Three Kingdoms: I switched to Liu Bei, why are you crying, Cao Cao?

Chapter 95: Panic and no choice, a chance for reversal?

Outside Shouchun City, under the scorching sun, a large number of soldiers were bare-chested, holding hastily made tools, and digging a huge ditch.

Some of these soldiers were hanging pits, some were filling the pits with earth, and some were guarding troops in the distance, totaling more than 20,000 people.

It is said that one person is worth tens of thousands of people, and the crowds are huge. At this time, tens of thousands of soldiers were working outside the city, and the scene was quite spectacular.

Looking at this scene, the generals under Yuan Shu all had solemn expressions on their faces.

Ji Ling slapped the wall with his hand and said through gritted teeth:
"How dare the enemy act like this?"

You know, in order to prevent the enemy from attacking the city, he prepared a large amount of supplies for defending the city.

Even many of the houses under the city were demolished in order to prepare a large amount of logs and stones to defend against enemy attacks.

But now that he was ready, the coalition forces did not even attack, but directly chose a very extreme strategy - diverting water to flood the city!
Don’t these people know that there are still hundreds of thousands of people in the city?
Knowing this, yet still daring to act this way, aren't you afraid of divine punishment?

But as he said this, Yuan Huan said with a look of sorrow:

"Our army should have expected this, should have expected this!"

"But if the troops are not deployed, the enemy will not be able to find a way to attack the city. Apart from this plan, what other strategies do we have?"

Unlike Ji Ling, he never expected others to attack the city obediently.

After all, no one who can thrive in this chaotic world is a fool.

Knowing that your city is difficult to attack, how could they possibly attack it honestly?

But he felt that even if the enemy was a bit extreme, they should still try to attack the city. In this way, they could gain an early advantage by keeping so many soldiers.

But I didn't expect that the coalition forces would use this kind of tactic to wipe out the entire family right from the start.

It seems like he is preparing to flood the city, but in fact he is forcing them to send troops!
Because they still have a chance to send troops now.

Otherwise, once the flood comes, the troops they leave behind will become a huge burden.

When a flood comes, the food will become damp and the water source will also be limited.

Their 20,000 troops will become a huge burden!

It's okay for a few days, but if they don't move for too long, the soldiers will mutiny!
It can be said that it was not that the coalition forces’ strategy was extreme, but their extreme perseverance that led to the coalition forces having no choice but to use this method to attack the city!
Once again, the enemy seized upon their weakness and made them reap what they sowed.

Thinking of this, Yuan Huan sighed again. The enemy's strategists were so cunning that they left them no room for planning at all!

When everyone saw Yuan Huan like this, they all remained silent.

Only Ji Ling saw it and shouted:
"The enemy is only trying to dig for water and has not yet attacked the city. Why are you crying so much?"

"Everyone, go down to the city, organize your troops and prepare for battle. Now follow me and charge out of the city to see how they dig for water!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the generals showed fear on their faces, and Yuan Huan sighed:
"General, you must not go out to fight. The enemy is trying to force us to fight. If we leave the city easily, won't we fall into the enemy's trap?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Ling became furious and said:

"If you follow what you said, sir, our army will fight or not. Will we just sit there and watch them dig water down and flood Shouchun?"

After being yelled at by him, Yuan Huan lowered his head and said nothing, he could only say in a deep voice:

"It will take you several days to dig for water. General, can you allow me to think of a countermeasure before we go into battle?"

"It is true that our army cannot go into battle easily right now, otherwise why would I stop the general?"

Ji Ling listened to Yuan Huan's words and saw the tangled look on his face. He could only suppress his anger and snorted coldly:

"That's it, sir, please think of a countermeasure quickly!"

"If there is really no solution, I will lead my troops out of the city and fight you to the death!"

In his opinion, Yuan Huan probably had no more strategies, so at times like this, he had to rely on generals like him to make the move.

Rather than sit and wait for death, he might as well take the initiative to send troops.

It’s better to fight hard than to be trapped in the city and be wiped out!

Having said this, he led his generals down towards the foot of the city, leaving Yuan Huan alone standing on the city wall, looking at the enemy in silence.

Thus, a day passed.

That night, Liu Bei called Lü Bu and Sun Ce and said to them:

"The enemy may launch a night attack tonight, but you two should be aware that you must not let down your guard!"

When Lu Bu and Sun Ce heard this, they naturally said they knew.

In fact, even if Liu Bei said nothing, they would still defend themselves strictly.

Because they need to dig for water now, Ji Ling will most likely choose to leave the city. If he doesn't come during the day, then he will attack at night.

Naturally, they would not give Ji Ling this opportunity.

After the two of them left, Liu Bei called Qin Zhen over and asked:

"I have ordered them to defend the camp!"

"Military Advisor, do you think Ji Ling will come tonight?"

"Absolutely not!"

Qin Zhen shook his head and smiled:

"The best way for Ji Ling now is to fight. We have just dug up this water, and Ji Ling still has a few days to think about it. He will not act rashly!"

