Zhang Xin slowly said, “Breakout.”
“What kind of dog-shit plan is this?” Zhang Niujiao bellowed upon hearing this, “Back then, Guo Dian only had three thousand troops, yet he could make our army unable to move. Now the city is surrounded by Han, how can we break out?”
“General Zhang, please calm down.” Zuo Bao interjected, “Why not listen to General Zhang… Little General Zhang’s words?”
Zhang Xin showed Zuo Bao a smile and said, “There are no Han at the West Gate. Our army can break out from the West Gate. I…”
“West Gate?” Zhang Niujiao interrupted, “As the art of war says, ‘When encircling an army, leave an opening.’ The Han deliberately left the West Gate open. Even a fool would know there’s an ambush! What? Are you tired of dying too slowly in the city?”
“You let A Xin finish!” Zhang Bao glared at Zhang Niujiao, annoyed, “If you interrupt again, get out!”
Zhang Niujiao smiled sheepishly upon hearing this.
“Oh, so General Zhang knows the art of war?” Zhang Xin said sarcastically, “Since General Zhang knows ‘When encircling an army, leave an opening,’ then he must have a plan already? Why not share your brilliant idea so Xin can learn a thing or two.”
Zhang Niujiao was furious at these words, but remembering Zhang Bao’s earlier statement, he dared not speak, his dark face turning crimson.
“Speak properly.” Zhang Bao softly rebuked.
“Understood.”
Zhang Xin continued, “Xin has estimated the strength of the Han outside the city. The South Gate has about fifteen thousand Han, the East Gate over ten thousand, and the North Gate five thousand.”
“The total strength of the Han is less than forty thousand, plus several thousand have died in recent battles. Therefore, the ambush force that can be sent to the West Gate is at most three thousand.”
“Our army can send a general to lead all the troops in the city out from the West Gate. When the Han see our army’s large numbers, they will surely dispatch reinforcements from the South and North Gates. Thus, the North Gate will be vulnerable. The general can seize this opportunity to lead a contingent of elites to break out from the North Gate.”
Everyone in the hall thought it over carefully and felt that Zhang Xin’s plan was feasible.
The Han ambush force would certainly not be too large, as their total strength was limited. Moreover, in most cases, the purpose of an ambush is not to annihilate the enemy on the spot, but to block their path and wait for reinforcements to sandwich them.
If too many ambush troops were sent, the Han besieging the city would not be able to create enough pressure on the Yellow Turbans inside the city.
Without pressure, the Yellow Turbans would naturally not think of escaping.
So, as long as the main Yellow Turbans force came out, the Han would definitely dispatch their main force as reinforcements, attempting to wipe them out in one fell swoop.
Once the main Han force attacked, the Han camp at the North Gate would surely be vulnerable. At this point, if an elite force broke out from the city, the chances of a successful breakout would be very high.
After all, it was always the auxiliary force covering the main force. Who would have thought that this time the Yellow Turbans would use their main force to cover the auxiliary force’s breakout?
“A Xin’s plan is excellent, but there is one thing I still don’t understand.” Zhang Bao nodded in satisfaction and asked, “After I break out, how will the troops at the West Gate withdraw?”
Zhang Xin shook his head, “Xin said earlier that this plan can only preserve a portion of the Yellow Turbans.”
“You mean…”
“Hiss…”
Everyone in the hall couldn’t help but gasp.
Zhang Xin’s meaning was clear: the Yellow Turbans going to the West Gate were all sacrificial pawns.
“Damn your mother!” Zhang Niujiao slammed the table and stood up, pointing at Zhang Xin and cursing, “Zhang Xin, you brat! Are you trying to use the lives of tens of thousands of people in the city to buy your own escape?”
“If General Zhang has a good plan, please speak it.” Zhang Xin said coldly, “I am young and ignorant, and cannot think of any good plans.”
What Zhang Niujiao didn’t know, Zhang Xin did.
Historically, after Huangfu Song broke through Lower Quyang, he killed all the people in Guangzong and Lower Quyang counties. Over a hundred thousand corpses were piled into a Jingguan, right outside the South Gate he was now guarding.
Saving a Yellow Turbans force, leaving a seed for the Way of Supreme Peace, was already the limit of what he could do.
Want to evacuate tens of thousands of people from the city, surrounded by the Han?
Dream on!
He certainly couldn’t do it.
“Wah-yah-yah!” Zhang Niujiao trembled with rage, kicking over the table in front of him. “You dog! Take this!”
“Stop!” Zhang Bao shouted loudly, “Presumptuous!”
