Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 21: A grand formation, we will definitely capture them!
The third grade.

Ugly time.

Liu Chan, not knowing whether he was nervous or for some other reason, tossed and turned on the couch and couldn't fall asleep. Finally, he put on a cloak and walked out of the wooden house and came to the edge of the dimly lit Yushan Terrace.

Looking to the east, the lights in Cao's camp were still on.

It is estimated that they are still setting up camp and building fortifications.

Once the fortifications are completed, the real life-and-death showdown will begin.

Just as General Zhao said, on this plain with no strategic location, as long as the two armies set up their battle formations, there would be no real or false situation, and no strategy to speak of.

On the front battlefield, strength is everything.

The best military strategy in the world is just four words:

Bullying.

The correct way of military strategy is to use the majority to defeat the minority and the strong to defeat the weak.

But now, Cao is strong and Han is weak, there are more Cao than Han.

My compensation that wins people's hearts may move some people, but it is impossible to move everyone.

Unless Cao Zhen is really an idiot, or General Zhao's command level is simply beyond imagination, it is impossible to win the next head-on battle.

According to General Zhao, without mentioning the historical achievements, just from the place where Cao Zhen chose to camp, it can be seen that Cao Zhen is indeed of some level.

Liu Chan couldn't help but feel uneasy and sad.

"Your Majesty, the wind is really strong on the mountain. You should go back to bed." Mi Wei, the Tiger Cavalry Supervisor who guards the emperor, advised again.

Liu Chan ignored Mi Wei's advice and just kept looking at the lights in Cao's camp. Suddenly he said:

"Wei, do you think they will come tomorrow?"

Mi Wei was stunned and said, "No way? They haven't established a firm foothold yet, so they probably won't rush in tomorrow. The earliest they can do so is the day after tomorrow."

Mi Wei knew what His Majesty was thinking.

According to the plan, on the second day after they left Chengdu, that is, on February 22, Dong Yun, the General of the Tiger Guards, would personally lead 4,000 imperial guards guarding Chengdu to the battlefield in Xiegu.

The total distance is more than one thousand miles, and at sixty miles a day, it is estimated to take sixteen days.

In other words, it is estimated that we will arrive at Xiegu on March 7th, four days later.

There was no other way. Although food could be obtained on the road, weapons, armor, bows and arrows still needed to be transported by baggage carts. Even if the official road was smooth, we could not move too fast.

The day before yesterday, I received news from the messenger that the army had just arrived at Baishui Pass, which means that they were indeed not moving faster than expected.

This means that if a battle breaks out with Cao’s army tomorrow, the emperor won’t even have a reliable guard by his side.

Although the five hundred Tiger Cavalry had all arrived at the battlefield, they had all been deployed for other purposes, otherwise they would not have been able to deal with Cao's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.

Fortunately, General Zhao was trustworthy and sent his second son, Zhao Guang, to lead more than 200 elite soldiers, who were said to be his personal soldiers and death squads, to guard the command platform.

Otherwise, Mi Wei would have advised the emperor to stay on the plank road so that he could escape back to Hanzhong directly along the plank road if something went wrong.

The mountain wind howled for a long time, and after a while, the emperor who was leaning on the railing in front of him and looking into the distance suddenly spoke:

"Alright Wei, from today on you don't need to stay here to guard me anymore. Go down the mountain and recuperate with the Tiger Riders.

"I don't know exactly how many Tiger and Leopard Cavalry Cao's army has, nor where they will appear from.

"If a war breaks out, without you, the Tiger Cavalry Supervisor, leading the charge, I'm afraid the Tiger Cavalry will be overwhelmed."

Mi Wei thought for a moment and nodded:
"only!"

There is no other way. As the military strategy says, "Use the regular to unite and the unusual to win." These five hundred tiger cavalrymen are basically the only unusual force of the Han army here.

He did not expect to win by surprise, but only hoped to avoid defeat by surprise, so as to stabilize the morale and military spirit of the Han army and wait for the flood planned by the emperor to come.

...

...

Dawn.

It's dawn again.

March 5th.

During these two days, Cao Zhen completely established the camp and personally led the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to inspect the entire battlefield.

Early in the morning, he held a final military meeting.

"According to the date agreed with Your Majesty, two thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry from Chang'an City set out yesterday and will arrive west of Xieshui and north of Weishui at 3:00 PM today.

"Our mission is to attract the Shu bandits' attention on the front battlefield, keep them there, buy time for the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to cross the Wei River to the south, and then drive them west of Xieshui!

"By then, once the two thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry have reached the Wuzhang Plateau, they can charge down from there!

"With our army pursuing the victory, we may be able to capture the false emperor alive!"

"it is good!"

"Capture the false emperor alive!" "Now that the Ge bandit has been defeated, if we can really capture the false emperor alive, perhaps this battle will be the battle to destroy Shu!"

The soldiers in the camp immediately cheered excitedly.

Cao Zhen was also very excited. With the fake emperor so close to him, it was impossible for him to have no thoughts at all.

