Cao Hong walked into the tent in full view of everyone. Cao Cao, who had his hands behind his back, turned around. He frowned at Cao Hong and asked, "Has the matter in the east been settled? Isn't Zhang He's defeat ugly?"
"Reporting to the King of Wei, although General Zhang failed to kill the general, he defeated Huang Zhong's troops and beheaded more than 2,000 people." Cao Hongxian took the credit.
Cao Cao was overjoyed when he heard this. He danced and said, "It makes sense. A general as famous as Yan Liang, Wen Chou, should not be so inactive."
"But..." Cao Hong hesitated.
Cao Cao's scalp went numb when he heard these two words. Putting the turning word after a good thing means bad news. He quickly asked: "But what?"
Cao Hong swallowed his saliva and told Zhao Yun that the grain ship was attacked. He and Zhao Yun fought fiercely on the south bank of Mian River. The war was unbearable, so he downplayed it. He emphasized that most of the rice grain was still there, but it was temporarily transported to Nanzheng. dock.
After hearing this, Cao Cao frowned and knocked on the desk. What did Huang Zhong, Zhao Yun and Chen Bing want to do in the east? Besides disturbing the grain road, what else is there to do? He immediately called everyone outside the tent in.
"Liu Bei divided his troops into Beishan, Ziyang, what do you think?" Cao Cao directly ordered the general.
Liu Ye looked at the map and calculated the distance. The straight-line distance between Beishan and Dingjun Mountain was twenty miles. It was actually very easy to respond back and forth. Finally, he frowned and replied: "The Mian River flows through the Beishan area in a curve. In addition to the narrow river surface, the water flow is also fast. Our army's grain ship went against the current. It is easy to be attacked while traveling westward. If you want to ensure that the grain road is unobstructed, it must be removed. The King of Wei should first send people to the north bank to protect the grain, and then divide his troops to go to Beishan to conquer Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong."
Cao Cao smoothed his beard, frowned and said, "Zilian, immediately send someone to Yangpingguan to send an order to Xu Huang to return to Nanzheng to protect the food supply. He should be able to handle it well."
"Wei." Cao Hong cupped his fists and came out of the tent to deliver the order.
"As for the division of troops into Beishan, I feel like something is not right..." Cao Cao shook his head, and then analyzed to himself: "These days, the strong attack on Dingjun Mountain has caused huge casualties to our army, but Liu Bei's retreat on the mountain did not cause much damage. It is difficult to capture Chubeishan if you have too few troops, but if you have too many troops Liu Bei will have to go down the mountain to counterattack. It is really a dilemma..."
Liu Ye nodded and responded, "King Wei's concerns are reasonable, but if we don't send people to conquer Beishan, not only will our food routes lose our protection, but our army's flanks will also be threatened. That would be too passive."
Cao Cao and Liu Ye are the current resource persons. When both of them feel embarrassed, the others don't know what to say.
"The King of Wei just sent someone to invite Mr. Ziwen, but it takes too long to get back and forth from Hanzhong to Yecheng. I don't know if General Wenlie has completed the relocation. In fact, he can be transferred to help in the battle." Guo Huai expressed his thoughts.
Cao Cao shook his head and sighed: "Wudu has emigrated hundreds of thousands of people. It is not easy for Wen Lie to do well. As for the current battlefield in Hanzhong, it has little significance with the number of troops. Besides, Zhang Fei is still causing chaos in Wudu..."
Xu Huang and Cao Zhen's attack on Jinniu Road failed. Cao Cao's chance of defeating Liu Bei became slim. Now there is another problem with Cao's army's food road. Adding more troops to Hanzhong will increase the logistical pressure.
No countermeasures were discussed, and everyone left the tent angrily. Cao Cao left Du Xi alone in the end.
"King Wei, do you have something to ask me?" Du Xi asked in a low voice.
Cao Cao looked at the backs of those leaving and said with some sadness: "They are no longer as brave as they used to be, and they are already old, but Liu Bei's minion Huang Zhong can still fight at the age of seventy. In this land of Hanchuan I'm afraid I won't be able to keep it..."
"Why should the King of Wei belittle himself? In fact, there are countless brave generals in the army. Prince Ziwen is also a hero in the world. As long as we wait for him to get here, Liu Feng's heads will not be enough." Du Xi comforted.
