In the city of Xuchang, in the Golden Hall of the Imperial Palace, Cao Cao, wearing court uniform and holding a sword at his waist, stood at the head of the hundred officials.
There is no way, it is Cao Cao's privilege to go to the palace with swords and shoes and praise and worship without name.
Liu Xie, who was sitting on the dragon throne, looked at Cao Cao after accepting the worship of hundreds of officials, with a solemn expression on his face, "Cao Aiqing, I heard that Yuan Shao actually sent 20,000 troops to attack Baima City. There are only 4,000 defenders in the city. What should we do?"
He was very sad, at least he looked very sad, but inside he was happy.
Yuan Shao's ancestors were the fourth generation and the third prince, and the Yuan family was well fed by the Han Dynasty, so they were naturally loyal. He wished that the Northern Army would attack Xuchang tomorrow and kill Cao Cao.
When Liu Xie said this, there was a burst of whispers in the Golden Palace.
Originally they were not optimistic about this battle, but the ministers who were forced to compromise due to Cao Cao's power were very frightened. However, the imperial party headed by Dong Cheng had a calm expression on their faces, and everyone was watching Cao Cao's jokes in their hearts.
This group of people are willing to believe that except for Cao Cao, everyone in the world is loyal to the Han Dynasty.
Therefore, people who can't do anything to Cao Cao on the surface like to see him defeated.
Cao Cao remained silent, his face as grave as water, and listened quietly to the ministers whispering to each other. He did not even answer Liu Xie's questions.
He was waiting for the scout to show up at about the same time.
"Baima City is six hundred miles away!" A shout from outside the Golden Palace attracted everyone's attention, except for Guo Jia and Cao Cao, because they had already seen this battle report last night.
After the scout ran in, Liu Xie, who had always been autistic, moved his buttocks and looked at him expectantly, hoping to hear the news he wanted.
"Your Majesty, Yuan Shao's 20,000 vanguards have been defeated. General Yan Liang has been captured alive, 1,800 horses and 50,000 stones of grain and grass have been captured. All prisoners of war have been killed on the spot. Our army has won a great victory!"
After the scout finished speaking, a pin drop could be heard in the golden palace.
Dong Cheng and others felt their hearts twisting. How could this happen? Yan Liang's 20,000-strong army was completely defeated by 4,000 soldiers. How could they fight?
Of course, more courtiers breathed a sigh of relief and clapped their hands.
After all, they invested too much in Cao Cao, and they still hoped that he could win.
Liu Xie's nails were almost pierced into the seams of his flesh, and they were all white, but his face showed the same excitement as most of the courtiers. After all, he had been a puppet for many years, and his acting skills were still online.
He looked at Cao Cao, who was still in the ancient well, and quickly guessed that he should have known the news for a long time, and asked with a smile: "How did Cao Aiqing defeat more with less?"
Cao Cao then shook off his clothes and walked to the middle of the Golden Palace. He paid homage to Liu Xie and said loudly: "It's very simple. A month ago, I ordered Polu General Cao Ren to take Xu Chu and Dian Wei to garrison in Baima. city."
Hiss~
Everyone couldn't help but be shocked. It turned out that Sikong had been prepared for it. No wonder he looked calm just now. Yuan Shao had been tricked.
I don’t know how Cao Sikong predicted it beforehand, but he was able to arrange it one month in advance. It’s incredible.
According to normal procedures, someone will soon ask Cao Cao how he did it. Obviously Cao Cao did not intend to give them such an opportunity. Guo Jia stepped forward and asked: "Since Cao Sikong has made arrangements, why didn't you inform him earlier? It also puts my mind at ease."
"Because there is someone in the court who is secretly communicating with Yuan Shao. If I had told him earlier, would I have won this great victory?" Cao Cao turned around and looked around at the officials.
Just one glance made half of the people lower their heads. Everyone felt that Cao Cao was talking about them. If it weren't for the Qi-nurturing skills immersed in the court for many years, they would probably be unable to restrain themselves from trembling.
"I wonder who Cao Sikong is talking about?" Dong Cheng sneered and glanced sideways at Cao Cao.
He finally understood that there was no crisis in Baima City. Cao Cao had obviously known all this for a long time and was deliberately playing tricks on us today.
Cao Cao raised his right hand, put his index and middle fingers together, and pointed in a circle around the court. Finally, it landed directly on Liu Xie, frightening him.
After all, he put down his right hand and said with a proud smile: "After all, I am a minister of the same palace. I will not settle old scores for the past. As long as I serve your Majesty with all my heart in the future, this matter will be treated as if it never happened."
Liu Xie breathed a sigh of relief and managed a smile, "Cao Aiqing is indeed loyal to the emperor and a model for all officials."
The emperor said this, and all the officials immediately followed him, praising him, saying that he would clean up the world, help the emperor and the country, and only choose good words, which gave him the illusion of surviving the disaster.
"Your Majesty, I must first plead guilty to deceiving the emperor."
"Why do you say this, my dear?" Knowing clearly that Cao Cao was talking nonsense, Liu Xie could only try his best to cooperate with him.
