Three Kingdoms: Daily settlement helps Liu Bei revive the Shu Han dynasty.

Chapter 112 The battlefield is not a simple game of chess

The following morning, Zhou Tai set off with his fleet.

Twenty warships lined up in a row, their sails billowing, and slowly sailed along the river toward the opposite bank.

The soldiers on the ship beat drums and shouted, creating a powerful and imposing atmosphere.

Zhou Tai stood at the bow of the largest ship, holding a long sword, gazing at the south bank.

Upon seeing Lu Yong's naval forces approaching, Wang Lang's army immediately lit beacon fires.

Hundreds of archers immediately rushed out from the Guling camp, lined up along the river, and aimed their arrows at the river.

However, Zhou Tai's fleet only sailed to the middle of the river before stopping and shouting insults at the opposite bank.

Wang Lang ignored Zhou Tai's insults and refused to leave the ship.

The two sides stood facing each other across the river.

For five consecutive days, Zhou Tai checked in several times a day, sometimes in the early morning, sometimes in the afternoon, and sometimes two or three times in a row.

Wang Lang's soldiers were exhausted by his antics.

At first, they were tense and lined up to meet the enemy, but after seeing that Zhou Tai was just making feints each time, they gradually relaxed.

In the end, they didn't even send out archers anymore.

Wang Lang stood on a high point in Guling, looking at the fleet of ships lined up on the north bank, his brows furrowed.

Yu Fan stood beside him and whispered, "My lord, Lu Yong is a cunning and scheming man."

Their army has been feigning attacks for days without actually crossing the river, which suggests they may have other plans.

"What do you want to say?" Wang Lang asked.

"Perhaps Lu Yong is scouting other crossing points?" Yu Fan said worriedly.

Wang Lang replied, "Lu Yong's main force is right under our noses. Even if a small force crosses the river, it won't cause any major trouble."

"Besides, I only have 18,000 county soldiers at my disposal."

Wang Lang's voice sounded particularly desolate in the river breeze: "The riverbank stretches for hundreds of miles. If troops are stationed at every place, then we will fall into Lu Yong's trap."

What he most wants is for me to divide my forces and neglect one aspect for another, right?

As a Han official, the responsibility of guarding the territory was heavier than Mount Tai.

How can we let the slightest disturbance throw us into disarray, abandoning the main force to defend a side position?

"Can----"

"Minister Yu," Wang Lang interrupted Yu Fan, "Lu Yong is determined to take Kuaiji. Even if he retreats, where can he retreat to?"

Yu Fan fell silent.

Wang Lang patted him on the shoulder and turned to look at the river.

Zhou Tai's twenty warships were slowly retreating into the setting sun, like a silent mockery.

Just as Zhou Tai retreated, a fast horse galloped into Lu Yong's camp.

The knight dismounted, holding a coded letter aloft with both hands: "Strategist, urgent message from General Zhang!"

Lu Yong took the letter, opened it, and read it carefully.

The letter said that Zhang Fei had led his army to the outskirts of Zhuji.

They indeed encountered many Yue people along the way, but most of them were subdued and behaved, while a small number even joined their group after being subdued.

The original five thousand people have now swelled to more than seven thousand.

They asked Lu Yong when he would make his move.

Just as Lu Yong was about to reply, another messenger rushed up to him.

"Report! Strategist! A letter has arrived from Shan County!"

The letter was written by Taishi Ci himself. He said that He Qi had already mustered 3,000 troops and was ready to march north at any time, just waiting for the strategist to give the order.

Lu Yong put away the two letters, then said to the two messengers, "Tell General Zhang that we must capture Zhuji first thing tomorrow morning! After capturing Zhuji, immediately head north and advance to Yuji!"

"Yes, sir!" The messenger obeyed and left.

"Report back to Taishi Ziyi, instructing him to immediately march his army and capture Shangyu!"

"Here you go!"

Finally, Lu Yong said to his personal guards, "Go and tell Wen Xiang to cross the river tonight and launch a surprise attack on Gaoqian Village at dawn!"

In the dead of night, Xu Sheng was the first to board the small boat.

Dozens of small boats, carrying Xu Sheng and his two thousand soldiers, quietly sailed to the opposite bank.

