My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 603 Zhongda Offers Advice
Prior to this, Lu Xun and Liu Feng had already discussed the matter.

If Zhao Wei listens to the advice and obediently moves his camp, then after the camps are merged, we will take the opportunity to relieve Zhao Wei and others of their command, dispose of Zhao Wei's group, select the elite among them to form an army, and then send away most of the able-bodied men.

Liu Feng could not tolerate supporting 40,000 to 50,000 weak and useless soldiers on the front lines.

If Zhao Wei harbors selfish motives and refuses to join the camp, then let him be, but we will not provide him with more food, but will supply him with small amounts of food on multiple occasions.

The purpose was obvious: to use Zhao Wei as bait to lure the Shu army, and even the Hanzhong army and Cao army, in a scenario where the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

This was not just Lu Xun's idea, but a consensus among Liu Feng, Zhuge Liang, Lu Xun, and many other generals.

At this time, Zhao Wei's army was demoralized and lacked fighting spirit, making them easy prey for Liu Feng. Liu Feng did not believe that Cao Cao's army would not be tempted.

This is 30,000 to 40,000 experienced soldiers, more than half of whom are seasoned veterans. Once swallowed, it will immediately increase the number of usable soldiers by 20,000, and the remaining 20,000 able-bodied men can be used as laborers for the people.

These people were either from Ba Commandery or were Ba people from Ba Commandery, which would greatly benefit Cao Cao's future plans to conquer Ba Commandery.

Lu Xun accepted all of Zhao Wei's gifts. Forty cartloads of gifts were for Liu Feng, and of the remaining ten cartloads, half were for Lu Xun himself, and the other half were for the various generals and colonels.

Lu Xun sealed all the gifts, awaiting Liu Feng's decision, while at the same time warmly entertaining Li Yi with a banquet.

During the evening banquet, Lu Xun noticed something interesting: Li Yi seemed to be making some kind of hint, repeatedly expressing his admiration and respect for Liu Feng with great enthusiasm, while also inadvertently revealing some of Zhao Wei's secrets.

Lu Xun couldn't help but sigh. Even a trusted confidant like Li Yi was starting to seek other opportunities, which showed that Zhao Wei's prestige in the army had become pitifully low.

However, Lu Xun politely declined Li Yi's request to increase the allocation of grain, explaining that the army's grain reserves were all transported from Jingzhou, a long and arduous journey that resulted in significant losses. He hoped that Zhao Wei could transfer the grain to Guangdu to join the army.

After expressing his regret, Li Yi repeatedly said that he would persuade Zhao Wei to agree to move the camp after returning.

After seeing Li Yi off, Lu Xun resumed his work as usual.

Lu Xun's troops set up a large camp on the banks of the Fu River outside Guangdu City, and also carried out large-scale labor services, conscripting thousands of young men in the local area, Wuyang and even Bidao, and capturing them to cut down trees and make siege weapons.

Guangdu is only twenty miles from Chengdu, and the entire route is flat plains with smooth roads.

The Left Army's main camp was set up ten miles north of Guangdu City, which was only ten miles from Chengdu, thus effectively surrounding and threatening Chengdu.

From here, the army can reach the moat of Chengdu in just one hour.

After the successful establishment of the Guangdu Camp, the garrison in Chengdu felt immense pressure.

Lu Xun divided his army into two parts, leaving 4,000 men under Lü Dai and Cuan Yang to garrison Guangdu County, while he personally led the main force of 18,000 men under eight divisions, including Sun Ce, Huang Zhong, Wei Yan, Lü Meng, Wen Pin, Ling Tong, Zhang Nan, and Feng Xi, to the main camp. In addition, Gan Ning led 6,000 men to garrison the water camp.

The combined forces of the water and land troops, along with those in Guangdu County, totaling 28,000 men, have drawn almost all the attention of the Chengdu garrison, greatly relieving the pressure on Zhao Wei's troops.

