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

Chapter 49 Guan Yu Appoints Generals, Separate Commander

Mi Wei still believed that Guan Ping had overestimated himself.

But I don't have time to worry about it right now.

Having realized that Sun Quan had ulterior motives, Guan Ping relayed the intelligence back to Jiangling and ceased sitting idly in the city.

He mustered his own troops and recruited a group of local county soldiers to help him, bringing the total to two thousand men. He then went out of the city to confront Sun Huan in the open field.

We do not seek battle, nor do we seek to destroy the enemy camp.

Their only aim was to provide cover for more scouts to go south and conduct reconnaissance, so as to avoid being blocked by enemy scouts.

This move quickly proved effective.

Another major military intelligence report has arrived from Jiangnan!
It turns out that this had already happened during Lü Meng's siege of Jiangling.

Enemy spies attempted to persuade the Wuling and Lingling prefectures in Jingnan to surrender, and almost succeeded.

Fortunately, the two local officials appointed by Liu Bei maintained their firm stance.

One of them was named Xi Zhen, who held the official position of Commandant of Northern Lingling and was a local military commander.

One of them was named Fan Zhou, an official in Wuling County, whose duty was to supervise the affairs of Wuling County.

One of them led troops, and the other had supervisory authority. The two cooperated tacitly, promptly eliminating spies and punishing traitors.

After a fierce battle, they finally managed to preserve the main cities of the two prefectures.

In particular, Linyuan City, where the seat of Wuling County is located, is still firmly in their hands.

Thus, Sun Quan's true intentions became clear:
"The Xiangjiang River Estuary is the only way to travel from the south of the Yangtze River to Wuling and Linyuan."

"Sun Quan has secretly stationed troops at the mouth of the Xiang River, perhaps with his sword aimed at the two counties of Jingnan!"

"So he doesn't want Jiangling anymore?" Guan Ping frowned.

“I definitely want it,” Miwei analyzed.

"But Jiangling City, which is personally guarded by the Lord, is not indestructible, but it is certainly not something that can be taken down in a year or two of siege."

“Sun Quan should know this better than anyone else.”

"Therefore, on the one hand, he made the gesture of continuing to reinforce the Jiangling-Gongan line, and on the other hand, he had Generals Lü and Lu confront Lord Junhou across the river, in order to attract our army's attention."

"On the other hand, they secretly gathered a large army downstream and marched south to seize two counties!"

"At the same time, in order to prevent our army from noticing, let Sun Huan lead a detachment north to block the roads!"

Guan Ping understood, and sighed softly:

"In this way, it is a pragmatic choice under the circumstances."

Miwei shook his head:

"It is indeed pragmatic, but not out of desperation!"

"General, consider this: if these two commanderies fall into Sun Quan's hands, then all the land south of the Yangtze River in Jingzhou will belong to him."

"Even if we still held Jiangling at that time, it would be nothing more than an isolated city on the north bank of the Yangtze River."

"In the north there was Cao Wei, and in the southeast there was the Sun family."

"The only reinforcements had to travel over a thousand miles of river waterways, with countless dangers in the Bashan and Wuxia Gorges along the way."

"If that day ever comes, and the Cao and Sun families ever compromise their principles, how many years can the walls of Jiangling, no matter how strong, hold out?"

It should be noted that this was the premise of the Eastern Wu's defense of Jiangling for more than 60 years in history.

The entire area south of Jingjiang can serve as reinforcements for Jiangling!
At that time, Jiangling was not an isolated city, but a northern salient of the entire Eastern Wu Jingjiang defense system.

That's why they've been able to persevere for so many years!

Mi Wei concluded: "This is Sun Quan's strategy of avoiding the enemy's strength and attacking their weakness, using a roundabout approach to achieve a direct result!"

Guan Ping finally realized the gravity of the situation and immediately became panicked.

Miwei also felt that the situation had become beyond his imagination.

Historically, after Sun Quan captured Nan Commandery, the remaining areas naturally surrendered.

Any sporadic resistance was easily extinguished.

Sun Quan didn't need to personally go out and fight for the two commanderies of Wuling and Lingling.

But now... history has suddenly become unfamiliar, it has gone off track.

Although he was mentally prepared, Mi Wei still couldn't help but feel a sense of bewilderment.

But let's be honest.

The war has developed to this level.

Spanning three prefectures and gathering tens of thousands of troops, possibly close to one hundred thousand... This is no longer a decision that a mere deputy general and an even smaller Attendant Gentleman could make.

Only Guan Yu could make the decision personally.

Therefore, while continuing to cautiously confront Sun Huan, the two also sent additional men south to monitor the enemy's situation.

At the same time, they relayed military intelligence back to Jiangling day and night.

It normally takes an army four or five days to march from Jiangling to Huarong.

But the scout cavalry could make a round trip in three days by traveling day and night.

