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

Upon hearing Deng Ai's speculation, Ma Chao's confusion instantly dissipated, but he frowned slightly and spoke with a hint of doubt:

"Even if, as you say, there are other water sources, the Wei army's current situation is that they can only obtain water by descending the mountain from the north."

"Now that all the routes down the mountain to the north have been tightly blocked by our army, how can they possibly sneak down the mountain to steal water without anyone noticing?"

Upon hearing this, Deng Ai's lips curled into a confident smile, and he explained calmly:

"This matter is not difficult to explain. At present, our army is stationed in the north, forming a blockade against the Wei army. However, the other sides of Maijishan are not completely surrounded by us."

"In my opinion, the hidden spring must be hidden on the other three sides of Maijishan. The Wei army must have used ropes to hoist water containers from the bottom of the mountain to the top to fetch water."

"That is precisely why the Wei army was able to avoid morale collapse due to lack of water even after being besieged by us for several days!"

After hearing Deng Ai's analysis, Ma Chao's doubts were completely dispelled.

Then he slapped his thigh and shouted:

"Men, relay my orders! Thoroughly investigate the area around Maijishan. No matter what, find Wang Shuang's hidden spring!"

Scouts were quickly dispatched to begin a thorough search of the area surrounding Maijishan.

As night fell, the scout hurriedly returned, bringing with him an important message:
A Wei army camp was discovered in the forest below the cliff on the south side of Maijishan.

Judging from the size of the camp, there should have been more than a thousand Wei soldiers stationed there.

As darkness fell, it was still clearly visible that wooden barrels were being lowered from the top of Maijishan Mountain and slowly placed into the Wei camp.

"In that case, the hidden spring that Wang Shuang is hiding must be located in that Wei camp!"

Ma Chao was overjoyed and turned to Deng Ai with a face full of excitement, praising him:

"Shi Zai, Shi Zai, you truly live up to your reputation as the Grand Marshal's prized disciple. Your wisdom and strategy are indeed well-deserved!"

Hearing Ma Chao's praise, Deng Ai merely smiled slightly, then pointed to the back of Maijishan Mountain, his expression grave, and said:

"General Ma, Cao Pi's troops, who have come to Wang Shuang's aid, are probably already on their way. We must act quickly and eliminate Wang Shuang's hidden strength as soon as possible, otherwise, once Cao Pi's army arrives, the situation will be extremely unfavorable for us!"

Ma Chao's expression hardened, and he immediately prepared to personally lead his troops to break through the Wei army's hidden camp.

"Report——"

Just then, a scout came running in, looking flustered and shouting:

"Reporting to General Ma, Cao Pi is personally leading 40,000 Wei troops, who are rushing towards Jieting without stopping. Their vanguard is only 30 li away from us!"

Ma Chao's expression changed instantly, and he subconsciously turned to look at Deng Ai.

After a moment's thought, Deng Ai said with a solemn expression:
"Cao Pi must have known that Wang Shuang was having a hard time holding Jieting, which is why he rushed here day and night, personally leading a large army to his rescue."

"General Mengqi, we need to speed things up!"

Ma Chao then ordered the map to be brought out and examined it carefully.

After a long pause, Ma Chao pointed to the map and said:
"Even if we cut off Wang Shuang's underground spring immediately, according to common sense, it would take at least five days for the Wei army trapped on the mountain to collapse in morale due to lack of water and disintegrate without a fight!"

"However, Cao Cao's army is now less than thirty miles away from us. At their marching speed, they can reach us in a day at most."

"Shizai, I'm afraid we'll have to split our forces. I'll personally lead an army to block Cao Pi's reinforcements, while you stay behind to deal with Wang Shuang. What do you think?"

Deng Ai did not answer immediately, a look of worry appearing in his eyes.

It should be noted that Cao Pi led a force of as many as 40,000 men this time.

On Ma Chao's side, he could only deploy a maximum of 10,000 troops to block Cao Pi's reinforcements.

The difference in troop strength between them was three to four times.

Deng Ai was genuinely worried about whether Ma Chao could withstand Cao Pi with such a disparate force.

