Chapter 162: The door god is activated, giving Cao Cao a piece of iron plate! Let's take Chaisang by surprise! How did the military advisor get such a secret?

"Huo Jun, Huo Zhongmiao!"

Xiao Fang slowly said the name.

In history, he was known as one of the two most powerful goalkeepers along with Hao Zhao who defended Chencang.

When Liu Bei conquered Yizhou, he relied on 800 people to guard Jiameng Pass, and he held it for nearly a year.

During this period, he even took the initiative to attack, defeated the Yizhou army, and achieved the feat of beheading the enemy.

Although Liu Zhang is much weaker than Cao Cao, he can defend Jiameng Pass for a year, and Ye County at half the rate, so he should have no problem defending it for half a year.

Xiao Fang just didn't believe that Cao Cao, who had left Guanzhong unconquered and Yuan Shu still alive and well, could really be idle for half a year and do nothing, and then fight to the death in Ye County.

"I remember now. When we captured Jiangling, the military advisor recommended Huo Zhongmiao and said that he was good at defending the city!"

Liu Bei's eyes lit up at first, but then he became concerned:

"But Huo Zhongmiao is only in his early twenties. Can he really hold back Cao Cao's army of tens of thousands for so long with only three thousand soldiers?"

Old Liu still has some doubts about Huo Jun's abilities.

Xiao Fang did not recommend Huo Jun casually.

After all, in history, it took Huo Jun ten years to become famous and become known as the door god.

Therefore, when he took over the four counties in southern Jing, he specifically asked Lao Liu to give Huo Jun 700 soldiers and horses to take over Wuling County.

Huo Jun lived up to expectations. Not only did he successfully take over Wuling County, he also defended Yuanling City with 700 soldiers and resisted the siege of nearly 10,000 Wuxi barbarians. Finally, he attacked the enemy camp at night and defeated the Wuxi barbarians.

Facts have proved that Huo Jun now has the talent of a goal god in defending a city.

That's why Xiao Fang dared to recommend him to Lao Liu for important positions at this critical moment.

“Being older does not necessarily mean you are mediocre, and being younger does not necessarily mean you are without extraordinary abilities.”

"Isn't Fang just a few years older than Huo Jun?"

Xiao Fang smiled faintly and responded to Lao Liu's concerns with a rhetorical question.

Liu Bei was startled for a moment, then all the doubts in his eyes disappeared, and he said happily:

"What the military advisor said makes sense. Not only the military advisor, but also the talents recommended by the military advisor are mostly young talents!"

"Okay, since the military advisor believes in Huo Zhongmiao, I will naturally believe in him too!"

At that moment, Liu Bei immediately drafted a transfer order, ordering Huo Jun to rush from Wuling to Ye County overnight to take over the defense of Ye County.

But Cao Cao is not Liu Zhang after all. Although Xiao Fang trusted Huo Jun, he still made preparations for both scenarios.

First, he gave Wei Yan an additional 5,000 soldiers, increasing the number of defenders in Wancheng to about 8,000, to ensure that even if an accident occurred in Ye County, Wei Yan would have enough troops to defend Wancheng until Lao Liu led his troops back.

In addition, considering that Cao Cao has many advisers under his command, Wei Yan’s bravery alone is not enough, and he needs to send a counselor of importance to assist Wei Yan.

Xiao Fang decisively proposed to Lao Liu that Xu Shu go north to Wancheng to give advice to Wei Yan.

Liu Bei naturally listened to Xiao Fang's advice and adopted all his suggestions.

Xu Shu then said goodbye and left Xiakou, rushing to Ye County overnight.

After the arrangements for the north were completed, Liu Bei seized the opportunity to rest his soldiers, repair the warships, and wait for news from Chaisang.

A few days later, Lu Xun, who was an undercover agent, sent first-hand intelligence.

Taishi Ci gathered troops from five counties and marched northward to approach Hulin, threatening to cut off the Yangtze River waterway.

Han Dang was defeated and had to ask Sun Ce for help.

Sun Ce had no choice but to lead more than 15,000 naval forces to leave Chaisang and go to Hulin to deal with Taishi Ci.

Before leaving, Sun Ce appointed Zhou Yu as the commander-in-chief, leading more than 15,000 soldiers and horses to garrison in Chaisang.

