Chapter 125

"Understood!"

The eyes of the entire Nine Provinces were fixed on Bingzhou. Previously, the eighteen lords campaigned against Dong, but now Liu Bei was dealing with Dong Zhuo alone; the situation was not optimistic!

The wheels of war rolled forward!

Liu Bei personally led thirty thousand infantry and cavalry, with Guo Jia and Xu Shu accompanying him, and arrived at Pujin Ferry.

The accompanying troops:

Gao Shun's elite five thousand Camp-Crushing Battalion, including two thousand heavy infantry!

Guan Yu's "Yu" Battalion, seven thousand!

Zhang Fei's "De" Battalion, seven thousand!

Ju Yi's three thousand Vanguard Battalion, with one thousand crossbowmen!

Xu Huang and Zhang He each led four thousand troops!

Chen Dao commanded three thousand elite personal guards!

Additionally, Wang Ling led three thousand troops to garrison Pishi to defend Longmen Ferry!

Xu Huang cupped his hands.

"My lord, opposite Pujin Ferry is the Xiliang vanguard army of six thousand, led by Fan Chou."

Liu Bei nodded.

"Guo Fengxiao, you tell us how we should break the enemy?"

Guo Jia cupped his hands.

"My lord, I have three strategies—lower, middle, and upper—to break Dong Zhuo's army!"

Everyone was shocked. They hadn't even come up with an idea, and this Guo Guo Fengxiao already had three strategies? He was truly a bit fierce!

Liu Bei nodded.

"Good, speak."

Guo Jia cleared his throat.

"Lower strategy: Dong Zhuo has an army of one hundred thousand. Our army retreats to Anyi City and defends using the sturdy city walls. The Xiliang army will definitely not be able to break the city and will eventually retreat."

"But our other counties in Hedong will be ravaged by Dong Zhuo's army. Even if the common people can hide, the spring plowing will be completely ruined, and this year's harvest will plummet!"

Liu Bei shook his head.

"The Hedong plain is an important granary for our army. If the land is ruined this year, everyone will go hungry."

The generals nodded. Although they would drive away Dong Zhuo's army, they would also suffer heavy losses.

Seeing this, Guo Jia continued.

"The middle strategy is for our army to garrison Pujin Ferry, using the danger of the Yellow River to block Dong Zhuo, widely deploying scouts to prevent Dong Zhuo from crossing. In a stalemate, Dong Zhuo's Changancheng will be empty, and he will definitely retreat."

Everyone nodded. This was the most secure method currently, capable of protecting Hedong from the invasion of the Xiliang iron cavalry while also forcing a retreat.

Liu Bei laughed.

"Guo Fengxiao, I am very much looking forward to your upper strategy."

Guo Jia said in a deep voice,

"My lord, the upper strategy is for our army to force a crossing of the Yellow River, fight a decisive battle with Dong Zhuo's army in Fengyi Commandery, and defeat him in one battle. Dong Zhuo won't dare to invade Hedong for a year or two! Our army can then develop with peace of mind."

Everyone was shocked!

Zhang He muttered,

"Dong Zhuo has an army of one hundred thousand, and our army is just over thirty thousand. Isn't this a bit risky?"

Guo Jia nodded.

"However, the lord has ten victories, and Dong Zhuo has ten defeats!"

Liu Bei: ? He really had to hear this!

Everyone was also stunned; this Guo Jia was too awesome, their own thinking couldn't keep up at all!

Liu Bei laughed.

"Guo Fengxiao, I am listening intently!"

Meaning: hurry up and start your performance!

Guo Jia coughed.

"Although Dong Zhuo has many troops, he has been defeated in battle after battle, failing even against the Yellow Turbans, so his morale is low. You, my lord, have won battle after battle, and your morale is high! This is the first victory!"

"Dong Zhuo is cruel and acts against heaven; your name for loyalty and righteousness is known throughout the world, and the common people support you. This is the second victory."

"Dong Zhuo's army has many factions—the Xiliang soldiers, Lu Bu's Bingzhou soldiers, and the former Luoyang Imperial Guard—who secretly fight among themselves, all wanting to preserve their own strength. Your soldiers are of one mind and work together. This is the third victory!"

