Chapter 768: Strategies for Weakening the Enemy: Zhou Fang Chi Jie
Sun Quan's imploring eyes were very hot, just like when he was young and asked Zhang Zhao to learn and solve his doubts.
However, various events in recent years have long made Zhang Zhao feel dissatisfied with Sun Quanhan.
Zhang Zhao was well aware of Sun Quan's cool nature.
But when he thought of Sun Ce holding his hand and crying endlessly before he died, Zhang Zhao could only speak slowly, even if he didn't want to in his heart:
"I don't know Mi Yang's true purpose."
After hearing Zhang Zhao's words, the pleading look in Sun Quan's eyes disappeared instantly.
Even his body, which was slightly tilted towards Zhang Zhao, suddenly became upright.
"Since Mr. Zhang didn't know, why did he say this?"
Sun Quan's tone became cold again.
After noticing Sun Quan's change, Zhang Zhao couldn't help laughing.
However, before Sun Quan could get angry because of Zhang Zhao's ridicule, Zhang Zhao continued:
"Who in the world can dare to say that they can guess Mi Yang's thoughts?"
"If Gong Jin comes back to life, maybe it can be done, but I don't have Gong Jin's talent.
What I can do is very simple, just check for your deficiencies and fill them up."
Sun Quan was unable to refute Zhang Zhao's words.
"In the past, Mi Yang used military force mainly based on surprise. Before the battle was settled, it was difficult for others to know what his true purpose was.
Just like this time he sent troops to surprise Chaisang. His purpose may be to capture Chaisang, but he may also be using your fear of losing Chaisang to encircle and reinforce.
You just said that not counting the tens of thousands of Shanyue soldiers who rebelled, there were only a few thousand Han troops who threatened Chaisang.
But Mi Yang can also arrange for an elite army to hide in the dark and wait for the arrival of Lu Dai and Lu Fan's reinforcements."
Zhang Zhao expressed his opinion.
After listening to Zhang Zhao's views, Sun Quan's doubts not only did not diminish, but actually deepened several times.
Mi Yang might be encircling the area for reinforcements, so wouldn't he be unable to send reinforcements?
Seeing that Sun Quan's expression was becoming uncertain, Zhang Zhao, who knew Sun Quan very well, guessed what he was thinking.
"Reinforcements must be sent.
We cannot bear the consequences of losing Chaisang.
This is the power of Mi Yang, he knows that Chaisang is the one that our court must save.
Even if someone in our court can guess his true purpose, he firmly believes that our court will definitely send reinforcements.
He has always been good at using conspiracy."
Zhang Zhao's words dispelled some doubts in Sun Quan's mind.
But when Sun Quan thought of the good fighting skills of the Han army, he couldn't help but hesitantly asked Zhang Zhao:
"If the Han army really wants to encircle the area and fight for reinforcements, does Zhang Gong have a way to rescue them?"
Sun Quan agreed with Zhang Zhao and Chai Sang that he must save him.
But Sun Quan didn't want to take the risk of being surrounded and calling for reinforcements.
Sun Quan hoped that Zhang Zhao could come up with a way to get the best of both worlds.
As for this method, Zhang Zhao really has it.
Seeing Sun Quan's body leaning towards him again, Zhang Zhao turned his head and refused to look directly.
"Since the Spring and Autumn Period, encirclement of reinforcements has often been successful, mostly because the reinforcements were eager to rescue and were ambushed halfway by the enemy while waiting for relief.
It is not difficult to prevent Lu Dai and Lu Fan's reinforcements from running into this risk.
When you send an envoy to recruit reinforcements from the two generals, you should ask the envoy to explain the enemy's possible intentions and reveal your desire for stability.
Lu Dai and Lu Fan are both people who know how to fight. After getting your warning, they will advance immediately to prevent the enemy from taking advantage of it.
Don’t forget the lesson in history books about the defeat of King Wei Hui at Guiling.”
The most famous example of encirclement and reinforcement in history is the Battle of Guiling during the Warring States Period.
