Chapter 139: Fill in the loophole of borrowing arrows from straw boats! My brother-in-law saved me! Zhou Yu sneered: Liu Bei fell into my trap!

Suppress Sun Ce's arrogance?
Can you get 100,000 arrows out of thin air?
These two sentences lifted the spirits of everyone in the tent.

Old Liu, in particular, was overjoyed.

In naval battles, bows and crossbows are the most commonly used weapons, and arrows can be said to be the most consumed weapons.

With his current financial resources, making 100,000 arrows is not a difficult task, but it will consume a lot of manpower and material resources.

Zhuge Liang suddenly said that he had a way to obtain 100,000 arrows. How could Old Liu not be delighted by such a big pie falling from the sky?

It can also suppress Sun Ce's arrogance.

This is a good thing that kills two birds with one stone.

"Ah Liang, you are not bragging, are you?"

"That's 100,000 arrows, or 100,000 blades of grass. You can't cut them all in one night, right?"

"Even if you gather all the weaponsmiths in Jingzhou, it will take at least ten days or half a month to make so many arrows."

Zhang Fei shouted with a look of disbelief on his face.

After he reminded him of this, Old Liu suddenly came to his senses and the surprise on his face turned into suspicion.

All the counselors and generals on both sides looked at him with questioning eyes.

Only the brother-in-law Xiao Fang, looking at his brother-in-law's calm and confident expression, had vaguely guessed about 70% of the situation, and couldn't help but raise a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.

"General Yide, don't rush to accuse Aliang of bragging. Just listen to what Aliang has to say."

Xiao Fangbian spoke up decisively to support his brother-in-law.

Zhang Fei had no choice but to suppress his doubts and stared at Zhuge Liang with wide eyes, wanting to see what magical strategy he had that could produce 100,000 arrows overnight.

"As the saying goes, if you can't make it, you can borrow it. Liang didn't make these 100,000 arrows himself, but borrowed them from Sun Ce!"

A mysterious smile flashed in Zhuge Liang's eyes, and he raised his hand and pointed towards the enemy camp in Fancheng on the south bank.

Everyone was stunned again, their eyes becoming more confused.

Zhang Fei's eyes were as big as copper bells, and he shouted:
"Aliang, there is no joking in the army. Your joke is a bit too much."

"Sun Ce is a kid who wants to fight us to death. He is not a fool. If you ask him to lend it to you, will he lend it to you?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Old Liu frowned and became more and more confused about Zhuge Liang.

"The word borrowed may not be used accurately. It should be called cheating."

Zhuge Liang picked up a branch and squatted on the ground to draw calmly.

"To carry out this plan, my lord, I need fifty baggage ships, more than two hundred sailors, and enough war drums."

"Liang would order the sailors to collect firewood and put on armor to make dummies, and then line them up on both sides of the ship."

"Then, when it's late at night, you can lead these fifty baggage ships and sneak into the Jiangdong Army's water camp under the cover of darkness. Suddenly, the drums of war will sound, and the shouts of the soldiers will shake the sky."

"When Sun Ce and Zhou Yu hear this, they will think that the Lord has been provoked and will attack his camp with their navy at night."

"At that time, the sky was dark and the ground was gloomy. It was unclear whether our army was strong or weak on the river. Sun Ce would not dare to send his navy to fight rashly. According to common sense, he would only use powerful bows and crossbows to shoot at our army."

"Liang ordered the fifty baggage ships to line up in a row, with dummies on the sides of the ships to receive arrows."

"After beating the gongs and drums all night, are you afraid that you won't be able to trick Sun Ce into firing 100,000 arrows?"

After explaining the whole strategy, Zhuge Liang threw away the branch in his hand, clapped his hands and stood up, a confident smile on his youthful face.

Xiao Fang also laughed.

His previous speculation was indeed correct. His brother-in-law was going to play a trick of borrowing arrows from a straw boat to trick the little tyrant of Jiangdong into giving him 100,000 arrows.

Aren’t you, Sun Ce, arrogant? Don’t you want to provoke my lord into going to war? So I’ll play a trick on you and trick you into giving me 100,000 arrows.

When you, Sun Ce, come to your senses afterwards, you will be furious.

As for Old Liu, he didn't have to spend any effort at all. He got 100,000 arrows for free overnight, and he could shoot them back to Sun Ce another day!
Isn't this a brilliant idea that kills two birds with one stone and makes people applaud just thinking about it?

"Great! Ah Liang's plan is really incredible and ingenious!"

"Jinglue, your disciple has taught well. His plans are becoming more and more like your imaginative ideas!"

Liu Bei suddenly understood and his face was overjoyed. He couldn't help but applaud and praised Xiao Fang, his brother-in-law and teacher.

