Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 147 Pre-Decision
Zhang Yong handed a piece of cloth to Liu He. Liu He took it and saw a few lines of words written on it.

Liu He finished reading it quickly and laughed, "Haha, great! This Tang Zhou is really useful."

Cui Jun was a little confused, so Liu He and Zhang Yong first gave him a brief explanation of Tang Zhou's identity and how they had subdued him before, which shocked Cui Jun so much that his jaw almost dropped.

"My lord, you are so smart that you have even managed to get the undercover agent right under Zhang Jiao's nose!"

Liu He said happily: "Haha, I appreciate the praise from the military advisor this time. Tang Zhou sent a message to tell us two things, both of which are important to us."

Cui Jun asked curiously: "Which two things are they?"

"First, the Taiping Dao has decided to start the uprising on the fifth of this month. Zhang Jue has personally rushed to Luoyang, leaving several of his disciples to guard Jizhou. He has contacted several high-ranking officials in the court and the army. When the time comes, they will work together to capture Luoyang first and command the world."

"Secondly, he organized his followers into 36 factions, each with a leader. They agreed that everyone would wear yellow scarves and shout out loud. These 36 factions would attack different states and counties. Among them, there was a small faction of about 8,000 people, led by leader Wu Lu. They were going to sneak into our Bingzhou territory from Jizhou. The first step was to capture Taiyuan County."

Cui Jun was shocked: "Should we notify the governor immediately? Otherwise, how can we resist so many bandits with the limited military strength in Jinyang City?"

Liu He smiled and said, "Haha, don't worry, military advisor, wait for me to finish. The letter also said that although this small group wants to capture Taiyuan County, its first target is not Jinyang City."

Cui Jun was stunned: "If they don't attack Jinyang, then they want to... could it be... to attack my Langtiao County?"

"Yes, the military advisor guessed it right!"

Cui Jun pondered, "Well, it seems that they are not a group of brave but foolish people. Although the Taiping Dao army has a large number of people, they must be lacking in siege equipment. Jinyang City is high and deep, so it is naturally not easy to capture. They turned to find a relatively wealthy small county town, first captured it as a supply base, and then plotted to take over the entire Taiyuan County. At present, in terms of wealth in the entire Bingzhou, my Langtiao County is the first."

Zhang Yong gave a thumbs up: "As expected of a military advisor, you guessed their intentions so quickly."

Cui Jun shook his head: "This is not difficult to guess. With your wisdom, if you were in their place, you would definitely be able to guess it. But now that you know they are coming to attack us, what is your plan?"

Liu He looked confident: "Haha, in my opinion, the people of these thirty-six parties are not all soldiers. There are also women, children, the elderly and the young who are responsible for making fire and cooking. Among the more than 8,000 people led by Wu Lu, there are only 4,000 or 5,000 who can really fight. And in terms of combat effectiveness, they cannot compare with our Anmin Army. If it were someone else, without knowing their details, they might be frightened by their mighty force and suffer a loss. But I am not afraid."

Cui Jun nodded: "My lord, what you said is correct, but if what I predicted is correct, my lord should be thinking about how to subdue these 8,000 people, rather than annihilating them, right?"

"Hahaha, the one who knows me best is my military advisor! Does my military advisor have any plans?"

“I dare not tell you about the strategy, I was just inspired by my lord.” Cui Jun said modestly.

Liu He looked at him with interest: "Oh? Military Advisor, why don't you tell me about it?"

Cui Jun opened his mouth and spoke in detail, "My lord has been suppressing bandits many times before, always adhering to one principle, that is, to eliminate only the most evil, to deter the scoundrels, to subdue them with both kindness and force, and this is basically the same for most of the Taiping Dao's followers."

Liu He and Zhang Yong nodded in agreement.

"But the Taiping Army is so powerful. If we try to use the same trick again, can we really succeed?"

Zhang Yong asked uncertainly.

Cui Jun laughed and said, "Haha, if you want the other party to surrender sincerely, there are two conditions."

He held up two fingers. "First, we were able to defeat them thoroughly because we had a huge advantage, even a crushing victory. If the two sides were deadlocked and both sides suffered losses before winning a tragic victory, it would be inevitable that some of the thousands of people on the other side would be dissatisfied, which would easily cause hidden dangers."

Liu He and Zhang Yong nodded repeatedly.

"Secondly, let them see the huge benefits. This is the same as what the lord did after suppressing the bandits before. It's nothing more than houses and fields."

Zhang Yong frowned, "The Taiping Army was bewitched by Zhang Jiao. They are fighting for their own survival. Now that they are fighting for the first time, their morale must be high. Moreover, they have a large number of people. Even if their armaments and combat effectiveness are not as good as ours, it will not be easy for them to win easily. In addition, there are more than 70,000 people in Langtiao County now, and the land is limited. It will be difficult to settle these 7,000 or 8,000 people. If it is delayed for a long time, there may be changes."

Cui Jun did not answer, but looked at Liu He.

"Haha, I don't have a good plan for this matter, but I believe the lord has already made some preparations, right?"

Liu He was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said, "Nothing can be hidden from the military advisor."

Zhang Yong became curious and looked at Liu He and said, "When did you prepare it, big brother? How come I don't know about it?"

Liu He waved his hand and said, "Hey, it's not much of a preparation. Since I had expected the Taiping Army to split into thirty-six factions, I naturally had some plans for this. The reason why I divided our Anmin Army into two parts, the city and Huangshui Township, was that when the Taiping Army could not take the city after a long siege, my second brother would lead the cavalry, and the others would lead the infantry from Huangshui Township to surround and kill them."

At this point, Zhang Yong already understood.

"I understand. The military strategy says 'the first attack is powerful, the second is weak, and the third is exhausted'. With us guarding the city, it will be extremely difficult for the enemy to capture it. After a long time, their morale will naturally decline. At this time, my second brother and his men can attack from the rear and achieve twice the result with half the effort. This is such a good idea, why didn't you tell us in advance, big brother?"

Liu He did not answer his question, but asked: "Fourth brother, do you still remember Xu Zijiang's comments?"

"of course I remember!"

Zhang Yong said without hesitation.

At this time, Cui Jun asked: "What? Mr. Xu was here?"

Liu He thought that Cui Jun already knew about this, but now that he didn't know, he told him about Xu Shao's visit to Langdiao County, his meeting with him, and his comments on him and the others.

"Hahaha, this is indeed Mr. Zijiang's style!"

Cui Jun clapped his hands and laughed.

"In fact, I didn't intend to make this arrangement. But after hearing Mr. Zijiang's comments, I had a different idea. Mr. Zijiang said that my second brother is stubborn and self-reliant, my third brother is brave but has no strategy, my fourth brother has strategies but lacks decisiveness, my fifth brother is smart but doesn't use them, and Ye Xiang has no opinion at all. In short, none of you have reached the level of being able to take charge on your own."

Zhang Yong looked a little embarrassed, but he knew that this evaluation was indeed correct.

"It's also my fault that I used to do everything myself, and you didn't have the opportunity to be on your own. So after I split the army into two, I rarely participated in daily drills, and almost all military affairs were handed over to you. But if I tell you this clearly, it would be inconvenient."

"Brother...I..." Zhang Yong's lips trembled and his eyes were slightly red, obviously he was a little excited.

Liu He held Zhang Yong's hand and said, "Fourth brother, let me say the same thing again. We five brothers live and die together. There will always be a day when you can lead an army on your own. You must improve the problems mentioned by Mr. Zijiang. Otherwise, if there is any damage, how can you survive?"

(End of this chapter)