Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 457 Prime Minister Zhuge's Ingenious Plan

"That Zhuge brat, that despicable scoundrel, he's infuriating me!"

Despite his advanced age, Zhang He still had a fiery temper. He was extremely angry at this moment and kept cursing.

As for why he was so angry, it was because he was on the verge of a mental breakdown due to all the trouble he had caused along the way.

I thought that if I rushed straight to Jieting along the road, I could have a fierce and decisive battle with Zhuge Liang.

Unexpectedly, along the way, they were not only relentlessly attacked by the Qiang people, but also by the southern barbarians.

What's even more troublesome is that the already narrow roads have also suffered devastating damage.

Along the way, there were traps and trenches dug everywhere to trap horses.

Zhuge Xiao'er was extremely vicious; he actually placed thin wooden planks on the horse trap and then covered it with loose soil.

At first glance, it looks no different from any other road.

However, when they charged forward on horseback, they suffered heavy casualties, losing both their horses and soldiers.

These horse traps are extremely insidious because they are difficult to see.

Left with no other choice, Zhang He had to arrange for his soldiers to walk ahead and use their sticks to pry out the horse traps.

In this way, road safety is indeed maintained.

The problem is that their marching speed is as slow as a snail.

Yesterday I noticed that the number of horse traps was decreasing, and eventually there were none at all.

Zhang He couldn't help but urge the army to set off early in the morning.

As a result, before they had even run a few steps, another batch of soldiers and warhorses were lost.

How could Zhang He not be furious?

And that's not all, now there are trenches appearing on the road in front of us!
The trench almost ran across the road, but it was only eight or nine feet wide, less than ten feet long.

Logically speaking, a distance of less than two meters should be easily crossed by horseback without any attention.

The problem is that Zhuge Liang was too cunning; behind the trench was another trench covered with thin wooden planks and loose soil.

Zhang He was focused on making the most of the time and catching up on the progress, so he didn't let the soldiers stop and instead rode straight ahead.

As a result, several men and horses were lost.

After finally getting past these interconnected ditches, a large trench appeared ahead.

It was two or three zhang wide, and surprisingly, water was even introduced into its interior, forming a muddy ditch.
There was nothing more to say; the soldiers could only dismount, take their tools and weapons, and go fill in the trenches.

This must be filled in, otherwise the army won't be able to get through.

Filling in trenches is an extremely time-consuming task without the aid of engineering machinery.

As the soldiers filled in the trenches one by one, time was wasted second by second.

Zhang He was so enraged that he went mad, constantly cursing Zhuge Liang as a brat.

Zhang He even participated in the battle to suppress the Yellow Turban Rebellion in his early years.

Therefore, we can conclude that his age was similar to that of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun.

At his age, it's not an exaggeration to call Zhuge Liang a "little brat."

After painstakingly filling in many sections of the trenches, the exhausted Cao army, urged on by Zhang He, had no choice but to advance again.

However, although the trench was no longer visible, something else fell from the sky.

‘Boom~’

Human figures appeared on the mountains on both sides.

They pushed logs, large stones, and other materials that they had prepared earlier down the mountain.

Without a doubt, any normal person would place these things where Cao Cao's army had filled in the trenches.

If it were pushed down ahead of time, it would provide materials for Cao Cao's army to fill in the trenches.

Looking at the stones and trees blocking the road, Zhang He, who was already tired of cursing, sighed to the sky.

"You despicable brat, Zhuge!"

Jieting, the main tent of Prime Minister Zhuge.

'Ah autumn~autumn~'

Prime Minister Zhuge, who was sneezing repeatedly, was also puzzled.

'I'm not sick, so why am I sneezing so much?'

Fortunately, since they are not sick, there is no need to pay too much attention to it.

He waved his feather fan and looked at Lin Dao.

“Zihou, your arrangements have indeed been remarkably effective. Zhang He has only traveled less than ten li in a day.”

"Moreover, the morale of the troops was low and the soldiers were exhausted."

"You are incredibly talented~~~"

At that moment, Prime Minister Zhuge Liang undoubtedly thought of Ma Su, whom he had seen in the Kunlun Mirror, who was guarding Jieting.

If Ma Su in the Kunlun Mirror had possessed even half the wisdom of Zihou, he wouldn't have lost Jieting so easily.

After praising him, Prime Minister Zhuge gave him a few extra glances.

The reason is that Prime Minister Zhuge Liang understood it clearly.

The little tricks Lin Dao provided were not something that could be arranged properly with just a little cleverness.

This clearly demonstrates extensive battlefield experience, enabling such a well-organized and interconnected plan!

In other words, Lin Dao must have fought in battles, and many times at that.

'This person's background is truly amazing~'

'However, there's no need to delve into the details; as long as it helps restore the Han Dynasty, that's sufficient.'

He composed himself and waved his feather fan again.

"Zhang He's troops will arrive at Jieting in three days at most."

"Zihou, what do you think we should do when the time comes?"

In fact, Zhang He should have arrived much earlier.

However, due to various traps and obstacles along the way, they were delayed for many days.

Lin Dao laughed and said, "Since they're here, of course we should stop their advance."

"First, delay their army and exhaust their body and mind."

"Next, we'll stop them here at Jieting."

"at last."

Lin Dao's gaze fell upon Ma Su and Wang Ping, who ordered, "Send elite troops to cross mountains and valleys to their rear and cut off their supply lines!"

"Their supply lines have been cut off, and they can't advance."

"At that time, Zhang He and these elite Cao troops will either die or surrender!"

Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Zhuge was suddenly filled with excitement.

If we can gather these tens of thousands of elite troops, the Northern Expedition will immediately become three times more important!

Seeing the change in his expression, Lin Dao already had a guess in his mind.

