In the spring of the third year of Kaiyuan, Marquis of Wen, Lu Bu, and the general of Zhenbei, Wei Yan, defeated the Huainan army in Xiangyi. They killed the deputy general Chen Lan and below, a total of 15,000 people. The rest were either captured or defeated. Liu Xun and Liu Ye were only spared with their lives. Qingzhou
The losses of the coalition forces were minimal.
This was an exciting victory. After Xiahou Yuan's defeat at Rencheng, Cao Cao's army in Yanzhou suffered heavy losses and lost the ability to fight frontally. They could only rely on high walls and thick fortresses to fight to the end.
The significance of this battle is not just that. The Hidden Mist Army, which had been dormant for a long time, once again made its name known to the world. In the Xiangyi raid, Wei Yan adopted incredible tactics that were even better than those that appeared in the Battle of Rencheng.
The heavy catapult is also shocking.
With the bed crossbow first, weapons such as catapults are not too surprising. After all, these new weapons have only increased in number and scale, and their basic principles have not changed much.
However, the infiltration tactics adopted by the Hidden Mist Army in the Battle of Xiangyi aroused the high vigilance of most military strategists.
Including Qingzhou itself, the number of recruits in the armies of various princes is very high. Although Liu Xun's failure was due to his too loose management of the army, there are so many new faces. Who can guarantee that there are no loopholes in his army?
To deal with an almost ragtag army like the Huainan Army, the Hidden Mist Army can cause large-scale internal strife. Isn't it also possible for other armies to use assassination and other means to create some chaos before the battle?
Compared with the excitement of the Qingzhou Alliance, the morale of the Anti-Qingzhou Alliance was greatly dampened. After hearing the shocking news of the defeat, Cao Cao almost made the decision to abandon Yanzhou and fully reduce his military strength.
"We won't retreat now. When will we wait?"
Cheng Yukan talked eloquently: "If we retreat now, we can still preserve part of our strength. At least we can retreat the troops of Generals Miaocai and Boren to Yingchuan for funeral arrangements. Otherwise, they will only be defeated one by one."
End! Lu Bu's troops are good at attacking. It's already very difficult to fall into a camp. Now Wei Yan is even more difficult to deal with. Fighting is totally against common sense. If the fight continues, there may not even be a chance to retreat.
there is none left!"
"What Zhongde said makes sense."
Man Chong followed Cheng Yu and advised Cao Cao: "Without the Qingzhou Thunder Cannon, our army could still rely on the city walls to hold on. However, the Thunder Cannon not only has a long range, but also has an astonishing attack power. It will burn any fire."
After the news of the city spread, people everywhere were in panic, waiting for the Thunder Army to arrive. Many cities were in danger of collapsing without a fight and surrendering to the wind..."
His tone became more and more serious: "The situation in the Yanzhou war has become irreversible. Now we must prioritize preserving our strength in order to make a comeback in the future!"
Cheng Yu and Man Chong are not people who give up easily, but the Qingzhou side launched a series of heavy blows, causing Cao Cao's army in Yanzhou to suffer heavy losses. It was completely defeated. Now to save Yanzhou, they can only divide their troops from the battlefield of Hulao Pass, but Hulao Pass
How could the pressure here be less? If the main force were delayed in Gushicheng for too long, they might be attacked by Wang Yu and Lu Bu.
Lu Bu's army, freeing up its arms and legs and attacking with all its strength, is too scary. It can only wait and attack thousands of miles. Coupled with the help of the Hidden Mist Army, it is simply even more powerful! It will not be beneficial to continue to entangle in the Yanzhou battlefield.
"If we give up now, the connection between our army and the Jiangdong Army will be completely cut off." Xun You objected, "Although the two armies were fighting separately before, General Sun has now led the army north and will arrive at Chenliu soon. If
If our army gives up at this time, wouldn't General Sun be in danger of going deep into the army alone and being surrounded by several troops from Qingzhou? No, this proposal is quite inappropriate."
"At this moment and that moment, if the Huainan troops and horses are still there, or if General Miaocai is not injured, and they join forces with the Jiangdong Army, there will be much to do. But now the Huainan troops and horses are completely defeated, and the two generals, Boren and Xuan Gao, have also given up.
Defeat Junyi and surrender Chenliucheng...Although General Sun is brave, he only belongs to the Allied Forces after all. How do you know that he will not retreat in spite of difficulties?"
