My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 12 PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
Zhang Fei and Mi Zhu were so upset and at a loss what to do after hearing the bad news from Mi Fang.

If the army's rations are cut off, even if the Huaiyin front is won, it will be the end in the end.

When will these days of walking on thin ice and being as difficult as hell end?
In a hurry, Zhang Fei once again humbly embraced Zhuge Jin's thigh and said, "Sir, do you have a good plan to help Zi Zhong find another way to raise food?"

"Don't panic! How can a plan be so easy to come up with? Let me think about it carefully!"

Zhuge Jin was also annoyed by Zhang Fei's nagging. He was already a little tired and his brain was not working well, so how could he stand Zhang Fei's nagging?

Fortunately, Zhang Fei had gotten used to it in the past few days. He quickly kept Zhuge Jin quiet to think, and signaled others to be quiet as well.

Zhuge Jin was fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan, closing his eyes and thinking:

"I remember now! Kong Rong was conquered by Yuan Tan, and it seems to have happened in the first year of Jian'an. I didn't expect that it happened at the same time as Liu Bei was besieged by Yuan Shu. It's true that plans cannot keep up with changes.

This is truly an extremely chaotic world. All the small county-level princes in the world will be quickly annexed, and after two years, only the big state-level princes will remain.

According to the original history, after receiving Mi Zhu's second sponsorship, Liu Bei was able to quickly recover and "recover 10,000 soldiers". All this was actually based on the premise that he and Lu Bu had reached a reconciliation.

In that way, he could directly buy grain from nearby counties in Xuzhou, and Mi Zhu's money could be quickly converted into combat power.

But now history has changed. Liu Bei has not yet been defeated, and it is impossible for him to go back and admit defeat to Lu Bu. This has resulted in Liu Bei's military rations being sourced much further away.

Now even Kong Rong has been killed, and the Beihai and Donglai areas of the Shandong Peninsula can no longer be relied upon. The remaining alternative sources of supply are even farther away. Liu Bei's army may starve to death before he has even bought enough food.

Although Yuan Tan had a good relationship with Liu Bei, it seemed that when Liu Bei was appointed as the governor of Xuzhou, he gave Yuan Tan the quota of one talent in each state. But Yuan Tan had just finished fighting with Kong Rong, and there was no grain in Beihai, so his good relationship was useless. If Yuan Tan wanted to sell grain, he had to transfer it from Jizhou. What was most lacking now was time, and grain from far away was equivalent to no grain.

And I didn’t even think of this at the beginning, I was even darker than Mi Zhu, I’m really ashamed…”

Zhuge Jin reviewed the situation in his mind for a long time, and figured out all the twists and turns. Only then did he fully realize how many mistakes he had made because of his overconfidence in his ability to foretell history.

I have to further strengthen my brain in the future! I have to learn from my second brother and help each other find out the gaps! Only in this way can we reach the realm of "real. No omissions in strategy" one day.

Perhaps this is also a kind of historical inertia and resistance.
When you reverse a failure of Liu Bei, it often means that "as he becomes stronger than the same period in history, his enemies will be more afraid of him, but his friends will decrease."
This force may push Liu Bei's camp back into the downward channel.

Lu Bu's attitude towards Liu Bei is the best example of this phenomenon:
When Lü Bu shot the halberd at Liu Bei's gate, it was because Liu Bei was weak and could be exploited. When Lü Bu turned against him and attacked Xiaopei, it was because Liu Bei had become stronger again.

This profound thought experiment lesson made Zhuge Jin's thinking mode more mature and more in line with this era of intrigue.

……

I don’t know how long it took, but Zhuge Jin finally sorted out the direction and breathed a sigh of relief.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Zhang Fei, Mi Zhu and Mi Fang still staring at him eagerly, not daring to breathe.

Seeing that everyone had such high expectations for him, Zhuge Jin felt a little embarrassed, and quickly discussed with Mi Zhu humbly: "Zi Zhong, after Beihai County is ruled out, I wonder where you can find the nearest place to buy grain?"

Mi Zhu was very professional about this question, and he didn't even have to think about it: "If Beihai County is impossible, if we want to continue to go north, we have to go around Shandong by sea and buy grain in Jizhou, which is too far away.

So we have no choice but to look south. As I said just now, the battle between Sun Ce and Xu Gong meant that Danyang and Wujun could not have any surplus food. So the closest person is Wang Lang in Kuaiji County."

It is now the first year of Jian'an. Sun Ce has not yet fought with Wang Lang. Kuaiji County is in a peaceful state, and the grain-producing areas in the Ningshao Plain probably still have surplus grain.

Mi Zhu didn't know that if he delayed for another year, by this time next year, Xu Gong would be killed by Sun Ce, and it would be Sun Ce's turn to deal with Wang Lang, and by then he would not be able to protect himself.

Zhuge Jin checked the map in his mind. The distance from sailing along the coast at the mouth of the Huai River to the mouth of the Qiantang River is not short.

It is at least twice as far as from northern Jiangsu to the southern coast of Shandong Peninsula.

