Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 121 Xu Du Shakes
After parting with Zhang Xiu, Shen Chen immediately rushed to Biyang.

Gan Ning stationed troops here.

He now has nearly 7000 troops under his command.

If it weren't for the fear of being suspected by Liu Biao, this troop strength could even break through to [-] to [-].

How many soldiers and horses you can afford depends on how much arable land and population you have in your territory.

During the Qin and Han Dynasties, it often took [-] to [-] farmers to support one soldier.

Now Shen Chen actually controls two counties, one is Xinye and the other is Biyang.

On the eve of the Battle of Guandu, when Liu Bei went south, more than [-] people in Xinye voluntarily followed, which shows that the actual number of people in Xinye was much higher than [-].

Including Biyang, and the Yellow Turban households assigned to Xinye and Biyang when the Yellow Turban population of Runan and Nanyang were captured, the combined population of the two counties has already exceeded 30.

More importantly, Guanghuangmenting has cultivated 3 mu of land with a population of 20, and the output has greatly increased through retting technology.

Based on the alternate planting of millet and wheat at that time, the average annual yield of six or seven shi per mu was calculated, an increase of 20-30%, and the needs of the people were excluded. The annual output of 3 people in Huangmenting could reach 80 million shi, which is not as large as Cao Cao’s. There are few yellow scarves in Wanrunan.

So at present, both Gan Ning and Shen Chen have ample food reserves. If a large number of soldiers are recruited, the existing food reserves of about 600 million shi are enough to recruit [-] troops for three and a half years.

It's just that Shen Chen knew that although Liu Biao seemed to be kind-hearted, he was actually extremely suspicious.

The reason for not being jealous of Shen Chen is that he was tied up with Deng Hong. Deng Hong married the Cai family, and he regarded him as his own, so he let Shen Chen torment.

Replaced by Liu Bei in history, after arriving in Xinye, a large number of heroes came to rely on him, which aroused Liu Biao's suspicion.Later, Cai Mao Kuaiyue conspired to assassinate Liu Bei at the banquet, and it could not be ruled out that Liu Biao was behind his back.

Therefore, it is impossible for Shen Chen to expand his troops in large quantities. Moreover, expanding his troops is not just as simple as food and grass. Weapons and equipment, tent supplies, soldier training, and discipline are all problems.

So now Shen Chen mainly focuses on a small number of elites, and Huangmenting's soldiers are trained in the direction of the most elite special forces.

After arriving in Biyang, the two joined forces and headed northward.

In the fifth year of Jian'an, that is, in the spring of the first month of 200 A.D., the troops of Shen Chen and Gan Ning had already reached Duyang, and their troops were pointing directly at the hinterland of Yingchuan, such as Ye County and Kunyang.

At this time, Cao Cao was not actually in Guandu. On the eve of the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao had too many things to deal with.

The first is the Yidai Zhao incident that broke out at the end of last year. Although it has subsided, it caused a lot of political fallout for him. Kong Rong and a large number of royalists realized Cao Cao's true colors and began to hold him back.

Next, Liu Bei attacked and killed Chezhou under the command of his clothes and belts, stationed troops in Xiaopei, and a large number of heroes came to join him.Cao Cao had no choice but to march eastward himself, defeating Liu Bei, forcing him to flee to the north and join Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao didn't know the news of Yi Dai Zhao at this time, but he was ready to go to war and sent the vanguard Yan Liangwen Chou to attack Baima and Yanjin respectively.

After Cao Cao defeated Liu Bei, he went north to rescue without stopping. At present, he is still along the Yellow River, confronting Yan Liangwen Chou at the Yellow River ferry.

That is to say, Shen Chen set off from the end of the fourth year of Jian'an, and when the soldiers entered Nanyang in the first month, Cao Cao was still dealing with Liu Bei who had just escaped because of the clothes and belts. Yan Liang and Wen Chou were not dead yet, and were attacking Baima and Yanjin.

But at this time, Shen Chen couldn't do anything else, because he was stuck in Duyang and couldn't get through.