Ma Chao seemed to sense Deng Ai's worries, and he laughed heartily:
"I'm not afraid of Cao Cao, so why should I be afraid of that brat Cao Pi? You don't need to worry too much about me!"

"Shizai, you don't mean you lack confidence that you can kill Wang Shuang within five days and successfully take Jieting, do you?"

Deng Ai's fighting spirit was instantly ignited. He clasped his hands tightly and said with a firm expression:
"General Ma, rest assured, I, Deng Ai, will defeat Wang Shuang within five days!" Ma Chao nodded happily and then said:
"Alright! Go ahead and attack the mountain with confidence. I will hold off that brat Cao Pi for five days to buy you enough time!"

The two then settled on a strategy.

Immediately afterwards, Ma Chao led 10,000 troops and quickly left Jieting, rushing south to intercept Cao Pi's reinforcements.

Deng Ai, meanwhile, led the remaining 20,000 Han troops to stay in Jieting.

With his command, more than 10,000 Han soldiers, under the cover of night, silently made their way towards the Wei army camp deep in the dense forest.

……

In the Grand Marshal's residence in Chang'an City.

A battle report, just delivered by Ma Chao, was placed on Xiao He's desk.

At the same time, a detailed layout map showing the Wei army's defenses at Jieting was also placed on the desk.

Guan Yu pointed at the layout diagram, frowned slightly, and asked in confusion:

"Although Wang Shuang is just a commoner, I've heard he's not a fool. Why did he choose to abandon Jieting and lead his troops up the mountain?"

"Isn't this fellow afraid that Meng Qi and Shi Zai will cut off his water supply and put him in a desperate situation?"

Ma Chao's battle report clearly and completely described how the Wei army abandoned the city and went up the mountain, as well as his strategy of surrounding the mountain with a large army and cutting off the enemy's water supply.

The generals present, including Guan Yu, were all seasoned veterans of their time, having fought countless battles. How could they not see the hidden strategy?

"Judging from the current situation, if Wang Shuang sets up camp like this, the Wei army will surely fall into chaos due to the lack of water within four days, and the entire army will collapse without a fight!"

"Based on this, we should receive news of their victory from Ma Mengqi and his men within six days at most."

Zhao Yun smiled and said confidently.

When everyone heard this, they nodded in agreement.

Only Xiao He remained focused on the Wei army's deployment map, his brows slightly furrowed.

He always felt something was off.

Historical records indicate that Ma Su abandoned Jieting and chose to defend the mountain, but Zhang He cut off his water supply, causing the entire army to collapse and Jieting to fall.

The loss of Jieting ultimately led to the failure of Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition.

Ma Su thus earned the infamy of being a mere armchair strategist, a figure of incompetence and a figurehead for all time.

Why would Wang Shuang make the same mistake as Ma Su?

Although Wang Shuang's wisdom and strategy may not be as good as Ma Su's, as a general, he should have known the basic military strategy. So how could he have made such a low-level and basic mistake?
"There is only one reason: they did not make the wrong decision because they did not understand military strategy or were merely armchair strategists."

“There must be some special reason that forced them to make the same choice: abandon the city and go up the mountain.”

This thought suddenly flashed through Xiao He's mind.

"Bowen, do you think Mengqi and his group's strategy of surrounding the mountains and cutting off the water supply is inappropriate?"

Guan Yu noticed that Xiao He seemed restless and preoccupied, so he asked him what was wrong.

Xiao He did not answer immediately, but remained silent in thought.

After a long while, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he suddenly understood, so he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

When everyone saw him suddenly burst into laughter, they were all bewildered, exchanging glances, wondering why he would do such a thing.

The laughter stopped abruptly, and Xiao He said decisively:

"I understand! The reason Wang Shuang dared to go up the mountain so rashly must be because, in addition to the water source that can be obtained from the street pavilion at the foot of the mountain, there is a hidden spring that no one knows about!"

"Meng Qi and his men merely cut off Wang Shuang's water supply; they were far from capable of driving the Wei army into a corner where they would collapse without a fight!" (End of Chapter)