Under the pitch-black night sky, a young man was standing in the night, which was so thick that it was almost indissoluble.
It is the middle of winter, and even though we are located in the south, the weather in the deep mountains is very cold.
Because he had stood for so long, a lot of frost formed on the young man's shoulders.
But no matter how cold it was, the young man still stood still, as if he would not leave until he saw the person he wanted to see tonight.
This young man is Deng Ai, and the person he wants to meet is Zhuge Liang.
Why did Deng Ai always want to see Zhuge Liang? It was because he saw something strange in Zhuge Liang's recent behavior.
Perhaps before the Southern Expedition, no matter how much Mi Yang respected Zhuge Liang, Deng Ai still felt like ordinary people that Zhuge Liang had no military ability.
However, during this year's southern expedition, Deng Ai discovered through his own observations that Zhuge Liang's military strategy was by no means inferior to the famous generals of the world, not even to Mi Yang.
Would such Zhuge Liang sit back and watch the Han army fall into peril in vain?
of course not.
Deng Ai deduced that Zhuge Liang was probably planning an overall situation, one that could change the current situation in South China.
It was precisely because of this realization that Deng Ai insisted on guarding Zhuge Liang's tent.
He knew that if Zhuge Liang was the chess player in the next situation, then if Zhuge Liang wanted to play this big game successfully, he must need a chess piece that is not afraid of hardships.
For the ambition in his heart, Deng Ai didn't mind being used as a pawn, let alone taking risks.
And just when Deng Ai waited for a long time, thinking that Zhuge Liang would not see him, Yang Yi came to Deng Ai holding a weak candle.
Without saying much, Yang Yi nodded slightly to Deng Ai, and Deng Ai understood what Zhuge Liang's confidant meant.
When Yang Yi turned around, Deng Ai immediately followed Yang Yi and walked towards Zhuge Liang's tent.
Soon after, Deng Ai came to Zhuge Liang's tent and met Zhuge Liang.
The moment he saw Zhuge Liang, Deng Ai subconsciously saluted Zhuge Liang. After Deng Ai saluted, Zhuge Liang waved his hand to drive away Yang Yi and asked Deng Ai to come and sit in front of him.
Zhuge Liang's attention made Deng Ai secretly happy.
In fact, the fact that Zhuge Liang could see him tonight meant that everything he had guessed before was true.
However, after Deng Ai sat down, Zhuge Liang did not speak immediately.
He kept looking at Deng Ai sitting in front of him with a pair of wise eyes. After a long time, a sigh came out of his mouth:
"You are very smart."
This was originally a word of appreciation, but under Zhuge Liang's sigh, this word of appreciation took on a bit more meaning.
How could Zhuge Liang not understand Deng Ai's thoughts?
But Zhuge Liang did not expose Deng Ai's thoughts. After sighing, he continued to talk to Deng Ai:
"Our army is currently surrounded by enemy forces on three sides. Do you have any strategy to help me defeat the enemy?"
Hearing what Zhuge Liang said, Deng Ai's eyes suddenly lit up.
If not, why would he come here today?
Deng Ai raised his head and looked at Zhuge Liang, and then said to Zhuge Liang in an excited tone: "Although the enemy army is numerous, they have a fatal weakness."
"In order to completely encircle our army, the enemy troops divided into three groups and occupied three channels leading to the outside in Yelang County.
On the surface, this seems to be a good way to encircle our army, but if you think about it carefully, this move of the enemy army has actually divided their strength into three parts.
To overcome one difficulty, to overcome many is easy.
Overall, our army is not superior in terms of military strength, but if our army concentrates its strength on only one section and completely defeats one of the three enemy armies first, then the enemy's encirclement situation will be solved!
"
Seeing Deng Ai talking incessantly in front of him, Zhuge Liang smiled.
For several months, Deng Ai was the only one among the many Han generals who could see why he did not intend to retreat.
From the very beginning, Zhuge Liang’s intention was to have the enemy army gather around him.
As long as the enemy has this idea, most of the rebels in Nanzhong will be attracted, allowing the Han army to find an opportunity to complete their victory in one battle.
Zhuge Liang never worried that he could not defeat the Nanzhong rebels.
What he was worried about was just like before, after defeating one rebel army, another rebel army emerged, making it impossible for him to completely pacify Nanzhong and return to Liangzhou to aid.
In addition to embracing the "gather and annihilate" strategy, luring the rebels into an encirclement is also a tactic to disperse the enemy's strength.
After all, Yelang County has three main roads leading to the outside world. If we want to completely trap the Han army, we must place heavy troops on all three main roads.
And this will definitely spread the strength of the rebels.
It can be said that based on the current war situation in Yelang County, everything is developing according to Zhuge Liang's vision.
But even if Deng Ai guesses Zhuge Liang's plan, this is also thinking at the strategic level. How should it be implemented at the tactical level?
