Overlord!

Chapter 217
While Sun Ce was waiting for Cao Cao's envoy, Cao Cao was already acting vigorously and resolutely. He began to reorganize his troops, rectify his troops, and assemble all his elite troops!
This time, Cao Cao's main force was used.The same talents are everywhere, fierce generals are like clouds, and advisers are like rain.

Nowadays, Cao Cao has almost all of Yan and Hezhou, and there are countless talents working for him from the two states, represented by military generals Cheng Yu and Cao Ren.

Cheng Yu, a famous scholar in Yanzhou, was not just a scholar. He was eight feet three inches tall and had a beautiful beard. He was the same type of majestic man as Guan Yu.In Cao's camp, he was as famous as Cao Ren and was known as the bravest leader.

When it comes to official positions, Cheng Yu is also on par with Cao Ren.

After Cao Cao moved his administrative center to Yingchuan, he started farming here.Then Cheng Yu was appointed as Dong Zhonglang General, leading the prefect of Jiyin and supervising the affairs of Yanzhou.

Of course, with Cao Cao's always meritocratic style, Cheng Yu's holding such a high position meant that he did not have much real power. He only commanded an army of [-].Now that the war is about to begin, Cao Cao adds [-] troops to his army, and Cheng Yu gathers a group of mountain people to flee, leaving his army with more than [-] infantry and cavalry.

The main force of the army was naturally in the hands of Cao Ren, the prefect of Yingchuan who was comparable to Cheng Yu. As a direct general of the Cao family, Cao Ren commanded more than [-] of Cao Cao's most elite cavalry.

Below Cheng Yu and Cao Ren, Cao Ying also had foreign generals such as Yu Jin, Le Jin, Li Dian, Xu Chu, Dian Wei, Lu Qian, Shi Huan, Han Hao, Wen Ji, Zhu Ling, Zhang Xiu, Hu Che'er, and Xiahou Dun. , Xia Houyuan, Cao Hong, Ren Jun, Cao Chun, Cao Xiu, Cao Anmin, Cao Ang and other clans, relatives and generals, each of these people led hundreds to thousands of troops.

A young man like Yue Jin only commands a few hundred cavalry.There are many such as Li Dian, who has more than [-] clan members under his command.At the most, Xiahou Dun led the Qingzhou Army to tens of thousands of people!

The sign of Cao Cao's military prosperity was that he forced the surrender of 30 Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army, and selected their young and strong elites to form the Qingzhou Army.At its peak, the Qingzhou Army numbered more than [-] people.

However, after the Yanzhou Rebellion, the Qingzhou Army suffered heavy losses and its scale was less than [-].

Later, Cao Cao defeated Lu Bu and recaptured Yanzhou. He also camped in Yingchuan and collected millions of dan of grain. The Qingzhou army recovered slightly and returned to more than [-] men.

This was Cao Cao's entire army after he captured Yanzhou and Yuzhou. Including tribes from powerful families such as Xu Chu and Li Dian, the total army totaled more than [-] people.

At the beginning of Jian'an, Cao Cao personally raised 26 troops, took advantage of Jingzhou's weakness, and marched into Nanyang. In the first battle, Zhang Xiu was forced to surrender, and he took over [-] counties in Nanyang. He also incorporated nearly [-] Xiliang troops under Zhang Xiu.

As a result, Cao Cao's army was victorious, sweeping Yuan Shu, plundering several counties in Huaibei, killing four of his generals, and dominating the Central Plains.

Since then, Cao Cao has been recuperating and reorganizing his army. Until now, it has reached such a scale, with a total of more than [-] elite infantry and cavalry.

With such a prosperous military power, Cao Cao's army also had a large number of counselors, from Yingchuan scholars represented by Xun Yu, Guo Jia, Zhao Yan, Zao Zhi, etc., to Yanzhou represented by Mao Jie, Dong Zhao, Liang Mao, etc. Scholars, as well as Jiang Ji, Lou Gui, Wang Bi, Xue Ti and other heroes who surrendered to Cao Cao from all directions, the prosperity of Cao Cao's camp was even comparable to that of Jiangdong.

This time, in the cold winter, it was Guo Jia, Cao Cao's most trusted adviser, who advocated a large-scale gathering of the three armies.

