The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 176 First, ensure invincibility

"Difficulty is relative."

Ma Liang paid no attention to the doubts and naturally responded.

"The pass is called a pass because it is located on a road that people and horses can pass through."

"The presence of three passes there implies that there are at least three roads."

"The defending troops had no choice but to divide their forces into three groups."

"The Art of War says: If you prepare for the left, you will be weak on the right; if you prepare for the right, you will be weak on the left; if you prepare for everything, you will be weak everywhere."

"Therefore, whether the three passes can be captured or not depends on how the defending troops prepare their defenses."

After speaking, Ma Liangcai turned around and glanced at the person who had just spoken.

This person was young, but his hands were covered in calluses, and he was also very strong.

It's obvious that he's been practicing martial arts since he was a child.

Seeing this, Miwei stepped forward and introduced:

"Jiang Wei, courtesy name Boyue, was from Ji County, Tianshui. His father served as a clerk in Tianshui Commandery. He was quite skilled in military strategy."

"Because of his meritorious service in advising his clan to return to the right path, he was recently dismissed by His Majesty and appointed as a Yulin Lang, and now he serves under my command."

After speaking, he gestured to Jiang Wei to present the new Minister of the Imperial Secretariat with his calling card.

Although Jiang Wei complied, he said with a hesitant expression:

"Lord Ma, you are wise! I am but a defeated general, and I dare not boast of my military prowess before Mi Zhaohan!"

Upon hearing this, Ma Liang raised his white eyebrows.

I immediately guessed what was going on.

He glanced at Jiang Wei, then at Zhuge Qiao, who was silently following behind Mi Wei.

Suddenly he clapped his hands and laughed:
"It's a pity my son is still young, otherwise I should let him serve under Shi Shan."

"In that case, he'll start out as a court official!"

Mi Wei knew the other person was joking, so he just smiled.

Only after a smile.

Thinking of Ma Su, Pan Mi, and Fei Yi, who had recently been transferred to the Ministry of Personnel as junior officials.

Then I thought of Ji Hanying, whom I had met in the past few years.

Guan Ping, Guan Xing, Pan Mi, Xi Hong, Xiang Chong, Fei Yi, Wang Ping, Ma Zhong, Ma Su, Zhang Yi, Ma Dai, including the older generation Pan Jun, Zhang Yi, Yang Yi, Meng Da... it seems that they all embarked on different life trajectories because they had crossed paths with me?

Those who should have defected to the enemy did not, such as the Pan family and Xi Hong's family.

Those who should have wasted their time did not, such as Zhang Yi and Yang Yi.

Even those who were already destined for greatness have now reached their rightful places several years ahead of schedule, such as Fei Yi, Xiang Chong, Wang Ping, Ma Zhong, and Zhang Yi.

Even Meng Da, who was once "dead" in the society, was recently transferred to the Ministry of Personnel as a Gentleman of the Palace due to his military achievements in Longyou.

Although he completely lost his military power, at least he had a real position and his future was not lost.

Thinking about it this way, could it be that Lao Liu deliberately gave Jiang Wei to me because he also planned to let me upgrade and transform him properly?
Two or three years ago, Miwei would have exclaimed in surprise that Lao Liu had overestimated him again.

But times have changed.

His mindset is completely different now.

Whether it's overestimated or not is no longer important.

Anyway, as long as the big players all grow up, won't everyone benefit in the future?
However, he doesn't believe he has the ability to change anyone.

The reason why these top players can grow is because they have natural talent.

He merely benefited from having foreseen history and happened to be there to give someone a push.

and so.

In which direction should we push Jiang Wei?

Thinking of this, Mi Wei suddenly asked:
"Boyue, if you were the governor of Jiangxia, how would you help the General (Guan Yu) take the three passes of Yiyang in the north?"

Although Jiang Wei did not understand the meaning, he had always been fond of military strategy, and subconsciously stared at the map and began to think.

In a short while, an idea came to him:

"Three years ago, when the General first launched his northern expedition against Xiangfan, bandits in Luhun, Liang, and Jia Mountains all responded from afar."

"Now that the General has been holding Xiangfan for two years, he must have some contact with them."

"Why not lure them out of the mountains with grain and cloth as bait, and send them south to contain the Wei army?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room burst into laughter.

They all scoffed at Jiang Wei for being ignorant of geography and only knowing how to talk about war on paper.

Jiang Wei's face immediately turned red, and he said urgently:

"Isn't it perfectly natural for someone like me from Longyou to be unfamiliar with the geography of Jingzhou and the Central Plains? What's so funny about that!"

"Besides, today we're both strategizing on maps; who isn't just talking the talk?"

Ma Liang gestured for everyone to remain calm.

Then he explained to Jiang Wei:

"Although the people of Luhun, Liang, and Jia are hiding in the mountains, their territory is located in Henan and Yingchuan, which are both in the heart of the Central Plains."

