My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 669: Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei Hunting in Xiangyang

Cai Mao, Kuai Yue and Jia Xu fled just two days after Yu Jin's defeat.

Because everything happened so quickly, Guan Yu and Huang Zhong were completely unaware of the matter.

On the day Cai Mao escaped, Guan Yu had just set up a siege camp outside the east gate of Xiangyang City, and Huang Zhong had just sent scouts and sent out patrols outside the west gate.

Another day passed before they hastily set up a camp outside the west gate to block the gate.

As for the water gate in the north of the city, it would take another day or two before Tian Yu and Chen Dao could bring the navy to patrol and monitor occasionally, but they couldn't block it for a long time.

There were catapults of Cao's army on the north wall of Xiangyang and the south wall of Fancheng.

The Han River is not very wide. If Guan Yu's warships were to sail close to the shore or even stop, they would definitely become fixed targets. So they could only sway and leave, not giving the enemy a chance to calibrate their shooting.

Don't think it's weird to use catapults to block the Han River. This was done in the Song Dynasty. The catapults in Xiang and Fan cities of the Southern Song Dynasty could ensure that the Mongolian warships could not sail from the Tangbai River into the Han River.

This has even been reflected in the campaign of Age of Empires 4, and it is well known. However, the catapults of the Southern Song Dynasty and the Mongolian army in history were definitely more advanced than those of the Cao and Liu armies today, with larger materials, larger size and tonnage.

In a nutshell, Cao's army ran after Cao's army, and Liu Bei's army fought Liu Bei's army. Guan Yu and Huang Zhong had their own rhythm and would not be led astray by the enemy.

Before the encirclement, some enemy soldiers sneaked away, but Guan Yu didn't care much about it, and even welcomed it - if the enemy was willing to withdraw, although they would preserve more manpower, it would definitely be beneficial to the attack on Xiangyang City.

This would not only reduce the number of troops defending Xiangyang, but would also cause the remaining soldiers to panic and feel unwilling to give in, making the city easier to capture.

Moreover, to be honest, except for Jia Xu, the old scoundrel, the only person in the city worthy of Liu Bei's army's plan to kill him. The others, whether it was Cai Mao or even Yu Jin, could have run away if they wanted to. How much would it help Cao Cao if such people returned alive?

Especially Cai Mao, there is no point in keeping this guy alive!

……

Liu Bei's army advanced the siege at its own pace.

Two days later, the siege camps at the east, west and south gates of Xiangyang were finally connected together.

Two days later, Yuliangzhou Water Fort was initially repaired and could be used as a base for Liu Bei's navy ships to attack. The blockade of the Han River waterway was further blocked, and Cao's retreat was basically over.

There were still 35,000 soldiers left in the city to defend the city. Some of the family members and wealthy people who had no combat ability were also relocated by Cao's army in order to slow down the consumption of military rations during the siege.

Three days later, Liu Bei sent someone to deliver a letter to the Yuliangzhou camp, asking Guan Yu to return to Yicheng in person.

It is said that the reinforcements from Yizhou led by my third brother Zhang Fei will arrive in Yicheng within the next two days. Zhang Fei also brought 50,000 ground troops, 20,000 naval troops and auxiliary troops.

It was inconvenient to meet him in the camp outside the city, so Liu Bei insisted that Guan Yu return to the city.

Anyway, Xiangyang was already trapped, so the two-day delay in attacking the city was not a big deal. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei hadn't seen each other for several years. Wasn't this reunion more important than attacking the city two days earlier?

So when Guan Yu received the letter, he immediately entrusted the military affairs to Huang Zhong and Gao Shun, and then he took Guan Ping and rushed back to Yicheng.

……

Guan Yu rode fast and returned to Yicheng that afternoon.

After Guan Yu arrived, only an hour or so later, a fleet came from the lower reaches of the Han River in the south, carrying a large number of reinforcements.

On the leading boat sat Zhang Fei and Han Dang, whom Zhang Fei brought from Yizhou. After all, the entire journey was via the Yangtze River and Han River. Zhang Fei was not good at naval battles, and he needed a deputy general who knew something about the navy to help him with daily affairs, so he chose Han Dang.

As for the naval generals such as Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin who had gone to Yizhou to pacify Liu Zhang, they were left to Gan Ning to continue to be responsible for stabilizing the situation in Yizhou.

To protect Zhuge Liang's reforms in Yizhou and prevent instability among Liu Zhang's old subordinates and the original vested interest groups in Shu.

"Big brother! Second brother! Ziyu!" When the ship docked at the pier, Zhang Fei didn't even wait for the gangplank to be put in place. He jumped two feet high and landed heavily on the pier, cracking the wooden plank where he stepped.

The deck of a warship is higher than the pier at the dock.