Zhong Yao shook his head repeatedly, and he actually had the same opinion as Cheng and Man: "As Boning said, the priority now is to preserve our strength, retreat to Yingchuan and Luoyang, and urge the soldiers of Jing and Yizhou.
The best strategy is to head north as quickly as possible to help in the war."
"Yuan Chang's words are wrong..."
Sima Lang, Du Ji, Hua Xin, Liang Xi and other advisers all spoke out, each holding his own and refusing to give in. Generally speaking, those who advocated abandoning Yanzhou had the upper hand.
The reasons have almost been explained by Zhong Yao and others. Even if Yanzhou is abandoned, Cao's army is not without stamina. Jingzhou is now under Cao Cao's command. Although some troops and horses are still needed to stay behind to guard against Liu Biao in Jiangling, most of the troops can still be mobilized.
Going north.
In addition, Sima Yi, the rising star of the Sima family, is lobbying Liu Yan in Yizhou. With his eloquence and knowledge, he will surely be able to persuade Liu Yan soon and let Yizhou soldiers and horses come out of Sichuan to help in the war.
In addition, Li Dian protected Ma Jun and Mo, and the disciples of the Second Gong Sect arrived in Yingchuan. It was not hopeless to imitate Qingzhou's Thunderbolt Cannon. It seemed that it was the right thing to give up competing in Yanzhou in order to be promoted later.
However, the opposition led by Xun You is not unreasonable. If Sun Ce still insists on going north to fight after hearing the news, Cao's army's shrinkage will become a trap.
Now in Yanzhou, Qingzhou has three main sizable armies. Zhang Liao and Huang Zhong on the eastern front, Yu Jin on Chen Liu, plus Lu Bu on mobile warfare, there are more than 40,000 soldiers and horses, all of whom are elite. Once trapped
Even if Sun Ce had three heads and six arms, he would definitely not be able to get out of the siege.
If something unexpected happens to Sun Ce, even if Jiangdong's army does not collapse, it will be impossible to maintain the offensive momentum. If he is defeated and withdraws from Yanzhou, it is unlikely that this person will continue to cooperate with Cao's army in fighting due to his clear-cut temperament.
As for sending a message to Sun Ce to cooperate with Cao's army's withdrawal operation, it is definitely not feasible. Both sides are allies and have no affiliation. Sun Ce's willingness to go north to rescue without fear in the face of danger is already a move that takes the overall situation into consideration. Let him come as soon as he is called and wave.
Otherwise, it is simply impossible.
In fact, Cao Jun was not even sure where Sun Ce's troops were.
On the same day as the Battle of Xiangyi, Zhou Yu raided Yuan Shu's palace in Shouchun. With the cooperation of Liu Bei, who had recently taken refuge with Yuan Shu, he captured Yuan Shu in one fell swoop and killed him on the spot, overthrowing the puppet regime he had established. The Dacheng Dynasty existed before and after
In less than a month, it has the potential to create the shortest-lived dynasty record.
Yuan Shu came and went in a hurry, and chaos ensued in the Huainan area. Although Zhou Yu made plans to suppress and stabilize the situation, he did not expect that Sun Ce would go north directly. He also took away 30,000 elites in one breath!
The main force of the Jiangdong Army that crossed the river and headed north was only 50,000 in total. Although a Hongmen Banquet was held in Sui'an, Lei Bo was defeated, Zhang Xun and Chen Ji were surrendered, and the 30,000 Huainan Army was brought under his command, but the newly surrendered army
, the combat power is simply not enough to rely on, and it is difficult to defend Sui'an. Where can you find the strength to suppress Yuan Shu's old leader?
Xuzhou's Zhang Jha and Pang Tong were both very sharp people. As soon as Sun Ce led his army to leave Sui'an, they marched westward and launched a powerful attack on Sun Quan and Huang Gai who stayed behind. Zhou Yu captured Shouchun.
Afterwards, the first thing to do after integrating some forces was to reinforce Sun Quan, and other places could not be taken care of for a while.
Therefore, Yuan Shu's old leadership is now quite confused. Information cannot be released at all. Unless Sun Ce takes the initiative to report it, Cao Cao will not be able to figure out the location and situation of Sun Ce's army.
This is one of the drawbacks of the Allied forces' joint operations. The orders are not unified, and communication between them is not sufficient, making it difficult to form a joint force.
