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

Chapter 182 The Battle That Attracts World Attention
Who knew that the Battle of Shiting in Wancheng contained such details!

History, as expected, does not simply repeat itself.

Actually, think about it.

The Battle of Shiting took place seven years after the Battle of Yiling.

By then, Lu Xun had already achieved great success and was unparalleled in prestige in Eastern Wu.

Sun Quan naturally had to give him full trust and respect.

In this life, Lu Xun has only suffered defeats since the Battle of Jiangling.

He finally managed to outmaneuver Cao Xiu, but due to his conservative strategy, he was outmaneuvered by the fierce Zhu Huan.

Given Sun Quan's obsession with the Northern Expeditions, how could he possibly still unconditionally trust him as he has in history?
Mi Wei suddenly realized.

But after a moment of realization, they couldn't help but worry about the future of their "allies."

Unfortunately, when it came to military matters, he still preferred to trust Lu Xun.

Although historically, Lu Xun's Northern Expedition also ended in failure.

But at least in all the wars against Wei, Lu Xun never suffered a defeat.

In contrast, Sun Quan...

Thinking of this, he said to Zhang Yi:
"If the Sun family's carriage has already crossed the river and headed north, wouldn't I have to go to the north bank to see him as well?"

Zhang Yidao:
"General, you might as well observe the situation in Jiangling for a while."

"Sun Quan wanted to honor himself with the title of emperor, and his confidence came from the Battle of Shiting in Wancheng, where he captured a Wei general alive."

"At this moment, he is full of pride and satisfaction, and with the arrival of spring and summer when the waters are flowing, even without the constraints of an alliance, he will be determined to head north."

"It would be better to wait until the situation becomes clearer before setting off."

Miwei thought about it and agreed that this was indeed better.

Ultimately, my primary purpose in this mission to Jiangdong was to ascertain the attitudes of the people there.

Secondly, it was to ensure that Guan Yu's northern expedition could effectively coordinate with the Huainan battlefield.

Instead of each going their own way, or even hindering each other.

In other words, he came to Jingzhou with both diplomatic and military missions.

That's why Liu Bei chose him as his envoy.

After all, there were only four people in Shu who had experience in both high-level diplomatic activities and military operations in Jingzhou.

Zhuge Liang, Ma Liang, Mi Wei, Fei Yi.

The first two were too old, of too high a rank, and too experienced to be suitable as envoys.

Fei Yi is too light and lacks substance.

Miwei is just right.

In short, now that we know Sun Quan's true attitude, there's no need to rush into a meeting.

In negotiations and power struggles, it's always the case that whoever is more anxious suffers the loss.

Therefore, Miwei changed his approach from urgent to slow.

He continued to attend large and small banquets in Jiangling, presenting books and paper as gifts.

Wang Ping, Ma Zhong, Zhuge Qiao, and other accompanying subordinates also actively participated in this activity, thereby expanding their network of contacts.

Apart from Jiang Wei.

Upon hearing that Deng Zhi, the governor of Jiangxia (appointed by Liu Bei), had already gathered troops in Anlu County on the east bank of the Yu River, he eagerly volunteered to go and help survey the terrain.

Mi Wei needed someone to contact Jiangxia on his behalf, so he simply sent him as an envoy.

……

Just as Miwei was sparing no effort in promoting paper books.

After more than two years of preparation, Guan Yu's army officially launched its northern expedition towards Jingzhou.

First, Guan Ping, having successfully captured Nanxiang, abandoned all his supplies and headed west straight for the cities of Chaoyang and Xinye on the banks of the Yu River.

Meanwhile, Pan Jun, the prefect of Nanxiang, continued to recover the remaining counties in Nanxiang, while also taking on the task of protecting the western flank of the main army.

Another deputy general, Kou Feng, the prefect of Nanyang, went north from Dengcheng up the Yu River to assist Guan Ping in capturing the two cities.

The forces of Guan Yu and Kou, advancing by both land and water, totaled over 20,000 regular soldiers and 20,000 auxiliary troops, forming the vanguard of the main army.

Guan Yu personally led 40,000 troops across the Han River to the north, stationing them along the line from Fancheng to Dengcheng, and waiting for an opportunity to attack small strongholds south of Xinye.

Sima Xiangchong was separately dispatched to lead a force of 5,000 troops eastward along the Caiyang-Anchang line to cover the eastern flank of the main army.

In addition to the generals and officers at the front lines, there were also deployments at the rear.

Liao Hua, the governor of Nan Commandery, crossed the river and went north to Jiangling to take charge.

Zhang Yi, the Prefectural Chief Clerk, traveled north from Jiangling to Dangyang, where he and Yang Yi, the Military Chief Clerk, worked together to coordinate supplies for the army's advance in Mianbei.

