Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

If he weren't facing a desperate, inescapable situation, Li Ji would never have used the common people as bait to lure the Wuhuan into dispersing and penetrating deep.

Therefore, Li Ji only pondered for a moment before abandoning the idea of "luring the enemy in deep."

[Knowing full well that only by integrating all the military forces of Youzhou could you have a fighting chance on paper against the hundred thousand or so Wuhuan cavalry, you chose to "settle internal affairs before resisting external aggression."

Gongsun Zan had cultivated Youzhou for many years and naturally possessed considerable prestige and connections.

With your support and assistance, Gongsun Zan successfully controlled Liu Yu and seized military power in Jixian City within seven days.

Subsequently, having controlled Liu Yu, you falsely issued an order in the name of the Governor of Youzhou, and a "Proclamation to the Men of You and Yan" quickly spread throughout Dai Commandery, Shanggu Commandery, Zhuo Commandery, and Guangyang Commandery.

This "Proclamation to the Men of You and Yan" was issued in the name of Gongsun Zan and stamped with Liu Yu's seal. Its content was based on the "Kill the Hu Order" of Ran Min, the "Martial and Mournful Heavenly King" of later generations.

The proclamation concluded with: "All barbarians within and without, daring to bear arms, shall be slain by the mighty Han! All men of You and Yan who see this proclamation may carry weapons and gather in Jixian… Slaughter the barbarians!"]

[Upon the issuance of this proclamation, countless men of You and Yan were stirred with heroism. Under your falsely issued order from the Governor of Youzhou, the government treasuries and granaries of various commanderies were opened, distributing weapons and food. Courageous men actively organized the brave men of You and Yan to march north to kill the barbarians.

For a time, countless men from the lands of You and Yan left their homes and marched north, like a myriad of streams converging into a river, solely for a surge of courage and righteousness!

A month later, Yuyang City fell, and over a hundred thousand Wuhuan cavalry roared toward Jixian.

You chose to hold firm and not engage for the time being. The Wuhuan cavalry also made multiple attempts to attack the city, wanting to capture Jicheng, the seat of Youzhou.

However, under your command, Jicheng remained impregnable.

The Wuhuan could only choose to temporarily besiege Jicheng to further test the reaction and strength of the Great Han.]

[Another half month passed, and knowing that the time had come, you divided the seventy thousand or so soldiers in Jicheng into three divisions, each led by Gongsun Zan, Zhao Yun, and Zhang Fei…

Then, they charged into the Wuhuan camp outside the city!

However, after a brief period of chaos, the Wuhuan were overjoyed. They gathered their forces and surrounded the Han army that was deep in enemy territory, intending to completely annihilate this Youzhou Han army outside the city.

The absolute disadvantage in troop strength, coupled with the cavalry's great advantage on the plains…

Caused the Han army to fall into a disadvantage in less than half an hour. Nearly two hundred thousand troops were completely entangled in a mutual slaughter on the plains.

Without other changes, the Han army would be completely annihilated in about two to three hours.]

[And this was the opportunity you were waiting for…

Countless men of You and Yan who had marched north had long been organized by you on the periphery.

If they were to fight head-on, these men of You and Yan, who had not undergone any military training and lacked armor, would be of little use against the Wuhuan cavalry, except to increase casualties.

However, when the Han army and the Wuhuan cavalry were completely entangled into a mass, the Wuhuan cavalry had lost most of their archery advantage.

Even though the countless swarming men of You and Yan seemed like grains of loose sand, they completely surrounded and submerged the Wuhuan cavalry amidst shouts of "Slaughter the barbarians!", "Mighty Han!", and "Kill the traitors!"]

[The plains had no obstacles to hinder the cavalry…

Those men of You and Yan, relying solely on their courage and heroism, and those bodies full of hatred, were the flesh and blood obstacles that hindered the Wuhuan cavalry.

Was there no barrier after the Great Wall?

The aroused fighting spirit and flesh and blood of the men of You and Yan were the barrier!

