jdhmnovel Chapter 472 News about Liu Bei
Chapter 472 News about Liu Bei
More than half a year has passed since Guan Xing's defeat at Maicheng. After a series of bitter battles, Guan Xing finally annihilated the Wu army, defeated Yu Jin, and recovered Jiangling.
However, the recapture of Jiangling is not the end but the beginning. At present, Cao Ren is still confronting Guan Yu in the Anhui-Jiangxi corridor, and Xu Huang is still launching a fierce attack on Xicheng along the Han River in an attempt to enter Hanzhong. The situation is still critical and it is far from time to be able to rest easy.
Therefore, Guan Xing must press on with renewed vigor and drive the Wei army completely out of the area south of the Han River.
This left Guan Xing with only two options: either continue north and then west, break through the three eastern commanderies to bring Liu Bei to the southern commandery, or turn east and join forces with Guan Yu to besiege Cao Ren.
Guan Xing was inclined to support Liu Bei for three reasons. First, Xu Huang had fewer troops and was easier to deal with than Cao Ren. In warfare, the easy targets are dealt with first, and then the strong are dealt with with all efforts. There is no reason to abandon the weak and provoke the strong, right?
As for whether running off to fight Xu Huang and leaving Guan Yu to face Cao Ren alone would cause problems, Guan Xing said he trusted his father and believed that Guan Yu could keep Cao Ren firmly tied down in the Anhui-Jiangxi corridor until he brought Liu Bei to Nan Commandery.
Secondly, Xicheng, where Xu Huang is located, is situated between the Daba Mountains and the Qinling Mountains on the banks of the Han River, tightly sandwiched between the two mountain ranges. Now, Liu Feng is guarding Xicheng, blocking Xu Huang's exit into Hanzhong. If I were to attack the three eastern counties, capture Shangyong and Fangling, and block Xu Huang's retreat, Xu Huang would be trapped with nowhere to go. How could I give up such a good opportunity to annihilate Xu Huang?
It's better to break one finger than to injure all ten. We must seize any opportunity to annihilate Xu Huang, otherwise, who knows when we'll be able to do it again.
Last but not least, although Jiangling has been recovered, it is still unstable. There are a lot of messes in Jingzhou that need to be dealt with. Guan Xing has neither the energy nor the manpower to handle them all, so Liu Bei must be brought in to take charge of the overall situation.
If Liu Bei were to return, his talented subordinates would continuously pour into Jingzhou, occupying various important positions, quickly stabilizing the situation in Jingzhou, and winning over the hearts of the people of Jiangdong.
It should be noted that half of the official positions in the areas conquered by Guan Xing are currently vacant. This might be manageable in the short term, but it could cause problems in the long run. Therefore, he must take back the three eastern commanderies as soon as possible, open up the passage between Nan Commandery and Hanzhong, and make contact with Liu Bei.
As for Dad, let's leave him out for now.
However, there is a prerequisite for supporting Liu Bei: to find out Liu Bei's current whereabouts. If Liu Bei has already withdrawn to Hanzhong, everything is fine. If he is still trapped on the Longxi battlefield, we may have to write to Liu Feng with a heavy heart and ask him to cooperate in eliminating Xu Huang first.
Mentioning Liu Feng fills Guan Xing with rage, and he doesn't want to talk to that guy at all. It's not that he resents Liu Feng for not saving Guan Yu that day, but rather that Liu Feng is a complete idiot.
After the Battle of Hanzhong ended, Liu Bei ordered Meng Da, the governor of Yidu, to attack Fangling and Shangyong. However, worried that Meng Da was not up to the task, he sent Liu Feng from Xicheng to support him and put him in charge of the war in the three eastern counties. In other words, he made Liu Feng Meng Da's superior.
At the time, Liu Feng and Meng Da were not familiar with each other. Under normal circumstances, if a capable subordinate suddenly appeared, one should appease and win him over. But what did Liu Feng do?
This guy actually treated Meng Da, who had four thousand private retainers, like a slave. He not only embarrassed Meng Da in public on several occasions, but also forcibly took away the drums and gongs of Meng Da's honor guard, making Meng Da feel ashamed. This is something a leader should do.
Besides, you're not a three-year-old, what's the point of you trying to promote that stuff?
Liu Feng's character can be seen from his attitude towards Meng Da. He is a fool who has strength but no brains, and does whatever he wants without any regard for other people's feelings. Anyone would go crazy following such a leader.
Therefore, Guan Xing really didn't want to deal with Liu Feng. While sending people to interrogate the Wei prisoners, he prayed frantically in his heart that Liu Bei had already withdrawn to Hanzhong to take over the war in Hanzhong. Otherwise, he would have no choice but to humbly persuade Liu Feng to prioritize the overall situation.