And in that battle, why did Pang Juan easily fall into the ambush of the Qi army?
It wasn't that Pang Juan didn't know how to read the terrain, it was because King Hui of Wei was frightened by the Qi army and kept strictly ordering Pang Juan to quickly return reinforcements.
Under the strict order of King Wei Hui, Pang Juan could only desperately return aid even if he was wary, which led to the defeat of Guiling.
Similarly, Sun Quan now is like King Hui of Wei back then.
Zhang Zhao believed that if he had not warned them, the envoys sent by Sun Quan would have strictly urged Lu Dai and Lu Fan to advance quickly, which would have greatly increased the risk of the Wu army being ambushed.
Hearing Zhang Zhao use the Battle of Guiling as an example, Sun Quan immediately understood what Zhang Zhao meant.
Sun Quan felt that Zhang Zhaoyan was right, so he kept this in mind.
"Does Mr. Zhang have any other clever ideas?"
Seeing that Zhang Zhao could really come up with a way to get the best of both worlds, Sun Quan's expectations for Zhang Zhao suddenly increased.
Although Zhang Zhao did not want to look directly at Sun Quan, he did have other suggestions in mind.
"The reason why the counties in Yuzhang surrendered in anticipation of the wind was that Ding Feng was assisted by tens of thousands of Vietnamese soldiers.
In addition, the defense of Chaisang City is not weak. Without the help of tens of thousands of mountain soldiers, it would not be easy to capture it with Ding Feng's thousands of soldiers and horses.
Since tens of thousands of Shanyue soldiers are Ding Feng’s strong reinforcements, why don’t we think of ways to cut them off?”
Zhang Zhao's words made Sun Quan's eyes light up.
He had never thought of this before.
"Please Mr. Zhang teach me quickly."
“It’s actually not difficult to do this.
Although the tens of thousands of mountain soldiers were huge, they actually belonged to multiple departments and had different orders.
Since the orders are not unified, the people's hearts will not be unified.
General He Qi has always been prestigious in Shanyue, and his troops are quite elite, and they are well aware of Shanyue's weaknesses.
You can issue an edict and ask General He Qi to lead his troops to Yuzhang and seize the retreat of tens of thousands of mountainous troops.
With General He Qi's prestige in Shanyue, and with his own retreat blocked, how could tens of thousands of Shanyue soldiers not be frightened?
After a lifetime of fear and confusion, how many Shanyue soldiers will be willing to serve Ding in the end?
As long as the tens of thousands of Shanyue soldiers no longer surrender, Ding Feng's thousands of soldiers and horses will be just a lone army in the end.
After the reinforcements from General Lu Dai and General Lu Fan arrive safely, not to mention defending Chaisang, it will not be difficult to defeat Ding Feng in one go and regain the entire Yuzhang County."
After listening to all Zhang Zhao's strategies, Sun Quan stood up excitedly.
Sun Quan knew He Qi's prestige in Shanyue.
Over the past decades, tens of thousands of Shanyue's elite soldiers died at the hands of He Qi, and no fewer than dozens of Shanyue's famous commanders were captured by He Qi.
Because he knew this, Sun Quan believed that Zhang Zhao's strategy was very likely to succeed.
"I knew that my search for Mr. Zhang today would be fruitful.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The old man who seeks the country is talking about Mr. Zhang!"
Just now, Sun Quan was still trapped in the panic of not being able to protect Chai Sang. Now, with Zhang Zhao's guidance, he found a clear way to reverse the situation.
How could this keep Sun Quan from being excited?
Sun Quan was so excited that he even temporarily forgot about the unpleasantness between him and Zhang Zhao.
Sun Quan originally wanted to reach out and caress Zhang Zhao's back to show his love, but Zhang Zhao subconsciously avoided Sun Quan's hand in disgust.
Zhang Zhao's dislike made Sun Quan embarrassed but also made him react.
Long before, he had completely lost the heart of this important minister.
