My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 751: Time for Space, or Space for Time

"It's so satisfying! It's all thanks to Yuan Zhi's brilliant strategy. He secretly built the fire raft in just a few days, hiding it from Sun Quan and Cheng Pu, and only then did we achieve this amazing feat!"

After Cheng Pu's defeat, Zhang Fei and Wei Yan successfully reunited at the water stronghold that Cheng Pu had abandoned. Their faces were somewhat blackened by the smoke and fire, but their expressions were extremely excited. As soon as they met, they embraced each other and laughed heartily.

In between the words, they first praised Xu Shu's brilliant strategy, without sparing any flattering words. Then the two generals began to brag about each other's business, telling about the highlights of their respective executions and how well they fought on land and sea.

The soldiers they led were busy putting out the remaining fires and taking over the water fort. They also took inventory of the military supplies that Cheng Pu had not had time to transport away, and cleaned up the rest of the building materials, wood, and discarded weapons that could be recycled.

There was no other way. After the battle, the soldiers were bound to be exhausted, and the excitement of receiving the spoils was hard to suppress. Zhang Fei was already under great pressure, so he had to give the soldiers a chance to release the pressure. Only by taking a break could they avoid any trouble.

So after a full hour, Zhang Fei and Wei Yan were busy cleaning up the battlefield and consolidating their results, and were unable to make any further progress.

It was not until the sky was completely bright, around the end of Chen and the beginning of Si, that the water fort gradually calmed down, and Zhang Fei and Wei Yan managed to rest and catch their breath.

At this time, several of their warships suddenly approached the newly captured water fort downstream. The patrol scouts also discovered the situation and reported it to Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei pulled Wei Yan out to take a look. After all, they were his own people, so there was no need to worry about a sneak attack.

As soon as they arrived at the dock and stood still, the ship had already stopped and the gangplank had been lowered. Several sailors who were good at swimming went ashore first, and then they protected a scholar with a long sword hanging from his waist. It turned out to be the military advisor Xu Shu.

"Why is Yuanzhi so anxious? Is he worried that Wenchang and I won't be able to win? He even went to the front line to check on the battle situation. There's still some smoke here, Yuanzhi, don't let it get you sick."

Zhang Fei walked up to him with a big laugh, patted Xu Shu on the shoulder, pulled him over and showed him the results of the battle in the water fort.

Piles of captured weapons and military supplies were laid out on the open ground, and groups of disarmed surrendered prisoners were also guarded and lined up, ready to be transported back to the rear. It seemed that the battle had yielded quite a lot of results.

Xu Shu did not let Zhang Fei down. He first praised the results and gains of the battle, and then changed the subject and said with a little worry:

"I was in the camp downstream. When I saw the fire was dying down, I knew that the Right General must have succeeded in capturing the camp. But the warships on the river are still traveling back and forth. Now is not the time to celebrate. The remnants of Cheng Pu's army must have abandoned the camp and broken out."

After hearing this, Zhang Fei and Wei Yan looked at each other, and the joy in their eyes dimmed a little.

Zhang Fei turned to Xu Shu and said frankly, "This is to be expected. As long as we can capture the water fort in one battle, it will be worth celebrating. Cheng Pu is also a famous general in water battles. If he wants to abandon the fort and break out, we won't be able to completely wipe him out for the time being."

But as long as our army succeeds in capturing the stronghold, he will be like a tree without roots, with no place to stay. What is there to worry about?"

Xu Shu shook his head. "Of course, we are not worried about the remaining combat power of Cheng Pu. However, with the enemy's defeat, Sun Quan will probably realize that Shangcai's retreat route could be cut off at any time, and they will not be able to hold on for long. If I were Sun Quan, I would definitely consider retreating the entire army at any time. The general should be on guard against Sun Quan's immediate escape."

When Zhang Fei heard this, his originally relieved and excited expression froze for a moment, and then collapsed.

Of course he understood these principles, but the victory just now came too quickly and he was still immersed in the joy of victory, so he didn't have the energy to think about these things.

But as long as Xu Shu brought it up, Zhang Fei would immediately understand it.

"Thanks to Yuan Zhi's reminder, I didn't expect that tonight would be so smooth. I didn't think of arranging the follow-up pursuit immediately." Zhang Fei was quick to accept the advice and corrected his mistakes. He immediately admitted his mistakes and turned to Wei Yan and gave instructions.

"Wen Chang, you stay here and continue to occupy the water fort and control the river. I will return to the camp on the east bank and be ready to storm the city at any time. If Sun Quan withdraws his troops and the people in the city panic, I will attack immediately."

Under normal circumstances, the casualties and losses caused by a forced siege are bound to be significant, and must be avoided.

