Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 196 Battle of Kuang City (3)

As night fell, Cao Jun's tens of thousands of horses gradually retreated into the camp.

The camp had indeed become very crowded, but the left camp was flooded, and the right camp became the main direction of the enemy's attack, so they had to concentrate their troops to the right camp.

At this time, in Cao Jun's main camp, Xia Houdun, Guo Jia, Dong Zhao, Mao Jie and others discussed whether to raid Yuan Ying's camp tonight.

"Yuan Jun came to attack, temporarily set up camp, there must not be many defensive facilities, maybe we can attack by surprise."

Guo Jia came up with this wonderful idea.

Xiahoudun started to hesitate at this moment, and said, "Before Sikong left, he warned us not to let us go out. What if we are ambushed by Yuan Jun?"

Guo Jia explained: "The war is changing, the situation and the situation of the battle are also changing. Blindly defending is not a good thing. It will only make us continue to be attacked. Sometimes launching one or two attacks is more important than defense. useful."

"Ah."

Dong Zhao also nodded slightly and said, "It is indeed a way to use offense as defense. If Yuan Jun has formed a stronghold, it may be difficult to attack, but now they are just preparing to attack on a large scale, and their foothold is not stable. You can try."

Xiahou Dun thought for a while and said, "Then I will lead the army myself?"

"No."

Mao Jie stopped and said: "Sikong is not here, how can the general be the commander of an army lightly? Let Zhang Liao lead the army to attack Yuanying, and Cao Chun lead the tiger and leopard cavalry to support him."

After the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao began to build his own elite cavalry.

Based on the group of elite cavalry that had raided Wuchao back then, and Zhong Yao's help in transporting a group of war horses back from Guanzhong, he formed a cavalry of about 5000 men.

At present, 1000 people in this army followed Cao Cao to Luoyang, and the remaining 4000 people were led by Cao Chun.

Hearing the advice of several counselors, Xiahou Dun followed suit and said, "That's all right, I'll let Zhang Liao and Cao Chun go."

"Maybe we can still rob the grain road?"

Dong Zhao also made a suggestion: "Yuan Jun moved the camp to a few miles away from our camp, and their grain road will definitely be stretched. If they rob grain, it may have an effect."

Guo Jia shook his head and said: "It's hard to say, Yuan Jun has more troops than us, after Guandu last time, Yuan Shao was more cautious about grain and grass, Sikong wanted to rob grain several times, but he resolved it, I'm afraid it will not be that easy. "

Dong Zhao said: "They stationed troops in Wating before, and the white horse is a short distance away from Wating. It is easy to transport food and grass. But now that they have migrated such a long distance, will it be too long to transport to the front line?"

From last year to this year, Yuan Shao's attacks were repeatedly repelled by Cao Cao. Both sides wanted to arrange around the food road and peripheral scouts, and wanted to occupy the initiative in the war.

But Yuan Jun suffered a small loss, so he retreated to Wating, Yan County, and Wei Township, more than 30 miles away, and the grain and grass were also placed in Baima.

The distance from Baima to Wating is very short, and it must not be easy to rob food.

Now that they have reached Kuang City and stretched the front line, Cao Jun may have an opportunity to take advantage of it.

Mao Jie said: "Even if we want to rob food, it can't be today. Yuan Jun has just arrived, and the supplies must be abundant, and the food and grass will not be delivered in a short time."

"That's true."

Dong Zhao thought for a while and said nothing more.

"Report!"

Just then, a soldier came to report.

"Come in."

Xiahou Dun called out.

The soldier entered the tent, knelt down on one knee and said, "General, the water in Zuoying has started to drop, and now the ground has been exposed."

"No, they are definitely going to attack Zuoying!"

Xiahou Dun jumped up at that time, and said in a deep voice with a very solemn face: "Once the left battalion is broken, they can double-team from two routes at the same time, and our army will be in danger."

Cao Jun's camp spread out along the line, mainly the left camp, the middle camp, and the right camp, and the rest also had rear camps, but they were all behind these three camps.

