Veteran general Huang Zhong spoke first, his voice hoarse yet filled with unyielding spirit: "My lord, Jiangdong has a strategically important location, many generals but few soldiers. If we wish to attack the city, we must first break its defenses."
"The old general is right. Jiangdong's troops are not many, but their fortifications are very well-prepared. If our army tries to launch a strong attack, we will likely suffer heavy losses," Zhang Liao said from the side.
Liu Bei frowned, gently rubbing his temples, and after a long while said, "Xiaozhi, Yuanzhi, what do you think?"
Fa Zheng thought for a moment and said, "My lord, in my humble opinion, we are no match for Jiangdong in naval warfare."
"We can use a strategy to besiege Jiangdong, and then harass them in batches to exhaust them!"
After Fa Zheng finished speaking, Xu Huang, Huang Zhong, and other generals all became more serious and fell into deep thought.
"Strategist, if this is the case, I'm afraid it will be detrimental to our army!"
"Although our army has Jingzhou as its base, it is ultimately fighting on its own soil in Jiangdong..."
"The powerful families of Jiangdong have been entrenched for many years, their influence deeply entrenched. I'm afraid they will support Sun Quan, making him difficult to shake..."
Fa Zheng smiled slightly and said, "It's alright! Aristocratic families are all hesitant to act rashly, especially since I've been in Jingzhou for many years and know the aristocratic families of Jiangdong even better!"
"Sun Quan should be thanking his God that they haven't turned against us."
"Moreover, Jiangdong's grain reserves are not abundant. As long as we prolong the battle, they will collapse sooner or later."
Fa Zheng's words made Liu Bei frown.
"I want a swift victory!" Liu Bei said.
Fa Zheng shook his head and said, "My lord, you must not be rash. A hasty attack may cause incalculable casualties to our soldiers."
After a pause, Fa Zheng continued, "I believe we should proceed gradually. If our army launches a fierce attack at any cost, Sun Quan might resort to desperate measures, which would be very disadvantageous for us!"
"Yuanzhi, do you have a solution?" Liu Bei asked.
Xu Shu pondered for a moment and said, "My lord, in my humble opinion, we should adopt a roundabout tactic to lure the enemy deep into our territory!"
"Oh? What do you mean?" Liu Bei asked curiously.
“Although Jiangdong’s military strength is slightly superior to ours, its geographical location is special, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack! Therefore, we need to attack Yuzhang County from both flanks, using Yuzhang as bait to lure them into attacking!” Xu Shu said.
Liu Bei's brows relaxed slightly, he nodded, and said, "And then?"
Xu Shu smiled slightly and said, "Then it becomes much simpler; we just need to besiege the stronghold and attack the reinforcements."
"Wonderful! Wonderful!"
Liu Bei said again, "This battle concerns the fate of our army and the nation. I will not allow any mistakes. Xu Huang, I appoint you as the commander-in-chief of this battle. You must take Yuzhang County!"
"Your subordinate obeys!" Xu Huang clasped his hands in response.
Liu Bei smiled with satisfaction, and then said to Wei Yan, "Wei Yan, I appoint you as the vanguard, leading 50,000 troops to launch the first attack on Yuzhang!"
"Here you go!"
At this moment, Huang Zhong suddenly spoke up, "My lord, why not let me be the vanguard?"
Liu immediately said, "The old general is getting on in years. Wei Yan can take on the role of the vanguard."
Upon hearing this, Huang Zhong immediately objected, saying, "My lord, Lian Po is eighty years old and still has plenty of strength! Although I am a bit old, I have not accepted my age. This humble general requests to be the vanguard. Please grant my request, my lord!"
Liu Bei waved his hand and said, "General, please don't be offended. I was just worried that your health couldn't handle it, so I had Wei Yan replace you!"
"No need! I am willing to sign a military pledge: if I fail to capture Yuzhang, I am willing to offer my head in return!" Huang Zhong said resolutely.
Seeing this, Xu Shu quickly dissuaded him, saying, "General, don't be anxious. Our lord means well!"
Huang Zhong glared at Xu Shu with his large, bell-like eyes and shouted, "We military generals should die on the battlefield, wrapped in our horsehide! How can we be afraid of death?"
Liu Bei gave a wry smile and said, "General, you misunderstand. I didn't mean that!"
Upon hearing this, Huang Zhong calmed down somewhat and continued to bow, saying, "My lord, Huang Zhong requests to fight!"
"this....."
Liu Bei hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded and said, "Very well! General, you are no less capable than Lian Po. I appoint you as the vanguard, leading 50,000 troops to be the first to attack Yuzhang!"
"Thank you for your kindness, my lord! I will certainly live up to your expectations!" Huang Zhong said with pride.
Liu Bei nodded and said, "Then let's set off!"
"Here you go!"
Huang Zhong then left the military camp and headed towards Yuzhang County.
......
Outside Haihun County in Yuzhang Commandery, Lu Su stood atop the city wall, gazing at the vast, dark army in the distance, his eyes filled with deep worry.
With Huang Zhong's 50,000-strong army as the vanguard, they have already captured ten cities in Yuzhou County.
We are now heading towards Haihun County.
"General, what should we do now?" A lieutenant stepped forward and asked in a low voice.
"Huang Zhong has been conquering cities and capturing strongholds all the way, and his morale is high. If we were to fight him, we would probably suffer heavy losses. Moreover, we don't have enough men to fight him," Lu Su said with a wry smile.
The lieutenant sighed and said, "General, are we just going to stand by and watch?"
Lu Su shook his head and said, "Of course we can't just wait here. As the saying goes, once, twice, thrice, and then exhaustion!"
"When they are exhausted, that will be our time to attack!"
"But..." The lieutenant wanted to say something more, but Lu Su raised his hand to stop him. He said, "Alright, no need to say more. Just do as I say. If we send out troops rashly and are defeated, our army's morale will plummet, making it even harder to resist the Shu army's attack."
"Yes, Commander!" the lieutenant replied helplessly.
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