"President Mu, the general thought that Xiahou Dun might continue to stand still!"
Upon hearing Wang Zheng's inquiry, Gao Lan said: "Our army has been fighting almost every day since the end of the year. Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun are not unaware of this situation. On the contrary, the Yanzhou Army has not fought any battles during this period.
I have been recharging my strength, and now I am even more well-equipped!”
"If Xiahou Dun regards our army as a long-tired army, he is very likely to respond with the word "procrastination", which will weaken the morale of our army and consume our army's food and fodder. Even if the two armies are at a stalemate, it is very likely that he will win without a fight and we will be defeated.
The army was completely defeated."
After hearing this, Wang Zheng pondered for a moment, looked at Gao Lan, his eyes showed approval, and nodded: "Yi Yuan's guess is not impossible."
"It's just that our army is actually a mixed force of Xiapi defenders and new soldiers. It's not a long-tired army at all. What's more, our army used the grain reserves of Xuzhou counties last year to attack Beihai, but the harvest from Pengcheng's farming was
It has basically not been moved, and with the part intercepted from the North Sea, it is more than enough to supply the needs of this group of people for a year. If Xiahou Dun hopes to defeat our army, he is wishful thinking."
"That's what Zhou Mu said." Gao Lan nodded: "So once Xiahou Dun finds out that this plan is useless, judging from the future, it is very likely that he will ask Cao Cao for instructions. However, Cao Cao may not be willing to have a head-on conflict with us at the moment. Since he knows that Zhou Mu
Mu sent troops to rescue Huangjun and Baoman, so Chen and Liang will probably not move, and it is more likely that they will attack Runan first..."
But at this moment, another person came out and said: "General, the last general feels that Xiahou Dun will take the initiative to attack, and find a way to solve us, so as to avoid worries."
This captain's name is Yan Ran. He was originally a villager in Wujia Village, Zhao County. He can be said to be Wang Zheng's true direct descendant. He served as the captain of the personal army when he was in Qingzhou until he was released by Wang Zhengwai after entering Xuzhou.
At this stage, Wang Zheng's selection of personal guards was not only to protect his own safety, but also to select talents. Yan Ran only served for three months before being released, which proved that he had great potential and was favored by Wang Zheng. On the contrary, his
The successor is still the captain of the personal guard until now. To a certain extent, this is a sign of trust, but it also means that Wang Zheng has no intention of continuing to reuse him.
Not only was Yan Ran senior, he had a clean background, he was brave and good at fighting, and he was as good at learning as Xu Fang. In just one year after his release, he went from being a dubo to a captain, and then to his current position as a school captain.
Although he was promoted quickly, he went through many battles and made many meritorious deeds. In fact, he was working steadily, one step at a time.
"Oh?" Wang Zheng looked sideways after hearing this and said in surprise: "Yan Ran, I still have an alliance with Cao Cao. It is also in view of this that we will take Xiang County and Yilu first, just to take the initiative.
, but did not go directly to rescue the Yuzhou Yellow Turbans, why are you so sure that Xiahou Dun dared to take the initiative to provoke a war and attack our army?"
Hearing this, Yan Ran was also stunned. He looked at Wang Zheng for a while and then said: "General, if it were Cao Cao himself or other generals, I would not be so sure. But when Xiahou Dun saw the general here, how could he?
Let it go easily?"
Seeing that Wang Zheng's face became more doubtful, Yan Ran could only remind him: "General, don't you forget that the grain transport officer who was whipped to death by you that day was Xiahou Dun's..."
Wang Zheng slapped his forehead and suddenly realized: "I have almost forgotten this section."
Although it only happened the year before last, Wang Zheng had already forgotten Xiahou Dun's mind (he didn't even know his name yet), so even though he knew that the leader of Cao's army was Xiahou Dun, he didn't think much about it and even deliberately let it go.
The purpose of the rumor was also to hope that Cao Jun would retreat when he saw the difficulty, and that both sides would give up.
It is indeed not appropriate for Xuzhou to have any more powerful enemies at present, and it is really difficult for the Heavenly Army to open another front.
Now it seems that I have thought too much.
"Yan Ran is right," Wang Zhengsi thought for a while, looked around the generals, and said with a smile: "Xiahou Dun was tough by nature. When he was fourteen years old, someone humiliated his master, so he killed that person. Now I will kill this one."
His enemies are all under his nose, how can he let him go?"
"It would be best if this dog came to die!" Yan Ran looked solemn when he heard this, and said coldly: "The general is the son of Huang Tian, how noble he is, the dog officer boldly offended, how can one life be enough to offset his crime?
"
"In my opinion, the Xiahou clan must be completely annihilated!"
Yan Ran's words resonated deeply with people's hearts, and for a while all the generals in the tent agreed. Only Gao Lan had a worried look on his face and hesitated to speak.
Wang Zheng asked: "What worries does Yi Yuan have? Just say it."
