Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

However, with Liu Biao's authority preceding them, the others also cautiously began to offer their own ideas.

Fire attack?

Luring the enemy?

Feigning weakness?

However, one suggestion after another was made, but very few were feasible.

And even those that were feasible were difficult to use to decisively influence the overall situation; their impact was small.

This caused Liu Biao's brow to furrow even more, his gaze sweeping past the crowd to a man with somewhat graying hair sitting to the side, his tone becoming more polite as he asked.

"Huang Gong, do you perhaps have a way to save the six million people of Jing Province?"

As Liu Biao spoke, the somewhat deliberately intense discussions within the military tent quickly subsided, and many people turned their gazes towards him.

Seeing this, Cai Mao quickly chimed in, "Brother-in-law, if you have any brilliant ideas, please do not keep them to yourself."

Huang Chengyan couldn't help but glare fiercely at Cai Mao upon hearing this.

Huang Chengyan never imagined that a traitor would emerge from his own family, not only secretly revealing his unintentional sentiments to Liu Biao but also, when Liu Biao sent out his troops, Cai Mao even dispatched heavy forces to 'invite' Huang Chengyan over.

As a reclusive scholar, Huang Chengyan, although married to a woman of the Cai family, had never entered the world of officialdom in his life, nor did he have any intention of assisting Liu Biao.

Immediately, Huang Chengyan cupped his hands and said, "This old man is but a rustic villager, how could I understand even a fraction of such important matters? I beg Liu Jingzhou to allow me to return home and retire."

Upon hearing these words, Liu Biao's expression couldn't help but darken, but he had no way to deal with Huang Chengyan.

Everyone in Jing Province knew that Huang Chengyan possessed great talent, but Huang Chengyan insisted on playing dumb, and with the halo of a renowned scholar, plus the fact that Liu Biao and Huang Chengyan had some family ties, he really couldn't do anything to Huang Chengyan.

Just as Liu Biao was feeling somewhat embarrassed, a general seated at the end of the line suddenly stood up and shouted loudly.

"I have a brilliant plan that can break Yi Province!"

"Oh!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Biao looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was a young general with a red face and a short beard who had stood up.

Feeling somewhat awkward, Liu Biao seized the opportunity to ask.

"Who are you?"

"I am Wei Yan of Yiyang, previously a gatekeeper of Xiangyang City, now serving as a military officer in the army," Wei Yan replied loudly.

A military officer?

In the past, Liu Biao really wouldn't have paid attention to a small military officer; sometimes, even military officers didn't have the qualifications to enter the military tent to discuss matters.

However, looking at Wei Yan, Liu Biao saw that he did have a certain imposing presence that set him apart from ordinary people, so he seized the opportunity to ask.

"What brilliant plan do you have that can be used? Don't make wild claims."

"I know that outside Zigui City, there is a small path that can bypass to the rear of Wuxian, and since the Yi Province forces have come to invade from Sichuan, Wuxian is not only where they store their grain but also the only way for them to retreat back to Yi Province."

After a pause, Wei Yan clasped his fist and said loudly, "As long as the lord grants me three thousand soldiers, I will lead them along the small path to bypass to the rear and launch a surprise attack on Wuxian, and the Yi Province army will inevitably be thrown into chaos."

"At that time, the lord can lead the main force to launch a strong attack from the front, while I will hold Wuxian to cut off the Yi Province army's supply route and retreat, and the Yi Province army can be annihilated!"

As soon as these words came out, the entire room was shocked.

Liu Biao stared intently at Wei Yan, a hint of wild joy revealed in his eyes, and asked, "Is what you say true?!"

"I dare to pledge with a military order!" Wei Yan replied without hesitation.

Only after Cai Mao reacted did he quickly step forward to dissuade him.

"Lord, please think twice. This man is clearly from Yiyang, how would he know that there are small paths and secret passages near Zigui? He must be a person with ulterior motives, perhaps wanting to lead three thousand soldiers to defect to the Yi Province army to seek wealth and glory."

