Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Chapter 911 Seeing Through
Invisibly, it was as if the word "see through" popped up above Zhuge Liang's head.

Perhaps, if Zhuge Liang was given some time, the young Zhuge Liang might be able to see the secret on his own.

Now that Li Ji had casually revealed the key, Zhuge Liang naturally understood it in an instant.

This appears to be a secret letter sent by Guo Tu. So what if it really leaked Cao's army secrets?
Is it really disadvantageous for Cao Cao?

Of course not. On the contrary, this secret letter is real and is beneficial to Cao Cao.

Once Lu Bu withdrew from Guandu, it would be Cao Wei that would bear the full pressure of the Northern Expedition Han army's attack.

Even if Lu Bu really succeeded in his surprise attack, he would have cut off a major food supply route for the Han army in the Northern Expedition.

It would not affect the Han army in the Northern Expedition in a short period of time, and might even force Li Ji to attack Guandu more frantically in an attempt to break the deadlock before food and grass ran out.

In this case, the answer is obvious.

In order to appease the severely damaged Lü Bu and maintain the Wei-Zhao coalition, Cao Cao had no choice but to replace Lü Bu and bear the offensive of the Northern Expedition Han Army and free Lü Bu.

But the best choice for the Wei-Zhao coalition does not necessarily mean the most advantageous choice for Cao Cao.

Therefore, the purpose of this secret letter sent to Li Ji was not only to reduce the pressure that Cao Wei would have to bear in Guandu, but also to attract Li Ji to send troops to encircle Lu Bu.

"So, even if this secret letter was not sent by Cao Cao, I'm afraid it was sent by Guo Tu with Cao Cao's tacit consent."

Zhuge Liang spoke slowly, but his eyes were fixed on his teacher.

Feeling Zhuge Liang's slightly abrupt gaze, Li Ji's expression became more questioning.

Zhuge Liang said with emotion.

"Yuan Gonglu held a banquet in Shouchun to reminisce about the past. He often talked about military affairs, and he often mentioned his teacher. He said that if he faced his teacher on the battlefield, he must not use wits or strategies, otherwise he would end up making things worse."

"Cao Cao's successive strategies are brilliant, but they seem a bit clumsy in front of the teacher..."

Li Ji couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. He didn't expect that Zhuge Liang, a man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, could say such nice words.

"What do you mean by overdoing it? Never underestimate the wise men in the world. For example, Cao Cao, Xun You, Chen Gong, Xi Zhicai, etc. are not easy to deal with. As a teacher, I have to be cautious when facing them and think twice."

Li Ji gave a serious lecture and then added.

"Besides, this secret letter may have been sent in the name of Guo Tu, but in fact Cao Cao didn't care whether I could see through it or not."

"But if Lu Bu really turns defense into offense and fully utilizes the mobility of Bingzhou Wolf Riders, it will indeed be troublesome."

Especially in the Central Plains with vast plains, it is extremely difficult to perfectly restrict large-scale cavalry.

The best way is to firmly grasp the initiative and force the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry to respond passively, rather than allowing these wolf cubs to attack at will.

Otherwise, it is true that the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry is not good at attacking cities, but if they break into the rear and cause destruction, they can still turn the world upside down.

After years of getting along, the tacit understanding between master and disciple allowed Zhuge Liang to easily understand Li Ji's meaning and give advice.

"Teacher, if Lu Bu really wants to evacuate Guandu, why not send troops to attack Xingyang, forcing Lu Bu to send troops to rescue him, so that he has no time to go south?"

The location of Xingyang is quite critical.

If Hulao Pass is the gateway to Luoyang, then Xingyang controls the external passage of Hulao Pass.

Once Xingyang was captured, even if Lu Bu intended to move south, he would not be able to obtain food and grass supplies through Sili.

Lu Bu’s Bingzhou Wolf Riders numbered as many as 50,000, and most of them were equipped with two horses per rider, so their consumption of food and grass was particularly terrifying.

