Overlord!

Chapter 254 Massacre of Xuzhou again
Today's battle between Sun and Cao is becoming more and more like the battle between Lu Xun and Cao Xiu at Shiting.

The purpose of both sides is to severely damage the enemy's soldiers, so that the enemy does not dare to raise more troops.

As the defender, the southern army could calmly assemble the main force of the army, counterattack from the left and right, and surround the middle of Cao's army, which was easy to advance and difficult to retreat.

It's just that Lu Xun's opponent is Cao Xiu, who is known as a relative and is not a wise and brave general.

And the man Sun Ce faced was a great hero today, and one of the princes who was most capable of conquering and fighting.

It is not easy to outflank him from both sides.

Cao Cao was best at cutting off the enemy's retreat in his life, so protecting his own retreat was also a top priority.

The main force of his Central Route Army, more than [-] men, were not all in one camp, but were arranged in front and back camps, taking advantage of the dangers and obstacles from Huailing to the mountains to control the key roads.

The deployment of Cao's army has always been like this. Including Yu Jin's more than [-] people from the right army, they were not all gathered in Sheyang. Instead, Yu Jin commanded more than [-] people in the front, and nearly a thousand soldiers in the rear controlled the ships. The grain road is used to store the plundered baggage and grain.

Yuan Shaoxing had 1 troops, but only 5000 were stationed at Wuchaocai, which was extremely critical.To ban [-] people, but to use nearly a thousand soldiers to control the back roads and granaries is already a matter of great importance.

However, the advantage of Zhang Liao's [-] cavalry was too great. Before Yu Jin could rush to help, they eliminated Yu Jin's retreat in one fell swoop.

It's just that it was easy for Zhang Liao to cut off Yu Jin's retreat, but it was difficult for Sun Ce to cut off Cao Cao's retreat.

The main reason was that Zhang Liao's victory came too quickly. The garrisons from Jiangxia and Lujiang were still on their way to come for reinforcements. Compared with Cao Cao, the reinforcements brought by Sun Ce from Jiankang were still at a disadvantage.

To win with more, to defeat the weak with strength, this is the correct way of war since ancient times.

Sun Ce indeed believed in the combat power of his army, but it was indeed difficult to cut off Cao Cao's retreat from the right with more than [-] men and annihilate the tens of thousands of people commanded by Cao Cao.

But it is not impossible. Cao Cao's front and rear camps made it extremely difficult for Sun Ce to cut off his retreat, but it also made it extremely difficult for him to attack the city.

Xu Kun, Lu Dai and others defended Huai'an with [-] young men. Cao Cao could only use more than [-] troops to attack the city.

Therefore, Sun Ce was in no hurry to rush to Xu Kun's aid. If he couldn't defend the city, even if Cao Cao didn't kill him after breaking the city, Sun Ce would kill him and kill him!

Cao Cao is undoubtedly eager to fight at this moment. He relies on his previous victories and has been refining his troops for a long time. His troops are at a sharp point. He extremely hopes to defeat the main force of Sun Ce's army in Huai'an.

Naturally, Sun Ce could not do what he wanted. After defeating Yu Jin, Jia Xu urged Sun Ce to station troops in Huaiyin as a backup, and wait for the frontline general Zhou Yu to attack Cao's army on the left and win with power.

So Sun Ce led his troops directly to Huaiyin. When he arrived in Huaiyin, it was late autumn and August when the sweet osmanthus was fragrant.

The Jiangdong navy was converging on the Huaihe River from the Huaihe River, Hangou, and Yangtze River areas. Hundreds of warships, with white sails like clouds, were densely covered on the river surface, and hundreds of companies were vying for the current.

August is the last time the navy can sail across the Huaihe River. In another month, it will be early winter in October, and the surface of the Huaihe River may be frozen.

Therefore, the navy officers and soldiers are seizing the opportunity to transport Jiangdong's army across the Huaihe River.

