Chapter 2660: Xue Rengui vs Zhao Kuangyin, Le Yi Yellow River Blocks Bai Qi
Just when Ying Hao and the four concubines of Cao Wei were at odds with each other and enjoyed the blessings of the Qi people, Cao Wei's side completely exploded due to the news of the Great Qin's attack on Wei.
Even though everyone in Cao Wei knew for a long time that once they completely fell out with Great Qin, Great Qin would definitely retaliate, they still didn't expect Great Qin's revenge to be so violent.
Among the three kingdoms of the Central Plains, Wei is the weakest and has the worst geographical location. It borders the Qin Dynasty on three sides. It only needs to dispatch an army of 200,000 to 300,000 people to defeat Wei.
However, the Eight Route Army of the Qin Dynasty crusaded against the Central Plains, four of which were used to attack Wei, with a total of 420,000 troops. This was hundreds of thousands more than the total strength of the Wei State after the extreme expansion of the army.
Not to mention that among the four Qin armies, there were Bai Qi who was victorious in every battle, Li Cunxiao, the most powerful general in the world, and even the Qin Emperor Ying Hao personally led all the armies.
The strength gap between the two sides is too big, this is a fart fight.
For a time, everyone in the Wei Kingdom was in panic. Most people no longer had hope for Cao Wei, and they were all thinking about how to hold the Qin Army's lap after the Qin Army arrived.
The Qin Dynasty has not officially started war with the Wei State, and just the announcement of the dispatch of troops has caused shock within the Wei State, causing many people to lose the confidence to resist.
If this unhealthy trend is not stopped, when the Qin army really comes, they will not be able to surrender in batches.
Cao Cao, Xun You, Fan Li and other senior officials of Cao Wei knew this, so they decisively ordered that no one should spread remarks that affected morale. Violators would be punished with treason.
Such a harsh ban can only stop people's mouths, but it cannot stop people's hearts and cannot solve the fundamental problem.
Peiguo, Qiao County.
"My strategists, the 420,000 Qin army is divided into four armies. Bai Qi attacks Dongjun, Ying Hao attacks Chen Liu, Zhang Liao and Han Xin attack Yingchuan. How should we, the Wei Dynasty, resist?"
Cao Cao was somewhat unconfident and asked the advisers for advice, but what he got in return was silence. After all, in the face of the absolute gap in strength, any conspiracy would be in vain.
In fact, Cao Wei had already made arrangements to deal with the Qin Dynasty, with Leyi guarding Baima, Cao Bin guarding Yingchuan, Xiahou Yuan guarding Chenliu, and Cao Cao personally sitting in the center to support any party at any time.
This was the best arrangement for Cao Wei, but Da Qin used too many troops to attack Wei, making Cao Cao not confident in the previous arrangement, so he wanted to change the strategic arrangement.
However, Cao Wei only had such a small amount of wealth. No matter how they deployed their troops, they could not change the absolute strength gap between Qin and Wei.
It is a taboo for military strategists to change orders at dawn and at night. What Cao Wei has to do now is not to change the layout before the battle, but to stick to the original strategy without wavering and at the same time seek assistance from other aspects.
Just when everyone was silent, Fan Li stood up and said: "My lord, the eight-pronged Qin army and the four-pronged attack on Wei show that the Qin Dynasty wants to concentrate its forces and defeat the Wei Dynasty first, and then defeat the Song and Ming Dynasties one by one.
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Now the situation on the battlefield in the Central Plains has changed, and the Wei Dynasty is under the greatest pressure. Li believes that General Cao Ren's army to aid the Ming Dynasty should be recalled."
Hearing this, Cao Cao couldn't help but nodded. If it had been before, he would definitely not have recalled Cao Ren at the same time, but this time and the other time.
Nowadays, the three kingdoms of Wei, Song and Ming have formed an offensive and defensive alliance, and Cao Wei, who has a vast territory, is attacked by four Qin armies at the same time, and the pressure he faces is much greater than that of the Ming Dynasty.
The Ming Kingdom certainly did not want the Wei Kingdom to fall completely, so if he recalled Cao Ren at this time, Zhu Ming would not only have no objection, but would also support it.
"In addition to recalling General Cao Ren, we, the Wei Dynasty, can also ask for help from the Song Dynasty.
Among the eight Qin armies, only one Qin army attacked the Song Dynasty. Among the three countries in the Central Plains, the Song Dynasty had the least pressure. It sent an army of 50,000 to support Yanzhou, which should not put too much pressure on the Zhao and Song Dynasties."
This plan proposed by Fan Li once again made Cao Cao's eyes shine. After all, the pressure Cao Wei was facing now was too great, and no external assistance could be spared.
After recalling Cao Ren, the total force that Cao Wei can use is 330,000. If 50,000 Song troops are added, it will be 380,000 troops. Facing the 420,000 Qin troops coming from four directions, it may not be possible.
There is no strength to fight.
