Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 26: Destroying Guo by Pretending to Pass Through
Yan Yi returned to the house and sat down next to Yan Baihu, comforting him, "Wu Jing was able to capture Qu'a and Piling because he took advantage of Xu Jun's unpreparedness and launched a surprise attack. Now that Xu Jun has mobilized troops from all counties to defend Wuxi, the city is strong, so Wu Jing has no chance. Father, don't worry too much."

This was indeed true, as Xu Gong's strength was comparable to Zhou Xin's. If Zhou Xin hadn't voluntarily disbanded his troops and surrendered the city, Wu Jing wouldn't have been able to capture the cities of Danyang. And Xu Gong obviously wouldn't have done something as foolish as Zhou Xin.

Yan Baihu nodded, his expression slightly relieved.

Yan Yi consoled him with a few more words and turned the topic to Qian Tong. "Qian Tong, on the other hand, is a real threat! If he were to join forces with Zou Ta to attack, it would undoubtedly wreak havoc on Wucheng. Father, why not find an opportunity to eliminate him? Qian Tong has hoarded a considerable amount of money and grain over the past two years. If you were to take it, it would be enough to cover our army's needs for a year."

Yan Baihu was greatly tempted. After a moment's reflection, he shook his head. "I've wanted to conquer Qian Tong for a long time! But every time I show any sign of attacking, Zou Ta will harass Wucheng. When I attack Zou Ta, Qian Tong will come out to attack again. If the battle goes against us, these two bandits will retreat to their camp and defend themselves, or retreat into the mountains, making them extremely difficult to eliminate. Now that Yuan Shu is eyeing Wujun, this is not the best time to send troops. I can find another opportunity to conquer them later. If these two bandits dare to invade, your uncle and I will lead the troops to repel them."

Yan Yi was speechless. This was Yan Baihu's temperament. He wouldn't rush until the moment came, and he wouldn't cry until he saw the coffin. This was also true in history. When Sun Ce attacked Xu Gong, he didn't rush. When Sun Ce conquered Wang Lang, he also sat quietly in the city until Sun Ce's army was at the gates. Only then did he resist and fight, and finally died at Sun Ce's hands.

Even Qian Tong and Zou Ta, who were close to him, were never annexed by Yan Baihu. Qian Tong and Zou Ta were later eliminated by Sun Ce.

Yan Yi continued to persuade him, somewhat unwillingly, "If Qian Tong and Zou Ta join forces to attack, even if father repel them, the area of ​​Wucheng will be devastated and littered with corpses. For the two thieves, it will only be the loss of a few soldiers, but for father, it will destroy the foundation of Wucheng. As the saying goes, the barefoot are not afraid of the shod. Father, it is better to strike first."

Yan Baihu said perfunctorily: "Unfortunately, there is no good opportunity to send troops."

Yan Yi leaned forward, approached Yan Baihu, and whispered, "There is a golden opportunity right now."

"Where is the opportunity?" Yan Baihu asked in surprise.

Yan Yi asked in a serious tone, "Father, have you ever heard the story of using a false pretext to destroy the State of Guo?"

Yan Baihu shook his head blankly.

Yan Yi secretly sneered at the uneducated and reckless man and explained, "During the Spring and Autumn Period, Yu and Guo were two small neighboring states, interdependent. Duke Xian of Jin tried to borrow a passage from Yu to attack Guo, so he offered a generous gift to the king of Yu in exchange for the passage. The king of Yu, greedy for money, agreed to let the Jin army pass through. After the Jin army destroyed Guo, they immediately turned against the Jin army and destroyed Yu as well. The king of Yu was eventually sent by Jin to Qin as a slave. This is the story of using a passage to destroy Guo."

"Jin is a ruthless nation. Since it's a small country, we should just destroy them together. Why resort to such conspiracies and tricks?" Yan Baihu commented, shaking his head. "What does this have to do with the present?"

