Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

The fall of Hulao Pass!

In Zhou Xin's eyes, this was undoubtedly terrible news, signifying that the time left for the Anti-Wu Coalition was running out.

More importantly, the morale and fighting spirit within the Anti-Wu Coalition were already quite low, and the news of Hulao Pass's fall was like adding frost to snow.

Even though the people in the tent didn't speak, Zhou Xin knew very well that his allies must have already harbored ulterior motives.

Especially for the Jiangdong aristocratic families, it was almost a basic operation to switch allegiances when the situation looked unfavorable.

If things truly became impossible, Zhou Xin had no doubt that these Jiangdong aristocratic families would definitely try to offer enough gifts to once again kneel and welcome Liu Bei.

Fortunately, the heavens had finally left Zhou Xin with a glimmer of opportunity.

That treacherous villain Liu Bei trusted Li Ji too much, to the point that the great power of Wu Commandery actually fell into the hands of the mediocre Jia Xu, and Jia Xu, for his own selfish desires, still harbored the delusion of seeking peace talks and persuading a retreat.

Foolish!

Short-sighted!

Naive!

Even almost as foolish as most of the Jiangdong aristocratic families.

The opportunity is right in front of me...

'Jia Xu, who is focused on peace talks, would absolutely never expect that I would launch a full-scale attack tonight...'

'And as long as I capture Yangxian, annihilate the remaining living forces of Wu Commandery, and then control Tai Lake, then the Anti-Wu Coalition will have the opportunity to completely capture the entire northern part of Wu Commandery in a very short time.'

'Reversing the situation is just a matter of moments!!!'

At this moment, Zhou Xin felt an unprecedented excitement and agility in his mind, and he was even imagining how to further plunge Liu Bei into the abyss after subsequently blockading the Yangtze River and cutting off Liu Bei's return to Wu Commandery.

And the others in the tent were also unconsciously following Zhou Xin's line of thought to imagine the possibilities.

It must be said that, on the surface, it seemed highly feasible!

On the contrary, Xu Gong, as the leader of the alliance, had the idea of retreating.

Xu Gong was not very proficient in military and political affairs.

However, Xu Gong had a considerable understanding of the situation in the Central Plains. The fall of Hulao Pass meant that Dong Zhuo's faction was on the decline, and the reputation of the Anti-Dong Alliance would inevitably sweep across the land and be admired by all.

Before, Dong Zhuo had not been defeated, and Dong Zhuo held the righteousness of the Emperor and the imperial court, so it was fine.

But now, with the collapse of Dong Zhuo, the situation was different.

The winner is king, the loser is a bandit!

Then, anyone associated with Dong Zhuo would undoubtedly be completely spurned and purged.

And at this time, continuing to attack Wu Commandery, coupled with the fact that the commandery administrators of the Anti-Wu Coalition all bore the mark of Dong Zhuo, was not a good sign.

Even if Wu Commandery was captured, with the Anti-Dong Alliance establishing its victory, it was possible that Liu Bei would borrow troops from the various allied forces to counterattack Jiangdong, and the Jiangdong aristocratic families might not be able to resist.

The more Xu Gong thought about it, the more he felt that Dong Zhuo's defeat almost represented the loss of most of the momentum of the Anti-Wu Coalition.

Immediately, Xu Gong was greatly tempted by the peace talks proposed by Jia Xu and said.

"Prefect Zhou's plan is excellent, but a man without trustworthiness cannot stand. To agree to peace talks today, but to take the opportunity to launch a sneak attack, would damage our reputation."

Xu Gong's dissenting voice caused Zhou Xin to frown, and he immediately retorted. "On the battlefield, deception is never too much! A good opportunity is right in front of us, fleeting, Alliance Leader."

Xu Gong shook his head and said. "But the soldiers in the army are already exhausted and lack siege equipment, how can they launch a night attack?"

"This matter is easy!"

Zhou Xin was even more aware that he had no way out, and said with confidence.

"Stop setting up camp, and instead secretly dismantle wood to build simple siege equipment such as cloud ladders. Moreover, with no camp behind us, using a desperate strategy in secret, at a single order, the generals and soldiers will definitely risk their lives to capture Yangxian to rest and recuperate."

"Furthermore, Yangxian has a small city and low walls, with a garrison of at most ten thousand. Jia Xu has already fallen for my enemy-deceiving plan, and is just an incompetent scholar, how can he cope with a sudden night attack?"

"Without three drumbeats, Yangxian will surely fall! Once Yangxian falls, Wu Commandery will also be in our grasp!!!"

This reasonable and well-founded rebuttal left Xu Gong somewhat speechless.

In terms of strategy and eloquence, Xu Gong was undoubtedly no match for Zhou Xin.

And under Zhou Xin's confident and persuasive words, the aristocratic families in the tent were almost all tempted.

Currently, the situation of the Jiangdong aristocratic families was like being tied up in the eunuch's chamber, with Liu Bei approaching step by step with a sharpening knife.

If they don't resist, the Jiangdong aristocratic families will inevitably suffer a heavy blow, and from then on, they will hardly be able to speak loudly and can only crouch and linger within Jiangdong;

If they resist, everyone will rush out of the eunuch's chamber together, maybe they can get rid of Liu Bei, and then revitalize themselves and be themselves again!

Most importantly, Zhou Xin's words almost took all aspects into account, and the aristocratic families could hardly find any fault.

Only Xu Gong, with his quick thinking, actually found some loopholes and said.

"That's not appropriate. Such actions are still too risky. If we can't capture Yangxian, wouldn't we put more than a hundred thousand troops in danger?"

At this moment, Zhou Xin had already realized Xu Gong's retreat and sneered mockingly.

"Where is the danger? Military tactics still say, attack with ten times the strength! Even if the Yangxian garrison is prepared, our army has ten times the enemy's strength and has the advantage of a night attack, where is the risk? Where is the danger?"

"In my opinion, I'm afraid it's not that the Alliance Leader has been frightened by that Jinfan thief, so he is afraid and wants to rush back to Runan, right?"

As Zhou Xin's voice fell, many of the aristocratic families in the tent who were originally dissatisfied with Xu Gong almost all made contemptuous smiles.

How could Xu Gong, who considered himself to be of noble origin, endure such provocation?

Immediately, Xu Gong slammed the table and said in a deep voice.

"I was just testing your determination to fight to the death. Since there is a good opportunity, then naturally we can't waste it!"

"I have made up my mind, tonight, we will use all the strength of the army to attack the city!!!"

Under the order of Xu Gong, the leader of the alliance, Zhou Xin, Ze Rong, and many aristocratic families also directed their troops to fully cooperate.

Perhaps the soldiers of the Anti-Wu Coalition were already exhausted, but everyone knew that there was no extra time to allow the allied soldiers to slowly recuperate before attacking the city again.

For the Anti-Wu Coalition, the only chance was to quickly capture Yangxian while Jia Xu was unprepared!

Once this failed, the allied soldiers would inevitably need three or four days to recover some combat power and morale. By the time they forcibly attacked Yangxian City for three to five days, the Anti-Wu Coalition would not be able to occupy the northern part of Wu Commandery and blockade the Yangtze River before Liu Bei returned to Wu Commandery.

To this end, the Anti-Wu Coalition even quickly dismantled the camp that was mostly built in secret, and instead built a series of simple siege equipment under the guidance of craftsmen.

What made Zhou Xin feel fortunate was that the walls of Yangxian City were not high, and even the temporary simple cloud ladders were already enough to climb the city walls.