Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

"The battle situation should be divided into three parts!"

Sun Quan forcefully tapped the map on the location of Jiangling, seemingly a little too hard, and coughed a few times in the process.

The three men looked at him with concern. Sun Quan waved his hand to indicate that there was no problem and continued, "Ziyu (Zhuge Jin) is stationed in Jiangling, overseeing the battles from Xiling to Puqi. There are nearly 38,000 troops along the river here, about 25,000 in Jiangling, about 8,000 in Xiling under Bu Zhi, and about 5,000 troops in Baqiu, Puqi and other places."

"According to Ziyu, the Wei army reached the north of Jiangling on the 22nd, and initial observations suggest their strength is over 30,000. They are defending the city..."

The Chamberlain Shi Yi added from the side: "Jiangling is a city with high walls and deep moats on the north and south sides, making it extremely difficult to break through. The number of defenders there should be calculated as one to three. There are 25,000 soldiers around Jiangling, which means they should be able to withstand about 70,000 Wei troops."

“That’s not how it works,” Hu Zong retorted from the side. “I’m very familiar with the terrain of Jiangling. The General is overseeing 25,000 troops there. Too many troops in the city would be useless; 10,000 on each side would be enough. The remaining 15,000 must be stationed outside the city to guard Jiangling Zhongzhou and the Hanjin Ferry for water transport.”

After a moment's thought, Shi Yi looked at Sun Quan with a slightly questioning gaze: "If that's the case, can Jiangling alone support 30,000 soldiers? Even if the rest are one against one, if the total number of Wei troops is less than 45,000, then there's no danger?"

Sun Quan sighed softly: "Warfare is not a matter of troop strength. It's probably around 40,000. I'll wait for more news from Ziyu before I can react. Ziyu is the governor of Jingzhou. He will handle the troop deployment to the southern counties of Jingzhou without my intervention."

"As for Xiling..." Sun Quan looked at Hu Zong: "Xiling is really too far away. The Infantry General is there, so I will not consider it further."

Xu Xiang, who had remained silent until now, reminded him: "Your Majesty, when Cao Zhen, Xiahou Shang, Zhang He and others attacked Jiangling, the siege lasted for more than half a year. I think it would be better to order Duke Lü Ding of Jiaozhou to send 10,000 Jiaozhou troops north to Changsha, in preparation for any eventuality."

Sun Quan pondered for a long time, then shook his head and objected, saying, "Jiaozhou only has 10,000 troops left. If they are all transferred away, the situation there will be no way to control it."

"Your subject is foolish and dull," Xu Xiang said, bowing his head slightly.

"It's alright," Sun Quan said softly.

Whether for the Wei Kingdom, the Wu Kingdom, or even their ally the Han Kingdom in Yizhou, Jiangling could be considered the fairest battlefield. After the Battle of Red Cliffs, Cao Ren and Cao Zixiao held off Zhou Yu and his forces there for half a year. The land eventually fell into Liu Bei's hands.

Guan Yu built a city here, and Mi Fang later opened it up. Zhu Ran defended the city here, and Cao Zhen, Xiahou Shang, Zhang He, and other generals attacked it here...

Over the course of thirty years, this was a rare strategic location that was familiar to all three families: Cao Cao, Sun Quan, and Liu Bei.

Although this was General Man Chong's first time leading an army to attack this area, the terrain and landscape were no secret to the Wei army. Moreover, Wen Qin had led an army to scout the area earlier in the year, making him even more aware of the latest situation.

"His Majesty."

"Your Majesty, minister..."

Shi Yi and Hu Zong spoke almost simultaneously, exchanged a glance, and Hu Zong gestured for Shi Yi to speak first.

Shi Yi looked at Sun Quan with a serious expression: "Your Majesty, this is wartime, and I am not saying anything discouraging or detrimental to the overall situation. However, the General has not won many military victories, and I am afraid... perhaps it would be better to transfer Zhu Chariot Cavalry back to that place?"

"We'll talk about it later." Sun Quan was clearly unwilling to discuss this topic. Choosing a general was a military issue, but it was also a political one. If Sun Quan were in Yangzhou, the only general he could trust completely was Zhuge Jin, and Quan Cong could also be considered one, but Sun Quan wanted to keep Quan Cong in Yangzhou, to command the army in front of him. "Yes." Shi Yi bowed.

At this moment, both Sun Quan and his minister Shi Yi were thinking of the same person. If only Lu Boyan hadn't surrendered to Wei! Over the years, although Sun Quan still harbored resentment towards Lu Xun from time to time, that resentment had gradually faded.

The law does not punish the masses. When the generals fled in panic with their troops and guards, none of them had time to take the unconscious Lu Xun with them. This is understandable.

After Hu Zong finished speaking, he also looked up at Sun Quan and said, "Your Majesty, the General said in the document that he has already informed Zhuge Liang in Chengdu about this matter."

"Your Majesty, I apologize for my boldness, but the Wei army is attacking from three directions, and if we include the army at Guangling, it should be four. Wu and Han are allies, bound to support each other. Shouldn't we request Zhuge Liang to send troops to our aid?"

“No,” Sun Quan said.

"How could this be?" Shi Yi said, raising an eyebrow.

These were both subconscious reactions from both of them.

Shi Yi retorted: "There is no precedent for ordering the Han state to send troops. Moreover, how can the territory of a nation allow troops from another country to pass through? Zhuge Liang is a very famous figure, but as the prime minister of the Han state, he has been waging war against the Wei state in Yong and Liang for many years, yet he has not gained an inch of land and has returned empty-handed many times. If this man leads troops here, the situation in Jingzhou will probably be even worse!"

"Furthermore, the General and Zhuge Liang are siblings born of the same mother. If they are of the same blood, what then?"

"I trust Ziyu as I trust myself." Sun Quan looked directly at Shi Yi: "Do not say such things again."

Seeing that Sun Quan didn't even comment on his suggestion to ask the Han Kingdom for help, Hu Zong sighed inwardly and remained silent.

In Hu Zong's view, there is no such thing as not allowing foreign troops to enter one's own territory. If Wu is in danger, then one should enter without hesitation! However... this does not seem to work in Wu at the moment.

Having been locked in a stalemate with Wei at Guangling for over two months, and with three attacks arriving on the same day, Sun Quan and his three ministers had reached a consensus: Wei's calculations indicated a much larger scheme. Therefore, Hu Zong also acknowledged the urgency of the situation and the need for reinforcements.

If the Han state were to come to their aid, Xiling, also known as Yiling by the Han state, would be the first place to be hit. More than ten years ago, Liu Bei suffered a defeat there and subsequently died in Baidi City upstream. Although the alliance between Wu and Han has become increasingly solid in recent years, Sun Quan still has reason to believe that if Zhuge Liang were to lead his army there, regardless of whether or not they were to attack Wei, Xiling would be absolutely irretrievable.

The foundation of trust between Han and Wu was far too weak; Sun Quan and Shi Yi's first thought was to use the pretext of "borrowing a path to conquer Guo"...

Of course, if the Han state were to seek help in a time of crisis, and Sun Quan sent troops to Ba Commandery, he would not return it to the Han state.

Similarly, interactions between countries are essentially driven by self-interest.

Sun Quan continued discussing military matters with the three men on his bed until midnight. Bu Lianshi occasionally peeked out, intending to tell Sun Quan that the imperial physician had advised him not to worry or overwork himself, but she knew that Wu was facing an enemy, and Sun Quan couldn't simply abandon the matter. Therefore, Bu Lianshi could only gradually suppress her anger, ordering someone outside to keep the already prepared food warm. (End of Chapter)