My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Chapter 41: Sun Quan is going to be killed, so let’s kill Cao Cao quickly!
Lu Su was shocked and hesitated to speak.

Sun Quan waved his hand and smiled generously:
"Zi Jing, I have a heart-to-heart talk with you, our king and his subjects. We can talk about anything. If you have any opinions, please feel free to share them."

After hearing these words, Lu Su felt reassured.

So he bowed and said bluntly:
"Huainan is similar to Xiangfan. Seizing it will open up the road to the north and provide us with an opportunity to compete for the Central Plains. Huainan is now empty, so it would be a good idea for you to seize the opportunity and seize it. However..."

Changing the subject, Lu Su said seriously:
"Su believes that although Li Dian cannot be called a famous general, he is definitely not mediocre. He is extremely calm and experienced in commanding troops, and he has always won the hearts of the soldiers."

"As for Zhang Liao, he was an old subordinate of Lü Bu. He was skilled in commanding cavalry and was valiant and fierce. Cao Cao had also suffered at his hands in the past."

"Such a person is definitely not comparable to an ordinary man. My lord, you must never underestimate him."

Seeing that Sun Quan's words seemed to underestimate the enemy, Lu Su naturally had to give him timely advice and reminders.

"I've taken note of Zijing's reminder."

Sun Quan first agreed sincerely, then smiled confidently:
"However, no matter how calm and experienced Li Dian is, his army only has over 5,000 men. And no matter how good Zhang Liao is at commanding cavalry, the maximum number of cavalry available in Hefei is only 800."

"With only 5,000 infantry and 800 cavalry, what kind of trouble can they cause? They are just hiding in the city and not coming out."

After saying this, Sun Quan came to the map and pointed:
"Hefei is built on the water, and our Jiangdong navy is invincible. Our army has every advantage."

"I intend to personally lead an army of 40,000, march north from Ruxukou, pass through Chaohu Lake and enter Feishui, and land at Xiaoyaojin, west of Hefei City."

"Generals Zhang and Li have few soldiers and will retreat. Our army will then calmly land, encircle Hefei, and then attack from all sides."

"I have sent spies to investigate Hefei's defenses. The wall along the east gate is quite old..."

Sun Quan described the strategy of attacking Hefei in detail and in a torrent of words.

Sun Quan even took into account details such as how many steps away the crossbowmen should be from the city of Hefei when shooting.

Even a blind man could see that the young lord of Jiangdong had done his homework beforehand and couldn't wait to show his skills.

The more Sun Quan spoke, the more excited and confident he became, but Lu Su's frown deepened.

"Zi Jing, what do you think of my plan to capture Hefei?"

Sun Quan looked at Lu Su expectantly, obviously hoping for a positive response from Lu Su.

After Lu Su hesitated for a moment, he bowed and said:
"My lord, your strategy for capturing Hefei is truly ingenious and thorough. I suggest you recall Gongjin and lead the troops north. Following your strategy, you will surely capture Hefei in one battle."

Sun Quan frowned, and the expectation on his face turned into disappointment.

I worked on this masterpiece for several nights and was waiting for you to praise it highly, but instead you advised me to let Zhou Yu attack Hefei?
"Gongjin has been a veteran of battles for a long time. Since he followed General Bofu, he has fought dozens of battles for the Sun family, both large and small, and he has been undefeated in every battle."

"Su believes that if Gongjin leads the troops north to expand the territory for the lord, and the lord stays in Moling to allocate food and fodder to stabilize Jiangdong, Hefei will surely be captured."

Lu Su listed a lot of advantages of Zhou Yu's command of troops.

How could Sun Quan not hear the hidden meaning in Lu Su's words?

It was simply a subtle hint that he lacked experience in leading troops in battle and that it would be better not to try to be too aggressive.

It is better to leave the professional matter of fighting a war to professionals like Zhou Yu. As a lord who comes from a civil service background, you should stay in the rear and be the man behind Zhou Yu.

"Zi Jing, what you said is indeed quite reasonable."

"But in this era of great contention, whether it was Cao Cao or Liu Bei, who didn't remain in their armor and saddles, personally participating in every battle?"

"Zijing, we've been open and honest with each other, so you should understand me."

Sun Quan tactfully expressed his difficulties, with a look of disappointment mixed with a bit of helplessness.

Lu Su suddenly realized.