"Prime Minister, do you perhaps wish to subdue this army?" "Of course I do." Prime Minister Zhuge Liang didn't mince words, stating frankly, "If we obtain this army, the Northern Expedition can be accomplished!"

These were not tens of thousands of forcibly conscripted laborers; they were a mobile field army rigorously trained by Cao Wei.

In other words, the nation's elite soldiers.

Losing tens of thousands of armored soldiers would make Cao Rui cry himself to sleep in the toilet.

"It's not that easy."

Lin Dao shook his head. "These are elite troops, and they have been treated very well by the Cao family."

"To force them to surrender, we need to put them in a desperate situation."

The only thing that could drive tens of thousands of troops into a desperate situation is running out of food.

Given Zhang He's many years of military campaigns, he shouldn't be so foolish as to lead his army to a place far from water sources.

Then the only chance is to run out of food.

In fact, the ancient military campaign can be summed up in just two words.

The first is food, the second is water.

Keep the supply lines open and march along the water sources.

Fighting a war is a different matter altogether.

"We can send Wang Ping and Ma Su to take a detour and cut off Zhang He's supply lines."

Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Zhuge frowned subconsciously.

He truly dared not send Ma Su out to fight; the Kunlun Mirror had given him a psychological trauma.

However, if he refused outright, Ma Su would inevitably become a laughingstock.

After a moment of contemplation, Prime Minister Zhuge instructed everyone, "You all go out first. Zihou and I have important matters to discuss."

After everyone left, Prime Minister Zhuge turned to Lin Dao and asked him a question.

"Zihou, what does this mean?"

"You know, Youchang, he...he..."

He's the kind of person who likes to act on his own!

Let him cut off the supply lines, but don't let him cause any trouble. If he ends up letting Zhang He's troops escape, then we'll have to execute Ma Su on the spot.

"Prime Minister."

Lin Dao smiled and asked, "With Jiang Wei inheriting the mantle, what about Ma Su?"

"This..." Prime Minister Zhuge hesitated slightly.

Actually, Ma Su was the successor he had chosen before.

However, the person's behavior in the Kunlun Mirror was truly indescribable.

However, what happened inside the Kunlun Mirror had not yet occurred.

If that's the case, then completely abandoning Ma Su is unacceptable, regardless of the public's reaction; even Ma Su himself wouldn't be able to handle it.

When Jiang Wei was accepted as a disciple, rumors were already circulating in the army, all pointing to Ma Su.

If he were to refuse again this time, Ma Su would be lucky to simply resign and leave.

They were both from Jingzhou, and Prime Minister Zhuge really didn't want to completely cut off his path.

"Since the Prime Minister is unwilling to give up Ma Su..."

Lin Dao bluntly stated, "Then we have to give him a chance."

"Isn't there Wang Ping too?"

"Wang Ping is indeed a good general." Prime Minister Zhuge nodded in approval.

Then he changed the subject, "But Ma Su won't listen, what should we do?"

Lin Dao smiled again, "Prime Minister, do you still remember the brocade pouch I gave Wei Yan before?"

When the messenger was sent to inform Wei Yan to send troops into the Ziwu Valley, he also included a brocade pouch as a gift.

Prime Minister Zhuge suddenly realized, "You mean, give Ma Su a brocade pouch as well?"

Lin Dao first nodded, then shook his head.

When Prime Minister Zhuge was puzzled, he had already explained, "Ma Su needs a secret plan, and Wang Ping needs one too."

The prime minister looked enlightened.

"I understand what you mean."

"If Youchang is acting on his own initiative, then let Wang Ping open the brocade pouch, inside which is a decree ordering him to take over command."

"As for Youchang's brocade pouch, it is meant to make him obey Wang Ping's orders."

“That’s right.” Lin Dao clapped his hands. “Exactly.”

"Make it clear to Wang Ping before we set off that our mission is to cut off the supply lines."

"If Ma Su disobeys military orders and demands additional troop deployments, then let Wang Ping open the brocade pouch."

Prime Minister Zhuge chimed in, "I understand. What was said to Youchang was that if Wang Ping opened the brocade pouch, then Youchang should also open his brocade pouch and then act according to the instructions inside."

Lin Dao laughed loudly.

"Correct!"

"This is Prime Minister Zhuge's brilliant plan!"

Prime Minister Zhuge selected a group of elite soldiers, numbering about four or five thousand.

They were called elite troops, but in reality, they were just soldiers with slightly better combat capabilities. They were no match for the battle-hardened troops of Shu before the Battle of Yiling.

At least from the perspective of forest roads, that's the case.

In reality, this army was a mountain warfare corps mainly composed of mountain people, which was formed by Prime Minister Zhuge Liang after he pacified the southern regions.

This is the famous Wudang Flying Army.

The first commander of this unit was Wang Ping.

The reason this army was assigned was because it was commanded by Wang Ping.

When the time comes, take out the brocade pouch, and all the officers and soldiers will obey.

Otherwise, if it were any other troops, even if they produced the military tally and decree from the brocade pouch, they might not necessarily obey sincerely.

To put it bluntly, in the era of cold weapons, imperial edicts and tiger tallies were more symbolic than anything else.

Do you really think you can mobilize a large army just by relying on a tiger tally or an imperial edict?
How can it be!

This isn't a female-oriented novel!

The imperial edict and the tiger tally were not actually meant for the soldiers, but for the officers and generals.

Let them know that the emperor has handed over military power to the person in front of him.

If one has high prestige and enough face, one can naturally control the army.

Prime Minister Zhuge's arrangement shows that he is deeply wary of Ma Su.

If it really comes to that point, Wang Ping will have to take out the secret plan.

It seems that Ma Su will completely lose his future in Shu, at least in the military.

(End of this chapter)