Zhang Fei and Mi Zhu were overwhelmed and overwhelmed by the bad news told by Mi Fang.
If the military rations are cut off, even if the Huaiyin front line is won, it will eventually be over.
When will these days of walking on thin ice and hellish difficulty end?
In desperation, Zhang Fei humbly hugged Zhuge Jin's thigh again: "Sir, do you have any good ideas to help Zizhong think of other ways to raise food?"
"Don't panic! How can a plan be so easy to come up with? Let me think about it carefully!"
Zhuge Jin was also annoyed by being pestered. He was a little tired and his brain was not full, so he could not withstand Zhang Fei's noise.
Fortunately, Zhang Fei had gotten used to it these days, and he quickly kept silent to let Zhuge Jin think quietly, and also winked to signal others to be quiet as well.
Zhuge Jin was shaking his cattail leaf fan alone, closing his eyes and thinking:
"I remembered it! Kong Rong was attacked and destroyed by Yuan Tan. It seems that it did happen in the first year of Jian'an. But I didn't expect that Liu Bei and Yuan Shu were besieged at the same time. The plan really couldn't keep up with the changes.
These are truly the ultimate troubled times. All the small princes at the county level will be quickly annexed, and in two years only the big princes at the state level will be left.
According to the original history, after receiving Mi Zhu's second sponsorship, Liu Bei was able to quickly regain his strength and "recombine ten thousand soldiers." All this is actually based on the premise that he and Lu Bu have reached reconciliation.
In this way, he could buy grain directly from the counties in Xuzhou, and Mi Zhu's money could be quickly converted into combat power.
But now history has changed. Liu Bei has not yet been destroyed, and it is impossible for him to go back and give in to Lu Bu. This has caused Liu Bei's military rations to be purchased much further away.
Now that even Kong Rong has been wiped out, the Beihai and Donglai areas of the Shandong Peninsula cannot be counted on. The remaining alternative purchase places are further away. Maybe by the time Liu Bei's army starves to death, the food may not have been purchased yet. .
Although Yuan Tan has a good relationship with Liu Bei, it seems that when Liu Bei called Xuzhou Mu, he gave Yuan Tan the quota of one in each state for recruiting talented people. But Yuan Tan and Kong Rong had just finished fighting, and there was no food in Beihai, so it was useless for him to have a good relationship. If Yuan Tan wants to sell grain, he has to be transferred from Jizhou. The most lacking thing now is time. Food from afar means no food.
And I didn’t even think of this at first, and I was even under the lamp than Mi Zhu. I’m really ashamed..."
Zhuge Jin went over it in his mind for a long time, trying to figure out all these twists and turns, and then he finally realized how many mistakes he had made because of his overconfidence in the prophets of history.
I have to further strengthen my brain in the future! You and your second brother should have a good discussion and check for each other’s mistakes! Only in this way can we one day reach the state of "truly and comprehensively".
Perhaps this is also a kind of historical inertia and resistance.
When you reverse a failure of Liu Bei, it often means that "as he becomes stronger than at the same time in history, there will be more enemies who are afraid of him, but there will be fewer friends."
This force may push Liu Bei's camp back to the downward channel.
Lu Bu's attitude towards Liu Bei is the best example of this phenomenon:
When Lu Bu shot a halberd at Liu Bei's gate, it was because Liu Bei was weak and could be exploited. When Lu Bu turned against Xiao Pei again, it was because Liu Bei had become stronger again.
This profound thought experiment lesson made Zhuge Jin's thinking mode more mature and more suitable for this era of intrigue.
…
I don't know how long it took, but after Zhuge Jin finally straightened out his direction, he let out a long breath.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Zhang Fei, Mi Zhu, and Mi Fang still staring at him eagerly, not daring to express their anger.
Seeing that everyone had such high expectations for him, Zhuge Jin felt a little embarrassed and quickly discussed with Mi Zhu humbly: "Zizhong, I wonder if you can find the nearest place to buy grain after Beihai County is eliminated, and where is it?"
