Chapter 304: Liu Bian is shocked! It's enough to win as many as you want, but also take 40,000 prisoners in World War I?
"Report—!"
"General, information has been sent back from the west gate. Li Dian and General Xiahou Dun have captured more than 12,000 enemy troops. They are currently collecting the prisoners and cleaning up the battlefield."
"Haha, good!"
...
"Report—!"
"General Qi, a battle report has been sent back from the east gate. General Xia Houyuan and General Yu Jin have captured more than 11,000 enemy troops. They have killed Yuan Shu and Zhang Miao's general Zhao Chong. They are currently collecting the prisoners."
"Well, very good!"
...
"Report—!"
"General, the battle report has been sent back from the north gate..."
"..."
Good news comes frequently.
Cao Cao beamed with joy, twirling his beard and laughing: "Haha, okay, great! I didn't expect that we could capture 40,000 people in this battle. Nearly half of Yuan Shu and Zhang Miao's troops were all captured by us."
"I want to take a look this time!"
At this point, Cao Cao was so excited that he wanted to jump up from his seat: "What can Yuan Shu do to stop me from entering Runan? Besides, we have siege-type ballistae."
Under it, all the civil and military officials raised their hands and said: "Congratulations, general, congratulations to the general."
Cheng Li, in particular, couldn't hide his smile: "His Majesty asked us to enter Runan and capture it before the end of the year. I think there should be no obstacles."
"Yuan Shu is in trouble this time!"
Bao Xin below twirled his beard and sighed: "More than half of the troops and horses were lost in this battle. It won't be long before Zhang Miao will leave. By then, he will have fewer troops and horses under his command. How can he defend Runan?"
"Runan is Yuan Shu's home base!"
"Tsk tsk~~"
Bao Xin was very excited and laughed loudly: "This time we invade Runan and drive him away, which is equivalent to breaking the foundation of Yuan Shu. I want to see how Yuan Shu can become stronger quickly without the support of the Yuan family in Runan."
stand up."
"Hahahahaha!"
The entire room was filled with civil servants and military officials, laughing up to the sky, and started talking heatedly:
"Let me tell you! Without the support of the Yuan family in Runan, Yuan Shu will definitely not live long."
"Where can he escape? If he escapes in the direction of Pingyu, it will be like giving up Yuzhou."
"But if he doesn't run to Pingyu, where can he run?"
"Haha, Yuzhou is ours."
"Your Majesty will return to the palace for one year and regain Yuzhou."
"..."
indeed!
Judge from the map.
Yuan Shu and Zhang Miao must retreat to Changping.
And next, they are bound to face a choice, whether to continue to cooperate or to go their separate ways.
It is obvious that Zhang Miao and Yuan Shu have lost their offensive capabilities, and it is highly likely that they will part ways.
As a result, Yuan Shu is very likely to give up this operation and return to Pingyu.
But......
As soon as he left, he fell into a dead end.
If Cao Cao's troops pursue him all the way, they can completely divide Yuan Shu's territory into two parts along Chen County and Pei State.
Listening to everyone's heated discussion, Cao Cao could not hide his excitement. He waved his hand and said loudly: "Zhongde, send the order, kill chickens and sheep tonight, and serve wine to celebrate."
"ah?"
Before Cheng Li could speak, Bao Xin was stunned: "Although Meng De, Yuan Shu, and Zhang Miao were defeated, they still held tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in their hands. We should not celebrate our victory with wine at this time and give our opponents a chance to win."
Take advantage of the opportunity."
"snort!"
Cao Cao snorted lightly, not taking Yuan Shu and Zhang Miao seriously at all: "I just want Yuan Shu and Zhang Miao to attack. If he dares to come again, it will save me the need to go to Changping to find him."
Cheng Li on the other side smiled slyly: "Yuncheng, it's true that we have a drink to celebrate our achievements, but it's also true that we can lure the enemy to attack. If they don't dare to come, then we'll just celebrate our achievements. If they dare to come, then we'll just do it."
Destroy Yuan Shu."
Bao Xin suddenly realized: "So that's it. Meng De really comes up with clever ideas frequently, which is admirable."
Cao Cao smiled and turned to look at Cheng Li: "Zhongde, go to the prisoner camp later and take a look. Select some people and find a way to release them so that they can report to Yuan Shu."
Cheng Li nodded: "General, don't worry, I'll leave it to you."
*****
Chenting.
Yuan Shu's camp.
Central army, big tent.
Yuan Shu frowned, paced back and forth, and looked outside the tent from time to time.