Cao Hong occupied Ye County and guarded the city. It is impossible for him to pass through the Nanyang Basin to Yuzhou, so the two sides are currently in a confrontation.

It went on like this for over a month.

By February, Cao Cao had defeated Liu Bei and rushed to the Yellow River for the Battle of the White Horse.

It was probably in March and April that Guan Yu was used to kill Yan Liang to break the siege of the white horse, and Xun You's plan was used to punish Wen Chou, and began to retreat to Guandu.

And Shen Chen was still unable to move forward in Duyang.

At this time in history, Zhang Xiu surrendered, and Cao Cao sent Cao Hong to garrison Wancheng to guard against Liu Biao.

But now Zhang Xiu has not surrendered, so Cao Hong has been stationed in Ye County, and behind him are Man Chong and Li Tong stationed in Yuzhou.

Duyang in the Han Dynasty was the Fangcheng County of Nanyang in later generations. You can tell from the terrain. There is a huge canyon between Fangcheng and Ye County. Both sides of the canyon belong to the Funiu Mountains.

However, the geographical location of Ye County in later generations is different from that of Ye County in Han Dynasty. Ye County in Han Dynasty happened to be stuck in the middle of this canyon, and it was probably located in the Dushu Town of Fangcheng in later generations. Twenty kilometers, Keye County is a hurdle that must be overcome.

If you bypass Ye County and go straight to Yuzhou, Cao Hong will attack from the back, Li Tong and Man Chong will defend from the front, and with the reinforcements of Li Dian, Xia Houyuan, and Xun Yu who are guarding Xudu, it is very likely that this army will be buried directly in Yuzhou. South or Yingchuan.

So from a strategic point of view, Shen Chen must pull out Ye County, the nail embedded in the Nanyang portal!

It’s just that there were no hot weapons in the era of cold weapons, and it was extremely difficult to siege cities. For example, Lu Bu besieged Liu Bei’s Xiaopei for more than half a year, Yuan Shao besieged Zang Hong for a year, and Cao Cao attacked Xiapi for three or four months. If Lu Bu’s generals had not rebelled , It is possible to fight for another half a year.

Therefore, from a certain point of view, with Shen Chen's current strength, it is not easy to break through the Ye County guarded by the famous general Cao Hong. Unless they rebel internally, the storm may really last for a long time.

From the first month to now, Ye County has been surrounded, but the grain and grass from the north cannot be brought in, and Shen Chen doesn't know how much grain there is in the city.

At present, he can only prepare for a protracted war.

In the middle of March, it was the season of Mengchun, and it was about to enter summer, and the weather was getting hotter and hotter. Outside the county seat of Ye County, where Shen Chenjun was stationed, he was looking at the map and thinking in the camp at this time.

In the past two months, he organized several attacks on Ye County, but Cao Hong repelled them all.

According to a large number of military books and cases I read before, Shen Chen used tactics including digging tunnels, attacking east and west, encircling three and missing one, and so on, all of which were seen through by Cao Hong.

This made Shen Chen very emotional. Mencius was right, "It is better to have no books than to believe in books."

Except for the legendary experience of the great man who used more than 100 students and [-] guns to force down [-] warlord troops when he came out of the mountain, no one is born to fight, including Cao Cao who accumulated countless defeats in the early days.

Although the knowledge in books is definitely correct, it must be based on the actual situation.

For example, when you attack east and west, you feign an attack from the front, but actually attack from the side. Some vulgar generals did not expect it, so they were defeated by you. This has become a positive case.

But the problem is that Cao Hong has followed Cao Cao for many years, and he is also a seasoned veteran. Such low-level mistakes will definitely not be made.

You can't use some superficial methods to deal with him.

Just like Lian Po, it is worthwhile to confront the Qin army head-on, the only problem is food and grass.

Therefore, fighting in real life does not mean that you can just study a few military books, and you have to treat it differently according to different situations.