"Dong Zhuo appoints people based on favoritism; Niu Fu is a mediocre talent, yet he is entrusted with heavy responsibility just because he is his son-in-law. You, my lord, appoint people based on talent and trust them without doubt! This is the fourth victory!"

"Dong Zhuo has many troops and will surely become arrogant. Our army has fewer troops but they are elite; by using the strategy of feigning weakness to make the enemy arrogant, we can catch him off guard and strike him when he is unprepared. This is the fifth victory!"

"Dong Zhuo's military discipline is corrupt, and he will surely collapse in the face of adversity. Your rewards and punishments are clear, and your military discipline is strict. This is the sixth victory!"

"Dong Zhuo lives by plundering, like duckweed without roots. Our soldiers have families to protect and will surely fight to the death! This is the seventh victory!"

"Dong Zhuo is unprincipled; there must be those in Changancheng who are dissatisfied, and his army is uneasy while away. You have won the hearts of the people, and your rear is secure. This is the eighth victory!"

"Aside from Lu Bu, Dong Zhuo's generals are not highly skilled in martial arts, while our great generals are extraordinary. In duels, we will surely win. This is the ninth victory!"

"Dong Zhuo's formation of troops is only of mediocre level, and his Xiliang generals only know how to swarm forward, knowing nothing of military strategy. Our soldiers learn at the Lecture Hall, accumulate experience in battle, and have you, my lord, to plan and strategize. This is the tenth victory!"

Everyone listened, feeling enchanted!

They had originally been somewhat doubtful, but now they were boiling with excitement; Dong Zhuo's one hundred thousand troops were nothing to fear!

Liu Bei praised him greatly.

"Guo Fengxiao is a great talent!"

"Copy this 'Ten Victories' argument and circulate it throughout the entire army!"

"Understood!"

Xu Shu thought to himself,

"Strategist Guo is a great talent; I truly cannot compare!"

Zhang Fei shouted,

"I think there is an eleventh victory: the strategist has eight hundred schemes in his heart, and the enemy is no match!"

Everyone laughed heartily!

Guo Jia cupped his hands. "Zhang Yide, you flatter me."

Liu Bei praised him.

"Zhang Yide is very right this time!"

The live stream also exploded.

"Holy crap, holy crap! This Guo Jia is heaven-defying!"

"Last time he took the Yi clan woman and came up with five benefits; this time he actually came up with the 'Ten Victories and Ten Defeats' theory. Truly awesome!"

"It was clearly thirty thousand against one hundred thousand, but after he said that, I feel the Big-Eared Thief will definitely win!"

"Holy crap, this is a drunkard the Big-Eared Thief picked up at a tavern. Who would believe it?!"

"Guo Jia makes a lot of sense; the Big-Eared Thief will definitely win this time if there are no accidents!"

"Pah! This is completely Guo Jia daydreaming. Do you think my Dong Gong's one hundred thousand troops are fake? When the time comes, the Big-Eared Thief will be soundly defeated, so don't go crying!" an Indian netizen roared!

The "Ten Victories" argument was circulated throughout the army.

The morale of Liu Bei's thirty thousand troops soared; they couldn't wait to swim across the Yellow River and kill Dong Zhuo's army until they were crying for their parents!

Early the next morning,

Liu Bei led his army to force a crossing of the Yellow River. After Fan Chou's probing attack was beaten back, he hurriedly retreated twenty miles and sent people to fly a report to Dong Zhuo!

Fengyi Commandery, on the road to Pujin Ferry,

Dust filled the air as Dong Zhuo's ninety thousand troops marched forward in a grand procession.

"Niu Fu, how long do you think it will take for our army to reach Jinyang City this time?"

Niu Fu cupped his hands.

"My lord, Liu Bei is surrounded on five sides; the troops he brought this time cannot be many. We will definitely break Jinyang City within a month!"

Dong Zhuo laughed heartily; he couldn't even wait a month, he wanted to go to Jinyang to take over Liu Bei's backyard!

"Report~!"