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

"I see. No wonder I noticed something was wrong with the Han army. It turns out they had such a vicious plan!"

Yu Jin came to his senses and hit the battlement hard with his fist.

"Since we can't break out from the south, how about we break out from the west and then change our route to the south?"

Zhao Ang pointed to the west of Jicheng again.

"Neither can the west."

Cheng Gongying shook his head again:

"Although the Han army's encirclement camp in the west has not been set up yet, our army has a good chance of breaking out, but we have to take a long detour."

"After hearing the news, the Han army had enough time to send troops to intercept us. We still couldn't escape from Liu Bei's clutches."

Hearing this, the hope that had just appeared in Yu Jin's eyes dimmed again.

"We can't go west, and we can't go south. So we can only stay in Jicheng and wait for death?"

Zhao Ang was so anxious that he stamped his feet.

The Qin army, from Yu Jin on down, all fell silent, their faces gradually becoming solemn.

A sense of desperation permeated among them.

"But... we are not necessarily desperate. I have a plan. If it succeeds, we don't need to break out. We may even be able to force the 300,000 Han troops to retreat without a fight!"

In the solemn atmosphere, Cheng Gongying suddenly blurted out these words.

A stone stirred up a thousand waves.

Yu Jin's face changed, Zhao Ang's expression was shocked, and all the generals looked at Cheng Gongying in shock.

Order the 300,000 Han troops to retreat without fighting!

Did we hear it correctly?

Is this what Cheng Gongying said?

You're talking so loudly, are you sure you're not talking nonsense?

"Bo... Bo Ming, what plan do you have? How could you, how could you..."

Yu Jin came back to his senses and began to stutter.

Cheng Gongying sighed, with a look of self-blame on his face:

"My surprise attack on Chencang failed, causing my army to suffer heavy casualties. I am afraid that this plan will repeat the same mistake."

Yu Jin was aroused and said anxiously:

"The defeat in the battle of Chencang may be due to Yan Xing secretly communicating with Liu Bei and leaking our plan to attack Chencang. What does it have to do with you, Cheng Gong Bo Ming?"

"Bo Ming, what ingenious plan do you have that could have caused 300,000 Han troops to retreat without a fight?"

Zhao Ang and other generals hurriedly followed suit.

Seeing that everyone's appetite was whetted, Cheng Gongying pretended to do it reluctantly:

"Currently, Liu Bei's main forces are all on the south bank of the Wei River, and are busy besieging our Jicheng."

"On the contrary, the Han army on the north bank of the Wei River only has less than 40,000 troops, and they are mostly unprepared for us."

"I carefully observed from the top of the north gate a few days ago that the food and fodder that the Han army brought from Lueyang was transported to the north bank, then transported across the ice to the south bank and distributed to the Han army in each camp."

After a pause, Cheng Gongying pointed to the west:
"We can send a large force and pretend to break out from the west gate. Upon hearing the news, Liu Bei will surely block us from the south to prevent us from escaping to Hanzhong."

"We will do the opposite. This army will cross the Wei River in the opposite direction and then fight back along the north bank, catching the Han army on the north bank by surprise."

"If we can take the Han camp by surprise, we can burn all the food and fodder stored in the camp."

"Liu Bei currently has at least 300,000 tons of food and fodder stored on the north bank. If they are burned in one fell swoop, even if Liu Bei has a large family and a great business, he will not be able to replenish them in a short time."

"At that time, Liu Bei will certainly withdraw his troops to the north, to Lueyang, or even Jieting, to find food nearby."

"In this way, the siege of Jicheng will be lifted!"

After explaining the whole plan, Cheng Gongying stroked his beard and smiled, "If this is the case, we can spend more than a month. By then, the weather will warm up and the ice and snow will melt. The roads in Longshan will become muddy and it will be difficult for the Han army to transport food and grass."

"Perhaps Liu Bei will run out of food and grass and will eventually have to retreat back to Guanzhong."

"In this way, not only will we not have to retreat to Hanzhong, but we may also be able to defend Longxi Liangzhou for Your Majesty!"

"We have made an unparalleled contribution to His Majesty and the Great Qin!"

Cheng Gongying not only offered a plan, but also outlined a huge and beautiful blueprint for Yu Jin.

Yu Jin's brows relaxed at first, then he gradually showed joy, and when he heard the last part he became ecstatic.

"General Yu, General Cheng Gong's plan is feasible."

"If this plan succeeds, we won't have to flee to Yizhou in disgrace!"

Zhao Ang shouted excitedly.

The gloom on Yu Jin's face suddenly cleared, and he punched the battlement with his fist:
"Bo Ming, the emperor is right. Your wisdom is even better than Guo Fengxiao's!"

"Okay, I'll use your trick, let's give it a try!"

Yu Jin, who always sought stability, learned his lesson after the siege of Lueyang and finally decided to take a gamble.

Cheng Gongying couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he saw that Yu Jin was willing to take the risk.

The next question is who will lead the army to attack the Han camp on the north bank.

Yu Jin definitely cannot go there himself.

As the commander-in-chief of the three armies, he was responsible for commanding 30,000 Qin troops, so naturally he had to stay in Jicheng to preside over the overall situation.

The only generals who can be used now are Cheng Gongying, Zhao Ang and a few others.

This surprise attack would require the use of the remaining 2,000 Xiliang cavalry in the city, and there must also be a military general who can command the cavalry.

After much consideration, only Cheng Gongying, a former general of Han Sui, could take on this important task.

In terms of ability, Cheng Gongying was not only Han Sui's military advisor, but also a general under his command. He was both civil and military.

Moreover, about half of the soldiers who went into battle this time were from Xiliang, and only a general from Xiliang could command these fierce Xiliang soldiers.

Cheng Gongying looked around and realized that he was the only candidate to command the army in this battle.

So after a slight hesitation, he resolutely bowed his hands:

"If General Yu can trust me, I, Cheng Gongying, am willing to lead our elite troops to attack the Han camp on the north bank!"

Seeing this, Zhao Ang also volunteered.

In order to avoid death at the hands of Ma Chao, he risked his life.

Looking at these two people, Yu Jin hesitated again.

They are both from Xiliang, and with the precedent of Yan Xing in Lueyang as a lesson, what would happen if they surrendered to the Han in the middle of a battle?
"General Yu, if I, Cheng Gongying, wanted to surrender to the Han, I would have followed Yan Xing to surrender to Liu Bei in Lueyang. Why did I have to wait until now?"

"General Yu, you have to trust me!"

Seeing Yu Jin's concern, Cheng Gongying took the initiative to prove his true feelings.

"It's the same for me. When we started the rebellion against Ma Chao, I killed Ma Chao's wife and children with my own hands. I have an irreconcilable hatred for him!"

"Ma Chao is now in a high position in the Pseudo-Han. How could he let me go? And how could I be so stupid as to surrender to the Han?"

"General Yu, please believe in my loyalty to the Qin Dynasty!"

Zhao Ang also hurriedly expressed his loyalty.

Yu Jin's hesitation and worries were swept away, and he happily shouted:

"You two are loyal to our Great Qin, so why would I, Yu Jin, not trust you?"

"I will give you 15,000 elite soldiers. You two will lead the troops out of the west gate tonight. You must attack the Han camp on the north bank and burn the 300,000 bushels of grain and grass of the big-eared thieves!" (End of this chapter)