Three Kingdoms: Fusion of Entries, Change of Destiny

Chapter 78 The eve of the decisive battle
At the north gate of Kuangcheng, more than 100,000 Yuan soldiers were like ants, and their flags blocked out the sun.

Yuan Shu stood in front of the battle line, looking at the empty Cao army camp with a dark face.

The tents in the camp were still there, with straw men standing everywhere, and even the barricades at the gate had not been removed. It was obviously a premeditated evacuation.

Liu Xiang knelt on one knee, his face somewhat apprehensive as he said, "I attacked Cao's camp last night, only to learn that Cao's army had already withdrawn."

Before Yuan Shu could speak, his chief secretary, Yang Hong, suddenly shuddered, a trace of fear flashed across his face, and he shouted, "Oh no! General Zhang Xun and the Black Mountain Army are in danger!"

"Why do you say that, sir?" Yuan Shu raised his thick eyebrows, and an ominous premonition arose in his heart.

Yang Hong took a deep breath, tried to calm himself down, and explained, "My lord, Cao Cao is cunning and deceitful.

Before this, he pretended to attack Kuangcheng, luring our army to send troops to rescue, and took the opportunity to defeat General Ji's army.

Now that they have suddenly disappeared, they must be concentrating their forces to attack the army heading towards Puyang!
This is a strategy of "making a feint to the east and attacking in the west, defeating them one by one".

First, use a small force to harass me, forcing my army into a local battle, and then concentrate the elite forces to attack the weak points where my army is scattered.

The Black Mountain Army is now isolated and helpless, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to resist Cao Cao's attack."

Yuan Shu's pupils suddenly constricted, and he suddenly remembered Yang Hongxian's plan of dividing the troops the day before. He couldn't help but mutter inwardly, "Didn't you insist on a three-pronged attack back then? Now you're saying we can't divide the troops. What exactly do you want?"

Thinking of this, a barely perceptible coldness flashed across Yuan Shu's eyes, and he couldn't help but feel resentful towards Yang Hong.

"Sir," Yuan Wen said slowly, his tone tinged with dissatisfaction, "the previous strategy of dividing the troops was also yours. Now you're saying we can't divide them. This is so inconsistent. How can this general trust you?"

Yang Hong sensed the strangeness in Yuan Shu's tone and was startled. He quickly explained, "My lord, the situation back then was very different from now!
At that time, it was believed that Cao Cao had just defeated the Yellow Turbans and his soldiers were exhausted, so they only dared to defend the city and did not dare to attack.

But they never expected that Cao's army had already captured the main force of the Yellow Turbans and used them for their own purposes!
Originally, my subordinates thought that the main force of Cao's army was in Kuangcheng, and our army could divide its forces to attack from both sides, with a great chance of winning.

But now it seems that I have underestimated Cao Cao.

In fact, he had seen through our intentions long ago and used the same trick against us.

If our army is divided again, we may be defeated one by one and completely consumed.

The most urgent thing now is to concentrate our forces and engage Cao Cao's main force in a decisive battle, only then can we defeat him!"

Yuan Shu narrowed his eyes and fell into deep thought.

He thought of the tragic scene after Ji Ling was burned, and also of the more than 30,000 troops of Bai Rao, Sui Gu, and Yu Fuluo who were probably in great danger, and he felt even more irritated.

After a moment, Yuan Shu turned to Liu Xiang and asked, "Liu Xiang, do you know when Cao Cao withdrew?"

Liu Xiang lowered his head, his voice filled with guilt, "My lord, it should have been yesterday or two, but I don't know the exact time.

I have noticed that Cao's army seems to have relaxed a bit in the past two days, and even the number of cavalry patrolling outside the city has decreased. So I thought of taking the opportunity to explore the strength of Cao's army camp before your army arrives.

I never imagined that when I rushed into Cao's camp, I found that Cao's army had already disappeared."

Yuan Shu snorted coldly, "Hmph, you're brave, but you lack brains. You're just trying to show off your bravery. Now that Cao Cao's gone, what do you say we should do?"

Liu Xiang fell to his knees with a thud, kowtowed, and said, "I am willing to redeem myself for my crime and make meritorious contributions. I will definitely cut Cao Cao into pieces!"