Especially now that the Zuoying was submerged, Cao Jun's rear food road was basically pulled from Pingqiu County to the front-line Zhongying and Youying, and then transported to the Zuoying through the internal network connecting the large camps.

This also means that camps that stretch for several kilometers are connected like a beehive.

Once Yuan Jun penetrates the left camp, they can launch an internal attack on the middle and right camps from Cao Jun's left wing, which is a great threat to Cao Jun.

"Do not care"

Guo Jia pondered for a moment, shook his head with a wry smile, and said, "The Zuoying only needs to send a large number of sentries and scouts to investigate. I don't think they will take the Zuoying as the focus of their attack."

Xiahou Dun was puzzled and said, "Why?"

Guo Jia said: "The Zuoying camp has been submerged for a month, and the ground has long been soft. It is difficult for people and horses to walk among them. I am afraid that this is just a cover for Yuan Shao, and he may send a small group of people to attack the Zuoying camp. The main direction of attack is the central camp. and Youying."

"But with the left battalion's defense force so scarce, even if they only send 2 to [-] people to attack, it's hard to defend against it."

Mao Jie was a little worried and said: "Once Zuoying makes mistakes, we will be in prison."

"Well"

Mao Jie's worry made Guo Jia also fall into deep thought.

In fact, this is still a contest between the counselors of the two sides, as well as a psychological game.

Guo Jia believes that Yuan Jun may still focus on the right battalion, so he still focuses on defending the right battalion.

But if Jushou Tian Feng and the others guessed Guo Jia's psychology right, they did the opposite and attacked Zuoying at night, they would be very passive.

Even if the land is difficult to move, it doesn't need too many people, ten to twenty thousand is enough.

Ju Shou once said that Yuan Jun's personal quality is not as good as Cao Jun's, so [-] to [-] should belong to the balance of power.

But the problem is that this balance of power depends on who directs it.

It is also an army of [-], and there is a huge difference between Han Xinlai's command and Liu Banglai's command.

Although Cao Cao is definitely not comparable to Han Xin, the soldier fairy, Yuan Shao can't compare with Liu Bang, so the gap between them is the same.

Cao Cao personally commanded before, and Yuan Shao personally commanded the battle. The gap between [-] and [-] soldiers can be shortened through excellent tactics and superb personal qualities of soldiers.

But now that Cao Cao is away, he has lost his backbone, and the Zuo Battalion has been submerged again. Cao's army's morale and morale have also been damaged, and their combat effectiveness will decline severely.

At this time, the huge difference in the number of people between the two sides is reflected.

After all, they have [-] more troops than you.

Therefore, in this case, once a tactical loophole appears, it is fatal.

But Cao Cao took Xun You away.

The counselors in Cao Ying cooperated closely with each other and cooperated very well.

Among them, Guo Jia is in charge of the enemy's psychology, Xun You and Cheng Yu are in charge of tactics, and Xun Yu, Dong Zhao and Mao Jie are in charge of strategic planning.

Everyone connects and communicates with each other, and can eventually help Cao Cao find the perfect solution.

Now Cheng Yu is not here, nor is Xun You.

Apart from being able to analyze the enemy's psychology, Guo Jia couldn't come up with a better countermeasure.

Even though he later proposed the tactic of surprise attacking Liaodong, in addition to accurately grasping Liu Biao's psychology that time, the actual so-called tactic of "soldiers are expensive and fast" almost didn't kill Cao Cao.

Dong Zhao and Mao Jie's strategic planning is no less than that of Xun Yu, but what is needed right now is not a strategic planning, but a practical tactical plan.

So the three of them were in a bit of a dilemma.

In the end, Xiahou Dun said: "Then send another 3000 people to the left camp. Now the left camp is completely muddy. Even if the enemy attacks aggressively, they may not be able to break through immediately."

The three looked at each other, then nodded and said, "This is the safest way."

At that moment, Xiahou Dun dispatched troops and generals, and sent 3000 people to Zuoying. Before that, Zuoying had also left 5000 troops, so there were still 8000 people left.Although there are still many empty camps, it is enough to just hold the outer camps.

