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Chapter 467: 235: Starting Well but Ending Poorly_2

Qiao Kangquan agreed: “It is indeed extremely difficult, even impossible, to stop an Inborn Grandmaster once they decide to flee.”

Lu Yuan smiled, ignoring the implicit blame in Shangguan Ming’s words, and asked: “I have spent two months on the surprise attack on Xichuan and have been out of touch with the outside world for a long time. What is the situation in Xiangyang now? I remember when I left, Zhou People’s reinforcements were constantly coming, can the Wuan Marquis still hold on?”

For the United Army, the real main battlefield was in Xiangyang.

If they were defeated there, no matter how great Lu Yuan’s victory in Hanzhong Prefecture and Xichuan, it would all be for nothing.

Once the Zhou army arrived, these two prefectures would be lost in an instant.

Therefore, he was particularly concerned about the situation in Xiangyang.

Upon hearing his question, the expressions of Shangguan Ming and the others became a little strange, as if they were both happy and worried, making their expressions very complicated.

Finally, Shangguan Ming said: “In fact, the situation in Xiangyang is, well, the reinforcements from Zhou have arrived, with a hundred thousand soldiers and an Inborn Grandmaster joining their forces. However, no battle has broken out there.”

“No battle?”

Lu Yuan was surprised to hear this, asking, “How did that happen?”

With a complex tone, Shangguan Ming said: “Does King Changsha still remember that the court ceded three prefectures of Guangling to negotiate peace with Liang and asked them to send troops to threaten Zhou?”

Upon hearing the mention of Liang, Lu Yuan had some guesses and replied: “I remember. At the end of the sixth year of Hongdao, the court reached a settlement with Liang, ceding the three prefectures of Guangling in exchange for Liang sending 200,000 troops to attack Nanyang Prefecture of Zhou.”

Shangguan Ming nodded and said: “It’s been a year since then, and Liang has finally sent troops. At this moment, they have 200,000 troops stationed in Jiangxia, threatening the flanks of Xiangyang and Nanyang. Due to this threat, although Zhou has increased its forces in Xiangyang to 200,000, they still dare not take action in the face of attacks from both front and rear.”

Similarly, with Liang troops stationed on the flank, Wuan Marquis is also reluctant to take action easily.

Thus, both sides are at a stalemate near Xiangyang, and there hasn’t been much fighting.

Initially, the arrival of Liang’s forces was meant to aid Yue Country’s Northern Expedition.

But now, as Yue is seemingly winning the Northern Expedition, not only has it defeated 200,000 soldiers of Zhou but also killed two Inborn Pillar State. At this moment, they have seized half of Xiangyang Prefecture, and the situation is highly favorable.

Under such circumstances, it is worth pondering whether these 200,000 Liang forces stationed nearby are here to help Yue or Zhou.

After all, the reason why Liang initially reached an agreement with Yue was that they saw Zhou’s extensive influence and the potential to engulf Jiangnan entirely, so they chose to join Yue to counter Zhou together.

However, now they see that Zhou has been defeated and is even on the verge of losing Xiangyang Prefecture. It seems that Yue may rise again.

Therefore, according to the principle of attacking the strong, it is not impossible for Liang to attack Yue now, as Zhou is weak and Yue is strong.

So, the sudden arrival of Liang’s forces has become a power lurking outside the battlefield, making the Northern Expedition unpredictable once again.

At this point, both Zhou and Yue are exhausted. Both sides have given their all, with no more reserves of power.

On the contrary, Liang is biding its time, ready to mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops at any moment.

Faced with such a force, who in Zhou or Yue could not have reservations?

Both countries fear that their struggle would only benefit Liang in the end, like the proverbial clam and crane fighting, leaving them free to pick up the spoils.

Therefore, both sides are trying to avoid this situation, knowing that continuing the stalemate is not the best solution; they can only hold their positions.

Lu Yuan also clearly understood this reasoning; so after listening to Shangguan Ming’s explanation of the current situation, he asked: “So, does this mean that the Northern Expedition will stagnate ultimately?”

Shangguan Ming nodded: “Indeed. At this moment, the court is already discussing whether to negotiate peace with Zhou. According to the information we have, it seems that Zhou also has thoughts of making peace. We can fight each other on the battlefield and accept defeat gracefully, but if Liang were to reap the benefits, no one would accept that.”

So, it is estimated that the Northern Expedition will not be able to proceed, and the final outcome can only be determined at the negotiating table.”

Hearing this, Lu Yuan was at a loss for words.

He never expected that such a grand Northern Expedition, involving four prefectures, would end in such an anticlimactic manner.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Yuan could only ask, “In that case, do our forces still need to rush to Xiangyang? Also, I have taken Hanzhong Prefecture, and Zhou forces may march south at any time; we need someone to guard it.”

Lu Yuan had not forgotten that he had to exchange the territory of Hanzhong Prefecture with Jihui and Qiao Kangquan to obtain the land of Xichuan Prefecture.

Therefore, whether or not the Northern Expedition ends in peace between Zhou and Yue, he has to defend Hanzhong Prefecture’s territory.

Hearing this, Jihui and Qiao Kangquan also looked concerned.

Whether the territory of Hanzhong Prefecture could be held was of vital interest to them, so they could not help but be concerned.

Facing the gazes of the three, Shangguan Ming knew that there was no getting around this issue, but he could not make a decision on this matter; all he could say was: “I do not know how to decide on this matter. I need to consult with the Wuan Marquis before making any further plans.”

Seeing that the other party had brought up the Wuan Marquis, Lu Yuan could not continue to press and could only nod in agreement: “In that case, let’s quickly dispatch an envoy to Xiangyang Camp to ask for the Wuan Marquis’s decision.”