Surrounded by the embroidered guards, Sun Ce and Yu Jin, who was standing by the shore, were busy going back and forth. The soldiers loaded and unloaded baggage, grain, fodder, carriages and horses, etc., and transported them continuously to Huaibei.

This group of soldiers setting off was none other than the three thousand cavalry commanded by Wei Yan.Although Sun Ce's current army size was not advantageous over Cao Cao, he still chose to send Wei Yan to lead his troops to march to the Huaihe River to attack Xiapi and Pengcheng in Xuzhou.

It is not easy to cut off Cao's army's retreat in Huainan, but it is much easier to cut off Cao's army's food route from Huaibei.

Although there is a garrison of Cao Jun in Xiapi, Xuzhou is not stable, and the impact of Cao Jun's massacre cannot be easily eliminated.Countless Xuzhou heroes remembered the shame of their father and brother and wanted to take revenge.

Especially when all five battalions of the Right Army under the command of Yu Jin were killed, Jianghuai was in shock.

At this time, General Jiangdong launched the Northern Expedition. Even if Cao's generals held the city and defended it, a large number of Xuzhou heroes would rebel among the counties.

Maybe even the Prime Ministers Pengcheng, Xiapi, and Donghai Prefect appointed by Cao Cao would surrender to Jiangdong one after another.

Sun Ce stood by the river with his hands folded. He looked at the majestic river for a while, then turned to Jin and said, "General Yu, do you think our army can secure the territory this time when it marches north to Xuzhou?"

The Southern Army has always faced a problem in its Northern Expedition, that is, even if it captures cities and territories in the early stage, it goes very smoothly.

It was also easy for them to be unable to defend the captured city under the counterattack of the northern forces.

This scene has been played out again and again in the history of the Xia Dynasty, starting from the Spring and Autumn Period when Wu State went north to fight for hegemony, to the Northern Expedition in the Southern Dynasties and the Five Dynasties.

It is not that the southern forces have invincible results, but after a military victory, it is difficult to directly occupy and rule the local area. It will not take long before the results of the Northern Expedition are destroyed and they are taken back by the northern forces.

Those who can stabilize the defense line of Huaihe River are outstanding in both civil and martial arts.Most of the southern political powers can only use the Yangtze River to defend themselves in the south of the Yangtze River.

There are many reasons for this, but the main ones are three points.

First of all, the administrative offices in the south of the Yangtze River are generally in Jiankang, and the speed of supporting the northern defense line is definitely not as fast as that of the Central Plains princes who march from Yanzhou and Yuzhou.

Just like now, Cao Jun sent troops from Yan and Henan. Even though Jiangnan was prepared, he was caught off guard in the early stage and lost the city.

Now, even if Sun Ce defeated Cao Cao, it was obviously impossible for him to station all his troops north of the Huaihe River.The main force of Jiangdong's army must be slowly retreating.

Otherwise, the rivers will be frozen throughout the winter, making it inconvenient to transport food, and [-] troops will be stationed on the front line for a long time, which will cause great damage and impact on the people's livelihood in Jiangnan.

The second reason is that the Jianghuai and Xuzhou areas are vast plains that are rare in the Central Plains. The terrain is flat and there is really no danger to defend.

After crossing the Huaihe River, there are no natural dangers or strategic military locations in the north.

There is only one Pengcheng guarding the three waterways, which is a logistical road that must be fought over by military strategists.But its terrain is completely unsuitable for defense.

Otherwise, Liu Bang and the allied forces of the princes would not have captured the capital of Chu in one fell swoop, and Xiang Yu would have led [-] cavalry to fight back, forcing Liu Bang to abandon his son and flee.

By the end of the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao, Lu Bu and other princes could come and go freely here. As long as there was a dangerous and dangerous place in Xuzhou, Tao Qian and Liu Bei would not be so passive and lose Xuzhou again and again.

It is not surprising that Wei Yan went north this time and captured part of the city of Xuzhou, but it is difficult to say whether he can hold it.

