The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

As the art of war says: Attack where the enemy must defend.

We will launch a fierce attack on strategic locations that the enemy has no choice but to defend, forcing them to send reinforcements. When the enemy reinforcements are exhausted and their formations are scattered, our army will wait in ambush and launch a surprise attack based on the terrain advantage of the pre-arranged battlefield, annihilating the reinforcements in one fell swoop.

This move will completely undermine the will of the enemy troops defending the city: witnessing the annihilation of the reinforcements, their psychological defenses will inevitably collapse, and they will either be isolated and helpless and surrender, or be defeated and die on their own due to the collapse of morale.

In this way, one can achieve the effect of "subduing the enemy without fighting" without exerting the strength of a strong attack.

Nanpi City was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it was also a strategic location. For days, Lü Qian only used verbal attacks to persuade people to surrender without attacking the city, waiting for Liu Bei's reinforcements.

Although he didn't know which general under Liu Bei the banner with the character "沮" represented, Lü Qian was fearless as long as it wasn't Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Zhuge Liang, or Liu Bei himself who came.

Moreover, the repeated probing by Cao Cao's generals since last year has revealed the routine deployment of Liu Bei's generals.

Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun were stationed in Changshan, Zhongshan, and Shangdang for a long time, so it was impossible for them to appear in Nanpi.

The only ones Lü Qian could be wary of were Zhuge Liang, who was hailed as the modern-day Yue Yi, and Liu Bei, whom even Cao Cao had to treat with caution.

If Zhuge Liang or Liu Bei were to come to their aid, Lü Qian would definitely contact Cao Chun, Zang Ba, and Zhang Liao, who were currently conquering the southern counties of Bohai Commandery, to jointly deal with the situation.

But what arrived was a banner bearing the word "Ju," which he had never heard of before. Lü Qian was confident and fearless.

Upon hearing the banner bearing the character "Ju," Hua Yan, the Prefect of Pingyuan who was accompanying the army, had a hunch and warned, "The Ju family is a prominent clan in Hebei. Among those whom Liu Bei currently values, Ju Shou is the most outstanding. He is a man of great talent and strategy, and once served under Yuan Shao, overseeing both internal and external affairs and commanding great respect throughout the army. General, you must not underestimate him."

Upon hearing this, Lü Qian sneered, "A strategist may not necessarily understand the art of commanding troops. Although the supervising officer wields great power, victory on the battlefield depends on the commander-in-chief personally braving arrows and stones, and the soldiers risking their lives. I have never heard of Ju Shou's bravery in commanding troops. This battle is precisely the time to strike while the iron is hot and seize their momentum!"

Hua Yan was speechless for a moment.

This cannot be blamed on Lü Qian underestimating his opponent. Lü Qian was more concerned with the martial prowess necessary for combat, while Hua Yan was wary of Ju Shou's former prestige in Yuan Shao's army.

Seeing that Hua Yan remained silent, Lü Qian ordered him to guard the camp carefully. Then he personally led more than a thousand infantry and cavalry to attack Ju Shou's troops, intending to take advantage of Ju Shou's fatigue from his long journey and strike first to blunt his attack.

Hua Yan did not dare to say much about this arrangement.

Hua Yan is now just one of the many surrendered generals in Cao Cao's camp. Surrendered generals in Cao Cao's camp are treated worse than dogs. Even those who are famous for their bravery, such as Zhang He, Xu Huang, and Zhang Liao, have to work their way up in seniority. How much more so Hua Yan?

Not long after.

Lü Qian then arrived at the location of Ju Shou's troops.

Cao Cao's army was valiant, and Lü Qian himself was a fierce general who was accustomed to leading from the front. If Liu Bei had sent generals like Jiao Chu or Zhang Nan, they might have truly lost their edge to Lü Qian.

Unfortunately, while Lü Qian was certainly courageous and daring, he chose the wrong opponent.

The 6,000 soldiers that Liu Bei stationed in Zhuo County were not new recruits.

Some were recruited by Liu Bei when he was in Xiapi, some were cavalrymen given to him by Yuan Shao when he first met Liu Bei, some were soldiers recruited when he attacked the six counties of Youzhou, and some were elite soldiers selected later.

