Cai Yong entrusted people to ask Hua Tuo to go to Ye County. This matter could not be hidden. He offered advice at the right time and wanted Hua Tuo to go north and look for an opportunity to assassinate Liu Xiang.
Hua Tuo still had medical ethics and refused, but his apprentice Fan A agreed. The spies sent saw Fan A enter Liu Xiang's palace, so the follow-up plan began to be implemented.
Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, and Liu Biao all knew that they alone could not defeat the Anping Army occupying the five states.
In fact, even with the same strength, they were frightened when facing Liu Xiang.
Must be united.
Yuan Shu standing between them was an eyesore, and Yuan Jiujiu wanted to marry his daughter to Liu Yicheng. The marriage between the two families was already established, so he could not be left alone.
Yuan Yi, Zhou Xin, and Liu Miao first attacked Lujiang from Jiujiang to attract Yuan Shu's troops.
Liu Biao came from Jiangxia, Cao Cao came from Nanyang, and Yuan Shao came from the southern part of Pei State. The three armies of 120,000 people attacked Runan from a pinch, and they wanted to destroy the enemy in one battle at any cost.
In this way, the territories of the three families can be connected together to support each other and fight against Liu Xiang and Dong Zhuo in the north.
After that, they captured Yangzhou, Jingzhou, and Jiaozhi, integrated their forces, and launched the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains.
But the premise for all this is that Liu Xiang fell ill and the Anping Army could not move south with all its strength.
"My lord, please make a decision quickly!"
Feng Ji was anxious. At this time, it was even more important to be decisive. Fighting had already begun on the Lujiang River, and the enemy had already sent more troops to the south. If the main force did not set off, how about waiting for the partial division to be defeated, and then another melee?
Yuan Shao lowered his head and thought. The 30,000 troops from Danyang and Jiujiang had already invaded Lujiang. Yuan Gonglu sent 30,000 troops to meet the enemy, leaving only more than 30,000 people in Runan.
Liu Jingsheng has 40,000 men in Jiangxia, Cao Cao has 50,000 men in Nanyang, plus more than 30,000 men under his own command. Four times the force is bound to be overwhelming, and he should be able to win before Liu Yicheng arrives.
Now we have to fight to the death. If we are pushed to the south of the Yangtze River step by step, I am afraid that I will never be able to return to the Central Plains. If I, the noble Yuan family of Runan, are reduced to going to the wilderness to associate with the mountains and rivers, I will lose the face of my ancestors.
!
Thinking of this, Yuan Shao loudly issued an order: "Send an order to send all the troops to Ruyin, occupy the Yingshui River, and attract Yuan Shu's troops. Send a message to Cao Cao and Liu Biao, and immediately send troops to attack Pingyu and kill Yuan Gongluo.
Tell them that they must march eastward with all their strength, use strong generals and strong troops, attack the city with all their strength, and end the war before Liu Xiang's reinforcements arrive."
There are no natural dangers in Runan. Except for a few large rivers, there are no passes to block the road. If you attract the troops yourself, Cao Cao and Liu Biao's 90,000 troops will soon be able to conquer the county Zhipingyu and destroy Yuan Shu's lair.
At that time, it was too late for Liu Xiang to lead his troops. There were hundreds of thousands of people in the three-pronged army, so he could only retreat obediently.
Runan once again fell into the flames of war. In the past few years, wars have continued, and the place was almost destroyed. Not even a third of the population of more than two million was left.
When Liu Xiang received Yuan Shu's request for help, the Chinese army had just arrived in Yingchuan, and Guo Dian and Le Jin's troops were still in Chen State.
Cao Cao's 50,000-strong army has already arrived at Pingyu City, and the city's defenders are less than 10,000. Liu Biao sent troops to the southwest, and the journey was far away. On the way, Yuan Shao entangled 25,000 Runans at the Yingshui River.
the main force.
Yingchuan and Chen Guo were directly north of Runan and could directly go south for rescue, but the Anping army did not go south, and Yuan Shu was useless. Liu Xiang led his army this time not to save him.
When you rush south in a hurry and face the powerful enemy, you can't do anything to shield others from their swords.
Let the Pingyu defenders wear down Cao's army first, and then he can take advantage.
This will serve his interests.
The 30,000 troops transferred from Xuzhou continued to advance westward, and Guan Yu's 30,000 troops advanced into Nanyang first.
Liu Xiang led the Chinese army with 22,000 troops to station in Yan County, south of Yingchuan, on the border with Runan. This place is 290 miles away from Pingyu and is located on the upper reaches of Ru River. He can go down the river at any time and intercept Cao Cao.
the way back.
In four days, he received twelve letters asking for help from Yuan Shu.
It is obvious that Lao Cao wants to besiege the city and bring reinforcements. This old shady critic is not aboveboard at all.
In the past four days, Guo Dian and Le Jin had already arrived at Yingchuan, but they did not stop and followed Guan Yu's footsteps and invaded Nanyang.
Nanyang did not have many troops, and mainly relied on the local powerful families to resist spontaneously. Unfortunately, in front of the 30,000-strong army led by the elite of the former army, it was like a mantis trying to resist the chariot.
