I will be the master of Xuande

Chapter 436

In Cao Cao's camp.

At this time, Cao Cao was rubbing the center of his eyebrows, feeling a little headache.

The fighting power of the Hebei army is indeed far beyond his imagination. Among other things, Liu Bei's Jizhou cavalry with about 3000 people, led by the vanguard general Zhao Zilong in the front, attacked Cao Cao. Five formations, very difficult to deal with.

Although Cao Cao has recruited many soldiers from Heishan Yellow Turban and Yuzhou Yellow Turban for military use, he still cannot compare with the Hebei Army in terms of combat effectiveness, and there is a gap in the combat effectiveness of the soldiers.

If he encounters ordinary princes Mushou, Cao Cao will definitely have the power to fight, and he can even overwhelm the heroes, but in front of the Hebei Army, Cao Cao feels that his army has too many shortcomings.

Regardless of other things, just talking about equipment is a lot worse.

Look at the number of armored men in the Hebei Army, and then look at the number of armored soldiers and horses under Cao Cao?
In this case, it is really difficult for Cao Cao to rise up.

Even if he has the ambition to rise to the sky, he is versatile.

"Report—!"

Following a burst of shouts, a scout hurriedly ran into Cao Cao's tent.

After Cao Cao heard the yelling, he seemed to regain some energy. He hurriedly raised his head and looked towards the source of the sound.

The scout hurriedly came to the middle of the big tent, bowed his hands to Cao Cao and said: "My lord, Xiahou Sima fought fiercely with the northern rebels in Fulin. A total of five strong attacks were made, none of which could be overcome."

The Xiahou Sima mentioned by the scouts refers to Cao Cao's clan's arm, Xiahou Dun.

When Xiahoudun was 14 years old, he won the village with force and killed someone because he insulted his teacher, so he was famous in the village for his bravery and chivalry.

When Cao Cao raised his army, Xiahou Dun was accompanied by the heroes of the Xiahou clan, and he himself was trusted by Cao Cao.

During this expedition, Xiahou Dun took charge of the former army for Cao Cao and competed with Liu Bei.

It's a pity that although Xiahou Dun was brave in the village, he was really inferior in terms of the strength of commanding troops.

Compared with Yu Jin and Le Jin who were promoted from the army by Cao Cao, there is indeed a gap between Xiahou Dun.

In fact, Cao Cao understood that although Xiahou Dun was brave, what he was really good at was building slopes, irrigating, and learning. It can be said that he was a general who was good at farming.

It is really not Dun's strength to lead troops to charge into battle and overcome the enemy.

But after all, he is a relative, so Cao Cao can use it with confidence, because he was given the position of vanguard chief officer to him.

But after several battles, it is clear that the effect is not ideal.

"Who is the one who confronts Yuan Rang?"

The scout replied: "I heard that Gao Shun is Liu Bei's vanguard officer. He has three thousand camps under his command. He is good at resisting the enemy with a solid formation and defeating the enemy with foot formation. Xiahou Sima changed his tactics several times, but he couldn't win. He just followed the army. Dian Sima was also slightly injured when he stepped into battle."

"Forget it, order the former army, Yuan Rang retreats to the main battalion for the time being." Cao Cao rubbed his head helplessly.

"promise!"

After the scouts left, Cao Cao walked to the door of the handsome tent, looking gloomy in the direction of the north.

His expression was very unconvinced.

If Liu Jian used troops, Cao Cao thought that he might not be able to compare, but he should never lose to Liu Bei.

The first battle before the battle was personally commanded by Cao Cao.

At that time, Cao Cao had observed from a distance the formation deployed by Liu Bei's troops and horses, the camps he had set up, and his ability to mobilize on the fly.

I have to say that Liu Bei did learn a lot from following Liu Jian, and he also has abilities!

But in Cao Cao's view, he only learned the superficial aspects of Liu Jian, but failed to learn the essence.

To be honest, in terms of military affairs, in addition to experience, talent is also required to command troops. Vision and character are very important.

On this point, Cao Cao thought that his talent was at the top. Although he was not as monstrous as Liu Jian, he was at least on par with Lu Zhi, Huang Fusong and others.

