Chapter 241 Marching South, Zhang Fei vs. Sun Ce The tactic of concentrating superior forces to defeat the enemy one by one has a long history in Southeast University. As early as in "The Art of War by Sun Tzu", it was proposed: "I focus on one, and the enemy is divided into ten. I use ten to attack one." To put it simply, we must ensure superior military strength at all costs and use the advantage of numbers to defeat the enemy with fewer troops. Almost everyone who has studied military strategy knows this tactic, but few can really use it well. The first and most famous one is Nurhaci, the founding emperor of the Qing Dynasty. With this tactical guiding ideology, they defeated the Ming army of 110,000 with only 50,000 troops. The other person was a certain teacher, and also Qin Zhen's most respected strategic master. Throughout his life, he almost took the strategy of concentrating superior forces to fight annihilation wars to the extreme. Relying on very few forces, he reversed the situation step by step and finally achieved unification. Therefore, in Qin Zhen's opinion, the best strategy for them to go south to Jiangdong now is to lead the army directly forward! Because the terrain of Jiangdong is like this, the west of Danyang is mostly mountains and the terrain is complex. But once any point in the east is broken through, whether it is Fanchang, Wuhu, Shicheng and other places, they can rush into the plains.

Wait until after the breakthrough before dividing the troops. No matter how you deploy them, you must be more flexible and diverse. This kind of tactics was obviously completely different from the marching method he had always been familiar with, so everyone was surprised when they heard it. Only Zhuge Liang thought for a while, then his eyes lit up and said; "Sir, this strategy is also a brilliant military strategy. Right now the enemy is scattered everywhere. If our army focuses on one place, the enemy will be difficult to stop." "If they don't gather their troops, they will be defeated by our army." "If they gather their troops, we can divide them up and attack from all sides, which will make it difficult for the enemy to figure out our strategy!" He liked to defeat the enemy with open strategies. After listening to Qin Zhen's plan, he instantly understood Qin Zhen's strategic intention. After hearing this, Lu Su and Liu Ye also thought about the advantages and disadvantages of the two strategies, and nodded: "Military Advisor, this strategy is in line with what our army wants to do now!" Seeing that the four of them reached a consensus in an instant, Liu Bei asked again: "Since everyone says that concentrating our forces is feasible, then where should our army break through?" As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Zhen spoke bluntly: "Our spies know that Sun Ce is currently stationed in Fanchang, so we will just march directly to Fanchang!" "First, destroy Sun Ce's camp, and then attack Wanling." "However, although this tactic is to gather our forces, our army must defeat the enemy, but we cannot go directly forward." When Liu Ye heard this, he smiled and said: "Could it be that the military advisor intends to pretend to divide the troops, but actually unite the forces to defeat Fanchang first?" "Great! The enemy is now divided into different places, so we should think that our army is about to divide its forces." "If our army underestimates the enemy and launches a sudden attack, we may be able to break through Fanchang Stronghold in one fell swoop!" Seeing that he agreed with him, Qin Zhen asked directly: "Then according to Zi Yang's plan, how should our army proceed?" Sometimes having more advisers is indeed a good thing, but different advisers have different ways of planning. In order to prevent quarrels, Qin Zhen has always only proposed the general direction and let everyone else show their performance.

