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Lu Congtian's analysis of the situation completely surpassed that of these ministers who were merely armchair strategists and knew nothing about the facts.

The occupation by Ma Chao, Huang Zhong, and Meng Da connected Hanzhong and Xiangfan via the Mian River.

If Cao Cao's army were to attack Nanyang under these circumstances, it would be like plunging headfirst into a pit, leaving their backs to Meng Da and his men.

Upon hearing this, Li Yan and Huang Quan fell silent.

Liu Bei immediately adopted Lu Congtian's suggestion, saying, "Let's follow Congtian's advice and discuss the details further."

Now that the direction is confirmed, let's discuss the details.

Li Yan, Huang Quan, and others carefully examined Lu Congtian in the wheelchair.

They exchanged another meaningful glance.

Now that the boss has confirmed the direction, it would be tactless to offer any further advice.

No one dared to voice their objections; upholding political integrity, they immediately changed their stance and joined the discussion on refining the details.

Lu Congtian enjoyed the feeling of making a name for himself in the imperial court.

It's already a miracle that he, as an ordinary citizen, was able to get into this place.

Liu Bei was a wise ruler who readily accepted advice. He did not ostracize Lu Congtian because of his background or his recent behavior in his private life.

This further strengthened Lu Congtian's belief in assisting Liu Bei.

I believe that once Jiangdong is pacified, and after a few more years of steady development with Cao Pi, the hegemony will surely be achieved!

However, plans can never keep up with changes.

Following Liu Bei's advice, Guan Yu left half of his troops to Guan Ping to garrison Wancheng, and then led the navy to support Lu Xun.

News came from Shangyong

General Huang Zhong died.

When the sudden bad news arrived, Liu Bei was devastated.

The loss of two pillars of the state was a significant blow to Liu Bei.

Now that Ma Chao has been transferred back to Chengdu, and while Huang Zhong's body is being transported back for a proper burial, Liu Bei is worried that Meng Da will not be able to defend Shangyong, so he has ordered his adopted son Liu Feng to go to Shangyong to take over the defense.

The former governor of Shangyong was Shen Dan, who surrendered when Ma Chao, Huang Zhong, and Meng Da opened up a passage through the Mian River.

Shen Dan was appointed General Who Conquers the North and continued to serve as Prefect of Shangyong. Shen Dan's younger brother, Shen Yi, was appointed Prefect of Xicheng, and Meng Da was appointed Prefect of Fangling.

Liu Feng effectively controlled the three counties of Shangyong, thus surpassing Meng Da in power, which aroused Meng Da's dissatisfaction.

With Ma Chao transferred and Huang Zhong dead, it seems that Meng Da should become the top official in charge of the three counties.

Just like Meng Daqian, who was doing well, but the boss didn't trust him and parachuted in someone with connections to reap the rewards.

Although Liu Bei did not mean it that way, Meng Da interpreted it that way.

The brothers Shen Dan and Shen Yi were originally bandits who gathered in the mountains of Shangyong in Xicheng. They had curried favor with Zhang Lu and paid homage to Cao Cao. Now, they surrendered to Liu Bei, relinquished their official seal and gold, and completely turned their lives around.

It was Liu Bei who feared that the Shen brothers, Shen Dan and Shen Yi, would rebel if they couldn't be given any benefits, just like those bandits who received Guan Yu's golden seal.

The Shen brothers, Shen Dan and Shen Yi, had been operating in the area for many years and had a very high reputation. To govern this remote place, it was necessary to rely on local powerful figures like them.

the other side

Guan Yu and Lu Xun joined forces and launched a fierce attack on Chaisang.

With Guan Yu here, the position of commander-in-chief is undoubtedly his.

Sun Quan's general Zhou Tai died on the spot when Chaisang was captured.

Once the Chaisang defense line was breached, the Jiangdong troops fled towards Wankou.

Xu Sheng succeeded Zhou Tai as the new Grand Commander of Jiangdong.

Moreover, Xu Sheng continued Zhou Tai's strategy of fighting to the death and never retreating. Risking being ambushed by Cao Cao's army, he mobilized the defense troops at Ruxukou to Wankou, showing that he was ready to fight Guan Yu to the death.

Guan Yu thus stopped in his tracks.

Just as the two sides were deadlocked, Sun Quan took the initiative to compromise and sent Zhuge Jin as an envoy to Chengdu to negotiate peace.

When Zhuge Jin arrived in Chengdu, it was already close to the autumn harvest.

"I pay my respects to the King of Hanzhong." Zhuge Jin bowed deeply.

Zhuge Jin used the term "谒见" (yéjiàn), which is a formal occasion where a subordinate meets with a superior.

In other words, Zhuge Jin, representing Sun Quan, acknowledged the legitimacy of Liu Bei's throne.

