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

Chapter 217 The Feng Shui Treasure Land for Burying the Wei Army

Never have too high expectations of anyone, including your teammates, because often the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment.

Conversely, if you lower your expectations, every unexpected event will become a pleasant surprise.

Zhang Fei's ideal scenario would naturally be to successfully capture Jieting and, at the crucial moment of the decisive battle between the Han and Wei armies, to pierce the Wei army's rear and deliver a fatal blow.

But as I just mentioned, this is the ideal state, a state that can only be achieved in dreams.

Zhuge Liang did not believe that he would be favored by the heavens and have everything go as he wished, so he did not expect Zhang Fei to quickly break through Jieting. He only hoped that Zhang Fei could successfully enter the Longshan Road and block the Wei army's retreat.

As for defeating the main force of the Wei army, that should naturally be left to him. Aim high and you'll get somewhere in the middle; aim for the middle and you'll get nowhere.

Liu Bei agreed with Zhuge Liang's statement, but still said with concern, "You are right, but the premise is that Third Brother has already entered the Longshan Road. We have not received any news of Third Brother yet, and we have no idea where he is right now. He may not have even entered Dazhen Pass and may still be wandering around the Guanzhong Plain."

What worried Liu Bei the most was not whether Zhang Fei could capture Jieting, but that he had not received any news from Zhang Fei and could not determine Zhang Fei's exact location.

In the days before radio, it was extremely difficult for different armies to communicate with each other, and it was also extremely difficult to coordinate with each other.

Zhuge Liang waved his fan and laughed, "The Third General has already arrived at Jieting. Otherwise, Zhang He and Sima Yi would not have been able to send troops to Jieting yesterday, let alone smuggle supplies from Jicheng to make the move to retreat to Jieting."

Intelligence doesn't necessarily have to be obtained from one's own people; it can also be analyzed from the enemy's actions. Zhang He and Sima Yi wouldn't have provided support to Jieting and secretly transported supplies in the middle of the night without a reason.

If that's the case, why would they do this? Zhuge Liang could only think of one reason: their own backyard was on fire.

Currently, besides Zhang Fei, no one else can cause trouble in Sima Yi's backyard.

Liu Bei slammed the towel into the basin, splashing water everywhere, but seemed oblivious to the excitement, and exclaimed, "That's right! How come I didn't think of that? Now that my third brother has arrived at Jieting, I have no more reservations. We can launch a full-scale attack. Strategist, you will continue to command this battle. Give the order."

Zhuge Liang did not refuse and called out to the outside of the tent: "Summon everyone to the command tent for a meeting."

Upon receiving the order, the generals rushed to the scene, and soon the tent was filled with both civil and military officials, overflowing with people.

Zhuge Liang nodded to Liu Bei, then turned to face the generals, waving his fan and saying, "I have just received news..."

After explaining the basic situation, he waited a moment to make sure everyone had digested it before continuing, "Therefore, His Majesty has decided to launch a general offensive tonight, first defeating the Wei army in Ji County, and then heading north to join forces with the three generals to attack Jieting, striving to keep Zhang He and Sima Yi in Tianshui County forever."

Upon hearing this, the generals were collectively excited. Zhang Bao, in his hoarse voice comparable to his father's, rubbed his hands together and said, "Strategist, just tell me how to fight. My spear has been itching for battle for a long time."

No one wanted to linger in Shehu Valley; everyone wanted to defeat the Wei army as soon as possible and go home to sleep. This was especially true for young men like Zhang Bao, whose minds were still unsettled. Long-term exhaustion on the battlefield was simply torture for him.

Zhao Yun, however, calmly grasped the core issue and continued to ask, "The strategist just said that the Wei army is smuggling supplies from Ji City, which means that the Wei army does not intend to retreat openly but is planning to leave secretly, right?"

Zhuge Liang nodded and said, "Yes, otherwise it would be better to transport the supplies from Ji County openly and honestly, so why bother with smuggling?"

Zhao Yun continued, "Since that's the case, we certainly don't know when they will retreat. What if they retreat tonight? What I mean is, wouldn't launching an attack tonight be too late?"

You rush over excitedly, only to find that the Wei army has already fled. Wouldn't that have been a waste of your time?

