Lu Xun looked at Sun Lun:

"General Sun, I will not attack Fancheng this time, but I will also prevent the Wei thieves from Fancheng and even the north of the Han River from connecting to Xiangyang."

"Can you patrol the north bank for me and prevent thieves from crossing the Han River in one boat and one person?"

Lu Xun first served as the governor of Jingzhou, and then guarded Wuchang, responsible for affairs in the west.

Naturally, he knew a lot about the strength of the Wei thieves in northern Jingzhou.

When the military strength was at its maximum, there were basically 100,000 troops from Xiangyang to Wancheng.

But in the past few years, part of Jingzhou's military strength has been mobilized, leaving only 70,000 to 80,000 people.

At this time, these 70,000 to 80,000 people were planned and mobilized by themselves, and their strength was divided one after another.

North of the Han River, the current stronghold of the Wei thieves should be Caoqiao Pass, where there should be between 20,000 and 30,000 people - Feng Mingwen's name alone is worth 10,000.

To the south of the Han River, the heavy troops of the Wei thieves are now guarding Piaozhong, numbering more than 10,000 or even 20,000.

These two places account for more than half.

Even if the remaining Xiangyang and Fancheng were divided equally, they would only have more than 15,000 defenders.

If Wancheng also needs a small number of troops, the defenders of Xiangyang will probably be even less.

The Wei army, which was already in decline, repeatedly divided its forces at this time, which was a taboo for military strategists.

We surrounded the isolated city of Xiangyang with more than three times the number of troops, and we also had a boat division to take advantage of the favorable location. It can be said that we have the advantage.

After hearing Lu Xun's analysis, all the generals were stunned, with excitement on their faces.

Doesn't that mean that if we send troops this time, it is really possible to capture Xiangyang?

"See you, General!"

At this time, the generals still don't understand that the senior general has already made a decision.

But seeing Sun Lun cupping his fists and saluting, he responded loudly:

"The last general takes command!"

Only Zhu Yi, feeling unwilling to see his suggestion rejected, spoke out again:

"General, the Wei thieves in Xiangfan also have naval forces. Now they just see that our army is strong, so they can't retreat."

"But if we were to besiege the city and the thieves and naval forces were attacked, I'm afraid they would have to fight to the death."

"Well said." Lu Xun looked at Zhu Yi and praised, "What General Zhu said is true."

He pointed to the east of Xiangyang City and said, "Look, that is the water fortress of the Wei thieves. If we want to surround Xiangyang, we must first destroy their water fortress."

Xiangyang stands facing the Han River in the north, and the city wall is less than a hundred steps away from the shore. As long as the warships get slightly closer, the defenders can rely on the advantage of the city wall to suppress the warships on the river.

To the south of Xiangyang are mountains, which can serve as a barrier.

There are large tidal flats on the east and west sides with criss-crossing currents, making it difficult for large ships to enter.

The navy of Wei State took advantage of Xiangyang's moat, which was a hundred feet wide, and then dug a large pool to build a water fortress that led directly to the Han River.

"These water strongholds are not only where the Wei thieves' navy is located, but they are also the outskirts of Xiangyang City."

"If we want to completely trap Xiangyang and cut off all connections with the outside world, we must first destroy these water fortresses."

Lu Xun said and looked at the generals:

"But I don't know which general can break these water fortresses for me first?"

Zhu Yi wanted to stand up again, but Zhu Ran stood at the front and was faster than him:

"The last general asks for your orders!"

Lu Xun was overjoyed:

"If General Zhu can take the initiative to ask for orders, what do I have to worry about? But I don't know how many troops General Zhu needs?"

Zhu Ran replied:

"In addition to the general's own troops, I also ask the general to allocate another deputy general to help the general defeat the thieves."

Lu Xun smiled: "I wonder who General Zhu wants?"

"Ji Wen (i.e. Zhu Yi) was an outstanding general and a talented general. Although he was young, he was quite capable. He also had an army that could help the junior generals.

Lu Xun knew what he meant and nodded in agreement.

Zhu Yi, who had always been a little depressed, was now ecstatic:

"The final general will surely live up to the expectations of the Great General and the Great General of the Northern Conquest!"

After everyone dispersed, Zhu Yi found an opportunity to catch up with Zhu Ran and thanked him:

"Thank you very much for your support, General Chariot and Cavalry."

Zhu Ran waved his hand and said with a smile:

"Privately, why does Ji Wen need to do this? In the past, your father and I fought against the Wei thieves together. If you don't give up, you can call me uncle."

Zhu Yinai was born in the Zhu family, one of the four surnames in Wu County.

As for Zhu Ran, whose real surname was Shi, he was adopted by Zhu Zhi when he was young.

The Zhu family, one of the four surnames in Wu County, is the first of the Zhu surnames in Jiangdong.

Although Zhu Zhi is from Danyang County, the Zhu family of Danyang can be regarded as a branch of the Zhu family of Wu County and is inextricably related to the sect.

So really speaking, although Zhu Yi and Zhu Ran are from different counties, they are both members of the Zhu clan.

Although Zhu Yi had some titles at this time, they were all inherited by his father Zhu Huan.

He himself was just a newbie in the army.

But Zhu Ran was already a chariot and cavalry general.

Zhu Ran's words were obviously meant to support Zhu Yi.

Is there any reason for Zhu Yi to disobey?

"Yes, uncle."

When Zhu Ran heard this, he nodded happily.

The two walked on the boat for a while, came to the bow, stood side by side, and looked at the water village to the east of Xiangyang City.

Zhu Ran asked:

"Just now in front of the general, Ji Wen was very enthusiastic and had many suggestions."

"I wonder if you have any strategies to share with me now so that we can defeat the thief as soon as possible."

Zhu Yi was very high-spirited at this time and said:

"Uncle, didn't the general say that the garrison of Xiangyang City can only be 15,000 people at most?"

As he said this, he pointed to the Wei army's water camp and said, "These fifteen thousand people naturally include these water troops."

"In my opinion, there are as many as five thousand sailors in this water stronghold, and as few as two or three thousand, and there can be no more."

"With our current military strength, are we still afraid of these thousands of people?"

Zhu Ran shook his head:

"A strong attack is not impossible, but Xiangyang City is a fortified city. If we can reduce the casualties to the soldiers, we will have more strength to attack the city later."

"So, it's best if we can defeat it through a plan."

Zhu Yi said "Oh" and nodded:

"What my uncle said is true, but I didn't think carefully."

He stared at the water village for a while, then spoke again:

"The thief Shui Han is leaning against Xiangyang City. If we attack by force, we have to be on guard against the thief troops on the walls of Xiangyang City, which will indeed increase casualties."

"If you want the defenders on the city to be unable to support you, unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless we attack the camp at night."

"Attack the camp at night?"

Zhu Yi nodded:

"Yes, pick the best men and attack the camp at night. The thieves see that our army is strong, so they only think that we will attack them with our army."

"They certainly wouldn't have imagined that with such a huge advantage, we would launch a sneak attack at night."

Zhu Yi turned to look at Zhu Ran, "The sooner this happens, the better. The thieves were frightened by our army and huddled in the camp. Now is the time to be frightened."

"If we wait for them to react and take precautions, I'm afraid it won't be that easy."

When Zhu Ran heard this, his eyes flashed brightly:

"What Ji Wen said is very reasonable. However, we need to find a brave general to attack the camp..."
Chapter completed!