Xu Shu is alone and unable to support himself.
With Guan Yu's status, even if Xu Shu and Wang Ji opposed his order to send troops, he could still insist on his own way.
Who is the general of the Han Dynasty, the commander-in-chief of Jingzhou, and the leader in overall control of Jingzhou's military and political affairs?
What's more, even Wang Ji sided with Guan Yu this time, advocating advancing to Wancheng to attract the main force of the Wei army and reduce the pressure on the Guanzhong battle. Guan Yu was even more confident to launch the Northern Expedition now.
In desperation, Xu Shu could only compromise, and then began to help Guan Yu prepare various matters for the Northern Expedition.
It was impossible for the whole army to march north, and there would definitely need to be some choices. Therefore, Xu Shu's suggestion was to lead the army in batches.
First, let Wang Ji lead 40,000 Xiangyang troops northward, stationed in Deng County, and threaten Wancheng.
Then Guan Yu waited for Wenpin's Jiangxia Army to be completely reorganized, and at the same time waited for Kou Feng's Xincheng County Army to set off as the second echelon to support Wang Ji.
But Guan Yu disagreed.
He believed that since he wanted to attack Wancheng and at the same time attract Cao Wei's attention, relying only on one Wang Ji to lead his troops north would have limited deterrent effect.
Therefore, he believed that he should lead the troops north first, and then Wang Ji would lead the second echelon as reinforcements.
There is a saying, if Guan Yu's physical condition had not deteriorated to a certain extent, this approach would be the most suitable approach for the current situation.
However, the problem lies in Guan Yu's body.
Today, Guan Yu can no longer ride a horse or lift a sword. If he wants to go out with the army, leading the rear army to move slowly is the best choice for his current physical condition.
The vanguard army must march quickly and at the same time need to deal with the first wave of enemy attacks. With Guan Yu's current physical condition, Xu Shu is really worried that Guan Yu does not have enough experience to deal with these things.
If Guan Yu leads the vanguard army to set out first, and something unexpected happens during the march, or even his condition worsens, is he going to attack Wancheng, or is he going to kill the enemy? !
The commander-in-chief of the first army is the most taboo about problems occurring during marching operations.
Once there is a problem with the coach, it will seriously affect the morale of the army, which will directly affect the combat effectiveness of the soldiers.
Therefore, this time Xu Shu and Wang Ji stood on the same front again, opposing Guan Yu's lead in setting off first.
Even if you want to use Guan Yu's banner to improve morale and deter the enemy, there is absolutely no need for Guan Yu to go into battle in person. It is not impossible to let Guan Ping lead the army under Guan Yu's banner.
Guan Ping is already over 40 years old, and his children have reached the age of wielding swords and swords. They are still suppressed by Guan Yu and serve as lieutenants. How ridiculous!
This time, Guan Yu did not defeat Xu Shu and Wang Ji. Of course, the most important thing is that in addition to Xu Shu and Wang Ji, his relatives including Guan Ping, Guan Xing, and Deng Ai also disapproved of Guan Yu leading the army first. Set off.
In the end, it was decided that Guan Ping would lead the army under the banner of Guan Yu, and Guan Xing and Deng Ai would serve as the vanguard generals to attack Wancheng first.
Guan Yu continued to sit in Xiangyang and waited until Kou Feng took over the new city and Shangyong soldiers arrived in Xiangyang, then led Kou Feng, "Guan Suo", Wang Ji, Xu Shu, Liao Hua, Zhang Yi and others northward.
As for Xiangyang, it was handed over to Wenpin for garrison, assisted by Ma Liang, Xi Zhen and others to handle government affairs and guard against Soochow.
After making arrangements for dispatching troops, Xu Shu and Wang Ji were busy mobilizing supplies and weapons from various places. According to Guan Yu's request, they needed to provide the vanguard army with supplies for the expedition within three days. This was another troublesome matter.
But no matter what, three days later, Guan Ping, Guan Xing, and Deng Ai led 40,000 Xiangyang soldiers and took the lead in going north to attack Wancheng.
Before leaving, Guan Yu still worried about talking to the three people, especially to warn Guan Ping.
"When Ping'er goes into battle this time, you must not be arbitrary. Discuss with others when encountering problems. Do not advance rashly or underestimate the enemy."
It can be seen that Guan Yu is still not confident about Guan Ping's ability to lead troops. He is afraid that Guan Ping will get into trouble if he is not around to watch, so he tells Guan Ping to discuss with others more. He also uses himself as an example, saying that although he is aloof, But sometimes we still have to listen to the opinions of Military Advisor Xu and Governor Wang, not to mention Guan Ping.
This is a good example. Deng Ai was listening with his mouth almost twitching.
You old man, that's also called "obeying opinions." Did you know that in order to persuade you to do less stupid things, Military Master Xu became so worried that his hair turned white?
Deng Ai was busy complaining in his mind, but then Guan Yu came to him.
The corner of Yatong's mouth twitched so obviously. You really think I'm old and my eyesight is no longer good, right? !