With the drop and the help of running, it is not too difficult for a warrior to jump more than two meters. It's just that ordinary people are not so eager, nor do they have the courage, and they don't want to lose face.

But Zhang Fei didn't need to worry about his dignity. After he landed, he didn't even look down at the broken wooden board, and rushed straight towards Liu Bei and Guan Yu.

"Yide! You are already the right general of the Han Dynasty, why are you still so reckless and rough! Can't you wait until the ship is docked?" Liu Bei patted Zhang Fei on the shoulder and reprimanded him symbolically, but everyone knew that he didn't take it to heart.

Zhang Fei grinned heartily, shook hands with Liu Bei, and did not answer the question.

Then he let go of Liu Bei's arm and used his free hand to grab Guan Yu behind him: "Second brother! It's been four years since we last met! I have made contributions in Yizhou with my elder brother and Kong Ming in recent years, which are no less than your military achievements in Xu Huai! How do you think!"

Guan Yu heard Zhang Fei's incoherent speech, but he didn't bother with him. He knew that he was just overly excited, so his words were incoherent.

Guan Yu just stroked his beard with a serious look on his face. When Zhang Fei calmed down a little, he suddenly said:
“I have heard about Third Brother’s achievements in the past few years. It’s a pity that I came a little late this time. Otherwise, wouldn’t I be able to catch another great achievement?
Just before you arrived, I had just launched a surprise attack on Cai Mao, flooded Yu Jin, and chased and annihilated Cao Ren halfway across the river, defeating 60,000 to 70,000 enemies!"

Zhang Fei had been feeling aggrieved for so long. Until he entered Sichuan to attack Hanzhong and pacify Yizhou, Zhang Fei had never been able to wash away the shame of having almost completely destroyed Liu Bei's foundation in his early years.

Now, after four years of separation, he has accumulated great achievements in Shu, and finally defeated Xiahou Yuan and participated in the pacification of Liu Zhang, finally being able to hold his head high. Zhang Fei's original intention was to have a fair competition with his second brother when he met him again this time.

The second brother was in Xuhuai for four years, but his main purpose was to maintain the territory. Liu Bei's army concentrated all its forces in the west, and could only defend the east. Since he had not made any achievements in these four years, Zhang Fei felt that he should have a chance to catch up, right?
Who knew that when the time came and he heard that something like this had happened, he was immediately quite surprised:

"What? Second brother defeated Cao Ren and Yu Jin again? Killed 60,000 or 70,000 enemies? When did it happen? When I arrived at Baqiu, I went ashore to rest for a day or two, and I didn't hear about it at that time!"

Guan Yu said indifferently: "That was right after you passed the mouth of Dongting Lake, about seven or eight days ago at most."

Zhang Fei was stunned, then slapped his thigh: "It's all my fault for rushing the journey. After crossing Dongting Lake, I didn't stop to rest and sailed all the way here!"

Seeing that the two of them were chatting animatedly about competing for merit, Liu Bei, as their lord, did not want to interrupt, even though he was also the eldest brother.

Liu Bei was careful and winked at Zhuge Jin who was accompanying him.

It was still early September, and the weather was still not too cool. Zhuge Jin was originally fanning himself and watching the show, not disturbing them. Seeing Liu Bei's look, he put away his fan and patted Zhang Fei's arm:

"Why? Yunchang has made such a great contribution, shouldn't Yide be happy for him? Why do you brothers still want to compete with each other?"

"How could I compete with my second brother? I was just startled for a moment." Zhang Fei was awakened by Zhuge Jin's fan, and he quickly retorted, saying that he was very happy for his second brother.

Liu Bei also took the opportunity of Zhang Fei's self-defense to stop the topic in time, indicating that there was no need for explanation between brothers, and they could just go back to the city for a welcoming drink.

Zhang Fei also quickly said that he would follow his elder brother's arrangements, and the four of them mounted their horses and returned to the city.

Along the way, Zhang Fei was still asking Guan Yu about the details of the battle of Yuliangzhou. Hearing Guan Yu talk about his proud points, Zhang Fei was also full of admiration.

"I didn't expect that he could use the weather and the place to such an extent, launch such a water attack, and defeat 60,000 to 70,000 enemies in one battle. Second brother's use of troops is really like God's help."

Guan Yu was a little embarrassed by the flattery, and stroked his beard with a normal expression, half accepting and half modestly saying:
“It’s true that God blesses us, but it’s not necessarily that God helps us—in fact, it was Tzuyu who planned well and helped to delay it until the right time and place.

Sun Tzu said, "The key to victory is in oneself, the key to victory is in the enemy. Victory can be known, but it cannot be achieved. Tzuyu knew victory and could also drag the enemy to the point where he could be defeated. I just 'achieved' it in the end."

Guan Yu used the original words from Sun Tzu's Art of War to divide the credit into two parts in a casual manner.

Zhuge Jin is responsible for knowing, and he is responsible for doing.

