My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 660 A mistake
"I don't know how Zhongda is doing... As long as he strictly follows Ziyu's plan, he will definitely be able to sneak attack Cai Mao and succeed... What can an incompetent good-for-nothing like Cai Mao do?"

"However, in order to cooperate with Zhongda's sneak attack, the reinforcements from the rear will have to wait a little longer before they can arrive. Alas, it is really difficult."

At the Yuliangzhou front line, Gao Shun had completely captured Cai Mao's water stronghold, while Cao Ren and Yu Jin had also moved to Gao Shun's old camp.

In the Lumen Mountain camp, thirty or forty miles south of the front line and across the Han River, Guan Yu was still pacing back and forth, having not slept well the whole night before.

After all, in order to carry out Professor Zhuge Jin's sneak attack plan, Guan Yu's reinforcements were forced to slow down the pace of reinforcements slightly to avoid alerting the enemy.

Besides Gao Shun, there was also his son in the encirclement. How could Guan Yu not be worried?

He got up at four o'clock in the morning, ran to where Zhuge Jin was staying, and asked if there was any latest battle report.

Zhuge Jin was also annoyed by him and repeatedly comforted him: "Don't be impatient! Keep calm, even if something unexpected happens, at most Zhongda will fail to launch a sneak attack. What's the danger?
With Zhongda's ability, if the surprise attack fails, then he can retreat to the base camp and hold on there. Can't he hold on for even a day or two?"

After saying it several times, Guan Yu still didn't listen, and Zhuge Jin was too lazy to say anything more and just fell asleep.

Originally, Zhuge Jin was a middle-aged man in his early thirties with a very healthy lifestyle. He was used to going to bed early and getting up early, and in the summer, sleeping until the fifth watch was enough.

But I was disturbed by Guan Yu for two times last night, and my sleep quality was poor. I finally fell asleep with great difficulty, but when I woke up it was already nine o'clock in the morning.

Guan Yu felt a little depressed when he saw him wake up with sleepy eyes, and after washing up with the help of others, he regained his spirits and energy.

"You are a man of great character, and there is no one in the world who can match you! The two armies are engaged in a war involving 100,000 people, but you are not worried about the outcome at all, and you are still able to stay here until now!"

Zhuge Jin packed up neatly, waved his folding fan, and signaled the servants to bring fish porridge, pickled mustard tubers, and fermented bean curd. Then, while slicing the porridge, he asked casually:

"Isn't there still no news? There's no point in being anxious. I calculated the time, and the outcome will be clear at dawn. The messenger is coming downstream, and it will take another two or three hours to walk the forty miles, which is reasonable.

Zhongda couldn't wait until it was completely light before sending a messenger to contact them, as that would easily lead to the enemy's patrol warships intercepting him. If the surprise attack went well, he should have sent a messenger at four o'clock in the morning.

If we wait until the fifth watch to report, it will be the same as last time, and we will encounter a counterattack midway. Zhongda wants to collect more information about the enemy and submit it at the same time, but it shouldn’t be a big problem.”

Zhuge Jin ate slowly, mumbling softly as he calculated the time.

After finishing two bowls of fish porridge, the time was almost up. Several patrol boats were quickly lowered downstream in the direction of the upper reaches of the Han River on the west side of the Lumenshan camp. They were intercepted by Guan Yu's patrol boats and immediately sent to the main camp of the central army.

Guan Yu had given instructions in advance that as soon as Gao Shun's messenger boat arrived, there was no need to wait for notification and the person should be brought in directly.

No matter what I am doing, I will put it down and meet the person immediately.

Therefore, the messenger was brought directly to Zhuge Jin and met with Guan Yu in front of Zhuge Jin.

"Why is Zhongda late in reporting again? Maybe the surprise attack was successful. Is it because the enemy's counterattack and rescue were so tenacious that it took a little longer?"

Zhuge Jin did not wait for the messenger to speak, but asked a question casually and stated his prediction.

Guan Yu just smiled bitterly when he heard this. He didn't have the leisure time to listen to Zhuge Jin's analysis and deduction at this moment. He just wanted to hear the other party's answer directly and tell him the true situation of the battle.

Fortunately, the messenger spoke very straightforwardly and revealed the answer in just a few words:

"Although Situ's prediction was not entirely correct, it was not far off. General Gao pretended to be Xu Huang's reinforcements and attacked Cai Mao by surprise, annihilating most of Cai Mao's navy and now has captured his camp.

