A place that must be fought for by military strategists and the name of the first city is not just a joke.

For Chu, it was the first place to block foreign enemies from crossing the river.

For other countries, it is the best springboard to break into the heart of Chu.

The expressions of several strategists were a little weird.

Jia You wanted to speak but stopped.

Wang Su said, "King, although Xiangyang is a strategic location, if our army plans, it may be inappropriate."

Xiao Yuan looked at him and signaled him to continue.

Wang Su continued: "Xiangyang is the best in the world. Not only that, its city is more solid and more difficult than dangerous passes. Moreover, its economy, military, and commercial population are extremely prosperous. If the Chu army defends here with elite troops and stocks up food, grass and weapons in the city, it will take several years to capture this place."

"If our army cannot advance for several years alone, then this war will actually be lost."

After he finished speaking, Jia You said, "Mr. Wang is right. The average width of the moat in Xiangyang has reached 55 meters, and the widest part is more than 70 meters. In such a huge city, warships cannot enter and soldiers cannot enter, which is not a choice for a strong attack."

Shangguan Wenruo also agreed: "Xiangyang is a major county in northern Chu and is an important town on behalf of him. Looking at the historical records of the empire, there were more than a hundred battles in this city, and loyal and righteous people all strived to be the best. Xiangyang must be the key point. When Duke Yuan of Jin attacked Chu, he used 200,000 troops to trap Xiangyang for four years but failed to get it, so he was exhausted..."

From the words of the three strategists, it can be seen how difficult it is to capture Xiangyang, which is even more difficult than the dangerous barrier.

After hearing this, Xiao Yuan frowned slightly and began to think.

However, Su Yi said in a plain voice: "Xiangyang is a place that must be fought for by military strategists. Although it is difficult to obtain, the gains and losses of this place will be related to the battle situation in the entire Central Plains. As Master Shangguan said, looking at the history, especially when the regimes in the north and south confront each other, Xiangyang's position will become crucial. Whether it is Duke Jin to attack Chu or Yan Hou going south, they all want to take Xiangyang first in terms of strategic intentions, as the momentum of Jianling."

"If you do not recover the land of Chu, it will be difficult to unify the mountains and rivers. If you do not capture Xiangyang, it will be difficult to cross the Yangtze River."

After hearing what he said, Wang Su said, "Even if the king wants to rush his troops south, he can first attack and destroy the Wu Kingdom, send troops from Ningyang, use naval warships, go down the river, and then use infantry to land on the border of the Wu Kingdom."

Su Yi received: "Wu Chu is very self-protection nowadays. He knows that Ningyang is the key to military use, so how can our infantry easily land? They will definitely set up defense lines along the river. Moreover, the Ningyang waterway is not vast. If the Wu army throws big rocks in the river, strands warships, and sets up an ambush, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"To conquer Wu and Chu, we must first take the city north of the Yangtze River, which is the right way."

"This..." Wang Su paused at first, then bowed: "The general is right."

Xiao Yuan pondered for a moment, then looked at Yan Qi: "What do you think?"

Yan Qi bowed and returned: "I agree with General Su Yi's view that the importance of Xiangyang is not as simple as a city and a pool, but its geographical location."

Speaking of this, he paused again: "But... if you look at Xiangyang now, it will be very disadvantageous to our army. It is better to use Xiangyang as bait and make a feint attack to affect the entire Jiangnan battle situation."

"Oh?" Xiao Yuan's heart moved, "What do you mean is to involve Wu Chu's troops near Xiangyang first?"

"Yes." Yan Qi said: "If the king goes south, Wu and Chu will inevitably unite to resist. We can have an absolute advantage in the army and make a plan to capture Xiangyang City. The importance of this place is known to everyone in the world. The King of Chu will inevitably be shocked and then want to deal with our army in Xiangyang. In fact, we secretly take Jiangling."

This strategy is a typical example of arguing east and attacking west, attacking Xiangyang with great fanfare, and secretly stealing Jiangling with elite troops.

And when he was talking, Xiao Yuan was already looking at the sand table map.

From a strategic perspective, Jiangling is of course not as good as Xiangyang. However, if you take it here, you can open the front battlefield of crossing the river and be a certain place to stay.

However, taking Jiangling, the troops no longer aimed at Chu, but turned into attacking Wu.

Xiao Yuan was still thinking about it and did not make a decision immediately.

Jia You pondered for a moment and said tentatively: "If this strategy is used, if the other party finds it, it will be of no effect."

"No." Yan Qi said directly: "When we attack Xiangyang, in terms of strategic intention, Wu Chu will definitely think that the king is going to destroy Chu, but he will not expect that we are actually going to attack Wu."

As he said that, he explained: "Although Wu and Chu are united, they are not a country after all. Our army is coming to Xiangyang. Based on common sense, the King of Wu will only think of helping Chu."

"And even if Jiangling cannot, we can take the opportunity to wipe out Wu Chu's main force in Xiangyang."

"Anyway, I think that if you want to conquer Xiangyang in the south, it is a necessary war route."

The strategists looked at each other.

Su Yi received: "I agree with General Yan Qi's military strategy. This strategy is worth a try, whether successful or not."

"Well..." Xiao Yuan nodded slowly and decided immediately: "The initial military strategy is tentatively set forth here. Before the war starts, all military deployments must be made and no news must be disclosed."

"No!" Everyone bowed and bent down.

During this southern expedition, Xiao Yuan was determined to conquer Wu and Chu and recover Jiangnan, and would probably have all three armies. Therefore, the early military preparations were relatively cumbersome and there were many things to be solved.

However, Wang Ting's military resolution has been finalized, and he will only wait for the military service.

At this moment, a message came, more or less obstructing Xiao Yuan's footsteps.

The old King of Wu became worse and suddenly died. The whole country of Wu was covered with white mourning.

At this time, if we were to fight in the south, there would be no doubt that the Wu army would fight in anger, and the so-called mourning soldiers would win!

And in name, the world believes that the King of Qin is taking advantage of the death of King Wu and is unreasonable to attack, morally, he will lose one end first.

The Qin soldiers may have weak morale, and the other is getting worse, which is also the problem that Xiao Yuan is worried about.

Based on this point, the strategists immediately gave opinions and unanimous suggestions that if the Southern Expedition was postponed and the attack was at this time, our army's morale would be inferior to that of the Wu army, and they might be in danger of defeat.

Shangguan Wenruo even said: "There was a long-standing example in ancient times when the monarch of another country died. If an unrighteous army was promoted, he would be despised by the world. This is morality and the king should not lose it."

Xiao Yuan is not a gentleman. If this is an opportunity to destroy Wu, he would never hesitate, but this is obviously not, but news that is unfavorable to his side.

The old King of Wu died, and the Crown Prince of Wu succeeded to the throne, which had no impact on the defense of the Wu army.

So he could only smile bitterly and said, "Take Yan Sui as his envoy, go to Wu for condolences."
Chapter completed!