Everyone there understood just how vital Xiangyang-Fancheng truly was. They had all seen the Longzhong Plan the light screen had shown them.
But none of them had ever imagined it would matter so much that even a dynasty of later generations would need to hold it just to keep itself alive.
"What do thirteen consecutive defeats even mean?" Mi Zhu asked, utterly at a loss.
Zhuge Liang, however, had some speculation. "Since it is said that thirteen consecutive defeats exhausted the main forces of the Southern Song, then with the strength of an entire nation, boasting hundreds of thousands of armored soldiers, each battle must have been one where blood flowed like rivers and corpses filled the waters."
"This is like the Battle of Xuzhou that Zizhong remembers so vividly. In such a war of annihilation, it would likely not even count as a vanguard engagement."
Mi Zhu stood without a word. The Battle of Red Cliffs had been dangerous enough, yet he had only watched from a safe distance. But the chaos in Xuzhou he had lived through himself. It still haunted his dreams.
It had been a war of total destruction. The suffering had been so great it was hard to even put into words.
Mi Zhu shook his head slowly. He could only feel deep sympathy for the people of the Southern Song a thousand years in the future.
After all, as Huang Zhong had once said, why would those Mongol invaders ever treat the people of the fallen Song with kindness?
As for Zhang Fei's earlier idea about taking Jiaozhou, Liu Bei gave no clear answer. During those talks in Jiangdong over who should hold Nan Commandery, Jiaozhou had also been laid on the table as a bargaining chip.
He spoke vaguely, "Let us first see what the light screen says about Xiangyang-Fancheng."
As for the passing remark about still daring to proclaim oneself emperor after reaching Xiangyang-Fancheng, everyone chose to ignore it.
After all, the Son of Heaven was still in Xuchang. What was there to say?
[Lightscreen]
[If we are to talk about Xiangyang-Fancheng, we need to rewind the timeline first, because a battle of this scale must have its causes.
Moreover, the records in the Records of the Three Kingdoms regarding the Jingzhou-Xiangyang region before the Battle of Xiangyang-Fancheng are extremely strange.
In the year 210, Zhou Yu died of illness. Jiangling was lent to Liu Bei. On Cao Cao's side, Yue Jin was stationed at Xiangyang, overseeing the defense of Jingzhou.
In 211, Liu Bei led more than twenty thousand troops from Jingzhou into Yizhou.
Then the timeline directly jumps to 214, where Cao Ren appears in the records.
Cao Ren replaced Yue Jin as the commander of the defenses in Jingzhou, was promoted to Zhengnan Jiangjun, General Who Pacifies the South, and stationed his troops at Fancheng.]
"Yue Jin, the fierce vanguard general!" Liu Bei recalled him well, for military merit was the finest calling card.
When they had besieged Lu Bu at Xiapi, Liu Bei had been present.
He had personally witnessed Yue Jin carrying the banner and charging ahead as the first to ascend the walls, fighting to the death without retreat. Cao Cao had even boasted of this fierce general to him many times.
Moreover, Yue Jin had also earned merit in Cao Cao's campaigns at Guandu and against Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang.
He could be considered utterly fearless.
Zhang Fei snorted. "Big brother, no matter how fierce Yue Jin is, would he not still have to shrink back before us?"
From a commander's perspective, Zhang Fei instantly sensed something was wrong. If Yue Jin had been so formidable at Xiangyang, why would he have been transferred after merely four years?
Such a defensive post could last ten years and still not be considered a long tenure.
And the one who replaced him, Cao Ren, had even retreated to Fancheng.
Sure enough, the light screen continued.
[Lightscreen]
[What exactly happened during this period? Surely Cao Cao and Liu Bei did not merely spend four years playing house in harmony.
Although the Wei historians followed the principle of recording victories in exhaustive detail while glossing over defeats, fragments from the biographies of Wen Pin and Yue Jin still allow us to roughly infer the truth.
The achievements of Yue Jin, one of the Five Elite Generals, were not ideal.]
"Hah!"
Zhang Fei slapped his thigh and burst into loud laughter.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
"What a fine line, victories recorded in full detail, defeats written with Spring and Autumn brushwork!"
"That Cao thief and his entire camp are truly united!"
"One of the Five Elite Generals, and this is his level?"
Jiang Wan glanced up, yet inwardly he shook his head.
'It has been a mere three hundred years since the Grand Historian's upright writing, and already historians have become those who twist the record with veiled strokes.'
