My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 286: Seducing Sun Ce to break out is a skill
After Zhao Yun and his party returned to the city, Guan Yu and Zhuge Jin treated them to a banquet.

Zhao Yun also took out Liu Bei's appointment document and asked the accompanying civil servants to formally read out the handover in Yangzhou Mufu. From then on, Zhuge Jin was officially regarded as "General Fubo, Governor of Danyang, and concurrently in charge of Yangzhou Mufu". The first two were his official positions, and the last one was a temporary assignment.

Liu Bei was given the title of Yangzhou Mu by intention before the emperor was completely controlled by Cao Cao. Of course, he had to follow Liu Bei until he made further progress in the future. This could not be changed. But Liu Bei could hand over the specific work of Yangzhou Mu to someone else, just like he is doing now.

Zhuge Jin received a new assignment, and he also rewarded the troops with wine and meat and had fun with everyone.

Each reinforcement soldier was given three days' supply of fresh sea fish, steamed bread and pickled mustard. The troops originally responsible for the siege also received extra meals, which really boosted their morale.

Everyone knew that this was a sign that the decisive battle was approaching. Otherwise, after more than four months of siege, they wouldn't suddenly give everyone good food and drink at this time.

After spending five or six days allowing Zhao Yun's troops to recover their strength and adapt to the local climate and soil, seeing that it was already the end of October, Zhao Yun was eager to make achievements, so he took the initiative to find Guan Yu and Zhuge Jin again to discuss the plan for a decisive battle.

Zhuge Jin has now moved his office to the Yangzhou Mu Mansion vacated by Liu Bei. From now on, he will be the one leading three teams, so military meetings are held in the Yangzhou Mu Mansion.

Zhuge Jin was not in a hurry at all when facing Zhao Yun: "Can't you wait? Our army has been besieging the city for more than four months. Now Sun Ce can't get autumn grain from the surrounding areas. Moling City will run out of food at most in the twelfth month.

There will be no need to attack the city then. Sun Ce's army will break through directly, or even break through in advance. We can then fight and destroy the enemy in the field. Isn't that wonderful? Zilong, why should we rush? The key now is to surround Moling tightly and never give Sun Ce a chance to replenish his food."

Zhao Yun did not object to this statement. But he had obviously taken time to understand the situation in the past few days, so he asked in confusion: "But I went to Niuzhu the day before yesterday to take a look. Now Moling is not completely surrounded. The encirclement can even be said to be loose and wide.

Our army did not camp directly under the city of Moling to block the gate. Even among the counties that Moling connected with other rear areas, only Dantu and Niuzhu along the river were captured, but Jurong County, which was inland and led to Piling, was left unconquered. We did not completely surround Jurong. Aren't you afraid that there will be loopholes here?"

Zhuge Jin: "I left this opening of Jurong on purpose. If Sun Ce sees that there is a way to Jurong and wants to return to Wujun from here when he runs out of food, we can intercept him and fight him in the field.

It was impossible for Zhu Zhi and Zhou Yu in the rear to transport food to Sun Ce through Jurong. Although we did not set up camp along the official road from Jurong to Moling, we always sent cavalry to patrol.

"Before this, a small group of messengers and scouts from Sun Ce's army passed by. Although we cannot say that they were all killed, many were killed. If it was a heavy and slow grain transport team that passed by, it would definitely not be able to safely complete the 70 or 80 li journey and would definitely be killed by the cavalry."

After Zhao Yun synchronized this information with Zhuge Jin and Guan Yu, he finally had a thorough understanding of the overall battle situation. He realized that the opening in Jurong was used by Zhuge Jin to bleed Sun Ce and shake Sun Ce's will to resist in the final stage.

Zhao Yun was just a little confused: "I wonder who was in charge of patrolling and blocking the road between Moling and Jurong? Now that the reinforcements have rested and recovered, why not let me take over?"

Zhuge Jin and Guan Yu both advised Zhao Yun not to worry. Zhuge Jin even said with a smile, "Zilong is a great general. How can he do such a thing? You can wait until Sun Ce is lured out during the decisive battle, and then pursue and kill him head-on.

The person currently in charge of patrolling between Jurong and Moling is Zhang Liao under Yun Chang. I deliberately asked him to bring fewer cavalry to give Sun Ce a chance. If you, Zilong, go there, wouldn't you scare Sun Ce completely?"

When Zhao Yun heard that it was Zhang Liao, he no longer objected.