Although this Liu Bei also has a certain military talent, in Cao Cao's view, he is not as good as himself.

Although Liu Bei is also very good, he should at least be a level behind him.

But the problem is, although Liu Bei is not as talented as himself, he has a good younger brother.

His younger brother used hard power to bridge this gap for Liu Bei.

The Hebei army now needs people and people, it needs weapons and weapons, it needs horses and horses, it needs food and it has food, it needs generals and generals.

All aspects of the hardware conditions are better than their own!

Liu Jian casually assigned a partial army to Liu Bei, and Cao Cao couldn't compare.

No matter how strong Cao Cao himself is, it is useless in the face of the gap in hard power.

In the beginning, when the morale of the two sides was high, they could still fight back and forth, winning and losing each other.

But as soon as the rushing momentum is over, the disadvantages and shortcomings that Cao Jun should have will gradually be revealed.

……

After Cao Cao recalled Xiahou Dun, he immediately held a military meeting to discuss how to deal with Liu Bei next.

Controversy broke out in Cao Ying about how to fight next.

I saw Cao Hong, Xiahou Dun, Yu Jin, Le Jin and others in the Cao camp arguing about whether they should continue to send troops.

Cao Hong, the brother of Cao Cao's clan, has a fire-like nature and a high status among the Cao clan.

Cao Ren is currently accompanying Zhou Yu to flatten Jiangdong, so this time he went north, Cao Hong took his place and became the pillar of the Cao family's central army.

Cao Hong strongly demanded to fight for the second time, fighting Liu Bei to the death!

However, as the spokesperson of the leader of the Xiahou Clan, Xiahou Dun obviously has different opinions.

"The soldiers of our army, in addition to the soldiers of Dongjun in the past, there are also elites drawn from Heishan and Yuzhou Yellow Turbans. These soldiers can become the guards of honor of our army in the future, but now they are not yet proficient in drills, and they are not well-armored. Incomplete, unbearable to practice!"

"After several confrontations, I observed that Zhao Yun is good at riding and Gao Shun is good at walking among the opponent's generals. If we defend the camp, our army still has the strength to protect ourselves. If we go into a field battle again, I am afraid that the other army will know our army well. False and real, steal it for worry.”

The reason for Xiahou Dun's objection was that after several tentative confrontations and fierce battles, his own shortcomings had gradually emerged.

In particular, those drawn from Heishan and Yuzhou Yellow Turbans are capable of great use, but they have not yet been practiced proficiently.

Under such circumstances, it is a bit boring to compete with Zhao Yun, Gao Shun and others who are well-equipped and bravely crowned the three armies.

In case the opponent finds out the shortcomings of the formation, I am afraid that it will suffer heavy losses.

In fact, what Xiahou Dun said was not unreasonable, it was just that many people felt that he was cowardly.

Cao Hong's face turned red. Although he was young, he was upright, with a well-groomed face, full of beards and beards standing on end, and he looked like a tiger general.

This time he went north to fight, although Cao Hong was eager to make contributions, but he never got a chance to make full use of it.

Especially when Xiahou Dun was beaten so uselessly by Zhao Yun and Gao Shun on the front line, even the warrior Dian Wei was injured by Zhao Yun in front of the battle because of his improper command!
In Cao Hong's heart, he wanted to replace Xiahou Dun's command like a cat scratching.

You are useless, you can't beat Zhao Yun and Gao Shun, and you are still relying on the soldiers?

Cao Cao heaved a long sigh when he saw that the generals under his command were indecisive and arguing with each other because they were going to fight or not to fight.

In fact, in recent days, Cao Cao felt a little old.

It's just that Cao Cao is now in his prime, how can he grow old?
It's not that he's old, it's that he's mentally old.

It's no wonder that the Hebei Army's combat power is so fierce that it makes people feel a little aesthetically fatigued.

You can't fight less fiercely?Take a look at what you can do!

Facing such an army that is almost perfect and you can't find any faults, do you think Cao Cao's mentality can be immortal?
Thinking about it carefully, the idea of ​​withdrawing from Dongjun to Jiangdong to settle in Jiangnan in order to observe the current situation was really correct.

