Cao Shuang really couldn't understand what his brother was thinking, and how could he have the courage to go out of the city to fight with the Shu bandits? !
Don’t you know what kind of things you have in your hands? ! With this bunch of things, they may not be able to defend the city. If they run out to fight with the enemy in the field, aren't they just looking for death? ! !
To a certain extent, Cao Shuang actually knows more about military affairs than his younger brother Cao Xi or the son of a certain prime minister in history. Cao Shuang knew that the gadgets he made up could only be used to defend the city, and he would not be able to kill him. Take the initiative to fight.
But Cao Xi just did this.
And Cao Xi. Cao Xi was also unlucky. He happened to meet Deng Ai.
Although Cao Xi's ability is not as good as Cao Shuang's, he still has basic military knowledge, and it's not like he has no idea about the rabble under his command.
However, Cao Xi really won once.
When he first arrived in Zhending County to set up defenses, Cao Xi really didn't think about taking the initiative to fight. He just wanted to defend the county and block Deng Ai.
But Deng Ai's vanguard, Wang Jun, only led less than 3,000 troops and troops to Zhending County.
With such a good opportunity, Cao Xi really couldn't help it. With only three thousand soldiers and horses, was this a vanguard army or was it for reconnaissance? !
Cao Xi's brain is not smart enough to begin with, and the gang of men under his command are all private soldiers of aristocratic families. They usually have eyes on the top of their heads in Yecheng. Even if Deng Ai personally leads the troops, they are not necessarily afraid. What's more, Not to mention the little-known Wang Jun.
After a lot of noise, and because Cao Xi himself was a little tempted, Cao Xi ordered 10,000 troops to stay in the city and take charge of the response. He personally led 10,000 soldiers to go out of the city and attack Wang Jun on his own initiative.
As a result, Cao Xi fought very smoothly in this battle, directly defeated Wang Jun, chased Wang Jun for twenty miles, and killed more than a thousand people.
In this battle, Wang Jun was indeed careless.
Wang Jun's march was too smooth, and Changshan State had no troops to defend it. As a result, Wang Jun attacked all the way, with only 3,000 soldiers, which was enough to encounter a tough opponent in Zhending County.
On the other hand, Wang Jun did not take Cao Xi seriously. After all, Cao Xi only took the name of Cao Zhen's third son and had no actual combat experience at all. But Wang Jun forgot that Cao Xi might not be that good. But in many cases, the gap in military strength is not so easy to smooth out.
There are many cases in history where a small number of people defeated a large number, but those are only a few. In most cases, when the two sides encounter each other, the side with more troops is more likely to win.
So in this battle, it was indeed Cao Xi who took advantage of Wang Jun's carelessness and actually won.
But next, it will be Cao Xi's turn to be embarrassed.
Because the battle went smoothly, Cao Xi had some contempt for the Northern Route Army led by Deng Ai. Not only Cao Xi had this idea, but also the rabble under his command, who all felt that the Shu thieves were nothing more than this.
As for Wang Jun, after returning to his own formation, he was severely reprimanded by Deng Ai. At the same time, he took down the responsibility for the defeat and asked him to lead 5,000 soldiers to attack Zhending County again to make up for his mistake.
In this counterattack, Wang Jun learned his lesson and chose to fake defeat.
When Cao Xi saw Wang Jun leaving and returning, this time with only five thousand soldiers, Cao Xi immediately thought about making achievements again.
After all, last time Wang Jun brought 3,000 men to attack the city, he took the initiative and easily defeated him with 10,000 men and captured more than 1,000 people. This time it was still the same Wang Jun who only brought 5,000 men. There is nothing to be afraid of.
He has more than 20,000 soldiers and horses in his hands.
Therefore, Cao Xi only left 3,000 men to defend the city this time, took the initiative to attack with 20,000 soldiers, and once again chose to fight Wang Jun in the field.
But Wang Jun still showed a "vulnerable" posture. He started to retreat and "flee" after less than two quarters of an hour of fighting. Faced with such a good opportunity, could Cao Xi let it go? !
Last time, he retreated after chasing for twenty miles. This time, he would not simply let go of the Shu thief. Cao Xi pursued him all the way, and was led by Wang Jun towards Deng Ai's main formation.
As for Deng Ai, he had received Wang Jun's notice long ago and set up a pocket formation, waiting for Cao Xi to put it in. After this battle, the Wei army led by Cao Xi was defeated. Not only was he captured, but the rest The soldiers also fled in all directions.
You really can't count on the fighting will and organization of these rabble. They can fight with a tailwind, but if they fight against a headwind, they will scatter in all directions at the slightest disadvantage.
