Conquering Myriad Worlds from the Mythical Three Kingdoms

Chapter 965 The right candidate

Sima Yi relayed his speculations back to Luoyang.

Upon receiving the intelligence, Jia Xu was the first to frown.

Was the Jin Dynasty really that powerful?

With testimonies from Xu Huang and Gan Ning, it should be true.

However, Jia Xu's investigation using insects revealed no such situation whatsoever.

"A colossal beast that should have been unconscious was awakened by the sudden war?" Jia Xu tapped the table, re-examining Sima Yan and the Jin Dynasty.

Jia Xu suddenly realized that Sima Yan and the Jin Dynasty could not be examined in the conventional way.

He completely disregarded historical records from other dynasties and instead interpreted them from a completely new perspective.

He discovered that Sima Yan was a political failure.

However, in other respects, Sima Yan was by no means weak. Before his opponent fell into depravity, Sima Yan could be considered a wise and enlightened ruler.

The difficulty of conquering a wise monarch paired with a unified and rising empire immediately increases.

Fortunately, Sima Yi chose a good starting location: the former territory of Eastern Wu. It was a newly surrendered territory that was being suppressed everywhere. Even with appeasement, it was certainly not as good as the north.

Such a turbulent place, once captured, can be developed into a base through a policy of appeasement.

They had the support of Xinghan to fund their development, while the Jin Dynasty began to levy exorbitant taxes and levies. The difference in their strengths was obvious.

The problem, however, is how they will withstand the opponent's most powerful attack in the future.

"Let's request the Emperor to send reinforcements to Zhongda," Zhuge Liang said helplessly, shaking his fan.

The situation was getting out of control; even he had underestimated the Jin Dynasty.

"He himself didn't mention troop deployment!" Jia Xu glanced at Sima Yi's report.

Despite their collective underestimation of their opponent, Sima Yi remained confident of victory.

However, neither Jia Xu nor Zhuge Liang were very optimistic about Sima Yi's confidence.

Sima Yi's mental talent was indeed enough to outwit someone once, but this trick could only be used once.

If the two major army commanders join forces to crush him, Sima Yi will definitely not be able to stop them.

"Let's wait and see. It's difficult to arrange manpower in this situation. Sima Yi's acquisition of this opportunity also involves political considerations..."

Jia Xu rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. The main reason they chose to enfeoff Sima Yi as the King of Jin based on his military achievements was that they needed someone to govern Jin.

People like Han Xin and Bai Qi were good at fighting, but were they good at governing a country or engaging in politics?

He can't do it; he doesn't have the ability.

Otherwise, the two of them wouldn't have ended up dying.

Wu Qi was a bit stronger, but he was still not quite as good as Sima Yi.

Among people who possess both military and political abilities, Sima Yi was the only suitable candidate left.

Choosing Sima Yi was both a practical necessity and a political necessity.

This is also why a military genius wasn't directly sent over to oversee the operation. Sima Yi had to be the supreme commander and take all the major military credits; otherwise, the enfeoffment would be illegitimate.

"Let's transfer troops from the several feudal kings!" Zhuge Liang suggested, offering a different approach.

"Xiahou Yuan, Xiahou Dun, Cheng Yu, Ma Chao, Pang De..." Jia Xu counted the manpower he could mobilize, and suddenly thought of another person.

"What do you think of Cao Pi?" Jia Xu's question already carried a pointed implication.

Although Cao Ang is now the main figure in Cao Wei, the originally designated Emperor Wen of Wei is also a promising talent.

“It might come in handy in the future, but for now it can only be considered as a backup option. Unless Sima Yi dies, this task will be rightfully his!” Zhuge Liang shook his head.

Jia Xu thought for a moment and then remained silent. Sima Yi was indeed the most suitable candidate.

However, given the current situation, sending reinforcements is a done deal. Let's just hope that Sima Yi's performance won't be too embarrassing.

Being forced to step in after losing a battle is one thing, but continuing to invest after winning a battle is another.

Meanwhile, Sima Yi had already led his army to begin the siege.

"Gentlemen, we cannot waste too much time here. We must take them down in one fell swoop!"

Sima Yi solemnly explained the offensive tactics to Gan Ning and others, emphasizing that Ruxukou must be captured to completely seize Jiangdong territory, thus keeping the Jin Dynasty's enemies at bay from the north.

"Our army is attacking the city using a strategy of simultaneous land and water advances! Governor Gan is annihilating enemy ships on one hand and putting pressure on the shore on the other, sending small groups of troops to harass the enemy."

"Yes, sir!" Gan Ning excitedly accepted the order and left, finally arriving at his familiar home ground.

He refused to believe that if the army suffered a loss, his navy could suffer a loss too.