Because in addition to terrain, there is another very important factor, which is the economic strength gap between the north and the south.

The fundamental reason to defend the Huai River first is that with the Huai River area, the strength of the south can significantly reduce the gap with the north.

Otherwise, with the Yangtze River as the front line, the vast area of ​​Huaibei will belong to the north, and the gap in strength between the north and the south will be so great that it will be irreparable by manpower.

The South can win many battles, but a single defeat is enough to lose all the gains of the Northern Expedition.

Even if the North is defeated repeatedly, it can still use its advantages in population, economy and strength to reorganize its army and sweep across Liuhe.This is typical. Victory in a hundred battles is not enough to turn things around, but one defeat will cause disaster.

This is true even now.Even if Cao Jun suffered a defeat in the Battle of Shiting, he could retreat to the Central Plains and quickly form an army.

Cao Cao didn't care much about people's livelihood. As long as the people under his rule survived and could pay taxes and troops, he would not blink an eye even if the taxes were [-] or [-] or [-].

Cao Cao has experienced too many defeats in history. In the Battle of Feishui, his army suffered heavy losses, including his eldest son Cao Ang and his trusted general Dian Wei. In the Battle of Guandu, he was betrayed by Liu Bei and lost Xuzhou.It didn't affect him at all in defeating Yuan Shao with the weak defeating the strong.

But if he loses 2 people in Huainan, he may no longer have the strength to conquer the east and west. The sharp military edge that he has relied on for so many years and has been sharpened over time will be lost.

It was inevitable that he would change from offensive to defensive. Even if he won the decisive battle with Yuan Shao, he would not be able to conquer Hebei with overwhelming force.

Without six or seven years, it would be difficult for him to pacify Yuan Shao's remaining troops.

Of course, if Yuan Shao had a better mentality, did not die in grief after defeat, returned to Hebei to recuperate, or even took a step back, and did not make the unwise move of abolishing the elders and establishing the young, Cao Cao would not be able to defeat Hebei in one fell swoop.

After all, among the princes at the end of the Han Dynasty, which one was not defeated in a basketful of battles?

Cao Cao was defeated at Chibi, Liu Bei was defeated at Yiling, and Sun Quan was defeated in countless battles.

A defeat and the loss of 2, 3 people, or even [-] to [-] people will not directly destroy a force.

This is also the purpose of Sun Ce asking Yu Jin.

Defensive counterattack, this is Jiangnan's advantage. It is not difficult for Sun Ce to defeat Cao Jun.

But if they want to invade Huaibei, they will march into the Yanzhou, Yuzhou, and Xuzhou areas of the Central Plains to attack and defend against different forces and destroy Cao's army that is stubbornly defending it.It can be said accurately that Jiangdong was not ready in terms of military strength, taxation or determination.

The first point is that the corvee collection is far from enough, and there are still two huge projects in Wu County.This made it impossible for Sun Ce to immediately launch a desperate Northern Expedition and besiege Cao Jun.

Yuan Shao is recuperating in Hebei. If Sun and Cao's armies are exhausted and suffer heavy casualties, Yuan Shao will laugh out of his dreams in the end.

Therefore, Sun Ce had only two strategic purposes. One was to severely damage the main force of Cao's army so that Cao's army would not dare to look south again.

Another purpose is naturally to expand territory after a great victory.Xuzhou was Sun Ce's goal.

Cao Cao was extremely unpopular here and his rule was unstable.The situation is no longer the same as when Sun Ce and Lu Bu were fighting. We still have to consider whether the local families in Xuzhou welcome the conquest of foreign forces.

It can be said that, except for a few wealthy families, most of Xuzhou's heroes would eat pots of milk to welcome the king's army, and even took the initiative to lead their troops to surrender to help Jiangdong expel Cao's army.

Yu Jin naturally saw this situation clearly.

Although it is said that the hair of ordinary people is like a leek, it will grow back after being cut; the head is like a chicken, it will crow again after being cut.