Yuan Shu remained silent, and did not ask Liu Xiang to stand up from his kneeling position. Instead, he turned to Yang Hong and asked, "What do you think our army should do next?"

Seeing that Yuan Shikai's tone had softened slightly, Yang Hong hurriedly said, "Cao Cao would not dare to attack the Black Mountain Army and General Zhang Xun at the same time.

The Black Mountain Army has gone deeper into the enemy territory and will probably be the first to be attacked by Cao's army.

The most urgent task is to send a fast horse to General Zhang Xun with a message, asking him to stay where he is and be cautious. Although the Black Mountain Army is not guaranteed to be defeated, they are newly joined forces after all. Even if they are completely lost, it will not affect our army's morale.

As long as General Zhang Xun's 50,000 elite troops can join forces with you, my lord, the Cao army will certainly not be your opponent!"

After hearing Yang Hong's suggestion, Yuan Shu waved his hand and signaled Liu Xiang to stand up.

Then, he raised his head and looked towards the north, saying in a deep voice, "Since Cao Cao has gone to Puyang, I will also go straight to Puyang and fight him to the death! I want to see how capable Cao Cao is!"
-
Everyone gathered together in the Puyang City government office.

Holding the scout's secret report, Guo Jia told Cao Cao, "Yuan Shu has joined forces with Liu Xiang and is now leading his army north to Puyang."

Cao Cao looked at Puyang City on the map and asked, "Where is Zhang Xun?"

"Zhang Xun's march was one day later than the Black Mountain Army. After learning of the Black Mountain Army's defeat, he led his troops to retreat thirty miles and set up camp. I think he was waiting for Yuan Shu's army to come and join him." Guo Jia said.

Cao Cao nodded, then suddenly asked, "Zi'an, how is the Qingzhou army doing these days?"

Cao Yan laughed and said, "Although the Qingzhou army is a bit wild, with Dian Wei and Zilong here, we can keep them in check.

As long as we train them more and instill correct thinking in them, they will soon become an elite force in our army!"

"You are worthy of being like this. You will be the one leading the Qingzhou Army from now on. Don't just think about being lazy every day. It's time for you to take charge of things on your own." Cao Cao said indifferently.

"..."

Cao Yan was speechless and looked very reluctant, which made the other generals speechless.

That’s 30,000 elite soldiers!

Others want it so badly, yet you look down on them?!

Don't overdo it!!
Seeing that everyone was staring at Cao Yan with jealousy, Guo Jia coughed twice to attract everyone's attention, thus helping Cao Yan out of the predicament.

He continued, "Yuan Shu is running low on food and fodder. If they can't get it replenished within a month, his army will be in chaos. The safest tactic is to hold the city..."

Cao Cao waved his hand and said, "In this battle, our army must defeat Yuan Shu head-on! Only when the princes of the world see my strength, Cao Mengde, will they no longer underestimate us!"

Guo Jia sensed Cao Cao's determination and fighting spirit, so he stopped trying to persuade him. He saluted and said, "I am willing to follow my lord and defeat Yuan's army!"

At this time, Xiahou Dun suddenly asked, "Meng De, how are you going to distribute those war horses?"

The implication of Xiahou Dun's words was very clear. You can't give all the war horses to Cao Yan anymore. You have to give some to your brothers.

Cao Cao naturally understood the principle of "too much is as bad as too little", so he said: "Give two thousand to Miaocai, two thousand to Zihe, and the rest to Zilong."

"Thank you, brother!" Xiahou Yuan and Cao Chun were overjoyed to hear this and quickly stood up to express their gratitude.

"Thank you, my lord!" Zhao Yun also stood up and thanked him.

More than 5,000 war horses were seized this time.

Although Zhao Yun was only allocated more than a thousand, he himself had nearly three thousand cavalrymen. With these more than a thousand, he would still have the largest number of cavalrymen in all of Cao's army.

Moreover, Zhao Yun was not a greedy person, so he naturally had no objection to Cao Cao's distribution.

As for Cao Yan, he was still sitting there sulking, not wanting to bother with that bastard Lao Cao.

(End of this chapter)