In addition, Liao Hua's troops had already been ordered to move north last month and had now entered Wuyang City, taking over 1,000 soldiers from Wuyang County to guard the rear of the main army, while Xi Zhen's 2,000 troops were stationed at the Bodao.

As for Zhuge Liang, who was originally stationed at Bidao and preparing to go to the Guangdu line, he received Liu Feng's order and has led his troops back to Jiangzhou.

The reason Zhuge Liang was sent back to Jiangzhou was because Liu Feng was going to personally lead an expedition.

The Battle of Chengdu was not only a military campaign but also a political one. Many decisions required direct action from frontline commanders, and Liu Feng, stationed in Jiangzhou, was simply too far away.

Therefore, Liu Feng transferred Zhuge Liang back to Jiangzhou, where he led his own troops, two thousand men under Wang Wei, and six thousand naval troops under Jiang Qin to garrison Jiangzhou, protect the waterway transport along the way, and also serve as a strategic reserve force.

He Qi's 20,000 troops temporarily hid and stationed along the line from Jiangzhou to Guanghan.

Zhou Yu's troops were assembled in Jiangling, serving as the general reserve force.

Liu Feng personally led 3,000 personal troops, along with 2,000 men from Fu Tong's troops and 2,000 men from Xi Zhen's troops transferred from Jingzhou, more than 600 strong Ba people recruited by Wang Ping, and 6,000 naval troops under Huang Gai, and sailed up the Yangtze River from Jiangzhou to the Guangdu line.

**
Twenty miles outside Fucheng, Zhang Wei anxiously gazed at the end of the road and asked, "Chief Clerk, is it time yet?"

Yan Pu smiled wryly and said, "General, you just asked me that half a cup of tea ago."

Zhang Wei sighed, then quickly rallied: "The General has been invincible in his campaigns in the Central Plains. In Dongjun, he defeated a million Yellow Turbans with only 20,000 men and recruited 300,000 able-bodied men. Perhaps we can witness the elite of his soldiers and the bravery of his officers today?"

Since entering Shu, Zhang Wei's arrogance has not grown with the successive victories of the Hanzhong army; on the contrary, he has become increasingly apprehensive.

This may seem unusual, but it is actually quite easy to understand.

When Zhang Wei was defending Hanzhong, he successfully repelled the Shu army's attack by relying on his own abilities and the strength of the Hanzhong army. Naturally, he would be proud of this and have a high opinion of himself.

Since entering Shu, they first suffered a setback at Jiameng Pass, then encountered danger at Guanghan, and made no progress in conquering Luocheng, instead losing hundreds of men. Almost all the victories they achieved were from Shu troops and Zhao Wei's army that surrendered without a fight; not a single battle was won by the Hanzhong army.

At the foot of Guanghan City, if Yan Pu hadn't been quick to react and led his troops to retreat overnight, they would have had to ask Xu Chu for permission to escape by daytime. As for Huang Quan of Luocheng, his force of only seven thousand men was able to withstand attacks from two sides without being at a disadvantage.

At this moment, Zhang Wei truly realized the true combat strength of the Hanzhong army.

Let alone compared to the Left Guard Army, they were far inferior even to the elite troops of Shu Commandery. Their previous victory in Hanzhong was entirely due to the advantages of favorable timing, location, and popular support, which enabled them to repeatedly defeat Shu Commandery.

Now that they have entered Shu, the geographical advantage has shifted to the Shu army, and the weakness of the Hanzhong army's fighting strength has been fully exposed.

In the short term, neither Zhang Wei nor Yan Pu could do anything about it.

Zhang Wei was not a famous general, and Yan Pu was not good at military affairs. Now, the only thing they could rely on was Cao Cao's reinforcements.

Zhang Wei treated Cao Ang with such courtesy for three reasons: first, Cao Ang's status and position; second, the formidable fighting strength of Cao's army; and third, he hoped to use Cao's army to train his own troops and improve the combat strength of the Hanzhong army.

Suddenly, a plume of smoke rose in the distance.