Zhang Fei was still filled with emotion after hearing this. The group boasted and came to the Yicheng County Government, which was temporarily used as the shogunate.

Liu Bei had already ordered people to prepare a welcoming banquet, and the four of them quickly took their seats.

After three rounds of drinks, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei had almost finished reminiscing about the past few years, and the topic naturally shifted to the current siege of Xiangyang.

Zhang Fei learned that his second brother and Huang Zhong had surrounded Xiangyang City on three sides, and took partial control of the Han River waterway during the period of surging Han River due to autumn rain. Even Cai Mao was so scared that he fled to Fancheng on the opposite bank.

Zhang Fei had just arrived and was eager to make a contribution. Upon hearing this, he immediately wiped his mouth and didn't even bother to drink the distilled liquor. He just stood up and bowed to Liu Bei and asked for a fight:

"Brother! I came all the way from Yizhou with great difficulty, but I didn't make it to the battle of Dangyang where Yu Jin was defeated, nor did I make it to the flooding of Cao's army at Yuliangzhou.

All these field battles where we can fight in various ways to annihilate the enemy have been taken up by Lao Huang and my second brother. You should at least give me a chance to make some contribution, right?
Give my troops three days to rest and let my troops lead the charge of attacking Xiangyang! I promise to bring Yu Jin's head back to you, big brother!"

Liu Bei originally laughed and joked with his second and third brothers, and spoke to them in a nonchalant and easy-going manner.

But when Zhang Fei suddenly mentioned military affairs, Liu Bei's expression immediately changed and his look became a little solemn, as if he didn't seem to have been drinking at all.

Liu Bei adjusted his mood, and then he asked Zhuge Jin carefully and respectfully: "Yide, you can't take credit for this matter, let's see if Ziyu can come up with a good plan."

Zhang Fei quickly picked up a wine jug, jumped up, rushed to Zhuge Jin, and poured wine for him.

After filling a cup, Zhang Fei touched Zhuge Jin's cup with the wine pot, then tilted his head back and gulped down the remaining wine in the pot.

After drinking, Zhang Fei wiped his mouth, spread out his five fingers and patted his chest several times, swearing to Zhuge Jin and saying:

"Zi Yu! Situ! You are very observant! Second brother and Old Huang have made so many military achievements. I, Old Zhang, have come all the way here, so I can't miss a tough battle!"

Zhuge Jin waved his folding fan, slowly picked up the wine cup and took a big sip, but did not drink it all. He just smiled without saying a word, as if he was organizing his words in his mind.

Zhang Fei was frightened by Zhuge Jin's gaze, and hurriedly tried to curry favor with him: "Situ, I know you have been in Guandong with my second brother for the past few years, and you are in charge of the overall situation. You may think that I am a little reckless.

But I am really different from the way I was four years ago. In the past few years since I came to Sichuan, whether I fought Xiahou in Hanzhong or Zhang Ren in Fucheng, I have always been rough but meticulous. Whatever Zhuge Liang said was the truth and I obeyed all his orders without any disobedience.

Now, Situ, feel free to use me in battle. I am very useful."

Zhang Fei hadn't seen the civil and military officials of Guandong for three or four years. He had just been reminiscing with his second brother and had no time to make friends with Zhuge Jin.

Now, from what the eldest brother said, Situ would have the final say on who could fight and who could not in the future. So of course he had to hurry over to stir up trouble.

But it is not easy to cook a cold stove. The first impression just now was not attentive enough. If I want to remedy it now, I can only go to extremes.

Zhang Fei had no other excuses, so he just boasted about how much he listened to Zhuge Liang in the past few years since he came to Sichuan. It seemed that since he listened to Zhuge Jin's second brother so much back then, he would listen to Zhuge Jin himself even more now.

People who don’t know might really think that in the past few years, when Zhuge Liang told him to go east, he didn’t dare to go west, and he was as obedient as a rabbit.

Unfortunately, Zhuge Jin would never change his judgment because of personal relationships.

He already had his own plan for the subsequent battle of Xiangyang.

Yu Jin had been greatly weakened by the "flooding of the seven armies", and now Cao Ren had abandoned him. It was said that Cai Mao and some pro-Cao factions in northern Jing who were to be held hostage by Cao Cao had also sent people to cross the Han River to seek refuge in the north.

Zhuge Jin knew that in history, Yu Jin surrendered in the end, and now so many people abandoned Yu Jin and forced him to play the heroic role to the end. Zhuge Jin felt that all this could easily catalyze Yu Jin's wavering.

Therefore, for Xiangyang City, a moderate fierce attack and a show of muscle is indeed necessary.

That was to let Yu Jin see the situation clearly and know that as long as Liu Bei's army wanted to attack by force and at all costs, they could take it down.