Zhang Miao also frowned and looked sad.
The two of them have been like this since they returned from defeat, suppressing the anger in their hearts.
Suddenly, the curtains opened, and Dianwei and Jiling entered from the outside.
Yuan Shu and Zhang Miao hurriedly asked: "How is it? How many troops and horses are there?"
Dian Wei cupped his hands and clasped his fists: "To inform the governor, our army only has more than 8,300 people left, less than 10,000 people."
"What?"
The anger in Zhang Miao's heart aroused: "There are only more than 8,300 people left? This...how is this possible? Twenty thousand soldiers and horses were lost. How did this battle go?"
Zhang Miao's heart is bleeding!
When he entered Chen County, the total force under his command reached 35,000. When Wu Hao went to Fugou, he took away 5,000 soldiers, which reduced the force to 30,000. Now there are only more than 8,300 left, with a loss of 5,000 soldiers.
More than 20,000 people attended.
Even if there were 20,000 pigs lined up to be chopped down, it would probably take less than ten days and a half to be chopped down. But in just a short time, 20,000 pigs miraculously disappeared!
Damn it!
Zhang Miao racked his brains and couldn't figure out how Cao Cao did it.
At the same time, Ji Ling sighed, cupped his hands and replied: "Lord, our army only has more than 14,000 people left."
"ah?"
Yuan Shu was deeply surprised!
He thought his situation would be better, but he didn't expect it to be even worse: "How could there be only more than 14,000 people left? Our total strength is more than 50,000!"
Ji Ling lowered his head and said softly: "I heard from the soldiers who escaped that some of them did not return to the camp, but left elsewhere, and most of them returned to Runan."
"so......"
Regarding this, Ji Ling gave an affirmative answer: "Lord, our troops have suffered heavy losses. In the final analysis, it is because there are more deserters, not because of the war."
If you think about it carefully, it actually makes sense.
The reason why Yuan Shu's troops were able to expand rapidly was because in the past six months, they had conquered Gebei Yellow Turban and captured prisoners, so they could continue to grow and become 50,000 strong.
However, they were by no means sincere in submitting to Yuan Shu. Now that Yuan Shu was defeated, these soldiers would naturally flee, return to their hometowns to work on the farm, or continue to become bandits.
But the soldiers and horses under Zhang Miao are different.
Most of them were from Chenliu people. If they didn't follow Zhang Miao and tried to walk back to Chenliu on two legs, they would probably starve to death or get lost and lose their traces in a short time.
Therefore, for them, 70% of the time they will return to Zhang Miao's camp. Firstly, they can ensure that they have food to eat. Secondly, because they follow Zhang Miao, they can return to their hometown.
Yes!
Zhang Miao's loss of troops and horses was far less severe than Yuan Shu imagined.
In this battle, Yuan Shu could be said to have injured his muscles and bruised his bones, making it even more painful!
Now, the two soldiers and horses combined only have more than 20,000 people. Let alone attacking Yingchuan, whether they can protect themselves in the face of Cao Cao's tens of thousands of troops is another matter!
"Lord, don't worry."
Ji Ling knew that Yuan Shu was furious and quickly advised him: "Although we currently only have more than 14,000 people, I believe that there will be soldiers and horses coming back from Xinji County one after another."
"Cao Cao's main army is still in Lin County, in the direction of Yanling. Even if the estimate of the number of troops in Xinji City is wrong, I'm afraid it will not exceed three to five thousand people. Even if they are all dispatched, how many soldiers can be killed."
"No one will come back!"
Yan Xiang snorted and interrupted on the spot.
"kindness?"
Everyone turned to look.
But see...
Yan Xiang frowned and said softly: "General Ji, we are defeated in the front, and the enemy is charging behind. If there are soldiers and horses who can escape, they have already come out, how can they wait until now."
"What does Zixiang mean?"
Yuan Shu frowned and turned to glance at Yan Xiang.
"Lord."
At this critical moment, Yan Xiang could not lie and did not dare to lie. He could only answer honestly: "We have all been deceived by Cao Cao. His main force must be in Xinji, not in Lin County or Yanling."
"ah?"
Yuan Shu and Zhang Miao were both stunned and shocked.
Especially Yuan Shu, his eyes were as wide as a bell and he couldn't believe it: "How is this possible? Could it be that the two generals Zhang Xun and Wu Hao were all deceived by Cao Cao?"
Yan Xiang did not dare to draw conclusions easily and could only start from the new battle situation: "My lord, the total strength of Cao's army, even including all the field troops, is only 30,000."