"Shi Zai thinks which enemy line our army should attack first next?"
Zhuge Liang's gentle questioning voice floated in the quiet hall, encouraging Deng Ai to continue speaking.
After hearing Zhuge Liang's inquiry, Deng Ai said without hesitation: "Of course it's Yong Kai's army."
The reason why Deng Ai so decisively prioritized Yong Kai's army as his attack target is very simple - Yong Kai's army was the weakest.
Just like the story of Tian Ji's horse racing, if you use your strongest strength to attack the enemy's weakest aspect, the result will of course be obvious.
After Deng Ai finished answering Zhuge Liang, his face showed a confident look.
But what surprised Deng Ai was that Zhuge Liang shook his head slightly after hearing his choice.
"Our army should attack Shi Hui's headquarters!"
Zhuge Liang's choice shocked Deng Ai.
Among the three enemy armies, Yi Shi Hui's army is the strongest. According to common sense, this enemy army should be least actively provoked.
Why would the Prime Minister consider giving up the easy thing and taking the hard one?
Seeing the surprised look on Deng Ai's face, Zhuge Liang patiently explained:
"Among the three enemy armies, Shi Hui's troops are the strongest, but because they are the strongest, his army is where the enemy's courage lies.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! I lure the enemy to encircle me, not just for one or two victories.
According to Shi Zai's thinking, it is not difficult for our army to defeat Yong Kai's troops by surprise, but what happens after the defeat?
When Zhu Bao and Shi Hui saw Yong Kai's defeat, they may have feared that our army would retreat to Xangda County.
By then, the most our army had recovered was Yizhou County.
However, Yong Kai had long been severely damaged in the previous defeat, so it was not difficult to recover Yizhou.
However, the terrain of Xangqi County is complex. If these two people lead the sergeants to defend it layer by layer, our army will not be able to pacify Xangqi County for at least half a year.
And if the Xuangzhou County cannot be pacified, our army will not be able to return to Liangzhou to aid Liangzhou. Liangzhou will be short of soldiers and food and cannot hold on. If Liangzhou is broken through by the Wei Dynasty within this six months, the foundation of the Han Dynasty will be in danger."
"On the contrary, if our army can defeat Shi Hui's troops in one go, Yong Kai will naturally be frightened and flee back to Yizhou County to survive.
As for Zhu Bao, after he learned that Shi Hui was defeated, the morale of his army would definitely be in chaos. At that time, our army would be able to take advantage of the victory and defeat the rebels led by Zhu Bao.
Even if Zhu Bao reacted in time and led his army to escape into the territory of Xianggao County, without the help of tens of thousands of elite troops from Queshi Hui, Zhu Bao would be alone and unable to survive, and he would be crowned a general soon!"
After Zhuge Liang finished speaking eloquently, Deng Ai thought about Zhuge Liang's words and bowed to Zhuge Liang as if he was waking up from a dream.
He thought his plan was excellent, but after listening to Zhuge Liang's specific plan, he realized that there was not even the slightest difference between him and Zhuge Liang.
Perhaps simply in terms of understanding of the art of war, Deng Ai is no less than Zhuge Liang, but when it comes to understanding and controlling the overall situation, Deng Ai is far behind Zhuge Liang.
After Deng Ai admired Zhuge Liang, he couldn't help but take the initiative to say to Zhuge Liang: "Ai is willing to be driven by the prime minister and do the work of dogs and horses."
If he planned to attack Yong Kai's rebels, then Deng Ai had a specific strategy in mind.
But now under Zhuge Liang's analysis, Deng Ai understood that attacking Shi Hui's headquarters was the best choice for the Han army at the moment, so the tactics he originally had in mind could no longer be used.
And Deng Ai knew that Zhuge Liang was by no means a man who could only talk about war on paper. He must have a strategy in mind to deal with Shi Hui.
Deng Ai guessed right.
At Deng Ai's initiative, Zhuge Liang stood up and came to the map of Yelang County hanging high in the tent.
Seeing Zhuge Liang stand up, Deng Ai did not dare to sit alone. He also stood up and came behind Zhuge Liang, looking at the map of Yelang County.
There are three locations on the map, all of which were highlighted by Zhuge Liang with the ink pen in his hand.
Those three locations are exactly where the three enemy armies are entrenched.
And at the location where the Shishi Emblem is located, the red pen shows the most strokes, which is enough to prove that Zhuge Liang wanted to lead his army to break out the Shishi Emblem and it was not just a matter of time.
Zhuge Liang knew that Deng Ai was behind him, so he pointed to the place where Shi Hui was stationed and said:
"In recent days, I have sent people to carefully investigate the movements of Shihui's army.
Just last month, Shi Hui led his army to move from the plains to the mountains to garrison.
According to the locals, that mountain is called Ax Mountain. As its name suggests, the mountain looks like a giant ax lying beside the official road.
