dognovel Chapter 221 Zhuge Liang's Ingenious Plan
Chapter 221 Zhuge Liang's Ingenious Plan
Wang Ping hurriedly took out a brocade pouch from his bosom and handed it to Zhao Yun. Zhao Yun couldn't wait to open it, take out the crumpled silk inside, and unfold it.
Wang Ping and Jiang Wei then crowded around, all three heads looking at the silk scroll. The palm-sized scroll was covered with densely packed small characters, the contents of which were as follows:
“General Zhao Yun, if we do not encounter the Wei army at Baliwan or if the Wei army does not arrive on time, it proves that the Wei army has figured out our intentions and is preparing to fight us in the Xianhe Valley.”
"If that's the case, Zhang He and Sima Yi are very likely to call back the garrison at Jieting to attack you. At that time, General Wang Ping will take full control of the Baliwan defense line. Zilong, you and Jiang Wei will lead the White Feather Army to conceal your movements, avoid the Wei army, and rush to Jieting to attack the garrison from behind. Together with Zhang Fei, you will attack from both sides and take Jieting. Then Huang Quan will guard Jieting, and you and Zhang Fei will immediately return to Xianhe Valley."
Wang Ping and Jiang Wei gasped as they read this, with Jiang Wei exclaiming in surprise, "The strategist actually wants us to launch a surprise attack on Jieting and bring General Zhang Fei back?"
Wang Ping exclaimed in surprise, "That's right! It might be a bit difficult for the Third General to break through Jieting from the front, but if we help from behind, it might be much easier. Why didn't I think of that?"
Jiang Wei chimed in, "That's right. The Third General has a full 20,000 troops under his command. Even if he only brings 10,000 men to fight, he can still deliver a fatal blow to the Wei army."
Keep in mind that Zhang Fei charged in from Jieting, stabbing the Wei army in the back. This is just too much...
Wang Ping and Jiang Wei were completely taken aback by Zhuge Liang's unexpected move. Their worried expressions instantly turned into excitement and admiration for Zhuge Liang.
As expected of Zhuge Liang, the strategist.
Zhao Yun, however, seemed to have expected this, and calmly smiled, "The strategist still likes to play tricks. Boyue, can you lead us to Jieting without our help, bypassing the Wei army?"
Jiang Wei patted his chest and said, "Master, don't worry. I know this place well. I guarantee that I will lead everyone to Jieting before dark and launch an attack on Jieting in the dead of night. However, since this is a surprise attack, we need the cooperation of the three generals. But Colonel Zhang Da is not here. Who will contact the three generals?"
This place is only 140 or 150 li away from Jieting. It's no problem to get there in a day. But they only have this many people. It's unrealistic to confront Jieting head-on. If they want to break through quickly, they need Zhang Fei's cooperation.
In other words, they can only achieve remarkable results if they suddenly attack from behind the Wei army when Zhang Fei is fiercely attacking Jieting. If Zhang Fei does not attack, their small number of men will not be of much use.
They are a surprise attack force, not the main force, and cannot take on the role of the main force. The question is, will Zhang Fei still attack after dark?
Zhao Yun laughed and said, "Don't worry, the White Feather Soldiers are the King's personal guards. Everyone knows the Third General, and the Third General knows them too. When the time comes, you take a team to contact the Third General, and he will cooperate."
Jiang Wei was familiar with the terrain, and the White Feather Soldiers were familiar with Zhang Fei—perfect.
With that, the group had no more worries. Zhao Yun briefly handed over the reins to Wang Ping and led the White Feather Soldiers swiftly toward Jieting.
On the north bank of the Wei River, in a valley.
The terrain here is flat and most vulnerable to cavalry attacks, so after crossing the river, Zhuge Liang did not dare to move too fast, but instead ordered the army to maintain its formation and advance slowly.
It looked like a tortoise carrying a stone tablet ten times its own size, moving so slowly it could drive you crazy.
Can you believe that we only traveled five miles in two hours?
Looking at the edge of the formation, it was all made of wood, temporarily pieced together, like a four-wheeled vehicle with the carriages removed and only the frame left. The ends of the wood were also sharpened to be exceptionally sharp, so that if a cavalryman were to collide with it, he might be pierced through.
Zhuge Liang, who was skilled in invention, racked his brains to deal with the Wei cavalry.
