ushernet Chapter 287 Work-Related Injury
Chapter 287 Work-Related Injury
While applying the medicine, Zhang Fei said to Cao Zhen, who had gathered around him to hear the results, "Your method failed. There is no sign of the enemy soldiers and weapons decreasing at all. It's possible that there are civilians in the west who are being forced to provide supplies to the mountain. This method is ineffective. Let's think of other ways. I'm going back to sleep for a while. When General Zhao arrives, wake me up."
When Cao Zhen saw that the other returning soldiers showed no joy at the success of the plan, he knew that the plan had failed. Upon hearing Zhang Fei's confirmation, he felt greatly disappointed.
He had thought that the method he had described to dozens of officers in Zhang Fei's tent the day before yesterday would succeed, making him famous and earning him great merit, thus ensuring his priority for promotion. Unexpectedly, the method failed. It seems he still has a long way to go before becoming a brigade commander or even a commissar!
At noon on March 6, Zhao Yun, who had arrived at the eastern side of Kemuzi Mountain, heard that Zhang Fei was injured. Before the main camp was even set up, he took several senior members of the stroke department to visit Zhang Fei, who was "injured on the job".
Zhang Fei was called to his feet by the soldiers and rushed to the central command tent. Upon seeing Zhao Yun, he saluted with shame and said, "General, Zhang Fei is incompetent and has disappointed you!"
Seeing that Zhang Fei was still full of energy and his injuries were not serious, Zhao Yun breathed a sigh of relief and reprimanded him, "His Majesty has long said that senior generals should pay attention to their own safety and not take risks lightly."
“We don’t have enough cadres in reserve right now. If something happens to you, who will take over the Third Brigade? Even when you lead from the front, you have to consider the situation. There are 20,000 soldiers guarding the mountain throwing logs and rocks into the valley, and arrows are raining down. Individual bravery is no longer of much use. You’re injured now, aren’t you? Don’t be so reckless in putting yourself in dangerous places again!”
Having personally experienced the danger, Zhang Fei naturally knew how perilous it was, and he fully accepted Zhao Yun's orders, nodding in agreement.
"You'll just sit here and attend the meeting. Tell me what's going on. You haven't even made it through the canyon in two days!" Zhao Yun said to Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei found an empty chair and sat down, replying, "Reporting to the general, the enemy has too many rolling logs, stones, and crossbow bolts. Our main force simply cannot cross the seven or eight hundred meters long canyon. The mountain paths on both sides are too steep, and we cannot attack them. So I took the advice of the Third Regiment Commander Cao Zhen and tried to use the night to pretend that our main force was passing through to lure the enemy and deplete their weapons and supplies."
"Unexpectedly, after two nights, there was no sign of the enemy soldiers and their weapons decreasing. We guessed that the people of Dayuan in the west were helping the enemy soldiers transport supplies from the foot of the mountain to the top."
“Your plan is good, but just like you said, it doesn’t take into account the enemy’s logistics. If you follow this method, we might never be able to get through this canyon. We need to think of other ways to get through the canyon and also eliminate the 20,000 soldiers guarding the mountain,” Xun Yu said after listening to Zhang Fei’s explanation.
"This canyon is too dangerous. We must eliminate the guards on the mountain first, otherwise we cannot pass through!" said Zhang He, the leader of the 131st Society.
"How about we launch a strong attack using the musketeer battalion?" Ma Teng, who had killed Timur with cannons in Ulama and had a particular fondness for firearms, suggested to Zhao Yun.
“It’s unrealistic! The musketeer battalion is all equipped with flintlock muskets. They have to stand while loading and firing, making them more vulnerable to being killed by enemy soldiers’ rolling logs, stones, and crossbow bolts. They can’t be used!” Zhao Yun shook his head and rejected the idea.
A general, an advisor, a deputy advisor, two presidents, two chief advisors, several platoon advisors, and brigade commander Zhang Fei, a dozen or so people, sat around the vanguard camp, racking their brains for a way to defeat the enemy.
From noon until after dinner, no one could think of any other method besides trying the special forces. Left with no other choice, they decided that night to send special forces to launch a surprise attack on the enemy troops on the mountain, with soldiers following behind carrying shields, to see if they could reach the summit and wipe out the 20,000 defenders in one fell swoop.
The special forces did manage to reach the mountain, but the guards had already been warned by Ustuku that the mountain was barren and devoid of any vegetation, with braziers and torches everywhere illuminating the entire mountain so that every detail was clearly visible and there was nowhere to hide.
Special forces soldiers attempted to approach the enemy camp but were discovered by highly vigilant enemy soldiers. As a result, more than a dozen of the dozens of special forces soldiers were killed or wounded, and they were forced to retreat in a sorry state. On their way down the mountain, collateral damage occurred; dozens of soldiers who had climbed less than 50 meters up the mountain path were killed or injured by rocks rolling down the mountain. The special forces raid was declared a failure.
The next day, the high-ranking officers of the Chinese army observed the enemy situation outside the canyon with binoculars, while the Dayuan soldiers on the mountain waved their broadswords and flags, celebrating that more than 100,000 Chinese soldiers had been blocked here by their 20,000 men, which infuriated the leaders.
Zhuge Liang entered Luoyang University with special permission from Emperor Liu Xie, and after graduating, he entered Luoyang Leadership School to study strategic planning and troop management.
After graduation, with the emperor's special approval, he rose rapidly through the ranks, entering the emperor's advisory office as an assistant to the head of the advisory office, Xi Zhicai. Soon after, he was directly appointed by the emperor as the deputy advisor of the third platoon of the Wuwei garrison, truly becoming the fastest-rising official in the Chinese empire.
This student official, who had only interned at the Imperial Advisor's Office for less than a year before being appointed as the deputy advisor of the Third Squad, had no one in the entire squad who, apart from a few people like Zhao Yun and Xun Yu who were absolutely certain of the emperor's ability to judge people, truly respected Zhuge Liang.
Even Zhao Yun and Xun Yu were only spared trouble because Zhuge Liang was highly regarded by the emperor. No one was truly impressed by this student official who had risen to the rank of deputy advisor before the age of 30.
For example, when Zhuge Liang had just taken office as deputy advisor, the soldiers responsible for his safety didn't even look at him properly. They gossiped about him behind his back every day, saying that this kid was "naive and unreliable," and could not possibly be competent for the position of deputy advisor. They said he was just a spoiled brat who got in through the emperor's connections.
Over the years, Zhuge Liang did achieve some success in troop management and logistical arrangements, and the troop leaders and soldiers around him reluctantly accepted this "academic" advisor.
However, the lower-ranking leaders and soldiers didn't care about any of that. They were unconvinced because they hadn't seen any tangible results from your efforts in the war. Since you were the deputy advisor, you were supposed to be like Xun Yu, offering advice and strategies when the troops encountered difficulties, contributing to the victory of the empire's war. However, in the previous wars, Zhuge Liang hadn't offered a single idea, so it was understandable that he wasn't accepted by everyone.
It wasn't that Zhuge Liang lacked the brains to come up with any strategies; it was simply that he didn't want to attract attention. His plan required a stunning debut, creating a sensation among his entire army and commanding their utmost respect instantly. Now, the opportunity was right before him.