Jinxiang County.
Above the county government hall.
Everyone gathered together. Cao Cao, the commander-in-chief of the entire army, was sitting high on the throne, and the rest were sitting on the left and right.
This is already the third day of the Jinxiang County Defense Battle. It can be seen that the faces of everyone participating in this discussion have obvious signs of exhaustion.
After a whole day yesterday and half a day of high-intensity command operations today, all the generals in the army looked tired.
Even if he is as physically strong as Cao Ang, under the constant continuous operation, his mind feels like a ball of paste has been forcefully stuffed into his mind.
Even the civil servants and counselors who do not need to personally command on the battlefield have become equally tired because they are always paying attention to the dynamics of the battlefield, sitting in the middle to coordinate logistics operations, and also need to think about strategies to defeat the enemy.
"Miaocai, what are the casualties of our army? Have they been counted?"
Xia Houyuan hurriedly presented the bamboo slips he had been holding tightly in his hands, then stood up and gestured to Cao Cao and everyone on his left and right.
"Reporting to the Lord, according to the count of the generals under my command, the number of casualties in our army so far is less than 3,000. Generally speaking, the majority are injured."
"It's just that because Jinxiang is a small city, there aren't many doctors in the city, and there are not enough doctors accompanying our army. Therefore, a small number of these wounded soldiers are likely to die from their injuries in the next period of time."
Cao Cao nodded slightly when he heard this.
There were less than 3,000 casualties, which accounted for less than 10% of the 30,000 troops originally in the city. This was completely acceptable.
Cao Jun is defending the city. At the same time, most of the soldiers are composed of regular troops. Their quality is much higher than that of the enemy troops and they can withstand such casualties.
But there is one thing to note.
No matter how small the loss is.
People in Jinxiang City will also be shaken because of this. The mobilization of people and horses from all walks of life is no longer as smooth as when the war began, and the execution of military orders often feels sluggish.
After all, among the troops defending the city.
Only a part of the direct lineage of the Cao family.
The rest are the family forces from surrounding counties recruited by Cao Cao as Yanzhou Mu.
There are many hills.
Once the casualties are too heavy, Cao Jun's headquarters may still be able to stabilize, but these fringe armies may collapse first.
"What about the enemy's casualties? Have you ever ordered someone to count them?"
Xia Houyuan can be regarded as a general with relatively high military literacy. He can already do some things very well without being told by his superiors.
So Cao Cao asked.
Xia Houyuan, who had been prepared for a long time, reported the situation without thinking.
"It is not easy to collect the casualties of the ant thieves, so the general can only send people to do a rough count. The number of enemy casualties should be around 30,000."
"However, the difference from our army's situation is that the enemy's soldiers had more casualties and fewer disabled people."
"At the same time, there should be very few doctors accompanying the army in the ant bandit army. Any wounded soldier who is seriously injured is no different from being killed in battle."
…
Some things are just afraid of comparison.
Upon hearing that the Yellow Turban bandits outside the city had suffered such heavy losses and maintained a high casualty ratio of at least ten to one on their own side, Cao Cao couldn't help but secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as the enemy army cannot break through Jinxiang County, if this situation continues, the enemy army will soon usher in their defeat.
But when he thought about the tragic situation of this war, which had lasted for two and a half days since the war began, it was still difficult for Cao Cao to calm down.
The nearly 200,000 troops invested by both sides directly turned Jinxiang City into a meat grinder, and the entire northern city wall was even dyed dark red with blood.
Both sides' offensive and defensive equipment are basically exhausted.
The enemy troops outside the city had planned to build cars and ram cars, but now there is not a single one left.
Most of the ladders and ladders were damaged, so they could only cut down trees outside the city at night and grab temporary work to make some simple ladders.
The situation in the city was not much better.
The arrows used by archers, no matter how they are recycled and processed, still maintain a high consumption rate.
There isn't much left now.
Objects such as rolling logs, thunder stones, and hot oil have become scarce supplies in the city.
So hit it now.
It has evolved into a hand-to-hand fight between the two sides and the most primitive war.
As can be expected.
If this war continues and the enemy and we persist for two or three days, I am afraid that the number of casualties will rise linearly.
That's when he wins.
The price paid is definitely not small.
So after thinking about it for a while.
Cao Cao looked around at everyone present, and then asked in a deep voice.
"The ant thieves outside the city are made up of refugees, bandits, and thieves. It stands to reason that they are a team whose morale is easily dispersed and morale is easily broken."
"But now they have lost nearly 30,000 troops, but there are still no signs of collapse. If this continues, there may be something bad. I wonder if you have any good ideas?"
