Tiger Guards

Chapter 385 You come and I go
East of Ruyang lies Ji Ling's camp.

Zhao Ji observed the enemy camp from afar; Ji Ling was not building a fortification in the fields.

Instead, they built two large camps on either side of the Ying River, connected by wooden and pontoon bridges.

The Ying River flows southeast past Ji Ling's camp and will merge with the Honggou River, which flows south, at Xiang County; upstream from the Honggou River is Chen County, where Yuan Shu is located.

"Ji Ling has created a pincer movement for me. He and Yuan Shu are working together, forming another pincer movement."

Zhao Ji dismounted, put his hands on his hips, and gazed at Ji Ling's camp five or six miles away, his eyes fixed on it: "Yuan Shu is going to defend; he's waiting to see how things go in Xuzhou."

The five colonels beside him, Zhang He, Liang Xing, Han Meng, Gou Huan, and Zhu Ling, also dismounted and looked out at Ji Ling's camp, each pondering their own strategy.

Wei Xing spoke up: "If we attack their eastern camp now, our army will be attacked from two sides."

Our forces came from Xuchang in the northwest, and the main road is on the northeast bank of the Ying River; therefore, it is convenient to attack Ji Ling's eastern camp.

This is not an easy battle. The enemy's camp is entirely built of rammed earth, and the barracks are also built of rammed earth. The military camp, built by more than 30,000 people over four months, is more like a city. There is a real possibility that this place will develop into a new Ruyang in the future.

However, even if it becomes a new city, it cannot be called Ruyang.

How can a place that spans both sides of the Ying River be called Ruyang?
Now, while attacking their eastern camp, Yuan's western camp is observing and ready to provide reinforcements at any time.

Yuan Jun of Dongying only needs to deal with attacks from one direction, which allows him to maintain a stable defensive mindset and his tactical response to be quite conventional.

Most importantly, this place is not far from Chen County. After Yuan Shu's army marched quickly to the battlefield, they could rest briefly to recover their strength and join the battle.

In other words, unless the morale of the Eastern Camp defenders is completely crushed, even if they break into the camp and get into a fierce battle, the enemy can continue to receive reinforcements from the west bank, and can also receive support from Yuan Shu.

When Yuan Shu's central army arrives, the friendly forces attacking the eastern camp will be caught in a pincer movement.

The more fiercely you attack and the less room you leave for retreat, the more disheveled you will be when Yuan Shu's central army arrives.

What Wei Xing could understand, the other five colonels could also understand.

Ji Ling set up camp here, anticipating that the enemy would not only be his own forces, but also the combined forces of his forces and Lü Bu.

Ji Ling was prepared to fight on two fronts, and Yuan Shu had a similar strategy.

With only 30,000 men, a direct attack would almost certainly result in heavy losses for most.

Zhao Ji did not ask any questions, and the others remained silent, each devising their own strategy.

Zhao Ji frowned: "The difficulty now is not to defeat Yuan's army, but to relieve the siege of Xuzhou."

"Yuan Shu's goal is to hold our army back. The more he wants to do something, the less I should let him achieve his wish."

Zhao Ji pointed to Ji Lingdong's camp in front of him: "What good is the camp's fortification if I don't attack it?"

Wei Xing then asked, "Is it to send out elite cavalry to rush to Xuzhou and attack Liu Xun?"

According to reports from scouts, Liu Xun has completed the construction of the dam and is still reinforcing the dam body, but has not yet stored water.

The Sishui River is also in its dry season. If water is stored in advance, and there is abundant rainfall in the middle and upper reaches in the near future, it may destroy Liu Xun's water storage dam.

If the dam blocks the flood, then Pengcheng, Guan Yu, and the garrison inside the city will be doomed.

If there were a major flood during the summer and autumn, it would directly affect the two water attacks organized by Liu Xun and Zhang Xun respectively.

"Having traveled hundreds of miles, what can our army possibly accomplish?"

Zhao Ji countered, looking at the silent Gan Ning: "Xingba, you've just arrived, do you have any insights?"

Gan Ning was taken aback, then turned around and cupped his hands in greeting: "Grand Marshal, this humble general believes that we should organize the military and civilians south of Xutian to build a dam to cut off the Ying River."

Seeing Zhao Ji nod, Gan Ning stretched out his arm and pointed to the two camps of Ji Ling in the distance, saying, "The enemy's camp is like a cut melon. The outer skin is tough, but the Ying River runs through the camp. Like a knife cutting a melon, the cut is not strong. There are few enemy watchtowers or garrison towers."

Seeing Zhao Ji deep in thought, Gan Ning said, "Therefore, our army should organize the soldiers and civilians of Xudu, especially the farmers of Xutian, to quickly cut off the Ying River. In this way, our army can launch a swift attack and break through this barrier!"

Feeling that he had been a bit too flamboyant, Gan Ning quickly added, "If the battle is not going well, we can also store water for a water attack."

"A water attack strategy is feasible."

Zhao Ji continued, "As for launching a surprise attack after the water supply is cut off... I also want to do that, but the General's troops have not yet joined the battle. If our army launches a strong attack, even if we can defeat the enemy, the casualties of officers and soldiers will be heavy, and morale will be damaged, which will not be conducive to subsequent operations."

No one stood up to refute this, even though Gan Ning was aware of the military system under Zhao Ji.

Too many losses would cause discontent among the soldiers. Zhao Ji's army was different from others; elsewhere, if an army suffered losses, it could be replenished at any time.

