readytorunbook Chapter 508 The Bloodiest Battle
Chapter 508 The Bloodiest Battle
Military affairs are a continuation of politics, and politics is about uniting the majority of people.
How do you unite the majority of people? It's simple: get more people to recognize and support you.
But how can you gain more recognition from others?
First, you must win, because no one will acknowledge the weak. Second, you must win fair and square; you cannot resort to tricks or cunning, because no one likes a treacherous person.
It's like two people fighting. If you beat me up head-on and rub me in the ground, I'll definitely submit to you. But if you hit me with a brick, knock me out, or stab me in the groin, even if you beat me, I won't submit to you. I'll find an opportunity to beat you up.
Guan Yu understood this principle, and as a military general, he naturally wanted to defeat the Wei army honorably. Moreover, this was very likely Cao Cao's last battle, after which there would be no more opportunities to fight Cao Cao, so he had to cherish it.
Zhuge Liang echoed, "The Second General is right. This time, we must not only win, but win honorably. We must demonstrate Your Majesty's power in this battle and let the world know that Your Majesty is invincible."
There's something Zhuge Liang didn't say, but everyone understands: if they win this battle, there will be no obstacle for Liu Bei to become emperor.
To become emperor requires resources and prestige gained through great victories. Without prestige, forcibly declaring oneself emperor would raise questions about the legitimacy of the throne.
Furthermore, land reform is about to begin in Jingzhou. If we win this battle, the resistance to land reform will be greatly reduced, and the probability of success will be greatly increased.
But if we lose, or stay in the city and dare not fight, what will the people think?
They would definitely think that Liu Bei was afraid of Cao Cao, even so afraid that he didn't dare to leave the house. Under such circumstances, how could he still want to become emperor and carry out land reform?
Dream on!
Therefore, Cao Cao and Liu Bei had completely different objectives for this battle. Cao Cao wanted to inflict mutual damage on Liu Bei, thus worsening Liu Bei's injuries and prolonging his recovery time.
What Liu Bei wanted was to seize political resources and gain prestige for his subsequent ascension to the throne and reforms.
Different purposes require different methods.
Zhuge Liang's words struck a chord with Liu Bei. In the past, Liu Bei would have immediately agreed to Zhuge Liang's opinion, but now...
Liu Bei looked up and searched through the crowd for a while before finally finding Guan Xing hiding behind Sun Shao. He laughed and said, "Anguo, what are you hiding for? Come out, come out. You heard what your father and the strategist said, right? What's your opinion?"
Guan Xing stepped forward and bowed, but instead of answering, he asked, "May I ask Your Majesty, what is the scale of this war? Is it a full-scale war, or is the war to be kept confined to the area south of the Han River?"
If a full-scale war breaks out, he will continue with his usual tactics: the main force will attract the attention of the Wei army at the front line, while a detachment will secretly infiltrate Cao Wei's rear to instigate an uprising.
However, if the scale is limited to the area south of the Han River, Guan Xing will not be able to exert his full strength, as too many restrictions will hinder his performance.
Zhuge Liang said, "The current situation is not suitable for a full-scale war; we must limit it to the area south of the Han River."
The Jiangnan region was already exhausted from repeated battles and desperately needed to rest and recuperate. If Cao Cao hadn't insisted on marching south, Zhuge Liang really wouldn't have wanted to fight this battle.
Therefore, the scale must not be expanded. The war must be kept within a limited scope, and the war must be ended as soon as possible. There are still many things to do in the rear, and we don't have the energy to keep spending time on the front lines.
In this respect, Cao Cao and Liu Bei had the same goal. Cao Cao was terminally ill and had no time to expend energy, while Liu Bei was eager to digest the fruits of victory in the conquest of Wu and also had no energy to expend energy. Both wanted to finish the battle as soon as possible and go home to sleep.
Guan Xing, who hadn't had a proper rest since transmigrating, shared the same sentiment and said, "Then I have no objection; I will obey orders."
Liu Bei then inquired with the others and, seeing that all the generals were eager to fight, decisively decided, "Then let's fight! The strategist will send a challenge to Cao Cao. This time, I will take the initiative and give that scoundrel Cao a good lesson."