After reacting, the excitement on Sun Quan's face gradually disappeared.
"If Zhang Gong's plan can really defeat the enemy, I will record the first success for you."
After saying this, Sun Quan didn't want to continue to make trouble in front of Zhang Zhao and was about to leave.
But just after Sun Quan took a few steps, Zhang Zhao's last warning came from behind him.
"The root cause of Chaisang's crisis lies in the lack of domestic military strength.
For the sake of the country, you should order Lu Xun to lead his army back home as soon as possible.
Police, please stop coveting."
Sun Quan did not respond to Zhang Zhao's remarks.
After a slight pause, Sun Quan left the hall without looking back.
After Sun Quan walked out of Zhang's mansion and got back into the car, Sun Quan seriously thought about Zhang Zhao's last words of advice.
If Zhang Zhao's clever plan had not been there today, Sun Quan would indeed have wanted to summon Lu Xun and lead his army back home as soon as possible.
However, under Zhang Zhao's advice, Sun Quan realized that Chaisang's crisis might really be Mi Yang's desperate counterattack.
As long as he can block Mi Yang's desperate counterattack, the situation will still be firmly in his hands.
In this case, why did he ask Lu Xun to retreat?
The police can no longer be greedy?
He wants to be greedy!
...
After Sun Quan returned to the palace, he ordered several ministers to be summoned.
When those ministers arrived, Sun Quan quickly informed them about Chaisang's danger.
When the ministers were frightened by the news, Sun Quan revealed the purpose of summoning them.
"I need a loyal person to send my envoy to Yong'an, so I summon Lu Dai to lead the reinforcements to help Chaisang.
I wonder which of you dear friends would like to go?"
As soon as Sun Quan said these words, the ministers who were summoned quickly lowered their heads.
The ministers who could be summoned by Sun Quan at this time were basically the heroes of Jiangdong whom Sun Quan had favored in the past.
Their minds are very bright.
There are tens of thousands of enemy troops outside Chaisang today, and if you want to get to Yong'an as soon as possible, Chaisang is the only way to go.
In other words, they have to risk their lives to be the envoys.
That’s life-threatening!
I think they are in their prime and have a bright future, so why take this risk?
Almost every minister lowered his head after hearing Sun Quan's words, for fear that Sun Quan would notice them.
Only one person took the initiative to meet Sun Quan's gaze.
"I am willing to go!"
This person's voice is as loud as a bell and his tone is generous, fully embodying the temperament of a loyal minister who is willing to die for the country.
Sun Quan looked at the man intently and realized that if he wasn't Zhou Li, who could he be?
Zhou Li's initiative to recommend himself made Sun Quan smile.
Ever since Zhou Li came back from his mission to Chang'an, Sun Quan believed that Zhou Li was a talent that could be made.
Now when the country is in crisis and the sacrifices of ministers are needed, it is Zhou Li who has taken the initiative to stand up again.
With this performance, anyone would think that Zhou Li is a very loyal minister.
There is no emperor and no loyal ministers.
"Okay! Ziyu is really the courage of Jiangdong!"
After praising Zhou Li, Sun Quan glanced at the other ministers with a look of disgust on his face.
"If you wait, what's the point of having more?"
After mocking the other ministers, Sun Quan asked them to leave immediately.
After everyone else left, Sun Quan ordered someone to fetch a scepter and put it into Zhou Li's hand.
"When you hold my scepter, it's like I'm here in person."
Originally, ordinary messengers did not have such great power.
But Zhou Li's performance was so good that Sun Quan fell in love with him more and more.
After giving Zhou Yi great power, Sun Quan warned:
"If you can successfully reach Yong'an, after ordering Lu Dai to send troops, you should be sure to remind him not to advance rashly.
Remember, remember!”
Sun Quan firmly remembered Zhang Zhao's advice and conveyed it to Zhou Yi.
After Zhou Li listened to Sun Quan's instructions, he said seriously: "Your Majesty, don't worry, I will remember it!"