Not long after, Yan Liang stood in front of Tongguan City again.
Guancheng remains majestic, and the number of Cao's troops in Guanzhong has not changed much, but Yan Liang knows that the situation has undergone earth-shaking changes.
The Fire Bull Formation won a great victory and killed nearly 40,000 Huns. The morale of the Chu army's soldiers had reached its highest level since the war began.
However, Cao's army, which was lucky enough to escape back to Guancheng, was frightened and almost collapsed.
In the king's tent, the generals' blood boiled with enthusiasm and they asked for a fight generously. Hunting's murderous intent surged crazily.
However, Yan Liang was not in a hurry to order a large-scale research.
After concentrating on the map for a while, Yan Liang waved his hand and said: "Pass on my king's order, order Ling to lead the navy upstream. I want to advance both by water and land, and break through the Tongguan defense line in one fell swoop."
Advance by land and water!
All the civil and military officials in the tent were surprised and shaken by Yan Liang's strategy.
"Your Majesty, after the Yellow River passes through Shaanxi and Tianjin, the water becomes more turbulent. My warship goes upstream and has no way to move forward at all." Gan Ning, who was proficient in naval warfare, expressed his worries.
Yan Liang said: "Of course the warship cannot move forward with its own strength. I also want to order the people in Sizhou to be recruited and gather them all on the south bank of the Yellow River. I want them all to become trackers and pull the warship against the current."
Go west."
As soon as these words came out, Wen and Wu present were suddenly shocked.
Pang Tong nodded and said: "If we can use trackers to pull our fleet forward, as long as we pass through the waters of Tongguan, we can capture Pubanjin to the north, and enter Weikou from the Yellow River to the west. After copying Tongguan, this plan of your Majesty is indeed a breakthrough."
Guan’s clever plan.”
The resourceful people naturally have the same views. With Pang Tong agreeing, Yan Liang is naturally more confident in his plan.
At that moment, Yan Liang issued an order from the king to recruit Dingfu and mobilize the navy.
The people in Hongnong area suffered greatly from the Huns, but Yan Liang drove away the Huns for them and rescued them from dire straits. These people were naturally full of gratitude to Yan Liang.
As soon as the imperial order was issued, people from various towns and counties enthusiastically applied for the conscription. Thousands of people quickly gathered along the Yellow River.
A few days later, Ling Tong, Jiang Qin and other generals commanded more than 300 warships, dragged by tens of thousands of trackers, and sailed westward against the waves of the Yellow River.
Within a few days, the fleet passed Shaanjin, Tanjin and other ferries on the south coast, and sailed into the Tongguan waters with great momentum.
Cao Cao and his men never dreamed that the southern fleet would be able to cross the Taotao Yellow River and reach such dangerous waters as Tongguan.
When the fleet of Chu State appeared in great prowess on the river north of Tongguan, Cao's soldiers in the pass were all frightened and stunned, and there was a commotion.
On Guancheng, Cao Cao stood there stiffly. His astonished eyes were full of horror.
The civil and military personnel on the left and right were also stunned and at a loss.
"Thief Yan, he actually brought the navy here, this-" Cao Cao's voice trembled, and he could hardly believe what he saw before him.
"Prime Minister, once Yan Thief's navy enters the Weishui River from the Yellow River, something serious will happen." Guo Jia said in horror.
Cao Cao's body was shaken again, and his heart felt like a heavy hammer.
Once Chu's fleet enters the Wei River, it can threaten Chang'an to the west, cut off Tongguan to the east, and turn north into Luoshui, where it can directly seize Linjin, where Feng Yi's commandery is located.
Linjin City is only more than thirty miles away from Pubanjin Ferry. Once the Chu army captures Linjin City, they can cooperate with the fleet on the Yellow River to capture Pubanjin from the east and west.
If Pubanjin fails, the Chu army will be cut off from Bingzhou and Guanzhong, and Cao Ren, Xu Huang and other armies will be left alone.
How could Cao Cao not know about such dangers?
"Then, what should we do?" Cao Cao was a little panicked.
Guo Jia pondered for a long time and said silently: "The only way to overcome this difficulty is for the prime minister to have a strong man cut off his wrist."
A strong man cuts off his wrist?
Cao Cao felt a chill in his heart. He had vaguely guessed the details, and asked in a deep voice: "How can a strong man cut off his wrist?"
"Abandon Bingzhou and concentrate all the troops to retreat to Luokou." Guo Jia replied in an almost tragic tone.
Abandon Bingzhou!
As soon as the four words came out, the expressions of Cao Cao and everyone present changed dramatically.
That was Bingzhou, a whole state. Once abandoned, Cao Cao's territory would be reduced by one-third. If the Sizhou lost previously was added, then Cao Cao would have lost half of his territory in the war with Yan Liang.
land.
How could Cao Cao accept such a loss happily?
Guo Jia explained: "Today the fleet of the Yan pirates will enter the Wei River. If this happens, Tongguan will not be defended. Sooner or later, the prime minister should abandon Tongguan and retreat to Luokou, the second line of defense. Once Tongguan is lost, Yan Liang's army can
They marched unscrupulously north to the east of Hedong. At that time, General Zixiao and his men could not hold Bingzhou with their own strength."
Cao Cao fell silent, his face becoming more and more gloomy.
"Since Bingzhou cannot be defended, why not simply abandon it? In this way, we can still save more than 30,000 troops. With these 30,000 troops and the troops on hand, we can gather at least 60,000 to 70,000 troops. With this
If the soldiers and horses refuse to defend Luokou and have their backs to the rear of Chang'an, then they have a chance to block Yan's army and protect Guanzhong."