In addition, he issued an order to Zhang Liao and Cao Chun, ordering them to gather troops and horses, to launch a tentative night attack when Yuan Jun's foothold was not stable, and to withdraw immediately if they failed.

After Zhang Liao and Cao Chun received the order, they immediately took action.Thousands of men and horses were assembled, ready to attack the camp at night.

However, what Xiahoudun and the others didn't know was that at this moment in Yuan Ying, Yuan Shao's coach's camp, accompanied by a few coughs, various orders were also being issued.

Now Yuan Shao spends most of his time recuperating. Even when the general meeting is held, he immediately dismisses the meeting after giving orders to the battalion generals. At other times, he only discusses matters with Jushou Tianfeng Guotu and others in private.

Ever since Guo Tu lost power, Yuan Shao has been following the advice of Ju Shou and Tian Feng. It has been more than half a year since he confronted Cao Jun last year, and he has been fully prepared.

Therefore, when the plan is discussed and perfected, an order will be issued directly for the soldiers to do it.Now the various ministries quickly received the order, and the generals withdrew from the camp like a tide.

Tian Feng walked to the back, he was very old, in his sixties, his legs and feet were not very good, his hair and beard were gray, and he was on crutches. Go back to your camp to rest.

"Yuan Hao."

Yuan Shao was wearing a black silk robe, sitting cross-legged on a blanket, covering his mouth and coughing, when he raised his head, his face was already very pale, with almost no blood.

Hearing his call, Tian Feng also coughed twice, turned around tremblingly, cupped his hands and said: "Ming Gong."

"Yuan Hao, please sit down and chat with me."

"only."

Tian Feng sat on the side seat.

Yuan Shao sighed and said: "I used to be reckless and refused to use my life. I blame Yuan Hao. Yuan Hao can ignore the past and is still willing to serve me. I feel deeply guilty."

Tian Feng smiled wryly and shook his head: "Since serving Duke Ming, he should be loyal and righteous. This is the duty of an old man."

"Ugh"

Yuan Shaochang sighed, shook his head and said: "This is the last chance to defeat Cao Cao. I know that my destiny is coming, but I must not let it fall. However, my body is getting worse day by day, and I feel that there is no time. Many, I feel uneasy."

Tian Feng comforted him and said: "Duke Ming, please cheer up, but a minor ailment is not a serious problem. As long as Cao Cao can be wiped out, Duke Ming's heart disease will improve, and his body will naturally heal."

"I hope so."

Yuan Shao nodded noncommittally, and then said: "I want to make Xiansi my heir, what do you think?"

"As it should be."

Tian Feng said hastily: "Since ancient times, there have been many heirs and the elders. No matter how bad it is, you should establish a wise man. The son Tan Ben is the eldest son, and he is more wise and wise. He has the style of a wise man. How can he be a young man instead of a virtuous man?"

"Ah."

Yuan Shao said: "I have already written the will, and I will hand it over to Yuan Hao. If anything happens to me, Xiansi will be entrusted to Gong Yu and Yuan Hao."

As he spoke, he took out a bamboo slip.

In history, he had actually handed over the position to Yuan Tan, and he also left a will to make Yuan Tan his heir.

It was later that Shenpei and Fengji changed the will in private, which made Yuan Shang succeed to the throne.

Otherwise, it took Cao Cao 202 years to pacify Jizhou from 207 AD to 5 AD. If there was no conflict between the two Yuans, this time would have to be extended by at least 3 to 5 years.

Tian Feng stepped forward to take the imperial edict, put it in his arms, cupped his hands and said: "Respectfully abide by the official order!"

"Well, you go to rest."

Yuan Shao waved his hands, his eyes were already very tired, and after closing them, he leaned lightly on the wooden floor, as if he had exhausted all his strength.

Tian Feng walked out of the camp slowly, looked left and right at the guards at Yuan Shao's gate, and left on his own.

After a while, Yuan Jun seemed to become lively all of a sudden.

A large number of soldiers and horses started to go out from each battalion. Just like Cao Jun wanted to attack at night, Yuan Jun also wanted to attack at night tonight.

