The sky was dim, and the rain had only slightly reduced. The rain and fog above the Baihe River were so misty that it was difficult to see the situation on the other side.
Liu Qi then arrived at the Chinese army's tent and scouted the horses to report that Cao's army retreated ten miles overnight. The upstream camp was flooded and Cao's army suffered numerous casualties.
Xu Shu laughed and said: "Cao's army moved camp in the rain all night and must have lost a lot of baggage. If it rains for a few more days, the food and grass transportation will not be enough, and they will be defeated without a fight."
Liu Qi nodded and said: "The plan of retreating in order to advance has been completed!"
So far, everything is as expected. Cao Jun was led to Nanyang just to lengthen their supply line and consume materials.
Although Cao Cao unified the north and gained great prestige, his soldiers were very tired after years of fighting. Hebei had not yet recovered its strength, and Cao Cao's army was already weak on the outside and cadre on the inside.
At this time, Cao Cao sent his troops south, taking advantage of the momentum of his great victory. As long as this vigor is exhausted, he will be unable to continue.
Liu Qi's original plan was to use this Nanyang Corridor to fight against Cao Jun. After Zhuge Liang arrived, he supplemented the plan and used advance as retreat to attract all Cao Jun.
You must know that in the cold weapon era, it was extremely difficult to transport grain, grass and baggage. It relied on human and animal power, and the roads were uneven. Basically, the number of people transporting grain was equal to the number of troops.
If the journey is long, this quantity will increase, and the people transporting food will also need to eat and drink. This consumption should not be underestimated.
Before the troops and horses are moved, food and fodder must go first. This is not a simple statement. It is indeed related to the lifeblood of the three armies.
Food rations for thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of people are often needed, and the consequences of the food and grass crisis are disastrous.
In this troubled world, many people are desperate and join the army just to have a bite to eat. Only a few of them really want to make contributions.
The most common saying in the military is that when you serve as a soldier, you eat food, and when you eat food, you become a soldier!
If you don't have enough food in one meal, you can barely survive. If you don't have food in one day, it can easily lead to mutiny. The more people there are, the more serious the crisis will be.
This is why Cao Cao wanted to kill the warehouse official Wang He, and it was a helpless move to use one life to appease the morale of the army.
This time Cao Cao retreated hastily, it was midnight again, and there was heavy rain. At least half of the supplies would be lost. If the subsequent baggage could not be transported in time, he would face another crisis.
Zhuge Liang proposed a strategy to retreat in order to advance. In fact, he was putting a long line to catch big fish, lengthening Cao Jun's supply line, leading him to Nanyang, and then cutting off his return route, so that he could win the battle.
Now seeing that Cao Cao not only took the bait, but also swallowed the bait, how could Liu Qi not be excited?
Zhuge Liang arranged for Guan Yu to guard Huarong Road and deliberately let Cao Cao go in order to stabilize the north and prevent Sun Quan from benefiting and growing, because at that time Liu Bei was under the control of others and had no ability to get a share of the pie.
But now the situation is completely different. If there is a chance to catch Boss Cao or even get rid of this tycoon, Liu Qi will never show mercy.
Once Cao Cao dies, the north will be in chaos. Take advantage of the situation and march into the Central Plains. If you can capture Xuchang to rescue the emperor and occupy Luoyang, it will be easy to capture Guanzhong and Yizhou.
As long as Sun Quan has a little bit of brains, he will take the opportunity to attack Xuzhou, and Zhou Yu will not stab each other in the back and kill each other, giving the Cao family a chance to rise.
However, all this is just my imagination. The most important thing right now is to eliminate this Cao army so that Cao Cao no longer dares to covet Jingzhou, so that he can realize the three-legged power.
While they were discussing, Guan Yu, Zhao Yun and others entered the tent one after another. When they heard that Cao's army was retreating, they all wanted to ask for orders to send troops.
They were chased by Cao Jun in the Central Plains and were confused. Now that the situation was reversed, they all wanted to avenge their shame and vent their anger.
Liu Qi signaled everyone to be calm and calm: "I know you are all in a hurry, but don't be anxious yet, at least wait until the weather clears up, right?"
Everyone was startled, hearing the sound of rain outside the tent, and suddenly realized what was happening, and they all laughed.
