Of course, Yan Liang had not thought of a strategy to defeat the enemy, but at this time, he had to say that he had it. After all, stabilizing people's hearts was the most important thing.
Everyone had witnessed Yan Liang's numerous desperate counterattacks. After hearing Yan Liang's claim that he had the means to defeat the enemy, their anxiety began to subside a bit.
"It's best if the general has a strategy to defeat the enemy. But now that the people are fleeing and the population is exodus, I wonder how the general plans to deal with it?" Man Chong asked.
Yan Liang snorted coldly, "These guys have always enjoyed the protection of this general, but now the enemy only wants to protect themselves. How can it be so cheap? This general's order is passed on. From now on, all counties will conduct strict inspections. If anyone dares to
Those who run away will be dealt with severely by me."
The decisive and solemn words only shocked everyone.
Yan Liang used his ruthlessness and confidence to appease his subordinates, and this military meeting, which originally contained a defeatist sentiment, ended in high spirits.
The subordinates retreated, but Yan Liang left Jia Xu alone.
Looking around, there was no one around, and Yan Liangfang said: "We are surrounded by powerful enemies, and the army is approaching. I wonder if you, sir, have any good strategies to defeat the enemy."
Upon hearing this, Jia Xu suddenly looked startled.
Just now, he was still infected by Yan Liang's self-confidence, thinking that Yan Liang was already confident, but in the blink of an eye, he asked himself again.
After being stunned for a moment, Jia Xu finally understood and said curiously: "I listened to the general's words and thought that the general had a plan to defeat the enemy."
"That's right, the general's strategy for defeating the enemy is due to your resourceful mind, sir." Yan Liang looked serious.
Jia Xu smiled bitterly and said, "General, you are really ridiculous. I'm afraid this old and broken body cannot bear such a heavy burden."
"Sir and this general are already in the same boat. If we can't get through this dilemma, we will go to hell together. Therefore, you, sir, have to carry this heavy burden."
There was a hint of threat in Yan Liang's tone.
He always knew that Jia Xu was the best at protecting himself. In order to protect himself, he could persuade the Xiliang princes to attack Chang'an. In order to protect himself, he could abandon Cao Cao. Now, in order to protect himself, he might also abandon himself.
In order for Jia Xu to fully assist him in getting through this crisis, Yan Liang must tie this old fox to his destiny.
Jia Xu's acting-like expression changed secretly, and he could feel Yan Liang's coldness.
At the moment, he could only smile and scratch his head in thought.
Yan Liang was calm and leisurely, just sipping his own tea.
After a while, Jia Xu coughed a few times, indicating that he had an idea, so Yan Liang raised his head and listened carefully.
"Yuan Shao is currently ill, and all his thoughts are focused on conquering the Henan provinces. Zhang He's troops along the way are expected to just wait and see the success or failure, and act as the opportunity arises. All he needs to do on this route is to send a capable general and thousands of troops to take precautions.
"
Jia Xu expressed his judgment.
Yan Liang nodded slightly and agreed. In fact, he had analyzed it before and found that Zhang He's ideas about his army coincided with Jia Xu's.
"Go on."
Jia Xu then said: "As for Liu Biao, he has assembled an army of 50,000 this time. Looking at the situation, he will not take advantage of the opportunity like the previous two times. It is inevitable that our army will fight with him. But Liu Biao
Being good at defense but not good at attacking, as long as we have enough troops and horses in Chaoyang City to hold Liu Biao back until he can withdraw and return to the south, Liu Biao will naturally retreat along the way."
Yan Liang pondered for a moment, nodded and said: "Sir, what you said makes sense, then I will order Man Boning to lead an army of five thousand to guard Chaoyang City. With his ability, I think he can ensure that the city is not lost."
Jia Xu did not comment on Yan Liang's deployment, but his expression became serious at this time.
"So the biggest enemy the general faces this time is the 40,000 Xiliang cavalry led by Ma Teng. As long as we can repel this powerful enemy, the other two groups are not a concern."
Yan Liang deeply believed in Jia Xu's analysis.
However, he smiled and said: "What you said is generally good, but there is something that is not quite appropriate."
Jia Xu was startled and asked suspiciously: "I wonder where the old man made a mistake in his analysis?"
"Sir, you just said that this time, the 'biggest enemy that the general faces' is the 'biggest enemy that we face.' I'm going to correct this. It should be 'the biggest enemy that we face.'" Yan Liang said seriously.
He never forgets to remind Jia Xu, don't always think about staying out of it, we are just ants on a rope, no one wants to get rid of the other.
Jia Xu could only force a smile and nodded in agreement.
