On the official road from Jingzhou to Xuzhou, the cavalry of the Long Xiao Camp was escorting a carriage towards Hefei.
Hefei... belonged to Huainan Commandery.
It was another southern route for Great Wei, besides passing through Jingzhou, traversing Yunmeng Marsh to Wulin Port, facing Chibi across the river...
According to Lu Yu's geographical analysis, attacking Chibi by way of Jingzhou would inevitably lead to fighting on two fronts.
Attack Sun Quan, Liu Bei attacks the rear; attack Liu Bei, Sun Quan attacks the rear.
How to avoid fighting on two fronts, then... the new path chosen by Lu Yu was very strategic.
Passing through Hefei...
From here, one could choose to attack along the Jianghuai region.
The Jianghuai region, though seemingly flat, actually contained many low hills, including a watershed, which separated the Huai River system from the Yangtze River system.
If the plan went smoothly, within twenty days, Lu Yu could rendezvous with the Long Xiao Camp's navy fleet at Hefei, then take the Hefei waterway, enter Chaohu Lake, and from Chaohu Lake, through the Taihu Lake near Ruxukou, flow into the Yangtze River.
Of course...
According to intelligence sources, Zhou Yu had already anticipated this route long ago.
He had established Ruxu Fort at Ruxukou, blocking the vital waterway and thus eliminating any idea of landing in Jiangdong from this direction.
However... the water network formed by Taihu Lake and the lakes around Wuhu was intricate, allowing Taihu Lake's ships to travel stealthily, heading west into the Yangtze River.
In ancient times, Wu Zixu used this route to deal with the State of Chu, and it was extremely effective!
Lu Yu was emulating Wu Zixu, not landing at Ruxukou, but secretly passing through the crisscrossing waterways of Taihu Lake to reach the Yangtze River... to launch a surprise attack on the Sun-Liu allied forces at Chibi.
"Dada dada..."
"Dede dede..."
The sound of hooves echoed continuously.
The warhorses, galloping at full speed, occasionally let out strained neighs.
Inside the carriage, Lu Yu was drawing a map, his brows furrowed. He was trying his best to recall... the water systems of Taihu Lake and the lake network around Wuhu.
He had to clearly remember the details of every waterway, because the timing was precise: rendezvous at Hefei in twenty days, then enter the Yangtze River in another month, arriving at Chibi.
A total of fifty days and nights. This was the same time it would take for King Wei Cao Cao's navy to sail downstream, with the Xuanwu Pond navy and the Jingzhou navy all arriving at Wulin Port.
It was exactly right... no delay was permissible!
Huuu...
Exhaling a long breath, Lu Yu finally finished drawing the river network. Dian Wei, also sitting in the carriage, scratched his head, unable to understand the map at all.
Lu Yu then sat up, leaning slightly against the wooden railing of the carriage, and closed his eyes to rest.
After a while, he opened his eyes again...
He carefully put away the map on the simple desk, but then seemed to recall something, pondering it repeatedly... still unable to figure it out.
So, he opened his mouth and asked, "Commander Dian? Yesterday... when I bid farewell to the King of Wei, what did the King of Wei say to me?"
"How could I possibly guess that?"
Dian Wei scratched his head.
Lu Yu smiled and said, "The King of Wei said that Jiangdong must be taken within half a year!"
"Why so urgent?"
"It seems to be related to the Bronze Sparrow Terrace. It's said that Prince Pi's supervision of the Golden Tiger Terrace and Ice Well Terrace has been completed, and the Bronze Sparrow Terrace is also almost finished. Half a year later, the King of Wei will hold a grand banquet for his officials on the Bronze Sparrow Terrace to announce the unification of the realm!"
Lu Yu voiced his thoughts.
"Oh..." Dian Wei scratched his head. "I heard... it seems the King of Wei will also announce the selection of the Crown Prince of Great Wei on the Bronze Sparrow Terrace."
Hearing this, Lu Yu nodded.
"That's what I'm puzzled about."
"Originally, Ziyou was the adopted son of Lady Ding, and the most qualified to be the Crown Prince... but Ziyou was filial and could not bear to abandon his birth mother. He publicly sacrificed to his birth mother, Lady Liu, which was equivalent to abandoning his status as the legitimate son, essentially withdrawing from the competition for the Crown Prince. Then... who will be the Crown Prince of Great Wei?"
