My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Xiao He's gaze shifted to the young strategist.

Ma Su.

The most prominent member of the Ma family in Jingzhou, his elder brother Ma Liang has now risen to the position of Prefect of Jiujiang.

Xiao He's intention in this battle was not only to capture Luoyang, but also to train new people for Liu Bei and cultivate the younger generation.

Therefore, the military generals summoned this time, apart from "veterans" like Gan Ning and Zhang Liao, were mostly young talents like Guan Xing, Deng Ai, Zhang Bao, and Guanqiu Jian.

As a rising star among the younger generation in Jingzhou, Ma Su was naturally summoned to the Grand Commandant's office by Xiao He as a military advisor.

"Youchang, what is the meaning of 'winning hearts is the best strategy, while conquering cities is the worst'? Tell me about it."

Xiao He waved his hand slightly, signaling him to continue.

Ma Su then rose and went into the tent, calmly saying:

"Given Cao Cao's ability to judge character, even though Hao Zhao was an unknown figure, Cao Cao dared to entrust him with guarding such a crucial place as Luoyang. This suggests that Hao Zhao must possess extraordinary abilities."

"Su guesses that whether our army launches a strong attack with its superior numbers or bombards the city with divine thunder cannons, this person must have made full preparations to deal with it."

"In this way, if our army only focuses on attacking the city, I'm afraid we may not be able to break through Luoyang in a short time. Instead, we will be trapped in a prolonged siege and unable to take the city."

Having said that, Ma Su pointed east or west:
"Cao Cao will certainly not sit idly by while Luoyang is besieged. He will launch an unprecedented attack on our Hangu Pass and Hulao Pass, and at the same time, he will continue to intercept our army's supply lines along the Yellow River."

"If we fail to capture Luoyang soon, the situation at Hulao Pass will become critical, and our supply lines will be disrupted, then sooner or later we will have no choice but to retreat."

"In that case, the Grand Commandant's strategy of seizing Luoyang is in danger of failing at the last minute."

Xiao He showed a hint of approval on his face.

Regardless of Ma Su's actual combat ability, his strategic vision alone is enough to prove that he was at least an outstanding strategist.

Xiao He nodded slightly, signaling Ma Su to continue.

Ma Su then changed the subject and continued:

"Therefore, since we cannot take Luoyang by force, we must take it by strategy."

“I remember Xiao Taiwei once said that even the strongest fortress is easiest to breach from the inside. So let’s find a way to breach Luoyang from the inside.”

At this point, everyone's eyes widened, and they all became very interested.

Ma Su took out several intelligence reports and presented them to Xiao He's desk, then continued:
"This is based on the investigation that Su had conducted before. The more than 5,000 soldiers in Luoyang are not private soldiers of the gentry, but are basically all troops directly under the control of the puppet Wei."

"Most of these five thousand Wei soldiers are able-bodied men from the counties around Luoyang and under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Henan, rather than from Yanzhou or Hebei. This is our opportunity."

"Cao Cao's actions of flooding Yanzhou had already caused his prestige in Henan to plummet. Su believed that although the five thousand Wei soldiers in the city were directly under the Wei court, there were quite a few who were disappointed and disheartened by Cao Cao."

"Moreover, Luoyang is currently besieged and outside aid has been cut off. These people are bound to be demoralized. Even if Hao Zhao is a famous general, he cannot change this."

"Su believes that what we need to do is to deliver a fatal blow to the already unstable morale of the Wei soldiers in the city, so that they will completely lose their will to resist."

"When that time comes, we will attack Luoyang again. Even if Hao Zhao has extraordinary abilities, what can he do?"

After so much buildup, we've finally gotten to the main point about Ma Su.

Xiao He already had a plan in mind, but wanting to give Ma Su a chance to shine, he followed up by asking:

“You Chang’s words make sense. Then tell me how we can deliver a fatal blow to the morale of the Wei soldiers in the city.”

Everyone pricked up their ears and widened their eyes.

"Distribute the land!"

Ma Su uttered two words crisply and decisively, then continued:
“Our army has implemented the equal-field system in the past, and it will definitely be implemented after the war ends. I think we should make some changes this time and implement the equal-field system in Henan Yin immediately.”

"Su had previously said that most of the 5,000 Wei soldiers in Luoyang were from Henan, and their families were also able to be allocated land."

"Then we can copy down the land deeds of each household and shoot them into Luoyang City with arrows, so that the Wei soldiers in the city will know that although they are serving Cao Wei, the King of Chu has allocated land to them."

"Human hearts are made of flesh and blood. Even if these Wei soldiers are illiterate, how could they not see who is good to them and who is bad to them after all this?"

"When our army attacks the city, we will invite their wives, children and parents to the outside of the city and call them to surrender to our Great Chu. With this two-pronged approach, I believe the morale and will of the Wei soldiers in the city will surely collapse and they will be defeated without a fight."

"If the Grand Commandant were to attack Luoyang again then, wouldn't it be as easy as turning one's hand and crushing the enemy?"

Ma Su eloquently explained his strategy of winning people's hearts.

In short, just one sentence:

Distribute land to the Wei soldiers in the city to undermine their will to fight for Wei!

Xiao He smiled.

No wonder that when Zhuge Liang campaigned against the Southern Barbarians, Ma Su was able to offer the advice that winning hearts and minds was the best strategy and conquering cities was the second best, thus helping Zhuge Liang win over the hearts of the Southern Barbarians.

The plan that Ma Su proposed today, which involves dividing the land to win over the hearts of the Wei soldiers, is indeed remarkably similar to the one proposed back then.

Putting aside his practical combat skills, Ma Su was indeed among the most outstanding in terms of strategic vision alone.

The tent erupted in excitement as everyone realized the plan and praised Ma Su's strategy as feasible.

