The failure of the Third Northern Expedition was a painful lesson for the Chu State, and the generals in the army were even more fiercely holding their breath, they had always had an advantage in the war, but in the end they had to accept the bitter consequences of defeat, which was an extremely painful thing for the generals.

It's just that with the formation of the Chu State, the clear division of labor, the complete system, and the orderly operation, Wang Xu and the ministers have relaxed and have more leisure time.

Wang Xu, who has been fighting for half his life, has really done a lot of work to fulfill his filial piety, accompany his wife and concubine at home, and enjoy the sweet fruits of years of struggle.

In the autumn of 217 AD, the commanders of the expeditionary force, Li Yan and Deng Zhi, sent back the good news that with the full assistance of the Shan State and the Metropolitan Protectorate, the coalition forces had gradually eliminated the main military force of the Huren in more than a year, and had fully controlled the alliance of small states of the Huren, asking how to deal with it. At the same time, people have been sent back to send back a huge amount of wealth and all kinds of special products, but because the quantity is so large, it takes a long time to transport.

Wang Xu was very happy when he got the news, and ordered to add 200 households to Li Yan and Deng Zhi's food estates, and immediately convened Shangshutai to discuss how to deal with the affairs of the south. Under the strong suggestion of Situ Tianfeng and Sikong Fuzhu, Shang Shutai agreed that Li Yan and Deng Zhi would divide part of the land of the Pyu people into the Shan State according to the actual situation, and then assist the subjugated Pyu people to form a unified Pyu State and set up the capital of the Pyu State.

Famous ministers Lu Yi and Lu Jiyang were promoted to the left capital of the country of Pi, and Zhao Rongba, the general of the western army of the border army, was promoted to the right capital of the country and was ordered to form the capital of the country of Bi.

Before Lu Yi left, Wang Xu also personally sent him off, and repeatedly instructed him to advance the control of the Bi State to the coast. And connect with the two counties of Ninan and Jiuzhen in the south of Jiaozhou as soon as possible. And then slowly govern and gradually reform. However, if you need help, you can play directly to him.

From this moment on, the territory controlled by the Chu State extended to the south to the coast, accelerating the integration of ethnic groups and the development of mankind, spanning nearly a thousand years, so that countless years later, the Taizu Emperor of the Great Chu Dynasty was also called the Holy Emperor by the people of those regions to show respect.

The problems of the South were gradually resolved. But it aroused Wang Xu's thoughts about Liu Min and Pan Jun, since the two of them went to the Western Regions, there has been no news for several years, he also sent Yang Aruo to find it before the Northern Expedition last year, but until now, even Yang Aruo has not returned.

Yang Aruo is a good son, good at singing and dancing, excellent in martial arts, a famous hero in the world, and a well-known chivalrous man in history. A few years ago, he was enveloped by Shan Huai, and then he was subdued by Xiang Tian. As a result, he became the leader of the Tiger Group of the Dragon and Tiger Guard, and he was called the three major guards of the Chu Palace, together with Han Long, the leader of the Dragon Group, and Wang Yueying, the leader of the Phoenix Group.

This incident has somewhat become a small heart problem for Wang Xu, Xiang Tian once said that he would go to the Western Regions in person to find out what happened, but after Wang Xu thought about it again, he still flatly refused, he was really worried that Xiang Tian would not be able to come back even if he went.

In the summer of 218 AD, the state of Chu once again assembled a large army to prepare for the fourth northern expedition, with the goal of advancing directly north of the Yellow River. For this strategy, the Xuanwu Corps, the Northern Corps, the Eastern Corps, and the Northern Army of the Frontier Army all made full preparations for several months.

Wei also made strict arrangements for this purpose, deploying heavy troops in the areas east and north of the Yellow River, ready to deal with the crisis at any time. Wu gathered heavy troops around Runan and Yuzhang, preparing to give Chu a heavy blow from the rear after the Chu expedition to relieve the pressure on Wei.

But the night before Wang Xu was about to send troops, Zuo Shangshu ordered Guo Jia to suddenly enter the palace overnight to face the saint, and only said a word.

"Lord, let's cut Wu! Now is the best time to cut Wu! ”

After being silent for a quarter of an hour, Wang Xu also didn't talk nonsense, just nodded.

"Okay, Vat Wu!"

The next day, Wang Xu ascended the altar to worship the sky, and the general sent troops.

When the order was given, all the civil and military forces of the Chu State present were a little stunned, the original Northern Expedition turned into a Southern Expedition, and they almost thought that they had heard it wrong.

But the military order is like a mountain, how not to understand, it still has to be implemented, and the five-way army that has been planned has become a three-way army, and rushes to Yuzhang.

All the way, with Zhou Zhi, the general of the town army, as the commander, entered Yuzhang, and entered Poyang in the east, with the goal of continuing to advance to the Wu capital Jianye and suppressing the main force of Wu.

One route was led by the general Gao Shun, who entered Yuzhang, attacked Linchuan in the southeast, avoided the main force along the Yangtze River of Wu, detoured to Jian'an, Huiji and other counties, and then marched north to Jianye, as the main force to destroy Wu, and at the same time protect the flank of Zhou Zhibu.

The last road was led by the hussar general Zhao Yun, entered Yuzhang, attacked Luling in the south, and responded to the attack of Huang Quan and Wu Ban led by the Jiaozhou army, and the two armies worked together to clear the southern part of Wu, and assisted Gao Shun to march as a mobile force to adapt to the situation.

Guo Jia sat in Yuzhang and served as the chief of the army, responsible for the overall planning of the three-way army, and Pang Tong, Xu Shu and others followed the army as military advisors.

As for Wang Xu, who was originally going to conquer in person, he couldn't go, because Wu was different from Wei, Wu was weak, and the attack was far less powerful than Wei, and the terrain on the southern border was more favorable for defense.

