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Chapter 700: Let the Battle Begin
🕑 Added 2024-10-04 05:09:33 +0000 UTC"Are you sure this will work?" Yan Yan asked, looking at the three men before him.
"It will work!" Zhang Song, Zheng Du, and Liu Ba nodded their heads like pecking chickens.
"There won't be any surprises?" Yan Yan looked at them skeptically.
"Even if there are surprises, we won't suffer a major defeat," they responded in unison.
"Alright, I'll do it!" Yan Yan said, his face darkening.
Little did Yan Yan know that this strategy would make him famous across the land. With only thirty thousand troops, he would take over a vast territory, including Yiling to the west and Shangyong to the south. Although his greatest triumph would be cut short by one of Pang Tong's schemes, no one could deny Yan Yan's formidable prowess during that time.
While the Yizhou forces were preparing to take down their enemies in one swift move, in Yanzhou, both sides were facing some miscalculations. Although Chen Xi had already made plans, he couldn't fully anticipate the "balance between stratagem and normalcy" that Xu You employed. Xu You’s so-called "unorthodox tactics" completely exceeded the expectations of Zhuge Liang and Fa Zheng, leaving Chen Xi's side with nothing but frustration when they finally encountered them.
In Ji Yin, Guo Jia didn't fare much better. Tian Feng, too, gained no advantage. However, after several rounds of probing, Guo Jia managed to grasp the essence of Tian Feng’s mental talent.
"How are we supposed to fight this?" Even Guan Yu felt awkward. After several failed attempts to outmaneuver their opponents, Guan Yu became more cautious, but caution alone wasn't enough when facing an army nearly four times the size of his own, led by Yan Liang.
"I think I've figured it out. Tian Feng is even more difficult to deal with than I anticipated. He seems to have a talent that allows him to foresee the results of direct schemes," Guo Jia said, his mouth twisting in displeasure. It felt like playing against a cheat.
"This kind of mental talent is just unfair!" Guan Yu's face twitched as he finally understood why Guo Jia had only tested the waters against Yuan Shao's army in the past few days.
"Yes, but what is your objective, General Guan?" Guo Jia asked casually.
"First, we need to hold Ji Yin at all costs!" Guan Yu said grimly.
"That won't be difficult," Guo Jia replied, nodding slightly.
"It won’t be easy either; the enemy has a massive army," Guan Yu said, clearly feeling the weight of the situation.
Guo Jia smiled but didn’t say anything further. He had more or less grasped the nature of Tian Feng’s mental talent. Now the challenge was figuring out how to counter Tian Feng and Yan Liang’s massive army. Guo Jia began considering his options.
"From what I’ve observed, Tian Feng’s mental talent is highly effective at countering direct schemes. If I plan against him outright, he’ll likely foresee the outcome and take precautions," Guo Jia thought, analyzing the situation.
"However, if I constantly switch tactics midway through, although he might still foresee the results, his ability to respond would be hindered. This approach could exhaust him, but it would also strain our own forces." Guo Jia rubbed his brow, deep in thought.
Guo Jia realized that someone like Liu Ye could drive Tian Feng to madness with an endless stream of strategies. Even if Tian Feng could predict the outcomes, the constant switching would be a headache.
"The second approach relies on creating unexpected situations. This reminds me of how Chen Gong managed to outmaneuver Tian Feng. Perhaps Tian Feng’s mental talent isn’t capable of predicting unforeseen events," Guo Jia continued to ponder.
He had already tested this theory against Tian Feng, creating an unexpected scenario that only took out about a hundred of Tian Feng's men. However, it confirmed Guo Jia's suspicions. It also validated his first hypothesis.
"As for the third approach, it seems the most viable." Guo Jia sighed.
The third method was something Guo Jia had prepared specifically to deal with Tian Feng. It was simple: force Tian Feng to follow his lead. Guo Jia would set traps ahead of time, guiding Tian Feng step by step into them, rather than reacting to Tian Feng's moves as before.
In essence, this wasn’t really a scheme but more of a way to control the battlefield, akin to setting up a chessboard and waiting for your opponent to make a move that had already been anticipated. This kind of strategy required an incredible understanding of the overall situation. If the opponent wasn't significantly weaker, it could backfire disastrously.
However, Guo Jia had a suspicion: Tian Feng might be overly reliant on his mental talent, filling in any gaps in his own abilities with it.
If that were the case, Guo Jia believed he could exploit this overreliance. Sometimes, having too great an advantage could blind someone to their own weaknesses.
"I'll try all three methods and see what happens. Let’s see how this ‘unexpected’ approach plays out!" Guo Jia thought, resigned to the challenge. "I wonder how things are going for Zi Chuan. Xu You is no pushover, and compared to regular mental talents, the kind that directly boosts intelligence is even more troublesome."
Just as Guo Jia feared, even though Chen Xi had prepared in advance, when he finally faced Xu You, he couldn’t help but feel frustrated. Xu You didn’t follow any conventional tactics. His chaotic onslaught left Chen Xi and his group dizzy and disoriented.
On the day Chen Xi learned that Xu You was leading the attack, he made several preparations. He sent orders to Sun Qian and others in Linyi to be on high alert, instructed Wang Xiu to defend the city at all costs, warned Xu Chu not to be provoked by potential enemy attacks, and asked Zhang Yan to tighten control over his subordinates.
Overall, Chen Xi’s response was flawless, but sometimes, even when everything is done correctly, things still go wrong.
That afternoon, after Zhuge Liang confirmed that there was indeed an approaching enemy force, Chen Xi ordered his troops to rest in shifts to prevent a surprise attack. But when night fell, and the full moon rose high, bathing the earth in silver light, with no clouds in the sky—so bright that you could almost read a book—Chen Xi realized something.
"I forgot it’s a full moon tonight; there’s no way anyone would launch a night raid in these conditions," Chen Xi said with a wry smile as he gazed at the moon, now nearly at its zenith. In this kind of night, everything within a mile was clearly visible.
"I overlooked that too. If we hadn’t noticed, though, a wind-manipulation tactic might have given us a serious headache," Zhuge Liang admitted with a sigh. "It’s a good strategy from the enemy."
"No matter how good the strategy is, it’s useless once we’ve spotted it," Chen Xi said with a smug smile, his earlier worries now gone.
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