"Wait," Zao Yan pulled a general standing behind him, and said in a deep voice: "Go and invite Yin Shu Ping over as quickly as possible. Hurry up and don't delay!"
"Understood!" The military officer took the order and ran off. Not long after, Yin Fan hurriedly climbed onto the city wall.
"Had you met Lord Zhao and General Niu?" Yin Fan asked calmly.
Zao Yan hadn't even spoken when the more impatient Niujin directly said: "Shu Ping, why is there a stone-throwing cart in the Wu army? You came from Sun Quan's army. Do you know about this?"
Yin Fan smiled wryly and bowed in response: "General, I have only been in Wu for a few months, where could I have access to such matters? To know Sun Quan's general direction and the details of officials and commanders in Eastern Wu is already quite difficult."
Niujin pursed his lips and said: "That's strange. Only the Great Wei has ever used stone-throwing carts, and the last time I heard the words 'stone-throwing cart' in a war example was when Zhang Zhengxi attacked Cao Pi in Qinzhou two years ago."
"Zhuge Liang?" Yin Fan frowned and asked: "General, do you mean that when the King's Army attacked Shu in the second year of Taihe, they used stone-throwing carts? Is it possible that Shu troops have seen the appearance of Great Wei's stone-throwing carts?"
"How could I know that?" Just as Niujin was about to explain, Zhao Yan raised his hand to stop him, then he spoke.
"I know the details of this matter from beginning to end. The documents in the Imperial Secretariat clearly state that when Zhang He attacked Cao Pi in Chiling Valley, the Shu forces were continuously defeated and should not have obtained Great Wei's stone-throwing carts."
Yin Fan shook his head and said: "Shu and Wu have formed an alliance, but Wu has never used them. The last time a Great Wei stone-throwing cart was seen attacking was Zhuge Liang of Shu."
"This man is famous for his intelligence and cunning, and everyone in Wu Chang City knows it. Perhaps Zhuge Liang, following the function of the Great Wei's stone-throwing cart, made one himself in Shu territory and passed on the method of construction to Sun Quan?"
Zhao Yan slightly shook his head and said: "From what I see, things can't be as Lord Yin said. I haven't heard of the Wu army using stone-throwing carts for several days. Lu Ruxi is stationed in Fan Zhong, and it may be even more difficult."
Zhao Yan, Niujin, and Yin Fan in Xiangyang City, separated by the Han River, deduced the situation within three words and two sentences.
Not bad. The method of making the stone-throwing cart was indeed newly created by Zhuge Liang, and it was brought to Sun Quan as a gift by the envoy Jiang Wan from Baishui. In the previous days, there had been no significant progress in the attack on Fan City, and Lu Shi had fulfilled his duties well. It was all thanks to Yi's reminder that Sun Quan remembered this matter.
"Be careful on the city wall! Don't go up there, General!" Inside Fan City, the military officer Sun Kè grabbed onto Yulu's arm as he walked up the steps towards the city wall. He shouted loudly: "The Wu forces are firing stones at us from all directions. The city wall is being heavily attacked and we can't afford any mistakes! The lives of all soldiers in the city depend on you, General!"
This man also has the surname Sun, but he has no connection with the Sun clan of Fuchun. There are also members of the Wei Dynasty with the surname Sun, such as Sun Zi, the current governor of Yongzhou, and Sun Li, the general of the central army.
Lulu Shi coldly looked back at Sun Kè: "If I, as a general, am not willing to personally go up to the city wall, how can the soldiers be brave enough to defend? My life is mine, and their lives are also theirs. Let go, don't say anything more!"
Sun Kè watched as his general's fierce expression, helplessly loosened his grip, and then said: "Do we need to light another beacon today? In the past few days, a beacon was lit every hour from 9 to 11 am, but no reinforcements arrived."
"Keep lighting!" Lü Shì said fiercely, "Shen Can the little rascal is in Xinye. It's been over ten days, and even if he had to crawl, he should have reached by now. But he still hasn't come to save us. I'll see how long he can drag it out!"
As Lù Shì's mood greatly deteriorated, personally standing on the city wall to encourage the morale of his troops and prevent the Wu army from taking advantage of the situation, at last, from among the fifteen miles to the north, Xu Zhou finally waited for Wenhua Department led by Wen Dai.