“General!” Zhang Niujiao gritted his teeth, looking at Zhang Xin, his eyes seeming to spit fire.
“Stand down!” Zhang Bao roared, “Get out!”
Zhang Niujiao clenched his fist, glared fiercely at Zhang Xin, and stomped out.
After Zhang Niujiao left, Zhang Bao was silent for a long time, then spoke with difficulty, “A Xin, besides this, do you have any other good plans?”
“Xin truly has no other plan.” Zhang Xin said softly, “General manages the entire city, so you should know the situation within the city better than I.”
“You should also know what happened after Guangzong City fell better than I. I hope the general makes a decision soon.”
Zhang Bao’s brows furrowed as he looked at the other three generals in the hall.
“What do you all think?”
“Little General Zhang’s words are indeed the best plan at present.” Zuo Bao showed a look of sorrow, “I broke out from Guangzong, so I know best how cruel the Han are.”
“If the Han break the city, they will surely massacre the people! Rather than being trapped in an isolated city and waiting for death, it’s better to follow Little General Zhang’s advice. This way, at least a Yellow Turbans force can be preserved.”
“Hu Cai, what do you think?” Zhang Bao looked at Hu Cai.
“Your subordinate believes that General Zuo’s words are reasonable.” Hu Cai stated.
Li Le: “Yes, yes.”
“So, you all agree with A Xin’s words?”
The three exchanged glances, cupped their fists, and said, “Please make a wise decision, General.”
Zhang Bao seemed to have made up his mind, looking at Zhang Xin: “What should our army do after breaking out? Have you considered it?”
“The entire army will head north and take Yuyang to defend ourselves.” Zhang Xin replied, “Yuyang is located in a frontier region, a harsh and cold place since ancient times. The season is now approaching heavy snow, and most Han are southerners, unaccustomed to severe cold.”
“If our army retreats to Yuyang, even if the Han want to pursue, they will have to wait until next spring, when the ice and snow melt.”
The location of Yuyang Commandery was roughly in the area of the later capital, and it usually started snowing around the time of heavy snow.
As soon as it started snowing, the Han’s supply lines would be cut off, and they naturally wouldn’t be able to pursue anymore.
Zhang Bao asked again, “If we talk about severe cold, Dai and Shanggu commanderies are the same, and they also have the natural barrier of the Taihang Mountains to defend. Why not take these two commanderies?”
“The two commanderies are bordered by the grasslands to the north and the Taihang Mountains to the south, with sparse populations, which is not conducive to our army’s future development.”
In the past two years, Zhang Xin had traveled to many places with Zhang Bao. Because he knew the Yellow Turbans were going to rebel, he had researched the population, economy, and other aspects of various commanderies.
The combined population of these two commanderies was less than half of Yuyang Commandery, not to mention the Xianbei to the north.
The Eastern Han court was weak, and the Xianbei raided the borders every year. If the Yellow Turbans took these two commanderies as their base, they wouldn’t even need the Han Dynasty to act; the Xianbei alone would be enough to give the Yellow Turbans a hard time.
Zhang Bao asked again, “If the Han come again next year, Yuyang has no natural defenses. How will our army contend with them?”
“The Han may not come again next year.” Zhang Xin smiled mysteriously.
“What do you mean by that?” Zhang Bao looked puzzled.
“Western Liang.” Zhang Xin slowly said.
“Western Liang?” Zhang Bao was stunned.
They were in Hebei, what did Liang Province have to do with it?
Zhang Xin continued, “Since the founding of this dynasty, the Qiang have constantly rebelled. Although our current uprising has failed, the Han court is also greatly weakened, and the Qiang will certainly take this opportunity to revolt.”
“If the Qiang take this opportunity to invade Guanzhong, the Han court will surely dispatch Huangfu Song’s army to suppress the rebellion. At that time, our army can rest and train in Yuyang, then attack Eastern Liaoning’s four commanderies to the east, making them our foundation.”
Heading north to Yuyang, then eastward to annex the four commanderies of Eastern Liaoning, and subsequently eyeing You Province, was the only viable strategy Zhang Xin had devised for the Yellow Turbans in the past few months.
There was simply no other way out.
As for whether the Qiang would rebel? Zhang Xin wasn’t worried at all.
It was written in the history books: in a couple of days, Beigong Boyu would unite with Bian Zhang and Han Sui, the number one traitor of the Three Kingdoms, to rebel.
As long as they could hold out until March of next year, when a hundred thousand Qiang would invade Guanzhong, they would see if the Han Dynasty panicked or not.