Except for Xiahou Dun and Cheng Yu who stayed in Dongjun, all the elites of Cao Cao's army gathered together, but no one could answer the question of the lord Cao Cao. Cheng Yu's urgent letters came almost every day, so everyone in Cao Cao's army had no idea what was happening in Hebei.
Things are very clear, but I still don’t have a clue.
After arriving in Liyang, Wang Yu's army finally stopped. However, it was not the end of their journey, but a relay station. After a short rest for a day in Liyang, the army divided into three groups, staying in Liyang all the way and heading north to Ye.
city, and continue westward along the river.
The first two groups did not receive much attention. If Wang Yu did not repeat his old trick and mix the elite troops with the miscellaneous soldiers, then the two groups of auxiliary soldiers would not pose a threat. The most nervous ones were the three groups advancing with the navy.
A main force.
"Wang Yu has led his army past Baima. If he doesn't stop at Yanjin or starts a forced crossing, the target will undoubtedly be Hanoi. Zhang Yang and Lu Bu are old acquaintances and have a close relationship. In this way, Lu Bu is likely to fight with Wang
It will be of great benefit to our army if Yu is on top."
"That's not necessarily the case. Zhang Yang is courageous but lacks courage. If Wang Yu wants to capture him, he only needs to dispatch Zhao Yun's four thousand gale force cavalry to fight. Why bother to mobilize troops like this? From a certain point of view, Wang Yu's move is
Xiang Zhuang is dancing with his sword, aiming at Peigong, pretending to be aggressive in Hanoi, or expedition to Shangdang, but in fact he is plotting against our army! If not, why would he lead a naval army of this size? After all, Wang Yu is dominating Qing Dynasty now
, I have searched all over the world, but General Cao is the only one who has the strength to fight. It would be really weird if he doesn’t come to plot against me."
"Bohou's words are wrong. Although the Hussars are powerful, our army is not weak. We showed weakness before. It was just to avoid the conflict between the two powers and let others gain. How can we be afraid of Wang Yu? Wang Yu
He is not a fool, and he will not fail to see this. He may try to contain and interfere with the progress of our army, but he will definitely not choose to launch a decisive battle at this time. Now think about it, his bluff is very dangerous.
Maybe they just know that our army's attack on Nanyang is progressing smoothly, and they just want to use this to contain our army's strength."
"General Miaocai. Are you sure? Our army is in Dongping and Shanyang areas with strong walls and clear fields, blocking Xu Huang, but that is not the case in Dongjun. Wang Yu does not need to launch a decisive battle. He only needs to station troops in Hebei and wait for an opportunity to invade south. First
Seizing Baima, Yanjin Ferry, and then encroaching on Dongjun, how can we spend so much?"
"Bohou's words make sense. Wang Yu often took measures to restrict the powerful in his administration. Dongjun is where the elites of Yanzhou gather. If others take over this place and want to reap the benefits, they have to wait at least until the autumn harvest. But he doesn't have to. He only needs to deal with powerful families.
After a massive levy, not only was there no consumption, we might even have the supplies to continue our advance."
"Zhang Ji has just been crowned the leader. Although Zhang Xiu is good at martial arts, he is just a fool of himself. If we don't strike while the iron is hot and capture Nanyang, how can we divide our troops to come back for reinforcements? Will we fall short?"
"General Zilian, don't worry, aren't we all discussing..."
There are different opinions and endless debates.
The most representative ones include three views.
Man Chong believed that Wang Yu was ready to take advantage of the victory and pursue Yuan Shao's remnant party. Shangdang was in a remote location, and Wang Yu was probably unwilling to launch an expedition, so he only made a bluff in Yecheng as a containment, and the main force first eliminated Zhang Yang, who was easier to deal with.
.For Cao Jun, this is not only not a crisis, but an opportunity.
A group of people headed by Du Ji believed that Wang Yu could clearly understand the importance of this. His spearhead was still firmly aimed at his lord, the most threatening enemy. The actions of the Qingzhou Army must be cautious.
Just treat it.
Xia Houyuan and other generals believed that Xiahou Dun's defense was enough, and the top priority now was to pursue Zhang Xiu fiercely and not give him a chance to recover.