Zhang Liao was captured by Zhao Yun last summer when Chen Deng offered Xiapi. Of course, Zhang Liao still had old injuries from the battle with Cao's army in Liangjun, and his martial arts had not recovered to their peak state, so Zhao Yun took him down in just a few moves.

Previously, when Zhuge Jin and Guan Yu fought against Sun Ce, the defense of Guangling in Jiangbei did not require cavalry, and the subsequent naval battle in Jiangyin did not require cavalry. After Zhang Liao was assigned to Guan Yu, he never got a chance to fight. Instead, Taishi Ci and his men always had the opportunity to fight and make achievements.

This time the battlefield was extended to the land south of the Yangtze River. No longer having to consider the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, Zhang Liao finally had the opportunity to show his prowess, but it was limited to the official road between Moling and Jurong.

There are still many small rivers in the south of the Yangtze River. There is only a circle of hills and highlands around Moling City. After passing Jurong and going east, the water network becomes more and more dense and the cavalry cannot charge at all.

After Zhao Yun understood the whole situation, he thought for a while and tentatively suggested: "In this case, is it possible for our army to make a big fanfare and announce to the Moling defenders that our reinforcements have arrived to further shake Sun Ce's morale? If we can force Sun Ce to break out earlier and fight us in the field, it can also reduce the consumption of military rations."

Zhuge Jin: "Of course this has to be done. I have already arranged it, but it is hard to say how early it can be done. Zilong, just prepare your troops and horses for the battle. When Sun Ce can no longer hold back, you will naturally have the opportunity to show your abilities."

Zhao Yun didn't say anything else. He knew that with Zhuge Jin's wisdom, the other party must have thought of what he could think of. He just came to synchronize information, unify tactical thinking, and make the army united.

……

As time came to early November, Sun Ce in Moling City had not yet heard the result of the Battle of Guandu between Yuan and Cao, and his mood became increasingly heavy.

He also didn't expect that Cao Cao and Yuan Shao would be able to hold out for so long at Guandu, from May to November, without a clear winner!

Cao Cao himself was a little desperate, and Sun Ce, who had to rely on Cao Cao, was doubly desperate. He had begun to doubt his life and his own desperate gamble.

Just as Sun Ce was feeling depressed and shaken, on the third day of November, he received another piece of bad news, which dealt a heavy blow to the morale of his troops.

"My lord! Liu Bei's army has arrived in the east of the city, with flags flying high and a strong momentum! There are also enemy generals shouting outside the city!"

Early in the morning, Sun Ce was still asleep when he was awakened by the guards who told him the news. Sun Ce was slightly startled and immediately put on his armor and rode to the east gate to climb up the wall to observe the enemy situation. The enemy army did not have any plans to attack the city. After all, they did not carry any heavy equipment. There were only thousands of cavalrymen lined up in a black formation. It was obvious to the naked eye that there were at least 5,000 people. And every few people carried a flag. It looked like there were hundreds or even thousands of flags.

The ratio of military drums and trumpets was also very high, with hundreds of drums and hundreds of trumpets. When they were beaten and blown at the same time, the deafening sound could be heard even from the city wall two or three hundred steps away.

Sun Ce couldn't help but feel a little scared: "When did Guan Yu have so many cavalry? In the previous six months of fierce fighting and months of siege, he only saw one or two thousand cavalry!"

Up to now, the total size of Liu Bei's army's cavalry is about 7,000 to 8,000. After all, he is a southern vassal, and it is difficult to expand his cavalry.

Among these seven or eight thousand miles, there are another one or two thousand men who were bought from Gongsun Du through this year's Liaodong war horse trade and then re-trained. Excluding this part, Liu Bei's own cavalry had a maximum of six thousand.

Previously, troops were divided into Wuhui and Jingnan. Jingnan needed to launch a field raid, so Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun took away most of the cavalry. Guan Yu and Taishi Ci's side mainly focused on defending the city and fighting on the Yangtze River, so they did not need cavalry.

Sun Ce had fought with Guan Yu for so long that he knew that Guan Yu's cavalry strength was similar to his own, or even slightly less than that of the Sun family. The Sun family had occupied Jiangdong for five or six years and had developed considerable strength. The total number of cavalry in the army was approximately nearly three thousand.

However, because the military command system requires war horses, these 3,000 people rarely form an independent army. Within the Sun family, more than half of the cavalry were divided into guards for various generals, or messengers and scouts for military communication. The only pure cavalry unit that was truly organized was only more than 1,000 people.

