Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Throughout Cao Cao's life, he personally led his armies in battles across all directions, from north to south, east to west, leaving no place untouched by his campaigns.

However, one could argue that Cao Cao's actions stemmed from his reluctance to entrust significant military power to others, compelling him to handle matters personally.

More importantly, how many perilous situations did Cao Cao, accustomed to the battlefield, endure throughout his life?

The Battle of Wancheng saw a cannon claim three virtuous lives, the Battle of Red Cliffs ended in a hasty escape, and the Battle of Tong Pass involved cutting off his beard and abandoning his robe…

Although Cao Cao narrowly survived each of these incidents in the original timeline, doesn't this highlight the dangers faced by a ruler personally engaging on the front lines?

Had Cao Cao been even slightly less fortunate, his entire power base might have collapsed on the spot.

The unfortunate Yuan Shao serves as a prime example. Yuan Shao's campaign across the Central Plains, dominating most of the north, was virtually unopposed, showcasing his potential to unify the realm.

Then, Yuan Shao personally led his army south, only to be defeated by Cao Cao's superior tactics in the Battle of Guandu…

Even after the defeat at Guandu, Yuan Shao still held sway over the north. By regrouping and accumulating strength for a few years, he could have easily crushed Cao Cao.

However, Yuan Shao's personal involvement on the front lines led to his death from worry and resentment, causing his entire power base to crumble.

These instances unequivocally demonstrate the wisdom of the saying, "A nobleman should not sit under a leaning eaves."

As for whether Liu Bei's lack of personal command would affect his prestige within the army, Li Ji had no such concerns.

A ruler's prestige should never be built upon personally leading troops. Did Qin Shi Huang or Emperor Wu of Han ever command an army themselves? Yet, how was their prestige?

It was only because the martial spirit of the Han people had reached its peak during this era that so many rulers enjoyed personally leading their armies in all directions, showcasing their military prowess.

In reality, it's a bad habit that can easily lead to disaster!

Even during the Eastern Han and Three Kingdoms periods, the numerous miracles of turning the tide against the odds were inseparable from this bad habit.

Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, took so many arrows in his life, and ultimately died from an arrow wound, yet he failed to leave sufficient lessons for his descendants.

Therefore, upon noticing similar tendencies in Liu Bei, Li Ji almost unhesitatingly suppressed them.

Even if Liu Bei's most dazzling achievement in the original timeline was being burned for eight hundred miles in a series of linked camps, even if Liu Bei were truly a military genius, preparing to bring this talent to the Han stage, Li Ji would keep him confined to the administrative seat, forbidding him from moving.

Regarding Li Ji's statement, the intelligent Guo Jia understood the deeper meaning almost instantly.

Indeed!

As the governor of Wu Commandery, as long as Liu Bei didn't encounter any accidents, even if Li Ji's army were defeated, the situation in Wu Commandery wouldn't collapse.

However, if Liu Bei personally led his army south and something went wrong, the imperial court would undoubtedly appoint a new governor for Wu Commandery.

The damage this would cause to Wu Commandery, which was now undergoing reconstruction and about to get back on track, would be more severe than a raid by tens of thousands of Shanyue tribesmen.

"However, in this case, Mr. Zikun manages both the administrative affairs of Wu Commandery and holds military power, which may not be sustainable in the long run."

Guo Jia said, seemingly as a reminder and with a hint of contempt. "As a strategist, one should not hold military power, or sooner or later, it will lead to disaster."

Li Ji was naturally aware of Guo Jia's reminder and understood the risks involved.

It's just that Wu Commandery is too small, and with the Emperor still present, even if Li Ji intended to reform the military system, it would be meaningless at this time.

However, it was good that Guo Jia noticed this point and deliberately reminded him.

Li Ji had originally thought that the arrogant and proud young Guo Jia was just a naive hothead, but it seemed that he could still distinguish what was an untouchable bottom line.

It's just that Guo Jia's arrogant personality might lead him to recklessly push the boundaries without crossing the ruler's bottom line.

However, Li Ji deliberately provoked Guo Jia and said with a smile.

"It's just that my lord trusts me so much, I can't help it…"

"Perhaps throughout history, there hasn't been a strategist who led troops and ended well, but perhaps my lord and I can become the kind of confidantes who are remembered in history?"

For a moment, Guo Jia's face, which hadn't even tasted wine, seemed to be flushed red, and he nearly choked.

Immediately, seeing that Guo Jia had been silenced by this sentence, Li Ji didn't continue to pay attention to Guo Jia, and let Guo Jia begin to browse some maps of the southern part of Wu Commandery.

Li Ji then began to deal with the military reports that were gradually being sent back from the southern part of Wu Commandery, frowning slightly from time to time.

Zhao Yun had led a light cavalry south to provide support three days ago. Relying on his extremely high mobility and the simply repaired official roads, Zhao Yun arrived near Qiantang County not long after dawn.

Perhaps, that group of Shanyue tribesmen didn't expect the reinforcements from Qiantang County to arrive so quickly, and it was still a cavalry force.

As a result, the Shanyue tribesmen who were attacking the city didn't have time to make any arrangements, and Zhao Yun directly pierced through the unprepared Shanyue from the rear in one fell swoop.

