Deep Fortune Deng Shizai

"Break down the whole into scattered parts, gather sand into a tower, all without gods or ghosts noticing. Even intelligence that seems insignificant can reveal military issues through analysis—though its accuracy still needs to be verified," Lan Tian explained.

Zhuge Liang held his fan and smiled. "I am convinced, in any case. Ziyu uses merchants as soldiers. As for the inaccuracies on the maps, it will not be too late to verify and correct them once the realm is pacified. Let us return to what we discussed before the banquet. What advice does Ziyu have regarding a campaign into the Yong-Liang Region?"

"Compressed rations have solved the transport problem along the Shu roads. All the grain from southern Yi Province can be made into compressed rations, while the rice and millet produced in Hanzhong can be transported normally and consumed alongside them. Once we have stockpiled a year or so of provisions, we can send out the army. Over the next two years, I will send all of Jieyang's kelp production to the Hanzhong front," Lan Tian replied.

"According to my Longzhong Plan, General Guan is to lead the Jing Province troops into Wan and Luoyang, while the King leads Yi Province's forces out through the Qin River Valley. Yet the State of Wei has more than a hundred thousand troops stationed on the western front of the Yong-Liang Region, and over two hundred thousand around Luoyang.

"Yi Province as a whole currently has only a hundred thousand soldiers. All the troops General Guan can mobilize amount to merely fifty or sixty thousand. General Gan's garrison in Wuchang must guard against Lu Xun, while Ziyu has only just recovered Rinan Commandery and cannot spare troops for the north.

"The disparity in our forces is immense. Even if compressed military rations