The second year of Jian'an was destined to be a year of constant war, although the first year of Jian'an was not peaceful either.
Liu Xie himself did not expect that his original intention of changing his account would backfire. He would never have imagined that the first two years were actually good, but that the days to come would be filled with more killings and turmoil, and that the word Jian'an would not be the same. No chance.
Cao Cao took 50,000 newly recruited soldiers and horses and went south from Chen State, preparing to fight Yuan Shu's army to the death. Although his army rations were already stretched thin, it was easier to recruit troops at this time. Within a short time, he recruited troops in Yanzhou A lot of soldiers arrived.
Because most people have no food at home.
If you were not a soldier, you might starve to death that night, but if you were a soldier, you might be able to live a few more days.
So countless young men in Yanzhou and Yuzhou abandoned their wives and children for a meal and resolutely joined Cao's army. As for their families, they could no longer care about them.
If there is a tiger attacking in front of their wife and children, some people can still muster the courage to fight to the death. But if they are starving due to lack of food, there is really no way. After all, food does not fall from the sky, so when a disaster is imminent, they can only Each looks for a way out.
Cao Cao looked at the dead people on both sides of the road, most of whom were old, young, women and children, and sighed: "The bones are exposed in the wild, and there is no rooster crow for thousands of miles."
Cheng Yu said: "In order to pacify the world, all this is worth it."
After saying that, he coughed a few times, which affected the injuries on his body. The pain made him cough even more.
There was a hint of gloom on Cheng Yu's face, that ferocious tiger was so shameless, shooting arrows at his own counselor!
Cao Cao said: "Zhongde, you are still injured, so you might not have come."
Cheng Yuqiang smiled and said: "This battle is extremely crucial. Yu should do his best for Ming Gong."
Cao Cao looked at the endless stream of soldiers with no enemy in front and no rear in sight, and said: "It's difficult."
"Before the war started, I didn't expect the situation to worsen like this."
"Although there are many soldiers, the food..."
Cheng Yu knew what Cao Cao meant and said, "Someone has a plan."
He leaned into Cao Cao's ear and whispered a few words. Cao Cao nodded first, then shook his head.
Finally, he nodded heavily.
Xun Yu, who was accompanying the army, saw Cheng Yu talking and knew that he was having bad ideas again.
He found that he was incompatible with Cao Ying's counselors, such as Cheng Yu, Chen Qun, and even Xun You kept a distance from himself.
He had complained a lot about Cao Cao's deployment of personnel around the emperor. Later, after several quarrels with Cao Cao's advisers in person, Cao Cao stopped talking to Xun Yu about the matters surrounding Liu Xie.
Xun Yu was in a bad mood. Is there no room for maneuver between the Han Dynasty and Ming Gong?
At this time, Cao Cao waved his hand, called Xun You over, and said, "Gongda, we will lead the troops together with Zi Xiaomiacai, and the total number will be nearly 100,000."
"But if we enter Runan and engage Yuan Shu's army, we will encounter Yuan Tan who is also heading south. What do you think?"
Xun You pondered for a long time and said, "Yuan Tan is a fierce man. The main point of this battle is to defeat Yuan Shu. It is unwise to create branches."
"You can send people to negotiate peace with Yuan Tan, promise some conditions, and invite them to live together for a long time. This is a safe way."
Cao Cao asked back: "Oh? Gongda thinks that with this hundred thousand troops, I can't defeat Yuan Tan and attack Shouchun first?"
Xun You smiled bitterly and said: "Ming Gong's talent in leading troops is unparalleled in the world. It can be said that at this time in the world, among those who can bring out the strength of so many soldiers and horses, Ming Gong should be the best."
"But the more people there are, the harder it is to mobilize. In the past, Emperor Gaozu's army of 500,000 was defeated by Xiang Yu's 30,000 people. This is clear evidence that the more people there are, the lower the combat power will be."
"Most of its 500,000 people were civilians, good and bad. They could not exert their strength at all, so they were scattered by Xiang Yu's elite troops, trampled on each other, and even became a drag on their own side."
