Chapter 184: Two ways into Sichuan

In Xiling, Ding Feng drove the warship into the tortuous and rapid canyon channel. This area of ​​retrograde rivers is the most dangerous section of the Yangtze River. Under the surging river water, there are many dangerous shoals and reefs. If you are not careful, the ship will sink.

"General, there is Yizhou's territory ahead, we can't move forward any further!" the old man who was in charge of the navigation persuaded.

Ding Feng stood steadily at the bow of the boat, and there were monkeys jumping flexibly on the cliffs on both sides. They seemed to lightly hang their bodies on the vines, picking green fruits while leaning out to look at the lonely boat struggling in the river. Perhaps in their opinion, these boats sailing against the current were just overestimating their abilities and actually dreaming of conquering the world.

"Continue!" Ding Feng ordered without hesitation.

A day ago, he had just received a message from Jiangling Ganning that the coach was planning a plan to attack Bashu in the west. Regardless of whether the news was true or false, Ding Feng was inexplicably excited. After taking Jingzhou, the navy's position in Gao Chong's army had been invisibly weakened. This can be seen from the configuration of the six first-line powerhouses. Although Gan Ning and Wenpin were included, it was still much worse than the glory of the previous one when the family dominated.

The north is a stage where cavalry leaps and bounds.

There is only one opportunity for the navy now, Bashu.

Knowing one's own knowledge, one will never win a hundred battles. After stationing in Xiling for so long, Ding Feng was quite clear about the difficulties of the Shu Road. Almost every few days, broken and overturned merchant ships will float upstream, including many corpses that have been soaked. Only the old helmsman who are familiar with the waterway can find the direction from the clues on both sides of the straits.

"I must keep every grass, tree, reef and curve here in my heart." Ding Feng secretly swore that he could only win this battle, not lose. Once the Jinfan army lost, the Wenpin Jiangling Navy behind him would replace it. As soon as he thought of Fu Tong's rough face with a shallow beard, Ding Feng felt a strong sense of crisis.

"Fu Tong, why are you laughing at? You don't have any chance this time." A confident smile appeared beside Ding Feng's mouth. Gan Ning also had the same feeling as him. As the leader of the Jinfan Army, he was most eager to prove himself in a war and prove his reputation as the first general in Jiangdong.

Just as Gan Ning and Ding Feng were preparing to advance westward, Xiangyang, a dispute over whether to advance westward or the Northern Expedition became fierce with Gao Chong's arrival.

The two parties who hold these two different opinions are not others, but Zhou Yu and Xu Shu.

"If Cao Cao is favored by the general, he will be in Hebei for the sake of great power. The Central Plains will inevitably be empty. As long as our army can defeat the current enemy in Wancheng, it will be easy to whip the master. If we lose this opportunity, once Cao Cao successfully takes Hebei, it will be difficult for us to attack the north again after his strength has increased." Zhou Yu's words were sharp and he hit the nail on the head.

Zhou Yu's talent is obvious to all. He gained a lot of confidence from the Battle of Fancheng, what he longed for during this period was the glory of the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains and unify the mountains and rivers. His temperament was full of adventurous spirit, and his preference was the pleasure of putting it to death and resurrection. What he longed for was the pleasure of defeating the more with less and fighting wits and courage with strong enemies. In his heart, he considered more factors that were beneficial to his side.

In contrast to Zhou Yu, Xu Shu, who drew his sword righteously when he was young, wandered around for a few years and studied poetry, calligraphy and military tactics, and was entrusted with important tasks by Gao Chong. This experience of fighting with the army made his temperament calmer from being impatient, and He Zong's exposure also made him more alert and cautious about the Cao army, so he advanced step by step and did not fight unprepared battles.

"Are Gong Jin too optimistic? If our army wants to attack the Central Plains, we must first break Wancheng. However, this city is deep and the turret is strict. The guard Cao Ren is also alert. I sent some people to sneak into the city to inquire, but I have no idea what to do. If the city is now strongly attacked for a while, our army will be in a passive position. By then, Liu Bei will most likely have completely wiped out the resistance forces. If he goes out of Shu and threatens me, Jingxiang, we will inevitably suffer from the dilemma of being attacked on both sides. This is an ending that I can't imagine." Xu Shu retorted.

Zhou Yu disagreed and said, "After the Cao army was defeated in Fancheng, he kept guarding the city gates and did not leave. I thought it was because he was afraid of us. Now our army is in full swing. Nearly 30,000 elite troops from the four divisions of Huang Zhong, Zhu Huan, Taishi Ci, and Lingtong besieged Wancheng. If the enemy is defeated, we will be restored. Besides, we can also make a feint attack in the direction of Huainan. For the ban and Lejin, I don't believe that Cao's army can resist. As for Liu Bei, I think it's enough to lead the Jinfan army to guard Jiangling by General Ganning."

"Gong Jin, don't forget that Cao Xiu and Cao Chun's tiger and leopard cavalry are stationed in Wancheng. We attack with infantry as the main force. Of course, there is no danger when we win. If we suffer a defeat, we will fall into the dilemma of the enemy's cavalry chasing each other." Xu Shu said without showing any weakness.

"Hmph, after all, you just want the coach to attack Bashu in the west. But by the time you conquered Yizhou, Cao Cao might have taken over Hebei's Ji, You and Qingzhou. By then, our strength has only increased a little, and Cao Cao has increased a lot." Zhou Yu said loudly.

Hearing the argument between the two, Gao Chong couldn't help frowning. Zhou and Xu's opinions seemed to be in the opposite direction, but the end was the same, but the process was different. Zhou Yu hoped to make a contribution to one battle and risk his troops north to occupy the Central Plains, so as to gain a comprehensive political, military and economic advantage. This is the best way to gain the world in a short period of time. Xu Shu believed that the expansion strategy should be implemented step by step, and taking down Yizhou not only implements the strategy of first defeating the weak enemy, but also eliminates the danger from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. No matter which choice he chooses, he will gain something and lose something.

From the perspective of feeling, Zhou Yu's vision was full of bold and beautiful imagination, and soldiers entered the Central Plains. This was the uncontrollable desire of every Jiangdong child. From the Northern Expedition of Wu and Chu in the Spring and Autumn Period to Xiang Yu's uprising to resist the violent Qin Dynasty, there was this complex and difficult to explain clearly.

This is my yearning for the strong civilization of the Central Plains.

This is also a counterattack against the northern gentry who looked down on the southerners.

Zhou Yu is from the south. He can feel the arrogance in the eyes of the geniuses who were in despair and exiled to Jiangdong. This is also something that Gao Feng can bear, so he knows very well that Zhou Yu's heart is inspiring.

Xu Shu would not have such a complex emotion. He was born into a commoner who had been exiled from the north. He did not have the almost innate arrogance of the gentry class. Therefore, Xu Shu analyzed the gains and losses of the battle from a rational perspective. In his opinion, he could choose a more stable way to catch up with Jiangnan, which had gradually surpassed the north in terms of economy.

"Would you say that Cao Cao's Northern Expedition to Hebei be a trap?" Liu Ye, who had been listening to Zhou Yu and Xu Shu's argument, suddenly asked.

This time, Liu Ye escorted the newly developed naval guns from the Ministry of Industry. The improved naval guns have more powerful and more accurate power than before. Gan Ning and Wenpin were the first units equipped with this batch of new naval guns.

"What are Ziyang's opinions?" Gao Chong asked.

Liu Ye pondered for a moment and said, "When fighting on the battlefield, the factor that determines the victory or defeat is to use his own strengths and the shortcoming of the enemy. Now if you attack the Central Plains in the north, it will be like Yuan Benchu's Guandu back then. The strength of the Cao army is still the rapid rush of cavalry and the easy supply of internal operations. These are the shortcomings of our army. The supply line of our army in the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains will be completely exposed to the threat of Cao's army. Even if Xu Du is taken, he will not be able to escape unscathed. Also, Ye thought that even if Cao Cao raised troops in Hebei, he would be very likely to leave a considerable army to support the south of the Yellow River. Once our army attacked the north, it would be very likely to encounter the pocket formation set up by Cao Cao."

Liu Ye spoke very carefully, mainly involving specific tactical aspects, which was not mentioned in the debate between Zhou Yu and Xu Shu just now. As the governor and military advisor who control the overall situation, they focused more on the strategic level.

Gao Chong listened carefully to everyone's opinions. Although Zhou Yu's idea had made him a little moved, reason told him that Xu Shu and Liu Ye's reminder was correct.

Gao Chong said in a deep voice: "As Ziyang said, our army's strengths lies in having a first-class naval army and rich experience in fighting in rivers and lakes. In the battle of Fancheng, Xiahou Dun abandoned his strengths and came from afar to the south and was wiped out by Gong Jin's water attack strategy. This is because he does not know how to play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses. At present, military commander Pang and General Zhao Yun were controlled by others in the Xiliang area and had to retreat to the more remote Longxi area. Without their support, it was too risky to use our existing forces to fight the northern expedition, so I decided to implement the strategy of expedition to the West first."