Cao Ren and Yu Jin did fight back, but they did not rescue Cai Mao directly. Instead, they attacked General Gao's old camp, forcing General Gao to move his camp.

Guan Yu was a little confused when he heard this statement, but Zhuge Jin understood it immediately.

The so-called "relocation of camp" simply means changing home!

The ancients rarely encountered such a situation when fighting wars, so it is hard to imagine.

However, there are many examples of people in later generations playing strategic games and changing sides in the end, so Zhuge Jin had no difficulty understanding it.

He then commented, waving his folding fan: "It turns out that they are besieging Wei to save Zhao. If you want to attack the enemy, you must rescue him. This should be a temporary trick that Jia Xu came up with for Cao Ren.

Fortunately, Zhongda was decisive enough to exchange positions with Cai Mao directly - this was a good deal. Anyway, Zhongda's old camp had only been established for two days and was not worth much.

But our army annihilated Cai Mao's main force, which is a big profit and cause for celebration."

Zhuge Jin summarized such a thrilling game in a light-hearted and teasing tone, as if he was saying that yesterday's grocery shopping was almost calm.

After listening to the explanation, Guan Yu realized that the problem was not serious and that his side had not suffered any loss, so he felt relieved.

He couldn't help but sigh and tease, "Tzuyu is really... You remain calm even when Mount Tai collapses in front of you. It seems that nothing in the world can surprise you anymore.

Fortunately, last night's battle was a great victory. Zhongda has changed his camp and should be able to continue holding on.

But it sounds like the current situation is also very different from what you expected before the war. When we were making plans before the war, our army just wanted to disguise as the enemy's reinforcements, sneak attack Cai Mao, and cut off the enemy's arm first. At that time, we didn't expect Jia Xu to instigate Cao Ren to change sides.

Now that Cao's army has landed on Yuliangzhou, Zhongda can no longer defend himself across the river. The geographical advantage is more unfavorable than you originally expected. How should our army's subsequent plans be adjusted in response to the situation?"

Guan Yu had been worrying for too long, and now that he had finally figured out the latest battle situation, he couldn't help but ask about the subsequent countermeasures and adjustments.

In fact, his inner subconscious was still mixed with a lot of ecstasy. After all, annihilating Cai Mao was a great victory, and it was worth celebrating. It was a pity that the current situation was too tense, and one wave of troubles had not yet subsided when another wave came. He needed to quickly deploy follow-up measures, so that the mood of celebrating was buried and suppressed.

As he was talking, before Zhuge Jin even answered, Guan Yu himself remembered another problem caused by the change in the situation, and quickly added:
“By the way, before the battle, we asked General Huang’s troops to cooperate with us and make some preparations after we captured Shandu County and Zhuyang County upstream.

But now that Zhongda has lost his old camp, our army cannot confront Cao Ren across the river. General Huang's preparations are useless, right? Should we ask him to stop and make other arrangements?"

To bystanders, Guan Yu's question may seem nonsensical and difficult to understand.

But if you are someone who participated in the military meeting chaired by Zhuge Jin before the war, it would be easy to understand.

This involves a historical legacy. Before the war, Zhuge Jin ordered Huang Zhong of the Western Route Army to cooperate with Guan Yu downstream to make some joint deployments after the attack to the north was successful.

At that time, Zhuge Jin instructed Huang Zhong that once he captured a low-lying area on the bank of the Han River upstream of Xiangyang that was suitable for water storage, he should try to build a dam to store water for future use.

Zhuge Jin gave such an order because, in his previous life, he knew that Guan Yu had flooded the Seven Armies by the Han River, and he also knew that the weather and geography near the Han River were suitable for storing water during the autumn rainy season, so he wanted to make preparations in advance, just in case it could be used.

Of course, Zhuge Jin was also very clear that times have changed and the situation has changed. The Battle of Xiangfan today was fought eleven years apart from the historical incident in which Guan Yu flooded seven armies. The weather conditions were different, and the enemy's stationing situation was also different.

At the beginning, Zhuge Jin did not expect to drown the enemy army directly, he had other clever uses for the water.

