flstandardbreds Chapter 416 Guan Yu Vows to Seize Jingzhou
Chapter 416 Guan Yu Vows to Seize Jingzhou
Guan Yu's deep-seated grudge against Sun Quan made the possibility of Sun Quan surrendering to Liu Bei virtually zero.
Nevertheless, Guan Yu still did not want to accept the reality that Sun Quan had surrendered Jiangling to Cao Wei, and said weakly, "Maybe, perhaps... maybe we can still try, right?"
Wang Fu shook his head and said, "Even if Sun Quan is willing to surrender to Liu, what about his subordinates and the traitors under your command? Don't forget that Mi Fang and Fu Shiren are still in Jiangling. Although these two traitors are not valued by Sun Quan, don't forget that they have private troops."
“Normally, the hundreds of private soldiers under their command might not be of much use, but now that the situation in Jiangling is chaotic and Sun Quan has suffered a fatal blow, he might just give up and let things go. As a result, the private soldiers under Mi Fang and Fu Shiren can do a lot, and may even be able to turn the tide at critical moments.”
Mentioning the two traitors, Mi Fang and Fu Shiren, Guan Yu immediately broke down, gritting his teeth and saying, "Those two bastards, once I recapture Jiangling, I will definitely cut them into a thousand pieces to vent my hatred."
Wang Fu smiled bitterly and said, "They also know that Lord Jun will not let them go and will definitely stand firmly on Cao Wei's side. They might even launch a coup to seize the city gate and surrender Jiangling before Sun Quan. Don't forget that behind them, in addition to their private army, there is the entire Jingzhou gentry."
The gentry of Jingzhou were accomplices in Mi Fang's surrender of the city to Wu, and they were certainly afraid of being purged by Liu Bei. At this time, they would inevitably form a united front with Mi Fang and Fu Shiren, in addition to Gu Yong, who had a blood feud with the Guan family father and son for killing his son...
The current situation in Jingzhou is very unfavorable for the Guan family.
Wang Fu continued, "If I were Cao Ren in this situation, I certainly wouldn't take the initiative to attack Jingzhou. Instead, I would send envoys to Jiangling to contact Sun Quan and staunch anti-Liu faction members such as Mi Fang, Fu Shiren, and Gu Yong, in order to peacefully take over Jingzhou."
"Cao Ren, being a military general, may not see this, but don't forget that he has Jia Kui, who is skilled in strategy, by his side. I'm worried that Jia Kui has already set off for Jiangling."
"However, since Sun Quan has a staunch anti-Liu faction, he will naturally also have a staunch anti-Cao faction. If we can unite these people, we may have a chance to take Jiangling. The problem is that we have no one to send."
Apart from Guan Yu, Guan Xing, Wang Fu, and Deng Zhi, all the people in Jiangdong at present are subjects who surrendered from Eastern Wu, such as Zhu Zhi, Zhang Cheng, and He Qi.
We can't very well send them to negotiate with Sun Quan and persuade him to surrender to the Han. Putting aside whether we can trust them or not, sending them would just be putting Sun Quan in a bad position.
Sun Quan was so enraged when he saw his former subordinates not only surrender to Guan Yu, his mortal enemy, but also come to persuade him to surrender. He would have killed them on the spot.
If Sun Quan really killed them, he would have no choice but to firmly follow Cao Wei.
Therefore, sending Zhang Cheng, Zhu Zhi, and others to persuade Cao Wei to surrender would be tantamount to helping Cao Wei, and this should absolutely not be done.
If these people are unusable, then Guan Yu and Guan Xing, along with Wang Fu and Deng Zhi, will have to go themselves. Guan Yu and Guan Xing definitely cannot go; if they do, they might be used by Sun Quan as a pledge of allegiance to Cao Wei.
Wang Fu couldn't go either. He was now Guan Yu's chief logistics officer, and if he left, Guan Yu's 100,000-strong army would have no food.
Deng Zhi couldn't go either. He had to carry out land reform in Wu County and guard against Zhu Huan's naval attack on the riverbank. If he left, Zhu Huan would very likely land and seize Wu County, cutting off Guan Yu's retreat.
You must know that Zhu Huan is the patriarch of the Zhu clan in Wu County, the biggest local tyrant in the Three Wu regions. If he were to return, what kind of chaos would he cause in Wu County?
This exposed Guan Yu's weakness of lacking talent, leaving him with no one to use at crucial moments.
Guan Yu then said fiercely, "Then let's fight! If Cao Ren wants to peacefully take over Jingzhou, he'll have to ask me, Guan Yunchang, if I agree first!"
"Let's do this: I will personally lead the army to Lingyang to continue confronting Cao Ren. Even if we can't break through Cao Ren's defenses, we must tie down as many of Cao Ren's troops as possible, so that Cao Ren has no troops to attack Yu Han or Zhou Tai to seize Jiangling. Then, let An Guo send troops to Yu Han to rush straight to Nanchang. After capturing Nanchang, we will head north to Jiangling. This time, I must take back Jingzhou."
