The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 333 Develop Multiple Plans

Pan Zhang's army numbered as many as 10,000, while Guan Xing only had more than 4,000 Xuanjia soldiers led by Deng Hong, plus more than 1,000 Shanyue tribesmen led by You Chong. It would not be easy for Guan Xing to defeat Pan Zhang's army, which was twice his size.

The key to defeating the strong with the weak is never strength, but wisdom. If you are already inferior in strength and also inferior in wisdom, then don't fight, just surrender as soon as possible.

Therefore, the only way to deal with Pan Zhang is through strategy, not by force.

Deng Hong thought to himself, "Why don't we use the old method again, lure Pan Zhang into the mountains and spread him out, then eat him up piece by piece?"

Guan Xing shook his head and said, "That would be the best, but it took me three days to get here from Baopingyu. Three days should be enough time for Pan Zhang to receive the news of Han Dang and Xu Sheng's deaths. If Pan Zhang knows that Han and Xu are dead, will he still launch an attack? If he keeps hiding in Riyue Lake, I'm afraid we really don't have any good solutions."

It's not that I'm afraid of Pan Zhang making any rash moves, it's that I'm afraid of him not moving at all. If he sets up camp like Sima Yi and stays in the camp without coming out, would you dare to bypass him and attack other targets?

Deng Hong said, "That's possible. What does the general think we should do?"

Let Guan Xing handle the tedious work of thinking; I can just do the legwork myself.

Guan Xing frowned and pondered for a long time before suddenly asking, "Chief You, how many people does Peng Qi have on her side?"

You Chong replied, "Peng Qi is the most powerful general in Yuzhang. He often operates around Poyang Lake and usually has six or seven thousand men plus a hundred warships of various types. If an uprising were to break out, he should be able to quickly gather more than 20,000 men."

Guan Xing then said, "I would like to trouble Chief You to draw a map of the terrain around Sun and Moon Lake for me. The more detailed the better. I need to know the terrain around Pan Zhang's camp."

When talking about Riyue Lake, one cannot help but mention Poyang Lake, which is the largest freshwater lake in the Han Dynasty. There are also many smaller lakes around it, Riyue Lake being one of them.

Sun and Moon Lake gets its name from the two small hills in the lake. The eastern hill is called Sun and the western hill is called Moon. The hills stand tall and steep in the lake. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang fought a great battle at Poyang Lake, and Sun and Moon Lake was one of the battlefields. Therefore, it was renamed Junshan Lake.

You Chong quickly drew a topographical map and pointed to the area between the two mountains near the lake, saying, "Pan Zhang is currently stationed here. I went to see it with General Deng."

Deng Hong chimed in, "Yes, after things settled down at Bloodwood Ridge, I personally went to Sun and Moon Lake and found that Pan Zhang's camp was extremely well-constructed. Not only were there sentries, both visible and hidden, within a five-mile radius, but there were also naval forces patrolling the lake. It was almost impossible to approach the camp silently, and a direct assault would be out of the question without three times the number of troops. In other words, unless Pan Zhang comes out, we have no way to deal with him."

Guan Xing clenched his fist against his lips, bit his index finger, and fell into deep thought. After thinking for a long time, he said, "In that case, we can only try to break the deadlock from the outside. If we want to break the deadlock from the outside, we will probably have to rely on the power of Peng Qi and Peng Zongshuai."

"Chief You, I'll write you a letter later. Go see Peng Qi in person and ask him if he has any ideas about cooperating with the Han army. Remember, it's cooperation, not surrender. The relationship needs to be built up step by step. Don't go straight to the point."

You Chong nodded and said, "Understood. But what if Peng Qi is unwilling to cooperate with the Han army?"

Guan Xing laughed and said, "Then persuade him to send troops to attack Yu Han. Peng Qi must be short of food and supplies since he just started his uprising. Yu Han is the food and supplies storage place for Lu Xun's army. If Peng Qi can take Yu Han, he won't have to worry about food and supplies for a while. I think he can't resist this temptation."

"Yuhan is a small county with low city walls. Zhuge Jin's troops have to defend the city, protect the Zhejiang-Jiangxi corridor, and transport supplies to Lu Xun. With few troops and heavy tasks, they will definitely be overwhelmed when Peng Qi attacks. Then they will ask Pan Zhang for help, which will allow Pan Zhang to leave the camp."