This wonderful use was decided by Zhuge Jin after he had people observe and survey the hydrological conditions around Yuliangzhou:
Zhuge Jin discovered that when Gao Shun and Guan Ping went to attack Yuliangzhou this time, only the lightest boats could sail into the temporary waterway between Xiangyang City and Yuliangzhou, which was flooded only during the rainy season.

At that time, Guan Ping relied on this waterway to successfully land secretly in a small boat at night.

However, any larger ship, let alone a battleship, even a warship, cannot enter this temporary waterway as the water is too shallow. Large ships would simply run aground or run aground if they enter.

Because he could not use large ships, it would be difficult for Gao Shun to hold Yuliangzhou and prevent Cao Ren's counterattack after gaining a foothold.

Liu Bei's navy could not bring into play its advantage, and the terrain near the small river between Yuliangzhou and the main land of Xiangyang was too low and flat to be defended.

Therefore, Zhuge Jin asked Huang Zhong to store some water upstream, hoping to release the water when the water level was at its highest during the rainy season. The combined flood peaks were enough to cause the Han River to surge several feet in a short period of time.

Of course, it is also said that it is a "short time". After all, how much water can be stored upstream by manpower? With the runoff of the Han River, it can ensure the flood at the critical moment, for several consecutive hours, or even just one hour, which is enough.

As long as the water level of the Han River suddenly rose, Zhuge Jin could order Gao Shun and Guan Ping to drive a large ship upstream in the temporary waterway to make preparations in advance.

When the flood peak comes and the depth of the temporary waterway suddenly increases, the battleships can be driven directly downstream and then anchored to secure the hull.

Once the flood peak passes and the water level drops, these large warships that have rushed into the temporary river channel can be directly sunk and stranded on the spot. A temporary wall shelter will be formed on the river surface, greatly strengthening Gao Shun's camp defense. In recent years, Liu Bei's army has built large warships with pointed bottoms and keel structures, and there are still many old flat-bottomed ships and fighting ships that have been eliminated. Even when Liu Qi brought half of Liu Biao's old troops to surrender, he also brought Liu Bei's army a lot of old warships that could be eliminated.

Zhuge Jin directly turned these old ships into temporary city wall shelters, which can be regarded as a good use of waste.

Moreover, in Zhuge Jin's expectation, because this flood peak lasts for a very short time, only our army can use it. By the time the enemy army reacts, it will be too late to use it.

After all, Cai Mao also had a lot of tower ships and fighting ships at that time. If Cai Mao reacted very quickly, Gao Shungang drove the large ships into the temporary river channel and sank them to use as fortress bunkers, and Cai Mao followed suit, then wouldn't Zhuge Jin's actions be shared by both the enemy and us?

With Zhuge Jin's intelligence, he would never allow such a situation to happen. So he hoped that the flood peak would last for a short time, to ensure that after our army did this, the enemy would think of imitating it, but it would be too late.

By then, Gao Shun would be able to hold Yuliangzhou firmly, and then he would drive a nail into the wall five miles outside the east gate of Xiangyang City, disgusting Cao Ren and undermining the connection between Cao Ren and Xu Huang, and even causing the twin city system of Xiangyang and Fancheng to be strangled.

As long as Cao Ren can't bear this disgust and doesn't want to be strangled, and goes out of the city to fight back, he will fall into Zhuge Jin's trap and turn Yuliangzhou into a meat grinder, completely grinding the attacking Cao army into bloody mud.

Zhuge Jin's first plan was very thorough. When he explained the plan to Guan Yu and Huang Zhong privately before the battle, Guan Yu and Huang Zhong's reactions were amazing.

However, the situation has changed now.

Gao Shun succeeded in his surprise attack on Cai Mao's water stronghold and made a fortune, which was a better outcome than the pre-war plan.

But because of Cao Ren's change of position, the defense line of Yuliangzhou waterway was lost, which was a worse situation than the pre-war plan.

Since there is no river terrain to defend, it would be meaningless to sink large ships to build a defense line when the water level rises.

In general, there are gains and losses, but the gains far outweigh the losses.

Guan Yu felt that this loss was completely acceptable, so he asked Zhuge Jin whether to terminate the water storage plan to save Huang Zhong from wasting time and creating more complications.

Is there any pure profit in the world? Compared with the ideal plan, the actual execution is 80% profit and 20% loss, which is already very good.

Unfortunately, Guan Yu was already satisfied with this level of profit, but Zhuge Jin was not.

