Chapter 322: The emperor is gone, Xudu is nothing! To open up the situation, we should cut off the Yellow River and close the door to beat the dog!
Two days later.

Yuan Shao dragged his sick body, gathered about 60,000 troops and left Xuchang, heading straight for Suiyang.

Yuan Tan led 20,000 troops and commanded Ju Su, Xun Chen, Chunyu Qiong and others to garrison in Xu Du.

Five days later.

Guan Yu led an army of 30,000 from Jingzhou, marched northward from Kunyang, captured Linying, Dingling and other counties in southern Ying, and reached the south of Xuchang.

Under the escort of Xu Chu and his group of tiger guards, Xiao Fang quietly entered the Jingzhou Legion camp and met with Guan Yu.

...

A banquet has been set up in the central military tent.

"It has only been a year since we last met in Shouchun, and yet you, Jinglue, assisted the king in taking Xuzhou first, and now you have defeated Yuan Shao, allowing Guan to march to Xudu!"

"Jinglue, there's nothing more to say. I'm toasting you with this glass of wine!"

Guan Yu came up to Xiao Fang with a wine glass in hand and raised his glass in a solemn manner.

At this moment, his words and expression showed no sign of concealing his respect and gratitude towards Xiao Fang.

Xiao Fang smiled, raised his glass and said self-deprecatingly:
"General Yunchang, you are too kind. I was just talking. The king can have the power he has today because of the sacrifices of General Yunchang and other generals."

Guan Yu's expression remained solemn, and he said seriously:
"Jinglue, don't be so modest. If it weren't for your brilliant plan, even if we fought hard, how could we have created this foundation for the king?"

"If the King of Chu revives the Han Dynasty, you will be the first meritorious official in its revival!"

After saying this, Guan Yu turned around and looked at the generals, and shouted:

"What are you all still standing there for? Follow me and respect Prime Minister Xiao!"

Wei Yan, Guan Ping, Xu Shu, Zhou Cang and other generals stood up suddenly and raised their glasses to Xiao Fang.

There was respect from the bottom of everyone's eyes.

The atmosphere has come to this point. If I were to be more modest, it would seem hypocritical.

Xiao Fangsui stopped making fun of himself, smiled proudly, raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp.

Guan Yu and all the generals raised their heads and drank it all.

Everyone looked at each other and couldn't help laughing.

The banquet began in this atmosphere of laughter.

After several rounds of drinking, someone took the lead and mentioned how to capture Xuchang. Everyone immediately became excited and started discussing it heatedly.

Xiao Fang did not say anything either, but just smiled as he watched the generals of the Jingzhou Legion arguing.

It can be seen that these guys are eager to win merit and are holding back their energy to capture Xu Du.

This is no wonder. Huang Zhong and other generals of the central army killed many people in all directions and followed Liu Bei to destroy 100,000 Wei troops, and they received many merits.

However, Wei Yan and his group of generals on the western front were tasked with tying down the Wei army's forces. They spent most of their time in confrontation with the Wei army, and their contribution could be said to be almost zero.

These people are jealous and anxious.

Now Xu Du is right in front of us. It is the imperial capital and the heart of Wei State among the states south of the Yellow River.

The capture of Xu Du was truly a great achievement.

How could Wei Yan, Guan Ping and their gang not be ready to take action?

Although the generals were eager to make achievements, their wisdom was limited after all, and the strategies they proposed to break the city were nothing more than some conventional siege tactics.

Guan Yu stroked his beautiful beard and shook his head from time to time, obviously not satisfied with the suggestions of his generals.

"Prime Minister, I have heard that during the battle of Xiangcheng, the Prime Minister built a new type of catapult for the king, called the Hanwei Cannon."

"I heard that this thing is so powerful that it can easily destroy Yuan Shao's earthen hill."

"Why don't we build a Hanwei cannon right here and use it to blow through the walls of Xuchang and take the city in one fell swoop?"

After all, Xu Shu was a strategist and one of the three heroes of Shuijing. His strategies were obviously much more brilliant than those of Wei Yan and other generals.

