Chapter 24: Settling on a Plan (Part 2)

  Thanks for the reward from Rain Leaf!

  Yu Yunwen said in a serious tone, "It's already deep into the night. The Jin army is not good at water battles and probably won't attempt to cross the river tonight. However, as a precautionary measure, we can order General Liu Bao to lead the naval forces to patrol the Huai River quickly in small boats. This will eliminate any thoughts of the Jin army attempting to sneak across and also draw their attention, making preparations for our own crossing."

  "Smuggle across? You mean we send a troop to cross the Huai River?" Han Shizhong asked in a low voice.

  "Yes! Jin Jun's troops withdrew yesterday, and they still don't know that General Yue's 500 cavalry has arrived in Chu State. And these 500 cavalry can be used as a surprise force! My intention is..." After finishing speaking, Yu Yunwen detailed his plan, leaving everyone in the hall stunned."

  As soon as he finished speaking, Han Shizhong shook his head and said: "It's too dangerous! Letting General Yue do this kind of thing is very likely to result in the entire army being wiped out. I cannot agree!"

  Yue Yun was also shocked and his heart racing, he never thought that Yu Yunwen would arrange such a dangerous action for himself. But he had to admit, this is the only way to reverse the situation under current circumstances. Moreover, he was originally indeed the most suitable general to do this thing...

  However, Yue Yun knew that he was not the "Ying Guan Ren" in history who charged forward and bravely killed enemies, but just a small white-collar worker from the city who had crossed over. Although he practiced every day after crossing over, he had never been on the battlefield to kill enemies. He didn't think he had the courage and strength to take up his gun and charge forward bravely. Although his face remained unchanged, he was already thinking of how to get out of this situation in his heart.

  Yu Yunwen remained unmoved and calmly said: "I am just based on the current situation of our army, put forward a plan, whether to adopt, please Han Yuan Shuai and other generals decide. But in my opinion, General Yue once led the Baoyi Army's elite cavalry in the battle of Jincheng, head-on clashed with the Jin army's elite troops 'Tie Futa' and 'Gua Zi Ma', and defeated the enemy, in terms of bravery and impact force, can be called strong among the strong."

  Han Yanzi knew that Yu Yunwen was right, but he still reluctantly said: "But this action is too dangerous, Brother Yue has come from afar as a guest, and it's already difficult for him to help our army defend the city. How can we let him do such a dangerous thing again? Mr. Yu, let me take care of this matter of sneaking behind the enemy lines!"

  Yu Yunwen shook his head and said, "General Han, your task is not easy either, it's a crucial part of the plan. Generals Liu and Geng, as well as General-in-Chief Han, all have heavy responsibilities on their shoulders, every link is indispensable, so this matter cannot be done without Young Master Yue!"

  Yu Yunwen's words had barely fallen when he turned his head to look at Yue Yun, whose face was somewhat pale, and a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. The Han family military leaders in the great hall also looked at Yue Yun, expecting his response.

  Yue Yun secretly cried out in distress, this is indeed lifting a rock to crush one's own foot.

  But he had no choice, under the watchful eyes of everyone, it was really embarrassing to say that he didn't dare go. Moreover, he also deeply knew that he wanted to test Yu Yunwen's ability, and Yu Yunwen might not want to test whether he was suitable for his master to serve. If he showed cowardice at this time, the matter of recruiting Yu Yunwen would probably become a waste.

  Yue Yun took a step forward, gritting his teeth and said: "Mr. Yu's wonderful plan really made Yue Yun admire it. This matter of sneaking into the enemy's rear to launch a surprise attack on the Jin army camp, Yue Yun has taken it on! I will definitely do my best to inflict heavy casualties on the Jin army."

  He also figured it out, if he couldn't borrow grain, going back would be a dead end anyway, so he might as well take a chance and try.

  "Alright! However, General Yue, the 500 cavalry under your command are still a bit too few. Harassing might be possible, but wanting to raid the camp is not enough. I wonder how many cavalry can be mobilized from General Han's side?" Yu Yunwen asked.

  Han Shizhong smiled wryly and said, "Our Han family army can't compare to the Yue family army. We are stationed in Jianghuai, where the water network is dense and unfavorable for cavalry battles. Moreover, the Great Song has always lacked horses, and a cavalryman consumes more than five times the money and grain of an infantryman. Therefore, our army currently only has 500 cavalrymen, with 200 of them suffering from illness, so we can only deploy 300 strong ones!"

  "Three hundred men would be barely enough, so please ask General Han to transfer these three hundred cavalrymen to Young Master Yue, making up a total of eight hundred. Use General Liu Bao's naval ships to transport them to the north bank of the Huai River and launch a surprise attack on the heavily fortified city of Sui Prefecture behind the Jin army, forcing the Jin army to divide their troops to rescue it." Yu Yunwen said.

