My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 145: This can be considered the conclusion of the historical line...right?

Zhuge Jin did not take the small goal of capturing the Wankou Water Fort seriously at all, and left the entire process to Gan Ning.

It would be enough for him to fully trust Gan Ning and allow him to dispatch the necessary resources.

Zhuge Jin had originally anticipated that Liu Ye's time bomb, buried within Liu Xun, had not yet exploded. In the future, it might be possible for him to take over a stronghold at low cost or even without bloodshed.

I just didn't expect that this time bomb would be wasted so easily in the end.

Although he also gained a total of more than 3,000 Yuan army regular troops and Danyang pirates, as well as 3,000 to 4,000 able-bodied men, he was still unwilling to give up.

These so-called able-bodied men were indeed useless. Most of them were either too old or too young. Yuan Shu had already carried out many rounds of mobilization, and the cumulative number of conscripted soldiers was probably hundreds of thousands. This was what happened in the end after exhausting all the resources.

Zhuge Jin decided to use them as auxiliary troops temporarily. After the Lujiang Campaign was over, these able-bodied men could only be sent back to cultivate the land. Only the Danyang bandits could be reformed.

……

Sighs are enough, but there is no need to dwell on things that have already been done. We should always look forward.

After adjusting his mood, Zhuge Jin summoned the surrendered generals Zhang Duo and Liu Ye in the central army tent.

Gan Ning and Taishi Ci also stood on both sides, wearing swords and armor, and obeying orders.

Liu Ye and others were about to enter the tent when they saw so many generals standing there. They quickly took off their swords at the door of the tent and asked the guards beside them to search them before they lowered their heads and walked in.

It seems that Liu Ye also knows that he has a bad reputation in this regard. He killed Zheng Bao with a sneak attack at the banquet, and killed Zhu Jun at the Hongmen Banquet yesterday. Fortunately, he did not do it himself yesterday, but ambushed the swordsmen and let Zhang Duo do it.

Otherwise, Zhuge Jin would probably have to tie him up before he could meet him.

Zhuge Jin sat in the middle, with one leg stretched out to the side and the other leg stretched forward, one elbow resting on the stretched leg, and the wrist supporting the chin. He looked a bit like Rodin's "The Thinker", but Zhuge Jin didn't lower his head, but kept staring at the other person, but didn't speak.

Liu Ye looks very young, with only a small tuft of beard in the middle of his chin and smooth facial lines, but this is normal because he is only twenty years old.

Taking into account the other person's age, Zhuge Jin's dislike for his fickleness was slightly alleviated.

This condescending look and the silent atmosphere made Liu Ye feel more and more depressed. Finally, he couldn't stand the pressure and spoke first:
"I have been trapped in the den of thieves by mistake, and have long wanted to return to the court. Unfortunately, I am young and have few friends, so I have no way to get back. Fortunately, the royal army has arrived here, and I am able to join forces with Captain Zhang to kill the fake military supervisor and welcome the general with food and drink!"

Zhuge Jin responded with a serious expression: "Is there no way to escape because I am young and have few friends? Many far-sighted people left Lianghuai and went to that happy land when they saw Yuan Shu gain power.

Some came to Yuzhang, some went to Jiangdong, such as Lu Zijing and Zhou Gongjin, who were all far-sighted men. If you are determined, you can cross the river in a small boat, so there is no way out! "

Liu Ye was questioned first, so he had to correct his attitude and admit that he was just dragging his clansmen and didn't want to suffer. But Liu Xun was willing to use him, so he wanted to make the whole clan rich and powerful in Lujiang.

Seeing that he was no longer making excuses with his sweet words, Zhuge Jin finally gave him a sweet date after beating him with the stick:

"You are coming here now because you are desperate, which is considered wise, but you are still inferior to Lu Zijing. Zijing also brought hundreds of people with him across the river, abandoning his land and property. If you have this determination, why worry about not being able to come up with a brilliant plan like him!"

After Zhuge Jin finished his comments, he set the tone: Liu Ye must not be appointed above Lu Su.

Although Liu Ye brought several thousand surrendered soldiers with him today to "join the group with funds", Lu Su did not bring anything at the beginning.

But Zhuge Jin had to establish a moral standard that "the sooner one leaves the anti-Han rebels, the more likely he will be regarded as a righteous man by the court."