Soldiers and horses came and went, and countless torches lit up the entire night sky.

It was summer, the night sky was as blue as washing, and the bright moonlight shone on the earth, illuminating the land with a radius of several kilometers.

In fact, Cao Jun wanted to attack at night, but he just wanted to harass the tired enemy. Xia Houdun also asked Zhang Liao and Cao Chun to try it, and if it failed, they would withdraw immediately, as long as they harassed Yuan Jun so that they could not take a good rest.

After all, a night like this itself is not suitable for night raids.

And Yuan Jun did not attack at night, but chose to raid Cao Ying in a fair manner. They brought a lot of carriages with hay, firewood and grease.

Tian Feng's strategy itself was to launch a surprise attack to create chaos while Cao Jun's right battalion was crowded with a large number of soldiers and horses.

So they hardly concealed it, just wanted to see if they could start the fire and make Cao Jun nervous.

As a result, under such circumstances, the soldiers and horses attacking each other unexpectedly met halfway.

There were no torches on either side.

But the moonlight was so bright that we could see each other from a few miles away.

Cao Jun immediately began to retreat, Yuan Jun saw the opportunity and immediately launched a pursuit.

The two sides quickly approached one after the other.

Soon there were all kinds of shouting, running, and hooves.

Zhang Liao reacted quickly. After the guards were broken, he used the infantry bow to sprinkle a shower of arrows. Cao Chun ordered the cavalry to cover the infantry with horse bows and retreat.

Arrows from both sides confronted each other, and after briefly repelling Yuan Jun, they withdrew to the Youying camp.

Cao Jun's right battalion, which was originally quiet, suddenly blew horns. Yuan Jun's sudden attack really caught them off guard. Many soldiers didn't have time to stand in their proper positions to defend, and rushed out of the camp gate with their weapons in a hurry.

With the sound of drums beating, Yuan Jun immediately launched his first attack on the camps outside Cao's camp. He used his shield to withstand the rain of arrows, lit the hay on the cart, and rushed towards Cao Jun's camp.

A large number of Cao troops were crowded in the right battalion, and there was a problem with the temporary command. As a result, Yuan Jun's offensive did not have much offensive pressure in a short period of time.

Soon Zhang Yun's camp on the outskirts was on fire.

Less than two quarters of an hour later, Xiahou Dun of the middle battalion also got the news, and immediately led the army to support without hesitation.

The entire periphery of Cao Jun was in chaos.

Although they also considered whether Yuan Shao would attack at night, they didn't expect Yuan Jun to come so fast, and their army was too bloated, which made it impossible to respond in time.

The only good news is that although Cao Jun's command is chaotic, Yuan Jun's attack is also chaotic.

After only the first wave burned Zhang Yun's camp, they were stopped by other camps, and then a large number of bows, arrows, bed crossbows, and catapults exerted force and quickly defeated some of the invading Yuan Jun.

It is inconvenient for both sides to command at night, which leads to great problems for both the enemy and us in fighting.

For example, Yuan Jun sent 4 people over this time, but only a few thousand people fought at the front, and the other 2 people separated and went south to attack other camps.

Although it did cause chaos to other camps on the periphery of Cao Jun's right wing, because he went south for several miles and was repeatedly blocked by Cao Jun, Cao Jun slowly restored order in the rear and began to leave the camp to guard in an orderly manner.

Therefore, at this time, the entanglement between Yuan and Cao's two armies was taking place on the north, northeast, and east of Cao Ying's right wing.The entire wilderness is densely packed with enemy soldiers attacking each other.

The battle was in a state of anxiety, and it seemed that the fighting was very lively, and the fire was also spreading rapidly.

But in fact, Yuan Jun's low-level soldiers and middle-level generals are not as good as Cao Jun, so this raid did not achieve Tian Feng's purpose of confusing Cao Jun. When Cao Jun recovers, it will be a matter of time before Yuan Jun is repelled.

The two sides are still fighting.

Time passed by every minute and every second, and no one noticed that at the time of [-] minutes, more than [-] people were quietly approaching the north of Caoying, which was several kilometers away.

(End of this chapter)