He stationed his army outside Xiapi City and was not in a hurry to attack the city. To be honest, Sun Quan's move was too dangerous. This is far more than just grabbing chestnuts from the fire, it can be called dancing on the tip of a knife.
In ancient times, for those who besieged a city, whether they attacked the city directly or surrounded it without attacking, the first necessary condition was that your military strength must far exceed that of the defenders. Otherwise, this battle is impossible to fight. You can't bite your opponent, but the opponent can rush out of the city and destroy you at any time. It doesn’t mean that you will definitely lose, but at least you are already in a winless situation. It can be said that unless the general situation cooperates and people surrender without a fight, this battle will be impossible to fight.
Of course, if this is just the case, if you can't fight, you can just run away, and Sun Quan will not face much danger. Therefore, the real risk for Jiangdong Army is not in Xiapi, but outside Xiapi.
The absolute main force of Lu Bu's army was currently fighting Cao Cao's army to the west of Surabaya. Once they free up their hands, secretly cross the river to kill, and cooperate with the defenders of Xiapi City, Sun Quan may not even have a chance to escape, and his entire army will be wiped out.
"Garrison the army east of Xiapi City." Sun Quan pointed at the map and said.
Wu Jingding nodded,
"That's all we can do. At least this way, when Lu Bu's reinforcements return from Surabaya, we won't be directly surrounded."
Anyway, Sun Quan didn't plan to actually attack the city this time, so it didn't make much difference which city gate he chose.
"In addition, send a letter to Cao Cao immediately. Tell him that I am waiting to join him here and attack Xiapi together. After taking Xiapi, we will divide Xuzhou equally." Sun Quan immediately ordered.
"This..." Wu Jing seemed very puzzled. If they had to wait for Cao Cao to come, and if they wanted to share Xuzhou equally with Cao Cao, why would they take the risk and rush here before Cao Cao? To put it in modern terms, this is not about winning the Olympic gold medal, but competing for first and second place.
Sun Quan smiled and explained to Wu Jing,
"I was just deceiving Cao Cao. Otherwise, with Cao Cao's treachery and getting the news that we have appeared in Xiapi, if he suddenly retreats, we will not be able to take advantage of it."
Wu Jing nodded slowly.
Sun Quan continued,
"Cao Cao has already sacrificed a lot to capture Xuzhou. Under normal circumstances, he would not give up easily. So we give him something to look forward to and let him work harder, which can also help us share some of the pressure."
"But if Cao Cao really stays, I'm afraid he will also speed up the progress. Zhongmou, we don't have much time left." Wu Jing said worriedly. Cao Cao's original plan was to destroy Lu Bu's main army first, then safely cross the Surabaya River and surround Xiapi. But now, after receiving the news from Sun Quan, Cao Cao might just defeat Lu Bu's army first, or even bypass Lu Bu's army. He would also send a team to Xiapi first to avoid Sun Quan stealing the fruits of victory.
"Wealth is gained through danger. There are risks, but I am prepared for the corresponding response." Sun Quan replied, "Whether Cao Cao comes or Lu Bu's reinforcements come, it will be detrimental to us. Within ten days, if we take If we don't go down to Xiapi, I'm afraid we have to give up the city of Xiapi to Cao Cao. During this period, uncle, please pay close attention and send more scouts out, paying special attention to the south. I don't want anyone to sneak up behind me. , blocking the retreat."
Speaking of this, Sun Quan suddenly remembered,
"By the way, send someone back to urge us. If Zhang Xun has reorganized the original Yuan Shu army, let them rush directly to the Pengcheng area to control this key hub and ensure our retreat." Sun Quan said.
"Understood." Wu Jing nodded and then asked, "But what if they haven't organized the army yet?"
Sun Quan's face darkened and he said coldly,
"And tell them by the way, if nothing happens to them after I conquer Xiapi, they can go back to me directly to take care of themselves in the future!"
"Hmph." Wu Jing smiled sullenly, "That's exactly what it should be. But having said that, Zhongmou, what is the corresponding response you mentioned earlier?" Wu Jing suddenly asked. Now that they only have these few troops and are deep into the enemy camp, what else can they do?
Wu Jing was simply curious about this. Regardless of his status as an elder, Wu Jing really wanted to learn from Sun Quan in many aspects.
It's a pity that Sun Quan just smiled mysteriously in the end and left one sentence - "The mountain man has his own clever plan!"
??????
The days that followed were like Lu Bu leading troops to attack Guangling not long ago, but the protagonist of the story was completely reversed. In the past, Lu Bu called for formation outside the city, and Sun Quan's side did not dare to go out to fight. Now, Sun Quan went to Xiapi City to call for formation every day, and Lu Bu's side acted like a coward.
Hedong in thirty years, Hexi in thirty years. Who would have thought that in just one month, there would be such a dramatic change.
On the surface, it seemed like nothing had happened, not even a tentative battle had been fought. But in fact, since Sun Quan arrived with his troops, there has been an undercurrent in Xiapi City. The morale of the defenders was getting lower and lower, and the city was becoming more and more chaotic. Many officials and generals in the city had secretly exchanged letters with Sun Quan. In the past few days, Sun Quan's gains were far greater than they seemed.
However, no matter how great the harvest was, Sun Quan always endured and refrained from taking action. He was waiting for the best opportunity.
On the other side, west of Surabaya, Cao Cao's camp, Cao Cao urgently summoned his counselors.
"According to reliable information, Sun Quan has arrived outside Xiapi City, and he also sent me a letter of alliance, inviting me to capture Xiapi and divide Xuzhou together." Cao Cao said directly.
"So fast?!" Many people were very surprised.
"I remember he captured Huaiyin not long ago, right?"
"How many troops did he bring?"
"Isn't he afraid that the situation in Huaiyin will be unstable and he will rebel against him?"
Cao Cao shook his head,
"Instead of worrying about others, we should think about ourselves. In short, the fact now is that Sun Quan has led troops to approach Xiapi City, and I will never underestimate the Sun family when it comes to leading troops to fight!" Cao Cao interrupted everyone's discussion.
"My lord, what you mean is that it is possible for Sun Quan to further capture Xiapi?" Xun You asked.
Cao Cao nodded solemnly and said,
"At least I don't think that Sun Quan just went to enjoy the mountains and rivers. There are recent rumors that Sun Quan is close to Buddhism, and Xiapi is a major Buddhist base. I'm afraid this is what Sun Quan relied on to attack Xiapi."
"That being the case, let's retreat in order to advance. Retreat first, let Lu Bu's main force return to Xiapi to relax, and then we can watch the tiger fight across the river." Xun You said immediately.
After hearing Xun You's words, Cao Cao was a little moved. He actually had similar thoughts. However,
"That's not appropriate." Guo Jia suddenly spoke and expressed a different opinion.