Otherwise, there will be more and more speculators in the future, and everyone will want to get a high position in Yuan Shu's camp and gain more resources before investing again, which will not be conducive to destroying Yuan.

Those who are loyal to other ordinary princes and those who are loyal to the thieves who usurp the Han Dynasty should be treated differently.

The balance between kindness and severity must be clearly grasped.

Fortunately, Liu Ye was also a smart man. He figured out Zhuge Jin's purpose and did not dare to feel any resentment.

Zhuge Jin then ordered that Zhang Duo's military power be taken away and that he be appointed as the commander of Lujiang Military Farm, and that he be responsible for recruiting mountain people and accommodating refugees from the war to cultivate land in the Dabie Mountain area in the future.

After a few years, when the rectification work in the mountainous area of Lujiang is on the right track, Zhang Duo will be slowly turned into a rich man - of course, there is no need to say these words now.

Liu Ye was also appointed as Cao Yuan of General Fubo. He did not have any real power for the time being and only stayed to provide advice to Zhuge Jin.

The enemy general has just surrendered, so basic respect and courtesy must be given. Seizing the military power is one thing, but entertaining him with a banquet and giving him money are absolutely necessary.

Zhuge Jin couldn't afford much gold and silver, so he used copper ingots as rewards as usual.

The copper mine in Yuzhang County has been operating for a whole year since the second half of last year. The copper mine in Tongling in later generations could produce more than 300 tons per year on average in ancient times, which is equivalent to about 1.2 million Han catties.

The Dexing Copper Mine discovered by Zhuge Jin himself is much larger than the Tongling Copper Mine. It is just that its development level is relatively low, but its output in the first year has already caught up with that of Tongling.

So now when Zhuge Jin encountered a situation where he had to reward someone, he would just use copper ingots to solve the problem.

Zhang Duo was originally a bandit, and had no ambition. Although he was deprived of more than 2,000 of his own soldiers, Zhuge Jin gave him tens of thousands of kilograms of copper and an official position, so he accepted it.

……

It took two days to hastily recruit Zhang Duo's troops, reward them, revive their morale, and count the captured stocks.
Zhuge Jin quickly re-engaged in the mission of attacking Wancheng.

The straight-line distance between Wankou and Wancheng is more than 80 miles. If one marches along the Wan River, due to the winding river channel, the total distance is more than 100 miles by water.

Zhuge Jin accepted the surrender on April 26, completed the incorporation on April 28, and resumed the march on April 29. In the meantime, he also fought a small group of scouts of Yuan's army near Qianshan, which delayed him for a while.

So it was not until the second day of May that they arrived at the city of Wancheng.

It took a day to set up the camp and surround the city on three sides. Then Zhuge Jin ordered the soldiers to unload the prefabricated siege equipment parts from the ship and assemble them in the camp in a hurry.

If you calculate carefully, the first wave of attack can be launched about three days after the siege.

This speed may not seem fast, but according to the normal process, it would take at least ten days to besiege the city to build a heavy siege equipment of the ladder level. To build a stronger siege vehicle than the ladder, it would take at least half a month. The original three days were only enough for a simple flying ladder and ordinary battering rams.

While assembling the equipment, Zhuge Jin also called together all the generals to discuss and polish the details of the attack plan.

Zhuge Jin first asked Liu Ye, who had just joined the team, to give him a chance to show his abilities:
"Liu Yuan, please tell me what you know about the enemy situation in the city. How many troops are there in the city, how much food and fodder are available, and is there any possibility that the general will waver?"

Liu Ye reported humbly: "Liu Xun originally left more than 20,000 soldiers in Wankou and Wancheng, but there were only 6,000 to 7,000 veterans, and the rest were forced laborers. The Wancheng defender Chen Lan originally intended to resist step by step, delaying in Wankou first, and retreating to Wancheng if he was defeated. But Captain Zhang and I have led our troops to join the light, and Chen Lan's troops have been nearly half lost, with only 3,000 veterans. But Chen Lan was born a stubborn bandit in Huoshan, and he had a life-and-death friendship with Lei Bo, who was killed by Captain Zhang (Zhang Fei). After years of fierce fighting, they have deep resentment, and I am afraid he will not surrender."

Zhuge Jin was not disappointed with this result. How could anyone surrender so easily? Chen Lan was left in such a strategic location as Wancheng by Liu Xun. He must be a die-hard confidant.