The Wenhua Department under Wen Dai had ten thousand men, all of whom were foreign troops of Great Wei, and their combat power was much stronger than the troops under Shen Dan. This is the relief force Xu Zhou has been waiting for in Deng County, and it is an army that can change the battlefield situation in Fan City.
With the continuous search for information, the situation of the entire battlefield had gradually become clear in Xu Zhou's eyes:
From the Mountain Dou upstream of Xiangyang to the Yuliang Island by the return curve, over a hundred miles of waterway were under the control of the Wu forces. In addition, Wu forces built fortresses at Yubu to wait for their opponents to become tired, while Wu forces outside Fan City were still attacking fiercely.
In the third year of Huangchu, tens of thousands of Great Wei troops were led by Cao Zhen, Xiahou Shang, and Xu Huang to attack Jiangling. Zhu Ran could still hold the city for half a year with only five thousand men. Although Fan City is smaller and more damaged, and there are more Wu forces outside, holding out for twenty days should not be a problem.
That's right, Xu Zhou secretly gave Lù Shì a deadline of twenty days. If Lù Shì could not hold out for twenty days with his five thousand soldiers, then he would truly be useless and deserve to die.
This deadline was calculated by Xu Zhou after determining the time needed for the envoy to arrive. The arrival of the ten thousand foreign troops under Wen Dai, however, allowed Xu Zhou to begin implementing his plans a few days earlier.
"General Wen, please take comfort. The late General was a loyal and capable officer of the state. I'm sure the court will show mercy and confer a posthumous title upon him, ensuring his glory in life and respect in death." Xu Zhou bowed respectfully to Wen Dai upon their first meeting outside Deng County.
Wen Dai knew that Xu Zhou's bow was not for him, but for the recently deceased General of the Later Wei and son of Wen Pei, Wen Yong. As the eldest son of Wen Pei, Wen Dai immediately knelt down and bowed in respect.
"Please allow me to ask Xu Gong, General Xiahou is already in charge of all military affairs in Jingyao, and has sent his subordinates to lead ten thousand foreign troops here."
"Please get up quickly, the messenger has informed me about this in advance, so we don't need to beat around the bush. " Xu Zhou helped Wen Dai get up from the ground and immediately asked: "Your ten thousand men can fight? If you don't need to rest, let's go to Fan City to solve the trouble at once!"
After getting up, Wen Dai took out the military token that governed these ten thousand foreign troops from his bosom, just as he had done with Xiahou Ru in the past, and respectfully handed it over to Xu Zhou with both hands:
"Whether to fight or defend, I will follow your orders, General Xu!"
Xu Zhou showed no hesitation, taking the military token and holding it in his hand, and said directly, "In that case, half an hour from now, the entire army will march towards Fan City! General Wen, you and I with four thousand soldiers will act as the left wing of the main force on the east side."
"Please follow General Xu's orders!" Wen Dai bowed respectfully.
"General Shen," Xu Zhou turned and looked at Shenzhan standing next to him, "you lead six thousand troops as the right wing of the main force. The remaining two thousand troops under your command should hold Deng County as a retreat for the main force. General Xu will personally lead six thousand foreign troops as the central army."
"Understood!" Shen Can slightly bowed and said no more. When there were only eight thousand troops, staying put could still be excused. But now with an additional ten thousand reinforcements, if they did not march forth, it would indeed be too much.
Xu Zhou looked at the two men's expressions and said: "Today, I will lead the army to Fan City's outskirts but do not want to engage in a direct fight with the Wu forces. If the Wu forces come to attack, we will defend on level ground. If they do not attack, the main force will return to Deng County in the evening and know what I mean?"
Wen Dai was somewhat confused and asked:
"General Xu, if we do not attack the city, then how can we save the soldiers defending the city? Won't that demoralize the defenders inside?"
Xu Zhou slightly looked at Wen Dai and said: "The Wu forces led by Qian Zhenxi will arrive in Deng County in two days. In fact, from my perspective, the two of you are not likely to have a significant advantage over the Wu forces. Only when Qian Zhenxi arrives can we launch a direct attack against them."
"Wen Dai exclaimed in surprise: "Qian Zhenxi is coming? " His expression became more relaxed and relieved. "If the Wu forces led by Qian Zhenxi arrive at Fan City, then everything will be fine!"