Cao Cao's attack on Nanyang was launched in early February. Not many troops were invested at the beginning, and it was more like a routine robbery or test. After Zhang Ji fought a few battles, he thought he had seen through the actual strength of Cao's army, and did not wait for Guanzhong or Liu Biao.
Reinforcements arrived and they launched a pursuit. Fighting and fighting along the way, they pursued them all the way to Kunyang in Yingchuan.
In this city where Han Guangwu became famous in the first battle, Zhang Ji was ambushed by Cao Cao's elite troops, and was smashed to pulp by Dian Wei's double iron halberds on the spot. The general died, and more than half of the soldiers who dared to fight were lost. The remaining troops of Zhang Ji's army
They all knelt down and asked to surrender, but Zhang Xiu relied on his superb martial arts to break out of the siege.
There are still some remaining troops of the Xiliang Army in Wancheng, but after the main force was annihilated, both morale and combat power have undoubtedly dropped significantly. Niu Fu, who was stationed in Wuguan area, was thrown into semi-exile by Dong Zhuo, and
Together, Hu Zhen and his fellow sufferers only had about 8,000 soldiers and horses. They were either an army that had suffered repeated defeats, or they were miscellaneous soldiers brought in by strong men. Their combat power was completely hopeless.
Unless Liu Biao launches a large-scale campaign, or Lu Bu clears up the source of his past suspicions, most of Nanyang will fall into Cao Cao's hands. Xia Houyuan believes that if he does not take advantage of the victory to pursue at this time, he will be punished by God.
Everyone's arguments have their own reasons. Even with Cao Cao's decisiveness, it is difficult to make a decision for a while. At this time, of course, we must rely on military advisors to play their role.
Xun Yu had been thinking for a long time and had some ideas. Seeing Cao Cao looking over, he did not hesitate. He immediately twisted his beard and said: "I think what everyone said makes sense, and Wang Yu has probably thought of it too. If our army is on guard,
If our army refuses to defend, he will launch a light cavalry raid into Hanoi, with Yu Lin as back-up and navy troops to assist. If our army ignores it, he will control the ferry and encroach on Dongjun.
The flaws make it impossible for our army to relax."
As he spoke, he spread his hands and said: "Liyang City has always been an important place for military strategists and a place to store grain. Even if Wang Yu gets nothing from this trip, he can just repair Liyang City and move the garrison. If he wants to advance into the Central Plains, he will have to cross the river sooner or later.
A battle with our army can be regarded as an advance plan. Wang Yu has already understood the essence of the strategy."
This time no one objected.
Strategic layout is like playing chess. The one who takes the lead always takes advantage. Wang Yu's move is like bullying. If he loses, Cao Cao will lose too much if he should not, and the risk will be too great if he should not. In the end, he is the one who has the right and left.
Difficult situation.
Cao Cao may not have thought of what Xun Yu said, but he just didn't want to think in this direction. Now that Xun Yu pointed it out, Cao Cao felt worried. His eyebrows immediately twisted into a Sichuan shape.
"If so, how should I respond?"
"I'm ashamed, my talent is limited, and I can't find the solution even if I think hard." He said he was ashamed, but there was no shameful look on Xun Yu's face. It's not that he was shameless or anything, it's just that he was only good at analysis, not planning.
Its characteristics have long been known.
As if they had agreed, everyone turned to the thin young man sitting in the first place on the left, who had always been acting very plain.
Guo Jia arrived for the first time. He was far from what everyone expected. Most of the people who came to see him were somewhat interested in taking a test, or even gloating about his misfortune. Who could have asked Cao Cao to have such grand specifications when he was invited?
He was immediately promoted to the position of head of the staff. If anything is as good as Lin Feng, it will be destroyed. It is strange that anyone would have a good impression of Guo Jia.
"Wang Yu's move involves a lot. Jia was obsessed with it for a moment, but it was rude." The crowd's gaze did not put much pressure on Guo Jia, but it woke him up. Only when he spoke did everyone realize that it turned out that
He had been distracted just now.
Many people had a look of disdain in their eyes. Cao Cao did not feel dissatisfied. He put his palms in his hands and smiled and said: "I have been paying homage to you for a long time, and you will definitely gain something. It will help you and me solve our doubts."
