In the fifth year of Jianlong, July 207 AD.
Under the leadership of Lu Su, Soochow launched a surprise attack on Qingzhou on the south bank of the Yellow River. Lu Su led an army of 80,000 troops, divided into three groups to capture Qingzhou, and asked Tai Shici to lead 30,000 troops to intercept Cao Wei's reinforcements and form a siege of Qingzhou.
The Wu army was unstoppable along the way, and the army was forced to reach Beihai City in Qingzhou.
Qingzhou defender Xia Houchun stood firm in Beihai, while Ling Tong and others launched a fierce attack on Donglai County. Sun Wu came well prepared and attacked fiercely, leaving Qingzhou in danger.
Cao Pi was horrified when he learned that Soochow had raided Qingzhou, and hurriedly invited Xun Yu, Chen Qun, Cao Ren and others to discuss a retreat strategy. What Cao Pi feared was not Sun Wu's soldiers and horses, but Jingguo. No one could know whether Sun Wu made a surprise attack on his own or acted jointly with Jingguo. If it was a joint operation, then they had to focus on guarding against Jingguo.
If Sun Wu attacked on his own, it wouldn't be so scary.
Cao Wei's national power seems to be inferior to Soochow, but it still has some foundation. When fighting in the Central Plains, Soochow's infantry is far from being an opponent of Cao Wei's cavalry, and Soochow does not have as many weapons as Jingguo.
"Soochow raids Qingzhou. I fear that this is a joint operation between Jingguo and Wu. However, Jingguo's troops are not mobilized. Everyone knows that Jingguo is cunning and cunning. There may be another conspiracy. We must guard against it." This was the first time since Cao Pi took office. Facing the war, I was somewhat worried. He was not as confident in speaking and acting resolutely as Cao Cao.
Xun Yu thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty, I thought it was Soochow that launched the surprise attack on its own."
Cao Pi: "Why?"
Xun Yu: "Your Majesty, Sun Ce of Soochow is very ambitious and wants to dominate the Central Plains. If he wants to dominate the Central Plains, he must have enough cavalry troops. There is no cavalry in Soochow. The only way to buy cavalry is to open up connections with Jingguo. , purchased from Jingguo. The purpose of Soochow's raid on Qingzhou was to buy horses, so I believe that Wu should have made the raid on its own and had nothing to do with Jingguo."
Cao Pi nodded.
Cao Ren said: "Your Majesty, we must not let Wu succeed. If Soochow builds a large-scale cavalry, it will be a great threat to our country."
The current Cao Wei can be said to be surrounded by enemies on all sides, especially the Jingguo to the north and west. It has elite soldiers and a strong country. It is the largest country in the world today and has strong strength. To the east and south is the second largest country Wu. Although it is not as good as the Jingguo, it is powerful. Also powerful.
Fortunately, Wu State does not have large-scale cavalry and does not pose much threat to Cao Wei in the Central Plains. Now Sun Wu wants to form cavalry, which is too dangerous for Cao Wei.
No matter what, Sun Wu must not be allowed to succeed.
Chen Qun: "We can unite with Chu and let them send troops from Jiangxia to threaten the security of the western part of Wu and force the Wu army to retreat."
Cao Pi nodded: "I will write a letter immediately, asking Liu Bei to send troops to Jiangxia. General Cao Ren, I order you to lead 30,000 cavalry to rush to Qingzhou immediately without any mistake."
"Here!"
Cao Ren accepted the order and quickly led his troops to aid Qingzhou.
…
Chang'an.
Sun Wu's decisive attack surprised Zhang Xiu. Sun Wu's men in front had just left Chang'an, and Zhang Xiu had already promised to buy horses for Soochow, so Sun Ce attacked decisively.
It seemed that Sun Ce had already planned and was waiting for Zhang Xiu to nod.
Zhang Xiu bought them horses and also had his own Xiao Jiujiu. The simplest truth is money. Who would have a grudge against money? With enough money, Zhang Xiu can rapidly develop economic construction, and its strength far exceeds that of the other three countries.
If they buy a horse, they still have to raise it.
Horse raising in the south is different from that in the north. The north has natural grasslands and raising horses is easy. But if the south wants to raise horses, it has to pay a higher price and consume domestic strength.
Moreover, the consumption of war horses is much greater than that of people. The daily consumption of a group of war horses can equal that of three people. In other words, if Soochow wants to feed 50,000 cavalry, it is equivalent to feeding an army of 150,000.
But this is not something Zhang Xiu should consider.
Now it depends on how they respond to the war launched by Sun Wu against Cao Wei.
The opinion of Jia Xu and these old foxes is very simple, that is to find a way to prevent the battle in Qingzhou from ending, increase the investment of both sides, and make the battle continue to consume.
Liu Ye said with a smile: "Our second batch of equipment is about to be replaced. Instead of remaking it, it is better to buy Sun Wu and Cao Wei to increase their aggressiveness and let the battle in Qingzhou continue."
"With our help, Cao Wei will definitely make Sun Wu suffer. But Sun Ce is definitely not a master who is willing to suffer losses. He will definitely come to us to buy equipment. In this way, we can enjoy the benefits of being a fisherman."
"Hahaha!"
Zhang Xiu laughed: "It's wonderful!"
But this strategy seems a bit familiar to Zhang Xiu? Especially like the United States in later generations.
But I have to say that this method is the best. In order to form a cavalry force, Qingzhou had to be defeated. Without the assistance of cavalry, Sun Wu would not be able to gallop through the Central Plains, but Cao Wei would not be able to let Sun Wu form a cavalry force. No matter what, both sides must persist in this battle. .
A few old guys from Shang Cheng Pavilion seized this opportunity.
Zhang Xiu nodded immediately: "Okay, let the Ministry of War facilitate this matter immediately. The people from the Ministry of Liquor immediately went to negotiate with Cao Wei and sold them the eliminated equipment. Note that the price must not be low. Just go for a set of ten taels of silver." purchase."
"Here!"
Jia Xu and others agreed.
Zhang Xiu thought for a while and asked Jia Xu: "Can you think of a way to bring Chu into trouble? Aren't Chu and Wei in alliance? If Wei is in trouble, Chu has to support it! Buy them equipment as well, and the entire Wei family It’s too much for us to eat.”
Jia Xu smiled and said: "Of course, news has come from Fusi in Beizhen. Cao Pi has sent people to Chu State and wants to ask Liu Bei to send troops from Jiangxia to contain the Wu army and let them fight on two fronts."
"This is an opportunity to weaken Wu."
Zhang Xiu nodded, "Let the people from the Ministry of Rites go to Chu State immediately, and we will help them fight."
With Wei and Chu taking over, Jingguo's eliminated weapons and equipment can still exert their last remaining heat and make another big fortune for Jingguo.
Because Zhang Xiu respects craftsmen, the level of craftsmen in Jingguo far exceeds that of the other three countries, and the equipment he creates is superior to the other three countries in terms of quality and beauty. This is one of the reasons why Jingguo was able to win many battles against Cao Wei. . If Wei and Chu get these equipment, their strength will definitely increase greatly.
When the time came for the defeat on the battlefield, Wu had to seek help from Jingguo.
