Episode 267. Pumpkin’s vine (2)
‘I knew that he was good at stratagem, to the point of being called a demon, but I thought he was still not good enough as a military man because he was young… This is more than that. I can see why the Chief Fireman treats him so severely!’
Names are sometimes very important.
When it comes to Yeju-gun, it can be said that it has the name of three places, Yeo-Nam and Yeong-Cheon. In other words, it is natural to be at the top and give help from the bottom to the top.
However, if you are a male and female army, when you help the defeated army, you will have a reason to ask for an appropriate price on an equal footing or refuse support in some cases.
It was the first strategy meeting Liu Bei attended, so he tried hard to grasp the atmosphere.
Certainly, the longevity’s eyes contained deep trust in Zhuge Liang.
‘her! What a surprise. All of them are longevity like Giraseong, but it’s such an atmosphere even though there is no leader of the fire department. Does it mean that you will be respected regardless of your age?’
General Haman quietly opened his mouth.
“If the princess’s company comes this way, shouldn’t we meet them?”
Zhuge Liang shook his head slightly.
“The momentum of the pursuers will be quite even. If we step in, the brunt will be cut, but we will still have to take a lot of damage. On the contrary, it could be dangerous if the obstruction of Yeo-nam-gun spreads to us or if the troops are mixed.”
“But we also have 100,000 troops. If you’re careful, won’t you block enough?”
“The number is 100,000. But half of our troops are already wounded. The other half isn’t in very good shape either.”
“50,000 elite soldiers are enough to break the brunt of the enemy.”
When Ha Man revealed his speculation, Zhuge Liang let out a long sigh on purpose.
“With 50,000 elite soldiers, we can break the enemy brunt. But that’s too risky in hindsight.”
“yes? What do you mean?”
“Only from the princess’s point of view would she be grateful right away. But after that, how will you see us who are weak?”
“…..”
“I always put us first. It’s a pity that Yeo Nam’s defeat is unfortunate, but I really can’t trust Gongju’s company. This time, after capturing Sopaeseong, he posted a funeral, but he didn’t show much favor. It was just as promised. I have not forgotten that part.”
“Even if you help me this time, you’re saying that you’ll only show condescension with your mouth.”
“no.”
Zhuge Liang said firmly.
“It won’t end with being condescending. We will try to supply the lost troops from our side.”
To put it simply, he might steal the fireman’s soldiers.
“Could the princess company go that far?”
“It’s not your concern, it’s my conviction.”
At Zhuge Liang’s answer, not only Haman but also the other generals’ expressions changed seriously.
You could tell how much the fireman cared for and valued the generals and soldiers just by not attending the meeting because he was still treating patients at the medical office.
Not only those who were originally subordinates of Hwabu, but also other generals in the defeated army and those under Liu Bei, fell in love with Hwabu’s personality and did not even think of other princes.
“Then what should I do? We can’t pretend we didn’t see the princess who is running away, can we?”
“We are not alone in Yeju. There are soldiers from Yeongcheon who have captured Ohyeon and Cheonseong and are attacking Park Yangseong.”
“Yeongchun-gun is further north than us, so there is no time to come to help Yeo-nam-gun, who is retreating from the southeast.”
“We don’t have time to come to help Yeo Nam-gun, but we can give up attacking Bakyang Fortress and send our troops to Paengseong. If you do, you will be able to change the movements of Lord Xu.”
“However, Paengseong is as strong as Harvey Castle. You can turn the direction of the blade, but if you don’t, you won’t get Park Yang-seong, and Yeongcheon-gun may get hit in the back by Park Yang-seong’s soldiers.”
“If only Yeongcheon-gun attacked Paengseong, that would be the case. But what would happen if our defeated army also headed for Paengseong?”
Zhuge Liang’s words widened the eyes of almost all generals.
“If you do that, Harvey-kun won’t have time to attack Yeo-nam-gun.”
“That’s right. So, I was thinking of suggesting a strategy for Paengseong when the Duke of Ju attends the meeting.”
“But didn’t we say that we had 50,000 troops to fight? Then…”
Liu Bei listened to Zhuge Liang’s plan and thought, “How many times are you right? That’s amazing! He was uttering the same exclamation.
‘If it were me, I’d vacate Sopaeseong, pretending to attack Paengseong, and wait until Yeo Nam’s forces turn to Paengseong before returning secretly. ?’
I can’t know for sure because I haven’t told the generals all the moves Zhuge Liang envisions yet, but I thought that Liu Bei might have even his own in mind.
In fact, generals fighting on the battlefield don’t need to read the distant numbers.
The numbers are released one by one at an important time, and the better the result, the greater the trust of the generals in Zhuge Liang.
Just as a Go master sees dozens of moves ahead even during a fierce battle, Zhuge Liang seemed to be like that too.
‘He’s as talented as Sun-wook or Guo-ga!’
Liu Bei admired Zhuge Liang’s ability, but suddenly became afraid of the painter.
Since he is operating on a patient in a medical office far from the conference hall, he practically does not know this fact at all. However, even so, the counselors and longevity were wringing out their head and coming up with the best move.
‘Perhaps my job is not to rebuild an imperial family, but to help the governor of the fire department and correct this messy world… What am I thinking right now…. Let’s not be shaken. You must not be shaken.’
Liu Bei quickly calmed down her shaking heart, but the foundation of her determination was already cracking.
While having meetings, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei became confused as they saw Liu Bei, whose expression changed from time to time and the complicated look on her face.
They, too, are as shaken by the enormous capacity and tolerance of the painter as Yubi.
‘I don’t know why Taesoo-nim treats you this way… but I want you to know my worth.’