"That's right." Guo Jia did his part. He leaned slightly, cleared his throat, and said slowly: "Fighting for the world is similar to competing on the chessboard. In fact, they are quite similar. They both compete for and consolidate the corners first.
The last step is to fight for the central territory. Because the central territory is surrounded by enemies and has little room for maneuver, it often costs a lot of money and cannot obtain the ground, so it is abandoned by the wise."
He suddenly started talking about chess, which was very likely to go off topic, but Cao Cao listened attentively and seemed very attentive. Who could question this and could only listen patiently.
"A certain Wang Yu planned the world and had the demeanor of a chess master, so he abandoned Luoyang, his heartland, and went to Qingzhou. Later, he ignored Xuzhou, which was easier to penetrate, and went all out to fight with Yuan Shao in Hebei
Zhou Xuan. His overall view is very good."
"What brother Ruo said makes sense, but Jia has something unclear. Wang Yuruo just sent a general and moved an army to defend Wei County just to frighten the surrounding areas and contain our army. Why is there any need to mobilize troops like this?
You know, Qingzhou is now the focus of the world, and every move affects people's hearts, and the situation, let alone such a big fanfare?"
"The greater the noise he makes, the less effective it will be in containing our army. When it reaches a certain level, it won't be helpful at all. On the contrary, it may make the surrounding heroes overly vigilant and do something unexpected. This
, isn’t it half the result with half the effort?”
If Wang Yu were here, he would definitely be shocked when he heard this analysis. What Guo Jia said is obviously the theory of marginal effect.
After the analysis, most of the people's eyes changed, but Guo Jia still looked calm and calm, and said his conclusion calmly: "Therefore, Jia thinks that what Brother Ruo analyzed is different from Wang Yu's."
Thinking about it, it's all incidental, his real purpose is not these..."
"What is that?" Everyone was shocked, and Cao Cao even asked in shock, interrupting Guo Jia.
"Without him, he just wants to save Hedong Baibo."
"Hedong Baibo?" The eyes that looked over were full of disbelief.
"How is it possible? He has to work hard for the few people in Hedong? What benefits can he get?"
"It's not necessarily impossible. Doesn't this have a 'side' effect?"
"In terms of importance, saving Bai Bo is incidental, right?"
"Then who knows? Maybe Bai Bo has hidden some treasure besides people? Wang Yu wants to accept them all."
Finally, they couldn't help it, and everyone couldn't help but mixed a lot of guns and sticks in their words. The main purpose of such a big fanfare was to save Bai Bo. Is this something that a young and mature prince who is known for his wisdom in the world can do?
With a population of only a few hundred thousand, even Cao Cao couldn't possibly take it seriously. Those warriors were somewhat valuable, but their value was not high enough to match Wang Yu's current actions.
After all, the strategic plan has been changed for this reason, and it is even possible to provoke a large-scale war for no reason, involving neutral princes like Lu Bu into the war, and pushing them onto the hostile side.
"The benefits are not necessarily without them, but it is only in the eyes of the beholder and wisdom in the wise." Faced with many doubts, Guo Jia was neither angry nor interested in arguing, as if he could not hear the ridicule in them.
"This matter is not impossible."
Cao Cao pondered for a long time, then suddenly said: "The first time I met Wang Pengju was when we were making an alliance with Suanzao. His personality has always made me a little unpredictable. Ordinary people can't do such extraordinary things, but he still
It's really hard to say... Fengxiao, if Wang Yuruo really intervenes in the affairs of Hedong, it will be a big obstacle to our army's strategy of advancing westward, and the Dongjun side cannot be left alone..."
Guo Jia replied: "Things east of Hedong are easy to handle. All we need is two letters, sent to Huai County and Huguan respectively."
Cao Cao asked doubtfully: "Just ignore it on the other side of Hedong?"
"It's too late." Guo Jia shook his head: "Wang Yu always makes decisions before acting. He will not leave such a big loophole. I'm afraid he has already made arrangements in Hedong."
Cao Cao nodded slowly and continued to ask: "So that's the case, what about Dongjun?"
Guo Jia smiled slightly, raised three fingers, and replied: "As for the affairs of Dongjun, Jia has three strategies, upper, middle and lower, for the lord to consider."