Three Kingdoms: I help Liu Bei grow thousands of miles

Chapter 507

Cao Cao was suspicious after receiving Cao Xiu's battle report. After entering the city, he had verified the total strength of Zhang Fei. He had less than 1 mixed Hu and Han soldiers, of which only 5000 were left from the elite Han soldiers brought from Yizhou.

Cao Xiu and Xu Chu brought the elite of the Central Plains, but they still sent the champion general Yang Qiu with [-] troops to support them.

Not long after general Yang Qiu led his troops out of the city, the scouts found Ma Chao with two hundred cavalry wandering wantonly in the northern area of ​​Xiabian, as if mocking Cao Jun's incompetence.

Cao Cao sensed a hint of conspiracy, so he first sent people to spy on him, but he didn't rush to send troops to conquer, because there were only [-] tiger and leopard cavalry left in the city, and it was impossible for this army to be handed over to outsiders, and Xiabian City also needed army guards.

At present, only Lu Zhao and Cheng Yin, the surrendered general from Xiliang, remained in Xiabian. Cao Cao didn't know the real strength of Ma Chao, let alone who he and Zhang Fei were feinting and who was the main attacker. All [-] soldiers were dispatched.

Cao Cao left Zhang Ji to defend himself, and personally led [-] soldiers to conquer Ma Chao, who was "reckless".

Facing the former defeated general, Cao Cao didn't feel much pressure at all, but after real contact, he found that Ma Chao had also improved.

Ma Chao and Zhang Fei also hid in the mountains, and their whereabouts were always within the 'monitoring' range of Cao Jun's scouts.After Cao Jun entered the mountain, he could not see but could not touch, and felt the tension between lovers.

There were very few soldiers who followed Ma Chao and Zhang Fei into the mountain, each of them brought only a few hundred mountain elites, and the main force followed Lei Ding and others into Shenlang Qiang to hide.

Because there are few people to hide and the boat is small to turn around, Cao Jun from the north and the south were lured to detour in the mountains.

Cao Cao found something wrong after walking around the mountain for a few days, but he refused to admit that he was played by the reckless man Ma Chao, so he had no choice but to chase after him.

More than ten days later, Shi Liu Ye, the commander of the march, said, "King Wei, it is difficult to transport food, grass and supplies for marching in the mountains. Ma Chao seems to have no intention of fighting with us. Why continue this cat-and-mouse game with him?"

"Zi Yang's words are justified. Now that Ma'er has become a mountain mouse, Gu has no intention of playing with him. He withdraws his troops and goes back to argue. I don't know what happened to Wen Lie and Zhongkang."

Cao Cao ordered the rear team to change to the front team on the donkey down the slope, and then led the army to slowly retreat to the north valley.

The soldiers returned to Xiabian, but Cao Xiu and Xu Chu did not return, so Cao Cao hurriedly sent scouts to look for them.

As a result, the situation in the south was similar to that in the north. Zhang Fei had more tricks than Ma Chao. He often used himself as a bait to lure Xu Chu to chase him, and occasionally drove wild beasts to attack Cao Jun, making Cao Xiu's pursuit very uncomfortable.

Cao Jun in the south also withdrew to Xiabian. During the 20-day pursuit, there were basically no casualties in the two southern routes.

Cao Cao sat in the prefect's mansion with a pale face, and all the civil and military men in the hall were drinking their own wine. At this time, everyone no longer laughed at Cao Hong, Cao Xiu, and Cao Zhen.

It's not that they are incompetent, but that the other party is a rogue.

"It's a pity that Jia Wenhe is not here. He should have a way to deal with Zhang Fei and Ma Chao." Cao Cao couldn't help sighing as he watched the other ministers remain silent.

Liu Ye blushed, he was also the main counselor of Cao Ying, and he couldn't solve the master's problems, so what is the meaning of existence?He went out of the squad and said: "Zhang Fei and Ma Chao have few troops, so they dare not fight us head-on. It will be disadvantageous for the army to follow them and seek battle."

"Can Ziyang help me?" Cao Cao was full of expectations.

