Sun Ce asked again: "If I send troops to help Cao Cao, will there be a chance to save Cao Cao's defeat?" From the bottom of his heart, Sun Ce did not want Cao Cao to perish so quickly, so he subconsciously asked this question.
Zhou Yu shook his head solemnly and said, "The reputation of Hebei's soldiers is known to all the world. Since Zhang Liao raised his army, no one in the world can match his sharpness. Although Cao Cao's soldiers and horses are excellent, he has been defeated repeatedly when encountering Hebei's army. And I, the soldiers and horses of Jiangdong, are good at water battles. I am not afraid of water battles. However, fighting on land is not my strong point. Even if we join forces with Cao Cao and Jiangdong's people abandon their boats and go ashore, I am afraid that most of them will not be Zhang Liao's enemies..."
After a pause, Zhou Yu continued: "So now we have no choice but to agree to Zhang Liao. We will seize Cao Cao's territory and strive to expand our strength for a long-term plan. When the Central Plains changes in the future, we can start the Northern Expedition. It is definitely not a rational move to oppose Zhang Liao now. .”
Sun Ce nodded silently. What Zhou Yu said was actually what he expected. It's just that he didn't want to accept this reality easily. Now that he has calmed down, he must consider the overall situation of Jiangdong. If he sends troops to help Cao Cao, he may win. That's fine. But sending troops by yourself now won't help. Then why bother provoking Zhang Liao, a big enemy, at this time if you have nothing to do? The rational choice is...
Sun Ce murmured and nodded: "I understand. I will give Bu Zhao an answer tomorrow. Tell him that I will raise troops to attack Xuchang. I hope he will not forget today's agreement and give me the land of Yuzhou and Huaisi."
Seeing that Sun Ce was finally willing to bow his head, Zhou Yu breathed a long sigh of relief and advised: "Actually, my lord, there is no need to be too hasty to send troops. Although Zhang Liao is strong, Cao Cao is not an easy person. Moreover, the battlefield situation is changing rapidly. Who can do it until the last moment? I don’t know who will win in the end. My lord can agree to Zhang Liao’s request first, pretend to prepare but stand still. Once the situation changes, my lord can face it calmly..." After hearing what Zhou Yu said, Sun Ce was completely relieved. Burden. Make up your mind.
The next day, Sun Ce met Bu Zhao and agreed to raise troops to attack Xudu. However, in order to prevent Cao Cao from being alert, Jiangdong soldiers and horses had to be secretly mobilized to Lujiang County, which is closest to Xudu under Sun Ce's rule. Then they rushed to attack at starry night. Of course, there was a delay in the process. Some days are inevitable.
Since Sun Ce had agreed to send troops, Bu Zhao certainly had no objections. He was about to return to Yedu to resume his duties. Sun Ce warmly entertained Bu Zhao for several days, and even took him on a hunting trip. Finally, he was sent back to Jiangbei with a grand gift.
After seeing off the soldiers, Sun Ce immediately began to make preparations to attack Xuchang. Thousands of warships gathered in Wu County and sailed up the river. They sent Dongwu soldiers and horses into Lujiang County in batches. In order to prepare for the attack, Sun Ce A full 30,000 infantry troops and 20,000 naval troops were mobilized. This was almost half of the troops that Sun Ce could muster.
That's what Sun Ce is like. Although he can also be impulsive and stubborn, as long as he jumps over the hurdle in his heart, he will be undistracted and there will be no other problems. Sun Ce is brave, decisive, far-sighted, and knowledgeable. If such a fierce tiger If you use force, it will be enough to arouse the vigilance of any opponent.
Of course, Sun Ce knew that Zhou Yu's words were just a reason to persuade him. Although he also believed that Cao Cao had a chance of defeating Zhang Liao, as a contemporary hero, he couldn't make a judgment based on probability alone. That would be of no use to a gambler. Based on his strength, Sun Ce believed that the battle at Guandu would probably be Zhang Liao's final victory.
