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

Chapter 189 Short-sighted
Why did Cao Wei prioritize the destruction of Wu?

From the perspective of later experience, this question is actually unfounded.

So Miwei hadn't thought about it in that direction before.

First, let's start from the most basic military logic of "divide and conquer".

The ideal situation for Cao Wei was to sit back and watch the tigers fight.

Watching the two rivals, Han and Wu, wear each other down, and then seizing the opportunity.

The second option is to first form an alliance with one side, and then cooperate to eliminate the other side.

Cao Pi had this intention when he first appointed Sun Quan as King of Wu.

Therefore, from Sun Quan's perspective, they were people who could play both sides and should not be the first to be targeted.

After all, they never mentioned restoring the Han dynasty, let alone shouted the slogan "Han and traitors cannot coexist!"

However, with the complete victory of the Shu Han in the Battle of Guanzhong last year, the situation of the three kingdoms suddenly changed.

Before this, Wei was the strongest, Wu was in the middle, and Han was slightly weaker.

Although Wei was weakened after that, it still ranked first in national strength.

However, the power dynamics between Han and Wu were unpredictable.

The situation has completely reversed.

Furthermore, considering objective factors such as geographical features, population, food supply, and transportation convenience, as well as the military situation of the Shu Han's comprehensive encirclement of Guanzhong.

The military potential of the Wei Kingdom in the Yangzhou direction is now significantly greater than that in the Guanzhong direction.

In that case, wouldn't it be only natural to deal with the weakest opponent on a battlefield where one's own strength is the greatest?

In fact, now that Miwei has looked back,

As early as last winter, when Cao Xiu went south, the Cao Wei rulers and ministers already had this plan.

However, Cao Xiu's plan at the time was to first take Wancheng, then gradually drive Sun Quan back to Jiangnan, and then cross the river to attack Jianye, thus completely dismantling the Jiangdong regime.

The opportunity to gradually erode their strength has now been missed.

So they simply targeted Sun Quan, the ruler of Jiangdong.

Who told Sun Quan to act rashly and personally head north to Hefei?

Come here.

We should at least give it a try, right?

In short, after a relatively frank exchange, all the previous speculative guesses and mysteries have now dissipated.

The future and the way out are now clear.

The next step is to take action.

Mi Wei bluntly stated:
"Due to your negligence, the initiative has been taken over by us in this battle."

"Therefore, I can put aside the gains and losses of Xiakou for the time being."

"How to proceed in the future must be determined by us."

Lu Xun remained silent for a few moments after hearing this, then said:

"I'll defend, you attack."

“Okay.” Mi Wei nodded.

He then asked, "How is Wenpin?"

Lu Xun: "What do you intend to do?"

Mi Wei: "How many warships does Jiangxia have?"

Lu Xun was slightly taken aback, then suddenly pouted and said:

"As many as you want, we'll give you!"

……

On the ruined walls of Yanyue City.

Wenping paused and gazed at the great rivers.

My mind is filled with images of the battles and horses of the Jian'an era.

It wasn't until his adopted son, Wenxiu, came up that he came to his senses, pointed to the ruins at his feet, and said:
"This city once guarded Xiakou and could withstand 100,000 soldiers."

Why did Huang Zu still lose to Sun Quan?

Wenxiu knew that his adoptive father had served under Liu Biao, but his rank was lower than Huang Zu's.

And what general doesn't compare himself to others?

He then said matter-of-factly:
"Huang Zu listened to slander, appointed sycophants to important positions, and distanced himself from virtuous men, which led to his downfall!"

"If it had been you, sir, who was stationed here back then, you would never have let Sun Quan succeed!"

However, Wen Ping did not appreciate the flattery and instead said disappointedly:

"I am now certain that your intelligence is indeed insufficient to match that of Mi Weilu Xun. If you can achieve great merit this time, I will request the court to grant you a hereditary official position, and you can then go to Luoyang to enjoy wealth and honor!"

Then, ignoring his dejected adopted son, he continued to speak to himself:
"Although Huang Zu became muddle-headed in his later years, he was ultimately just a local official. How can all the blame for the failures be placed on him?"

"Even I, Wenping, who have always been self-disciplined and dedicated to public service, ultimately had no choice but to surrender to Cao Cao."

"If we're talking about who's to blame for the loss of Jingzhou, shouldn't it be General Liu Jingsheng, who's above me and Huang Zu?"

Wenxiu could only agree repeatedly.

