In the Weishui Camp, Cao's army was also deploying its defenses on all fronts. Despite his injuries, Lu Qian observed Zhuge Liang's troops on the opposite bank and only returned to the tent after they left.
Seeing that there were generals following Zhuge Liang, Lu Qian felt increasingly heavy-hearted, and his subordinates also frowned. The Central Plains was in danger, Guanzhong and Qingzhou had also been breached, and they could not come to support, so the situation was not optimistic.
Wang Hui said: "The soldiers from Jingzhou have just arrived. Why don't we rob their camp tonight while they are still unstable?"
Lu Qian said: "Zhuge Liang is very good at commanding troops, how could he not know how to defend himself?"
Xu Xi said: "We are deployed along the river and have no intention of advancing. The general is injured. Zhuge Liang certainly did not expect us to dare to raid his camp. We will catch him off guard."
Lu Qian shook his head and said, "In the Battle of Kunyang, Zhang Wenyuan attacked the camp twice and almost never came back. We are here to shoulder the heavy responsibility of the safety of Luoyang and the Central Plains. We cannot afford to make any mistakes and must not act rashly."
While they were arguing, Xin Pi came to the camp and laughed when he heard what was said: "Kong Ming is quite clever. If we attack the camp, we will definitely fall into their trap. Why don't you take advantage of their trap?"
Lu Qian asked hurriedly: "What's the plan?"
Xin Pi said: "We are setting up defenses here to guard the rear and also to repel the enemy. If we only defend without attacking, it will not be a long-term solution. The enemy is in high spirits now, so we should not confront them head-on. We should first use the strategy of tiring out the soldiers to wear down their morale and age their troops. Then we can wait for an opportunity to defeat the enemy. Perhaps we can cooperate with General Zhang and turn defeat into victory."
Lu Qian nodded and said, "Mingfu, what you said makes sense, but Gan Ning and his men are brave and valiant. If we attack them, we may suffer some damage."
Xin Pi smiled and said, "There is no need to send troops. The two generals just go and guard the camp. I have a clever plan to make the Jingzhou soldiers restless day and night, and they will retreat soon."
Wang Hui was puzzled and asked, "The troops of Jingzhou are already powerful. If we don't send troops, how can we disturb the enemy?"
Xin Pi said, "We can divide our troops into two groups in Songshan and Weishui, and use drums and trumpets to harass the enemy. The Jingzhou soldiers will not know their true strength and will definitely be on guard against our raiding of their camp. They will be on alert all night. In a few days, the Jingzhou soldiers will be unable to bear the harassment and will change their mind regardless of whether they advance or retreat. Then we can counterattack."
"Zhuge Liang also used this strategy at Bowangpo. We have to see how he responds." Lu Qian was overjoyed. He ordered Xu Xi and Mao Hui to guard one camp each, and he led the army in the center to provide support.
Other people were sent to ambush in the mountains and reed marshes. When they saw the fire signal on the city wall, they would beat drums and ring gongs. When the fire was extinguished, they would hide in the mountains.
After three o'clock in the night, Xin Pi came to a high platform on the cliff and saw the neatly arranged camp of the Jingzhou soldiers in the distance. The soldiers were patrolling back and forth. Although they were not very vigilant, they were in good order. He could not help but sigh inwardly that Zhuge Liang was good at training his troops.
After observing silently for a while, he could not tell the strength of the enemy camp. Xin Pi frowned slightly and ordered, "Light the fire!"
The soldiers behind him lit torches and waved them towards the mountain. Soon, they heard a rapid drumbeat coming from far away. The defenders of the Jingzhou military camp immediately became alert, and two teams of soldiers went to the camp gate to stand guard.
Xin Pi saw that the enemy not only moved quickly but also did not panic at all. The speed of their response was amazing, and he became more and more worried. The enemy's elite was far beyond his expectations, and he was afraid that only the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry could compare with them.
These were just ordinary soldiers guarding the camp. One could imagine how powerful Guan Yu's troops were. Looking at the starry sky, Xin Pi's face was gloomy. He abandoned Yuan and joined Cao because Cao's army was so brave and sharp that the Hebei army collapsed at the first touch.
Now the Cao family seems to be following the old path of the Yuan family. Cao Cao fled to the northern desert, his sons are incompetent, and his army is weak. Although they seem to have a large number of soldiers, they actually have no general to lead them. They are restricted everywhere against the enemy and have no chance of winning.
