so he stopped thinking about it and immediately took Liu Shan's hand, and the father and son entered the city side by side.

By this time, the officials and common people of Ye City had long heard that the emperor had returned to the capital, and the streets were deserted as everyone flocked to the city.

Amidst shouts of "Long live the Emperor!", Liu Bei entered the city with his head held high and accepted the homage of his subjects.

Inside the palace, a grand celebration banquet has been prepared.

Liu Bei then held a grand banquet for his ministers in the Golden Hall, firstly to congratulate them on the recovery of Bingzhou, and secondly to congratulate Liu Shan on the recovery of his mental illness.

At the victory banquet, Liu Bei immediately issued two imperial edicts.

The first measure was to bestow generous rewards upon meritorious officials.

All the Han soldiers who participated in this battle, from generals to lowly soldiers, were rewarded for their merits.

Soldiers were granted land, and officers were promoted. Those who had already reached the highest ranks of officialdom, like Xiao He, received an increase in their fiefdom.

Upon receiving the imperial decree of bestowal of honors, all the officials were overjoyed and rose to their feet to express their gratitude to the emperor.

The second imperial edict was to establish Liu Shan as the crown prince!
Today, father and son meet again. Liu Bei has personally witnessed Liu Shan's physical and mental recovery, and he is even better than before he fell ill.

With his last concerns gone, Liu Bei, in high spirits, immediately appointed Liu Shan as crown prince in front of his ministers, thus putting an end to a worry in his heart.

When the imperial edict was issued, none of the officials objected.

Princes Liu Yong and Liu Li knew they were not qualified to compete with their elder brother for the throne. Even though they were unwilling, they dared not show any dissatisfaction on the surface and could only show that they accepted their father’s decision with heartfelt obedience.

The position of Crown Prince was thus settled.

The following day, Liu Bei issued another edict, announcing to all the prefectures and counties of the Han Dynasty, and to all the people of the land, his intention to establish Liu Shan, the King of Jin, as the new king.

The imperial edict was quickly sent to all the prefectures in the country.

The first to receive the imperial edict was naturally General Guan Yu, who was stationed in Luoyang and in charge of the military affairs of the various prefectures in Henan.

Guan Yu was naturally well aware of the principle of primogeniture.

His previous support for making Liu Yong the crown prince was because Liu Shan was mentally challenged and had lost his eligibility to be the heir apparent. He wanted to establish a kind and virtuous ruler for the sake of the Han dynasty, not out of personal motives.

Now that he had heard that Liu Shan had recovered, Guan Yu was overjoyed and naturally agreed with Liu Bei's decision to make Liu Shan the crown prince.

The day after receiving the imperial edict, Guan Yu wrote a memorial expressing his firm support for Liu Bei's decision and ordered his third son, Guan Suo, to personally deliver the memorial to Ye City.

If even General Guan Yu had no objections, then the governors and garrison commanders of the various prefectures naturally had even fewer objections.

As a result, a flood of memorials were sent to Ye City from all directions, all supporting Liu Bei's decision to establish Liu Shan as the crown prince.

With the position of Crown Prince settled, the people of the land breathed a sigh of relief, and the unsettled hearts of the people were finally at ease.

For Liu Bei, there were no more worries about the future. His only goal was to destroy the pseudo-Wei state, eliminate the two traitors Zhang Lu and Liu Zhang, and complete the great task of unifying the world in his lifetime.

He wanted to leave Liu Shan a unified and peaceful empire. Thus, less than a month after Liu Bei returned to the capital, the matter of launching another campaign against the puppet state of Wei was put on the agenda.

On this day, in the Golden Hall of the Imperial Palace.

Liu Bei summoned his ministers to discuss the grand plan to attack Wei and destroy Cao Cao.

The ministers vied to offer their opinions, and discussions rose and fell throughout the hall.

Although the strategies offered by everyone differed slightly in detail, their general direction was surprisingly consistent.