Around noon, a troop of cavalry came towards the advancing army. After stopping at a distance to identify themselves, they dismounted and ran into the formation. They came before Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang and bowed, saying, "This humble servant is here on the orders of General Guan Ping to request an audience with the Military Advisor King. General Guan Ping instructed me to tell Your Majesty that the mountainous area at the junction of Xianhe Valley and Baliwan is eerily quiet. Even in the middle of summer, there is not a sound of birds. It is highly likely that Wei troops are lying in ambush."
Once suspicion arises, the charge is established.
The most dangerous time for a person is often when they are unaware of the danger. Once they become aware of the danger, they will become more vigilant and careful, thus discovering and avoiding the danger in time and preventing themselves from falling into a deadly situation.
Zhuge Liang was an extremely cautious person, the kind of pessimist who liked to think the worst when things happened. Naturally, he would not naively believe that he could successfully drive the Wei army into Baliwan and annihilate them. Therefore, he prepared several plans from the beginning.
Upon hearing this, Zhuge Liang said, "Send an order to General Guan Ping to halt his advance and wait in place until we arrive to meet him."
After seeing the scouts off, Liu Bei asked worriedly, "Strategist, the worst has happened. Since the Wei army didn't enter Baliwan, they must have other plans. Do you think there might be a Wei detachment hiding nearby, waiting to ambush Shehu Valley when we have our final battle?"
They were all veterans who had fought for decades; how could they not understand the usual tactics on the battlefield?
Zhuge Liang waved his fan and laughed, "Your Majesty, rest assured, Zhao Lei has already laid an ambush in Shehu Valley. If the Wei army doesn't go, fine, but if they do, they won't be able to come back."
"Furthermore, my orders to Xi Zhen are to go to Shehu Valley to await orders. Xi Zhen should already be on his way. Once Xi Zhen's troops arrive at Shehu Valley and join Zhao Lei, the main camp will be even stronger."
Upon hearing this, Liu Bei breathed a sigh of relief and sincerely praised, "The strategist is indeed very thoughtful. So, what should we do next?"
Zhuge Liang waved his fan and laughed, "Keep stalling until the White Feather Army takes Jieting and receives the Third General."
Zhang Fei had brought 20,000 men, and it would be a waste to block such a strong force on the Longshan Road. Therefore, Zhuge Liang's plan was to fight a decisive battle at Baliwan if the Wei army could be driven into it, and if this plan failed, to attack Jieting and lure Zhang Fei into the pass.
He knew Zhang Fei's strength and his eagerness to join the battle, so he concluded that Zhang Fei would not linger on the Longshan Road and would definitely launch a full-scale attack on Jieting.
At the same time, the defenders of Jieting will certainly not have an easy time facing Zhang Fei's attack, after all, Zhang Fei is known for his bravery.
Therefore, Zhuge Liang was certain that Jieting was now like a camel nearing its limit, and only one last straw was needed to break it. The White Feather Soldiers were that last straw.
Imagining Zhang Fei charging in from behind the Wei army, Liu Bei excitedly said, "I'm fine now, I'll follow the strategist's arrangements."
The army continued its advance, dawdling for a full two hours before finally meeting up with Guan Ping, who was five miles away. Then, the small tortoise shell transformed into a large tortoise shell and continued its advance.
The Han army's marching speed, slower than that of an old woman with bound feet, quickly caught the attention of Zhang He and Sima Yi.
On the edge of the mountainous area, Zhang He listened to the scout's report with a foxtail grass in his mouth. His face was gloomy as he said, "It seems that Big-Eared Thief and Zhuge the Villager have realized that we haven't entered Baliwan. They want to force us in by pushing straight through. What should we do?"
In this situation, the cavalry could not advance at all. If the cavalry charged to the front of the Shu army, they would be attacked by a hail of arrows. If they continued to charge under the hail of arrows, they would be blocked by those strange chariots after getting close to the Shu army, which would seriously affect the speed of the cavalry.
Without speed, are cavalry still cavalry? Can they still defeat the ferocious Shu army?
Sima Yi said, "It seems we need to change the plan a little. I will stay here and guard the area. Please take a detachment of troops to Baliwan to attack the Shu army's blocking force. Clear out our rear first, and then we will retreat slowly by blocking them layer by layer, using the terrain of Baliwan to wear down the Shu army."
"The Shu army wants to use the complex terrain of Baliwan to trap us, but they forget that we entered Baliwan earlier than them and have more time. After we repel the Shu army's blocking forces behind us, we will ambush and retreat at the same time, using alternating cover tactics to retreat to Jieting. Then let's see what the Shu army can do to us."
Zhang He nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go right away."