"Oh, Second Brother and Seventh Brother are here?"
"Let's eat hot pot! Come and cook some sliced beef!"
Liu Fu's life is incredibly leisurely.
They ate hot pot at the camp every day and played chess with Zhou Zhenguo.
This week, Zhenguo's head is now bald.
He simply couldn't understand how Liu Fu could inflict such a crushing defeat on the rebels without using a single Han soldier. The fact that over 30,000 corpses were left in the mountain path was simply unbelievable.
Liu Fu casually made up a lie, saying that he dreamed of receiving teachings from a deity that allowed him to observe celestial phenomena and know good and bad fortune.
That day, they had just predicted that the mountain road at Qipanling was about to collapse, so they set up this ambush. Just then, Ouyang Fang's rebel army arrived there, and the mountain collapsed and buried them.
Zhou Zhenguo actually believed Liu Fu's offhand nonsense.
Moreover, he instantly transformed from a rebellious and disobedient general into Liu Fu's most loyal henchman, even going so far as to apologize to Liu Fu by carrying thorns on his back.
Liu Fu naturally displayed great magnanimity, not only sparing Zhou Zhenguo from punishment but also praising him for his loyalty to the Han Dynasty, his dedication to the country and its people, and for being a responsible and good general.
In response, Zhou Zhenguo was moved to tears and became willing to risk his life for Liu Fu, even at the cost of his life.
King Ping, Liu Jia, was the seventh son of Liu Fu and the seventh brother of Liu Fu. He was known for his bravery in leading troops into battle and was a general who was no less capable than the others under Liu Laowu in his early years.
But when Liu Fu explained his plan, even Liu Jia was amazed and gave him a thumbs up.
“Even the lowest-ranking generals charged ahead, displaying fierce courage and strength.”
"Generals of average skill are adept at conquering cities and territories and are skilled in battle."
"But the highest level of generals is to subdue the enemy without fighting, to achieve the greatest results with the least casualties. This is the way of war."
Liu Jia and Zhou Zhenguo knew, of course, that what Liu Fu said was true.
But throughout history, very few generals have been able to subdue the enemy without fighting.
Those generals who were able to do this eventually entered the Temple of Martial Arts, where they continue to receive offerings from the people for thousands of years.
Liu Fu unfolded the map and pointed to the map of Dongjun, saying:
"The rebels are now out of food and their morale is low. They get weaker every day they go on, and even the strongest people can't withstand three days without food."
After saying this, Liu Fu asked Liu Jia:
"Seventh Brother, you are a skilled warrior. If you were in such a desperate situation, what would you do?"
After a moment's thought, Liu Jia said:
"The best outcome would be to immediately boost morale and launch a breakout."
Liu Fu shook his head:
"They are all scattered soldiers, and they just suffered a major defeat. They haven't eaten for two days, including today. Do you think they still have the strength to break through?"
Liu Jia sighed:
"Then we can only slaughter the warhorses and livestock, give the soldiers a full meal, find a strategic location to hold, and wait for reinforcements to bring supplies before we can be relieved of our predicament."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhenguo chuckled:
"Seventh Prince, this trick won't work either."
"Oh? This won't work either?"
Liu Jia was taken aback.
Then Zhou Zhenguo spoke:
"My lord is a brilliant strategist. Taking advantage of the rebels' defeat, he captured all their warhorses and livestock. Now they can't even slaughter the horses to satisfy their hunger."
After hearing this, Liu Jia nodded secretly:
"Well done, Lao Ba!"
"Seventh Prince, my lord has done even more impressive things."
"Your Highness has already cut off the rebels' supply lines. It will take the rebels at least a month to transport the grain from their rear base to Dongjun."
“These rebels are trapped here. They will starve to death if they don’t eat for five or six days. How can they possibly last a month?”
Liu Jia had no choice but to give a thumbs up again.
It's truly unexpected that the eighth brother, who has never led troops into battle, is so incredibly capable.
On his first time commanding troops, he managed to do it so well, taking into account so many minute details?