Suddenly seeing so many cavalrymen on the opposite side, asking you to count and inspect them in broad daylight, Sun Ce knew without thinking that Guan Yu had come to reinforce! And the scale of the reinforcements was definitely not small!

The soldiers guarding the east tower of Moling were all worried. Sun Ce realized that something was wrong and glanced around, and he was sure that many of his soldiers were frightened.

"Damn it! There is no way to stop the other side from showing off their strength! Five thousand cavalrymen are lined up outside the city. It is impossible not to see it! Shoot!" Sun Ce was furious and quickly ordered the archers to shoot.

"My lord, the enemy formation is at least two or three hundred steps away from the city wall, and no bows or crossbows can reach them!" Huang Gai, who was accompanying Sun Ce on an inspection of the city defense, tried to dissuade him, trying to stop Sun Ce from being furious.

"Shoot even if you can't hit me! Even if it means making the enemy retreat and lose their position! Shoot arrows to cheer them up!" Sun Ce insisted.

He also hoped to scare the enemy with the rain of arrows. As long as the enemy retreated, or their formation was in disarray and their units retreated at different speeds, he would be able to save some face.

A rain of arrows flew out quickly, but the cavalry on the opposite side were well-trained. It is also possible that they had been strictly instructed before coming to demonstrate today, telling everyone that the enemy could not shoot them at this distance and they were not allowed to move.

Only some of the war horses dug the soil due to the noise and disturbance of the rain of arrows, and their hooves could not be restrained, but in the end they were all controlled by the cavalry.

Now the embarrassment came to Sun Ce's side. After shooting for a while, the other party just watched his performance coldly from three hundred steps away. This cold violence was too suffocating.

Sun Ce was in a dilemma, and he couldn't stop. He shot more than ten rounds, but in the end, he couldn't bear to waste his arrows, so he raised his hand and ordered to stop.

After Zhao Yun and Sun Ce stopped shooting arrows, he also raised his hand and signaled the drummers behind him to stop beating drums and blowing trumpets. Within just ten breaths, the cavalry formation that stretched for two or three miles from north to south became quiet.

This contrast of silence had an effect on the morale of the defenders on the city walls that was just as great as the previous show of force.

Then Zhao Yun signaled the group of soldiers blowing the horns to dismount and advance, holding shields and forming a battle array. The horn players in the army usually also served as the battle-swearers, because blowing the horn required a lot of lung capacity, and these people often had loud voices, which was just right for helping the commander pass on the message.

"Listen, Sun Ce, the traitor! I am Zhao Zilong of Changsha! Zhang Xian of Changsha responded to Cao's rebellion and was killed by me two months ago! Now I am gathering 50,000 brave soldiers from southern Jing and 30,000 surrendered soldiers from Jingzhou to help Yunchang kill you traitors!
When Yunchang besieged Moling alone, you were like a coward, unable to break out. Now the main force of the General of Chariots and Cavalry has arrived. When Moling runs out of food, your entire army will be annihilated! It's too late for you to break out! Wait for your death!
Sun Ce, if you still have a bit of humanity, you would have ended the battle long ago! Don't drag innocent soldiers and civilians to be buried with them!"

Zhao Yun personally went out to fight and shouted curses at the top of the city wall. More than a hundred people holding shields also amplified his words, making the defenders more shaken.

"What? Liu Bei sent a full 50,000 reinforcements? And 30,000 surrendered troops from various counties in southern Jing?"

"Did Liu Biao gain nothing from suppressing the rebellion in southern Jing? Did Liu Bei swallow up all the four counties in southern Jing?"

These news were very shocking to the defenders in Moling City. Most of the generals of the Sun family originally thought that Liu Biao was also a strong enemy. If Zhang Xian really wanted to rebel, Liu Biao would definitely participate in suppressing the rebellion and would also divide up some territory.

Liu Bei fought Zhang Xian for so long but still failed to defeat him, which shows that Liu Bei’s ability to fight on two fronts is not very good.

Unexpectedly, Liu Bei cut off the road on the south bank of the Yangtze River, holding off Liu Biao from interfering, and then used his other hand to completely swallow up the four counties in southern Jing. It seems that Liu Bei's strength is obviously much stronger than expected.

The morale of the Jiangdong army became increasingly shaken.

Huang Gai, who was accompanying Sun Ce on the inspection of the city defense, also realized this. He could not help but lower his voice and persuade Sun Ce: "My lord, if we continue to let Zhao Yun show off his power like this, the longer it takes, the more unstable our army's morale will be. By then, we will not be able to fight to the death."

(End of this chapter)