Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

As the situation in Qingzhou developed to this point, it seemed that of the six counties of Qingzhou, only half of Beihai County had been captured. However, Cao Ren was more aware that most of Qingzhou's garrison forces had already collapsed.

Now, even if Cao Ren mobilized all the available troops as much as possible, the available troops in Duchang City were less than 30,000, and the counties and prefectures in Qingzhou were already extremely short of troops and had no defensive power at all.

Coupled with the fall of Linzi, even the maintenance of food and fodder will become a problem.

For Cao Ren, the feeling at this moment was like wanting to kill the enemy but being powerless to do anything about it.

"Bang bang!"

Cao Ren pounded the table twice as if to vent his anger, then propped himself up with both hands on the table, forcing himself to calm down.

As Cao Ren gradually understood the current situation, he realized that there were only two choices before him at this moment.

Or they could store up all the supplies needed for defending the city in winter in Duchang City, forcibly conscript as many young and strong men as possible, and then seal the city gates and defend it to the end.

The burning of Dongchaojin made Cao Ren realize that it would be difficult to get reinforcements from Jizhou before the end of winter. He had to fight hard to get through the winter before the situation in Qingzhou could turn around.

Or they could take advantage of Li Ji's stay in Chunyu City and decisively abandon Duchang City and the three counties east of Qingzhou, and retreat to Le'an County, Jinan State and Pingyuan County, which are closer to Jizhou, and hold on step by step.

Although this choice seemed a bit unfair, after careful consideration, Cao Ren felt that this was Qingzhou's only remaining advantage. He used Qingzhou's vast territory to contain Li Ji as much as possible.

Gradually, Cao Ren's thoughts unconsciously tended towards the latter option.

The key is that Cao Ren did not have to face Li Ji's powerful Northern Expedition Army, and he was still able to hold on to Duchang City until the beginning of next spring.

Compared with gamble everything in Duchang City and retreat to the three counties near Jizhou, although this move seems ugly and depressing, it seems safer.

Cao Ren, who gradually showed the style of a great general in charge of a region, did not care about the slight loss of his own reputation, but cared more about the gains and losses of the Wei Dynasty.

At this moment, defending the entire Qingzhou territory is no longer an option, and abandoning the car to save the king is also...

Just when Cao Ren was about to make up his mind, Mao Jie appeared outside the door asking for a meeting.

When Cao Ren approved Mao Jie's request and saw Mao Jie in a hurry, the first words Mao Jie said made Cao Ren feel a little surprised.

"General, I have a plan that may help us recover Qingzhou!"

Cao Ren was shocked and asked anxiously, "What is Xiaoxian's plan?"

Mao Jie didn't care about etiquette and spoke bluntly.

"Just now I went to ask the defeated soldiers who fled back from Chunyu City one by one, and learned that the key to Chunyu City's collapse in an instant was that the Han army was wearing warm clothes made of unknown materials, which allowed the Han army to move freely even in the severe cold."

Cao Ren's face changed slightly, but he was just browsing the military newspaper and didn't have time to understand this detail in such a hurry.

Cao Ren also realized the seriousness of the situation immediately and asked anxiously, "Is everyone in the Han army wearing that unknown warm clothing?"

"According to the description of the defeated soldiers, every Han soldier they saw was wearing exactly the same warm clothes." Mao Jie said in a deep voice.

Suddenly, even though it was winter, Cao Ren, who was anxious and panicked, was sweating all over his forehead.

If we talk about what clothes the nobles use to keep warm in winter, they are naturally mainly furs, which are enough to ensure that they are not afraid of the cold at all.

But furs and the like are expensive, and there is no possibility of their popularization among soldiers.

For ordinary soldiers, the best way to keep warm in winter is to hide in a sheltered place, light a fire to keep warm and avoid frostbite.

If the Han army was truly not afraid of the cold, Cao Ren knew that it was almost impossible to defend Duchang City. There was no need for anything else. The Han army only needed to attack day by day, forcing Cao's army to defend, and using the cold as a knife, they could crush Cao's army to collapse.

And what Mao Jie said next was also to persuade Cao Ren.

"Therefore, General, you must not defend Duchang to the death. You should quickly retreat to the Le'an County area to avoid the Han army's sharp sword!"

If it had been a month ago, Cao Ren would have been furious when hearing this, and would have asked me why I had to avoid the Han army's attack, and might even have punished the person who said it.

But at this time, Cao Ren no longer had the confidence to retreat to the three counties of Le'an, Jinan and Pingyuan, and he muttered.

"The Han army has this rare warming item. Even if they retreat from Duchang, it will be useless."

Mao Jie heard this, waved his sleeves and said loudly, "Don't worry, General. This is the strength of the Han army, but it is also the weakness of the Han army. The strategy to turn defeat into victory lies in it."

Cao Ren suddenly reacted and asked anxiously, "I wonder what trick Xiaoxian used to defeat the Han army."

"Retreat to Le'an and cut off their food supply."

Mao Jie said eight words, and then explained in detail. "The Han army is now at its peak, and with that strange warm-keeping item made of unknown materials, it is difficult to compete head-on with them."

"Of course, Li Zikun must also know that the Han army's advantage is due to the winter weather. They must occupy Qingzhou on the south bank of the Yellow River before the spring. Otherwise, when the king leads a large army to help after the spring, the outcome is still uncertain."

"Therefore, although it seems that Qingzhou is about to be defeated, in fact, Li Zikun is just fighting against the sky. If the general retreats step by step, Li Zikun will have no choice but to continue to press forward step by step."

When Cao Ren heard this, he suddenly felt enlightened and had a deeper understanding of the seemingly one-sided situation in Qingzhou.

It seemed that Qingzhou could not be defended, but the Han army could not afford to delay.

"So, I just need to try to retreat to Le'an, Jinan and Pingyuan counties and hold them until the beginning of spring next year?" Cao Ren asked subconsciously.

"If we just keep defending, we will definitely lose. Besides, our army is short of manpower and I'm afraid we won't be able to outlast the Han army..."

Mao Jie shook his head, and after making such a judgment, he turned and said, "The Han army, which seems to be unstoppable, has a fatal flaw, which is the food supply route."

"As the general retreats to Le'an, Jinan and other places, the Han army's food routes have to be continuously extended. It should be noted that transporting food in winter is extremely difficult."

"Even if the Han army is so extravagant that even the young and strong men transporting food have warm clothes, once it snows and the roads are covered with snow, it is still possible that the food supply route will be difficult to maintain."

"What's more, the general is familiar with the geographical advantages of Qingzhou. Once the Han army's food supply route continues to lengthen, the general will have more loopholes. It is not difficult to determine the route of the Han army's food supply."

After hearing this, Cao Ren completely understood what Mao Jie meant. He stood up suddenly and spoke with a burning gaze.

"The Han army may be able to dominate for a long time, but I only need to successfully cut off their food supply once, which will be enough to bury the entire northern expedition army in Qingzhou."

"That's exactly the truth." Mao Jie replied.

"Good idea! Great idea!"

Cao Ren suddenly felt as if the clouds had cleared and the sky was bright. He quickly made up his mind and said.

"If you want to take it, you must give it to it first!"

"I will give Beihai County to Li Ji, and I will lead my army to retreat to Le'an County..." (End of this chapter)