Guan Yu said: "Cao Cao's troops are very tactic and fickle. If he fails to attack Wancheng by force, he may attack other places. The general must make preparations in advance."
Liu Qi smiled and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Yun. We have already made arrangements."
There is Huo Jun in the direction of Xinye and Wenpin in the direction of Rangxian. Both of them are very good defenders. It is not that easy for Cao Cao to divide his troops and break through.
…
At this time, Cao Jun's camp was filled with gloom and mist.
Cao Cao was sitting in the central army tent, his legs were muddy, his clothes were not dry, and his face was gloomy.
Listening to the sound of rain hitting the camp tent, I was confused and sighed: "It rained all night long when the house leaked..."
After discovering the rain last night, he realized something was wrong and immediately ordered the entire army to retreat, but it was too late. Before they could break camp, it started to rain heavily.
The troops retreated in the rain all night. Many soldiers did not know why, and there was a lot of complaints in the army.
The worst thing to avoid when breaking camp is haste, and the worst thing to fear when marching is darkness and rain. How miserable would it be to encounter them all at once?
What is even more tragic than this is that they have to find a temporary camping place overnight and set up camp in the rain again. It is no longer possible to put together a complete camp.
The tent was severely damaged and most of the supplies were left behind. Even if the tent was set up, it would be no different from being in the open air.
The ground had long been soaked by rain. There was heavy rain outside the tent and light rain inside the tent. Everything was soaked. More than a dozen people were crowded in the tent, and the soldiers were miserable.
Cao Cao's central army tent was full of mud and water leaked from all sides, and the other soldiers were even more confused.
While he was sitting there in silence, Cao Xiu went into the tent to report that most of Cao Hong's camp near Bowang Slope was flooded, with numerous soldiers killed and injured, and all the camp supplies destroyed. The situation was grim.
Cao Cao's expression became more solemn. He stood up and looked outside the tent with his hands behind his back. The sky was gloomy and the rain and fog were continuous, just like his mood at the moment.
"Disaster of water and fire?" Cao Cao's slender eyes narrowed into slits. At this moment, he thought of Zuo Ci's words again, and felt that the blame was on him.
Cao Xiu frowned and said, "Most of the rear army's food and grass have been destroyed. What should we do?"
Cao Cao was suddenly startled and said: "Immediately send someone to report to Xuchang and tell Xun Wenruo to transport the grain and grass as soon as possible at any cost."
"Yes!" Cao Xiu also knew that the situation was urgent and hurried to deliver the order.
In the rainy weather, Cao Cao felt his head hurt again, so he rubbed his forehead and thought about countermeasures.
Xun You walked in with wet beard and hair and said: "Unexpectedly, it rained suddenly. More than half of the troops and horses were damaged. Food and grass were in short supply. The Prime Minister made preparations early."
Cao Cao sighed helplessly: "I have ordered people to go to Xuchang to collect food."
Xun You said: "The rain has not stopped, and it is difficult to save the fire from the distant water. To solve the urgent need, we must take the initiative to send troops."
Cao Cao stroked his beard and said, "What good strategy does Gongda have?"
Xun You said: "Liu Qi gathered elite troops to defend Wancheng and was in a hurry. Why not divide his troops to attack elsewhere? It is raining heavily at this time, and an unexpected attack will be successful. It can not only temporarily station troops to supplement the shortage of troops and food, but also contain the enemy. Army, kill two birds with one stone."
Cao Cao nodded and said: "I have this intention, but I am upset and don't know how to use the troops."
Xun You said: "We can divide our troops into two groups, attack Xinye along the way to capture Fancheng and cut off the troops in Jingzhou; attack Anzhong along the way to capture Rang County, and collect the counties in Nanyang. If Liu Qi divides his troops to rescue Wancheng, it will be difficult to defend it, so he can also attack along the way. If you ambush them without dividing your troops, your return route will be cut off, and your army will be in chaos without fighting."
Cao Cao pondered for a moment, then clapped his hands and laughed: "Gongda's plan is very clever. It's ridiculous that Xu Shu and Zhuge only focus on the immediate situation and don't know the general situation. They only divide their troops to defend Baihe. How can they defend Jingzhou? As long as these two armies succeed in one place, Liu Qi will definitely Defeated!"
