Cao Cao saw that Guo Huai had a different look on his face, and he proudly ordered: "Zi Dan, after Gu leads the army and begins to cross the river, you will lead your troops out of Yangping Pass and attack Liu Bei's Mianbei camp with all your strength."
"Wei." Cao Zhen came out and clasped his fists.
"Gongming."
"The end will be here."
Cao Cao looked at Xu Huang and said solemnly: "You led an army out of Maming Pavilion, secretly climbed over Zouma Ridge to attack behind it, and attacked with Zidan in front and back to pull out Liu Bei's stronghold. As long as you cut off his food route, what else can the big-eared bandit do? Do you have the confidence to compete with me?"
"The last general takes orders." Xu Huang responded sonorously.
Just a few days after Cao Cao came to Yangping Pass, he found a way to defeat Liu Bei. Several rounds of deployments were of high tactical level, and the generals in the tent felt that victory was in sight.
"You will go and get ready as soon as possible." Cao Cao announced with a wave of his hand that the accounts were dismissed.
Cao's army at Yangping Pass quickly moved into action, and the warships displayed on the north bank of Mian River were lined up.
The war was about to begin. Xu Huang's civilian men from Nanzheng were watching a long line of people loading rice, grain, arrows and other supplies onto the ship under the gaze of Cao Bing.
After Liu Bei, who was on the south bank of Mianshui River, found out about the situation, he immediately set up camp and returned to Dingjun Mountain. He gave Cao Cao the Zouma Valley where Xiahou Yuan once camped, intending to continue to defeat Cao Cao at Dingjun Mountain from a high position.
The unusual movements on the south bank attracted the attention of patrol boats in the river, and Cao Jun's scouts quickly sent the military information to Cao Cao.
After hearing the news, Cao Cao came out of Yangping and came to Mianshui River. He could vaguely see busy figures on the other side.
Liu Bei withdrew without fighting, and his strange behavior aroused Liu Ye's suspicion.
"King Wei, what exactly is Liu Bei doing? He first pretended to be on the south bank with the purpose of luring you to reinforce Yangping Pass. But now he has not even fought yet, and he actually chose to withdraw his troops first. These behaviors are really unbelievable..."
Cao Cao looked at the other side and sneered: "Liu Xuande started his business as a mat weaver and shoe seller. It is not easy to reach this situation. Unfortunately, he is still unable to compete with Gu. Does Ziyang think he doesn't want to attack halfway?"
"Then why..."
"Logging and shipbuilding consumes a lot of money, and Liu Bei can't afford it because of his weak foundation, so he is showing off on the other side. Zhang Junyi and Guo Boji just can't understand it, but the reason is that Miao Cai died in battle and the three armies were shaken..." Cao Cao sighed and continued to explain: "The rafts Liu Bei built in the past two months are so crude. If he really dares to imitate the art of war and practice 'half-crossing and attack', he will be seeking death in front of our warships."
Liu Ye looked at the big ship in front of him and thought about the truth, so he raised his hand and praised: "The King of Wei has a plan. It seems that he is confident about capturing Liu Bei."
"Back then, I was drinking with Liu Bei, and my words about heroes were still in my ears. I don't want Gu Zhen's words to come true. Now that all the heroes have withered and withered, only he and Cao are left. Liu Bei, who has become the most popular person, should not be underestimated." Cao Cao's expression changed when he spoke. Dignified, he knew that Liu Bei's wings had become full and he could no longer handle it as he used to.
"Although Liu Bei has great ambitions, God has not matched his timing. King Wei has already gained two-thirds of the world. In terms of population, military strength, and output, those border areas are far from the Central Plains. How can Liu Xuande compete with you? "Liu Ye said comfortingly.
Cao Cao nodded slightly, pointed to the other side and explained: "It's because Liu Bei has a weak foundation, so he acts so cautiously. His move must be to retreat to Dingjun Mountain, intending to take advantage of the terrain to confront me."
"If the war is prolonged, we must be careful that the people are forced to do hard labor, which may cause turmoil in the country..." Liu Ye reminded worriedly.
