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

Chapter 79 Chen Deng's Naval Dream

It is very difficult to make an inland person understand how important the right to control the river is. It is impossible to imagine something that has never been encountered before, let alone use it flexibly.

This is why there are so few military strategists and statesmen in the world, and why their expertise is so highly valued. Both of these disciplines require extensive practical experience to improve one's skills, and this practical experience is also the most dangerous. A slight misstep can end one's life in either politics or biology.

Zhao Yun is currently studying naval tactics and strategies, which is a good intention and Chen Deng greatly appreciates. However, it seems that Zhao Yun has gone astray, viewing the navy as an appendage of the army, a subordinate department of the army.

This is obviously a huge mistake. In Chen Deng's view, the navy is an independent branch of the military that can stand on equal footing with the army. It can independently undertake combat missions and achieve strategic goals. Using it as a transport team for the army is a huge waste.

Moreover, judging from Zhao Yun's arrangements, it was a complete setup to be attacked. All the construction was centered around how to defend against Sun Ce's northward advance, and he even planned to build so many beacon towers north of the Yangtze River. If you say it's useless, it would indeed greatly affect Sun Ce's landing attempt from here. But if you say it's useful, Sun Ce could just land somewhere else. Could Liu Bei's army really build defensive fortifications all along the Yangtze River?

If they had actually done that, Liu Bei's army would have either been wiped out by others or they would have worn themselves out to death.

The same goes for warships. Why build so many small boats? On land, the advantage of a large ship against a small one is enormous, and it's even more so on the water. Those warships can capsize a whole bunch of small boats with a single charge, just like Lu Bu kicking over soldiers when he raided a city. The warships also have much higher gunwales, so the people on board can simply raise their hands and arrows will come flying down at the people in the small boats.

In Chen Deng's view, Zhao Yun had not considered that if the navy was strong enough, the pressure on Sun Ce would force him to devote a lot of energy to defense, which would greatly restrict and affect Sun Ce's energy.

Moreover, a navy is completely different from an army. Building a navy can take many years, including training crew members, building ships (especially the most time-consuming part), constructing supporting facilities, and so on. However, a navy can be depleted very quickly; an afternoon can wipe out decades of accumulated wealth.

Chen Deng has now realized that if Liu Bei wants to expand, he must conquer the south. First, take Jiangdong, then fight Jiangxia. In this way, even if Liu Bei cannot achieve the ambition of "If I become the Emperor of Han in the future, I will make the peach blossoms bloom together," he can still achieve the ambition of "If I have lofty ambitions in the future, I will dare to laugh at the Hegemon-King who is not a true man," and be granted land and made a king. He will still be a hero of his time.

Chen Deng didn't really care about the Han dynasty's fate. He came from a powerful family and was among the people closest to the emperor, except for eunuchs and imperial relatives. He had long seen through the true nature of those sitting on the throne and had therefore long since demystified the emperor.

If it weren't for Liu Bei's sake, who would care?

As Chen Deng was thinking this, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his abdomen, and his expression instantly contorted. He slowly arched his back, pressing a small table against his abdomen, hoping to alleviate the pain.

Seeing Chen Deng's sudden change in expression and his unsteady gait, Zhao Yun quickly reached out to support him: "Prefect Chen, are you feeling unwell? Go back and rest."

"It's nothing, just an old ailment. A little medicinal soup will do the trick." Chen Deng said it all well, but his sallow complexion and pale lips were far more convincing than his words.

Zhao Yun was also anxious and immediately ordered his attendants to help Chen Deng down to rest. He also hurriedly summoned the army physician to examine Chen Deng.

Although Chen Deng was in excruciating pain and sweating profusely, his mind was still preoccupied with the development of Liu Bei's naval forces. Lu Wan's workshop development and trade completely astonished Chen Deng. The fact that a single province could generate one-fifth of the country's peak revenue through trade alone was remarkable. Although he hadn't personally witnessed the massive income being packaged and stored, he could glean some insight from the numerous supplies transported from Xiapi during the land reclamation efforts.

If selling products from Xuzhou to the three provinces of Qing, Chong, and Ji can generate such revenue, imagine the scale if this were expanded to the entire Han Dynasty! Other warlords could start preparing their supplies.

He endured the pain and said to Zhao Yun, who was standing guard beside him, "General Zilong, do you know why I don't believe the navy is an appendage of the army?"

