Ji Han Liu Zhang

On his way back to Xu Du from Guandu, Cao Cao received an urgent report from Luoyang - Gan Ning, Ma Chao and other generals under Liu Zhang, commanding more than 20,000 infantry and cavalry, set out from Tongguan, first attacked Hangu Pass, and then swept through the counties under the jurisdiction of Henan Yin, and were about to besiege Luoyang City.

Luoyang is in danger now.

However, facing the situation that Luoyang was about to fall into danger, Cao Cao intended to send troops to rescue it, but he was powerless.

There was no other reason. After several months of fighting at Guandu, although he defeated Yuan Shao and won a small victory, his army was old and his soldiers were tired and could not fight again. What's more, the food and grass could not support him to dispatch troops to rescue Luoyang.

With this in mind, Cao Cao made a decision. He planned to give up Henan Yin and the ancient capital of Luoyang. He ordered Cao Ren and Zhong Yao to lead their troops to retreat to Xingyang and Chenggao to defend and block the eastward passage of the Guanzhong troops.

Xingyang, Chenggao.

Cao Cao looked at a map hanging in the hall and found the two cities of Xingyang and Chenggao.

"It is located at the crossroads of the five princes, and the streets are full of rushing roads." This is the evaluation of Xingyang by Sang Hongyang, an important official during the reign of Emperor Xiaowu.

In Cao Cao's view, this evaluation was quite appropriate. To go east from Luoyang, one had to pass through Gong, Chenggao, Xingyang and other cities before entering Yuzhou.

They are Xingyang and Chenggao, which are the eastern gates of Luoyang.

As for the forces in Guanxi, if Xingyang and Chenggao were in their hands, they could attack or defend. But if Xingyang and Chenggao were in Cao Cao's hands, he could cut off Chenggao's mouth, making it impossible for the whole world to communicate, and block Liu Zhang in Guanxi in the mountainous area west of Chenggao.

Of course, there are more than one road going east from Guanxi, including Xingyang and Chenggao.

There is the Wugu Pass Road which starts from Chang'an, goes southeast along the Bashui River and Danshui River, passes through the Qinling Mountains and Shangluo Mountain Area, exits Wugu Pass, and enters Nanyang.

Some troops were sent from Hedong, marching eastward along the northern foot of Zhongtiao Mountain and entering the Chenguan Road in the Henei area.

It's just that the land of Henei is in the hands of Yuan Shao, so the so-called Chenguan Road is not something Cao Cao should worry about. As for the Wuguguan Road, it is rugged and difficult to travel, and it is inconvenient to transport grain, which is not conducive to the army's advance. It is expected that the people and horses in Guanzhong are unlikely to choose to go east from the Wuguguan Road.

Excluding the Chenguan Road and Wugu Pass, Cao Cao, who had occupied Yuzhou, naturally regarded Xingyang and Chenggao as his shields to prevent the troops from Guanzhong from going east and ensure the safety of his hinterland, Yuzhou, which he would not allow to lose.

Therefore, the gain or loss of Luoyang has nothing to do with the overall situation for Cao Cao. Only the gain or loss of Xingyang and Chenggao are the lifeline related to his safety. It is useless for Cao Ren and Zhong Yao to defend Luoyang. The right way is to retreat and defend Xingyang and Chenggao.

"Prime Minister, General Cao Zixiao has retreated to Chenggao." The military advisor, Guo Jia, walked in from outside and briefly reported the news.

'Prime Minister.' After the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao, relying on his great power in defeating the troops of Hebei, pretended to be the Son of Heaven and gathered all the power of the three officials, namely, the Grand Commandant in charge of military expeditions, the Minister of Civil Affairs in charge of government affairs and the Minister of Works in charge of monitoring the people, into his own hands. He also made all this legitimate by re-establishing the position of Prime Minister.

