RPAGF Chapter 272: Unable to Fight Again
Chapter 272: Unable to Fight Again
"First the north, then the south. The south should be defended, peace is paramount, and we should gradually nibble away at it. The north should be attacked, with thunderous strikes, seizing passes and cutting through barriers, and heading straight for Xuchang."
Liu Hong nodded.
"Where will the troops be dispatched?"
“My master Zhuge once said, ‘First out of Hanzhong, then out of Jiangluo.’”
"Then we absolutely must take Longxi?"
"Naturally. My Western Sichuan is surrounded by mountains on all sides. Although it is easy to defend and difficult to attack, it is also not easy to leave the province. If we take Yizhou as our base, we need to cross towering mountains and ridges. The movement of military equipment, supplies, and troops is very inconvenient and it is difficult to sustain a large-scale war."
"I have been defeated by Lu Xun this time and am incapable of fighting again in the short term. How can I take Longxi?"
"Your Majesty, there is no need to rush to take Longxi. When I was in Longxi, the countryside was already alienated from the Wu army in Longxi city. Your Majesty can order a gesture of goodwill towards Eastern Wu and secretly send elite troops to lie in ambush around Longxi without using our banners to win over the hearts of the people."
"Once we have built enough large ships in eastern Sichuan and the Wu army has lowered its guard, the army will load the ships and sail down the river in a day. We will then join forces with the reinforcements from Wuxi in the south, and with the local people responding, we will launch a swift and decisive attack from both inside and outside, and take Jingzhou. Once this is done, we will compensate the Wu ruler and restore good relations."
Liu Hong nodded in agreement, indicating that Chen Er's words made sense. Chen Er then continued:
“Your Majesty, Cao Wei now occupies the north of the Yangtze River, with a large population and vast territory. As long as they station troops along the Yangtze River, their rear will be secure. If we allow them to focus on development, our forces will be unable to contend with them. I believe that the Gongsun family in the northeast is our sworn enemy. We can befriend them, provide them with assistance, and help them grow stronger so that they can have the power to restrain Cao Wei’s forces.”
"Furthermore, when our troops from Hanzhong and Jingzhou are dispatched, the eastern coastal area of Cao Wei's Qingzhou is weak, and the Jiaozhou navy can also go north to land and force them to retreat. With this four-pronged attack, the destruction of Cao Wei will be just around the corner. Then we can turn back and besiege Eastern Wu from three sides, and the world can be unified."
Upon hearing this, Liu Hong was overjoyed and patted the railing, saying:
"Qing'er, what a great strategy."
The woman in palace attire beside him, who was also Liu Hong's old concubine, Sun Xiaoxiang, spoke up as well:
"Congratulations, Your Majesty, on your great fortune and the acquisition of another outstanding talent."
Liu Hong laughed heartily and said:
"Qing'er, once your uncle recovers, we will take Jingzhou back together and avenge this burning humiliation."
Chen Er quickly bowed:
"Your Majesty, I will certainly do my utmost to help you conquer cities and seize strongholds."
Liu Hong then said:
"Qing'er, in this great battle, our side suffered heavy casualties. I wish to build a temple to commemorate the heroic spirits who died in the battle. Where do you think would be a good place to build it?"
Chen Er thought for a moment and said:
“Your Majesty, when I came from the west, I saw that Fengdu was a beautiful place with clear waters and was close to the site of a great battle, making it convenient to collect the remains of the soldiers. I thought it would be good to build a temple there.”
Liu Hong nodded and said:
"As you see it. Once you've descended the mountain, you can proceed with this matter."
Chen Er naturally obeyed the order and carried it out. Then Chen Er examined Liu Hong's body and prescribed a medicine to help him recover. Only after taking his pulse did Chen Er realize that Liu Hong's health was truly failing and that he was getting old.
He married a young concubine, who bore him several sons in the past few years, weakening his body. Lu Xun's fire had shocked him, and the constant fleeing pushed his health to its limit, leaving him completely ruined. Now, all we can do to help him recover is leave the rest to fate.