The beacon towers on the opposite bank were pitch black, without any firelight.

Half an hour later, the bow of the boat successfully reached the mudflats of Chadu on the south bank.

Xu Sheng jumped off the boat and waded through knee-deep mud to the mudflats.

The soldiers behind him followed one after another.

No one lit torches, so they could only grope their way forward by the light of the moon.

The garrison of Chadu was located a hundred paces above the mudflats.

Xu Sheng led his men to the camp gate, only to find that there wasn't a single patrolling officer on the stockade walls.

He raised his hand to signal, and two soldiers immediately climbed over the wooden fence and opened the camp gate from the inside.

The garrison, still asleep, was caught completely off guard by the attack.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the entire camp was completely under control.

"Leave one hundred men to guard the ferry crossing; the rest of you, follow me."

Xu Sheng wiped the mud off his face, picked up his spear, and led his troops toward Gaoqian Village in the southeast.

Gaoqiantun was located twenty li southeast of Guling and was Wang Lang's main camp for stockpiling grain and fodder.

The camp had dozens of granaries, piled high with grain and fodder requisitioned from various counties in Kuaiji.

When Xu Sheng led his troops to the scene, the sky was already beginning to lighten.

The garrison at Gaoqiantun was also small, with two thousand men flanking from both sides. The archers first shot down the scattered garrison near the camp gate.

Xu Sheng charged into the camp first, his spear knocking down two soldiers who tried to resist.

The soldiers behind him rushed into the granary and threw their torches at it.

The fire spread rapidly, flames shooting into the sky and turning half the sky red.

In the Guling camp, Wang Lang was awakened by his personal guards.

He rushed outside the tent and saw the sky turning red in the southeast; his expression immediately changed.

"Gaoqiantun!" Wang Lang's voice trembled. "Lu Yong's army has really crossed the river?!"

This is the drawback of having a purely scholar-official lead the army.

They are sometimes too idealistic, treating the battlefield as a fixed chessboard.

But they forgot that warfare is all about deception, and what it has in abundance is cunning and surprise.

Only when the towering flames of Lu Yong's cavalry completely shattered all his illusions did he suddenly awaken, shouting, "Quickly! Pass on my orders!"

Wang Lang suddenly snapped out of his daze and shouted to his personal guards, "Order Zhou Xin to immediately lead all of Yu Ji's troops back to reinforce Gaoqian Village! Protect the grain at all costs!"

Just as the messenger left, Yu Fan rushed over.

"My lord, a great fire has broken out in the direction of Gaoqiantun. The grain and fodder have been burned, and the morale of the army is about to collapse. If we continue to hold out, we will only be trapped and die in Guling."

Wang Lang looked at Yu Fan and murmured, "I regret not listening to Zhong Xiang's advice back then—"

"This is not the time to talk about this, my lord! We must withdraw our troops immediately!" Yu Fan urged anxiously. "Our forces have not suffered any losses. We should withdraw immediately and retreat to Shanyin. Shanyin has high walls and thick fortifications, and we still have provisions. We can hold our ground and wait for a change in the situation!"

Wang Lang knew that the situation was hopeless. He sighed and said, "Order the entire army to pack up and leave Guling immediately."

He paused, then added, "Send someone to inform Zhou Xin to stop supporting Gaoqiantun and retreat to Shanyin immediately."

Yu Fan cupped his hands and said, "Your Excellency, please go first. I will bring up the rear!"

Wang Lang opened his mouth, as if to say something.

But thinking about how his failure to heed Yu Fan's advice had led to the collapse of the situation, he felt too embarrassed to say anything more.

At the same time, just as dawn was breaking, Zhang Fei reined in his horse and stood on a small earthen slope outside Zhuji City.

Behind him stood Lei Hu and seven thousand eager soldiers from the Yue Mountains.

"Third General, the magistrate of Zhuji County has sent someone to sue for peace," a guard ran up to report.

"Sue for peace?" Zhang Fei was stunned for a moment, then spat out a mouthful of saliva. "Damn it, I've already got the arrow on the bowstring, and you're saying you're surrendering?"

Lei Hu, with a pained expression, said, "Ugh! It hurts so much!! I really want to punch someone—"

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