Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3646: The war is still going on in the north, and the solitary minister uses all his wisdom to defend Jingxiang

Before, Cao Cao attacked from multiple directions, made flanking maneuvers, threatened Guanzhong, or cut off Hedong, but now everything has changed. The Cavalry Army attacked Henei and approached Runan. There is a risk of merging with part of Youzhou and heading south to invade Jizhou. There is also the problem of breaking through Runan's defense line, cutting off Jingxiang, and even threatening Yuzhou.

Although Cao Cao still seems calm and composed, his movements unhurried and his gaze still firm, everyone knows that Cao's army is in a very difficult situation.

The political impact of last year's Guanzhong Campaign has gradually become apparent.

Especially Jizhou.

The military prestige that had been built up with great difficulty during the battle against Yuan Shao was shattered by the disturbance of the Cavalry Army.

Comparing people and goods, it's really frustrating!
Especially the heavy losses suffered by the Xiahou clan in the northern route of Taihang Mountain caused their reputation to plummet. Although Cao Cao's battle in the middle route was not very good, at least he invaded the Hedong area, captured many counties, besieged Anyi, and almost took over Hedong. In comparison, it seemed much better...

But in reality, it's quite limited.

Shandong is located in the Central Plains. No matter whether Cao's army plundered Heluo and advanced to Hedong, or why Cao Cao marched forward, the children of Shandong gentry felt that Cao Cao had lost and there was no hope.

Especially in Jizhou, as the news of Cao's defeat spread, many Jizhou people were not optimistic about Cao's army. Many nobles who defected to Cao's army after Yuan Shao's defeat began to prepare to switch jobs privately. Even the soldiers in the counties of Jizhou kept running away, ranging from a few to dozens of people. At one time, almost all the defenders in the county ran away!
At the same time, at the end of last year, about 30% of the counties and prefectures refused to come to Xu County for various reasons. They were mainly concentrated in the northern part of Jizhou, as well as in relatively remote areas such as Qingzhou and Xuzhou.

Cao Cao's management level and jurisdiction depth of Qingzhou and Xuzhou, including the strength of control, have never been good.

Cao Cao's control over Qingzhou began with the incorporation of the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou. Although this force became Cao Cao's core military force, the actual management still relied on local tyrants for a long time. In other words, the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou's farming system strengthened the economic support of Qingzhou, and Cao Cao sent his clan confidants to remotely lead Qingzhou officials, and then assigned specific Qingzhou affairs to local tyrants in Qingzhou.

Because their interests had long been tied to Cao Cao, the Qingzhou soldiers were also loyal to Cao Cao for a long time and were not disbanded until the time of Cao Pi. However, this does not mean that Qingzhou had no evil intentions. After all, in history, after Cao Pi took office, the Qingzhou Legion was disbanded and the later Jinan Rebellion also proved that the system implemented by Cao Cao in Qingzhou was actually very ineffective.

As for Xuzhou, it is worse than Qingzhou.

Cao Cao adopted a strategy of combining high military pressure with decentralization and winning over in Xuzhou, but now Cao Cao's military can no longer maintain the "high pressure" state, so the lid can no longer be closed, and it is inevitable that it will flutter out.

The external conditions were unfavorable and the internal situation was also not in order.

Although Cao Cao did integrate the team, standardize the thinking, and eliminate some unstable elements in the gang to a certain extent, the flaws in his battle record also make Cao Cao's current prestige far less than the original historical version. Although he still controls Yuzhou and the area around Yecheng in the southern part of Jizhou, it is obviously still full of crises.

Especially when Wei Yan suddenly attacked from Taihang Mountain, the damage to Jizhou was not the destruction of the city and the fortress, but the damage to the people's hearts. Especially during the spring plowing period, Wei Yan's harassment of Jizhou aggravated the destruction of the small peasant economy system that relied heavily on agricultural production. However, it was obvious that the gentry would not reduce the exploitation of ordinary people because of the war, so that the people of Jizhou lived in poverty and refugees were everywhere.

Faced with internal and external troubles, Cao Cao also felt that he was overwhelmed.

The most hateful thing is that the elite system of the Hussar Army actually grew stronger step by step during the war!
The war horses came from Longyou, the Western Regions, and the desert.