Once the rear food and grass were cut off first, and the Yingchuan, Nanyang and other places they were attacking were also cleared in advance, then Lü Bu's Bingzhou Wolf Riders might be out of food at any time. Therefore, if Li Ji divided his troops to attack Xingyang, Lü Bu, who intended to attack southward, could not ignore it.

It is naturally extremely difficult to break through Hulao Pass, but if only Xingyang is taken, the difficulty will undoubtedly be greatly reduced, and it can effectively curb Lu Bu's idea of ​​​​going south, forcing Lu Bu and Li Ji to fight in the Xingyang area.

"inappropriate."

Li Ji narrowed his eyes and weighed it for a while, then rejected Zhuge Liang's suggestion and said, "If this is true, it will play into Cao Cao's hands."

"Why?" Zhuge Liang asked.

"If we can easily capture Xingyang, it will naturally be beneficial to the overall situation and greatly restrict the whereabouts of Bingzhou Wolf Riders."

Li Ji first affirmed Zhuge Liang's judgment, then pointed to Zhongmu County and spoke.

"Of course, you must know that Zhongmu and Xingyang are more than a hundred miles apart, and the terrain is flat, with no strategic locations to defend. Once we divide our forces to attack Xingyang, how will we maintain our food supply under the attack of 50,000 Bingzhou Wolf Riders?"

"With such a long battle line, it is not just a matter of fighting for Xingyang, but the more than 100 miles between Zhongmu and Xingyang will become the key to the fight."

"If this happens, the purpose of advancing the army to Guandu and forcing the Wei-Zhao coalition to fight will be lost."

Zhuge Liang came to his senses suddenly, feeling a little scared, realizing that he had almost fallen into Cao Cao's treacherous scheme.

As Li Ji's disciple, Zhuge Liang was naturally familiar with Li Ji's theories of "strategy" and "tactics" in his approach to employing troops.

Once they had fully seized Xingyang, it seemed that they had gained a certain initiative tactically in the face of the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry, but in terms of the Northern Expedition strategy, they were actually in a passive position.

Now that the Northern Expedition Army is stationed at Guandu, it is quite difficult for the Wei-Zhao coalition to deal with it. That is to seize the initiative and use one's strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses.

Once the battle line was extended over a hundred miles toward Xingyang, the military advantage of the Northern Expedition Army might be eliminated, and the Northern Expedition Army would be faced with a pincer attack from Cao Cao and Lu Bu.

Active and passive can be said to change invisibly.

Just as Zhuge Liang was thinking about other ways to break the impasse, Li Ji put his hands on the edge of the sand table and spoke.

"Order to dispatch the cavalry of General Zhang Fei and General Zhao Yun to return to the camp immediately."

After Zhuge Liang recorded it truthfully, he came to his senses and asked.

"Teacher, are you planning to send only the cavalry to attack Xingyang?"

"It's enough to hold you back for a while."

Leekie explained calmly.

In terms of cavalry, the Han army in the Northern Expedition was actually weaker than the Wei-Zhao coalition forces.

Zhang Fei still has more than 20,000 elite cavalry under his command, and Zhao Yun also has more than 10,000 white horse volunteers under his command, but together they have less than 40,000 cavalry.

In comparison, the number of Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry under Lu Bu alone exceeded 50,000, not to mention the rest of the Zhao cavalry and the Cao Wei cavalry.

If they engage in the most brutal cavalry attack, it will undoubtedly be disadvantageous to the Han army.

Once all the cavalry is lost, it will be very disadvantageous for the army. Cao Cao, who experienced the Battle of Xuzhou, is a living example.

Therefore, Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei's cavalry were dispatched to harass and attack Xingyang.

Perhaps it could also limit Lu Bu's time to move south, but it was undoubtedly tactically disadvantageous, as it delayed time at the cost of continuous losses of cavalry.

(End of this chapter)