Zhuge Liang raised his feather fan, pointed to the map behind him, and laughed: "As long as we don't retreat during the day, that's fine. Look at the terrain around Ji County. Even if the Wei army were to retreat openly, let alone sneak away, how fast could they possibly run?"

Ji County was located near Gangu County in later times. The southern part of Ji County was located on the western edge of the Qinling Fold Belt, and the northern part was located in the center of the Qilian Mountain Geosyncline. The county had all kinds of mountains, hills and valleys. The Wei River ran through the entire county from west to east. In other words, except for the flat terrain of the fault valley in the middle, the other places were either mountains or gullies, which were not conducive to travel.

Even if the Wei army were to retreat, it would be after dark. In summer, the nights are short and it gets dark around 9 PM. By the time the Wei army has made further preparations and begins to retreat, it will be around midnight. Even if they launch an attack at 3 AM, how far can the Wei army go in just two hours?

Moreover, Zhuge Liang did not really intend to delay the attack until the hour of Yin (3-5 AM).

Although the time for a large-scale night raid is usually between 3 AM and 5 AM, that's because the soldiers are sleeping the most soundly during that time. However, if the Wei army were to retreat, they certainly wouldn't be sleeping at night. Since the Wei army wouldn't be sleeping, there would be no point in adhering to this raid time.

Zhao Yun stared at the map for a long time and found that the surrounding terrain was indeed as complex as Zhuge Liang had said, so he said, "I have no objection. Strategist, you may give the order."

Zhuge Liang did not speak, but stared at the map in deep thought.

He originally planned to launch a night attack, first having Zhao Yun lead the White Feather Soldiers to rush into the Wei army camp and create chaos, and then send the entire army to attack.

But Zhao Yun's words just now reminded him that there might be a better way than a direct assault.

Seeing him lightly wave his feather fan and fall into deep thought, everyone, including Liu Bei, held their breath and waited patiently. They all knew that the strategist should not be disturbed when he was thinking.

Zhuge Liang pondered for a full quarter of an hour before pointing to the map with his feather fan and asking, "Boyue, what place is this?"

Jiang Wei stepped forward, glanced around, and said, "That's Baliwan. As the name suggests, it's full of bends and the terrain is extremely complex."

"Baliwan is an extension of the Qinling fold belt. The terrain is high in the north and low in the south. There is also a loess ridge running through the middle from north to south. It is the watershed between the Sandu River and the Hulu River. It is divided into mountain ridges and ravines by many rivers and gullies. If the Wei cavalry enters that place, it will be useless."

"More importantly, Baliwan is the only way from Jixian to Jieting, and it is only forty li away from Jixian."

Zhuge Liang looked at Baliwan with increasing delight, as if he were seeing a rare treasure. He stroked his beard and exclaimed in amazement, "What a wonderful place! This place is excellent. It's clearly a geomantically auspicious spot to bury the Wei army!"

"Boyue, if you lead the way, can you sneak up to Baliwan without alerting the Wei scouts and intercept the Wei army in advance?"

This matter concerns the outcome of the battle, so Jiang Wei dared not answer blindly. He frowned and pondered for a long time before saying, "That depends on how many people there are. If it exceeds two thousand, there's no way to proceed, and we'll have to take a long detour, which might take a long time."

Zhuge Liang asked, "There's no rush. Ji County is forty li away from Baliwan. If the Wei army sets off at night, they will arrive at Baliwan by tomorrow morning at the earliest, so there's plenty of time. Now I only have one question for you: if we only take eight hundred White Feather Soldiers, can we arrive at Baliwan before dawn tomorrow without alerting the Wei army?"

Jiang Wei said confidently, "Don't worry, strategist. My home is in Ji County, and I am familiar with Baliwan. I can definitely manage with only eight hundred men. I can sign a pledge."

Zhuge Liang shook his head and said, "There's no need for a pledge. Zhao Yun, obey my orders."

Zhao Yun quickly stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your subordinate is here."

Zhuge Liang solemnly said, "You and Jiang Wei will lead the White Feather Army and secretly head to Baliwan with three days' worth of provisions to intercept them. I will send someone to support you after the general offensive begins."

"Yes..." Zhao Yun bowed and prepared to take his leave.

Zhuge Liang stopped him and said, "No rush, let's finish our discussion first."