Zhuge Jin continued to ask: "Based on Kuaiji, how long does it take to go back and forth?"

Mi Zhu quickly calculated in his head: "The round trip plus the purchase and loading and unloading will take at least one month. The sea is unpredictable. If the weather is not favorable, it may take two months."

The navigation technology of the Han Dynasty was still relatively backward. Ships could only sail along the coastline and did not dare to sail directly into the deep sea.

Mi Zhu estimated that a one-way voyage would take twenty days, which was already a pretty good skill, and only the Mi family could do it.

If it were a family that wasn't even on the rich list, they wouldn't even have the shipbuilding technology and experienced sailors for sailing.

Zhuge Jin knew that Mi Zhu had done his best, so he sighed and proposed his own plan:
“In this case, I have some humble opinions for your reference.

First of all, Zi Zhong still had to handle the purchase of food by sea according to plan, which could also provide a bottom line for the mid- and long-term security of the army.

But for the current one and a half months of gap, we can't rely on Zi Zhong, we have to take two approaches at the same time to find other solutions. For example, think about whether there are other immediate sources of military food..."

Just as Zhuge Jin was saying this, Zhang Fei suddenly interrupted in a hurry:
"In my opinion, we can send the tens of thousands of pounds of meat we get from killing horses to the army. It will be enough for a while. If it is still not enough, we can only reluctantly kill other good horses that have been captured and eat them."

Zhuge Jin rolled his eyes at him and said, "Can you please stop interrupting me? This meat may be enough for the Haixi garrison to eat for a month, but if it is sent to the Huaiyin army, more than 10,000 people can only last for five days at most!

I will find a way to find another source of military rations. If you are anxious to make merit and help General Zhendong, I will give you another way, but whether you can succeed or not is up to you."

"I was in a hurry just now. Please speak, sir." Zhang Fei quickly sat up straight, apologized for his rashness, and listened respectfully.

Zhuge Jin organized his words, pointed in the direction of the armory outside the county government office, and said slowly:
"To solve the military rations crisis, we can only increase revenue and reduce expenditure. I have already said that increasing revenue is a matter for me to figure out. As for reducing expenditure, we can try to make the subsequent battle of Guangling a quick victory before the military rations run out.

However, this mission requires a certain amount of risk. If it succeeds, it will certainly solve the crisis of General Zhendong. But if it fails, the troops you brought will also suffer heavy losses, so you must think carefully. "

Zhang Fei: "I have seen all kinds of life and death, so you can tell me what's going on!"

Zhuge Jin no longer kept it to himself: "Today we also annihilated more than a thousand cavalrymen of Liu Xun's army, and seized a lot of clothes, armor and horses, especially the clothes and armor are all Yuan army uniforms. And Liu Xun has two cavalry generals. Although Lei Bo is dead, Chen Lan is still alive. If in a few days, General Zhendong and Guan Duwei can defeat the coalition forces of Ji Ling and Liu Xun in the Huaiyin battlefield,
Liu Xun will surely retreat, and General Zhendong will surely take this opportunity to pursue him. My risky plan is to have someone first investigate the enemy's situation, and then seize the opportunity to pretend that the defeated soldiers of Chen Lan's army have retreated to Guangling before Liu Xun really retreats, and then cooperate with the outside to take advantage of the situation.

Of course, this is easy to say, but it is actually very difficult, because now even the prerequisites are not met. We must ensure that the main force of the Huaiyin battlefield can win the decisive battle and our army can win before we can have these follow-up measures. Otherwise, it will only be wishful thinking, and all manpower will have to be withdrawn.

Even if Huaiyin wins, the matter can only be considered 30% settled at best. There are still many troubles for us to solve ourselves, and one careless step will lead to our death in vain. "

Zhuge Jin was very careful to speak the ugly words in advance. After all, Zhang Fei was still quite reckless, so he had to fully remind him of the risks.

Zhang Fei's repeated warnings from Zhuge Jin finally brought out the subtlety in his rough nature, and his expression became solemn.

He was not afraid of dying in battle, but he was afraid of delaying the important matters of his elder and second brothers, causing the troops to die in vain and also causing the enemy's morale to rise.

Zhang Fei knew very well that if he died in battle, his elder and second brothers would probably become too excited and fight Liu Xun to the death, and the entire army would then lose their composure.

Mi Zhu and Mi Fang, who were standing by, saw that Zhang Fei was hesitating and looked worried and at a loss as to what to do.

"Or... forget it, let's just find a way to raise military rations. Ziyu said he could try to increase revenue. With his talent, he might be able to think of a solution." Mi Zhu tentatively tried to comfort Zhang Fei.

However, this statement aroused Zhang Fei's fighting spirit. He bowed to Zhuge Jin carefully and said, "Sir! I still want to give it a try, but the strategy is too general now. I don't know how to start. Please help me plan some details.

After all, even if Liu Xun's main force was dispatched, I think he would have left thousands of soldiers in the city. We have more than a thousand people here, including the prisoners, there are only two thousand, and there are only a thousand war horses, and the Yuan army has less than a thousand sets of armor.