Cavalry facing infantry head-on…

Even light cavalry has an unimaginable advantage!

When thousands of warhorses are running at full speed, the shock they produce can even be clearly felt as the ground trembles, and the impact on morale is even greater than direct casualties.

Especially for the Shanyue tribesmen who lacked experience in facing cavalry…

Rout!

The Shanyue tribesmen, who were mostly fighting on their own, faced the cavalry attack and quickly collapsed. More than three thousand Shanyue people dispersed and fled into the nearby dense forests.

Zhao Yun, who had come in anger, was by no means a soft-hearted person, and led the cavalry to pursue and kill the fleeing Shanyue along the way.

However, although there are no rare, uninhabited deep mountains and old forests around Qiantang County, there is no shortage of various trees and forests.

Therefore, when those Shanyue people, who were good at running in the mountains and forests, drilled into the jungle, the speed-limited cavalry not only had difficulty catching up with them, but were instead counter-killed by many of those bloodthirsty Shanyue people.

This made Zhao Yun, even if he was unwilling, had to stop chasing, so as to avoid unnecessary losses to the precious cavalry of Wu Commandery.

After the battle, the results reported by Zhao Yun were 869 heads beheaded and 125 prisoners captured.

The results were also good, but undoubtedly far from satisfactory.

However, this is the terrain south of the Yangtze River!

Cavalry has a great advantage on the battlefield, but there are not many places where cavalry can perfectly exert its advantages.

Afterwards, Zhao Yun led his troops to rest for a while, and did not dare to neglect. Instead, he continued to lead the cavalry to patrol continuously between Qiantang, Yuhang, and Fuchun counties.

This was both to deter the Shanyue bandits who had fled into the jungle and were difficult to track, and to find a way to find that group of Shanyue people.

In addition, Zhao Yun also sent soldiers to contact Guan Yu. Guan Yu, who was stationed on the Fuchun Mountain line, belatedly learned that Shanyue people had appeared in the rear.

Now, what Li Ji is reading is the military report sent back by Guan Yu, and the content is not complicated.

In addition to some words of apology for not noticing the appearance of Shanyue in the rear, it was to ask how Guan Yu's department should make a decision now?

The appearance of Shanyue in Fuchun County, in Guan Yu's view, must be a flaw somewhere in the defense line.

Therefore, Guan Yu believed that since Fuchun Mountain could not effectively block the Shanyue, it was not advisable to continue to be stationed on Fuchun Mountain, which stretched the supply line. Instead, it should be deployed directly on the line of Qiantang County, Yuhang County, and Fuchun Mountain.

In addition, Guan Yu did not forget to mention that no Shanyue people had dared to approach Fuchun Mountain, which was guarded by Guan Yu, for three months.

It is expected that as long as Guan Yu is stationed around Qiantang County, even if the Shanyue bandits do not know where they climbed over the mountains, those Shanyue bandits only need to hear Guan Yu's name, and they will definitely not dare to approach the vicinity of Qiantang County.

After reading Guan Yu's newly delivered military report carefully, Li Ji can only say that in terms of "arrogance", this one is even more heavyweight.

In comparison, Guo Jia's little bit of arrogance is more like a slight, insignificant tsundere.

This made Li Ji feel a little headache…

Guan Yu did not realize the calm before the storm, but Li Ji clearly noticed the thought-provoking place.

If Guan Yu's divine power was unforgiving, causing the Shanyue to lose their courage, then there should not have been any Shanyue people appearing around Qiantang County.

Qiantang County is located at the intersection with Kuaiji Commandery, and is only a hundred miles away from Shanyin, the seat of Kuaiji Commandery. There is also a city called Yuyao County between Qiantang County and Shanyin.

In this case, since the Shanyue were able to appear in Qiantang County, then the distance from Yuyao and Shanyin is only a short distance away. Why should they abandon Yuyao and Shanyin, and specifically attack Qiantang County?

Abandoning the near for the far, there must be something they seek…

This made Li Ji realize that perhaps Guan Yu, as a commander, usually studies military books and has made great progress in his ability to command troops.

However, in terms of strategic vision, Guan Yu has serious shortcomings, completely focusing his eyes on the battlefield, but not paying attention to the changes outside the battlefield.

Immediately, Li Ji got up and walked to a map of the southern part of Wu Commandery hanging inside the main tent. According to the direction of the Shanyue's escape described by Zhao Yun, he circled the area where the remnants of the Shanyue army fled on the map.

The Shanyue are truly local people, and they can easily distinguish directions even in deep mountains and dense forests.

Even if they are suddenly attacked by cavalry, the instinct of the body will not be wrong. The direction they instinctively flee in must be the direction they think is safe, which is…

Li Ji drew an arrow on the map, and his expression shook slightly.

Fuchun Mountain!

The main direction of the Shanyue fleeing into the dense forest is clearly pointing to Fuchun Mountain again!

Although this was only a speculation based on bodily instincts, the fact that a large number of Shanyue people instinctively fled in the same direction undoubtedly concealed a problem.

Mount Fuchun?

While Li Ji was lost in thought, Guo Jia had roughly browsed through the information and topographic map that Li Ji had given him, and his brows also furrowed.

(End of Chapter)