Moreover, it is not enough for the commander to be determined to defend the city. If the soldiers below are demoralized, the city will collapse as soon as they are attacked first or the gate is breached.

"In this case, after the siege equipment is assembled in the next two days, Xingba can launch a surprise attack immediately. The enemy will not expect us to prepare so quickly, so their preparations must not be sufficient. We must seize this opportunity!"

Zhuge Jin gave the order and Gan Ning, who was standing beside him, immediately bowed and accepted the order.

Since ancient times, siege warfare has either been a one-shot effort to achieve complete victory, or a protracted siege.

When they first arrived, morale was high and everyone was ready to fight, but the defenders did not know the strength of the enemy and had a fear of the unknown. This was the time when it was most likely to break into the city by relying on their fighting spirit.

Once the attacker loses the first battle and morale declines, and the defender builds up confidence, it will be very troublesome to rely on technical means later.

Zhuge Jin vaguely remembered that in history, Gan Ning also broke through Wancheng by a quick attack, but that was in the late Jian'an period, on the eve of the Battle of Hefei between Sun Quan and Zhang Liao. At that time, Gan Ning defeated Zhu Guang, the governor of Lujiang sent by Cao Cao.

Before the battle, Lu Meng and Gan Ning discussed the tactics of attack. Lu Meng suggested being cautious and building heavy siege weapons first, while Gan Ning insisted on attacking quickly once they reached the city, taking full advantage of the enemy's fear of a sudden strong enemy and their unknown strength - because that battle was quite famous, even popular books like "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" recorded it.

Zhuge Jin now had more powerful heavy siege weapons to rely on, and the steadfastness of Yuan Shu's army was far inferior to that of Cao's army that came later, so Zhuge Jin was still very confident about breaking the city.

Moreover, he thought along the lines of Gan Ning's victories in history, and naturally summarized some points to pay attention to before the battle. He was afraid that Gan Ning, who was more than ten years younger, was not mature enough and could not think of these points, so he took the initiative to remind Gan Ning:

"Since we have the advantage of a quick battle, we must fully exploit the advantages of a quick battle. The first advantage of a quick battle is that the enemy does not know the attacker's strengths and weaknesses, and is more likely to be timid.

Therefore, during a war, you must make a lot of noise and create momentum. As long as the enemy is afraid, the battle is half won. Before a war, you must create more camps and stoves, burn more firewood when cooking for the soldiers, and create more smoke to confuse the guards' scouts.

You must not forget to do these two things while assembling the siege equipment. In addition, you must also spread the word that the troops at Wankou have surrendered to the Han Dynasty, and that the difference between the loyal and the rebellious is clear, so as to further shake the defenders."

Zhuge Jin shamelessly stated the ideas that Gan Ning himself came up with more than a decade later to capture Wancheng.

It was also processed and some ideas were added that were easier for later generations to think of, as well as some details that were easily overlooked by people like Gan Ning who didn't read enough.

After listening to this, Gan Ning felt that it was very much to his liking, and inexplicably had a sense of familiarity and ease. He could not help but sincerely admire General Fu Bo for his ability to predict people's hearts and his invincible calculations.

After giving instructions to Gan Ning, Zhuge Jin also came up with some ideas of his own, but he did not let Gan Ning carry them out, but let his civilian staff do it instead.

He cleared his throat, turned to Liu Ye who had just surrendered, and gave him a few instructions: "Since Chen Lan himself is unlikely to surrender, we can do the opposite and use intimidation instead of persuading him to surrender.

The method of persuading surrender has been used since ancient times. Although it can bring huge benefits if it is successful, and cities and troops can be captured without bloodshed, it also has a flaw. That is, if it fails, it can easily boost the enemy's morale and make the enemy mistakenly believe that we value their surrender and that we cannot capture them without surrender, thus making them more confident to hold on.

So, I don't plan to persuade them to surrender this time, and I won't even pretend to persuade them, it will only make things worse. Instead, I want you to find a captured Yuan army officer who is stubborn and unwilling to surrender, and send a letter back to Chen Lan, asking him not to surrender directly - otherwise, when will I be able to fulfill the promise of the Lieutenant General to Xingba and Ziyi? "

Liu Ye was shocked when he heard this. Even though Liu Ye knew a little bit about strategy, it was a pity that he was a weak fence-sitter and it was difficult for him to imagine such a domineering and strong strategy. It took him a long time to think about it.