Among them were many veterans who had fought countless battles. They had followed Zhuge Liang to block Wang Zhong and Liu Dai at Xiaopei and defeated Hua Yan at Pingyuan. They had also followed Liu Bei to fight in all directions, fighting Cao Cao's army with Chunyu Qiong and others at Yanjin, suppressing Yan Rou, Wang Song and the Wuhuan tribes in the six counties of Youzhou, defeating the allied forces of Gongsun Xu and the Wuhuan Tu Ge at Changshan, and facing Zhong Yao and Ma Chao in Hedong.

With rigorous training lasting from one to three years, this force of six thousand men had become Liu Bei's most elite unit.

With such a formidable force, coupled with a commander like Ju Shou who is skilled in both civil and military affairs, their combat effectiveness would certainly not be inferior to Cao Cao's army with equal numbers of troops.

Therefore, when Lü Qian led his troops to attack, Ju Shou only gave a brief order, and the troops of Zhuo County quickly and skillfully formed their battle formation.

The speed and precision of their formation made even Lü Qian, who was at the front, feel a chill run down his spine.

"How can they be so obedient and disciplined?"

His initial disdain for Ju Shou instantly turned into seriousness.

Lu Qian subconsciously recalled Hua Yan's reminder, "Ju Shou oversees both internal and external affairs, and his power is awe-inspiring to the three armies. He should not be underestimated," and a sense of apprehension welled up in his heart.

"end!"

Lü Qian dared not be careless and immediately abandoned the initial tactic of "charging straight into the enemy's formation in one fell swoop" and instead adopted a cautious approach to warfare.

Meanwhile, on Ju Shou's side, Commandant Shi Yong and Commandant Shi Ren volunteered: "Commander Ju, the enemy is outnumbered while we are numerous. Why don't we brothers lead our elite troops to strike first?"

These two were chivalrous warriors who vied to serve Liu Bei when he was in Zhuo County. They were quite brave and strong. After following Liu Bei in his campaigns for more than ten years, they had grown from brave and fierce men into captains who could command troops.

Most of the hundred or so brave soldiers Liu Bei had when he left Xuchang, such as Yang Qun, Ma Yu, Ding Li, Yan Zhi, Deng Tong, Fan Qiang, Zhang Da, and the Shi Yong brothers, are now serving as junior or middle-ranking officers in the army.

Although these hundred-odd warriors were not as brave as Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, they were good at sticking to Liu Bei.

As Liu Bei rose to power in Hebei, these former subordinates were entrusted with important responsibilities.

Liu Bei's elite personal guard, the "White Feather Army," was formed with these hundred-odd brave men as its core. Only by having these loyal old subordinates command the most elite troops could the fighting power be brought to its maximum.

When faced with the brothers Shi Yong's request to join the fight, Ju Shou remained noncommittal.

After observing Lü Qian's army formation intently for a moment, Ju Shou spoke calmly: "In battle, courage is paramount. One must strike with full force at the first drumbeat, for the second weakens, and the third exhausts. If General Cao had charged straight at our lines with full force just now, we might have won; but now his morale has been waned, and he is unlikely to succeed. They are taking advantage of our recent arrival and their desire to break our spirit, so they will not retreat easily. They will surely launch an attack later. Our army should first hold our ground and wait for their morale to wane before launching a counterattack, and we can defeat them!"

Just as Ju Shou had predicted, after the initial apprehension, seeing that Ju Shou's formation remained unmoved, Lü Qian's anxiety returned.

They had planned to launch a swift and decisive attack while Ju Shou's troops were exhausted from their long journey, but they were unexpectedly intimidated by Ju Shou's disciplined formation and missed their chance.

The longer the battle drags on, the more strength Ju Shoujun recovers, which becomes increasingly disadvantageous for Lü Qian.

"Bang the drum!"

Lü Qian didn't want to delay any longer.

Now that we're here, we have to fight our way through first, otherwise we'll just become a laughing stock when we go back.

Lu Qian wanted to gamble on his luck. If Ju Shou was just bluffing and his soldiers were actually exhausted and unable to fight, then even if he lost the chance to strike in one fell swoop, he still had a chance to defeat Ju Shou.

As the drums sounded, Lü Qian donned his armor, mounted his horse, and, with a long spear in hand, led his troops in a fierce attack on Ju Shou's forces.

"Listen up, you traitorous general! I am Lü Qian, the Prefect of Pingyuan under Cao Sikong. Do you dare to fight me to the death?"

Lü Qian shouted orders and led the charge, his fierce and courageous demeanor inspiring even greater fighting spirit in Cao Cao's soldiers, whose shouts of battle filled the air! (End of Chapter)