The Eastern Wu side is formulating the next battle plan, and the Jingzhou Army in Xiangyang is also conducting an emergency military meeting at this time.

There's no way, Guanzhong has already been fought like that, if Xiangyang doesn't make any moves to help Guanzhong relieve the pressure, then don't think about the Northern Expedition.

Therefore, Guan Yu was rare, dragging his already sick and weak body, and held a military meeting in his general's mansion.

The most important issue is whether to launch the Northern Expedition in advance and attack Wancheng in the north.

Now the war in Guanzhong is tight, once Guanzhong is lost, relying only on the Northern Expedition in one direction of the Jingzhou Army is not enough to change the general trend, let alone serve as the main attack, break through Wancheng, and go deep into the Central Plains.

Guan Yu really didn't have time.

In the past few years, Guan Yu has been like breaking into a ghost gate every winter, almost lying in bed and unable to move. If it weren't for the fact that there was still a trace of the Northern Expedition obsession supporting Guan Yu in his heart, maybe Guan Yu would not have been able to hold it out for a long time.

But the problem is that last winter, Guan Yu relied on his obsession and Zhang Fei's brotherhood to survive, and this year. Will you be able to make it through?!

In the original plan, after the autumn harvest, the Jingzhou army launched the Northern Expedition at the same time along the rhythm of the Northern Expedition in Guanzhong.

But now, Guanzhong has been violently attacked by Cao Wei, the right Fufeng has almost been lost, and the battle situation of the left Feng Yi is not optimistic, and the most important thing is that the defenders of Chang'an are seriously insufficient.

If there is a case, Guan Yu doesn't think that he still has a life to last until after next year's autumn harvest.

Therefore, although the Jingzhou Army was not fully prepared, and the various arrangements for grain, grass and ordnance were not yet in place, Guan Yu still insisted that the Northern Expedition must be launched in advance.

Now the Northern Expedition, taking advantage of the Battle of Guanzhong, dragged the main force of the Wei army in the hinterland of the Central Plains, and he may still have the possibility of victory.

Attacking Wancheng can somewhat help relieve the pressure in Guanzhong, and if Wancheng can be captured and the Central Plains passage can be opened, maybe the Wei army can be forced to retreat directly from Guanzhong and concentrate troops to defend Luoyang.

But once you continue to wait, wait for the news of the loss of Guanzhong, there will be no more.

At least for Guan Yu, there is no then.

Therefore, Guan Yu put forward his own idea, asking Wang Ji and Xu Shu to cooperate with him and immediately lead the troops to attack Wancheng.

But. Wang Ji didn't say anything first, and Xu Shu was the first to express his objections.

Wang Ji actually agreed with Guan Yu's idea, at this point in time, Wang Ji could not expect Guanzhong to have the strength to launch a counteroffensive and annihilate the Wei army in Kou Pass. Judging from the current information that Wang Ji has, it is already a fluke that Guanzhong can be defended.

Therefore, Wang Ji believes that when the matter is not completely irreversible, it is necessary to launch the Northern Expedition and win a chance to win.

But Xu Shu cautiously expressed his objections.

It is true that according to the battle report received now, the situation in Guanzhong is very unfavorable, and there is a possibility that the Wei army may come to Chang'an at any time. But based on this, it is considered that Guanzhong is difficult to protect, but it is also a bit hasty.

Don't forget, the battle report transmitted from Guanzhong to Xiangyang is information that is seriously lagging behind in timeliness, and everyone actually doesn't know what Guanzhong is like now.

But with Xu Shu's understanding of Zhuge Liang and Zhang Xi, the coping strategies of Guanzhong now do not reflect the ability of these two people at all.

Yes, Xu Shu admitted that this time the Wei army's plan to attack the east and the west was very clever, and the timing of the attack was also stuck at the key node of Guanzhong's preparation for the Northern Expedition.

However, the biggest problem in Guanzhong today is not the problem of insufficient troops, but the problem of unreasonable deployment of troops.

Zhuge Liang and Zhang Xi's own goal is to prepare for the Northern Expedition, since it is a Northern Expedition, it is definitely impossible to rely on the tens of thousands of county soldiers in Yongzhou alone, right?!

With the ability of Zhuge Liang and Zhang Xi, as long as they can hold on to the current situation for a period of time, and wait until the main force of the Northern Expedition is in place, then it is unknown what the situation in Guanzhong is.

Anyway, Xu Shu didn't believe that one Cao Zhen could force Zhuge Liang and Zhang Xi to be in a hurry, and then they couldn't hold Guanzhong.

Again, today's Xiangyang Army has just completed its assembly, and the military rations and ordnance have not been fully mobilized.

Not to mention anything else, the 20,000 naval troops and 10,000 foot soldiers led by Wen Ping have just been "defeated and retreated" from Jiangxia to Xiangyang, although the "defeat and retreat" is false, but the army definitely still needs to be reorganized, not to mention anything else, to attack the north, there is no place for 20,000 naval troops, and if the naval army is allowed to fight ashore, the ordnance and equipment must be readjusted.