Ma Su, however, dared not be arrogant, and instead bowed humbly to Xiao He:

"I believe that Grand Commandant must have already devised a plan to capture Luoyang. My plan is nothing more than a clumsy attempt before an expert. If there is anything inappropriate, please forgive my blunder."

Xiao He slammed his hand on the table and stood up, laughing and praising, "You Chang, you don't need to be modest. Your strategy of winning hearts and minds is indeed a top-notch one. Your vision and perspective are extraordinary."

"Very well, I will immediately request permission from the King to implement the equal-field system in Henan Province, thereby undermining the morale of the garrison in Luoyang!"

With the decision made, Xiao He immediately sent someone south to ask Liu Bei for permission.

He was very mindful of the limits of his power.

Although Liu granted him the power of acting as an imperial envoy, it was only a temporary military power. When it came to implementing the equal-field system, which involved national affairs, Liu's opinion still needed to be sought.

However, this is just a formality.

Liu Bei's reply quickly reached the Luoyang camp, praising Ma Su's psychological warfare strategy. At the same time, he issued an edict granting Xiao He full authority to handle all military and political affairs in Luoyang and even Henan Province, without needing to consult him again.

Xiao He immediately ordered the implementation of the equal-field system in Henan Province.

In addition to Luoyang City, Henan Province also encompassed nearly ten counties.

After the Chu army captured Hangu Pass and Hulao Pass, blocking the Wei army's route to reinforcements, all the counties in Henan Province except Luoyang surrendered without a fight.

After Xiao He issued his decree, he forcefully implemented the equal-field system in counties such as Ping County, Gu County, and Yanshi with the force of thunder and torrential rain.

In less than half a month, tens of thousands of acres of land belonging to the Governor of Henan were distributed to the people.

Those people who originally had to rent land from wealthy families now had their own land and transformed from tenant farmers into self-cultivating farmers.

For a time, the people of Henan were overjoyed and sang praises to Liu Bei. Overnight, their hearts turned to the Great Chu.

The first step of implementing the equal-field system has been completed.

The second step was for Xiao He to order each county to copy all the land deeds held by the people and send them to the Luoyang camp.

At a single command, tens of thousands of land deeds were wrapped in arrows and shot into Luoyang.

At the same time, Xiao He ordered that a few gaps be opened in the encirclement of the camp to allow news to enter Luoyang and let the soldiers and civilians in the city know what was happening outside.

When the five thousand Wei soldiers defending the city saw those land deeds, their morale was greatly boosted.

"Have you all seen those land deeds? I heard that the King of Chu implemented the equal-field system in Henan Yin and allocated land to us."

“Yesterday someone brought back news from outside that the equal land system has indeed been implemented in my hometown of Ping County, and my family has been allocated more than 40 mu of high-quality land.”

"That's right. I heard that Gu County is also implementing the equal-field system, where people from both Wei and Chu are all given land."

“Look, this is my family’s land deed. My name is written on it. I also have several fellow villagers who have found their own land deed.”

"The King of Chu is truly benevolent. We are clearly Wei soldiers, yet he still gives us land."

"Then why should we serve the State of Wei? If the King of Chu fails to take Luoyang and eventually retreats, won't the land allocated to our families be taken back by the King of Wei?"

"Exactly! If the Chu army attacks Luoyang tomorrow, we'll just surrender. Why bother fighting?"

Immediately, discussions and rumors were rampant in Wei's camp.

Before the Chu army even attacked the city, the morale of the Wei army was already close to collapse.

Inside the Chinese military tent.

Hao Zhao looked at the stacks of land deeds, his brows furrowed and his face ashen.

That confidence I once had has now vanished without a trace.

He was originally confident in his ability to defend Luoyang and had made thorough preparations beforehand.

Earthen vats were buried at the base of the city wall to prevent the Chu army from digging tunnels and sneaking into the city.

The walls of Luoyang have also been thickened to ensure that even the Chu army's divine thunder cannons cannot breach them.

Thousands of wooden palisades have also been prepared, in case the Chu army tries to burn down the underground tunnels and cause the city walls to collapse, the wooden palisades can be used to block the collapsing walls at any time...

Hao Zhao racked his brains, studying all of Xiao He's previous battle examples, and believed that he had deployed the defenses of Luoyang to be flawless and impenetrable.

Even those in the city who might surrender to Chu, whether they were from wealthy families or military officers, were all presumed guilty and imprisoned as a precaution.

Hao Zhao had planned everything meticulously, but he never expected Xiao He to use such a psychological tactic.

Give land to his soldiers!
Throughout history, there has always been a custom of distributing land to one's own soldiers, not to soldiers of an enemy state.

Is this something a normal person would do?!

Xiao He deliberately chose to do things the unconventional way.

The moment those thousands of land deeds were shot into the city, the morale of the five thousand soldiers was greatly shaken. No one had the will to fight to the death, and everyone was grateful to Liu Bei.

What use is it if his city defense plan is flawless?
Footsteps sounded, and the guards rushed in, calling out:
"Reporting to the general, the Chu army is gathering in large numbers outside the city. It seems they are about to launch a general attack on Luoyang!"

Hao Zhao stiffened, and the land deed slipped from his hand and fell onto the table.

"Hao Zhao, you are truly overestimating yourself! You actually dared to attempt a battle against Xiao He. How utterly laughable..."

After a self-deprecating laugh, Hao Zhao took a deep breath and slowly stood up.

His gaze turned towards Hulao Pass, his expression turning sorrowful, and he bowed deeply.
“King Wei, things have come to this point, I, Hao Zhao, can only fight to the death to repay your kindness.”

"Whether Luoyang can be defended depends on whether Your Majesty is destined for greatness..." (End of Chapter)