"Hanchuan was originally a fertile land, but it was a pity that Yang Song took away the people with rumors. It was difficult to leave this uninhabited fertile land alone. The garrison here cannot be self-sufficient. If this continues, it will bring down the Central Plains. Marquis Wancheng Although the Yin rebellion was put down by Zi Xiao, Hou Yin will not be the only one..." Cao Cao's expression was solemn.
"What do you mean..." Du Xi saw that Cao Cao seemed to want to retreat, but he did not dare to take the initiative to bring it up.
Cao Cao's eyes gradually became firm, "Zixu, rush to Nanzheng as soon as possible to prepare. Since Wudu has moved the people, the people of Hanzhong cannot be given to Liu Bei. When the time comes, they will be driven to Guanzhong via Baoxie Road."
"The people in Hanzhong are so old and weak now that they may not be able to make it to Guanzhong alive..." Du Xi was a little embarrassed.
"Even if the people die on the way, they can't take advantage of Liu Bei. This man's wings are already full. If he doesn't use some thunderous methods, the future will be unimaginable." A stern look flashed in Cao Cao's eyes.
"only."
Du Xi nodded and left with fists in his hands. Although Cao Cao was really old, his ruthless character was still there.
Cao Cao had already begun to intend to retreat, so he did not divide his troops to conquer Beishan. Instead, he strengthened the defense around the camp. The warships docked for a long time in Mianshui River were the return route that Cao Jun had prepared in advance.
After Cao Hong was defeated from the Beishan camp, Zhao Yun gathered his troops to continue looking for Huang Zhong. Huang Zhong returned from the path behind the mountain during the preparation period.
Because of his defeat at the hands of Zhang He, Huang Zhong was a little embarrassed to face Zhao Yun, especially knowing that Zhao Yun only brought dozens of cavalry and rescued his general Zhang Zhu.
Seeing this, Zhao Yun consoled him: "Winning or losing is a common thing for military officers. Besides, Zhang He's troops are more than twice yours. Why should the old general care so much? If you hadn't lured away Zhang He's main force, how could we have succeeded in seizing the ship and burning food?"
"I heard that only fifty grain ships were sunk, and most of them fled back to Nanzheng. It would be a pity that they could not annihilate them all." Huang Zhong's expression was still solemn.
Zhao Yun continued: "Old General, don't worry about how many grain ships were sunk. As long as this batch of grain is not transported to Cao's camp, it will be a meritorious service no matter what."
Huang Zhong nodded and smoothed his white beard under his chin. His face looked very kind and kind. He sighed and said: "Zilong said this, I finally feel better. I am now seventy-one years old. I don't know how long I can go on the battlefield." Now that I am so old, I just want to be wild a few times. Don’t blame me for competing with you for the title..."
"The general's words are serious. Lian Po can still fight at eighty, so why belittle oneself." Zhao Yun said with a smile.
After hearing this, Huang Zhong smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Zilong, you are just too upright, but I like it."
"Let's not flatter each other. Cao Cao's grain ship was destroyed, and later Cao Hong was defeated by me. We must report it to the lord and military advisor as soon as possible." Zhao Yun reminded.
"Yes, yes, the lord and military advisor have to control the overall situation." Huang Zhong agreed.
After Liu Bei received Zhao Yun's battle report, he and Fazheng went to the Beishan camp in person to commend him. In the end, he not only sent more troops to Beishan, but also sent Liu Feng down the mountain to fight.
In April of the 24th year of Jian'an, Cao Cao left many empty camps in Zouma Valley and secretly withdrew his army to the north of Mianshui, intending to return to Chang'an via Baoxie Road.
In order to prevent Liu Bei from pursuing from behind, Cao Cao ordered Cao Zhen to continue to hold Yangping Pass until Liu Bei's army invaded and could no longer hold it, and then returned to Guanzhong via Chencang Road.
As soon as tens of thousands of troops entered Xiegu, news came from behind that Cao Zhen was also retreating to Xiegu.
Cao Cao was shocked when he heard the news and lamented that Liu Bei's advance speed was too exaggerated. He ordered Zhang He to guard the entrance of the Xie Valley while he fled forward in panic.
When Cao Zhen entered Xiegu, the truth emerged: Yangping Pass was opened by an insider, and Zhang Fei and Ma Chao, who were entrenched in Wudu, took the opportunity to occupy the city. Yizhou's logistics supplies could enter Hanzhong directly from Yangping.