Guo Jia also deserves Cao Cao's trust. Just as Cao Cao said, whenever there is a big discussion, he should make changes before the enemy.Cao Cao couldn't make a decision, but Guo Jiayuan succeeded.

After patrolling the camp in the cold wind and heavy snow, Cao Cao returned to his tent. Even by the brazier, Cao Cao couldn't help but shiver all over.

Guo Jia immediately handed over a cup of warm wine and said bohemianly: "General, drink a cup of warm wine quickly. Du Kang can solve all problems, especially the warm fragrance of a woman!"

Cao Cao immediately took the wine bottle, raised his head and drank it all in one gulp. After drinking the hot wine, Cao Cao's cheeks that were red from the cold became even redder. He smiled and cursed: "It's because Man Boning is not here, otherwise I will scold you again for being filial and dissolute." .”

Guo Jia drank a cup of wine carelessly and said: "Man Boning is too serious and rigid, and he is really boring. With him around, everyone can't feel at ease. How can he be so light-hearted and talk about military affairs as he does now?" What's going on? General, the three armies should have arrived?"

When talking about military affairs, Cao Cao's face became solemn and he said: "Except for Li Dian and Cao Hong who have stationed troops in Runan and have not arrived, the remaining [-] people have been assembled, their military equipment is ready, and all their baggage is complete."

Guo Jianai raised his wine bottle and said generously to everyone: "The general will become a king and hegemony. In this battle, you all should fight bravely and achieve eternal glory!"

The soldiers in the tent immediately raised their wine bottles, roared excitedly, and drank together happily.

However, the advisers frowned and were not so relaxed. Including Xun Yu, the minister whom Cao Cao relied on the most, he also opposed this adventure and had to advise again: "General, my soldiers have no choice but to use it, so I will fight." Time to move. In this battle, the lone army went deep, and the land it passed was desolate. Transporting food for thousands of miles is not the advantage of military use. Going deeper and deeper into danger has no single victory. Since ancient times, the way of using troops is to win first and then fight. This battle is not perfect. There are many dangers, and if you are not careful, the three armies will be destroyed."

"Although the general is powerful in the world, the people of Yan and Henan only rely on his power and do not add any virtues. They abandon the expedition and the army is overturned. I am afraid that the Central Plains will not be restored to the general's possession. I only hope that the general will dismantle the inspection."

After hearing Xun Yu's words, Cao Cao was immediately shaken. He was a hero and very self-aware.His ability to occupy Yan and Hezhou has nothing to do with winning people's hearts.In fact, he carried out massacres, and those who dared to defy him, regardless of scholars or common people, were punished without mercy. Therefore, as Xun Yu said, the people of the two states had no intention of returning and were only using force to control them.

It was entirely because of his strong military power that no one dared to look directly at Cao Cao's majesty.

If the army overthrows, I am afraid that the powerful Yan and Yu forces who want to kill Cao Cao will swarm up.

Is it worth taking such a risk?

But at this time, Guo Jia stepped forward and made a strong statement about advancing the army, saying: "Those who are good at war will follow the enemy's will because their enemies are their resources. They will kill generals thousands of miles away, show their shapes, open up favorable roads, and conceal their divine strategies." .”

"Now that the emperor is weak and Huainan is empty, it is the best opportunity for the general to become a king and dominate! If God does not take it, he will suffer the consequences; if he does not welcome the time, he will suffer the consequences!"

"The great calamity in the world has been determined, and all states are recuperating. Even in desolate places, there are still people."

"In this battle, the general only needs to roll up his flag and lower his armor, move out with light troops and move out on the road, and then send out iron cavalry to slaughter all the people along the way. Firstly, he can avoid revealing his whereabouts, and secondly, he can plunder their assets for military supplies, and he will be able to cover up his surprise. . If this plan is successful, this will be a fish in the river, and it will be able to catch the rotting rope. The career of a general and a king can be achieved in one day!"

Cao Cao frowned and said: "I am worried about Gu, I am afraid that Sun Ce will be furious because of this, raise the three armies, and fight against Gu until death."

