Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

Chapter 34: Fire Attack, Surprise Raid?

Immediately, Liu Bei quickly raised his hand to stop Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who were about to discuss further, and made a "shushing" gesture.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei looked in the direction Liu Bei indicated and quickly quieted down.

This scene, in Xiahou Bo's eyes, couldn't help but make him feel quite surprised.

Although Xiahou Bo hadn't been in contact with Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei for a long time, he had roughly figured out their personalities.

Among them, Liu Bei's most prominent characteristic was benevolence, while Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were arrogant and irritable, respectively.

Therefore, the fact that Guan Yu and Zhang Fei actually quieted down so quickly undoubtedly showed that Li Ji had completely subdued them.

At this moment, Li Ji was indeed rapidly sorting out useful information in his mind, and then judging which information was beneficial to his side.

Li Ji wasn't too clear about the habits of other strategists, but for Li Ji, the most important thing in strategizing was undoubtedly information.

The current situation in Julu, the number of Yellow Turbans, the defense situation…

All kinds of information intertwined in Li Ji's mind, almost instinctively making Li Ji judge the possibility of his side winning. It seemed that the only way was to use the momentum of fire, otherwise, only Liu Xiu could possess Liu Bei and summon a meteorite to smash Julu City.

Liu Bei, who was also well-versed in military strategy, judged correctly. Li Ji also believed that even if they launched a surprise attack on Julu and entered the city, the mere six thousand soldiers would definitely not be able to withstand the counterattack of the huge Yellow Turban army in Julu City.

The terrain of Julu City inherently eliminated the possibility of a water attack. The only possibility was… a fire attack!

However, Li Ji felt intuitively that a fire attack also seemed infeasible.

[After a long march, you and Liu Bei led six thousand soldiers around to Gaoyi, less than fifty miles away from Julu City.

In order to quickly end the Yellow Turban Rebellion, to preserve the population as much as possible, and to seize the opportunity to rise with the wind, your next choice undoubtedly concerns the direction of the entire era.

After collecting a lot of effective intelligence, you choose:

1. Bide your time; 2. Fire attack and surprise raid.]

Li Ji felt the content emerging in his mind, and his heart couldn't help but pause.

As expected, the disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves was too great, and the available factors learned through intelligence were too few. Even himself in this special state only judged two feasible directions.

Immediately, Li Ji did not hesitate and chose to verify the "fire attack and surprise raid" option.

[Unwilling to give up this great opportunity, you chose "fire attack and surprise raid"!

Although you know this plan is risky, it is now the only feasible direction, and Jizhou, which has entered summer, may have torrential rain at any time.

You use your rudimentary knowledge of astronomy to determine that there will be no rain tonight, which will be a rare opportunity for a fire attack and surprise raid.

In addition, the army is lurking in Gaoyi, and it is difficult to guarantee when it will be discovered by the Yellow Turbans.

Speed is essential in war!

Then, under your command, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Xiahou Bo each led a hundred soldiers disguised as Yellow Turbans. Through the experience of the Eighteen Yan Yun Riders entering Julu, they secretly hid a lot of flammable materials such as kerosene and sneaked into the loosely guarded Julu City.

You already knew that there were many empty houses in Julu City, which allowed Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Xiahou Bo to successfully hide in the empty houses.]

[At night, at the third watch, which is also the time when people are most sleepy.

Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Xiahou Bo immediately acted according to the plan, each leading soldiers to launch a surprise attack on the three important hubs in the city: the treasury, the granary, and the government office.

With the bravery of Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Xiahou Bo, they almost instantly killed the loose guards at these three hubs, and then quickly arranged flammable materials such as kerosene to ignite them.

The simultaneous attacks in three different directions and the rapid rise of the fire immediately caused chaos in Julu City.

It is a pity that the flammable materials carried by Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Xiahou Bo were limited, and they could only barely ignite the treasury, granary, and government office, which was far from enough to allow the fire to sweep the entire city.]

[Therefore, after General Zhang Liang of the People was awakened from his sleep, he mobilized Yellow Turban warriors to encircle and kill the enemy on the one hand, and tightly closed the city gates on all sides on the other.

For a time, the soldiers led by Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Xiahou Bo became turtles in a jar.

Although Liu Bei had already led all the soldiers to attack Julu City when the fire first lit up, trying to open a gap to meet Guan Yu and others, the walls of Julu City were high and the moat was deep, and it was impossible for Liu Bei to break through in a short time.

Inside the city, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were like fierce tigers coming out of their cages, and heads rolled wherever they went, but people will eventually run out of strength…

As Liu Bei heard the sound of fighting inside the city completely stop, and soon the heads of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were thrown out of the city.