Yan Liang was then satisfied and said: "Sir, since you said that the Xiliang Army is the biggest enemy, in your opinion, how can I defeat this powerful enemy?"
"Well..." Jia Xu stroked his beard, "Forgive me for speaking frankly, if the Xiliang army doesn't kill each other, they will be invincible in the world."
Invincible!
Hearing these four words, Yan Liang's heart was slightly shaken.
Invincible in the world, what a kind of arrogance. When Jia Xu, who was born in Xiliang, said these four words, there seemed to be a bit of pride in his eyebrows.
If Dong Zhuo had not been killed and the Xiliang army had fallen into civil strife, how could a unified Xiliang army have been able to sit back and watch the rise of Yuan Cao in Guandong.
If in the Battle of the Wei River in history, the horse-Korean coalition forces had not fallen into Cao Cao's alienation plan and each had their own children, how could Cao Cao have won?
The Xiliang Army is indeed an unparalleled iron army in the world. If there is no internal fighting, it will indeed be invincible. Jia Xu's description is not an exaggeration at all.
"So, unless there is an internal fight between Ma Teng and the other four princes, there will be no guarantee of victory in this battle?"
Yan Liang does not believe in evil, so what if he is invincible? There is no invincible army in this world.'
Jia Xu calmed down some of his pride and said with a smile: "That's not true. If when the battle comes, you can use clever tricks and fail to win, it's just..."
"Just what?" Yan Liang asked urgently.
Jia Xu sighed, "It's just that the Xiliang army is dominated by cavalry. Once it loses, the worst it can do is flee. Our army has no horses and will not be able to pursue and expand the victory. In this way, the defeated enemy army will gather again.
Turn around and launch another attack on us. If you keep going like this, you can drag us to death."
Jia Xu was indeed from Xiliang, and he had a profound analysis of the advantages of Xiliang cavalry.
Yan Liang nodded slightly and frowned: "In this way, unless we can give the enemy a fatal blow in one battle, we will not be able to win completely."
"You can say that." Jia Xu nodded.
"A fatal blow, a fatal blow..." Dark clouds gradually formed on Yan Liang's stern face.
######
After finishing the secret conversation with Jia Xu, in the next few days, Yan Liang, in addition to mobilizing troops and generals and making preparations for the battle, had been thinking about how to break the Xiliang cavalry's advantage.
From day to night, Yan Liang was seen in the house with his head locked in thought, and even when he was eating, he looked in a trance.
It's late at night and the moon is as cold as water.
When the whole house was silent, Yan Liang was still pacing in the study, thinking hard about how to defeat the enemy.
Thin footsteps sounded, as if someone was coming towards the study.
"Don't bother me with my thoughts, just stay away." Yan Liang shouted impatiently.
When she turned around, she saw Huang Yueying standing at the door with a smile on her face, holding a bowl of steaming soup in her hand.
Huang Yueying walked into the room and said with a faint smile: "Why are you so angry, husband? Is there anything that is bothering you?"
When Yan Liang saw that it was his wife, a look of apology appeared on his face.
"I thought he was a servant, so he didn't scare the lady." Yan Liang helped his wife sit down.
Huang Yueying served the bowl of soup, "My husband has been tired of military affairs recently, so I asked the cook to make some nourishing soup. Please drink it while it's hot."
Yan Liang was relieved by his wife's concern, so he put his worries aside for the time being and drank a bowl of hot soup happily.
Huang Yueying watched him finish drinking, then wiped the soup stains from the corner of his mouth with a silk handkerchief, and asked smoothly: "I know that a powerful enemy is coming, but it's not like my husband has never encountered a powerful enemy before, so why are you so upset today.
"
"Madam, you don't know. This time the enemy is very powerful."
Yan Liang sighed and confided his concerns to his wife.
After hearing this, Huang Yueying smiled and said: "Although I am not familiar with military affairs, I have heard that since ancient times, using foot to control cavalry is nothing more than relying on strong bows and crossbows. Can't the same method be used to deal with Xiliang cavalry?"
Unexpectedly, Huang Yueying had such knowledge, which surprised Yan Liang.
But he added: "Don't you know how to use strong bows and strong crossbows? However, these strong bows and strong crossbows are very unusual. With the manpower and material resources of Nanyang County, how can we make enough crossbows in a short time?"
"
"That's it..."
Huang Yueying's beautiful eyebrows also frowned, and her mouth was slightly frowned, as if she was thinking about something.
Suddenly, a strange color flashed in those clear eyes, and she jumped up.
"Husband, I have something to show you. Please wait a moment."
Before she finished speaking, Huang Yueying hurried out of the study.