Three Kingdoms: Heir of Wolong, my father-in-law is Guan Gong

Chapter 66: Shocked to hear that Guan Yu has four thousand warships?

"General Zhao Lei, Guan Yu's vanguard, plundered livestock, grain, grass, wood and stone outside the city, and destroyed the fortifications and obstacles outside the city."

"Should we go out of the city to shock you?"

The generals under Lu Chang's command enthusiastically requested the battle one after another.

There are 8,000 soldiers left by Hu Xiu in Xiangyang City, and 2,000 soldiers brought by Lu Chang from Zhangling County, while Zhao Lei only has 5,000 soldiers.

By using more to defeat less, everyone will be full of confidence.

""Sun Tzu's Art of War" says: Therefore, in the battle of a good person, there will be no extraordinary victory, no reputation for wisdom, and no heroic deeds. The King of Wei once commented that those who are good at fighting have no outstanding achievements."

"The city of Xiangyang is high and the water is deep. Although Zhao Lei defeated Governor Hu at Yishui, his attempt to attack Xiangyang City with 5,000 soldiers is nothing more than a dream."

"Guarding Xiangyang City is merit. There is no need to leave the city for merit."

Lu Changyou was self-aware and well aware of his own strengths and weaknesses, and he followed Cao Ren's military order to defend Xiangyang City.

Another general said: "If we don't go out to fight now, how can Xiangyang City be defended when Guan Yu's main army arrives?"

Lu Chang glanced at General Pi: "General Zhengnan is in Fancheng. If Guan Yu can't break Fancheng, how can he break Xiangyang City?"

"Although Governor Hu was defeated, are you still more brave and skilled in fighting than Governor Hu?"

"Don't say any more. Send my military order: Anyone who makes false claims and leaves the city will be killed!"

Although Lu Chang usually has a good temper, Zhang Ling has been the prefect for many years, and his words and deeds have the dignity of a superior.

When the beheading order was issued, all the generals felt awe-inspiring. Even if there were still people who wanted to go out, they did not dare to speak nonsense.

Zhao Lei also made a tacit agreement not to attack the city or initiate a battle.

As a vanguard army, siege is not the most important thing. It is the vanguard's task to destroy the fortification obstacles outside the city, seize ferry bridges, cut off the main transportation routes, and isolate Xiangyang City.

Cao Ren of Fancheng found out that Xiangyang City could not be defended, and felt a little relieved.

Lu Chang is the most stable prefect in Jingzhou besides Wenpin. If Lu Chang also wants to take advantage of the power and leaves the city, Cao Ren will have no choice but to let Man Chong guard Xiangyang City.

However, Man Chong was the commander-in-chief of the Southern Campaign, and Cao Ren was inseparable from him in Fancheng.

"General, the spies in the Han River have reported back that Guan Yu has about 4,000 large and small ships, and they are less than 60 miles away from Xiangyang City."

"Although we are going up the river, if there is a southeast wind, we can reach outside Xiangyang City tomorrow."

Man Chong came in a hurry to report the latest battle report.

"Four thousand ships? How come there are so many? Do you have Lu Meng's flag?" Cao Ren took a breath.

Man Chong shook his head solemnly: "The spies looked carefully and didn't see Lu Meng's flag!"

"Did Guan Yu send all the troops from Nanjun to attack Xiangfan?" Cao Ren frowned.

What is the concept of four thousand warships?
  In the past, the cavalry expedition to Jiaozhi, in order to "conquer the remaining party capital Yang and others", only "more than two thousand large and small ships and more than 20,000 soldiers."

Four thousand warships is equivalent to Guan Yu's army of at least 50,000!
  "It can't be calculated like this." Man Chong's eyes were wise: "Guan Yu has extremely rich battlefield experience. It is impossible for our spies to calculate the number of warships so easily."

"I am more inclined to think that Guan Yu was bluffing, deliberately setting up more flags, and alternating large and small buildings and ships to confuse our spies."