Seeing that he was willing to give up the credit, Liu Ye did not refuse and bowed to Liu Bei and said: "In my opinion, now that the enemy's navy has been lost, we might as well make use of it to mobilize our troops!" "Since we need to focus on the breakthrough, we can first cross the river to the south to confront Sun Ce, and then let Zijing cross the Chun Valley to the east, pretending that we are going to lead the troops south to Wuhu, so that the enemy will not know where our army is going!" "Use Generals Zhao Yun and Xu Sheng to take a small route to attack the enemy's rear, and then join our army in attacking from the front and back. Then Fanchang will surely be defeated!" After hearing this plan, Qin Zhen nodded and smiled, and said to Liu Bei: "Zi Yang's strategy is excellent. If our army acts in this way, it will be difficult for Sun Ce to defend." "However, our army still has a group of troops that have not yet moved. Now that the enemy's water fort has been breached, Pengli Lake can be used to connect directly to Yuzhang by water." "General Taishi Ci has not moved for several months since he went south. I think he has been preparing for war for a long time." "I am worried that the enemy will surely prevent General Taishi from advancing eastward to attack Kuaiji. So it would be better to order the general to advance north and take our warships to attack Chungu!" "Once Fanchang is destroyed and Chungu is lost, our army will be able to march to Wanling and take Danyang County in one battle!" Seeing the two men talking back and forth, Liu Bei came up with a brilliant plan to defeat the enemy. He was delighted and said: "Ziyi is in the south and can be used, but I wonder which gentleman is willing to go south to take over from Ziyi?" He looked around, and Zhuge Liang stood up and said: "I have heard that General Ziyi is a brave and capable man, and I have long wanted to meet him. Now I will ask for permission to go!" When Liu Bei saw him stand up and offer himself, he nodded and said with a smile: "If Kong Ming is willing to go, then that's fine, but I'm worried that it would be impolite to do so." "Let's go get some Huai silk and take Yuan Fu with us to the south!" This time they marched south to Jiangdong, and Taishi Xiang was also in the army. However, because the boy was still young, Liu Bei did not let him lead the army. Now he knows that the father and son have been separated for half a year, and he wants to reunite them. After this discussion, Liu Bei's army finalized the overall military strategy. After preparing for half a day, he boarded a ship with 30,000 troops from Tongyang, crossed the river to the south and arrived at the broad land on the south bank of the Chu River. This place is the Guichi City of later generations. The land is flat. From here to the east is an alluvial plain, which is Tongling City. Cities were built in these two places in later generations, but in this era, there were no cities, only a few small villages. After heading south, Liu Bei's army moved eastward towards Fanchang, where Sun Ce's main force was located. Fanchang is located among the mountains. To the south is a Baima Mountain, from which two roads, large and small, lead to the west. After Zhang Hong decided on the defensive strategy, Sun Ce came here and set up two camps. The small village is located in a steep terrain, while the big village stands in the middle of the road, firmly controlling the passage to the east. Since meeting Zhou Yu, Sun Ce returned directly to the camp, training his troops every day while waiting for Liu Bei's army to arrive. After waiting like this for two days, a scout suddenly reported that Liu Bei's 30,000 troops had crossed the river to the south and were heading towards Fanchang. When they heard that Liu Bei's main force had 30,000 soldiers and horses, all the civil and military officials were shocked and said: "My lord, we have only 10,000 soldiers here. How can we defeat them when they outnumber us?"

Only Huang Gai, the commander of Danyang, saw this and shouted angrily: "The enemy has no more than 30,000 soldiers and horses. Our army is defending the high ground. Why should we be afraid of them?" "You are so afraid, but I am not afraid of you. Please go and fight and defeat the enemy's vanguard!" Speaking of Huang Gai, he was one of the old generals left by Sun Jian for Sun Ce. Together with Zhu Zhi, Han Dang and Cheng Pu, he was a pillar of Jiangdong. Huang Gai followed Sun Ce in his cavalry campaigns. Later, as Sun Ce had more and more civil and military officials under his command, Huang Gai became a local official in charge of governing various places. He was a serious and resolute person who acted decisively. It was he who proposed the fire attack plan that defeated Cao Cao. As soon as he stepped out and cursed, no one dared to say anything. Seeing this, Sun Ce laughed and said: "If we talk about the generals under my command, the general is still as strong as ever. This is what I think." "Although Liu Bei has many men under his command, they are all captives of Yuan Shu. We were not afraid when he had more than a thousand soldiers and horses to attack Jiangdong in the past, so how can we be afraid now?" "So if the general asks for a fight, I will agree. But since it is Liu Bei who is coming, Zhang Yide must be the vanguard!" "His bravery is well known to the world. If you go there, I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to support him. I will go with you so that we can test his character!" After saying this, in order to boost the morale of his subordinates, he set out with 5,000 soldiers and horses including generals Huang Gai, Han Dang, and Lu Meng. When we were several dozen miles outside of Fanchang and on the main road, we saw a wide field on one side and a long and narrow valley on the other. So we asked the people around us: "What is this place called, and where does the valley in the mountains lead to?" Huang Gai followed his finger, squinted his eyes, thought for a while and said: "The south of this place is called Tianmen Mountain, the middle is called Laoya Ridge, and the north is called Guanshan." "Three mountains form three roads, and a valley in the middle leads directly to Longgang." After hearing what he said, Sun Ce carefully looked at the mountain, then raised his whip and pointed at the valley and said with a smile: "This is the place God has given me to ambush you!" "The enemy is coming from afar. If they pass through here, they will be afraid that the terrain in the valley is too steep and they will not be able to get through!" "There is a river in the north and a mountain, so it is difficult to get through." "The only way is to go down Tianmen Mountain. This valley is where the troops are hidden!" "If I hide my troops here, the enemy will be defeated here!" Everyone was shocked when they heard this. Han Dang said hurriedly: "My lord, our army is small, how can we divide our troops and hide them here?" Upon hearing this, Sun Ce waved his hand nonchalantly and said: "We don't need many, just a thousand soldiers and horses are enough to defeat the enemy!" As he said this, he ordered his young general Lu Meng to lead an army of more than a thousand soldiers to hide here, and then the main force continued to advance forward. On the other hand, after Liu Bei went south, he led 8,000 soldiers and horses to explore the way with Zhang Fei and Wei Yan as vanguards. His main force of more than 20,000 people transported baggage and headed eastward. After receiving the order, Zhang Fei led Wei Yan and his troops to attack towards Fanchang. Along the way, Zhang Fei was quite curious about Wei Yan. Hearing that he was a descendant of a prominent family in Yiyang, he asked about his family affairs. Although Zhang Fei changed a lot after Qin Zhen's advice to study, he still respected scholars and despised villains.

