Han Sui's "crouching in the river" means that after the opponent crossed the river and formed a formation with their backs to the water, the Kansai Allied Forces then stormed the formation with cavalry and drove Cao's army into the Yellow River while their foothold was not stable.
After all, not everyone is Han Xin, and not everyone can play Last Stand.
Han Sui's idea was wonderful, but it was extremely difficult to implement. Ma Chao, Cheng Yi, and Liang Xing each had their own selfish motives. They gradually delayed the attack by shifting the blame. During the brief confrontation at the Hexi Ferry, there were only a few incidents that were not painful. of harassment.
After Cao Cao's entire army crossed the river, he ordered people to use chariot fences to make a moving protective wall, forming a marching corridor between the Yellow River and the protective wall.
Han Sui, Ma Chao and other coalition forces were all lightly armed infantry and cavalry. As the defensive side, they did not prepare any offensive equipment at all. Therefore, facing Cao Cao's turtle-shell tactics without direct confrontation, they were as helpless as facing a hedgehog.
The coalition forces were unable to pursue them all the way, and they were worried that Cao Jun would take advantage of the situation to launch a sneak attack. As if they were performing an escort mission, they sent Cao Jun to the north of the Weishui River.
Cao Cao camped safely on the Wei River, but the Kansai Allied Forces were unable to fight, so he led his army across the river and confronted Cao Cao's army across the river in Weinan.
The width of the Wei River is much narrower than that of the Yellow River. It is difficult for the coalition forces to defend and the defensive line is extended indefinitely. Since Cao Cao has a history of illegal immigrants, Han Sui, Ma Chao and other Kansai generals divided their troops to garrison in Weinan, and each sent cavalry to truly implement the semi-defense. The strategic thinking of crossing and attacking.
The Kansai Allied Forces have three barriers to defend Cao's army: Tongguan, Yellow River, and Weishui. Now that Cao Cao has passed the two barriers at a very small cost, everyone is working harder on the defense of the Weishui.
Cao Cao divided his troops to attack in various directions to confuse the coalition forces, and sent effective troops to build pontoon bridges overnight. Although he finally succeeded in crossing the river, because there was only sand in Weinan, he could not build strong fortifications to resist the attack. Cao Cao's camp in Weinan was also harassed by cavalry released by Ma Chao and others. Unable to build.
Cao Cao and the Kansai Allied Forces went back and forth like this. They conducted close to a hundred small-scale attrition battles in twenty days. Seeing that the weather was getting colder, it was a great test for the psychological quality of the generals of the two armies.
At this time, Cao Cao occupied the land west of Hexi, and food was transported to the front line via the Yellow River. The conditions were much better than those of the Kansai Allied Forces who had no food to eat, but Cao Cao was not satisfied with the current situation.
Although I guessed that the Kansai Allied Forces were in danger of running out of food, these warlords were not good people. For example, Han Sui, the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces, had been a Liangzhou giant bandit before he surrendered to the imperial court. When this group of people really had no food, they You can also plunder the already desolate Guanzhong area.
Cao Cao was drinking hot porridge in the Chinese army camp. Suddenly, a cool breeze blew in from outside the tent, carrying gravel from the river. He hurriedly grabbed his robe to protect the bowl of porridge. As a result, he failed to cover it up in time, and the porridge bowl was blown inside. Enter a lot of sediment.
Cao Cao scooped the sand on the ground with a spoon. When he finally put it into his mouth, it still felt gritty.
We must establish a foothold in Weinan as soon as possible, otherwise the follow-up plan will not be carried out smoothly.
Cao Cao then summoned Jia Xu and Xu Huang, who were familiar with the situation in Guanzhong, to ask for advice, and said: "Our army has been unable to set up camp after crossing the river several times. The Guanxi coalition has consumed thousands of our elite troops, especially Ma Chao's Xiliang cavalry, who are particularly shameless. You can Do you have any clever ideas to help Gu gain a foothold in Weinan?"
"Lord, these days we have been crossing the Yellow River with small groups of soldiers, why not use Pubanjin's method of crossing the Yellow River and cover each other in a roundabout way across the river?" Xu Huang tasted the sweetness and made another suggestion.
The strategy of seizing the east and attacking the west can work wonders if used continuously, but the key is to choose a smart and suspicious opponent. If the opponent is a group of reckless people, it will not work at all.