Liu Bei's heart was ashen, and he could only sadly announce the retreat.]

[However, for you, the strategic goal you wanted to achieve has already been achieved!

The huge amount of grain, grass, and weapons accumulated in Julu City were all burned to ashes in a fire.

Even the most solid faith cannot withstand the torment of hunger. Julu, occupied by countless Yellow Turbans, collapsed on its own in less than three days, and countless Yellow Turbans fled from the city in all directions.

The collapse of Julu also quickly affected the entire Jizhou and even the world's war situation like a chain reaction.

Zhang Jiao learned that the rear road of Julu City had been cut off, and the money and food needed by the huge Yellow Turban army for a year turned into ashes in an instant. He vomited blood and died on the spot, and cities such as Guangzong were captured by Lu Zhi in an instant.

Liu Bei also took this opportunity to attack Julu and personally beheaded Zhang Liang to avenge Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

According to Xiahou Bo, who was hiding in the city and successfully escaped, Zhang Fei still glared angrily and shouted before he died of exhaustion: Killing thieves for my brother, so happy!

Guan Yu sighed, "I regret that I can't walk with my brother again and practice my ideals." And when Guan Yu's head was cut off, his body still stood upright, like a god.

This made Liu Bei, who heard about this, faint again.]

[As the war in Jizhou has been settled, the Yellow Turban Rebellion has also been quickly quelled!

Liu Bei was exceptionally promoted to a county governor by the imperial court for his contribution to the surprise attack on Julu and burning the Yellow Turban's grain and grass, and became famous in the Han Dynasty.

However, the deaths of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei made Liu Bei unable to let go, and he often talked about the Oath of the Peach Garden!

Although Liu Bei did not hate you, he could not forgive himself, and eventually died of depression in less than five years, dying in front of you.]

[Strategy Evaluation: The huge disparity in strength between the Yellow Turbans and the Han army in Zhuo County forced you to take risks.

In terms of rationality, although you did not capture Julu, you have already achieved the established strategic goal and greatly promoted the demise of the Yellow Turbans.

In terms of sensibility, you betrayed the trust of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Relying on the trust you had accumulated in Daxing Mountain, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei did not doubt whether you had a backhand to meet them after the fire, but tried their best to complete their task of setting fire.

More fatal is that the death of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei brought irreparable pain to Liu Bei, causing Liu Bei to die early in guilt and grief.

Although Liu Bei, who had no children before his death, entrusted all his forces to you, you also tried to shoulder the ideals of the Peach Garden and continue to move forward.

However, compared to Liu Bei, you lack both the legitimacy of reviving the Han Dynasty and the benevolent charm that can easily unite people's hearts that Liu Bei possessed.

In the end, facing the increasingly fierce attacks of the princes, you had to lead your confidants to flee overseas, settle in Yizhou, and devote the rest of your life to developing Yizhou, leaving a legacy to future generations before your death: When the Central Plains are unified, bring Yizhou back to the Nine Provinces.

After your death, you were recognized by the people of Yizhou as the "King of Yizhou";

After your descendants successfully brought Yizhou into the territory of the Nine Provinces, you were repeatedly posthumously honored by later generations and ranked in the "Confucius Temple."]

The content deduced this time was more than any previous time.

And Li Ji was not sure whether it was because his knowledge had grown significantly during this period, but it seemed that he had more judgment about the future.

King of Yizhou?

Li Ji made a hypothesis based on the result of Liu Bei's death. If he had to inherit Liu Bei's forces and was weak and unable to resist other princes, he would indeed choose to flee overseas.

After all, whether analyzing from a sentimental or rational perspective, Li Ji would never be willing to submit to other princes. A loyal minister does not serve two masters, and the remaining princes would not be Li Ji's wise master.

And as Li Ji once again felt his head as heavy as if it had been filled with a lot of mercury, and had to open his eyes, take a deep breath, and relax his spirit.

Zhang Fei took the opportunity to ask. "Mr. Zikun, do you have a good plan?"

Guan Yu also asked.

"According to Guan, the Eighteen Yan Yun Riders have detected that the defenses in Julu City are not strict. Perhaps we can use fire. What does Mr. Zikun think?"

Li Ji rubbed his temples and said tiredly.

"Just now, what I deduced was a surprise attack on Julu with a fire plan. However, the number of soldiers who can sneak into the city is limited, and the amount of flammable materials they can carry is also limited."

"Therefore, the biggest problem is that even if a big fire is ignited, it cannot make the fire in Julu City connect into one piece. The chaos caused by only three or five areas catching fire is quite limited."