As soon as they heard the three words "Hanwei Cannon", all the generals immediately became excited and their eyes were all focused on Xiao Fang.

Guan Yu's eyes lit up as well, and he nodded slightly.
"Jinglue, now that Yuanzhi reminded me of this, I do remember it."

"I heard that your Hanwei Cannon has the power to destroy heaven and earth when it bombards a city. Its power is far greater than Cao Cao's Thunderbolt Chariot."

"Using the Hanwei cannon to break the city is probably the best strategy to quickly capture Xuchang."

The generals were immediately cheered up, as if they had found the key to quickly capture Xuchang.

"Cough cough~~"

Xiao Fang coughed a few times, slowly put down his wine glass, and finally spoke:
"The power of the Hanwei Cannon is indeed very strong, and Yuan Shao's earthen hill was indeed destroyed by this cannon."

"But, the power of this thing is not as mysterious as the rumors say."

"If the Wei army had not been prepared, we could have easily used the Hanwei Cannon to unexpectedly destroy the walls of Xuchang."

"But with the previous experience of the battle of Xiangcheng, even if Yuan Tan was not prepared, with Ju Su's wisdom, how could he not warn Yuan Tan?"

"So if my guess is correct, the Wei army in Xuchang City is currently working day and night to thicken the city walls in order to resist the bombardment of our Hanwei cannons."

"If we bombard the city with Hanwei artillery again, we will lose the effect of surprise, and I'm afraid we won't be able to break the city as easily as you wish."

Xiao Fang's few words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the excitement of the generals.

"What the Prime Minister said makes sense. Yuan Tan will not fail to take precautions, but Ju Su will never sit still and wait for death."

"If they thicken the city walls, our Hanwei cannons may become useless."

The gleam in Xu Shu's eyes disappeared, and he couldn't help but nod slightly in approval.

The generals looked at each other, all of them at a loss.

Guan Yu frowned again and looked at Xiao Fang expectantly:

"Jinglue, you are very smart. It seems that the strategy to quickly capture Xuchang still depends on you. Do you have any good plan?"

Everyone widened their eyes and focused their gazes on Xiao Fang, all waiting eagerly for him to come up with some brilliant plan.

Xiao Fang took a sip of tea and asked a question meaningfully:
"General Yunchang, have you ever thought about why we must take Xuchang?" Guan Yu was stunned.

Xu Shu, Wei Yan and everyone else were also stunned.

Xuchang is the imperial capital and the heart of the Central Plains. Isn't it only natural to take Xuchang?
Didn't the King of Chu lead the main force to move to Suiyang in order to lure away Yuan Shao's main force and create conditions for their Jingzhou Legion to capture Xuchang?

"Jinglue, I don't quite understand your question."

Guan Yu looked confused and suspicious, and raised his head to look at Xiao Fang.

Xiao Fang put down his wine glass and waved his feather fan gently:
"The capital of the Han Dynasty has always been Chang'an and Luoyang, the eastern and western capitals."

"Back then, Cao Cao held the emperor hostage. In order to control the emperor within his territory, he forced the emperor to move the capital to Xuchang."

"But now the emperor has been moved to Chang'an by Cao Cao. The emperor is gone. Is Xuchang still worthy of being the imperial capital?"

Guan Yu's heart was shocked and his almond-shaped eyes suddenly opened, as if he was suddenly enlightened by something.

He suddenly realized that he and his generals were all trapped in a thinking trap.

That is the preconceived notion that Xuchang is the imperial capital, a city that is crucial to recovering the Central Plains and must be captured.

So their attention, from beginning to end, was framed on this corner of Xuchang.

All they were thinking about was how to capture Xuchang.

After Xiao Fang's reminder, Guan Yu's vision and perspective were suddenly broadened.

It seems that it is not necessary to capture Xuchang City...

"What the Prime Minister said is absolutely right!"

Xu Shu was the first to turn around. He quickly took out the map and hung it in the tent.

"Xuchang was originally just a small county in Yingchuan. Even if it was placed in Yingchuan County, it would not be considered a major town."

