Two Tigers Competing for Food Plan

As expected, Zhuge Liang has it all planned out.

Now that the Longzhong Plan has half succeeded, but the other half has become difficult to achieve, revising the plan is inevitable.

Occupy Jingzhou and Yizhou, and then attack Wei’s core cities of Chang’an, Luoyang, and Xuchang through a joint advance from Jing and Yi.

At this time, make peace with the Western Rong and Southern Man, form an alliance with Sun Quan to build up strength, and then take advantage of any turmoil in Wei to launch an all-out offensive – this is the premise of the joint advance from Jing and Yi.

That is the outline of the Longzhong Plan.

Among these, the plan to embrace the Western Rong and Southern Man and occupy Chang’an has been realized.

However, with the alliance with Sun Quan broken and Jingzhou lost, it was difficult to pursue only the Longzhong Plan.

“It’s still hard to call it a grand plan. Because the balance of the Three Kingdoms has been achieved, forming a tripod-like situation.”

“There are too many variables now, aren’t there?”

Zhuge Liang nodded, affirming my words.

“Before explaining the plan, let’s first talk about how much of the realm has been divided.”

“Hmm, I suppose Wei has 45%, Wu 25%, and our country about 30%?”

“I think Sun Wu’s proportion is a bit larger, but it’s very similar. However, apart from the detailed figures, it’s clear that it has changed from one strong and two weak to one strong and two medium powers.”

Wei is still the strongest, but now it’s no longer the sole dominant power.

Now it’s really possible for our Han or Wu to stand against Wei alone.

The division of the realm into three and the balance of the tripod has truly been achieved.

“If the next war breaks out, who do you think will start it?”

“Wouldn’t it be Sun Wu?”

Wei has exhausted its strength for expeditions, and we are prioritizing managing the newly acquired Guanzhong and Yong-Liang. The fatigue accumulated from the joint attack with Wei and Wu is also great.

However, Wu is riding high. As the de facto winner of this war, they must have gained confidence.

Confidence that they too can do it.

Wei was defeated by us, but they won a great victory against us and took Jingnan.

They must be feeling confident that neither Wei nor Han is a match for them.

“Sun Wu has two paths. Will they attack our country to take Nanjun, or will they attack Cao Wei to aim for Huainan?”

Both paths had their own attractions.

Securing Nanjun had the symbolism of taking all of Jingzhou and the advantage of cutting off Han’s foothold for attacking Jingzhou.

Huainan had the advantage of dramatically increasing territory and forming a Huai River defense line to easily block Wei’s attacks.

However, attacking Nanjun means all-out war with us. We can just defend key points like Tong Pass and Wu Pass, and mobilize all other troops to Nanjun.

Risking an all-out war of life and death with us just to eat up Nanjun alone is too dangerous.

On the other hand, it’s difficult for Wei. Because they have to deploy many troops to the northern nomads, Luoyang, and northern Jing as well.

The alliance from the last war? Who doesn’t know that was just for show?

“The latter possibility seems higher.”

If they’ve thought of attacking Wei, Wu wouldn’t want to miss this period when Wei is staggering.

Wei would also guess this and deploy troops to Huainan as well. I don’t know, but Wei’s desire to teach Wu a lesson might be quite strong too.

They bled so much but gained nothing, while Wu just snatched up the opportunity they created and is washing its mouth clean – if they think like that, it would twist their guts.

They’d think they need to spit out at least Hefei to break even. Or demand Sun Deng, the crown prince, as a hostage like in the original history.

And there’s no way Sun Quan would accept that.

But one question is whether Wu can really perform well against Wei.

No matter how much damage Wei has taken recently, Wei was still the strongest power until now.

“Mingjing, have you forgotten the premise of the Longzhong Plan?”

“By premise, you mean…”

“The joint advance from Jing and Yi in the Longzhong Plan is premised on taking advantage of turmoil in Cao Wei.”

“But there’s nothing that could be called turmoil in Cao Wei, is there? Or are you saying this recent defeat is the turmoil in Cao Wei?”

It couldn’t be that, but when I asked to confirm, Zhuge Liang naturally shook his head.

“That’s not it. As you said, Wei appears stable despite the defeat for now. But is that truly completely stable? With just a tiny trigger, it could soon reveal its true bottom.”

Zhuge Liang’s eyes sank deeply. His eyes, which looked almost chilling, seemed to contain the bloodshed he would bring about in Wei.

“If there is no turmoil, we just have to create it ourselves.”

“Is that possible?”

“We have Liu Xie, don’t we?”

Liu Xie. One of Liu Bei’s two captured daughters. But in reality, she was a spy planted by Wei in our midst.

Is he planning to spread false information in reverse to cause discord?

But Wei isn’t like the chaotic Xin dynasty or the Jin dynasty of the Sima clan. With capable people still firmly holding the Three Excellencies, would they fall for it?

Zhuge Liang wouldn’t be hoping for luck either. Then…

“Chancellor, you’re not planning to eliminate the Xiahou clan in Cao Wei, are you?”

He’s planning to report Xiahou Ying, who informed us of Liu Xie’s true identity.

With the position of the Xiahou clan already narrowed due to Xiahou Mao’s betrayal, Xiahou Ying’s act of defection would immediately be treated as treason.

I realize anew how ruthless Zhuge Liang is.

He’s a man who even beheaded his beloved sworn brother while shedding tears for the greater cause.

How could he hesitate to use means that would bring a bloody storm to an enemy country for the greater cause?