However, although the reasons on both sides are very sufficient, such scenes of divergent opinions are still rare in Cao Cao's camp. Because Cao Cao himself is a very decisive person, even if it is an issue that is difficult to judge, everyone often expresses their opinions.
After that, Cao Cao will make a decision soon. In addition, above all the staff, there is Guo Jia.
Guo Jia's status in Cao Cao's army is almost equivalent to Zhang Liang in Liu Bang's time. He has always been very opinionated on strategic issues. As long as he expresses his opinion, Cao Cao will definitely consider it carefully and will often accept it in the end.
.
But today, Cao Cao's face was as dark as water, his brows were furrowed, and he was still unable to make a decision. And Guo Jia was even more outrageous. He did not participate in the military meeting at all! This situation seemed somewhat strange, but the advisers did not care much.
Just arguing.
It is no exaggeration to say that Cao Jun has reached a critical moment of life and death. If he makes a few wrong decisions, he will be destroyed. With the current status of the counselors, there is no other way out except to fight to the end, so everyone can only
Try your best to persuade Cao Cao to adopt the strategy you think is the most correct.
During the stalemate, the tent door suddenly moved. As if he had telepathy, Cao Cao raised his eyes and saw Guo Jia flashing in with a solemn look on his face.
"Fengxiao, you are finally back!" Cao Cao stood up from his commanding position, walked quickly to Guo Jia, and asked from a distance: "How is the situation?"
Guo Jia shook his head slowly but did not answer. Although the counselors were not sure of the cause and effect, their hearts sank. Obviously, there was bad news again.
"The matter has come to this, and there is nothing to hide. How can morale be so low?" Cao Cao's expression darkened, and he lowered his raised hand. He silently walked back to the commander's desk and sat down slumped.
After Cao Cao sat down, Guo Jia explained to everyone: "Everyone, my lord ordered Jia to contact the two generals Ma and Han in Bingzhou to urge them to fight the Qingzhou Army as soon as possible. If the Qingzhou Army cannot defend and is difficult to conquer, we might as well divide our troops.
Go south, attack Hanoi first, then attack Wei County, or join the Yanzhou battlefield..."
Everyone nodded slightly, understanding.
The eastern part of Bingzhou, which is known as Shanxi in later generations, is an easy-to-defend but difficult-to-attack place. As long as Xu Shu’s 50,000-strong army relies on the favorable geographical location to defend, even though Xiliang has an army of 300,000, there is nothing they can do. They cannot deploy their troops.
What advantage is there to talk about? Instead of wasting it in Bingzhou, it is better to divide the troops to reinforce the battlefield in the Central Plains and give full play to the strength of the troops.
The Xiliang Army did not have the intention to join the Central Plains battlefield before, not because Ma Teng and Han Sui were unwilling, but because Cao Cao was unwilling. When the Xiliang Army came, it was necessary to share the benefits. Cao Cao, a landlord, not only had to provide food and equipment, but also
After the war, the territory was divided among the Xiliang army.
But now there is no choice. The situation is pressing. Even if he drinks poison to quench his thirst, Cao Cao can only do this for now and survive the current difficulties. Of course, the fewer people who know about this kind of thing, the better. Therefore, Guo Jia is fully responsible for the secret operation.
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However, judging from Guo Jia's behavior, this matter is still not smooth enough.
"When I sent an envoy to contact the Xiliang army, I learned that there is no fighting on the battlefield of Bingzhou, or it should be said that the fighting has come to an end. Because they have been unable to attack for a long time, the two generals Ma and Han actually got into trouble again and were in a stalemate with each other.
It's just as I expected, the two generals most likely fell into Xu Shu's alienation plan!"
"What?" Everyone, including Cao Cao, was shocked.
Now the battlefield in the Central Plains has been retreating steadily, and the situation is extremely unfavorable. The biggest hope is the Xiliang Army. And the biggest weakness of the Xiliang Army has been exposed. This is really a leak in the house, but it rains all night, and the ship is late and encounters the first
Wind!
No matter how powerful Ren Xiliang's army is, if internal disputes begin, it will be lucky if Xu Shu doesn't take the opportunity to defeat them. How can they talk about reinforcing the Central Plains?
Could it be that this destiny really fell on Wang Pengju? (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile phone users please go to m.