When Gongsun Zan heard this, he immediately stepped forward, clasped his hands, and bowed, saying,
"Reporting to the General, ever since I led the army here, the Yellow Turban have been holed up in the city. They only sent small units to harass us at night, but they were all repelled by this humble general. There haven't been any major movements."
"As for the city's defenses, due to the large number of Yellow Turban, each city gate has tens of thousands of soldiers stationed there. The most heavily guarded is the South Gate directly in front of us, estimated to have at least tens of thousands, and they patrol even at night, so there are no loopholes."
"However, the Yellow Turban Army's morale is very low. Many of the Yellow Turban, fearing our Han Army, have secretly sneaked out of the city at night."
Lu Zhi, who was seated at the head, nodded slightly upon hearing these words.
The low morale of the Yellow Turban Army was also within his expectations. The Yellow Turban leader Zhang Liang was beheaded, three hundred thousand soldiers were wiped out, and Yellow Turban armies in various regions were constantly being annihilated by the imperial army.
However, there were hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turban stationed in Guangzong City, and with its high walls and thick defenses, it would still be difficult to break through the city and kill Zhang Jiao.
Lu Zhi looked at the Generals in the tent and immediately asked,
"Now that our army is at the foot of Guangzong City, do any of you have a strategy to defeat the enemy?"
The Generals all whispered among themselves, pondering countermeasures.
Xu Rong, in the crowd, remained silent for a moment before stepping forward, cupping his hands, and saying loudly,
"Reporting to the General, this humble general believes that we can take advantage of the Yellow Turban Army's low morale and chaotic state, while our army's morale is high and our forces are strong. Without giving the enemy a chance to react, we should lead the army in successive attacks. Within a few days, we will surely break through this city and kill Zhang Jiao."
Lu Zhi frowned slightly upon hearing this, thought for a moment, and slowly said,
"Although our army's morale is strong, our forces do not have an advantage, and the Yellow Turban still have the city as a stronghold. A forced attack would be somewhat disadvantageous."
"Even if we can break through Guangzong City and kill Zhang Jiao, our soldiers will suffer heavy casualties, which would be detrimental to the subsequent encirclement and suppression of the various Yellow Turban forces in Hebei."
"Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, we cannot launch a forced attack for now."
After Lu Zhi finished speaking, he looked at the Generals in the hall again and slowly said,
"Do you have any other brilliant ideas?"
Everyone frowned and fell into deep thought upon hearing this.
If they couldn't launch a forced attack, they were somewhat at a loss.
After all, the other side had hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turban. Although they were all organized from ordinary people, after half a year of fighting, they had undergone some transformation, and their strength was not much worse than that of ordinary county soldiers.
Lu Zhi, seated at the head, continuously scanned the Generals. Most of them were frowning and deep in thought, clearly without any good countermeasures.
He sighed slightly, realizing that the Battle of Guangzong would not be easy to win, and would likely require a lot of time here.
Suddenly, he saw Liu Jin sitting to the side, his face calm and unperturbed, and a look of joy instantly appeared in his eyes.
Lu Zhi asked loudly,
"Wen Yi, I see your face is calm and composed. Do you perhaps have a good countermeasure?"
Liu Jin, in the crowd, was startled upon hearing this. Dozens of gazes turned towards him, and he gave a wry smile.
He had originally only wanted to stay out of the way and remain silent for a while, but he didn't expect to be noticed by Lu Zhi.
He simply didn't pretend to be deaf and dumb anymore. After all, Guangzong City could not be breached in a short time.
Unless Zhang Jiao died, even if the Han Army's strength were increased by half, it would be difficult to break through.
Liu Jin slowly stood up, clasped his hands, and said loudly,
"Reporting to the General, this humble general believes that attacking Guangzong City should not be too urgent; it must be done gradually."
"Although the Yellow Turban in the city are dispirited and in disarray, with many deserters appearing, presenting a state of falling apart without attack,"
"However, the Yellow Turban leader Zhang Jiao is widely popular and highly esteemed. As long as he is in the city, these commotions can be easily resolved, and he can even boost morale."
Lu Zhi nodded upon hearing this. These words were exactly what he had been thinking.
They had to proceed steadily and not be too hasty, otherwise, mistakes could easily occur, and the Yellow Turban might even turn the tables.
He continued to look at Liu Jin, stroking his beard, and slowly asked,
"If that's the case, then tell me how to proceed gradually?"
Liu Jin pondered for a moment and continued,
"Our army can take advantage of the night to beat drums, blow flutes, wave flags, and shout, to intimidate the Yellow Turban soldiers in the city, keeping them on edge and unable to sleep."
"Over time, the enemy will assume our army is only harassing and not attacking the city. Coupled with their exhaustion, they will relax their guard. Taking advantage of this opportunity, we can launch a night raid and, catching them off guard, break through in one fell swoop."
Everyone in the tent nodded slightly upon hearing this.
Although it wasn't a particularly brilliant plan, facing a city defended by hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turban, they could only rely mainly on harassment tactics.
Lu Zhi stroked his beard and said loudly,
"If that's the case, then we will follow Wen Yi's strategy. We will focus on harassment first, and when the enemy relaxes, we will break through the city."
"Generals, go and instruct the soldiers to rest well and conserve their strength. Harassment will begin in three days."
The Generals all stood up, bowed in agreement, and then slowly withdrew.
After Liu Jin left the main army tent, he led his personal guards back to their encampment.
Time flew by, and seven days later!
On a hillside, Liu Jin rode a tall horse, wearing a cloak, accompanied by Zhang He, Gongsun Zan, Cheng Pu, Xu Rong, and others.
Looking at Guangzong City in the distance, Zhang He couldn't help but exclaim,
"Wen Yi's strategy is indeed brilliant!"
"In the past few days, our army has sent a unit to beat drums and blow flutes every night, feigning a night attack to disturb the Yellow Turban soldiers on the city walls, and the effect is truly remarkable."
"Even during the day, these Yellow Turban soldiers are yawning constantly and listless, clearly very fatigued."
"If we continue to harass them like this, it won't be long before we break through Guangzong City."
Gongsun Zan, Cheng Pu, and Xu Rong all nodded in agreement.
They even appeared relaxed and at ease, not taking the hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turban in Guangzong City seriously.
Liu Jin, however, was not so optimistic upon hearing this. With a hint of solemnity, he said,
"Although this harassment strategy is good, it is ultimately not the best. If Zhang Jiao can see through our army's intentions, he can still easily break this deadlock."
"Especially Zhang Bao, who is stationed in Quyuan and commands tens of thousands of soldiers. If he learns of the situation here, he could come south to support Guangzong at any time, and we must be on guard."
"Therefore, everyone must be prepared for a protracted war and not be careless or underestimate the enemy."
Upon hearing this, everyone slowly suppressed their earlier ease, replaced by a look of solemnity.
Liu Jin was right. Zhang Bao's tens of thousands of soldiers were still stationed in Quyuan. If they joined forces with Zhang Jiao, forming a pincer movement, it would indeed be difficult to eliminate them quickly.
So, the few of them chatted on the hillside, discussing the upcoming situation.
Liu Jin shared some insights, all of which were events from later generations, instantly earning him the admiration of the others.