Tiger Owl

Chapter 97 Talking about war on paper
Taishi Ci was overjoyed upon receiving Gan Ning's approval and immediately discussed the attack plan with Xu Shu.

Just then, a soldier delivered the latest intelligence via carrier pigeon from Wan County.

After reading the intelligence, Taishi Ci snorted coldly, "Sun He has led another two thousand troops to Wan County. I never expected that the commanders of Wan County would end up being Sun He and Xu Qian!"

"Does the general understand them?"

Taishi Ci slowly said, "I knew Xu Qian when I was stationed in Shouchun. He was originally a powerful figure in Hefei County, Jiujiang Prefecture. He raised the banner of rebellion at the same time as Zheng Bao and formed an alliance with Zheng Bao. After Zheng Bao was destroyed, he continued to lead more than 20,000 people to remain active in northern Chaohu. But I did not know that he had become Sun Ben's man."

Xu Shu smiled slightly and said, "I know what happened later. When Li Shu rebelled in Jiujiang County, he joined Li Shu's army and was appointed as the Commandant of Shouchun, leading 20,000 men to guard Shouchun. When Sun Ben entered Jiujiang County, he made great contributions and was appointed as the Sima of Lujiang County by Sun Ben."

"I see!"

Taishi Ci thought for a moment and then said, "Then could most of the 20,000 troops in Wan County be former subordinates of Xu Qian?"

Xu Shu nodded. "It's very likely. Guangling County is nominally Sun Ben's territory, but the defense is actually overseen by General Yue Jin leading 20,000 Cao troops. Sun Ben only has administrative power. Jiujiang County is controlled by Sun Ben's directly subordinate 20,000 troops."

So where did Xu Qian's 20,000 troops go? There's only one possibility: they followed Xu Qian to Lujiang Commandery. That's why the reinforcements in Wan County weren't from Jiujiang Commandery, but from Shu County, totaling exactly 20,000 men.

Xu Shu's analysis is reasonable and is very likely the truth. Taishi Ci then laughed and said, "There is another prefect, Sun He. I know him very well. He is actually a scholar and extremely arrogant. He takes everything for granted. That's why Sun Ce's evaluation of him back then was that he was the second Zhao Kuo."

"Do you enjoy armchair strategizing?"

Taishi Ci nodded. "Although Sun He is the prefect, he is the real decision-maker of the Wan County army. The strategist's plans are very useful to people like Sun He. Although Xu Qian came from a bandit background, he is very cunning and will not be easily fooled. However, it is his fate to meet Sun He."

Xu Shu was overjoyed, "In that case, let's proceed according to the original plan!"

Sun Ben did not actually attach great importance to capturing Xunyang County. Xunyang County only had a mere 5,000 people, while Xu Qian had 20,000 troops and 10,000 kerosene bottles to aid in the battle, which was enough to defeat Gan Ning in one battle.

Last autumn, he ordered Sun He and Xu Qian, the prefects of Lujiang County, to drive Gan Ning's forces out of Lujiang County by the following spring.

After inspecting Shucheng County last winter, Sun Ben returned directly to Jiujiang Prefecture without even going to Wan County. He was a little worried about Xu Qian, so he appointed Prefect Sun He as military supervisor, ostensibly to assist Xu Qian in handling military affairs, but in reality to seize command of Xu Qian's army.

Sun He was Sun Jian's adopted son. Originally surnamed Yu, he later changed his surname to Sun. Sun He and Sun Ben had a deep friendship. After the two Suns split, Sun He went north to follow Sun Ben.

Around noon, Xu Qian suddenly received a message by carrier pigeon from Wankou that a fleet of three hundred large ships had sailed from the Yangtze River into the Wan River. Xu Qian immediately became nervous and consulted with Sun He to discuss countermeasures.

Sun He was in his early thirties, tall and handsome, with a refined and elegant appearance. In addition, he was skilled in both literature and martial arts, so he was deeply loved by Sun Jian and his wife, who adopted him as their godson.

