"It's not three eagles with one arrow, but four eagles with one arrow." In Gongsun Zan's camp, Liu Guan, Zhang Zhao, and Zhuge Liang gathered together. At this time, it was Zhuge Liang who spoke.
Neither Guo Jia nor Huang Yueying participated in the alliance this time. This has to be said to be a tacit understanding between the counselors. On the one hand, this represents their absolute trust in Zhuge Liang. On the other hand, it also shows that they have no plans to conquer Dong Zhuo. It's not necessary for all three of them to be here.
The more important point is that if Huang Yueying comes, given Zhuge Liang's temperament, everything will have to be based on his wife's words; and if Guo Jia comes, there will inevitably be a secret rivalry between the two, which is not beautiful.
"The purpose of Sun Jian's coming to the Central Military Command this time is to consolidate his position as a former general, and at the same time, let the princes from all walks of life help him, and this is aimed at Yuan Shao." Zhuge Liang continued.
"According to your statement, he has taken into account the enemy, the various princes, the morale of his own army, and now he has taken into account the alliance leader Yuan Shao. So what is his final purpose?" Liu Bei asked with a frown.
Zhuge Liang did not answer Liu Bei's question directly, but continued: "Since General Liu, General Gongsun, and General Zhao Yun have all received Sun Jian's secret letter, I think he is not who I thought he was, maybe he just wanted to Appropriate revenge must be taken against those people for what they have done before.”
Zhuge Liang emphasized the word "simple" very seriously, which shows that Sun Jian's purpose is not simple.
Regarding Liu Bei, Gongsun Zan, and Zhao Yun, who responded quickly to share the pressure of the Sun family army in the early battles, Sun Jian had already sent people to send superstitions. Let alone the polite words, the most important thing was that the three people sent to participate in the attack The proportion of soldiers' losses in the siege was never higher than that of his Sun family's army.
This matter is worth pondering.
"Sun Jian is a good old boy. If you ask me to give us face like this, do you want to form an alliance with me? I like to make friends the most. After this battle is over, wouldn't it be nice to bring him over for a drink and a chat. "Zhang Fei laughed when he heard this, feeling very happy.
"I'm afraid I will disappoint General Zhang." Zhuge Liang stopped Zhang Fei's words, his face was not so relaxed.
"How do you say this?" Gongsun Zan asked.
"Perhaps in your opinion, Sun Jian's secret letter is proof that he wants to make good friends or even form an alliance with us, but in my opinion, it is the opposite. It means that Sun Jian does not want to owe us the favor that he shared in the early battlefield. Sun Jian has already paid back the incense and love, that's all." Zhuge Liang said solemnly.
"Then tell me, what does this old boy want?!" Zhang Fei's face changed at every turn. Just now he was talking about drinking and chatting, but now he must draw a clear line.
"What he wants depends on how long the general at Sishui Pass can hold on." Zhuge Liang replied softly with a smile that understood the world on his handsome face.
Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei were both chewing on the meaning of Zhuge Liang's words and fell into deep thought. Even Guan Yu and Zhao Yun frowned, thinking about the meaning of this sentence.
Only Zhang Fei, after hearing these words, his eyes widened and he said angrily: "You little pretty face, why are you talking so confusingly? Some people don't understand, please explain it clearly to me!"
"Third brother, don't frighten the military advisor." Zhao Yun poked Zhang Fei beside him and said softly.
"This bunch of strategists are all too colorful. They always talk like they are playing riddles on lanterns. I feel annoyed!" Zhang Fei said impatiently.
"Okay, let me make it clear." Zhuge Liang was a little dumbfounded, but continued: "General Zhang, think about it, if the garrison strength of the gate really makes it impossible to attack the city, if it were you, would you still fight like this?"
"Of course not. Since there is no hope, why should I attack it? Do I think I have too many soldiers, or do I think the morale of the army is too high?!" Zhang Fei glared, feeling that Zhuge Liang was knowingly asking.
"What you and I both understand, Sun Jian must also understand. So the purpose of what he did was definitely to be sure to capture Sishui Pass, that's why he said this. But how the process goes, we have to see how the defenders can persist. How long, within two days, the longer the defenders hold on, the more beneficial it will be to him, Sun Jian." Zhuge Liang analyzed.
When Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan heard this, they fully understood what Zhuge Liang wanted to say, and they felt some admiration for the former general of the coalition.
Seeing that Zhang Fei still looked confused, Zhuge Liang was not impatient and continued: "To put it simply, after we just allocated our soldiers to Sun Jian again to attack Sishui Pass, the soldiers now accumulated outside Sishui Pass It has reached 100,000 people. In addition to the 20,000 soldiers lost today, the number of troops used to attack Sishui Pass has exceeded one-fifth of the total coalition forces. Among them, except for Changsha, Nanyang, Bingzhou, and Youzhou, Outside the road, the consumption of other princes must be calculated multiplied. In the next two days, Sun Jian will definitely concentrate on this siege, which means there will be more casualties, and the four roads just excluded must now be completely On the battlefield, of course, he will still put his Sun family army last. On the one hand, he must win the battle, and on the other hand, he must control the proportion of battle losses among the various princes, not to mention losing military morale, and also must This is Sun Jian's plan to consolidate his position as a former general and force others to fully cooperate with him."