"And even if there really is such a small path, this person is just a small military officer, how can he defend it?"

"For the sake of stability, another trusted aide should be sent to lead the army, with this person as a guide. If there is any deception in this, it can be recovered in time."

As Cai Mao's words fell, Wei Yan's eyes almost burst into flames, wishing he could draw his saber on the spot and chop this kind of villain into mincemeat.

Cai Mao clearly wanted to seize the credit and use Wei Yan as a tool.

Once there really was such a small path that could bypass the Yi Province army in front and reach Wuxian, once the Yi Province army could be defeated, then without a doubt, the person who launched the surprise attack on Wuxian would be the one with the greatest merit.

Wei Yan would also likely receive unprecedented attention and trust from Liu Biao.

Cai Mao undoubtedly did not want someone to emerge who could threaten his position.

And how could Liu Biao not know Cai Mao's thoughts?

Liu Biao pondered for a moment, suppressed the wild joy in his heart, ignored Cai Mao, and instead turned to Wei Yan and asked.

"Three thousand people, is that enough?"

Seeing this, Wei Yan was overjoyed and quickly replied, "The small path is narrow and difficult to travel, only allowing one person to pass at a time, three thousand is enough."

The straight-line distance between Zigui and Wuxian exceeds a hundred miles, and bypassing through the mountain paths requires at least double the distance.

With three thousand people going, Wei Yan had no certainty how many people could come out of the mountain path.

Three thousand people walking on a mountain road that only allows one person to pass at a time, it is unlikely that the tail of the team can be seen from the front, so having more people would not make much sense, but would make it more difficult to command, so it is better to risk a small force to try to pass.

"Good!"

Liu Biao nodded, decided to take a risk, and said, "Wei Yan, listen to the order!"

"Wei Yan is here!"

Immediately, Wei Yan knelt on one knee and replied.

"I will now promote you to Colonel and allocate you three thousand elite soldiers, led by you, to take the small path to launch a surprise attack on Wuxian, cutting off the Yi Province army's supply route and retreat."

"If you can use this to defeat the Yi Province army, you will be the first in merit in this battle, and I will definitely report to the imperial court to have you ennobled and appointed as a general."

Wei Yan's body trembled, and he said loudly, "I will definitely not disappoint the Lord's expectations!"

Immediately, Wei Yan calculated for a moment and said, "The time required to reach Wuxian via the small path is roughly seven days."

"Therefore, after I lead the troops away, I ask the Lord to fully attack the Yi Province army eight days later. If my surprise attack on Wuxian is successful, the Yi Province army will inevitably be thrown into chaos, and perhaps the battle can be won in one fell swoop."

"Good!"

Liu Biao was overjoyed and the more he looked at Wei Yan, the more pleasing he found him.

This person was neither from a local Jing Province aristocratic family nor was he brave and resourceful, and he was personally promoted from the bottom by himself.

As long as this battle is successful, Wei Yan can be completely cultivated as a confidant to balance Cai Mao's increasingly large influence in the Jing Province army.

Immediately, Liu Biao personally held a banquet to send Wei Yan off, and also gave Wei Yan a set of valuable armor, which moved Wei Yan to repeatedly vow to serve Liu Biao to the death.

As for the sinister gaze that Cai Mao occasionally cast at Wei Yan, Wei Yan not only pretended not to see it, but also secretly vowed in his heart to kill this villain after he made his fortune.

The next day.

Liu Biao directly allocated three thousand elite soldiers to Wei Yan as ordered, which made Wei Yan overjoyed.

These three thousand were elite soldiers carefully cultivated by Liu Biao, and their combat power was by no means comparable to ordinary county soldiers, which greatly increased Wei Yan's confidence.

"Lord, I'm leaving!"

Wei Yan finished speaking, flipped over and mounted his horse, leading the three thousand elite soldiers towards Zigui, preparing to bypass through the Zigui path to launch a surprise attack on Wuxian. (End of this chapter)