That is, the main direction of the attack on Wei was the Bingzhou direction.

The specific operation involved the main force marching south from Jinyang, feigning a westward crossing of the Yellow River at three ferry crossings: Linxian Ferry, Longmen Ferry, and Puban Ferry, in order to attack Guanzhong.

Given that the western bank of the river between Linxian and Longmendu is mountainous and not conducive to the deployment of large forces, these two river crossings are only intended as feint attacks.

The Han army's actual crossing direction was still chosen at Pubanjin.

Once you cross the river at Pubanjin, as long as you capture Puban Pass on the other side, the Guanzhong Plain stretches out before you.

With hundreds of thousands of Han troops pouring in, how could Cao Cao possibly resist with his current forces in the vast wilderness?
Puban Pass was the key to the campaign against Wei.

The attacks from Tongguan and Wuguan were naturally feigned, intended to tie down some of the Wei army's forces.

With the general direction finalized, the next step is to discuss the specific plan for crossing the river.

"According to my spies' recent reports, Cao Cao has reinforced and thickened Puban Pass multiple times, making it strong enough to withstand the bombardment of my Divine Thunder Cannons."

"In addition, Cao Cao also built two river defense fortifications within a ten-mile stretch along the river, centered on Puban Pass."

"The number of Wei troops stationed along the Puban Pass has also increased to about 30,000. If necessary, another 20,000 troops can be mobilized within two days."

"Moreover, the Wei general guarding Puban Pass is Xu Huang, a famous general of the pseudo-Wei state."

"Judging from Cao Cao's deployment, the traitor Cao has probably deduced that we will definitely use Puban as the breakthrough point for attacking Wei, which is why he has stationed a large number of troops there and is doing everything he can to prevent our army from crossing the river!"

Pang Tong pointed to the sand table in the main hall and explained the Wei Kingdom's defense strategy and system one by one.

Zhuge Liang pointed with his feather fan and then said:

"I don't find it surprising that Cao Cao has made such a plan."

"After all, we have just used the full force of our nation to conquer Bingzhou. Our purpose is naturally to bypass the natural barrier of Tongguan and attack Guanzhong from Bingzhou."

"Then the direction of the next campaign against Wei will be obvious and without any suspense."

"Since Cao Cao had anticipated this, he would naturally focus his defenses on the Puban Pass line."

Liu Bei agreed wholeheartedly and nodded slightly.

“Shi Yuan Kongming’s words are reasonable. This campaign against Wei is an open strategy, and there are no secrets to it. Everyone in the world knows that I am going to attack Guanzhong from Puban, and Cao Cao will naturally be on guard.”

Changing the subject, Liu Bei frowned slightly:

"However, judging from the current situation, although Puban Pass is not as dangerous as Tong Pass, it has the natural barrier of the Yellow River in front of it, and Cao Cao has stationed a large number of troops to defend it. If our army wants to cross the river and break through the pass, it may not be as easy as we thought."

"How can we successfully cross the river and breach Puban Pass? Do any of you gentlemen have a good plan?"

The ministers began to discuss the matter again, each expressing their own opinions and offering suggestions.

However, the strategies offered by the ministers each had their own strengths and weaknesses, and none of them could be considered a perfect solution.

"Bowen, do you have a good plan?"

Liu Bei had no choice but to turn his attention to Xiao He.

Xiao He's eyes already showed a confident expression. He smiled faintly and asked in return:
"How could the mere Yellow River possibly stop the Great Han Celestial Master? Has Your Majesty forgotten how we crossed the Yellow River and besieged Liyang back then?"

When Xiao He brought up the old matter again, Liu Bei was slightly taken aback and couldn't react for a moment.

next moment.

Crown Prince Liu Shan's eyes lit up, and he suddenly spoke:

"Father, the Grand Marshal's plan is to take advantage of the weather so that our army can cross the river on the ice!" (End of Chapter)