"My son!" Wenping grasped his adopted son's hand. He spoke earnestly:
"The gains and losses of this world are not determined by a single city or a single place, or by a single general or a single city."

"It depends on the hearts and minds of the people and the general trend of the times, and on the ruler who wields the divine power."

"If the ruler is mediocre, even if his subordinates are all talented, how can he possibly conquer the world?"

Wenxiu seemed to have grasped something and asked for guidance:
"May I ask, sir, how can one discern whether a ruler is wise or mediocre?"

Then Wenping pointed to the river in front of them and said:
"If the ruler is wise, he should not be so focused on his immediate territory in a time of crisis!"

Wenxiu followed his gaze.

At this moment, warships from the Han and Wu armies were gathered on the river in Xiakou, facing each other across the river, their tensions palpable.

Even more outrageous, the Han army, which came from the upper reaches of the Han River, drove wooden stakes into the water and hung horizontal ropes to block Wu ships from entering the Han-Mian River.

This is also why Wen Ping and his son dared to stay and observe after their failed attack on the city.

Without any deliberate provocation, the Liu and Sun families started fighting over a city.

What does it mean to be short-sighted?

This is!
Wenping even regretted not coming to Xiakou sooner.

Who could have imagined that the rift between Liu and Sun would have reached this level?

but.

Just as the father and son each gained something.

A scout on horseback galloped swiftly from the lower reaches of the great river.

Wenxiu dared not delay and quickly went down to greet him.

A moment later, he returned with a solemn expression and said to his adoptive father:

"Zhuge Jin has captured Qichun City and killed Emperor Jin!"

"Of the two thousand soldiers we left behind, some died in battle, others surrendered, and only three or four hundred managed to escape!"

Upon hearing this, Wenping remained silent for a long time.

These are all soldiers I trained myself.

How can I not feel heartbroken to see them perish in enemy territory like this?

I can only console myself that everything is for the sake of victory.

At this moment, Wenxiu hesitated and said:
"My lord, although Zhuge Jin is known as the wise man of Jiangdong, you once said that he is not good at adapting to changing circumstances. How did he manage to break through the city so quickly this time?"

Wen Ping originally wanted to say that with Jin Zong's abilities, what kind of cleverness or resourcefulness would Zhuge Jin need to deal with him?
But the next moment, his gaze swept over the Han and Wu warships that had been facing each other on the river for many days.

I had a bad feeling about it for no reason.

Turning back, he said:
Was the Wu general who conquered Qichun truly Zhuge Jin?

Wenxiu was taken aback, then turned back to the city and questioned the scout.

When he finally climbed the city wall for the third time, panting heavily, before he could even speak, Wen Ping said decisively:
"Lu Xun must have been the one to break through Qichun, while Zhuge Jin was the one left to guard this place!"

"Ignore the Wu people, send scouts across the river to find out where Mi Wei is!"

Wenxiu was taken aback again.

Snapped!
Wen Ping lashed his waist with his riding whip: "Go now!"

Wenxiu had no choice but to accept the order and leave once again.

This time, it took them quite a while to turn back.

At this time, Wen Ping had already left the ruined city.

The troops are fully prepared and ready to go.

"I've figured it out. Since Lu Xun isn't here, Mi Wei is most likely not here either!"

"Go and ask the scouts along the northern route if they have any information about the Shu bandits!"

But this time, Wenxiu did not accept the order and just stood there panting.

Wen Ping was displeased and lashed out with his whip again: "Don't you obey my military orders?"

Wenxiu gasped for breath a few more times before saying:
“It’s not that I’m disobeying orders. It’s just that my son has already asked around. After summer, the northern roads become muddy, making it difficult for scouts to go far. They can only confirm that there are probably no Han troops moving south of Anlu.”

If there's none south of Anlu... then there's very likely one north of Anlu?
Wenping turned his head and looked at the Han River beside him.

Wooden stakes, cables, and warships, densely packed together.

During this flood season, the Han army galloped back and forth on the river, their speed no slower than that of his cavalry.

I should have thought of that sooner!
At this moment, Wenping wished he could whip himself.

I thought those two intelligent people would be at odds with each other.

I never imagined it was a setup orchestrated by both sides.

A short-sighted person.

It was me!

Seeing his adoptive father in such a state, Wenxiu immediately understood what had happened.

He was momentarily frightened and uneasy, and said:

"If Mi Wei isn't here, could he have gone to... Wusheng Pass?!"

(End of this chapter)