The battlefield in Qingzhou is in full swing.
Lu Su divided the army into three groups. In the east, led by Lingtong, he set out from Langya and went directly to Donglai County. After obtaining Donglai County, he quickly moved westward and cooperated with the other two armies to form a pincer attack on Beihai; in the middle, Lu Su led the army in person and went directly to Beihai Kingdom, and in the west, he led an army directly to Beihai Kingdom. Taishi Ci led the army and set out from Pixiang to capture Qi State. After capturing Qi State, they headed north to Anle State to prepare for the troops of Jing State to cross the Yellow River and go south.
At the same time, he ordered some of the western armies to guard Cao Wei's reinforcements in Qi and Langya.
Lingtong's road was overwhelming, heading north along the coastline, first taking Jimo City, then heading north to take Haiyang, and finally Qixia City. Within a month, they captured the entire Donglai County, and their soldiers and horses rushed westward, pressing towards Beihai Kingdom.
On the west route, Taishi Ci defeated the Qi State and ordered General Zhou Tai to lead his troops to the north to capture Anle Kingdom. He also ordered Chen Pu to lead 10,000 troops to Juxian County to cooperate with the east route to attack Beihai. He personally led the army to defend on the west front.
Lu Su on the middle route led his troops into Beihai Kingdom, and raided the two cities of Anqiu and Chang'an. He gained a foothold in Beihai Kingdom, and then slowed down, waiting for the Lingtong troops on the east route to seize Donglai County and form an encirclement on Beihai. .
Xia Houchun of Beihai Kingdom responded immediately.
As the frontline troops bordering Jingguo, Xia Houchun had 70,000 troops in his hands, all of which were elite troops. As soon as the soldiers and horses in Xuzhou moved, Xia Houchun received the news and reacted immediately. First, he ordered Xia Houshang to lead 20,000 troops to defend the Jing Army on the north bank. He personally led 30,000 troops to rush south to Yingling, and joined the Lusu Central Army at Wenshui. Confrontation.
At the same time, he ordered 10,000 troops to be stationed in Ting County to prevent Ling Tong's army from advancing westward.
Xiahou Shang, who was guarding Jing's army on the north bank, sent out 10,000 troops to threaten Chen Pu's troops stationed in Ju County.
Xia Houchun's response measures were in place. Lingtong's troops on the East Road were too strong, so there was no need to launch a large-scale attack to intercept them and consume a large number of troops. He just ordered the cities in Donglai County to guard and defend to the death. As a result, Ling Tong's army suffered heavy losses, lost momentum, and no longer posed a threat to Beihai.
Taishi Ci on the west route also had to guard against reinforcements and was unable to go all out, and Wu also had to guard against Jingguo's intervention. In this way, Xiahou Chun's defense against Jingguo would be reduced, and he could divide his troops south to contain the troops in Ju County.
With this arrangement, Wu's momentum was completely wiped out, and they had no choice but to confront him.
With the buffer time, Xia Houchun could take his time.
The soldiers and horses of Soochow came from Xuzhou, and their momentum could not last long. As long as they were consumed, Wu would have to withdraw.
But Xia Houchun was not an unknown person opposite him.
Of course Lu Su knew Xia Houchun's plan and decisively ordered Zhou Tai's troops to go south instead of guarding against Jing's army. According to Lu Su's understanding of Zhang Xiu, he would never intervene in this battle.
The reason is very simple, and it can be summed up in one word: money, one of Zhang Xiu's two major characteristics, is greed for money and lust for getting money.
If Qingzhou cannot be defeated, Sun Ce will not pay for war horses, and Zhang Xiu will not want to earn the fifteen million taels of silver. Lu Su was convinced that Zhang Xiu definitely wanted money. Since he wanted money, he couldn't send troops to interfere.
Zhou Tai's troops directly let go of the defense line on the south bank of the Yellow River and headed towards Jixian County. Heavy troops pressed into Beihai City, forcing Xia Houchun to divide his troops from Yingling for defense. As long as Yingling's troops were reduced, Lu Su would be absolutely sure to defeat Xiahou Chun.
