Cao Cao got the news three days after Sun Ce officially sent out troops. When he got the news, he was filled with emotions and felt relieved.
"My lord, the wisdom of observing people is like divine help. I bow to you." Cheng Yu bowed to the ground and admired Cao Cao's courage.
The generals in Jiangdong thought that if Cao Jun wanted to annex Liu Xun's troops, he would have to go through an internal strife or at least hold a Hongmen Banquet or something. In fact, it was not necessary at all. Liu Ye turned out to be Liu Xun's staff and was highly regarded by the latter.
Before the plan to annex Yuan Shu began, Liu Xun had already secretly taken refuge with Cao Cao.
Lieutenant General Chen Lan was not a loyal person. Cao Cao promised him a high official and a generous salary, and also gave him a beautiful woman with gold and pearls. This man's eyes were immediately dazzled, which is also not a problem. In other words, Qiao Rui is still young.
It's a bit troublesome, but he is just a lieutenant, not as powerful as Chen Lan. Let alone taking the army away or anything, his disappearance will not have much impact on the morale of the army.
Originally, Cao Cao made a plan to lure Yuan Shu to proclaim himself emperor, secretly roping in Yuan Shu's generals in order to annex Huainan. Yuan Shu lost his reputation for righteousness when he proclaimed himself emperor, and Liu Xun and others cooperated internally and externally. Cao Cao attacked with light cavalry and could easily capture the enemy.
Shouchun City.
As a result, an accident occurred in Jingzhou, and the war started in advance. Cao Cao lost the opportunity to implement this plan, but the control of the situation was still in his hands.
Before the plan was finally implemented, Cheng Yu and other advisers were trying to persuade him that there was no need to rush into taking action against Yuan Shu. They could just deceive Huainan's soldiers and horses first, and then use them to compete with the Qingzhou army for consumption. Even if Sun Ce must be advantaged, he could not
Give away all the benefits and at least get Runan in your hands.
Cheng Yu's opinion was not unreasonable. He described Jiangdong's army as tigers and wolves, believing that ferocious beasts are most aggressive only when they are hungry. Once they are full, they will become lazy and unwilling to contribute.
For Jiangdong, Huainan is a big tonic. Originally, Jiangdong's army had just swallowed half of Jingzhou, and with the addition of Huainan, it was too late to digest it. How could it still have the desire and ability to continue to expand?
But Cao Cao insisted that Sun Ce would not stop at Huainan, or would only attack Xuzhou to contain the Qingzhou Army, but would definitely join the battlefield in the Central Plains.
Cheng Yu and others were submissive on the surface, but they didn't believe it in their hearts. Even if Sun Ce had no brains and Jiang Dong was so talented, how could he collectively lose his voice and let Sun Ce do whatever he wanted?
As a result, Sun Ce really came, and at such a juncture, it was a complete help in times of need. To exaggerate, it would be an exaggeration to say that it was a life-saving favor!
Cheng Yu admired Cao Cao's foresight and fell into admiration.
At the moment, the battle situation in Yanzhou is already in danger. Xiahou Yuan defeated Rencheng and lost more than half of his 20,000 troops. In the chaos of the battle, he also lost his precious treasure Ma Jun. If Li Dian hadn't seen what was happening quickly and protected Ma Jun, he escaped.
Juye Ze, if you use the waterway to escape, the battle behind you will be really impossible to fight.
Now that the Eastern Front has been completely defeated, no matter what Zhang Liao and Huang Zhong want to do, no one can stop them. Cao Jun certainly hopes that Zhang Liao will go south to reinforce Xuzhou, but the problem is that Wang Yu will not know how to hurt his arm.
It is better to cut off one finger and concentrate the troops in Yanzhou to expand the victory.
After Yu Jin's troops discovered that Chen Liu was empty, he led his army south and launched a fierce attack on Junyi City. Zang Ba, who was left behind in Junyi City, desperately asked for help. At the most, he sent five or six letters in one day.
The first few letters were requests for help, but the last few letters were simply written in blood, indicating that Junyi was about to fall, and asked Cao Cao to make preparations in advance.
Fortunately, Chen Liu's Xia Houshang attacked in time to contain the ban and saved the fate of Junyi City and Zang Ba, but the situation was still very dangerous.
Zang Ba left behind Junyi with less than 3,000 soldiers and horses, and Xiahou Shang had only 5,000 troops under his command. Moreover, they were both elite troops mixed with county soldiers, and they could not defeat Lin's 10,000 Yu Lin army.
The main forces of Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun were pinned down by Wang Yu. Now they can barely rely on their superior strength to attack and defend. Once they divide their forces and return to Chenliu for rescue, the main force is in danger of being blown up by Wang Yu. Cao Cao
Don't dare to act rashly at all.
Before Sun Ce went north, the only savior was Liu Xun's 30,000-strong army, but these soldiers and horses moved too slowly. It was almost a month after they left Huainan, and they were still circling in the Liang Kingdom!
Cao Cao saw clearly and knew that Liu Xun was waiting for a price, so he quickly sent Liu Ye to Liang State with a large amount of gold beads, and made a higher promise than before to win over Liu Xun and Chen Lan.
, let them advance troops as soon as possible.
By now, Liu Xun was already a cavalry general in the dynasty, on an equal footing with Yuan Shao back then. He also had the title of Marquis of Suiyang and granted Liang Guo a fiefdom to him. Li Le was also a dignified rear general, Marquis of Wu Ping,
The reward has almost reached the extreme. No matter how generous it is, Cao Cao will have no choice but to marry his daughter.
