Chapter 108: Using Stillness to Control Movement

  Yang Feng set up a pontoon bridge on the turbulent waters, connecting both banks into one. Xun Yu and Guo Tai arrived at Yang Feng's large tent in no time. Seeing Guo Tai and Xun Yu walk in together, Yang Feng smiled, went forward to greet them, and grasped Xun Yu's hand: "Not listening to your words, I missed a good opportunity, it was my fault. Please don't mind, sir, continue to instruct me."

  Xun Yu smiled slightly, Yang Feng addressed him as "Mr." but not by his courtesy name, which had a hint of vigilance and respect. He quietly withdrew his hand and bowed: "Victory or defeat is a common occurrence in the military, General, you don't have to worry about it. However, there are wise and cunning men beside the Emperor, whose minds are no inferior to mine, General, you must not be careless."

  Mr. Yang's eyebrow twitched: "Sir, are you referring to Yang Xiu?"

  Xun Yu shook his head: "The Yang family has a broad vision, but they are not good at military strategy. Yang Xiu's cleverness is not on the battlefield, I am talking about Jia Xu."

  "Jia Xun?" Yang Feng and Guo Tai looked at each other, they knew nothing about this name.

  "Two generals, did you know that as soon as His Majesty saw Dong Zhuo, he asked Dong Zhuo for two people?"

  Yang Feng was somewhat surprised: "I've heard of this matter, how is it that Jia Yu is involved?"

  "Not bad, these two men. One is Zhang Huan, who has just been to Yangwu, and the other is Jia Xiang. Jia Xiang is a man from Wuwei, with exceptional wisdom and strategy. I heard that Yan Zhong, a famous scholar of Western Liang, once praised him for having the wisdom of Jiang Ziya."

  Yang Feng took a deep breath, and immediately put down another stone in his heart. Since Jia Yu was so powerful, it wasn't shameful to lose to him either. From Xun You's tone, even he didn't dare to underestimate Jia Yu. Upon careful consideration, the opponent's actions this time were indeed brilliant, if it was really Jia Yu's plan, this person was absolutely a formidable enemy.

  Talents, these are the three-inch tongues that can win over a hundred million soldiers. With Xun Yu, they were able to defeat Niu Fu and dominate the east of the Yellow River, and even predicted the actions of the Son of Heaven in advance. Jia Xu arrived, and as soon as he took action, he seized the opportunity, not only breaking through Xun Yu's killing formation but also trapping them here.

  These two men are bookworms, but their role is no less than that of brave warriors charging into battle.

  Yang Feng put away his disdainful heart and said sincerely: "Then according to Mr. Yi's opinion, what should we do next?"

  "Use stillness to control movement." Xun Yu said slowly, "Our original task was to hold back the Emperor, as long as the Emperor does not leave He Dong, we have achieved our goal. The alliance leader in Xiangyang is about to launch an attack. We can wait, but the Emperor cannot. In a few days, Xiangyang will be in danger, and the Emperor will definitely withdraw his troops. At that time, He Dong will still belong to the general."

  Xun Yu glossed over the consequences of Yang Feng and Guo Tai not following his plan, which made them extremely grateful. They thought Xun Yu was right. Although government troops were nearby, they could not smoothly retreat back to Baima Valley according to their original plan, but by holding their ground, the Emperor would be unable to do anything about it. With an absolute advantage in military strength, as long as they defended their camp well, the spoils of war they had plundered would be enough for them to hold out for half a month.

  The Son of Heaven could not stay in Hedong forever and had to rush back to Gongying to fight against Yuan Shao.

  Yang Feng burst out laughing: "The Emperor's strong attack didn't work, I'm afraid next he'll try to persuade us to surrender? Mr. Xun, you're quite familiar with Yang Xiuzi?"

  Xun Yu secretly laughed to himself, he knew that Yang Feng would eventually ask this sentence. Yang Xiu's seemingly casual "it was indeed you" was like a thorn, already piercing their hearts.