Mi Zhu was very professional about this issue, and he didn't even have to think about it: "If Beihai County is not possible, if you want to continue going north, you have to go around the entire Shandong by sea and go to Jizhou to buy grain, which is too far away.
So the only option is to look south. As I said just now, the battle between Sun Ce and Xu Gong made it impossible for Danyang and Wu Commandery to have any surplus grain. Calculating this, Wang Lang from Kuaiji Commandery is the only one left recently. "
Now is the first year of Jian'an, Sun Ce has not yet fought with Wang Lang, Kuaiji County is at peace, and the grain-producing areas of Ningshao Plain probably still have surplus grain.
Mi Zhu didn't know that if he delayed for another year, Xu Gong would be killed by Sun Ce by this time next year, and it would be Sun Ce's turn to deal with Wang Lang. By then, he would not be able to protect himself.
Zhuge Jin drew up a map in his mind and realized that the distance from the Huaihe River mouth to the Qiantang River mouth was not short.
It is at least twice as far as the distance from northern Jiangsu to the south coast of Shandong Peninsula.
Zhuge Jin then continued to ask: "Based on Kuaiji, how long does it take to get back and forth?"
Mi Zhu did a quick mental calculation: "It will take at least more than a month to go back and forth with purchasing, loading and unloading. The sea route is very rough. If the weather is not favorable, it may take two months."
The navigation technology of the Han Dynasty was still relatively backward. They could only sail along the coastline and did not dare to sail directly into the deep sea.
Mi Zhu estimated that sailing for twenty days one way was already a good skill, and only the Mi family could do it.
Another family that is not on the rich list would not even have the shipbuilding skills and experienced sailors to sail.
Zhuge Jin knew that Mi Zhu had tried his best, so he sighed and put forward his own plan:
“That being the case, I have some brief opinions for your reference.
First of all, Zizhong still needs to handle the matter of buying grain by sea according to the plan, which can also be regarded as a medium and long-term guarantee for the army.
But in the current gap of one and a half months, we cannot rely on Zizhong and must work together to find another solution. For example, let’s think about whether there are any other immediate sources of military food…”
As soon as Zhuge Jin said this, Zhang Fei suddenly interrupted angrily:
"If you ask me, I can send the tens of thousands of kilograms of meat obtained by killing the horses to the front of the army. It will be enough for a while. If it is not enough, I can only reluctantly kill and eat the other captured good horses."
Zhuge Jin rolled his eyes at him: "Can you please stop interrupting? This meat may be enough to feed the Haixi garrison for a few months, but if it is sent to the Huaiyin army, there are more than 10,000 people, and it can only last for five days at most!"
I will find a way to find another source of military rations. If you are eager to perform meritorious service and relieve General Zhendong from the siege, I will point out another way, but whether you can succeed or not depends on you. "
"I was in a hurry just now. Sir, please speak." Zhang Fei quickly sat upright, apologized for his rashness, and listened respectfully.
Zhuge Jin organized his words, pointed in the direction of the arsenal outside the county government office, and said slowly:
"To solve the military ration crisis, it is nothing more than increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. I have already said that increasing revenue will leave it to me to find a way. And reducing expenditure is to try to make the subsequent battle of Guangling a quick victory before the military rations are exhausted.
But this mission requires taking certain risks. If it can be done, it can certainly solve General Zhendong's crisis. But if it fails, the soldiers and horses you brought will also suffer heavy losses, but you have to think about it. "
Zhang Fei: "I have never seen anything about life and death, but it doesn't matter!"
Zhuge Jin stopped hiding his secrets: "Today we also annihilated more than a thousand of Liu Xun's cavalry, and captured a lot of horses and clothes, especially the clothes and armor were all in Yuan's uniform color.
