Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Liu Bei's army slowly marched into the territory of Xiapi, eventually arriving near Xiaqiu County within Xiapi.

As the distance decreased, the timeliness and efficiency of the intelligence delivered by the Jinyi Si undoubtedly improved significantly.

Inside a large tent specifically set up for the staff, numerous maps of the surrounding area were hung, and a large amount of relevant intelligence was sent in to be analyzed by the staff.

Liu Bei was also present, and after opening the latest intelligence sent back from Runan Commandery, he frowned and said,

"Zikun, it seems Yuan Shu is also about to send troops."

Immediately, Liu Bei handed the intelligence in his hand to Li Ji.

Li Ji glanced at it and then passed it on to Zhou Yu, Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, and others who were serving as staff officers in the army at the moment.

An intelligence organization like this undoubtedly reaps more effective information the sooner it takes root and establishes itself.

Although, due to reasons such as scale, ability, and background, the Jinyi Si couldn't plant any highly placed informants within Yuan Shu's army, with the mutual assistance of the Mi Clan Merchant Guild, its tentacles could easily penetrate all aspects of various industries.

And mobilizing a large army inevitably leaves a large number of traces in many related industries.

For example, the simplest and most basic… straw sandals.

Soldiers rely entirely on their legs to march, and shoes may seem inconspicuous, but they are actually essential supplies, and also necessary consumables during long-distance marches.

Without straw sandals, soldiers wouldn't be able to walk very far before their feet would give out.

Therefore, the intelligence reported by the Jinyi Si, which was rooted in Yu Province, roughly tallied and estimated the total number of straw sandals urgently requisitioned by Yuan Shu.

Straw sandals were just one aspect of the reflection, but all important materials related to the army's logistics were within the scope of the Jinyi Si's investigation and statistics.

When various urgently mobilized material data were placed before them, it was not difficult to estimate the scale of the forces that Yuan Shu was preparing to mobilize.

Li Ji got up and walked to a map of Yu Province hanging on the side, and after combining it with the previously known intelligence about the deployment of Yu Province's forces, he estimated, and said.

"The forces mobilized by Yuan Shu are probably between ninety thousand and one hundred and ten thousand."

So many?

Immediately, quite a few people's expressions changed slightly.

"In that case, it's going to be a bit difficult, teacher."

Pang Tong's ugly face squeezed slightly, as if he had eaten something difficult to swallow, and spoke first.

"If Yuan Shu had only sent a detachment of forty to fifty thousand to respond, it would have been fine, but facing such a large army from Yu Province, Tao Qian's two thousand troops deployed in Pengcheng will definitely not be able to stop them."

"Moreover, according to intelligence feedback, Cao Cao's army is now also stationed in various advantageous terrains in the East Sea Commandery north of Xiapi."

"Once the northern and western fronts attack Xuzhou simultaneously, unless our army divides its forces, I'm afraid we can only protect either Pengcheng or Xiapi."

Xu Shu took over the conversation and said, "We cannot divide our forces. Our army is small and the enemy's army is large. In addition, Tao Qian's attitude is still unclear. Once we divide our forces, we risk being defeated individually."

Zhuge Liang raised his concerns and reminded, "However, if either Pengcheng or Xiapi is captured again, it will be difficult to defend the remaining isolated city, and our army will be completely passive in the Xuzhou battlefield."

After this analysis, not only did Liu Bei feel that the current situation had been analyzed exceptionally clearly, but even Li Ji nodded secretly.

It must be said that although Zhuge Liang and the others were still in their youthful versions, their growth rate was astonishing when they were given enough nourishment and corresponding stages in advance.

The fact that always feels cruel is that what determines the upper limit is ultimately talent.

No matter how much Zhang Fei reads military books, it is impossible for him to be mentioned in the same breath as Zhuge Liang in terms of planning and scheming.

At least, Zhang Fei, who was also sitting on the side of the big tent listening at the moment, was blinking his eyes, showing confusion, and obviously failed to keep up with the staff's thinking.

In fact, it wasn't just Zhang Fei who didn't understand; the other generals who were listening in the tent also didn't understand.

Huang Zhong cupped his hands and asked for advice, "Little sir, why would losing Pengcheng or Xiapi put us in a passive position on the Xuzhou battlefield?"

"I dare not."

Zhuge Liang replied modestly, and then pointed to the map of Xuzhou spread out in the big tent, and explained.

"General Huang, please see, Xiapi and Pengcheng are located upstream and downstream of the Si River, only a hundred miles apart, and they are both strong cities, which are natural barriers that can form a mutually supporting position within Xuzhou."

"And Xiapi City and Pengcheng are both located in the hinterland of Xuzhou. Although there is a large territory behind them, it is difficult to have a place to rely on for a firm defense, and there is no suitable strong city to resist."

"Therefore, once Pengcheng and Xiapi are lost, the remaining half of Xuzhou, although vast, can be easily driven straight into by the enemy; and if Pengcheng and Xiapi lose one city, it will be difficult to support each other, and it will inevitably be lost after a long defense."

With such an analysis combined with the map, many generals immediately understood, and also understood why Cao Cao chose to temporarily station in Donghai Commandery after learning that Liu Bei had entered Xuzhou, and did not continue to advance south to attack Xiapi.

Wei Yan, who had suddenly realized, said, "So, Cao Cao's initial plan was to wait for Yuan Shu to advance westward, and then launch an attack on Xiapi City and Pengcheng at the same time?"

"Most likely."

Xu Shu answered in this way.

In an instant, many people in the tent began to frown and ponder.

In a sense, this is undoubtedly a strategic conspiracy.

In large-scale army operations of more than 100,000, the kind of reckless behavior that Yuan Shu had previously displayed on the Jingzhou battlefield was rare.

Of course, Yuan Shu was so confident at the time because Li Ji deliberately revealed flaws, making Yuan Shu believe that Li Ji had not yet gained a firm foothold and had insufficient troops, unknowingly attracting him over.

And on the premise that neither side is willing to engage in a direct decisive battle, it is normal for the Yuan army and the Gongsun army to confront each other for more than a year, similar to the Battle of Jieqiao.

The two armies are separated by a certain distance, occupying advantageous terrain for each other to confront each other, and looking for the other's weaknesses.

It is normal to have a definite grasp before making a decisive battle.

Neither Liu Bei nor Cao Cao would impulsively rush over and bet everything on one throw, holding the idea that even if they worked hard, the victory or defeat would be left to fate.

Not to mention that Cao Cao couldn't afford to lose, even if Liu Bei lost 100,000 troops, it would still be a serious injury.

Therefore, strategic depth is undoubtedly a very important condition in this kind of confrontation.

Pengcheng and Xiapi are important strong cities that can be relied upon to maintain strategic depth.

At the moment, Cao Cao's plan is gradually becoming clear.

That is, after learning that Liu Bei had entered Xuzhou, he would also pull Yuan Shu into the game, and then rely on the two families' military strength advantages to attack Pengcheng and Xiapi City respectively.

The Xuzhou army, which has been repeatedly defeated, has low morale and little combat power left, and Tao Qian seems to be wary of Liu Bei.

This made Liu Bei temporarily seem to be in a dilemma in Xuzhou, with internal and external troubles.

Just as everyone was frowning, Zhang Fei, who was slow to realize, opened his mouth and shouted.

"If I had known that Cao thief was so treacherous, I should have stabbed a few holes in him before."

(End of this chapter)