Thinking of the high-spirited young prince from Jiangdong, everyone in the tent felt heavy.That was a truly heroic and peerless general like Xiang Ji!
And he is like a god in using troops, winning battles many times.The soldiers under his command are elite and fierce. If the three armies are raised in anger, they will raise an army to investigate the crime.No one is afraid of it.

At this time, the generals in Cao's camp regarded Sun Ce as the lieutenant general of Gaozu's army regarded Xiang Ji.I was frightened and frightened, and I didn't dare to fight against him.

At this time, Guo Jia said categorically: "From my perspective, Sun Cexin's invasion of Huainan has suffered heavy losses. He has the kindness of a woman. If he fights with the general, he will have to transport food thousands of miles. The people will suffer heavy casualties, not 20. It is difficult to help when it is difficult. Therefore, with the intention of Jiangdong, we must wait until the water rises to lift the boat before we can go to the north. We will definitely not recruit a hundred thousand corvees in this cold winter to raise the three armies to compete with the general. The general can conquer the country in vain, but has no power. Worry."

"The land of Jingxiang controls the Yangtze River. The navy can flow eastward at any time, like a sharp sword hanging on the neck of the east of the river. The main force of Sun Ce's army had to be stationed in Yuzhang to guard against Jingxiang."

"The aspirations of Jiangdong must be unified in Jingyang. This is the battleground for Jiangdong. The general can promise to send troops from Runan and Nanyang to help Jiangdong seize Jiangxia County and Jiangbei counties. If Sun Ce wins this important military area, he will be able to win the championship. The anger can only be endured with hatred. The strategic significance of the land of Jiangxia to Jiangdong is far greater than what is lost!"

"Suffer heavy casualties and gain nothing. Or take the land of Jiangxia and unify Jingyang. Sun Ce will definitely be able to make a choice!"

After Guo Jia's impassioned speech, Cao Cao finally strengthened his determination to become king and dominate in one fell swoop!
Immediately, Cao Cao straightened his chest, sat upright, raised his wine bottle, and said to everyone: "Training divisions and using troops is the ancient way! It has been many years since Fengmin, and the family has enough people, with surplus grain to live in acres, and to accumulate millet in red warehouses. The lone general oversees [-] people. Riding on foot, I will go to the battlefield with you and others. This battle will cause mist to spread over the five mountains, and there will be tigers and wolves in the nine fields!"

All the generals opened their coats, held their wine bottles high, and shouted boldly and solemnly: "Wan Sheng!"

With the strength of the three armies, Cao Cao slaughtered the cow and sacrificed the flag, personally swore an oath to the three armies, and went out on a large scale in the severe cold!Soon, Cao Cao massed troops in the territory on a large scale. He might have invasion intentions, but he was detected by the three towns of Huainan.

Emergency military reports followed Cao Cao's envoys into Jiankang like snowflakes!

Sun Ce and Zhang Zhao looked at each other after reading the military intelligence report, and saw obvious shock and disbelief in each other's eyes.

Sun Ce put down the urgent reports sent to him by Zhou Yu, Zhang Hong, Lu Meng and others, and asked Zhang Zhao: "What is Cao Cao so crazy about? In this snowy season, in the cold winter, how can he mobilize troops if he doesn't take time to recuperate?" , a large-scale expedition?"

Even if he is crazy, his counselors won't try to persuade him?

Or does Cao Cao want to write a "Bitter Cold Journey" in advance?
"The trees are so desolate, the sound of the north wind is sad.

There are few people in the valley, and the snow is falling like a feather.

I sighed with a long neck, and traveled far and wide.

Confused and lost the old way, no shelter in the dusk

The day of travel is far away, and the people and horses are hungry at the same time.

Carrying a bag to collect salary, holding an ax and ice to make mince. "

This poem is an excerpt written by Cao Cao, holding an ax to cut ice and cook porridge, which shows the hardship of marching in winter.

After this journey, even if he wins a complete victory in the end, thousands of his soldiers will have their fingers and toes frozen off.

When Sun Ce marched along the Yangtze River in the late winter and the twelfth lunar month, when logistics was insufficient, he would lose more than a dozen men every morning.

Cao Cao was in the Central Plains. Even if he had enough supplies, his casualties would probably not be less than Sun Ce's.