  "Go! Yan Zhi, bring out my Tiger Tally and have the cavalry regiment transferred to Yue Yun's command!" Han Shizhong immediately agreed.

  Yu Yunwen, who was slightly parched at this time, took two sips of the cool tea brought by the Korean servant girl before continuing: "Also, please have General Han lead his personal troops to General Zhang Jun's place to seek help. After explaining the danger of Chu State's fall, General Zhang should have a 30% chance of sending troops to rescue Chu State."

  Everyone was a little disappointed when they heard this, and it seemed that the harm was only 30% likely to happen. Then why bother sending Han Yanzhi?

  Yu Yunwen saw the reactions of the crowd and guessed what they were thinking, and smiled slightly: "Given the relationship between General Han and General Zhang Jun, as well as General Zhang's personality, I'd say having three percent hope is actually an overestimation. But with the current situation being so urgent, even if there's only one percent hope, we have to try."

  Han Yan was getting impatient and countered, "Mr. Yu, if Zhang Jun is very likely not to send troops for reinforcement, then why must I go there? Why not arrange for me to guard the city or sneak attack the Jin army with Brother Yue instead? It's easy to just send a messenger to inform Zhang Jun."

  Everyone nodded in agreement, thinking that Han Yan had spoken reasonably. It was not worth letting a brave general like Han Yan make a futile trip for a reinforcement that might not even arrive.

  Yu Yunwen smiled slightly and said, "If only one messenger is sent, Zhang Jun will definitely not send reinforcements. Moreover, my subsequent plan cannot be implemented without your help, General Han!"

  "What's going on? Do I have to go myself?" Han Yan asked in surprise.

  Yu Yunwen said mysteriously: "Please ask General Han to have someone bring a brocade pouch and the four treasures of the study!"

  Han Yanzhi called a servant to bring a brocade bag and writing materials, Yu Yunwen picked up the brush and wrote a line of characters on a piece of Xuan paper with flying dragons and phoenixes, then folded it up and put it in the brocade bag.

  He handed the brocade pouch to Han Yan's hands, and said solemnly: "General Han, if General Zhang Jun agrees to send troops to rescue Chu State, then this matter will be settled. You can follow the reinforcements back to rescue Chu State. But if General Zhang Jun disagrees or does not respond, then General Han can quickly open the brocade pouch and act according to the plan inside!"

  Yue Yun couldn't help but secretly laugh when he saw Yu Yunwen come up with another clever plan, thinking that his habits were quite similar to Zhuge Liang's. If he really recruits him under his banner, he will definitely make him wear a white long gown and match it with a feather fan and a linen scarf, letting him pretend to be Zhuge Liang to his heart's content.

  Yu Yunwen did not know that Yue Yun had already designed his attire in her heart. He continued to say: "I think that tomorrow the Jin army will definitely cross the river, and now my naval power is insufficient, coupled with the shallow water of the Huai River, I have no strength to stop the Jin army from crossing the Huai River. Therefore, our army should withdraw all its forces into the city and rely on the city wall to launch a strong defense."

  "What? All retreated into the city? Isn't that just defending a solitary city? The two garrison cities of Chu State, one in the east and one in the west, are both abandoned like this?" Liu Bao said discontentedly. Moreover, he also wanted his navy to play a role.

  "Yes! Wouldn't it be better to leave a contingent of troops outside the city? In case something happens, we can respond quickly and make the Jin army divide their attention, so they won't focus all their energy on attacking the city, thus reducing the pressure on our defending forces." Geng Zhe also asked in puzzlement.

  Seeing the crowd of generals opposing him, Yu Yunwen didn't get angry either, still smiling slightly, and explained: "The two generals, if our army's formation is intact, it's still the original 30,000 soldiers who can fight, and it's possible to divide them into various garrisons, forming a pincer movement. But now our army has less than 5,000 people with combat effectiveness, and if we divide our forces again, the troops defending the city will be even more stretched thin. Moreover, once the city is broken, the troops outside the city will be useless even if they are intact. If our army puts on a desperate appearance, the Jin army will see that it's difficult to take the city by storm for the time being, and may have the idea of persuading our army to surrender. At that time, we can pretend to surrender and may be able to drag things out for a few more days, waiting for reinforcements to arrive, the recovery of sick soldiers in the city, or the success of General Yue's sneak attack. The Jin army will have no choice but to retreat."

  After hearing this, everyone carefully considered it and understood the reasoning. It seems that the current situation is indeed so, and dividing the troops at this moment would be counterproductive.

  "Alright! Mr. Yu's strategy is superior, and with his help, our chances of success have increased! I'm sure you all understand the current situation clearly. Our army must fight to the death in order to find a way out of this precarious situation. This time, defending the city, I hope you will all work together to give those Jin dogs a fierce counterattack! Let them know that our Chu State is not something they can attack at will!"