Chapter 27 Peng Tuo occupies Xihua, thinking hard about a good strategy to defeat the enemy
Runan County, located in Yuzhou, is the largest county in Yuzhou. It has 37 cities, more than 400,000 households, and more than 2 million people.
Peng Tuo led the Runan Yellow Turbans to wreak havoc on the borders of Runan for a long time, especially in the Xihua and Zhaoling areas. Xihua is close to the border between Runan and Chen, and Zhaoling is close to the border between Runan and Yingchuan.
Runan County was also the hometown of the Yuan family, a prominent family of the dynasty. The influence of the Yuan family in Runan could be said to be greater than that of the emperor. Yuan Shu, who later fled Luoyang, also developed in the Runan area.
The Yellow Turbans are rampant in the Yuan family's hometown, but the Yuan family has not taken any substantive actions. Their attitude is worth pondering.
Yangzhai is about 120 miles away from Xihua and Zhaoling in Runan. The army moved slowly. After deciding on the strategy at the celebration banquet yesterday, the army set off for Runan today.
Huangfu Song divided his troops into three groups, with Huangfu Song as the center, Zhu Jun as the right wing, Liu Jing and Cao Cao as the left wing. The three armies attacked together and met again after reaching Runan.
The three armies took the passage between Ying River and Ru River to avoid crossing the river. At this time, Liu Jingzheng and Cao Cao were riding in front of the military formation, chatting on horseback.
"My dear brother, what we did at Xingshan was too dangerous and we should not do it again in the future!" Cao Cao advised. After listening to Liu Jing's detailed account of the entire battle at Xingshan, he couldn't help but feel worried about Liu Jing's boldness.
Breaking out from an ambush is an excellent strategy, but confronting an enemy general in a one-on-one battle formation is a cowardly move.
Cao Cao's consistent idea was to strategize and control the central army, rather than charge forward and strive to be the vanguard.
"The elder brother is right, the younger brother will never do it again." Liu Jing nodded on his horse.
"However, this move also has its merits. The Yellow Turbans are the refugees who have gathered together to form an army. If the enemy is defeated, they will be completely defeated! If Bocai had not been killed in this battle, a lot of blood would have to be paid."
"Yes, I lost more than 500 soldiers in this battle and annihilated thousands of enemy troops. If the loss is really much, I will still have some difficulty in explaining to General Zhu."
However, Zhu Jun already thought that this casualty ratio was a miracle. Compared with the enemy's casualties, it was surprisingly low! In the original plan, Zhu Jun calculated that at least two to three thousand people would have to be paid.
"Perhaps this can be followed in subsequent campaigns against the Yellow Turbans." Cao Cao felt that this model was very desirable for dealing with the Yellow Turbans, and looked at Liu Jing: "My dear brother, you must never do this again!"
After listening to Cao Cao's instructions, Liu Jing felt that this elder brother was quite good and nodded in agreement.
The army marched continuously for eight days. As the vanguard, Liu Jing and Cao Cao, who traveled lightly, finally arrived at Qiang. Qiang was not a county, but a princely state. In the first year of Yongping, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty conferred the title of Liu Jing, the grandfather of Grandpa Liu Jing.
It was also after Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty that Liu Jing's branch was separated from the imperial family.
?Qianghou is not in charge of the overall situation in his vassal state now. When he heard that the Yellow Turban killed the Runan prefect in Zhaoling, he abandoned the lordship and ran away. The person in charge of the overall situation in the hou state is?Qianghouxiang.
Seeing Liu Jing and Cao Cao's army, Prime Minister Hou received the news immediately and thought that the Yellow Turbans were coming. He was so frightened that when he went to the city tower to see the uniform Han armor, it was clear that the imperial army was coming, and he was immediately relieved. tone.
"Open the city gate quickly!" Cao Cao urged as he looked at the people on the tower and looked again and again, but made no move to open the city gate.
"Yes, I will come out to greet you immediately!" Hou Xiang also reacted and responded loudly.
?The former name of Qiang Unfeng Hou State was Bei Yichun. It was a county seat located in the lower reaches of Ying River. The city was built along the river and had a moat. At this time, the suspension bridge on the moat was lowered and the gate at the rear was opened. Hou Xiang walked out first.
"I wonder which army these two generals belong to?" Hou Xiang looked at the two men, each younger than the other, and inquired about the details.
"I am Liu Jing, the commander of Huangfu Song's corps under General Zuo Zhonglang. Next to me is Cao Cao, the Cavalry Commander." Liu Jing turned over and dismounted, looking directly at the Hou Xiang and said.
The position of commander-in-chief in other departments can be big or small, and is a bit complicated. However, the position of captain of cavalry is big enough. It is higher than the official position of two thousand dan. It is not a large princely state. He, the prime minister, can support an official of several hundred dan to death.
At this moment, the Hou Xiang did not look at Cao Cao. Instead, he stared at Liu Jing and asked again and again: "May I ask if this general is Liu Jing, the eldest son of the Chen Kingdom?"
Cao Cao also looked at the scene in front of him in surprise. He didn't expect that his little brother would be so famous in this area!
Liu Jing nodded slightly: "Exactly."
"See you, Your Majesty," said the Hou Prime Minister as he bowed to his subordinates.
"Call me Liu Sima from now on!" Liu Jing was a little annoyed. He was not familiar with Qiang Houxiang, and he didn't want to get close to each other.
"Yes! Liu Sima!" The name has changed, but the etiquette of lowering one's rank remains the same.
Liu Jing had been to Runan for a period of time for the Yuedan Criticism, and the spread of the Yuedan Criticism made him very famous in the Yuzhou area. When Hou Xiang heard Liu Jing's name, he immediately thought of him.
