The Three Kingdoms: Home Travel

Chapter 112 Jiang Zhe devises a plan to force Gongsun!

In early September of the second year of Zhongping, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao split their forces into two routes. Cao Cao attacked Gongsun Zan's Jieqiao camp, while Yuan Shao was responsible for suppressing the Yellow Turban rebels of Heishan.

In addition to these, Yuan Shao also laid out multiple defensive lines between the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans and Gongsun Zan, trying his best to sever the connection between the two.

With communication with the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans severed, Gongsun Zan dared not easily leave his camp. He set up countless barricades and deer antlers in front of the camp and held out every day, waiting for Cao Cao and Yuan Shao to run out of supplies.

Cao Cao was very worried about this, because Yuan Shao had written to him more than once saying that the food supplies in the camp were running low and that they might not last a month.

Indeed, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao had a combined force of 200,000 troops. After losing 50,000, they still had 150,000 left. Yuan Shao was solely responsible for feeding and rationing these 150,000 people every day, which was no small amount!

Therefore, Yuan Shao kept transferring grain and fodder from other counties in Ji Province. He also understood that if he still couldn't defeat Gongsun Zan with Cao Cao's help, how could he defeat him alone in the future?

Therefore, although he repeatedly told Cao Cao that the grain supplies were exhausted, Yuan Shao did not have the slightest thought of retreating. At this moment, he only had one thought in his mind, which was to conquer Gongsun Zan, occupy Youzhou, Qingzhou, and Jizhou, and then move westward to Sizhou and Bingzhou, so that he could achieve hegemony over the world!

This is why Yuan Shao was willing to suffer heavy losses and ordered his generals to launch a fierce attack on the Black Mountain Yellow Turban camp, causing considerable trouble for Zhang Yan.

Cao Cao, on the other hand, also felt quite guilty towards Yuan Shao. He watched Yuan Shao's generals fight bloody battles every day while his own side remained completely inactive. This was simply unacceptable!

Finally, one day, Cao Cao could no longer resist, so he ordered Dian Wei to invite Jiang Zhe, Guo Jia, and Xi Zhicai to the army tent for a drink.

Dian Wei left for a short while, then slowly returned with Jiang Zhe and the others.

Upon entering, Guo Jia sniffed, pointed at Cao Cao in the tent, and laughed, "My lord, you've tricked us! Why didn't I smell even a hint of wine?"

Cao Cao smiled awkwardly, gestured for the three to sit down, raised his cup, and said with a smile, "Drinking alcohol is forbidden in the army. Shall we serve tea instead?"

Guo Jia exchanged a knowing glance with Xi Zhicai and shook his head.

Xi Zhicai even tapped the plate with his chopsticks and shouted, "Wine! Wine!"

Cao Cao gave a helpless wry smile, then noticed Jiang Zhe frowning and silent at the table. He asked with a puzzled look, "Shouyi, is something on your mind?"

"Oh!" Jiang Zhe snapped out of his reverie, nodded, and said, "I just thought of a plan, but I don't know if it's feasible!"

A glint of light flashed in Cao Cao's eyes, and he was overjoyed. Looking at Jiang Zhe, he laughed and said, "What brilliant plan do you have? Tell me quickly!"

"It's just..." Jiang Zhe had just started to speak when Guo Jia suddenly rushed over and covered Jiang Zhe's mouth with one hand.

Cao Cao's expression froze, and he looked at Guo Jia in astonishment, "Fengxiao?"

"My lord!" Guo Jia said with a grin, pointing to the teapot on his table, "Having devised a plan to uphold righteousness, why don't we have a hearty drink?"

"Pah! Pah!" Jiang Zhe quickly slapped Guo Jia's hand away, spitting repeatedly. "Guo Fengxiao, I'll remember you!"

Guo Jia quickly flattered Jiang Zhe, saying, "Shouyi, once our lord brings the fine wine, Jia and Zhicai will apologize to you—no, to Lord Situ!"

"Alright, alright!" Jiang Zhe pushed away Guo Jia, who was grinning, while Xi Zhicai, standing nearby, said in astonishment, "What does this have to do with me?"

Guo Jia glanced at Xi Zhicai and said with a smile, "Zhicai, have you thought this through? Are you really sure this has nothing to do with you?"

Xi Zhicai's heart skipped a beat, then he said with a wry smile, "I admit I misspoke!"

"Gentlemen..." Cao Cao shook his head, tapped his forehead with his finger, and sighed, "I beg you all, let's discuss how to defeat Gongsun Zan first, shall we?" After saying this, he saw the expressions of Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai and immediately surrendered. He called Dian Wei over and said, "E'lai, bring two jars of fine wine!"

"Yes, sir!" Dian Wei grinned and went off on his own.

