Chapter 238 It's time to let them stand alone! The right time and place, do whatever you want! See who Cao sent to die!

Old Liu and everyone else understood that Xiao Fang was judging that Cao Cao and Yuan Shao would send troops to rescue Lu Bu.

If Cao Cao wanted to rescue Lu Bu, he had to send troops from Xudu, go south along the Ying River and take Yangquan directly.

If Yuan Shao wanted to rescue Lu Bu, Yuan Tan could only send troops from Xuzhou and march south to capture Xuyi.

These two cities, one in the east and one in the west, are the must-attack places to save Shouchun.

"Yuan Shao has many soldiers and generals. Yuan Tan alone has nearly 50,000 soldiers. It is more than enough to send troops to rescue Lu Bu."

"However, Cao Cao's military strength is stretched to the limit. He has almost no troops to deploy. Cao Ren is retreating step by step in Xuzhou, and he has no soldiers to reinforce him. How can he have extra troops to rescue Lu Bu?"

"I think Cao Cao wants to save Lu Bu, but he is powerless."

Lu Xun pointed out Cao Cao’s weakness of having few soldiers.

Pang Tong nodded slightly and said:
"The only mobile force Cao Cao can mobilize right now is the several thousand garrison troops in Xudu."

"But these several thousand soldiers are responsible for monitoring the emperor. How dare Cao Cao use them easily?"

"If Xudu is left with an empty army, and the Han officials loyal to the emperor take advantage of the situation to start a rebellion, wouldn't it be dangerous for Cao Cao to have a fire in his backyard?"

Lu Xun and Pang Tong's analysis seems to be reasonable and cannot be refuted.

Old Liu looked at Xiao Fang again.

Xiao Fang smiled and said meaningfully:
"What Shi Yuan and Boyan said is certainly not without reason. If we judge by common sense, Cao Cao really has no more troops to mobilize."

"But don't forget that Cao Cao is best at using unusual forces, and his subordinates, such as Guo Jia, are also talented in making unusual plans."

"We just need to be on guard against Cao Cao's unexpected victory. As for how Cao Cao came up with this unexpected force, we don't need to bother to study it in detail."

These words immediately suppressed the doubts of Pang Tong and Lu Xun.

Old Liu became alert and nodded heavily:
"What the military advisor said makes sense. Cao Cao is a master at using troops. He always likes to win by surprise. We must be on guard against him."

"Then I will dispatch two groups of heavy troops, one to reinforce the defense of Yangquan City, and the other to the east to seize Xuyi first and block the Yuan army's route to the south. What do you think, military advisor?"

Xiao Fang shook his head and said:
"Cao Cao and Yuan Shao sent troops to Huainan. Their purpose was not to fight to the death with our army, but to tie down our forces and relieve the pressure on Lu Bu."

"If you send a large number of troops to Yangquan and Xuyi, the number of troops besieging Shouchun will naturally be greatly reduced, and the pressure on Lu Bu will be suddenly reduced."

"Wouldn't this be exactly what Yuan Shao and Cao Cao want?"

Liu Bei suddenly realized and frowned.

According to Xiao Fang, deploying heavy troops to strengthen the defense of these two cities would reduce the pressure on Shouchun.

However, if we do not mobilize heavy troops, we cannot ensure the safety of the two cities. If Yuan and Cao take advantage of the situation to attack and break through, the consequences will be disastrous.

It’s a dilemma…

"My lord, don't forget that although Yuan and Cao have outstanding counselors such as Guo Jia and Ju Su, my lord also has people with extraordinary plans such as Shi Yuan and Boyan."

"Now, it's time to let them stand on their own."

Xiao Fang gently waved his feather fan and looked at Pang Tong and Lu Xun with a smile.

Liu Bei was slightly startled: "What do you mean, military advisor?"

Xiao Fang looked at Pang Tong first:

"Shi Yuan, if the lord only gives you 4,000 soldiers and asks you to assist Taishi Ziyi to defend Xuyi, if Yuan Tan's army approaches, do you have the confidence to defend Xuyi?"

Pang Tong was stunned at first, but then he understood Xiao Fang's profound meaning.

Xiao Fang wanted to use his wisdom to make up for the weakness of having few soldiers, and let him assist Taishi Ci in defeating the larger force with a smaller one to resist Yuan Tan.