Zhang Zhao also frowned and was puzzled. He could only put down the military information document and said: "No matter what, the target of Cao Cao's attack in this battle cannot be Huainan. Otherwise, he should reorganize the navy divisions and warships and use canals to transfer grain and grass." Rather than raising thousands of chariots."

Sun Ce still agreed with Zhang Zhao's analysis.

Going deeper and deeper into danger, there is no single solution!

The three towns in Huainan are not isolated cities. Although Cao Cao is good at attacking, he definitely does not come to sweep the territory.

The three towns also have generals like Zhou Yu, Lu Meng, and Lu Su who lead elite troops and strong generals to defend the city.

Even if Cao Cao was given years and years, it would be difficult to conquer the three towns quickly.

And as long as the summer rain comes and the rivers surge in a few months, the Jiangdong Navy will be able to carry tens of thousands of elite troops and march northward to clear out Cao Cao's tens of thousands of exhausted troops!

When the time comes, Jiangdong's navy cuts off its return route at the Huaihe River, and Jiangdong's cavalry banners sweep across the city. Cao Cao's attack on the city is not going well, and his army is deeply alone. Even if there are tens of thousands of people, they will be defeated by Sun Ce in one battle.

The war cannot be fought like this.Even a son of a high official like Yuan Shu, who knew nothing about fighting, could not be so arrogant and go deep alone.

After all, Huainan still has the entire Jiangdong as its backing. If Cao Cao really wants to attack Huainan, he must be prepared for the two powers to compete over this vast territory of thousands of miles of red land.

Sun Ce defended the city, and with Shaopi as his support, he could still hold on.

Cao Cao transported grain thousands of miles. With his logistics situation, even if he killed all the grain officials, he would not be able to provide sufficient supplies to the front line.

Therefore, Sun Ce also concluded that Cao Cao's goal in raising troops and mobilizing troops was definitely not his own side.

But where is he going to hit?So that thousands of carts were assembled?
You must know that in this era, when the northern princes gathered their troops and prepared for war, it was difficult for the south to detect it.

The South often has to wait for the other party to send troops for sure before the south can be sure that the rumors that the other party is gathering troops and preparing to invade the south are true.

If Cao Cao hadn't mobilized so many chariots this time and were detected by spies from Huainan, Sun Ce might not have known that Cao Cao was gathering troops even if it took a month or two.

Sun Ce couldn't figure it out either, but it wasn't a big problem. There were many smart people under him.

Sun Ce relaxed and said to Zhang Zhao: "No matter what, let's go see Cao Cao's envoy first. Find out Cao Cao's truth from his mouth. Let Jia Xu, Liu Ye, Yan Zhen, Gu Yong, Zhuge Jin and others... and come to discuss matters.”

These ministers are all top counselors in the world.

Especially Jia Xu, this is a counselor on par with Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, and he has almost no plans left.

Although he advocated the opposite of Zhang Hong during the Huainan War, Sun Ce did not feel that Jia Xu's strategy was wrong.The situation at that time, without listening to Jia Xu's words, Sun Ce was really at the end of his battle.

You must know that after adopting Zhang Hong's words and attacking Huainan with all his strength, even if Sun Ce just withdraws his troops, it will be a disastrous defeat. The Northern Expedition will return without success and suffer heavy losses.

If Yuan Shu had not been seriously ill at the critical moment, and Sun Ce had defeated Lu Bu, who came with a great victory, with his peerless military strategy, I am afraid that if there was a slight mistake, Jiangdong's great cause would have suffered a heavy blow.

Looking back now, Jia Xu's strategy, although it was a year or two late to capture Huainan, was indeed very sound, with victory and no defeat.

Therefore, after returning in triumph, Sun Ce still rewarded Jia Xu generously for his merits and promoted him from Cavalry Captain to General Zhenwei Zhonglang, leading the Sima of General Nan Zhonglang's Mansion and participating in military aircraft.

This status is very high. Under Sun Ce, those who hold the post of Zhonglang General without commanding the army usually hold important positions in the central government and oversee important military and political affairs, such as Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong.

Jia Xu basically served as the general commander of the shogunate to participate in discussions and prepare for inquiries and other matters.

With so many counselors here, Sun Ce believed that even if Cao Cao and Guo Jia worked together, they wouldn't be able to pull off any tricks.

(End of this chapter)