Three Kingdoms: Wolong's brother-in-law, tricking Liu Bei into seizing Jingzhou

Chang'an, Imperial Palace.

Cao Cao sat high on the dragon throne, his brows furrowed in a straight line, his face gloomy as he stared at the "Exhortation to Punish the Traitor Cao" in his hand.

There was a commotion in the hall.

The civil and military officials of Qin were discussing among themselves, and all they talked about was the massive attack by Han.

The atmosphere of anxiety and fear permeated among the ministers in their words and expressions.

"Snapped!"

Cao Cao slammed the manifesto in his hand on the table.

Inside the hall, all the ministers fell silent immediately and looked at Cao Cao cautiously. No one dared to make any noise or talk anymore.

"How arrogant the big-eared thief is! He has only been stealing Bingzhou for less than half a year, and now he is eager to mobilize the whole country's troops to attack the Qin Dynasty again!"

"In this battle, the big-eared thief has raised an army of more than 400,000. It can be said that he has mobilized the entire country. I think he is determined to win."

"My lords, the survival of the Qin Empire is at stake. My life and yours depend on this battle."

"How to fight against the enemy and protect our Great Qin? If you have any good ideas, please don't hesitate and tell us as soon as possible."

Cao Cao looked at his ministers with an expectant yet solemn gaze.

"Your Majesty, minister..."

As the number one strategist of the Qin State, Guo Jia felt obliged to give his advice immediately.

"Your Majesty, I think that although Liu Bei is coming with great force, he is not a cause for concern!"

Zhang Song took the initiative and interrupted Guo Jia, with a look of pride still between his brows.

"Yizhou has the danger of the Three Gorges. Wuguan and Tongguan are both so dangerous that one man can block the passage of ten thousand men."

"There are many mountains to the north of Guanzhong, and transporting grain and grass from Bingzhou is not only rugged and inconvenient, but also the journey is long."

"So I think we have taken advantage of the geographical advantages in this battle."

"This battle is different from the Bingzhou battle. Our army is short of manpower. After expanding the army and recruiting soldiers, our current manpower is enough to defend the various strategic passes and dangerous passes."

"My strategy for resisting the enemy is also very simple. Your Majesty will personally lead the main force at Tongguan to resist the main force of the pseudo-Han led by Liu Bei, and the generals will lead their elite troops to guard the other dangerous passes."

"Your Majesty, please give strict orders to all the generals. No matter how the Han army tries to lure us into battle, no matter what happens, you must defend the city gates and not send a single soldier out to fight the enemy."

"In this way, as long as we occupy the strategic points and refuse to fight, we can use the geographical advantages to offset the Han army's military advantage and form a long-lasting stalemate with the Han army."

"If the stalemate continues, even if Liu Bei's country is strong and controls the nine provinces, the confrontation will only last for half a year at most. His national strength will not be able to sustain the consumption of more than 400,000 troops and horses, and he will retreat without success."

Zhang Song pointed to the huge map hanging on the wall and spoke eloquently about the country. In an instant, he outlined a blueprint for Cao Cao to defend against the enemy.

In the previous battle of Bingzhou, he was detained in Chang'an by Cao Cao. He was unable to display his "extraordinary wisdom" and was always upset.

Today's court meeting concerns the life and death of the Qin State. Zhang Song is naturally eager to show his wisdom.

He even interrupted Guo Jia's advice.

This strategy to defend against the enemy was completed in one go, and it was obviously brewing for a long time, just waiting to be demonstrated at the court meeting today.

As Cao Cao listened to Zhang Song's plan, his frown gradually relaxed and the gloom on his face mostly dissipated.

He suddenly realized that the consequences of losing Bingzhou did not seem that serious.

His Great Qin State still had the advantage of geographical location, and with the solidity of Guanzhong on all four sides, it was still able to offset the Han army's advantages in military strength and national power.

"Well, Yongnian's strategy for defending against the enemy is very much to my liking."

"It seems that even if the big-eared thief brings all the troops of the country to attack, I have nothing to fear."

Cao Cao nodded slightly to approve Zhang Song's suggestion, and then looked at the ministers:

"I have decided to use the Yongnian strategy, relying on the mountains and rivers of my Great Qin, and mobilize all the soldiers in the country to fight against the fake Han!"

"My Lords, what do you think?"

The Qin ministers nodded one after another, and most of them agreed with Zhang Song's strategy.

Zhang Song stroked his sparse beard, with a smile on his face, showing no sign of concealing his complacency.

Guo Jia was overshadowed by Zhang Song. He swallowed his saliva and wanted to add a few words.

Just as he was about to speak, Jia Xu stepped forward again and said:
"Your Majesty, I believe that Zhang Yongnian's strategy for defending against the enemy is indeed a foolproof one."

"But I think there is a crucial point that Zhang Yongnian seems to have neglected."

At this critical moment when the Qin State was facing life and death, this poisonous scholar changed his usual silent attitude and once again took the initiative to speak out.

Zhang Song showed a proud look on his face, frowned, and turned his displeased eyes to Jia Xu.

"Wenhe, what did Yongnian neglect in his strategy?"

Cao Cao became alert.

"Pubanguan!"

Jia Xu raised his hand slightly and pointed at the map:
"Liu Bei's real intention to take Bingzhou first was that Tongguan was impregnable and he could not break through it, so he wanted to bypass Tongguan and attack Guanzhong from Bingzhou."

"If we want to attack Guanzhong from Bingzhou, the closest and easiest direction to attack is Puban Pass."