However, if the enemy troops defending the city have just been hit by the tragic defeat of the friendly forces outside the city, and the people are panicking. In addition, if the defenders may retreat in batches, then the mentality of those who are left to defend the city will definitely collapse. At this time, the cost of a strong attack will be much smaller, or even negligible.

Moreover, Zhang Fei had experience in this kind of thing - four years ago, during the Battle of Fancheng, Cao Ren's retreat was cut off, and he finally waited until a night in the cold winter when the Baihe River was frozen with heavy snow. He led part of the army to break out, and then sent Guo Jia, who was seriously ill and unable to leave, to cover the rear and defend the city.

That time, Zhang Fei was personally responsible for the task of pursuing Cao Ren, while his second brother Guan Yu was responsible for attacking Fancheng, which Guo Jia was defending. With Guo Jia's ability, he could not hold out for long when the morale of Cao's remaining troops was about to collapse. Moreover, how could Sun Quan today be as good as Guo Jia?
If a similar situation really happened, Sun Quan would definitely collapse faster than Guo Jia.

Moreover, Sun Quan was still the commander of Cao's army in the area around Shangcai. Given his status, he would definitely choose to break out of the siege like Cao Ren did in the past, and would never personally guard the rear. The only people left behind by him might be Ling Tong and his ilk.

However, Ling Tong's prestige and military ability were far inferior to Guo Jia's.

With the mentality of "it's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep have been lost", Zhang Fei quickly organized dozens of warships that were in good condition, and immediately detoured back to the east bank downstream and returned to the siege camp. He began to prepare for the assault and organized the troops that had been on rest before to enter the highest state of combat readiness.

Xu Shu also followed Zhang Fei, crossed the river and returned to the east bank, and helped with the coordination and filling in the gaps.

During this process, more latest battle reports were sent back from the front.

Within an hour, the patrol boats under Wei Yan's command discovered the subsequent whereabouts of Cheng Pu's navy after its retreat. They also found that a group of Cheng Pu's fleet retreated to the west water gate of Shangcai City and then went out of the city and upstream, which was highly suspected to be the withdrawal of the garrison.

Naturally, this news was reported to Wei Yan as quickly as possible, and Wei Yan shared it with Zhang Fei and Xu Shu as soon as possible.

When Zhang Fei heard this, he became extremely anxious. Regardless of the fact that his troops had not yet made adequate preparations for the siege, he forced his subordinates to form a line and go out for the attack.

However, at this moment, several civil servants were lowered into a hanging basket from the south gate tower of Shangcai City. They descended from the city wall under the pretext of negotiation and headed straight for Zhang Fei's siege camp, expressing their desire to meet him.

Zhang Fei's troops, who were already preparing to leave the camp to fight, did not dare to stop them. They simply searched the other side to see if they were carrying any weapons, and then reported and led the messenger into the inner camp.

After hearing about the situation, Zhang Fei did not understand the envoy's purpose for a moment, but decided to meet him anyway, so he asked Xu Shu, who happened to be nearby, to help check.

"Yuanzhi, we don't know the enemy's intentions. How about you come with me to meet him so as to avoid any deception?"

Xu Shu naturally agreed without hesitation, and then the messenger was brought in.

After the Cao army envoy entered the big tent, he raised his hands and bowed to Zhang Fei in a neither humble nor arrogant manner, but he did not bow his head. He just moved his arms with a very large amplitude. If you have no idea what this movement is, you can go and watch how Zhang Song bowed when he first met Cao Cao in the old version of the TV series "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

After paying his respects, the messenger introduced himself in a clear voice: "I am Kan Ze of Kuaiji, honored to be a military officer in the Zhennan General's Office, and I pay my respects to the Right General."

Zhang Fei's title of Right General was originally officially conferred by the court controlled by Cao Cao, so there was no problem with Kan Ze calling him the Right General. This position was recognized by both the enemy and us.

Cao Cao's original intention was to reject all the official titles Liu Bei requested, and only approve Guan Yu's title of General of the Guard. But later he thought that Zhang Fei and Lu Bu had always been at odds, and when Liu Bei lost Xuzhou, it was Lu Bu who took it from Zhang Fei. Lu Bu's official title before his death was also General of the Right.

Therefore, in order to disgust Zhang Fei, Cao Cao showed leniency and approved Liu Bei's request to appoint Zhang Fei as the right general.

When Zhang Fei heard Kan Ze introduce himself, he felt a little contemptuous.

Firstly, Kan Ze has not had any opportunities to achieve anything in these years, and he has always been in an inconspicuous place when following Sun Quan's plans, so he is not well-known in the outside world.

