mtl008 Chapter 756 Fu Shiren has returned from the South?
Chapter 756 Fu Shiren has returned from the South?
As time went by, Shen Yi also received news that Tian Yu and Yang Tai had arrived. He then dared not delay and immediately recalled all his troops to build camps and defend against the attack.
It wasn't that he didn't want to continue fighting, but that he couldn't. First, there were too many wounded soldiers in the army who urgently needed rest. Second, Tian Yu was leading a force entirely of cavalry, while his side consisted of infantry; going out would only result in slaughter.
Therefore, Shen Yi could only set up camp for defense and ask Liu Bei for help, while waiting for the situation to continue to develop.
Then the situation between the two sides became interesting. Shen Yi successfully captured the beachhead on the north bank of the Yangtze River, while Wen Ping retreated back to the city of Zhu County. Tian Yu and Yang Tai were stationed outside the city, forming a pincer movement with Wen Ping. Sun Lang occupied Xiling and was watching them from behind. If no external force intervened, this situation would probably be difficult to change in the short term.
In other words, that's the situation for now. The next step is to see which dynasty, Han or Wei, sends reinforcements faster.
……
Jiangling.
Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang have been quite busy lately because Fu Shiren has returned, and he's even come all the way from Nanzhong. He's already in Chengdu.
Last year, Mi Fang and Fu Shiren were ordered to sail and successfully arrived at Linyi. When the news reached Jiangling, Liu Bei ordered Mi Fang to stay and guard Linyi, and ordered the newly appointed Duke of Yan, Jian Huan, to take up his fief in Funan. However, he ordered Fu Shiren to continue to sail and explore sea routes.
The unfortunate Fu Shiren had no choice but to sail out to sea again, skimming the coastline through the Strait of Malacca and all the way to the vicinity of what is now Myanmar, where he encountered the mouth of a large river.
Fu Shiren did not know that this great river was the Jinsha River in southern China, which was later renamed the Irrawaddy River. He just thought that the river was quite wide and should be suitable for navigation, so he turned into the river on the spot to test its depth. Unexpectedly, when he reached the end, he found that he had reached Yongchang County in southern China.
After learning from the local natives that this was Yongchang, Fu Shiren immediately sent someone to contact Wang Kang, the prefect of Yongchang. He then ordered the fleet to return by water, while he himself returned to Jiangling by land.
Wang Kang, the Prefect of Yongchang, and Hao Zhao, the Governor of Yijiang, dared not neglect this matter. They provided Fu Shiren with everything he needed and urged him to return to Jiangling immediately. At the same time, they sent a fast horse to Jiangling to report the situation to Liu Bei. As a result, Liu Bei received the news before Fu Shiren had even arrived in Chengdu.
Upon receiving the news, Liu Bei immediately summoned Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhuge Liang, and Guan Xing to the palace for discussion.
Inside the imperial study, Liu Bei, holding the memorial delivered by Hao Zhao, said with a complicated expression, "Fu Shiren went to sea from Jiangdong but returned from Nanzhong. This is truly a circle."
In fact, the indigenous people in the south had long discovered that the Irrawaddy River could lead to the sea and established contact with India through waterways. However, the information had not yet reached the Central Plains and had not been clearly recorded in writing. The earliest record of this river is in the "Wei Lue: Xi Rong Zhuan" written by Cao Wei, which clearly states that the waterway of the Da Qin Kingdom connects to Yongchang County in Yizhou, and one should land on the coast to reach Yongchang.
However, since the "Weilue: Biography of the Western Rong" had not yet been published, Liu Bei was unaware of it for the time being.
Moreover, before Liu Bei ascended the throne, the Han Dynasty had zero exploration of the ocean. Liu Bei had never even been to the South China Sea, let alone the Strait of Malacca. Now, Fu Shiren set off from Jiangdong, but returned from the south through the Strait of Malacca and the Irrawaddy River. How could he not be shocked?
Liu Bei said with a complicated expression, "It seems that An Guo's theory that the earth is a sphere is correct, and his theory of going south while heading north is also valid. But what should we do now?"
Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhuge Liang were still quite shocked by Fu Shiren's performance of going east and returning west. After the shock subsided, Zhuge Liang said, "What else can we do? We can only let Fu Shiren return to the capital to rest for a while and continue exploring. In addition, since this Yi River can lead directly to the ocean, it means that it has shipping value. When conditions permit in the future, we must take control of it."
