Chapter 417: 417
Chapter 417 – Xiangyang"s Hidden Strategists – Part One
Sun Jian did not miss telling his sons about Tong and Cao Cao"s agreement .
Sun Ce: "Why the h.e.l.l is Zhang Tong helping Cao Cao!? They"re supposed to fight each other! Is he a r.e.t.a.r.d? He should have formed a distant ally and attack the neighbors . "
Zhou Yu: "From the details of the trade, Cao Cao"s loss is huge . Jibei will be Zhang Tong"s foothold to invade the central plain . I think this move is logical . "
Sun Jian: "Cao Cao also tried to trade the Imperial Seal"s info to get Jibei back, but Zhang Tong refused . "
Zhou Yu: "I think Cao Cao made a mistake for offering Jibei as collateral before he offered the info to salvage the situation . I believe Cao Cao somehow already got the hands on the jade seal, but he didn"t want to lose it . "
Sun Fang: "Let"s save your a.n.a.lysis for now . We know that Cao Cao is gathering funds, and my Guangling is going to get hit . Can you guys help me?"
Zhou Yu: "Impossible . We haven"t taken Yuzheng and Chaisang yet . You will have to withstand their attack with your immortal skills . "
Sun Fang: "For some reason, I think you"re overworking me . I have to gather lifespans to pay for the clan leader transfer fee, too, remember? I don"t have enough time to run the commandery!"
Zhou Yu: "Bofu and I will collect the lifespans in your stead . Concentrate on protecting and developing Guangling . "
Sun Fang: "Fine . "
Despite the bad news, Zhou Yu disregarded Cao Cao"s movement and focused on conquering Jiangdong .
It took time to use the 300,000 gold and 300,000 provision that Cao Cao obtained from Ye . Cao Cao"s forces had to conscript troops, train them, and gear them with proper weaponry . Also, his empire"s economy was weak, which required time and investment to strengthen their domestic growth .
In summary, Cao Cao would not be able to attack Guangling this year . They had a bit more time to digest the southeast province and prepare for the future war .
Zhou Yu: "By the way, senior Sun, do you have the accurate intel about Zhang Tong"s total forces?"
Sun Jian: "I have, but you don"t wanna know . "
Zhou Yu: "Try me . "
Sun Jian: "Over 500,000 . Each year, they produce 30,000 to 50,000 soldiers from Julu and Ye . Then, they send these men to guard other commanderies . "
Zhou Yu: "That"s lower than what I estimated . I thought he would have conscripted about 100,000 to 200,000 people a year . "
Sun Jian: "Then, your estimation might be accurate . Zhang Tong never conscripts soldiers . All of his new soldiers were volunteers that were willing to pay to get into the military academy . None of them are farmer militias without training . "
Sun Ce"s heart sunk when he learned about the difference in their military power . Right now, they only had about 20,000 elites and 10,000 conscripted militias .
Each year, Tong produced at least 30,000 elites, which could overwhelm their army with ease .
Sun Ce turned toward his sworn brother, "Do we even have a chance?"
Zhou Yu chuckled, "Number isn"t everything . Zhang Tong may have a million elites when we finish reinforcing our foundation, but he can"t possibly send everybody . At best, he can just send two legions with 200,000 soldiers at us . Even if he has men, I don"t believe that he can produce enough weaponry to support his troops . "
"But 30,000 can"t beat 200,000!"
"Who said anything that we will get stuck at 30,000 men forever? By that time, we should have about 100,000 to 150,000 soldiers to defend the Yangtze River . Also …"
Zhou Yu glanced at the west, looking at the direction of Xiangyang .
"I know a few monsters that can help us . "
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Hongnong City
The banners on top of Hongnong city walls were not [Yuan] but [Liu] and [Cao] .
Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei surrendered to Cao Cao last year, and they were entrusted with a task, protecting the city from the western Xiongnu .
