klisemfg Chapter 592 Wei Bufan’s Suggestions
Chapter 592 Wei Bufan’s Suggestions
The scout looked at them and said,
"Come with me, let me make this clear. I'm only here to help you report. I have no say in whether there's a reward or not."
"Thank you, brother!"
Wei Bufan said with his hands clasped.
Several of them, fellow villagers, followed the scout toward the central army camp. Then, the scout asked them to wait outside the door while he went to report to the general.
A general has no right to use the army's gold and silver to reward a civilian from an enemy country.
So he went to pay a visit to his commander-in-chief Nie Bei.
Nie Bei was holding a meeting in the commander's tent at this time.
Entering the commander's tent, he clasped his hands and said,
"I pay my respects to the two princes and all the commanders.
Marshal Nie, a few civilians came outside. They were holding a head and said it was the head of County Magistrate Wang Kaizhi. They came to ask for a reward.
How do you think we should get rid of them?"
Hearing this, Shen Changgong was happy and said,
"Such a powerful fellow, please come in and see what kind of person he is."
"As ordered!"
The general immediately turned around and left.
Yu Ziling rolled her eyes at him and said,
"Why not just give him some money and send him away? Why did you have to call him in during our meeting?"
On the table in the middle of the general's tent, there was a simulated sand table with mountains, rivers, and a city on it.
This is certainly not a sand table model of Zhengxiang County, but a model of Luoyang City and its surroundings.
Their most important goal was to find a way to cross the Luo River and enter Luoyang.
Luoyang City is located fifty miles north of the Luo River. Now the last military forces of the Wei State are gathered here, including 200,000 central troops and 300,000 local troops.
These local troops are not the able-bodied men in Zhengxiang County. They are formal armies with armor and weapons, commanded by officers, and equipped with supplies. Their combat effectiveness is much stronger than that of the able-bodied men.
The enemy's troops were not enough to prove their existence, but the biggest problem facing everyone was how to cross the Luo River.
The Luo River is wide, and it is difficult for cannons to reach the other side. If you want to cross it, you need a boat or a floating wooden bridge.
However, the enemy had built a complete defensive system on the other side of the river, including trenches, catapults, and a dense army. The military camps were set up directly on the river bank, and there were warships on the river, all in order to prevent the Yan army from crossing the river.
The reason why the Emperor of Wei has not moved the capital and fled yet is because he has the support of Luo River.
Everyone has been busy these days, thinking about how to cross the river in order to inflict heavy damage on the enemy and reduce casualties.
But until now, they have only thought of one way, which is to send a hot air balloon carrying bombs into the sky and drop them on the enemy's position to cover the army in building a bridge across the river.
But they don't have many hot air balloons and their carrying capacity is limited, so doing this will probably have little effect.
Not long after, Wei Bufan and several fellow villagers came in carrying a head. He looked at everyone in the general's tent. He didn't recognize any of them and didn't know their identities. He just looked at everyone.
The general who brought them in coughed dryly and said,
"Why don't you quickly pay your respects to the two princes!"
Hearing this, Zhao Bufan and the others quickly put down the head, knelt down and kowtowed,
"Meet the prince."
"Be flat."
Shen Changgong looked at him and said,
"He has a nice physique and is very strong. I think he is a tough guy. Did you kill Wang Kaizhi?"
"It's the villain."
"How to kill?"
Wei Bufan immediately recounted what had happened.
After listening to this, Shen Changgong nodded and said,
"When officials are unkind, the people will naturally rise up and attack them. You did the right thing and took the lead.
This king will reward you with one thousand taels of silver. Go home and live a good life with your family.
If you want to join the army, you can stay and join. Our army welcomes men like you who are brave and daring."
Wei Bufan quickly clasped his hands and said,
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Well, go down, Que Ling, and get him some silver."
"As ordered!"
Tu Que Ling walked to Wei Bufan and saw him staring at the sand table in a daze, frowning and said,
"What are you still doing?"
Wei Bufan looked up at Shen Changgong and said with courage,
"Your Highness, I'd like to ask, is that the Luo River and Luoyang City on this sand table?"
"Well, you have good eyesight."
Shen Changgong smiled.
"Your Highness, are you worried about how to cross the river and defeat the Wei army?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the commander's tent became interested.
Shen Changgong said,
"What? Do you have a way to help our army cross the river? If you can come up with a good plan to help our army capture Luoyang City, I will reward you with ten thousand taels of silver and even offer you a position as an official, whether it's a local official or a military officer."
Hearing this, Wei Bufan's eyes lit up instantly, and he secretly said, "Fortune and honor are sought in danger." He immediately said,
"Your Majesty, I have an idea in mind, but I don't know if it's feasible."
"Just speak up and gather our wisdom. If it's useful, you'll be rewarded. If it's useless, I won't punish you."
"Then the villain dared to speak."
Wei Bufan pointed to the left side of the sand table and said,
"Your Highness, there's a piece missing from this sand table. If you look a little further to the left, you'll see a river running from north to south called the Wei River.
The Wei River is fast-flowing, and although it is not wide, it is still wide enough for boats to pass through.
In the backwater bay of Weishui River, there is a shipyard called Shanyue Shipyard.
The shipyard is responsible for manufacturing civilian ships. Usually, there are hundreds of ready-made ships of various sizes in the bay, waiting to be sold or taken away.
If these boats have not been requisitioned, Your Majesty can rent them and take the army across the river."
Hearing this, Shen Changgong frowned and said,
"There's a shipyard here? But it's not very useful. There are only a few hundred civilian ships, which can't defeat the more than 200 warships on the Luo River."
Wei Bufan immediately shook his head and said,
"No, my lord, we will not confront them head-on."
He still pointed to the lower left corner of the sand table, the area that was not simulated on the sand table, and said,
"It is at this place that the Wei River merges into the Luo River. The water flow becomes more turbulent, and the mud and sand washed down over the years have formed a shallow beach on the opposite beach.
In other words, although the water is a bit faster at this intersection, the distance between the two banks is very short.
Our ship went directly south from the Wei River, without passing through the Luo River and Luoyang City. It was always to the west of it and they could not find it.
All the prince has to do is quietly transfer the army there and get it to the other side.
Then, attack from the west to the east, and their people will naturally be unable to resist you."
After hearing this, everyone felt that this matter was somewhat feasible.
Shen Changgong said,
"Bring me the map."
Gongsun Wan'er immediately presented the map and spread it out on the sand table.
All the generals stood up and looked upwards.
As Wei Bufan said, more than a hundred miles northwest of Luoyang City is the junction of Wei River and Luo River.
"Where is the shipyard you mentioned?"
Shen Changgong asked.
Wei Bufan looked at the map and pointed to a place and said,
"It should be here, one hundred miles west of Zhengxiang County."