lcionline Chapter 284 Feeling Anxious
Chapter 284 Feeling Anxious
Despite his rugged appearance and the fact that he was a butcher before joining the Crown Prince's service, Zhang Fei was far from illiterate. He could read and write, and his calligraphy was exceptional, rivaling even that of the chief advisor Xun Yu. Furthermore, he was a skilled painter, his plum blossom paintings being quite famous among the Third Battalion, leaving many who met Zhang Fei for the first time astonished.
Among the senior generals, Zhang Fei was straightforward and didn't have many hidden agendas. Cao Zhen, on the other hand, was raised by Cao Cao because his family's power was too great, which might cause trouble. Cao Cao was very strict with his family's upbringing, which instilled in Cao Zhen a humble and cautious attitude from a young age.
The battalion commanders below him were one or two ranks lower and had no right to confront Yu Digen directly, so there was no conflict between them. Only Xi Yi constantly made sarcastic and veiled remarks about Yu Digen, who was already 45 years old but still only a regimental commander. As Yu Digen grew older, although he didn't care much about such matters of face, if you went too far, he would still refuse and make a few sarcastic remarks in response.
Upon hearing Xi Yi say that his brain was full of water, Yu Digen laughed loudly: "My brain is full of water, so my skull is full of brain fluid; your brain isn't full of water, so is it full of dried cow dung!"
Zhang Fei and Cao Zhen burst into laughter upon hearing this, which enraged Xi Yi, who turned red in the face, glared, and wanted to fight back but was afraid of being beaten by Yu Digen. In his haste, he couldn't find any words to retort and could only anxiously wait.
"Alright, alright, you two! You're colleagues and comrades-in-arms, teammate in the same unit, how can you be so at odds? Although taking a detour is indeed not a good idea, Xi Yi, what you said was so harsh and unreasonable!" Cao Zhen and Zhang Fei each pulled one of them aside and tried to persuade them.
"If we had brought the artillery units of the Luoyang Garrison, we would have beaten these enemy soldiers to a pulp and made them kneel down and surrender. We wouldn't be standing here helplessly!" Zhang Fei said, pulling Yu Digen along and looking at the Dayuan soldiers whose figures were scorching on the cliffs on both sides of the canyon.
"Because too many troops were mobilized to conquer Central Asia, the military strength in the whole country is depleted. In order to prevent the newly surrendered places from rebelling, I heard that the emperor has sent out the garrison divisions to protect the capitals of various provinces."
"His Majesty's literary and military talents are unparalleled and unmatched in a thousand years, but his territorial expansion is too rapid, and his troops cannot keep up. His soldiers' pensions are also far higher than those of other countries, resulting in huge expenses for soldiers and an inability to recruit more soldiers. If you ask me, just give some soldiers some pay and increase the number of troops. With the country's population of over 100 million, supporting four or five million troops is no problem at all, and conquering the whole world will be a piece of cake."
Zhang Fei was quite dissatisfied with the emperor's policy of providing generous stipends.
Cao Zhen shook his head and laughed, "That's not how it's calculated! It's precisely because the Emperor's civil and military achievements are unparalleled throughout history, and the domestic economy is developing too fast, that if we don't pay the soldiers generously, we won't be able to recruit many soldiers."
"If we force soldiers to fight, they will be passive and their combat effectiveness will be questionable. Therefore, it's not that His Majesty doesn't want to recruit more soldiers, but the cost of raising them is too high and we can't afford it. So now we are implementing a policy of elite troops. Look at our three armies advancing westward. So far, our losses have not exceeded 10. We have already conquered the entire Xiongnu, Shule, the Pamir Mountains, and most of Dayuan. The unification of the whole of Central Asia is just around the corner."
"Stop talking about these things, you won't understand anyway. The most important thing now is how to fight these 20,000 soldiers in front of us?" Yu Digen interrupted, feeling bored as Zhang Fei and Cao Zhen talked about important matters of the state.
“Both mountain paths are extremely steep, making it impossible to attack. If the enemy had fewer soldiers, it would be easier to charge through the canyon and launch a counterattack from the west. But now the enemy has 20,000 soldiers, with 10,000 on each side taking turns guarding the area day and night. As soon as there is any noise below, they throw rolling logs and stones, and crossbow bolts rain down like a storm. No one can get through! If this were a plains battle, I could easily break through their defenses by myself,” Zhang Fei sighed.
"How about we make some very thick shields, and have several soldiers work together to carry them over quietly?" Xi Yi suggested, his anger having subsided considerably.
"Come on, even the thickest shield can withstand a rock falling from a height of over a hundred meters? Maybe some soldiers can withstand it, but that's definitely a very small minority. Most soldiers can't! Besides, our mission isn't just to get there; we also have to annihilate these 20,000 enemy soldiers!" Seizing on Xi Yi's weakness, Yu Digen laughed loudly.
“You…” Xi Yi was furious and pointed at Yu Digen, ready to start cursing.
Cao Zhen quickly hugged Xi Yi and said, "Xi Yi, you're not young anymore, why are you still so hot-tempered? Don't take it to heart! Your method really won't work. The impact of the stones thrown down the cliff is too great; even if ordinary soldiers hold up the biggest shields, they can't withstand it!"
"Stop thinking about it, go back to the meeting. Get all the officers above the rank of commander to the main tent, brainstorm, we'll surely come up with a solution." Zhang Fei shook his head, which was about to explode from thinking, and instructed the soldier leader. The leader obeyed and arranged for a dozen soldiers to go around notifying officers above the rank of commander to come to Zhang Fei's main tent for a meeting.
The three regimental commanders also agreed, and mounted their horses to ride with Zhang Fei toward the large tent a kilometer away.
At 5 p.m. on March 4th, dozens of officers and above from Zhang Fei's cavalry brigade gathered in the main tent, almost overflowing with people. They racked their brains for a good strategy to defeat the enemy, but couldn't come up with anything for a long time. After a short while, one of the officers seemed to have a flash of inspiration, stood up, and said, "I've got it! Fire attack! It's only early spring, and there are still plenty of dry trees and logs from last year. They can be set on fire easily, and it'll definitely be effective!"
Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "None of you below the battalion commander know about this. The corps command has a strict order that fire attacks to burn down mountains, forests and grasslands are not allowed unless absolutely necessary. They say that there are already enough deserts in Central Asia. If we destroy mountains and forests and create more deserts, we will become sinners in history! I don't know the specific meaning."
"We don't understand how burning the forests would lead to a desert, but the orders from the military commission must be carried out meticulously, without a doubt. So, we'll temporarily refrain from using fire attacks unless Commander Zhao arrives here before we've taken the hill and he approves it. Let's think of other solutions!"
The nine battalion commanders and the other 35 leaders, whose eyes had initially lit up at the mention of fire attack, fell silent again after hearing Zhang Fei's explanation, scratching their heads in deep thought. If they could come up with a plan to break the Dayuan people's ambush at a meeting of dozens of officers in the entire unit, they would surely become famous throughout the unit, and promotions would be much easier in the future.
After thinking for more than half an hour, Cao Zhen, being the smartest, came up with a solution: "How about this, we select several hundred soldiers with very strong arms and excellent physical fitness to carry those 3-meter-high steel shields into the valley."