At the same time, Lu Su ordered Ling Tong of Donglai County to forcibly recruit 30,000 strong men in Donglai County as cannon fodder and place them in front of the battle, which not only strengthened the troops but also threatened Ting County.
Unfortunately, among the 70,000 troops in Xiahou Chun's hands, 50,000 were cavalry, while Lu Su only had 10,000 cavalry in his hands, and Lu Su's cavalry was far behind Xia Houchun's.
Although Lu Su made many arrangements, the battlefield in Qingzhou fell into anxiety. The cavalry relied on their mobility to often catch Lu Su off guard, forcing Lu Su not to dare to dispatch casually.
After actually facing the cavalry, Lu Su was also eager to form his own cavalry. If he had tens of thousands of cavalry, Qingzhou would have been captured by now.
Starting in July, the battle lasted for three months, but there was still no victory or defeat. Cao Hong's reinforcements were blocked by Taishi Ci on the outskirts of the Yishan Mountains. With the advantage of the mountains, and the fact that Taishi Ci was mostly infantry and good at defense, Cao Hong's 50,000 cavalry were never able to break through the defense line.
Zhang Xiu's offer to sell equipment was also rejected by Cao Pi.
The reason for rejection is simple.
No money.
It's not that Cao Pi doesn't want these equipment. If he waits a few years or the country is as strong as before, Cao Pi will probably agree without hesitation.
But not now.
Cao Wei's current national strength is not as good as it used to be. Coupled with the yellow disasters and wars in recent years, the people of Wei are in dire straits and have to resist Sun Wu's attack. Wei Guo really couldn't spare any extra money to buy Jingguo's equipment.
Moreover, the battle situation in Qingzhou is still under control, so there is no need to spend a lot of money to buy equipment.
Liu Bei of the Chu State was very wealthy. He spent five million to buy equipment and replaced the elite soldiers and horses of the Chu State with new equipment. This elite unit of the Chu State is a veteran who has followed Liu Bei for many years from Qingzhou to Jingchu, and is also Liu Bei's heartthrob.
This is Liu Bei's confidence.
This powerful force caused a lot of harm to Zhang Xiu when he captured Jingzhou later.
This made Zhang Xiu very angry.
He originally planned to make a lot of money among the Three Kingdoms, but he didn't expect that Cao Pi would cut off his financial path. As the saying goes: blocking a person's future is like making money to his wife and daughter, and blocking a person's financial path is like killing his parents. How could Zhang Xiu swallow such cruelty? Immediately ordered someone to call the third prime minister of Shangcheng Pavilion.
"Cao Pi wants to refuse my business, it's really ridiculous," Zhang Xiu said coldly, "Do you really think the war in Qingzhou is so stable? I want to make the battlefield in Qingzhou lively!"
Jia Xu hurriedly asked: "Is the emperor going to send troops to Qingzhou?"
As the saying goes: Soldiers are important matters of the country, the place of life and death, and the path to survival. They must be observed. Although Cao Wei was in decline, Jingguo had just experienced a war, and the domestic economy was also in a critical period of development. The national policies of Jizhou and Youzhou had just been implemented. If a war started at this time, it would inevitably trigger a series of chain reactions.
This is also the reason why Jia Xu and others panic.
Doesn’t Zhang Xiu know the truth?
Smiling and comforting, he said: "Why would I use troops at this time? But it's really hateful that Cao Pi dares to cut off my financial path. I must show him some grace, Li Ru!"
Li Ru: "I'm here!"
"Ask the Ministry of War to immediately send a hundred flower-bladed armor-piercing crossbows and fifty city-defeating heavy crossbows to Xuzhou Governor Lu Su. Tell Lu Su that these are gifts from me to support our allies, and wish him an early victory over Qingzhou! "
Li Ru: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid it's too much."
Fifty Kecheng heavy crossbows were even given away, so the cost was a bit high.
Zhang Xiu sneered: "Not many! Wu State has fifty cars, Cao Wei has to buy fifty cars, and the price is doubled. Huh! Why did I give away my things for free?"
Jia Xu and others raised their lips and laughed.
This is true. When did Zhang Xiu ever make a loss-making business?
They will never give up until they take advantage.
"Here!"
Li Ru accepted the order with a smile.