"And in this battle, we fled back to the camp for so long, but the attacking army never caught up. It was probably captured by Cao Cao's design. If we want to capture tens of thousands of people, I'm afraid the number of troops will not be too small.
.”
"I thought..."
Yan Xiang thought for a moment and gave an answer: "Cao Cao's total military strength in Xinji will probably not be less than 20,000."
Yuan Shu was surprised: "Twenty thousand people?"
Before attacking Yingchuan, Yuan Shu made a comprehensive estimate of the strength of Cao's army. He even included the garrison troops in each county of Yingchuan and took them into account.
But it's so...
Cao Cao's total military strength was only a little over 30,000.
Nowadays, the vast majority of the field troops have been mobilized by Cao Cao to the front line. Putting aside the troops left behind in various places, Cao Cao should have less than 30,000 troops.
If Yan Xiang's judgment is correct, then in Lin County, Yanling's defenders only have five or six thousand people at best, and the average defenders in each county will never exceed three thousand!
But they clearly sent people to test the situation, and the conclusions they came to were surprisingly consistent. There were no less than ten thousand defenders in Linxian and Yanling. If only one of them went wrong, it would be okay. If both went wrong, it would be a bit shocking.
unless......
Cao's army was able to defeat tens of thousands of troops with three thousand soldiers and horses.
But this is easy to say, but really difficult to do.
In particular, Zhang Xun is a veteran general, so it is definitely not easy to deceive his eyes.
Zhang Miao asked tentatively: "Do you have any evidence?"
This time, Yan Xiang was confident: "Isn't this defeat enough to explain the problem? Our army has 80,000 troops, but only 20,000 have returned. Although there are some deserters, they are not all deserters, right?
?”
"this......"
Zhang Miao remained indifferent and silent.
Have to admit it.
This is indeed a very acute question.
In particular, his own troops lost 20,000 of their 30,000, and if these people became deserters, they would definitely die.
But since they didn't come back, they were probably captured by Cao Cao.
With two or three thousand men, capture 20,000 soldiers and horses?
What a joke!
What kind of elites can do such a thing!
Something was so unusual that even Zhang Miao couldn't help but become confused.
"Report—!"
At this moment, a long announcement sounded outside the tent.
Yuan Shu and Zhang Miao turned to look.
However, Chen Shi, who was in charge of the East Gate operations, returned to the camp with an unkempt appearance. When he saw Yuan Shu, two lines of tears could not help but burst out of his eyes:
"Lord—!"
Chen Shi knelt down on one knee, cupped his hands and clasped his fists: "The general will think that he will never see my lord again."
Yuan Shu hurriedly stepped forward to help: "General Chen, please get up quickly."
Chen Shi then stood up and said, "My lord, the general underestimated the enemy. All the troops at the east gate were captured. Only the general and a few of his entourage took the opportunity to kill the supervisor while they were out logging and escaped back."
"oh?"
Yuan Shu was suddenly stunned: "All the troops at the east gate were captured?"
Chen Shi nodded: "Yes, it is indeed true."
Yuan Shu asked anxiously: "Do you know how many Cao's troops are in Xinji City?"
"this......"
Chen Shi hesitated for a moment, exhaled and said, "I don't know the exact number, General Mo, but judging from the size of the camp, I think it should be no less than 20,000 people."
hiss-!
Yuan Shu was surprised and gasped: "Twenty thousand?"
Zhang Miao was stunned: "Are you sure?"
Chen Shi nodded: "Yeah, just a lot more!"
"Damn it!"
Yuan Shu chewed it secretly.
Zhang Miao was even more heartbroken and remained silent.
This proves that Yan Xiang's judgment is correct.
However, they sent Zhang Xun and Wu Hao to test Lin County and Yanling, but they were all deceived by Cao Cao.
However, at this moment, Yan Xiang did not feel any joy at having his grievances washed away. Instead, he became even more sad because even he failed to see through Cao Cao's trick in time.
This only proves...
Cao Cao's ability far exceeds his imagination!
Even if he sees through Cao Cao's trick, the other party still has a way to remedy it.
"What else did you find out?"
Zhang Miao frowned and raised his eyes to look at Chen Shi.
"this......"
Chen Shi thought for a moment and said softly: "They are preparing for a celebration banquet. They have brought twenty carts of fine wine, thirty sheep, and hundreds of chickens. I heard that the entire army will be rewarded."
"Cao Ahao!"
