Cao Cao brazenly attacked Zhao, and war broke out in the Central Plains once more.
Jiangdong naturally would not forgo this heaven-sent opportunity and began organizing an invasion of Shu.
In terms of strategic value alone, Shu was not a top priority for Wu State, falling far short of Nanyang and Huai-Si, at least.
But Shu was crucial to Guanzhong. It was not merely a great granary, but also the first stop in an attack on the lower Yangtze River.
Whether Wu State possessed Shu was unimportant. What mattered was that Guanzhong did not possess it, that the northern power did not possess it.
But invading Shu was no easy task.
It was a natural stronghold for an independent regime, situated on the upper Yangtze River and surrounded by mountains. Treacherous passes where one man could hold off ten thousand were everywhere.
With Yiling in Wu State's hands, Shu could not attack its way out. But the terrain upstream of Yiling was even more rugged and difficult, so Wu State could not get in either.
Attacking Shu through Hanzhong alone offered the easiest route.
Zhang Lu had attacked Shu for years without success; Liu Yan was a fairly capable man. Now that mighty Wu State had invited him to attack Shu together, he could hardly have wished for more.
As for what thoughts he truly harbored, a little reflection made them obvious. There was only one Shu; it could not be divided between two powers.
When Qin State and Chu State had divided Shu between them, the resulting wars had filled the skies. Qin State had ultimately occupied all of Shu, and Chu State's fortunes had begun declining from that point onward.
Wu State and the Kingdom of Hanzhong were using each other, each hoping to occupy Shu alone.
But