Deng Ai, who was caught red-handed, quickly calmed down his expression and lowered his head slightly, not looking at Guan Yu.
Really, it's not that he's afraid, the main reason is that he doesn't want his wife to talk about him. Anyway, over the years, Deng Ai has become accustomed to Guan Yu blowing his beard and staring at him from time to time.
However, this time, Guan Yu did not glare at Deng Ai. On the contrary, after looking at Deng Ai for a long time, Guan Yu sighed slightly.
"This time when we are marching into the army, our soldiers need to pay more attention to assist Ping'er. Don't let him act on his own whim. You cannot be expert in major national affairs. You need to consult more before making a decision!"
Deng Ai was stunned. Will his father-in-law ever talk to him in this tone? !
Actually, Guan Yu didn't want to either.
Although Guan Yu has always looked down upon his son-in-law, Guan Yu must admit that among the Guan family, the one who is truly strategic, wise, and good at using soldiers is his son-in-law.
If Guan Ping really had the qualifications to be a commander, then Guan Yu wouldn't keep him by his side forever.
Among the three juniors in Xinye back then, Guan Ping's commanding ability was actually the lowest, not even comparable to Kou Feng, let alone Zhang Yuanchang, who had become the mainstay of the Han Dynasty.
After all, Kou Feng still has the ability to command tens of thousands of people in battle. Although in essence Kou Feng is closer to a general who charges into battle rather than a commander who leads troops in battle, but after these years of experience, Kou Feng can command 20,000 to 30,000 people. Fighting is no problem at all.
But Guan Ping can't do it, he doesn't have the ability, and he doesn't have the opportunity to practice.
As a temporary commander, with the help of others, Guan Ping might be able to barely fulfill the duty of commander of the army, but in Guan Yu's mind, he could not lead the army alone.
Therefore, Guan Yu had no choice. In order to prevent his eldest son from ruining national affairs, he had to explain to Deng Ai in this way and let Deng Ai take more responsibilities.
Guan Yu really didn't like Deng Ai, his son-in-law. He felt that even his own daughter might not be able to defeat him based on his martial arts skills. But when it comes to his ability to lead troops in combat, if his three children are tied together, they are probably no match for him. .
As expected, Zhang Yuanchang’s followers still have their own tricks.
As for Guan Xing, there is no need to worry. He has always positioned himself as a civilian official in the military and always likes to handle some military clerical work. There is no need to worry about this boy doing bad things.
However, this worry-free method only made Guan Yu feel even worse.
To be honest, Guan Xing is the one with the best martial arts talent among Guan Yu's three children. Not only is his physical fitness similar to Guan Yu, but most importantly, this kid's martial arts talent is far better than Guan Ping.
This is Miaozi, a very good military commander, but this guy just likes to study literature.
Well, studying literature is not a bad thing. Read more "Spring and Autumn" and read more military books. After all, it is a good thing to be both civilized and military. But what classics does this kid have to discuss with Ma Liang, Xi Hong, and Wang Ji? !
Apart from being able to show off to others, what is the use of learning this thing in this troubled world? !
Really, compared to Guan Ping, the eldest son, and the eldest daughter who always likes to dress up as men, this second son is Guan Yu's least worried son.
But now, the second son and a son-in-law are finally on their own path. Guan Yu doesn't know what kind of mood he has in sending these two and a half sons away from Xiangyang City.
Guan Yu still felt a little uneasy and melancholy in his heart, but his brother-in-law, eldest brother-in-law, and second brother-in-law over there didn't feel melancholy at all. Instead, they were all a little excited.
This is the first time that Guan Ping has truly led the army alone, and Deng Ai and Guan Xing have also truly participated in this war on their own.
There is no father or father-in-law who has a straight face all day long, and there are no military advisor Xu, Governor Wang and other superiors around. It is quite refreshing to feel that everything is decided by the three brothers.
But what's new is what's new, and the three of them have no intention of messing up.
Guan Ping is already forty-two this year. Guan Xing and Deng Ai are younger, but they are still in their early thirties. They are no longer ignorant boys who just started to lead the army. The average time of the three of them in the army is about ten years. .
Therefore, although this experience was still relatively new, there was no trouble as we marched all the way out.
The three men led the army and arrived at Xinye first. They had some exchanges with Xinye guard Zhou Tai and gained some information about Wancheng and Deng County.
After learning that Sima Yi had never sent troops to occupy Deng County despite occasional harassment, the three of them had some doubts.
At that time, Zhang Liao established three defensive lines in front of Wancheng, the most important of which was the Deng County defensive line. Zhang Liao was eventually killed here.
With a ready-made defense line, Sima Yi did not occupy it first after the Jingzhou army retreated, but chose to re-establish a defense line forty miles away from Deng County. What did Sima Yi think? !
But no matter what, Deng County is a good advance base, and it has not been attacked by many Wei troops in recent years. If Sima Yi does not occupy this place, Guan Ping has no reason not to occupy it.
Let’s go to Deng County first! ! !
(End of chapter)