Li Ji, who had deduced it once, pointed out the biggest problem with the "fire plan" in one sentence.

Normally speaking, if you want to use fire to devour the entire city, you must place a large amount of flammable materials such as kerosene in various parts of the city, and you also need to place flammable materials such as dry grass and firewood at the joints of various houses.

You also need the help of strong winds to make the fire instantly become a raging fire and sweep the entire city, and there is no possibility of extinguishing it.

However, no matter how lax the defenses of Julu City are, it is impossible to allow others to inexplicably place dry grass and firewood in houses one by one. Isn't that treating people like fools?

Even if Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Xiahou Bo personally led the team to lurk in the city, they could only barely burn down the three key areas of the government office, the treasury, and the granary.

Zhang Fei's eyes darted around, and he suddenly thought of something, shouting excitedly.

“How about I go to the Julu city walls and start a verbal battle, luring Zhang Liang out? If we kill Zhang Liang, Julu City will surely be thrown into chaos.”

Li Ji shook his head and said.

“Rumor has it that Zhang Jiao's two younger brothers, Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang, are different. Zhang Bao is warlike and impatient, while Zhang Liang is cautious and careful, not skilled in martial arts. Therefore, even if Yide curses and insults him, it's impossible to lure Zhang Liang out of the city alone.”

In the end, even if Zhang Fei's insults were extremely vile, enraging Zhang Liang, Zhang Liang would never consider going out to fight Zhang Fei one-on-one. He would only order a large number of Yellow Turban Warriors to swarm and tear Zhang Fei apart.

Immediately, Zhang Fei shouted in frustration.

“This won't work, that won't work, are we just going to stay here dryly, watching and doing nothing? Then wouldn't my six brothers have died in vain... … ”

“Bang!”

However, before Zhang Fei could finish speaking, Liu Bei slammed the table and shouted.

“Yide, how can you speak to Zikun like that? If your suggestion was feasible, would Zikun have stopped you? Now Zikun is stopping you, simply because he cares about your life and doesn't want to see you die in vain.”

Zhang Fei was stunned for a while before sitting down somewhat dejectedly, cupping his fist towards Li Ji.

“Sorry, Mr. Zikun, I was in a bad mood and spoke rashly.”

Li Ji waved his hand. Knowing Zhang Fei's impatient nature, Li Ji didn't take it to heart, but instead frowned and pondered another possibility.

From the previous deduction, Li Ji could easily draw a conclusion: the real impregnable wall of Julu City was not the city itself, but the countless Yellow Turbans gathered within the city.

Therefore, breaking the city required breaking not the city gate, but the psychological defenses of the countless Yellow Turbans within the city.

So in the previous deduction, even if Liu Bei didn't take advantage of the fire to break through Julu, after the granary was burned down, the countless Yellow Turbans in Julu City would collapse on their own within three days.

‘Then… what if the sole intention is to burn down the granary?’

Li Ji's eyes lit up slightly, and he used the “Strategy Simulator” again. After selecting “Fire Attack Surprise”, he actively changed the node of the assigned task.

【… …

Speed is essential in war!

After that, under your command, Xiahou Bo alone led a hundred soldiers disguised as Yellow Turbans, secretly carrying flammable materials such as fire oil and lurking into Julu City.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were prepared to launch an attack from the east and west sides of Julu City simultaneously after the fire broke out.

Xiahou Bo, relying on his familiarity with the entire Julu City from his past as a wandering knight, easily led a hundred soldiers to sneak in by the third watch.

Subsequently, Xiahou Bo led the soldiers to directly attack the most important granary location, and almost instantly broke through the granary defense line.

However, before Xiahou Bo could order the soldiers to pour fire oil and start a large-scale fire, a large number of Yellow Turbans surrounded them. The few flames that had just been lit, along with the hundred soldiers, were quickly extinguished, and only Xiahou Bo managed to escape and hide…】

When the deduction reached this point, Li Ji took the initiative to interrupt the subsequent deduction.

Undoubtedly, it failed!

Without the simultaneous attack on the treasury and government office, which were also vital facilities, causing the Yellow Turbans in Julu City to fall into momentary chaos, even if Xiahou Bo succeeded in attacking the granary, he would not have enough time to burn down the granary.

And without enough chaos in Julu City, even if Guan Yu and Zhang Fei led troops to attack Julu City from the outside, it would only be in vain.

On the contrary, what surprised Li Ji quite a bit was that in this situation, the “Strategy Simulator” actually judged with certainty that Xiahou Bo would not be caught in Julu City with his abilities, allowing Xiahou Bo to slip away once again.