Chapter 471 Airtight
Pang De smiled faintly as he watched from afar the endless navy of Liu Bei's army stagnate in front of the iron chains across the river.
This is just an appetizer, the best is yet to come.
The strategies of warfare for abundance and material resources are the basic skills of the generals of the Qi army.
If a problem can be solved with money, try not to risk your life to solve it.
After all, human life is extremely precious.
Just "a little" of supplies was enough to destroy Liu Bei's navy. It was a great deal.
Liu Bei's army had to abandon their ships and land. When they arrived outside Quren County, Liu Bei was shocked.
"Is this Qunin County?"
Liu Bei asked in disbelief, staring blankly at the city in front of him that looked like a towering monster.
The towering city wall is five meters high. Under the sunlight, the bricks and stones on the wall glow with a cold and hard light, as if declaring to Liu Bei's army that it is indestructible.
At regular intervals, there is a towering arrow tower, with soldiers on top standing on full alert, their sharp eyes scanning every move outside the city.
Pang Tong, Zhang Fei and others were also stunned. A city wall of this scale was probably the same size as Xiangyang City! Although the area occupied was much smaller, the height and thickness of the city wall were definitely not fake.
Wei Yan glanced at Cai Mao coldly.
Have you learned something new?
You have never really fought against the Qi army, so how would you know how difficult it is to deal with them?
Apart from anything else, Wei Yan had prepared so well for the previous night attack!
He thought that with his own design, coupled with his natural talent, it should not be a problem to at least defeat Pang De's army, let alone completely annihilate it.
However, the strict military discipline and strong camp defenses of the Qi army taught him a severe lesson.
Although the situation before him was shocking, he was no longer surprised.
Pang Tong's mouth twitched slightly. It was the first time he had seen such an operation.
Our side seizes the geographical advantage while the other side creates the geographical advantage. Who can win this game?
"My lord, the defense of Qunin County is so tight that a strong attack is not a good idea. We need to take a long-term view and explore the surrounding trails first."
Upon hearing this, Liu Bei nodded without hesitation.
You must be kidding. He knew very well how disadvantageous a siege war would be. Especially for a strong city like the one in front of him, even if he threw all his troops into it, he might not be able to shake it.
The reason why they dare not march north now is because they have too little capital. If they lose all of it here, even if they capture Yizhou, it will be a loss.
Upon hearing this, Wei Yan opened his mouth slightly, but ultimately did not dissuade him.
What Pang Tong had thought of, he had already thought of it, and he had investigated it before, and the result was...
However, in the current situation, a strong attack is definitely not realistic. It is better to try again. What if the enemy has missed some small paths?
Liu Bei's army, which originally planned to attack directly, began to set up camps in the surrounding area and sent out many scouts to explore the surrounding paths.
The result was a great disappointment to Liu Bei.
"The scouts found six paths, all of which were full of traps. Some strategic locations even had small forts, and many other places were blocked, making it impossible for a large army to pass through."
Rubbing his head with a headache, Liu Bei felt for the first time that the natural barrier of Yizhou was so formidable.
It seems that Quren County, which is not a place with dangerous terrain, was transformed by the Qi army in just one month and turned into a dangerous place that is no less dangerous than Baidi City.
When Yizhou was in Liu Fan's hands, Liu Bei felt at ease, just as he feels uncomfortable now.
This kind of place cannot be attacked by ordinary means.
"Is the Qi army's baggage logistics..." Cai Mao seemed to have thought of something and suddenly asked. But he stopped talking after just half a sentence because he realized that he had asked an extremely stupid question.
"The logistics of the Qi army, haha." Wei Yan sneered unceremoniously.
It is better to hope for a meteorite to fall from the sky than to hope for problems with the Qi army's logistics and food supplies.
No matter where Pang De fought, the logistics of food and fodder never stopped. Even if the food was wasted, the transportation would never stop. This saturated logistics was the norm for the Qi army.
Moreover, Yizhou had no shortage of food and was directly handed over to it by Liu Fan. It was not difficult to transport food along the Yangtze River waterway.
Wei Yan was sure that if his side aimed to consume the food supplies in the city, they would be the first to run out of food.
The waterways and paths were blocked, not to mention how to intercept the enemy's logistics troops, even if the enemy stopped sending food and grass, the food in the city alone would definitely be enough for them to eat for several months.
Liu Bei sighed helplessly, his eyes scanning everyone's faces one by one, trying to find a glimmer of hope for a breakthrough from their expressions, but all he saw was the same helplessness.
Even the reckless Zhang Fei did not clamor for a violent attack at this time.
Zhang Fei had experienced many setbacks following Liu Bei over the years. Although he was still rough and arrogant, his meticulous mind had become more and more obvious, and he had gradually grown into a capable general who could stand on his own.
"Is it true that we have no way to deal with Quren County?" Liu Bei muttered to himself.
Baidi City was defended, but was eventually trapped in a small Qunin County.
"Is it possible to mobilize the people in the city?" Yi Ji tried to solve the current dilemma from another aspect.
Pang Tong shook his head without hesitation: "The Qi army loves the people and is generous. I'm afraid it will be difficult for the people in the city to rebel."
"Besides, in a small county like Quren County, there are no more than 10,000 people in the city, which is probably less than 30% of the Qi army. How can they cause trouble?"
"What about the strategy of luring the enemy?" Yi Ji looked at Wei Yan.
"Pang De was defeated by Wen Chang before, so he must be unwilling to accept it. Perhaps we can use this as a lead, show the enemy weakness, pretend to detour, and lure them out of the city."
Pang Tong frowned when he heard this: "I'm afraid the possibility of success is not great. Pang De is not a reckless person. He suffered a great loss before, so he will surely be more cautious."
Wei Yan also nodded slightly to show his agreement.
The person who knows you best is often your enemy.
Although he had won the battle against Pound before, that was based on the fact that he was familiar with Pound but Pound was not familiar with him.
After all, Wei Yan was just an unknown person at that time, while Pang De, as a general under Tian Ze, had already been studied thoroughly by various princes.
Wei Yan was able to make a comeback thanks to his deliberate plan and the huge intelligence gap.
"If we want to break this situation, I'm afraid the only way is Han Sheng's troops." Kuai Liang said in a deep voice.
Pang De's expression darkened when he heard this, but he didn't say anything.
Quren County is located in Ba County, so it is indeed a feasible move for Huang Zhong’s army to come to support.
Moreover, by attacking from both sides, it is very likely that the current dilemma can be resolved.
But in this way, the nail they had planted in Ba County would be gone.
As long as Huang Zhong's army did not take action, Tian Ze's army in Hanzhong and Yizhou would have to be on guard at all times, and the deterrent force and tied down troops would have a huge effect.
If I order him to come and help, I'm afraid the gain will outweigh the loss.
But, do they have any other choice?
(End of this chapter)