This served two purposes: firstly, to demonstrate Jiangdong's sincerity in seeking peace, and secondly, to show their submission.

They had no choice but to submit; Guan Yu was now an unstoppable force. It took the combined strength of the entire Jiangdong region to barely halt his advance.

Admitting defeat and saving your life is not shameful.

"Ziyu, please rise." He offered her a seat again. "Please."

Li Yan, Huang Quan, Liu Ba, Dong He, Xu Jing, Jian Yong, Sun Qian, Lu Congtian and others all attended this important occasion.

"Ziyu is Kongming's elder brother. Did you see Kongming in Jingzhou when you came here?" Liu Bei did not immediately discuss business or make sarcastic remarks.

Starting with casual conversation was undoubtedly a way of showcasing Liu Bei's approachable nature.

After all, Zhuge Jin was Zhuge Liang's elder brother. Sun Quan's face could be disregarded, but Zhuge Liang's face had to be respected.

Zhuge Jin cupped his hands in greeting, "I have already met my younger brother. He advised me to serve the King of Hanzhong."

Liu Bei looked regretful. Zhuge Jin had already made his stance clear through his address; he would not listen to Zhuge Liang.

Knowing that Liu Bei was at a loss for words, Li Yan asked on his behalf, "Why doesn't Ziyu respond?"

"How could I possibly agree to something that would turn my back on the Lord for personal gain? If I were such a person, my Lord would not have sent me here."

Li Yan laughed and said, "The saying goes that those who know when to yield are the heroes. Our army is now unstoppable and is swallowing up Jiangdong. If we don't seize the opportunity now, it will be too late later."

But Zhuge Jin burst into laughter.

"Why is Tzuyu laughing?"

Zhuge Jin fell silent. "I laugh at you all, for you are facing imminent disaster and yet you are unaware of it."

"Outrageous words! I don't think Jiangdong has any sincerity in negotiating peace!" Li Yan gritted his teeth, then bowed to Liu Bei again, "Your Majesty, just order an attack! Let's see if they can hold Wankou and Ruxu!"

Liu Bei raised his hand and looked at Zhuge Jin, "Ziyu, what makes you say that?"

Zhuge Jin remained calm and composed, saying, "Please listen quietly, gentlemen."

In a daze, Lu Congtian saw the shadow of his mentor.

At this moment, Zhuge Jin was like he was during the Battle of Red Cliffs, when he went to Jiangdong alone to persuade Sun Quan and Zhuge Liang, who had brought Zhang Zhao to join him.

"Our two families are in roughly the same predicament: food shortages. The stalemate at the front is also a matter of waiting for the final battle of the autumn harvest."

"As you can see, wheat is grown in the north and rice in the south. Both of our families are in the south, waiting for the rice harvest. Cao Pi, on the other hand, is in the north, where the wheat has already been harvested and stored in granaries, flowing into the grain routes and being sent to the front lines."

"Now the King of Hanzhong wants to take advantage of the situation to annex my Jiangdong. My lord will surely fight to the death, just like he did at the Battle of Red Cliffs."

"Let's fight if we want to. At worst, we'll both be severely weakened, and then we'll have to bow down and submit to Cao Wei. After all, Jiangdong has been a vassal state before."

"As for the King of Hanzhong, Jingzhou is exhausted, and Yizhou is too far away. If Cao Wei takes advantage of this, he will probably just retreat to Yizhou. I believe it won't be long before the whole world is under Wei's banner."

Zhuge Jin's words were by no means sophistry.

The differences between the North and the South determined the time difference in when they would send troops to start a war.

While others have already prepared their supplies, we're still harvesting rice in the fields.

This is also why Liu Bei did not reject Sun Quan's peace negotiations and allowed Zhuge Jin to enter Chengdu.

We must fight, but not now.

After years of fighting, our food supplies have been depleted. At this point, it would be unwise to risk mutual destruction.

Li Yan cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I believe Ziyu's words are reasonable."

Li Yan's demeanor at this moment was completely different from his earlier expression of wanting to devour flesh and tear him apart.

He seemed to be a fickle and contradictory figure, yet also a person of profound righteousness, making it difficult to discern whether he supported war or peace negotiations.

Huang Quan and Xu Jing also seconded the motion. "We believe that we cannot fight any longer at this time."

Suddenly, Lu Congtian spoke up, "Your Majesty, the war can be postponed, but it can't just be left like this, can it?"

Lu Congtian will never learn their political wisdom.

Lu Congtian only knew that revenge was the only way to settle scores.

Liu Bei's eyes flickered. "Oh? What do you think we should do, Cong Tian?"

"Certain territory, and see the sincerity of Jiangdong in negotiating peace."