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

"pontoon!"

Xiao Fang casually raised two fingers.

"pontoon?"

Everyone shouted in unison, their eyes still blank, unable to comprehend the deep meaning of these two words.

Xiao Fang drew a line on the sand table with the feather fan in his hand and said slowly:
"My plan is to mobilize Gan Xingba's navy to go west along the Yellow River and enter the Wei River from Weikou, pretending to transport my army to force a crossing of the Wei River and capture the Weikou City on the other side."

"You Chang's strategy still needs to be used. Your Majesty can use the main force here to pretend to force a crossing, but send another 30,000 troops upstream. At night, order Xingba to use warships to build a floating bridge on the Wei River!"

"Once the floating bridge is completed, our army can cross the river on the bridge, which is much faster than crossing the river by boat. By the time Cao Cao's blocking army arrives, our 30,000-man army will have already crossed to the south bank, set up camp, and gained a firm foothold."

"This is my floating bridge plan!"

Everyone suddenly understood what had happened, and there was a burst of surprise and discussion in the tent.

"Floating bridge! Building a floating bridge on the Wei River is unheard of. Prime Minister, is this really feasible?"

Liu Bei was surprised but also a little worried.

After all, Xiao Fang's strategy was too "fantastic" and there had never been any precedent for it.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, this plan of mine will surely succeed!"

Xiao Fang smiled faintly, but he looked confident.

There was no precedent for building a floating bridge across the Wei River for Lao Liu, but there was a ready-made example for Xiao Fang.

When Cao Cao was pacifying Guanzhong, he was blocked by Ma Chao's Xiliang coalition forces on the north bank of the Weishui River. He used this floating bridge strategy and successfully crossed the river.

This time, Xiao Fang just let Cao Cao be hit by his boomerang again after the battle of Puban Pass.

Seeing Xiao Fang so confident, Liu Bei's spirits suddenly lifted. He looked at the sand table quickly and sketched out Xiao Fang's strategy.

"The Prime Minister's plans are indeed full of ingenious ideas, which are difficult for ordinary people to predict!"

Fa Zheng praised Liu Bei and bowed:

"Your Majesty, although the Prime Minister's plan is unprecedented and out of the blue, I think it is feasible."

"The banks of the Wei River are nowhere near as wide as the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. It is also the dry season, so the water level is not high."

"I think that if we operate it properly, we should be able to use the warships to build a floating bridge on the water, so that our army can cross the river as if walking on flat ground!"

"I agree with Prime Minister Xiao's strategy!"

The rest of the counselors also agreed.

"it is good!"

Liu Bei no longer had any worries and happily shouted:
"Let's follow You Chang and the Prime Minister's plan. We will make a feint to the east and attack the west, and sneak across the Wei River upstream using a floating bridge!"

...

Seven days later, early in the morning.

The gates of the Han camp were wide open, and tens of thousands of Han troops slowly left the camp and advanced to the river beach.

Nearly a hundred boats and rafts have docked on the shore.

Following Liu Bei's order, the Han soldiers began to board the boats and rafts in an orderly manner.

A battle of unprecedented scale to force a crossing seems to be imminent.

The Han army's large-scale attack was immediately noticed by the Qin army scouts, who quickly sent the news to Weikou City on the south bank.

"The big-eared thief is really gathering an army and preparing to cross the river?"

Upon hearing the news, Cao Cao was shocked and asked anxiously.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Han army is indeed gathering on the north bank, with at least more than 100,000 people."

"The Han army is already boarding the boats. Judging from the momentum, they are planning to force their way across the river."

Cao Cao frowned and clenched his fists quietly.

Since the two armies confronted each other at the Weishui River, Liu Bei had kept his troops in place and had not sent a single raft across the river.

Today, Liu Bei suddenly wanted to cross the river for a battle, and he mobilized all his troops, more than 100,000 men, to force a crossing of the Weishui River.

All the losses and tricks he had suffered in previous years made Cao Cao alert. He always felt that Liu Bei was planning something bad again and that this attack would not be so simple.

"Your Majesty, according to my scouts, Liu Bei transferred nearly 30,000 troops a few days ago in the name of replacing the garrison troops in the tunnel."

"And according to the intelligence this morning, the Han army has lost nearly forty warships on the north bank."

"I guess that if Liu Bei is deceiving us, he must be planning to use his main force to feint an attack on our Weikou line, but in fact he is ordering the 30,000 troops to secretly cross the Wei River upstream and set up camp."

"I think what Your Majesty should do is to send more scouts to closely monitor the upstream movements so as to find out where Liu Bei is sneaking across the river in time."

"At the same time, we should also reserve about 30,000 infantry and cavalry, ready to stop Liu Bei's sneaking troops at any time!"

Guo Jia saw what Cao Cao was worried about and immediately expressed his judgment.

Zhang Song also realized it immediately, and naturally unwilling to be left behind, he hurriedly said:
"I have actually noticed what Fengxiao said."

"More than 40 of Liu Bei's warships are missing. At most, they can transport about 3,000 troops across the river at one time, which is far from enough to quickly set up camp and gain a foothold on the south bank."

"We have 30,000 soldiers as a reserve force, which is ten times the number. It is enough to wipe out the Han army that has landed in one go and make Liu Bei's plan fail!"

After hearing what the two counselors said, Cao Cao's eyes suddenly opened and he immediately figured out the mystery.

"Feng Xiao Yongnian's words make sense. You are right. The big-eared thief is just trying to make a feint to the east and attack the west. He is just sneaking across the river from upstream. Why should I be afraid?"