Pang Tong's face immediately lit up with pride, and he sneered conceitedly:
"Military advisor, you underestimate me, Pang Tong. If Yuan Tan attacks with his entire army, I can ensure that Xuyi will be safe."

"If he only sends a few troops, my four thousand soldiers will be enough to defeat him!"

Pang Tong was still the same proud and conceited Pang Tong, and obviously did not take Yuan Tan seriously.

If it were someone else, Xiao Fang would definitely laugh at him for being arrogant, but when it came to Pang Tong, he believed it without a doubt.

Fengchu is arrogant, and he has the confidence to be arrogant.

"General Xiaoguan is currently leading 2,000 soldiers to guard Yangquan. Bo Yan, if the lord orders you to assist General Xiaoguan, if Cao Cao attacks with a surprise attack, do you have the confidence to defend Yangquan?"

Xiao Fang's gaze turned to Lu Xun again.

Lu Xun also understood Xiao Fang's intention, and immediately bowed confidently:

"If Cao Cao sends a surprise attack on Yangquan, he will not dare to do it openly. Xun speculates that he will disguise himself as a merchant ship, go south along the Yingshui River, unexpectedly capture the northern ferry of Yangquan City, and then raid Yangquan City."

"At that time, Xun will surely give advice to General Xiaoguan. At the ford, attack the invading enemy troops halfway across the river. Two thousand soldiers and horses will be enough to defeat the enemy."

Although Lu Xun was not as conceited as Pang Tong, he also had absolute confidence in his own wisdom.

But then Lu Xun changed the subject and said with concern:

"However, how to detect Cao Cao's surprise attack and make arrangements in advance is a difficult problem."

Xiao Fang smiled, as if he had expected Lu Xun to have such concerns.

Then he waved his feather fan and said without thinking:
"I have already thought about this problem for you, Boyan. After you go to Yangquan City, you can learn from Sun Quan."

Learn from Sun Quan?
Lu Xun was stunned, his eyes were blank.

Pang Tong, who was standing by, heard the secret and reminded with a smile:
"Boyan, the military advisor wants you to learn from Sun Quan and build a beacon tower upstream of the Yingshui River."

As soon as these words came out, Lu Xun suddenly realized what was going on, and a gleam of light flashed in his eyes.

In order to prevent their surprise attack, Sun Quan built a beacon tower in the lower reaches of the Bi River so that he could detect the enemy's situation a hundred miles in advance.

Xiao Fang wanted him to follow Sun Quan's strategy to guard against Cao Cao!
Lu Xun was delighted at first, but then he thought of something and said hurriedly:

"Although the beacon tower strategy is brilliant, the military advisor has already used the white-clothed crossing the river strategy to destroy the beacon tower." "Cao Cao must have heard about this."

"Let's follow Sun Quan's strategy of using beacon towers. What if Cao Cao also follows our example and uses the strategy of crossing the river in white clothes to break it?"

There was a hint of mystery in Xiao Fang's eyes, but he said:

"The terrain of the Ying River is different from that of the Bi River. The way you built the beacon tower is naturally different from that of Sun Quan. Cao Cao will never be able to detect it."

"I won't explain the specific differences for now. With your wisdom, you will know once you go to Yangquan."

The terrain is not suitable?

Lu Xun's thoughts were racing, his eyes still blank, unable to guess the hidden meaning of Xiao Fang's words.

Xiao Fang did not explain any more and bowed to Old Liu:

"My Lord, do you think this arrangement is feasible?"

Liu Bei naturally had complete faith in Xiao Fang. Seeing Xiao Fang so calm and confident, he thought that everything would be foolproof.

Without any hesitation, he said happily:

"Jinglue, you have planned everything out, so this arrangement is sure to be foolproof."

"Okay, I'll follow your plan!"

Liu Bei then adopted Xiao Fang's strategy and ordered Taishi Ci Pang to lead 4,000 elite soldiers to march eastward along the Huai River day and night to capture the city of Xuyi.

Lu Xun received a secret order and headed west to Yangquan City to meet Guan Ping.