He annihilated every naval force that came from the Jin Dynasty.

"General Gan can only serve a harassing purpose; the real deciding factor lies with the army!"

"I observe that although the city's defenses are intact, the number of soldiers is too small, and General Gan is blocking the way. There are no reinforcements available for the time being, but things can get complicated. We must take this city as soon as possible!"

"Does the Marshal have a good plan?" Taishi Ci asked tentatively. Although he felt it would be a difficult battle, he still believed in Sima Yi's wisdom.

"I can't say what a good strategy is. Since the city's defenses are weak, we will divide our troops into three parts and attack from three directions."

"Each unit of soldiers is divided into three parts: one part attacks the city at night, one part launches a feigned attack during the day, and the third part takes turns resting with the first two parts."

"We will ensure that the soldiers garrisoning the city have no rest, even if they get enough sleep. We will keep fighting day and night, and in three days at most, the enemy will be exhausted."

Sima Yi paused involuntarily at this point, because he actually disliked using unorthodox strategies.

Using unconventional tactics only indicates that one's own side is at a disadvantage; one must resort to surprise.

But after fighting against the God of War for a long time, he realized one thing even more: it is safer to crush the opponent with an absolute advantage than to use tricks.

To reach this level, Sima Yi had diligently trained his command abilities.

However, given the current situation, Sima Yi must find a way to win; he doesn't want to slow down his pace.

"This is a very clever plan."

After listening, Taishi Ci immediately understood the merits of Sima Yi's plan. The strategy wasn't particularly ingenious, but Taishi Ci hadn't considered it at all before the truth was revealed.

"In that case, I ask all generals to lead their soldiers to prepare for a rest period, and we will begin our operation tonight."

"Yes, sir!" Taishi Ci and the other officers bowed to Sima Yi. "We will now distribute the soldiers and prepare to take turns attacking the city."

"I will assign a highly skilled assault team to support you. Once the time is right, you will join forces with the experts to launch an assault, capture the city walls, and firmly grasp the situation!"

After everyone left, Sima Yi wearily unfolded the map.

"This is the only way for now. Quickly take Ruxukou, sweep across the entire Jiangdong region, and establish a solid foundation..."

Sima Yi traced his finger along the Xiangyang and Jiangxia regions, pointing to a section of the Yangtze River with the highest flow, which was perfect for Gan Ning's naval development.

The Jin Dynasty's navy is a problem and must be eliminated first. For three consecutive days, Sima Yi's side, relying on its superior numbers, launched a massive night attack on the city, displaying impressive formations and creating the impression that they could launch a night attack at any moment.

This forced Wen Yang to keep a close watch on things himself, and with Tai Shi Ci repeatedly locking onto Wen Yang with his bow, Wen Yang was on the verge of a breakdown.

He could ignore ordinary attacks, but Taishi Ci's arrows were truly deadly.

Taishi Ci fired the arrow entirely on his own whim, just to annoy Wen Yang and force him to expend his mental energy.

Even though Wen Yang was a powerful expert who had broken through the boundaries, he was exhausted from being involved in so many things.

Wen Yang had no way to rest. As soon as he disappeared, Taishi Ci would immediately muster his men and charge toward the city wall, beating drums.

Wen Yang knew this was a tactic to wear down the enemy, but he dared not slacken his efforts in the slightest. The three-pronged attack made it impossible for Wen Yang to tell which side was the main force attacking the city.

The next day, the main force launched a fierce attack on all three sides of the city wall, and they almost took the city directly.

Wen Yang understood that if he was even slightly careless, Sima Yi would immediately take action.

As a result, Wen Yang could only force himself to patrol day and night. After three days, Wen Yang could still hold on, but the soldiers could not hold on at all.

Puppet soldiers don't need rest, giving them an absolute advantage in the matter of attrition.

Moreover, Wen Yang had too few soldiers, so he could only hold on and endure the pressure.

"Why haven't the reinforcements arrived yet!" Wen Yang was extremely anxious.

As early as the day he dealt with Gan Ning's retreat, he immediately sent people to ask for reinforcements, but several days have passed and the reinforcements have not arrived.

With his urgent request for help, the nearest reinforcements should have arrived in three days.

Now surrounded by enemies on all sides, with three sides missing one, he simply cannot send out his men.

All the scouts disappeared without a trace, as if a stone had sunk into the sea.

What Wen Yang didn't know was that in the open area outside the city, twenty-four experts with internal energy separated from their bodies took turns patrolling, completely blocking all communication between the city and the outside world.

No matter how elite those scouts were, how could they possibly escape the blockade of a master of internal energy?

Meanwhile, on the surface of the Yangtze River, Gan Ning led a portion of his fleet across the seas on patrol.