"Your Majesty, because I have a clever plan to defeat the enemy, defeating Yuan Shao's hundreds of thousands of troops is like defeating the enemy, but now I don't dare to tell the truth, hoping that defeating Yuan Zhixun will make him guilty."
Cao Cao said it sincerely. Liu Xie could only nod his head and said with force, "Okay, I forgive you for your innocence. Please feel free to do it."
He didn't know whether what Cao Cao said was true or false, but in his heart he hoped that Cao Cao would lose.
When he heard that Yuan Shao had an army of 700,000, he was so happy that he didn't sleep for several days and nights, just waiting to see Cao Cao's dog head hanging on the wall of Xuchang.
With the victory in Baima City and these remarks, Liu Xie's confidence was somewhat shaken.
The emperor was still like this, let alone the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty. His previous small thoughts of pleasing Yuan Shao were restrained, and he regretted not advocating for war in the first place.
It's okay, it's not too late to regret it now. He said he won't settle the score later.
Seeing that his goal was achieved, Cao Cao stopped worrying about this topic and began to reveal his unspeakable secrets. It was nothing more than that I can definitely defeat Yuan Shao this time, but it would be nice if I could add a little more food, grass, weapons, and troops.
The people who could stand in this court were all human beings, and they immediately understood what Cao Cao meant, and they were waiting here.
It would have been nice if they had not objected before. Direct support was impossible, and who would be willing to waste their time.
But after what happened just now, no one knew what Cao Cao was holding back, and they still wanted to make up for the safety of their bets. They all expressed their intention to return to their hometown to raise food and fodder for the court and supervise the ordnance.
"Your Majesty, if all the officials are so united, why worry about Yuan Shao being undefeated?" Cao Cao felt secretly happy. This is much better than ten victories and ten defeats.
"This is all due to my love for you." Liu Xie said weakly.
No, no, your Majesty is wrong, and this is Yun Wen's fault. Cao Cao had not been so happy for a long time. He dealt with him for a few words and then waited to retreat.
After the court meeting, Cheng Yu, Xun You, Xun Yu, Zhong Yao and others all surrounded Cao Cao, trying to find out why Cao Cao could predict the danger of Baima City a month ago.
What can Cao Cao do? He took out Lin Mo's letter and said, "Look, it was Lu Bu's son-in-law who taught me?"
It's a shame.
Only Guo Jia knows about this, and he can only know it alone.
In the end, all the credit can only be attributed to Guo Jia.
Cao Ying's counselors didn't seem surprised that Guo Jia could predict the enemy first, but they still couldn't imagine how Guo Jia could tell that the other side would attack Baima City with the two armies bordering each other for more than 800 miles.
Guo Jia, who was surrounded by the crowd, seemed a little anxious. He was in a bad mood because he didn't think about it clearly.
Although Baima City can directly approach Xuchang when entering Guandu, there is definitely more than one choice for the same location.
Due to Cao Cao's face, this matter could not be revealed. He could only use the excuse that because Yan Liang had been stationed in Liyang, as a general of the Northern Kingdom, he appeared in Liyang, and Baima City was naturally the first to bear the brunt.
This statement barely convinced everyone, and everyone left with satisfaction, leaving only Guo Jia in a mess.
Cao Cao, who returned to Sikong Mansion, sat under the pavilion and stared at the lake rippled by the wind in a daze, squeezing the sachet returned by Lin Mo in his hand.
He knew that Lin Mo sent letters thousands of miles away to help balance the overall situation, but he still couldn't help but think about how great it would be if this guy stayed with me.
Yan Liang, that was Yan Liang, Yuan Shao's general and the leader of the Northern Kingdom. He was captured alive. Cao Cao knew very well how much impact this incident would have on the Northern Army. It would definitely cause turmoil for the three armies.
Just a little action helped me defeat Yuan Shao. With this victory, there should be very few people in Xuchang City who are secretly communicating with Yuan Shao. In addition, with the food, grass, weapons, and soldiers provided by all parties,
Just after briefly calculating the harvest this time, Cao Cao felt excited in his heart. It was amazing. This person was worth more than a hundred thousand soldiers.
But the more outstanding Lin Mo was, the more uneasy he became, because the alliance would eventually end, and such a person was more terrifying as an enemy.
He, Lin Mo, is mine from the beginning, hateful Zhang Wang, if you let me lose because of this, even ten Sima families can’t protect you!
Cao Cao still hopes that one day he can recruit Lin Mo to his command again. Although such a chance is slim, it is not impossible. The battle at Xiaoguan is the best example.
Looking back, I was too stupid at the time. I would rather give up Xiao Guan than find him, Lin Yunwen.
His head hurt, and Cao Cao couldn't help but rub his temples when he thought about it.
On the Pengcheng side, Gao Shun and Zhao Yun led 10,000 troops and headed north to Linqu.
Lu Bu led more than 50,000 people to finally move, but he could no longer move. It was reported that Yuan Tan's 200,000 troops were divided into three parts and began to station in Guangxian. The war was about to break out.