For example, Yuan Shao's fight against Zang Hong was purely based on consumption, and Cao Cao's fight against Lu Bu was a tactic of flooding his heart with water. In addition to Lu Bu's own internal problems, Shen Chen also had to come up with countermeasures.

"During this time, we have been collecting information. We know that Cao Hong currently has [-] soldiers and horses. Last year, Yuzhou shipped a large amount of grain. There may be thousands of vehicles, which can last for a year."

"According to the current situation, it is definitely not enough to encircle the spot for aid and waste time. Cao Hong has enough food and grass, and Man Chong and Li Tong are not fools. It is impossible to come to the rescue when Cao Hong has enough food and grass. They will definitely arrange people to pay close attention. "

"But the battle at Guandu is coming to an end this year. Before Cao Hong is defeated on my side, it will be over at Guandu. It would be bad if Cao Cao came to rescue him himself."

"Then what method should I use to break the city?"

Shen Chen thought silently in his heart.

It wasn't that troublesome when beating Cao Ren and Le Jin. They sent them to the door by themselves. Now it's really not easy to beat Cao Hong who is firmly guarding the city.

That is to say, excluding the two battles of Cao Ren and Le Jin, this battle will be his first direct command, and it will be a siege battle. If he wants to win his first victory, he must take all aspects into consideration. .

"Achen."

At this time, Gan Ning got into the tent shirtless, grabbed the water bottle on the table, drank a couple of gulps, and said, "Then Cao Hong is determined to die in the city, no matter how much he screams, he won't come out." ,what should we do?"

Can't come out no matter how much you shout?

Shen Chen suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, "Uncle Xingba, if you were Cao Hong, what would happen when you were in the city to go out to fight?"

Gan Ning said without any hesitation: "That's no use thinking about it. If our army is defeated, he will chase it out."

"do you have anything else?"

Shen Chen asked.

"Other?"

Gan Ning scratched his head, "Either Xu Du was attacked."

Shen Chen's eyes lit up, and he said, "If I pretend to be the main force as a partial teacher, and go north to surprise Xudu, do you think Cao Hong will come out?"

Gan Ning thought for a while and said, "Unless he thinks we are really going north."

Shen Chen pondered: "It's not impossible."

"any solution?"

"March at night and camp during the day."

"What kind of solution is this?"

"Uncle Xingba, think about it. When we march at night, we ask the soldiers to hold more torches. The opponent's scouts can't see the exact number of people, so they must use the number of torches to count. When camping during the day, the enemy troops dare not approach to count the troops. At most We will judge by looking at the stove fire, we just need to build more stove fires.”

"The problem is that the troops of the partial division are insufficient. I heard that Cao Cao still has a large number of troops in the hinterland of Yingchuan, Runan. The partial division is in danger alone. Isn't it a dead end?"

Gan Ning asked the most fatal question.

This strategy is a desperate one. Pianshi enters the hinterland of Runan alone, and there are Cao troops everywhere. Once they fight head-on, it will not only easily reveal their true strength, but also be very dangerous.

For example, during the Long March of our army, many partial divisions who pretended to be the main force and shared the pressure for the main force faced the encirclement and suppression of the enemy's large forces, and finally fell on the road of the Long March.

So this plan may be very effective, but it is also very dangerous, and it depends on the command ability of the leader of the partial division.

But Shen Chen said: "Wars are actually about psychology. I have to guess Cao Hong's psychology. He definitely wants to defend Ye County. If I want to defeat him, I must mobilize him. There is no way."

"Then who will lead this partial division?"

Gan Ning asked again.

Shen Chen said without hesitation: "We will start packing up the camp today, and at night all the troops will bypass Ye County and head north. Uncle Xingba, you lead the army into Lushan, and I will lead 3000 people from Huangmenting to attack Xudu."

Gan Ning said in surprise: "Ah Chen, think it over, this plan is too dangerous, I still don't recommend you to do it."

"Actually, it's not that dangerous. I really won't attack Xu Du."