"Humph, it's unwise for Liu Bei to use the method of robbing food to compete with Gu Lai for consumption. Think about me, Cao Cao, who has fought in the south and north all his life. Most of the time, he won by cutting off people's food supply. How can it be so easy to imitate me? However, Whether the battle of Hanzhong can be won quickly depends on whether Zidan and Gongming can defeat the enemy." Cao Cao analyzed the battle situation with a serious face.
"The frontal battlefield on our side is..."
Before Liu Ye finished speaking, Cao Cao took over, "It's best if we can defeat Liu Bei head-on. If not, we can also contain him very well. Unless someone sees through my plan, Liu Bei will surely meet his end."
"Anyway, I can't guess it. Dingjun Mountain and Jinniu Road are separated by Micang Mountain. Pang Tong and Fazheng shouldn't be able to guess it either. Liu Bei believes that Huo Jun is good at defense, so he must have taken it lightly, unless..."
Liu Ye stopped abruptly in the middle of his words because he suddenly thought of a possibility.
"Unless what? Why is Ziyang's eyebrows so dull?"
"King Wei, do you think there is a possibility that Liu Bei sent a spy to Yangping Pass? If Xu Gongming's sneak attack on Zoumaling is exposed, wouldn't it be a failure?"
After hearing this, Cao Cao threw his head up and laughed, "Zi Yang is overly worried. All the generals in the tent are trustworthy to me through life and death. Xu Gongming went to Maming Pavilion to set up defenses in name. Even if there was Liu Bei's secret work in Yangping Pass, they had no chance to pass the news on." , Just look at these common people and you will know..."
The guards inside and outside Yangping Pass were tight, even the working civilians were under the supervision of Cao's soldiers.
Liu Ye handed over his hand and nodded in agreement with Cao Cao. Although there are often rumors spread among various places, there are countless pairs of eyes on the battlefield, and confidential information will not be lost so easily.
At dusk, Cao Hong came to the north bank of Mianshui for inspection.
He saw civilian workers going back and forth between the land and the warship like animals. At this time, the material transport was coming to an end, and everyone was exhausted.
Cao Cao was going to go on an expedition tomorrow morning, and they had to prepare all the supplies before dark, so Cao Cao's army didn't regard these people as human beings at all. Anyone who walked slowly would be whipped.
A few years ago, a large number of Hanzhong people fled to Yizhou, so Xu Huang only recruited 5,000 people in Nanzheng, most of whom were older.
Five thousand civilians provided logistics for nearly 100,000 Cao soldiers. One can imagine the intensity of their work. Many of them died of exhaustion before the war was over.
Suddenly, there was a loud splash beside a boat, which seemed to be the sound of falling into the water.
Cao Hong rushed over to find the sound. Several civilians carrying rice bags were shivering on the deck. Cao Bing, who was in charge of supervising the work, had already raised his whip in his hand.
"What's the matter?" Cao Hong asked sharply.
The Huotou supervisor replied: "General, these few people are so short-sighted that they squeezed the guy to the side of the boat and fell into the river. It's a pity that dozens of kilograms of good rice..."
"General... spare your life, we were too tired and really didn't pay attention..."
The civilian husband standing at the front bowed and kowtowed after finishing speaking, and the remaining few followed and banged the deck.
"Why don't you send someone to fish it out?" Cao Hong gestured to the fire head.
Huotou replied awkwardly: "We don't know much about water..."
Cao Hong frowned, "Forget it, I'll ask people to salvage it and seize the time to finish moving the rest. I'll remember this whip for now."
"only."
"Thank you, General..."
Cao Hong asked the guards to choose the two men who went down to the river to look for it, but the river water at this time was still biting and cold. Cao's soldiers who went into the water worked up and down several times, but in the end they only salvaged the bag of rice, and there was no trace of the civilian husband who fell into the river.
At this time, dusk was gradually falling, and it was difficult to see clearly in the river. Cao Hong immediately gave up the search. After all, the civilian husband was not a human being in his eyes.
