Three Kingdoms: Wolong's brother-in-law, tricking Liu Bei into seizing Jingzhou

Cao Zhang began to get scared.

The previous battle against Zhang Fei, in which he used an army of 20,000 to hold off 40,000 Han troops for several months, really boosted his self-confidence.

But Guo Jia's words made him face the facts again and his confidence returned to its original state.

Although Cao Zhang considered himself to be a brave and capable man, he also knew that he was inferior to his father, Cao Cao.

Cao Cao was defeated by Liu Bei and fled to Yizhou in a panic. How could he, as his son, have the confidence to stop Liu Bei?

"Feng Xiao's words make sense. Zhang Fei only has less than 40,000 troops, which is not enough to surround our Jincheng."

"If Liu Bei arrives, with a combined force of 100,000, it will be enough to surround Jincheng."

"By then, will this king have to repeat Yu Jin's mistakes?"

Cao Zhang shuddered and then bowed to Guo Jia:

"Fengxiao, please teach me how I should deal with this so as not to end up following in Yu Jin's footsteps?"

"Retreat northward in big strides!"

Guo Jia seemed to have already made up his mind and gave a five-word answer without hesitation.

"Retreat northward in large strides?"

Cao Zhang looked confused.

Guo Jia hurriedly asked for a map and spread it out in front of Cao Zhang on the top of the city wall.

"We only have 20,000 soldiers. Whether we meet the enemy head-on or hold our ground without fighting, we will be doomed if we face Liu Bei and his 100,000-man army."

"Our only hope of survival is for Liu Bei to withdraw his troops on his own initiative."

"And the only way to make Liu Bei withdraw his troops is to make trouble for his food supplies."

"Your Highness, please take a look."

Guo Jia pointed to the locations of the Liangbei counties on the map:
"The Liangbei counties are located in the Hexi Corridor. The four counties of Dunhuang, Jiuquan, Zhangye, and Wuwei are lined up from northwest to southeast. The westernmost Yumen Pass is nearly a thousand miles away from the easternmost Cangsong City."

"This long and narrow terrain is our only advantage in forcing Liu Bei to retreat!"

As he spoke, Guo Jia pointed towards Jiuquan County:
"My strategy is that we immediately abandon Jincheng County, head north through Wuwei and Zhangye counties, and retreat directly to Fucheng, the capital of Zhangye County."

"In this way, if Liu Bei wants to pursue us, he will have to chase us all the way from Jincheng to Fu, which is equivalent to adding nearly 700 miles of food routes, and most of them are transported by land."

"Liu Bei's current food supply route starts from Luoyang, first goes to Chang'an, then to Jieting, crosses the entire Longxi and reaches Jincheng. The food supply route is more than a thousand miles long."

"Given the might of the Pseudo-Han, I believe that such a long grain route would be overwhelmed."

"This is also the reason why Liu Bei did not bring a full army of 300,000 troops this time, but only led 70,000 soldiers and horses."

"The root cause is that as the food supply route becomes longer, the Pseudo-Han's national strength is no longer sufficient to support such a long food supply route for an army of 300,000."

Hearing this, Cao Zhang had already understood Guo Jia's meaning, and before he could finish, he spoke first:
"If we retreat to Fulu, it will be equivalent to adding nearly 700 miles of food routes to Liu Bei's existing 1,000-mile food routes."

"Liu Bei's current food supply route is already overwhelmed. If another 700-mile food supply route is added, it will be difficult to sustain."

"Then Liu Bei will have no choice but to stand back and give up chasing me!"

"Fengxiao, is this what you mean?"

Guo Jia raised a long-lost smile and stroked his beard and said:
"Your Highness is wise. This is exactly what I meant."

"Once Liu Bei gives up chasing me, Your Highness will be able to turn danger into safety and keep the two counties of Dunhuang and Jiuquan."

"Although these two counties are small and poor, they are located on the Silk Road. To the west, we can explore the Western Regions and collect taxes from merchants and travelers. This should be enough to support our current 20,000 troops."

