Soochow is formulating the next battle plan, and the Jingzhou Army in Xiangyang is also conducting emergency military discussions at this time.
There is no way, Guanzhong has already been beaten like that. If Xiangyang doesn't take any action to help Guanzhong reduce the pressure, then forget about the Northern Expedition.
Therefore, Guan Yu had the rare opportunity of dragging his already sick body to hold a military meeting in his general's mansion.
The most important issue is whether to launch the Northern Expedition in advance and go north to attack Wancheng.
Nowadays, the war in Guanzhong is tense. Once Guanzhong is lost, the Northern Expedition of the Jingzhou Army in one direction will not be enough to change the situation, let alone serve as the main attack, break through Wancheng, and penetrate into the Central Plains.
Guan Yu really ran out of time.
In the past few years, every winter in Guan Yu's life was like walking through a ghost gate, almost lying in bed unable to move. If there was not a trace of obsession with the Northern Expedition supporting Guan Yu in his heart, Guan Yu might not have been able to survive long ago.
But the problem is, last winter, Guan Yu relied on his obsession and Zhang Fei's brotherhood to survive. Can he survive this year? !
In the original plan, after experiencing the autumn harvest, the Jingzhou Army launched the Northern Expedition at the same time as the Guanzhong Northern Expedition. This time, the main attack was to attack Wancheng and open up the Central Plains passage. Guan Yu was preparing for this battle with a fatal determination.
But now, Guanzhong has encountered a fierce attack by Cao Wei. Right Fufeng has almost been lost, and Zuo Fengyi's battle situation is not optimistic. The most important thing is that the Chang'an garrison is seriously lacking.
If this happens, Guan Yu doesn't think he still has life to last until next autumn harvest.
Therefore, although the Jingzhou Army was not fully prepared, and the various arrangements for grain, grass and ordnance were not yet in place, Guan Yu still insisted that the Northern Expedition must be launched in advance.
Now in the Northern Expedition, taking advantage of the Battle of Guanzhong to hold back the main force of the Wei army in the hinterland of the Central Plains, I might still have the possibility of victory.
Attacking Wancheng can help relieve the pressure in Guanzhong to some extent. If Wancheng can be captured and the Central Plains channel is opened, it may be possible to force the Wei army to retreat directly from Guanzhong and concentrate its forces to defend Luoyang.
But if we continue to wait, there will be no news of the fall of Guanzhong.
At least for Guan Yu, there is no future.
Therefore, Guan Yu put forward his own idea and asked Wang Ji and Xu Shu to cooperate with him and immediately lead troops to attack Wancheng.
But Wang Jixian didn't say anything, Xu Shu was the first to express his objection.
Wang Ji actually agrees with Guan Yu's idea. At this point in time, Wang Ji cannot expect that Guanzhong will still have the strength to launch a counterattack and annihilate the Wei army that invaded Guanzhong. Judging from the current intelligence Wang Ji has, Guanzhong can be defended. It was already a lucky break.
Therefore, Wang Ji believes that before things are completely irreversible, it is okay to launch the Northern Expedition to gain a chance of victory.
But Xu Shu cautiously expressed his objections.
It is true that according to the battle reports received so far, the situation in Guanzhong is very unfavorable, and there is a possibility that the Wei army will attack Chang'an at any time. But based on this, it is a bit hasty to think that Guanzhong is unsafe.
Don't forget, the battle report transmitted from Guanzhong to Xiangyang is information that is seriously delayed in timeliness. No one actually knows what the situation in Guanzhong is now.
But based on Xu Shu's understanding of Zhuge Liang and Zhang Xi, Guanzhong's current response strategy does not reflect the abilities of these two people at all.
Yes, Xu Shu admitted that this time the Wei army's strategy of seizing the east and attacking the west was very clever, and the timing of the attack happened to be stuck at the key node in Guanzhong preparing for the Northern Expedition. If it was neither up nor down, it would indeed be very uncomfortable for the Han army in Guanzhong.
But the biggest problem in Guanzhong today is not the problem of insufficient troops, but the problem of unreasonable deployment of troops.
Zhuge Liang and Zhang Xi's own goal is to prepare for the Northern Expedition. Since they are going for the Northern Expedition, they must not be able to rely on the tens of thousands of county soldiers in Yongzhou, right? !
The unreasonable deployment of troops is just a temporary dilemma. With the abilities of Zhuge Liang and Zhang Xi, as long as they can hold on to the current situation for a period of time and wait until the main force of the Northern Expedition is in place, it is unknown what the situation in Guanzhong will be.
Anyway, Xu Shu didn't believe that one Cao Zhen could force Zhuge Liang and Zhang Xi into a panic and make it impossible to defend Guanzhong.
Furthermore, the current Xiangyang Army has just completed its assembly, and the military rations and ordnance have not been fully mobilized.
Apart from anything else, the 20,000 sailors and 10,000 infantrymen led by Wenpin had just "retired" from Jiangxia to Xiangyang. Although the "defeat" was false, the army definitely still needed to be reorganized. In the northern attack, there is no place for the 20,000 navy troops to be used. In order for the navy troops to go ashore to fight, the ordnance and equipment must be readjusted.