The number of troops we can send to disguise as Yuan's army for a surprise attack will definitely be less than a thousand. Our army has not been able to notify the eldest and second brothers in advance to urgently respond. With only these thousand people, even if we can trick the city gate, we can't defeat the thousands of enemies guarding the city in street fighting, right?

Do you have any solution to these problems? If you can, I will fight to the death to solve them."

Zhang Fei was just swift, he was not going to die in vain. After thinking for a long time, he listed these basic problems.

What he wanted was not only to trick the city gates into opening, but also to ensure that the enemies inside the city could be killed, or at least be able to stabilize it - just like what he did when he abandoned Pi and the Danyang soldiers.

Zhang Fei remembered very clearly that on the night he abandoned Pi, the rebellious Danyang soldiers, even after their leader Cao Bao was killed by him, still held the Baimen Tower for a whole night. Zhang Fei was unable to fight back, and finally Lu Bu's army arrived at dawn.

What happened that night was a nightmare that Zhang Fei would never forget for the rest of his life. Moreover, it had only been five or six days since the incident, so it was still fresh in his mind.

So when he thought of the possibility of "luring the enemy into ambush and waiting for reinforcements", he immediately put himself into the role of the Danyang soldiers that night, imagining how to lure the enemy into ambush and hold the gate, at least until Liu Bei's main force returned for reinforcements.

After hearing Zhang Fei's question, Zhuge Jin did not find it difficult, but nodded with satisfaction.

The fact that he can ask good questions shows that he has been thinking carefully and has fully learned the lesson from the last time he was stolen. He wants to review the experience and use it to steal from others. This is a good sign.

The more problems you can think of before the battle, the greater the chance of success.

Zhuge Jin continued to exchange information and brainstorm with Mi Zhu and others in an exploratory manner.

Zhuge Jin took a piece of paper and drew a table with a hairpin pen, then checked each item he thought of:
"Zi Zhong, is there an urn city in Guangling County?"

"No, but... there is a lock. In order to facilitate entry and exit and transportation, important towns on the canal usually do not have a city wall, but rely on a thousand-jin gate for emergency locks." Mi Zhu answered with high spirits.

He had been doing business for many years and had visited almost all the important cities along the thoroughfares between Xuzhou and several surrounding states.

Guangling County is also the throat estuary of the Hangou Canal, and is as important as Huaiyin. Mi Zhu is naturally familiar with the geography there.

Zhuge Jin nodded slightly: "Without the urn city, the chance of being ambushed by pretending to be an enemy city will be greatly reduced. This strategy should work. However, since there is a sluice gate, we still need to find another way to solve it...

After all, if the gate needed to be opened urgently during an attack, the defenders would most likely cut the noose directly. Even if Yide rushed into the city and seized control of the tower, it would be impossible to repair the noose and then hang the gate in a hurry.

In this way, when our army launches a surprise attack, it would be best if we could carry some simple siege weapons with us, so that we can have more protection. Even if we can't raise the gate, as long as we can control a section of the city wall, we can still allow the soldiers outside to climb over the wall and enter continuously."

Zhuge Jin was deducing to himself, but soon discovered a new problem: he would need Zhang Fei to disguise himself as the defeated Yuan cavalry, but it was inconvenient for cavalry to carry baggage, and the speed required for a surprise attack did not support running with siege weapons.

Moreover, if they brought siege weapons with them, the defenders would see their strange appearance and the surprise attack might be discovered. It would be too dangerous.

It's easy to figure out that if it was really Chen Lan's cavalry, who retreated from the Huaiyin battlefield and fled back to Guangling County, would they have brought siege ladders with them?

Whenever a ladder is seen in the army, it is enough to reveal that this unit is a fake.

Zhuge Jin almost scratched his hair off, but still felt helpless.

Finally, after carefully examining the map terrain and river flows around Guangling County, he suddenly had an idea.

Zhuge Jin felt a glimmer of hope and asked Mi Zhu: "Zi Zhong, do you have any way to get some boats, pretend to be from Sun Ce's territory, go along the Yangtze River into the Han Canal, and approach the Guangling East City Water Gate from the south?

Sun Ce is a member of Yuan Shu’s army, and he is currently engaged in a fierce battle with Xu Gong. He must need to purchase military supplies from Yuan Shu’s controlled area in Jiangbei from time to time in order to advance. Yuan’s army will certainly not be on guard against ships coming from the south…”

Mi Zhu was stunned at first, but soon he was relieved and even assured with a proud tone: "Why do I need to pretend? My family is originally a maritime merchant."

Zhuge Jin slapped his forehead and said, "Look at me...how could I have forgotten! That's fine. Where is your merchant fleet that is closest to Guangling now? I'll teach you. Just do this and that...leave the rest to me."

Lu Meng had to disguise himself if he wanted to cross the river in white clothes, but Mi Zhu also needed to pretend? He was originally one!
This acting is definitely more realistic than Lu Meng's.

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(End of this chapter)