Just imagine, Cao Cao's original position was in Dongjun, with Yuan Shao in the south and Liu Jian in the north.

Of these two people, if one is removed, Cao Cao may consider it and continue to develop in Yanzhou.

But the problem is, there are these two people facing each other far away from the south and the north, and whoever is caught in the middle, the end will definitely not be very good.

Not to mention Cao Cao, even if Liu Bang, Xiang Yu, and Han Xin were reincarnated, throwing him between them would still be the end of the game.

Now, for the first time, Cao Cao felt how fierce the behemoth in front of him had grown to be when he went out to fight the Hebei army at the whole hour!

Back then in Luoyang, Cao Cao regarded Liu Jian as a player on the same level as himself.

But now, I really can't compare with him.

It seems that only by returning to Jiangdong, drawing the river from the south of the Yangtze River, relying on the characteristics of Jiangdong people to build excellent warships and naval forces, and taking advantage of the characteristics of northerners who do not understand water and are not accustomed to water and soil, can we make ourselves Be able to separate one side of the world and sit back and watch the situation.

But that's all for the future, what should we do now?

Cao Cao looked at Xiahou Dun: "Yuan Rang, in your opinion, if you don't fight Liu Bei at this time, what should I do?"

Xiahou Dun said: "Meng De, now we still have to focus on strengthening our own strength,"

"Since Meng De has decided to manage Huainan and annex Jiangdong, he should resign from Yuan Gong, get out of Sizhou affairs, return to Huainan, and manage Huaidi carefully."

"The land of the Huaihe River and the Huaihe River has been a land of prosperity since ancient times. As long as the land is cultivated and managed well, there will be a steady stream of money and food."

"Although the south of Jiangdong is barren, Wu County is rich and rich, and Danyang has a vast depth with elite soldiers. There are also many outstanding families available. In addition, there are frequent wars in the north, and a large number of outstanding individuals bring their families to the south. If you are willing to manage it carefully and drill the navy, In the future, Meng De will naturally become a figure who can command one party, but right now we are here is really meaningless."

Cao Hong listened anxiously, he said urgently: "Ming Gong! Yuan Benchu ​​invited Yuan Gong to come to Sizhou, and now there is no battle, we heard that Niu Fu and Lu Bu were defeated, so we retreated immediately, imagine how Yuan Shao can't be blamed?"

"If our Cao family wants to prosper in the south of the Yangtze River, we still need to rely on Yuan Shao. You have to think carefully, Mr. Ming!"

Cao Cao was also thinking about this in his mind.

It's really not good to go now!

You have to make some appearances.

At this point, Xi Zhicai hurried into the tent, looked around, then walked to Cao Cao's side, bent down, and whispered something in his ear.

Immediately afterwards, I saw Cao Cao's spirit suddenly burst, and some brilliance appeared on his slumped face just now.

Then I heard Cao Cao say: "Zi Lian and Yuan Rang have their own reasons, but one thing is important, that is, since Yuan Benchu ​​invited me here, if I don't have a good fight with the Hebei army , It is indeed a failure to the beginning..."

Xiahou Dun became anxious when he heard the words: "But if we fight with the Hebei army and cause our army to lose too much, what should we do?"

A bit of complacency flashed in Cao Cao's eyes, but it quickly disappeared.

He stroked his short beard and said with a smile: "Ziheng wrote to Yu Zhicai, saying that Meng Zhuo had secretly raised troops, sent troops from Chenliu, and came straight to Sizhou. As a surprise soldier, he will attack Liu Bei with me!"

"The matter of sending troops is already imperative this time!"

"You don't need to question it."

When Cao Cao made a decisive decision, as his aura unfolded,

All the generals who didn't want to continue fighting in Sizhou could only keep their mouths shut.

The current Cao Cao also has a majesty that is enough to deter all his subordinates.

Xi Zhicai said: "My lords, don't doubt that Duke Ming led his troops to Sizhou in this battle. Because soldiers are still needed to pacify Jiangdong, so this time he led only [-] soldiers and horses."

"However, in the face of Hebei's strong soldiers, we can still fight back and forth with them, which shows that our strength is not weaker than that."