Liu Ye bowed and replied: "My lord, why don't you stay in Wudu and leave an army behind, or take the main force to Yangping Pass to fight Liu Bei. After Liu Bei is defeated, it will not be too late to return to the division to conquer them."

Cao Cao looked dignified and did not speak. Liu Ye's suggestion had already been drafted in his heart, but he was rejected by himself in the end, because none of the generals in the army could challenge the leader.

"Although Zi Yang's words are good, who can stay here?"

Cao Cao didn't think of a good solution, so he had to put forward Liu Ye's plan to test who the generals in the palace would accept. When everyone was looking at each other, Zhang Ji, the governor of Yongzhou, got up and walked to his seat.

"The king of Wei, Zhang Fei, and Ma Chao deliberately harassed them, but they did not fight because they relied on the mountainous areas. They obtained food and supplies from the Qiang and Di tribes, and they plundered the cities of Wudu. Although they rounded up the cunning tigers It’s not easy, but there are still ways to make it incapable of hurting people.”

Cao Cao crossed his legs and sat back with his bent body. Zhang Ji's analysis seemed to have something to say.

"De Jong seems to have a way to catch a tiger? Tell me quickly to solve my doubts."

Zhang Ji bowed and bowed again, saying: "Zhang Fei and Ma Chao are like bandits at this time. They survive by looting houses and fighting to support them. If the king of Wei is willing to fortify the walls and clear the fields in Wudu, how will they survive if they have no place to plunder? "

"De Jong's meaning."

Liu Ye hesitated to speak, fortifying the wall and clearing the country is a bad move that hurts both sides. He didn't know if Cao Cao would adopt it.

"There are more than 20 households in Wudu, and there are more than [-] people who are not registered. Why doesn't the king of Wei move all his people to Tianshui, Jingzhao and other places? It can just make up for the population that Sanfu moved out over the years." Zhang both explained.

As soon as Liu Ye heard it, he thought it was a good guy. It turned out that Zhang wanted to move the people of Wudu to Yongliang to make up for the lack of population in the Jingzhao area due to the war. Thousands of people, it is a pity that Xia Houyuan kept the people here.

Seeing that Cao Cao was moved, Liu Ye hastily advised him, "Does De Jong know how much corvee will be required for the migration of such a large population? Maybe Yongliang and Liangzhou don't have the strength to support them?"

One hundred thousand teachers, one of the third.

At this time, there were more than 30 people in Wudu. Cao Cao had more than [-] soldiers in Wudu and Yangping Pass, and more than [-] people in logistics. He needed to recruit nearly a million people to serve in corvee. Yongliang can't recruit so many civilians now. .

"The king of Wei sits in the northern Kyushu. Even if Yongliang does not have this strength, there are still millions of people in the Central Plains available. This may be the most stable way at present." Zhang Ji's eyes were firm.

"There have been many rebellions in the country over the past few years, and Hou Yin of Wancheng turned against him by levying corvée. If he is not careful, it may cause shocks in the world. The King of Wei must think twice." Liu Ye continued to advise.

When Cao Cao heard that both sides made sense, he frowned and didn't know how to make up his mind.

Zhang Ji shook his head and smiled wryly: "The so-called military speed is precious, as long as Liu Bei in Hanzhong can be defeated as soon as possible, the short-term corvee may not be able to shake the country's foundation, but the army has been consumed by Zhang Fei for a long time in Wudu.

"What De Jong said is true. If you continue to waste your time here, you will fall into the trap of that black guy. You have decided to move out immediately." Cao Cao finally decided on a plan.

From Wudu to Tianshui, you need to take Qishan Road, and to Jingzhao, you need to take Chencang Road in the east. Because the road is narrow and difficult to walk, the time span of migration will be very long, so soldiers and horses need to be escorted, otherwise Zhang Fei and Ma Chao will definitely come look for a job.

Cao Cao left Cao Xiu [-] soldiers to cooperate with Yongzhou Zhang to relocate the people, and he led the main force to Yangping to find Liu Bei for a decisive battle.

(End of this chapter)