"Yes." Qin Yan seemed to have recovered his spirit. He responded solemnly and began to say, "The Zhenhai Army dispatched 30,000 people to attack my army outside Tanzhou City. The leader was a Western Rong man named Liang Zun. He had a deputy general named Zhang. Both of them were brave enough to fight against ten thousand men. If I hadn't fought desperately, you might never see me again. Before, although they severely damaged our army, they themselves did not get any good results. After our army fought desperately, the number of the enemy is now at most 20,000. Although our army was defeated, we achieved a lot and tore a piece of flesh and blood from the enemy."
When he said this, Qin Yan's eyes flickered a little, as if he was not speaking from the heart.
At this moment, the Classic of Mountains and Seas suddenly appeared in Zhu Li's mind again, and a grand voice burst out: "In Fu Yu Mountain, there are many grasses, which look like sunflowers, but have red flowers and yellow fruits, like a baby's tongue. Eating them can make people clear their doubts."
Then, a yellow tongue-like fruit flashed out, and then turned into a fluorescent spot, sinking into Zhu Li's body. As the light spot disappeared, Zhu Li suddenly realized that this fruit could prevent people from being deceived, and that Qin Yan was lying.
His expression flickered for a moment, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he listened to the other party's nonsense calmly.
"Liang Zun and Zhang are both fierce generals. I was outnumbered by two, so I neglected the command of the army and suffered such a great defeat. But now it is different. General Bi and you are here. As long as we choose two people to hold back Liang Zun and Zhang, the others can lead the army to attack and kill them. It will be easy to defeat them." Qin Yan spoke with certainty and seriousness.
However, everyone present, including Bi Shiduo who was sitting in the main seat, frowned slightly. From what he said, the enemy's army was actually a bunch of weaklings and could not withstand a single blow. He was defeated because he was held back and had no time to command the army. Did he really think that everyone in the tent was a fool
Although Zhu Li had never experienced such a scene, he estimated that Qin Yan probably didn't even know how he was defeated, so he was talking nonsense here. The information he said was of no value at all.
Even Zhu Li, an outsider, knew the valuable information, which at least included how many Yue cavalry and guards the enemy had, how the troops were matched, their combat effectiveness, etc. However, he did not mention any of these, which showed that he was defeated hastily and inexplicably.
Qin Yan heaved a long sigh and knelt down beside him as if no one was around. Bi Shiduo had a dark face. Although he did not point at Qin Yan's nose to expose him, he was obviously a little unhappy. He said gloomily: "Regarding the information provided by General Qin, what do you think? Or if you have any good strategies to deal with the enemy, you might as well talk about it first."
"General, we are ordered to go south and attack Guangxi. Why do we have to take over Tanzhou? Can we bypass Tanzhou, send troops to Shaozhou, plunder Yongzhou and Daozhou, and then attack Zhaozhou?" A captain frowned and suggested.
(Tanzhou: present-day Changsha; Shaozhou: present-day Shaoyang; Daozhou: present-day Daozhou, Hunan; Zhaozhou: present-day Guilin; in the first month of 879 AD, Huang Chao led his army, then known as the Grass Army, to attack Guangdong and Guangxi in two routes. The route taken by Bi Shiduo and Qin Yan is tentatively determined to be this route based on the information found.)
"No, if we bypass Tanzhou, we will undoubtedly hand our retreat to Liang Zun. If the battle ahead goes badly, it will be tantamount to seeking our own death."
Wei immediately retorted.
"But now the enemy is stronger in terms of military strength and has more troops than us. With our limited manpower, attacking Tanzhou is nothing but a pipe dream." A captain expressed his concern.
... ...
Such a solemn place as the big tent suddenly became boiling with noise, as noisy as a vegetable market. However, loud noises did not mean there was a solution. Everyone kept arguing but no solution was found.
Bi Shiduo, who was sitting on the main seat, looked even gloomier. He looked around at the crowd and suddenly realized that among the group of people, only Wu Dao was kneeling there calmly, ignoring the quarrels of others, with a calm expression as if the world was collapsing. His eyes lit up and he quickly said, "Everyone, be quiet."
After the noisy voices died down, he calmed down and asked Wu Dao in a casual manner, "Captain Wu seems to have a plan in mind. Please enlighten me if you have any good plan."
He didn't dare to treat Wu Dao the same way he treated others. Firstly, he was only nominally subordinate to him but not actually in control of him. Secondly, this person was unfathomable. If they really fought, he was not sure he could deal with him, so he spoke in a very polite tone.
Wu Dao was calm when he heard this. He looked around at everyone and said slowly, "Why did Gao Pian lead the Jingzhou army to enter Guangdong and Guangxi before us?"
When he asked this, everyone was stunned and didn't understand.
But he didn't intend to let others answer. Without waiting for others to interrupt, he continued: "Isn't it just to snipe us head-on?"