In Zhuge Jin's dictionary, making less profit means losing money.

Moreover, he asked himself, with so many foresights and insights to learn from, and so many strategies and experiences to ponder, how could he give up?
What's more, he had some feelings and obsession about the "Battle of Xiangfan and the flooding of seven armies" in his heart.

In addition, the autumn rains are getting heavier, the water level of the Han River is indeed rising, and the season is also suitable. We will never be willing to do without using a water meter.

The scale of a water meter can be large or small. If the conditions are not met, the deployment scale can be reduced, but it must be used once.

"Please be patient, Yunchang, and let me make a long-term plan. General Huang has also been working hard for several days. He has gone through so much trouble to attack quickly and fiercely, but he has only been able to capture Shandu and Zhuyang, two small counties upstream.

If we don’t make full use of the advantages of the upstream coast, General Huang’s attack this time will be a waste of military supplies. Although the situation has changed now, I still want to think of a way to make full use of what General Huang has already done. "

After much deliberation, Zhuge Jin still refused to give up, and finally persuaded Guan Yu to give him some more time.

When Guan Yu heard this, he was a little surprised and a little impatient at first.

After all, he was still waiting to send out troops to fight and save his son, but Tzuyu was always stepping on the brakes, pursuing perfection, and not wanting to waste any of the preparations made before. It seemed that she was deliberately seeking perfection, focusing on the small things and forgetting the big things.

However, Zhuge Jin had accumulated too much historical credit after all. After he came to Liu Bei's camp, he did not make any major strategic decision-making mistakes in the twelve or thirteen years.

Guan Yu calmed down for a while, and his trust in Zhuge Jin overshadowed his worry about his son.

"Tzuyu's plan must have its own magic. It's just that my son is surrounded in it. Why can't I trust Tzuyu as usual... I'm still not calm enough!"

Guan Yu actually began to reflect on himself because he was worried about his son's mood swings.

If any of our civil or military officials cannot trust Tzuyu's strategy unconditionally and without reservation, then that is definitely his problem, not Tzuyu's.

After understanding this, Guan Yu calmed down again. He even signaled the generals who were attending the meeting and the messenger who was waiting for a reply to keep quiet and not disturb Zhuge Jin's thoughts.

Zhuge Jin gained sufficient peace of mind and soon entered a state of trance, repeatedly reviewing and deducing in his mind how to continue to make good use of the half-deployed water plan under the new situation.

Zhuge Jin thought to himself:
"It is no longer possible or meaningful to use large ships to rush into the waterway and build a city overnight when the flood is coming. In this case, if we still want to use water strategies, there will probably be no defensive water strategies left, and we can only use offensive water strategies.

The easiest thing to think of when it comes to offensive water tactics is to follow the historical example of Yun Chang flooding the Seven Armies. However, Yun Chang made full preparations in advance, waiting for the natural rainstorm peak, and then when Yu Jin had no boats and he had boats, he took advantage of the water to attack and win.

Moreover, Yunchang did not store water artificially in history, which is very different from my current situation. I cannot ensure that the flood peak this year will be large enough, even with Huang Zhong's water storage, it may not be enough..."

Thinking of this, Zhuge Jin's mind was a little stuck. Because he was too deeply influenced by the preconceived impression. No matter how he thought about it, as long as he thought about flooding the enemy with water, he would easily lean towards that.

"No, we must open our minds and think about it carefully... Oh? By the way, since Cao Ren and Zhong Da have exchanged homes, doesn't that mean Cao Ren has seized the camp that Zhong Da originally deployed beside the Yuliangzhou waterway? So now it's Cao Ren's turn to be stationed in the low-lying area?
Is there any way to ensure that Cao Ren can stay in this low-lying area? If he can hold out for three or four days, or even five or six days, and stay in the lowland until the peak of the flood arrives, he can still flood the Seven Armies!
Hmm... I guess it won't necessarily be the Seventh Army this time. The low-lying areas on both sides of the Yuliangzhou waterway can't accommodate so many enemies, and the terrain is very different from the Yankouchuan on the north bank. But we'll flood as many as we can. The key now is how to hold Cao Ren back for a long time without him moving his camp."

Zhuge Jin thought about it again and again, sorting out the principle in his mind, and then he felt relieved.