This time, Zhang Liao, Yu Jin and Xu Sheng still stayed in Guangling. The difference was that Zang Ba and Sun Guan were transferred to Lujiang to take over the defense originally belonging to Wei Xu, Hou Cheng and Song Xian.
Among the eight capable generals under Lu Bu's command, except for Zhang Liao, who was solely responsible for the battle, and Hao Meng, who had been killed in battle, the other six all participated in the front line.
This was deliberately requested by Lu Bu. Firstly, he wanted to give them a chance to gain military merit, and secondly, it was also for the stability of this army.
After appointing themselves as vanguards and deputy generals, this group of veteran generals have been quite critical of Lin Mo. Lu Bu was a little helpless. The prestige and appeal of these people in the army are not weak. If they are disloyal, they will ultimately lose themselves. .
Therefore, this choice can be regarded as a compromise to a certain extent.
Lin Mo didn't mind. After all, an army of 60,000 to 70,000 people also needed generals. The only requirement was that what happened in the government hall last time should not be allowed to happen again.
In fact, among this group of people, Wei Xu was the more aggressive. After all, he was a relative of Lu Bu. Lin Mo had to call him uncle, which seemed a bit like relying on his elders.
Especially in the past few days, after I heard that Cao Cao captured Yan Liang alive and beat them to the ground from 4000 to 20000, good guys, everyone was clamoring to take the initiative to trouble Yuan Tan.
Because in their opinion, Cao Cao's elite could be defeated by his own people, but the Northern Army was defeated thousands of miles away by Cao's army, so the gap should not be too big.
It's really like a big show on the Wangxiang stage, a group of ghosts who don't know whether to live or die.
"You don't have to pay attention to Wei Xu's idiot. If he dares to take the lead in stirring up trouble again, I will personally deal with him!"
The old father-in-law said it with certainty. Before Lin Mo could say it was true, he added with a sneer: "But in this case, you have to mobilize them for this war. Haven't you always said that the army needs to be equally exposed to rain and dew? Really let them Eating for free is not appropriate."
"I agree with this point, but it depends on the military affairs. If you are young, you will be disgusted, if you are old, you can't afford it."
Lin Mo shook his head helplessly, but seeing that his old father-in-law seemed to be very embarrassed about this, as a son-in-law, he didn't want to worry about it anymore, and comforted him: "Don't worry, father-in-law, I will try my best to arrange it properly."
It is really not easy to arrange for these people. You can't do it by hijacking the camp, charging, and destroying the enemy's army. You can't escort the grain and fodder, and receive the reinforcements, but you feel that you have no credit.
Come back, we need to rectify this group of people.
The army traveled for seven days and finally arrived at the front line of Linqu.
Fortunately, the front lines were peaceful during these days. According to Gao Shun, Yuan Jun had always sent people to watch them from a distance, but they took no further action. They also did not send any troops to set up ambushes at Lin Mo's request. Useful.
"It seems that Yuan Tan is smarter than we thought." Lin Mo found it very interesting. With an army of 200,000 and a forward army of at least 30,000, he could be indifferent to 10,000 people setting up a stronghold in the wilderness.
"There are many talented people in the Northern Kingdom. Ju Shou, Tian Feng and others are all very resourceful and difficult to deal with. Yuan Tan must have someone behind him to guide him." Jia Xu also knew something about the Northern Kingdom.
Lin Mo smiled but did not answer. Yuan Tan could listen to other people's opinions. This alone proved that he was very smart.
This battle may be more difficult than imagined.
After arriving at peace, Lin Mo walked into the camp. The terrain sand table and sheepskin drawings had been prepared in the Chinese army's tent.
The camp, which can accommodate 70,000 people, is very large, almost the same as a small county town. This means that the fortifications along the edge will be weaker. In many places, there is only one piece of wood as a guardrail, and the antlers are only placed near the fourth gate. There is no way to cover a large area.
However, after the army is stationed and the manpower is sufficient, these can be gradually improved.
It is worth mentioning that this is the location where Lin Mo, Chen Gong and Jia Xu selected the stronghold after several discussions. The main consideration was the terrain.
The camp is located in the wilderness, with mountains and mountains to the west, and the Yangtze River to the east. Mountains and Yangtze are ten miles apart from the Yangtze River, and there is only a passage in the middle. Yuan Tan can't do it all at once if he wants to march 200,000 troops. When they arrived, the army could not spread out in full.
The disadvantage is that it is too far from Linqu City, so food and grass can only be stored in Yanmai, Qishan.
However, the place where grain is stored is at the mouth of a valley, and there is only one way in and out, so the safety is relatively high.
On the sand table in the Chinese military tent, Gao Shun had carefully marked Yuan Jun's camp. It was similar to what he had predicted before. Thirty miles away from his own camp, there was an open area, suitable for the army to spread out and give full play to its strength advantage.
An army of 200,000 people built a total of three strongholds, each of which was only about three miles apart, so they could coordinate with each other very well.
However, terrain is terrain, and what should be seen must be seen with one's own eyes. Lin Mo called his father-in-law, Zhao Yun and Gan Ning to go to Qishan to overlook Yuan Tan's military camp.
With the three of them here, there is no need to worry about safety issues.
(End of chapter)
