Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 77 73. Lao Liu's Decision (510)
Before yesterday, Lao Liu might have remained noncommittal about Feng Xi's radical North-South confrontation strategy. It is undeniable that many of them sound quite reasonable, but Lao Liu inevitably still feels that some of them are too taken for granted and awkward.

In addition, although Feng Xi was quite talented, he had only recently shown his ability. In terms of trust, Liu Bei subconsciously believed in the Nanyang Wolong a little more.

However, relying on the Three-Part Theory, Wolong was able to successfully go from having nothing to controlling two states. His contribution is self-evident and is far beyond the reach of Feng Xi.

But the fire last night completely changed Liu Bei's mind.

Not only did the fireman show no intention of holding back, but Ma Zhong even dared to shoot two arrows at him. If it weren't for his quick reaction and the timely assistance of Fu Zhun, Guan Xing, and Zhang Bao, he would have been captured by Ma Zhong.

This was the first time that Liu Bei personally felt the malice of the Eastern Wu. There were no political considerations, only the simplest life-and-death struggle.

Therefore, Liu Bei couldn't help but start thinking about everything Feng Xi had just said.

"Han Emperor, please don't think too much. Today's events were all my own decision. It was not my Lord's will. I am willing to die to atone for the crime of usurpation. I hope that Han Emperor will not ignore the overall situation and let Cao Wei reap the benefits for nothing!"

Lu Xun was kneeling below and found that Liu Bei actually hesitated. He knew that Liu Bei must have taken it to heart, so he did not care about anything else and confessed his guilt first, taking all the blame on himself, hoping that his death could calm Liu Bei's anger.

"That's ridiculous. You are the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Wu army, with the same rank as Zhou Gongjin and Lu Zijing. How can you be said to act on your own initiative? You are the Eastern Wu army, representing half of the Eastern Wu. How can there be a misunderstanding?"

Feng Xi said disdainfully. With Lu Xun's status, it is hard to say whether he disobeyed the King of Wu or the King of Wu disobeyed him.

Sun Quan was also a typical villain who would destroy the bridge after crossing it. When Lu Meng succeeded in his sneak attack on Jingzhou, Sun Quan shamelessly praised him as "surpassing Lu Su and surpassing Zhou Yu". When something went wrong, it was "Lu Meng acting on his own initiative because of personal grudges".

Anyway, his generals were all on their own, so the good thing was that he was a wise leader, but if something went wrong, it was because they acted on their own. Even if Lu Xun admitted it, Sun Quan would probably dare to go along with it and say that it was Lu Xun who did it and it had nothing to do with him.

"Your Majesty, there is no need to listen to the wasted words of this defeated general. As the old saying goes, 'judge by deeds, not by heart'. Now Dongwu has killed you, seized Jingzhou, and is trying to harm you. Which one of them is not a vicious plot to kill us?"
If it can be explained by a simple "misunderstanding", then isn't Cao Pi's usurpation of the Han Dynasty also a misunderstanding? Stabbing and killing someone can also be a misunderstanding? If everything in the world can be a misunderstanding, wouldn't it be a mess?"

Feng Xi continued to warm up the situation, which made Liu Bei somewhat agree. After all, he had been tolerant of Dongwu.

At the beginning of the alliance, Dongwu wanted to harm Kongming; later, Zhou Yu even used the strategy of pretending to be a state to attack Guo in order to destroy him. If it were not for Kongming, he would have succeeded long ago.

If it weren't for Kong Ming's advice, telling him to consider the overall situation and that he also needed the help of Soochow, Liu Bei would probably have turned against him long ago.

This time, Dongwu harmed his sworn brother, and he asked them to return the occupied land and hand over the murderer, but Dongwu kept resisting and showed no sincerity. Now, a young man came up and wanted to kill him.

This is intolerable. The increasingly aggressive attitude of the Eastern Wu made Liu Bei unable to bear it any longer.

"That makes sense, Xiu Yuan. In your opinion, what are the chances of our army conquering Jingzhou and Jiangdong?"

"Your Majesty, this is not difficult. It will only take a little effort for our army to recover Jingzhou. Now the Eastern Wu army has been completely destroyed here, and the King of Wei can no longer mobilize a large and well-trained army in a hurry.

After our army recaptures Jingzhou, it will be easy to attack Wu by going down the river, and Cao Wei will definitely intervene and try to fish in troubled waters. However, Cao Wei’s navy is not strong, and if they want to intervene, they can only come from the north of Jingzhou. Even if the King of Wu completely surrenders to Wei and welcomes Cao’s troops into the country, we can block Cao’s follow-up support by the Yangtze River, and retreat by using the water network in the south of the Yangtze River as a barrier to hinder Cao’s army. ”

Feng Xi thought of the worst possible scenario in just a few words. The worst possible scenario was that Sun Quan completely surrendered to Cao Cao and let Cao's army into the Eastern Wu.

But how could it be that simple? Cao's sharpest cavalry was not very effective in the crisscrossing terrain of Jiangnan, and most of Cao's elite troops were from the north. Liu Bei was not without a navy. If he annihilated the remaining navy of the Eastern Wu, he could still cross the Yangtze River. Wouldn't Cao's army crossing the river be like rootless duckweed?

Even if Feng Xicai was unable to defeat Cao's troops crossing the river and retreated back to Jingzhou, it would still be easy to use the Xiangjiang River and other tributaries as a barrier to block Cao's troops from entering Jingzhou.

In addition, Ji Han did not only have Jingzhou. If Cao Jun came with a large force to attack Jingzhou, Guanzhong would be empty, and Zhuge Liang would probably have to take action. Don't forget that Shangyong is still in Ji Han's hands. It can attack or defend, which makes Cao Wei have to be wary.

Lu Xun's face turned pale. These two people were discussing the plan to destroy Wu in front of him. First, they were not afraid of him hearing it. What did it mean? He was just a dying man. Second, he was also worried about the future of Dongwu.

Lu Xun knew that his great defeat in Yiling had wiped out almost all of the Eastern Wu's available troops in Jingzhou and Yangzhou.

It’s not that there are no other troops, but they are either used to defend against the Shanyue or against Cao Wei. The troops in his hands are the last ones that can be mobilized.

In addition to this great defeat, almost all of the generals of the Eastern Wu were killed or wounded. It is estimated that the Eastern Wu has only a few generals available at the moment. How can it resist the current Han army?

Liu Bei also agreed with Feng Xi's strategy of destroying Wu. After asking Feng Xi a few more details, he praised Feng Xi again and again.

"Xiu Yuan, if this army heading east was given to you, could you attack Dongwu?"

Liu Bei did not keep the question secret and asked Feng Xi directly, which surprised Feng Xi.

"If your majesty trusts me, of course I can. Even if it is difficult to conquer Jiangdong in a hurry, it should not be a problem to completely recover Jingzhou. After integrating Jingzhou, wouldn't it be easy to attack Jiangdong?"

Feng Xi was still a little more relaxed and tried to speak in a negative way.

"Well. In that case, I would like to appoint you as the General of the Eastern Expedition and lead this army for me, all the way eastward to completely destroy Dongwu. Perhaps I am really old..."

When Liu Bei said this, he couldn't help but sigh a few times, and it was obvious that he was really exhausted.

"Your Majesty has shown me your kindness. I will do my best to conquer Jing and Yang. When we march north, we will cooperate with the people in Sichuan and make it difficult for Cao Wei to take care of both ends."

Feng Xi almost laughed out loud when he heard what Lao Liu said, but he still looked flattered.

(End of this chapter)