The Xiongnu, Qiang, Xianbei, Wuhuan, and other tribes that were originally unruly under the rule of the Eastern Han Dynasty gradually became horse breeders for the Hussars. Although the number of war horses provided by each tribe was not large, ranging from a dozen to several hundred, it is certain that it was the increase in the number of war horses that made the Hussars' tactics against Shandong more flexible and had some more room for casualties.

This was reflected in the Hussars' counterattack in the second half of last year.

Although Cao Cao also adopted a strategy of attrition as much as possible, and the Cavalry Army did control the pace of the war and did not blindly counterattack regardless of losses, it was obvious that these casualties of the Cavalry Army did not scare Guanzhong, but instead aroused a higher and stronger desire to fight.

Heluo's wasteland strategy obviously did not stop the cavalry army.

If the Hussars can gain a firm foothold in Heluo, they can use their cavalry advantage to invade Shandong. By then...

Therefore, Cao Cao had to defend Sishui Pass at all costs.

Cao Cao turned his gaze to Xun Yu beside him.

Although Xun Yu actually disobeyed Cao Cao's wishes many times and rejected Cao Cao's treatment of the Yingchuan gentry in Yuzhou, Xun Yu also supported Cao Cao as much as possible and served Cao Cao as the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty. Even now, when Cao's army is facing an extremely difficult situation, Xun Yu is still allocating supplies as much as possible.

"Wen Ruo..." Cao Cao asked softly, "There is a report that the cavalry has moved to Henei... What do you think?"

The big river is not as big as the big river.

Although this river gave birth to Chinese civilization, it was a rare large-scale water force during the feudal dynasty. All the big rivers have three gorges, but it is obvious that the three gorges of the big rivers are not as famous as the three gorges of the big rivers. It is not that the three gorges of the big rivers are inferior, but that not many people would choose to walk on the surface of the big rivers, so naturally not many people would praise or be surprised by the steepness of the three gorges of the big rivers.

Therefore, Cao Cao's strategy was to divert the disaster to the north.

Once the Hussar Army went north, it would be extremely difficult to move south on a large scale without enough ships.

Now, all the boats and ferries in the lower reaches of the river are under Cao Cao's control. With just a command, he can burn the boats and build bridges. Even if the cavalry have extraordinary abilities, they may not be able to build bridges, roads, and ships in a short period of time.

So the question now is whether the intelligence sent back from the front line, saying that the cavalry general Fei Qian appeared north of the river, is true or false...

Xun Yu has also been thinking about this issue.

Indeed, the strategy formulated by Cao Cao and Xun Yu was to try to guide Fei Qian into the "quagmire" of Jizhou and turn the Jizhou gentry into Fei Qian's stupid teammates.

Because Cao Cao and Xun Yu both knew that in a large-scale team battle like this, victory might not be determined by just one strong player in the team. More often than not, it also depended on whether there were any useless teammates in their team, and how powerful those teammates were.

During the cooperation with Jizhou, Cao Cao undoubtedly deeply felt the harm of stupid teammates, and thoroughly understood that the bottom line of stupid teammates is no bottom line, so once this stupid teammate mixed into Fei Qian's team, it would inevitably cause a lot of problems...

In order to make the General of Cavalry believe that Cao's army still attached great importance to Jizhou, Cao Cao even placed his own child Cao Pi in Yecheng.

However, after receiving the news that the General of Cavalry had crossed the river and appeared in Hanoi, Cao Cao did not feel excited or happy, but felt a little uneasy.

Was Fei Qian so easily tricked?

Xun Yu thought for a moment and then said, "My Lord, I think the cavalry's move is just a test."

"Hmm..." Cao Cao motioned for Xun Yu to continue.

Xun Yu said: "Under the Cavalry, there are many military commanders and extraordinary counselors... I heard that Pang Tong and Pang Shiyuan, who followed the army to the war, are very cunning. In the past, they had many plans to punish the gentry in Guanzhong..."

Cao Cao frowned and said, "Wen Ruo means... this Pang Shiyuan... has seen through our plan?"

Xun Yu said slowly: "Not necessarily. Perhaps he felt that the gentry in Guanzhong were like this, and the gentry in Jizhou were just like this."

"Ah? Haha, hahaha!" Cao Cao was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, "Guanzhong! Jizhou! Hahahaha!"

Xun Yu said: "I think that since the beginning of spring, many people in Jizhou have secretly sent letters to Youbei... So it is not surprising that the cavalry moved north. However, we must also be on guard against the cavalry secretly passing through Chencang."