"Just do what Military Advisor Fan said, recall Cao Ren immediately, and ask Zhao Kuangyin for help at the same time." Cao Cao ordered in a deep voice.
At this time, Cao Ren's 50,000-strong army aiding the Ming Dynasty had just arrived in Taishan County and had not yet entered the territory of the Ming Kingdom, so it was just the right time to call them back.
If Cao Ren really enters the Qingnan battlefield, the war zone between Qin and Ming Dynasties, it will not be that easy to recall Cao Ren.
"Does the military advisor have any other strategies to teach the orphans?"
Cao Cao kept looking at Fan Li expectantly.
After Fan Li was silent for a moment, he said: "The Qin army's offensive on the Western Front was particularly fierce. Even Ying Hao personally led the army out. I am afraid that General Xiahou Yuan's words alone may not be enough.
Qiao County is too far away from the Western Front. If something happens, we may not be able to provide support in time. I also ask my lord to go to Chenliu and take up command in order to strengthen the morale of the army."
Cao Cao thought about it and felt that it made sense. After all, even Ying Hao had personally taken action. If he was still hiding in the rear, he really should go to the front line in person.
After some deliberations, Cao Cao made the following response:
On the western front, Wei King Cao Cao is the main general, and Fan Li and Cheng Yu are military advisors.
Cao Cao personally took charge of Chenliu, and Xia Houyuan took charge of Suanzao. The 120,000 Wei troops faced Ying Hao's 150,000 Qin troops.
On the northern front, Le Yi is the chief general, and Xun You and Chen Qun are the military advisors.
Le Yi was stationed in Baima, and Yin Zhou was stationed in Yanjin. The 80,000 Wei army faced Bai Qi's 120,000 Qin army.
In the southwest, Cao Bin is the chief general, and Cao GUI and Chen Gong are the military advisors.
Cao Bin was stationed in Xuchang, and Xue Ju was stationed in Kunyang. With an army of 100,000, they faced the Qin army of 150,000 from Zhang Liao and Han Xin.
Under Fan Li's suggestion, Cao Cao made certain optimizations while maintaining the previous layout. The overall situation was naturally much better than before.
Now that the Wei State has everything ready, they are just waiting for the Qin Army to attack and compete with Da Qin. But if possible, they would rather the Qin Army never attack.
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Song Dynasty, Shouchun.
After Zhao Kuangyin received Cao Cao's request for help, he immediately prepared to send troops to support the Wei State. After all, the pressure faced by the Song State was indeed not great.
The Qin State only dispatched 150,000 troops to attack the Song Dynasty, but the Wei State attracted nearly half of the Qin State's firepower. If the Song State ignored it, if the Wei State failed to hold on and was directly defeated by the Great Qin, it would be a disaster for the Song State.
Not a good thing.
Zhao Kuangyin planned to appoint Zhao She as the general and Yan Xiang as the military advisor to lead an army of 60,000 to support Wei.
But just as the army was about to leave, he received news that a large number of Qin army's cavalry were heading south, and the number was no less than 40,000 to 50,000. Zhao Kuangyin was so frightened that he immediately stopped the army to aid Wei.
The Runan County of the Song State borders the Zhangling County of Nanyang in the Qin Dynasty. Since the Qin Army in Nanyang has already attacked Yingchuan, the Song State only needs to deal with the Qin Army in the direction of Zhangling.
The Qin army's attack on Runan from Zhangling had to pass through Tongshan and Tongbai Mountains, and these two important places were owned by the Qin and Song Dynasties respectively.
The Song Dynasty had already built many strongholds on Tongbai Mountain to resist the invasion of Zhang Ling's Qin army. However, this could only stop the Qin army's infantry. After all, the infantry relied more on logistics.
But if the invading Qin army were cavalry, they could bring only a small amount of food and grass, bypass the Tongbai Mountain defense line, and go straight into Runan County.
The thirty-seven counties of Runan County are mostly flat areas. Even if the Song Dynasty has a large number of troops, it is impossible to leave sufficient defenders in all the cities. However, as long as a county town is captured by the Qin army, the Qin army can attack on the spot.
Collect food to meet urgent needs.
At this time, the Qin army mobilized so many cavalry to go south. It was obvious that they wanted to use cavalry to break the situation first and disrupt Song's arrangement in Runan.
Fifty thousand Qin cavalry was already a force that threatened the entire Song Dynasty. Zhao Kuangyin naturally could not turn a blind eye. After all, he could not watch the Qin cavalry turn Runan upside down. He could only solve this big trouble first and then go.
Support Cao Wei.
Therefore, Zhao Kuangyin decisively stopped the 50,000 troops supporting Wei, and also transferred 50,000 troops from Lujiang and Jiujiang. Together with the 130,000 troops from Yuzhou, a total of 230,000 troops were raised, just like the Qin Dynasty.
If the military cavalry dares to break into Yuzhou, they will use all the strength of the country to surround and kill these 50,000 cavalry.