Shen Chen pointed to the map and said: "Look, Uncle Xingba, the Cao army we have found out is in Ye County, Kunyang, Wuyang and other places, and the rest of the Cao army, I guess they are in Sili, Xudu, Ru South, Shandong."

"Why is this?"

Gan Ning asked.

"Cao Cao is surrounded by enemies. Sun Ce defeated Huang Zu at the end of last year. It is very likely that he will reorganize his troops and attack Xudu."

Shen Chen said: "Yuan Shao occupied Hebei and attacked Cao Cao with three armies from Sili, Yanzhou, and Shandong. It is impossible for Cao Cao to defend without dividing troops. Although there is Liu Shijun in the south, Liu Shijun is restrained by Zhang Xian. It is possible to attack him. We and Zhang Xiu are the only ones who pose a threat, so it is impossible for him to send too many troops in Nanyang."

This analysis is correct, Cao Cao's current real enemy is Yuan Shao, and now Yuan Shao's main force has begun to cross the river and is about to march to Guandu.Then Cao Cao must place the center of gravity of his troops on Yuan Shao.

In history, Cao Cao only brought 4 to [-] people to fight in Guandu and Yuan Shao.

But that doesn't mean he's the only one.

Cao Hong was placed in Wancheng, with a small force, about 5000, just to guard against Liu Biao.

Li Tong and Man Chong were not in Runan to guard against Liu Biao, but to guard against Sun Ce.

Zang Ba was in Qingzhou, and Yu Jin and Le Jin led 5000 cavalry in Sili.

There are also some guarding (guarding) Liu Xie in Xudu.

So it seems that Cao Cao has allocated a large number of troops to guard against Sun Ce and Liu Biao, but in fact the other two routes are also guarding against Yuan Shao, in Qingzhou, Xuzhou and Sili.

The same is true now.

At present, the distribution of Cao Cao's troops has been regarded as an additional part for Nanyang, and Cao Hong's 5000 troops are in Ye County.

Behind him, Kunyang, Wuyang and other places add up to 4000 people.

Then Man Chong and Li Tong, who were guarding against Sun Ce in Runan, also looked like seven to eight thousand people.

Xudu has close to ten thousand people.

Most of the remaining forces are in the north.

If the troops in Sili and Shandong are counted, Cao Cao's troops defending Yuan Shao are actually more than [-].

Shen Chen pointed to the map and continued: "Kunyang and Wuyang's troops are not many. If I lead a partial division to go north, then I will probably face Xudu's soldiers and Runan's reinforcements. As long as we can avoid fighting them head-on, we will You can come back anytime."

Ye County is in the middle of the canyon, and Kunyang and Wuyang are on the left and right sides of the canyon exit. The north and south sides of Ye County in later generations form a corner. Wuyang interspersed in the middle, then behind it was the entire hinterland of Yingchuan, and the only defender of Cao Jun was Xudu.

In other words, if Kunyang and Wuyang are compared to a mouth, after passing through these two counties, it is like a monkey grandson getting into the stomach of his sister-in-law, which can turn Cao Cao's hinterland upside down. If you don't go out of the city, you can only go out of the city.

"Well"

Gan Ning pondered for a long time, then asked, "Ah Chen, are you sure?"

Shen Chen nodded: "We must try."

"it is good."

Gan Ning said, "Then listen to you."

The two of them didn't hesitate at the moment, Shen Chen immediately ordered the whole army to pack up and salute, and at the same time make a large number of three-pronged torches.

The three-pronged torches are gathered about one meter in front and back. When marching, there is an average of three meters for one soldier. There are three torches within these three meters. When you look at it at night, it looks like there are three soldiers.

In this way, the 3000 people in Huangmenting can be disguised as 9000 people, and the scouts will naturally be confused when counting, which greatly increases the number of soldiers.

However, these torches were not used when bypassing Ye County. Tens of thousands of people marched at the same time in the middle of the night, heading north in a mighty way.

Soon, they traveled dozens of miles overnight, passed through Wuyang and Kunyang, and approached Xiangcheng.

For a moment, everyone was shocked!
(End of this chapter)