"Congratulations, lord! Congratulations, lord! The ancients said: What is strong will not last long, and it will decline after a long period of prosperity. This sentence must have been applied to Wang Pengju! After this battle, the myth of the Qingzhou Army's victorious battles was finally shattered, and its power could not decline even if it was extremely powerful.
It’s far away!”
"Now Wang Pengju must be in a dilemma. No matter what he chooses, the situation has reversed and there is no room for change. No matter how brave he is, how can he escape from the ambush set by the Lord?"
"In terms of bravery and prowess, Peng Ju'er may be slightly better than the prince due to his youth and power. But in terms of calmness and tenacity in the use of troops, he is far behind! If the lord hadn't been holding on to prevent him from breaking through our defense line, then Xu
Yuan Zhi may not be eager to seek a battle, and end up like this. As the saying goes: after the storm and rain, the clouds clear and the moon shines!"
While the Qingzhou generals lamented the uncertainty of fate, felt sorry for Xu Shu, and were worried about the future of the Western Front battlefield, the atmosphere in Hulao Pass had undergone earth-shaking changes.
All the counselors in Cao's camp swept away their previous dejection and gathered around Cao Cao enthusiastically. Their faces were all glowing, and they were full of praises and congratulations. It was as if the serfs were standing up and singing.
If you think about it carefully, in a narrow sense, it is since the beginning of the Central Plains War. In a broad sense, the time may be traced back to the first year of Chuping in Luoyang. From then on, Wang Yu and his Qingzhou Army were like a big mountain.
As if, a heavy weight was pressing on Cao Cao's head. As time went by, it became heavier and heavier, until it was suffocating.
Compared to Sun Ce, who kept saying he was Wang Yu's old enemy but never had any substantial military conflict with them, Cao Cao faced direct pressure from Wang Yu. Only those who have truly experienced it can understand how heavy it is.
Extreme sense of oppression.
Just think about the speed of Qingzhou’s expansion.
In the first year of Chuping, Wang Kuang was still the most inconspicuous among the princes of the Central Plains, but he was always fighting for the most dangerous guns. He was troubled by internal and external troubles, and his fall could only happen in a matter of seconds. After Wang Yu took over, he started attacking in the east and in the west.
, actually forced him to break into a world and become the absolute protagonist in the battle against Dong.
From then on, Cao Cao had a tendency to become a supporting role.
When Wang Yu returned to his hometown in Taishan, he wiped out the Yellow Turbans within half a year and captured Qingzhou. He defeated Yuan Shao within a year and advanced into Hebei. Then he marched south and north, captured Xuzhou, established Huainan, dominated Jiangdong, and swept across Saibei and Liaodong! In just a few years
In the meantime, his strength expanded like a puff of air, from a small place like Mount Tai to a behemoth spanning half of the country!
In this process, anyone who dared to obstruct it head-on was basically shattered to pieces. Even if they could barely save their lives, the power they had worked so hard to build would fall apart. Even those who only secretly set a small obstacle would not lose anything.
It doesn't matter if you stop in time. Those who remain unyielding will end up no better than those who confront them head-on.
Cao Cao was almost the only exception. He once confronted Wang Yu head-on, and ended up defeating General Cao Ren and tens of thousands of elite troops. Later, he focused on obstruction, but in the end he didn't gain much. Instead, he suffered heavy losses in Wang Yu's counterattack.
In addition, he is also Wang Yu's main target. Although the Qingzhou Army has not expanded aggressively towards the Central Plains, it has maintained uninterrupted military pressure on Cao's army.
If we use the names of those who fell under the wheels of Wang Yu's chariot to set off, Cao Cao can be proud of what he has achieved today. Whether it is Yuan Shao, the fourth generation and the third prince, Liu Dai, Liu Yu, the head of the clan,
None of them were the ones that Cao Cao could hope to defeat in the past, and each one was more powerful than the other.
Those people have fallen, but Cao Cao has persisted to this day, and his power is still expanding, which is enough to prove his ability.
However, Cao Cao's goal is not to surpass his previous opponents, but to dominate the world. He must finally overcome the high mountain of Wang Yu. How much pressure must be on him? You can imagine!
This war only lasted for two months. Cao Cao's army failed to win a single victory and was retreating on all fronts. The only thing that can be commended is that it held on temporarily and was not defeated at all...
What a humble goal this was. Cao Cao was embarrassed to tell others about it. But in the eyes of the world, they greatly praised Cao Cao's army's toughness and Cao Cao's steady use of troops. They recognized him as a famous general second only to Wang Yu.
mouth
Only by being in Cao Cao's position can we truly understand what kind of suffering it is to face an almost unattainable opponent and try our best to be unable to close the gap.
After persisting till now, a turning point finally appeared!
Although it cannot be said that the overall situation has been decided, there is just a glimmer of light, but the opponent he faces is Wang Yu. Such a turn of events is already extremely precious. Once the pressure accumulated for many years was released, everyone showed a state of joy and ecstasy.
, is not an exaggeration at all.
Facing the congratulations and flattery of everyone, Cao Cao was completely unmoved, but regretted his repeated stumbles: "I just wish I didn't listen to Feng Xiao's loyal words, and immediately launched an army pursuit. If the main force of Qingzhou has been captured now, this battle will be really serious."
The victory is determined!"
Cao Cao is not being hypocritical, he really has the urge to grab the ground with his head.
No matter how Wang Yu considered it and made the decision to withdraw his troops in advance, the result would definitely be completely different if he allowed the opponent to retreat calmly and the whole army attacked the opponent's back.