Before Guan Xing could figure out how to persuade Liu Feng, Hu Zong rushed over and sighed, "General, I have asked several Wei generals, and they all said they have not seen Jiang Ji and know nothing about the King of Hanzhong. It is estimated that only a few people, such as Jiang Ji and Yu Jin, know about the King of Hanzhong."
Guan Xing frowned and said, "Then let's ask about the situation in Xiangyang and the three eastern prefectures. Since Xu Huang is attacking Xicheng, what about Fangling and Shangyong? Who is guarding them, how many troops are there, and where is Meng Da? Did he go with Xu Huang to attack Xicheng, or is he staying behind to guard the rear?"
Hu Zong shook his head and said, "I asked, but they didn't know either. They were prisoners redeemed by Jiang Ji and had been staying in the camp since returning to Xiangyang without any contact with the outside world. Therefore, they knew nothing about the outside world."
Guan Xing sighed, "This is troublesome. It seems we can only return to Jiangling to rest and then gather more information."
Just as he was about to give the order to return, a rapid sound of hooves suddenly came from behind. Turning around, he saw Dong Hui riding a horse galloping towards them.
Dong Hui rushed to the front of the battle, dismounted, and sprinted to Guan Xing, saying urgently, "General, good news! After you left the city, we gathered the Wei prisoners and learned from Yu Jin's personal guard commander that His Majesty's northern expedition was a great success. He annihilated tens of thousands of Wei troops under Zhang He and Sima Yi in Ji County, successfully recovered the entire Longxi region, and even forced Cao Cao to leave for Guanzhong despite his illness. Now His Majesty has withdrawn to Hanzhong and is fully engaged in dealing with Cao Cao's counterattack."
These words shocked everyone present. Guan Xing's eyes widened and he gasped. He instinctively grabbed Dong Hui's shoulders and shook him violently, asking, "Is this true?"
Not only did Liu Bei annihilate Zhang He's tens of thousands of troops, but he also recovered Longxi.
What kind of place is Longxi? It's a place that Prime Minister Zhuge Liang dreamed of taking but failed to conquer even after six expeditions to Qishan. And now Liu Bei has actually taken it back.
Old Liu is awesome...
Zhu Ran, Sun Huan, Hu Zong, Xu Xiang, and the others were even more shocked than Guan Xing. They all instinctively opened their mouths wide, staring at Dong Hui with disbelief on their faces.
They were all high-ranking generals of Eastern Wu. Although they were in Jiangnan, they knew the importance of the Longxi highlands and what it meant for Liu Bei to take Longxi.
Now that Guan Yu and his son have seized Jiangdong and recovered Jiangling, they have almost occupied the entire Jiangnan region. Liu Bei has also seized Longxi and extended his reach into Jiangbei. What does this mean? It means that the restoration of the Han Dynasty is secure.
Fortunately, fortunately, our lord surrendered to Liu Bei. If he had surrendered to Cao Cao, he would have had to surrender to Yuan Shao after the Battle of Guandu.
Several Wu generals were filled with relief, thankful that Sun Quan had led them to make the right choice. However, the aristocratic generals, such as Pan Zhu and Huang Zhe, were so frightened that their legs went weak and cold sweat poured down their backs.
Liu Bei actually recovered Longxi. If he really ran away with Yu Jin, wouldn't the gentry of Jingzhou be doomed?
Fortunately, fortunately, Guan Xing pardoned them at the crucial moment; otherwise, once Liu Bei defeated Cao Cao and returned to Jiangling, their entire clan of Jingzhou would have been wiped out.
It's important to understand that Liu Bei's attitude towards the gentry depended on the outcome of the battles on the front lines. If he was defeated, he would naturally try to win them over and appease them. But if he won, he would have to implement sweeping reforms and hold them accountable later.
If the gentry of Jingzhou truly follow Yu Jin to the bitter end, and Liu Bei sweeps through the three eastern counties and returns to Jiangling to block Yu Jin's retreat, the gentry of Jingzhou will have nowhere to turn for help.
Thinking of this, Huang Zhe and the others turned to look at Pan Zhu, their eyes filled with gratitude.
Fortunately, fortunately, Pan Zhu made the right choice at the critical moment, otherwise the gentry of Jingzhou would have been finished.
Dong Hui's shoulder ached from Guan Xing's grip, and he grimaced as he said, "The commander of Yu Jin's personal guards heard Jiang Ji and Yu Jin say that His Majesty has indeed won and successfully retreated to Hanzhong. General, please let go, it hurts."