When the world is at peace, the king can sit in the capital and remotely command his generals to fight in all directions.

But the world is in chaos, and whoever has soldiers can become king and dominate.

As the lord, you cannot fight and have never led an army. You have no outstanding military achievements and no prestige among the soldiers. Do you still expect to keep your position as lord?

As Sun Ce's henchman, Sun Quan had spent years commanding the rear for Sun Ce. While his experience in governance had nearly reached the maximum level, his experience in commanding troops had yet to reach the beginner level. After ascending to power, Sun Quan promoted many of his trusted lieutenants to generals, but the Jiangdong army was still ruled by powerful figures like Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu.

Sun Quan wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to personally lead the troops to capture Hefei in order to gain military merits and establish his prestige in the army.

"Su is stupid and fails to understand the lord's difficulties."

Lu Su sighed softly, a look of guilt flashing across his face.

After weighing the pros and cons again and again, the hesitation in Lu Su's eyes faded, and he bowed and said:

"In that case, I agree that you should lead the army to capture Hefei. However, I urge you not to underestimate the enemy, especially Zhang Liao. You must be cautious in all military operations."

After getting Lu Su's approval, Sun Quan breathed a sigh of relief and his expression turned from gloomy to bright.

"Don't worry, Zijing. I'm well-versed in the art of war. How could I not understand the principle that an arrogant army will be defeated?"

Sun Quan regained his confidence and said with a smile:
"Besides, our army is ten times larger than the enemy in this battle. I only need to land at Xiaoyaojin according to the plan, and the army will calmly besiege the city and attack fiercely. What accidents can happen?"

Lu Su thought about it over and over again, but could not think of any flaws in Sun Quan's tactics for capturing Hefei.

Then his frown finally relaxed, and he smiled and said:
"Then Su wishes the lord a victory in this battle, and a quick success, so that the world can witness the military might of our Lord of Jiangdong!"

Sun Quan stroked his purple beard and laughed heartily.

...

Xiangyang, the provincial capital.

"My lord, the spies from Chaisang and Jiangdong have sent back news."

"Seventy percent of the troops stationed in Chaisang have withdrawn. Jiangdong is also mobilizing troops, money, and food to Ruxukou and stationing warships."

"Various intelligence reports indicate that Sun Quan will gather over 40,000 troops and personally lead an attack on Hefei!"

Yi Ji rushed into the hall excitedly, holding high the information written on the silk book.

Everyone who was looking at the map and discussing the matter was immediately surprised.

Liu Bei's eyes lit up, and he took the silk book presented by Yi Ji and couldn't wait to open it and take a closer look.

"Just as Bowen predicted, Sun Zhongmou is indeed going to personally lead the expedition to Hefei. Jiangxia is safe!"

Liu Bei was overjoyed and looked at Xiao He with an admiring smile.

Everyone passed the silk book around and read it. They were all delighted and excited, and the whole hall was in an uproar.

"Brother Bowen's brilliant foresight has truly taught me another lesson. As expected, Brother Bowen has fully grasped the thoughts of that girl with blue eyes."

Xu Shu was impressed and bowed slightly to Xiao He.

"You're being too kind. I just made a random guess. I didn't expect to be so lucky."

Xiao He laughed at himself embarrassedly and changed the subject:
"Now that the threat from Xiakou has been temporarily lifted, my lord should quickly request that Prince Liu Qi dispatch his troops north so that he can quickly implement Yuan Zhi's strategy and use Yu Jin to plot against Cao Cao."

"After all, it's been several days since Yuan Zhi returned. If we keep holding Yu Jin captive, Cao Cao might become suspicious."

Liu Bei agreed with this and immediately issued an order to proceed according to the original plan.

The plan has been decided.

Guan Yu, however, studied the silk book in his hand and sighed softly:
"Sun Quan's army of 40,000 is attacking Hefei, and Wenyuan only has 5,000 soldiers. I'm afraid this battle is going to be disastrous."

Guan Yu and Zhang Liao had a close friendship. Although they served different masters, Guan Yu could not help but feel worried when he saw Zhang Liao was in danger.

Xiao He didn't think much about it and just smiled and said:
"General Guan, you're worrying too much. The one who's most in danger is probably Sun Quan. He's going to give credit to Zhang Liao."

Guan Yu was stunned.

(End of this chapter)