The unfinished work of their fathers will surely be completed by their generation!
Suddenly, a scholar rushed in from outside the tent.

When Cao Zhen saw this, he wondered who else could it be but his military advisor Du Xi?
"General, I'm afraid there's an ambush in the diagonal water!" Du Xi rushed to the middle of the tent in three or two steps, looking quite excited.

Just as everyone was wondering, they saw four people holding clay pots walking in from behind Du Xi.

"What do you mean, military advisor?" Cao Zhen asked in confusion.

Du Xi looked excited:
"General, when I was patrolling along the Wei River a few days ago, I discovered that the water near the south bank seemed to be more turbid than the water near the north bank!

"I had a suspicion that the muddy water might be flowing down the slanting path.

"For four or five days in a row, they went to Xieshui under cover of darkness, filling clay pots with water and bringing it back to the camp.

"But I discovered that within a few days, the water in the slanting stream has become clearer day by day. Today, the water is so clear that there is almost no mud!"

Lieutenant General Wang Shuang frowned and stood up. "Military Advisor, the Shu invaders occupy the upper reaches of the Xieshui River. Every day when they draw water for their livestock, they muddy the water. Is this surprising?"

Cao Zhen pondered for a moment, then said earnestly to the loyal military advisor:

"Military Advisor, I think what Wang Shuang said makes some sense. Furthermore, the Shu invaders recently cut through the mountains on the right bank of the Xieshui River to open a path and set up their headquarters there. It's no surprise that the Xieshui River is turbid.

"As for why it's getting clearer, it's naturally because the Shu invaders haven't dug into the mountains to build camps in the past two days."

Du Xi paused for a moment, then said excitedly:

"General, don't be careless!

"Why would the false emperor personally lead the army?

“Why did the false emperor make such a big fuss that day, imitating the example of Dong Zhuo?
"Why did the Shu invaders refuse to withdraw their troops even though their camp was clearly empty?
"Doesn't the General find it suspicious?

"In my opinion, this is clearly a trick by the Shu invaders to lure the enemy!"

Ever since he learned from spies that the fake emperor had led the army in person with great fanfare, Du Xi felt that everything about the fake emperor was suspicious.

As for the fact that the water had turned muddy, which no one cared about, only he, who was already suspicious, would pay special attention to it.

However, the upper reaches of Xieshui were controlled by the Shu invaders, so he had no way to find out even if he wanted to.

As Cao Zhen listened, he also felt that something seemed amiss: "Military Advisor, please explain in detail."

Du Xi sorted out his thoughts and said:

"When the false emperor, imitating Dong Zhuo, marched into the Xiegu camp with great fanfare, we were shocked, thinking that Zhuge Liang might have won in Longyou.

"But within two days, news arrived of Zhuge Liang's defeat in Longyou.

"But it's impossible for the false emperor to receive the news of Zhuge Liang's defeat earlier than us.

“So, the purpose of the false emperor’s grand march into the Xieshui camp that day was to confuse us and prevent us from leaving Meiwu to attack him.

“And we were truly shocked.

“This shows that although the false emperor is not good at commanding troops, he does know some tricks and schemes.

"Now that the great battle is imminent, the Shu invaders, knowing they are no match for the enemy, still refuse to retreat, and the slanting water has turned from muddy to clear.

"This reminds me of the story of Han Xin who built a dam on the Wei River and killed Long Ju.

"I believe that the false emperor is most likely imitating Han Xin's example, ordering his men to build a dam in the Xie Valley to block the water, hoping to feign defeat after a battle with the general.

"Then he used his false identity as the emperor to lure the general across the Xieshui River. Finally, he dug a dam and released the water, trapping the general to death west of the Xieshui River!"

All the generals in the camp suddenly fell silent, and the previous excitement was gone.

Those who can discuss matters in this tent are basically not too useless, and they have all heard of Han Xin's ingenious plan to kill Long Ju.

I never thought that one day I would actually meet him?
In the middle of the tent, the Wei general, who was already fully armed, stood up from his seat after being stunned for a long time and walked towards the person holding the pottery jar behind Du Xi.

I saw that the water in the jar had become clear and the mud and sand had settled at the bottom of the jar.

He reached in and stirred it vigorously. After a while, the turbidity of each jar was indeed different.

He stopped and frowned, thinking for a while.

Finally, he suddenly became proud, as if he had thought of something:
"The fake emperor deceived me, so what can I do?

"Do you really think you understand the art of war just by reading two stories?!"

After saying that, the man punched the pottery jar with all his might, and the jar shattered and the water burst out. The person holding the jar was horrified, and the others were also stunned.

"The art of war is the fist! It is food! It is armor and soldiers! It is a magnificent battle formation!

“The only thing is not his self-proclaimed clever schemes and tricks that are just theoretical and theoretical!!!
"Even if I chase across the slanting water, what can I do?
"If he can't defeat me, I will definitely capture him!"

　My dear friends, I am old and my writing speed is slow, so please forgive me!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)