Zhang Wei was overjoyed and immediately led his personal guards to greet them.

The visitors were Cao Ang and other generals of Cao's army. After exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Wei personally led the way, guiding Cao Ang into Fuxian County.

Although Fucheng was a large city, it still could not accommodate tens of thousands of troops. Fortunately, Yan Pu had already set up camps around Fucheng, erected tents, dug irrigation canals, and prepared sufficient wine, meat, and provisions in the camps, just waiting for Cao Cao's army to arrive.

After Cao's army entered the camp, they saw that there were plenty of supplies, plus a generous supply of wine and meat, and everyone from top to bottom was overjoyed.

Cao Ang and others were also invited into the city by Zhang Wei, who hosted a banquet for them.

For a time, both host and guests were delighted.

The following day, Cao Ang, Sima Yi, Cao Chun, Cao Xiu, and others gathered with Zhang Wei and Yan Pu in the Fucheng County Hall to discuss military matters.

The purpose of this military conference was to discuss how to defeat Zhao Wei's forces.

This was a strategy Cao Cao had already set out, and unless there were special reasons, Cao Ang naturally wouldn't change his mind. Moreover, before yesterday's banquet, Cao Ang had a conversation with Zhang Wei and Yan Pu, mainly analyzing the current situation and circumstances.

Even based on their own judgment, Cao Ang and Sima Yi felt that targeting Zhao Wei was the best solution.

Zhao Wei rebelled against Liu Zhang and became an enemy of the Shu army. Previously, during Liu Yan's reign, Zhao Wei, as a veteran minister of Liu Yan, was deeply dissatisfied with Liu Yan's infatuation with Zhang Lu's mother and repeatedly advised him against it, earning him the deep hatred of Zhang Lu and Zhang Wei. Later, when Liu Zhang ascended the throne, Zhao Wei was ordered to conquer Hanzhong, engaging in widespread burning, killing, and looting, making him a formidable enemy of the people of Hanzhong.

Most importantly, Zhao Wei's forces are currently the weakest, with the fewest men and the weakest fighting strength. Targeting him would be a win-win-win situation, pleasing Liu Zhang and Zhang Lu, intimidating Shu, and capturing a large number of people.

only……

Cao Ang, Sima Yi, and the others all turned their gazes to Guangdu.

"Guangdu has been under the control of the enemy for ten days. Zhao Wei's army just transported a batch of grain into the camp two days ago. Roughly speaking, it should amount to five or six thousand shi (a unit of dry measure). If we are frugal, it should be enough to feed the entire army for four or five days."

Yan Pu sighed. If Cao Ang and his men had entered Shu half a month earlier, Zhao Wei would probably have had no choice but to surrender.

But now that Zhao Wei has obtained supplies from the Left Army, the two armies are only thirty li apart and can receive reinforcements at any time.

Zhang Wei and Yan Pu could hardly imagine that they could break through Zhao Wei's army camp and completely defeat it in a single day.

"If we want to attack Zhao Wei, the best strategy is to send Liu Jiyu out of Chengdu and cut off the route for the Left Army to reinforce Zhao Wei."

When Zhang Wei mentioned Liu Zhang's name, a hint of resentment flashed in his eyes: "If he can hold out for two or three days, we will surely be able to break through Zhao Wei's camp."

Cao Ang hesitated and did not answer, but instead turned his gaze to Sima Yi.

After pondering for a moment, Sima Yi did not answer but asked instead, "How many troops can be transferred from the Hanzhong army to assist in the battle, and what is their combat strength?"

Zhang Wei hesitated for a moment, and with Yan Pu's silent nod, he answered truthfully: "Currently, we have more than 6,000 Dao soldiers, 11,000 Nanzheng County soldiers, and 7,000 instructors available for deployment."

Zhang Wei originally had 7,000 soldiers under his command, but now 800 or 900 have been killed or wounded, leaving 6,000. Although the Nanzheng army had 18,000 soldiers, a large portion of them remained to guard the area along the way.

