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

When the words "floating bridge" were uttered by Xiao Hezhi, they were like a ray of light, instantly illuminating the somewhat somber military tent.

In an instant, Liu Shan, Zhao Yun, and all the generals in the tent were startled by these two unexpected words, and their eyes all turned to Xiao He.

"Grand Marshal's plan is truly a brilliant one!"

Zhao Yun, who was the first to come to his senses, slammed his hand on the table.

His eyes shone, his face filled with excitement and admiration. He stood up excitedly and exclaimed:

"Although the Wei River is not very wide, it is probably feasible to build a pontoon bridge with more than twenty boats."

"With this pontoon bridge, it's like building a smooth road across the Wei River. In just one or two hours, we can quickly send tens of thousands of troops to the south bank like a tide and set up camp."

"By then, even if Cao Cao reacts quickly, by the time he realizes what's happening, we will have already established a firm foothold on the south bank. What can he do to us then?"

Zhao Yun's passionate analysis was like clearing away the clouds to reveal the sun, instantly uncovering the secret behind the pontoon bridge plan.

Liu Shan's tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and a look of sudden realization flashed in his eyes.

He finally understood the essence of Xiao He's plan.

Looking back at everyone's concerns, the key to crossing the Wei River was undoubtedly speed.

If you mobilize hundreds of boats to come in a grand procession, the commotion will be so great that even a blind person could see that you intend to cross the river.

Cao Cao was so shrewd, how could he not keep a close eye on the situation and be ready to launch a surprise attack when the Han army was halfway across the river?

At that time, the Han army will be caught in a dilemma and will inevitably suffer a crushing defeat.

However, if only twenty ships are deployed, the situation will be quite different.

These twenty ships are not numerous, so they can operate relatively discreetly and won't be so conspicuous in the city.

Even if Cao Cao had some suspicions, he would at most send scouts to follow from a distance, and would not be overly vigilant.

Even if he discovered that the Han army intended to cross the river with these twenty ships, it would still be perfectly timely to send elite troops to intercept them.

After all, with so few boats, they could only ferry a few thousand people in half a day at most, giving Cao Cao ample time to mobilize his troops and intercept them.

But building a pontoon bridge is a completely different story.

Once the pontoon bridge is successfully built, the Wei River will be as flat as a plateau, allowing tens of thousands of Han troops to cross it quickly within one or two hours.

When Cao Cao hurriedly sent his troops to the scene, he was met with the Han army, which was already in full battle array. It would be strange if he wasn't dumbfounded!

This is the brilliance of the pontoon bridge strategy.

"The Grand Marshal's plan is truly... truly..."

Liu Shan, suddenly realizing his mistake, was so excited that he became somewhat incoherent, involuntarily clicking his tongue in praise. For a moment, he couldn't find the right adjective to express his amazement and admiration.

After a long pause, Liu Shan slammed his hand on the table, stood up with a determined look in his eyes, and said:
"Very well, let's use the Grand Marshal's plan and use a pontoon bridge to help our army cross the Wei River and catch Cao Cao off guard!"

"I will show that traitor Cao Cao once again how I, Liu Shan, can do it!"

He was very excited.

His opponent was Cao Cao.

He was the only strongman in the world who could rival his father, Liu Bei.

This powerful figure had already suffered a major defeat at the hands of him in Puban.

If he could defeat Cao Cao again at Weikou, his prestige would soar even higher.

How could Liu Shan not be ecstatic!
Xiao He's plan, devised without making a sound, allowed him to extricate himself from a dilemma.

I didn't deny your Crown Prince's plan; I just painted an even bigger picture for you, so you could reap even greater rewards.

The decision was quickly made. Liu Shan acted decisively and immediately issued an order, commanding the garrison at Puban upstream to quickly dispatch twenty large ships south to Weikou to await orders.

Puban is not far from the mouth of the Wei River, and the current is rapid, allowing boats to travel at high speeds.

Within three days, twenty large ships entered the Wei River and successfully arrived at the Han camp on the north bank.

Liu Shan adopted Xiao He's strategy without hesitation, first sending five hundred elite soldiers with twenty ships to build a pontoon bridge upstream.

Then, Liu Shan ordered Zhang Fei to personally lead more than 10,000 infantry and cavalry to march westward along the Wei River.

This Han army, with its banners waving and its momentum overwhelming, pretended to bypass the Wei River and head straight for Chang'an.

The area around the Han camp was naturally already filled with Wei spies.

The Han army's move immediately alerted the Wei spies on the north bank to something unusual.

They quickly sent the message back to Weikou City on the south bank.

Meanwhile, the scouts on the south bank followed the Han army on the north bank like ghosts, closely monitoring their movements and reporting back to Weikou City as soon as they saw or heard anything.

...

Inside Weikou City, Cao Cao sat upright in the main hall, clutching two intelligence reports tightly in his hands, his brows furrowed, and his eyes revealing a hint of suspicion.

A piece of intelligence stated that Zhang Fei was leading 10,000 troops westward, seemingly intending to attack Chang'an.

Another intelligence report indicated that more than twenty Han warships had taken the lead and were also heading upstream.

"Zhongda, what do you think the Han army intends to do with this?"

Cao Cao's suspicious gaze, like two sharp swords, fell upon Sima Yi.

Sima Yi pondered for a long time, not daring to answer hastily.

After all, his previous miscalculations and lessons learned had made him dare not be careless in the slightest.

After pondering for a long time, Sima Yi, only when he was sufficiently confident, finally cupped his hands and said:

"Your Majesty, I believe there are two possibilities for the Han army's actions."

"Firstly, Liu Shan, that brat, seeing that he couldn't cross the Wei River and take my Weikou City, wanted to divide his troops to attack Chang'an, forcing me to withdraw my troops to reinforce it."

"Chang'an is the capital of our great Wei Kingdom. If it is captured by the Han army, we will lose everything."

"Secondly, this was Xiao He's deceptive plan. On the surface, it was a feigned attack on Chang'an, but in reality, he wanted to use those twenty warships to transport Zhang Fei's ten thousand Han soldiers across the Wei River upstream."

"Whichever plan it is, it must have come from Xiao Shou. This scoundrel is always cunning and treacherous, so we must be wary of this plan."

Cao Cao nodded slightly, clearly indicating that Sima Yi's guess was somewhat in line with his own thoughts.

Then, Cao Cao stroked his fine beard and sneered:

"I knew it. The Han army suddenly dispatched ships from upstream. It must be that Xiao He had another trick up his sleeve."

"What a pity. He only has twenty ships, yet he wants to transport ten thousand soldiers across the river. How easy is that?"

"Xiao He's plan is not worth worrying about!"

The ministers all agreed.

After his sarcastic remarks, Cao Cao waved his hand and shouted:
"By imperial decree, send messengers to Chang'an immediately, ordering them to be on high alert to prevent Zhang Fei from attacking."

"The Crown Prince is hereby ordered to command the garrison in Chang'an and to hold firm and not vent their troops out of the city without fail."

"In addition, send scouts to the south bank to follow the twenty ships of the Han army. If they discover that Zhang Fei's troops are joining them and intend to sneak across the Wei River, report back immediately!"

"If Xiao He really intends to cross the Wei River by force with only twenty boats, I will give him a good beating!" (End of Chapter)