Secondly, Zhang Fei was somewhat disgusted when he heard that he was from Kuaiji but was loyal to Sun Quan. Zhang Fei said sarcastically, "Why did people from Kuaiji have to help the tyrant and follow Sun Quan for so many years! Everyone in the world knows that the governor of Kuaiji appointed by the emperor was Wang Gong Jingxing!
"Your Majesty has been unyielding and has fought against the Sun thief for many years. Your Majesty has been in Kuaiji for at least five or six years, and the Sun thief has been in Kuaiji for only two years. You do not serve the legitimate master, but the tyrant. Aren't you deliberately trying to be a traitor?"

Kan Ze couldn't directly refute this question, so he just sighed and said calmly:

"A good bird chooses a tree to inhabit, and a good minister chooses a master to serve. This is the law of nature. I was born in a humble family, and my family has been farmers for generations. I have learned everything by borrowing books and studying on my own.

When the princes recruited people, they often looked at their family background. When he was in Kuaiji, I had not made any achievements. The Sun brothers did not avoid people of humble origins when they recruited people. When I first joined the general who was suppressing the rebellion as a commoner, he appointed me as the magistrate of Qiantang County. I should serve someone who understands me!"

After hearing this, Zhang Fei couldn't think of any more moral flaws to blame. After all, when Wang Lang was under his rule, Wang Lang didn't give him an official position, but Sun Ce did. So there was no way to blame him for this.

Seeing this, Xu Shu at the side helped Zhang Fei change the subject: "There is no need to say more about this matter. The envoy, please tell me what you want to do today. Are you here to surrender on behalf of Sun Quan? If you don't want to surrender, our army will attack the city!"

Kan Ze turned to Xu Shu and bowed slightly: "Sir, I believe you must be Xu Yuanzhi from Yingchuan. I have heard of your great name for a long time. There are also many people in the court who know your strategies.

"Last night's deceptive fire attack plan must have been masterminded by you. General Zhennan, I, and General Cheng were deceived by it. We deserved our loss!"

He first patted Xu Shu slightly to ease the atmosphere, and at the same time used flattery to squeeze the other party, and then changed the subject and began to explain the real purpose of his visit.

"I came here this time because I was entrusted by General Zhennan to ask your army to show some leniency and allow us to retreat and abandon Shangcai City!"

"What a joke! Sun Quan has at least 20,000 soldiers in Shangcai. Our army made a feint attack before, and their casualties were at most a few thousand. Now there are still quite a few left. Our army has surrounded him and even cut off the waterway for his withdrawal. Why should we let him leave?

Everything you have is already in my pocket, what else can you offer in exchange!"

Zhang Fei refuted directly, without waiting for Xu Shu to help him think of words. To Zhang Fei, Kan Ze's words just now were just like "You actually use my things to trade with me?"

Why?
Everything in Shangcai City is trapped in a jar. It all belongs to me, Zhang Fei!

Kan Ze was interrupted by Zhang Fei, but he was not angry. After Zhang Fei finished scolding him, he continued to point out in a neither humble nor arrogant manner:

"What the Right General said is probably not true. It is true that your army has the ability to slowly block the Rushui waterway in the future. But won't the imperial army come to rescue? If General Cao Zhen sends troops to help, attacking from both inside and outside may not be impossible to repel your army. This is one reason.

Secondly, if the Right General insists on exterminating us all, our soldiers will naturally fight to the death. If we then capture a city defended by 20,000 men, how many lives will your army lose?
Thirdly, the right general kept saying that he could surround and kill 20,000 of our soldiers, but the first batch of our retreating troops had been promptly taken away by General Cheng, and General Zhennan was no longer in the city!

If you insist on killing them all, at most you will kill more than 10,000 abandoned soldiers and Captain Ling. Is it worth paying such a high price for such a small benefit? Moreover, it will take much longer for your army to capture Shangcai, and it may take more than half a month. When the city is finally captured, our army will have no choice but to set it on fire, at least destroying all military supplies.

Finally, if you are willing to let our army go, we can guarantee to withdraw immediately, so that you can capture the city half a month earlier, and you don't have to set fire to the city and destroy the people. Both sides will kill less, isn't it the best of both worlds? "

Kan Ze's logic made sense. After hearing it, Zhang Fei was rarely not angry, but looked at Xu Shu.

Xu Shu rolled his eyes slightly and winked at Zhang Fei, indicating that he should agree first.

Zhang Fei was slightly startled, wondering why Yuan Zhi didn't resist directly. The suggestion made by the enemy's envoy must be disadvantageous to our army, so we must bargain.

However, Zhang Fei always respected famous scholars. Since Xu Shu had hinted at it, he trusted Xu Shu. He coughed and cleared his throat:

“Such nonsense should be refuted, but my lord is merciful and cannot bear to oppress the people. For the sake of the people of Shangcai, I will spare Sun Quan’s life.

