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

Jieting.

At the foot of the northern slope of Nanping Mountain.

More than 30,000 Han troops stationed at the foot of the slope, set up camps, erected deer horns, dug trenches, and blocked the only way down the mountain.

"Strange, why hasn't the Qin army on the mountain collapsed yet?"

"It doesn't make sense, it doesn't make sense..."

Inside the camp, Zhang He looked at the "Qin" flag on the top of Nanping Mountain, muttering to himself, with deep confusion between his brows.

The Han army had been surrounding the mountain for nearly three days.

According to the expected plan, the water stored by the Qin army on Nanping Mountain could only last for one day at most, and then they had to go down the mountain to fetch water.

After all, there are 7,000 Qin troops on the mountain, and the space is so small that it is barely enough to station troops there. Where would they get the extra space to store water in advance?

Moreover, their attack was unexpected, and it was impossible for Cao Xiu to rush to prepare too many water storage tools and bring them up the mountain.

Therefore, according to Zhang He and Ma Su's speculation, the Qin army on the mountain has been without water for at least two days.

People can survive being hungry for two days, but who can endure going without water for two days?
It's not a camel.

Under normal circumstances, Cao Xiu should have sent people down the mountain to steal water, or led his troops to swoop down in an attempt to defeat the 30,000 Han troops.

But the Qin army did not move at all.

They neither came down the mountain to fight nor sent troops to fetch water. Moreover, the Qin camp was surprisingly calm, without any signs of unrest.

It was as if the Qin army on the top of the mountain were all iron men who could go without food or water.

"Youchang, what do you think, what is going on with the Qin army?"

After Zhang He complained, he turned his attention to Ma Su.

Ma Su twirled his chin with his fingertips, narrowed his eyes slightly, and stared intently at the Qin camp on Nanping Mountain.

"The Qin army is indeed a bit unreasonable. Logically, the enemy camp should have been out of water two days ago. The soldiers must have been extremely anxious after being thirsty for two days, and their morale has plummeted."

"At this time, if Cao Xiu knew the art of war, he should have taken advantage of the fact that the morale of the army had not yet collapsed and mobilized the entire army to fight for their lives."

"But he didn't do that, which proves that his army's morale has not fallen."

"Since the morale of the army has not dropped, it can be inferred that he is most likely not short of water. His water source at the foot of the mountain has been cut off by us, but he is still not short of water. There can only be one reason..."

Ma Su muttered to himself for a while, and suddenly a gleam of light flashed in his eyes.

"He has another source of water!"

"There is another water source? Xiao Chang, what do you mean?"

Zhang He looked confused and puzzled.

The doubts in Ma Su's eyes disappeared, and he raised his hand and pointed to the surroundings of Nanping Mountain:
"Cao Xiu is no mediocre person. How could he not know that if we move the camp down the mountain, we will cut off the water supply and cause chaos without fighting?"

"If that's the case, he still dares to camp on the mountain, which means he is fearless and is not afraid of us cutting off the water supply down the mountain."

"There is only one possibility. In addition to the obvious water source of Xialongshui in the north slope, there must be another hidden water source hidden around Nanping Mountain!"

Zhang He seemed to understand something, but still doubted:
"Even if there is another water source, the only way down the mountain is this northern slope, and it's blocked by us. How can he get water?"

Ma Su smiled coldly and said disapprovingly:
"That's easy. It's because of the terrain of Nanping Mountain that only the north slope extends to the foot of the mountain. That's why our army only stationed troops on the north slope of the mountain and didn't have any defenses on the other three sides."

"I guess this hidden water source is hidden on the other three sides. Cao Xiu probably used ropes to hang buckets to bring water up from the bottom of the mountain to the top of the mountain."

"That's why he was trapped for three days without losing water, and that's why the Qin army remained morale-boosting!"

A word of enlightenment.

Zhang He's doubts were all gone, and he shouted:
"Order, quickly send out scouts to search the other three sides of Nanping Mountain in detail for me. Even if you have to dig deep into the ground, you must find the hidden water source of the Qin army!"

After the order was passed, hundreds of scouts were quickly dispatched to begin a carpet search. At nightfall, the scouts searching the south of the mountain brought back a piece of news that excited Zhang He:
At the foot of Nanping Mountain, in the dense forest, an extremely secret Qin army camp was discovered.

Judging from the size of the enemy camp, there should be about two thousand troops stationed there.

After dark, one could vaguely see wooden barrels being lowered from the top of the mountain with ropes and placed into the Qin camp on the back of the mountain.

"Yes, Cao Xiu's hidden water source must be hidden there!"

Zhang He slammed the table and stood up, giving Ma Su a thumbs up:
"People who come out of the Prime Minister's shogunate are indeed worthy of their reputation. You Chang, I am convinced by you!"

"General Zhang, thank you for your praise."

Ma Su laughed at himself and pointed to the back of the mountain:
"I'm afraid Cao Cao's reinforcements are on their way to Jieting. General Zhang, we must act as soon as possible."

"There is no time to lose. Send out a troop of soldiers as soon as possible to sweep the enemy camp and completely cut off Cao Xiu's water supply!"

Zhang He laughed loudly and immediately led his troops to attack the enemy camp on the mountain.

"Report——"

The scout rushed in, shouting:
"General Zhang, the spies have reported that Cao Cao is personally leading 50,000 troops northwards and is heading straight for Jieting, less than 40 miles away!"

Zhang He's expression suddenly changed and he looked anxiously at Ma Su.

Ma Su frowned slightly and said:
"It seems that Cao Cao also knows that Cao Xiu cannot defend Jieting, so he personally led his army to rescue us. General Zhang, we must fight quickly and take Jieting as soon as possible!"

Zhang He nodded heavily and ordered the map to be brought.

A map of Longxi was spread out in front of the two of them.

Zhang He stared at the map for a moment, then clapped his hands:
“Even if we cut off Cao Xiu’s hidden water source now, it will take at least three to five days to force the Qin army to collapse, capture Nanping Mountain, and control Jieting.”

"Cao Cao is 40 miles away from here. He will arrive within a day. Then we will be attacked from both sides."

"You Chang, I will personally lead 10,000 soldiers and horses to stop Cao Cao in Lueyang. You will lead 20,000 soldiers and horses to attack the mountain. What do you think?"

Ma Su remained silent, but there was a hint of worry in his eyes.

Cao Cao personally led an army of 50,000 to rescue Jieting, and his force was very strong.

Zhang He only led 10,000 soldiers to stop them.

The difference in military strength is five times.

He was worried about the disparity in military strength and whether Zhang He could stop Cao Cao.

"You Chang, you underestimate me, Zhang He!"

Zhang He saw Ma Su's worry and laughed proudly:

"Don't worry, I have the confidence to hold off Cao for five days. You won't be unable to capture Nanping Mountain and kill Cao Xiu within five days, right?"

Ma Su was refreshed and immediately bowed:

"General Zhang, rest assured. We have five days to complete the task. Within five days, I, Ma Su, will kill Cao Xiu and annihilate the Qin army!"

Zhang He felt more confident and said happily:

"Okay, then we'll set a deadline of five days. I, Zhang He, will risk my life to help you, Ma Su, stop Cao Cao for five days!"

The two of them immediately decided on a response strategy.

Zhang He did not dare to delay and immediately led 10,000 troops to leave Jieting and head south, heading straight for Lueyang City, 20 miles away.

Ma Su took over the 20,000 Han troops who remained behind.

An order was issued, and the 7,000 Han soldiers sneaked up the mountain at night and attacked the Qin army camp deep in the dense forest. (End of this chapter)