Sun Ce chatted with Ma Chao, Xu Sheng and others for a long time. He wanted to find the most suitable time and place for an ambush, and first of all, he had to consider the physical strength of both sides. Wen Chou has one horse each, and he has two, and the longer it takes, the better it will be for him. But he was in a hurry, and he had to kill Wen Chou before crossing the lake and land, and when he had crossed the lake and land, he would not have enough time. Once Yuan Tan or Cao Ang received the news and rushed to reinforcements, he would definitely be defeated.

And, of course, a good location. Two hundred against two thousand, one is ten, the stakes are extremely high, and he must use all factors as much as possible to weaken Wen Chou's strength and create opportunities for the assault. Either he doesn't fight, or if he wants to fight, he must win, and it is a quick victory, otherwise the loss is too great, and he can't afford it either.

If the strength is insufficient, it can only be counted as a bone and every possible change is taken into account.

Xu Sheng and the others said that Ma Chao quickly got impatient, found a reason, and went to the side to compete with the knight. Sun Ce didn't say anything, Ma Chao is so natural, he also fights with talent, and he barely comes.

"Is the general worried that the losses will be too great?" Xu Sheng squatted down in front of Sun Ce, lowered his voice and said.

Sun Ce looked at him and smiled. "It's just such a little possessions, I can't afford to lose."

Xu Sheng rolled his eyes. Sun Ce said: "If you have anything to say, don't think about it." ”

"Wow. General, do you know the difference between a war horse and an ordinary pack horse? ”

Sun Ce was stunned for a moment. He hadn't really paid attention to it, because he had never had the opportunity to have a large number of pack horses, and even if he had, he didn't need to take care of them. He looked at Xu Sheng again, and suddenly realized a problem. Xu Sheng is known in history for his courage, but he is not a brave man. He is good at using tactics, and he has won more with less many times, and he is a wise and brave character. As a Langya general, he was able to get ahead in the Sun Wu regime dominated by Jianghuai and Wu Hui, not by his connections, but by his real skills.

He is in the same county as Zhuge Jin, but Zhuge Jin is a wise person who protects himself, and he has always moved closer to the Jianghuai system, so he may not speak for him.

"Wen Xiang, tell me about it."

"The pack horse is not as delicate as the war horse, and the physical strength is insufficient. The training is not as strict as that of war horses, and they cannot be ordered and forbidden like war horses, and they are often frightened when charging at high speeds. I've heard that when cavalry charges, in order to prevent the pack horses from being frightened and disturbing the formation, they usually put the pack horses aside and be guarded by special personnel. But I haven't experienced real cavalry battles, so I don't know what the situation is, and if so, how many men would be needed to guard two thousand pack horses? ”

Sun Ce bowed slightly. It was an issue he hadn't considered. If there are many men guarding the pack horses, he will have less than two thousand enemies in battle, and he will have a better chance of victory, but from another point of view, these people will become reserve forces in disguise, and they are likely to fight when he thinks he has the upper hand, and give him a fatal blow.

"Wen Xiang, you can pay attention to the situation when you inquire about it, and report back when the time comes, the more details the better." Sun Ce took a sip of water. "The devil is in the details."

Xu Sheng was taken aback. "The general believes in Buddhism?"

Sun Ce grinned happily. "I don't believe in Buddhism, but I can send them to the Western Heavens."

Xu Sheng shook his head. "Those Hulu can't go to the western sky, they can only go to hell."

——

Wen Chou squatted down, inspected the camp carefully, and picked up a piece of horse manure that had dried up and broke it open. The inside of the horse manure is still wet, but there are no grass stalks. Wen Chou frowned, and a trace of uneasiness flashed in his heart.

Sun Ce fed the horses with grain, and the horsepower would be better than he expected. Along the way, Sun Ce can get food supplies from the county pavilions along the way, and he doesn't have to worry about food shortages, he doesn't have to carry the food needed by people and horses, and he doesn't even have to worry about cooking, as long as he sends someone to notify him in advance, which is an advantage that cannot be ignored.

Wen Chou stood up and thought for a moment. "Arrest the local pavilion chief. Be careful, don't ruin his life. ”

The guards were stunned for a moment. "General, Sun Ce didn't live in the pavilion, why did he arrest the pavilion chief?"

"If you want to go, where is all this nonsense?"

The guards were reprimanded by Wen Chou, and they didn't dare to say anything more, so they took someone and hurried away. The pavilion was not far from the camp, about two or three miles away, and it didn't take long for the guards to return, and there was a middle-aged man on horseback who was struggling desperately. The guards rushed to Wen Chou's horse and directly pushed the middle-aged man off the horse. The pavilion chief fell on his back, screaming in pain. Wen Chou became more and more unhappy, scolded the guard, and asked him to help the pavilion chief to him.

"You're the local pavilion chief?"

The middle-aged man looked at Wen Chou, shocked. "Yes, yes, who is the general?"

Seeing that the pavilion chief was very nervous, Wen Chou had an idea. "Do you know Youzhou Mu Liu Yu and Liu Bo'an?"

"Liu Yu? Know, know. He is a great man in our East China Sea. ”

"I'm one of his men."

The pavilion chief suddenly felt a lot more relaxed. "Oh, you turned out to be Liu Jun's subordinate, no wonder there are so many Hu people."

Wen Chou didn't explain, he talked a few words, and asked about Sun Ce who had just passed. The pavilion chief said that Sun Ce had just passed by here a day ago, and he had sent someone to inform him in advance, so the pavilion had already been prepared, and he thought that Sun Ce would eat in the pavilion, but Sun Ce was afraid of disturbing the people, so he asked people to take away the prepared dry food along with the food eaten by the horses, and he did not know the specific situation.

"How many people's servings? And how much food for the horses? ”

"He asked for 300 stone for dry food for 200 people, but there was not enough in the pavilion, so I only gave 230 stone. However, General Sun was very kind and didn't say anything. ”

"So little?" Wen Chou groaned. The quota of one horse is equivalent to two people, and it is two thousand and three hundred stone a day, which can only be eaten by two hundred and fifty horses, which matches the number of people, but the number is seriously insufficient. Sun Ce could never have only two hundred men and two hundred and fifty horses, and judging from the amount of horse manure on the ground, it was more than that.

Wen Chou thought about it, looked around, and suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "Are there any other kiosks nearby?"

"Of course, there are three or four within five miles. Fu Yang and Wu Yuan are close to each other, there are many household registrations, and there is a pavilion in three or four miles, otherwise they can't manage it. But after that, there is less of it. ”

Wen Chou suddenly realized, and immediately sent cavalry to several nearby pavilions to invite the pavilion chief. In order to avoid a similar situation, he asked his guards to report Liu Yu's name. This trick is very useful, as soon as I heard that it was Liu Yu's subordinates, those pavilion chiefs were very cooperative, knowing everything and saying everything. Putting all the numbers together, it is exactly the food of a thousand people, and the food of fifteen hundred war horses.

Wen Chou was very satisfied, he dismissed a few pavilion chiefs, and then decided to follow Sun Ce's example, continue to pretend to be Liu Yu's subordinates, send people to the front pavilion to distribute them, and ordered them to prepare for reception. Although he fell behind Sun Ce and could collect limited food, he was able to understand Sun Ce's daily consumption, and at the same time reduced the danger of camping, so that he could live by the pavilion in a big way, and he himself could enjoy the treatment of an official in the pavilion. As for whether the pavilion chiefs believed him or were intimidated by the fierce knights, he didn't care.

It's just that Wen Chou hasn't noticed that there is a local who appears in the same pavilion as him twice.