"The reason Cao Cao forced the emperor to move the capital to Xuchang was because Xuchang was in his territory, far away from Yuan Shao, making it easier for him to control the emperor."

"Secondly, the fields in Xuchang are fertile and the water transportation is convenient, which is conducive to the transportation of grain and the support of civil and military officials."

"These three reasons are because Xuchang is located in Yingchuan, and most of Cao's advisers, such as Xun Yu and Guo Jia, are from Yingchuan. When the emperor moved the capital to Yingchuan, he could use the emperor's banner to recruit Yingchuan people to be loyal to him."

"And these three advantages, in the final analysis, can only be manifested because the emperor is in Xuchang."

"Now that the emperor has moved to Chang'an, these three so-called advantages are insignificant. Xuchang is far less important than before."

"If you think about it this way, Xuchang doesn't have to be captured at all costs."

Xu Shu was the first to understand the hidden meaning behind Xiao Fangyan's words, and immediately pointed to the map and analyzed it.

Guan Yu stroked his beautiful beard and nodded slightly, and the other generals gradually understood.

"Prime Minister, Yan understands."

"What the Prime Minister meant was that without the emperor, Xuchang was no longer important and there was no need to attack it."

"Our goal is to recover the Central Plains and drive Yuan Shao back north of the Yellow River, not to capture Xuchang."

"Since Xuchang is difficult to attack, can we just ignore it and attack somewhere else?"

After Xu Shu's analysis, Wei Yan also understood the hidden meaning of Xiao Fang's words.

"Jinglue is right. It seems that we don't have to attack Xuchang."

Guan Yu nodded slightly, but then asked:
"But if we don't attack Xuchang, then according to Jinglue's opinion, where should our army attack?"

Xiao Fang slowly stood up, walked to the hanging map, and gently pointed at the map with his feather fan.

Everyone's eyes followed Xiao Fang's pointing and moved from Xuchang to its northwest direction.

"Luoyang?"

Everyone spoke in unison, saying the name of the place.

"Yes, it is Luoyang!"

"As Wen Chang said, the goal of our Northern Expedition this time is to recover the Central Plains and drive Yuan Shao out of the south of the Yellow River."

"Then how we deploy our troops should naturally be based on this goal."

"My opinion is that General Guan can lead the main force and change the route to the northwest, following the route Sun Jian took back then, and go straight to Luoyang!"

"After we take Luoyang, we will then go out of Hulao and advance eastward along the Yellow River. We will surely be able to take Suanzao, Yanxian, Baima, and even Puyang with ease."

"This is like stabbing Yuan Shao in the back with a knife, cutting off the Yellow River in one fell swoop."

"By that time, will Yuan Tan still dare to defend Xuchang? Will Yuan Shao still have the courage to hold on to Suiyang?"

"At this point, the only thing he and his son could do was to abandon Henan and lead the army to retreat hastily to Hebei to preserve their strength."

"Otherwise, Yuan Shao and his son will be trapped by us. Henan will not be able to be defended, and the more than 100,000 Wei troops will be locked up south of the Yellow River!"

Xiao Fang had a sarcastic sneer on his face as he made his overall strategy clear to everyone.

Guan Yu opened his eyes wide and stared at the map with surprise, as if Xiao Fang's words had opened up a new world.

Inside the big tent, all the generals jumped up and surrounded the map, each of them with a look as if they had suddenly been enlightened.

"The sage of strategy is worthy of being called a sage of strategy. The situation of the prime minister is so huge that it is only one tenth of his!"

Xu Shu bowed to Xiao Fang, his words full of admiration.

"Good, very good!"

Guan Yu slapped the table and said happily:
"Then let's follow Jinglue's strategy and leave Xuchang alone for now, and attack Luoyang instead to cut off the Yellow River!"

Guan Yu made the decision, and all the generals were excited.

At this time.

Guan Ping stepped forward and pointed at the map.
"But father, Prime Minister, Luoyang is no longer in the hands of the Pseudo-Wei, but is occupied by Cao Cao."

(End of this chapter)