However, Cao Ang's southward expedition brought them considerable reinforcements. In addition to the troops trained by Zhang Lu, many soldiers from Nanzheng County were replaced along the way.

It was truly remarkable that Zhang Wei managed to muster over ten thousand troops while securing key locations such as Fucheng and Zitong.

The reason it was more than 10,000 soldiers instead of more than 20,000 is that the 7,000 instructors could be used to defend the city, but in field battles, they were only slightly better than laborers.

After silently calculating for a moment, Sima Yi said solemnly, "Generals, in my opinion, we should defeat Zhao Wei as soon as possible and not delay. If Zhao Wei moves his camp and joins forces with Guangdu, then everything will be over!"

Cao Ang was surprised, but his face remained expressionless: "Zhongda's intention is..."

"Send troops immediately!"

Sima Yi said decisively, "We don't need the troops from Nanzheng Commandery; we can just use the troops from the road to lead the expedition."

Sima Yi's words puzzled Zhang Wei. Zhao Wei's army numbered over 40,000, and their camp had been fortified for dozens of days, making it impregnable and extremely strong.

Fearing that there wouldn't be enough troops, he even included training soldiers.

Sima Yi actually complained that there were too many troops, so he reduced them by more than half, and even abandoned the county soldiers.

Cao Ang and Yan Pu understood Sima Yi's underlying implication. As the saying goes, speed is of the essence in war. In Sima Yi's eyes, the county soldiers and instructors with insufficient combat power were not a usable force at all, but rather a burden.

Therefore, Sima Yi only needed the soldiers who could barely keep up with Cao Cao's army.

"General, Huang Quan from Luocheng will also be traveling with us at that time."

Sima Yi chuckled and said, "Huang Quan's troops number at least six thousand elite soldiers. With thirty thousand fierce warriors and bears attacking forty thousand chickens and dogs, how could they possibly lose?"

Yan Pu asked hesitantly, "Then... how should we deal with the reinforcements from the Left Guard Army?"

Sima Yi said with a murderous look, "Once the enemy falls, even if the Left Guard Army wants to come to our aid, they will be powerless to reverse the situation."

Zhang Wei and Yan Pu were both taken aback, never expecting that Sima Yi would actually dare to gamble like that.

If they fail to capture Zhao Wei before the Left Army reinforcements arrive, their fate will be at best a loss of soldiers and generals, and at worst, complete annihilation.

Just as Zhang Wei and Yan Pu were thinking about how to persuade him, the generals and officers of Cao's army began to support Sima Yi.

Cao Chun, whose face was as hard as iron and who was usually taciturn, was the first to speak up and support Sima Yi.

“What Zhongda said is truly invaluable advice. In the Battle of Pengcheng, King Xiang returned to reinforce the Chu capital, traveling three hundred li in a day and night, ultimately achieving the feat of defeating five hundred thousand with thirty thousand men. His great-grandfather and wife were captured, and his entire army was nearly wiped out. Now, with elite cavalry, why would we need a whole day to launch a surprise attack on Zhao Wei's camp? I, Chun, request to be the vanguard and am willing to sign a military pledge that I will surely defeat Zhao Wei within half a day!”

Cao Xiu also drew his sword and said loudly, "This humble general is also willing to be the vanguard! Zhao Wei's army is demoralized, and although his camp is fortified, it is like rotten wood carved with flowers. Luocheng is only sixty li away from his main camp. We will set off at dusk, travel by night and hide by day, and launch a surprise attack at dawn. We will catch them off guard and take the city in one fell swoop!"

Shi Huan, Jia Xin, and Yin Shu also volunteered, vying with each other, leaving Zhang Wei and Yan Pu dumbfounded.

Zhang Wei suddenly had a realization: perhaps it was precisely because of such a strong fighting spirit that they could become a truly fierce and powerful army?
Cao Ang stood up and immediately decided, "Alright, since all the generals agree with this plan, let's proceed according to Zhongda's plan."

(End of this chapter)