Guo Jia took a seat and began to introduce the details: "At first, General Zixiao intended to hold Luoyang, and sent the brave general Niu Jin to lead 300 warriors out of the city to attack the bandits in order to defeat the morale of the Qin army. However, the Qin army was brave and fierce, and Niu Jin was captured by the Qin army. During that time, Zixiao went out of the city to rescue him but failed." "Hiss." Cao Cao took a breath. He knew about Cao Ren's bravery and Niu Jin's good fighting skills, but he didn't expect that with the fighting effectiveness of Cao Ren and Niu Jin, they would end up with Niu Jin being captured. This shows how fierce and brave the people in Guanzhong were.

"Then," Guo Jia continued, "General Zixiao and Zhong Yao received the prime minister's letter, so they abandoned the city that night. As for why they left so quickly, firstly, the Qin army had surrendered the counties, and General Zixiao was afraid that his retreat would be cut off; secondly, the Qin army had many horses, and General Zixiao was worried that the Qin army would follow and pursue, which would be disadvantageous to the army."

"However, although General Zixiao acted decisively and without much hesitation, he was still pursued by the Qin army at dawn. The more than a thousand soldiers who were left behind were all killed or captured by the Qin army."

Cao Cao said calmly: "It is easy to get three armies, but it is hard to get a general. I hope my son is safe and sound."

"Is there any new news from Bingzhou?" After learning that Cao Ren had safely evacuated to Chenggao, Cao Cao breathed a sigh of relief and inquired about the situation in Bingzhou.

Guo Jia replied, "Liu Jiyu personally led a large army of 30,000 people from Guanjuejin to capture Taiyuan. Now Taiyuan, Yanmen, and most of Daijun are all owned by Liu Jiyu."

"Hmm?" Cao Cao looked a little puzzled. He said, "The road to Guanjuejin is not easy to travel. And I heard that the two cities of Yong'an and Jiexiu on the Guanjuejin Road were well repaired by Gao Gan. How could they be conquered so easily by Liu Jiyu?"

"Liu Jiyu did not take it by force." Guo Jia shook his head and said, "He sent General Zhang Ren to attack Taiyuan from Shangjun and Yunzhong via Yanmen and Daijun, and from the north of Bingzhou, he captured Jiexiu. Gao Gan was worried that his retreat would be cut off, so he did not dare to hold on to Yong'an, and led his troops to retreat to Shangdang."

"Is this the old strategy of King Wuling of Zhao?" The marching route of the Guanzhong troops reminded Cao Cao of King Wuling of Zhao's intention to attack Guanzhong from Henan. However, King Wuling of Zhao had such a brilliant plan but did not have the opportunity to implement it. He died in the Shaqiu Rebellion. Now that it was implemented by Liu Zhang, it was indeed very effective.

"They are similar." Guo Jia nodded. "King Wuling of Zhao intended to attack Guanzhong from Henan, while Liu Jiyu took the opposite approach and attacked Yanmen, Taiyuan and other counties."

"In addition, the Xiongnu Chanyu Huchuquan, who was helping the Yuan family, was killed by Zhang Ren, a general under Liu Jiyu. Most of the Xiongnu tribes in Taiyuan County were slaughtered. Only the Right Wise King Qubei escaped and now follows Gao Gan to camp in Shangdang."

Cao Cao sighed softly: "When the snipe and the clam quarrel, the fisherman gains."

This time, he and Yuan Shao fought a fierce stalemate at Guandu, and neither side gained much benefit. However, Liu Zhang had nothing to do, so he took advantage of the opportunity and firmly took over important counties such as Taiyuan County and Henan Yin County.

Moreover, the time when Liu Zhang intervened was just when the outcome of the Battle of Guandu was decided. It was neither early nor late, just right, extremely just right.

At this point in time, both he and Yuan Shao had old and tired soldiers and insufficient food and grass, and they were unable and unwilling to deal with Liu Zhang's invasion.

Besides, even if he and Yuan Shao wanted to counter Liu Zhang now, they would have to wait until next year. After all, it was the middle of winter and there was heavy snow, and the weather did not support them to attack Guanzhong.

Wonderful, wonderful, the timing of Liu Zhang's intervention was indeed the best time.

"Good calculation, good means, good skills." Cao Cao sighed deeply in his heart. After all, Liu Zhang, who had raised an army in one day and overthrew three states, was indeed a man of outstanding talent and heroic ability. He should not be taken lightly. (End of this chapter)