I have also personally gone to the foot of Ax Mountain to explore the terrain. Ax Mountain is surrounded by cliffs on all sides, dozens of feet high. The mountain road is dangerous and narrow, and there is only room for one person. It is difficult for an ordinary army to attack from above.
In addition, there are many springs on the Ax Mountain and there is no shortage of water sources, so our army cannot besiege and cut off its water sources to defeat them."
Hearing what Zhuge Liang said, Deng Ai's face showed a solemn look.
Shi Hui led his army to garrison in the mountains. On the one hand, he wanted to defend his army at high risk and protect his army from sneak attacks by the Han army.
On the other hand, Shi Hui also has sinister intentions.
Although Shi Hui's army was stationed on the mountain, Fu Mountain was right next to the official road, and it was impossible for the Han army to pass through that official road without dealing with Shi Hui's army.
Otherwise, once the Han army passed the official road, Shi Hui led tens of thousands of elite soldiers to rush down from the heights, and the Han army could easily be cut into two sections.
By that time, the defeat of the Han army would be inevitable.
These inferences are not difficult for Deng Ai to draw.
But since Shihui's army was so well-arranged, where should the Han army break through?
Deng Ai looked at Zhuge Liang with doubts.
Could it be that the Prime Minister has some clever plan to lure the enemy troops down the mountain for a decisive battle?
But even if the enemy troops were lured down, it would be difficult for the Han army to defeat the Shihui army with its favorable location in one go when the military strength of the two sides was not much different.
Under the dim candlelight, Zhuge Liang saw the confused look on Deng Ai's face.
Compared with Deng Ai's doubts, Zhuge Liang is still confident.
Zhuge Liang pointed his finger at a spot behind Ax Mountain on the map, and he said to Deng Aiyan: "During my investigation some time ago, I discovered that there is a hidden trail leading to the mountain behind Ax Mountain.
I decided to send a general to take advantage of the darkness of night and lead a group of elite troops to climb up this mountain path and make a surprise attack on the mountain.
As long as this elite army can climb to the top of Ax Mountain and launch a surprise attack on the enemy at night when the enemy is unprepared, the enemy will definitely be panicked.
At that time, if I lead my troops to attack the front of Ax Mountain, Ax Mountain will be destroyed and the rebel army will be destroyed!"
After listening to Zhuge Liang's plan, Deng Ai seemed a little surprised for a while.
This plan is not something Zhuge Liang could have planned.
It's not that Deng Ai thought Zhuge Liang didn't have the wisdom to come up with this strategy, but after nearly a year of getting along with him, Deng Ai felt that Zhuge Liang's military tactics were quite cautious and steady.
With such a personality, Deng Ai suddenly thought of a tactic of making a surprise attack at night, which really made Deng Ai feel a little abnormal.
What Deng Ai didn't know was that Zhuge Liang was indeed a cautious and steady man, but this did not mean that he would not use strange tricks.
Let’s not talk about other things. Let’s talk about the “surprise attack on Dingjun Mountain” strategy that was called a stroke of genius by countless people in the world. The initiator of it was Fa Zhengye.
But in the end, what made Liu Bei really decide to use this strategy was Zhuge Liang's letter and persuasion.
If Zhuge Liang could only be rigid in his use of troops, then he would not have strongly supported Fa Zheng's surprise attack on Dingjun Mountain in the first place, nor would he have worked so hard to raise supplies for this tactic.
As for why Zhuge Liang rejected the "Ziwu Valley Strange Conspiracy" in history, it is because there is an essential difference between using a strange plot and dying in vain.
If he hadn't made a detailed investigation and felt that there was a possibility of success, Zhuge Liang would never have come up with the strategy of surprise attack on Ax Mountain at night.
However, Deng Ai also thought that even he would think that the prime minister would not use surprise troops, and Shi Hui and others who gathered on the mountain would definitely feel the same way.
So in this case, the probability of Zhuge Liang's trick succeeding will skyrocket.
Thinking of this, Deng Ai was refreshed.
Of course Deng Ai knew why Zhuge Liang told him his plan tonight. The reason was that he was the general in Zhuge Liang's words.
As for the elite force Zhuge Liang talked about, who else besides the Liang Prefecture Army?
We must know that with Mi Yang's good food supply, Liangzhou Army's night blindness has been greatly improved. It can be said that Liangzhou Army naturally possesses the characteristics of surprise attacks at night.
Deng Ai immediately bowed solemnly to Zhuge Liang:
"Ai, I will definitely live up to the prime minister's trust."
Deng Ai's words brought a smile to Zhuge Liang's lips.
Deng Ai is really smart and not afraid of taking risks. He is indeed the most suitable general in the Han army to lead a night attack.
If it suits you, then go for it.
Zhuge Liang helped Deng Ai up and said to him:
"Tomorrow and night, you can do it."
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This chapter has been completed!