All the generals suddenly understood and were extremely surprised. They all looked at Zhuge Liang with approval.

"I am a few years older than him, but my wisdom and strategy are far inferior to his!"

"It must be because Aliang has a brother-in-law as wise as Military Advisor Xiao. He can always get his advice from him. I have to ask Military Advisor Xiao for advice, otherwise I will be left further and further behind by Aliang..."

Xu Shu's thoughts raced, and his look of admiration was mixed with a hint of envy.

"Brother-in-law, I wonder if this plan of mine is feasible?"

Zhuge Liang, however, was calm, which was rare for a young man. He was not lost in the praise of the crowd. Instead, he humbly asked Xiao Fang.

"This plan is of course a brilliant one. It can indeed suppress Sun Ce's arrogance and trick him into sending 100,000 arrows."

"Aliang, you can come up with such a brilliant idea at your age. You have grown faster than I thought."

Xiao Fang first gave his approval, but then changed the subject and asked:
"However, your plan of using straw boats to borrow arrows still has a flaw."

"If someone tells Sun Ce to shoot arrows at you when you are borrowing arrows, how will you respond?"

Rocket?

These two words "understatement" were like a bucket of ice water, suddenly poured on Zhuge Liang's head.

Zhuge Liang's body shook and he shuddered violently.

A hundred secrets and a sparseness!

This plan seemed flawless, but as Xiao Fang reminded him, it did have a fatal flaw.

Under normal circumstances, not only Sun Ce, but any enemy would just be shot at randomly with ordinary arrows.

After all, rockets require special modifications and consume kerosene. The cost of one rocket is equivalent to five ordinary arrows. No one would use more expensive rockets unless necessary.

But as Xiao Fang said, what if someone mentioned it to Sun Ce, and what if Sun Ce listened and switched to rockets?
These fifty supply ships of his are filled with dummies made of firewood and straw. Once they are hit by rockets, won’t they be burned into fifty fireships in an instant?

If the arrow fails to hit the target, won't he and the two hundred soldiers lose their lives?

"Brother-in-law is a thoughtful person who saw the flaw in Liang's plan. If Liang had gone to borrow arrows rashly, wouldn't he have lost his life?"

Zhuge Liang was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat, and hurriedly bowed to Xiao Fang and expressed his admiration.

Xiao Fang was also secretly glad that he was present when his brother-in-law proposed this strategy and was able to plug the loophole in time.

If I were not here, and let Zhuge Liang rashly go to borrow arrows on the straw boat, what if he was unlucky enough to run into Sun Ce who was stupid enough to insist on using rockets? Wouldn't that mean the future Sleeping Dragon would be killed here? The key is how would he explain to his wife when he returned?
"So that's how it is. As the military advisor said, although Aliang's plan is brilliant, it still has risks."

"It seems that this plan is definitely not feasible. How can we risk the lives of Aliang and the soldiers?"

Old Liu also suddenly realized and flatly rejected Zhuge Liang's advice. Naturally, he did not want such a talented young man to put himself in danger.

Just as everyone nodded, deciding that this plan was not feasible, Xiao Fang changed the subject and said with a smile:

"It can not only suppress Sun Ce's arrogance, but also get 100,000 arrows for free. How can we not use such a brilliant plan that kills two birds with one stone?"

"But if you want this plan to be foolproof, you have to pick a good time, Aliang."

Everyone's eyes were blank again, and they obviously failed to understand what Xiao Fang meant.

"Timing? I wonder what brother-in-law means?"

Zhuge Liang also looked confused and was unable to understand for a moment.

Xiao Fang did not answer, but asked:
"Aliang, think about it carefully. Your straw boat is afraid of fire, so what is this fire afraid of?"

Zhuge Liang's eyes flickered, his thoughts turned, and he pondered the deeper meaning of Xiao Fang's words.

"The straw boat is afraid of fire, but what is fire afraid of..."

After pondering for a while, Zhuge Liang's eyes suddenly lit up:
"Fire is naturally afraid of water. Brother-in-law, do you want me to implement this plan of borrowing arrows from straw boats when it rains?"

Xiao Fang smiled but said nothing.

Wolong is Wolong. Although he is still a young dragon, his thinking is still sharper than that of ordinary people and he can understand things with just a little bit of practice.

After hearing what Zhuge Liang said, Lao Liu and the generals suddenly realized.

Even if Sun Ce was very stubborn, he would not be so stupid as to launch rockets in the rain and do useless work.

Moreover, even if rockets were launched, the falling rain would be enough to extinguish the rockets and protect Zhuge Liang's straw boat intact!
"Rain is the weather!"