"Although his army is strong, Liu Bei is not Liu Jian after all,"

"As long as the operation is done properly, it may not be impossible to break it!"

"Zhang Mengzhuo led the crowd to come here today. As long as the strategy is right and the battle is prudent, Liu Xuande will surely be defeated!"

Xi Zhicai is now Cao Cao's military adviser Jijiu, which is a position specially set up by Cao Cao for him.

Although he did not have the power to control the military aircraft, Xi Zhicai's position in the army can be described as detached when he was the counselor of the military aircraft.

In particular, he is really a great talent, and his words have something to say. In the past two years, all his words of admonition are in the interests of Cao Jun, so he convinced the generals.

Now that he and Cao Cao are working together to secure the key battle, the generals no longer have any doubts.

Seeing that the thoughts of the soldiers in the army were temporarily unified, Cao Cao immediately struck while the iron was hot.

He ordered: "You can go back to the barracks of each department, restrain your subordinates, and wait for the order to send troops."

As soon as Cao Cao issued the order, all the generals in the tent took the order.

After the generals in the tent took orders and left,
Xi Zhicai asked Cao Cao:
"Duke Ming, Lu Ziheng persuaded Zhang Miao to attack Liu Bei secretly. How sure is Duke Ming in this battle?"

Seeing Xi Zhicai asking this question, Cao Cao said calmly:
"If Liu Xuande doesn't notice, I'm [-]% sure that I can defeat the other army."

Xi Zhicai asked again: "What if Liu Bei finds out that Zhang Miao came secretly? Didn't he fall into the trap?"

Facing Xi Zhicai's question, Cao Cao fell silent again.

After thinking for a long time, Cao Cao pretended to be relaxed and said with a smile:

"If Liu Bei can know that Zhang Miao is coming, then I have no chance of winning this battle."

Xi Zhicai couldn't help frowning upon hearing this.

"So serious?"

"Zhicai, you are good at planning and making decisions, but you have never led an army. The strength of the Hebei army is not easy to match. With the strength of our army, it is really difficult to match."

Hearing what Cao Cao said, Xi Zhi let out a sigh.

But Cao Cao went on to say:

"There is no need to worry too much about Zhicai. Liu Bei was acquainted with me in the past. Although he is capable, he is far behind Liu Jian in terms of strategy and military affairs. It is likely that he will not notice it."

"If it weren't for the Hebei sergeant's majesty and complete armor, Cao would definitely not be so afraid of Liu Xuande!"

Xi Zhicai said: "But what if he has someone to help him?"

Cao Cao was stunned when he heard this.

"Duke Ming, don't forget that in the Hebei Army, there are many resourceful men. Liu Deran has a lot of talents under his command. What Liu Bei can't think of, maybe someone else will think of it!"

Cao Cao licked his lips when he heard this.

"This is a key point. If Liu Bei really sees through my plan, how will this battle... be fought?"

Xi Zhicai said in a low voice: "Fighting must be fought, but if Liu Bei really sees it through, then Minggong must remember to protect our army's own strength when dispatching... If it doesn't work, we can only sacrifice Zhang Mengzhuo!"

……

……

In a few days, Cao Cao's army began to move south, and built earthen cities and set up camps.

At the same time, Cao Cao also built an antler array outside Tucheng, and set up large camps on the east and west sides...

This kind of action gave Liu Bei the feeling that Cao Cao was going to fight a protracted war with him.

After receiving the news, Liu Bei's first reaction was:
"If you fight in a hurry and can't win, you will lose your courage!"

Afterwards, a somewhat smug look appeared on his face.

After all, Cao Cao was the riding captain who accompanied Huangfusong in the battle against the Yellow Turban, and he made a lot of contributions in the battle against Ruying Yellow Turban.

In recent years, although he is not as good as Liu Jian and Yuan Shao, he is another rising star after them.

Cao Cao has nothing to do with him now, instead he was beaten by himself and retreated to a truce, intending to stay for a long time, which made Liu Bei feel a little more confident and contemptuous.

However, after Liu Bei finished speaking, someone soon poured cold water on him.

Tian Feng said coldly: "If Xuande thinks this way, the whole army will be swallowed up by Cao Cao!"

(End of this chapter)