In order to ensure the safety of these two strategists, at the suggestion of Xiao Fang, Liu Bei ordered Chen Dao to lead a team of Bai Li soldiers to protect Pang Tong, and Xiao Fang ordered Xu Chu to lead a team of tiger guards to protect Lu Xun to Yangquan.

The two armies were arranged properly.

Liu Bei continued to lead the main force to besiege Shouchun City.

...

Ten days later, Yangquan City.

On the north gate tower, Guan Ping and Lu Xun were inspecting the city defenses.

"Bo Yan, it has been ten days and there is still no sign of Cao's army attacking. Could it be that Cao has no more troops to mobilize?"

"If that's the case, there seems to be no need for me to stay in Yangquan any longer. I will write a letter to my father and ask him to advise the Lord to transfer me to Shouchun."

Guan Ping couldn't help but open up to Lu Xun.

In the eyes of General Xiaoguan, the siege of Shouchun was an opportunity to achieve great things. If he could enter Shouchun and kill Lu Bu, it would be an unprecedented achievement.

As for the "idle job" of guarding Yangquan, in his eyes, it was a waste of his talents.

Now that Yangquan was in peace, Guan Ping could no longer hold back his excitement and naturally began to think about transferring to Shouchun.

"General Xiaoguan has known Military Advisor Xiao for much longer than I have, so he should know better. Military Advisor Xiao has always been a man of few plans."

"Since Military Advisor Xiao has determined that Cao Cao will send troops to rescue us, I think he is correct."

"General Xiaoguan should be more patient. If he can really wait until Cao's army attacks, and defeat the enemy in one fell swoop and defend Yangquan, it will be a great achievement."

Lu Xun heard Guan Ping's anxiety, so he patiently tried to comfort him, and his tone did not hide his admiration for Xiao Fang.

Guan Ping's heart was shocked, as if he understood something.

"Bo Yan, you are right. The military advisor is a wise strategist. I really shouldn't doubt the military advisor's calculations. But I can't figure out how Cao Cao would have extra troops to attack Yangquan..."

Guan Ping's self-deprecating words revealed deep confusion.

"Beacon! The beacon on the top of the west bank mountain is lit!"

Xu Chu suddenly pointed toward the northwest and shouted.

Guan Ping and Lu Xun were startled and their eyes quickly turned towards the west bank of Yingshui River.

really.

On the hill on the west bank, a column of smoke and beacon fire had already reached the sky.

"Bo Yan, the beacon fire has been lit, Cao's army is attacking!"

"The military advisor is truly brilliant. Cao Cao really sent troops to launch a surprise attack on Yangquan!"

Guan Ping shouted at Lu Xun excitedly.

While Lu Xun was excited, deep respect welled up on his face, and he exclaimed:
"The military advisor's use of the weather and terrain is truly at his will. I am not even a fraction as good as him..."

Before leaving for Shouchun, Xiao Fang told him that the terrain of the Ying River was different from that of the Bi River, so the way of building beacon towers would naturally be different.

After Lu Xun arrived in Yangquan, he took a boat up the river to the north and personally explored the terrain on both sides of the Yingshui River. Only then did he understand Xiao Fang's intention.

The terrain on both sides of the Bishui River is flat and all are plains, so the beacon towers can only be built with earth and stones.

Such an obvious project could naturally not be hidden from the eyes and ears of spies.

The Yingshui River is different. Although its east bank is flat, its west bank is mountainous, with many hills and highlands from which you can overlook both sides of the Yingshui River.

These hills are natural beacon towers!
Lu Xun did not need to make a big fuss about the construction. He only needed to send out more than a hundred soldiers, stationed on a hill every ten miles, to monitor the movements on both sides of the Yingshui River at all times.

Once a large enemy force or a large merchant ship was discovered passing by, a beacon fire would be lit on the hill immediately to quickly transmit the news back to Yangquan City.

In this way, the attacking Cao army would not notice that their movements were detected by the beacon tower, and they would not think that Yangquan City had known about their attack a hundred miles in advance and was ready to fight.

This is the beacon tower strategy that Xiao Fang mentioned!
After sighing, a murderous intent ignited in Lu Xun's eyes, and he raised his hand and pointed to the ferry in the north of the city:
"General Xiaoguan, get your troops ready and attack the invading enemy halfway across the river!"

"Let's see who Cao sent to die!"

(End of this chapter)