"The general thinks that since Zhou Mu and Xiahou Dun have a long-standing grudge, even if Xiahou Dun is holding back now, there will be a battle sooner or later." Gao Lan said: "Our army does not have many troops. Do we need to contact Huangjun and Baoman in advance?
, one is to communicate with each other, and the other is to appease the other party's military morale."
"Um."
Wang Zheng nodded. Before the army set off, he had learned from the messenger that Huangjun was now entrenched in Fule and Yangxia cities in Chen State. Logically speaking, Yilu was not that far away, but why hadn't he seen Yuzhou so far?
Did the Yellow Turbans send someone to contact us?
On the one hand, the other party did not receive the news that Wang Zheng led his army to Yuzhou; on the other hand, he knew about it and sent a messenger to contact him, but it never reached Yilu.
Both of these are possible, because whether it is Fule or Yangxia, if you want to come to Yilu, you must pass through Chen County, the capital of Chen State. This place does not nominally belong to Cao Cao's camp, but it is difficult to ensure that local officials
He and the nobles had secretly taken refuge, and at the same time sent out defenders to intercept them midway.
Regardless of whether this is the case or not, the mountain is not mine, and I will fight for it. Wang Zheng pondered for a moment, and then ordered Yan Ran to lead a hundred light cavalry and rush to Fule at starry night. He conveyed Wang Zheng's request to Huangjun to hold on to the city and at the same time appease the morale of the troops.
As for the Cao army outside, please rest assured that Xuzhou army will deal with it.
During the discussion, someone walked in quickly. Everyone looked up and saw that it was Guo Jia.
Because Wang Zheng had handed over all the government affairs and military affairs in the city to him, as well as raising the city wall, building fortresses and other matters, he did not participate in the military meeting.
With joy.
Guo Jia took two military documents in his hand, slightly raised his hands towards the generals, and then said excitedly to Wang Zheng: "My lord, I just got two military documents one after another, one from Xiapi and one from Fenggao."
Come on, my lord, please guess what you are talking about?"
"Anything that can make Feng Xiao so moved must be a good thing."
Xiapi ignored it for the time being, but Feng Gao made Wang Zheng's heart move: "But what happened to Yuan Tan?"
Seeing Guo Jia smiling and nodding but not saying any explanation, Wang Zheng was immediately interested. Guo Jia rarely showed off.
"It's a good thing..." Wang Zheng pondered: "Is it possible that Young Master Yuan Tan is in trouble? He doesn't have enough prestige in the first place. Is it because civil strife broke out after a great defeat?"
"My Lord is wise," Guo Jia gave Wang Zheng a thumbs up: "Although he misses the mark, he is not far off."
After saying that, he handed over the official document with both hands.
Wang Zheng glanced at ten lines and read them in a hurry. He was immediately overjoyed and handed the general documents to Gao Lan. He looked around the generals and said with a smile: "After Yuan Tan returned to Linzi, he was anxious to reorganize his army and fight again. He levied grain on a large scale and treated the people very harshly.
Not long ago, people in Le'an and Jinan counties gathered nearly 10,000 people in the name of the Yellow Turbans and started a rebellion!"
Hearing this, the generals stood up suddenly, and Gao Lan gasped: "The land of Qingzhou that Yuan Tan now occupies was originally Pingyuan, the three counties of Le'an and Jinan plus Linzi, but now both counties are rebelling.
,this...."
"This general is more curious about these two uprising forces."
Wang Zheng smiled when he heard this and said: "Yellow Turban? Hey, although Taiping Dao has a great influence in Qingzhou, how can it still have much strength after so many years? Especially Jinan and Le'an, these two counties were originally divided between Xu He and
Sima Ju’s base camp.”
These two names were very unfamiliar to Gao Lan, but Yan Ran and others were very familiar with them. "What the general said is true. It stands to reason that when Linzi was attacked that year, the Yellow Turban believers in these two counties had already died or surrendered. Why?"
In less than two years, two more forces with tens of thousands of people have emerged?"
"That's right." Wang Zheng nodded and said, "I'm afraid some people are dissatisfied with Yuan Tan and are acting in the name of the Yellow Turban."
As for who these people are, Wang Zheng also has a vague guess in his mind.
"No matter who it is," Guo Jiadao said, "If Yuan Tan lights a fire in his backyard, he will be unable to make any plans in the short term. There is no immediate concern for Mount Tai."
"Furthermore, Yuan Shao, who is far away in Youzhou, may have learned about his performance during this period. My lord, Yuan Shao is more than just a son to Yuan Tan."
Having said this, Guo Jia paused, smiled meaningfully and said, "My lord, how do you think Cao Cao will react when he learns about this?"
Wang Zheng was startled when he heard this, and then his eyes lit up.
As the saying goes, one move affects the whole body. One of the key reasons why Cao Cao launched a large-scale army in Yuzhou at the beginning of the year was because when Wang Zheng transferred most of his troops to Beihai, Taishan was attacked by the Jizhou army.