A moment later, watching Guo Jia eagerly open the wine jar, Cao Cao said speechlessly, "Fengxiao, can we now discuss how to break Gongsun Zan's strategy? (No more words needed)."

"Of course, of course!" Guo Jia took a deep sniff of the wine and said to Cao Cao with a smile, "The one with good plans is Shouyi, why does my lord ask me?" After saying that, he and Xi Zhicai drank the wine.

"..." Cao Cao was speechless, then turned to Jiang Zhe helplessly and said, "Shouyi, what was the good plan you just mentioned?"

Fortunately, Jiang Zhe hadn't been corrupted by Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai. Upon hearing this, he said in a deep voice, "There's only one plan, but whether it's feasible or not, I don't know!"

"Then Shouyi, tell us what you have to say!" Guo Jia interjected with a grin.

"Hmm!" Jiang Zhe nodded, rose, and paced around Cao Cao's tent. He said in a deep voice, "Gongsun Zan is holding firm and refusing to come out, and we can't break through his defenses. The reason is that Gongsun Zan has set up countless defenses in front of his camp!"

"Absolutely right!" Xi Zhicai said, shaking his head.

"Drink your wine!" Jiang Zhe sneered at Xi Zhicai, then turned to Cao Cao, who was staring at him, and said, "If they're relying on the strength of their camp's defenses, then all we need to do is shatter that confidence!"

"Destroy...confidence?" Cao Cao frowned, somewhat confused by Jiang Zhe's words, and asked疑惑地问道, "Could you elaborate on Shouyi?"

"Heh!" Jiang Zhe said with a sneer, "It's about forcing him, psychologically forcing Gongsun Zan to come out and fight us!"

Cao Cao looked quite embarrassed and hesitated before saying, "Could you elaborate on Shouyi... in more detail?"

"Alright, wait here!" Jiang Zhe drew his sword from his waist and walked towards Guo Jia amidst Cao Cao's astonished gaze.

"Upholding... upholding righteousness?" Cao Cao was greatly shocked.

Guo Jia turned around inexplicably, only to see Jiang Zhe approaching him with a sword drawn. He exclaimed in surprise, "Hey, Shouyi, Jia was just..."

"Alright! Stop pretending!" Jiang Zhe said, frowning. "Do me a favor!"

"Oh!" Guo Jia immediately wiped away his surprise and put on a playful smile.

"Mengde, watch!" Jiang Zhe raised his sword and slowly thrust it toward Guo Jia's face. Guo Jia initially had a smile on his face, but then he gradually became somewhat unnatural.

"Huh?" Cao Cao knew, of course, that his advisors were all exceptionally courageous, but seeing Guo Jia's unusual expression, he found it quite strange and hurried over, asking in confusion, "Fengxiao, this sword is so slow, why do you seem to be in so much pain?"

Guo Jia was taken aback upon hearing this, then suddenly realized and said, "Jia knows! This is what Shouyi meant by psychological coercion!"

Jiang Zhe sheathed his sword and said again, "Do you all understand? Sometimes, psychological pressure is more effective than words!"

Cao Cao nodded with pleasure, then asked, "I understand, but how can this method be used against Gongsun Zan?"

Jiang Zhe said, enunciating each word clearly, "Catapults!"

"A catapult?" Xi Zhicai asked, frowning. "What is that?"

Cao Cao and Guo Jia exchanged a glance, equally puzzled.

"No? Many catapults haven't come out yet?" Jiang Zhe paused for a moment, then gave a general explanation of the catapult's function and structure, which made Cao Cao beam with joy.

However, Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai thought things through more deeply. After a moment's consideration, Guo Jia frowned and said, "I have seen what Shouyi is talking about in books, but its structure is extremely complex. However, if it's just for show to lure Gongsun Zan out... it could be feasible!"

Xi Zhicai nodded in agreement, saying, "As Shouyi said, these catapults probably don't have a long range. Why don't we drive our troops across the river and build a high slope in front of Gongsun Zan's camp, so we can have a commanding view... Is that alright?"

Cao Cao watched as his three advisors gathered together, discussing their strategy. A slight smile appeared on his face. Suddenly, a bowl of wine was handed to him. Cao Cao turned his head and saw that it was Dian Wei.

Cao Cao smiled slightly at Dian Wei, and Cao Cao took the cup and drank it all in one gulp, thinking to himself, "With these three men, defeating Gongsun Zan will be just around the corner!"

In mid-September of the second year of Zhongping, Cao Cao led 30,000 of his troops across the river and set up a high slope not far from Gongsun Zan's camp.

Therefore, Cao Cao listened to Jiang Zhe's advice and ordered his 30,000 soldiers to be divided into three groups and take turns building the high ground.