But there is a more important sentence later, officials should not be feared, and ordinary people should never be taken lightly.

Perhaps when Cao Jun was stable, the common people were afraid of Cao Jun's brutality, and they might be forced to bow their heads and accept Cao Jun's rule.

But once Cao's army is in danger, these small people will inevitably launch a rebellion and kill all the officials in Cao's camp.

He no longer had the heart to feel the danger of Cao Ying's overthrow.

Because he could never return to Cao Ying, Marquis Wu called him General Yu, which cut off his retreat.

After he led his army to surrender, the Marquis of Wu named him Jianyi Zhonglang General for his contribution to Jiangdong.

General Jianyi Zhonglang obviously praised his righteous deeds of abandoning darkness and turning to the light.He hoped to express his wish to reward the generals of Cao's army and attract other generals to surrender.

He has been set up as a model for Cao's army to surrender if he dares to return to Cao's camp.I am afraid that I will definitely die.

Yu Jin was quite self-sarcastic about this. He had strict military discipline and great military achievements. As a result, he had been fighting for many years and was only a pacifist captain. However, he did not expect that one day, he would be made a marquis and a general because he led his troops to surrender.

However, the situation forced Yu Jin to have no way out. When asked by Sun Ce, Yu Jin could only reply: "I think it is not difficult for the general to attack Xuzhou, but it is quite difficult to defend Xuzhou."

Sun Ceying raised his eyebrows angrily and asked, "Why? Does General Yu think that Cao Cao still has the strength to lead an army to attack Xuzhou?"

Yu Jin shook his head and said: "The victory in Huai'an is still indistinguishable. Whether General Cao lost his troops or generals is not mentioned for the time being. I thought that the general was so powerful that he was so powerful that the heroes of Xuzhou were all sealed by the general. If they led their troops to rebel, then Xuzhou would definitely be shaken."

"When the general takes advantage of this provocation to advance, he will cut through bamboo like a long sword. But the land he gains will probably be a barren land, making it difficult for the army to garrison."

Sun Ce looked solemn and asked, "What does General Yu mean by his words? Cao Jun will strengthen the walls and clear the country, and move the people of Xuzhou to Yan and Henan?"

Cao Cao has done this in history, and because it was so effective, he was quite addicted.

During the Battle of Guandu, he moved the people of Yan and Baima so that the people could not leave and thieves did not dare to pay.

After his defeat in the Battle of Chibi, he moved all his people to Huainan. However, this time even though Jiang Ji strongly opposed it, he still insisted on going his own way. As a result, the Jianghuai River was empty, and more than ten thousand people were frightened and walked into Wu.

This made the subsequent Northern Expedition in the South extremely difficult. They had to go deep into a barren land and had no way to obtain supplies.

But Sun Ce doubted that Cao Jun could have so much time to move the people calmly?

Liu Bei led his people across the river, marching only more than ten miles a day.This is the result of people taking the initiative to follow.

If Cao Jun wants to move the people of Xuzhou into Yan and Henan, it may be even slower.Even if it is to move people from Xiapi to Xiaopei, it will probably be difficult to complete within a month or two.

But Yu Jin sighed and said, "The general may have underestimated the ruthlessness of Cao Ying."

"If there is a rebellion in Xiapi and Pengcheng, and Cao's army's retreat becomes unstable, the defenders will massacre Xiapi. They will follow the example of Guo Si and Li Jue who wreaked havoc on Yingchuan, and slaughter hundreds of miles of Xuzhou into ghosts!"

Sun Ce took a deep breath.

Suddenly, I felt that Yu Jin's judgment was more accurate than my own!
Massacring a city was definitely a common thing for Cao's army, and their generals and soldiers did not have much resistance to it.

Guan Yu's power shocked China, and Nanyang rebelled one after another, so Cao Ren massacred Wancheng.

If Xuzhou dares to rebel, Xuzhou's defenders will definitely massacre Xuzhou again to stabilize the situation.

(End of this chapter)