My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Chapter 148 This is the retribution for using the people as shields! Liu Bei: Defeat Nanling and kill Huang Gai!
Dig a tunnel into the city without anyone noticing?

There was a hint of suspicion in Liu Bei's eyes of surprise.

To dig a tunnel into the city, soldiers must be mobilized to dig underground, and the tunnel must pass under the Nanling city wall.

Your banging, digging and shoveling will inevitably cause quite a bit of noise.

Huang Gai only needed to bury enough water tanks under the city wall to monitor the situation. Unless he arranged a group of deaf people to monitor the situation, it would be impossible for him not to notice the silence underground.

Then how did you manage to dig a tunnel into the city without anyone noticing?
"Military Advisor Bo Wen, how did you manage to conceal your information from the enemy's wiretaps?"

Liu Bei suppressed his doubts and asked with curiosity.

Fa Zheng, Gan Ning and the others all widened their eyes and looked at Xiao He with curiosity.

"This plan is simple, let's..."

Xiao He calmly told his plan.

The suspicion in Liu Bei's eyes gradually disappeared, and a look of surprise gradually appeared on his face.

"Military Advisor Bowen's trick is truly brilliant."

"Since there's no way to avoid the enemy's monitoring, let's prevent them from hearing anything!"

“I never thought that we could start from this idea…”

Fa Zheng, who had gained enlightenment, exclaimed in admiration.

Xiao He smiled and turned his gaze to Liu Bei:

"My lord, we have to give this plan a try to see if it can succeed. It will only take a few days anyway. If it doesn't work, we can think of other ways."

Liu Bei concealed his surprise and said with a look of faith:

"Bo Wen, your plan is unique. With Huang Gai's intelligence, he wouldn't be able to figure it out even in his dreams."

"I will use the tunnel plan you and I have laid together, Bo Wen and Xiao Zhi, to conquer Nanling City within three days!"

The plan was thus decided, and Liu Bei gave up the siege and ordered his troops to retreat.

"Clang clang clang!"

The sound of golden arrows rang out outside the four gates. Upon hearing the order, Liu's troops had to give up attacking the city and retreat to the camp in an orderly manner.

On the four city walls, the nervous Jiangdong soldiers breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Liu's army retreat without attacking, as if they had been pardoned.

"Old General, that big-eared thief actually retreated without a fight?"

He Qi pointed at the retreating Liu Jun outside the city in surprise, and looked at Huang Gai with a puzzled look:

"Our army is no more than 5,000. Even if we include these civilians, there are only a few thousand more. Moreover, half of these civilians are women and children. They are not even a mob."

"How could Liu Bei be so fearful that he was scared off by us?"

Huang Gai's mouth curled up with a hint of sarcasm, and he sneered while stroking his half-white beard:
"That big-eared thief wasn't scared off by us. He was just afraid of hurting the civilians by forceful attack, which would damage his reputation as a righteous man."

He Qi was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized.

Only then did he suddenly realize Huang Gai's real motive for driving all the people in the city into the city.

Huang Gai did not want these civilians to help in the battle to make up for the weakness of insufficient manpower in his own army, but wanted these civilians to act as shields to prevent Liu Bei from attacking the city rashly!

"I see. I didn't expect General Huang to know that big-eared thief so well. He must have found his weak spot."

He Qi couldn't help but compliment him a few times, but he frowned slightly:

"However, the people of Nanling City are, after all, the lord's subjects. If we don't care about their lives and use them to resist Liu Bei, will it damage the reputation of the old general and the lord..."

He Qi did not dare to continue, but his words implied that Huang Gai's plan would damage his and Sun Quan's reputation.

Huang Gai disagreed and snorted coldly:
"I have received the kindness of Mr. Wentai, the predecessor of the Wentai family. As long as I can repay his kindness and protect the foundation of the Sun family, what does it matter if I bear the infamy?"

"As for the lord, he is a man who wants to accomplish great things. How can those who have accomplished great things be like Liu Bei, who is obsessed with womanizing kindness?"

"If Nanling falls, Liu Bei's army will surely march unimpeded to Jiangdong. If Jiangdong cannot be defended, what use is there for all those empty reputations, my lord?"