At the same time, Han Dang was transferred from Hulin to Chaisang to assist Zhou Yu in defending the city as deputy governor.

"The military advisor's plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain has worked!"

"Zi Yi sent troops to Hulin, and indeed forced Sun Ce to personally take action, and he also transferred half of the troops from Chaisang!"

Liu Bei looked at the secret report from Lu Xun in his hand and was so delighted that he clapped his hands in praise.

However, Xiao Fang remained calm and composed, with no ripples on his face, as if he had expected such an outcome.

"Cao Cao's army has entered Xudu. I believe that within a few days, they will march south to surround Ye County."

"Even though Huo Zhongmiao is guarding Ye County, we cannot waste time. Now that Sun Ce has been transferred from Chaisang, we should march eastward as soon as possible and seize Chaisang!"

Xiao Fang pointed his feather fan towards the east, and a hint of murderous intent was visible in his eyes and tone.

Liu Bei immediately gave orders and summoned all his generals to discuss the capture of Chaisang.

Half an hour later.

All the generals gathered in the county government.

When Liu Bei announced that he would go down the river to capture Chaisang, the mansion was immediately in an uproar.

"My lord, please give the order. I am willing to lead the vanguard and flatten Chaisang in one fell swoop!"

Gan Ning jumped up and volunteered to fight.

Zhang Fei immediately became anxious, jumped up and shouted:
"Xingba, the credit for the battle of Eshan is yours. Why are you trying to take the credit for the capture of Chaisang? You are too greedy."

"Brother, I have to be the vanguard no matter what. Don't worry, I will definitely kill Zhou Yu!"

The two generals competed for merit.

The other generals followed suit, all of them enthusiastic and vied with each other to ask for battle.

The hall was filled with an atmosphere of determination to win, as if taking over Chaisang was a piece of cake for the generals.

Liu Bei looked at his generals who seemed to underestimate the enemy and couldn't help but sigh.

This is no wonder. After the great victory in the Battle of Eshan, Sun Ce was exposed in front of his generals.

The mentality of the generals has also evolved from fear of the Little Overlord's reputation to contempt.

Not to mention that Sun Ce has been lured away, and only Zhou Yu is left in Chaisang, so the generals will not take him seriously.

Moreover, with the current strength of their army, whether in naval or land battles, they have an absolute advantage over the Chaisang Jiangdong Army. The generals are arrogant, and naturally they have the capital to be arrogant.

"Arrogant soldiers will be defeated!"

"Although our army has the upper hand, we must not underestimate the enemy, otherwise we will surely be defeated!"

Liu Bei gave a deep shout, interrupting the generals' quarrel over credit.

The noise in the hall suddenly died down.

"Although Sun Ce has fallen into the trap set by the military advisor to lure the tiger away from the mountain, Zhou Yu is still in charge of Chaisang City."

"Although his strategy was discovered by the military advisor during the battle of Eshan, it is a fact that he is resourceful and his ability to lead an army is also extraordinary."

"Before leaving, Sun Ce transferred Han Dang to Chaisang to assist Zhou Yu. Han Dang is a veteran general of two generations of the Sun family. His prestige and ability to command the army should not be underestimated."

"According to my intelligence, Chaisang City has sufficient food and grass, high and thick city walls, and dense sentries all around. In the upper reaches of the river, several solid fortresses have been built, which can be said to be impregnable."

"When we capture Chaisang this time, we must not underestimate the enemy!"

Liu Bei calmly explained the strengths and weaknesses of Chaisang City to his generals.

The generals' underestimation of the enemy was finally suppressed.

Xiao Fangze nodded slightly, secretly approving of Lao Liu's calmness.

He is neither arrogant when he wins nor discouraged when he loses. Just based on this point, Liu Bei is a more qualified monarch than Cao Cao.

"My lord, if you know that arrogant soldiers will be defeated, you have already defeated Sun Ce ten times. Chaisang will be captured, and Jiangdong will be taken!"

Xiao Fang, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke up and praised Lao Liu.

Then he changed the subject and sneered:

"But my lord, just because you don't underestimate Zhou Yu and underestimate the enemy, doesn't mean we can't outsmart Chaisang."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone became excited again.