"I think that now is not the time to consider how to attack Tanzhou, but rather how to deal with Liang Zun's attack." Wu Diao's low and calm words were like a stone thrown into a small pond, instantly causing countless ripples in everyone's hearts.
A hint of enlightenment appeared on everyone's faces. Yes, the right thing to do now is to consider how to deal with the opponent's attack. The Cao army is now at an absolute disadvantage. Liang Zun and Zhang Xie have superior forces. How could they defend the city themselves? They will definitely look for opportunities to attack the Cao army.
After understanding this truth, most people's expressions became unnatural. Many people not only lost their previous enthusiasm for arguing, but became worried instead.
"Captain Wu, what you said makes sense. Captain Wu has remained calm and composed. I believe he has already come up with a plan to deal with the enemy. I hope you can give me some advice." Bi Shiduo looked at Wu Dao and asked for advice.
The other captains, including Qin Yan, also looked towards Wu Dao, their eyes full of expectation.
"I do have a way to deal with the attacks from Liang Zun and Zhang, but I cannot guarantee that Liang Zun will attack with all his strength." Wu Diao spoke slowly and unhurriedly, seeming a little worried.
"Captain Wu's words make me curious. Since the other party is attacking us, shouldn't we hope that the other party's attack strength will be smaller so that we can gradually eliminate them? From what Captain Wu said, it seems that he hopes Liang Zun will attack with his entire army. This makes me very confused." Qin Yan spoke up and raised questions.
"Could it be that Captain Wu's strategy can accomplish the goal in one battle?" Bi Shiduo frowned and looked at Wu Dao thoughtfully, his eyes full of anticipation.
"Yes, the only thing I'm afraid of is that he doesn't dare to attack with all his strength." Wu Diao said confidently.
Seeing Wu Dao so confident, Bi Shiduo
His curiosity was also aroused, and he quickly asked: "Captain Wu, please tell me quickly. If this is true, I will definitely follow it."
Wu Dao looked at the expressions of the crowd and said lightly, "The plan is very simple. Since it is very likely that Liang Zun will take the initiative to attack us, we should just sit back and wait for him to come."
"How can we sit back and wait for something to happen?" Bi Shiduo asked hastily, feeling itchy.
Not only him, but everyone else was also very curious. If they could beat Wu Diao, someone would have rushed up and beaten Wu Diao up, forcing him to tell him all his plans immediately.
Wu Dao looked around again and found that the time was almost right. He said calmly: "We are located by the Xiang River, so why not set up camp by the water and lure the enemy to attack."
This sentence made everyone even more confused. Setting up camp near water also requires careful consideration. If it is not done properly, it will become a taboo for soldiers. Qin Yan asked in confusion: "Could it be that Captain Wu wants to flood the seven armies?"
Wu Diao glanced at him calmly and replied expressionlessly: "The flood season of the Xiang River is in April. Now the first month has not yet ended, how can there be talk of flooding the seven armies?"
However, Wu Dao wanted to explain his plan clearly. He was afraid that these idiots would not understand his meaning and mess things up, so he continued, "My idea is to set up the camp by the Xiang River and ambush the army outside the camp, preferably in a secluded place. The camp is full of mud. We only need a thousand soldiers to pretend to be ten thousand people to lure Liang Zun to attack the camp. As long as he dares to come, no matter whether his soldiers are Yue cavalry or guards, they will be trapped in the mud once they enter the camp. At that time, we will set fire to the camp and shoot with sharp arrows. No matter how many people he has, they will all be wiped out."
"wonderful"
"well"
"Great, great, hahahaha, so that's how it is. I didn't expect Captain Wu to be such a hidden master."
Everyone applauded Wu Dao's words, and it was obvious that this idea was recognized.
As soon as Bi Shiduo heard Wu Dao's explanation, he agreed to this plan in his heart. He set up a camp by the water, but it was just an empty camp. He stationed more than a thousand people in it, pretending that there were ten thousand people. As long as he got the news to Liang Zun, he didn't believe that Liang Zun would not attack.
But which captain should be sent to lure the enemy into the camp
Although this strategy is good, the person who lures the enemy bears the highest risk. If he is not careful, his life may even be in danger. If these captains are asked to volunteer, Bi Shiduo estimates that no one will step forward on their own initiative.
But if he were allowed to appoint, he was afraid that even if the appointed captain did not die, there would be a rift between him and him in the future. The issue of inducing the enemy to make a choice made him feel dilemma.
Wu Dao seemed to see Bi Shiduo's embarrassment, and he cupped his hands and said, "Since this plan came from me, I will naturally take on the task of luring the enemy. I came up with the idea, and there is no reason for others to take the risk. I beg the general to allow me to do so."
Bi Shiduo was hesitating about the candidate, but Wu Dao's personal request surprised him. He thought to himself that since the plan came from him, he should have some support, and it should not be difficult to save his life. Besides, he would not feel bad if many of Pang Xun's old men died. So he immediately responded cheerfully: "Okay, since Captain Wu has volunteered, then Captain Wu will be responsible for luring the enemy."