If they hear that someone is from the aristocratic class, they will look at him with a higher regard. If he is from a poor family, although they will not be cold to him, they will not initiate a conversation either. But Wei Yan was an exception. He was neither from a noble family nor from a common family. Therefore, Zhang Fei also became a little curious about this kid Wei Yan. Wei Yan was a proud person by nature, but knowing Zhang Fei's identity, he did not dare to neglect him and replied carefully along the way. The two were chatting when they suddenly saw three forks in the road in the distance. Seeing this, Zhang Fei frowned and said: "Since we came here, the road has been smooth, why are there three more forks in the road here?" "We don't know where they are heading to, how can we advance?" When Wei Yan heard him ask, he carefully observed the mountain and said: "General, this place is called Longgang, and all three roads lead to the main road." "I asked the villagers when I came here. Among the three roads, the middle road is the most dangerous. It is located between two mountains and stretches for more than ten miles." "The northern road is the narrowest and requires going around the mountain. Only the southern road is the most unobstructed!" Zhang Fei was surprised to see that he was so well prepared: "Wen Chang is acting steadily. In this case, our army should advance southwards!" So the two of them led their troops down Tianmen Mountain. This Tianmen Mountain is not the one in Zhangjiajie. It got its name because it is located under the mountains and its shape resembles a gate to heaven. The two men walked along the mountain path, and saw that the road ahead was getting wider. Suddenly, a scout came to report that there were soldiers and horses in front of the mountain, and it was difficult to pass. Zhang Fei smiled and said: "The enemy is so brave, using a small force to defeat a large one, and even daring to take the initiative to attack!" While laughing, he led his troops and rushed forward. On the road, he saw a group of people standing in the distance. Sun Ce was leading the way, and more than 3,000 soldiers under his command were waiting in battle formation. Seeing Zhang Fei coming, Huang Gai, a subordinate of Sun Ce, rode forward and shouted angrily: "Liu Bei is a little boy weaving mats and selling shoes. He is hypocritical and righteous. How dare he invade our land?" "Why don't you lead your troops to retreat immediately? What are you waiting for?" When Zhang Fei heard him scolding Liu Bei, he wanted to spur his horse and rush out, but before he could move, he saw Wei Yan running out with a knife in hand: "How dare you insult my master, you bastard? Do you dare to fight me?" The two men fought together, and there was no clear winner for a while. Han Dang was afraid that Huang Gai might be in trouble, so he cursed angrily and rode forward. When Zhang Fei saw this, he became furious and said: "How dare you, Jiangdong rats, bully the minority with your numbers!" Then he shouted loudly and rushed towards Han Dang, fighting with him. As soon as Zhang Fei joined in, he defeated Han Dang in just a dozen rounds. Sun Ce was horrified when he saw this, and thought to himself that Zhang Fei was indeed extremely brave. He immediately rode out and said: "General Yigong, please retreat, and let me fight this man!" As he said this, he raised his spear and rode his chariot towards Zhang Fei. Han Dang did not retreat at this time. As soon as Sun Ce arrived, he raised his spear and stabbed Zhang Fei fiercely.

At this moment, Zhang Fei suddenly pulled back his spear and made a feint to stab Han Dang, who hurriedly dodged. The next second, Zhang Fei suddenly pulled out the iron spear and smashed it towards Sun Ce. Upon seeing this, Sun Ce hurriedly raised his spear to block. With a clang, the two weapons collided and a huge force attacked his arms, almost knocking him off his horse. Fortunately, he squeezed the horse's belly hard to steady himself. After receiving such a blow, Sun Ce felt his palms trembling and was terrified. When it comes to strength, Lu Bu is strong enough. And Zhang Fei was actually on par with Lu Bu, and could be called the second strongest enemy he had ever met in his life! (End of this chapter)