HLnovel Chapter 524 (Must Read) Fa Zheng is Driven Mad! 1 Man vs. 4 Scourges of Cao Cao's Camp!
Chapter 524 (Must Read) Fa Zheng is Driven Mad! 1 Man vs. 4 Scourges of Cao Cao's Camp!
[Before reading this chapter, Godfather, please make sure you have read the previous few chapters, otherwise you will not be able to follow the plot's continuity.]
"filial piety, filial piety!"
Liu Bei waved his hand in front of Fa Zheng's eyes, and Fa Zheng suddenly realized what was happening.
"My lord, I have come up with a terrible idea."
"Could it be that Yangping Pass has already been captured by Cao Cao's army, but they are pretending that it hasn't been captured yet, deceiving our lord!"
Upon hearing this, all the generals, including Liu Bei, were shocked.
"This……"
"Strategist, aren't you being too sensitive?"
"Cao Jun's family is so powerful and wealthy, how could they possibly be so cowardly?"
"Yeah, yeah, that's terrifying! How could that be... Hahaha!"
The generals all thought that Fa Zheng was probably overthinking things.
But Fazheng became even more determined and said:
"No! Gentlemen, Cao Cao's army may seem powerful and wealthy now, but if we look back more than ten years, Cao Cao was just a very weak warlord."
"It was Su Yu and Cao Cao who were of one mind and worked together through countless hardships to develop Cao Cao's army into what it is today!"
"At that time, Cao Cao's strength was undoubtedly at the bottom compared to other warlords such as Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Dong Zhuo, Liu Biao, Gongsun Zan, and Tao Qian!"
"Without repeated caution and meticulous attention to detail, Cao Cao's army could not have come this far!"
After losing the initiative in the war, Fa Zheng suddenly realized a terrifying problem.
That is...
Almost all of Liu Bei's generals were from Dongzhou or were locals from Yizhou.
In their eyes, Cao Cao's army seemed to be born to be so large, and should be able to decide the outcome of the war in a grand and sweeping manner.
But this idea is clearly wrong.
Like many others, Yuan Shao was ambitious but lacked talent.
In reality, General Yuan had already done everything within his power.
They also use intrigue and trickery, and quite a lot of it!
Unfortunately, my teammate is a Celestial Dragon, so we have a love-hate relationship and are inseparable.
……
Now, if we adopt a direct confrontation approach...
Regardless of who wins or loses, both Cao Cao's army and Liu Bei's army will suffer heavy losses.
Under such circumstances, why would Cao Cao's army not resort to intrigue and trickery?
Therefore, Fa Zheng thought of that seemingly impossible, but actually entirely possible, terrifying guess!
Seeing Fa Zheng's serious expression, the generals fell silent.
Liu Bei took a deep breath and asked Fa Zheng:
"Xiaozhi, if Yangping Pass has truly been captured, what should our army do?"
Fa Zheng struggled to say:
"The safest course of action is to immediately detour and retreat back to Sichuan."
Liu Bei refused without even thinking:
"With Yangping Pass blocked, if we want to retreat to Shu, our army will need to go through Jiameng Pass, which is equivalent to going around the entire territory of Hanzhong in a big circle."
"It not only takes time, but there are also many variables along the way."
Fa Zheng knew Liu Bei would definitely reject the proposal, so he sighed and said:
"There is another way, but this way carries great risks."
"The premise for using this method is that we tacitly agree that Yangping Pass has been captured by Cao Cao's army."
"The current garrison at Yangping Pass is a feint by Cao Cao's army, a deception to mislead our troops!"
The generals looked at each other in bewilderment.
Although everyone has great faith in Fazheng.
Whether Yangping Pass has been captured is currently only a guess by Fazheng.
If Fazheng's guess is wrong, then Yangping Pass is actually completely unaffected.
That would be equivalent to personally sacrificing your teammates to the heavens!
For some reason, Ma Chao suddenly perked up.
If a vote could be taken now, Ma Chao would definitely agree to the plan with both hands and feet!
In Ma Chao's dictionary, teammates are just people to be sold off.
Liu Bei listened attentively, paying close attention to Fa Zheng's proposed solution to break the deadlock.
The same applies to the generals.
Fa Zheng slowly said:
"We will split into two groups. After we have rested, one of them will immediately launch an attack towards Yangping Pass!"
"Regardless of whether Yangping Pass has been captured by Cao Cao's army, once you get close to the pass, immediately launch fire arrows at the city tower of Yangping Pass."
"This won't cause too much damage to the enemy."
"But a fire on the city wall could effectively prevent Cao Cao's troops inside Yangping Pass from joining forces with those outside the pass."
"At that time, after the first army succeeds, the second army will immediately move out to join the first army in encircling Cao Cao's army outside the pass!"
"But the first army is under great pressure."
"The Cao army inside Yangping Pass will soon put out the fire."
"At that time, the first army will be surrounded by Cao Cao's troops inside and outside the pass."
"This strategy is a gamble on speed!"
"The bet is on who gains the advantage first!"
A hint of madness appeared in Fa Zheng's eyes.
Now that things have come to this, Fa Zheng has no other choice.
There will be four armies on the battlefield: two Cao Cao's armies and two Liu Bei's armies.
Cao's army consisted of Cao's army at Yangping Pass and Cao's army outside the pass.
Liu Bei's army consisted of the First Army and the Second Army.
After the battle begins, the First Army will be surrounded by Cao Cao's troops at Yangping Pass and those outside the pass.
Cao Cao's army outside the pass was surrounded by Liu Bei's first and second armies.
This is an advanced version of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
Also known as the Woodpecker's Strategy.
As for why the army wasn't divided into more parts, it wouldn't make much sense.
The enemy isn't stupid.
The situation on the battlefield is ever-changing.
The number of people one's side sends will determine the corresponding countermeasures and deployments the enemy will make.
Assuming both commanders are at a high level.
It's impossible for our side to easily use a hundred soldiers to attract tens of thousands of enemy soldiers!
The generals were dumbfounded.
To put it bluntly, if Fazheng's plan had been wrong, Liu Bei's First Army would have been doomed to perish, caught between two forces.
But if the gamble pays off, Cao Cao's army outside the pass will be finished!
Liu Bei, unusually, sat down cross-legged on the spot.
He needs to think quietly about whether he really wants to adopt such a crazy strategy.
Fa Zheng sighed softly.
He's being driven crazy!
One person versus four scourges of Cao Cao's camp—this kind of pressure would be unbearable for anyone else!
Finally, Liu Bei made his decision.
The First Army was commanded by Ma Chao, Ma Dai, Lei Tong, Wu Lan, and Zhuo Ying.
The Second Army was led by Liu Bei, Fa Zheng, Wu Ban, Yan Yan, Pang Xi, Huang Quan, and others.
It is evident that the First Army demonstrates significantly greater loyalty and combat effectiveness.
Although it involved the moral high ground of Ma Chao and Ma Dai.
However, the armies under their command were also given by Liu Bei, and they were almost all elite troops from the Dongzhou faction.
The Second Army had lower loyalty, and its troops were mostly locals from Yizhou.
Therefore, Liu Bei and Fa Zheng personally oversaw the situation to prevent any problems from arising.
After everyone took their positions, Liu Bei ordered the cooking to begin, preparing to launch a surprise attack at midnight after everyone had eaten and drunk their fill!
This battle is all about speed.
Whoever gains the advantage first will win the entire battle!
Fa Zheng admitted that this was a huge gamble.
But now, there is no other choice!
……