Chapter Thirty-Four: The Strategy for Defeating the Enemy

  Yuan Tan's army still had a strength of 9,000, and behind him was the city of Pingyuan with Yan Liang's 20,000-strong army waiting to fight. The pressure on Chang County was extremely great. Defeating Yuan Tan's army was not too difficult, but Zhang Xiu's own army was not strong enough to deal with Yan Liang's 20,000-strong army!

  Moreover, Yan Liang was a senior general of Hebei, even more powerful than Guan Hai. In Zhang Xu's view, he should have the strength to refine his spirit and become a god, even if it's just the initial stage of refining his spirit and becoming a god. With this kind of strength, commanding a large army would make the army's strength much stronger!

  In this world of the late Han and Three Kingdoms, the primordial energy of heaven and earth has not dissipated, but is extremely dense, as if it were a spiritual essence that has been refined to its limit. It has reached an unimaginable level, capable of dealing with hundreds or thousands of people without any problem. When leading troops, it can make the entire army's morale extremely cohesive, far surpassing the power of even the most refined and cultivated martial generals!

  Yan Liang, such a great general, is not so easy to deal with. Moreover, it's said that Guo Tu serves as the military strategist, making him even more difficult to handle. A military strategist is similar to a cultivator, but specializes in military affairs, with strategies and tactics having special effects. Zhang Xu's heart was also extremely worried, which is why he came personally!

  Under the escort of Guan Hai and Wu Qing, Zhang Xu entered the big camp. At this time, soldiers had already set up his own tent. After Wu Zhong led people to inspect it, they took over the defense of the tent. Seeing that Guan Hai and Wu Qing didn't mind at all, after all, Zhang Xu's safety was the most important thing. Wu Zhong had his own responsibilities, so they wouldn't mind.

  "Everyone, please take a seat!"

  Zhang Xu sat on the main seat, kneeling and sitting with his knees bent, which was also a characteristic of this era. There were no chairs that appeared in later generations, and Zhang Xu did not plan to change the habits of the ancients now. Moreover, as a cultivator, this kneeling skill was also practiced extremely well.

  "Thank you, Master Xian!"

  Wu Zhong, Guan Hai and Wu Qing sat in order, looking at the only three generals under his command. Zhang Xu sighed again in his heart. Although now his subordinates were all well-fed and the soldiers were more elite, most of them had reached the level of elite soldiers, and even the fierce soldiers had appeared many times. However, it was not something that could be done in a short period of time to refine and transform their energy. To achieve the formation he had in mind, it was still extremely difficult.

  "Gentlemen, what strategies do you have against the enemy? Let's hear them one by one!"

  Zhang Xu said with a calm expression, but had an air of ease and tranquility, seemingly without any tension or anxiety on the surface. He appeared to be completely unbothered by Yuan Tan's nearly 10,000-strong army, as well as Yan Liang's 20,000-strong army!

  "I beg to report to the lord, I am willing to be the vanguard and lure Yuan Tan here for a battle with our great army, eliminate Yuan Tan's route, and then think of ways to deal with Yan Liang's army!"

  Wu Qing looked at Guan Hai and Wu Zhong who were both silent, so he was the first to speak out his proposal which he had previously submitted.

  "Hmm, this proposal has been mentioned by General Zilong and General Ziwei to me before. Breaking one route of the enemy's army and then breaking another route, this idea is not bad. However, there is no need for vanguard affairs!"

  Zhang Xu smiled and said, according to his intelligence, Yuan Tan had heard that Chang County only had 4,000 troops. With his arrogant and careless personality, he would definitely lead the army to establish great achievements. After all, Chang County had fewer soldiers and was extremely wealthy. This was something Yuan Tan knew. If he took down Chang County, Yuan Tan's chances of competing for the position of Crown Prince would increase greatly.

  "What does Master Xian mean?"

  Although his words were refuted, Wu Qing still stood up and respectfully said.

  "Heh heh, don't worry about this matter. I didn't put Yuan Tan's large army in my heart at all. If the general leading the troops was Zhu Ling, maybe I would have taken it seriously. But as for Yuan Tan, there is no need to worry. Just wait and see, I think that person will not be able to wait for Yan Liang's army to arrive and will definitely launch an attack!"

  Zhang Xu smiled and had a majestic air of planning and strategy, with a demeanor that could win victories thousands of miles away.

  "Master Xian, is this really true?"

  Guan Hai heard this and was overjoyed, saying that waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out and actively luring them are two different things. The strategic positions of these two tactics are completely different. If we lure the enemy army, Wu Qing will inevitably take a risk, and there may even be a blow to the morale of the troops, which is not very beneficial to the entire army. Although it can lead to victory, the cost is also extremely high.

  However, if he can wait for an opportunity to strike, Guan Yu believes that he will absolutely defeat his opponent in one move!

  "If so, then Master Xianshi's chances of winning this time will be even greater!"

  Guan Hai walked out excitedly at this time and cupped his hands in greeting.

  "Oh!"

  Zhang Xu heard this and smiled: "Does General Guan Hai have a plan?"

  Guan Hai said: "Master Xian, Yan Liang has 20,000 troops in Pingyuan County. Although Kong Beihai is weak and incompetent, he can still defend against his troops. With Yuan Tan's 10,000 troops arriving here, Kong Beihai can still tolerate it. But now that Yan Liang's large army wants to come, it won't be so easy. We just need to spread rumors and pass on messages, saying that Yan Liang's army is coming to attack the entire Qingzhou. Then Kong Beihai will surely be wary of him. In this way, we can wait for an opportunity to reap the benefits!"

  "Can Ziwu be trusted?"

  Zhang Xu said kindly: "I heard that Kong Beihai is extremely admired by Yuan Shao!"

  "Master Xianshi is unaware that Kong Rong considers himself a descendant of the sage, with an unparalleled ego. Yuan Shao was not appointed by the imperial court, yet he dared to self-proclaim himself as General of Chariots and Cavalry, and even attacked Han Fu. Given Kong Rong's temperament, it would be impossible for him to tolerate this, even if it were done in secret. But if this news were to spread throughout the entire Beihai region, then no matter what, Kong Rong would never allow Yan Liang to cross the river!"

  Guan Hai said this time with extreme confidence.

  Zhang Xu slightly nodded, after all, Guan Hai was not a mediocre general. When he led the Yellow Turbans to attack Beihai City, he must have understood Kong Rong quite well and expected that no powerful figure would come to rescue Kong Rong, only unaware of the variable Liu Bei; otherwise, it would have succeeded long ago. Therefore, Zhang Xu believed Guan Hai's words somewhat.

  So he laughed and said: "In that case, I will sit here and guard the place. Let's see my three great generals under my command join forces to defeat Yuan Tan's army!"

  "Don't worry, Master Xianshi, we will definitely exhaust ourselves to death!"

  The three generals stood up simultaneously, knelt on one knee and clasped their fists.

  "Good, with three generals present, Master Ben is confident that we will surely win and make a name for Chang County!"

  Zhang Xu burst out laughing and said, extremely delighted. Now he temporarily lacked was time. No matter what, as long as they could hold off Yan Liang's army for two or three months, that would be enough. Because in another two months, the harvest would be ripe. At that time, with the momentum of a bountiful harvest, they could recruit soldiers and prepare for battle. Then they could take Donglai County in one fell swoop. At that time, their power would rise again. By then, even if Yan Liang had an army of 200,000, Zhang Xu wouldn't be afraid!

  PS: If you think it's okay, please collect and vote, I'm grateful!