xymnovel Chapter 36 Alright then, if he divides his forces, I'll divide mine too.
Chapter 36 Alright then, if he divides his forces, I'll divide mine too.
"Sun Ce wasn't fooled at all."
Inside Wancheng, Yuan Yao complained to Yan Xiang in a dejected mood.
The Imperial Seal of the State was supposed to be an instrument of divine intervention, so why did Sun Ce show no interest at all? He had just received the letter seeking peace when he launched a combined land and sea attack, capturing the important town of Wankou in just half a day.
Yuan Yao was very disappointed; it seemed he had overestimated the allure of the Imperial Seal to a powerful figure like Sun Ce.
This also shows that Yuan Shu's previous abstract thinking was not due to being bewitched by the imperial seal, but purely due to his own hard work and determination.
However, to be fair, using the imperial seal to lure Sun Ce was merely a delaying tactic devised by Yuan Yao on a whim, a desperate measure that could only be used if the opportunity presented itself. It didn't really matter if it failed.
But Yuan Yao was still very emotional.
Because the situation in Wancheng is quite different now.
Now, ever since he learned that Sun Ce might come to attack the Zhong clan, and that Huainan was blocking the direction of the enemy's expansion, making this battle unavoidable, Yuan Yao had been repeatedly thinking about how to use a bunch of weaklings to resist the tiger-wolf Jiangdong army.
As is well known, the Zhong family's army was utterly incompetent. Only a small number of elite troops were capable of fighting tough battles, while the majority of the troops were a rabble with an alarmingly low rate of armor.
After all, Yuan Yao has only been in power for a little over half a year, and his military reform plan has only just begun. The Zhong army is plagued by many chronic problems, so how can it be effective so quickly?
In the end, Yuan Yao sadly discovered that his only advantage seemed to be his large number of people.
There are a lot.
It was certainly more than Sun Ce had imagined.
When Yuan Shu was still alive, he granted amnesty to Chen Ce, a local bandit in Lujiang, and gained tens of thousands of people.
Yuan Yao then pressed on, first recruiting Lei Bo and Chen Lan of Qianshan through Zhang Xun, bringing in more than 20,000 men. Then, in order to sideline Zhang Xun, he simply sent him to various places to pacify bandits, and several thousand men were recruited in succession.
Not finished yet.
In the process of cracking down on powerful clans and their gold-spending schemes, Yuan Yao acquired a large number of unregistered households and servants not on the official records, totaling more than 10,000 people.
Therefore, if the Zhong clan were to focus all their efforts on building up their army, even if they didn't have 100,000 troops, it wouldn't be too difficult for them to field 50,000.
The problem was that this army of 50,000 men was all talk and no action; in reality, the vast majority were greenhorns with no combat experience, and their equipment and training were very poor, making them no match for Sun Ce's battle-hardened army.
Moreover, Yuan Yao is not prepared to send out more troops. He still has to make a living. What's the use of a desperate and impoverished army if he sells everything he owns and wins against Sun Ce?
In response to these situations, Yuan Yao and Liu Ye devised a suitable battle plan after repeated discussions and researches.
That is a flexible defensive tactic of luring the enemy deep into our territory, defending layer by layer, and trading space for time.
Liu Ye judged that, given Sun Ce's straightforward personality, the enemy would definitely choose to strike at the heart of the enemy's territory, cross the river to Wankou, and then head straight for Wancheng.
Taking advantage of the months that Sun Ce was delayed, Yuan Yao built defensive strongholds along the road, creating seven or eight layers of defense, taking advantage of the population advantage of Lujiang.
Each outpost was actually quite rudimentary. They were basically just digging trenches and pits, using local materials to build a fence or earthen wall, and then putting up some barricades. They could barely be considered mini fortresses, capable of holding about a hundred people.
Obviously, these small outposts could not stop Sun Ce's large army, but there were simply too many of them. Moreover, they often avoided main roads and were built in strategic locations that were easy to defend and difficult to attack, which further strengthened their defensive advantage.
This presented Sun Ce with a dilemma. If he didn't fight, it seemed like he could bypass the enemy, but his rear would always be threatened and constantly harassed, which he couldn't tolerate. If he did fight, the Zhong clan's army had the advantage of terrain and fortifications, making them not so easy to conquer. It would take forever to defeat them one by one.
In this way, even if Sun Ce manages to reach the walls of Wancheng, his morale will likely be completely worn down. At that point, the Zhong clan's elite troops will have a much better chance of launching a counterattack.
