I will be the master of Xuande

Chapter 785 Zhuge Liang sneaks across the ocean

After Liu Bei listened to Lu Su's suggestion, he felt that what he said was very reasonable.

Taishi Ci only had more than 10,000 soldiers and horses. Although he also wanted to bring more people, the carrying capacity of sea ships in this era was limited, and he really could not bring so many people.

In addition to people, you also need to bring appropriate horses, ordnance, and food supplies. These things take up most of the space on the ship.

Therefore, being able to carry more than 10,000 people was already the limit for Taishi Ci's fleet.

Of course, the number of 10,000 people is also quite large. Under the current circumstances, it is enough to move across the territory of Jiangdong. However, the key difficulty is the lack of support and supplies.

At the beginning, Liu Bei was worried that Tai Shici would not be able to cope with this, and he wrote to Liu Jian to explain the pros and cons.

After all, Taishi Ci would definitely have no problem fighting, and after several trips north to Liaodong, he had relatively rich experience at sea and ashore, but he still lacked a certain amount of experience in diplomacy and communication with prominent families.

Once deep into the hinterland of Jiangdong, it will not only test the combat ability, because the supplies for Taishi Ci's 10,000-strong army must come from the Jiangdong family that has been related to the Dahan Trade Association in recent years, but how much can be obtained? , will they report the information about Tai Shici and others to Cao Cao? Which people are trustworthy, which people are not trustworthy but can be used, and which people should not be used at all...

Liu Bei expressed his concern. He felt that Taishi Ci could not figure out these issues.

But for him to find a way to play both sides of the Yangtze River among the powerful and noble people in Jiangnan, and stir up a bloody storm... This is indeed very difficult for him.

But this does not mean that Liu Bei does not believe in Zhuge Liang's ability. Because he is very fond of Zhuge Liang's ability, Liu Bei is reluctant to let Zhuge Liang leave his side, and he is also reluctant to let Zhuge Liang take this risk.

After receiving Liu Bei's letter, Liu Jian immediately replied to Liu Bei with a sentence.

Zhuge Liang said: "Liang is young and at the time of training, so you should not be too protective of Liang."

In fact, for Tai Shici, these things were indeed cross-professional.

Zhuge Liang smiled and said: "Others can take this risk, why can't I? Please allow me to do so!"

When Liu Bei finished speaking, Zhuge Liang was the first to stand up.

He came to Liu Bei privately again.

Liu Bei and Liu Jian had known each other for many years, and they soon realized something.

But Zhuge Liang did not give up.

So he gathered all the wise men in Xuzhou in front of him and asked them:
"Ziyi has enough military strategy, but not enough strategy. He is traveling across the river east of the Yangtze River. Is there anyone willing to help me?"

Liu Bei did not immediately agree to Zhuge Liang's request.

Liu Bei shook his head and said in a sad tone:
"I'm not afraid that you are not qualified. It's because you are too capable. This matter is placed on you, and you are overqualified."

Let him lead troops to fight, and he will have no problem at all.

To be honest, when Liu Bei heard that Zhuge Liang actually took the initiative to stand up, he was still hesitant. In fact, he still hoped that Zhang Zhao could go there on his behalf. After all, Zhang Zhao, a famous scholar in Xuzhou, had outstanding governance and diplomatic abilities. If he went there, he would be able to go with Jiangnan Local family communication is definitely the most suitable.

"As the saying goes, how can you kill a chicken with a bull's knife?"

"Kong Ming, landing across the sea is a strange plan, but it is very dangerous. Do you have to think clearly?"

"Why doesn't the envoy go with Liang and General Taishi? Could it be that he feels that Liang is not qualified for this matter."

He just hesitated for a moment, then announced the end of the meeting, saying that he needed to think it over carefully.

"In the past, it was Liang's suggestion that Cao Cao and I, Xuzhou, established a mutual trade market. Today, Liang has no shirking responsibility. He is willing to go with General Taishi. He will definitely help you conquer Jiangdong and unify the Han Dynasty!"

"It's okay to have people help you."

Seeing Zhuge Liang's determination, Liu Bei smiled helplessly.

"It's not that I'm overly protective of you, it's that you are a rare talent seen in a hundred years, my right-hand man, and the future pillar of the Han Dynasty. The Prime Minister values ​​you very much, and he allows you to practice here. , It’s to make you become a great person, so that you can enter the imperial court and do even bigger things for the Han Dynasty in the future!”

"Both I and the Prime Minister value you very much. If you make a mistake in Jiangdong, how will I explain to the Prime Minister the next day?"

But Zhuge Liang knelt down on one knee and said seriously: "Liang, thank you very much for your love and care. It's just a matter in Jiangnan. In the past, it was Liang who made the plans. If I don't go there in person, it will be nothing more than talking on paper. If I can't do it, It also shows that I am not capable enough and have failed to live up to the kindness of the prime minister and the envoy. If so, why would it be a pity to die? "

"It will be a regret in this life if Liang doesn't go there in person when it comes to Jiangnan. Please help me make it happen!"

After saying that, Zhuge Liang was seen prostrating himself on the ground, unable to kneel down.

Zhuge Liang is like this, how can Liu Bei refuse?
Although he was uneasy in his heart, he could not defeat Zhuge Liang in the end.

So Zhuge Liang joined the army and went to the south of the Yangtze River with Taishi Ci.

