He originally intended to surrender to Wei, so why did he end up restoring Han?

Chapter 72 Liu Bei's Three Major Army Groups

By the time Yi Ji's messenger was rushing to Xiangyang, Liu Bei's army had already assembled and was ready to depart.

After receiving and reorganizing Yuan Shu's defeated army and the troops left behind by Zang Ba, Xuzhou's total military strength has now reached about 40,000. This only includes the size of the combat troops and does not include logistics and support personnel.

Liu Bei's army is currently in a very good diplomatic situation. Of the eight directions, only the south is somewhat hostile, while the others are at least in a state of truce.

This is the perfect opportunity to expand one's influence.

After a short meeting with Lu Guan, Chen Qun, Guan Yu, and a few others, Liu Bei finalized the battle plan.

The first step was to determine the strategic objective of this operation. Liu Bei would allocate approximately 30,000 troops, divided into three routes, to quickly seize the unclaimed cities left behind by Sun Ce, thus completely pushing the battle line out of Xuzhou's territory. From then on, all battles should be fought outside Xuzhou as much as possible to avoid further devastation of the various sectors of Xuzhou that had been painstakingly built up.

These 30,000 troops were divided into three routes. At Lu Wan's strong request, Liu Bei's army even gave these three forces special names: Northern Army Group, Central Army Group, and Southern Army Group.

The Southern Army Group, commanded by Zhao Yun and Chen Deng, with Zang Ba and Sun Guan as its deputies, comprised a total of 8,000 men who marched south along the Qu River (Hangou Canal), passing through Guangling City, and finally reaching Jiangdu City on the banks of the Yangtze River. This route would not involve many siege battles, but a certain number of troops were still needed to prevent Sun Ce from launching a surprise counterattack.

That means we need someone like Zhao Yun, who is outstanding in martial arts and has a calm and composed personality, to lead the way. In addition, there are the most powerful and wealthy families along this route, so we desperately need someone who knows the geography, customs, and families of Guangling County like the back of his hand. Is there even a need to choose? Only Chen Deng, the newly promoted governor of Guangling, is the most suitable.

The Northern Army Group's mission was to provide strategic cover for the Central Army Group, advancing south from Pengcheng. Its primary responsibility was to capture numerous cities in southern Pei State, thus forming a shield for the central army. The entire army numbered over six thousand men. While this route had the fewest combat missions, it required the most logistical support.

Previously, due to Zheng Bao and Lü Bu's overexploitation, many cities suffered severe damage. Repairing these cities and building a defensive line would require a considerable amount of money, food, materials, and labor.

The commander-in-chief needed for this route wasn't necessarily a top warrior, but rather someone loyal, reliable, tenacious, skilled in defense, and adept at steady, methodical warfare. Tian Yu was undoubtedly the best choice, and the accompanying civil official Chen Qun was a master of internal affairs, well-versed in law and regulations. Having him accompany the western army would allow for the rapid integration of the newly conquered southern region of Pei into the administrative system, establishing an effective order of governance.

The Central Army Group had the heaviest mission and therefore the largest number of troops, approximately 16,000. This army's objective was multi-tiered: to advance upstream along the Huai River, capture the cities of Jiujiang Commandery, and then use the captured cities in the Huai River basin as leverage points to sweep through eastern Jiujiang Commandery.

The most difficult part of this task was initially taking over the cities along the Huai River, because almost all the important cities in Jiujiang were concentrated in the Huai River basin.

The most optimistic scenario is that they will continue to recruit prisoners until they occupy Xia Cai, thus putting a knife to the throat of Shouchun City.

A slightly less desirable outcome would be to occupy Dangtu and share the Huai River basin within Jiujiang Commandery with Liu Xun; the worst-case scenario would be to encounter fierce resistance as soon as they set out and ultimately only capture Zhongli City. This was also the minimum objective of Liu Bei's central army group in this operation. If they couldn't even capture Zhongli, Lu Wan felt that she would rather turn against Liu Xun than not hold Zhongli in her hands.

Zhongli is like a nail driven into the soft underbelly of Xuzhou. If Liu Xun attacks northward, the southern cities of Pei State will be largely untenable due to the previous sabotage by Zheng Bao, Lü Bu, and others, rendering the northern army group's efforts futile. On the other hand, if he attacks eastward, Guangling will be constantly harassed.

Correspondingly, once Zhongli was captured, Liu Bei's army's southwestern defensive stronghold could advance directly from Xuyi to the northern part of Jiujiang.

The mission in this direction is the most demanding and dangerous, so the leading generals are also the most prestigious. The commander-in-chief is General Guan Yu, and Lu Wan is in charge of military strategy. The two had cooperated before when they attacked Xuyi, and their cooperation this time is even more seamless.

The accompanying deputy generals were General Zhang Fei, who was tasked with suppressing the rebellion, and his military advisor Zhang Liao. Zhang Fei was a difficult figure to send out on his own, and sending him to serve as a deputy under someone else might lead to resentment. Therefore, they decided to send him to Guan Yu's side. Since Guan Yu was the main general and couldn't lead the charge, Zhang Fei was brought in to fill the vacancy.

As for why Guan Yu brought Zhang Liao along, he wanted to use this opportunity to let his fellow townsman show off, so that he wouldn't be looked down upon by the people of Xuzhou. Lu Wan, on the other hand, wanted to make Zhang Liao a role model to suppress the small circle of people in Xuzhou.

Zhang Liao is no longer just a soldier; he is now at the forefront of the clash between the outsider faction and the Xuzhou faction. A subordinate who once ambushed the person who took him in, a warrior from the border region of Bingzhou, and who once worked for the traitor Dong Zhuo, Zhang Liao's identity is now fraught with debuffs.

This is why Zhang Liao joined Liu Bei almost without hesitation after Liu Bei expressed his willingness to accept him. Given Zhang Liao's previous record, it was already an act of leniency for Liu Bei, a member of the Han imperial family, to grant him a complete burial.

When Lu Wan proposed Zhang Liao as the deputy general of the Central Army Group, many officials objected, citing the same reasons: Zhang Liao was unfamiliar with the terrain of Xuzhou and the fighting style of the Xuzhou army—they all wanted to sabotage the proposal. In the end, Liu Bei made the decision, saying that the Central Army Group had the most challenging mission and was best suited for training newcomers; sending Zhang Liao would be the fastest way for him to adapt.

What could the officials say now? Liu Bei's reasoning wasn't entirely flawed; a newcomer should be mentored by an experienced one. Out of respect for their lord, the officials acquiesced. Openly blocking their path was out of the question, so everyone could only secretly hope that Zhang Liao would suffer a defeat.

Among the many civil and military officials in Xuzhou, Lu Wan trusted Zhang Liao the most, even more than Zhang Liao himself. Lu Wan, a person from later generations, naturally knew how formidable Zhang Liao was; eight hundred infantrymen charging into a hundred thousand and returning unscathed—a feat that would be rare even in world history. The problem was, Lu Wan knew this, but others didn't. So Lu Wan had no choice but to send Zhang Liao to the battlefield to help him accumulate some achievements.

Lu Wan didn't have high expectations for Zhang Liao; as long as he didn't make any mistakes in this battle, that was enough. As long as there were no errors, Lu Wan could use this to show that Wen Yuan (Zhang Liao's courtesy name) had performed very well and was a model for all soldiers and officers!

But if this battle goes wrong, Zhang Liao could be relegated to a life of obscurity. The Xuzhou commander and the General Staff are practically offering him food, but he can't even eat it—what else is there to say?

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