People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 541 Lie
Looking from the high platform of the Yellow Turban camp, although everyone was holding telescopes, the distant distance was still not clear. Fortunately, this field of vision was enough for them to judge the situation. After taking a look, everyone couldn't help but be surprised.

The evolution of the war situation seemed somewhat different from what they had imagined. They only thought that the Wu-Shu coalition forces had suffered setbacks along the way and should have lost confidence and morale, and the situation should be one-sided.

But after the actual battle, the Wu-Shu coalition forces showed considerable resilience, and they did not look like an army that had lost its fighting spirit.

Ju Shou frowned after watching for a while. After putting down the telescope, he walked towards Xu Chen. Not afraid of disturbing Xu Chen from watching the battle, he spoke directly.

"My lord, it is not advisable to give up the easy and go for the difficult. I still think that our army should be cautious. Since we can easily win by a long siege, why should we fight the enemy and get hurt?"

Ju Shou was obviously a little anxious, and his tone was not very stable when he spoke.

After hearing his dissuasion, Xu Chen put down the telescope, and the others followed suit. At this time, their expressions became serious, and they all looked at Xu Chen.

Xu Chen shook his head, looking a little regretful: "I didn't say to attack head-on, and I didn't say to let the soldiers fight to the point of bleeding."

When these words were spoken, everyone was stunned and their eyes became confused.

Ju Su looked at Xu Chen, then looked at the battlefield in the distance, and said, "What is this..."

Xu Chen looked into the distance and said in a deep voice: "A long-term siege is certainly the safest option, but we still have to test the enemy's strength. If we can find out that their morale is not strong enough to withstand a fight, why not attack them by force?"

It was only then that everyone realized that the purpose of sending Taishi Ci to attack the city was to test the enemy's strength.

But it makes sense when you think about it. Although a strong attack will be more costly, there is no guarantee that the enemy will collapse under just this little pressure. If you adopt a strategy of long-term siege without giving it a try, you will inevitably feel unwilling.

If the enemy army shows signs of fatigue and weakness during this siege, the exploratory attack may become a foreplay to the general offensive.

Wang Dang was somewhat puzzled: "Since the leader only wanted to test the enemy's strength, why did he let Taishi Ci attack so desperately? This intensity of attack doesn't seem like a test."

Xu Chen glanced at him, shook his head and smiled, but did not answer.

There was no need for Xu Chen to answer this question personally, and even Ju Shou didn't need to answer it. Zhao Yun coughed and then stood up to explain.

"I think the enemy may be trying to confuse us. To test out the enemy's true combat power, we can only use the strongest force to force them. So we don't need to tell Ziyi that this is a test. Instead, we should let him think that this is really our army's first wave of attack. Only in this way can we use a real attack to find out the enemy's true strength."

Wang Dang suddenly understood when he heard this.

The most powerful deception is not to deceive others, but to deceive yourself. I am afraid that Taishi Ci is still foolishly thinking that he is really going to attack the city.

Of course, whether Taishi Ci's test was a fake siege or a real test depends on the state of the Wu and Shu defenders. As long as the enemy shows any sign of weakness, the real test will turn into a real siege.

Wang Dang came to his senses and felt a little embarrassed. He couldn't help feeling embarrassed to ask a subordinate to explain this to him.

Everyone didn't take it seriously. They all knew that Wang Dang was not a top-notch general who could plan strategies. Instead, he was more like a reckless man. What impressed everyone about Wang Dang was not his professional level, but his achievement in building up the team when he first followed Xu Chen.

Since everyone already knew Xu Chen's plan, they now understood the next direction of the battle. There was no need to say it explicitly, as they all had a tacit understanding in their hearts.

Just quietly watching the development of the war, not long after, with Xu Chen waving his hand, the horn of retreat was transmitted to the front line. Although this battle could not be said to have ended hastily, it did not last too long. After all, the answer Xu Chen wanted had appeared.

Soon, Taishi Ci on the front line led the army to retreat like a tide. When he left, Taishi Ci was full of high spirits, arrogant and confident. When he came back, Taishi Ci was bloody and panting. It was obvious that he did not feel good in this battle.

"Master, the battle is raging on the front lines, why are you retreating all of a sudden?"

As soon as Taishi Ci came back, he immediately expressed his doubts, and even his tone was a little angry.

He was indeed very annoyed. He had thought that he should be able to tear through the enemy's front line with ease, but the resistance he encountered after the fight was much greater than he had imagined. The Wu and Shu defenders actually maintained a good combat capability and morale. Under the cover of the towering and solid city walls, it was difficult for the Yellow Turbans to gain any great advantage.

Xu Chen did not rush to answer Taishi Ci, but first listened to the rough casualty figures reported by the clerks below.

In just a short confrontation, the Yellow Turbans suffered more than 500 casualties, including dozens killed and over a hundred seriously injured. These statistics immediately made everyone frown.

To be honest, the casualties were not actually high, and it was a siege war where we were completely at a disadvantage. We rushed forward under the enemy's rain of arrows, stones, rolling logs, gold juice and kerosene, without any effective means of counterattack. We were simply passively taking the beating. If it had been an ordinary army, the casualties would have skyrocketed.

But the Yellow Turbans were not an ordinary army after all. Not only did they have solid armor, their combat skills were also first-rate, so even attacking a city would not be too strenuous for them.

The fact that the Yellow Turbans suffered such casualties can only mean that the city of Changsha had sufficiently tight and complete defenses, and the army also had sufficient fighting spirit and combat effectiveness.

Xu Chen shook his head slightly, then looked at Taishi Ci and asked, "Was this battle considered easy?"

Taishi Ci was about to speak, but after hesitating for a moment, he still told the truth: "Master, the enemy's defenses are complete, and the soldiers are brave enough to fight. It is indeed quite difficult for our army to attack the city, but as long as you give me enough time, I will definitely be able to break through this city!"

Xu Chen added: "I naturally believe in Ziyi's ability. It is not difficult to break through this city, but how long will it take and how many casualties will there be? Does Ziyi have any idea?"

Taishi Ci was silent for a moment, and then he said, "It is our fate to serve in the army and die on the battlefield. I am not afraid of death, and I believe the brothers below are the same."

Xu Chen said: "Even if we take Changsha, there are still dozens of strong cities like this behind us. Are we going to let our brothers risk their lives to fill the gap?"

Taishi Ci was speechless. He was not afraid of death, but after being asked this by Xu Chen, he realized that something was wrong.

This is not a question of whether you are afraid of death or not, but whether it is worth it.

The previous obstruction of the offensive made Taishi Ci's blood boil and his mind was full of thoughts of attacking the city, but now that he has calmed down, he realized that it might not be feasible to continue fighting like this.

Xu Chen turned around and looked back at the quiet battlefield, saying quietly, "If we have to fight, that's fine, but since a long siege can lead to victory, there's no need to force a quick victory. Now that we know the enemy's strengths, there's no need to bang our heads against the wall."

Ju Su smiled slightly, and finally felt relieved: "My lord, this is a good idea!"

Wang Dang and the others looked at each other and bowed together: "Master, that's a good idea!"

Xu Chen filtered out the flattering words of the crowd, and then waved his hand and issued an order: "Order the entire army to rest on the spot, reorganize and reduce the size of the army, block all major roads and routes, and then switch to a long-term siege strategy. The military will reorganize a meeting to formulate a follow-up plan!"

(End of this chapter)