Mythical Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1303: Chapter 1257: Mutual Scheming

Meanwhile, as Sheni Pei was contemplating dealing with Xu Shu on the other side, Xu Shu was also pondering how to counter Xun Shen. He now understood Xun Shen’s tricky aspects, and even with reinforcements from Zang Ba and Guan Ping, Xu Shu still felt it difficult to manage.

”Is Yuanzhi still thinking about how to counter the opponent?” Zang Ba asked, looking at Xu Shu with furrowed brows.

”Ah, entrusted by Lord Xuande, I dare not be careless at all, and I don’t know how Marquis Chen dealt with Xun Shen in Puyang back then.” Xu Shu said with a bitter smile. The more he thought, the more Xu Shu felt Xun Shen was hard to handle, involuntarily recalling when Chen Xi faced Xun Shen in Puyang.

Speaking of that battle in Puyang, Xun Shen and Chen Xi were extremely restrained with each other. On the one hand, Chen Xi held the idea that as long as he could crush the enemy head-on, he wouldn’t bother with strategy; on the other hand, Chen Xi knew what he was doing back then and was not aiming to compete with Xun Shen.

This was also why Xun Shen had no effective way against Chen Xi; Chen Xi chose not to use ingenious strategies, instead moved his large army back and forth. Xun Shen several times tried to ambush Chen Xi, but either Chen Xi had too many, too elite troops making the ambush unprofitable, or Chen Xi sensed it and watched Xun Shen depart.

Therefore, it was mostly a mutual restraint between Chen Xi and Xun Shen without a large-scale confrontation. Otherwise, if they truly fought, even if Chen Xi could ensure victory with his elite soldiers, winning would not be easy.

”You know Marquis Chen’s habit; it must be deploying regular troops.” Zang Ba said with a smile. Chen Xi’s combat habit was well-known, touted as the simplest, most brute-force method, and most of the time, no one could stand against it.

”Unfortunately, we don’t have this capability now, Yuan Tan has also dispatched troops, and Xuangao knows.” Xu Shu said helplessly. Overall, the combat power of Yuan Tan’s soldiers was still very strong.

”Since you say Xun Shen can simulate the opponent’s chief general’s thinking through engagements, what if we change the chief general?” Zang Ba suggested whimsically.

”I’ve tried, but it didn’t work. According to my estimation, if it’s about strategy, the replacement must be someone not weaker than me; otherwise, the opponent might also think about changing, which makes it just as well for me to handle it myself.” Xu Shu said with a depressed look, feeling Xun Shen’s spiritual talent was truly irritating.

Zang Ba thought about it and realized it’s true; without Xu Shu’s level of intellect, changing someone might be worse than not changing.

Xu Shu was so certain now because he previously once impulsively decided not to use strategy, letting Wei Yan take over, thinking Xun Shen might simulate his thinking but couldn’t possibly worry about Wei Yan’s thought pattern.

Wei Yan created an ingenious strategy, although Xu Shu found it somewhat risky and flawed, he believed since he didn’t intervene, Xun Shen wouldn’t notice.

The reality taught Xu Shu that he was indeed naive back then. Though Xun Shen didn’t intentionally pay attention to Wei Yan’s thinking pattern, for someone like Xun Shen or Xu Shu, strategies below their level were easily broken.

When Xun Shen noticed Xu Shu switching generals, he relaxed a lot; playing against a minor officer is far preferable to standing behind the opponent, watching their moves while controlling his own to beat them.

Thus, Wei Yan was caught and severely punished by Xun Shen; hence, Xu Shu had no choice but to retreat a dozen miles, truly unable to do anything effective against Xun Shen.

”But what worries me now is the opponent might know even a general came.” Xu Shu said with immense frustration; the most troublesome aspect about battling Xun Shen was you couldn’t assume he was unaware, you had to anticipate how to face what he already knew.

It’s like playing cards with your hand exposed to the opponent while theirs remain unknown to you, yet you must win, making it exceedingly difficult.

As for Chen Xi versus Xun Shen, although the cards are exposed, Chen Xi’s moves remain consistent, regardless of whether Xun Shen knows or not, Chen Xi keeps playing the same way.

”If everyone knows, why did you have me ambush at Yezi Slope and dig tunnels everywhere to set traps?” Zang Ba complained slightly unhappy, thinking they could ambush others but finding it’s not the case.

”I just wanted to test what extent Xun Shen could simulate.” Xu Shu said helplessly, unable yet to gauge Xun Shen’s capability limit, which troubled him greatly.

”Well then, heed my words; our soldiers can see at night, tonight’s moonlight is dim, why not capitalize on this and blind him, launching harassment during the first half of the night, followed by a strong assault on a city before dawn to boost morale at least.” Seeing Xu Shu slightly downcast, Zang Ba suggested.

”I’ve tried this strategy, but unfortunately Xun Shen is cautious, with plentiful forces, dividing troops into three parts like Marquis Chen did back then, rotating every four hours, so he isn’t afraid of harassment.” Xu Shu said with no alternative.

”We can’t just sit idle here.” Zang Ba retorted, yet felt apprehensive about Xun Shen deep down.

”Forget it, recall the decoy troops lest they are exploited by Xun Shen. I truly have no good ideas against him now; ingenious strategies are useless, and though I can combat him directly, he won’t come out, leaving me helpless.” Xu Shu said with a bitter smile, finding it an absolute trap; Xun Shen remains behind the city walls, and he has no effective measures against him.

”Then give the order, and I’ll gather my troops back.” Zang Ba thought, realizing that Xun Shen is indeed difficult to deal with and knowing he lacks the superior intellect of Xu Shu, decided to follow Xu Shu’s lead.

”I’ll go arrange the camp defenses; although Xun Shen seldom launches surprise attacks, it’s still wise to be cautious.” Xu Shu said as he headed out, instructing to enhance patrols and, following Gan Ning’s habit, sprinkled water throughout the camp.

Gan Ning’s nature was wild yet extremely cautious when it came to defense, adhering to his logic that as an expert in raiding camps, one should at least ensure their method couldn’t be used against themselves!

Elsewhere, Sheni Pei and Xun Shen were organizing troops; Sheni Pei had gathered enough intelligence on Xu Shu and pondered a bit, concluding that instead of strategizing excessively, he might as well confront Xu Shu directly. Seizing this chance against Xu Shu, exploiting his overconfidence somewhat in his strongest aspect could potentially cripple the young and vigorous Xu Shu!

Just like Xu Shu’s confidence in direct confrontation without loss, Sheni Pei also feels assured in this scenario, aiming to catch Xu Shu off guard with hopes that a single battle might yield unexpected results.