"Liang's use of the weather is really far inferior to my brother-in-law's. Thank you for your advice, brother-in-law!"

Zhuge Liang bowed to Xiao Fang, his words and expression showing sincere admiration.

Xiao Fang smiled and turned his gaze to Liu Bei:

"My lord, give him the ships and soldiers that Aliang just mentioned."

"On a rainy day, let Aliang trick that little bully, make him lose his arrows and face, and put a stop to his arrogance!"

Liu Bei laughed.

...

A few days later, it was late at night.

"Gongjin, Liu Bei has been slow to send his navy to fight. It seems your method of provoking him has not worked!"

Inside the central military tent, Sun Ce was complaining to Zhou Yu.

Previously, he had been advancing rapidly, intending to capture Xiakou, but was blocked by Liu Bei in Fancheng, and had to set up camp there, resulting in a confrontation across the river.

After learning that Liu Bei had recruited a large number of Jiangxia navy, the confidence of the little overlord was finally restrained.

After calming down and thinking about it, Sun Ce realized that he must fight quickly and defeat Liu Bei's main navy before he would have a chance to capture Jingzhou.

The longer this confrontation drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for him.

So Zhou Yu suggested that Lu Fan be sent to the north bank to ask Liu Bei for the three counties in an extremely arrogant and conceited manner.

Of course Zhou Yu knew that Liu Bei would not be stupid enough to cede the three counties to Sun Ce. His purpose was only to anger Liu Bei and send the navy for a hasty battle.

However, for several days, Liu Bei did not send a single ship across the river, but just closed the door and trained the navy in the water camp.

Obviously, either Liu Bei was as steady as an old dog, or Xiao Fang saw through his method of provoking the enemy. In any case, he decided to stay behind closed doors and refuse to fight, just trying to delay.

"Liu Bei is an experienced man in the use of troops. He would not necessarily use troops out of anger."

"Xiao Fang is even more cunning and calculating. I'm afraid Gongjin's provocation may not be able to fool him."

Lu Su brought up the issue without even mentioning it, pointing out the possibility that Liu Bei might not go into battle.

Zhou Yu frowned slightly, looking a little embarrassed.

"boom!"

Sun Ce slapped the table and snorted coldly:

"Since Liu Bei is unwilling to die, I have no choice but to charge to the north bank and destroy his water camp!"

"In short, this battle must not be dragged on. It will give Liu Bei time to integrate the Jiangxia navy!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of thunderous drums suddenly rang out outside the big tent.

Immediately afterwards, rumbling sounds of killing came from the river bank.

Sun Ce and everyone else were shocked and immediately became alert.

"Could it be that Liu Bei launched a night attack?"

Zhou Yu blurted out, the embarrassment on his face turning into surprise.

Sun Ce was greatly encouraged. Without saying a word, he jumped up and rushed out of the tent in a few steps.

Zhou Yu, Lu Su and others followed closely, mounted their horses and headed straight for the shore.

When they arrived, Huang Gai and other generals had already led their troops and lined up on the water camp line.

The naval soldiers also boarded the ships, preparing to leave the camp to fight.

At this time, the river was pitch black, and the night rain was falling, blocking the view, making it impossible to see the enemy's strength.

But the sound of drums and shouts of killing were so loud that it shook the sky, as if thousands of soldiers were attacking.

"Gongjin, your provocation worked!"

"Liu Bei was really enraged and sent his navy to attack!"

Sun Ce was ecstatic and clapped his hands to praise Zhou Yu. He then ordered his navy to attack and annihilate the invading Liu Jun navy in one fell swoop.

"Bofu, wait a minute!"

Zhou Yu sneered and pointed at the river:
"With Xiao Fang's wisdom, even if Liu Bei went to fight out of anger, he would never let Liu Bei attack so rashly!"

"I thought he was making such a big noise to lure my navy into a battle, but he ambushed his warships on both wings and went around my side!"

"Only in this way can Liu Bei have a chance to defeat the strong with the weak and destroy my navy!"

Sun Ce's heart was startled, and he suddenly realized what was happening. He said in a deep voice:

"Gongjin's words make sense. Liu Bei must be deceiving. So how do you think we should deal with it?"

Zhou Yu smiled coldly and said confidently:

"Bofu, you can keep your troops still for now, and use strong bows and crossbows to shoot randomly to suppress the enemy ships and prevent them from approaching our water camp."

"When the enemy army suffers heavy casualties and Liu Bei can no longer bear it and is forced to retreat northward, our army will take advantage of the situation to pursue them and inflict heavy damage on the enemy army!"

Sun Ce suddenly realized and shouted:
"Order Huang Gongfu to quickly dispatch 5,000 archers to the water camp and shoot the enemy to death!"

(End of this chapter)