gnovel Chapter 36 You have a plan to cross the river, I have a hanging wall.
Chapter 36 You have a plan to cross the river, I have a hanging wall.
Sun Ce was followed by Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, and Han Dang, all of whom were former subordinates of Sun Jian.
"Bo Fu!" Wu Jing strode forward, grabbed Sun Ce's arm, and asked excitedly, "You've finally arrived!"
Sun Benlian's face also lit up with joy, and he said, "We were just worried about how to break through Liu Yao's river defenses. With you here, we have confidence!"
Sun Ce raised his hand to signal the soldiers to enter the camp to rest, and then walked into the main tent with Wu Jing and Sun Ben.
After taking their seats inside the tent, Sun Ce got straight to the point:
"Uncle, cousin, I have brought 1,800 of my father's old troops to help you defeat Liu Yao."
Wu Jing sighed: "Bo Fu, it's good that you have lofty ambitions."
However, Liu Yao had a strong army and occupied a key ferry crossing.
We are currently short of food and ships, so it won't be that easy.
"I've already asked Gongjin to prepare the provisions. As for the ferry boats, once the provisions arrive, we'll send people to collect them along the river; we should be able to gather enough," Sun Ce replied.
Wu Jing and Sun Ben remained noncommittal.
Then Wu Jing asked, "Bo Fu, a direct attack is too difficult. Do you have any better ideas?"
Sun Ce grinned.
Under the expectant gazes of Wu Jing and Sun Ben, he uttered two words: "No!"
"..." Wu Jing and Sun Ben.
"No rush, let's discuss the specific route for crossing the river when Gongjin returns."
Sun Ce spoke in a relaxed tone, without the slightest worry.
It seems that as long as Zhou Yu takes action, no matter what the problem is, it can be easily solved.
at this time,
Another announcement came from outside the camp gate, saying that Zhou Yu had returned.
Sun Ce was overjoyed and quickly got up to go out and greet him.
Zhou Yu, dressed in a scholar's robe and looking slightly tired, was walking towards the camp gate with a dozen or so followers.
"Gongjin!" Sun Ce strode forward, his face full of anticipation, and asked, "How's the procurement of supplies going?"
A hint of guilt appeared on Zhou Yu's face as he said, "I'm sorry, Bo Fu, I only managed to gather one thousand shi of grain."
When Wu Jing and Sun Ben heard that Zhou Yu had only managed to gather 1,000 shi of grain, both of them showed expressions of worry.
Sun Ce's smile froze instantly, and he asked in astonishment, "How come there's only a thousand shi? What happened?"
After saying that, Sun Ce pulled Zhou Yu into the main tent.
Zhou Yu sighed, sat down, and slowly said, "I contacted several large grain merchants, but they either said that the grain had already been reserved or that their inventory was empty and refused to sell to me."
Later I went to Jiujiang and finally found someone willing to sell grain, but the price was ridiculously high.
I acquired this thousand shi (a unit of dry measure) at a high price using all the wealth I had on me.
"Someone made a reservation?" Sun Ce frowned. "Who has the financial resources to reserve so much grain in advance? Liu Yao?"
"It shouldn't be Liu Yao." Zhou Yu shook his head. "Liu Yao is rapidly expanding his new army in Qu'a, and he simply doesn't have the extra funds to buy grain and fodder."
I suspect that someone else is secretly hindering my efforts to gather supplies.
"Who dares to oppose me, Sun Ce?" A flash of anger crossed Sun Ce's eyes. "Could it be Yuan Shu? He outwardly agreed to let me march south, but secretly he's deliberately cutting off my supplies?"
"It doesn't seem like Yuan Shu either," Zhou Yu analyzed. "Although Yuan Shu is suspicious, he also hopes that we can defeat Liu Yao and help him stabilize the situation in Jiangdong."
If he really wanted to hold us back, he wouldn't have returned your father's old troops to you in the first place.
I think it's very likely that other forces don't want to see us successfully take over Jiangdong.
Sun Ce was silent for a moment, then suddenly raised his head and asked, "You mean Liu Bei?"
Zhou Yu nodded slightly and said, "Judging from the current situation, Liu Bei is the most suspicious."
Moreover, Liu Bei had Mi Zhu by his side.
The Mi family had been in business for generations and possessed enormous wealth; transferring this sum of money would have been a piece of cake.
And the timing also matches up.
The nearby grain supplies were completely wiped out, right after Liu Bei marched south to Huainan!
"Back then, he and my father had some connections, but I never expected that he would now covet my Jiangdong!" Sun Ce slammed his fist on the table and said angrily.
"With us here, Jiangdong is not something Liu Bei can easily conquer."
