Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 27 Sand Table
Pei Ji pointed to two craftsmen and introduced them, "These two are Wang Quan and Shi Ke, the Right Assistant Officials of the Supervisor of Carpentry. Wang Quan is in charge of carpentry, while Shi Ke is in charge of plate-building and mud coating. Wang Quan, the sand table is mainly made by you. Can you tell me whether the scale ratio can be made more accurate?"

Wang Quan has an honest face, with wrinkles all over his square face, making him look a little old, but he is very tall.

He stepped forward and said respectfully, "Young Master, if we want to reduce the deviation in the scale, we must conduct on-site surveying using a ruler and a mileage drum. This will reduce the error. However, this is very time-consuming, and the surveying location is in the area controlled by coin and copper, making it difficult to achieve at present."

The odometer is a tool used to measure distances over long distances. It is quite large and needs to be pulled by horses. If such a thing appeared in the sphere of influence of Qian Tong, one can imagine its fate.

Yan Yi had an idea in mind, and a name came to his mind: Zhang Fen.

Zhang Fen was the nephew of Zhang Zhao. He was very skilled in craftsmanship. At the age of 20, he had already made a large siege vehicle for attacking cities. He was the best craftsman in Jiangdong.

However, Sun Quan did not pay much attention to him. He did not let him concentrate on craftsmanship, but instead asked him to lead troops in battle, wasting this man's talents.

Science and technology are the primary productive forces. This is common knowledge that everyone in later generations knows, but few people pay attention to it in this era.

Yan Yi attached great importance to craftsmanship, but he was troubled by the lack of capable people under his command and was unable to put some of his ideas into practice.

"Thank you for your hard work, I'll give you 30,000 coins each." He said to Wang Quan and Shi Ke with a pleasant face, "We'll continue to make the sand table. First, you can do some more carving on the materials used to make it, and gradually improve any shortcomings."

Wang Mai and Shi Ke were excited and left after receiving the order.

Yan Yi turned his gaze to the sand table.

The terrain in the sandbox is mainly plains, followed by mountains and hills.

Three cities dot the landscape: Wucheng, Youquan, and Yuncheng. These three cities form a scalene triangle, with Wucheng in the northwest, Youquan in the east, and Yuncheng in the southeast.

Yuncheng is a garrison city built by Qian Tong. Although it is called a city, it is actually just a large brick and stone fortress with a circumference of less than four miles and an area of ​​only one-third of Wucheng County.

Eighty miles west of Yuncheng is Fuyu Mountain, and thirty miles south is Nanyang Mountain. If Qian Tong were defeated and fled, he would most likely flee into these two mountains.

Five miles north of Yuncheng, there is a fortress called Qiangonglei, which was also built by Qian Tong. It is only half the size of Yuncheng and can accommodate 3,000 people. It belongs to the mother and child fortress of Yuncheng.

There is a river on the east and west sides of Qian Gonglei, named Jiuqu River and Changshui River respectively, and a vast plain on the north side.

Qian Gonglei was located in a narrow strategic location between the two rivers, controlling the road from the northern plain to Yuncheng and protecting Yuncheng behind it.

Yan Yi had read Qian Tong's files and knew his troop deployment.

At Qiangonglei, Qian Tong stationed two thousand troops, led by Zhou Yu, Qian Tong's brother-in-law.

Qian Tong's other 3,000 troops were stationed in Yuncheng, led by him personally, and his vanguard was Fan Yi, who killed Jiang You in battle.

What Yan Yi is considering now is which city should be destroyed first if he launches a surprise attack on Qiantong.

Qian Gonglei? Or Yuncheng?

He only has one chance, so he must be extremely careful.

"Zhongyuan, what do the words chicken, duck, and dog written on this flag mean?"

Yan Yi pointed to a small flag on the sand table indicating Yuncheng's location and asked Pei Ji curiously. Pei Ji glanced at the flag, a quizzical expression on his face. "There's a pond outside the east gate of Yuncheng. Qian Tong keeps hundreds of ducks in it. If anyone approaches, the ducks will quack, alerting the defenders on the city wall. Outside the other three walls, they keep chickens and dogs."

Yan Yi immediately understood that Qian Tong was using these animals as 'guards' so that they could get early warning in case of a sneak attack.

He was speechless. It was really a strange idea that Qian Tong could come up with.

"When the chickens, ducks, and dogs start barking, how can the defenders on the city walls tell if there really is an enemy attack?"

Yan Yi continued to ask, and couldn't help but think of the story of the boy who cried wolf in his previous life.

Chickens and ducks have low intelligence. If they suddenly make such a roar day after day, month after month, the defenders will go crazy.

Pei Ji smiled slightly. "It's impossible to tell, so the Yuncheng defenders don't take it seriously anymore. They just check it out occasionally, more often at night, especially during the Yin hour."

Yan Yi frowned. If they attacked Yuncheng first, it would depend on luck as there would be unstable factors.

If they were unlucky and alerted the defenders in advance, they would be caught in a dilemma. If the Qian Gonglei garrison attacked from behind and joined the defenders in the city, the entire army would be in danger of collapse.

He shifted his gaze from Yuncheng to a wooden sculpture representing Qian Gong Fort. "How is the security around Qian Gong Fort?"

When Pei Ji heard this, he felt curious. Could it be that the young master wanted to conquer Qian Tong?

He replied calmly, "North of Qian Gong's fortress, there are twelve watchtowers, manned at all times. The perimeter is guarded by a garrison of soldiers, who rotate shifts every two hours. There are fewer watchtowers on either side of the river, six each. Although the river is shallow and can be crossed without boats, the risk is still great. If discovered, the defenders can easily kill anyone crossing the river, taking advantage of the terrain."

Yan Yi thought for a moment and then asked, "Are there any other river sections farther from the watchtower that are suitable for crossing the river?"

"Yes, and quite a few, but the water in other sections of the river is deep and turbulent, so boats are needed to cross the river. The visibility around Qian Gong Lei is wide, and with so many boats, it's hard to avoid being discovered. With so few boats, not many people can be ferried across in a short time."

“Are there any fishing boats around?”

"No, Qian Tong forbids people from fishing and hunting in the area under his control."

Yan Yi understood what was going on and smiled at Pei Ji, "Thank you, Zhongyuan."

Among the many generals under Yan Baihu, Pei Ji was a rare individual with outstanding talent. Although he wasn't good at leading troops, he was proficient in assassination and intelligence gathering, making him a talented individual with certain expertise.

"You are too polite, young master. If you need anything, please let me know." Pei Ji said hesitantly, "Can I tell the commander about what happened today?"

Yan Yi understood his concerns and said with a relaxed expression, "Of course. Ask Wang Quan to make Zou's sand table as well, so I can take a look."

Pei Ji breathed a sigh of relief. If Yan Yi had asked him to keep this a secret, he would have been in great trouble. He had originally suspected Yan Yi would attack Qian Tong, but judging from his expression, it didn't seem likely.

Pei Ji left with a lot of questions in his mind.

After Pei Ji left, Si Qing, who had been standing silently beside him, couldn't help but ask, "Young Master, do you want to conquer Qian Tong?"

Yan Yi nodded, staring at Yuncheng on the sand table, and sighed in his heart.

Time waits for no one, we have to do it even if there are risks!
(End of this chapter)