That wasn't the end of it. Considering the disparity in strength between the two sides, even the most ideal plan could go wrong. To be on the safe side, Yuan Yao specially sent messengers to contact other warlords, explaining the advantages and disadvantages and urging them to join forces against Sun Quan.
Admittedly, the major warlords in the land were too busy to deal with the mess in Huainan at the moment, but there were still some smaller forces that could lend a hand.
Yuan Yao asked Mi Zhu for help to go to Guangling to persuade Chen Deng to make a show of attacking Sun Ce's hometown in Jiangdong, thus putting pressure on Sun Ce.
Yuan Yao sent Huang Yi to Jiangxia to contact Huang Zu, the governor of Jiangxia, who was also from the Huang clan of Nan Commandery, and pleaded with him to send troops to prevent his enemy Sun Ce from growing too powerful.
As expected, Yuan Yao learned that Yang Hong had a past relationship with Hua Xin, the Prefect of Yuzhang, and also invited him to send troops, even if it was just for show.
Don't be fooled by the fact that these few companies are mostly mediocre and their actual presence is questionable. Their sheer number makes a difference and can easily create a sense of impending doom for Sun Ce.
Yuan Yao: "I would call it: international perspective!"
In short, with so much preparation, Yuan Yao was quite confident about the defense of Wancheng; it was just a matter of how much it would cost.
Until he heard that Sun Ce had divided his forces into two routes and was attacking the two counties of Lujiang and Jiujiang at the same time.
This presents a decision point.
It's clear that Sun Ce doesn't take the Zhong family seriously. He has chosen a high-risk, high-reward plan, aiming to wipe out Yuan Yao in one fell swoop and take over Huainan.
So how should Yuan Yao respond?
It should be noted that the Zhong family's resources were limited, only enough to build layers of defenses along the road from Wankou to Wancheng, while the Jiujiang direction was flat and open.
If the original plan is maintained, Wancheng is almost certain to be captured, and there is a very high probability that Sun Ce will be able to repel the divided forces, but Jiujiang will be in danger.
What if we also split our forces and fight on two fronts?
This is also a high-risk, high-reward situation for Zhong.
In the end, Yuan Yao's gambling instincts kicked in, and Liu Ye thought that they could make a move around Hefei. Trusting the name of the city, he chose to call the bet, splitting his forces into two groups to defend, aiming to take both Lujiang and Jiujiang.
In this way, Zhong's battle strategy changed from defensive counterattack to Tian Ji's horse racing strategy.
Sun Ce's two armies were of different strengths: the main force, which he personally led, was located in the Lujiang area, while the smaller force was led by his cousin Xu Kun.
Therefore, Yuan Yao needed to transfer most of his capable troops to Jiujiang in order to achieve a great victory over Xu Kun. Naturally, he could only wait in Wancheng and hope to minimize his losses.
After making the decision, Yuan Yao appointed Cao Xing as the main general and Liu Ye as the assistant general, leading an army of 5,000, including 2,000 of Zhong's most elite imperial guards, plus 800 swordsmen from Guan Yu who were there to help, and rushed to Jiujiang to provide support.
This is basically all the core strength that Yuan Yao can muster; it's a huge gamble.
The price, in turn, is what remains in Wancheng...
Liu Ye had raised this issue with Yuan Yao at the time: "The rest of us have gone to Jiujiang, and only the original Zhong clan officials remain in Wancheng. Given their abilities, is the young lord truly at ease?"
Yuan Yao, however, said confidently, "That's exactly what I wanted. Ziyang, you can go with peace of mind. I'll handle things here."
So when Sun Ce broke through Wankou and began to advance towards Wancheng, Yuan Yao immediately convened a top military meeting to discuss how to organize a defense under the current circumstances.
Just as Liu Ye had feared, after much discussion, the group was still unable to make a decent decision.
It's not that everyone is without ideas. After preparing for so long, even though the main force has been moved to Jiujiang, there is still a lot of room for maneuver.
The problem is that there is no one who can convince Yuan Yao, and the others cannot persuade others. Everyone has their own opinion, so it is difficult to reach a conclusion.
Yuan Yao looked around, gave everyone a deep look, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Unfortunately, everyone here, including himself, has completely different ideas and ways of doing things, making it really difficult to cooperate.
As for the specific differences?
Yuan Yao: I'd rather make a mistake than do nothing.
Yan Xiang: I'd rather do nothing than make a mistake.
Yang Hong: No.
Zhang Xun: Make a mistake.