Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 259 253. Eastern Expedition Strategy
March in Jingzhou is very different from that in the north. There is not much snow, so it melts into snow water early, seeping into the soil and nourishing the land.

After the agricultural reform, Jingzhou also followed Feng Xi's requirements and turned the land once before winter to turn out any insect eggs that might exist and freeze them to death. Now is a good time for spring ploughing, and everywhere in Jingzhou you can see people driving cattle or horses in groups of three or two using advanced plows to plow the land.

"What a vibrant scene, with everything flourishing."

Feng Xi inspected the city wall today. Standing on the wall and looking down, the earth, which was a little gray before, has now revived, and green is appearing everywhere on the earth like stars.

Fu Zhun was standing next to Feng Xi, who was confused by Feng Xi's strange words.

The defense of Jiangling City was a big deal, so Feng Xi always gave it to Fu Rong when he was not on the expedition. Fu Rong was a down-to-earth and serious person, and he would complete everything Feng Xi asked him to do meticulously, so Feng Xi was very confident in his old brother.

"Yi Zhong, how are our Jingzhou troops doing now? Have they been fully trained?"

Feng Xi put his left foot on the concave part of the parapet in an extremely ostentatious manner, with his left elbow resting on his left knee, looking as if he was standing on a high place and looking into the distance.

"We have carried out the training according to your request. Although the soldiers were a little dissatisfied at the beginning, the progress is real, and the food has indeed been improved, so there is no opposition now."

Feng Xi didn't move at all, as if everything was as expected.

"In this case, it is almost time to adjust the status of the soldiers. After the summer grain is harvested in June, we will prepare for the Eastern Expedition. The weather is getting hot, and it is time to completely bring Jiangdong back to our Han Dynasty."

Although Fu Zhun did not understand those words that sounded powerful but were meaningless upon closer thought, it did not prevent him from knowing that the Eastern Expedition was bound to succeed.

"Okay, I'll arrange it right away."

Fu Rong nodded. Feng Xi knew that as long as he told Fu Rong, he wouldn't have to worry about him anymore, because he would do the best he could.

"As for the navy, do we need Wen Jin to prepare early?"

Fu Zhu thought about it and decided that the navy was an indispensable stepping stone for the Eastern Expedition. Although the army could be fully relied upon after passing Chaisang, the navy would definitely be needed to assist in the battle of Chaisang.

"I've already told Wen Jin in advance. This guy is like a curious baby, asking what to do next every day, so I asked him to prepare a few days ago."

Feng Xi smiled and shook his head. Although Zhang Nan was already a veteran, he often behaved like a rookie, always startled. But if someone really treated him as a rookie, he would probably suffer a great loss.

Ever since Feng Xi accidentally revealed the plan of the Eastern Expedition, Zhang Nan, apart from training the navy and handling official business, had been coming to Feng Xi to gather intelligence every day.

Finally, Feng Xi couldn't stand it anymore, and after calculating the date, he told him the plan of the Eastern Expedition. He jumped three feet high like a primary school student who heard that he was going on a picnic the next day, and went to prepare without saying anything else.

"But Xiu Yuan, we are marching east with great fanfare, and Cao Wei..."

Fu Zhun was a little worried when he thought of the sudden sneak attack by Cao Wei after the Battle of Dongting Lake. Although the situation in Jingzhou was very good now, Feng Xi had relied on a strange strategy to barely win before.

Although Fu Zhun didn't quite understand what Feng Xi was talking about at the time, he also knew that the same method would probably be difficult to replicate again. Moreover, as Cao Ren was the commander-in-chief of Cao Wei who suffered the most losses, it goes without saying that he learned from his mistakes. If Cao Ren came again, he would probably be very cautious and have no loopholes. "You don't have to worry too much about old thief Cao Ren. The spies reported that Cao Ren's health has not been very good since the Battle of Fancheng. After returning to Nanyang from Luoyang to apologize, he even had difficulty getting out of bed.

But just in case, I will not move the two armies of Juwei and Zhao Rong lightly. In addition, Jiangling also has 20,000 reserve troops, and Gong Heng is not a sour scholar who does not understand military affairs, so I think it will be fine.

But even if there are problems, there will be reinforcements from Sichuan and Shangyong. Nanyang is not as strong as before. Cao Wei assembled a hundred thousand troops including Nanyang, Huainan and even Xuzhou, and was sure that Dongwu would retreat.

However, in the Battle of Fancheng, only 70% of the 100,000-man army was defeated. They were barely able to defend Huainan and Dongwu, so how could they have extra troops to invade the south again? "

Feng Xi had thought about the possibility of Cao Wei intervening, but there were only two possibilities if Cao Wei wanted to take action. First, they could transfer troops from the north, but this would be a huge move, and his spies would definitely report it if they heard about it.

The second is to transfer troops from Guanzhong to Jingzhou. If Cao Wei dares to make such a stupid move, Wei Yan and Ma Chao will have to teach Cao Wei a lesson that will be unforgettable. At that time, it will be a problem whether Chang'an can be defended.

There were also some off-field factors. In history, Cao Ren only lived to 223 AD before dying of illness. Now, he was only one year away from his death. Coupled with the previous Battle of Fancheng, Cao Ren's body and health were severely hit.

Come to think of it, Cao Ren was in his fifties or sixties. He was hit by the roof in Fancheng and then inhaled a lot of thick smoke. It was a sign of Cao Ren's good health that he could survive it.

The damage he suffered in the Battle of Fancheng was likely permanent, shortening his already limited year to live.

Therefore, Feng Xi was not particularly afraid of Cao Ren. Even if he really went out to fight again in person, it would be a question whether Lao Deng could survive the summer.

In this way, Cao Wei will not have to worry about it in the short term, and we only need to look to Jiangdong.

Since Jiangdong suffered two major defeats, its elite troops had been almost completely lost. Now, after nearly a year, it has barely recovered to the level of 50,000 to 60,000, of which only 30,000 are combat-ready soldiers, and the other 20,000 to 30,000 are temporary conscripted civilians.

It seems that Sun Quan's violent temper in his old age had already shown signs of premature onset because Feng Xi had dealt him such a heavy blow.

Recruiting nearly 30,000 soldiers in half a year was a devastating blow to Jiangdong, which was originally small in size. According to reports from spies, many places in Jiangdong did not even have the manpower for spring ploughing this year.

But it is not difficult to understand. If they cannot withstand this wave, Jiangdong will be gone. What does it matter to Sun Quan whether there is spring ploughing or not? Sun Quan was desperate.

The 30,000 new troops of Jiangdong Army naturally need not be taken care of. After half a year, they probably cannot even understand military orders. What can they do on the battlefield? Sun Quan is just using them to deceive himself.

The 30,000 troops of He Qi and Lu Dai were not elite troops, but second-line or even third-line troops used to suppress Jiaozhou and Shanyue. The real elite troops of Jiangdong had long been wiped out in Yiling and Dongting Lake.

"Jiangdong is just a broken house. Just give its door a good kick and it will collapse on its own."

This sentence suddenly flashed through Feng Xi's mind, but he still shook his head. This was not a lucky word, so it was better not to think about it.

(End of this chapter)