Chapter 656: Li You’s plan to destroy the ferry himself?

Chapter 656: Li You’s plan to destroy the ferry himself?

This made Gao Yao frown slightly, thinking secretly in his heart. He never expected that Wu Rui would use such a method of losing sight of the main point, which really made him feel a little embarrassed.

Although Wu Rui may have some reasons for doing this, it still seems too reckless. According to Gao Yao's understanding of Wu Rui, based on his previous behavior habits, he should not have acted like this. After all, Wu Rui should be a person who can distinguish the importance of things.

Now that things have come to this, it is no longer helpful to investigate the reasons why Wu Rui did this. The most urgent task is to find a way to solve this big problem.

"Now is not the time to investigate the cause. Tell me, what should we do now?" Gao Yao looked at the person in front of him with a serious expression and spoke. He knew that time was running out and he had to come up with a plan as soon as possible.

At this time, Gao Yao no longer worried about Wu Rui's considerations for doing this, but instead focused all his energy on how to solve the current dilemma.

Since Wu Rui did not go to Donghui County as planned, this undoubtedly brought a very serious impact on Gao Yao's layout. Now, Wu Rui not only successfully crossed the river secretly, but also occupied the ferry, which made the plan of cutting off food supply no longer feasible.

"Prime Minister, the key point now lies in the ferry! As long as we can recapture the ferry, Wu Rui will have to withdraw his troops even if he is unwilling."

At this time, Li You took the initiative to speak and explained the problem in detail. However, when Gao Yao heard what he said, his brows knitted tightly.

Gao Yao knew very well that the importance of the ferry was self-evident, but the problem was that the current military situation in Jiujiang was really worrying. The combined forces of the counties, plus the troops under Wu She, were only about 30,000 at most. Even with the help of a weapon like black gunpowder, it would still be extremely difficult to attack Wu Rui, who had an army of 100,000.

Moreover, the use of black gunpowder is also quite limited. It may still play a certain role in defending a city, but if it is used directly for attacking, the effect is very general. In order to enable Han Xin to conquer Dongjiao County as quickly as possible, most of the gunpowder that can be used for attack has been provided to him. The remaining small part was also secretly transported to the Third Legion, that is, Zhang Liang and Ying Bu.

Gao Yao had no intention of using Jiujiang's power to launch an attack on Nanjun, so naturally he would not equip it with precious weapons and equipment such as gunpowder. Even if he had, it would probably be difficult to compete with Wu Rui's 100,000-man army. Not to mention wanting to retake the ferry, it was not even enough to defend the city now.

"Li You, what exactly do you want to do?"

Gao Yao's voice revealed a little impatience. He knew very well that with Li You's ability, it was impossible for him not to understand such a simple thing. Since Li You could say so, there must be a reason.

Gao Yao stared at Li You and continued, "Prime Minister, no matter what Wu Rui's real purpose is now, it is definitely not enough for him to occupy the ferry. If he wants to gain a foothold on the south bank, he must at least take Huaxian as a support point. Only in this way can Wu Rui ensure his own safety in the short term. Since Wu Rui is eyeing Huaxian, why don't we just take the initiative to give it to him?"

"Voluntarily give up Hua County?" Gao Yao frowned upon hearing this, and was obviously very surprised by this proposal. He thought to himself, with the county as a support, wouldn't Wu Rui become more powerful and more difficult to deal with?

Li You seemed to have expected this. He smiled and explained, "Prime Minister, Wu She currently has only 20,000 troops. If he were to confront Wu Rui's 100,000 troops head-on, it would be like hitting a rock with an egg. But if we change our thinking and change our target from Hua County to the ferry, what will happen?"

At this time, Li You finally expressed his idea, which was to give up Hua County and take over the ferry, but this did not satisfy Gao Yao.

"It's not easy to take over the ferry. Wu Rui is not stupid. He will definitely send a large number of soldiers to guard the ferry. Even if we take over the ferry by chance, once Wu Rui leads his troops back to support us, won't all our efforts be wasted?"

Obviously, Gao Yao was negative about Li You's idea at this moment. However, Li You was not discouraged. He continued, "Prime Minister, it is indeed very difficult to successfully capture and defend the ferry. But what if we choose to destroy the ferry?"

Gao Yao was slightly startled when he heard this, as if he was a little surprised by Li You's proposal. But in just a moment, a glimmer flashed in his eyes, and he obviously understood Li You's intention.

"Destroy the ferry? You mean..." Gao Yao's words revealed some hesitation, as if he was thinking about the feasibility of this plan.

Li You saw this and quickly explained, "Prime Minister, the construction of the ferry took up a lot of time and energy, but compared to the overall situation, its importance is not that prominent. With the strength of our army, even if we need to rebuild the ferry, it will only take three to five days at most. However, the situation on Wu Rui's side is very different. Although he leads an army of 100,000, he does not have excellent logistics troops like our army. Therefore, to complete a project of the same scale, for Wu Rui, it will take at least one month at the shortest and at least two to three months at the longest."

Li You spoke his mind without hiding his thoughts, and this was not self-praise. You know, it is not easy to build a suitable ferry and camp in the water. It requires professional craftsmen to operate, and it is definitely not something that can be done by a few soldiers alone. Otherwise, why would Gao Yao go to such great lengths to form a professional logistics force? The purpose is to seize the initiative when the project is built.

Li You continued, "We just need to have Wu She leave a small number of troops to garrison Hua County, pretending to be on high alert to guard the city, so as to attract Wu Rui's attention. At the same time, Lord Wu She will personally lead a large force to bypass the rear and attack the ferry by surprise. We have only one goal, which is to completely destroy the ferry. Once the ferry is destroyed, the five thousand navy deployed by the prime minister on the Yangtze River will be able to play a huge role. By then, it will be Wu Rui who will face the food crisis. His retreat is cut off, and there are navy blocking the way ahead, so he will naturally be caught in a dilemma."

After hearing what Li You said, Gao Yao finally showed a satisfied look. He did not expect that Li You would give him a surprise. This was a desperate move. It seemed to hurt the enemy by a thousand and hurt himself by eight hundred, but in fact it could solve the problem to the greatest extent.