Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 56: Making Good Use of the Trend to Overwhelm
From Luxiang to Dangli in the north, the journey was smooth.

Last night, scouts reported that the defenders of Dangli County withdrew overnight and their whereabouts are unknown.

Perhaps the fleeing soldiers spread the news and learned that a large army was approaching. They thought that they had too few soldiers to defend the city, so they simply abandoned the city and fled.

Qian Zhao, Han Mu and Zhao Zhen were very angry as they had brought many large shields but did not use them. They made preparations to build fortifications outside the city to prevent the cavalry from escaping and to seize some horses.

Unexpectedly, the Xianbei people ran away as soon as they heard the news and rode away the horses, making people so frustrated that they stomped their feet on the ground and beat their chests with their fists.

Who can bear it if the meat at their mouth disappears?

One captain even suggested: "You can abandon Dangli County and lead the army north to Ye County, which is only a hundred miles away. When you attacked the Yellow Turbans in Le'an, you were farther away and had nothing to fear. If you do the same thing again, maybe you will achieve success again."

Liu Bei refused and said, "The present is different from the past. We cannot take it as a lesson. We had already found out the situation back then. Now the situation in Ye County is unclear. If we just chase after them blindly, we will be caught in a dilemma if things go wrong. Our food supply will be in danger, which is a big taboo in military operations."

"Donglai County is mostly plains, which is more suitable for cavalry to move freely."

It is very dangerous to pursue the enemy too eagerly. Besides, isn't it a common tactic used by nomadic people to lure the enemy deep into a food route and then outflank them from multiple angles?
Many people in later generations suffered losses from this.

Furthermore, Liu Bei's worries were not limited to these. Although the 7,000 auxiliary soldiers had the desire to make achievements, they were far inferior to the combat soldiers in terms of armor, willpower, and training.

However, these new recruits have been training for a year and haven't seen much blood.

The main combat force in this battle still depends on the three battalions and the cavalry, and the auxiliary soldiers can only follow behind and pick up the pieces to help.

When you defeat the enemy, you can pursue them to expand your victory.

None of the veteran soldiers who had fought bravely to defeat the Yellow Turbans were brought with them. All of them were left behind in Pingyuan, Jinan, and Qijun to guard against Liu Dai in Yanzhou and Yuan Shao in Jizhou.

Today, the richest county in Qingzhou is Pingyuan County, which has not been disturbed by war for many years and is adjacent to Ji and Yan provinces.

It will take at least five to ten years for other counties to restore their previous population size for farming and sericulture.

Therefore, an official suggested: "Pingyuan is a place where wars are fought on all sides. It would be better to move the prefecture to the original Le'an or Qi County to avoid the war."

Xun Yu immediately retorted: "The world is in turmoil right now. There is no way to keep the country safe. If the country is in turmoil, there is no way to keep the family safe. If the family is in turmoil, there is no way to keep oneself safe."

"Everyone in the world is hoping that someone will step forward to clean up the mess. As a descendant of the imperial family, your reputation will spread far and wide. If you don't step forward to help the world, it will only make people feel disappointed."

"If we move the state to another place now, it will be equivalent to showing the people of the world that we have no determination to eliminate the rebellion. Therefore, the scholars will be dissatisfied and the people will flee, and they will have nowhere to live." After saying this, Xun Yu quietly glanced at Liu Shijun, and was slightly relieved to see that he had no intention of moving.

Then, Xun Yu made an impassioned speech: "Although Pingyuan is a place surrounded by wars, in Xun Yu's opinion, it is a treasure land. It is very convenient to mobilize troops for expeditions. To the north, it can seize several states in Hebei, and to the south, it can control the heartland of the Central Plains. There is no better place in the world than it. Only heroes can hold it!"

Finally, he smiled gently and said, "Your Excellency has captured Qingzhou, which actually means you have captured Yanzhou, Jizhou, and Yuzhou. Who in the world can defeat you?"

This was the strategy Xun Yu drew up for Liu Bei, a grand plan to unify the world.

This is also one of the reasons why Liu Bei could not easily relocate the states. Not only would the common people be at a loss, but the dependent powerful families would also be divided. Most importantly, it would be fatal if the people under his command lost their ambition to fight for the world.