He Qi's body was startled and he was silent for a moment.

Huang Gai raised his head and looked at the "Liu" flag flying away in the distance, with a proud look on his face.

"Liu Bei, don't you have Xiao He, that devil, with his ingenious plans and calculations, who can do anything?"

"I want to see what tricks he can come up with to defeat my plan!"

A sarcastic sneer was heard from the top of the city wall.

...

At nightfall, at the south gate of Nanling City.

Thousands of hungry and cold people were huddled together and sleeping under the city wall.

Nearly two thousand Jiangdong soldiers were sleeping on the city wall with their armor on.

Huang Gai, holding his sword, continued to patrol the city wall.

In order to prevent Liu Bei from launching a surprise attack at night, he had to resort to a bad strategy and detain all the soldiers and civilians in the city, and they had to eat, drink, defecate and urinate on the city walls.

Huang Gai also did not dare to take off his armor. It was already late at night, but he still patrolled the gates again and again.

"Old General, you've already made three rounds of inspection. Go down to the city and have a rest. I'll take care of it here."

"If there's even the slightest movement outside the city, I'll immediately drive the people up to the city walls and prevent Liu Bei from stealing the chicken."

He Qi patted his chest and made a promise.

Huang Gai glanced at Liu's camp outside the city and saw that it was completely silent. It seemed that there would be no sneak attack tonight.

He was old and had been busy for so long that he was indeed very sleepy. So he gave He Qi a few more instructions and then dozed off as he went down the city.

"Uuuuuu——"

"Boom boom boom——"

Huang Gai had just turned around when the deafening sound of drums and horns suddenly rang out outside the city.

Immediately afterwards, shouts and cries of killing arose one after another, as if thousands of troops were suddenly attacking.

"Old General, Big Ears really wants to launch a sneak attack!"

He Qi looked at Huang Gai anxiously.

Huang Gai's sleepiness disappeared immediately, and he snorted coldly:
"I have long anticipated that the big-eared thieves would attack at night. Quickly drive all the civilians below the city walls to the top of the city walls and order the soldiers at all gates to be on full alert!"

He Qi quickly passed the order.

The men, women, old and young who were sleeping were soon forcibly called out and driven to the top of the city wall like a flock of sheep.

The Jiangdong soldiers who were sleeping in their armor were awakened instantly, their sleepiness swept away, and they were all ready for battle.

The Jiangdong defenders at the four gates were all ready to fight.

The sound of drums and the cries of killing were like thunder, booming in the night.

Huang Gai looked carefully. Although he could not see the strength of Liu's army in the night, he guessed that there must be thousands of soldiers hidden among them.

"Big-eared thief, I don't believe you, seeing that I was well prepared, yet you still dare to attack the city without caring about the lives of these people..."

Huang Gai's lips curled up in sarcasm, and his eyes were full of determination and confidence.

As he expected.

Liu Jun was beating drums and gongs, making a deafening noise, but no one saw Liu Jun rush out of the night and pounce on the top of the city wall.

Half an hour later, the sound of drums and the sounds of killing suddenly stopped, and everything finally became quiet.

"Old General, Liu Bei is still afraid to attack."

He Qi also felt relaxed, with a sarcastic smile on his face.

Huang Gai secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but his face showed an expression of having expected this. He just waved his hand slightly:

"The Big Eared Thief is burdened by his false reputation for benevolence and righteousness. How could he possibly destroy the reputation he has built up over the years just for the mere city of Nanling?"

"Let the soldiers rest now. The big-eared thieves won't dare to attack us at night again. We can sleep soundly now."

Huang Gai yawned and finally left the city with peace of mind.

The common people from all gates were driven down and continued to sleep crowdedly under the city walls. The soldiers all felt relieved and continued to sleep in their armor on the top of the city walls.

Soon, snoring sounds were heard again from both inside and outside the city.

After Huang Gai left the city, he did not return to the county government, but returned to a nearby military tent.

After taking off his clothes and armor, he finally lay down comfortably on the couch and fell asleep soon.