After the meeting, Zhuge Liang sighed as he saw Liu Bei walking out shoulder to shoulder with the two commanders of Guan Yu’s equipment.
In Zhuge Liang’s view, Liu Bi was nothing more than a foolish waste lord who dared to put his main gunner on the scale and measure it here and there, even though he had no clue.
* * *
‘The monkey’s brain and the human brain look similar, but they are so different! Still, I was able to complete the surgery safely because I have experienced many brains so far.’
The painter let out a sigh of relief as he stitched the patient’s scalp for the last time.
If the area to be operated on was not the brain, the painter would have passed the operation on to his disciples and responded to Zhuge Liang’s call. However, since the area that has been studied with the most interest recently is the brain, it was impossible to give up surgery even if the patient was alive or dead.
‘Fortunately, the operation was successful… but I can’t guarantee when this patient will wake up.’
The brain was an unexplored area with many homework still left in future medicine.
If the future armed with advanced technology is like that, in this era, no matter how good a surgery is, there is a limit.
“Inject purified leech saliva appropriately and observe the progress.”
“Your master.”
The painter came out of the operating room after asking his disciples to take care of the patient.
Outside the operating room, Zhuge Liang, Eulji, and Liu Bei were standing there as if the meeting had ended early.
“Tae-soo. Is the operation over now?”
“Yeah, but you haven’t had a meeting yet and have been waiting for me? If it was the words of the military, I would have obeyed as much as I could.”
“As instructed, the meeting was held first, and it ended a little while ago, so I came to report.”
“Right. Come to think of it, the surgery took a little longer.”
The fireman raised his head slightly, estimated the location of the sun, and shrugged.
Even my shoulders were sore, probably because I had to undergo surgery for more than two hours.
“Let’s go to the conference room and have a cup of tea.”
“yes.”
While going to the conference room, the painter noticed that Liu Bei was following him and realized that Zhuge Liang was testing him.
Zhuge Liang, ignorant of the future history, treated Liu Bei worse than Lu Pu. Of course, objectively, Zhuge Liang’s standard was not wrong.
The painter thought it would not be bad to watch Zhuge Liang do the sheep.
“I guess Yu Dok-woo also attended the meeting?”
“Yes Taesu. I think Dok-Woo Yoo should also listen to the contents of this meeting.”
“Yeah, but what on earth did you call me twice while I was in the operating room?”
“The Yeo Nam Army, which was attacking Habi Fortress, has been defeated and is coming here.”
“It looks like DK made an all-out attack when he heard that we captured Sopae Fortress.”
“yes. It is, but how did you know that? Only me and Eulji Danju heard the news before the meeting started, right?”
Zhuge Liang was surprised, and Liu Bei, who followed him, pricked up his ears.
“Yeonam-gun is attacking Habi Fortress, so even if it can take damage, it can’t defeat it. In order to defeat it, you need to attack that much, but it can’t happen without Habiseong’s troops pouring out and attacking. is not it?”
“okay. As expected, Taesu-nim’s insight is higher than mine.”
“Liang, you’re teasing me too much. In fact, aren’t you already thinking about everything after that? I’m only thinking about simple things. In any case, if that’s the case, then the princess company would have requested reinforcements… Did a dispatch come?”
“It hasn’t come yet.”
“When was the big defeat?”
“Three days ago.”
“Then Pavalma will come tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.”
“It’s an urgent matter, so I think it will come tomorrow.”
“What conclusions were drawn at the meeting?”
“We sent Pabalma to Yeongcheon-gun, which is attacking Park Yang-seong, and delivered the news of the defeat of Habi-seong, and then we agreed to attack Paeng-seong by joining forces.”
“You’re thinking of turning Yeo Nam’s retreat toward Paengseong.”
At the words of the fireman, Zhuge Liang nodded in amazement.
It was to the point of admiration how he could infer not only the conclusions of the meeting but also the inner thoughts after hearing a few words.
“yes.”
“Good idea. But have you figured out a way to preserve our troops intact?”
“yes. In fact, with that in mind, I turned all the sword points toward Paengseong.”
“Good job. Anyway, I’m sure you’ll be criticized by the governor of Yeongcheon-gun or the princess’s company. Well, if you can handle that kind of swearing, it’s enough, and you did well. As we always say, keep the preservation of our soldiers as our top priority.”
“Even those who cursed at me will have to bow their heads to Tae-soo later.”
“If you look at it from a distance, it will be like that.”
Liu Bei, who was listening to Zhuge Liang’s conversation with the fireman, at some point tilted her head with an expression of incomprehension.
‘what? Soldier Preservation Plan? Yeongcheon-gun governor and the princess are being criticized by the company? What are you talking about? Could it be that you are trying to deceive not only your enemies but also your allies as I expected? But you haven’t attended the meeting, and you haven’t even arrived yet. How on earth can you plan all the news in advance?’
Liu Bei’s intentions became more complicated.
No matter how fast news from the battlefield could be, it could never be faster than Parbalma, and Hwabu and Zhuge Liang knew such news like a person sitting and watching a thousand li.
‘In order to look into the battlefield and get the news quickly, that amount of money and personnel should have been invested from before… Could it be that Taesoo Hwa planted people to gather information from before?’
It was almost impossible, but after listening to the conversation between the two, I couldn’t think of anything else.
‘If he really has the information power I expect… I can only think that Taesoo Hwa had a great purpose long before me.’
Liu Bei became more and more afraid of the painter.
An opponent who knew the situation on the battlefield in detail. Later, even if he escaped from the fireman’s arms, he thought that he was an opponent he could not fight against.
In fact, Zhuge Liang’s intention to show Liu Bei these things was to prevent him from betraying him, but it also meant that he should know the big bowl of the fireman and become a trustworthy subordinate.
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