Chapter 492: Wrong Talent
Zang Ba rubbed his brows, staring at the stalemate on the map, and sighed, "I never thought that Yuan Gonglu would be so capable."
"With his abilities, being a lord is a waste of talent. He is just a natural-born bandit leader."
This was the first time since Zang Ba took command of the army that he encountered someone who could compete with him in mountain warfare. In fact, he was even slightly inferior to the opponent in some areas.
For such a huge Mount Tai, Yuan Gonglu really used all kinds of strange and bizarre tricks.
The forests were full of traps, secret passages crisscrossed the main roads, and vine ladders were hidden in every dangerous place. Countless paths that were cleverly opened up and then hidden were like secret silk threads that entangled the entire mountain range.
There are also the scattered mountain strongholds occupying dangerous terrain, like nails, firmly fixed at various key nodes.
The other side even had the leisure to start learning how to grow sorghum in the rear to alleviate the problem of shortage of food and fodder in the mountains.
With this trick, Zang Ba was clearly fooled.
It was obvious that the other party was no match for me, but I just couldn't do anything about him.
When a small group of troops attacked, the enemy could fight back and forth with us, and even launch a sneak attack from behind from time to time.
When the army sets out, the enemy runs away, and then relies on their familiarity with the terrain to play the home-exchange tactic with them.
Not only did Yuan Shu learn a lot of things from them, but now Zang Ba also learned a lot of new fighting methods from Yuan Shu.
"The current situation is that the further we advance, the more passive we become. This can be clearly seen from the loss of our troops during this period of time." Xu Shu frowned and said solemnly.
Such a large area in the rear requires separate garrison forces.
Especially when facing a rogue style of play like Yuan Shu, you must always be vigilant against the opponent's ghostly sneak attacks.
As a result, after occupying most of Mount Tai, they are now unable to push forward, and the two sides can only be deadlocked here.
"What should we do? Just wait like this?" Zang Ba said helplessly.
"For now, this is the only way." Xu Shu sighed helplessly, secretly feeling sad that this was the first time he suffered a tactical loss at the hands of Yuan Gonglu, whom he had always looked down upon.
In a large mountain stronghold among the rolling hills east of Mount Tai, Yuan Shu was reclining leisurely on a chair, holding a bowl of honey water in his hand and sipping it slowly.
"My lord, your strategy is truly brilliant!" Several bandit leaders had respect on their faces and admiration in their eyes.
They didn't expect that one day they would be able to fight the Qi army on equal terms.
When Yuan Shu heard this, there was no trace of pride on his face. Instead, he snorted coldly in dissatisfaction.
"What's so surprising and complacent about these little tricks? I have always disdained to use these petty tricks. You are so stupid that you can't even understand this little thing!"
Yuan Shu, who was always arrogant, was very disdainful of these sneaky tactics.
He had only had some interest in it when he was young and ignorant and wandered around as a ranger, but now he had to go back to his old ways, which really made him feel ashamed.
Yan Xiang on the side seemed to have gotten to know Yuan Shu all over again, his eyes full of amazement.
He really didn't expect that Yuan Shu was so talented in this area. If they had discovered it earlier, perhaps they could have gained a firm foothold by relying on the Huai River and Huai River.
He had watched Yuan Shu's performance during this period. He was able to come up with all kinds of clever strategies and tactics at will, and he was almost self-taught in the "guerrilla warfare" style. He quickly learned Zang Ba's fighting style and even improved and upgraded it.
Noticing Yan Xiang's burning gaze, Yuan Shu's face turned slightly red, and he felt extremely ashamed in his heart: "I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, sir, by using such unpresentable means." To be honest, Yuan Shu really felt that the means he was using were quite shameful.
Shouldn't a battle be fought head-on with real weapons? How could such sneaky tactics be worthy of his status? Wouldn't it be ridiculed if it got out?
Realizing that Yuan Shu did not seem to have a clear understanding of him, Yan Xiang did not speak out, but said tactfully: "My lord, what should we do if Zang Ba attacks with a small group of elite troops?"
"Let's run." Yuan Shu, who had given up hope, said reflexively.
"If we can beat him, we'll beat him. If we can't, Mount Tai is so big and he doesn't have a dog's nose. Can't we just fight somewhere else? We know this place better than they do."
"What if Zang Ba goes to attack Qingzhou or Yanzhou?" Yan Xiang continued to ask.
"Cut off their food supply and take back some territory. If their rear is empty, we can just steal it."
"What if they stay on the spot?"
"Then wait and see. We have enough food anyway, so we just need to hold them back. Yuan Benchu can handle the rest himself."
Hearing this, Yan Xiang no longer had any doubts and bowed deeply, saying, "My lord, you are so talented!"
At this moment, Yan Xiang was completely certain.
His lord was not a mediocre person, he just chose the wrong talent points.
In frontal combat, he only wants to rush without thinking, but he is a genius in these "unpresentable" tactics. However, due to his personality, he does not like to use these methods, resulting in extremely poor performance.
Upon hearing this, Yuan Shu felt even more ashamed: "Sir, please stop talking. If these methods were to be spread out, wouldn't it tarnish the reputation of our Yuan family, which has had three officials for four generations? If others knew about it, we would become a laughing stock."
Seeing this, Yan Xiang shook his head slightly and said, "My lord, war is all about deception! Since ancient times, many wise kings and famous generals have been famous for their extraordinary strategies. This situation of yours will not harm your reputation, but will further demonstrate your ability."
Yuan Shu frowned slightly. He still couldn't get over it in his heart. How could he, a descendant of the Yuan family, do such things?
If he had not been forced into a desperate situation this time and was not worried about being ridiculed and looked down upon by Yuan Shao's civil and military officials after the defeat, he would not have taken action personally.
These people are really too stupid. They can't even understand such a small thing.
Isn't this something that can be solved with a little brainpower?
Unfortunately, Ji Ling is also a fool and actually embarrassed himself.
Thinking of this, Yuan Shu looked at Ji Ling, who had a blank expression on his face from beginning to end, with some disappointment.
Ji Ling felt helpless when he saw Yuan Shu's gaze.
Let him lead his troops to charge, even if it means fighting to the death, he won't even frown.
But Yuan Shu's operations were too advanced and he really couldn't understand them.
Yan Xiang seemed to have seen the crux of the problem. He waved his hand to disperse the people in the hall, walked to Yuan Shu's side calmly, and whispered a few words into Yuan Shu's ear.
Yuan Shu was quite embarrassed at first, but after hearing the rest, his expression gradually relaxed. After thinking for a while, he focused his attention on Ji Ling again.
"Fuyi, I have an important task for you."
(End of this chapter)
