At the critical moment, Jia Xu finally couldn't help but feel lonely and planned to speak out.※※
"Wen He, tell me, I'm waiting to hear your opinion." When Yan Liang spoke to Jia Xu, there was always a bit of joking in it.
"If you want to isolate Yecheng, why bother building a wall? There is a better thing we can use right under our noses."
Jia Xu stroked his beard with one hand, raised his other hand mysteriously, and pointed in the northwest direction.
Everyone's eyes turned to the northwest in unison.
While everyone was at a loss, a past memory suddenly appeared in Yan Liang's mind, and a knowing smile soon appeared on the corner of his mouth.
"Wen He, do you want me to dig trenches around Yecheng and divert water from the Zhang River to fill the trenches to blockade Yecheng?" Yan Liang asked.
"Your Majesty is wise, this is exactly what the old minister said." Jia Xu nodded and smiled.
At this time, Pang Tong and other ministers suddenly realized what Jia Xu meant.
In fact, Yan Liang also remembered that when Cao Cao attacked Ye City in history, he used Xu You's plan to divert water from the Zhang River to fill trenches and surround Ye City. It was precisely because of this that he understood Jia Xu's plan first.
The history is so similar. Jia Xu's resourcefulness is not inferior to that of Xu You. It is not surprising that he came up with the same strategy.
"Wen He's strategy is very clever. If we surround the city with canals, the Han army will not be able to destroy it, and it is much easier to dig trenches than build earthen walls. Well, I think Wen He's plan is feasible."
A wise man has a rough idea. Pang Tong was not familiar with the terrain in the north and did not think of this strategy first, but he soon saw the brilliance of this strategy.
"This is what I am doing, but there is something wrong with this plan." At this time, Huang Zhong expressed his opposition.
It was rare that Huang Zhong sang a different tune in the counselors' discussion, so Yan Liang smiled and asked, "What does Han Sheng think is wrong?"
Huang Zhong said: "Although it is easier to dig trenches than to build walls, the Han army saw it and sent troops out of the city to destroy it. By then, the trenches will still be dug."
What Huang Zhong said represented the views of most of the generals, and all the generals nodded in agreement.
But Pang Tong and other counselors all smiled slightly, obviously having other thoughts in mind.
Yan Liang paused for a moment, then understood and said with a smile: "Wen He, Han Sheng said there are loopholes in your plan. Do you have anything to say?"
"General Huang's concern is justified. However, there are different digging methods for digging trenches. Xu's digging method will definitely prevent the Han army from leaving the city and destroying it." A trace of mystery flashed at the corner of Jia Xu's mouth.
"There are different ways to dig trenches. This is interesting. Wen He, come and listen." Huang Zhongqi said.
Jia Xu then took his time and slowly used his method of digging trenches.
Yan Liang and Pang Tong nodded slightly. It was obvious that what Jia Xu said was exactly what they thought.
After Huang Zhong and other generals heard this, they suddenly realized this. They all looked excited and no longer doubted Jia Xu's plan.
Snap!
Yan Liang clapped his hands fiercely and said happily: "According to Wen He's plan, from tomorrow onwards all the troops will be sent to dig trenches for me. I will divert the water from the Zhang River and surround Cao Ren and Zhuge Liang to death."
The order was issued, and more than 100,000 soldiers rested for one night. At dawn the next day, they divided their routes and started digging trenches around Yecheng.
After a short time, dust was flying all around Yecheng. It turned into a big construction site.
The news of the Chu army's trench digging was quickly reported by the defenders at the top of the city. Zhuge Liang and Cao Ren heard about it and hurried to the top of the city.
Zhuge Liang climbed to the south gate and looked into the distance, only to see hundreds of steps away, more than ten thousand Chu troops were digging holes with their shovels flying in the air.
Zhuge Liang raised his eyes and looked around again, and saw that the Chu army could be seen in both the west and east ends. It was obvious that the Chu army planned to start construction in multiple places at the same time, and finally connected it to form a complete ditch.
At this time, Cao Ren also climbed to the top of the city. Looking at the Chu army digging a trench outside the city, he smiled disdainfully and said, "It's so ridiculous that Yan Thief thinks he can isolate Ye City by digging a trench."
In Cao Ren's view, the main purpose of the Chu army's digging of trenches was to cut off the connection between Ye City and the surrounding areas, so that outside reinforcements and grain and grass could not be transported into the city, and the city could not send troops to contact Liu Bei.
But it's just a trench. As long as the soldiers are equipped with simple climbing tools, they can easily climb over it, so how can they stop it?
Cao Ren's disdain is naturally justified.
Zhuge Liang pondered for a long time, but his eyes changed, and he said in a deep voice: "Zixiao, you want to miss it, Yan Liang not only has to dig the trench, but after the trench is dug, he also has to divert water from the Zhang River and pour it into the trench.
"
Hearing these words, Cao Ren suddenly realized, and his expression changed in shock.
"The Yan thief is so cunning. As the Prime Minister said, we cannot sit idly by and ignore it. We must immediately send troops out of the city to destroy it."
Cao Ren was so proud that he immediately became nervous and was already ordering his subordinates to gather troops and horses to leave the city.
But at this time, Zhuge Liang pointed to the outside of the city and said: "Zixiao, look, the Chu army has deployed several groups of rangers near the trench digging army. Apparently they are waiting for our army to come out of the city to destroy it and take the opportunity to attack our army. We
I thought it would be better not to send troops."
