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

Cheng Gongying was instantly stunned, as if struck by a bolt from the blue, and cold sweat poured down her forehead.

Just moments before, he confidently asserted that the Han Dynasty would not send a large army to attack Liangzhou for at least two months.

Everything seemed to be under his control.

But who could have imagined that in the blink of an eye, 30,000 Han troops would descend like divine soldiers, crossing the Longshan Mountains and soon besieging Jieting City.

The speed at which the Han army advanced completely exceeded Cheng Gongying's expectations.

Perhaps, by the time they received this battle report, the Han army was already launching a fierce attack on Jieting.

Cheng Gongying could even imagine the scene of Jieting City teetering on the brink of collapse under the fierce attack of the Han army.

As a strategist who was promoted when Cao Pi was stationed in Liangzhou, Cheng Gongying was full of confidence and believed that he could become the new emperor's number one strategist.

Unexpectedly, this miscalculation made Cheng Gongying feel utterly humiliated and severely embarrassed.

Just then, Jia Xu stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said:
"Your Majesty, there's no need to guess, this must be Xiao He's scheme!"

"The Han army does need rest and recuperation right now, but that doesn't mean that not a single soldier can be sent out."

"Therefore, Xiao He sent out such a surprise force. These 30,000 troops were not there to invade our entire Liangzhou, but only to take Jieting and break down the gates of our Longshan defense line!"

"Once Jieting falls, his army will be able to enter Liangzhou without hindrance after it has rested and regrouped. How will we resist then!"

Cao Pi was jolted, as if struck by lightning. He suddenly realized what was happening, and his face showed a mixture of fear and anger.

Cheng Gongying's expression also changed, and she suddenly woke up with a start.

In fact, if the emperor and his ministers could see how important Jieting was, Xiao He could naturally see it too.

Therefore, they took you by surprise, launching a surprise attack when your main force was still in Ji County and your troops at Jieting were few.

Once Jieting is captured, the Longshan defense line will become a joke.

The Han army had no need to rush into a large-scale invasion of Liangzhou; they could have taken their time to rest and recuperate.

Once the soldiers have rested and recuperated, and with Jieting in hand, the Han army can cross the Longshan Mountains and enter Liangzhou at any time without hindrance.

How will you defend yourself?
"Cheng Gongying—"

Having figured it out, Cao Pi's angry glare, instantly filled with disappointment and annoyance, shot towards Cheng Gongying.

"His Majesty…"

Cheng Gongying was covered in sweat, stammering and trembling, at a loss for what to do.

Jia Xu bowed and said urgently:

"Your Majesty, Jieting City has been in disrepair for many years, its walls are dilapidated and its defenses are extremely weak."

"General Zhen Dong has few troops. If the Han army surrounds him from all sides and attacks Jieting with 30,000 men, Jieting will be difficult to defend."

"Your Majesty, we must immediately mobilize the entire army to relieve Jieting!"

"Time is of the essence; every moment concerns the survival of Jieting, and the survival of our Great Wei!"

Cao Pi shivered, instantly enveloped by a bone-chilling cold.

Finally, realizing the gravity of the situation, he cried out in a hoarse voice:
"Issue the imperial decree: I will personally lead the army to relieve Jieting!"

"I absolutely cannot allow Jieting to fall into the hands of the Han army, absolutely not!"

Urgent cries echoed through the hall.

...

Jieting.

At the foot of Maijishan Mountain, the Han army stationed its troops with clear division of labor, quickly setting up camps and erecting palisades to block any possible attacks from the Wei army on the mountain.

An insurmountable iron wall was completed in less than half a day.

"It's been several days, why is there still no sign of the Wei army collapsing?" Ma Chao's gaze was fixed on the top of Maijishan Mountain, where the "Wei" banners fluttered in the wind. His brows furrowed, full of confusion and bewilderment.

The Han army had been besieging Maijishan for nearly four days.

According to Ma Chao's prior plan, the Wei army on Maijishan should have been in dire straits by now, cut off from water.

The mountaintop was no bigger than the palm of a hand, yet six thousand Wei soldiers were densely packed there. Even garrisoning troops was a struggle, so how could there be any extra space to store water?

Moreover, the Han army's attack caught the enemy completely off guard, leaving the Wei army no time to make adequate preparations.

In such a rush, even with extraordinary abilities, Wang Shuang would not have had enough time to store enough water.

Therefore, based on Ma Chao's deduction, the Wei army must have been without water for three whole days.

If a person is hungry for three days, they may be able to barely endure it with their strong will, but if they go three days without a drop of water, who can withstand such torment?
Now that the Wei army has cut off the water supply, Wang Shuang only has two choices.

One option was to send troops down the mountain at great risk to steal water from Jietingshui and then transport it back up the mountain.

However, the north slope of the street pavilion has been blocked, and taxis going down the mountain to steal water are like sheep entering a tiger's mouth. Even if they succeed in stealing water, how can they transport it back?
Secondly, they decided to take a desperate gamble, taking advantage of the fact that the army's morale had not yet completely collapsed, and the entire army rushed down the mountain to fight the Han army to the death in order to break through the encirclement.

Regardless of which path Wang Shuang chooses, logically speaking, it's much better than sitting idly by and waiting for death.

Taking the initiative might offer a glimmer of hope and turn the tide.

What's puzzling is that Wang Shuang did absolutely nothing.

He neither sent troops to risk fetching water from Jieting, nor led the entire army to break out of the encirclement.

The Wei camp was eerily quiet, so calm it sent chills down one's spine.

These unusual signs led Ma Chao to a bizarre and absurd guess:

Could it be that these six thousand Wei soldiers are all reincarnations of camels?

"Shi Zai, tell me, what exactly is going on with the Wei army on Maiji Mountain?"

Ma Chao couldn't understand it, so he turned his gaze to Deng Ai.

Deng Ai stroked his chin with his fingertips, lost in thought, his eyes slightly narrowed as he stared intently at the Wei camp on Maijishan Mountain.

"The fact that the Wei troops did not collapse means that their morale is not low, and the fact that their morale is not low means that they are not short of water."

Deng Ai spoke slowly.

"But we've sealed off the north slope, and the water supply to Jieting has already been cut off. How could they possibly not be short of water?"

Ma Chao questioned.

"unless…"

Deng Ai muttered to himself for a long time, his brain racing as he considered all sorts of possibilities.

Suddenly, his eyes gleamed, like a lightning bolt piercing the dark night sky.

"Unless Wang Shuang has another place to get water!"

Deng Ai said with a determined look in his eyes.

Ma Chao looked bewildered. He frowned, trying hard to understand Deng Ai's words, but still couldn't grasp their meaning.

The doubt in Deng Ai's eyes vanished, and he raised his hand and pointed towards Maijishan:
“Wang Shuang is no fool who doesn’t understand military strategy. How could he not know that if he sets up camp on Gushan, his water supply will be cut off?”

"If he knows this principle, why does he still go against it and insist on setting up camp on the mountain?"

"This shows that he is not afraid of us cutting off the water supply at all, which proves that there must be another water source hidden on Maijishan Mountain!"

Deng Ai cut to the chase and offered his deduction.

Ma Chao suddenly realized. (End of Chapter)