Chapter 657 Li You’s analysis cuts off Wu Rui’s retreat!

Chapter 657 Li You’s analysis cuts off Wu Rui’s retreat!

At this moment, Gao Yao cast his eyes directly in the direction of Xiao He without hesitation. Seeing this, Xiao He nodded slightly, indicating his approval of Li You's idea. Indeed, this is undoubtedly a very good idea.

Even with the sneak attack bonus, successfully occupying the ferry is still a very challenging task. However, if you just want to destroy the ferry, then the difficulty will naturally be much easier. After all, the importance of the ferry is self-evident.

Despite the differences between the open sea and the inland river, the role of the ferry is crucial. Like a port, a ferry is usually located where the water flow is relatively calm, which can ensure the safe docking of ships. In addition, the draft near the ferry is usually deep, which provides enough space for large ships.

In addition, camps are built at the ferry, which not only provides a certain degree of defense, but also shortens the distance of crossing the river in disguise. More importantly, some ropes are usually set up at the ferry to ensure safety during the crossing. These ropes are like a guarantee for safe crossing, making people feel more at ease when crossing the river.

Of course, this does not mean that it is impossible to cross the river at other locations. In fact, it is possible to cross the river at other locations, but it is usually accompanied by certain risks. After all, the water flow in those places may be more turbulent and the draft may not be deep enough, which will bring certain difficulties and dangers to the river crossing.

Especially for Wu Rui, the importance of occupying the ferry is self-evident. You know, there is Gao Yao's navy on the Yangtze River. Although there are only 5,000 people, their combat effectiveness on the water is not inferior to that of tens of thousands of troops! Moreover, they also have the advantage of ships, which makes Wu Rui trapped by the Yangtze River before, and can only passively defend, but not actively attack.

Wu Rui cleverly took advantage of this situation and successfully sneaked across and attacked the ferry which was guarded by only 2,000 people. This key move allowed Wu Rui to finally gain control of the ferry. With the ferry in hand and the protection of the camp, even if Gao Yao's navy was strong, they could do nothing to Wu Rui.

Wu Rui, who controlled the ferry, was like holding a double-edged sword. He could use it as a base to launch a fierce attack on the enemy; he could also retreat to Nanjun at any time to ensure his own safety. Therefore, the importance of the ferry to Wu Rui was self-evident.

Li You's goal was to destroy the ferry directly and cut off Wu Rui's way back to Nanjun. In this way, Wu Rui would fall into an extremely passive situation, his strategic advantage would be gone, and his situation would become extremely difficult.

It was indeed because Gao Yao was unprepared that the enemy had the opportunity to sneak across the river. However, this time the situation was completely different. Gao Yao had been fully prepared. If Wu Rui still wanted to cross the river, the casualties he would face would be extremely shocking. After all, the warships led by Gao Yao had absolute initiative, which gave him absolute dominance on the battlefield.

More importantly, none of Wu Rui's men were good at naval warfare. Although he had an army of 100,000, this huge number only sounded scary on the water. In fact, their role in naval warfare was minimal.

"If we can successfully destroy the ferry, the situation will be fundamentally reversed. The Prime Minister may be able to regain the initiative, and Wu Rui's 100,000 troops will be in dire straits. After the food supply is cut off, it is almost impossible for them to return to Nanjun. In this case, Wu Rui's options are very limited. Either he chooses to defend Hua County on the spot, and at the same time send troops to retake the ferry and repair the damaged facilities. However, for Wu Rui, the probability of success on this road is quite low. Not only is it time-consuming and laborious, it is also prone to sneak attacks by our army, and the whole process is full of dangers."

At this time, Li You began to talk about his ideas and made a comprehensive analysis of the pros and cons. At the same time, he was also speculating on Wu Rui's next possible actions.

"From what I can see, Wu Rui now has quite limited options. He can either continue to attack, or he can only switch to the battle line of Hengshan and Kuaiji. If he chooses the latter and withdraws to his territory through the Hengshan line, then this is undoubtedly the safest approach for Wu Rui. In this way, he does not need to engage in a protracted battle with our army, and the degree of danger he faces will be minimized."

Then, Li You continued to analyze: "For the Prime Minister, it doesn't matter what the reason is for Wu Rui to act. What's important is that as long as Wu Rui's army starts to move towards Kuaiji, and then pass this news to Wang Ben's ears, then all this will be enough, isn't it?"

Gao Yao was quite satisfied with Li You's reasoning. After all, Li You's analysis was not based on conjecture, but a reasonable inference based on actual conditions. He did not draw a hasty conclusion, but made a judgment after careful consideration and full consideration of various factors.

This made Gao Yao look at Li You differently, and he realized that the reason for promoting Li You was indeed special. In return for the favor, Gao Yao took in Li Si, which actually gave Li Si a way out. Despite this, Gao Yao was still very cautious in appointing Li Si. Due to the public sentiment problem in the southern border, Gao Yao had not been able to give Li Si a formal position, and basically appointed him as a guest official, and the identities of these guest officials were all kept anonymous.

Although Gao Yao had never treated Li Si badly in terms of treatment, Gao Yao could not satisfy Li Si's most desired things. After all, if Li Si was easily given an important position, it would inevitably cause dissatisfaction among other officials, which was something Gao Yao could not avoid. Therefore, in dealing with Li You, Gao Yao offered him many opportunities for promotion shortly after he entered the Southern Border court.

Gao Yao did this not entirely because of Li You's outstanding ability, but largely out of a desire to repay Li Si. But now it seems that Li You has indeed demonstrated his ability to handle emergencies, which has changed Gao Yao's view of him. The saying that a tiger father will have a dog son is also inherited by Li You.

"Xiao He, Li Zhao, what do you two think?" At this time Gao Yao looked in the direction of Xiao He and Li Zhao.

"Prime Minister, Li You's method can be implemented. Send a pigeon to Wu She immediately and ask him to make early deployment. However, pretending to defend the city is not appropriate. Wu Rui was able to reach his current position, so he should not be underestimated. We should still be cautious."