"Boom boom boom——"

In my dream, I could faintly hear the sound of war drums again.

Huang Gai, who was just waking up in a daze, was suddenly awakened from his dream. He listened carefully and heard the sound of drums outside the tent.

"Old General, there are drums outside the west gate. Perhaps the enemy is coming for another night attack!"

The guards rushed in and shouted. Huang Gai jumped off the bed, hurriedly put on his clothes and armor, drew his sword, went out of the tent, mounted his horse, and headed straight for the west gate.

"Could it be that the attack on the South Gate just now was just a feint, and the real target of the Big Eared Bandits' night attack was me, the West Gate?"

Huang Gai's thoughts raced as he rode his horse at full speed all the way to the west gate.

When they climbed up the city wall, He Qi had already arrived in advance and drove thousands of civilians from the west gate into the city and took them to the battlements to act as shields.

More than a thousand awakened Jiangdong soldiers looked anxiously outside the city, fearing that Liu's army would swarm in.

Huang Gai drew his sword and shouted:

"Calm down, don't panic."

"I assure you, the big-eared thieves have no guts to attack the city, so don't panic!"

Under Huang Gai's encouragement, the Jiangdong soldiers finally calmed down and became alert.

The sound of drums shook the sky and the cry of killing was like thunder.

The Liu army outside the city was so powerful that there must be at least 30,000 soldiers attacking.

Huang Gai remained undaunted. He still didn't believe that Liu Bei would dare to attack the city without caring about the lives of the people.

Still as he expected.

The momentum of Liu's army outside the city was frightening, but after beating drums and shouting for half an hour, no soldiers rushed to the front of the city.

The east is getting light, and daybreak is approaching.

Just when the Jiangdong soldiers relaxed their vigilance and began to doze off, the loud gongs and drums outside the city suddenly became silent.

It became quiet again.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but they were exhausted and tired after these two false alarms.

"Old General, even though the big-eared thieves didn't attack the city, the soldiers were still suffering."

"If the enemy really attacked during the day, how would the soldiers have the energy to resist?"

He Qi complained, yawning.

Huang Gai frowned, looked in the direction of the city, then turned back to look at the tired and sleepy soldiers around him. The more he thought about it, the more suspicious he felt.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up and a sneer crossed his lips.

"I understand now. That big-eared thief had no intention of launching a night attack. This was his harassment tactic, designed to shock our troops until they were exhausted and tired."

"He can only wait until our army is completely exhausted and has no strength to fight, and then launch a surprise attack. Only then can he capture Nanling City while killing as few civilians as possible!"

"This must be another trick of Xiao and that demon!"

After hearing Huang Gai reveal the secret, He Qi suddenly woke up and could not help but curse Xiao He for being cunning and despicable.

"Old General, even though we know this is Liu Bei's evil plan, we are powerless to do anything about it."

"If we ignore it, and if the enemy, after harassing us several times, suddenly launches a night attack, we'll be completely unprepared. Once they storm the city, won't everything be over?"

Although He Qi cursed, he also saw the risks involved.

"You are right to be concerned. Could this be Liu Bei's true plan?"

Huang Gai stroked his thin beard with his hand, frowned and said nothing.

After a while, the corners of his mouth rose slightly:

"This is easy. From today on, divide each sect's guards into two teams. They will take turns on guard during the day and at night. This will ensure that no matter the time of day or night, one team can always get a full night's sleep and be well rested."

"In that case, do we still need to worry about Liu Bei's deception, taking advantage of our soldiers' fatigue and lack of preparedness to attack?"

He Qi was overjoyed and praised:
"As expected, the old ones are the wisest. If we follow the old general's arrangements, we will be able to ensure that nothing goes wrong."

He Qi immediately followed Huang Gai's plan and issued an order.

"Nanling is not Chaisang, and I am not Lu Meng."

"With me here, Liu Bei, don't even think about taking Nanling as easily as you did Chaisang!"

"Even if I have to risk my reputation and my life, I will nail you here..."

Huang Gai muttered to himself and looked at Liu Ying with a cold and arrogant look.