He now commands the allied forces of Guan Yu and Shen Yi, the victorious army from the Northern Expedition, and the surrendered troops from Eastern Wu and Jingzhou gentry, totaling nearly 200,000 men. His confidence is soaring that he is confident he can fight a major battle against Cao Cao.
The only concern is that there isn't enough food, so we need to fight Cao Cao quickly and finish the battle as soon as possible.
The men accepted their orders, bowed, and took their leave, returning to their posts to prepare for the upcoming battle.
Just three days later, Liu Bei received Cao Cao's challenge, which contained only one sentence: "Inviting you to a hunt on the Nanzhang River, where a battle will decide our fate."
The Nanzhang River flows from north to south, passing through Bian County and Dangyang from Jingshan, and finally flows into the Yangtze River. In other words, the entire south bank of the Han River was a battlefield.
Upon receiving the battle report, Liu Bei was not angry but pleased. After informing the entire army of the report, he waited three days until all the supplies, including provisions and weapons, had arrived. He then ordered Zhuge Liang and Zhang Zhao to stay and guard Jiangling, while he personally led the entire army north to Dangyang to fight Cao Cao.
This time he doesn't need to worry about Jiangling City, because it is Zhuge Liang who is guarding Jiangling, and he will never surrender without a fight like Mi Fang.
That morning, an army of over 100,000 assembled outside the city. Liu Bei, dressed in full military attire, stepped onto the platform for appointing generals and, under the watchful eyes of Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Guan Xing, Zhang Bao, and all the other generals, delivered a passionate pre-battle speech. Then, with a sweeping gesture, he roared in an unprecedentedly resolute tone: "Let's march..."
The army departed in an orderly fashion, with Zhang Fei leading the vanguard and Liu Bei's army following closely behind.
The Han and Wei armies rushed forward in both directions, with scouts meeting first and engaging in a bloody battle while relaying news of the enemy back to the central army.
"Report: The Wei army has passed Bian County and is only eighty li away from Dangyang."
"Report: The Third General has joined forces with General Zhao Yun and made contact with the Wei vanguard."
"Report: The Wei army is only fifty li away from Dangyang."
With constant reports from scouts, Liu Bei led his army to the walls of Dangyang and joined forces with Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun.
At the same time, Cao Cao's Wei army had arrived at a point thirty miles outside Dangyang City. Instead of advancing further, they set up camp on the spot, facing Liu Bei from thirty miles away. As if reuniting with an old friend, they exchanged several letters with Liu Bei, all of which were written on paper.
It's quite something that those two old men, Cao Cao and Liu Bei, each brought hundreds of thousands of troops to this gathering.
While exchanging letters, Liu Bei dug trenches and built palisades outside Dangyang City, adopting a defensive posture and waiting for Cao Cao to attack.
He has no cavalry, so launching an offensive would be too disadvantageous; he can only defend and counterattack. As for whether Cao Cao has the same idea, there's no need to worry; Cao Cao can't afford to waste time.
Three more days passed, and Cao Cao led an army of over 200,000 men toward Dangyang. Standing on the city wall and looking north, the hundreds of thousands of Wei soldiers looked like a dark cloud covering the sky, giving people an extreme sense of oppression.
On Liu Bei's side, banners were also as numerous as a forest, obscuring the sky. The two armies were like two ancient behemoths as large as mountains, and the imposing aura they exuded could destroy everything, let alone a head-on collision.
With Cao Cao's arrival, the third major battle involving more than 500,000 people, following the battles of Guandu and Chibi, began.
Moreover, the intensity of this battle was even greater than that of Guandu and Chibi. Cao Cao won the Battle of Guandu by burning Wuchao, and the Sun-Liu alliance won the Battle of Chibi by burning their warships. Both battles involved elements of opportunism. But this time was different. Both sides, eager for a quick victory, did not resort to tricks. Instead, they adopted the most primitive, direct, bloody, and brutal method of head-on confrontation.
This battle will surely be bloody!
This battle is destined to be recorded in history!