My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Chapter 64: Conquer Xinye? Bowen, you can see further than us!

The words "Let Cao Cao pack up and get out" were like a fire that instantly ignited Liu Bei's blood.

"Bowen is right. We have waited for so long, and finally this day has come."

"It's time to strike a decisive blow against Cao Cao!"

Liu Bei clenched his fist and shouted proudly:

"Pass on my order, all generals, assemble at the central military tent immediately!"

...

A quarter of an hour later, in the central army tent.

Liu Bei sat high on the throne, his eyes burning with determination to win.

Guan Yu, Zhao Yun, Guan Ping, Zhou Cang, Liao Hua, Feng Xi, Zhang Nan...

All the generals who were ready to fight the flood and land armies had already gathered in the tent.

"Everyone, we have been fighting Cao Cao for two months, and today we have finally arrived at our chance to win."

"I have made up my mind. I have already used the power of the Xunfeng to divert the Han River to flood Cao's camp and defeat Cao's 150,000 troops in one fell swoop!"

"Everyone, are you willing to fight to the death with us and drive the Cao thief back to the north?"

Liu Bei swept his generals around, his heroic spirit burning in his chest.

The generals' blood boiled, and they shouted in unison:
"I am willing to fight to the death with my lord!"

Looking at the generals who were full of fighting spirit, Liu Bei showed satisfaction and felt more confident.

"Liao Hua, listen to my orders. Lead a thousand soldiers across the river tonight. Make sure you break through the riverbank southwest of Fancheng before dawn. No mistakes!"

"Guan Ping, Feng Xi, listen to my orders. I order you to lead 7,000 elite troops through Yukou into the Yu River. Once you see Cao's camp is flooded, you can attack Cao's army from the east of Fancheng."

"Yunchang, you and I will lead 20,000 main forces, sail through the breach and pursue Cao Cao downstream."

"Quickly send troops across the river to Fancheng and pass the message to Huo Jun, ordering all soldiers and civilians in the city to move to higher ground to avoid the flood."

Liu Bei issued a series of orders in accordance with the original plan.

All the generals accepted the order with pleasure.

"Bowen, Yuanzhi, do you have anything else to add?"

Liu Bei was afraid of leaving any loopholes, so he turned his attention to the two counselors.

Xu Shu then added some tactical considerations.

"Bowen, what about you?"

Seeing that Xiao He didn't say anything, Liu Bei asked again.

The general direction has been decided, and there is an expert like Xu Shu on the tactical level. Xiao He originally planned to keep quiet and just wait for victory.

Seeing Liu Bei asking twice, as a counselor, it seemed a bit inappropriate if he didn't say a few words.

However, it seemed that Xu Shu and the others had said everything that needed to be said, so I had to say something new, otherwise it would seem that I was just being perfunctory.

Xiao He gently rubbed his forehead with his fingertips, his thoughts racing.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration came to my mind.

"To be honest, I don't quite understand the specific deployment of troops."

"But since the Lord has asked, I will mention it."

After laughing at himself, Xiao He pointed to the north:
"If our plan succeeds, Cao Cao will surely flee north with his defeated troops. I don't think we can just be content with driving Cao Cao away and withdrawing our troops. My lord, we must make a concerted effort to capture Xinye as well!"

Liu Bei's eyes moved, and he walked a few steps to the map and stared at it.

Everyone's eyes also turned to the map.

Pairs of eyes shifted from Fancheng in front of them to Xinye a hundred miles away.

Liu Bei was very familiar with that city.

Since he defected to Liu Biao eight years ago, Liu Biao ordered him to station troops in Xinye to resist Cao Cao's invasion from Wancheng.

In eight years, he rebuilt Xinye City several times, making it impregnable.

Just a year ago, when Liu Biao's condition worsened, he was transferred from Xinye to Fancheng at the instigation of Cai Mao and Kuai Yue.

They said it was to make it easier for them to meet, but in fact they were moving him under their noses so that they could monitor him closely.

"My lord, Bowen is indeed far-sighted and considers things more far-sightedly than Shu!"

