Chapter 797 The current situation in Luoyang
It is said that Sima Yi took power for the first time, but he tasted the invincibility of ninjas. Cao Pi is the king who talks things. No matter how powerful Sima Yi is, he is just a biting dog in the hands of the Cao family.
For the high-spirited young Sima Yi, this experience was a heavy blow. But setbacks are not a bad thing. They had a profound impact on Sima's subsequent establishment of the century-old Jin Dynasty. There is a saying in later generations that "failure is the mother of success", which is the best explanation for the rise of Sima Yi's family.
Very few powerful generals could resist the temptation to attack a city, let alone an empty city as important as Yecheng. But Sima Yi did it. He sat quietly in the military tent and drank hot tea until Dai Ling returned in disgrace.
Although Dai Ling, whose face was covered with gray and gray, was calm, he was not as strong as Sima Yi. He spit out a mouthful of thick phlegm with a "poof" sound, loud enough for Sima Yi in the tent to hear clearly, then walked into the military tent and handed over to Sima Yi who was sitting in the seat.
Sima Yi saw the black lines on Dai Ling's face and naturally understood what he meant. Dai Ling is his most capable general. Although Sima Yi looked unhappy, he still needed to explain: "General Dai, according to General Zhonglang's deployment, the troops cannot be dispersed. Immediately inform him that at noon today, the entire army will set off to pursue Zhou. No doubt."
This paragraph was cut off from beginning to end, and it neither explained why Yecheng refused to provide reinforcements last night, nor explained where to pursue Zhou Buji. Dai Ling was confused after hearing this, so he could only vaguely raise his hands and say: "My dear sir, , this scout has been searching for Zhou Buyi’s movements day and night, and he must have gone to the bank of the Yellow River. But this Ye City..."
Dai Ling paused deliberately, and Sima Yi coughed and asked, "Who robbed Yecheng last night?"
Dai Ling immediately replied: "The number of the small ones is too small. One of the generals in the city is jumping on the horse with a spear, and it is Yuan Shao's general Wen Chou. At that time, the arrows were like rain, and the small people were unable to withstand the enemy, and... .”
Sima Yi interrupted Dai Ling with a wave of his hand and said, "I already know. The focus now is on chasing Zhou Buji and preventing Yuan Shu from escaping north. It's enough to leave Yecheng to Yuan Shao for the time being. You go and rest, Liu Ruo!"
Liu Ruozheng was standing nearby, listening to the order, and said quickly: "My subordinate is here!"
Sima Yi said: "Go quickly and tell Le Lei to come!" Liu Ruolian responded.
Dai Ling was in a very depressed mood and couldn't resolve it. He stayed up all day and all night, but in exchange for this result, he had to go down to greet his subordinates and find a military tent to bury himself in sleep without mentioning it.
Sima Yi went to find Le Wei because Cao Pi had ordered the entire army to stay still and rest for a day, so it was definitely not possible to use large forces to pursue Zhou Buyi. But Le Wei was Cao Zhi's man, so there was no problem in letting him harass the rear troops chasing Zhou Buyi. Who asked Cao Zhi to send his troops to the door, and Sima Yi happened to take advantage of him.
Le Wei also didn't sleep all night. Liu Ruo called him to see Sima Yi, so he had no choice but to rub his sleepy eyes and ride his horse to see the military advisor. Sima Yi was not polite and ordered: "General Le, the front line is urgent and we need manpower. You quickly lead your army and horses to the Wushe area to pursue Zhou Buji's remaining bandits. Don't rush forward on the road. Zhou Buji is full of tricks. There will eventually be an ambush in deep ditches and high fortresses, under cliffs and impoverished mountains. Liu Ruo will lead a thousand troops from his own army to pursue them with you."
Le Wei didn't even think about it, he replied "Your Majesty" and then exited the tent. While Liu Ruo went to mobilize his thousands of troops, Le Wei secretly sent people to Puyang to report Sima Yi's movements to Yang Xiu.
At this moment, after marching overnight, the main force of Zhou Buyi's Qinglong Army had crossed dozens of miles of mud from the countryside of Wushe County to the Yellow River impact tidal flats in Qilipu and Shenbei areas, and began to board the battlefield in the hidden harbor. Boat. On the opposite bank is the entrance of the hilly Yiluo River. Although the water downstream of the river mouth is turbulent, the upper reaches of the Yellow River here are slower and extremely desolate, which is suitable for large armies to stop their boats and land.
Zhou Buyi had already planned the landing site, so the army did not hesitate, and the warships flew towards their destination one by one. The vanguard troops had already escaped the control of Cao's pursuing troops and began to assemble in the Siwan Beach mouth and Hougou area on the north bank of the Yellow River.
Although the 50,000-strong army was large, the Qinglong Army was in good order and did not appear to be difficult to mobilize. Cao Jun's pursuit troops had long been controlled dozens of miles away by the suspected soldiers arranged by Zhou Buji. In addition, the main force of Cao Jun was stationary, which did not hinder the Qinglong Army's ability to cross the river. Yuan Shu's troops on the other side were obviously focused on operations south of Luoyang and were unable to defend the coast of the Yellow River. Therefore, the Qinglong Army was able to quickly establish a strong position on the south bank of the Yellow River. A complete Qinglong Army camp was established between Hulao Pass and Luoyang overnight.
One day and one night, the Qinglong Army's 50,000 soldiers had escaped from the dangerous areas on the north bank of the Yellow River and established a strong stronghold on the south bank of the Yellow River. Hundreds of warships were all hidden in the quagmire surrounded by hills on the shore to avoid being discovered by the scouts; Zhou Buyi quickly sent out scouts to conduct a series of strategic reconnaissance at Hulao Pass and Beiman Mountain in Luoyang.
At this moment, Puyang was occupied by Cao's army, and Yecheng was occupied by Yuan Shao. Zhang Yan's troops were weak and had already retreated from the Shangdang area to avoid the sharp edge of Cao's army. The Central Plains area and the north of the Yellow River had been completely strategically abandoned by the Qinglong Army.
The goal of Cao Jun was not to manage Bingzhou, but to prevent Yuan Shu from escaping north, or to cooperate with Cao Cao in the battle to capture the capital of Luoyang. Therefore, Cao Jun did not send troops to harass the surrounding counties and counties of Bingzhou.
During Cao Cao's Northern Expedition, Cao Cao led more than 250,000 troops, Cao Zhi led more than 50,000 troops, Cao Pi led more than 50,000 troops, and Cao Zhang returned with more than 30,000 troops, bringing the total military strength to an unprecedented 400,000. The number of civilians on the supply line employed no less than 700,000 people, spending countless amounts of money and food every day. It can be said that it has reached the limit of what Qingyan and Yanzhou can currently supply.
Most of the young men in Qingzhou and Yanzhou followed Cao's army on the expedition. As the number of casualties increased, public resentment gradually boiled over.
Therefore, Cao Junli decided to make a quick decision, capture Luoyang in one fell swoop, then consolidate his position and recuperate, and incorporate the entire Yuzhou into his territory planning. The next step is Jizhou and Youzhou.
In the war with Yuan Shu, Cao Jun had already exhausted all his strength. There was no emergency in the rear, just because Sun Ce and Chen Long were not ready yet. Therefore, Cao Jun must win Luoyang quickly and decisively. The longer the delay, the more likely it is that variables will arise.
If you want to know what happens next, listen to the explanation next time.