Yuan Shu was furious, clenching his iron fists tightly, and the muscles at the corners of his lips kept twitching. He gritted his teeth and said, "If I, Yuan Shu, don't kill you, it will be difficult to eliminate the hatred in my heart!"
"Brother Highway."
Zhang Miao, who was on the side, thought of it and said softly: "Now there is an opportunity for you and me to take revenge."
Yuan Shu asked urgently: "Oh? What kind of opportunity is this?"
Zhang Miao said loudly: "Night attack!"
Yuan Shu frowned: "Night attack?"
"kindness."
Zhang Miao said with certainty: "It is human nature for Cao Cao to have a banquet after such a great victory. Let's take advantage of this opportunity and make a surprise attack at night. The prisoners in the city will definitely respond one after another. By then we should cooperate inside and outside, how can we not win?"
hiss-!
Yuan Shu took a breath.
He naturally knew Cao Cao's character.
He drinks alcohol and eats meat, brags and spanks, is very happy with his achievements, and only loves young women.
At this moment, it is indeed reasonable for him to hold a banquet to celebrate his achievements.
but......
Before Yuan Shu could speak, he was directly interrupted by Yan Xiang: "No! Absolutely not!"
Yuan Shu frowned: "Zixiang, why not?"
Yan Xiang held up his hand and said, "My lord, this must be another treacherous plot set up by Cao Cao's thieves to lure us and others to attack Xinji at night so that we and the rest of the troops can be captured in one fell swoop, paving the way for him to invade Runan."
"this......"
Yuan Shu hesitated again.
Have to admit it.
There is some truth to Yan Xiang's remarks.
Especially since they had just been defeated by Cao Cao, this statement was even more shocking.
But Yuan Shu still didn't want to give up and tried to ask: "How can I see it?"
Yan Xiang thought for a moment: "My lord, it is indeed reasonable for Cao Cao to celebrate his victory, but with his shrewdness, he will never make the whole army hangover at this critical moment, giving us the opportunity to take advantage of it."
"This is one of them."
"Second!"
Yan Xiang continued his analysis: "There are indeed examples of relying on prisoners to cut down trees and make city defense equipment. However, our army has no offensive power. At this time, we sent people out to cut down trees, and their behavior was suspicious."
"you mean......"
“It’s easy!”
Yan Xiang said with great certainty: "General Chen was deliberately released by Cao Cao. He just wanted to use General Chen's mouth to pass on the news about their wine and banquet to our army and lure us to wait for a night attack."
"General Chen."
Immediately, Yan Xiang turned to look at Chen Shi: "Didn't you notice it at all?"
Chen Shi frowned and thought for a long time: "It seems... the escape was indeed a little too smooth! Their supervisory force was relatively small, which the general had suspected before, but he didn't think about it carefully."
"That's right!"
Yan Xiang was extremely sure: "Their small number of troops gives you and others an opportunity to take advantage of!"
Chen Shi sighed and suddenly realized: "What a thief, he is indeed despicable!"
"Lord!"
Yan Xiang bowed his head and said firmly: "We must not be fooled! If we don't attack at night, we can garrison the city with ease with our current strength."
"But once we fall into Cao's traitor's scheme and lose all the remaining troops and horses in our hands, we will probably lose Runan and even the entire Yuzhou!"
"Lord!"
Yan Xiang said sincerely again: "You must think twice!"
Yuan Shu nodded slowly: "What Zi Xiang said makes sense, it is indeed not a good time to take risks at this moment."
"Brother Meng Zhuo!"
Then, Yuan Shu turned his head and glanced at Zhang Miao: "We can no longer lose, so we should be safe first and retreat to Changping first."
Although Zhang Miao agreed with Yan Xiang's reasoning, he was unhappy when he heard Chang Ping: "Since there is no way to invade Yingchuan, there is no need for Zhang to stay any longer."
"Brother Highway."
Zhang Miao cupped his hands and clasped his fists: "I want... to rest for the night and then set off back to Chenliu tomorrow."
Yuan Shu was stunned: "Ah, this..."
Naturally he was very unwilling.
Although Zhang Miao only had 8,000 soldiers and horses in his hands, it was still a force.
Without Zhang Miao's help, I'm afraid he may not be able to defend Changping.
Just when he didn't know how to retain her.
Yan Xianglang on the side said loudly: "There is indeed no need for Governor Zhang to stay, but you can't leave now."
Zhang Miao thought Yan Xiang was trying to force him to stay, so he subconsciously became nervous: "Sir, what do you mean by this?"
