If Zhuge Liang attacked Soochow and Liu Bei defended Shuzhong, would the Battle of Yiling still be a disastrous defeat? Why?
First of all, careful people will find it. When Liu Bei was alive, if there was a big battle, he would almost always fight it by himself, unless there were more troops to fight, or he was too busy. When Liu Bei was alive, Zhuge almost never led troops to fight except for leading troops to Shu to support Liu Bei. So will Liu Bei let him lead the battle of Yiling?
In the Battle of Yiling, Liu Bei not only continued to let Zhuge dominate the internal affairs in Chengdu, but even Zhao Yun, who opposed turning against Jiangdong, was arranged to serve as a reserve in Jiangzhou instead of participating in direct combat.
What I want to say here is that even if Zhuge sent troops to Yiling to confront Lu Xun as the question asked, the most likely outcome would be a confrontation, in which both sides would feel bored and stop.
Because Lu Xun and Zhuge are both people who will never take risks. Although Zhuge was cautious, Lu Xun was even more cautious. At that time, the material supply in Jiangdong was not only sufficient, but also water transportation was convenient, so the Shu army struggled. In addition, the weather is hot and Jiangdong is supported by the Jiangling camp. The Shu army is far away from the labor force, so logistical support is inconvenient. At the same time, the Shu army had to arrange for the navy to camp upstream in the Three Gorges area to prevent Cao Pi from taking the opportunity to intervene and cut off the Shu army's retreat.
The canyon area in the Yiling area is not suitable for the formation of troops. If Zhuge goes forward, Lu Xun will definitely lure the enemy deep into the most dangerous place. Like Fa Zheng doing Xia Houyuan in Dingjun Mountain. Lu Xun was like Lu Meng in dealing with Cao Cao's attack at Ruxuwu. Zhuge would definitely not dare to go deep into the dangerous place for a long time.
Unlike Liu Bei, Liu Bei is the emperor and no one dares to blame him if his troops are defeated. If Zhuge is defeated, the consequences will be extremely unfavorable, so Zhuge will not stay in a dangerous place for long. The final result is probably that after a period of confrontation, Zhuge retreated. But it was difficult for Lu Xun to take advantage of him.
To take a step back, even if Zhuge wins, it will not be easy. Jiangdong has long wanted to take Jingzhou. Winning Jingzhou will not only require the fighting spirit of Zhuge and Lu Xun, but also the ruthlessness of the two armies. The end result is that a victory for either side requires both sides to suffer losses and be severely weakened.
Only Cao Pi can be successful. And if you occupy Jingzhou, you need to defend it, which will become a thorn in Jiangdong's side. Then will the second Guan Yu emerge? Moreover, even if Lu Xun did not lure the enemy deep, Jiangling's city defense would require much offensive power from the Shu army and Zhuge.
It took Zhou Yu and his troops to attack Jiangling for a year before finally forcing Cao Ren to abandon Jiangling because the food route was blocked.
Even if Zhuge goes deep into the Jiangling area to fight fiercely, isn't he afraid of the Xiangyang heavy army behind him? Aren't you afraid of Wancheng's defense corps? Is Zhuge capable of creating the miracle of Lü Meng and Lu Xun taking Jiangling without a single blow?