"I think Your Majesty will not be content to stay in Yizhou. You will definitely prepare your troops and regroup. Sooner or later, you will lead your troops north to Qinling Mountains to try to recapture Guanlong."

"Then your highness can lead the troops south to recapture Zhangye, Wuwei, Jincheng and other counties, and cooperate with your majesty to attack from both north and south. Recapture of Longxi is just around the corner!"

Guo Jia became more and more excited as he spoke. He moved his fingers on the map and outlined a grand blueprint for Cao Zhang.

Cao Zhang's gloomy eyes gradually regained their spirits, and his clenched fists trembled slightly with excitement. "Feng Xiao's words make sense. It seems that this king is not at a dead end. Retreating to Fu is indeed the best strategy to preserve strength!"

Cao Zhang nodded heavily, approving Guo Jia's suggestion.

There was a bit of regret mixed with joy, and he said unwillingly:
"But this king has occupied five counties in Liangbei, but now he has abandoned three counties without a fight. These three counties are the three richest counties in Liangbei."

"I am unwilling to accept this, I am unwilling to accept this~~"

Cao Zhang gritted his teeth secretly.

After all, after he got the job of being in charge of Liangbei, he still belonged to Qin in name, but in reality he was separatist and independent.

Each of the five counties in Liangbei was his vassal state, and losing each one was like cutting off a piece of his flesh.

Now Guo Jia asked him to cut three pieces of meat in one breath!
Pain!

Besides, he has always prided himself on being brave and good at fighting. Now that Liu Bei has not arrived yet, he is fleeing like a mouse seeing a cat. Isn't this a shame for him?

"Your Highness, a true hero is one who can bend and stretch!"

"We give up today only to regain it twice as much in the future!"

"I believe that with your wisdom and judgment, you will be able to weigh the pros and cons of this matter!"

Guo Jia gave earnest and earnest instructions, and paved the way for Cao Zhang with all kinds of flattery.

Cao Zhang's unwillingness was finally suppressed by Guo Jia.

After weighing the pros and cons for a moment, Cao Zhang sighed and waved his hand helplessly:

"Just as Feng Xiao said, pass down the order. The entire army will abandon Jincheng tonight and retreat to Jiuquan County overnight!"

Guo Jia felt relieved.

The decision had been made, and the 20,000 panic-stricken Jincheng defenders finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Late at night.

The west gate of Jincheng was wide open. Cao Zhang, with his 20,000 defenders, abandoned the gate of Jincheng County that they had defended for nearly two months, and retreated northward overnight.

The next day, at dawn.

Forty thousand Han troops marched out of the camp in a mighty force and gathered at the east gate of Jincheng, ready to attack the city.

"Everyone, in two days, His Majesty will come to Jincheng in person."

"We must capture Jincheng today and kill Cao Zhang. We must not let the brothers of the Southern Army laugh at us!"

Under the central army flag, Zhang Fei pointed his snake spear at the top of the city wall, inspiring morale with great heroic spirit.

The southern army defeated Lueyang, captured Jicheng, and captured Longxi. It can be said that they won battles one after another and achieved rich results.

Ma Chao, Zhao Yun and other colleagues have made great contributions and are well fed.

However, he, the General of Cavalry and the commander of the Northern Army, was unable to make any progress or gain any results for several months.

Zhang Fei was too embarrassed to bear the shame.

So yesterday, after discussing with Xu Shu and the generals, we prepared to launch another fierce attack today, trying to capture Jincheng before Liu Bei arrived in person.

Guan Ping, Guo Huai, Ling Tong and other generals of the Northern Army were also eager to win merit, so they naturally responded generously.

For a time, the morale of the soldiers of the three armies was burning and their fighting spirit increased dramatically.

Zhang Fei took a deep breath, pointed his snake spear at the enemy city, and prepared to order an attack.

at this time.

Xu Shu's eyes gleamed, and he raised his hand and pointed with a sneer:
"General Huqi, Cao Zhang has already escaped. Jincheng is now an empty city. There is no need for us to mobilize a large army to attack."

Zhang Fei was stunned. (End of this chapter)