The Three Kingdoms Fight for the Deer

Chapter 275 Change Strategy
Although it was a pity to let Guan Yu escape, Li Yuan knew that what had happened could not be changed, so he didn't think too much about it.

"Zhicai, are Yu Jin's warships ready?" Li Yuan asked.

"My lord, General Yu Jin's warship will arrive at Jiangxia port tomorrow, and we will be able to sail to Xiangyang tomorrow." Xi Zhicai replied, but he was a little worried, "My lord, almost all the water troops on the Lujiang River will let you go." If General Gan Ning takes him away, it may not be safe for us to go to Xiangyang by boat alone."

"Yes, Liu Biao will deploy defenses on the Han River to prevent our army from easily crossing the river. Without the escort of General Gan's navy, it may be difficult for us to cross the river." Chen Gong also has this view.

Originally Li Yuan wanted Gan Ning to escort them across the river, but Gan Ning had already gone to attack Jiangling, so it was impossible to come back. If Gan Ning succeeded in attacking Jiangling, he would be able to attack Xiangyang from behind, and the navy on the Han River would be killed. Liu Biao recalled, but Gan Ning should start now, so it is impossible to take Jiangling again in a short time. Li Yuan would have let Gan Ning set off early if he knew it would happen, and things often did not catch up with the plan.

"Your worry is not unreasonable. Should we first station in Jiangxia, and then wait for Gan Ning to successfully attack Jiangling before crossing the river by boat?" Li Yuan said.

"No," Xu Shu disagreed with Li Yuan's statement, "Our army broke through Jiangxia easily. According to the normal combat method, we should attack Xiangyang quickly. If we stop attacking Liu Biao, we will doubt whether we have other strategies, or even predict Until we send other troops to attack Jiangling, this will not be conducive to General Gan Ning's surprise attack on Jiangling."

Li Yuan felt that what Xu Shu said was reasonable. If they stopped attacking, Liu Biao might really be suspicious. It can be seen that he is going to attack Jiangling.

"Zhicai, do you have a good solution?" Li Yuan looked at Xi Zhicai, and for the current plan, Xi Zhicai could only come up with a countermeasure.

"My lord, don't worry. In fact, we can go by land. We will go from Jiangxia to Anlu County, and then from Anlu County to Xiangyang. When we want to attack Xiangyang, we must first cross the Han River, but we don't have to cross the river. Instead, he pretended to be crossing the river."

"Pretending to be crossing the river?" Everyone didn't quite understand what Xi Zhicai was talking about.

"That's right, we just want to pretend to cross the river to make Liu Biao think that we are going to attack with all our strength, so that he will quickly recall the soldiers and horses from the surrounding areas and return to Xiangyang. Xinye and Jiangling are very close to Xiangyang, so the troops in Xinye and Jiangling are very strong. It is possible to be recalled to Xiangyang, which will be more conducive to General Huang Zhong and General Gan Ning's attack on the city. As long as Jiangling breaks Liu Biao, we will be surprised. We and General Huang Zhong will take the opportunity to cross the river again, so that we can successfully cross the river and attack Xiangyang .” Xi Zhicai said with confidence.

Li Yuan bowed his head and thought for a while before he figured out what Xi Zhicai's words meant, that is to say, they went to Xiangyang by land, and made a gesture on the bank of the Han River to cross the river with the whole army, making Liu Biao mistakenly think that they were Liu Biao wanted to attack Xiangyang with all his forces. Liu Biao was afraid that he might call back all the troops around to Xiangyang, especially those from Xinye and Jiangling. When the city is broken, three armies can be gathered to besiege Xiangyang.

Chen Gong nodded slightly, thinking that this plan is feasible, but Xu Shu still had some doubts in his heart, and said: "The military master's plan is clever, but Liu Biao may not withdraw the garrison in Xinye, and it is even less likely to withdraw the defense on the river. Deploying enough troops on the river is also not conducive to our crossing the river."

As a newcomer, Xu Shu dared to question Xi Zhicai's strategy. I have to say that he was very courageous, but Xi Zhicai was not only not angry, but looked at Xu Shu with admiration.

Xi Zhicai replied: "Yuan Zhi can rest assured that the ultimate goal of this plan is not to allow our army to cross the river, but to let Liu Biao call back the troops around him. I would not do this for other people, but with Liu Biao's conservative Characters are likely to be recalled. Even if the Kuai brothers dissuade Liu Biao from recalling Xinye, we can attack Xinye together with General Huang first. With the strength of the lord's army and General Huang's forces, we will definitely be able to break through Xinye. Slowly seek Xiangyang."

"Then what if Liu Biao doesn't recall Jiangling soldiers?" Xu Shu asked again.

"As far as I know, there are not many soldiers guarding Jiangling. General Gan Ning has led [-] navy troops to attack Jiangling. Regardless of whether Liu Biao recalls Jiangling's soldiers, I believe General Gan Ning can break through Jiangling. What's more, Jiangling is located behind Xiangyang. Liu Biao must not have thought that we would make a sneak attack, so it is more likely that he would recall Jiangling soldiers than Xinye soldiers, as long as Jiangling is broken, General Gan Ning will be able to attack Xiangyang from the north, and Liu Biao will be caught off guard." Xi Zhicai explained patiently. road.

After hearing Xi Zhicai's words, Xu Shu was convinced. He often heard that Xi Zhicai was the number one adviser under Li Yuan's command. He was not disappointed.

"Thank you for your advice, military advisor." Xu Shu cupped his hands and said.

"Yuan Zhi is modest, and he is only doing his best for the Lord." Xi Zhicai smiled. In fact, he knew that Xu Shu's resourcefulness was no worse than his, but he was not experienced enough. He would definitely become indispensable to Li Yuan with more training in the future. counsellor.

"Hahahaha, okay, everything will be done according to what Zhicai said. The army will repair for a day, then go to Xiangyang by land, and let Yu Jin dispatch warships to the Han River. The more warships, the better. Make a false impression that Liu Biao will mistakenly think that our army We must cross the river and attack with all our strength." Li Yuan said with a big smile.

The next day, all the soldiers and horses who went to pursue Guan Yu returned, and the army went to Xiangyang after a day of rest.

Guan Yu returned to Xiangyang immediately after escaping, and informed Liu Biao of Jiang Xia's situation. Liu Biao was shocked when he learned that Jiang Xia had fallen, and immediately called all civil servants and generals to discuss the matter.

In the meeting hall, everyone frowned, and the atmosphere was a bit dull. They thought the defense was impenetrable, but they didn't know that Li Yuan broke through Jiangxia in just one day. What is the concept of breaking the city in one day? But when Liu Biao sent heavy troops to garrison Jiangxia, he still couldn't stop the almost invincible Li Yuan, which made Liu Biao both angry and scared.

Looking at Cai Mao and Liu Bei below, Liu Biao was very dissatisfied and said: "Cai Mao, you recommended yourself to guard Jiangxia, and I gave you [-] troops. Why did Li Yuan destroy the city in one day!"

(End of this chapter)