The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 390 Zhuge's Plan
In Lingling, Liu Bei called on the generals in the army to gather in the hall. Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Xing Daorong, Liu Feng and other generals appeared one after another. Zhuge Liang, Pan Rui, Liu Ba, Sun Qian, Jian Yong and other civil officials also appeared on one side of the hall.

After occupying the four counties in southern Jing, Liu Bei not only had a lot more soldiers and horses under his command, but also gathered a lot of talented people, and he had already begun to be considered a local lord.

"The Qin thieves have already issued an order to march south, and it is estimated that they will send troops south after the Spring Festival." Cao Cao's envoy Man Chong reported the information he had received.

"Just as the military advisor predicted, Qin Shou couldn't resist the temptation of Jingzhou and sent troops." Liu Bei stroked his beard, looking very happy.

The pressure Qin Shou brought to him was so great that he couldn't sleep at night. Now the opportunity came, and Zhuge Liang plotted against Qin Shou for the first time in this regard.

Man Chong smiled bitterly and said, "My lord, Mr. Zhuge, although things are as Mr. Zhuge guessed, the other side sent Zhang Liao to lead an army of 100,000 to station in Lujiang and attack Moling at any time." Man Chong smiled bitterly and said.

Although Cao Cao's Yangtze River navy had been completed and he had recruited many elite Shanyue soldiers, he still did not dare to act recklessly in the face of an army of 100,000 people.

Especially when he knew that it was Pang Tong who assisted Zhang Liao, he dared not divide his troops easily.

Zhuge Liang was so powerful, so Pang Tong, who was as famous as him, must not be much worse. If he was not careful, even his own nest would be breached by the enemy, leaving him homeless, almost like Sun Quan.

Zhuge Liang nodded and said, "Shi Yuan is good at military strategy, but I am not as good as him in battle formations! The Marquis of Wu should be more careful when fighting against this man."

"Dividing the troops is inevitable. Since the Marquis of Wu occupies Jiangxia, I'm afraid he can only support you with 50,000 troops." Man Chong said quickly.

Cao Cao had no choice. If he had not occupied Jiangxia, which gave the navy a foothold and forced Gan Ning not to act recklessly on the Yangtze River, he might not have been able to withdraw even 50,000 troops.

"Fifty thousand is enough!" Zhuge Liang was delighted and said, "With a large number of troops, they will be useful. What can the Qin thief do with 300,000 troops this time? Jingzhou has a dense network of waterways. His 300,000 troops may not be useful if they come to Jingzhou."

Liu Bei and Man Chong both nodded after hearing this. This was the main reason why they wanted to fight against Qin Shou. If they didn't even have this courage, there would be no need to fight this war.

"When I came, Feng Xiao asked me to ask Kong Ming when to attack Nanjun so that General Cao Chun could cooperate." Man Chong asked again.

Liu Bei was stunned when he heard this. Attacking Nanjun? Why was there no such news? Was Zhuge Liang planning to attack Nanjun? Could his army attack Annanjun?
After hearing this, Zhuge Liang burst into laughter and said, "Please ask Bo Ning to go back and report to the Marquis of Wu that within a month, my master will definitely be in Nanjun City. As for help, please ask General Cao Chun to stay in Chaisang for the time being."

Although Liu Bei was curious and full of questions after hearing this, he thought of the agreement between himself and Zhuge Liang and immediately put aside his doubts. He believed that Zhuge Liang would explain it to him later, so he nodded repeatedly with a smile on his face.

It was as if Zhuge Liang had discussed this with the other party in advance.

Man Chong heard this and said quickly, "Since the envoy has made arrangements, I am relieved. I will go back and report to my lord. If the envoy needs General Cao Chun's assistance, just write a letter."

"Very good, very good." Liu Bei's face was full of smiles. He nodded repeatedly and personally sent Man Chong out.

"Military Advisor, isn't it good for us to station troops in Gong'an and face Caizhong and Caihe across the river? Why do we want to seize Nanjun?" Liu Bei asked impatiently after Man Chong left. Zhuge Liang smiled and explained, "Originally, Liang and Cao Mengde discussed that they would unite and take Jingzhou together. Cao Mengde would exchange Xiangyang for Yuzhang, and we would use the Han River and the Yangtze River as boundaries to resist the Qin thieves in turn. This is mainly to pull the battlefield from the north to the south, and use the terrain in the south to prevent the Cavalry Army from taking advantage of the cavalry."

Liu Bei nodded and asked, "Now that the Qin thieves are heading south, can't we use the Yangtze River to trap them south of the Yangtze River?"

He had very few soldiers and horses, and he had managed to gain strength with great difficulty, but he didn't want to leave them all here.

"My lord, how many troops are there in Jingnan? If the enemy defends the Yangtze River, how can we develop Jingnan? We can't defeat Qin Shou in the shortest time." Zhuge Liang said with a wry smile.

Only then did Liu Bei understand the reason. It was not that Zhuge Liang was unwilling to defend the Yangtze River, but because the four counties in southern Jing were simply impossible to hold on to as the strength gap between the two sides was too great.

"We need to take the grain from Nanjun." Zhuge Liang added, "Qin Shou decided to go south in February or March. His main purpose is not for Jingzhou, but to make us and Cao Cao have no food next year. The other side sent out 300,000 or even 500,000 soldiers and hired civilians with a lot of money to transport food and grass in winter. In this way, it will not affect spring farming, but can we do it? Once the war starts, it will consume a lot of money and grain. It is absolutely impossible to support it with only the four counties in southern Jingzhou, so we can only take Nanjun."

Nanjun had been run by the Cai family for many years and was a famous granary in Jingzhou, especially during the reign of Liu Biao. Although this guy was not good at fighting, he was still good at governing the local area. Jingzhou collected a large amount of grain and grass for this purpose and stored them in Xiangyang and Nanjun.

Zhuge Liang understood that if they fought a war of attrition, Liu Bei and Cao Cao would not be able to defeat Qin Shou even if they joined forces. However, the other side definitely wanted to fight a war of attrition. The only thing he could do was to seize Nanjun and force the Cavalry Army to fight with him in Jingzhou. Only by joining forces with Cao Cao could he have a chance to defeat Qin Shou on the battlefield in Jingzhou.

But before that, he needed to obtain enough food and people. Only in this way could he stabilize his rear and continue fighting with Qin Shou.

Liu Bei was also a decisive person. After thinking through the reason, he immediately handed over the military command to Zhuge Liang and allowed him to do his job.

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Anyway, his family had a lot of money, and he believed that Zhuge Liang would make proper arrangements.

"Thank you for your trust, my lord."

Zhuge Liang was overjoyed.

One of the reasons why he followed Liu Bei was because of Liu Bei's trust. No matter what he needed, the other party would do everything possible to satisfy him, which allowed him to fully display his talents.

Just like now, the other party has entrusted an army to you. How many people can do such trust?

Liu Bei suppressed his worries and fears, handed his sword and seal to Zhuge Liang, and let the other party do what he wanted.

Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and others are no longer surprised.

(End of this chapter)