"So think about it, the more fiercely the defenders in Sishui Pass resist within two days, the greater the consumption will be on the other princes. The more these princes, including the three of you, will be consumed, Sun Jian The position will be more stable. This is actually a matter of one and two. It's just that whether it is General Gongsun, General Zhao, or General Liu, you have too many soldiers under your command, and you have been supportive before, so it is obvious that you have been offended. It’s not a good idea, so in my opinion, once the soldiers of other princes are exhausted, then Sishui Pass should be captured.”
Zhang Fei finally understood what Sun Jian was thinking, and couldn't help but feel a little angry. He shouted loudly: "That little girl from the Tang family didn't even tell us about such a big thing. If it weren't for you, a pretty boy, a certain family would have been almost killed by that old boy." Cheated!"
"I'm afraid I can't blame Miss Tang for this matter. She may not know about it. After all, she is not Sun Jian's original direct descendant. Secondly, based on my observation of this girl, she is really not good at doing these things, and she may not even care at all. These." Zhuge Liang waved his hand.
"Then how should we behave, please let the military advisor make it clear." Liu Bei said with clasped fists and cupped hands.
"Wait." Zhuge Liang said, "Our battlefield is not here, so don't forget anyone."
"Qi Zhen has indeed not seen him since he went to lead the army under Han Fu, and I don't know how he is now." Gongsun Zan took over the conversation naturally.
In a sense, it was precisely because of Qi Zhen that the few people present gathered together. Without him, this alliance within an alliance would not exist at all. How could we discuss important matters together?
The gathering on the commander's platform dispersed, as did the gathering in Gongsun Zan's camp. Just as he said, Sun Yat-sen rushed back to his forward army camp at starry night. Early the next morning, all the princes came to support him again. The 50,000 troops and horses will be in place. Sun Jian, who returned to the camp, rarely relaxed, with a faint smile on his face, looking extremely happy.
"Father, it looks like the result is good." Sun Ce, who was waiting in the camp, said with a smile when he saw his father's expression.
"You didn't see the expression on Yuan Shao's face. He wanted to be angry but didn't dare. He wanted to punish his father but had to fight and clear his name at the same time. It's really funny, hahahaha." Sun Jian finally couldn't help it and laughed loudly. .
"Congratulations, father. How many troops did those guys give you this time?" Sun Ce asked.
"My son, let me guess." Sun Jian asked with a smile.
"Yuan Shao has already sent 20,000 people before. With his usual style, I'm afraid he won't send so many more this time even if he wants to show the power of his alliance leader. In my opinion, he will only send 10,000 more. As for the other princes, …Except for Bingzhou, Youzhou, and Nanyang, which may send more troops and can exceed 5,000, the rest are probably about the same as before. According to this calculation, the number of troops allocated this time should not exceed 50,000 at most." Sun Ce analyzed slowly.
Sun Jian comforted him, stroking his beard and chuckled: "My son is right, the number of soldiers supporting us in attacking Sishui Pass this time is exactly 50,000."
Sun Ce looked surprised: "Then we have a hundred thousand soldiers and horses!?"
One hundred thousand is a big hurdle. Let alone the fourth generation and three princes like Yuan Shao, if a prince can hold an army of one hundred thousand, then he can really be called a force that cannot be underestimated among the nine states in the world.
"Don't be too eager to be happy. These people will always fill up the Sishui Gate. We can't treat them as our own." Sun Jian waved his hand and said.
"I understand." Sun Ce nodded, but his face was still beaming with joy.
"Tomorrow morning, my military order will be sent to the remaining six siege armies to maintain the attack posture before sunset today. Each army will act on their own initiative and continue to increase the pressure on Sishui Pass as appropriate." Sun Jian's face became solemn and his eyes narrowed.
"I would like to see what the bottom line of the defenders in this city is!"
"I will obey your orders!" Sun Ce said loudly, clasping his fists and cupping his hands.
Sun Ce slept well that night, not just him, but all the generals who understood what Sun Jian was thinking also slept well.
Early the next morning, at dawn, the northernmost camp of the Pioneer Army received military orders from Sun Jian's camp.
"Report! There is an order from the Pioneer Army camp." A soldier shouted loudly outside the door.
Tang Yi, who was lying on the bed, seemed to have woken up a long time ago. When she opened her eyes, her face was completely sleepless. She sat up and said softly: "What's the matter?"