Yan Yi clenched his fists, took two deep breaths, and then slowly released them. He said patiently, "Father, you can follow the example of the Jin State. First, use money and silk to dispel Qian Tong's suspicions, and then use a large sum of money to bribe his advisor Wan Bing. Wan Bing is a member of the Yellow Turban bandits, and he and Qian Tong are not on the same page. He will definitely speak for you. Our army will soon be stationed in Haiyan, right? Father, you can replace all three thousand soldiers with elite troops. On the way to Haiyan, we can take advantage of Qian Tong's unpreparedness and surprise attack him. That way, the battle will be won!"

Yan Baihu frowned in thought, pacing back and forth a few times in the room. Facing Yan Yi's expectant gaze, he hesitated slightly, but finally sighed, "Yuan Shu's crisis has not been resolved. In this environment, it is not advisable to start a war. Food and fodder are not very sufficient right now. It won't be too late to use troops after the autumn harvest."

Yan Yi stood up with a look of disappointment and said, "Since my father has made up his mind, I won't try to persuade him any further. The weather is nice today, I'm going to Shicheng Mountain to hunt!"

After saying that, he turned around and walked out of the house.

Yan Baihu sensed a hint of anger in his tone and stopped him, saying, "Regarding the tax exemption for refugees, it will be as you say." Yan Yi paused slightly and walked out of the house.

Yan Baihu sat down on the couch with a depressed look on his face, sighing.

Yan Yi ordered Xuelibai to be brought in, and also summoned Si Qing. They left the mansion and galloped straight for Shicheng Mountain. After wandering the mountain for half a day and shooting a few wild animals, the annoyance in his heart gradually dissipated, and he rode back to the city.

As he entered the mansion and passed the flower hall, he happened to see Xu Yan coming out of the pavilion and reported, "Young Master, Pei Ji is here and is waiting in the West Garden."

The West Garden is the inner garden of Yan Yi's residence. The garden is covered with lush rockery and winding paths.

Pei Ji was wearing black warrior clothes and standing under a locust tree, watching two middle-aged men who looked like craftsmen tinkering with a deer cart.

This deer cart was enormous, twice the size of an ordinary one. While deer carts usually have one wheel, this one had two. A square wooden pillar was added to the shaft to stabilize the vehicle.

On top of the deer cart, there was a wooden plate about seven or eight feet long and wide.

The wooden plate is made of hardwood, rectangular, and surrounded by a border about five inches high. The border is carved with clear scales and marks, which seem to be carved according to a certain ruler ratio.

Inside the wooden plate, loess, silver sand and other materials were used to pile up the geographical features of mountains, rivers, roads, valleys, castles, etc. There were also flags of different colors with small words written on them.

Yan Yi strode over, his face beaming with joy: "But is the sand table ready?"

Pei Ji has an ordinary appearance and a cold temperament. Even if he smiles and strikes a respectful posture, it is still difficult for people to have a good impression of him.

"Thankfully, I have fulfilled my mission and have roughly finished it. Young Master, please take a look at it first. If there is anything that does not suit your taste, I will have Craftsman Ding remake it."

Yan Yi walked around the sand table and saw that although it was crudely made, it was quite methodical, and the terrain features, battlefield fortifications, and major transportation routes were clearly outlined.

He nodded slightly, satisfied, and said, "It's roughly the same. The details will only be known after use. In addition, we'll make some small items to mark the troops, troop types, arrow towers, camps, etc. Have you compared them on the spot? Are they completely consistent?"

Pei Ji said in a slightly hoarse voice: "We have compared the map and the actual situation, and they are basically consistent. The brothers below are very familiar with the terrain of that area and can draw it with their eyes closed. However, since this is the first time to make it, there may be some deviations in the scale ratio."

The surveying and mapping technology of this era was clearly not comparable to that of later generations. Yan Yi was mentally prepared and said, "It doesn't matter if other aspects are a little rough, but the scale proportions must be accurate, minimizing deviations. Are the two craftsmen next to you the supervisors of craftsmanship?"

(End of this chapter)