In the next two days, Liu Jun outside the city repeated the same routine.

Every time night falls, every half an hour, there would be a burst of gongs and drums outside the four gates.

The defenders in the city were divided into two teams according to Huang Gai's deployment, taking turns on duty to deal with Liu's harassment tactics.

During the three days, Liu Jun was just bluffing, but did not launch a real night attack.

In a blink of an eye, it was already the fourth day.

It was late at night and the moon was past its zenith.

The camp was surrounded south of Nanling City.

Liu Bei stood on his horse, holding his sword, and looked at the brightly lit Nanling City from afar.

Inside the camp, nearly 30,000 soldiers of Liu's army, already in armor and armed with swords, had assembled.

"My lord, Ning and two hundred Jinfan soldiers are ready. Please give the order!"

Gan Ning, with half of his shoulder bare and a ring-handled sword in hand, stepped forward and asked for orders.

Not far behind him, two hundred Jinfan soldiers who could fight ten men at a time were all holding swords and bare-chested, eager to fight.

Liu Bei nodded slightly and turned back to glance at Xiao He.

Xiao He then shouted to Deng Ai, "Show us the tunnel entrance."

Deng Ai immediately called on his personal guards and overturned a pile of hay behind him.

A pitch-black tunnel entrance came into view.

"Huang Gai would never have imagined that while we were beating drums and gongs, we quietly dug a tunnel and sneaked into the city right under his nose."

"Bo Wen, this strategy of yours can also be described as repairing the plank road in the open while secretly crossing Chencang!"

Liu Bei pointed his whip at the tunnel and sighed.

Xiao He's plan was simple.

You, Huang Gai, are experienced. You will bury water tanks under the city wall to monitor the underground and prevent me from digging a tunnel into the city.

Then I will beat the gongs and drums every half hour until your eardrums are about to burst, and you will be unable to hear anything except the sounds of the gongs and drums.

While the drums and gongs were beating loudly on the ground, I was racing against time underground, digging tunnels frantically.

The siege was meant to force the city to retreat, and with such a short distance, three days was enough time to dig a tunnel directly into the city.

Huang Gai drove all the people in the city to the city wall to serve as human shields, resulting in the city being empty, with neither soldiers nor civilians.

Naturally, no matter where the tunnel exit is located, there will be no risk of exposure.

Huang Gai never dreamed that his despicable tactics of using the people as shields would backfire on him.

Xiao He sneered and pointed at the ground:
"Before the night gets too long and dreams become more numerous, my lord, act now and let Huang Gai taste the bitter fruit of his own actions."

Liu Bei nodded slightly and looked at Gan Ning:
"Xingba, whether we can defeat Nanling tonight depends entirely on you."

"Let's set off immediately and follow the plan."

Gan Ning accepted the order generously and led two hundred soldiers with brocade sails to surround the tunnel entrance.

Looking at the pitch-black tunnel, Gan Ning's face was not fearless, but rather burning with excitement.

He had fought hard to get the mission of sneaking into Nanling City from Liu Bei, the reason being that he was the only one who was most familiar with the layout of Nanling City.

He knew very well that the success or failure of this battle was directly related to his position in Liu Jun's camp.

Chaisang's surrender was forced after all, so it cannot be considered a merit.

If I can help Liu Bei break through Nanling, kill Huang Gai, and annihilate the 5,000 Jiangdong troops today, it can be considered a great achievement.

Merit is the foundation of a military general's success.

What's more, he is a surrendered general, and he must have great achievements in order to win the respect of his colleagues!
"Today's battle is my first since I surrendered to you, my lord. Please don't embarrass me!"

"Brothers, let's go!"

Gan Ning shouted loudly and everyone jumped into the tunnel.

Two hundred brocade sail soldiers followed Gan Ning without any hesitation.

Soon, Gan Ning and the two hundred Jinfan thieves all disappeared into the tunnel.

Liu Bei turned his horse around, his cold gaze shooting towards Nanling City, his fighting spirit surging.

"Pass on my command. Light the beacon fires and march out!"

"In this battle, I will kill Huang Gai and destroy Nanling!"

(End of this chapter)