Cao Cao and Liu Jing led the army into the city with Hou Xiang. Qiang General served as an important stronghold in Runan's fight against the Yellow Turbans. This move also represented the official takeover of the city by the imperial army.
The people in the city also walked out of their homes one after another. When they saw the army stretching on the street, some of them were happy and some were worried.
The happy people thought that the officers and soldiers had arrived, and they no longer had to worry about the coming days.
The sad people think about the arrival of the army, and every household has to raise food and work as a peasant husband for the army. It is May and June now, when the fields are busy.
After entering the Prime Minister's office, Cao Cao began to ask about the situation in Runan County, "Is there any news about the Runan bandits recently?"
"My lord, since the defeat of Zhao Ling, the prefect of Zhao, we have never seen the Yellow Turban bandits again. The refugees who came recently claimed that the bandits have captured Xihua County." Hou Xiang replied truthfully.
In fact, he also felt guilty. Zhaoling was about twenty miles away from Qiang. At that time, Qianghou was still there and strictly ordered everyone to close the city and not come out. In the end, Zhao Qian defeated Zhaoling, and Qianghou also abandoned the city and fled after hearing the news.
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"This is going to be difficult to handle!" Liu Jing sighed. He proposed the idea at the celebration banquet that day. The Runan Yellow Turban is located in the corner of Runan, between Chen Guo and Yingchuan. He only needs to revise the book.
Feng goes to Chen State and sends troops from both sides. The Yellow Turbans in Runan will be defeated.
Peng Tuo has now captured Xihua County and is defending the city. The strategy of attacking from two sides is no longer useful.
Cao Cao didn't say anything, thinking about ways to defeat the enemy.
"You go down first. The army will arrive soon. You organize the people to provide military rations." Liu Jingping retreated? The powerful Houxiang said to Cao Cao: "Brother, the situation has changed now, and my strategy is no longer useful.
Already."
"Well, I chose to attack Runan first because of the terrain advantage and a quick victory. If the bandits defend the city, it will inevitably be a protracted battle." Cao Cao said.
It was already late May, the weather was very hot, and the soldiers under his command were a little restless. Marching was tiring and tiresome, morale was difficult to maintain, and the wearing of armor also made the heat unbearable.
If the war situation continues to drag on, it may not be a good thing for the officers and soldiers.
The two of them thought about it and couldn't make up their mind for the time being. They could only wait for the army to arrive before discussing.
Two days later, Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun felt that Qianghou State was in the country, and Liu Jing immediately informed them of the specific situation here.
"It's quite tricky!" Huangfu Song couldn't help but sigh after hearing this.
Under normal circumstances, if you want to attack a city, you must have at least twice as many troops as the enemy. Now Peng Tuo's troops numbered at least 70,000 to 80,000, and the total imperial army was less than 50,000.
However, the number of people does not tell the whole story. Most of the Yellow Turbans are refugees without military literacy and training, and there are even fewer people who can shoot bows and arrows. Although there are advantages to defending the city, it is not as big as imagined.
"General Huangfu, there is no need to be so pessimistic." Zhu Jun stood up and said: "Think about that wave of troops. Tens of thousands of troops first defeated me, then besieged you, and finally fell in Yingchuan."
"I think the Yellow Turban generals have one characteristic: they are quite arrogant and they don't know how to organize their troops!"
After Zhu Jun finished speaking, the eyes of all the generals present brightened up, yes! They all thought about Peng Tuo's large number of people and occupying the city, but did not think about his shortcomings and weaknesses.
Huangfu Song nodded: "Yes! That's right. At the beginning, the 80,000 bandits in Bocai did not organize their troops at all. They were very courageous and had no strategy in mind."
Liu Jing on the other hand expressed his disapproval in his heart. You can say that Bocai doesn't have many things, but you can't say that Bocai doesn't have anything at all. That night, I almost overturned the car.
"As long as these points are used properly, it is not difficult to win." Zhu Jun said. Although he put forward some ideas, there was no practical strategy.
Huangfu Song combined the points proposed by Zhu Jun to come up with a strategy to deal with the enemy, but it was not a good strategy.
"What General Zhu said makes sense. After thinking about it, I can take advantage of the arrogance of the Yellow Turban bandits and invite Peng Tuo to fight in the field. Our army will set up a large formation to confront the enemy. The prince can write a letter and return it to Chen State. Before our army and the bandits During the field battle, take the opportunity to attack Xihua and then fight out from behind the bandits, in this way the bandits will be defeated!"
Strategies and strategies are actually about finding ways to achieve the goals you want to achieve. A good strategy can achieve the goal at a minimum or even no cost, while an inferior strategy will naturally have to pay a much higher price.
Huangfu Song's strategy was not a clever one. Although he was able to defeat Peng Tuo's Yellow Turban Army in the end, both sides suffered heavy losses in the field battle.
If the loss is too large, it is likely to lead to a series of subsequent crusade against the Yellow Turbans.
But at this time, no one here had a better plan to come up with. Liu Jing looked around and finally landed on Cao Cao, the most intelligent person present. Seeing the hesitant expression on Cao Cao's face, Liu Jing was a little curious.
Seeing that no one said anything for a long time, Huangfu Song also scanned the scene and saw Cao Cao sitting alone, hesitating to speak, with a tormented look on his face. He couldn't help but say: "Cao Cao, do you have a good strategy to defeat the enemy?"
Hearing this, everyone also looked at Cao Cao. Since Cao Cao rushed from Luoyang to the Yingchuan front line as an official, he had not accomplished anything. He was anxious and came here with great ambitions. Wouldn't it be ridiculous if he came back empty-handed?
But he also felt that it was not appropriate to reject the coach's plan and be in the limelight, and he was torn in his heart whether to say it or not.
Seeing that Huangfu Song had already called his name, he had to say it even if he didn't say it.