This crucial waterway has both economic and military value. For a top strategist like Zhuge Liang, it would have been fine if he hadn't discovered it, but now that he has, he is determined to control it.
Guan Xing continued, "The Prime Minister is wise. This river not only leads directly to the Indian Ocean, but also avoids the Strait of Malacca, a maritime checkpoint, preventing us from being held hostage. In later generations, because we didn't control the Strait of Malacca and the Irrawaddy River, our merchant ships had to pay tolls every time they passed through. Not only that, but when people got upset, they would block the road and not let us pass. It was so frustrating."
"However, it is probably unrealistic to occupy this place in a short period of time. Even the South China is still under control, and Myanmar has not yet been touched. It will probably take decades or even hundreds of years of effort to permanently occupy this place."
Liu Bei said, "It doesn't matter. When the third son (Liu Yong) grows up, let him go to Myanmar to take up his fief. He must make sure that the Irrawaddy River is under my control."
Guan Xing naturally agreed wholeheartedly. The significance of southern Myanmar to the whole of Southeast Asia is equivalent to that of Longxi to Chang'an. It is a strategic high ground. As long as we occupy it, Southeast Asian countries such as Funan and Linyi will all have to drink our water.
Why did the Ming Dynasty's Zhu family abandon Annam but fight desperately for Yunnan? Wasn't it because it was a strategic high ground in Southeast Asia?
Unfortunately, the Zhu family didn't do things properly and didn't continue south to take over Burma. If they had taken over Burma along the way, would later generations have needed to go to such great lengths for a mere port like Kyaukpyu?
Liu Bei casually tossed aside the memorial and sighed, "It seems the world is much bigger and more wonderful than we imagined. Compared to that, we know so little. I really want to go overseas and see the whole world."
Guan Xing chimed in, "Indeed, the land is so beautiful that it has attracted countless heroes to bow down before it."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Fei didn't react much, but Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhuge Liang exclaimed at the same time, "What a fine poem! Who wrote it? And what about the rest? Read it to us quickly!"
They knew that Guan Xing's level of education was insufficient to write such excellent lines; it must have been written by a great poet of later generations. Moreover, all three of them possessed the ability to appreciate the quality of poetry, so they were eager to know the full text.
But this stumped Guan Xing. In his haste, he couldn't remember which poem it was. Just as he was thinking of how to brush it off, Chen Dao suddenly rushed into the hall and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Shen Yi has sent someone with an urgent report, saying it's extremely urgent."
With the frontline situation being of utmost importance, Liu Bei instantly put everything else aside and quickly shouted, "Send word immediately!"
Soon a soldier with a command flag on his back entered the hall, knelt on one knee and presented a bamboo tube. Zhang Fei snatched it, glanced at the seal, quickly tore it open, and ran over to look at it with Liu Bei.
Guan Yu, Zhuge Liang, and Guan Xing also gathered around. After reading it, Liu Bei couldn't help but exclaim, "Sun Lang has managed to develop an army of 20,000 in such a short time and has been driven to Jiangxia County by Tian Yu. Guan Yan is also planning to seize Xiling and welcome Sun Lang into the city. Shen Yi is also preparing to attack Wen Ping to support Sun Lang's entry into the city?"
The situation changed too quickly and there were too many reversals; Liu Bei needed some time to process it.
Zhuge Liang said, "This news came a few days ago. If things had gone smoothly, Guan Yan might have already captured Xiling and joined forces with Sun Lang. Shen Yi might even have launched an attack on Wen Ping."
"But Tian Yu is leading cavalry after all, and Shen Yi probably won't gain much advantage against him. Why don't we send the Third General with 5,000 cavalry to rush to Shen Yi's aid? If we can recapture Jiangxia, that would be great. If we can't, then we should bring back Sun Lang's 20,000 troops."
Those 20,000 troops were also 20,000 able-bodied men; bringing them back would be just enough to make up for Zhou Tai's losses.
In addition, with the return of Longxi, the Han Dynasty now has cavalry. Liu Bei selected warhorses from the Shandan military horse farm to form 8,000 cavalry, three thousand of whom were given to Zhao Yun to guard Xiangyang, and the remaining five thousand were given to Zhang Fei to train.
Liu Bei immediately said, "Alright, Third Brother, you set off immediately and head to E County to meet up with Shen Yi."