"Although Sun Quan and Liu Bei had an alliance, Sun Quan was capricious. When he formed an alliance with Liu Bei, he asked Lu Meng to sneak attack Changsha, Guiyang and Lingling; after asking the King of Wei to surrender, he turned around and refused to acknowledge the surrender."

"Now that Lü Meng's flag has not been seen, it is impossible for Guan Yu not to leave troops and horses in Nanjun to guard against Lü Meng." "Taking into account the transportation of baggage and grain and grass, and getting rid of the five thousand vanguards on land; the number of Guan Yu's warships this time, There are at most two thousand ships, and the number of soldiers and horses on board will not exceed thirty thousand."

Although Man Chong's analysis was reasonable, Cao Ren was still shocked: "There are less than a thousand warships in Xiangyang and Fancheng, and most of them are small boats. Guan Yu came up the river and could easily take out two thousand."

"If Guan Yu is the garrison of Nanjun, it is very possible for Guan Yu to come up with 4,000 warships."

"Since the warships of Hanjin and Jingcheng were burned by Wenpin and Lejin, Guan Yu built so many warships in a few years."

"Is this all the money, food and military funds being invested in the construction of the naval army?"

"Hu Xiu is really a loser. Guan Yu is building warships in Jiangling, but he doesn't know how to build warships in Xiangyang. Otherwise, why would I be so passive!"

Comparing the number of warships, Cao Ren became even more dissatisfied with Hu Xiu.

"General, why should you be angry? I heard that Guan Yu was at odds with Mi Fang, the governor of Nanjun, and Pan Jun, the governor of Zhizhong. It must also be related to the construction of the navy." Man Chong looked at the fire with insight.

Cao Ren wondered: "Why is Man Changshi so sure?"

Man Chong's eyes were slightly sharp, and there was a hint of joking in his tone: "The construction of warships cannot be completed overnight, let alone thousands of warships."

"If he wants to own these warships, in addition to asking Mi Fang for money and food to build warships, Guan Yu will definitely ask Pan Jun to communicate with the local wealthy families to purchase high-rise ships."

"Guan Yu purchased so many large ships in a short period of time. I thought the money and food in Nan County were not enough to support them."

"Therefore, I conclude that most of Guan Yu's ships were purchased on credit."

"Guan Yu is relaxed, but Mi Fang and Pan Jun are in difficulty. One is pressed for money and food by Guan Yu every day, and the other is blocked by a wealthy family every day asking for accounts."

Cao Ren was surprised: "Guan Yu dares to be so harsh on a wealthy family, isn't he afraid of the Jingzhou civil uprising?"

"In the past, when King Wei was in Yanzhou, he almost became homeless because he offended the local wealthy family."

Man Chong sneered: "There are always only two ways to resolve conflicts with local wealthy families."

"One way is to compromise with the local wealthy families to gain their support; the other way is to go to war abroad and plunder the opponent's population and wealth."

"The King of Wei insisted on attacking Xuzhou in the past, because he did not want to compromise with the local wealthy families, so he decided to attack Xuzhou."

"Revenge is just an excuse to send troops."

"The same is true for Guan Yu today. Guan Yu didn't want to compromise with the local wealthy families, so he came to Xiangfan under the banner of reviving the Han Dynasty."

"As long as they get Xiangfan, those wealthy and aristocratic families will not only stop asking Guan Yu for debts, but will take the initiative to show their favor to Guan Yu."

"Because Guan Yu won, it gave those wealthy families the opportunity to profit from their official career."

"For Guan Yu, it's not about compromising to the wealthy and aristocratic families, but the wealthy and aristocratic families asking for help from Guan Yu."

There was a pause.

Man Chong added: "If the general defends Xiangfan, it will be a fatal blow to Guan Yu."

"If Guan Yu loses, he will not be able to give the local wealthy families the opportunity to profit from their official careers. Those people are not good people."

"If we don't get any benefits, we will naturally stop supporting Guan Yu."

"If someone raises his arms like Chen Gong and Zhang Miao did in the past, Guan Yu's rear will definitely be lost. The general can not only defeat Guan Yu, but also capture Jiangling!"

(End of this chapter)