Liu Xun had two cavalry generals under his command. Although Lei Bo died, Chen Lan was still there. If General Zhendong and Lieutenant Guan Du can defeat the coalition forces of Ji Ling and Liu Xun on the Huaiyin battlefield in a few days,
Liu Xun will definitely retreat by then, and General Zhendong will definitely take advantage of this opportunity to pursue him with all his might. My dangerous plan is to have people first inquire about the enemy's situation, and then look for the right opportunity to seize the opportunity before Liu Xun's real defeat. I will pretend that the defeated soldiers of Chen Lan under his command have returned to Guangling, and then cooperate with each other to take advantage of it——
Of course, this sounds easy to say, but it is actually very difficult, because even the prerequisites are not yet met. We have to ensure that our army can win the main decisive battle on the Huaiyin battlefield, and only then can we have these back-up moves. Otherwise, it will be just a fantasy, and all manpower will have to be withdrawn.
And even if Huaiyin wins, this matter can only be considered 30% settled at most. There are still many troubles that we need to solve by ourselves. One careless step will lead to death in vain. "
Zhuge Jin was very careful to say ugly things first. After all, Zhang Fei is still quite reckless, so he must be fully warned of the risks.
Zhang Fei was repeatedly warned by Zhuge Jin, which finally aroused the roughness and fineness in his nature, and his expression became solemn.
It was not that he was afraid of dying in battle, but that he was afraid of missing out on the important events of his eldest and second brothers, causing the troops to die in vain, and allowing the enemy's morale to rise.
Zhang Fei knew very well that if he died in the battle, his eldest and second brothers would probably become passionate and fight Liu Xun to the end, and the whole army would lose their cool by then.
Mi Zhu and Mi Fang on the side looked at Zhang Fei and hesitated, looking sad and helpless.
"How about... forget it and just find a way to raise military rations? Ziyu said that he could try to open up the source. With his intelligence, he might be able to find a way." Mi Zhu tried to comfort Zhang Fei.
However, these words aroused Zhang Fei's fighting spirit. He solemnly nodded to Zhuge Jin: "Sir! I still plan to give it a try, but the strategy is too general now. I don't know how to start at all. Please help me, sir." I'm planning some details.
After all, even if Liu Xun's main force is dispatched, I think he will still have thousands of troops left in the city. There are more than a thousand people here, only two thousand including prisoners, and there are only a thousand horses and less than a thousand sets of Yuan Jun's uniforms.
The number of troops we can send to disguise ourselves as Yuan's army for a sneak attack will definitely be less than a thousand. Our army has not been able to notify the eldest brother and the second brother in advance to expedite the response. Just relying on these one thousand people, even if they deceive the city gate, they cannot defeat the thousands of enemies defending the city in street fighting, right?
Sir, do you have any solutions to these problems? If I could figure it out, I would certainly fight to the death. "
Zhang Fei was just fast, but he didn't die in vain. After thinking for a long time, he listed these basic problems.
What he wants is not only to trick the city gates into opening, but also to ensure that the enemies in the city can be killed, or at least stabilized - just like he did when he left Pi Shi and Danyang soldiers behind.
Zhang Fei remembered very clearly that on the night he abandoned Pi, the rebellious Danyang soldiers still defended the Baimen Tower for a whole night after the general Cao Bao was killed by him. Zhang Fei failed to attack it back, and finally Lu Bu's army arrived at dawn. .
What happened that night was an unforgettable nightmare for Zhang Fei throughout his life. What's more, it's only been five or six days since that incident, and it's still vivid in my mind.
So when he now thought that he might "deceive the door and wait for reinforcements," he immediately assumed the role of the Danyang soldiers that night, imagining how to deceive the door and hold on, at least until Liu Bei's main force came back for reinforcements.
After hearing Zhang Fei's question, Zhuge Jin didn't find it difficult, but nodded with satisfaction.
Being able to ask good questions shows that he has been thinking carefully, and has fully learned the lesson of being stolen from the previous time, and wants to use it to steal from others after reviewing. This is a good sign.