Cao Cao's eyes fixed, "Wen Ruo said... Runan?"

Xun Yu nodded and said, "If Runan and Nanyang are not protected, we can advance to Yingchuan and cut off Jingxiang. Therefore, Runan and Nanyang must not be lost."

Cao Cao thought for a moment, "In this case, we can only abandon Jiangling..."

Xun Yu paused for a moment before slowly saying, "The land of Jingxiang looks fertile, but in reality it is empty. The cavalry is divided into several routes, which are real and fake. However, every advantage has its disadvantages. Now that we have crossed the Heluo River, the area is vast, with mountains and rivers blocking the way, and the river flowing up and down. If our army lures them in and fights with them... it is better to cut off one finger than to injure five fingers. The rest will have no way to respond and will surely disappear on their own."

Cao Cao nodded. What Xun Yu thought was not far from his plan. After all, Cao's army could no longer support a huge front line. They could only attack the enemy along one route by gathering and dispersing them. Even if there were losses in other areas, it would boost morale.

"So we should defeat the army of Runan first?" Cao Cao said.

Xun Yu nodded, "My lord is wise."

As they were talking, a soldier came to report—

Jiangling fell!

Xiangyang is in danger!
Cao Cao was stunned for a moment, then he sighed, "It is God's will!"

…………

Danjiangkou.

Cao Ren, Li Dian, Liao Hua and others fought repeatedly here and were defeated at one point. However, with the defeat of Cao's army in Jiangling and the defeat of Yu Jin's troops, the situation in the entire Jingxiang area changed drastically, forcing Cao Ren to abandon his plan to continue fighting in Danjiangkou and retreat back to Xiangyang and Fancheng.

Liao Hua and Li Dian, who successfully broke through Danjiangkou, stood in one place and watched the soldiers gathering from both land and water.

Li Dian couldn't help feeling a little excited as he watched the soldiers advancing slowly.

After several years, he returned to Shandong.

According to the plan, he and Liao Hua's troops will take a short rest here and then advance to the north of Jing. They will cooperate with the Sichuan Army to launch a siege of Xiangyang.

"My two generals! Envoy Pang from Wancheng is here!"

A guard came forward to report.

"Envoy Pang?" Li Dian laughed and went forward with Liao Hua, "I have heard of you for a long time!"

When Pang Shanmin saw Li Dian and Liao Hua coming, he hurried forward a few steps and bowed in greeting, without putting on airs because he was the prefect of Wancheng.

Li Dian and Liao Hua did not dare to accept Pang Shanmin's courtesy carelessly, and hurriedly bowed to return the greeting.

"I have long heard of your great name!" Li Dian said, "I am glad to see you today. You are indeed extraordinary!"

Liao Hua and Pang Shanmin were quite familiar with each other, so he did not say any polite words like Li Dian did. He just smiled and said, "Your Excellency, you have been tired all the way."

"General Li, you are too polite..." Pang Shanmin said with a smile, "We are very happy to hear that you have won a great victory. We have specially prepared beef and wine to entertain the troops!"

Li Dian thanked him repeatedly and said some more polite words, and the atmosphere gradually became harmonious.

Compliments are an indispensable lubricant.

After several rounds of tug-of-war, the relationship between the three of them became more enthusiastic and less unfamiliar.

Li Dian was originally worried that Pang Shanmin would come to snatch the peaches. After all, with Pang's status as a powerful figure, if Liao Hua was unwilling to fight with Li Dian, it was unknown who would take over the leadership of the soldiers. However, when he saw that Pang Shanmin had no intention of seizing power, he naturally felt more relieved and his words were more respectful.

Pang Shanmin entered Liao Hua and Li Dian's military camp, and after observing the situation along the way, he felt a little relieved.

After all, the cavalry went out to fight in Wuguan this time, and because Wancheng was closely watched by Han Hao, they could not move much, so they could not help Li Dian and Liao Hua. This time, on the one hand, Han Hao's troops suddenly withdrew and were no longer near Xinye, and on the other hand, they also wanted to see how Liao Hua and Li Dian's soldiers were doing.

Pang Shanmin was relieved when he saw that everything was in order in the military camp and there were sufficient swords, guns and other equipment.

The three of them chatted for a while and then began to discuss the current war situation.

Pang Shanmin said: "Generals, Han Yuansi, the garrison commander of Xinye, has been missing recently... Xinye is almost deserted, with only a few old and weak people left in the city... Do you know why?"