Meanwhile, Deng Zhi, the prefect of Jiangxia, seized the opportunity to march north from Anlu and capture the three passes of Yiyang to eliminate any future threats. In addition, it was learned that the Miwei people had already arrived in Jiangling.

Guan Yu then sent letters to Nan Commandery, Jiangxia Commandery, Yidu Commandery, and the two commanderies south of the Yangtze River, granting Mi Wei the authority to act expediently and to mobilize troops from each commandery for emergencies if necessary.

As the various military orders were relayed down.

After years of silence, Guan Yu's army in Jingzhou suddenly launched an attack, aiming their swords at Wancheng.

Including the temporarily conscripted laborers and auxiliary soldiers, the total number of people in the north and south was nearly 100,000.

Many of them had fled south from the north in recent years and naturally harbored hatred towards Cao Wei, so they were of one mind.

In an instant, the Central Plains were shaken, and the whole world took notice.

After a period of attack and defense, initial results were quickly achieved.

Without any suspense, Chaoyang City, which was directly in front of them, was captured by Guan Ping and Kou Feng after only five days of defense.

As for the remaining counties and townships in the south, upon hearing that Guan Yu's army was marching north, they immediately surrendered to Pan Jun.

The latter effortlessly took all of Nanxiang.

They even had the capacity to send additional auxiliary troops to Guan Ping to alleviate logistical pressure.

The Eastern Route's Xiangchong Biebu also achieved a successful start.

They quickly captured Caiyang, a small town east of the Yu River, and planned to continue eastward to take Anchang to ensure that the eastern flank of the army had sufficient defensive depth.

The fact that they were able to achieve such results so quickly is not surprising.

After all, since the successful capture of Xiangfan in the 25th year of Jian'an, Guan Yu's army had been preparing for war south of the Han River for almost three years.

Although there were no major battles with Xiahou Shang and Xu Huang's army in Wancheng, low-intensity, small-scale skirmishes continued.

They already knew each other inside and out.

If it weren't for the major conflict between Han and Wei in Guanzhong last year, and the fact that neither side dared to launch a major war in two directions at the same time...

This battle might have broken out last year.

But then again.

When the scale of a war reaches the level of hundreds of thousands, the gain or loss of a single city or place may not necessarily be considered a victory or defeat.

For Guan Yu, this battle could only be considered a victory if he completely crushed the main force of the Wei army in Jingzhou, or captured important strategic strongholds such as Xinye and Wancheng.

If we can further drive the Wei army out of Fangcheng Pass and completely take over the Nanyang Basin, then we will have won a great victory.

Before this, no matter how many small towns or outposts were captured, they could only be considered as pieces captured in the game of chess.

Not enough to be considered a victory.

Conversely, if Xiahou Shang successfully defends the two cities, he can force Guan Yu to retreat.

Therefore, no matter how many outlying strongholds are lost in the early stages, it cannot be considered a true failure.

In reality, Xiahou Shang was clearly a clear-headed commander.

After an unsuccessful initial battle, the strategy was immediately adjusted.

The troops scattered in various places were quickly assembled at strategic strongholds along the Yu River, such as Wancheng, Yuyang, and Xinye.

The aim was not to defeat Guan Yu in open battle, but to wear down the enemy army with fortified cities and ensure that the Wei army in the Central Plains could provide reinforcements at any time.

This cowering posture, though it looks pathetic.

But the results were quite good.

Since Xiahou Shang replaced Cao Ren as the governor of Nanyang, he changed the previous harsh and brutal approach and began to show kindness and benevolence.

Despite years of effort, it was still impossible to stop people from defecting to Guan Yu in the south.

But those who stayed behind have more or less returned home.

As a result, most of the envoys sent by Guan Yu to persuade them to surrender returned empty-handed.

A few key towns along the Yu River even returned the envoy's head directly, demonstrating their determination to resist to the end.

Seeing this outcome, Guan Yu no longer hoped to "subdue the enemy without fighting".

While overseeing the continued northward advance to attack the city, he also maintained contact with the bandits of Luhun, Liang, and Jia in the northern mountains to delay the Wei army's reinforcements to Nanyang.

At the same time, he also kept an eye on the Huainan battlefield, hoping that Sun Quan's forces could share the burden.

Although this battle broke out in Jingzhou, it affected all corners of the country and cannot be focused on just one city or one place.

……

"In this battle, the timing is right in Wu, the terrain is advantageous in the south, and the advantage lies with us!"

A warm breeze blows in early summer.

Sun Quan ascended the general's platform.

Looking at the hundreds of warships outside the dock, he was filled with ambition.

(End of this chapter)