Sun He, as the prefect of Lujiang County, had been stationed in Shu County. He had only arrived in Wan County three days ago to prepare for the attack on Xunyang County.

Upon hearing Xu Qian's report, Sun He was taken aback. "Could this be our fleet?"

Xu Qian quickly shook his head and said, "The banners are those of Xu Sheng's army from Pengze, but I don't know what Xu Sheng means by sending troops?" Sun He thought for a moment and understood. He snorted disdainfully, "Can't you see it? The other side plans to cooperate with Taishi Ci to launch an offensive against us."

At this moment, a soldier reported, "A scout from Xunyang County has sent a message by pigeon: Taishi Ci has led 5,000 troops out of Xunyang County!"

Sun He chuckled, "Just as I expected, these two are going to join forces to attack Wan County. I have a plan that can defeat them!"

Xu Qian quickly asked, "What brilliant plan does the Prefect have?"

Sun He pondered for a moment, then said in a pretentious tone, “There is a very narrow section of the Wan River. We will send a special force to ambush the riverbank at night. When the enemy fleet appears, we will attack their warships directly with kerosene bottles and burn them to ashes.”

Xu Qian hesitated for a moment and said, "The enemy's troop strength is unknown. I suggest we don't take the risk and instead defend the city. What do you think, General?"

When the other party didn't respond, a hint of annoyance flashed in Sun He's eyes. He really looked down on this country bumpkin who had never read a single military book. What did he know?
"I suspect General Xu hasn't read the Art of War! The Art of War says, 'In all battles, one engages with the orthodox and wins with the unorthodox. The orthodox is the foundation of the unorthodox, and the unorthodox is the supplement to the orthodox.' Defending the city is the orthodox, and launching a surprise attack is the supplement. Only in this way can we annihilate the Yuzhang Army and seize Xunyang County in one fell swoop."

"I come from humble origins and have never read any military books."

Xu Qian was overwhelmed by Sun He's imposing manner, and had no choice but to ask, "How many troops does the general intend to send?"

Sun He waved his hand, "The entire Fire Oil Battalion, launch an attack!"

Xu Qian was alarmed and quickly advised, "General, we should leave some soldiers and oil behind! Just in case..."

"What if?"

Sun He interrupted Xu Qian without any politeness. He was utterly fed up with this country bumpkin. He had no backbone, knew nothing, and was self-righteous.

"We don't have many oil soldiers to begin with, nor do we have many oil bottles. Sending too few troops might not be enough to destroy the enemy fleet, and leaving a little bit for defending the city would be of no use. It would be better to send out the whole army and go all out!"

Xu Qian was a very shrewd man. He had realized that he couldn't afford to offend the Sun family, or he would suffer the consequences. Once he understood this, he smiled and said in agreement with Sun He, "The governor is right. If we are going to ambush them, we must go all out!"

Sun He nodded smugly and said to Xu Qian, "Three thousand oil soldiers are enough to deal with the fleet. We also cannot let Taishi Ci's five thousand troops go. General Xu can lead ten thousand troops to ambush Taishi Ci's army along the official road. We will surely defeat them in one battle."

Xu Qian really didn't want to go. He rolled his eyes and said, "I am a rough man who does not understand military strategy and has never experienced a major battle. I am afraid that I will ruin the governor's plans. It would be better to trouble the governor to personally lead the troops to ambush the enemy. I will defend the city and provide support."

Sun He glanced at him disdainfully. "Fine, an ambush does require strong military strategy, a combination of feints and real attacks to lure the enemy into the trap. You don't understand any of that. You should just stay here and defend the city!"

Sun He immediately deployed his troops, sending his general Yang Qian with 3,000 fire oil soldiers to burn Xu Sheng's warships. He personally led 10,000 troops to ambush Tai Shi Ci's army on the western official road. Xu Qian commanded 7,000 troops to be stationed in Wan County to support him at any time.

(End of this chapter)