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

Chapter 243 The one who will destroy Wei will surely be Mi Wei.
The junior officer was so frightened by Jia Kui's shout that he fell to the ground.

But he immediately got up and explained:

"This humble official is absolutely not lying!"

"There really are Shu bandits coming from the south and attacking our troops!"

Jia Kui was about to continue his outburst.

Suddenly his gaze sharpened: "Coming from the south?!"

The clerk nodded repeatedly: "They did indeed come from the south of Ancheng!"

"On the way south to Ancheng, the lower officials arranged for scouts to go out far to keep watch, and there were also patrol boats constantly going back and forth on the Ru River."

"If the enemy forces came from north of Ancheng, we would have been able to detect them in time. How could we have failed to respond in time and been taken advantage of by the enemy?"

Jia Kui closed his eyes.

The map I've looked at countless times instantly flashed into my mind.

Ancheng, as the capital of Yuzhou, was located in the center of Runan Commandery.

To its south lies Xinxi, the seat of Runan Commandery.

South of Xinxi lies Yiyang County.

They are all Wei territory.

Therefore, Ancheng's location is quite safe.

This is one of the reasons why he chose to move the grain depot to this location.

If we absolutely have to point out any potential risks...

First, there are the Fangcheng Mountains to the west of Ancheng.

That area is within the enemy's territory, and thieves frequent it.

However, there are still three or four cities in this direction serving as a barrier, and we have not relaxed our vigilance in this direction.

It shouldn't have been unnoticed beforehand.

The second is the northern part of Jiangxia County, across the Huai River.

After Wen Ping's defeat, Jiangxia, except for Meng County, had fallen.

It is said that the current governor of Jiangxia is Liao Hua.

He also served as the governor of Yiyang, responsible for guarding the three passes and preventing the Wei army from advancing south.

Could it be... that this group belongs to Liao Hua?
Jia Kui: "Did you see the enemy general's flag that attacked your unit?"

Without hesitation, the junior officer exclaimed, "It's the Liao flag!"

It really is Liao Hua!
Jia Kui's eyes widened instantly.

Of course he knew who Liao Hua was.

He was Guan Yu's former chief clerk!
It is said that before coming to Jiangxia, he served as the governor of Nanjun for many years, guarding the Yangtze River and preventing the cowards of Jiangdong from having any more delusions.

As the first Wei general to directly confront Guan Yu, Jia Kui had naturally studied Guan Yu's generals long ago.

Indeed, they did not overlook Liao Hua.

However, everything should be prioritized.

Clearly, Mi Wei of Fangcheng is the most threatening enemy general.

Liao Hua, who guarded the three passes, was not positioned for main offensive operations, but rather for defense.

The three passes between the Tongbai and Dabie Mountains are not only far apart, but also separated by the Huai River.

Even on the south bank of the Huai River, there is still a county called Meng that has never lost its integrity.

How could Jia Kui possibly abandon Ancheng, which seemed safe and secure enough, for such a small threat?
In reality, Liao Hua did not actually attack Ancheng, but rather launched an attack on the road before the supplies entered the city!
Therefore, there was nothing wrong with my decision to retreat the supplies to Ancheng.

The key question is, why were the defenses south of Anseong so lax?

Jia Kui: "Has no news come from Meng County?"

The junior officer shook his head.

Jia Kui: "And what happened afterward?"

The junior officer shook his head again.

Jia Kui sighed and immediately sent a fast horse south to investigate.

Several days later, definite information finally arrived.

Indeed, no news was sent from Meng County.

Not only did Meng County not have it, but even Anyang County, which is separated from it by a river and belongs to Runan Prefecture, did not have it either!

Those two cities surrendered directly on Liao Hua's way north!
Now a new problem has arisen:
What exactly happened to the county magistrates and garrison troops in those two cities?

He had remained steadfast for the past year, so why did he suddenly switch allegiance to the Han?

This time, a considerable amount of time was spent investigating. And the result was once again unexpected.

It turns out that long before Guan Yu captured Wancheng, probably shortly after Xu Huang burned Xinye, the people of Meng County had already conceived the idea of ​​surrendering to the Han Dynasty and secretly sent people to contact Deng Zhi, the then governor of Jiangxia.