Abandoning the state and protecting Guanzhong is Cao Cao's only choice now.
Although Cao Cao was unwilling to do anything, he had not lost his mind yet. After being silent for a long time, he finally let out a long sigh.
"Send an order to Zixiao and the others to quickly cross the river from Pubanjin and retreat to Chang'an." Cao Cao said weakly.
"What about... what happened at Tongguan?" Guo Jia asked tentatively.
Cao Cao shook his head and said helplessly: "As soon as Zi Xiao and his troops arrive, abandon Tongguan and retreat to Luokou."
Cao Cao finally made the right decision, and Guo Jiaqi breathed a sigh of relief.
…
East of Tongguan, south bank of the Yellow River.
Yan Liang was stationed on the river bank, looking at his mighty fleet in the distance, with a look of pride on his face.
"Wen He, you once served as Cao Cao's adviser. In your opinion, how will Cao Cao respond at this moment?" Yan Liang said, looking at the river from a distance.
"Well..." Jia Xu thought for a moment and said, "Cao Cao is very good at making choices. With the current situation, I think Cao Cao will abandon Bingzhou and concentrate all his troops to retreat to Luokou."
Abandon Bingzhou and retreat to Luokou?
Yan Liang nodded slightly and said: "Shi Yuan, if Cao Cao is really like this, then in your opinion, how will my king use his troops next?"
"It's very simple. Let's leave Tongguan without attacking, concentrate our troops and go north, seize Pubanjin, and cut off Cao Ren's Bingzhou Army's way back to Guanzhong." Pang Tong didn't think much, and answered decisively.
Yan Liang took it seriously and sneered: "What the military advisor said is exactly what I want, so I sent an order to Ling Gongji and others, ordering his fleet not to enter the Wei River, but to go straight north and seize Pubanjin for me."
Yan Liang's royal order was passed down, and the fleet on the Yellow River quickly turned its bow to the north and headed for Pubanjin, which was dozens of miles away.
In order to cover the fleet going north, Yan Liang ordered Wen Chou to transfer all the cavalry to the north bank to protect the trackers and tugs and prevent Cao's army from harassing them.
At the same time, Yan Liang passed the message to Huang Gai, ordering him to lead part of the navy to attack Dayang City at the ferry on the north bank and contain Xu Huang's troops.
Several groups moved forward together, and within two days, the navy led by Ling Tong entered the Pubanjin waters.
Pubanjin is named after Puban City on the east bank of the Yellow River. This place connects Bingzhou and Yongzhou. Since the Spring and Autumn Period, it has been a battleground between the Qin and Jin Dynasties, and its strategic position is extremely important.
Although Pubanjin is important, before that, Cao Cao actually did not station heavy troops here. Instead, he stationed more than 3,000 troops in Puban City on the east coast.
Because Pubanjin is located in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, unless Yan Liang captures Hedong County and crosses the river from Puban City on the other side to threaten Pubanjin, and Hedong County has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses stationed by Xu Huang and Lejin, so theoretically, Pubanjin is located
The location is very safe.
But Cao Cao never expected that Yan Liang's fleet would sail so far upstream of the Yellow River. As a result, Pubanjin became a place with no military strength.
When Yan Liang's fleet headed north, the military order sent by Cao Cao to Cao Ren had already gone to Jinyang, and his son Cao Zhang, commanding three thousand elite troops, was galloping on the road from Tongguan to Pubanjin.
Unfortunately, Cao Cao's reaction was still a step too late.
Ling Tong led 300 warships and more than 20,000 naval troops. After a day and night of strong attacks, they annihilated more than a thousand defenders of Pubanjin. After paying the price of 2,000 men, they finally successfully captured this strategic town.
The connection between Bingzhou and Guanzhong was cut off.
Cao Zhang, who arrived later, was shocked when he saw that Pubanjin had been lost. Unwilling to be reconciled, he launched several waves of attacks on the Chu army.
The three thousand soldiers and horses led by Cao Zhang were small in number, but they were all elite cavalry, and their combat effectiveness should not be underestimated. Although Ling Tong's naval force numbered 20,000, they might not be Cao Zhang's opponent in a land battle.
Fortunately, Yan Liang had already expected that Cao Cao would send elite cavalry to aid Pu Ban, so in his royal order to Ling Tong, he ordered him to dig deep into the fortress and hold on to the camp after capturing Pu Ban Jin. No matter how provocative Cao Jun was, he would not
Not allowed to fight.
Ling Tong faithfully obeyed Yan Liang's orders. Although there were many soldiers and horses, he could not defend. However, when Cao Zhang attacked forcefully, he only fired random arrows.
Cao Zhang repeatedly attacked to no avail and after losing more than 500 cavalry, he had no choice but to give up and led his army to retreat to Linjin City dozens of miles away. He then flew to Tongguan to report the news to his father, the prime minister.
Tongguan City.
It was late at night and everything was quiet. Except for the sound of the Yellow River in Guanbei, there was no trace of noise.
However, Cao Cao tossed and turned and could not fall asleep for a long time.
"Zixiao, you must bring back the 30,000 people from Bingzhou. The rise and fall of my Cao family depends on you..."
Cao Cao was walking in the tent, mumbling prayers to himself.
Just when he was anxious, the soldiers outside the tent came to report that Mr. Cao Zhang had sent someone to deliver urgent military information.
Cao Cao hurriedly ordered the intelligence to be sent in.
When Cao Cao took the report and opened it to take a look, his whole person was frozen there for an instant.