"Once Pan Zhang leaves the camp, we can either intercept his rescue forces or attack his main camp at Riyue Lake. Even if we still can't break through, it's better than being like a tiger trying to eat the sky with no way to start. Like I said, we need to get Pan Zhang moving."

You Chong nodded and said, "I'll go back and pack my things now, and we can set off in half an hour."

Guan Xing said, "Take Ning Huan with you. If Peng Qi agrees to attack Yu Han, the two of you can stay in Peng Qi's army to provide him with some help and advice. But remember, safety comes first. If things go wrong, run away immediately. Don't risk your lives for Peng Qi."

Peng Qi and You Chong were both mountain bandits, and no matter how many men they had, they were no match for the government troops led by Pan Zhang and Zhuge Jin. Ning Huan, on the other hand, was a regular army officer who had experienced many battles. If he went, he could at least provide some help to Peng Qi, or at the very least, he could gather Peng Qi's remaining troops after Peng Qi's defeat and turn them into Han soldiers.

Guan Xing didn't have enough troops to support Peng Qi, so he could only send a general to him, hoping it would be useful.

“Yes…” You Chong and Ning Huan bowed simultaneously, then turned and left.

After the two left, Guan Xing frowned again and fell into deep thought. He said slowly, "There is another situation we must guard against. What if Zhuge Jin, after being attacked by Peng Qi, decides to abandon the Poyang Lake Plain and transfer all his troops to Yu Han for defense? What should we do then?"

If Pan Zhang stays at Riyue Lake, he can still mobilize him. But if he retreats to Yuhan to join forces with Zhuge Jin and then holds Yuhan and refuses to come out, he might really be unable to deal with Pan Zhang in the short term.

Deng Hong, however, said nonchalantly, "That's easy. By then, Lu Xun will probably be at the very end of the journey. We can follow Xu Sheng's example and sneak into Yushan to block Lu Xun's retreat. We can then join forces with Shen Yi to eliminate Lu Xun first, and then turn around and attack Pan Zhang and Zhuge Jin."

They don't need to worry about ending up like Xu Sheng when they infiltrate Yushan. First of all, Yushan is almost in the middle of the Zhejiang-Jiangxi corridor, and Pan Zhang and Lu Xun would have to go a long way to launch a pincer attack.

Secondly, the Huangwu Mountains and Wuyi Mountains on both sides of Yushan are in the hands of the Han army. If they cannot hold out in Yushan, they can retreat at will.

Thinking about it that way, the plan is quite tempting.

Geng Shang said, "General, although I don't understand warfare, I do understand the principle that people need to eat. If Pan Zhang really retreats to Yuhan and doesn't come out, it's the same as handing over the Poyang Lake Plain to us. We can completely occupy Pan Zhang's camp at Riyue Lake, block the road from Nanchang to Yuhan, and prevent the grain from Nanchang from being transported into the corridor."

"Although Wu Jun has stockpiled a lot of grain in Yuhan, he also has a lot of men. I have roughly estimated with other merchants that Wu Jun's grain in Yuhan can only last for three months at most, which is almost exactly the time of autumn grain harvest in the Poyang Lake Plain. After three months, Wu Jun will run out of grain and will not be able to wait for new grain support. Without you having to do anything, Wu Jun in the corridor will collapse on his own."

An army's supplies must precede its march; supplies are of utmost importance to an army on the front lines, and it is no exaggeration to say that they are its lifeline.

However, war is an unknown matter. Before the war starts, no one knows how long it will last. Moreover, the national treasury will not have enough food reserves. Therefore, it is impossible to allow the army to bring enough food for the expedition at once. In many cases, food is delivered in installments, with a batch delivered to you every once in a while, in order to ensure that the army does not run out of food. But if an accident such as the supply line is attacked in the middle, the supply chain will be broken.

Therefore, attacking supply lines became the most effective means of striking the enemy, and protecting the safety of supply lines naturally became a required course for generals.

Pan Zhang's garrison at Riyue Lake was not only to strike at the Han army that had infiltrated, but also to shoulder the important responsibility of protecting the supply route. If he were to retreat to Yuhan and hold out, he would completely hand over the supply route to Guan Xing.

Guan Xing laughed and said, "Mr. Geng is right. Then we will make several plans and decide how to deal with them based on Pan Zhang's reaction. If he retreats into Yuhan, I will cut off his supply lines. If he continues to stay at Riyue Lake, I will crush him and eat him piece by piece."