[Lightscreen]
[After Yue Jin was replaced by Cao Ren, he was transferred to the Hefei theater. His tenure with the imperial staff came later than Zhang Liao, and in the Records of the Three Kingdoms, his name is listed after Zhang Liao.
From the top commander of the Xiangyang region to the second-in-command at Hefei, this personnel shift already speaks volumes.
Furthermore, in 210 Yue Jin was stationed at Xiangyang, and by 214 Cao Ren was at Fancheng.
If one advances north from Jiangling, which was under Liu Bei's control at the time, the sequence of cities along the way would be:
Jiangling to Jingyang to Dangyang to Linju to Xiangyang to Fancheng.
Clearly, Cao Wei's defensive line was contracting.
At the very least, Xiangyang was no longer safe enough to serve as a garrison point, which also supports the conclusion that Guan Yu gave Yue Jin a severe beating.]
The three-dimensional map displayed on the light screen once again demonstrated its power. Even someone like Mi Zhu, who knew nothing of military strategy, could understand it.
The Han River flowed from west to east past Xiangyang-Fancheng, then turned north to south, eventually merging with the Yang waters east of Jiangling.
Together with the mountains to the west, the river's course carved out a flat expanse between Jiangling and Xiangyang-Fancheng, where cities such as Linju were scattered.
[Lightscreen]
[So, starting again from 210, we can attempt a reconstruction.
After Liu Bei took over Jiangling, his momentum must have been overwhelming, especially with so many fierce generals at his side.
The Biography of Yue Jin records: He attacked Liu Bei's commanders Du Pu of Linju and Liang Da of Jingyang, defeating them both.
This means Linju and Jingyang were first taken by Liu Bei, then recaptured by Yue Jin.
But how were they retaken when Liu Bei had so many formidable generals?
There is no record of reinforcements from Cao Cao's side, yet Liu Bei is recorded as having taken twenty thousand troops into Yizhou in 211.
So the truth is very clear. Liu Bei initially suppressed Yue Jin, but later transferred troops into Shu. With Jiangling's forces weakened, the front line was forced to contract.]
"Yide truly judged the situation like a god. Yue Jin really was unsuccessful in battle!" Huang Zhong praised, clearly impressed by Zhang Fei's sharp instincts.
"Heh! Not as impressive as the Wei historians' iron strokes. With merely a few lines, they erase all our achievements!" Zhang Fei sneered.
By the timeline, he himself had been in Jiangling at the time. Some of those erased achievements might well have been my own. How could I not be angry?
Huang Yueying did not completely understand and asked in a low voice, "If that is the case, then our historians in the future should record it as well, since..."
Everyone understood. After all, their lord would eventually proclaim himself emperor, and appointing historians to record the state's history would be inevitable.
Kongming also found it puzzling. "The light screen previously mentioned that Liu Feng has a biography preserved in the Shu records. Could it be that these Shu records did not document this?"
He could not understand it, yet it felt deeply problematic.
[Lightscreen]
[The above is the first phase of the struggle. From here we enter the second stage, which is Wen Pin's reinforcement.
The Biography of Wen Pin states: Together with Yue Jin, he attacked Guan Yu at Xunkou and achieved merit, for which he was enfeoffed as Marquis of Yanshou Pavilion and promoted to General Who Attacks Rebels.
Yet the Biography of Yue Jin makes no mention whatsoever of the Battle of Xunkou.
Since this battle earned Wen Pin his marquis title, it is certain that he made great contributions, yet Yue Jin's biography does not mention it at all.
What was that saying again? Defeats are written with Spring and Autumn brushwork.
Thus we can further infer that after the defensive line contracted, Guan Yu launched a naval offensive. Yue Jin attempted to block him at Xunkou but was beaten badly.
At a critical moment, reinforcements led by Wen Pin arrived and successfully stabilized the situation, earning him his title.
But note that this merit was purely for reinforcement. There is no indication that Guan Yu was repelled, because the final record in Wen Pin's biography states:
He later attacked Guan Yu's supply trains at Hanjin and burned his ships at Jingcheng.
Both Hanjin and Jingcheng lie east of Dangyang along the Han River, which means the frontline position did not change.]
Huang Zhong narrowed his eyes as he understood. "My lord took away the main forces and supplies, which allowed Yue Jin to retake Linju and Jingyang."
"After that, Yunchang likely achieved great victories against Yue Jin."
"Even when facing Yue Jin and Wen Pin together, Yunchang still prevented them from advancing even an inch."
"I am far inferior to Yunchang."
Zhang Fei, however, instantly grasped the key point.
"What about the naval forces?"