Soon, new military orders arrived:
First, Guan Ping led his cavalry south to join forces with the army of Zhao Lei, the military commander who had set out from Jiangling, at the mouth of the Xiang River.

Then, while delaying Sun Quan's army's southward advance as much as possible, they could seize strategic terrain for the main force that followed.

Although that place is called Xiangjiang Estuary, it is also the northern entrance to Dongting Lake.

The main channel of the Xiang River is actually located south of Dongting Lake.

With the vast lake as a base, even if the two generals' forces were inferior to the enemy's, they could still manage to maneuver.

Secondly, with Guan Ping gone, Huarong, as the "frontline base" of the new battlefield, naturally needs to appoint a new military commander.

Guan Yu immediately selected Mi Wei.

"Separate Commandery Commander?" Mi Wei was momentarily lost in thought as he looked at the brand-new official seal in his hand.

As for the promotion, especially since it was personally recommended by Guan Yu, the person who recommended him was naturally happy.

It should be noted that in the Han Dynasty, the rank of Sima in the army was equivalent to that of a thousand shi (a unit of grain measure), which was significantly higher than that of the Attendant Gentleman of the Palace with a rank of six hundred shi.

Moreover, unlike the "Military Commander" who was directly under the commander, the Commander of a separate unit also had the additional authority to lead troops independently.

"Biebu" means to lead a separate department.

In reality, although the commanders of other units did not command many troops, they were only considered mid- to low-ranking officers.

However, due to its high degree of independence, it is particularly challenging for generals to meet their requirements.

Many famous historical generals started their careers from this position.

For example, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei.

For example, Cao Ren and Xiahou Yuan.

For example, Huang Gai, Han Dang, and Zhou Tai.

This even includes the brothers Sun Ce and Sun Quan.

They had all served as commanders of separate departments.

So what reason does Miwei have to be unhappy?
But then again.

Guan Ping, the powerful figure she had finally managed to latch onto, was about to leave.

He defended the city alone, not to mention...

There was also the minor general Sun Huan watching them intently from the side.

It's hard not to feel scared!

So, no sooner had Guan Ping left than Mi Wei ordered Magistrate Fan to open the city's treasury.

They moved all kinds of defensive equipment to the city walls and camps, aiming to be armed to the teeth.

Only then did he realize that Guan Yu had indeed hidden a lot of military equipment in Huarong.

Basic equipment such as armor, helmet, shield, spear, bow, and sword need no further explanation.

They also possessed defensive weapons such as antlers, caltrops, and catapults.

Even crossbows are classified into different types based on their strength, such as arm-drawn crossbows, foot-drawn crossbows, and waist-drawn crossbows.

Miwei even saw a repeating crossbow!
Yes, the repeating crossbow was not a novel weapon during the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period.

It was invented by skilled craftsmen as early as the Warring States period.

However, on the other hand, its destructive power is not as exaggerated as legend has it.

Miwei personally found one to test fire.

Its appearance is similar to the repeating crossbow from the Chu tombs of the Warring States period, which is now treasured in the Jingzhou Museum.

Using specially made short arrows, a casket contains twenty arrows, which can be fired in pairs at a time, and can be fired ten times in succession.

Sounds like pretty powerful firepower, doesn't it?
actually not.

Because the short arrows are so light, they have virtually no chance of penetrating armor.

Moreover, its range is less than thirty paces.

what is this concept?

The three-stone bow used in the army could shoot up to 150 paces away.

The widely used crossbows could even shoot up to 200 paces.

It is said that General Li Guang once used a large yellow crossbow with a range of up to 300 paces.

Compared to these long-range weapons, the repeating crossbow of the Warring States period was like a child's toy.

The reason why the range is so pitiful is quite obvious.

Because the crossbow has an arrow magazine, cocking it is already difficult.

Then we need to consider the operation of continuous firing.

The crossbow arm could only be made small and thin.

In other words: the weight is too low.

"I wonder how Zhuge Liang in history improved this thing into the famous 'Yuanrong Crossbow'?"

It's too late to write a letter to ask.

Fortunately, Miwei doesn't have the obsession of an engineering student.

If it doesn't work, then don't use it!

Next, Miwei once again displayed the same fighting spirit he had shown when defending Jiangling.

He worked from dawn till dusk every day, personally inspecting the camp defenses, supervising the soldiers to reinforce the fortifications, and repairing the city walls.

Sometimes he would personally carry soil, setting an example by doing so.

Both morning and afternoon meals were eaten at the construction site.

It wasn't that I deliberately sought to share clothes and food with the soldiers.

Rather, he felt that apart from a few trusted figures he had already identified, no one else was reliable.

Even himself.

We can only try to keep a close eye on it.

In short, they faced the Miwei camp, which was armed to the teeth with caltrops, deer antlers, and powerful bows and crossbows.

There's also Huarong County, where the density of city defenses is becoming increasingly excessive day by day.

Sun Huan finally made a move.

(End of this chapter)