And Kou Feng on the other side of the new city has just begun to gather troops, and has not yet arrived in Xiangyang south to gather with the army. At this time, the Xiangyang Army also rushed north.

Do you want to rely on the more than 40,000 soldiers in the Xiangyang headquarters, plus the 10,000 ready-made infantry soldiers who have just withdrawn from Jiangxia, a total of 50,000 people, to attack Wancheng in the north?!

This kind of force is enough if it is placed in the case of auxiliary feints in previous years, but in the main attack on Wancheng alone, Sima Yi has more than 30,000 soldiers, as well as a fortified city and several outer defense lines in hand.

50,000 to 30,000, or the besieging side. Unless Guan Yu has some clever plan, otherwise, he will not be able to defeat Wancheng at all.

And Guan Yu. Guan Yu naturally doesn't have any tricks, this matter should be Xu Shu and Wang Ji's specialty, neither of them knows, can you still expect Guan Yu to come up with any tricks.

If you can't go down to Wancheng in a battle and open the passage to the hinterland of the Central Plains, then even if you enter Wancheng, it will only be a repetition of the procedures of the first two attacks on Wancheng, wasting money and food to confront the Wei army, and the help to Guanzhong is not as great as imagined, but it will lose the suddenness of the attack.

It's better not to fight!!

This is Xu Shu's suggestion, he thinks that it is better to calm down, wait a little, wait until his own troops are assembled, and wait until there is further news from Guanzhong, and then make a decision.

But Guan Yu said he did not accept this suggestion.

Guan Yu's reason is still the same old, time is not waiting, if you really have to wait for the news of the loss of Guanzhong, then there is no point in going north to Wancheng.

And Wang Ji also expressed his concerns.

Wang Ji felt that Xu Shu should not base his strategic planning on unpredictable personal abilities.

As Xu Shu said, everyone in Xiangyang is not particularly clear about what Guanzhong is like, so all strategic decisions must be based on existing intelligence, and cannot be based on unconditional trust in the ability of others.

Yes, Wang Ji also admitted that whether it is Prime Minister Zhuge or Zhang Yongzhou, they are both capable people, but the problem is that now the deployment of troops in Guanzhong is unreasonable, and Cao Wei has attacked him so much that he can only take strategic defense, and it is also really fought in their hands.

Prime Minister Zhuge has the unparalleled ability to govern the country, which Wang Ji admires very much, but how to use soldiers, only one pacification Xiqiang can be used as evidence. But to tell the truth, as far as those Qiang people are concerned, Wang Ji thinks that if he goes to pacify them, he will fight no worse than the Northern Army commanded by Zhuge Liang.

And Zhang Xi, Wang Ji also respects it, after all, he was the benefactor who recommended him back then, but Zhang Xi's use of troops is not completely without weaknesses, he is too cautious in his pursuit of stability, too cautious, sometimes such caution can help him avoid defeat, but in the same way, it also gives the enemy a chance to take advantage of it.

Wang Ji believes that now Guanzhong has fallen into a strategic defensive position, which is actually not unrelated to Zhang Xi's thinking on using troops.

Guanzhong may still be able to support for a while, which is the embodiment of Zhang Xi and Zhuge Liang's ability, but whether there is an opportunity to readjust the deployment of troops, whether it can launch a counteroffensive in Guanzhong Wang Ji believes that he cannot hope for this illusory possibility.

Therefore, it is actually necessary for the Xiangyang Army to go north.

If you can take advantage of the situation and go down to Wancheng, then of course it is the best, if not, open up a second battlefield on the southern front, at least it will attract the attention of Guo Huai's army in the right Fufeng, so that Guo Huai does not dare to be too eager to march like this, maybe it can also provide Zhang Xi and Zhuge Liang in Guanzhong with an opportunity to adjust the deployment of troops.

Wang Ji also admitted that the current situation in Guanzhong is not a question of insufficient troops, but a question of whether Zhang Xi and Zhuge Liang have the opportunity to adjust the deployment of troops.

As long as there is this opportunity, maybe the situation of the right Fufeng will be improved, or even reversed, once the Han army of the right Fufeng breaks through the Guo Huai army, it is not impossible to attack Wuguan and threaten the flank of Wancheng.

As for the suddenness of the attack on Yangyang . Wang Ji's suggestion is that this kind of thing can only be seen step by step, if it really doesn't work, let's continue to fight the same as the previous two battles, just play assists.

The Northern Expedition to pacify the Central Plains has never been an overnight thing, and it requires enough patience and preparation to do so. It doesn't matter if you can't complete the task for a while, the most important place now is that you can't lose it.

If you lose Guanzhong, then Yongliang will inevitably not be protected, and Yongliang will be lost. If you want to send troops from Hanzhong to attack Yongliang, it will not be so easy.

Therefore, Wang Ji suggested that without waiting for the Kou Feng Corps of Xincheng County or the Jiangxia Army to complete its rest, he immediately led his troops north to attack Wancheng.

(End of chapter)