Ji Le was also worried about Li Ran's safety, so he gave special instructions:
"Husband, no matter where you are, you must remember that no matter what, Le'er needs you to come back safely!"
Li Ran couldn't help but laugh and comforted:
"Well, Le'er, just relax!"
Li Ran turned back and left the Ji Mansion in three steps. Ji Le held the child in his arms and stood at the gate, just stopping and watching. Although they rarely get together and stay apart frequently, they don't even see each other for several years. But the two of them are in love with each other and have a harmonious friendship, and each has become the other's support.
Li Ran also made up his mind to take their mother and daughter to his side once the situation was stabilized.
When they arrived outside the city, Wang Zichao had been waiting outside for a long time. When he saw Li Ran arriving, he stepped forward and bowed, asking Li Ran to board the imperial chariot first and sit in the same carriage with Wang Zichao.
The army is controlled by Sun Wu, and the logistics is managed by Fan Li. They each have their own abilities, and Li Ran has long been convinced of them.
In the carriage, the prince asked Li Ran:
"Sir, do you have any idea?"
Li Ran nodded.
"Now we can temporarily take the capital city as a place to stay. We are not many in number, so we can gather more followers in the capital to help us accomplish our task!"
The person guarding the capital now is Gong Jian. As an earl, he had already served as a minister of the Zhou royal family during the reign of King Zhou Jing. Now he directly takes orders from Dan Banner.
Jingdi is easy to defend and difficult to attack, but it is indeed a good choice. If we can capture the capital, we can use it as a stronghold to conquer the entire empire.
Not far from the capital is the fiefdom of the Gan family, and its patriarch Gan Loach may come to help Gong Jian at any time.
Therefore, what Li Ran and the mere 10,000 people from Wang Zichao need to do is to fight quickly to defeat Gong Jian before Gan Loach!
Wang Zichao looked embarrassed about this.
"I'm afraid it won't be that easy to capture the capital. Since ancient times, the attackers have required several times the number of defenders. We only have ten thousand soldiers, but the defenders number more than ten thousand. How easy is it to win a quick victory?"
Li Ran nodded.
"Well, what the prince said is absolutely true. We will really need to use some strategies at that time! Let's get to the place first, and then make calculations."
The reason why Li Ran was reluctant to make a premature decision was entirely because the battlefield situation was ever-changing. Although some planning could be made in advance, overthinking would only increase worries.
It was like they got an unexpected surprise along the way.
Due to the reputation that Wang Zichao had accumulated in the Zhou Dynasty, many people in the royal area came to join him one after another when they heard that Wang Zichao had returned with his troops.
Although these people have never practiced, for Sun Wu, the more troops he can lead, the better. What's more, what Sun Wu is good at leading troops is to use combat as a substitute for training!
In Sun Wu's view, without training on the battlefield, everything is in vain. Only learning to fight in war is more effective than any training.
Unknowingly, when they arrived at the capital, the size of the army had reached almost 20,000, and they had captured several villages as a place for supply dispatch.
Sun Wu let the 10,000 elites from before serve as the main force, and those who joined later served as the reserve force.
After Sun Wu and Fan Li arrived, they spied on the enemy's situation. At this moment, the enemy had already received the news, so they were ready and ready to work. The walls of the city are also built to be extremely strong. If they want to attack by force, they will definitely suffer a loss.
Sun Wuqi clamored outside the city for a while, but the other party ignored him. Sun Wu was helpless.
Other scouts reported that Gandhi's soldiers were also ready to go and were rushing towards them.
In other words, once Li Ran decides to attack the city, he must break through the city gate and enter within two days, otherwise once Gan Loach arrives with his troops, they will be defeated.
Li Ran, Sun Wu, Fan Li and others discussed how to decide. Jingyi was the only way to capture the Zhou Dynasty. If they didn't capture it, they would have no stronghold. Even if he were to be spared by force, he would probably have to bear the risk of being attacked from both sides.
Everyone felt very embarrassed. At this moment, Fan Li said:
"The top priority right now is that Li thinks we should lure the enemy into fighting! At that time, our unit may have an opportunity to take advantage of it!"
Li Ran was convinced of this, but how easy was it to lure the enemy into fighting?
When Li Ran was in the Chu camp, he used a strategy to lure the enemy into fighting, which was the Battle of Shujiu. At that time, Li Ran used the baggage as bait to make Shu Jiu's defenders eager to perform meritorious deeds and take the initiative to attack. Instead, Li Ran counterattacked the city, and Shu Jiu was captured.
However, this method may still be useful for barbarians who are not good at thinking and are in short supply. But at this moment, if it is used against the defenders of Jingyi, the chance of winning is not good.
After all, they are all members of the Xia Kingdom, and each of them knows the basics, so they will naturally be more cautious about such tactics to lure the enemy. Moreover, there is sufficient food and grass in the capital, so there is no need to take risks.
If we want to take the city, the best way is to besiege it without attacking. Wait until the city is short of food, and then use the method of attacking the heart to wait for the opportunity to instigate the defenders in the city. At that time, it can be defeated without attacking.
】
But this method takes too long, and now it seems that it is obviously not possible.
After some careful consideration, Li Ran finally revealed a smile on his lips.
"The baggage may not be able to seduce them, but perhaps His Highness the Prince can!"
Wang Zichao had been listening on the sidelines, and when he heard this, he couldn't help but be stunned.
"Why did Mr. Ziming say this?"
Li Ran smiled slightly and said:
"In their eyes, His Highness the Prince is the culprit. If they can capture His Highness, it will be a great achievement that will be enough to grant him a title! Even if Gong Jian can endure it, he cannot remain indifferent to it! But...this plan requires His Highness to sacrifice his own life. I wonder if the prince is willing to take risks?"
Prince Chao also had some courage and said calmly:
"Sir, since you have a good plan, there is no need to say more. Even if it is dangerous, the DPRK will cooperate! Please tell me, Mister, what should the DPRK do?"
Wang Zichao came to ask Li Ran to come out because he was desperate, but all he can do now is cooperate unconditionally. As the saying goes, use people without suspicion and don't use people with suspicion.
When Li Ran heard this, he didn't know why, but suddenly felt that the prince dynasty in front of him did have some traces of the legacy of Prince Jin.
At this moment, it was as if his best friend from childhood was right in front of him.
Yes, if Prince Jin can survive the catastrophe, or even successfully succeed to the throne of Zhou King, it is also unknown if he, Li Ran, can help him to revive the past glory of the Zhou Dynasty.
And this is something that Li Ran regrets all his life, and if Wang Zichao can really be as wise as he seems now, Li Ran will definitely help him succeed!
"Your Highness can lead the army to attack the city. Remember that when the battle is about to happen, you will only be defeated. No matter how defeated you are, you can order all the people to abandon their banners and retreat to show weakness and panic. Seeing this situation, Gong Jian They won’t be able to sit still. If they really come out in force, then this will be our opportunity!”
"Fan Li, when the time comes, you will lead troops to meet His Highness, and then assist His Highness in the counterattack. Remember to fight with the defenders leaving the city, and do not allow Gong Jun to easily return to the city! Chang Qing, when the time comes, you will lead a team to steal the city. ! The task is arduous, so you must hurry!"
When Wang Zichao heard about this plan to lure the enemy, he remained silent for a while. Although this plan is excellent, it is also extremely risky for him. If he is not careful, it may be self-defeating.