“Hm? What are you talking about?”

“Was that not it?”

“Hah… Mingjing, you’re a scarier person than I thought. Even though I’m prepared to see blood for the greater cause, I’m not so desperate as to tell you to use such a cruel method that goes against heaven’s principles.”

Ah, aah…

Embarrassed by my grand miscalculation, I hung my head low. My face was burning. Even I thought this was really too much.

And even if I had suggested it, Liu Bei, who upheld benevolence and righteousness as his cause, would never accept such a proposal.

“I don’t deny that dispassion is necessary when discussing the greater cause. But knowing that the Xiahou clan is your maternal family, and that you have familial affection for them too, how could I make such a proposal to you, Mingjing?”

“My thinking was too short-sighted… Please forgive me.”

“Since it involves your blood relatives, your thoughts went there first. I understand.”

I peeked up, checking Zhuge Liang’s expression. He didn’t seem too displeased, but somehow I felt his gaze towards me had changed quite a bit from before.

It was like a feeling of “Ah, you’re still young after all.”

“But your guess wasn’t entirely wrong.”

Zhuge Liang then suddenly listed some names.

“Xu Fu, Chen Jun, Tian Yi.”

Xu Fu was the original name Xu Shu used.

In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he appears as Xu Shu from the beginning, but in reality his name was Xu Fu and he later changed it to Xu Shu when he became Yushi Zhongcheng.

“Aren’t they all people who followed His Majesty but then went to Cao Pi?”

“That’s right. I will spread rumors that these people are sympathetic to us.”

“But aren’t they all talents recognized even in Cao Wei? Will they really fall for it?”

There are opponents that fall for counterintelligence and those that don’t.

Rather, if we use clumsy counterintelligence, we might just throw away the Liu Xie card that’s already losing its usefulness and end up helping the enemy by uniting them.

“At the same time, we’ll also pass on information that Kebineng will attack them. And Kebineng will actually move like that.”

Kebineng was the leader of the Xianbei tribe settled near Youzhou.

Although he didn’t reach the level of Tanshihuai, who rose to the position of great chieftain by uniting the ethnic minorities beyond the Xianbei, he boasted by far the largest force among the current ethnic minorities.

It seems quite far to Youzhou, so I wonder if it’s possible, but Zhuge Liang says it is.

The Zhuge Liang in the original history achieved coordination with Kebineng under much more difficult conditions than now.

“You plan to increase credibility by mixing in truth.”

“No. Whether they believe this or not isn’t so important. What’s important is to mix in even a sliver of possibility that it might not be completely false.”

“The possibility is important?”

“Cao Wei needs someone to take responsibility for the defeat now.”

In this war, Wei put up Cao Ren and Cao Zhang, members of the imperial clan, as supreme commanders. But the result was failure. Moreover, Cao Zhang even died.

Then should they be held responsible? Such a decision that would damage the imperial authority?

A scapegoat is needed.

“The result isn’t very important. It’s enough just to provide an opening for Sun Quan to exploit.”

The ruthlessness of making even Xu Shu, who studied with him, a target of plotting. Was this the nature of the chilling feeling I sensed from him?

“But since they know about Kebineng’s attack, it will be difficult to greatly shake Cao Wei.”

To begin with, to significantly reduce Wei’s national power using the northern ethnic minorities, an all-out decisive battle must be fought.

However, unless we also raise an army, we won’t respond that fiercely, and it will probably just distract Wei’s attention.

Although Wei is somewhat ahead, the outcome is unknown.

Wu, riding high, might show surprising resilience, or conversely, Wei might prove that their strength hasn’t waned yet.

‘If Sun Quan leads personally, it’s the latter; conversely, if he sends Lu Xun or Zhou Yu, the former is more likely.’

But in my view, the probability of Sun Quan leading personally was higher.

There’s a common perception that Sun Quan just holed up in Wu territory relying on the Yangtze River and only defended, but the reality was the opposite.

Sun Quan launched offensives incessantly and raised armies far more often than Shu Han’s Northern Expeditions.

However, the purpose was to seek local gains rather than unifying the realm through Northern Expeditions.

Perhaps because of that, Sun Quan always got utterly defeated or returned without results when he launched offensives, but he showed amazing skills in defense.

Having already noticed Sun Quan’s weak offensive power in the Battle of Hefei, Zhuge Liang also viewed Sun Quan’s personal leadership negatively. It was a harsh assessment considering that usually a ruler’s personal leadership raises morale.

“If possible, it would be good to send Lu Xun. Apart from your assessment, there are few who have shown skills comparable to Lu Xun currently.”

“The Chancellor’s words are right. In my view, there is no one in Sun Wu who can match Lu Xun.”

But Lu Xun is now settled in Jingzhou, keeping us in check.

When attacking Wei, the problem is us in the rear. There’s no better card than Lu Xun to block us, so it’s rational for Sun Quan to place Lu Xun in Jingzhou.

He’ll probably propose a ceasefire to us while yielding to some extent, but the picture of Lu Xun being placed in Jingzhou to block Han, and Sun Quan personally leading to attack Huainan won’t change.

“So, if possible, I’d like to get Lu Xun out of Jingzhou.”

“Do you have a plan?”

“Would you like to hear it?”

“Of course. Gladly.”

At my answer, Zhuge Liang spoke with a face that seemed to be holding back laughter.

“Mingjing, have you thought about marriage?”

Excuse me?