Zhou Yu offered a word of comfort and continued:
"I will go to my uncle (Zhou Shang, the governor of Danyang) to see if I can get some grain from him."
"But time is of the essence; I must cross the Yangtze River southward as soon as possible, and I'm afraid I won't be able to accompany you, Bofu, to attack Liu Yao."
Upon hearing this, Wu Jing said to Sun Ce, "Bo Fu, we are short of supplies right now, so we cannot rush to cross the river."
"It would be better to continue gathering provisions and ships in Liyang first, and then discuss crossing the river once we have sufficient supplies and warships."
Zhou Yu shook his head and said, "No, we can't wait."
Liu Yao is currently expanding his military strength. If we delay and he gains a firm foothold, it will be even more difficult for us to defeat him.
Moreover, Liu Bei is leading 100,000 people across the river. If we are slow, he will seize the opportunity!
Sun Ce agreed wholeheartedly and asked, "Gongjin, do you have a way to break through Liu Yao's defenses?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yu smiled wryly.
"We don't need to launch a full-scale attack on Hengjiangjin. We can simply cross the Yangtze River by detour and take Niuzhu Camp by surprise. Liu Yao's defenses will collapse on their own."
Sun Ce's eyes lit up, and he replied, "That's right! Didn't you just say you were going to cross the river south? Why don't we cross the river together?"
"Not bad, you've improved." Zhou Yu praised with a smile, then pointed to the map and said:
"Please take a look, everyone."
Liu Yao appointed Fan Neng and Yu Mi to guard Hengjiangjin, and Zhang Ying to guard Danglikou. He also stockpiled grain and weapons at Niuzhu Camp.
He predicted that our army would cross the river from the Liyang front, so he concentrated the majority of his forces on these two ferry crossings and the Niuzhu line, forming a defensive perimeter.
Then, Zhou Yu moved his fingertip to an unnamed hollow and said:
"More than twenty miles west of Liyang, there is a river branch, a wild beach where fishermen cast their nets and hunters moor their boats."
I crossed the Yangtze River northward from here, and Liu Yao was completely unprepared for this situation.
Sun Ce's gaze sharpened, and he exclaimed, "Excellent! It has to be Gongjin!"
Wu Jing frowned: "But we have few boats. Even if we find this wild ferry, we don't have enough boats. How can we cross the river in one go?"
If this drags on, Liu Yao will definitely notice, and then all our efforts will likely be in vain.
Sun Ben also said, "Yes, Bo Fu, without a boat, it's all just empty talk."
The tent fell silent for a moment.
Just then, the tent flap was lifted, and Xu Kun strode in, his expression showing a strange excitement.
He cupped his hands in greeting to Sun Ce and said, "Bo Fu, my mother is currently in the army camp."
Sun Ce was taken aback: "Auntie is here?"
Xu Kun nodded and continued, "She saw that the army was stalled due to the lack of ships and feared that if the delay continued, Liu Yao would send his navy to intercept them, which would be detrimental to the overall situation."
It was said that reeds could be cut down and tied into large rafts, which Sasuke's ships could then use to transport his troops.
Xu Kun relayed his mother's message to Sun Ce word for word.
Sun Ce suddenly looked up and asked, "Auntie, do you mean... to use reeds to make rafts instead of ferries?"
"Exactly!" Xu Kun said. "My mother said that the reeds on the north bank are as strong as bamboo and can grow to more than ten feet long. They are tied together with hemp rope in rows, and that is called a yurt."
A single boat can carry more than ten people, and the water level is very shallow.
Our army can use warships to make a show of force in front, thus attracting Liu Yao's attention.
The elite troops, on reed rafts, sneaked across from the side, set sail at night, and headed straight for the barren beach on the south bank.
Liu Yao's garrison was only focused on regular warships; they never dreamed we would use reeds to cross the river and attack their rear!
Zhou Yu's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He exchanged a glance with Sun Ce and said:
"This plan is brilliant!"
The warships launched a feigned frontal attack, while the reed rafts secretly crossed the river from the flanks.
By the time he realized what was happening, Niuzhu Camp had already been breached!
With all supplies, weapons, and warships destroyed,
"The main force will then attack Hengjiangjin and Danglikou from the front; the enemy will surely collapse without a fight!"
Sun Ce abruptly stood up and immediately made a decision:
"Very well! We will follow Aunt and Gongjin's plan. I will personally cross the river and launch a surprise attack on Niuzhu Camp!"
……
at the same time,
In Qu'a City, a mysteriously obtained secret letter lay on Liu Yao's desk.
He stroked his chin and murmured to himself:
"Sun Ce will cut reeds to make rafts, use them to cross the river with his army, and launch a surprise attack on the Niuzhu camp..."