The Wind Blows Towards Jingbei 2

Except for Ma Chao in Xiliang, the Nanling Army’s marching speed is the fastest in Han. Excluding the baggage train, Ma Chao’s troops with no infantry at all boast incredible speed in places good for horses to run, but their geographical dependence due to the absence of infantry was large.

In contrast, the Nanling Army is half cavalry and half infantry. The reason they can achieve almost cavalry-level speed despite this is because they operate spare war horses and pack horses separately to pull carts.

By loading infantry and supplies on carts for transport, they could achieve speeds far surpassing infantry, even if slower than pure cavalry.

However, this time we had to move even faster than that. And now it was actually possible.

“The infantry will return through the waterway. Bai Yao and Yu Shang, please take care of it.”

Unlike in the past when we were severely short on ships, we now had a fleet captured from Wu’s navy.

And we had secured oarsmen as well. Although we handed over the common soldier prisoners according to the agreement with Sun Deng, those who served as oarsmen were excluded.

The flow rate of the Yangtze River is about 2.5km/h. Adding wind power from sails and manpower through oars, a speed of about 8km/h is achieved.

Of course, this is for downstream travel going with the river’s flow, and upstream travel against the current is less than half that at about 3km/h.

The distance from Xiagu to Jiangling is about 400km, so thinking of rowing for about 8 hours a day, it would take about 3 weeks.

Cavalry separated from infantry could arrive at Jiangling Castle faster than 3 weeks. The cavalry arriving first would rest at Jiangling Castle, while the infantry would rest for 3 weeks while just sitting on the ships.

If the infantry resupplies as soon as they join at Jiangling Castle and rushes to Jingbei, we can reach Guan Yu in the shortest possible time.

‘There will be some troop damage like those with severe seasickness or motion sickness, but this is the fastest way.’

One month.

Based on the forced march mentioned above, we could somehow enter Jingbei in a month.

“Will the Commander of the Central Army be with the cavalry?”

Jiang Wei asked. If Shang Cong were here, Jiang Wei and Ma Su wouldn’t be a match. It would be irrational to give command to Jiang Wei and Ma Su while Shang Cong is with the infantry.

Of course, that wasn’t the case, and I shook my head and explained:

“The Central Army Commander needs to check if the Wu side is properly keeping the agreement. We also need to station troops in the Jingzhou land we gained this time. He will follow slowly behind and take care of the aftermath.”

“Ah, I understand.”

We decided to burn Xiagu Castle. The civilians were taken by Sun Deng’s side according to the agreement, and we lacked troops to maintain an empty Xiagu Castle.

From the time we made the armistice agreement with Sun Deng, Jiangxia was half-given up land. The plan was to use Yunmeng Marsh as a natural border and incorporate only the west of it as our territory.

“Then it will be difficult to gain Changsha and Guiyang as well.”

In the end, it wasn’t much different from before the Wei-Wu alliance after the Yiyang standoff. Only parts of Jiangxia and parts of Changsha were proper territorial expansion achievements.

“But taking Wu’s Jingzhou navy is significant. Next time we can properly use the navy to attack various parts of Jingzhou.”

One step back for two steps forward.

That was all the consolation we could give.

Using the smoke rising from burning Xiagu Castle as a signal, we began our retreat by both land and water.

Leaving the aftermath to Shang Cong and the central army, I and the Nanling Army rushed to Jiangling Castle with all our might. Even for the Nanling Army accustomed to marching, this march was quite arduous, but thankfully they followed my intention of viewing the situation as highly dangerous.

As we got closer to Jiangling Castle, our relay point, my concerns became reality.

Around the time we arrived near Lingling Castle, we encountered messengers departing from Jiangling Castle midway. It was a stroke of luck that occurred as both sides prioritized the shortest route.

And from the messenger, I was able to hear about the situation in Jingbei.

Guan Yu was surrounded.

§

The army led by Guan Yu proudly left Fancheng and advanced towards Wancheng.

The main force marched north by land, while supplies and reserves moved along the Yu River with the navy.

While doing so, they also extensively employed scouts to closely observe the movements of Xu Huang and Cao Biao. In particular, they paid special attention to Cao Biao, who seemed to be moving towards Jiangxia or the Huai River area.

Was the support for Wen Ping just a feint, or were they trying to attack Guan Yu’s flank by changing their march route?

However, there were no particular signs of that. Rather, Cao Biao was properly moving south towards Jiangxia and Yiyang.

It was an area equidistant from Wancheng where Xu Huang was, Xiagu Castle where Zhang Ran was facing Wu, and Huainan where Wei and Wu were at war. Among those three places.