Guo Jia heard about the catapults Jiang Zhe mentioned that day. He found the manufacturing method of the catapults in the first volume of the Earth Book, "Hundred Battle Strategies". He and Xi Zhicai worked day and night and finally produced fifteen catapults within ten days.

During this time, Gongsun Zan would occasionally look out at Cao Cao's troops from the camp gate. However, Cao Cao followed Jiang Zhe's advice and made sure that when 10,000 soldiers were engaged in combat, another 10,000 soldiers would be on guard nearby.

Cao Cao's actions were something Gongsun Zan couldn't understand...

"What exactly does Cao Mengde want to do?" Gongsun Zan frowned and paced back and forth in the tent. The hard work of the past few days had left him very tired, and some gray hairs were beginning to appear on his head.

Tian Kai, standing beside Gongsun Zan, looked at his lord's worried face and hesitated to speak.

"My lord!" A shout rang out as Yan Gang, one of Gongsun Zan's generals, rushed in, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "My lord, Cao Cao's army intends to build a high slope in front of our camp!"

"What?" Gongsun Zan and Tian Kai exchanged a glance, both looking puzzled.

"A high slope?" Taking a deep breath, Gongsun Zan frowned and said doubtfully, "I observed that the high slope that Cao Mengde has built is quite far from our camp. I once shot an arrow from our camp towards that spot, but it didn't reach the position Cao Mengde is holding. In other words, even if Cao Mengde occupies that spot, what use is it?"

"Our lord should not be underestimated!" Tian Kai said solemnly. "Cao Mengde is an outstanding man, and his subordinates Jiang Shouyi, Guo Fengxiao, and Xi Zhicai are all capable strategists and decisive men!"

Jiang Shouyi is a master strategist, always anticipating the enemy's moves and gaining the upper hand. His strategies are sometimes as righteous as the way of the king, and sometimes as unpredictable as a whimsical horse, making them difficult to fathom. Guo Fengxiao is a master of military strategy, and troop deployment is his forte. He once defeated Lü Bu's seven formations in six days in Yanzhou, and broke Chen Gongtai's formation with a smile. He should not be underestimated either. Xi Zhicai's talent is no less than Jiang Zhe's or Guo Jia's. He also contributed to the earlier defeat of Lü Bu!

Gongsun Zan was secretly alarmed upon hearing this, and hesitantly asked, "Do you know who was responsible for Cao Mengde building this high slope in front of our army?"

Tian Kai glanced at Gongsun Zan and hesitated before saying, "Guo Fengxiao and Xi Zhicai are both skilled in military strategy. As for controlling the battle situation, Jiang Zhe and Jiang Shouyi are the best among the three. My concern is that this is Jiang Zhe's doing. If so, then it will be difficult to handle..."

Gongsun Zan lowered his head and pondered for a long time, but still couldn't figure out the mystery.

Yan Gang said in a deep voice, "Could it be that they intend to shoot arrows down on our camp from a high vantage point? What use would that be? We can simply have our soldiers raise their shields and defend. If it's fire arrows, we can just muddy the camp; that should be no problem! Besides, our camp is heavily fortified. If Cao Mengde wants to launch a strong attack, we will make him retreat with a bitter regret!"

"Sigh!" Tian Kai sighed, looking at Yan Gang's dismissive expression. "Jiang Zhe's schemes are always unpredictable. In my opinion, we mustn't let him build this high ground!"

Upon hearing this, Gongsun Zan hesitated even more. At this moment, Yan Gang spoke up, "Lord Tian, ​​are you aware that the morale of the soldiers is currently extremely low? How can they fight? Lord Tian makes it sound so easy!"

"General Yan!" Tian Kai said in a deep voice, "If Jiang Shouyi succeeds, we will face endless troubles!"

"Enough!" Gongsun Zan shouted, slightly annoyed. "What's all the noise about! Let's observe for a few more days, and then I'll make my own decision!"

"Yes, sir!" Yan Gang replied, clasping his hands in a fist salute.

"Alas!" Tian Kai sighed inwardly, then suddenly remembered something and said to Gongsun Zan, "My lord, I observe that General Zhao is very brave and skilled. Now that we need capable men, why do you abandon him and leave him idle?"

"Use him?" Gongsun Zan sneered. "Someone reported to me that they saw him being escorted out by Cao Cao's soldiers. I've already shown him immense leniency by not killing him!"

Looking at Gongsun Zan's angry face, Tian Kai sighed inwardly, wanting to say something but holding back.

P.S.: Because the company was having their New Year's Eve dinner today, I was worried I wouldn't have time to write tonight, so I wrote during work hours. It turned out to take a whole workday (six and a half days) to finish! Working from home is so much more efficient! Luckily, there's less work at the end of the year.

We're collecting character cards of Xiuer and Cai Yan—this is a one-time offer! Wishing everyone a Happy New Year in advance!

.

.