Chapter 248

"This Sun Jian is so miserable."

"But this Ji Ling is also ruthless enough; not only did he burn his own grain and grass, but he also ordered the major clans in Hefei city to burn their surplus grain."

"Now Sun Jian is in a bind. Without grain, let alone continuing his attack, he should now be thinking about how to defend and how to retreat."

Following the lord and military advisor Xun You these days to personally watch the battle between the two armies and constantly receiving guidance, Wei Yan's military insights were also growing rapidly.

"Lord, isn't this Sun Jian going to be finished? Now, as long as Sun Jian dares not offend the major clans in the city, they can only retreat."

"If I were Ji Ling, I would send a cavalry to constantly harass Sun Jian from behind, making him unable to retreat with peace of mind, and at the same time send people to request support. As long as the troops from Danyang and Lujiang arrive together to besiege Sun Jian, they will definitely be able to make Sun Jian's army suffer."

Wei Yan's strategy was not bad, but it was a bit dangerous.

Su Fan did not know whether to agree or not. Ji Ling left Hefei city and took twenty thousand troops, of which only two or three thousand were elites. The rest had no combat power; guarding the city might be okay, but field battles and siege battles were completely sending them to death.

Lujiang and Danyang Commandery were also the same. The south was not like the north; it had no threats, and the local troops were even more decadent.

In these two years, the two commandery prefects surrendered to Yuan Shu and also raised a portion of troops, but most of them were composed of young and strong men with no combat power.

Compared to Sun Jian's army, it was still a big difference.

Really in field battles, they were probably not Sun Jian's opponent. Of course, Sun Jian's lack of grain was the key, but who knew how long Sun Jian could persist?

Wei Yan's strategy had a certain degree of danger.

Su Fan also knew Wei Yan's personality, which was that he liked strange strategies. Historically, he had conflicts with Zhuge Liang on sending troops during the Northern Expedition.

Zhuge Liang wanted to take Qishan, walk the Longxi land openly and honestly, step by step, and take Liangzhou as a foundation to attack Chang'an city. This was the safest method.

And Wei Yan's surprise attack on Zizhong Valley—this strategy was quite dangerous. Zizhong Valley itself was very difficult to pass. Ten thousand elites walking through this dangerous pass, who knew how many would be left?

Even if they all passed, wanting to break through Chang'an city with just ten thousand troops—to tell the truth, not many people could be sure.

After all, at that time, Chang'an city had long known that Zhuge Liang had sent troops for the Northern Expedition, so it was impossible for there to be no defenders.

Even if most of their troops were defending the Longxi land, as an important city, the defenders of Chang'an city would definitely not be few. Even if there were only ten or twenty thousand troops, it would be enough for Wei Yan to drink a pot.

Relying on ten thousand troops to take Chang'an city, the probability was really not high.

This was also one of the reasons Zhuge Liang rejected Wei Yan. As for the internet in later generations saying Zhuge Liang was jealous of Wei Yan, that was simply impossible.

Who was Zhuge Liang? At that time, he was one person above ten thousand in the Shu Kingdom, and even in terms of authority, even Liu Shan could not compare to him. Would he be jealous of Wei Yan?

And Zhuge Liang's strategy, compared to Wei Yan's, was even more outstanding. How could he not see this strategy? However, he still did not choose it, which also had great reasons.

The Shu Kingdom did not have many troops, and the elites were even fewer. Splitting the troops would only reduce their success rate of the Northern Expedition.

Of course, it could not be said that Wei Yan's strategy was not good, but it did not fit the situation at that time.

Wei Yan's ability was still there. In the late Three Kingdoms period, Wei Yan could be said to be a famous general. At that time, in the Shu Kingdom, besides Jiang Wei, I am afraid no one else could be found.

The scarcity of talents in the late Shu Kingdom was also one of the reasons for the defeat.

"Wanting Sun Jian to be finished, just this point is not easy. There are no elites under Ji Ling. Even if you add the troops of Danyang and Lujiang, it is difficult to pose much of a threat to Sun Jian."

"Sun Jian is short of grain and must retreat to Yuzhang. He will inevitably take the waterway. Only by blocking him on the Yangtze River and forcing Sun Jian to take the land route will there be an opportunity."

"But wanting to do this is also very difficult. Yuan Shu does not have any naval forces under his command, and Lujiang and Danyang do not have them either."

"Then just let Sun Jian go like this?"

Wei Yan, upon hearing this, also had some disappointment.

"Of course that's impossible. No matter what, Yuan Shu will not let Sun Jian have such an easy time."

Su Fan shook his head. Ji Ling could not just leave like this. The news from the Dark Owls said that hearing the battle situation in Jiujiang, Yuan Shu was quite dissatisfied and had already sent another thirty thousand troops south.

Obviously, he wanted Sun Jian to pay the price and would not stop until he took Sun Jian down.

"Haha! If so, then what if Sun Jian escapes back to Yuzhang?"

"Then Yuan Shu will also pursue him."

Su Fan laughed. Sun Jian rebelled against Yuan Shu, and Yuan Shu could not let him go. The two would inevitably have one fall.

It was just that before one of them fell, Su Fan would try every means to make both sides bleed more.

"The Battle of Hefei is almost over, but next, there will be a great battle here in Yangzhou. We can sit and wait for both sides to fight to the end."

"As for who wins and who loses, of course, it depends on who can persist the best."

No matter who wins, the final result is him, and even as long as he observes that both sides are weak, he will take action directly. It is not impossible; after all, his overall strength already exceeds both sides.

It was just that he was wary of the trump cards left by the Yuan clan. After all, the foundation left over thousands of years was still quite deep.

In the main world, their Yunyang Sect only had a history of ten thousand years.

The Yuan clan's foundation absolutely did not lose to the Yunyang Sect. Although the upper limit of this world was only so high, because of the limitation of lifespan, it was impossible for the Yuan clan to have several Golden Core Great Experts like the Yunyang Sect.

It was already quite good for one Yin Spirit to appear in the same generation.

And Su Fan did not think Yuan Shu had any Yin Spirit experts. Firstly, talent was absolutely indispensable to break through to Yin Spirit, and secondly, it probably required huge luck.

Liu appeared as a Dharma Image-protecting Martial Saint, relying on the luck of the Divine Han. Zhang Jiao could break through, also relying on the Daoist Gate, as well as the luck he favored for a time.

Looking at the entire history of the Divine Han, those who reached Yin Spirit or Dharma Image were all in chaotic times, because often at this time, the Heavenly Dao was chaotic and the Humanity luck was flourishing.

Although luck could not be seen or touched, it was real.

Unless the Yuan clan could win the world, it was possible for Yin Spirit experts to appear.

So without Yin Spirit cultivators, although Su Fan was wary of the Yuan clan's foundation, he was not afraid. Without Yin Spirit experts, the fierce generals and strategists under his command were solid and would not be worse than the Yuan clan.

It was just that he did not want to stand out for the time being. If he finished off Yuan Shu and Sun Jian in one go, it would inevitably make the warlords of the world wary, and they might even join forces to deal with him.

By that time, if he wanted to take them down, he would have to spend more effort.

He just needed to wait for the warlords to fight chaotically, and their strength would become weaker and weaker.