Before Zhao Yun could answer, he asked and answered himself: "The Yangtze River is as formidable as the Great Wall is to the north as it is to the south. Whoever controls the river can sever the connection between the north and south and decide the fate of the feudal lords. The army can only deploy along the river and respond passively."

However, naval forces can take the initiative and attack across vast distances.

He straightened up, his face gleaming, and said, "If our navy is strong, we can cut off the waterways directly. Even if Sun Ce has a million troops, they won't be able to cross the river or land, making them a useless army. Our army can wait for the right opportunity. If Sun Ce's forces become chaotic, we can attack Dantu or Niudu. The initiative on the battlefield will be firmly in our hands."

"If our navy is strong, we can move freely across the entire Yangtze River, while other warlords will be stuck in their ports playing with rats."

After saying these words, Chen Deng was already drenched in sweat from the pain, and the doctor beside him was working hard to prepare medicine for him.

Zhao Yun was heartbroken to see Chen Deng in such pain. He immediately said to Chen Deng, "Prefect Chen, you should rest well first. There's no rush with the navy. You should focus on recovering now. Let's build the naval camp first, and then we can talk about the rest."

Chen Deng did not answer, but simply nodded slightly.

The physician who was preparing the medicine for Chen Deng came out at this moment, bowed to Zhao Yun, and Zhao Yun hurriedly stopped him, asking, "Please wait a moment, sir. Do you know what illness Prefect Chen has?"

The physician said, "General, Prefect Chen is not suffering from an ordinary illness, but rather from intestinal worms. Prefect Chen has always loved eating raw fish. If it is not cured as soon as possible, Prefect Chen's life may be in danger."

Zhao Yun had no idea the situation was so serious, and quickly asked, "May I ask if you, sir, could examine Prefect Chen?"

The doctor shook his head and said, "General, it's not that I'm unwilling to treat Prefect Chen, but I can only help him relieve the pain. I really don't know how to expel parasites."

Zhao Yun could only nod regretfully upon hearing this: "I understand, thank you, sir."

After Zhao Yun left, he first wrote a letter to Liu Bei, informing him of Chen Deng's sudden illness. He then issued an order forbidding anyone present from revealing Chen Deng's condition. Meanwhile, inside the room, Chen Deng was still considering how to improve Zhao Yun's plan; contingency plans are necessary, even if not needed.

If Lu Wan were here, he would realize that what Chen Deng just said to Zhao Yun could also be applied to both land and sea. Due to the different geographical conditions of the sea and land, the order on water is very different from that on land, and the reason for this difference is that land can be exclusively possessed, while water cannot.

On land, a nation can control a region and achieve dominion over it by demarcating borders, building fortresses, and stationing troops. However, on water (whether it's a river or the sea), it's impossible to build a fortress on it or have a fleet patrol it 24 hours a day. This means that waterways cannot be exclusively occupied.

Of course, in later generations, with the development of long-range army weapons, some enclosed lakes, rivers, and even inland seas could still be monopolized by coastal countries through land-based control of the sea. But now, let alone artillery, even gunpowder is difficult to produce.

Because of these two characteristics of land and sea, land power inevitably tends to be closed, while sea power inevitably tends to be open.

The result of a closed land-based system is that land hegemony inevitably arises from the existence of multiple warlords vying for dominance. Because the land is divided into several relatively independent geographical units by mountains and natural barriers, no matter how powerful Liu Bei's army is, other warlords can rely on the natural defenses of mountains and natural barriers and various cities to build layers of defense, thus offsetting Liu Bei's advantage in manpower and equipment.

In contrast, sea power presents a different picture. Maritime hegemony has always been a singular dominant force. Because open waters lack natural defenses and mountains, it's impossible to establish defensive positions. If Liu Bei's army could defeat the navies of other warlords, it could force them to revert to a coastal defense force, or rather, maintain a fleet (one whose very existence was to prevent the dominant seafarer from roaming freely on the water). Liu Bei wouldn't need to invest in additional fortifications; he only needed to maintain his naval superiority.

Even if multiple powerful naval forces briefly emerge on the water, it is only a transitional state. After the decisive battle on the water, the naval forces will return to a state of one dominant force.

Simply put, once Liu Bei establishes his navy and then defeats Sun Ce and Liu Biao's naval forces, the Yangtze River will be at Liu Bei's disposal.