As for the former governor, Yuan Yin was captured and killed by Zhang Fei . Although the governor pledged for his life and told them that he never mistreated them, Zhang Fei killed him anyway .
Liu Bei also witnessed the execution . When he saw Yuan Yin"s head rolling on the ground, he found it ironic .
Had it been the alternate world in his dream, he would have cried or stopped Zhang Fei from killing the kind governor . However, the experience from Liu Ping"s fragmented memories taught him that these people were preys that should be devoured whenever they had a chance .
Moreover, he had the experience of himself in another world, who was once the Shu Han emperor .
Liu Bei combined his visions from both worlds together, which strengthened his mentality and the thickness of his face . Now, he would not shy away from killing his benefactors for his own gain .
When Guan Yu returned and found out that the kind Yuan Yin was dead, he grimaced, "Is this even necessary? We could have spared him and turn him into our ally . "
Liu Bei snorted, "He"s a relative to the traitor Yuan . For the sake of our Han Dynasty, all nine generations of the Yuan has to be killed . No exception!"
"He was our benefactor! He"s also an honest governor! Just because he"s a relative of a bad guy, why did you have to kill him!?"
Guan Yu did not like this version of Liu Bei . Although his loyalty toward his sworn brother did not change, he did not approve of Liu Bei"s surviving method .
"I did what I could to allow us to fight again . You should have dreamed about the alternate world without the immortals, right? We were so closed to unify the country, but we messed up because of the Sun Clan . "
Liu Bei had not obtained any immortal cultivation manual yet, as Zhang Fei and Guan Yu did not know how they could transfer their lifespans to Liu Bei or contact Lilim . However, Liu Bei had fragments of Liu Ping"s soul, which enabled him to recall the other timeline"s memories .
"I do, but those times are different! We don"t have to be that ruthless to survive this period . Our real enemy should be the Xiongnu right now since they are rampaging the western regions . We don"t have to kill any more Han people!"
"Wrong . Because it"s of our country"s fragile foundation, we have to kill these hypocrites first before we can face the Xiongnu . Unless we are unified under one banner, we won"t stand a chance . "
"We"re weakening them . We"re doing the opposite!"
"No, we"re cleaning the country from the sc.u.ms . "
"…"
Guan Yu saddened . He did not like his brother"s new att.i.tude toward people .
"You"ve changed, Xuande . "
"I"m always me . "
Liu Bei glanced toward the south, where Xiangyang located .
"My letter should have reached Kongming . Do I need to visit him three times again?"
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Xiangyang"s outskirt, a bamboo courtyard on a mountain
As usual, Sima Hui taught the kids about the worldly affair, and he added the stories of Sun Fang and Sun Ce, who were expanding their forces in Jiangdong .
Zhuge Liang, Xu Shu, and Pang Tong were the regular listeners, who never missed the stories . Every time that Sima Hui finished telling them about the world news, they always roleplayed, playing a game that they were warlords .
Sima Hui finished his stories, "Now that the Xiongnu took Yi Province . What do you think about Liu Biao? Can he handle to invasion from the west?"
Pang Tong grimaced, "They have no chance! From what we know, Chanyu Khan is a mad man . He disregards his economy and his internal management . As long as Liu Biao can stop them in Yiling and Fangling County, the Xiongnu"s empire will collapse from the inside . "
Xu Shu nodded, "True . But let"s not forget that Chanyu Khan is rumored to be an immortal . Even Zhang Tong failed to kill him in the Battle at Hulao Gate . If he leads his men and concentrates on one front instead of invading Xiangyang and Jiangling at the same time, I don"t think Liu Biao can last a year . "
Pang Tong"s mouth curved upward, "You"re pessimistic, Yuanzi . War can"t be won by only one man . I don"t think this Chanyu Khan is that invincible on a battlefield . His forces will collapse from the low morale and the lack of supplies!"