Lu Yu's question seemed less like asking Dian Wei and more like talking to himself, asking himself.
"What do you think, Young Master?"
Dian Wei, who understood none of this, quickly asked...
He was actually very curious about this selection.
Lu Yu smacked his lips, "I think it's Prince Cao Chong. However... yesterday I specifically asked the King of Wei if Prince Cao Chong would be chosen as the heir on the Bronze Sparrow Terrace. In theory, there's nothing wrong with that. Prince Cao Chong is intelligent and has always been benevolent and filial. In the past, when Jiangdong sent an elephant, he indirectly made a great contribution."
"But... when I mentioned Cao Chong, the King of Wei's expression didn't change at all. This is very strange... it seems the person he chose was never Cao Chong?"
Dian Wei was confused. He asked, "If it's not Prince Cao Chong, then who else? Prince Pi? Prince Zhang? Or Prince Zhi?"
At this point, Dian Wei waved his hand, his head aching...
"Young Master, you don't need to think about these things at all. Whether it's Prince Cao Chong, Prince Pi, or Prince Zhi, they are all your students. No matter who becomes the Crown Prince, your position will not be shaken."
This...
Not necessarily!
Lu Yu narrowed his eyes. If it were the benevolent and filial Cao Ang, the benevolent Cao Chong, or Cao Zhi, who was solely focused on the newspaper, Lu Yu could ensure his position was secure.
But if it were Cao Pi...
That might not be the case. This historical second ruler of Great Wei was very cunning, and his methods were not exactly upright!
You must know that in history, after his father Cao Cao had just passed away... Cao Pi directly and smoothly accepted many of his father's concubines. Once, when he was enjoying himself with these concubines, his mother, Lady Bian, saw him and immediately cursed him as "worse than pigs and dogs"!
Such a son who is "worse than pigs and dogs"...
Even to his master Lu Yu? What could be done? What would happen?
If he wasn't careful, Lu Yu himself might be schemed against.
This was precisely why... he had proactively asked Cao Cao about this matter yesterday.
For Lu Yu, this was a matter of utmost importance!
"Forget it..."
After much thought, he couldn't figure it out, so Lu Yu waved his hand and decided not to think about it anymore. The immediate priority... wasn't the Crown Prince, but Jiangdong!
In the Battle of Chibi in history, Cao Cao suffered a terrible defeat.
This defeat completely shattered Great Wei's ambition to unify the realm in a short period.
The variables for the future suddenly increased...
In this battle... Lu Yu had to exert his utmost effort. Wei Wu's great undertaking... was just one step away, and there could be no mistakes!
With this in mind...
He closed his eyes again. This time, he wasn't thinking about the river network of Taihu Lake, but about the reasons for Cao's army's defeat in the historical Battle of Chibi.
— The army was too mixed. Jingzhou soldiers, Qingzhou soldiers, and Jizhou soldiers were combined, each fighting separately, and they were unwilling to yield to each other, making it difficult to form a cohesive force.
— Insufficient preparation. Northerners were not skilled in naval warfare. How could the Xuanwu Pond navy, in a pond, have seen any storms? The Yangtze River's waves were turbulent. Standing on the deck made one dizzy, let alone fighting.
You must know that when the Western Jin Dynasty destroyed Wu, Sima Yan, with an army of 500,000, dared not act rashly. He trained his navy for seven years before daring to move. Compared to the navy of the Western Jin, Cao Cao's Xuanwu Pond navy was more like a makeshift troupe!
It collapsed at the first touch!
— Plague, yes... this was the main reason for Cao's army's downfall.
In fact, Zhou Yu had predicted this. His rich experience told him that northerners were not accustomed to the climate when coming south, and an epidemic was bound to happen sooner or later.
— Cao Cao's arrogance was also a reason. Since the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao had been too smooth sailing. He thought conquering Jiangdong would be a piece of cake and disdained the Sun-Liu allied forces. Before the battle, he even trusted the "friend of his past endeavors" alliance member "Huang Gai's" feigned surrender, leading to the disaster at Chibi.