"Gaozu was not ignorant of soldiers, but the 500,000 troops were far beyond the limit of his army, which made him unable to command and mobilize at all, so he suffered this defeat. From then on, Gaozu learned from the pain and never used the number of troops to win again."
After hearing this, Cao Cao asked: "How many troops do Gongda think Gaozu can lead?"
Xun You replied: "Seventy thousand or eighty thousand is already the limit."
After hearing this, Cao Cao asked again: "How many troops do Gongda think I can lead?"
Xun You thought for a while and said, "Ming Gong leads an army, one hundred thousand is enough."
After hearing this, Cao Cao laughed and said, "Does Gongda think that I am more powerful than Gaozu?"
Xun You said: "Ming Gong wrote his own military book, which is indeed three points better than Gao Zu's."
Cao Cao laughed loudly, "What do you think Gongda thinks about the others?"
Xun You replied: "Both Yuan and Yuan are at fifty or sixty thousand, and Sun Bofu is at thirty thousand, but the former cannot defeat the latter."
"Liu Yuzhou has 20,000, Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang have 20,000, Marquis Wen has 10,000, and the rest are insignificant."
Cao Cao's eyes flashed: "Is Gongda forgetting someone?"
After hearing this, Xun You smiled bitterly and said, "Of course you know, what Ming Gong cares about most is the fierce tiger."
"But you really can't see through this person like Xihu."
"With his backing to Youxu Prefecture, he developed commercial shipping and is said to have hoarded a lot of food and goods."
"If he recruits all his troops, he can raise at least 40,000 to 50,000 troops."
"But the most terrifying thing about this man is that he never blindly expands his army and only controls the number of troops to 10,000."
"Although the number is small, he relies on a few generals under his command to command 10,000 soldiers and horses like an arm, thus exerting the power of several times the force!"
"This man is very scheming and strategist. If things go on like this, he will become a serious problem for Ming Gong!"
"If you encounter this person in the future, it is best to kill him at all costs!"
After hearing this, Cao Cao said: "That time in Xuzhou was the best opportunity. Once we miss it, it will be difficult in the future."
"Now that I think about it, he should have been prepared for it, so he was able to respond with ease when we raided."
Xun You looked ashamed after hearing this, "This is because You responded improperly. Even with several times the number of people, he was unable to defeat the enemy. I really feel sorry for Ming Gong."
Cheng Yu said hoarsely at the side: "No, I am also responsible for this matter, and I will take revenge in the future!"
After hearing this, Cao Cao said: "No, you have done a good job. If you can defeat Liu Xuande, it is obviously extremely difficult to deal with him."
Xun You heard this and wondered: "Ming Gong mentioned Liu Bei alone, does Ming Gong think he is stronger than Gongsun Zan and Sun Ce?"
Cao Cao nodded slightly, "Liu Bei and I have known each other before. In my opinion, he is no less threatening than the fierce tiger, but he lacks some luck and has not fully found the opportunity to show his strength."
"Yuan Shu is nothing to worry about, and the same goes for Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang."
"The people I'm worried about are Liu Bei, Yuan Xi, and Sun Ce. But they may have joined forces now!"
"If they each become the same, the road ahead will be difficult!"
The counselors around him listened and agreed in their hearts. Although these three people are not powerful at present, they have great potential. The best way is to get rid of them while they are still in their infancy!
Xun You said: "Let's not care about the ferocious tigers. Sun Ce and Liu Bei both have great weaknesses."
"Sun Ce offended the Jiangdong nobles and had already planned to kill him."
"Liu Bei has no territory of his own. This attack on Yuan Shu is his only chance. As long as we capture Shouchun first, he will have nowhere to go and can only rely on others. We may not be able to win him over from the fierce tiger by then. .”
"If only Fierce Tiger is left, we can isolate him by focusing on the areas where the Yuan family's children have suspicions!"
After hearing this, Cao Cao praised: "Gongda peeled off the cocoon and saw it very clearly. He deserves to be my Zhang Liang!"
"But Sun Ce showed us his goodwill in private and gave us one hundred thousand dendrobium rice. Do you really want to put him to death?
After hearing this, Xun You said decisively: "He must not be allowed to stay!"