When he explained the details of the water plan to Gao Shun, he also told Gao Shun: In the first two or three days after gaining a foothold in Yuliangzhou, you can defend the riverside area with all your strength, and attack the enemy halfway across the river if they try to cross the river.

However, they would have to find a way to set up a secondary camp in a high place as soon as possible to ensure that Gao Shun's own land camp would not be flooded when the flood peak came upstream and Huang Zhong released water. After the water receded and the battleships sank into place, they would let the troops return to the lowland riverside camp to defend it.

It can be seen that in Zhuge Jin's original plan, he realized that the low-lying areas along the river were very likely to be flooded. It was just that when his own people used it, they could move in advance to prevent it. When it came to the enemy, the enemy might not be able to prevent it.

Thinking of this, Zhuge Jin's brows relaxed and his mind came back from his trance. Then he noticed that Guan Yu and the others were staring at him with concern, as if they were waiting for him to make a move.

Zhuge Jin smiled calmly, not wanting to keep Guan Yu in suspense, so he revealed some of the outlines to quench Guan Yu's thirst:
"Don't worry, Yunchang. I have a plan. Although it is not mature yet, it can be improved slowly in the future. In my opinion, although the situation has changed significantly, the original water plan has lost the prerequisite for application.

But we can still make a slight adjustment, from a defensive water strategy to an offensive water strategy - Cao Ren and Yu Jin have already captured Zhongda's old camp, and the old camp is in a low-lying area, and a temporary rise of one zhang in the water level may submerge it.

Therefore, we should focus on ensuring that Cao Ren always keeps his troops in Zhongda's old camp until the peak of the upstream flood arrives. In this way, Cao's army will inevitably be severely damaged by the water attack."

Upon hearing this, Guan Yu and the other generals were amazed again.

"This is... a sudden change of tactics that he came up with after hearing Zhongda's report just now? How could it be so fast?"

Guan Yu was speechless. Is this the speed of Zhuge’s brain?
Although there are still many details that have not been perfected, there are only a few people in the world who can achieve this step so quickly.

Moreover, why did Ziyu's idea of attacking the enemy with water sound so familiar? Guan Yu always felt that he didn't need to think much and could immediately understand the beauty of it.

In the past, when he heard Zhuge Jin's other imaginative and sudden changes of tactics, it always took him a lot of time and brainpower to understand and accept them.

Could it be that because I have been with Tzuyu for a long time, my brain has become more efficient, so my reaction has become so much faster?
Guan Yu thought for a moment, then quickly thought of a key point and asked, "Then what clever method did Ziyu come up with to ensure that Cao Ren or Yu Jin would continue to station heavy troops in Zhongda's old camp?"
If Cao Ren wanted to attack the water stronghold left by Cai Mao, he would certainly press eastward and set up a new camp close to Zhongda's defense line, and he would most likely choose a place with slightly higher terrain. It would be difficult for the flood peak to flood this place. "

Before Guan Yu raised this question, Zhuge Jin had not thought it through clearly.

However, the more you argue, the clearer the truth becomes. When the two of them asked and answered each other, it also helped Zhuge Jin sort out his thoughts. Zhuge Jin thought about Guan Yu's blocking point and soon understood everything.

“This may seem difficult at first, but there is a way out. If we want Cao Ren to keep more troops in the lowlands along the river, we must make him feel that this waterway is threatened.

Therefore, if Cao Ren moves his camp eastward and forces Zhongda to set up camp in the future, we will send the navy northward from Lumen Mountain to enter the Yuliangzhou River to harass Cao Ren. During Cao Ren's attack on Zhongda, he will definitely need to transport food and military supplies to the front line, and this small river will definitely require a ferry.

No matter how effective our harassment is, we must keep harassing it so that Cao Ren will be afraid of losing his retreat and will have to leave more troops in the old camp along the river.

Because this waterway is very narrow, as long as there are many towers and rudders on both sides, with crossbows installed on them, and combined with catapults, it is absolutely possible to block the river surface, and whoever comes to the warship will die. Cao Ren has such an obvious advantage to take, it is impossible not to take it.

Our army should not care about temporary gains and losses. Even if the harassment is ineffective or even suffers slight losses, we must persist in harassing. As long as we can hold on until the peak of the flood arrives and General Huang releases water upstream, we will be able to get back everything we have invested and made a profit! "

(End of this chapter)