But at that time, Deng Zhi ordered them to hold back for the time being.

Firstly, it was to avoid being noticed by the Wei army too early, which would affect the Han army's efforts to strengthen the defense of the three passes.

Secondly, at that time, Mi Wei was blocking the Fangcheng line. If the Wei army came too quickly, Deng Zhi could relieve some of the pressure on the Fangcheng direction by making a big show of sending troops to Meng County.

It's like leaving yourself a backup plan.

After that, Guan Yu won a great victory in Nanyang, Mi Wei successfully defended the city, and Liao Hua secured the three passes... With this series of events, Meng County had long since taken on the form of the Shu Han dynasty.

Even so, Meng County remained inactive.

Until Fei Yi arrived.

Fei Yi initially served as Liu Bei's envoy, first transporting horses to Nanyang, and then down to Jiangdong.

During this period, the Wei army's winter offensive stalled at Fangcheng.

After the siege was lifted, they probably received orders from Mi Wei to contact Meng County on their way south.

It should be noted that Fei Yi's ancestral home was Meng County, Jiangxia Prefecture.

Although he was orphaned at a young age, his family was a prominent clan in the area.

Fei Yi also had a cousin, Fei Guan, who lived in this area in his early years and moved to Yizhou with his clan when the chaos began.

He is now serving as the Prefect of Ba Commandery under Liu Bei.

In short, both parties were willing, and with Fei Yi, a prominent figure in the village, acting as guarantor, the county immediately surrendered upon his arrival.

They even cooperated with Fei Yi to turn Anyang, which was just across the river, against the government!

With these two cities along the river as stepping stones, Liao Hua's northward journey was unimpeded. He stealthily reached the outskirts of Ancheng and launched a successful attack!
Jia Kui and his tens of thousands of troops believed they had fought Mi Wei to a draw.

In reality, they were manipulated and lost a great deal of supplies!
pat!

Jia Kui slammed the map to the ground.

The dense annotations that had been poured with so much effort had now become an inescapable curse.

It's infuriating to look at.

He had clearly taken his opponent seriously enough, even setting multiple layers of bait.

Why did we still lose?
After much thought, it's very likely that I placed too much importance on Miwei!
Because of this excessive emphasis, all planning and arrangements revolved around Miwei.

Even the ultimate goal is to capture and kill Mi Wei!

As the art of war says, "To subdue others without being subdued by them."

He used the military settlement as bait to lure out Mi Wei, forcing him to act according to his own rhythm.

But in the process, wasn't Mi Wei also using himself as bait to attract his attention and gradually fall into his trap?

What a formidable opponent.

Jia Kui stared at the private letter that had been written for several days, but he lost all interest.

He now only wants to report to the emperor as soon as possible, reminding the officials in Luoyang not to underestimate this person.

otherwise……

"The one who will destroy Wei in the future will surely be Mi Wei!"

……

Yizhou, Chengdu, Han Palace.

Liu Bei looked at the victory report that Guan Yu had sent from Nanyang, his face turning red and white.

As a result, Zhuge Liang, Ma Liang, and the others were also filled with anxiety.

After a long while, Liu Bei put down his memorial and looked around:

“Yun Chang said that there is no immediate threat to Nanyang. If I were to march north from Yizhou to attack the pass, he would surely lead an army to respond from Wuguan.”

"What do you think, sir?"

Liu Bei spoke in a calm tone.

But the emperor, having accumulated power over time, was so powerful that few of his ministers dared to meet his gaze.

Finally, Zhuge Liang stepped forward despite the pressure and said:
"Your Majesty has worked diligently for ten years, and now Shu is prosperous, Hanzhong is secure, Jingzhou is safe, and the various Rong, Hu and Yi tribes have won over the hearts of the people."

"At this critical juncture, Your Majesty, by holding the capital and leading the three armies northward, great things can be expected!"

Liu Bei nodded slightly, then suddenly smiled and said:

"What you're implying, Prime Minister, is that the time is ripe for a northern expedition, but it would be inappropriate for me to personally lead the campaign? Is that correct?"

(End of this chapter)