Kou Feng on the other side of the new city has just begun to gather troops, and has not yet gone south to Xiangyang to join the army. At this time, the Xiangyang army also hurriedly went north.
Is it necessary to rely on the more than 40,000 soldiers from Xiangyang headquarters, plus the 10,000 ready-made infantry who have just been withdrawn from Jiangxia, a total of 50,000 people, to go north to attack Wancheng? !
Such a force would have been enough if used as a auxiliary feint attack in previous years. But for the main attack on Wancheng alone, Sima Yi had more than 30,000 soldiers, as well as a fortified city and several peripheral defense lines. Woolen cloth.
Fifty thousand against thirty thousand is still the siege force. Unless Guan Yu has some ingenious plan, he will not be able to capture Wancheng at all.
As for Guan Yu, Guan Yu naturally doesn't have any ingenious plans. This matter should be Xu Shu and Wang Ji's expertise. Since neither of them knew anything about it, they could still expect Guan Yu to come up with any ingenious plans.
If we can't conquer Wancheng in one battle and open the way to the hinterland of the Central Plains, then even if we march into Wancheng, we will just repeat the process of attacking Wancheng twice before, wasting money and food to confront the Wei army, and there is no hope of helping Guanzhong. If the target is so big, it will lose the suddenness of the attack.
It’s better not to fight! ! !
This was Xu Shu's suggestion. He believed that it would be better to calm down and wait for a while until his troops were assembled and further news came from Guanzhong before making a decision.
But Guan Yu said he did not accept this suggestion.
Guan Yu's reasons are still the same. Time waits for no one. If he really wants to wait for news of the fall of Guanzhong, then there is no point in going north to Wancheng.
Wang Ji also expressed his concerns.
Wang Ji felt that Xu Shu should not base strategic planning on unpredictable personal abilities.
As Xu Shu said, no one in Xiangyang is particularly clear about the outcome of Guanzhong. Therefore, all strategic decisions must be based on existing intelligence and cannot be based on the ability of others. of unconditional trust.
Yes, Wang Ji also admitted that both Prime Minister Zhuge and Zhang Yongzhou are men of outstanding ability, but the problem is that the deployment of troops in Guanzhong is unreasonable now, and they are attacked by Cao Wei and can only adopt strategic defense, which is actually in their hands Typed.
Prime Minister Zhuge's ability to govern the country is unparalleled in the world. Wang Ji admires this very much. However, as for the use of troops, only one can pacify the Western Qiang. But to be honest, as for the Qiang people, Wang Ji believes that he can pacify them by himself. Their performance would not be worse than that of the Northern Army commanded by Zhuge Liang.
As for Zhang Xi, Wang Ji also respects him very much. After all, he was the benefactor who recommended him back then. However, Zhang Xi's military use is not without weaknesses. He pursues stability too much and is too cautious. Sometimes such caution can help him avoid danger. Although he was defeated, he also gave the enemy an opportunity to take advantage of it.
Wang Ji believes that the fact that Guanzhong is now on the strategic defensive is actually related to Zhang Xi's military thinking.
Guanzhong may still be able to hold on for a while. This is a reflection of Zhang Xi and Zhuge Liang's abilities, but is there a chance to readjust the deployment of troops and launch a counterattack in Guanzhong? Wang Ji believes that we cannot place our hope on this illusory possibility. superior.
Therefore, it is actually necessary for the Xiangyang Army to move north.
If we can take advantage of the situation and conquer Wancheng in one battle, that would be the best. If not, opening a second battlefield on the southern front would at least attract the attention of Guo Huai's army in Fufeng on the right, so that Guo Huai would not dare to advance too eagerly. In this way, it might also provide Zhang Xi and Zhuge Liang in Guanzhong with an opportunity to adjust their troop deployment.
Wang Ji also admitted that the current situation in Guanzhong is not a problem of insufficient troops, but a problem of whether Zhang Xi and Zhuge Liang have the opportunity to adjust their troop deployment.
As long as there is this opportunity, the situation in Youfufeng may be improved or even reversed. Once Youfufeng's Han army breaks through the Guohuai Army, it is not impossible to attack Wuguan and threaten Wancheng's flanks. .
As for the suddenness of Xiangyang's attack, Wang Ji's suggestion is that this kind of thing can only be done step by step. If it doesn't work, we can continue to play the same as the previous two battles, just provide assists.
The Northern Expedition to pacify the Central Plains has never been something that happened overnight. It requires enough patience and preparation to do it. It doesn't matter if you can't complete the task in one time. The most important thing now is that Guanzhong cannot be lost.
If Guanzhong is lost, then Yongliang will definitely not be protected, and Yongliang will be lost. It will not be that easy to send troops from Hanzhong to attack Yongliang.
Therefore, Wang Ji suggested that he should immediately lead his troops north to attack Wancheng without waiting for the Kou Feng Corps in Xincheng County or the Jiangxia Corps to finish resting.
(End of chapter)