Chen Zhi feels the same way.
In this way, within seven or eight days, Deng Ai completely defeated the last Wei army north of Yecheng. After leading his troops to occupy Zhending County, he continued to lead his troops southward and approached Yecheng.
At this time in Yecheng, Cao Shuang was completely helpless.
Less than half a month later, Cao Shuang's last efforts were completely in vain. Today's Yecheng is extremely empty. The defenders, including the old, weak, sick and disabled county soldiers, total less than 2,000 people. Why? Shou? !
Mobilize people to go to the city wall? !
In any era, untrained people who go to the city walls to defend the city are causing chaos and will only interfere with the regular army's order in defending the city and speed up the fall of the city.
What Cao Shuang is really considering now is whether to live and die with Ye City, or to protect the emperor and abandon the city.
The current situation in Jizhou, although it is said that it has been attacked by Shu thieves from three directions, but after all, the Shu thieves have not reached the city, and they have not yet besieged the city. If they abandon Yecheng now and go to Nanpi in the east of Jizhou , or it is not impossible to simply retreat to Youzhou and seek Tian Yu's blessing.
Cao Shuang is not worried that Tian Yu will not accept him if he goes to Youzhou. Cao Shuang can still trust Tian Yu's character and loyalty.
It's just that although Cao Shuang's political IQ is not high, he also knows that if he does this, he will completely lose the legitimacy of the Wei Dynasty and be reduced to the same status as Gongsun Yuan, a local prince who lives in a corner.
If you do this, although the Wei Dynasty can continue to preserve the country, it will no longer be the orthodoxy of the world and will lose the hearts of the world.
But if we live and die together with Yecheng, once Yecheng is destroyed, everyone will be gone, and the entire clan will be wiped out.
Cao Shuang doesn't really want to choose these two options, but if he has to choose one, then Cao Shuang still hopes to choose the latter.
At least you can survive.
However, even if you want to break through, you need to have a certain amount of military protection. Otherwise, you will have to face thousands of miles of pursuit by Shu thieves and you will not be able to escape very far.
Now, the three Wei soldiers and horses closest to Yecheng are Qin Lang, Xiahou Ba's Chaoge garrison, Sima Yi's Wei County garrison, and Zhongshan Kingdom's Fanyang Jun soldiers.
Qin Lang and Xia Houba guard Chaoge, and this place is facing the siege of more than 100,000 troops led by Zhuge Liang. Going to seek refuge with these two people is no different from sending oneself to the army of Shu thieves.
If you want to join Fanyang County soldiers, you have to leave the city and go north. You may be blocked by Deng Ai's army from Changshan Kingdom at any time, and the risk is not small.
In this way, the only road left to go is to Wei County.
If it were normal times, Cao Shuang would definitely not want to go to Wei County, because Sima Yi is guarding there, and Cao Shuang does not trust Sima Yi at all. In addition, it is hard to say what Sima Yi's attitude is now. If he goes there, he will inevitably run the risk of falling into a trap.
But, didn't Cao Shuang send his younger brother Cao Xun to take over Sima Yi's military power before? So far, Cao Xun has not sent back any unfavorable news. As long as Cao Xun can control part of Sima Yi's military power, it can be considered a guarantee.
Another one, if you go to Wei County, you don't need to lead troops to break through the interception of Shu thieves. You can directly abandon Wei County, retreat north across the boundary bridge, retreat to Nanpi, and then enter Youzhou. There are no Shu thieves along the way. The only troops and horses that have to be dealt with are Zhang Xi, Wei Yan and others in southern Hebei.
Even if the operation is done properly, the interception task can be handed over to Sima Yi, and Sima Yi, Zhang Xi, Wei Yan and others can just go for it and kill two birds with one stone.
Therefore, the more Cao Shuang thought about it, the more he felt it was a good idea.
But there was a problem. How should I convince the courtiers and the Queen Mother to abandon Yecheng and retreat to Youzhou?
Although it is true that Cao Shuang had monopoly power before, such a major matter related to the fate of the country is not something that Cao Shuang can do whatever he wants. The veterans of the court, the emperor, and the queen mother also need to be concerned about their attitudes. of.
Another thing is that Cao Shuang wants to save some face. He also wants to leave a good reputation for himself. This kind of abandoning the capital and leaving is not a good idea no matter how he thinks about it. He can't bring it up himself. It's best not to bring it up himself. Good.
Therefore, he still needs to find a scapegoat to come up with such an idea on his behalf.
(End of chapter)