“There, Cao Wei’s elite troops and fierce generals gathered, and there were countless capable ministers and officials.”

“Such as Jia Kui and Jia Liangdao, governors of Yuzhou; Man Chong and Man Boning, prefects of Runan; and Xu Miao and Xu Jingshan, agricultural officials of Yingchuan, were all outstanding figures of their time.”

"How could a group of starving people, stranded on flat ground, possibly stand a chance against the regular infantry and cavalry of Cao Wei?"

"In reality, although General Guan contacted the other commanders, he only intended for them to tie down the local Cao Wei troops, making it difficult for them to support Nanyang." "He had no intention of having them attack cities and seize territory, let alone march south to Jiangxia!"

Ma Liang then gave everyone a detailed account of the situation and military intelligence within the enemy territory.

All of this information was gathered by scouts and spies dispatched by Guan Yu over the past two years.

Jiang Wei, seeing that he was reasonable and well-founded, was ashamed and indignant, but had no choice but to admit defeat.

Seeing that the time was almost right, Mi Wei said no more.

He waited until after the banquet had ended before approaching the dejected Jiang Wei and saying:

"You said you weren't familiar with the geography during the meal, but now that Ma Lingjun has explained it thoroughly, why don't you rethink your approach and devise a new strategy to conquer the three passes?"

When Jiang Wei saw him repeating the same old tune, he immediately realized that this "Mi Zhaohan" was intentionally testing him.

Although he was never afraid to discuss military strategy with others.

But it also depends on who the other party is.

For example, the person in front of me.

Having suffered two crushing defeats at his hands, how could he dare to talk big?

"You dare not now? Where is your courage when a hundred cavalry charged straight at my banner?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wei secretly rolled his eyes.

Ha, a mere provocation...

Do you know why you lost to me back then?

Jiang Wei suddenly turned his head, his eyes wide open like copper bells.

Mi Wei smiled faintly:
"I observe that you use troops in a way that is prone to taking risks."

"If you encounter a clumsy opponent, your bravery may lead to a surprising victory."

"But if your opponent is a seasoned general who is meticulous and good at planning, you are likely to suffer losses or even be outmaneuvered."

As Mi Wei spoke, a name naturally came to mind.

Deng Ai.

Just as Zhuge Liang's archenemy was Sima Yi.

Jiang Wei's greatest rival in his life was Deng Ai.

Although the latter is known to later Three Kingdoms fans as "smuggling across Yinping".

However, in most official historical records, Deng Ai was actually a cautious general who was good at anticipating the enemy's moves and planning carefully before acting.

Before Deng Ai was stationed in Yongliang, Jiang Wei's northern expeditions had yielded occasional victories.

But once Deng Ai arrived, Jiang Wei suffered repeated defeats and rarely won a single victory.

Finally, having no other choice, I had to take the biggest risk of my life.

Then came the biggest and final defeat of my life.

The reason for this is that Jiang Wei's adventurous fighting style was most afraid of encountering a cautious and steady opponent like Deng Ai.

A missed attack will inevitably backfire.

It can be said that he is the natural enemy of Jiang Wei.

I wonder where that Cao Wei general who supposedly had a stutter is now?

Jiang Wei, of course, did not know who Deng Ai was at that time.

Upon hearing Mi Wei's words, he subconsciously recalled his two encounters with the other party.

He really did stumble twice because of taking risks!
If the first time was due to underestimating the opponent...

That second time, it was truly just my nature.

Forgetting his shame for a moment, he asked out of curiosity:
"How can you ensure victory if you encounter such an opponent?"

Miwei shook his head and said:
"It cannot be guaranteed."

"Sun Tzu of Wu said that victory can be predicted, but cannot be forced."

"A general must first make himself invincible, and then seize the opportunity to defeat the enemy."

"All famous generals of the past were like this."

"The difference is that some people are better at seizing opportunities to win, so they appear to be good at fighting."

"Some people are less adept at seizing opportunities and seem to be better at defense."

"But neither the former nor the latter can guarantee victory; they can only ensure that they are not defeated."

Then, pointing at Jiang Wei, he said:
"Your talent lies in seizing opportunities to win, and your weakness lies in neglecting to 'first ensure invincibility'."

"If you do not play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses, your future failures will be ten or a hundred times greater than last year's. I hope you will consider this carefully."

After saying this, he caught up with Ma Liang, who was waiting nearby, and personally saw him off.

Jiang Wei remained stunned until the servants came to clear the banquet, at which point he finally came to his senses.

He took a deep breath and, seeing that there was no one else around except his servants, quietly bowed three times in the direction where Mi Wei had left.

No sooner had he stood up than he heard someone calling his name from behind.

He turned around awkwardly and saw that it was Zhuge Qiao, Mi Wei's scribe.

The other party handed over a stack of strange, pale yellow paper covered with writing.

"This is the geography and local customs that Ma Lingjun just described. You may refer to it."

After speaking, Zhuge Qiao bowed and left.

(End of this chapter)