"The general is brave and wise... It is not easy to predict. He goes against the grain like this. If my subordinates were asked to think of it, I'm afraid they would never come up with it. I really admire him!" Liu Ye really admired him this time and praised him from the bottom of his heart.

Zhuge Jin: "Stop talking nonsense, bring paper and pen, and arrange for a messenger to deliver the message."

……

For more than a day thereafter, the Han army was frantically busy making final preparations before the attack.

All the equipment such as Lu Gong's chariot could be assembled on time, and the plan to increase the number of stoves and smoke was also implemented smoothly. Zhuge Jin even arranged for many soldiers to leave the camp at night and return to the camp in the daytime with great fanfare, just like Dong Zhuo did in the past, to perform for the defenders on the city wall, so that they would think that the Han army was coming continuously.

Finally, he ordered the surrendered auxiliary soldiers to cut down more trees and set up a fake camp in the distance, deceiving Chen Lan with the size of the camp.

The generals defending the city walls were naturally terrified when they saw this situation. They were so frightened by the enemy's large numbers that their morale was dampened before the battle even began.

At this critical juncture, Zhuge Jin's threatening letter was delivered to Chen Lan through the released die-hard prisoners. When the prisoner returned, the defenders did not dare to open the city gate, but simply lowered the hanging basket and hoisted the prisoner up.

So, the night before the general offensive, Chen Lan, who was in the lobby of the general's mansion in Wancheng, saw Zhuge Jin's letter in front of many officers.

Before opening the seal of the bamboo tube, Chen Lan thought it was a letter of persuasion to surrender, so he specially gathered all his generals in order to boost morale and let everyone know that "Zhuge Jin is not sure of taking down Wancheng, so he wants to use sweet words to trick us into surrender."

Unexpectedly, after opening it, Chen Lan only took a few glances and found that the opposite was true. She was so angry that she drew her sword and chopped the letter and the table into two pieces: "Zhuge Jin has bullied me too much!"

"General! Could it be that Zhuge Jin's words in trying to persuade us to surrender were too insulting?" A military commander nearby asked curiously.

Chen Lan was speechless for a moment and didn't know how to answer.

His posture naturally made others more curious.

Fortunately, the letter was only cut into two pieces, so it was still readable after a simple pieced together. So the two captains and several military commanders gathered together and read it silently.

"...Before this battle, I have promised several of my generals the rank of Lieutenant General. After we have completely conquered Lujiang, I will send your heads and Liu Xun's heads to Xudu to ask for credit and titles.

However, Zhang Duo and Liu Ye, seeing the might of our army, surrendered without a fight, causing loyal and righteous men like Xing Ba and Zi Yi to lose a great achievement. It was easy for Feng Tang to grow old, and it was difficult for Li Guang to be granted a title.

Now I am leading a 160,000-strong army, marching like thunder and tiger, swallowing up everything in its path, and conquering Wancheng and Lu'an. It is like raising a flaming fire to burn away the flying weeds, or covering the vast ocean with burning charcoal. What can not be destroyed?

I hope you and Liu Xun will take good care of yourselves, and make sure to fight back against the enemy before dying. Then we can cut off your heads with peace of mind and send them to Xudu, without having to suffer the injustice of being killed.

You are weak and inferior generals. You served me while you were alive, but your usefulness is not as great as your heads which will serve as a stepping stone for my promotion after your death. This is why Xiang Liang killed Yin Tong.

As for your troops, after I defeat them, I will take them all in. The only two people I will kill are you and Liu Xun. Your family will not be punished for your resistance, so don't worry."

Before the generals had finished watching, Chen Lan finally reacted. She yelled in anger, snatched the silk and tore it into pieces: "Don't look! What did you just see! Defend the city well!"

The generals quickly said that they saw nothing, but in fact they were all terrified.

With 160,000 elite soldiers, Liu Ye and Zhang Duo surrendered without a fight when they saw the enemy's overwhelming force...

How powerful must this be to make Liu Ye so decisive? And combined with the scale of the enemy camp, the soldiers coming in and out, and the firewood in the stove, it doesn't seem fake.

He was actually afraid that Chen Lan would surrender directly, which would make his contribution seem insignificant? How confident must he be in taking the city?
(End of this chapter)