My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Inside the tent, the atmosphere suddenly became heavy.

Anyone could see that the Crown Prince seemed to be somewhat dissatisfied with Zhao Yun's advice.

At this tense moment, Zhang Fei broke the deadlock:

"Your Highness, perhaps we should listen to the Grand Marshal's opinion."

Upon hearing this, everyone's gaze was drawn to Xiao He as if by a magnet.

Xiao He's heart skipped a beat, and he inwardly groaned, muttering to himself:
"Old Zhang, you're really giving me a tough time. I'm in a real dilemma."

He is currently in an extremely delicate situation.

If one disagrees with Liu Shan's plan, it would be a blatant offense against His Highness the Crown Prince's authority.

As the crown prince, Liu Shan held an extremely noble status. Being rejected in front of everyone would surely make him unhappy, and he might even develop suspicion and dissatisfaction towards himself.

There must be a proper order of seniority!

As a subject, it would be unwise to offend the Crown Prince's authority.

Moreover, Xiao He had already discerned from Liu Shan's various behaviors that this Crown Prince showed signs of being two-faced.

On the surface, he appears to be as humble and receptive to advice as Lao Liu.

But deep down, Liu Shan was quite confident.

It could even be described as arrogance.

If he sided with Zhao Yun and directly rejected Liu Shan's plan, he might not be able to guarantee that the Crown Prince wouldn't keep it in his little notebook.

Being listed in the future emperor's little book is not a good thing.

However, if one agrees with Liu Shan, it might delay the great cause of conquering Wei and destroying Cao, which is crucial to unifying the world.

This caused the war to drag on, and every extra day it dragged on meant countless amounts of money and supplies to be consumed, and countless Han soldiers to make unnecessary sacrifices.

It's a dilemma...

Xiao He frowned, his eyes darting around as he pondered a solution.

After a moment, Xiao He had an idea, so he took a deep breath and slowly said:

"Your Highness's plan is indeed ingenious. If implemented, it can certainly break the Wei army's strategy of raiding their supplies."

"However, our ultimate goal in breaking their grain supply tactics is to cross the Wei River and seize Weikou."

"I have come up with a plan that ignores the Wei army's strategy of raiding their supply lines, and allows us to quickly cross the Wei River and capture Weikou. What does Your Highness think?"

Xiao He played a trick again, not directly denying Liu Shan, but after some flattery, he offered him an even more attractive "pie in the sky".

After crossing the Wei River, we directly captured Weikou City.

This pie in the sky is far more tempting and satisfying than simply breaking the Wei army's strategy of raiding their supply lines.

really.

Upon hearing Xiao He's plan, Liu Shan's eyes lit up, and a look of surprise appeared on his face. He quickly asked:

"What ingenious plan does the Grand Marshal have to quickly cross the Wei River and capture its mouth? I would like to hear the details."

Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun were also pleasantly surprised, their spirits lifted, and their eyes were full of anticipation.

In their view, even if the problem of food supplies could be solved, the Wei River would still stand in their way like an insurmountable barrier.

If they could directly cross the Wei River, that would undoubtedly be the best strategy, saving much trouble and risk, and allowing the Han army to quickly seize the strategic initiative. Xiao He stood up, walked unhurriedly to the map, pointed to it, and began to describe his plan in a leisurely and detailed manner:
"Because the Yellow River has three gates in the Hongnong County section, it is difficult for downstream boats to go upstream to enter the Wei River."

“If that’s the case, then we’ll move the boats upstream and head south from Pubanjin, passing through Weikou and entering the Wei River.”

"With boats, we can transport troops across the Wei River. As long as the army can set up camp on the south bank, the mouth of the Wei River can be captured!"

Upon hearing this, the anticipation on Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei's faces vanished almost entirely.

The joy on Liu Shan's face faded, and he had clearly seen through the deception.

After a moment's thought, Liu Shan immediately said:

"It is certainly not a problem to move ships from upstream into the Wei River, but have you considered that if we move a large number of ships into the Wei River, Cao Cao will know that we are trying to cross the Wei River by stealth and will definitely use scouts to closely monitor the movements of our fleet?"

"Once the Wei army discovers that we are crossing the river, they will immediately send their elite troops to attack us while we are halfway across. At that time, our army will not have fully crossed the river and will be caught in a dilemma in the river, suffering heavy losses. What should we do?"

Xiao He smiled slightly, a smile that carried a deeper meaning.

Clearly, Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei's performance, as well as Liu Shan's doubts, were all within his expectations.

After clearing his throat a few times, Xiao He continued:

"Your Highness's words are naturally taken into consideration by your subject. Therefore, we do not need to send more ships into the Wei River; just over twenty ships will suffice."

"With fewer boats, Cao Cao will surely lower his guard and neglect surveillance, allowing us to take advantage of the situation and cross the river in large numbers."

A sly glint flashed in his eyes, while his face wore its usual confident smile, clearly indicating he was very confident in his plan.

Liu Shan's eyes became confused, and he couldn't quite grasp what was happening.

Before he could react, Zhang Fei started shouting:

“I say, Grand Marshal, you only dispatched about twenty ships. That might make Cao Cao lower his guard, but with only twenty ships, you can only transport seven or eight hundred people across the river on a round trip. You’ve been working hard all day, and you can only transport a few thousand people across the river.”

"With such a long period of time, even if Cao Cao was lax in his surveillance, it's impossible that he wouldn't have noticed our intentions."

"When Cao Cao's army attacks with a large force, we only have a few thousand troops that have landed. How can we resist? Wouldn't that be just throwing our lives away?"

"Don't tell me we're going to use the Crescent Moon Formation again! You said it yourself, that thing is mainly used to deal with cavalry, and it can only be used once; it won't work the second time."

"Without using the Crescent Moon Formation, how can you, with only a few thousand soldiers, withstand the Wei army's overwhelming force attacking you while you're crossing the river?"

Zhang Fei, though seemingly rough, was actually quite astute. He preemptively pointed out the major flaw in Xiao He's plan, even before Liu Shan could.

Liu Shan suddenly realized something, and hurriedly nodded emphatically, looking at Xiao He with suspicion, while wondering to himself:
How could the Grand Marshal, with his brilliant strategies, come up with such a flawed plan?

Could it be that he has a deeper purpose in this plan?

"Who said I directed these boats into the Wei River to transport the army across?"

Under the suspicious gazes of everyone, Xiao He smiled mysteriously and asked a meaningful question.

Everyone was stunned again, looking at each other in bewilderment, their minds filled with doubt, and they were even more confused.

If you don't use boats to transport troops across the river, what's the point of bringing these boats here?
Is it just for decoration?

Amidst the confusion and bewilderment of the crowd, Xiao He, without further preamble, cleared his throat and stated directly:
"I have deployed these twenty ships to the Wei River in order to build a pontoon bridge across it, so that my army can cross the river by bridge!"

When these words were spoken, everyone was shocked.

Xiao He's words were like a lightning bolt piercing the night sky, instantly illuminating the bewildered eyes of everyone.

He finally stopped beating around the bush and revealed his entire plan. (End of Chapter)