  "The general's words are quite right. However, the Son of Heaven wants to persuade to surrender is not me, but the general." Xun Yu smiled: "The Son of Heaven has people like Jia Xu from Liangzhou and Yang Xiu from a noble family by his side, with talents galore, he doesn't lack scholars like me, what he lacks is soldiers."

  Yang Feng's heart slightly moved, and he remained silent.

  ……

  Xingyang, Yuan's large camp, central army tent.

  Yuan Shao sat in the middle with a solemn and calm expression, his eyes were tranquil.

  Guo Tu and Tian Feng were arguing, their words sharp as swords, back and forth, with intense emotions.

  But in just five or six days, the fierce battle between Guan Yu and Lü Bu was like a fleeting ripple, disappearing into the vast river, except for those ordinary soldiers who were still talking about it with relish. Yuan Shao and his high-ranking generals and staff had already forgotten about this matter. Such private fights could not affect the overall situation of the war. No matter how fierce Lü Bu was, facing strong bows and crossbows, he did not dare to charge into the camp directly, so he was not a threat.

  In a large-scale battle, the emphasis is on marching and deploying troops in formation. It's impossible to pin one's hopes on just one or two skilled fighters.

  Yesterday, Yuan Shao received news from Luoyang that the Emperor led 10,000 infantry and cavalry to rush to Hedong to relieve the siege of Hedong, including 5,000 elite cavalry, Lü Bu, Zhang Chao and others were among them. As a result, Huangfu Song and Zhu Zan had no intact cavalry units left, only infantry remained.

  In response to this situation, Tian Feng once again proposed a plan for separate attacks. The reason is simple: without a regular cavalry, Huangfu Song lost the ability to quickly reinforce and could only follow our army's actions in exhaustion. If he were to divide his troops to seek reinforcements, then the strength of Xiangyang would necessarily be limited, and the difficulty of attacking the city would greatly decrease. If he did not divide his troops, he could only wait for the inevitable outcome of being surrounded on both sides and still unable to hold Xiangyang.

  Tian Feng's suggestion was echoed by many people, and for a time, there were constant calls for troops to be sent out immediately to attack.

  Guo Tu didn't speak at first, but when he saw that Yuan Shao wasn't nodding in agreement, he knew it was time for him to step forward. He stood up straight and cited classical references to prove that Tian Feng's plan to divide the troops was not feasible. Firstly, military texts say that strength can be combined but cannot be divided. Although Huangfu Song didn't have cavalry, the infantry under his command were also elite, and dividing the troops would make it easier for him to defeat them one by one.

  Secondly, the two branch roads mentioned by Tian Feng are: one is from Henan to Mengjin, directly attacking Luoyang; the other is through Mount Songshan (also known as Songshan, which was renamed Zhongyue during the Han Dynasty and later changed back to its original name). The road to Mengjin is not only far away but also requires crossing the Yellow River twice. If attacked by the enemy, it would be difficult to provide timely reinforcements, and there is a high possibility of total annihilation. As for taking the route through Mount Songshan, it's even more unthinkable, as marching on mountain roads is a major taboo in military tactics.

  Finally, the alliance leader led a hundred thousand troops to attack Xiangyang. If they couldn't conquer it, they would have to resort to cunning tactics. What would people of the world then know about the invincibility of benevolence and the righteousness of the army?

  After listening to Guo Tu's words, Tian Feng was furious and jumped up in anger, while the others fell silent. They knew that what Guo Tu said were all nonsense and outdated ideas. The problem was that these outdated ideas might just be what Yuan Shao wanted to hear. Yuan Shao had retreated from Mengjin, how could he possibly repeat the same mistake, wouldn't that be slapping himself in the face?

  Just as the two sides were at an impasse, Cao Cao stood up. "Alliance leader, I have a plan that reconciles both Tian and Guo's opinions, I'd like to present it to you for your reference."

  Yuan Shao was being scolded by Tian Feng until his head ached, and he was worried about how to end this. When he heard Cao Cao's words, they were exactly what he wanted to hear, so he laughed loudly and said: "Meng De, speak quickly."

  First update, seeking recommendations, seeking collections!