As she was leaving, Sun Xiaoxiang smiled slightly and said to Chen Er:
"Thank you, my dear nephew."
Chen Er smiled slightly and said:
After leaving Baidi City, Wu Ban followed them down the mountain, repeatedly congratulating Chen Er:
"Congratulations on General Chen's promotion. When the imperial decree arrives, don't forget to invite your brother to offer his congratulations."
This guy's information travels fast! He didn't even go in, yet he knew about Liu Hong and Chen Er's conversation inside. He definitely has his own people in there. This guy is something else. I really didn't realize. No wonder he's Liu Hong's brother-in-law.
Back at their father's camp, their father had not yet returned. Heng Duan and his wife went to review the spear techniques that Chen Er's father had taught them. Chen Er's two older brothers, Zhang Bao and Guan Xing, came to the main tent. They had been waiting for Chen Er for some time.
Chen Er noticed that they were both quite feverish, with blisters still on their hands and faces. They were very happy to see Chen Er, and Zhang Bao said:
"Third brother, we brothers have escaped death and meet again."
Guan Xing then asked:
What did His Majesty say to you?
Chen Er sighed and said:
"His Majesty almost punished me, but I explained it clearly and everything was fine. He even said that Chen Er should build a temple to commemorate the soldiers who died in battle."
Zhang Bao then asked:
"We didn't appoint you to any official position?"
Chen Er smiled slightly and said:
"They said they'd give me an official position, but they didn't say what kind. But I'm just working for the Han Dynasty, so whether I'm an official or not doesn't matter. Besides, I've been back for several days, why are you two only now coming to find me?"
Guan Xing pounded his leg and said:
"They're busy, aren't they? This time His Majesty suffered a great defeat, and Chen Er and Chen Er were busy gathering the defeated troops and going to Bazhou to pick up reinforcements. His Majesty had already mobilized reinforcements from various prefectures and counties. The original plan was that after they broke through Lu Xun's camp, they would continue to advance eastward, while Chen Er would follow and occupy the Longxi and Gong'an areas. Who would have thought?"
"They were still halfway there when they were burned and defeated. His Majesty was not satisfied and wanted to fight another battle. He sent me to pick up the reinforcements and reorganize and train them with the returning soldiers, preparing to send troops out again when the time was right."
Chen Er was taken aback, but then he understood. Liu Hong was unconvinced and wanted to regain his face, ideally taking over Jiangdong as well. However, given the course of history, it was unlikely that he could do so; he was too old and couldn't afford to waste time with Liu Hong.
Liu Hong was just like Lu Xun in history regarding his military leadership: more defeats than victories, yet he never truly died. In any case, once his army was strong and well-equipped, he would suffer a crushing defeat, losing all his resources.
He suffered defeats, then recovered, fought again, and lost again—it was a vicious cycle. You see, before his eastern expedition, he had such a favorable situation: numerous troops and generals, even Cao Cao dared not confront him head-on. Yet Lu Xun burned him to a great extent; it was a huge loss. Zhang Bao also said:
“Third brother, in this fire, many officers, including Chief Instructor Cheng and Huang Zhong, died. I checked the survivors and found that more than half of the centurions and above were dead, and half of the remaining ones were injured or maimed.”
"They'll never be able to go back to the battlefield. Almost all of our elite troops in Xichuan were wiped out in Lu Xun's fire. When Qu Xiang came back, I heard that you had about 50,000 men under your command. With your command skills, Third Brother, you shouldn't have lost too many. Given His Majesty's temper, how could he be happy with a great victory while he suffered a great defeat? I was worried that His Majesty would strip all of your men of their titles. I never expected that you would lose them all in one battle. Did you cheat?"
Chen Er shook his head and said:
"They were defeated even without cheating."
Upon hearing Chen Er say they had been defeated, Zhang Bao and Guan Xing exchanged knowing smiles. Others might not know, but the two of them had spent so much time with the Wuxi Flying Army, training and grappling together for so long, didn't they understand their fighting strength? Didn't they know how good those guys were at running away? Chen Er didn't say defeated, but rather routed, meaning they had all dispersed and hadn't returned.