Cao Cao's face lit up with sarcasm, and he immediately shouted:
"Cao Zhen, Pang De, Yu Jin, listen to my orders!"

"I order you to lead 30,000 infantry and cavalry to wait in the camp and set out at any time to intercept the Han army sneaking upstream!"

The three generals accepted the order with great enthusiasm.

Cao Cao looked towards the north and sneered:

"The rest of you, lead our main forces to the shore to deploy defenses. We will put on a good show with the big-eared thief!"

All the generals laughed. Cao Cao then rode out of the city with more than 60,000 main forces, lined up on the south bank of the Wei River, waiting to strike a head-on blow to the Han army that had crossed the river on the other side.

North shore.

Liu Bei stood on the shore and looked far into the distance towards the south bank. He could see the movements of the Qin army clearly.

A patrol boat came from the south and brought back detailed intelligence about the Qin army.

Sixty thousand Qin troops lined up on the south bank, ready for battle!

"Cao Cao had nearly 90,000 soldiers, but he only deployed 60,000 troops on the south bank. It was obvious that he left 30,000 troops as a reserve."

"If my guess is correct, Cao must have guessed that we might sneak across the river from upstream, and the 30,000 troops he left behind must be used to stop my sneaking army!"

Xiao Fang pointed his feather fan at the other party from a distance and revealed Cao Cao's intention with a sneer.

Liu Bei also sneered and said, "What a pity! Cao Cao would never have expected that our sneak troops would not cross the river by boat, but by walking on a bridge!"

Say it.

Liu Bei raised his whip and shouted:

"Order Su Fei to transport troops across the river and show Cao Cao that we are going to force a crossing of the Wei River!"

The order was passed down and the war drums sounded.

More than a hundred boats and rafts slowly sailed out of the pier and headed towards the Qin army positions on the opposite bank.

The Han army's battle to force a crossing is imminent.

Not long after the boats set off, Liu Bei's second order was issued, and three smoke signals were immediately raised in the camp.

Three columns of wolf smoke rose into the sky and could be vaguely seen within a radius of dozens of miles.

...

Twenty miles upstream.

Thirty thousand Han soldiers were hiding in the woods not far from the north bank.

Huang Zhong, Ma Chao, Zhang He and other generals were staring at the direction of Weikou downstream.

"The smoke of war is rising, General Han Sheng, the smoke of war is rising!"

"Your Majesty has already launched a feint attack on the south bank. It's time for us to take action!"

Ma Chao pointed at the wolf smoke in the southeast direction and shouted excitedly.

Huang Zhong also became excited, and turned his gaze towards the shore not far away, saying meaningfully:

"Next, it will depend on how quickly Xingba and his navy can build a floating bridge to help our army cross the river."

The eyes of the thirty thousand Han army soldiers were full of expectation as they all looked towards the north bank.

On the north bank of the Wei River, among the reeds.

More than forty Han warships and nearly a thousand naval soldiers were hiding in the reeds, also looking far into the downstream direction.

Three columns of wolf smoke also came into their sight at the same time.

"Your Majesty's signal has been sent. What are you waiting for? Get moving and build a floating bridge immediately!"

Gan Ning jumped up, waved his hand and shouted.

With the command flag waved, all the boats immediately left the reeds and sped towards the Wei River.

More than forty warships were soon lined up in a row, lying across the surface of the Wei River.

Two thick iron chains connected the two ends of the warship and finally extended to both sides to secure it.

On the deck of the warship, wide wooden planks were spread out between the warships.

An hour later, when the sky was bright, a floating bridge was finally built over the Wei River.

Gan Ning looked at his masterpiece with a satisfied smile on his face, and then laughed:
"Hurry up and send a message to Huang Hansheng and his men that the pontoon bridge has been completed. Order them to lead their troops across the river immediately!"

After the order was given, three more smoke signals rose in the direction of the bridgehead on the north bank.

Huang Zhong and his generals who were hiding in the jungle immediately led 30,000 infantry and cavalry out of the woods and headed straight for the shore.

The 30,000 troops, filled with joy and trepidation, quickly crossed the bridge and crossed the river.

In less than half an hour, more than 15,000 soldiers successfully crossed the pontoon bridge and landed on the south bank of the Wei River.

"Prime Minister Xiao's floating bridge plan is truly a stroke of genius."

"That thief Cao would never have thought that we could ferry 30,000 troops to the south bank in a blink of an eye..."

Huang Zhong looked towards the direction of Weikou downstream, with a lot of emotion in his mouth and admiration in his eyes.

He immediately waved his sword and shouted:

"Pass the order down, tell the following troops to speed up the crossing of the river. All 30,000 troops must cross the river within one hour."

"All the troops that have crossed the river, immediately build camp walls and fortifications to prepare to fight against the Qin army!"

"Report the victory to His Majesty again, and let us have the plan of building a floating bridge. Ask him to lead the main force to cross the river upstream immediately!"

Orders were passed down one after another.

The Han army soldiers on the north bank were in high spirits and rushed to cross the river across the bridge.

The soldiers who had already landed on the south bank quickly set up camp fences, set up antlers, dug trenches, and built camps along the south bank.

This scene.

The Qin army scouts not far away saw it clearly, and everyone was stunned.

"How is this possible? The Han army actually...actually built a bridge over the Wei River?"

"Oh no, something terrible has happened, something terrible has happened!"

"Quick, hurry back to Weikou Camp and report to His Majesty!" (End of this chapter)