The Wuhuan wanted to retreat, but were blocked by the flesh and blood barrier.

This battle dyed the earth with blood, and the ground was covered with broken limbs and bones…

Of the two hundred thousand men of You and Yan who marched north, over one hundred and ninety-seven thousand died or were wounded;

Of the seventy thousand Han soldiers, only thirty thousand survived;

Over one hundred and sixty thousand Wuhuan cavalry were completely slaughtered, and a Jingguan [mound of corpses] was built…]

(PS: Regarding this battle loss rate, the Wuhuan wanted to retreat but couldn't. As for the death and injury rate of the men of You and Yan, they spontaneously resisted the foreign invaders. In this state, I personally feel that they basically fought to the death without retreating, just like the Cantonese army resisting foreign invaders. 900,000 went out, 3,000 returned.)

[Strategy Evaluation: One battle instilled fear in the barbarians of all directions. Two hundred thousand men used their flesh and blood to re-forge the heroic spirit of the men of You and Yan, making the name of the mighty Han dare not be looked upon directly by the barbarians of all directions. The Xiqiang even retreated to Liangzhou within a month, not daring to invade the Three輔 region;

But after this battle, almost every household in Dai Commandery, Shanggu Commandery, Zhuo Commandery, and Guangyang Commandery in Youzhou wore white mourning clothes, and the sound of crying did not cease for three months. Was this what you wanted to see?

However, more than one hundred and sixty thousand young and strong Wuhuan were all lost in Han territory, completely leading to decline. In less than three months, the original territory of the Wuhuan was completely annexed by the Xianbei, allowing the Xianbei to rapidly grow to an unimaginable extent. Was this what you wanted to see?

Perhaps, what can truly bring you comfort is that Gongsun Zan has since enjoyed the fierce reputation of "General Who Slaughtered the Barbarians", replaced Liu Yu, who died at the hands of the Wuhuan, as the Governor of Youzhou to intimidate the barbarians of all directions, and formed a solid friendship that transcended life and death with you, who represented Liu Bei…]

As the final deduction completely ended, Li Ji's face turned noticeably pale…

Not because the deduction consumed energy and caused overexertion, but because his face turned pale due to this ending.

The simple summary of "Two hundred thousand men of You and Yan marched north, over one hundred and ninety-seven thousand died or were wounded" inexplicably made Li Ji's heart ache, his eyes burned, and his breathing involuntarily became heavy.

When the men of this land were aroused with courage, freed from restraint, and willing to die for righteousness, how numerous they were!

"Zikun, what's wrong?"

Li Ji's change in expression caused Gongsun Zan to be bewildered and shocked, and he quickly asked with concern.

On the other hand, Zhang Fei, looking at Li Ji's change, vaguely guessed something and stepped forward to ask. "Master Zikun, have you calculated something?"

Li Ji closed his eyes, took a deep breath, slowly calmed the turbulent emotions in his heart, waved his hand to indicate that he was fine, and said.

"Postpone the matter of controlling Liu Yu, the Governor of Youzhou. There's no rush!"

"Why?" Gongsun Zan frowned and asked.

"Even if we control Liu Yu, the Governor of Youzhou, and mobilize all available military forces in Youzhou to fight the Wuhuan, even if we win, it would still be inappropriate."

At this moment, Li Ji, who had basically regained his composure, explained unhurriedly.

"Currently, on the grasslands from west to east, there are mainly the Xiqiang, Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Wuhuan. They restrain and balance each other, so that no single one will rapidly grow."

"If we were to spare no effort in a head-on bloody battle to severely damage the Wuhuan, causing both Youzhou and the Wuhuan to suffer, it would instead give the Xianbei tribe the opportunity to rapidly annex the Wuhuan and then quickly grow into the overlord of the grasslands in a short period of time, which would be a far greater threat."

The words "grassland overlord" caused Gongsun Zan, Zhao Yun, and Zhang Fei's expressions to turn solemn.

For the Han people, no one would forget how much trouble the former "grassland overlord" Xiongnu had brought to the Great Han.