On the contrary, the situation in the north was complicated, and the Wei state was also much stronger, and when the main forces of the Chu state were concentrated in the south, the north was under great pressure, and even more so in places such as Nanyang in the center. Zhuge Liang must personally go to Bingzhou to sit in the town, Tian Feng and Fu Zhu must also send one person to Yongzhou to assist, and Nanyang also needs to send high-level officials to assist.

In this way, the top level of the Chu State can be said to be halfway gone, and the rest of the affairs will become onerous, and there will be a lack of decisives.

The current Chu State has a vast territory, countless major affairs, and a clear internal power differentiation, if Wang Xu goes again, if he encounters a sudden major accident, there will definitely be a chaotic situation in the top level of Xiangyang, so he can only stay.

Xiangyang sent troops very quickly, and when Wei and Wu received the news from the fast horses, the vanguard troops of the three armies had arrived in Yuzhang respectively. This somewhat caught the two countries off guard, as they both amassed heavy forces on the border and did not fear a surprise attack, but the joint deployment between the two countries was broken, and it would take a long time to re-coordinate the layout.

Wu was forced by the situation to quickly adjust their tactical planning, while Wei lamented that their main military forces were still concentrated in the far north of the Yellow River, and it was impossible for the two armies to fight together. After Cao Cao convened his ministers to discuss, he finally decided to take advantage of the opportunity of Chu's military forces to concentrate in the south, and take the opportunity to attack the annexed states west of the Yellow River and the land of Yongzhou.

This is not only the most beneficial strategy for them, but also the greatest support they can give to Wu in the current situation.

The state of Chu has three army corps in the north, Xuanwu, north and east, plus the northern army that can be drawn, the total is only 300,000, and there is a long defensive line, but the state of Wei has exhausted its strength, gathered 500,000 or 600,000 main forces, and marched in seven routes, which caused huge pressure on the state of Chu.

Before Zhuge Liang arrived in Bingzhou, the Pingbei general Gan Ning, the Pingdong general Ju Yi, and the Zhengbei general Huang Zhong successively sent a report to Zhang Liao, the general of the chariot and cavalry, and Wei Yan, the general of the expedition to the west, who were still in Liangzhou, hoping that the White Tiger Army would rush to the border in the shortest possible time to replenish the troops.

At the same time, the three also reported the matter to Xiangyang.

This is the hidden danger of the northern border of the Chu State, there are too many roads, the terrain extends in all directions, and when fighting in a group, the defensive range is very large.

If it is in the south, even if there is a million troops, if you can't cross the Yangtze River, it will be in vain, tens of thousands of people control the important river crossing channel, there can also be a way to resist, the battle of Chibi in history is to take advantage of the special terrain of the south, to win more with less.

The border of Chu in the south is also just right, relying on the mountains, there are so many places that can really be used for the army, forming a natural barrier, as long as the danger is contained, the advantage of troops is difficult to highlight, and the defense area is not so broad.

For so many years, the state of Chu has always ranked the weaker state of Wu behind the state of Wei, in addition to the fact that the state of Wei is more threatening than the state of Wu, and more importantly, the south can temporarily block the state of Wu with a small number of troops, while the border situation in the north is impossible, not only requires a large number of troops, but also has a great burden and is more dangerous.

Zhang Liao, the general of the chariot cavalry, received the letter and quickly made a judgment, believing that if he waited for the order from Xiangyang, the situation on the northern border would be dangerous, so he ignored the explicit stipulation that the generals did not have the right to transfer troops, and decisively led the Xuanwu Army to the east with Wei Yan, the general of the expedition to the west.

When Wang Xu got the news, Zhang Liao, Wei Yan and others had already led the front to the front.

Regarding Zhang Liao and Wei Yan's unauthorized transfer of troops, he did not explicitly state whether it was right or wrong, but downplayed it as if he had forgotten.

Soon after, he quickly ordered Zhang Nan and He Yi, the generals of the Western Army of the Border Guards, to order them to draw half of the current Western Army out and rush to the northern battlefield as soon as possible. On the other hand, he also once again ordered the northern soldiers to be sure to delay the main force, not to fight hard with the main force of the Wei State, and if necessary, to give up the land occupied by the Chu State.

Compared with the severity of the northern battlefield, the southern battlefield is much easier, although Wu has many good generals, but after all, the strength is weak, and there is no advantage to Chu in terms of geographical conditions, Chu State, which controls Yuzhang, can completely attack the hinterland of Wu State, and the army also occupies an absolute advantage.

The naval army led by Lu Xun has strong combat power, and the performance of various warships surpasses that of Wu State by several grades, and it has complete control, suppressing Zhou Yu to the death, and it is extremely difficult for Wu Guo's naval army to barely maneuver under the command of Zhou Yu, and it is impossible to cope with the main battlefield at all.

Although Zhou Zhi's eastward army was intercepted by Wu's elite soldiers and was difficult to survive, it successfully contained a large number of Wu's troops. Wu Guo also has no choice, although they know the purpose of the Chu army, but if they relax this way, then once it is broken, Zhou Zhi can directly kill Jianye.

Gao Shun's advance in the middle can be described as slow, but gradual, Wu is limited by troops, it is difficult to do everything, more than ten counties have been conquered one after another, and they are forced to retreat again and again. The entire battlefield situation was completely supported by good generals such as Tai Shici, Zhu Huan, and Dong Xi.

The smoothest is Zhao Yun's South Road Army, which broke through Luling in less than a month, and successfully joined the Jiaozhou Army, and the main force continued to advance towards Jianye, while the Jiaozhou Army was responsible for cleaning up the remnants of Wu State, controlling the county towns, and relieving the worries of the three-way army. (To be continued......)