So since he agreed to Zhang Liao, Sun Ce will make complete preparations and will never leave Zhang Liao with an excuse to criticize him in the future. Even though he is only a little slow...
But Sun Ce didn't know that this delay gave Cao Cao enough time to react.
…………
Guandu.
Cao Cao was holding a letter in his hand and his face was as cold as ice. This was a piece of urgent information sent from Jiangdong Xizuo... Sun Ce from Jiangdong recently mobilized land and sea troops to go to Lujiang. The purpose is unknown.
After Liu Bei was defeated on the eastern front, Cao Cao was of course afraid that something would happen in his own backyard. He immediately sent more agents to strengthen monitoring of Jiangdong. So when Sun Ce just started preparations, Cao Cao got the report from the agents as soon as possible.
"Think about it, gentlemen. Sun Ce is moving troops to Lujiang at this time. What is he trying to do? Is it aimed at me, Liu Biao, and Huang Zu?"
It happened that Xun Yu was delivering grain and grass from Xuzhou to Guandu. After reading the information, his face became serious for a while. He thought for a while and said: "This is probably Zhang Liao's plan to draw money from the bottom of the cauldron. He wants to use Sun Ce to attack Xudu..."
Cao Cao's expression changed. He said with a worried look: "If this is true, how should we deal with it? Do we still need to... divide our troops?"
Xun You decisively interjected: "You cannot divide your troops. If you divide your troops, you will play into Zhang Liao's plan. Our army currently has only one hundred thousand troops in Guandu. If we divide our troops again, we will definitely not be able to withstand the strong attack of the Hebei army." Originally, you were annexing Yuan Shu in Huainan. After the Southern Yellow Turbans, Cao Cao's troops also reached 300,000. However, a small number of them were surrendered troops, field troops, and heavy baggage troops with little combat power. The real fighting troops were only about 200,000. Just these 200,000 troops. Ten thousand. In the end, they were divided into pieces by Cao Cao. Xia Houyuan led 30,000 troops to guard Xiaoguan, Le Jin led 30,000 troops to guard Kangfu, and then removed the most basic garrison troops left in various places. He followed Cao Cao to garrison Guandu. There is only a little over 100,000 left.
One hundred thousand soldiers and horses. This is already a very dangerous number. Because it is conservatively estimated that the number of Hebei troops who can reach the Guandu battlefield is at least 200,000. Against Cao Cao's 200,000 Hebei troops who are known for their fierce generals and are brave and good at fighting. I feel so stupid...
Therefore, the troops in Guandu can no longer be divided.
We can't divide our troops to resist. We can only use strategy. Cao Cao glanced at the crowd and said: "You guys can have a good strategy to retreat the troops from Jiangdong."
Before he finished speaking, he saw a person at the guest table on the left standing up and saying, "Don't worry, Mr. Cao. I have a plan to prevent Sun Ce from visiting the north."
Cao Cao looked at it. His eyes lit up and he said, "Xuan De has any good ideas. Tell me quickly."
Liu Bei had just fled to Guandu. He had previously sent Sun Qian to ask Cao Cao for help. Before Cao Cao could order his troops and horses to go, news of Liu Bei's defeat and the fall of Xuzhou came. Not many days later, Liu Bei arrived. Guandu. Cao Cao personally greeted him thirty miles from Guandu. After losing Xuzhou, Cao Cao still treated him well. The chief guest on the left must be reserved for Liu Bei.
Behind Liu Bei stood the two generals Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. After the defeat of Xiaopei in Xuzhou, these two people came directly to Guandu to look for their brother. They found Liu Bei as soon as they searched. In addition, under Liu Bei's account, Jian Yong , Mi Zhu, Mi Fang and others also showed the same tenacious vitality as Xiao Qiang. Although the Battle of Xuzhou was a disastrous defeat, none of Liu Bei's civil servants were caught by the Hebei Army. This also helped Liu Bei, who was depressed after the defeat, to regain his morale.