On May 7, the seventh year of Jian'an, Gao Chong, after a separate conversation with Zhou Yu, kept Zhou Yu and continued to station in Xiangyang, while he and Xu Shu and Liu Ye were sent to Jiangling with the navy recruited by Wen.

Jiangling generals outside the Taiwan Strait, in the Yangtze River, war generals gathered and ships were arranged.

Hundreds of Mengchong warships carrying new-style naval guns were neatly arranged in the river and were inspected by Gao Chong. On both sides of Gao Chong, Gan Ning and Wen Pin stared at each other in dissatisfaction. The warships with Jinfan Army flags and Jiangling Army flags were each not giving in. The shiny swords and guns showed their fighting spirit.

"Pengshuai, look at the high morale of the soldiers in the army, which is the time of war." Facing Gao Chong who came to inspect, Gan Ning was full of confidence.

"General Gan, your Jinfan Army can fight, and my Jiangling soldiers are not bad either." Wen Pin replied loudly with dissatisfaction. Wen Pin, who had not made any contribution after returning, naturally hoped that this battle would be able to make great contributions in this battle so as to change the contempt of Gan Ning and others. He wanted to prove with dignity that the Jiangling Navy was worthy of the title of front-line powerhouse.

"There is no need to fight for the two generals. In the opinion of the monk, no one can escape this time. If the general is the favorite to rush you into battle, don't complain." Xu Shu replied with a smile. Competition is not a bad thing. Gan Ning and Wen Pin are both generals who can stand alone. They will be cautious when they should be cautious, so there is no need to worry about this.

Rulin's neat ship made Gao Chong more confident. He asked as he walked: "Xingba, what's the situation in Jiangzhou?"

"Yan Yan, the governor of Jiangzhou, was originally the commander of Badong County appointed by Liu Zhang. This man is more experienced and steady. When Liu Bei attacked Bashu, he had been alone in Badong for more than a month. Later, he was captured by Zhang Fei. He had to surrender to Liu Bei. If we want to enter Shu from the Yangtze River Channel, we must pass his level." Gan Ning replied respectfully.

From his attitude, it can be seen that he respected Yan Yan very much. In fact, when the young man traveled to Ba County, Gan Ning had a relationship with Yan Yan. Gan Ning, who had just started an army, was meeting Yan Yan who came to encircle and suppress the enemy. The two fought in the battle. Gan Ning was good at attacking and Yan Yan was good at defending. As the saying goes, the match was equal, but later Liu Zhang's reinforcements arrived, and Gan Ning was defeated and had to escape from Shu.

It is precisely because Gan Ning is from Ba County that he is quite familiar with the geographical situation in Shu. A folk proverb says: The difficulty of Shu is better than that of heaven. The Yangtze River waterway entering Shu is extremely difficult and dangerous. There are countless ships sinking into the river every year, and the plank roads along the river are even more winding and intermittent. In the past, the Chu people in the Chu Kingdom had an absolute advantage in strength, but after more than 70 years of conquest, they finally completely gave up the Ba people to resist.

"We favor the general. Now Liu Zhang's second son Liu Chan is assisted by Yong Kai, Huang Quan, Huo Jun and others in the Nanzhong area, and raised an army to fight against Liu Bei. If we can send troops to help at this time, we will definitely get their support. In this way, while we attack Jiangzhou, we might as well send another side troops from Jiaozhou to Bashu. Isn't there a chance of winning in this way?" Xu Shu advised.

"Well, I want Bo Yan to be the governor of the partial division and lead his troops to the expedition. What do you think about the military advisor?" Gao Chong nodded and said.

"But Bo Yan is the young hero and has the experience of attacking Jiaozhou, so he is the best candidate." Xu Shudao.

"Okay, that's it. You can order the military staff to draw an order and send it to Jiaozhou."

"yes."

Although the road from Jiaozhou to Nanzhong is blocked by barbarians and the passage of large troops is not easy, it is still easier than the one man in Jiangzhou to serve as a pass on the waterway. Moreover, according to Xu Shu's information, intercultivating into Shu has already joined Liu Chan's forces. In this way, Lu Xun served as the commander of the southern route to Shu, while Gao Chong personally led Gan Ning and Wenpeng two naval troops from Jiangling to go up the river. In this way, even if Jiangling is blocked, Lu Xun's other route can penetrate directly behind the enemy and form a cross-attack.
Chapter completed!