People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 509 Plan
After the Jiangcheng naval battle, both Xuanxia and Wu and Shu became unusually peaceful. The Xuanxia navy crossed the river and headed north in a mighty manner, encountering almost no obstacles along the way.

After sailing like this for half a month, they finally approached Yunmengze, and then the fleet slowly began to spread out on the waterway. Without encountering any obstruction from the Wu Shu navy, they actually controlled a considerable distance of the waterway.

The location of this place is very strategic. If you go further west, you can go north to the Han River and use Wancheng as the rear to attack the strategic location of Xiangyang. Once you succeed, you can overlook the entire Jingzhou.

If they return to the waterway, they can go straight to Yangzhou along the Rushu River. If the situation is unfavorable, they can retreat to Chaohu Lake to protect themselves.

The Yellow Turban Navy stopped at Yunmengze and did not move forward, thus maintaining tactical ambiguity. These two routes could be the main attack direction they chose, which also made the Wu-Shu coalition forces undecided about where to defend.

Although the Wu and Shu navy opened up the waterways, it was only to temporarily avoid the attack, not to sit and wait for death.

As the Yellow Turban navy moved upstream, part of the Wu and Shu navy retreated upstream to garrison key points, while part stayed in the downstream tributaries awaiting orders. Everything depended on the Yellow Turbans' actions. No matter which route the Yellow Turbans attacked, the Wu and Shu navy and land divisions would respond immediately.

In fact, the Wu-Shu coalition forces on the south bank have almost completely discovered the movements of the Yellow Turban navy. No matter what the Yellow Turban navy does, they cannot hide it from their eyes.

The battle situation became complicated and confusing, but it remained at a stalemate for the time being, with neither side taking any further action.

The Wu-Shu coalition camp was not far from Yunmengze.

The safest way is to dispatch their own troops closely following the movements of the Yellow Turban Navy. No matter whether the Yellow Turbans choose to attack upwards or downwards, they can send light troops to follow as soon as possible, and then intercept and defend when the Yellow Turbans attack.

However, as time went by, the people of Wu and Shu became more restless. This unpredictable situation was the most uncomfortable. Even the monarch Sun Quan was anxious every day.

Zhou Yu, who had finally recovered these days, could only help Sun Quan relieve his worries in front of him every day.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. The situation is under control. As long as the Yellow Turban Navy does not leave our sight, we can respond to any of their actions. Whether they attack Xiangyang via the Han River or go back to attack Yangzhou, we will have time to react. Even though our land operations are slower than their downstream operations, we will not be too late to return to defend. After all, there are still a small number of troops stationed in various places, which can buy some time for the army to move."

Inside the king's tent, Zhou Yu pointed at the hanging map with a calm demeanor and a confident tone, not at all discouraged by the previous defeat.

Facing an opponent like Xu Chen who uses extraordinary tactics, Zhou Yu will not be consumed by his own efforts.

Because Xu Chen's extraordinary methods were simply beyond human prediction, there was nothing to say about his loss. It was because Xu Chen was too unpredictable, not his own mistakes that caused the failure.

Only within common sense, would Zhou Yu feel upset and regretful when his failure was caused by his own mistakes.

In short, it’s not that I, Zhou Yu, am too useless, but that Xu Chen is too amazing, so amazing that it makes people lose their temper.

Zhou Yu was able to adjust his mentality quickly and was ready to fight this incredible guy again.

Sun Quan also stood up at this time and looked around the map: "It seems that the main attack route of the Yellow Turbans is between Xiangyang and Ruxu River."

Zhou Yu smiled and said, "Your Majesty is wise. That's right. Although the Yellow Turbans still have a route through Zhongdu River that is suitable for attack, the distance is too far and it is almost impossible for them to mobilize their fleet again." "In this way, our army can save some energy." Sun Quan nodded and pointed to the Ruxu River on the map. "The Ruxu River is right in front of our Wu Chungu, so our coalition army only needs to focus on Xiangyang and here. As for the rest of the coast, it may not be suitable for crossing the river. As long as we keep a close eye on their navy, it seems that we can rest assured."

Zhou Yu nodded slightly. What Sun Quan said was actually not wrong. The key to how to choose to capture a city or territory lies in its strategic value. Although the Yellow Turbans can attack all along the Yangtze River, the value of each place also varies.

The value of attacking different places will be different, and if the attack direction is not good, it is easy to be attacked from both sides. Therefore, the Wu and Shu elites can predict several possible key routes for the southern expedition.

In addition to these most likely routes, the Yellow Turbans could of course also take an unconventional path, but this would not necessarily pose such a great threat to Wu and Shu. As long as they kept a close eye on the Yellow Turban navy, Wu and Shu would be able to cope with it, which might be a good thing for them.

There are several suitable directions for attack. Xiangyang, needless to say, is an essential place for fighting for the world. It can radiate to the Central Plains, Jingzhou and the Han River at the same time, and its strategic value is extremely important.

The Ruxu River in the middle and the Zhongdu River in the east are both tributaries on the north bank of the Yangtze River, which is more conducive to the Yellow Turbans' rest and replenishment in the rear, and can put greater military pressure on Wu and Shu.

"Your Majesty is right. Now that we have confirmed that the Yellow Turbans are attacking from these two locations, we don't have to wait passively. We can deploy a small number of troops in these two locations first, and continue to follow the enemy navy. When their navy makes a move, no matter where they attack, we can respond more calmly."

Zhou Yu talked eloquently and gradually came up with a plan.

Sun Quan agreed with this and believed that as long as they could reach an agreement with Shu Han, this matter could be implemented.

Although the initiative is now completely in the hands of the Yellow Turbans, Zhou Yu and Sun Quan still want to avoid being too passive as much as possible, and they try to predict and deploy some troops in advance.

At this point in the conversation, Sun Quan still had some concerns in his heart, and he remembered something.

Perhaps it was a coincidence. When he was talking about this, he heard the eunuch informing him that Lu Su wanted to see him. This immediately made Sun Quan feel relieved, because the matter he was concerned about happened to be handled by Lu Su.

After agreeing to the meeting, Lu Su quickly entered the tent, saluted Sun Quan first, and without waiting for Sun Quan to ask, he took the initiative to talk about the matter, which happened to be something Sun Quan was concerned about.

Lu Su reported: "Your Majesty, we sent spies across the river earlier, and now we have intelligence back!"

When Sun Quan heard this, he immediately perked up. What worried him the most was the fact that the Yellow Turbans had suddenly concealed the whereabouts of the North Bank Army. If he didn't figure out their movements, Sun Quan would always be worried.

Even Zhou Yu looked over, obviously caring about this matter too.

Sun Quan hurriedly said, "Zi Jing, please tell me quickly. What is the enemy's land division's movement like?"

Lu Su said, "Your Majesty, according to the spies' report, after some follow-up investigation, they are sure that the Yellow Turban army went west after evacuating from the shore, and there was no other special movement."

(End of this chapter)