This is like playing a game. The king has various calculations in the game, but it is better to be reckless when encountering a silver player.
Cao Cao frowned and found Jia Xu standing aside calmly, so he asked, "What do Wen He think Gong Ming's plan is?"
"General Xu's plan is feasible, but the Kansai Allied Forces are now too dispersed. It is too difficult to attract the opponent's main force like Tongguan. If there is a large detour on the Wei River, the difficulty of military food supply and transportation must be considered..."
Jia Xu is not a good person, but he doesn't like to make enemies either. Although he doesn't agree with Xu Huang's plan, he doesn't directly reject it in front of the opponent. Instead, he only points out the difficulties in execution.
Cao Cao knew how to use troops, and Jia Xu knew that it would be difficult to execute as soon as Jia Xu mentioned it.
"Does Wen He have any clever ideas to help me?"
Jia Xu nodded slightly, "The Kansai Allied Forces were spent in Tongguan for half a year. They were short of winter clothes and food to keep out the cold. I suggest that we continue to confront the rebels on the Weishui River. If they cannot collect food on the spot in Guanzhong within half a year, then Han Sui , Ma Chao will defeat himself without attacking."
When Cao Cao heard this, he said to him, "Hey guys, this is to encourage the Kansai Allied Forces to plunder the people. The last rebellion in Chang'an by Li Jue was also due to your plan. You really lived up to your reputation as a 'poisonous man'."
Ancient wars focused on productivity and population. If the Guanzhong region suffered another disaster, all the people would probably run away. Wouldn't the tens of thousands of soldiers I lost in the early stage be in vain?
Thinking of this, Cao Cao quickly shook his head, "Liu Bei and Sun Quan are still watching in the south, how can I delay the sun and the moon here? We must take the initiative to attack Yongliang early, so that we can free our hands to deal with them."
"Liu Xuande led troops into Sichuan a few months ago. Jingzhou already has a small number of troops. With General Zixiao guarding Xiangyang, there shouldn't be much of a problem. As for Huainan, there is no problem. After Zhou Yu's death, there was no one to send to Jiangdong. Sun Quan has missed his fighter opportunities several times. , the lord can safely regain Yongliang." Jia Xu analyzed.
"The outer force in Jiangdong is strong in the middle. I want to attack Sun Quan first and then attack Liu Bei. Wen He's plan of attrition and confrontation will take too long. If I can build a camp in Weinan, I can defeat Han Sui and Ma Chao within ten months..." Cao Cao Sighed.
The beach on the south bank of the Weishui River is full of sand. How can it be possible to build solid fortifications? Cao Cao crossed the river with a small force and lost many soldiers.
Jia Xu and Xu Huang did not leave in time after offering their advice, and stayed with Cao Cao in the tent to continue thinking.
"Prime Minister... Prime Minister is very happy..." A cheerful voice came from outside the tent.
"Is Uncle Zi here? What's the happy event?" Cao Cao looked up and saw that it was counselor Lou Gui. He asked casually because he was in a depressed mood.
"Now that the temperature outside has dropped sharply, isn't it a happy event?" Lou Gui asked doubtfully.
"Oh? Please help me, uncle." Cao Cao became interested immediately. He knew that Lou Gui would not say that for no reason, so he crossed his legs and turned around on the bed.
Lou Gui scratched his head and looked at everyone, thinking to himself, you don’t know anything about the weather? Then don't blame me for showing off. He held up his hands and explained: "The weather is cold now, and it is even bitingly cold at night. Why doesn't Prime Minister build a city with sand? Just pour water in the sand, and the water will freeze at night, and the sand will be as solid as iron and stone. With this, a city can be built overnight.”
Cao Cao jumped up when he heard this, "Is Uncle Zi's plan really feasible?"
"All things are interdependent and the weather will continue to turn cold at this time. The prime minister will surely be able to establish a foothold in Weinan by building a sand city." Lou Gui nodded.
"Very good. Gong Ming will act quickly according to the plan. You will lead your troops to cross the river and build a sand city at night." Cao Cao ordered.
"Wei." Xu Huang walked to Cao Cao and stood in front of him. He clasped his fists and accepted the order before walking out of the tent to prepare.
