Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 405 399. New Strategy

The Jingzhou army was tied up in the four battlefields of Nanyang, and had to deal with the reinforcements from Hebei in the direction of Luoyang and Hongnong at the same time, as well as possible reinforcements from Huainan and Xuzhou, as well as reinforcements from the Guanzhong area. At the same time, there was the possibility of a surprise attack from Cao Wei at any time from their rear.

There are only two possible outcomes: one is that Feng Xi's side makes a major breakthrough and completely wipes out Cao Wei's living forces; the other is that Feng Xi's side cannot withstand the repeated attacks of the Wei army and can only retreat to the Xiangfan area.

If it is the first one, it would be fine, but if it is the second one, then this Northern Expedition will fail.

Because if Feng Xi was defeated, it would be easy for the Wei army to deal with the new recruits from Jiangdong. It was even unclear whether the Yangzhou army could pose a threat to Cao Xiu, who was stationed in the Jianghuai area of ​​Cao Wei.

Although the combat effectiveness of the Sichuan Central Army was not inferior to that of the Jingzhou Army, and it was also full of brave generals, Cao Zhen and Zhang He were no pushovers. They blocked several valleys and delayed the Han army. At worst, they gave up Liangzhou and defended the Tongguan line. If the Jingzhou Army was defeated, subsequent reinforcements could rush to Chang'an at any time. In this way, even if Zhuge Liang had great powers, he could only sigh at the sight of the city.

In this way, this massive Northern Expedition will end in failure.

There was no way. The terrain in central Sichuan was rugged and easy to defend but difficult to attack. However, being easy to defend and difficult to attack also meant that the enemy was equally easy to defend and difficult to attack. The narrow and cramped valley was not wide enough for a large army to deploy. At the same time, the muddy roads would not be convenient for the subsequent supply transportation if it rained.

Under such circumstances, it would be difficult for the Yizhou army on Zhuge Liang's side to serve as the main attacker. Even if they could achieve a great victory, it would be because Cao Zhen and Zhang He had lost their minds and left Zhuge Liang with some major flaw.

Otherwise, in general, the Northern Expedition should be led by the Jingzhou army as the main force, supplemented by Yizhou and Yangzhou. This is also Xu Shu's understanding of the current situation.

"Military Advisor Yuan Zhi is right. Cao Wei is still in good political order and has a harmonious society. Its losses are minimal. Even if our Jingzhou army is skilled in combat and has acquired weapons, it cannot continue to advance alone in the plains of Nanyang. Therefore, I want to wait for a good opportunity to launch the Northern Expedition."

Feng Xi completely agrees with Xu Shu's views. Although Xu Shu is an "ancient man", he just lacks the vision of Feng Xi's two thousand years of knowledge, which does not mean that he is a fool.

For example, just like in the future 2,000 years from now, after the millennium, there will still be people who can't even decompress a computer's compressed files, and there will also be genius teenagers who can make their own software. The gap between people is sometimes greater than that between people and dogs.

"Opportunity? What opportunity?"

Huang Quan didn't understand. According to what Feng Xi said, they could only make a decision after the Yangzhou Army completed its training and became combat-ready, and could contain the right wing of the Jingzhou Army's defense line.

"Of course it's Cao Pi's death. As long as Cao Pi dies, Wei will inevitably fall into chaos. You know, although Cao Pi has many sons now, the Cao family has been punished by heaven for usurping the Han Dynasty. His sons have died one after another in the past two years. Among them, the most capable of inheriting the throne is Prince Pingyuan Cao Rui."

Feng Xi touched his chin and told the two of them his idea. But Xu Shu and Huang Quan looked at each other and both felt it was a bit absurd. If they were to deploy troops and wait for weapons to be produced, they would not care. But waiting for the other party's boss to die of illness, isn't this a bit too much?
"Don't worry, don't worry. Do you remember what I said in the Great Han Daily? I said at that time that the traitor Cao Pi who usurped the Han Dynasty would be dead within five years. Now less than three years have passed. Cao Pi will definitely be dead in another three years."

Feng Xi was indeed very sure about this, which made Xu Shu and Huang Quan even more uncertain. Although what Feng Xi said was definitely correct, if Cao Pi died, his current successor situation would be different from that of Cao Cao at that time.

During Cao Cao's time, Cao Pi was the most stable legitimate son. Although Cao Zhi competed for Cao Pi's favor, Cao Pi's favor for Cao Zhi became less and less as Cao Zhi lost control after drinking. Cao Pi could be said to have been appointed. But now, Cao Pi's sons are not in good health. Two of them died of illness this year alone. This incident was even made a big deal by the tabloid "Secret Stories" cultivated by Feng Xi. They specifically brought up the death prophecy mentioned by Feng Xi two years ago, proving that this was evidence that "the Cao family had no morals and usurped the Han Dynasty as punishment by heaven."

As for Cao Pi's two unlucky children, Prince Qinghe Cao Gong and Prince Guangping Cao Yan, no one knows whether they inherited their father's genes or whether Cao Pi had some genetic disease. Anyway, the two died young at the same time this year, which made Cao Pi very sad, and he gave them the word "Ai" as his posthumous title.

The vigorous propaganda in Jingzhou really convinced the Cao Wei people who were originally somewhat suspicious. Just think about it, the "Da Han Daily" just said that Cao Pi usurped the Han Dynasty, obtained the country unjustly, and the gods were angry and the people were resentful, and that the generations would definitely live longer than the previous ones, and now it has come true within a few years.

How could this not frighten the ignorant people today? Everyone even remembered the prophecy in the previous "Da Han Daily", which was made by the Han army commander to the Wei Emperor Cao Pi.

Not to mention the common people, even many generals of Cao Wei who were not from the same clan were waiting to see what would happen. If Cao Pi really died suddenly within five years as Feng Xi said, I am afraid that the reputation foundation that Cao Wei had spent two generations to build would be wiped out.

"So Xiu Yuan, what you mean is that we should wait and see what happens, wait until Cao Pi dies and the north becomes unstable, then immediately send out troops on three fronts and take over Jiangbei while the chaos is going on?"

Xu Shu was more receptive, so he decided to follow Feng Xi's idea. Even if Feng Xi was really a divine strategist and Cao Pi really died in three years, their Northern Expedition would not have changed much. But the resistance would undoubtedly be much smaller.

"Third line? At least the fourth line. It may be the fifth line depending on the situation. It all depends on the strength and training of the navy in Yangzhou in the past two years."

Feng Xi chuckled, as if he found Xu Shu's pettiness a little funny.

"Fourth line? Five lines? Even if we have so many soldiers, where should we attack from?"

Xu Shu was stunned for a moment. There were only so many directions to choose from for the Northern Expedition. How could there be other locations for the Han army to attack? Feng Xi's words made Xu Shu a little confused.

"Yes, Xiu Yuan, let's not talk about whether your prediction that Cao Pi will die is accurate. Even if Cao Pi has just passed away and his son cannot stabilize the situation, most of the generals of the Cao and Xiahou families will not betray the new king. The main opponent our army is facing seems to be the same as it is now."

Huang Quan came back from his brainstorming session and rejoined the topic. He also had no idea about Feng Xi's strategic deployment.

"That's easy. The fourth route can attack from here, and the fifth route can attack from here."

Feng Xi pointed to two points on the map, causing Xu Shu and Huang Quan to widen their eyes, thinking that Feng Xi was probably crazy.

(End of this chapter)