Guan Yu had heard some news about Zhang Ran’s Jingzhou reclamation campaign, but knew little about the Huainan war. Physically, Huainan and Jingbei were too far apart.

If they had secured the Huai River, they might have easily heard news through the waterway, but the Huai River area was almost monopolized by Wei. The Huainan war started when Sun Quan launched a preemptive attack to try to get a piece of that pie.

Anyway, with Cao Biao moving like that, it was highly likely that the situation wasn’t going well for Wei, whether in Huainan or Jingzhou.

Guan Yu also knew that the Huainan war had started with the success of Sun Quan’s Empty Fort Strategy. It wouldn’t be strange if Wu was gaining the upper hand.

‘Ran must be clearly showing those Wu subordinates who the true owner of Jingzhou is. Those Cao fellows must be feeling cornered.’

Showing signs of defeat in the Huainan war, and Zhang Ran rampaging just below Jiangxia in Jingzhou that they occupy?

Although there is a mountain range dividing Jiangxia, it’s not something like the Zhin Ling Mountains and is at a level that can be sufficiently crossed.

They might be afraid that Zhang Ran would take Qichun County and cut off Yang Province and Jing Province, then charge in to take the northern part of Jiangxia occupied by Wei after crossing the mountain range.

‘Truly, Brother Yide has succeeded greatly in raising his child.’

Even for Guan Yu, who had never envied anyone in his life, he couldn’t help but envy Zhang Fei.

Convinced that Cao Biao’s true purpose was to support Jiangxia and Yiyang, Guan Yu felt lighter and briefly savored his envy for his sworn brother.

But that was only for a moment. Guan Yu soon returned to being the commander-in-chief of an army that had taken to the field.

“Without Cao Biao, this war is a fight between me and Xu Gongming, just the two of us.”

Xu Huang was once someone Guan Yu called “Elder Brother” and respected. The relationship that started from when Guan Yu briefly served under Cao Cao continued until the present after a long time.

When Guan Yu tried to occupy Fancheng, Xu Huang came to stop Guan Yu but was defeated due to Zhang Ran’s intervention.

But this time, there was no one to stop or help either of them.

It was a decisive battle between just the two of them.

Guan Yu, the great general boasted by Han, and Xu Huang, the last of Wei’s Five Elite Generals.

It was a grand match where these two heroes of the age would compete using only their own valor and wisdom.

“I look forward to it.”

How will Xu Huang come out?

Will he engage in a full-scale battle seeking to avenge the humiliating defeat he suffered at Zhang Ran’s hands last time? Or will he return to Wancheng and wage a defensive battle while waiting for reinforcements, considering the risk of a field battle?

For the former, Guan Yu’s forces were larger, and for the latter, he had come out too far to have time to prepare for a siege.

From Guan Yu’s standpoint, guessing how Xu Huang would react was one of his amusements. A privilege that could be enjoyed from an advantageous position.

Xu Huang was a formidable enemy that Guan Yu could never underestimate or be careless about, but looking at his recent military achievements, he had been quite struggling.

‘Come to think of it, it was the same during the previous Fancheng battle, and at Pofang Fortress too, Ran blocked Xu Gongming with her exploits.’

Could this be a natural enemy relationship? Yet Xu Huang was someone Guan Yu considered one of the most fearsome enemies in Wei, along with Zhang Liao.

‘Ran has accomplished this. How could I, as her uncle, fail to achieve it and face that child, and how could I sit in a higher position than her? I must win, that’s all.’

Guan Yu hoped that if possible, Xu Huang would choose a field battle.

Guan Yu had made many preparations for attacking Wancheng over time. He hadn’t just been sitting in Fancheng.

Guan Yu, who had expertise in castle construction to the extent of personally renovating Jiangling Castle, had been steadily dispatching spies to Wancheng while researching siege tactics, and in cooperation with Zhuge Liang, who was proficient in invention and modification, had been improving siege weapons.

This time too, he didn’t just rashly raise an army because an opportunity came. Guan Yu had been steadily and diligently building up the preparation process for victory.

Nevertheless, a field battle was much more advantageous than a siege.

No matter how much preparation is done, a siege is likely to take a long time, and the longer it takes, the more variables increase.

It’s much better to break their spirit with one field battle, even if a small victory, and then enter into a siege.

“Xu Gongming, Elder Brother must also want to prove that his might is still alive in the world.”

Lead your army out and face me proudly.

Let’s have a field battle.

Guan Yu stepped forward with his heart fluttering as he imagined the match with Xu Huang.

However, Xu Huang’s decision was to avoid.