Liu Bei sighed softly, "What Wen Ruo said makes sense, but it's not pleasant to have someone hold a knife to your waist."

But there was nothing he could do. Only by pacifying Qingzhou could he free up his fists.

At the moment it is best to guard against fighting on both fronts, so we should station troops on the plains so that Yuan Shao, Liu Dai and others will not dare to invade. Even if they do attack, we will have the strength to repel the enemy.

After Liu Bei pondered, he looked at the county city with its gates open, and ordered Guan Hai to lead his troops in to explore a part before gradually entering the city.

There is no greater mistake in employing troops with caution, and safe conduct comes first.

The soldiers stepped on the broken rubble and formed groups of five, two holding large shields in front, two holding spears in the back, and one holding a bow to guard the watchtower door, while some searched carefully along the streets.

Some people also pushed open every door to prevent the enemy from hiding. If they met civilians, they were ordered to come out of the house and look at their hair and beard to see if they were Xianbei. If not, they were sent home and told to seal off the whole city and stay in their homes temporarily, not to go in or out without permission.

The situation in Dangli County was not much better. It can be said that all the land had been taken away by the Xianbei people.

Even the stone mill cooking utensils were taken away by the Xianbei people.

Han Mu could not help but sigh: "The Xianbei people are really too poor. Why do they want everything? It is understandable that they took millet and sorghum food, but they also took cooking utensils, kitchen spatulas, kitchen knives, spring scissors, and even spittoons..."

After the military officials finished counting, Liu Bei realized that the remaining people were so poor that several households could not even afford a set of tableware.

Zhao Zhen immediately asked for orders, saying that the enemy carried too much stuff and might not be able to go far even after one night.

It would be better to mobilize the troops and horses to pursue and capture them in one battle.

Liu Bei looked at the time and shook his head. He decided not to gamble again since he had already missed the opportunity.

The cavalry's resources were already limited, and it was difficult to replenish them as good horses were killed in battle. Only by preserving themselves first would they have a chance to defeat the enemy.

Yesterday, Zhao Yun led the light cavalry to fight the enemy and almost suffered casualties.

Liu Bei reflected last night and decided that he should not make this mistake again in the future. Now is not the time to use cavalry against cavalry.

The armed chariots and powerful bows and crossbows that were transported all the way here have not been used yet. They are the real weapons to deal with the unarmored nomadic peoples.

Liu Bei then said: "Don't be anxious, everyone. It takes time to build a career. It would be bad if the enemy took advantage of you."

Seeing that many of the generals were silent, he knew that he had to suppress the arrogance of his soldiers.

Liu Bei laughed and said, "Do you know which military strategist I admire the most?"

Qian Zhao asked, "Sun Wu of Wu?"

Seeing Liu Bei shaking his head, Zhao Yun asked, "Could it be Sima Rangju, Wu Qi, or Li Mu?"

For example, these people were good at using a small number of soldiers to repeatedly defeat powerful enemies. They were also good at training soldiers and treating the people well.

That's why Zhao Yun would ask these people questions.

Liu Bei smiled and shook his head and said, "Although they are famous generals, they are not them."

These people are worth learning from, but they are not the ones he admires most.

Guan Hai muttered quietly beside him, "Could it be Han Xin, Marquis of Huaiyin? Didn't the envoy call the officer Mo Xue?"

Liu Bei pointed at him and was speechless for a while.

If Han Xin really had such talent, why would Liu Xuande stop him? He was just afraid that he would think that the Marquis of Huaiyin was actually Ma Su.

He was left to shoulder the heavy burden, but he was defeated and fled. No matter how much wealth Ma Youchang had, it was not enough for him to squander.

Liu Bei was too lazy to let them guess, and said directly: "The one I admire most is Wang Jian of Qin. He is a prudent general, shrewd and calculating. He was able to devise a plan to eliminate the enemy's famous general Li Mu. His eyes are not only on the two armies, but also on the court and the country."

"With well-trained soldiers and sufficient food, you can crush the enemy with a large force and make it impossible for the enemy to find any flaws. Bai Qi and Wang Jian are both good at this. Farming and fighting are farming and fighting. As long as you do these two things well, you can defeat the enemy with regular troops."

After all, we can win by head-on attack, so why risk defeat by sending out surprise attacks?

(End of this chapter)