"Xinye is an empty city?" Liao Hua was stunned for a moment, then frowned and said, "Are they going back to defend Xiangyang?"

"If we defend Xiangyang, it's fine..." Li Dian said halfway, frowning slightly, "General Pang, how many troops does Han Yuansi have?"

Pang Shanmin said: "There should be 5,000 of them, half for the main troops and half for the auxiliary troops."

Liao Hua asked curiously, "Why are there so many soldiers?"

Five thousand is not a small amount.

If Han Hao had so many soldiers, why didn't he come to help Cao Ren before?

Do you think Cao Ren will be able to hold on, or do you think defending Wancheng is more important?

Pang Shanmin said, "It is said that they were drawn from the Jianghuai area... They were training troops in Xinye a few days ago..."

Liao Hua suddenly realized.

The Jianghuai and Yangzhou areas were also the territory of Cao's army.

Danyang soldiers were also famous in the Three Kingdoms...

Pang Shanmin added: "Some time ago, I heard that Chen from Xia Pi appointed himself as the governor... maybe it was related to Han Yuansi's excessive withdrawal of soldiers..."

"Chen family of Xia Pi?" Li Dian was stunned for a moment, "Is this... a rebellion against Cao?"

Pang Shanmin nodded, then shook his head and said, "It's a false accusation. If you say it was a rebellion, they did execute the former governor of Xiapi... If you say it was not a rebellion, they didn't say what would happen..."

In the Three Kingdoms, being a prefect was also a high-risk job. As for the officials below the prefect, such as the inspector, they were often tied up and whipped, and they had no place to cry.

So the matter of the Chen family in Xia Pi is both big and small.

However, it will be difficult for Cao’s army to continue drawing blood from Jianghuai.

"Then Han Yuansi went to suppress the rebellion... Well, no." Li Dian said halfway and then denied it, "The current Xia Pi is just a small matter... We should focus on Jingzhou now."

Pang Shanmin nodded.

"I just don't know whether it is outside or inside," Liao Hua added.

If Han Hao returned to Xiangyang, Jingzhou, then Li Dian and Liao Hua would just have to surround him. They only needed to guard one direction. More defenders would make it more difficult to attack. But if Han Hao was outside Xiangyang, then Li Dian and Liao Hua would have to be careful about the problem of Chrysanthemum, and they would have to defend themselves all the time!

"We need to investigate this further." Pang Shanmin said, and then pulled out a blueprint from his sleeve, "I came here today, in addition to visiting the two generals and rewarding the soldiers, I also have this map..."

Pang Shanmin unfolded the drawing, and it turned out to be the Xiangyang city defense map!

Li Dian's eyes suddenly lit up, and he stood up impatiently, took the drawing, and spread it out on the table.

"Xiangyang and Fancheng are connected by floating bridges and cables..." Pang Shanmin pointed at the symbols on the blueprint and explained slowly, "Fancheng is smaller, with two layers of city walls... and Xiangyang..."

Fancheng is not much different from most county towns in Shandong. It was originally a subsidiary city of Xiangyang. Its defensive facilities are not bad, but they cannot be said to be very special, especially when compared with Xiangyang. It is simply a dwarf compared to a giant.

After Liu Biao entered Jingzhou, Xiangyang City became the provincial capital of Jingzhou. During Liu Biao's reign, it was constantly repaired, added to, and expanded. It was transformed from a transportation county town in the north of Jingzhou into the powerful city it is today.

In history, Cao Ren relied on the city defense of Xiangyang to fight against Guan Yu, which also indirectly proves that the city defense of Xiangyang is indeed extraordinary.

Who made Liu Biao have to rely on Yuan Shu or Sun Jian at that time, both of whom were thinking about Liu Biao's chrysanthemum every day? Therefore, Liu Biao really invested a lot in the city defense system of Xiangyang.

"This... three-layer urn city..." Li Dian looked at the city defense diagram of Xiangyang and suddenly felt a headache.

This city defense map is certainly not a detailed map that shows which soldiers and military academies are stationed at each point, but it is also a summary of the intelligence collected by Pang Shanmin over the years. At least in terms of the structure of the physical facilities of the city defense, it is very detailed.

So Li Dian saw the structure of Xiangyang's city wall at first sight...

"This is indeed..." Liao Hua couldn't help but sigh after seeing it, "It is indeed extraordinary..."