The more problems you can think of before the war, the greater the probability of success.
Zhuge Jin continued to exchange information and brainstorm with Mi Zhu and others in an open-minded manner.
Zhuge Jin took a piece of paper, drew a table with a hairpin pen, and then checked one item that came to mind:
"Zizhong, is there an Wengcheng in Guangling County?"
"No, but... there is a gate. In important canal towns, in order to facilitate transportation in and out, there is generally no Wengcheng, but the Qianjin Gate is used for emergency locking." Mi Zhu answered in high spirits.
He has been doing business for many years and has traveled to almost all the major thoroughfares and cities in Xuzhou and several surrounding states.
Guangling County is also the mouth of the Hangou Canal and is as important as Huaiyin. Mi Zhu naturally knows the geography there very well.
Zhuge Jin nodded slightly: "Without Wengcheng, the chance of pretending to be an enemy army and being ambushed will be greatly reduced. This strategy should be working. But there is a Qianjin Gate, so we still have to find another way to solve it...
After all, if the gate needed to be released urgently during an attack, the defenders would probably just cut the noose. Even if Yide rushed into the city and seized control of the tower, he would not have been able to repair the noose and raise the gate in a hurry.
In this way, when our army makes a sneak attack, it is best to carry some simple siege weapons with the army, so as to provide more protection. Even if the gate cannot be raised, as long as a section of the city wall can be controlled, soldiers from outside can still continue to climb the wall and enter. "
Zhuge Jin deduced to himself, but soon discovered a new problem: he would need Zhang Fei to disguise himself as the defeated Yuan Jun cavalry, and it was inconvenient for the cavalry to carry baggage, and the speed requirement of the surprise attack did not support carrying it. Siege weapons run together.
Moreover, if the army has brought siege weapons, and the defenders see this nondescript appearance, it may lead to the surprise attack being directly discovered. It is too dangerous——
If you think about it with your knees, if it were really Chen Lan's cavalry who retreated from the Huaiyin battlefield and fled back to Guangling County, would they possibly have accompanied the army with a siege ladder?
Whenever a ladder is seen in the army, it is enough to tell that this army is Xibei.
Zhuge Jin almost scratched his hair, but still couldn't do anything.
Finally, after carefully examining the map, terrain and river trends around Guangling County, he suddenly had an idea.
A glimmer of hope flashed in Zhuge Jin's heart, and he quickly asked Mi Zhu: "Zizhong, can you get some boats, disguise yourself as a white-clothed merchant from Sun Ce's territory, and go along the Yangtze River into Hangou and approach the water gate of the east city of Guangling from the south?
Sun Ce is a subordinate of Yuan Shu, and he is currently engaged in a fierce battle with Xu Gong. He will definitely need to purchase military supplies from Yuan Shu's control area in the north of the Yangtze River from time to time in order to advance. Yuan Jun will definitely not be wary of merchant ships coming from the south..."
Mi Zhu was startled for a moment, but then he quickly felt relieved, and confirmed with a proud tone: "You still need to pretend? My family already has a white-clothed business traveler."
Zhuge Jin slapped his forehead: "Look at me...how could I forget! Then it's okay. Your family is deployed in the merchant fleet closest to Guangling. Where is it now? I'll teach you, as long as this...the rest Just leave it to me.”
If Lu Meng wants to cross the river in white, he has to disguise himself, but if Mi Zhu wants to cross the river in white, he still has to pretend? He is!
This acting is definitely more realistic than Lu Meng.
——
PS: Don’t worry, everyone, the decisive battle will begin tomorrow. Chapter 12 of the opening chapter talks about the first decisive battle. The main reason is that my decisive battle requires two lines of operation. It is a second consecutive battle and cannot be divided. So the layout is also double-lined, so don’t be impatient.
The next two or three days were a series of decisive battles on two fronts, that's it.
