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

It was early spring, and the ice and snow were melting.

At this time, Cao Cao was preparing his troops along the Chang'an line, gathering almost his last 80,000 soldiers and adopting a tough stance of being ready for battle and determined to defend to the death.

At this moment, Chang'an was like a huge fortress, bearing Cao Cao's last hope.

In order to slow down the rapid advance of the Han army and prevent the city from being surrounded and trapped, Cao Cao, after weighing the pros and cons, made a tough decision and resolutely ordered the breaching of the dike on the north bank of the Wei River.

Within days, the vast plains north of the Wei River were instantly submerged by the flood.

The once fertile land has now become a vast swamp.

This natural barrier was formed by the flood.

Cao Cao used this as cover to avoid the potential threat of the Han army encircling Chang'an from the north.

As a result, Liu Shan's 350,000-strong Han army, despite its formidable strength, could only helplessly form a semi-encirclement of Chang'an from the southeast.

The Han army, numerous and powerful, surged like a tidal wave, wave after wave, threatening to engulf the isolated city of Chang'an.

The State of Wei, however, relied on the formidable city of Chang'an to stand firm and hold onto its last line of defense.

The two armies were thus briefly locked in a stalemate along the Chang'an line.

……

Inside the Han camp, in the large tent, candlelight flickered.

"According to urgent messages sent back by my spies in Hanzhong, after Sima Yi entered Hanzhong, he quickly gained the appreciation and trust of Zhang Lu and was regarded as a trusted minister."

"Sima Yi seems to have successfully persuaded Zhang Lu to send troops from Hanzhong north to help Cao Cao out of his predicament."

Ma Su continued:

"My spies have discovered clear signs of the Hanzhong army gathering troops and supplies in the Xiegukou area. All intelligence suggests that the Hanzhong army intends to enter Hanzhong from the north of Baoxie Valley, forming a pincer movement against our army..."

Ma Su read out the latest intelligence reports one after another, like a machine gun firing.

Liu Shan sat quietly in the main seat, his face growing increasingly gloomy, like a dark cloud gathering.

His gaze slowly swept over Xiao He and the others, and he asked in a low voice:

"Grand Marshal, General of Chariots and Cavalry, in your opinion, what is this traitor Zhang Lu's intention?"

"Does he really dare to be an enemy of our great Han Dynasty and collude with Cao Cao?"

Xiao He put down the still-steaming teacup in his hand, his expression calm and unconcerned, and said:

"It was nothing more than that treacherous Sima Yi, with his silver tongue, persuaded Zhang Lu to send troops out of the Qinling Mountains to attack our flank and rear, in order to help Cao Cao relieve the siege of Chang'an. This was just Cao Cao's last-ditch effort."

"I suspect that this is also the reason why Cao Cao dared to gather all his remaining forces and gamble everything to defend Chang'an. He thought that with Zhang Lu's help, he could turn the tide."

Xiao He's words revealed his disdain for Cao Cao and Sima Yi.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fei was instantly enraged. He slammed his fist on the table, his eyes wide with fury, and roared:

"That Cao traitor! Even at this point, he still wants to struggle in his death throes. He's like a cornered dog jumping over a wall!"

"Zhang Lu is incredibly audacious, daring to oppose our Han Dynasty. Is he tired of living?"

"When I lead my army there, I will surely tear him to pieces!"

Liu Shan's gaze slowly shifted to the map, searching it carefully.

Finally, his gaze fell upon the location of Hanzhong, and a bold and risky plan began to burn brightly in his mind. "Zhang Lu can only mobilize tens of thousands of troops. As long as we ensure that he does not enter the Guanzhong Plain, he is not a threat."

"Our primary task now should be to focus on capturing Chang'an and destroying the puppet Wei regime. We should not divide our forces too much to deal with Zhang Lu, lest we lose more than we gain."

"Therefore, I believe that we only need to send tens of thousands of troops to guard the valley entrances of the Qinling Mountains, hold our ground and wait for the enemy to tire themselves out, and we can make Zhang Lu return empty-handed."

"Once we conquer Chang'an and destroy the puppet Wei regime, dealing with Zhang Lu will be a piece of cake."

Xiao He offered a solution.

As a staunch supporter of Xiao He, Zhang Fei naturally gave his full support.

Zhao Yun and the other ministers, who had always admired Xiao He's wisdom and strategy, and now that they understood the importance of destroying Wei, all nodded in agreement.

However, Liu Shan saw everyone's trust in Xiao He, but a hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes.

That hint of displeasure was like a flash of lightning, fleeting in an instant, yet Xiao still managed to keenly catch it.

Clearly, Liu Shan was thinking:
I am the commander of the three armies, so why do people seem to only listen to Xiao He's words, while my words as the crown prince are ignored?

Do they even respect me anymore?
"Your Highness, what do you think of my proposed solution?"

Xiao He cupped his hands in greeting to Liu Shan, a respectful smile on his face.

Although he already had a plan to depose the crown prince, he had not yet put it into practice. He still needed to maintain appearances to avoid causing unnecessary trouble.

Liu Shan neither agreed nor disagreed, but instead asked:
"Grand Marshal, if we follow your plan, how long will it take us to capture Chang'an and destroy the pseudo-Wei?"

Xiao He calculated with his fingers, pondered for a moment, and then said:
"The people of the pseudo-Wei believed that Zhang Lu had sent troops to help them, and their morale was mostly able to recover somewhat, and they were determined to defend to the death."

"Now that Cao Cao has dug up the Wei River and flooded the north bank, our army can only form a partial encirclement of Chang'an City and has failed to completely besiege the city. This undoubtedly adds a lot of difficulty to our army's attack."

"Under such circumstances, I believe it will take at least three to five months to capture Chang'an, and that is assuming everything goes smoothly. If any unexpected events occur along the way, it may take even longer."

Three to five months... Liu Shan seemed to be deep in thought.

Seeing the subtle changes in Liu Shan's expression, Xiao He suddenly had a bad feeling.

This kid must be up to something.

Sure enough, Liu Shan's eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had made some important decision.

Then, pointing to the map, he said:
"Grand Marshal, your plan is indeed sound, but it takes too long."

"I think it would be better for me to personally lead an army of 100,000 south, first defeat Zhang Lu's Han army, then march into Hanzhong through Xiegu, take Nanzheng directly, and recover Hanzhong Commandery in one fell swoop!"

"In this way, the puppet Wei will lose its external support and its army's morale will inevitably collapse!"

"Then I will lead my army back to Guanzhong and take Chang'an in one fell swoop. Wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?"

"Grand Marshal, what do you think?"

Liu Shan became more and more excited as he spoke, his smug gaze fixed on Xiao He.

Xiao He frowned, instantly understanding Liu Shan's motives.

He felt that the merit of capturing Chang'an was not enough, and he wanted to gain the merit of recovering Hanzhong before capturing Chang'an and destroying the pseudo-Wei!
Moreover, judging from his tone, he intends to personally lead an army of 100,000.

what does this mean?
This means that Liu Shan will command the army alone, free from the control of these "old guys," and will exclusively enjoy the credit for recovering Hanzhong and defeating Zhang Lu! (End of Chapter)