However, showing off your muscles does not mean you have to fight to the end. After letting the other party see your strength, you should still focus on intimidation and psychological warfare.

That would not only save Liu Bei's army tens of thousands of casualties, but also reduce the losses of the 35,000 soldiers in Xiangyang City.

What's more, the time that Xiangyang City can hold out has been greatly shortened because most of the food from the Xianshan camp could not be transported back.

All these reasons strengthened Zhuge Jin's idea of using deterrence to persuade the enemy to surrender.

As for attacking, there will definitely be attacks later, such as targeting Fancheng and Wancheng. Those places were defended by Cao Ren and others. With the Cao family in control of the situation, it is almost impossible for them to surrender to Liu.

The strength for attacking tough problems should be reserved for use where it matters most.

With such a plan in mind, at this moment, facing Zhang Fei's entanglement, Zhuge Jin could only step on the brakes and give him a little sweet treat.

I only heard him slowly explaining to Zhang Fei and Liu Bei:

"It is not impossible for Yide to command the battle to attack Xiangyang. But the specific method of attack and the duration of the attack must be strictly followed.

I will not hide it from you. In my opinion, although Yu Jin has served Cao Cao for nearly 20 years, he has been defeated repeatedly since he faced our army and his morale has declined.

Moreover, Cao Ren left him in the isolated city of Xiangyang, while the rest of his relatives and favorites escaped early. It is impossible to say that Yu Jin had no resentment in his heart.

As for Yu Jin, we should focus on showing our strength and forcing him to surrender after the siege, so that he can see that there is no hope if he insists on helping Cao. "

When Zhang Fei heard the plan, he immediately lost his spirits: "What? Yu Jin is guarding the city, and we still need to coax him and force him to surrender by siege? He is already so weak, why not just charge in directly?"

Zhuge Jin did not explain much, but just said with a serious expression: "Just tell me if you can do it. If not, Han Sheng will naturally be the first to attack. Yun Chang's prestige is growing day by day, so it would be a shame to undermine his prestige. For this kind of battle that cannot be directly conquered, if you don't go, Han Sheng will go."

Zhang Fei quickly changed his words: "Yes, yes, whatever Situ says is fine. We can just attack and intimidate the enemy, then we can besiege the city and force a surrender. Oh, why do you sound like you want to 'defeat but not win'? We've already attacked, why don't you let us fight to the end?"

Zhuge Jin couldn't help but be amused by Zhang Fei: "Why do you only allow defeat but not victory? This battle is at least for you to establish your authority in front of Yu Jin. Besides, even if it is really 'only allow defeat but not victory', Zilong has carried out such missions so many times in the past. Are you not happy to be asked to do it once?"

When Zhang Fei thought of Zhao Yun who was far away in Youzhou, and thought of how many times Zhao Yun had been forced by his elder and younger brothers to carry out missions of feigning defeat in his life, Zhang Fei's mentality became calm.

After Zhang Fei accepted this setting, Liu Bei on the side became a little worried.

Liu Bei was known for his ability to judge people. He also knew Yu Jin's loyalty to Cao Cao and his qualifications in Cao's camp.

Today was the first time he heard Zhuge Jin say that even Yu Jin could be persuaded to surrender, and he couldn't help but feel a little bit unbelievable.

So Liu Bei waited until Zhang Fei calmed down before he raised his wine cup and whispered to Zhuge Jin, "Zi Yu, this matter cannot be joked about. Do you think Yu Jin is likely to surrender when the situation is critical? How sure are you about this?"

Zhuge Jin, after all, was a man of foresight and did not dare to speak too much, so he carefully considered his words: "At least 40% to 50% sure. The key is that our army can use tricks later to slowly disintegrate Yu Jin's fighting spirit.

The stalemate between us and Cao's army has not ended yet. As long as Yu Jin sees more and more evidence that Cao Cao and Cao Ren don't care whether he lives or dies, or as long as he sees that Cao Ren continues to suffer repeated defeats, it is possible that Yu Jin will surrender.

Therefore, instead of fighting to the death with Yu Jin, we should use the advantage of the navy to intimidate him, then surround him without attacking, bypass Xiangyang and head north to wreak havoc in Fancheng and Xinye, or even find some opportunities to pick on Cao Ren who will never surrender and continue to beat him, which can also be regarded as a warning to the enemy. "

In just a few words, Zhuge Jin combined the idea of "mainly using deterrence to force Jin to land" with the idea of "mainly using deterrence against Ping and mainly using fierce attack to quickly break through Jin" during the three major battles in later generations.

Of course, he did not necessarily have to pursue the goal of breaking through Fancheng as soon as possible, but as long as he could further beat Cao Ren and use it to scare Yu Jin, this general idea would be correct.

-

PS: I didn’t expect to get air-conditioning disease during the dog days of summer. I feel a little dizzy and it’s even later.

(End of this chapter)