…
Just as everyone was thinking about it, they were ready to express their opinions on Cao Cao's question.
Zhang Liao, who was usually not very talkative in such meetings, stood up uncharacteristically and said to Cao Cao and Cao Ang.
"Your Majesty, General Cao, General Cao discovered something while resisting the enemy on the east wall today. Please allow me to report it to you two!"
A person who usually doesn't like to talk much.
Once you speak seriously, there must be something serious to report.
Cao Cao did not dare to look down upon him.
He quickly straightened his body, then raised his hand to Zhang Liao and said, "Wen Yuan, please report the situation as soon as possible!"
Zhang Liao quickly came to the center of the hall.
After bowing slightly towards Cao Ang.
Then he raised his hands and said: "Before noon today, when the last wave of offensive was approaching, the enemy's formation showed a tendency to disperse to the left and right sides."
"While escaping, the enemy troops also stopped their fierce attack on the city wall. There was a long gap until the next time they resumed their siege."
"And later on, I watched from the city tower and saw with my own eyes that some fleeing soldiers were captured and later executed on the spot by the supervising team."
"Based on the general's judgment, there should be a commotion in the enemy's formation, and some soldiers fled because they were afraid of fighting!"
As soon as this statement came out.
The whole audience was immediately shocked.
Even Cao Cao couldn't help but tremble all over, and his eyes suddenly showed excitement.
"The morale of the army is shattered!"
…
among those present at the meeting.
Either he is an experienced general or he is an excellent counselor.
How can you not see what this means?
There was a scene where soldiers fled and were captured and executed in public. This was definitely a sign of the morale of the army being broken. It meant that some soldiers in the enemy's large army were already thinking of shrinking back.
And as the number of people in this part increases.
It will cause the entire army to collapse.
This is undoubtedly great news!
In less than three days of fighting between the two armies.
Cao Cao and others had actually been waiting for signs of the enemy's collapse.
As long as there is such a trend and the trend is tilted, Cao Cao will dare to give it a go and directly open the city gate to counterattack.
If it goes well.
The war can be ended a few days early, which not only reduces one's own casualties, but also increases the capture ratio. This is definitely a good thing that kills two birds with one stone.
However, after a whole day of bloody battle yesterday.
The Yellow Turban Army remained firm, and although its soldiers were tired and numb, they had no intention of collapsing.
This way.
Naturally, Cao Cao did not dare to act rashly.
This made him very depressed.
Everyone knows that the Yellow Turban Army will collapse, but they just can’t figure out when it will collapse, and they can’t wait for it to happen.
What's so big about this?
However, he didn't expect that at this moment, Zhang Liao brought him good news like rain.
certainly.
This kind of major event related to the success or failure of the two armies, Cao Cao would never take it lightly.
So after calming down.
He hurriedly asked again: "Wen Yuan, do you know roughly how many people in the enemy's formation were captured and executed after fleeing?"
…
Zhang Liao thought for a while.
A more vague figure is given.
"There are about a hundred people. Because they were running in several directions at the same time, they were still able to form a team, so there were about more than a hundred people."
"In your opinion, how likely is it that the enemy has set a trap to deliberately lure us out of the city?"
This issue becomes more important.
The two armies are facing each other, and the soldiers never tire of deceit.
Even a refugee army like the Yellow Turban Army must beware of their tricks. After all, if they make a wrong move, it will be a huge disaster for their own side.
Zhang Liao did not dare to draw conclusions easily after hearing this.
Instead, he was confused and began to recall the previous scenes crazily in his mind, trying to restore every detail.
After so long.
Zhang Liao bowed his hand to Cao Cao and gave his own judgment.
"The general believes that the enemy's morale is in chaos. This is a confirmed fact and not a trap."
"When these hundreds of people fled, the chaotic momentum in the enemy's formation seemed very real and difficult to fake."
"Secondly, executing one's own soldiers in front of the formation is still on a scale of hundreds. This matter itself has its drawbacks. Although it can intimidate people, it will cause fear among the soldiers. No general will do this arbitrarily."
When it comes to this.
Cao Cao nodded secretly.
And that's not enough.
Zhang Liao then compared his third finger.
"The most important point is that from the general's point of view, once there are soldiers who are afraid of fighting and flee in the army, it will become a spark and start a prairie fire, making the other soldiers ready to move."
"If the enemy general uses this matter as bait, one mistake may lead to the falsehood becoming true. This is tantamount to playing with fire and burning yourself."