"As long as we cross the Yellow River to the west and capture Puban Pass, the front will be smooth, which is conducive to the use of the pseudo-Han's military advantage." "Therefore, I think that Liu Bei's various troops, although seemingly powerful, are actually feints, and their purpose is only to tie down our army."

"Liu Bei's real main attack direction must be Puban Pass!"

The displeasure on Zhang Song's face disappeared, and a trace of cold sweat rolled down his forehead. It was obvious that he felt guilty for neglecting Puban Pass.

Cao Cao shuddered and suddenly reacted.

Yes, Liu Bei went to so much trouble and set up such a huge plan, wasn't it just to seize Bingzhou?

Isn't the purpose of seizing Bingzhou to use it as a springboard to further seize Guanzhong?
Otherwise, what is the point of taking Bingzhou?
After thinking this through, Cao Cao frowned and turned his gaze to Zhang Song.

Zhang Song turned around a few times and laughed:
"The wise man indeed sees the truth. In fact, what you mentioned is exactly what I want to add to Your Majesty."

After that, Zhang Song regained his composure and bowed to Cao Cao:

"Your Majesty, I haven't finished talking about my strategy yet. I was just about to mention the matter of Puban Pass."

"Liu Bei currently has more than 40,000 soldiers stationed in Hedong. These soldiers are currently on hold and show no signs of attacking Puban Pass."

"I guess that Liu Bei's other three armies are most likely feinting to tie down our army and make me neglect the defense of Puban Pass."

"In this way, he can repeat his old trick and imitate the attack on Jiguan Pass, and suddenly order the Hedong garrison to launch a surprise attack on our Puban Pass."

"What a pity, Puban Pass is different from Ji Pass. Liu Bei forgot that there is a Yellow River between Puban Pass and Hedong!"

Zhang Song came to the map, sneered sarcastically, and pointed:
"The Yellow River is a natural barrier for Puyang Pass. If Liu Bei wants to capture Puyang Pass, he can only force his way across the Yellow River."

"Given the terrain of the beachhead at Puban Pass, even if the Han army has a million troops, they can only have about 5,000 soldiers at most each time."

"This means that our army only needs to leave 15,000 soldiers at Puban Pass, which will be enough to triple our strength and attack the Han army halfway across the river, and drive them into the Yellow River!"

"So, Your Majesty only needs to select a good general who is good at defense and leads 15,000 soldiers to stay in Puban, and you can prevent the Hedong Han army from launching a surprise attack on our Puban Pass."

"If Liu Bei leads his army north to Hedong and intends to launch a large-scale attack on Puban Pass, Your Majesty can also lead the main force north in time to reinforce the defense of Puban Pass."

"With this deployment, even if the big-eared thieves really have plans to attack Puban, there is no need to worry."

Zhang Song talked incessantly and outlined a strategy in an instant.

Cao Cao's frown relaxed, and looking at the confident and calm Zhang Song, he could not help but nod slightly in approval.

He could naturally see that Zhang Song had not considered the hidden dangers at Puban Pass beforehand, and only reacted to it because of Guo Jia's advice.

In just the blink of an eye, based solely on Jia Xu's reminder, he was able to quickly come up with a complete set of response strategies. This shows how quick and careful his thinking was.

"Wenhe, what do you think of what Yongnian said?"

Cao Cao's eyes fell on Jia Xu.

If it were someone else, they would probably be unhappy if Zhang Song interrupted and stole the spotlight.

Jia Xu's face remained calm, without any sign of worry.

After all, for him, showing off, being in the limelight, gaining the admiration of everyone, and the approval of Cao Cao... these are all empty names and can be regarded as dirt.

For him, self-preservation is the only thing that matters.

So what difference does it make whether Zhang Song’s response strategy comes from him or from Zhang Song’s mouth?
As long as he can help Cao Cao defend the Qin State's one acre of land and allow him to preserve his life and property, that is enough.

"Zhang Yongnian is a man of foresight, which is truly admirable. Yes, what he said is exactly what I am worried about."

Jia Xu not only nodded in agreement, but also flattered Zhang Song a few words.

Zhang Song's mouth curled up, and he did not hide his pride at all.

Cao Cao then looked at the other ministers, Guo Jia, Liu Ye and others, all of whom had no objection.

"In that case, let's follow the strategy Yongnian proposed and mobilize all the soldiers of the Great Qin to fight against the invasion of the Han army!"

Cao Cao no longer had any worries and immediately issued an edict.

The ministers accepted the order with a roar.

Cao Cao's gaze passed through the hall and headed towards the distant direction of Luoyang.

He seemed to see that at this moment Liu Bei had already spurred his horse and walked out of Luoyang in high spirits, commanding hundreds of thousands of Han troops, and rushing towards Tongguan with great momentum.

And Xiao Fang followed Liu Bei. Both of them had cunning smiles on their faces, and were planning how to trick him again.

"Liu Bei, Xiao Fang, this time, I will never let you set foot in my Great Qin again!"

...

Two days later.

Cao Cao personally led 100,000 troops from Chang'an, marched eastward along the Wei River, and headed straight for Tongguan.

Xiahou Yuan, Xu Huang, Li Dian, Cao Xiu and other generals also rushed to Baidi City, Wugu Pass, Pubanjin, Beidi County and other checkpoints, commanding the remaining 100,000 Qin troops to resist the various Han troops.

On the first day of winter, Cao Cao led 100,000 Qin troops and once again advanced into Tongguan.

A few days later, Liu Bei led 200,000 Han troops, crossed Hongnong County, and arrived at the city of Tongguan.

After nearly a year, Cao Cao and Liu Bei once again confronted each other at Tongguan! (End of this chapter)