Even without being able to activate the self-circulation system, Gan Ning was able to completely block the river and intercept all of the Jin army's support troops simply by using the ship's cannons, catapults, and cloud energy reserves.

What's going on with these ships?

The Jin army commander was almost insane. Eastern Wu had been destroyed, so where did such a magnificent fleet come from?

Compared to the opposing fleet, their ships looked like babies in front of Tyson.

Let alone defeating the enemy, even self-preservation is a problem.

"General, could these be the main forces of Eastern Wu back then?" one of his subordinates began to speculate.

They suspect that when the Eastern Wu was destroyed, there was a large fleet of ships at sea, after all, they had all heard the story of Sun Quan sending a fleet to Ryukyu.

"You mean, what we destroyed back then was just a weak Eastern Wu?" The commander thought his subordinate was talking nonsense.

They arrested so many high-ranking officials and dignitaries back then; if such a unit really existed, they would have known about it long ago.

But looking at the fleet that had completely blocked the river, he couldn't help but wonder if it was really true.

After all, no matter how absurd things are, none are as absurd as what's happening in front of them right now.

"Immediately compile the intelligence, have all officers write down their conjectures, and send them back to His Majesty for a decision!"

After taking countermeasures, the commander gritted his teeth, organized a group of people, and planned to launch a strong attack.

It was so unbelievable that he even suspected it was some kind of sorcery.

"It's foggy?" Gan Ning raised an eyebrow.

"Shiyuan..." Gan Ning was about to call on Pang Tong to deal with the celestial phenomena when he suddenly remembered that Pang Tong had gone to land.

"Notify the General Staff to prepare for a change in weather!" Gan Ning waved his hand. At this time of year, even a child knows what will happen when fog rolls in.

Although Pang Tong could handle the situation on his own, his staff could also resolve it even without Pang Tong, though not as conveniently as Pang Tong's.

"Raise the clouds, strengthen defenses, increase patrols, and prepare all soldiers for battle!"

Gan Ning calmly carried out the battle plan, quickly mobilized the ship's cloud gas reserves, and then used the cloud gas to strengthen the ship's strength.

After finishing everything, Gan Ning directly opened the pet compartment at the bottom of the ship's cabin.

"Release all those little cuties to prevent the water ghosts from sabotaging the ship!"

The ocean is full of rare and exotic creatures, and Gan Ning has kept quite a few in his fleet. These rare and exotic creatures are not only Gan Ning's pets, but also his underwater combat team.

Gan Ning's deities and Buddhas gave him the authority to control the ocean, and all the sea creatures would obey his commands.

If any soldiers fall into the water, they will also rescue them.

Dozens of sea beasts, their inner energy separated from their bodies, entered the sea. The Jin Dynasty's water ghost troops, taking advantage of the fog, dived to the bottom of the river, intending to destroy the ships from below. They were immediately attacked by the sea beasts.

"Ahhh!"

Screams rose and fell as many water ghosts broke the surface and desperately swam back, but how could they possibly outrun the sea monsters raised by Gan Ning?

They were quickly dragged into the river, causing patches of blood to appear.

A mocking smile crept onto Gan Ning's lips. The fleet that had conquered the four seas, even though it had suffered heavy losses in the previous war against the Qing Dynasty, was simply a dimensional reduction attack against these nascent naval forces.

The most direct observation is that there are not many aquatic beasts with their internal energy separated from their bodies in the Yangtze River, but they are everywhere in the ocean.

The dense fog had been torn apart by the combined efforts of the staff, but it quickly closed up again.

Gan Ning's mocking smile froze, and his expression turned grim. There was actually a master on the other side. He should have known better than to let Pang Tong leave.

I don't know if it's the effect of the mental talent or the legion talent.

The inability to use a self-circulating system indeed limited the navy's capabilities, as even small water droplets could not be dispersed.

"But it doesn't really matter!"

Gan Ning ordered the fleets to converge around the main ship, while simultaneously ordering the ballistae to be cocked in preparation for an attack.

Even if they can't see it, there are ways to deal with it; a water mist isn't enough to leave them completely helpless.

"Attack in that direction!"

Gan Ning activated a basic secret technique using the cloud energy reserves and immediately sensed the approaching Jin army.

"Archers, prepare!" The fog was too thick, and with the interference of mental energy, Gan Ning couldn't see what was coming.

But it doesn't matter, just go for a saturation attack.

At a single command, a barrage of cannon fire erupted from the ships, and a cacophony of voices rose from the spot Gan Ning pointed to before fading into silence.

The saturation attack directly destroyed everything.

　I resigned, so why am I busier than if I hadn't?
　　
　
(End of this chapter)