...Back at this time, Liu Bei came back from his reverie and listened to Lu Su who advised him that he should send out a large number of troops at this time to distract Cao Cao for Taishi Ci and Zhuge Liang. Liu Bei suddenly stood up from where he was.

Lu Su was talking to Liu Bei about the pros and cons, when he suddenly saw Liu Bei acting like this, and he was immediately startled.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing?"

"What Zijing said is true! The key to taking Jiangdong as quickly as possible lies with Kong Ming and Ziyi! If we don't take any action now to give Cao Cao and Zhou Yu enough time to go south, all plans will be in vain. The Prime Minister has dispatched The strength of all the states in the country is cooperating with me in Xuzhou to perform this great drama. How can I live up to the prime minister's trust? "

Lu Su was very happy to see Liu Bei's decision.

"Ming Junguo is very human!"

"It's just that our army is not good at water stations. Although we have many large ships, wouldn't we suffer a loss if we rashly cross the river to fight Cao's army?"

Lu Su pondered for a moment and said: "Your Majesty, it is certain that we will suffer losses, but it is precisely because we suffered losses on the river. Isn't this the only way to make Cao's army careless?"

"Moreover, although our army's navy has been well-trained, it has never experienced any major actual combat. If it can fight against the Jiangnan Army, wouldn't it be a good thing for our army?"

"There are definitely losses, but in the long run, these losses are nothing!"

When Liu Bei heard this, he nodded immediately: "What Zijing said is true!"

……

……

After the spring of the sixth year of Jian'an, Liu Bei, who had received support from Xuzhou, Yanzhou, Yuzhou and other places, finally began to invade Jiangnan through Jiujiang County after discussing with Guan Yu.

In this battle, he actually concentrated many large ships and warships, abandoning the cavalry and infantry, which were always the most adept, with the intention of deciding the outcome with Cao Cao and Zhou Yu on the Yangtze River.

However, the navy in Jiangnan is indeed powerful, but Liu Bei has also worked hard to train the navy over the years, and at the same time reused Xu Sheng, which can be regarded as forming a powerful navy.

In this battle, Liu Bei used Lu Su as the commander-in-chief of the navy and Xu Sheng as the vanguard general. He concentrated the Xuzhou navy at Hongze Lake, then followed the direct current, preparing to enter the Yangtze River through Guangling, with the goal of Jianye!
Jianye was built by Cao Cao after he occupied Jiangdong. It was his main position heading north. It was at the source of the Yangtze River and could be used directly down the river to threaten the coasts of Jiujiang and Lujiang counties with naval forces.

Cao Cao had already expected Liu Bei to use his navy to attack Jianye.

Therefore, Cao Cao deployed heavy troops at the port near Jianye, and Cao Cao personally took command.

The water battle between Liu Bei and Cao Cao started at the intersection of Guangling and Jianye!
I have to say that the navy under Cao Cao is indeed powerful. In the past few battles between the two sides, the Jiangnan navy did put a lot of pressure on Liu Bei.

When it comes to the number of ships, Liu Bei outnumbers Cao Cao. When it comes to the number and sharpness of bows and crossbows, Liu Bei is stronger than Cao Cao. When it comes to the number of soldiers and logistical support, the Northern Army surpasses the Southern Army.

But unfortunately, in terms of water warfare, the Northern Army was indeed worse than the Southern Army.

In particular, the Southern Army used the tactics of light and small boats this time, shuttling back and forth on the Yangtze River like grasshoppers, which put the Northern Army driving large ships at a disadvantage when attacking them, and the modified Thunderbolt vehicles and The trebuchet has no effect after it is thrown on the ship.

It is almost impossible to hit any target, so you can only rely on bows and arrows and the ability to control ships.

After several consecutive battles, the Northern Army was always in a weak position, but it was not defeated.

Not only that, Liu Bei was not panicked at all.

Even Guan Yu was a little anxious at this moment, but Liu Bei was not anxious at all.

This is Liu Bei's biggest advantage. He is not afraid of failure, and he can fight against repeated defeats. He has a very strong ability to withstand setbacks.

Even Liu Jian is not as good as him in this regard.

Liu Bei's water battle with Cao Cao was originally to attract his firepower and to train his own navy.

Liu Bei's own position at a disadvantage was entirely within Liu Bei's expectation.

It would be strange if our own side really defeated Cao Jun on the Yangtze River.

However, blindly defeating the battle is not Liu Bei's style. He asked Guan Yu, Guan Ping, Han Dang and others to lead an elite army along the west side of the Yangtze River to the vicinity of Wujiang River, which is the place where Xiang Yu, the overlord of Chu, committed suicide in the past. He planned to start from there. Cross the river and go straight to the interior of Danyang County.

The problem is that Cao Cao was well aware of Liu Bei's strategy. He sent Zhou Yu and two of his confidants, Dian Wei and Xu Chu, to station troops near Yuhu to prevent Guan Yu from crossing the river.

Guan Yu was preparing to cross the Wujiang River. Logically speaking, Zhou Yu should adopt the strategy of attacking with troops halfway across the river, but Zhou Yu did the opposite.

He decided to take advantage of Guan Yu's unsteady footing, quietly lead his troops across the Wu River, and give Guan Yu a surprise attack.

(End of this chapter)