"Our army can act according to the plan now!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei nodded in agreement, and immediately ordered his soldiers to go out of the camp and start cutting wood.

While they were acting in secret, Sun Ce returned to the camp and a spy informed him of Liu Bei's military movements.

Sun Ce was naturally surprised when he heard this, and he called everyone over and asked:

"Everyone, tell me, what is Liu Bei doing now?"

"He told us to guard the camp, but he ordered his soldiers to cut wood. Why?"

Everyone was listening and naturally confused.

They wanted to dig water to flood the city, and Liu Bei didn't need to block the river or build a dam, so why cut down trees?
Only Zhou Yu heard this and hurriedly said to Sun Ce:

"Let's see how Liu Bei acts tomorrow!"

Sun Ce nodded in agreement and sent spies to investigate again.

In this way, there were actions both inside and outside the city, and another night passed quietly.

The next day, the coalition forces continued to dig canals outside the city. Ji Ling summoned Yuan Huan to the city and asked:
"Sir, do you have any plan to defeat the enemy?"

"No plan yet!"

Yuan Huan shook his head and said to Ji Ling:
"But in my opinion, it is better to withdraw from this city."

"This way, we can protect the people in the city and our troops."

"Even if the enemy captures this city, our army can retreat to Ruyin and garrison there!"

In his opinion, the best solution at the moment is to withdraw troops.

Because judging from the current overall situation, it would be better for them to retreat and preserve their manpower rather than be trapped in a city that is doomed to be lost.

But when Ji Ling heard this, he showed an unfriendly look on his face and said in a deep voice:

"Your Majesty has ordered us to defend this city to the death. Even if we have to fight to the last soldier, we will not retreat!"

"If you have no plan, I will go out of the city tonight and fight you!"

Seeing Ji Ling's loyalty, Yuan Huan couldn't help but sigh:
"Wait a minute, General. Let me think about it for two more days!"

Seeing his appearance, Ji Ling snorted again and left.

Another day passed.

The next night, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu met again. When they asked the spy about the unusual movements of Liu Bei's army, they heard the spy say:

"Since Liu Bei's army cut down trees last night, there has been no unusual movement tonight." Sun Ce became even more confused after hearing this. He looked at Zhou Yu and said:
"The enemy cut down trees yesterday, but they are not cutting down trees today. Why is that?"

Zhou Yu listened, and felt a bad premonition in his heart getting stronger and stronger. However, after thinking about it, he could not figure out the reason, so he could only reply to Sun Ce:
"That Qin Zhen behaves strangely. His plan this time must be based on the tree that was cut down yesterday!"

"Send someone to investigate again. Make sure to find out what the enemy is doing with this wood!"

When Sun Ce saw this, he was also curious about what Liu Bei's army was doing, so he simply sent more spies to investigate what Liu Bei's army was doing.

At this point, another night passed. Before Sun Ce could find out what Liu Bei's army was doing, Liu Bei recruited Lu Bu and Sun Ce into the camp again and sighed:

"We are digging for water here now. We can see that the dam has been built and the canal will reach the city. In two days at most, we will be able to bring water here for irrigation."

"But the enemy won't fight us. What should we do?"

When Lu Bu heard this, he knew that Liu Bei did not want to dig for water, and he immediately laughed and said:

"Don't worry, Xuande. If Ji Ling really doesn't move when we dig the water, our army won't be polite to you and will just dig the water!"

He was only interested in Yuan Shu's savings. Food and fodder were fine, but money was the most important thing.

A flood can cause the grain to mold, but it cannot wash away the money and grain in the treasury.

For him, the sooner the better.

Sun Ce, unaware of Liu Bei's actions, also echoed:

"Marquis Wen is right. If he doesn't leave the city, why should we be polite to him? We can just dig for water."

"Does the envoy have other ways to lure the enemy out?"

Liu Bei heard this and sighed:
"I just can't bear to see the lives of the people destroyed, so I want to send someone to the city to persuade them to surrender. What do you think?"

When the two saw that he wanted to persuade him to surrender, they were both surprised. If Ji Ling was willing to surrender, he would not have held on until now.

Liu Bei's move was mostly futile.

However, Lu Bu also knew that Liu Bei was this kind of person, so he smiled and said:

"Xuan De can go if he wants to. Why ask us?"

Sun Ce didn't care much about it and let Liu Bei do what he wanted.

When Liu Bei saw this, he nodded and immediately called Zhang Fei to come and ask him to go to the city to persuade them to surrender.

Meanwhile, in Shouchun City, Yuan Huan had not come up with any plan for three consecutive days. Ji Ling was already somewhat desperate, so he simply summoned all the generals and said:
"The enemy has been digging for water outside the city for three days. Now the canal will be connected to the city. Our army cannot sit still and wait for death!"

"I want to go out of the city tonight to fight. What do you think?"

Seeing this, all the generals looked at each other, and immediately saw Chen Lanxing come out:

"The general wants to fight, and we will follow him, but I don't know where he wants to attack?"