"Is it the time or the fate?" Xin Pi sighed softly towards the sky, feeling extremely confused for a moment.
In fact, the Jingzhou camp was far from being as peaceful as Xin Pi saw. Although there seemed to be only ordinary soldiers outside the camp, the army inside the camp had already been in full alert.
When Gan Ning heard the drum, he immediately rushed to the front of the central army tent. Seeing that the tent was dark, he shouted anxiously: "Military Advisor, the enemy is attacking! You have miscalculated this time..."
After shouting a few times, there was no response from inside the tent. The Bai Li soldiers were guarding the door and no one was allowed to enter without the general's order.
Just as he was getting anxious, Chen Dao also hurried over. Gan Ning hurried forward and said, "The military advisor must have fallen asleep. Shuzhi, go wake him up quickly."
Chen Dao frowned and waited for a moment, then clasped his fists and said, "The military advisor has not moved. I think Cao's army is just bluffing. Xingba should go and rest first and wait for the general's order."
"Oh, too careless. Isn't this what the military advisor left over?" Gan Ning suddenly came to his senses, slapped his forehead and left with a sigh.
The footsteps outside the tent faded away, but the tent curtain opened a crack, and the boy handed out a brocade bag: "General Huo Jun, please follow my orders."
The personal soldier took the order and walked away quickly. A ray of light came through the crack in the door, and a man in a Taoist robe and crane cloak was seen sitting cross-legged in meditation. It was Zhuge Liang.
Xin Pi saw that the defenders had retreated, but two more patrol teams were added. He couldn't help but feel moved. They all said that Zhuge Liang was cautious, and it was true. As long as he mobilized his troops, the plan of disturbing the enemy would be effective.
After waiting for another half an hour, Xin Pi ordered his men to sound a fire signal towards the river bank. This time the distance to the enemy camp was very close, and the rapid drumbeats were like thunder.
This time, the Jingzhou soldiers reacted strongly. Drums and gongs were beaten in the camp, and several teams of soldiers and horses quickly gathered and came outside the camp. In a blink of an eye, they formed a battle formation to wait for the enemy.
"Hehe, Wolong reaped what he sowed, how could he have predicted my plan?" Although Xin Pi was amazed at the enemy's military discipline, he was secretly happy to see that Zhuge Liang fell into the trap.
The purpose of harassing the enemy several times was to catch them by surprise. Even though Zhuge Liang was very wise, it was difficult to predict when they would launch an attack, so he had to fight the enemy with all his strength.
Seeing the initial success, Xin Pi's confidence increased greatly, and he ordered his personal soldiers to do the same. There was no need to send signals at regular intervals, but to harass the enemy every half an hour or an hour, keeping them restless all night.
The next morning, Lu Qian inquired about the military situation. He was awakened by the drumbeats several times last night, so one can imagine the enemy's strength.
Hearing that the soldiers of Jingzhou lined up in time for the first two times but gradually became lazy later, Lu Qian laughed and said, "Kong Ming, Kong Ming, General Xiahou was tricked by you in the past, and now I will use your tricks on you. This is what is called retribution!"
In the Jingzhou camp, the soldiers were indeed not as energetic as when they arrived yesterday. They all looked listless, yawning from time to time, and their morale was much low.
In the central military tent, Gan Ning saw that Zhuge Liang was in high spirits and could not help but admire him. This young man was really patient.
While thinking, Zhuge Liang ordered Gan Ning to challenge the enemy, and the rest of the troops continued to rest. Many people were alarmed last night, so they all rested peacefully.
At noon, Gan Ning led his troops back to the camp. He ordered his generals to take turns to go into battle and shout and curse. The Cao army turned a deaf ear to him and held their ground. They could only vent their anger and return in disappointment.
Zhuge Liang waved his feather fan and said with a smile: "Xin Pi is using my spear against my shield. He will surely laugh at me for having done what I did."
Gan Ning was also curious and asked, "I wonder who is stronger and who is weaker in the dispute between the military advisors?"
Zhuge Liang laughed and said, "As the saying goes, water has no fixed shape, and soldiers have no fixed positions. How can we judge success or failure based on a single moment?"
Chen Dao asked: "The military advisor wants to use stillness to overcome movement?"
"No!" Zhuge Liang said, "If you want Lü Qian and Xin Pi to think they have a good plan, you need to fight spear with spear."
Gan Ning asked in confusion: "What do you mean?"
Zhuge Liang chuckled and said, "He disturbs the enemy, and I disturb the enemy too!"