Spring plowing is currently busy, and Qingzhou's militia cannot be mobilized. Moreover, the militia is most effective when defending the homeland. It is not the director of the militia who goes abroad to fight. If he bites Qingzhou's main force, Wang Yu will be unable to mobilize troops for rescue.
, the Western Front will definitely not be able to stop Ma Chao’s follow-up offensive.
The Xiliang army is best at fighting with the wind. As long as Ma Chao's plan is above the average level, he can think of blaming the deaths of Ma Teng and Han Sui on Xu Shu's alienation plan, and then use the banner of revenge to attack Qingzhou.
The Western Front Army launched a fierce attack.
Not long after Xu Shuxin was defeated, he lost a lot of equipment and soldiers. As long as Cao Cao sends some more siege equipment to Ma Chao, Taiyuan and Shangdang will definitely not be saved. When the Xiliang army sweeps Bingzhou, they can cross the Taihang Mountains and head towards Hebei
Launch a full-scale invasion and fully utilize the superiority in military strength.
Even if Wang Yu rallies the militia to block the Xiliang Army's onslaught, the damage to the people's livelihood will definitely be great. Coupled with the damage caused by the Xiliang Army, it will be enough to weaken Qingzhou's war potential, and even be overtaken by the Anti-Qingzhou Alliance, making the war
The balance has completely flipped.
But Cao Cao hesitated for a moment and allowed the main force in Qingzhou to retreat calmly, and things were not so ideal. Wang Yu would definitely send some troops to the north for reinforcements, and maybe the reinforcements were already on the way. He missed a golden opportunity.
"My lord, it's serious." Guo Jia was just aloof and arrogant, not the kind of shallow person who likes to act with hindsight. He said calmly: "I was just discussing the matter that day and deliberately took a risk. I can't say that I have much confidence. If the king
If Xiongqi really encounters the defeat of Bingzhou, he may not deliberately take the opportunity to decide the winner with his lord first."
"Intelligence shows that Lu Bu withdrew from Xiangyi almost at the same time as Wang Qiaoqi withdrew his troops. If the lord really pursues him, he will probably be attacked by two enemy armies. Although the lord is using troops steadily, General Sun comes quickly.
, but the final trend of the war situation is also quite unpredictable. It is not a bad thing not to pursue the enemy and let him leave."
People who do big things don't stick to trivial matters, and emotions such as regret rarely appear in Cao Cao. This time it was just because his opponent was Wang Yu, and he paid too much attention to it, so he was a little entangled. After Guo Jia said this, Cao Cao also
He calmed down and sighed: "Being filial to others makes things clear, and not taking credit. You are indeed my arm."
"I just did my duty and don't deserve my lord's praise."
"Fengxiao, in your opinion, what should our army do next? Should we try to cut off Wang Yu's northward reinforcement route, or should we hold our troops still and wait for him to leave before attacking?"
Cao Cao's straightforward way of asking for advice made all the advisers envious. The so-called "obeying advice" and thinking about it is nothing more than this state. But there is no way, the gap is there, maybe in terms of planning, everyone
There is not much difference between them, but compared to courage or even intuition, Guo Jia feels like he stands out from the crowd. No wonder Cao Cao values him so highly.
Cao Cao raised a question, and all the ministers considered the pros and cons in their minds, thinking about how they should answer if they changed places.
Cutting off Wang Yu's northward advance would essentially open up a new battlefield and burn the flames of war to Hanoi and even Wei County.
The advantage of doing this is similar to that of the previous pursuit, which is to hold back the Qingzhou reinforcements, wait for the Bingzhou battle to be completely eroded, and give full play to the power of the Xiliang Army. However, there are also disadvantages to this. The Qingzhou Army withdraws its troops early, and the reinforcements may have already set off, and there is no time to intercept them.
Not to mention, it would be easy to disperse the force. It would be better to wait for the Qingzhou Army's strength in Yanzhou to weaken and then concentrate on counterattack.
However, there are also problems if you place your bet on the Yanzhou battlefield. After the Qingzhou Army weakens, it will definitely take a defensive position, which is relatively easier than attacking. Judging from the previous results of both sides, even if Cao's army is second in military strength
Even a one-to-one advantage cannot guarantee victory.
If the Qingzhou Army cannot attack the defense line, or is even gradually consumed by the Qingzhou Army on the defensive, the situation will be even more difficult. Therefore, this question may seem easy to answer, but if you think about it deeply, it is a difficult choice to make.
"I thought..." Guo Jia didn't seem to think too much. He just pondered for a moment and then calmly replied: "My lord, you should go see General Sun first."
"Huh." Cao Cao was startled, and the officials were also slightly stunned.
General Sun, of course, is Sun Ce. Sun Ce has now arrived in Chenliu. If Cao Cao goes to see him, it will obviously be too late to mobilize troops into Hanoi. Guo Jia's answer actually vetoes the option of blocking Qingzhou's reinforcements, but answering like this,
It feels much better than simply choosing one of the two.
Guo Jia made a suggestion in disguise, suggesting that Cao Cao and Sun Ce cooperate in fighting.
If one family cannot defeat Yanzhou's Qingzhou Army, what if two families work together? If they still cannot defeat it, then simply admit defeat.
Cao Cao thought for a moment and immediately figured out the pros and cons. He slapped the table and praised loudly: "This is very good. I will follow the words of filial piety!"
(To be continued [This text is provided by the Dawn Update Team]. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian◤Qidian First Release◢ to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation.)