— Of course, luck also played a part.
To be precise, this wasn't luck... but experience.
If one didn't live along the Yangtze River, who would know that while southerly winds were indeed rare in winter, they would still blow for a few days, after several days of "sunny weather"? This was common knowledge for people living by the river, as reliable as a period!
As for...
Other things like chaining the ships together with iron cables, borrowing arrows with straw boats, etc...
These were all attributable to experience.
The more Lu Yu thought about it, the more pressure he felt. He had to fill in all these pitfalls...
The key was, he also had to avoid... the possibility of new pitfalls!
The Battle of Chibi was mentally exhausting!
He really needed some reliable helpers...
...
...
Jingzhou, Xinye City.
Pang Tong could now walk, although he was still somewhat weak and his arm was bandaged like a zongzi, but... the sensation in his arm made him feel that it had been saved.
People say that saving a life is like being reborn.
But for Pang Tong, he was already not good-looking. If he lost his arm and became disabled...
The psychological gap would be even greater, to the point where he would have no face to live in this world.
From this perspective...
Lu Ziyu was no different from a rebirth to him.
"Shiyuan? Both divine doctors have instructed you to rest well... don't move around carelessly. It's already dusk, and the night wind is cold... you shouldn't be out."
The speaker was Pang Degong...
As a renowned scholar in Jingzhou, comparable to Mr. Shuijing Sima Hui and Huang Chengyan of the Huang family, he cared deeply for his nephew Pang Tong.
"I want to... see my master," Pang Tong said, looking up. "I'm suffocating by staying in this cocoon... Lu Ziyu is not here, and I can't thank him. But inexplicably, I want to pay my respects to my master..."
Pang Tong's master, naturally, was Sima Hui...
When he served Liu Bei, it was Sima Hui who recommended him, or rather... this was all a setup by Sima Hui.
Now...
Due to special circumstances, Pang Tong could no longer join Liu Bei and offer him strategies and advice. Naturally... he wanted to seek advice from his master again.
Most importantly, he wanted to ask his master if he... could repay this debt of his arm being reattached?
Alas...
Hearing this, Pang Degong sighed, "Actually, Shiyuan, you don't need to worry. Because my son Pang Shanmin already serves Great Wei, ready to serve King Wei and Marquis Nanshou!"
"Marquis Nanshou?" Pang Tong found this title somewhat unfamiliar...
"Oh..." Pang Degong quickly explained. "I forgot to tell you, King Wei bestowed the title of Marquis Nanshou upon Lu Ziyu... He is no longer Marquis Baima."
Hmm...
Nanshou?
Pang Tong hesitated for a moment, but soon, his eyes narrowed, and he murmured, "Nanshou?"
"What?" Pang Degong looked at Pang Tong's expression, which was a little strange.
"Haha..." Pang Tong laughed. "Uncle, I won't go to see my master. Tomorrow... I plan to go directly to the Wei army. Isn't the Wei army going to fight at Chibi? I think... perhaps I... I can help them, help the benefactor of 'Nanshou'!"
Whoa...
As these words left his mouth...
Before Pang Degong could reply, Pang Tong had already entered the room, intending to tidy himself up.
Outside the door...
The night wind howled, but Pang Degong stood frozen in place.
At this moment, it seemed that except for him, all the children of the Pang family had made their own choices and found their belonging.
But...
Neither Pang Tong nor Pang Degong noticed that outside the clinic, an old man was silently watching the scene from above the treetops.
Watching Pang Tong's every move, listening to his every word.
"Shiyuan, your moniker is 'Phoenix Chick'. Your master originally wanted you to take a difficult path, like a phoenix undergoing nirvana and soaring through the nine heavens, winning the respect of the world through your resilience, and also winning the respect of Cao Mengde and Lu Ziyu."
"...But... in the end, things did not go as planned. Perhaps in Great Wei, with Marquis Nanshou, you too can... you too can become a fire phoenix, spreading like a prairie fire. Perhaps this reattachment of your broken arm is also a kind of nirvana rebirth!"
"Phoenix Chick, Phoenix Chick..."
Speaking of this...
"Good, good, good..."
Sima Hui, Mr. Shuijing, murmured three "good" words.