Guan Yu's troops moved forward all the way to Keye County, down to Duyang, and had already reached Bowang County, where Liu Bei burned Bowangpo in history. Less than a hundred miles further to the west, they reached Wancheng, the prefecture of Nanyang.
Guo Dian and Le Jin, who were following up, were dividing their troops to help him clear the way back. Guan Yu did not attack many county towns and went straight to Wancheng.
Xiahou Dun, who was left behind, was in a panic. He didn't have any serious soldiers at his disposal. They were all civilians transporting food. How could he fight?
Ask for help.
Cao Cao, who had only sent out troops for half a month, received an urgent letter asking for help from Wancheng. His head was buzzing and he almost had a headache.
You Liu Yicheng, you are such a bully, why do you keep holding on to me? You took Yanzhou to fight Yingchuan, and after you beat Yingchuan and Nanyang, you beat him alone. Why don't you go to Xuzhou?
?It’s okay to attack Pei State, or you can come to Runan.
"Oh~ that's my last piece of territory." Lao Cao said with a bitter face, as if he had eaten Coptis chinensis, and his facial features were all twitching.
I felt very frustrated.
He wanted to besiege the city and call for reinforcements, but Liu Yicheng must have seen through it when he didn't come. Now it was his turn to go back to rescue Wancheng. Wouldn't others be able to do such a thing as besieging the city and calling for reinforcements?
If you don't return to the army, you will die, but if you return to the army if you return too much, you may not be able to protect yourself in Pingyu.
"Wen Ze, when you bring 20,000 soldiers back to Wancheng, you must not be impatient, but be cautious to prevent you from falling into the enemy's tricks." Cao Cao designated Yu Jin to bring troops back for reinforcements because he valued his prudent behavior.
In the battle against Liu Yicheng, it would be better to play it slow and steady. My head was dizzy and I wasted several days on siege and reinforcements.
"General Yu, wait a minute." Guo Tu, his head covered with sweat, rushed into the Chinese army's tent at a trot, blocked Yu Jin's path, and panted for a long time before finally catching his breath:
"Listen to me, Duke Cao. Pingyu is right in front of us now. Victory is imminent. We cannot divide our troops. We can naturally seize supplies by conquering the city. My lord has promised Duke Cao to send us to Runan. At this time, we divide our troops to go back to Nanyang to reinforce Nanyang. Both ends
If we cannot take care of each other, we will definitely be taken advantage of by the enemy. I hope you will think twice!"
"Hahahahaha, Gong Ze is overthinking. It's just Yuan Gongdao. I can break the city with only half of our troops. I haven't attacked with all my strength in the past few days in order to let the reinforcements come in."
Cao Cao explained that since he had ordered reinforcements, how could he be stopped by outsiders with just one sentence? Then where was his face? Where was his prestige? How could he lead his troops if military orders were changed at will?
But he didn't want to offend Guo Tu, who was next to Yuan Shao. He was said to be a counselor who was planning the plan, but he wasn't sent to monitor him. This was really annoying.
Guo Tu cursed in his heart, Shao Mengren, you just want to preserve your strength and do not want to attack the city with all your strength. He endured his anger and asked: "Mr. Cao, we have already made a plan in advance. We want to fight quickly, how can we delay the time?"
"Nonsense!" Cao Cao said angrily: "Am I stalling for time? Whose soldiers and horses are under Pingyu City? Ah? I tell you, all the soldiers and horses here are mine! I will lead the army on a starry night
Hurry on the road, conquer the enemy's city, and arrive at Pingyu City."
He slapped his chest and glared at Guo Tu: "I'm the only one here!"
Guo Tu subconsciously took a step back, swallowed, and did not dare to speak.
Cao Cao took a long breath and calmed down his anger, but he still felt angry and asked again: "You are telling me to delay time now? How dare you say such a thing? Ignorant idiot!"
After frightening Guo Tu, Lao Cao waved his hand to Jin: "Wen Ze, let's go."
Seeing that Guo Tu wanted to stop him, Cao Cao grabbed his hand and pulled him to his side. With a strong force of his right arm, he hugged him and walked to the front of the memorial. With his left hand, he pulled apart several scrolls of bamboo slips, unfolded the map, and pointed.
Yingchuan Nan said to him with great certainty:
"Liu Yicheng is already here, how can I dare to attack the city with all my strength?"
Guo Tu said timidly: "The spy has no reward."
"Those spies can't escape the pursuit of the elite cavalry under his command." Cao Cao was a little emotional, recalling the past when Liu Xiang attacked the Xianbei royal court, he was deeply impressed by those elite cavalry, and the light cavalry cover was a common use of the Anping Army.
means.
"He's here. I know that the spies sent to the north have lost several teams." Cao Cao envied those cavalry so much. Even if he was given only a few hundred, let alone thousands, he could still get rid of them.
"Gongze, don't you understand? Our opponent now is not Yuan Jiujiu in the city, but Liu Yicheng. At the age of eighteen, he marched to Longyou, killed the Chanyu, destroyed the royal court, and became famous all over the world. You
Attacking the city with all your strength in front of him is the same as seeking death!"
"Then...what should we do?"
"Dig deep trenches, strengthen the camp, be on guard, and wait for reinforcements!"