How much manpower and material resources did Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Xuan of Han spend to dismember the Xiongnu into its current state?

The name of the mighty Han was forged by stepping on the corpses of the Xiongnu.

But how many famous generals emerged, how many soldiers were buried on the grasslands, and how much of the people's food was exhausted?

Therefore, even Zhang Fei understood that another "grassland overlord" could not be allowed to appear.

However, Li Ji's remarks undoubtedly incurred some dissatisfaction from Gongsun Zan, who could not tolerate any sand in his eyes when it came to foreign tribes, and he asked word by word.

"Zikun, could it be that you support Liu Yu, that stubborn fool? Should we try our best to appease the Wuhuan and make peace, allowing the Wuhuan to plunder our Han territory wantonly, and then offer gifts and respectfully send them away?"

"Of course not!"

Li Ji replied without hesitation.

In Li Ji's view, Liu Yu's approach was undoubtedly problematic.

The wolf cubs on the grasslands would not be satisfied just by eating two pieces of meat. Simply feeding them meat would only allow those wolf cubs to grow rapidly and then bite back madly.

Feed them meat with one hand and hold a stick with the other…

Only by letting the wolf cubs swallow the meat while breaking their spines can they be raised into dogs.

It was just that in the last deduction, the most important reason why Gongsun Zan was able to be promoted to Governor of Youzhou and even the imperial court did not pursue the matter of Liu Yu's death was the slaughter of one hundred and sixty thousand Wuhuan cavalry.

For the frequently criticized Emperor Liu Hong, this was undoubtedly a great achievement comparable to his ancestors and wise rulers. Perhaps, solely based on this achievement during his reign, Liu Hong could enjoy a beautiful posthumous title after his death.

Therefore, how could Emperor Liu Hong care about Gongsun Zan's few black marks? Naturally, he would reward him handsomely.

But without the premise of a complete victory and the slaughter of the Wuhuan, if Gongsun Zan forcibly controlled Liu Yu, then there would undoubtedly be many hidden dangers.

The chaotic world had not yet arrived, the system still existed, and going against one's superiors, coupled with Liu Yu's prestige and connections in the Great Han…

After the war, it could be foreseen that Gongsun Zan, acting in this way, would inevitably be purged.

And Li Ji, who had already regarded Gongsun Zan as an important ally in the future, naturally did not want to see such a situation.

Li Ji said in a deep voice.

"Fighting is a must! But how to fight the Wuhuan requires not only consideration on the battlefield, but also consideration of many influences outside the battlefield."

After a pause, Li Ji looked at Gongsun Zan and asked. "Brother Bogui, I wonder if you are willing to trust me?"

Gongsun Zan's expression changed slightly before he said.

"Zikun is deploying troops to resist the Wuhuan solely out of righteousness. Not to mention believing in Zikun, this battle will be led by Zikun, and what harm is there in listening to Zikun's dispatch and orders?"

"Of course, if Zikun is like that Liu Yu, only willing to let the Wuhuan flaunt their power and hold fast to a city without doing anything, then please forgive me, Gongsun Zan, for not being able to accompany you."

Upon hearing this, a smile appeared on Li Ji's face, and he pointed to the map placed in front of him and said. "Brother Bogui, can this map be given to me?"

"Of course," Gongsun Zan replied.

Immediately, Li Ji signaled Zhao Yun with a look to put away the Youzhou map. Then, he spoke, "Brother Bogui, I have something to say, and I would like you to hear it."

Gongsun Zan, who greatly admired Li Ji, undoubtedly still had considerable patience and trust in him, and said, "Zikun, feel free to speak."

Li Ji nodded and said.

"Firstly: Our current military strength is still far inferior to that of the Wuhuan. I am willing to provide you with funds and supplies so that you can quickly recruit soldiers and expand your forces as much as possible."

"Secondly: I will personally go to Ji County to try to persuade Governor Liu and observe any subsequent changes. Before then, could you please refrain from taking any radical actions?" (End of Chapter)