After hearing this, Ji Ling thought for a while and said:
"I plan to leave the camp at four o'clock tonight and split my troops into two groups. One group will feign an attack on the front camp, and the other group will feign an attack on the enemy's rear. We can then burn the enemy's food and grass!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Lan said in a deep voice:
"General, you must know that there are many enemy troops outside the city. It will be extremely difficult for our army to burn food and grass!"

"Hmph, are you afraid of fighting?"

Ji Ling looked at Chen Lan with disdain and said:
"The enemy has been digging ditches for three days in a row, and the soldiers are exhausted. If our army goes all out, we may not be able to defeat the enemy, but it won't be difficult to burn their food supplies!"

"If you are afraid of fighting, you can stay and defend the city. I will lead the troops out of the city tonight!"

Chen Lan naturally remained silent upon hearing this. At this moment, Yuan Huan walked quickly into the hall and said:
"General, what do you want to do by summoning all the generals?"

Seeing him coming, Ji Ling did not hide his feelings and said in a deep voice:
"Since you don't have a plan to defeat the enemy, I will lead the troops to attack. Now the enemy is exhausted, it is the best time for us to leave the city!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Huan hurriedly said loudly:
"General, you must not think like that. Although the enemy is tired, they are still twice as many as ours. If our army leaves the city, it will not work if there are too few of us, and too many will surely arouse the enemy's vigilance!"

"The enemy has been on very tight defense at night these past few days. How could our army have a chance to attack their camp?"

But as soon as he finished speaking this time, Ji Ling gritted his teeth and said:
"Sir, this is really ridiculous. This is not allowed, and that is not allowed!"

"I see the enemy's canals approaching the city. A flood is coming soon. If we don't go out now, when will we go?"

When Yuan Huan heard this, his face turned bitter.

How could he not know this?
But what can they do now that they can’t find the enemy’s weakness?

As he was thinking, he saw a soldier running over and shouting:
"General, a general is leading his troops outside the city. He said that they have built a dam on the river in the north of the city. The flood will come in two days at most. He asked us to leave the city and surrender."

"He also shot a letter of surrender with an arrow, demanding that the general go and respond!"

When the generals heard that the flood was coming in two days, they were all terrified.

Once the flood comes, they will be trapped and die in Shouchun.

When Ji Ling heard this, he immediately got angry and stood up and said:

"Order the defending general to shoot arrows back and make him give up this thought. Our army will only have generals who die in battle, and no one will surrender!"

When the soldier heard this, he was about to follow the order and leave, but Yuan Huan stepped forward and stopped him, saying:

"Wait a minute!"

Seeing this, Ji Ling glared at him and said:

"Why, Yuan Huanru wants to persuade me to surrender the enemy?"

When Yuan Huan saw this, he hurriedly shook his head and said:

"General, please stop talking. I will ask you two more questions!"

As he spoke, he ignored Ji Ling's doubts and looked at the soldier and said:
"You just said that the enemy army blocked the river and built a dam there?"

"Please give me the letter of surrender!"

The soldier was puzzled but did not dare to hide it. He told Yuan Huan what had just happened and handed the letter of surrender from Liu Bei's army to Yuan Huan.

After hearing this, Yuan Huan took a look at the letter of surrender, and his eyes lit up and he said:

"I know, this is the way to defeat the enemy!"

Seeing Yuan Huan like this, Ji Ling couldn't figure out what he meant, so he said in a deep voice:

"Yuan Yaoqing, what do you mean?"

But as soon as he finished speaking, Yuan Huan turned around and said:

"General, do you really want to go out of the city to fight tonight?"

"That is so. Now the flood is coming in two days. If our army does not go out tonight, what else can we do?"

Ji Ling thought he was going to persuade her again, so he said with a sullen look:
"I have made up my mind, don't talk anymore!"

Upon seeing this, Yuan Huan clasped his hands and said:
"If the general really wants to fight, I have a plan that may be able to reverse the current situation!"

When Ji Ling heard this, he narrowed his eyes and said:

"What plan do you have to defeat the enemy?"

Then Yuan Huan said with a firm face:

"If the general wants to leave the city, he should attack the enemy's dam tonight, dig this water first, and divert it to the enemy!"

"Now they are unprepared, their camps are all outside the city, and the canals have not yet been dug to the foot of the city. Once the flood arrives, it may flood the city, and the enemy will be the first to suffer!"

"Our army is inside the city, and we have the protection of the city walls. The enemy is outside the city, what protection do we have?"

"With such a huge flood, all the food and supplies will be gone. You will no longer be able to attack the city!"

"When the enemy retreats, our army can open the city gates and release the water. The weather is hot now, and it will only take a few days to clear the flood from the city!"

"In this way, we can protect our troops and the people in the city!"

When he finished speaking, everyone was shocked.

Yes, if the enemy drowns them, they can also drown the enemy in return!
Shouchun is indeed low-lying, but outside the city are all plains, and the canal has not been dug yet. If they start digging now, it is hard to say who will be drowned!
Why didn't they think of this?

(End of this chapter)