Xu Shu glanced at Xiao He with admiration, and then analyzed:
"Using Xinye as the gateway to Xiangyang is indeed far better than Fancheng. After all, there is still more than a hundred miles between Xinye and Fancheng. If Cao's army suddenly moves south, we will have enough warning time to deploy troops and prepare for defense." "Otherwise, Cao's army can move south again from Xinye at any time, and the cavalry can drink water from the Han River in a day and a night."

"If that happens, it's like a sword is constantly hanging over Xiangyang City, and we don't know when it will fall. This will prevent the lord from devoting enough energy and troops to march south to capture Jiangling."

"So we must seize Xinye in one fell swoop and use it as the gateway to defend Xiangyang."

"Only then can Xiangyang be free of worries, and my lord can march south with all his strength to attack Liu Cong and deal with Sun Quan's invasion!"

Everyone suddenly realized what was going on and looked back at Xiao He in awe.

Liu Bei also nodded slightly and looked at Xiao He:

"Bo Wen, what Yuan Zhi said, is that what you meant?"

Xiao He didn't think too much about it.

Just by looking at the map, Fancheng is too close to Caotong District, which makes people feel uneasy. Intuitively, I feel that a buffer zone should be created.

Since Xinye is closest to Fancheng, he naturally thought of taking over Xinye.

After listening to Xu Shu's explanation, it seems quite reasonable.

So Xiao He nodded and said:

"My lord, what Yuanzhi said is exactly what He meant."

Liu Bei's face showed admiration, and he nodded and sighed:
"We are only focused on the battle at hand, but you, Bowen, are already thinking about heading south to Jiangling. You truly see further than any of us..."

Xiao He could only cough lightly and smile.

After sighing, Liu Bei's face was filled with heroic spirit again, and he tapped the map with his fingertips:
"Okay, let's do as Bowen said. After defeating Cao's army, we'll pursue the victory and take Xinye in one fell swoop!"

After the order was given, all the generals withdrew and acted according to the plan.

It was late at night and although the rain had stopped, the water level of the Han River was still rising rapidly.

Liao Hua led more than a thousand soldiers and sneaked to the north bank by boat at night.

Guan Ping and Feng Xi led more than a hundred warships and seven thousand troops downstream towards Yukou.

Liu Bei personally led 20,000 soldiers to the water camp, boarded the ship and stood in silence, waiting for the signal that Liao Hua had successfully broken the dike on the north bank.

The east was getting white, and it was almost dawn.

On the north bank of the river upstream, three beacons rose in the dim sky.

"Brother, the riverbank has broken, it's time for us to set off!"

Guan Yu pointed his Qinglong sword in the distance, and his half-open eyes suddenly opened wide.

Liu Bei took a deep breath and waved his hand:
"Order, all troops, sail and cross the river!"

The order was passed down.

The warships that had been ready for a long time hoisted their sails and rowed out of the water camp, heading towards the breach in the northwest direction.

Zhao Yun and Xu Shu sailed on the boat, while Xiao He, Sun Qian and other counselors and generals stayed in the water camp and watched Liu Bei's army go away.

After the army had gone far away, Xiao He and his companions returned to the central army tent and waited for the battle report.

Xiao He was feeling sleepy and dozed off all the way. He was thinking of finding a reason to leave and go back to his tent to take a nap.

As soon as Fang entered the tent, he saw a familiar face waiting in the tent.

"Brother Zijing?"

When Xiao He recognized Lu Su, he suddenly no longer felt sleepy.

"I, under the orders of my General Sun, have come to meet with Liu Yuzhou to discuss the next steps in the fight against Cao."

"When Su entered the camp just now, he found it empty, with only a few soldiers left. Upon asking, he learned that Liu Yuzhou was about to lead his troops out to battle and had no time to see Su."

"Brother Bowen, what on earth are you doing?"

Lu Su jumped up and asked with a serious and suspicious look on his face without even having time to greet.

Xiao He smiled, called Lu Su to sit down again, and slowly poured him a bowl of tea.

"Zi Jing, you've arrived at an unfortunate time. My lord has just led my entire division to the north bank, intending to defeat Cao Cao's 150,000-man army in one fell swoop tonight."

"But your arrival is quite coincidental. The lord's victory report should arrive by this time tomorrow. You can just take this good news to General Sun and make him happy."

Lu Su was shocked.

(End of this chapter)