Yan Xiang hurriedly handed over his hand: "Don't get me wrong, Sheriff. I have no intention of forcing you to stay. It's just that if you leave now, it will definitely attract Cao Cao's attention. Then he will send out elite cavalry to chase you. With your few troops, I'm afraid that
He died on the way before reaching Chenliu."
"certainly!"
Yan Xiang added: "You have the protection of General Dian Wei, so you can be careful, but the soldiers under your command may not be so lucky. When you return to Chenliu with hundreds of remaining soldiers, maybe Cao Cao will take the lead in attacking Chenliu."
"After all, Chen Liu currently has no soldiers to fight anymore. If he randomly sends a strong army to attack and kill, he will definitely be able to break the city one after another. It may even be possible without spending a single soldier. It depends on the message."
Zhang Miao was surprised. After thinking about it carefully, he found that it made sense: "This... seems to be impossible to leave."
Yan Xiang continued to advise: "At least you can't leave until Cao Cao decides to withdraw his troops!"
"retreat?"
Zhang Miao shook his head, feeling that it was impossible to come: "How is this possible!"
Yan Xiang was extremely sure: "Don't worry, Sheriff, as long as you and our armies unite sincerely and garrison in Changping, Cao Cao will retreat within a month."
"That's right!"
Yuan Shu also echoed: "We are defending the city this time, not attacking it. Although we have a small number of troops, we have the advantage of city defense. If Cao Ah Man wants to attack, I'm afraid it won't be as easy as imagined."
"Oh well."
Zhang Miao had no choice but to agree: "This is the only way for now."
Yuan Shu secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "In that case, let's rest for the night and then return to Changping."
Zhang Miao nodded: "Okay."
******
Nanyang, Wancheng.
Emperor's palace.
Hall of Wende.
Liu Bian held the battle report that was sent back from Yingchuan at high speed, and his eyes suddenly brightened: "This...how is this possible? Twenty thousand soldiers and horses, and forty thousand enemy troops were captured?"
"teacher!"
Liu Bian's throat rolled and he swallowed subconsciously: "Isn't this record a bit fake? Is he really Yuan Shu, but Zhang Miao's coalition is made of clay?"
The voice of the Military Advisor Alliance followed: "Although even ancient military experts find it a bit unbelievable, judging from the details of Cao Cao's report, it is indeed possible."
"Master Ben, look carefully."
The Military Advisor Alliance explained in detail: "Cao Cao mainly relied on cavalry, using its super high mobility to implement rapid cutting and drilling tactics, and at the same time cooperated with a large number of infantry to launch a siege against the traitors."
"Although there is a huge disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves, there is one extremely important point in ancient battles, and that is morale. When morale is low, a hundred thousand troops are like noobs, but when morale is high, three thousand Yue Jia can swallow Wu."
"Cao Cao first defeated the morale of Yuan Shu and Zhang Miao's coalition forces, and then relied on cavalry to expand the war, thus destroying all the remaining morale of the opponent. In this case, it is indeed possible to capture 40,000 soldiers and horses."
"pity!"
At this point, the Military Advisor Alliance sighed: "Experts say that if the newly built city could be larger, more prisoners might be able to be captured. The reason why only 40,000 people were captured has a lot to do with the size of the city."
"ah?"
Liu Bian was shocked: "Can we all connect with this?"
The Military Advisor Alliance explained: "Xinji is a small county on the edge of Yingchuan. Based on the comparison of unearthed data, experts estimate that the walls on all sides of Xinji will not exceed one thousand meters."
"In other words, the number of soldiers and horses that can be used to attack the city at the same time will not exceed 2,000. Calculated based on the strength of the four rows, it is 8,000 soldiers and horses. The four walls are 32,000 people. Plus the reserve team and the like, the four
The sect’s military strength should only be over 50,000 people.”
"Of course, this is just a rough guess, and many of the details are untrue. For example, three gates are attacked from above, so it is naturally impossible for the troops to be fully deployed."
Liu Bian was so impressed that he said: "The expert deserves to be an expert, he is really awesome!"
The Alliance of Military Advisors smiled: "It's just a small trick, it's not worth mentioning. We still have to discuss who should be appointed as the prefect of Runan. After all, this is the Yuan family with four generations and three princes."
"Master Bian can kill Yuan Shu, but he must not harm his family. We can only rely on Nanyang's method, find someone with iron-blooded methods to take over, and then weaken it little by little."
Liu Bian stood up in a hurry, walked to the bookshelf nearby, and found Nanyang's farming performance appraisal form: "Teacher, how about we choose..."
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
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