Jingzhou had become an obsession for Guan Yu; he couldn't even sleep well until he took it back.
Moreover, Jingzhou was extremely important to Guan Yu. If he could recapture Jingzhou, he could join forces with Liu Bei, connect the entire Jiangnan region, and consolidate their strength to fight against Cao Wei.
Conversely, if Jingzhou were to fall into the hands of the Wei army, Cao Cao could emulate the Battle of Red Cliffs, using Jingzhou as a weapon to separate Bashu and Jiangdong before defeating them one by one.
Even if the Wei army captures Jiangling and stops attacking, Guan Yu will not be able to withstand the attrition of the Shu Han by simply storing grain and cultivating land on the Han River Plain.
Therefore, we must send troops to capture Jiangling. Even if we cannot take it back, we must cripple the Wei army to pave the way for a future joint attack on Jingzhou with Liu Bei.
Wang Fu nodded and said, "This general agrees with your opinion, but in addition to a frontal attack, we can also think of some underhanded tactics. For example, we can have Zhu Zhi write a letter to Zhu Ran to persuade him to surrender. Zhu Ran is Zhu Zhi's nephew and adopted son. He is currently stationed in Yiling to guard against the King's eastern expedition. If he is willing to surrender to the Han, it will clear the way for the King's eastern expedition. It would be even better if we could also help persuade Sun Huan, who is guarding Yidao City, to surrender."
"There is also General Bu Zhi, who was sent to Jingnan to meet Your Majesty on the day when Prince Tan Zhi (Guan Ping) and Zhao Lei went there. Bu Zhi was ordered by Sun Quan to go north to Yiyang to attack Prince Tan Zhi. After Prince Tan Zhi and Zhao Lei followed Your Majesty on the northern expedition, Bu Zhi moved his troops to Gong'an to protect the flank of Jiangling. He is currently in Gong'an City. Your Majesty may ask Lady Bu (Bu Lianshi) to write a letter to Bu Zhi to persuade him to surrender."
Bu Zhi and Bu Lianshi were from the same clan, and in terms of seniority, Bu Zhi was Bu Lianshi's uncle. Guan Xing was also Bu Lianshi's son-in-law. From this point of view, Guan Yu and Bu Zhi were related by marriage, but Guan Yu was a generation younger than Bu Zhi.
Bu Zhi's eldest son, Bu Xie, has been captured by Guan Xing and is being escorted to Jianye. If Bu Lianshi and Bu Xie were to write to Bu Zhi at the same time, Bu Zhi might actually surrender.
If Bu Zhi had surrendered Gong'an to the Han dynasty when Guan Xing captured Nanchang and led his army north, it would have been just like when Fu Shiren surrendered Gong'an to Wu, which would have greatly benefited Guan Xing's attack on Jiangling.
Wang Fu continued, "Oh, right, there's also Lü Ju. Lü Ju is Lü Fan's only son, and Lü Fan is too old to have any more children. He can't just abandon his son like Sun Quan did. We can have Lü Ju write to Lü Fan and try to win him over to our side. At the very least, we should persuade him to remain neutral and not help either side."
Sun Quan was in his prime and could have had more children. He could have completely ignored the two sons who were being held captive by Guan Yu and acted as he pleased. In addition, Sun Quan was a cold-blooded and ruthless political machine who only loved himself. He was absolutely capable of abandoning his wife and children.
But Lü Fan couldn't do that. Lü Ju was his only son, and his body wouldn't allow him to survive. He couldn't just ignore Lü Ju's life or death.
Guan Yu said, "I'll do as you say. I'll go see my sister-in-law and Lady Bu right now."
When seeking help from Bu Lianshi, we should not forget Sun Shangxiang. If Sun Shangxiang is willing to write a letter to persuade them to surrender, the effect may be better than that of Bu Lianshi.
Because of Sun Shangxiang's special status in Eastern Wu, she could play a very good role in facilitating things at this time. If she were to step forward, she could alleviate the concerns of Eastern Wu's subjects about their reputation being damaged by surrendering.
Although we surrendered to Liu, we did not betray Eastern Wu; we were merely obeying Miss Sun's orders.
Although everyone knows that Sun Shangxiang's name is just a fig leaf, you really can't do without this fig leaf.
So, Guan Yu had quite a few cards to play, at least he wasn't completely helpless against Cao Ren when it came to fighting for Jingzhou.
Wang Fu bowed and said, "I will also go and prepare provisions for your expedition."
After saying this, Guan Yu was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something and said again, "It will take time for Anguo to reorganize Lu Xun's surrendered troops and prepare supplies for the expedition. In other words, Anguo still has time. Let him go back to Jianye. There are some things that need to be explained to him in person."
Deng Hong was taken aback for a moment, then wisely bowed and said, "This humble servant will return to Wushang immediately."
Guan Yu said, "You're still injured, so don't run. Let Zhou Cang go. Tell Zhou Cang that he doesn't need to come back after seeing An Guo. He should go directly to Bashu to report to the King. I'll write a letter to the King right now."
Poor Zhou Cang, he's only been back for a few days and he's already going on another long trip.