Even though Yuan Tan was unfavorable in the first battle, as long as he stationed his troops in Linzi, Taishan and Fenggao would always be under great threat. Wang Zheng also had to leave enough troops to prevent possible war in the northwest.
Wang Zheng, an enemy and close neighbor, had too much time to take care of himself. Naturally, the pressure on Yanzhou was greatly reduced, and Cao Cao seemed to be at ease.
But now that Yuan Tan is no longer a threat, and Wang Zheng is no longer under pressure, then the pressure on Cao Cao is coming.
Gao Lan on the side suddenly realized, and suddenly exclaimed: "Zhou Mu, you said that Xiahou Dun has not moved yet, is it because Cao Cao got the news earlier than us?"
"He doesn't know the strength of our team, but he knows the strength of Xuzhou and even the overall situation of Beihai. If Xiahou Dun dares to take the initiative to provoke a war, it will be this road that will allow him to win. The lord gives an order,
Our tens of thousands of troops can not only support us from Pengcheng, but we can even launch an offensive against Yanzhou from Mount Tai?"
After getting his crown, in order to show his stability and maturity, Wang Zheng recently officially grew a beard. He stroked the neatly trimmed mustache on his chin and slowly calmed down from the joy. His eyes sparkled: "It's not impossible."
"If Cao Cao is really concerned." After hearing this, Yan Ran raised his head and stood out, cupping his hands and saying: "General, then we might as well consider taking the initiative?"
"Select thousands of elites to attack Kunyang. As long as they win a victory, they will cause greater damage to Cao's army and show their power, making Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun understand that continuing to attack Runan and Chen and Liang will not be worth the gain.
So is it very likely that Cao Cao will give up his strategy of occupying Yuzhou?"
"The only question is, how many troops are there in Kunyang now? If our army attacks, what are the chances of winning?"
After hearing this, Wang Zheng closed his eyes and thought deeply, silently.
The tactic originally proposed by Guo Jia was to capture the three cities of Ningping and wait for work. It was a post-strike strategy, and this was based on the fact that Xuzhou's military strength was insufficient to capture the enemy.
If you are not strong enough, you have to take the initiative to tear up the contract, losing your reputation and opportunities, and you will naturally win less and lose more.
But this time and that time are different.
Now that there is civil strife in Yuan Tan, Wang Zheng's Taishan has lost a major threat, but Cao Cao's Yanzhou has gained another threat!
Wang Zheng can now mobilize more troops and horses, but what about Cao Cao?
Are some of the troops and horses that Xiahou Dun brought now were the defenders originally stationed in Yanzhou? Are they going to be sent back now?
Now that we have discovered that the battle situation has changed and something unexpected has occurred, the subsequent tactical deployment should naturally be adjusted accordingly. There are pros and cons to both striking first and striking later. It is most correct to take advantage of the situation and adapt to the circumstances.
It is safer to attack later. The disadvantage is that it consumes too much food and grass, and wastes time and energy. Although Yuzhou, a land in the Central Plains, is good, it is not a must-see in the early stage of the royal government's development strategy.
His appearance certainly made Cao Cao's development not as smooth as in the original history, but also, because of this, the Cao-Yuan alliance may not collapse as quickly as in the original history, or even lead to internal strife.
If Cao Cao was in danger, Yuan Shao would have to save him, so Wang Zheng did not continue to encroach on other counties in Yanzhou after taking Taishan. The same was true for Yuzhou. He could not let Cao Cao capture the entire territory of Yuzhou so quickly, but he could not attack Yuzhou now.
Preemptive strike is a bit aggressive and risky. The advantage is that as long as he wins a big victory, Xiahou Dun will be extremely jealous when his enemies meet. However, as long as Cao Cao is wary and does not want to have a conflict with Wang Zheng at this time, he will most likely stop it.
He settled in Xiahoudun and temporarily gave up his plan to attack Yuzhou.
After all, he had the emperor in his hands, so there was no problem in turning around and capturing Sili Prefecture to the north of Yingchuan first.
Following Gao Lan, Yan Ran took the lead, and all the generals spoke separately.
Some thought the chances of winning were high, while others thought the chances were small. The two sides debated endlessly and quarreled, as if the debate between Mi Heng, Guo Jia, Huang Zhong, Mi Fang and others in the lobby that day was reenacted.
After watching coldly for a long time, Wang Zheng thought about it secretly for a long time, and finally came to a conclusion in his mind. He waved his hand to stop the debate among the generals, but did not say anything first. Instead, he looked sideways at Guo Jia and asked: "Feng Xiao just said there are two things, what is the other one?"
Guo Jia smiled handsomely, took out another one, and presented it to the king while bowing and saying: "There is news from Mi Fang in Xia Pi. Recently, Yuan Shu appointed officials from Taiwan Province and other officials to ride in dragon and phoenix chariots to worship in the northern and southern suburbs..."
Before he finished speaking, Wang Zheng stood up with a flick of his sleeves and raised his sword eyebrows: