The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 25 Learning and Preparing for Battle

What?
Professor Pan Jun is a match for ten thousand men?
Now it was Miwei's turn to be stunned.

Pan Jun: "What, do you think my knowledge is insufficient to teach you?"

Miwei thought to himself, this is not a matter of sufficiency or inadequacy.

Instead, it was Guan Yu, a universally acknowledged warrior capable of defeating ten thousand men, who was suppressed in Jingzhou.

Why don't I learn from Guan Yu?
Speaking of which, Pan Jun, this old man, rose to the position of Grand Master of Ceremonies, the head of the Nine Ministers in history.

Although he held a high position and wielded great power, he was merely an official in charge of sacrifices and rituals.

I vaguely remember that he later helped Sun Quan quell a barbarian rebellion... but is that reliable?

Seeing that Mi Wei remained silent, Pan Jun finally lost his temper:
"You previously went to great lengths to preserve Jiangling, which shows that you know Jiangling is of great importance to the King of Hanzhong's cause. Why don't you tell your teacher about it?"

Goodness, they've even said things like jumping around.

It seems that Old Deng is really angry.

Mi Wei dared not be negligent. Considering what he had seen and heard recently, he thought for a moment and said:

“Jiangling is located south of the Yangtze River, east of Wu and Hui, west of Ba and Shu, and north of Xiangfan, making it a thoroughfare of Jingzhou.”

"Although the surrounding areas outside the city are mostly flat, there are interconnected lakes and crisscrossing waterways, making it still a place that can be considered defensible."

"The abundance of lakes and rivers also means that the land is easy to irrigate, resulting in fertile fields and a thriving population."

Miwei concluded in conclusion:
"Therefore, I believe that Nanjun is the heart of Jingzhou, and Jiangling is the heart of Nanjun."

"Losing Jiangling means losing Nanjun, and losing Nanjun means losing Jingzhou."

After all, Jiangling was later called Jingzhou.

Miwei added a strange perspective to his mind.

Poon Chun was clearly asking questions with emotion at the beginning.

But seeing that Mi Wei spoke logically and his expression softened considerably, he said:

"You are talking about why Jiangling is important, but not why Jiangling is important to the King of Hanzhong."

This……

Mi Wei was puzzled for a moment.

Pan Jun reminded him:
"You just said that if we lose Jiangling, we will lose Nanjun, and if we lose Nanjun, we will lose Jingzhou."

"Then may I ask, why can't the King of Hanzhong lose Nan Commandery, and can't lose Jingzhou?"

Why couldn't Liu Bei afford to lose Jingzhou?

After a moment's thought, Mi Wei blurted out:

"Having crossed the Jing and Yi rivers, how can we secure our rocky fortress?"

"If the situation changes, then appoint a top general to lead the Jingzhou army towards Wan and Luo?"

This is the roadmap for Zhuge Liang's conquest of the country that he devised for Liu Bei at his thatched cottage in Longzhong, Nanyang.

Commonly known as the "Longzhong Dialogue".

Upon hearing this, Pan Jun finally smiled and said:

"It seems you have figured it out."

"Indeed, if the King of Hanzhong wants to achieve great things, he must have both Jing and Yi provinces; neither can be lacking."

"Although Yizhou is dangerous, it is also isolated, making it suitable only for temporary peace and difficult to expand."

"Only by simultaneously possessing the strategic advantages of Yizhou and the accessibility of Jingzhou can we create a pincer movement against Guanzhong."

"Only those who control Guanzhong have the resources to contend for the Central Plains."

This is the core idea of ​​the "Longzhong Plan".

Mi Wei nodded repeatedly, and couldn't help but ask:
"What role did Jiangling City play in all of this? Was it an outpost for the Northern Expedition?"

Poon Chun replied, "Yes, but that's not all..."

Next, the two discussed in detail the military geography around Gangneung.

Mi Wei was pleasantly surprised to find that Pan Jun's military insights far exceeded his previous expectations.

The other party's claim of "combining the knowledge of various schools of thought" is no exaggeration.

At least not the military strategy.

Unknowingly.

Pan Jun had forgotten his feelings for Mi Wei.

And Miwei forgot to question the former.

The two taught each other like a true master and apprentice.

This continued until late at night, when Mi Wei completely abandoned his previous suspicions about Pan Jun.

Instead of further sarcasm, Pan Jun earnestly gave his instructions:
“Starting tomorrow, you will handle military affairs at the prefectural government office in the morning and come to the governor’s office at midday to coordinate. I will take the time to teach you military strategy.”

"only!"

"Although you say you're not cut out for studying the scriptures, scriptural studies are still the most important field of knowledge in the world. Even though they are difficult to learn, you must find time to study them!"

"only!"

"It's late, go back and rest."

"This disciple takes his leave." Mi Wei respectfully performed a disciple's salute.

This time it's from the bottom of my heart.

Pan Jun watched him leave.

Looking back, I saw that the candle in the room was almost out, and the moon and stars were few outside. I felt a little dazed.

My intention today is to use this son's friendship with Guan Xing to secure a way out for myself in case of any unforeseen circumstances.

As they were talking, things got a little complicated.

They actually treated him as a disciple?
……

The following day, military intelligence continued to arrive from the front lines.

But it's rather puzzling.

It was said that Lü Meng's army had already captured Jiangjin Garrison and could land on the north bank at any time.

At one point, it was said that Jiangjin Garrison was not captured, but rather surrendered to the enemy voluntarily.

The scouts finally figured out that Jiangjin Garrison was only besieged by the enemy and had not fallen.

Then some people said that Lü Meng heard that Guan Yu was about to return, so he bypassed Jiangling and went to attack Yidu County upstream first.

In order to hinder Liu Bei's reinforcements and create conditions for Sun Quan's army to launch a larger offensive...

In short, with the great battle approaching, all sorts of rumors are flying around.

If you're not careful, you'll be led into a ditch.

Fortunately, although Guan Xing was a novice on the battlefield, Guan Ping and Liao Hua had both actually fought in battles.

Therefore, although the atmosphere in the city became more and more tense each day, the coordination inside and outside the city maintained a busy but orderly pace.

Mi Wei continued to manage logistics while learning how to defeat ten thousand men from Pan Jun.

During this time, because more able-bodied men needed to be conscripted, he also went to the dungeon to visit the heavyweight prisoner.

Indeed: Yu Jin and Yu Wenze, General of the Left with the authority to command troops and Marquis of Yishou.

During this brief visit, Miwei figured out two things.

Firstly, although Yu Jin was known for his strict military discipline, he was also too harsh and therefore not loved by his soldiers.

Furthermore, not all of his soldiers were well-trained regular soldiers.

It also included a large number of laborers conscripted locally in Nanyang and Xiangyang.

That's how Guan Xing recruited those two thousand able-bodied men.

No wonder Guan Yu was willing to risk offending Sun Quan to transport rice from Xiangguan to feed these tens of thousands of surrendered soldiers.

In modern terms, this is the import of high-quality labor.

Secondly, after Mi Wei understood the significance of Yu Jin's long list of titles.

They then understood that, at least on Liu Bei's side, unless Liu Bei, the King of Hanzhong, came in person, it would be impossible.

Otherwise, even Guan Yu wouldn't be enough to recruit Yu Jin to his side.

The reason is simply that Yu Jin himself held an extremely high political position.

There are very few people in this world who are worthy of his submission and service.

Conversely, even if Yu Jin himself were willing to serve, his "lord" might not dare to trust him with confidence.

It would be better to use Yu Jin as a high-ranking hostage and trade him with Cao Wei in the future.

This is exactly how Sun Quan operated in history.

So Miwei took the opportunity to put aside his extra thoughts.

Every era has its own rules for social operation.

It's not something that can be achieved by bestowing small favors and gifts upon a famous general.

……

On the afternoon of the third day after Guan Ping's cavalry arrived.

As Mi Wei was learning military affairs from Pan Jun, urgent drumbeats suddenly came from the south of the city.

The two immediately put down what they were doing and rode together toward the south of the city.

Upon reaching the top of the city wall, Guan Xing had already changed into military attire.

He was accompanied by the Assistant Prefect of Nan Commandery, the Magistrate of Jiangling, and several familiar faces among the prefectural and county officials.

Except for Prefect Mi Fang, who still did not show up, all the prominent figures in the city had arrived.

Mi Wei exchanged brief greetings with the crowd, but his attention was quickly drawn to the scenery outside the city.

At this time, there were three defensive strongholds in the southern suburbs of Jiangling.

From the furthest Jiangjin Garrison to the nearest Mamu City.

They all lit the highest-level beacon fires.

Three plumes of black smoke rose up and gathered in the sky above the southern suburbs, forming the shape of mountains.

It looked as if it would crash down at any moment, destroying cities and ruining cities.

(End of this chapter)