If you dare not keep your promise, I will let the world know that you are treacherous. If there is another siege in the future, I will never let the defenders go!"

Kan Ze finally breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, and quickly agreed: "Of course! My young master will never go back on his word! If he said he wouldn't set the fire, then he definitely won't!"

Xu Shu, who was standing by, saw Kan Ze was busy trying to get the money, so he would not let him succeed. He immediately said, "Wait! The Right General only said that we let him off the hook for the sake of the people, but he didn't say how to confirm that you will keep your promise!
You said you would not set fire to the remaining supplies, but what if you took advantage of us letting Cheng Pu's fleet leave and secretly transported the remaining military supplies with the army? Wouldn't we have to watch you slowly transport them?"

Kan Ze was afraid of causing trouble, so he didn't want to bargain with Xu Shu. He just lowered his attitude a little and asked sincerely: "What do you want to do?"

Xu Shu held up two fingers. "First, we cannot check Cheng Pu's fleet, so we can estimate the number based on the number of Cheng Pu's remaining ships and the remaining soldiers in the city. Anyway, our army will only allow Cheng Pu to transport two more trips, and he must withdraw within two days. The day after tomorrow morning, our army will take over Shangcai, and all those who have not left the city will belong to our army.

Secondly, as the price of letting Sun Quan and Ling Tong live, we also want Dingying County as interest, which is also to ensure that you fulfill your promise. Anyway, Dingying County is not a vital point. If you can't even defend Shangcai, it is even more impossible to defend Dingying. Even if you lose it, no one will blame Sun Quan.

You should retreat directly to Yancheng. Three days later, our army will come to take over Dingying. If there are still Cao troops besieged there, we will definitely not leave any Cao generals behind when the city is captured!"

Dingying County is a small county located between Shangcai and Yancheng. It is also close to the Ru River, but it is not dangerous or important, and it is not a key node.

If Zhang Fei launched a forceful attack, taking advantage of the momentum of conquering Cai, it would only take ten days at most to capture Dingying. Xu Shu only asked Kan Ze for some interest, which made it seem that Liu Bei's army was not at a big loss.

Kan Ze thought about it and said with embarrassment that he could guarantee the first point, but he could only do his best for the second point, because he had not received such a large-scale negotiation authorization.

If the first one was strictly enforced, it would actually cause considerable damage to Cao's army.

Xu Shu asked Cheng Pu to transport the troops only twice and complete the task within two days, which meant that Cheng Pu had no time to go to a distant place to recruit new ships. According to the remaining warship capacity, it was unlikely that all the soldiers could be transported out in two trips, unless some heavy weapons, armor and military supplies were thrown away.

In other words, Xu Shu was using the fleet's displacement and tonnage to block Cao's army. Cao's army couldn't even transport all the soldiers away, let alone transport heavy goods along with them.

Zhang Fei did not make things difficult for Kan Ze any further and let him go back with this condition.

When Kan Ze walked to the door, Xu Shu stopped him again and reminded him: "Kan Derun! You just said that if our army 'must kill everyone, at most we will kill more than 10,000 abandoned soldiers and Captain Ling'. Aren't you afraid that we will kill you first?"

Kan Ze laughed loudly: "I am just an insignificant person. There are many people like me in the Central Plains. I am one of the 'more than ten thousand abandoned people'. Why do you single me out? The Right General is not afraid of the bad reputation of beheading the envoy, but he wants to kill an unknown official. I have nothing to say."

After saying this, Kan Ze finally left safely.

Zhang Fei waited until the other party walked away, then he asked Xu Shu with a slight complaint: "Why did Yuan Zhi agree to them so easily? Although our army does have to race against time and take Shangcai and Dingying as quickly as possible. But given Sun Quan's current situation, we can obviously force the other party to give up more benefits."

Xu Shu did not mind Zhang Fei's questioning and responded calmly: "I was reluctant to say more just now because I was afraid that Kan Ze would see through me. In fact, as long as this deal is reached, I will naturally have another way to let those who oppose Sun Quan in Cao's camp find a handle to question him.

I can't explain the details at the moment, but please think about this question, General Right: Is it possible that Cao Cao's trust in Sun Quan exceeds the trust your lord has in you?"

Zhang Fei didn't have time to think about other details, but he answered Xu Shu's last question instantly: "Needless to say? It's natural that big brother trusts us more! Even if Sun Quan is Cao Cao's son-in-law, Cao Cao's trust in Sun Quan can't exceed that of big brother.

"Big brother is a man who truly trusts his people, especially Brother Zhuge, as well as Second Brother, me, and Zilong. There is no one like him from ancient times to the present."

Xu Shu: "Then don't worry. I have a plan for the future. I will create new rifts within the enemy army. This time, I will just let them break through safely."

(End of this chapter)