He preferred the title "Mr. Goody-Goody" over "Shuijing."
...
...
Guanzhong, the Yongliang region.
A giant sword was stuck in the stone steps. The burly general was trying to pull out the giant sword with one hand while speaking.
"I don't trust this Sima Zhongda."
Behind him stood Wang Yue...
At this moment, he was still wearing a black robe, holding the "Zhongxing Sword"...
He said softly...
"It seems you didn't trust me back then either!"
"Still don't trust me now." The burly general glared at Wang Yue coldly. "It's just that the Han Emperor has become a coward now, and you have no reason to lie to me! It's just that Sima Zhongda is ultimately Lu Yu's disciple, and Lu Yu is full of schemes. My old brother Ma Shoucheng was tricked by him and became a hostage in Luoyang! I also heard that Sima Zhongda originally infiltrated Jizhou under Lu Yu's orders to dismantle Yuan Shao from within."
"Heh, I don't want to repeat Yuan Benchu's fate!"
The burly general's tone was heavy, each word carrying a coldness and twenty percent suspicion.
"Cao Cao killed his entire family!" Wang Yue said, "Isn't that enough for him to seek revenge?"
"Are you really sure that Sima family in Hedong only has him left?" The burly general narrowed his eyes. He pulled out the giant sword, feeling it wasn't sharp enough, and was polishing it with a whetstone.
Wang Yue continued.
"I followed him for a long time. If the Sima clan had not been exterminated, how could he have not seen his family for so long, nor sent them a single letter? Moreover, he rushed to Jingzhou, but ultimately did not go to see Lu Ziyu!"
Hmm...
This burly general seemed to find it hard to believe.
"He didn't even go to see Lu Yu?"
"That's right! Perhaps he was afraid of being discovered by Lu Yu and having all roots cut off." Wang Yue's tone was firm. "You know my character, I wouldn't lie to you!"
"Heh heh..." The burly general laughed, and as he laughed, he sighed.
"Back then, Cao Mengde graduated from the Imperial Academy. Bian Yun and I were in the same batch of officials, waiting to be assigned official positions by the Shangshu Tai. We were considered half-classmates. However, because of his family background, he was appointed as the Northern Commandant of Luoyang and cast five-colored staffs to beat the powerful nobles, becoming famous throughout the land."
"I, however, was relegated to this barren Yongliang region to serve as a minor official. In this man-eating Guanzhong, where survival was a slim chance, I fought my way out. Why is my situation so different?"
"At that time, my name wasn't what it is now... Heh heh, in the first year of Zhongping, the Qiang leader Beigong Boyu rebelled and took me and Bian Yun as hostages. Bian Yun and I joined forces. If we hadn't joined, where would our lives have been? The Han army cursed me for betraying the court, but did I have a choice? I had to change my name to the current one, and Bian Yun also changed his name to Bian Zhang... The Han court even named the rebellion after our names!"
"In the third year of Zhongping, I was unhappy... I launched a mutiny, killed Bian Zhang and Beigong Boyu... I wanted to surrender to the Han court, but the Han court refused to accept my title and mobilized an army of over 100,000 to conquer me. I was forced to become the greatest warlord in Guanzhong... but I also took control of my own destiny. After so many years, am I not to be pitied? Has the court ever looked at me properly? Have they understood my helplessness?"
The burly general's emotions seemed to ignite all at once. He slapped his chest heavily.
An boundless indignation poured out from his chest.
"Before, I had no choice, but I truly wanted to be a good person. Who wants to be a traitor? Despised by the world! But since my time as an official, my fate has not been in my own hands. If I had become the Northern Commandant of Luoyang, I would have become even more famous than that Cao Mengde!"
Cough cough...
Hearing this, Wang Yue said, "Therefore, your chance to be a good person has arrived. Previously, Cao Cao held the Son of Heaven to command the lords, and thus gained the realm. Today... you can also follow his example, welcome the Son of Heaven into Yongliang, and then use this as a base to restore the Han dynasty and conquer the realm! You will gain a good reputation throughout the land!"
"However, both you and I are martial men. This plan must have someone like Sima Zhongda, who is skilled in strategy, to perfect it for us! Trust me... Sima Zhongda can be trusted!"
...
...