With such an offer, Liu Xun should be able to show off his strength, but with the fighting spirit and quality of the Huainan Army, what hope can he have even if he comes?
The news of Sun Ce going north is really a timely rain, a long drought brings rain! And the arrival of this strong reinforcement is a reminder of Cao Cao's courage. If he had not given up most of Huainan's interests without any hesitation, how could Sun Ce have done it?
Will he be so happy to go north for reinforcements?
Sun Ce arrives, plus Liu Xun's 30,000 troops. Even if Zhang Liao and Lu Bu join forces and attack Chen Liu together, they should be able to hold on for a while. As for the turning point...
"We can only see if Ma Fubo and Han Wen make an appointment." Cao Cao said.
He has not yet reached the end of his rope, and he still has some backup plans, but none of them can play a role in turning the situation around. The only one that can really have a decisive impact on the battle situation is the Bingzhou battlefield. Although Qingzhou
The army also invested a considerable amount of force in Bingzhou, but the Xiliang army still has a huge advantage in strength and should make some progress.
"In short, my lord and all of you should be prepared for a very difficult and protracted war." It was Guo Jia who made the concluding remarks. This young military advisor had a pale face and an unusually solemn expression. He could not see the current battle situation at all.
When the miracle of reversal occurred, the pressure was like a mountain, weighing heavily on my shoulders.
…
On January 28, the Central Plains received its first rain. As the saying goes: Spring rain is as precious as oil, but many people don't think so.
"Ah... grandma, she's freezing to death!"
"Ah, who is so wicked? My neck, my neck!"
Sounds like ghosts crying and wolves howling kept coming from behind, making Liu Xun's face darker than the bottom of a pot.
Yes, the freezing rain in this kind of weather is really uncomfortable. It’s just when it’s warm and then cold, and the fine raindrops are lingering, which looks very poetic, but the rainwater sneaks in at every crack and flows along the collar.
It drips into the clothes. The rain is already very cold, but when the little north wind blows, the smell can make the dead jump.
Just being cold is nothing, but the most important thing is that it rains endlessly. For three days in a row, the brothers marched in wet clothes and pants, with no dry place on their bodies. I personally can't stand this.
crime.
"Let me run around, it will make you warm! When you get to Xiangyi City, I will give each of you a big house and two women, so you can warm yourself up!"
"Thank you General for the reward!" The sluggish soldiers suddenly regained some of their energy and shouted while breathing white air. The warm house and the soft woman made everyone salivate just thinking about it.
It's not easy to be a soldier these days. In addition to the ability of your subordinates, the key is luck.
Look at those people following General Lei. They don’t have to travel long distances or fight any tough battles. When they get to Sui’an, they can just plunder as they please! That’s Sui’an! The most prosperous area in Huainan, its popularity is no less than that of the legendary Gaotang
What a great place! If you go to that place, you don’t get everything you want? There’s no need to suffer like this!
I heard that General Cao in Chenliu was fighting against General Hussars. There were corpses everywhere, bleeding and floating in the oars. It was miserable! Rushing to reinforce at this time? Isn't that what a madman would do?
It's best to go as we are now. We all go slowly. Anyway, the slower we go, the more rewards General Liu will get, and everyone can get more profit sharing. There is no danger. Wait until the Jiangdong Little Overlord kills him later.
Come up here, wouldn't it be nice for everyone to follow and take advantage?
"General Zitai, don't blame me for talking too much. Fifteen miles a day, this speed is really unseemly. Unless you plan to hang yourself on Yuan Shu's tree, you should make a decision early on." Through the confused words,
Yusi, looking at the long queue, Liu Ye said earnestly: "Although Mr. Cao is generous, his patience is not unlimited!"
"Brother Ziyang, I don't know what you are saying, but there is nothing we can do about it!" Liu Xun smiled bitterly, spreading his hands and said: "You have also been in Lujiang, and you still don't know how Yuan Shu's army of 100,000 came here.
Are they? There are all kinds of people who want to recruit surrenders and rebels. If they want to rob families and homes, they must be very energetic, but now even Duke Cao..."
He realized that he had made a mistake, paused, and explained in a low voice: "At least they are still advancing now. They have tried their best to restrain them. To be honest, as long as this soldier is still advancing, it will have a containment effect. It is better than marching quickly."
, isn’t it better to have hundreds or even thousands of deserters coming in a day?”
He had already said this, what else could Liu Ye say? He could only smile bitterly.
Xiangyi City is not far away. It is less than fifty miles away from the border of Liang State. Liu Xun's army walked for three full days. On the evening of the first day of February, the army finally arrived at Xiangyi City.
Xiangyi City is not far from Chenliu City. The two cities are connected by the Suishui River. Going west through Huating and Yongqiu, more than a hundred roads will lead to Chenliu City. Once you get here, you are basically within the fighting range.
Liu Xun and his army did not have this awareness. They did not think there would be danger here, and the battlefield was still far away! What's more, the weather was so bad, how could there be danger? It was only proper to rush into the city to stay warm and eat.
During the march, the army could still maintain basic order, but when they saw the city wall from a distance, the queue collapsed immediately, and a group of people rushed towards the city gate in a chaotic manner, thinking only of entering the city quickly.