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In history, Xu Shu was the one who recommended Zhuge Liang to Liu Bei . He accompanied Liu Bei in the late 200s when the latter sought shelter with Liu Biao in Xinye . As Xu Shu traveled the land and he was a scholar with vast knowledge, Liu Bei recruited him as his advisor .
After Liu Biao pa.s.sed away, Liu Cong, the successor of Liu Biao, surrendered to Cao Cao . Liu Bei had to flee from Xinye toward Xiangyang along with all of his followers . Xu Shu was one of them .
Unfortunately, Cao Cao sent a battalion to chase after Liu Bei and captured Xu Shu"s mother . As a filial son, Xu Shu chose his mother over Liu Bei . He bid Liu Bei farewell and joined forces with Cao Cao .
Under Cao Cao"s banners, Xu Shu did not have significant roles . He became a clerk, which served as a minor official .
In the 14th-century novel version, at the Battle of Changban, Xu Shu devised a strategy, using Zhao Yun to route Cao Ren Army . When Cao Cao learned about Liu Bei"s strategist, he used Xu Shu"s mother as a hostage to draw the strategist to his side .
The news reached Xu Shu that his mother was sick . Xu Shu regretted and believed that it was his fault that he left his mother behind, and he could not use his talent to the fullest if he stayed with Liu Bei . Xu Shu told Liu Bei that he had to care for his mother and left his forces .
When Xu Shu joined Cao Cao and found that his mother was not sick, he lamented in his foolishness . Afterward, he stopped playing any role in Cao Cao"s forces, refusing to use his talents .
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This world, Xu Shu was still a wandering scholar, who had befriended the two legendary teens, the fledgling phoenix and the hidden dragon, Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang .
As Xu Shu was once a swordsman before he became a scholar, he had seen many cruel things in this world, which corrupted his thought . Every time that he reviewed a strategy or a tactic, he always thought about the worse-case-scenario first .
In other words, Xu Shu had Murphy"s Law as his core principle, which resulted in pessimistic strategies and opinions .
"Because Chanyu Khan is a madman, he won"t wage wars using standard tactics . Also, in the past records, he always overwhelmed his enemies with his elites . "
"Overwhelm? If I remember correctly, Liu Yan killed the Xiongnu men more than they killed his . Yet, Liu Yan lost . His elites are elites, but they are mobs! They can"t possibly train 200,000 elites in less than a year, right?"
"Let"s recount . Khan lost about 100,000 to 200,000 men in the Battle of Hulao Gate and Luoyang . Then, he lost another 200,000 in the Battle of Chengdu against Yan Yan, Zhang Ren, and Liu Yan . Now, the merchants from Yi Province are telling us that they still have at least 300,000 elites . Do you think this is normal?"
Pang Tong frowned, "Wait, they have that many soldiers? I thought Zhang Tong has the most soldiers among all lords . "
"Don"t you get it? The Xiongnu Army is something that defies all logic . Had Zhang Tong or Cao Cao been their leader, they would have scattered these 700,000 men into several legions and battalions . Then, they would have attacked several locations at once . Instead, Khan gathered his men into a large army and attack, which is also odd in my point of view . Judging from Khan"s characteristic, if he really has that 700,000 men from the beginning, he should have used everyone at the Battle of Hulao Gate . "
"Maybe he has a bit of conservative trait? Like, he thought that 200,000 men should be enough to attack the central plain?"
"No . If Khan had that army from the very beginning, Zhang Tong, Yuan Shao, and Cao Cao wouldn"t have played that mind game and broke the alliance midway . Their intelligence agencies are more advanced than us, so they should know about the Xiongnu"s overall strength . If they really have almost a million men, I don"t think those overlords would have fought each other prematurely . "
"…"
Pang Tong pondered . Everything that Xu Shu said made sense, but they lacked a few pieces of the puzzle . He turned toward the other friend, who had yet to speak .
"What do you think, Kongming?"