"This man is very ambitious and good at buying people's hearts. If he takes Jingzhou, the Central Plains will be in danger!"
"But fortunately, he offended many Jiangdong nobles. Most of the Jiangdong nobles are people with both ends of the spectrum, and they have long been dissatisfied with them."
"Now most of the nobles in Jiangdong are thinking about Sun Ce's death. As long as we use some strategies, he will definitely change!"
After hearing this, Cao Cao nodded and said, "This is a great thing to say!"
He turned to Cheng Yu and said, "Leave this matter to you!"
Cheng Yu quickly agreed. He understood what Cao Cao meant. Sun Ce was so brave that he was difficult to kill on the battlefield, so he could only use tactics in private.
Sun Ce is impatient and aggressive. As long as he leaks his whereabouts to the Jiangdong nobles who have enmity with him, and then sends dead soldiers to add fuel to the flames, things will be done.
People always have weaknesses, whether it is Sun Ce or Liu Bei, Yuan Shao or Yuan Xi, as long as the right medicine is given, they will be able to cut them off one by one, clearing the way for the Ming Dynasty!
Xun Yu stared at Xun You's back and sighed. He and Xun You were both descendants of the Xun family, but they had already embarked on completely different paths.
But in today's world, Cao Cao is his best choice. Others, such as the Yuan family's children, are probably not as loyal as Cao Cao to the Han Dynasty, right?
What Duke Ming is doing now is all out of necessity to revive the Han Dynasty. As long as he wipes out all the enemies in the world, he will definitely become the next Yi Yin, right?
Yuan Xi stood at the top of Xunyang City, looking northwest.
Liu Xun took his younger brother Liu Kai and fled to Xisai, where they met with the reinforcements sent by Huang Zu. Sun Ce and Zhou Yu had already gone to pursue them.
The reason why the situation became like this was because something happened midway, and the final result exceeded Yuan Xi and Sun Ce's expectations.
Originally, Liu Xun was stationed in Xunyang, with the Dabie Mountains behind him. As long as he stayed here, he would be able to gain an invincible position. Moreover, he got news that Huang Zu had sent reinforcements.
Huang Zu received the news that Lujiang was attacked, and finally realized that the attack on Jiangxia was just a waterway. But once the barrier of Lujiang is lost, the route from Xunyang in Anhui City to Xiling in West Saixi will be completely opened. By then, Jingzhou's doors are wide open and it's difficult to take care of both the top and bottom!
Therefore, Liu Xun only needs to defend Xunyang and wait for Huang Zu's reinforcements to arrive from Xisai. Zhou Yu, who besieged Xunyang, will be paralyzed. He also got the news that Huang Zu's reinforcements are coming. If they cannot be driven back, the Jingzhou reinforcements will A steady stream of people are coming to seek the sun, and Sun Cejun will be in a dilemma!
Zhou Yu sent a letter to Sun Ce asking for help. After hearing this, Sun Ce hurried back and fought in Xunyang for two days. He was surprised to find that the defenders in the city were very organized. Moreover, the Jiangdong navy was too poor to attack the city. He was afraid that they would not be able to attack the city in another half month. Not coming down.
In desperation, Yuan Xi arrived.
Although he was reluctant, Sun Ce finally agreed to Yuan Xi's terms and paid the price of two cities in Xunyang, Anhui Province, in exchange for Yuan Xi attacking the city and clearing the way for Jiangdong's army.
After all, in the eyes of Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, even if Yuan Xi captured Xunyang, it would cost a lot of money. What made them vomit blood was that Yuan Xi used a bunch of weird siege equipment to defeat Xunyang in two days. The Xunyang City Gate was broken!
Seeing that the situation was not good, Liu Xun, Liu Xun and others broke out and fled to Xisai, where they joined Huang Zu's reinforcements. Sun Ce and Zhou Yu chased them.
Yuan Xi has completed his mission, so he will naturally not interfere with it. Now he wants to go back to attack Wancheng. As long as he captures it, Lujiang will be completely included in his pocket. The purpose of sending troops this time will be half achieved!
(End of chapter)