"The Prime Minister's words are wrong. Although it is possible to fight the enemy by sending troops out of the city, it is better than sitting back and watching the Chu thieves build trenches and isolate Yecheng. Besides, we can concentrate our superior forces and attack the weak points of the Chu army. Chu
Even if the army is prepared, how can it stop us?"
Zhuge Liang shook his head and said: "Our army only has more than 30,000 soldiers. Every soldier is very precious and must not be wasted in vain."
Hearing this, Cao Ren became anxious and frowned: "What are you talking about, Prime Minister? Are we just sitting back and watching the Chu thieves dig trenches and isolate the city of Ye just because we are afraid of killing and injuring the soldiers?"
Zhuge Liang smiled, very sarcastically, as if he was mocking Yan Liang's digging of trenches, and also seemed to be mocking Cao Ren's lack of resourcefulness.
"Zixiao, take a good look at the trench dug by the Chu thieves. Do you think that with such a trench, the Chu thieves can cut us off from the outside world?" Zhuge Liang asked with a sneer.
Cao Ren was startled, his face full of suspicion, and he had no choice but to turn his gaze outside the city and once again carefully inspected the "big construction site" of the Chu army not far from the city.
After staring for a long time, Cao Ren's expression changed, and a look of sudden realization flashed in his eyes.
Cao Ren finally understood why Zhuge Liang could sit back and relax so much and ignore the Chu army's trench digging.
The reason is very simple. The trench dug by the Chu army was less than one foot deep. Cao Ren could even see the bottom of the trench while standing at the top of the city.
With such a shallow trench, even if the Zhang River was filled with water, the Han army could wade across it on foot without any water-crossing equipment.
"I see, the Prime Minister looked at it carefully." Cao Ren couldn't help but sigh, and he expressed some admiration for Zhuge Liang in his words.
Zhuge Liang smiled slightly, with a bit of pride on his face, shook his feather fan, and said disdainfully: "The Chu thieves dug the trench so shallow, how can they isolate us? Let's just sit back and watch the Chu thieves do useless things."
It’s all in vain.”
"What the Prime Minister said is absolutely true, haha~~" Cao Ren laughed loudly, and his laughter was also full of contempt.
So, the two Han ministers, one civil and one military, stood on the Ye city, looking at the Chu army outside the city sweating profusely as if they were laughing.
What Zhuge Liang and Cao Ren didn't know was that at this moment, a few hundred steps away, Yan Liang was also standing on his horse, watching from a distance, staring at the top of the city and sneering.
"Your Majesty, Mr. Jia's plan is indeed brilliant. The Han army really did not leave the city to destroy it." Zhou Cang said excitedly.
Yan Liang sneered and said: "I dug the trench so shallow, Zhuge Liang saw it, and naturally thought that such a shallow trench could not cut off his connection with the outside world, so he would not come to destroy it at the expense of his soldiers."
"What your Majesty said is absolutely true, so what should we do now?" Zhou Cang said repeatedly.
"Go back to camp and give Zhuge Liang another surprise tomorrow morning." Yan Liang waved his whip and walked away.
Yan Liang returned to camp, but the 100,000 soldiers in front of the city were still sweating profusely and worked hard all day. At sunset, a shallow ditch that stretched for more than 40 miles and was less than a foot long was finally completed.
The soldiers, who had worked hard all day, dragged their exhausted bodies back to the camp, and what awaited them was the camp full of the aroma of meat.
In order to reward them, Yan Liang had already ordered the slaughter of pigs and sheep, and rewarded his soldiers with a sumptuous dinner.
The soldiers were well fed and drunk, exhausted, and their spirits were restored to 70% to 80%.
Just when one hundred thousand soldiers were about to return to their tents to rest, they were told that they only had one hour to sleep, and then there would be a night operation.
The officers and soldiers of the Chu army were all suspicious. They didn't know what they were expected to do at this late night, but they did not dare to disobey the order, so they had to go to bed in a hurry to grab some time to sleep a little longer.
The moon was dark and the wind was high, and it was already late at night in a blink of an eye.
As soon as an hour passed, the soldiers in each battalion were quickly awakened. The officers urged them to pick up their tools, leave the camp with the faint light, and head towards the trench construction site.
When these half-asleep soldiers arrived at the ditch, tens of thousands of soldiers and horses were already assembled in front of the city, ready to attack the city.
Their emperor, Yan Liang, stood in front of the formation, looking coldly at the top of the city.
The troops had already gathered, Yan Liang raised his whip and shouted: "Preach my will, beat the drum!"
The order was passed, and a moment later, the rumble of war drums rose to the sky.
In the blink of an eye, hundreds of big drums were beating loudly around Yecheng, and the sound of the drums shattered the silence of the night.
The Han troops on the top of the city noticed something strange in the night, and they all became alert. The sudden loud sound of drums frightened them, and they rushed to report to their superiors.
After a while, Zhuge Liang and Cao Ren were both shocked when they heard the news. They rushed to the top of the city and ordered the troops to assemble and quickly go to the top of the city to prepare for the Chu army's night attack.
But when the two of them rushed to the city head one after another, they only heard the rumbling drums and saw no sign of the Chu army's attack. They were both at a loss and confused.
At this time, Yan Liang sneered, raised his whip and ordered: "It's almost time, everyone start moving. Before dawn, I must dig the trench to a depth of two feet."
