As Guan Yu listened to everyone talking, he noticed that Wang Yue alone hadn't said a word. Once the others had finished speaking, he turned to Wang Yue and asked,
"Worthy son-in-law, do you have any suggestions?"
Wang Yue bowed to Guan Yu, then said solemnly, "Father-in-law, I believe that as long as the outlying territories pay their grain taxes on time, we don't need to impose further restrictions on them for now. Even if we garrison them, they'll be like chicken ribs—little use to us. But Jiangxia, Changsha, and Xiangyang need to be heavily defended.
"Once the crops on the plains between the Jiang and Han Rivers and around Dongting Lake ripen, we'll have enough grain to recruit more men. If we build up our strength for a year or two, Jingzhou will surely have a strong, well-equipped army. Then it won't be too late to decide whether to march east or campaign north."
Guan Yu knew Wang Yue made a good point. But Jiangdong had just caught him off guard with a sneak attack, and he wasn't willing to let them off so easily.
Ma Liang could tell what Guan Yu was thinking. He said gravely, "My lord, I believe Governor Wang is right. Besides, we've already fought our way back and vented our anger. I'm willing to go as an envoy to Jiangdong and negotiate a temporary truce between our lands, giving Jingzhou some breathing room."
The others assisting Guan Yu agreed, thinking it was a good plan.
Guan Yu was deeply frustrated. If he'd had another twenty or thirty thousand troops this time, all of Nanyang would certainly have been his.
He wouldn't be in this position, with nowhere near enough soldiers. If they hadn't unexpectedly captured Yu Jin and traded him for Fancheng, they would