Chapter 45 Liu Bei’s Worry

In the meeting hall of General Zuo’s residence.

Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Mi Zhu, Jian Yong, Sun Qian, Mi Fang, Guan Ping and others looked at Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong, who, after boasting, sat back calmly and said nothing, and all became somewhat suspicious.

Could it be that the two of them really had the confidence that one of them could invite 200,000 friendly troops to Nanyang alone and tie down 50,000 Cao troops? Could the other one also invite 100,000 troops to Nanyang?
“Hmph, I’d like to see how you two can gather hundreds of thousands of troops to contain Cao Cao’s army. If you can really do it, I’ll be convinced!” Suddenly, Guan Yu stroked his beautiful beard and spoke coldly.

As he spoke, Guan Yu ignored Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong and bowed to Liu Wu, saying:
“Zihao, I got the news yesterday that Cao Cao has gathered 200,000 troops in Xudu and is collecting food and supplies. He will soon attack our Nanyang. In addition, Cao Cao ordered Xiahou Dun and Zhang Liao to lead 40,000 troops to attack Hefei. We need to prepare early!”

Guan Yu reported military intelligence to Liu Wu, but ignored Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong.

When Liu Wu heard that Cao Cao had gathered an army of 200,000 in Xudu and would attack Nanyang, and had already sent 40,000 troops to station in Hefei, he felt that Cao Cao was worthy of being the most powerful prince in the world after Yuan Shao’s death.

After the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao had only one or two years of rest and had already recovered his strength.

Seeing that Guan Yu ignored Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong, Liu Wu also understood that at the moment, even if he wanted to use the two of them, because they were new arrivals, they still could not control the army at all due to their lack of prestige, even if his people had secretly taken control of the army.

However, with a powerful enemy at hand, it was impossible to fall out with Guan Yu.

Liu Wu hesitated for a moment, then decided to delegate power to Guan Yu, saying:
“Cao Cao is a strong enemy. He first defeated Lu Bu, then Yuan Shu, and now defeated Yuan Shao. He should not be underestimated. Yunchang is the number one general in our Nanyang army. Yunchang will have full authority to mobilize Nanyang troops to deal with Cao Cao’s attack.”

Liu Wu still decided to let Guan Yu lead the army to fight against Cao Cao.

Will Guan Yu be a match for Cao Cao?

Liu Wu is not so optimistic about Guan Yu, even though Guan Yu’s command [Commander] reaches 93.

After serving in the army for many years and commanding troops, he has the ability to command an army and rule a region, and is one of the top generals in the world.

Although most of the Nanyang army have now switched to sharp iron-cutting weapons, they have already gained an advantage in weapons.

However, Cao Cao had many more powerful ministers and generals under his command, not to mention Cao Cao himself leading the army in person.

The Cao army had far more troops than Nanyang.

Although Nanyang has sharp weapons and an advantage, it does not mean that it will definitely win.

After all, someone using weapons made of bamboo could defeat an army armed with steel weapons.

The soldiers of Nanyang do not all have a set of iron-cutting armor, and do not have that much powerful protection. Even if the iron-cutting weapons are powerful, it does not mean that they can directly chop the opponent’s weapons into pieces.

Therefore, when comparing the overall strength of Nanyang and Cao Cao, Liu Wu is still not very optimistic about Guan Yu.

However, it doesn’t matter. As long as Guan Yu can hold on until Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong lead reinforcements back, he can accept it even if he loses a few battles and retreats to Wancheng. It will be a good opportunity to kill the spirit of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

In the hall, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and others were delighted when they heard Liu Wu say that Guan Yu would be given full authority to mobilize troops to resist Cao Cao. Even Zhang Fei grinned. He thought Liu Wu was going to seize the military power when he saw Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong were promoted.

Now, it seems not, Liu Wu still has his eyes on Guan Yu.

Guan Yu also smiled and bowed to Liu Wu, saying:
“Don’t worry, Zihao. This battle will definitely let Cao Cao have a taste of the power of our Nanyang army.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Wu did not say anything. He just smiled at Guan Yu and said a few words like the safety of Nanyang depends on Guan Yu.

……

After the meeting that day, the two people who suddenly appeared, Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong, were undoubtedly the most discussed by the civil and military officials under Liu Wu.

Liu Wu wanted to make use of Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong and Xu Shu, which was undoubtedly a more important matter for Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Jian Yong, Sun Qian and others.

The news soon reached the ears of Liu Bei, who was recuperating in Guan Yu’s backyard.

“This… This Zihao is too eager to arrange his own people. We are facing a powerful enemy right now, cough cough cough…”

Lying on the sickbed, Liu Bei’s face turned pale as he listened to Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Jian Yong and Sun Qian telling them what happened in the conference hall today. His face turned ugly and he spoke impatiently.

Listening to Liu Bei’s words, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Jian Yong and Sun Qian all nodded seriously.

Indeed, they also felt that Liu Wu wanted to seize power from them today, and they did not realize how capable Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong were.

Even if it was Xu Shu, although he had abilities, they were not too exaggerated. How could he be appointed as the military advisor and lieutenant general?

“Ahem… Yunchang, I thought Zihao was calm and steady, but who knew he would be so reckless. You must keep the military power firmly in your hands. Also, you must fight this battle well. You must not be defeated, and you must not let Cao Cao defeat you again!” Liu Bei’s face flushed. Although he was lying on the bed, he felt a strong sense of crisis when he heard that Liu Wu was going to arrange someone to take control of the military power.

Even thinking about the fact that Liu Wu actually agreed to the bet between Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong and Guan Yu, he vaguely understood that Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong must be very talented, not inferior to Xu Shu, and at least at the same level as Xun Yu.

This made Liu Bei even more worried about whether Guan Yu could stop Cao Cao’s army. If he couldn’t, Liu Wu would probably jump out at that time.

However, Liu Bei was not in a position to tell Guan Yu about these things and could only hope that Guan Yu could stop Cao Cao’s attack.

“Don’t worry, brother. This time, Yunchang will take steady steps to avenge us for the loss of Xuzhou!” Guan Yu said solemnly with a serious expression.

Although Guan Yu spoke seriously, there was still endless worry in Liu Bei’s eyes.

Because the Guan Yu today is not yet the god of war who flooded seven armies and shocked all of China.

(End of this chapter)