"So based on the above points, the Ant Thief's morale must have begun to collapse due to the large number of casualties yesterday and half a day today!"
…
An excellent general.
They are able to make their own analysis and judgment on key matters based on existing information and implement certain measures.
Zhang Liao made a confident and bold judgment.
Everyone present nodded their heads.
Cao Cao's eyes were full of appreciation.
I have long known that Zhang Wenyuan, Zhang Wenyuan, under Ang'er, is a very capable general. Today's questions and answers clearly show that he is worthy of his reputation.
Think of this.
Cao Cao turned to look at Cao Ang and asked with a smile on his face: "Zixiu, do you think our army can take advantage of the enemy's signs of disintegration and seize this opportunity to go out of the city and actively counterattack?"
Cao Ang pinched his chin.
After thinking about it for a while.
Then he nodded slowly.
"Hai'er thinks we can give it a try. We can mobilize all our cavalry and cooperate with a large number of infantry to attack directly from the east city gate at dawn tomorrow morning. Even if the enemy's main force is defeated, we can definitely defeat the forces besieging the east city. This troop!”
After having my son’s positive attitude.
Cao Cao felt confident.
Then he continued to give Zhang Liao the opportunity to perform, and asked with a bit of solemnity.
"Wen Yuan, if you were to lead a counterattack, what would you do?"
Talking about specific military strategies.
Zhang Liao suddenly became energetic.
He immediately cheered up.
Then, while pacing in a small area, gesticulating with his hands, he made an impassioned statement.
"As General Cao said, you can choose to use the cavalry as the vanguard when the light is dim tomorrow and break down the enemy's defense line with a fierce charge, creating a huge momentum and covering the approach of the infantry from behind."
"At the same time, make noise on the north and west walls to give the illusion that the focus is on these two directions, thus distracting the enemy's attention and slowing down their ability to mobilize the army to support the east."
"After our army leaves the city, we don't want to annihilate the enemy troops. We only need to form a semi-encirclement circle, drive the enemy troops on the east side to the north side, and use their own troops to push back the main force's formation."
"As soon as the enemy troops on the northern city wall are dispersed, our army can launch a full-scale counterattack. At that time, their military morale is on the verge of collapse, and they will definitely collapse completely!"
…
Follow Zhang Liao's talk.
Cao Cao's eyes are getting brighter and brighter.
After such an analysis, he felt that this matter was indeed very feasible.
"Uh-huh!"
Without saying anything, Cao Cao unfolded a simple defense map of Jinxiang City on his desk.
"Everyone, come here and see if what Wen Yuan said can be done!"
Xiahou Yuan, Xiahou Dun, Chen Gong, Xun You and others gathered around, while the other generals who were not so close to each other stood in a row outside.
After observing the map for a while.
Xiahou Dun first approved and said: "Master Fu, I think this is feasible. Our army already has a thousand or hundreds of cavalry, plus the rest of the troops, if we can gather two thousand cavalry, it will not be too difficult."
"And the main force of the ant thieves is placed on the north city wall. There are less than 30,000 troops on the east side. As long as the force is huge, attacking their army formation with 2,000 cavalry will definitely be a promising thing!"
As his brother's words fell.
Xia Houyuan also reached out and drew a line on the map, and then analyzed it in a deep voice.
"Jinxiang City is not a big city. The distance from the east to the north of the city is not far. As long as our army can keep the cavalry behind, we can keep the pressure and drive them away."
"It won't take too long to overwhelm their main army, and the short time means that the enemy general will not have time to mobilize troops and horses to respond. The general also agrees with Wen Yuan's strategy!"
…
Both clan generals expressed their affirmation.
Basically it means there is nothing wrong with this decision.
Cao Cao suddenly became excited.
He is not a fan of holding battles. If possible, he prefers to lead an army to attack proactively.
Especially at this moment.
Not long after he took office as Yanzhou Mu, this battle against the Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army was a test question for him. He had to win a brilliant victory.
Only winning is mighty.
Only then could everyone in Yanzhou be convinced of him.
And huddled in the city, holding off until the enemy army collapsed, and then went out of the city to beat up the drowned dogs.
This is certainly not bad.
But after all, it is not that fun, it is not enough to show the majesty of our Cao army, and it is difficult to convince people's hearts.
Hence Zhang Liao's battle plan.
He really has an appetite for Cao Cao.
Just when he was about to give the order to start preparations.
Chen Gong on the side suddenly objected abruptly.
"Master Fu, I don't agree with the strategy!"
Cao Cao was immediately stunned.
…………
Monthly ticket recommendation ticket
(End of chapter)