"If I were Ouyang Fang, I would have to find a place to hold out in a dangerous location, preferably a mountain range, so that I could hold out for a while."
Zhou Zhenguo shook his head again at this point:
"No, no, everything that the Seventh Prince considered has also been predicted by my Highness."
Liu Jia was taken aback:
"What did he predict?"
Zhou Zhenguo, with his straightforward temper, couldn't help but burst into laughter:
"The encirclement Your Highness has created for the rebels has no high mountains to defend. Dongjun is mostly plains. Your Highness has already bypassed the mountains. If these people are trapped here, they can only dig up grass roots and eat tree bark."
Liu Jia then looked at Liu Fu again.
He was immediately awestruck!
Is this still my naive and innocent eighth brother?
Such a strategy and tactics, I'm afraid even I couldn't have foreseen it in such detail.
When Liu Jia came to his senses from the shock, he found that Liu Fu had already put a few slices of hot pot beef into his bowl.
Liu Fu pointed to a corner of the map and said to Liu Jia:
“A few days ago, the rebels could still dig up some grass roots and tree bark to eat, but now there are more than 90,000 of them, and soon they won’t even have tree bark and grass roots to eat.”
"The rebels, who have been starving for several days, have lost their will to fight. Even though our encirclement consists of only 20,000 men, it has become an insurmountable obstacle in their eyes. They will only keep retreating."
"For every inch they retreat, we will advance one step closer, constantly shrinking the encirclement and putting pressure on them. These rebels will have no way out and will inevitably cause internal strife. At that time, they will either surrender or starve to death. We will kill any few who dare to resist."
"In this way, the rebels can be quelled. Then, the surrendered soldiers can be sent to the north to build the Great Wall to alleviate the manpower shortage crisis. I can then raise an army to surround the rebels' rear, kill all the wealthy merchants, powerful clans and aristocratic families who provide them with food and fodder, and confiscate their wealth. This will not only deter those unruly elements within the rebels, but also provide my father with some silver to solve the current crisis. This matter can then be brought to a perfect conclusion."
After hearing Liu Fu's subsequent plans, Liu Jia was completely and deeply shocked.
After finishing the hotpot, Liu Jia immediately had to go back to report.
After all, there were still 70,000 troops stationed halfway, and every move the army made would consume supplies. Liu Jia immediately bowed and took his leave.
"Eighth Brother, I've prepared a celebration banquet for you in the capital. On the day you return, Seventh Brother and you will drink until we drop!"
Liu Fu nodded:
"We won't leave until we're drunk!"
"By the way, Seventh Brother, there's one more thing we need to prepare for. You have to go back and tell our father to send people to me as soon as possible to receive the surrendered soldiers and then escort them to the north to build the Great Wall."
“I reckon you should go back and tell your father now. He needs to mobilize manpower and make tens of thousands of shackles to restrain the surrendered soldiers. All of this will take time. Go back and make preparations now, so that when the rebellion is quelled, you can seamlessly take over without wasting any time.”
Liu Jia really didn't expect this!
Liu Fu's vision is so far-reaching. He's already making arrangements for the aftermath of the rebellion while the war is still going on.
Liu Fu's mind was so meticulous. If he hadn't brought it up, I really wouldn't have thought of this. Wouldn't that have delayed things by half a month?
Thinking of this, Liu Jia slapped his forehead:
"How could I not have thought of that? Eighth Brother, I've got it. I'll go back and report to Father right away."
Filled with immense surprise and shock, Liu Jia urged his horse to leave the military camp.
Meanwhile, in the rebel camp, after two days without food, the rebel soldiers were already in a state of chaos.
Especially those tall, barbarian people, who couldn't understand the language, behaved rudely, were uncivilized, and were inherently fierce and savage.
The Central Plains people among the rebels looked down on these uncivilized barbarians the most.
But to his surprise, he was chopped up and thrown into a pot by several burly barbarians for a pot of human flesh soup simply because he said the wrong thing...
What Liu Fu had predicted actually happened!
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