Chapter 106 Unlucky
Guan Zhi smiled.
He looks down on me.
He actually dared to look! No! Up! To! Me!
Gao Huan scrutinized her expression, then lowered his gaze and said, "It's easy to draw the skin of a tiger, but hard to draw its bones; it's easy to know a person's face, but hard to know their heart. Zhi Fang may seem calm and honest, but he may be harboring malicious intentions."
Guan Zhiwei curled her lip: "His so-called composure and honesty are bullshit. I can tell he's full of rebellious spirit, but I don't care. If he's a dragon, he'll coil up; if he's a tiger, he'll lie down!"
It's normal for people to have ambitions. Even a tiger wants to bite, but three slaps will wake it up, won't they?
"I just didn't expect him to think I'm no good anymore. It's completely a problem with his perception; he's not thinking straight."
"The father and son who know how to guard against each other are truly foolish," Gao Huan secretly added.
Guan Zhiwei looked at the paper over and over. He had done everything perfectly, yet he hadn't completely ruled out anything. She laughed heartily, "He's quite considerate; he even came to tell me beforehand. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come at all."
"I guess he's sending a letter to Zhi Junyuan, and we'll send one to him as well. It looks like Zhi Junyuan isn't coming to help."
Gao Huan didn't forget to sow discord at this moment, but his expression was very serious, revealing no selfish motives. He suggested, "Should I send someone to deliver a message to the Zhai brothers? They live quite far away, and it may take some time for them to provide support."
Guan Zhiwei shook her head and said, "No need, I can handle it."
Gao Huan said with concern, "Of course I know that the Grand Tutor is brave, but I am worried that others are not as brave as the Grand Tutor and will hold you back."
"Don't worry too much, I wish I could die that easily."
Guan Zhiwei had no worries, and simply said, "It's precisely because I can't die that they have to die."
Gao Huan was already quite anxious. The war had taken a heavy toll on him, and now that he had finally entered the city, it was besieged from three sides. Morale within the city was low, and reinforcements outside the city had disappeared. Under such circumstances, any general would be extremely worried.
But seeing Guan Zhiwei's half-dead state, his heart suddenly calmed down a lot.
She wasn't bothered by the current situation at all; she was just angry—Zhi Fang actually looked down on me!
She wasn't even particularly angry, because she had plenty of ways to handle things and defend herself, and it wasn't worth getting furious over such a small matter.
She lay down on the bed and pulled the blanket over her navel.
"Call me when the city is besieged."
"yes."
Gao Huan dared not be as lax as she was, and immediately went down to make arrangements, making arrangements overnight, conscripting laborers to rebuild the somewhat damaged city.
A tense atmosphere once again permeated the city.
Those powerful families were secretly laughing.
Guan Zhiwei, now it's your turn to be trapped in the city. Let's see what you do now.
The Hong, Kim, and Lee families, forming a three-way alliance, had a combined force of five or six hundred thousand soldiers outside the city. Overnight, several camps sprang up from the ground, demonstrating a massive commitment of manpower. Clearly, this was a fight to the death, and the conflict was unlikely to end well.
Guan Zhiwei appeared at the meeting only after she had slept enough.
The debate raged on about whether to voluntarily leave the city to meet the enemy or to defend the city, and no consensus could be reached on the various plans.
She slowly spoke: "What's there to argue about? Those who want to defend the city can stay with Gao Huan and defend it. Those who want to fight can come out and fight with me!"
"How many people does the Grand Tutor need? I've heard that the Jin family's formation is very strong, using many people to surround a few, making them almost invincible."
"Eight hundred people, that number is considered auspicious."
Countless laborers were raising the city walls, building barbicans, ramparts, and beacon towers. These things were originally arranged by Yuan Qiuhe, but some were damaged and were being repaired.
Rolling logs, boulders, hot oil, molten gold, and even a mixture of boiling water and excrement were all waiting on the city walls.
The defenders had made all the necessary preparations.
The attacking side was also equipping themselves; the catapults were assembled from spare parts, the giant logs used to ram the city gates were removed, and there were archers, and so on.
They are also holding a war council.
A tripartite alliance.
"It is said that conquering cities is inferior to conquering hearts and minds. But with Guan Zhiwei around, it is difficult to conquer hearts and minds. His influence is too great and he is too good at calming people's hearts!"
"We have no choice but to launch a direct attack."
Everyone present agreed with this statement.
Normally, a siege would be necessary, along with persuasion to surrender. However, they all knew that with Guan Zhiwei inside the city, his momentum was unbreakable, and his generals were unlikely to surrender. Even the many powerful families within the city, having just been thoroughly defeated by Guan Zhiwei, dared not risk allying with them.
The city was, in a sense, an impenetrable wall; if we couldn't work from within, we could only pry it open from the outside.
Qi Xie, as the chief strategist, slowly spoke: "I just went to survey the terrain. What do you think about digging trenches and diverting water to flood the city?"
Hong Feng clapped his hands: "That's great. I also noticed that there is a river at a higher elevation. If we can dig a water diversion trench and let the floodwater rush towards the city wall, it can loosen and collapse the rammed earth or brick and stone city wall, and we won't even have to bother to break down the city gate."
His advisors chimed in, "The floodwaters will soak the grain and cause it to mold, cutting off their supplies. If the floodwaters mix with the corpses and cause a plague, that would be perfect. Even if Guan Zhiwei has great leadership qualities, the people in the city will be thrown into chaos."
"This plan still needs to be considered, after all, it involves too many things."
Jin wasn't against it, but he had many concerns: "Leaving aside how many people it would take to dig the ditches, it's winter now. Although it's not as cold and icy as in the north, there's no rain and the rainfall is insufficient. Furthermore, if not handled properly, the flood could backfire and engulf the troops outside the city."
Qi Xie was relieved. He had thought this man was being hypocritical, worried that a water attack would cause a large number of civilian deaths, thus earning him a reputation for being heartless. It turned out he was just worried about improper operation.
He stroked his beard and smiled: "Young Master Jin, don't worry. When it comes to water skills, my master says one, and no one dares to disagree."
Encouraged by his strategist's gaze, Li Chengxi puffed out his chest: "It's not the rainy season yet, so we can't directly dig up the riverbed. But we can build temporary dams to store water, and once the water is plentiful, we can breach the dams to increase the impact. At that time, we can flood the entire city. Not only will the city walls be breached, but even the million people in the city will drown. We can take the entire city with only a small price to pay!"
Upon hearing this, everyone cheered and thought the plan was excellent.
So they split into two groups: one attacked the city normally, while the other dug a canal.
Siege warfare follows a set strategy: the stronger side must surround the weaker side. The stronger side must use ladders and other means to gain entry into the city. The weaker side, on the other hand, must defend the fortress, occupy the geographical advantage, and ensure that the city gates are not breached.
Yuan Qiuhe's choice to defend the city was not wrong; it was the way to minimize his own losses while maximizing the attrition of Guan Zhiwei's soldiers.
However, he was also unlucky, as he encountered Guan Zhiwei, who was the only one in the world.
On the other hand, if he's unlucky, aren't the other three unlucky too?
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