Hearing the words "capture Chaisang with wisdom", Old Liu became very excited and looked at Xiao Fang in surprise.

There is no doubt that our brilliant military advisor must have another brilliant plan in mind.

"What clever plan does Jinglue have to outsmart Chaisang?"

Liu Bei was full of curiosity and asked impatiently.

Xiao Fang asked Xu Chu to bring the map and spread it out in front of Liu Bei and the generals.

"My lord, please see that the route to capture Chaisang is not just one route along the Yangtze River."

"To the west of Xiakou is Lukou, where the Lushui River flows into the Yangtze River. If you follow the Lushui River eastward and cross the valley of the Mufu Mountains, you will enter Yuzhang County."

"Then go north along the Xiushui River and you will reach the south of Chaisang."

"The plan is for the Lord to lead the main forces by land and sea, advance eastward along the river and attack Chaisang head-on."

"Zhou Yu has few soldiers. If he stays in Chaisang and doesn't leave, he will be surrounded by our army, which is something he must not want to face."

"So he could only lead the main force out of the city to the west, relying on the fortress built in advance to prevent our army from encircling Chaisang."

"If so, then Chaisang City will definitely be short of troops."

"My lord, you can send another general to lead several thousand mountain infantrymen to take the land and water route and launch a surprise attack from the south of Chaisang."

"In this way, we won't have to worry about not being able to defeat Chaisang quickly!"

Xiao Fang pointed at the map with his feather fan and told the plan that he had prepared long ago.

The Battle of Chibi in history took place at Chibi because it is located upstream of Lukou.

One of the important reasons why Zhou Yu set up camp at Chibi was to protect Lukou in order to prevent Cao Cao from using his superior military strength to go straight to Chaisang via land and water routes and cut off the retreat of the Wu army.

Xiao Fang's plan of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west, and launching a surprise attack on Chaisang by land, was inspired by this.

When this strategy came out, Liu Bei, Gan Ning and others were still staring at the map, wondering about the feasibility of Xiao Fang's strategy.

Huang Zhong's eyes lit up, and he praised the map:
"Military Advisor is right. There is indeed such a road in Changsha County. Although it is rugged and takes a long detour, it can indeed reach the south of Chaisang by land!"

"Zhongjiu Zhen Changsha, if it weren't for the military advisor's reminder, I would have almost forgotten this route. I am so ashamed!"

Everyone was greatly encouraged and looked at Xiao Fang with surprise and admiration.

Huang Zhong has been guarding Changsha for many years and is familiar with the local terrain. Even Huang Zhong has stood up to support Xiao Fang's plan, so what is there to doubt?

"Jinglue, you really know all of Jingzhou's mountains and rivers, every blade of grass and every tree!"

Liu Bei sighed and said with a happy smile:
"Okay, let's use Jinglue's strategy. We will make a feint to the east and attack the west, and launch a surprise attack on Chaisang!"

As soon as Old Liu made the decision, the excitement on Huang Zhong's face disappeared, as if he suddenly thought of something.

"Military Advisor, this land waterway can indeed avoid the Yangtze River and go south of Chaisang."

"But I heard that Zhou Yu has set up checkpoints within a ten-mile radius of Chaisang. It's obvious that he is taking precautions."

"If our army cannot avoid these sentry checkpoints, they will most likely alert the soldiers and horses left in the city before approaching Chaisang, and close the city gates in time to prepare for battle."

"If that's the case, my surprise attack army may not be able to capture Chaisang City quickly."

"And once Zhou Yu upstream hears the news, he will surely lead his troops back quickly. Wouldn't this surprise attack fail?"

Huang Zhong was indeed a veteran with rich experience. He knew that a surprise attack was not that simple, and he pointed out the flaw in this plan in just a few words.

Liu Bei frowned slightly and looked at Xiao Fang.

Xiao Fangze seemed to have anticipated such doubts, so he took a scroll from Xu Chu and slowly unfolded it under the curious gazes of everyone.

Liu Bei, Huang Zhong and other generals came closer and watched together.

Huang Zhong looked at it and his expression suddenly changed. He asked in surprise:

"This is the city defense map of Chaisang City. It also contains the sentry checkpoints within 20 miles outside the city, as well as the passcode!"

"Where did the military advisor get such a confidential item?"

(End of this chapter)