Zhao Kuangyin's threat naturally did not scare Xue Rengui. The northern cavalry continued to advance towards Zhangling. At the same time, the garrisons from Xiangyang and Shangyong also rushed towards Zhangling.
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Xiangyang.
"I am reporting to the Commander-in-Chief that in one day at most, 50,000 cavalry will be able to reach Zhangling, and it will probably take another five days to recruit 100,000 infantry."
"Five days?"
A flash of light flashed in Xue Rengui's eyes, and he said in a deep voice: "No more waiting. If you continue to wait, you will give Zhao Kuangyin time to react.
The troops are very fast. I led 50,000 cavalry to attack Runan first, and then followed with 100,000 infantry."
As soon as this statement came out, all the generals in Jingzhou were shocked.
Meng Gong further said: "Grand Governor, in this Central Plains war, our army's goal is to destroy Wei first, then Song, and finally Ming.
Now that the four armies to destroy the Wei have not yet been dispatched, we are taking the lead in attacking the Song Dynasty, and even go deep into Yuzhou alone. Isn't it a bit too radical?"
Meng Gong said this very tactfully. He just told Xue Rengui clearly that in the early stage of the Central Plains War, the four armies that destroyed Wei were the protagonists. Our eighth army was a supporting role and we could fight slowly and steadily. There was no need to be so strong in the limelight. After all, it was only
Even with fifteen armies, it was impossible to destroy the Song Dynasty.
Xue Rengui naturally knew that it was not his home court yet, but with the fighter plane right in front of him, he would not miss such a good opportunity just because the timing was wrong.
After Xue Rengui was transferred to Jingbei, he was originally high-spirited and ready to show off his skills. However, he did not expect that Chu State's defense in Nanjun was too tight and did not give him any opportunity to take advantage of it.
Even if the Chu State devoted all its strength to defeat Wu, the largest number of defenders were left in Nanyang, just to defend against the Qin army.
Now Xue Rengui also somewhat understands why the small Nanjun has been difficult for Yue Fei for so many years. It is not that Yue Fei is not capable, but that Chu's defense does not have many flaws and does not give the Qin army any chance.
Attacking Nanjun will definitely be a tough battle. Even Xue Rengui doesn't have much room for maneuver. But attacking Song Dynasty is different, not to mention that the fighter plane is right in front of him now.
"Are you radical? I don't think that even if Zhao Kuangyin comes with all the troops from the country after entering Yuzhou, I will be sure to escape unscathed."
Xue Rengui said with confidence that he would even dare to fight 250,000 Song troops with 50,000 cavalry, but Zhao Kuangyin might not dare to fight him in an upright duel.
"Meng Gong, after I leave with my army, Xiangyang City will be handed over to you."
Xue Rengui patted Meng Gong on the shoulder and said seriously: "If there is something wrong in Xiangyang, I would like to ask you."
When Meng Gong heard this, he clasped his fists decisively and said resolutely: "In the end, the general will definitely live up to the trust of the governor. If the city is alive and the people are alive, the city will perish and the people will perish."
Among the generals in Jingzhou, Meng Gong was the best at defending. Xue Rengui thought that the battle when he defended Jiangling was so amazing. Under the same circumstances, even he himself might not be as good at defending as Meng Gong, so he handed over Xiangyang.
He felt very relieved about Meng Gong.
Xue Rengui left Meng Gong to guard Xiangyang, while he took Yang Zaixing, Pei Yuanqing, Wenpin, Wen Yang, Zhou Qing and other generals, as well as three thousand Jingbei elite cavalry to Zhangling, and Zhang Xiu, Qin Yong and other cavalry generals heading south.
They gathered together and then led 50,000 cavalry straight to Runan.
When passing by the Song Army's camp in Tongbai Mountain, Xue Rengui sent Yang Zaixing to call for war, but the Song Army guard Shi Bao didn't even dare to say anything about the war, so he just let Xue Rengui enter Runan.
Fifty thousand Qin troops marched directly into Yuzhou, which not only frightened the counties in Runan, but even Song Ting was extremely panicked and quickly mobilized troops to encircle and suppress it, but in the end it was still a step too late.
Anyang County, which had no time to react, was captured by Xue Rengui in half an hour. Magistrate Daoting was horrified and surrendered without a fight.
Xue Rengui invaded Runan for only one day, but already captured the land of two counties, and then requisitioned grain on the spot, temporarily relieving the urgent problem of insufficient food and grass, and then launched a four-pronged attack, disturbing the peace of seventeen counties in the western part of Runan.
After Zhao Kuangyin heard the news, he quickly led his army and set off the beginning of the Qin-Song War.
At the same time, the Yellow River has reached the north, Liyang.
Bai Qi personally led an army of 70,000 people here, ready to launch a cross-river operation at any time, but Le Yi had been waiting for a long time at Baima Crossing south of the Yellow River.
Bai Qi held a telescope and looked at the Wei army's water camp across the Yellow River. He said with admiration: "Le Yi, the governor of Cao Wei, is not simple. His camping skills alone are enough to rank among the top ten in the world."