But the army here... although each unit can withstand a heavier casualty rate in skirmishes, the overall casualty rate of the entire army must be low, otherwise there will be all sorts of trouble when retreating.

In return, Zhao Ji did not need to worry about the morale and efficiency of his troops.

For these captains who lead troops, anyone whose proposal results in significant losses to the entire army will essentially be ostracized by the whole force.

Zhao Ji had no intention of competing with Lü Bu for credit, so no one present dared to urge or advise him to launch a strong attack.

The special military system made it impossible for some tactics to be implemented; similarly, it also allowed Zhao Ji's army to implement some special tactics.

For example, if they were to infiltrate, other people's troops might scatter, but how many of Zhao Ji's troops would be willing to abandon their military farmland and annual salary?
After Zhao Ji finished speaking, seeing that no one objected or offered any suggestions, he looked at Gan Ning and said, "Since it was Xing Ba who proposed the water attack, the matter of organizing the army and civilians to build the dam will be handed over to Xing Ba. As for the lack of supplies, I will order Yingchuan County to cooperate with Xing Ba."

Gan Ning raised his head and cupped his hands: "This humble general obeys the order!"

Zhao Ji waved his hand and said to everyone, "Before Xingba proposed the water attack, I wanted to set up camp outside his eastern camp, build trenches and fortifications to besiege his eastern camp defenders; when the general's troops arrived, the general's troops would besiege his western camp. After the encirclement was complete, I would lead my troops east to Chen County to challenge Yuan Shu to battle. If he held firm and did not come out, my army would besiege Chen County."

Zhao Ji squinted: "At that time, I want to see whether Liu Xun and Zhang Xun will continue to flood Xuzhou or withdraw their troops to rescue Yuan Shu."

Wei Xing laughed upon hearing this: "Chen County is right near the Honggou Canal. Does the Grand Marshal intend to flood Chen County?"

"The officials and people of Chen are disloyal to King Chen and collude with Yuan Shu. The traitor Yuan Shu is also in the city. If we can defeat the enemy in one fell swoop, how can we not flood it?"

Zhao Ji smiled and retorted, "Does that mean Yuan Shu is allowed to flood others, but others are not allowed to flood him?"

Wei Xing had seen the prosperity of Chen County. Not to mention the city itself, even just the outskirts were crisscrossed with paths, and the sounds of chickens and dogs could be heard between the villages, indicating a dense population.

If the flooding were to occur, 100,000 men and women in Chen County alone would drown.

Luodu, Xudu, and even Anyi and Jinyang cannot compare with Chenxian in terms of population density and economic prosperity.

Wei Xing felt a pang of guilt at the thought of Chen County being destroyed and ruined, but he also felt that if they could flood the enemy, their side could save many lives.

Therefore, Wei Xing remained silent and tacitly approved the water attack strategy.

The others looked at each other. Given Chen County's location, there was no need to build a special dam. During the autumn flood, they could simply breach the upstream dike of the Honggou River near Chen County and easily flood the area inside and outside the city.

Seeing that no one had any objections, Zhao Ji said, "Since everyone agrees, let's build a dam south of Xutian and wait for the General's troops to arrive. Based on my understanding of Liu Bei, Xuzhou should be able to hold out until autumn. Our army still has two months. Whether it's defeating Ji Ling or besieging Yuan Shu, we can accomplish either one."

"Here."

The crowd bowed, and Zhao Ji walked to his horse, touched the mane that was tied in a braid, and then mounted the horse.

As the knights around him mounted their horses, Zhao Ji lamented with regret, "I thought that when we approached Ji Ling's camp to scout, he would send his knights to drive us away. I never expected that this man, despite his reputation as a fierce general, would hold his ground and not come out. It's a real pity."

Wei Xing rode over and glanced back at Ji Ling's camp downstream: "Yuan Shu is short of horses. I just regret that the herd of horses that I gave to Prince Chen last year has fallen into Yuan Shu's hands. It's really hateful."

Wei Xing sighed as he spoke, "Yuan Shu has less than three thousand horses of various kinds. What use are they?"

Ji Ling received even less. If the knights sent over were all wiped out at once, Ji Ling couldn't afford such a huge loss.

Sending too few knights is tantamount to suicide.

So Ji Ling had no choice but to pretend to be blind and let Zhao Ji and his hundred-odd cavalrymen get close to investigate.

Not to mention this time with over a hundred riders, even when a scout team of a dozen or so riders went to investigate before, Ji Ling simply fortified his camp and ignored them, as if he had blocked the gate from the inside.

Zhao Ji wanted to show off his archery skills in front of Gan Ning, but he could only return to Xudu with regret.

Gan Ning was in a similar situation, but on his return journey, he was filled with excitement, observing the undulating terrain on both sides of the Ying River and searching for a suitable section of the river to build a dam.

Zhao Ji ordered him to build a dam south of Xutian to prevent the accumulation of Yingshui water from irrigating and flooding Xutian.

It's impossible to pin our hopes of defeating the enemy on a water attack. For now, we're just using psychological intimidation and waiting to see what Ji Ling chooses.

The question is whether to hold firm and reinforce the camps and walls on both sides of the river, or to evacuate and avoid a water attack.

Alternatively, Ji Ling might have dispatched elite troops to sabotage the water attack.

If so, the initial purpose of the water attack would be achieved, which was to force Ji Ling to come out of the fortified defenses to fight.

With only a pitiful number of horses in Yuan Shu's army, if Ji Ling dared to send troops to destroy the dam, then that army could forget about returning.

(End of this chapter)