People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 539 Choice
After Xu Chen raised the question, everyone in the tent fell into deep thought.

It has to be said that although the tactical contraction strategy of Wu and Shu is frustrating, it is indeed the safest choice in the current situation. Although the Yellow Turbans are sure to win, the process of dealing with them may not be so easy.

After all, the main force of Wu and Shu, more than 300,000 troops, were still intact, and now they were madly attacking and clearing the countryside. The supplies and manpower they had plundered from Jingzhou were enough to keep them going for a long time.

Ju Su was the first to speak: "The retreat of Wu and Shu is actually just a last-ditch effort. What our army should think about is not whether we can win, but how to win at the lowest possible cost."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the tent nodded. Now the situation was indeed a sure win, and no one had any doubts about the final outcome.

If there is anything worth discussing, it is only what means can best end this war.

Previously, many of the Yellow Turbans' tactical moves were only to gain sufficiently advantageous combat conditions for themselves, but now almost all of their expected plans have been successful. Not only did the main force of the Yellow Turbans successfully cross the river without much risk, they also captured Xiangyang and Shuzhong in the tactical tug-of-war.

Being able to achieve all this without large-scale direct combat was already the pinnacle of the Yellow Turbans' tactical planning, and the rest were just bones to gnaw on.

Whether this bone is harder or the Yellow Turbans' teeth are better, it remains to be seen.

Xu Chen looked at everyone and said, "The enemy is retreating to defend. Our army has only two options. One is to launch a long-term siege. This will not cause any risks, but the war cycle will be very long. The other is to forcefully attack the city and sweep across Jingzhou. I believe that a strong attack can also win, but in this case, the soldiers will have to work much harder."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Dang slammed the table and stood up, saying without hesitation: "It's the last moment, why bother about whether it's hard or not, just fight. The Wu-Shu coalition army must be in a panic at this time, so we must put enough pressure on them!"

Taishi Ci then stepped forward and said, "I also think we can attack by force, and I am willing to lead the vanguard to attack the city first!"

Although they were the only two who expressed radical views, the rest of the generals also nodded in agreement, even the steady-tempered Lu Ping was no exception.

No matter who you are as a military general, there is no reason for you to be afraid of fighting, and the Yellow Turban generals are especially brave enough to fight and die.

Only Ju Su frowned, but seeing that everyone's opinions were converging, he continued to speak.

"I have a different opinion. As the saying goes, an army in despair will win. Wu and Shu are now in a desperate situation. If someone can unite the people and inspire morale in this situation, it will inspire courage. Although the Wu-Shu coalition army is losing ground, their monarchs and generals are all heroes of the time and should not be underestimated. I think the current predicament is not enough to defeat them. In the next battle, our army must still be fully prepared."

When everyone looked over, they saw that Ju Shou's expression was still very serious.

Ju Su was absolutely confident about the outcome of the war at this time, but he also remained cautious enough about the course of the war. After all, the scale of the Wu-Shu coalition army of more than 300,000 was no joke, and their monarchs and generals were not easy to deal with, and they deserved the respect of the Yellow Turbans.

"So I think we can adopt a long-term siege tactic. The enemy is just tying up their own defenses. Even if they clear the countryside and stockpile supplies, they will eventually run out. As long as we continue the siege, we don't even have to wait until their supplies run out. The soldiers and civilians in the city will fall into panic and chaos. At that time, our army can easily win by launching a general attack."

After Ju Shou said this, many people were not happy. For example, the two radicals Wang Dang and Taishi Ci frowned immediately.

Wang Dang disagreed: "Why wait until later to solve the problem that can be solved now? They are the ones who should be afraid and panic now. Why are you still hesitating? If we don't beat them to tears, I won't be named Wang!" Ju Su naturally wouldn't argue with Wang Dang. He just laughed and pointed to the map and looked at Xu Chen: "My lord, look, if we want to attack by force, we have to remove the counties of Jingzhou one by one. The enemy has now used all its strength for defense. It is not wise to fill the line with the blood of the soldiers knowing this."

After saying that, Ju Su said no more and just waited silently for Xu Chen's response.

After all, he was Xu Chen's subordinate, not an official of Xuan Xia. He only needed to be responsible to Xu Chen and did not need to explain to the officials present. This also made Wang Dang and others have no temper with him.

Xu Chen also began to ponder, and everyone stopped disturbing him at this time.

It has to be said that now both a strong attack and a siege are options.

Xu Chen didn't want to delay the war for too long, but what Ju Shou said might make sense. As the saying goes, a trapped beast will still fight. If Liu Bei, Sun Quan and Zhou Yu had the ability at this time, they might be able to inspire the soldiers' fighting spirit.

If we really attack all at once, and try to take down the strong cities one by one while the enemy is fully defensive, even if we can take them down, there will probably be a lot of casualties.

The key point is that an obvious fact is that the outcome of this battle is no longer in suspense. As long as we honestly besiege the enemy, we will definitely win. So whether it is worth it to fight head-on and pay a huge price just to end the war as quickly as possible is a big question.

However, Xu Chen had the same idea as Wang Dang in his heart. Maybe the morale of Wu and Shu had already declined at this time, and they just needed this last bit of pressure?
It is also very likely that after launching a strong attack, they will be completely defeated. After all, the Wu-Shu coalition forces have been retreating all the way, and it is hard to say how good their morale is. If the Yellow Turbans attack them with full momentum, they may start to surrender as soon as they can't hold on.

Therefore, the key lies in whether the Wu-Shu coalition has lost its morale and combat effectiveness. If they still maintain good morale and combat effectiveness, it is really not worth it for the Yellow Turbans to take over so many cities in Jingzhou one by one.

After only a brief thought in his mind, Xu Chen quickly made a decision: "Taishi Ci!"

In an instant, many generals were cheered up. When Xu Chen called out this name, the meaning of it was self-evident.

Taishi Ci also stepped forward excitedly: "I am here!"

Xu Chen had a calm face and gave orders in a serious tone: "I order you to lead 30,000 vanguard troops to attack the city with all your strength. I will order Lu Ping to lead another 50,000 reserve troops to support the rear. Just go ahead and fight!"

Taishi Ci's body was startled, then he responded loudly and turned to leave the tent.

Lu Ping, who was standing by, also saluted Xu Chen, and then they walked out together to count the troops and prepare for battle.

The atmosphere in the tent suddenly became tense, and everyone felt that a storm was about to come. Only Xu Chen's face was as calm as a lake, without any sign of nervousness.

(End of this chapter)