Shu Chen

Chapter 412
As soon as the words "Don't abandon Hefei New City" came to the fore, Cao Rui's heart suddenly trembled.

Not only because he didn't foresee this remark.

It is also because he knows how much resistance Man Chong will face when he abandons Hefei New City!

Everyone in the Kingdom of Gein knew that Wu Rukou's countermeasure against the bandit Man Chong was always advocating luring the enemy to go deep and attacking the enemy's weaknesses with his own strengths.

Previously, he stated that he would destroy the old city of Hefei and build a new one. He used the elite Jiangdong naval forces as an excuse to use the tactics of "leading thieves far away from the water and making moves based on profit" so that the Huainan front, which was empty after the Battle of Shiting, could be defended. Stand in an invincible position, and be able to judge the situation and the army to pursue profits.

At that time, as soon as Shangbiao arrived in Luoyang Temple, he was opposed by many people.

The person who reacted most violently was Jiang Ji, who was also familiar with the Huainan battlefield.

Jiang Ji believed that since Liu Fu, the governor of Yangzhou, moved the government of Yangzhou to Hefei, Wei Guo had worked hard in Hefei for 30 years, and the old hardships should not be destroyed.

Moreover, the city of Hefei has survived many wars!
For example, Wu Sunquan, the thief who invaded Hefei for the first time, relied on the city defenses built by Liu Fu and the supplies he had accumulated during his lifetime, and Jiang Ji, who was in charge of Yangzhou at the time, conspired and falsely claimed that reinforcements were coming, which made Sun Quan retreat in a hurry and failed. And back.

Later, when Zhang Liao guarded Hefei, it was even more interesting to talk about!
The Battle of Xiaoyaojin not only made Zhang Liao famous all over the world, but also made Hefei City become the psychological sustenance of the Huainan soldiers of Wei State following the war-the supreme feat of [-] million breaking [-], which made the soldiers feel that as long as they are in Hefei City , Thief Wu is nothing to be afraid of!

No matter if one hundred thousand troops come to attack, or tens of thousands~~
Such a city, which can be recorded in the history, was not captured by the enemy, but was destroyed by our own people?
How is this different from self-destructing the Great Wall?

Although it is said that the destruction of the city is to lure the enemy to go deep, it is for the victory of the military battle; but why did not think about the blow to the morale of the soldiers by the destruction of the city?
If the soldiers have no morale, how can we win the battle?
Therefore, Jiang Ji could not agree with the move of destroying the old and building the new.

And he also asserted that only considering the tactical level of Man Chong, since he can abandon the old city, he will also make arrangements to abandon the new city in the future!He keeps taking the initiative to give way, and then let the thief Wu push into the Huai River step by step. It may not take many years before Wei Guo will retreat to Huaibei and lose all of Huainan!
However, people such as Cao Zhen and Liu Ye were still alive at that time.

During the court discussion, they all believed that Man Chong's plan was the best policy, so they followed the trend.

This is also the reason why Cao Rui's heart suddenly shivered: Man Chong's meaning today is as Jiang Ji asserted in the past!
But after thinking about it, now that the new city is already occupied by the thief Wu, it is not as difficult to give up as before, and it would be better to listen to Man Chong's plan first.

With such thoughts in mind, Cao Rui, who was a little stunned for a while, asked calmly and slowly, "Your words about abandoning the city, I didn't plan ahead on my journey, and I heard it all of a sudden, so it's hard to make a decision. If you don't speak in detail, I'll think about it again."

"only."

Man Chong responded with a loud voice, "Your Majesty, there are three things I think about the old minister's theory of abandoning the city."

"One, the bandit Wu came here today in a cover-up attack. According to the new city of Hefei, and the soldiers are approaching Shouchun City, they are besieged, and their vigor is in full swing! Our army should temporarily avoid the front and stand firm for a while, in the hope that he will be discouraged by the long-term army. also."

"Chaohu Xiaoyaojin to Shouchun is nearly three hundred (Han) miles away. The bandit Wu's army is besieged in the city, and it will suffer from the transfer of food and fodder. The bandit Wu has few riders, but our army has more riders. If our army does not drive troops and fight under the city , and did not attempt to recapture the new city of Hefei, but used cavalry to harass the grain road or the Shu County area of ​​​​Lujiang County, making him frequently go east and west for rescue, exhausted, and within three months, he will be unable to continue. At that time, our army will first use cavalry to break his way back, and then use infantry to chase after him, and we will win a big victory!"

"Secondly, the old minister secretly thought that our army is unbearable!"

"Since the beginning of this year, our country's Jing, Yu and Yan Sanzhous, the Luoyang Central Army, and the Yongliang Army have all gone through wars. The soldiers are exhausted and the people are suffering. If you rush to gather an army and go to Huainan to fight against the bandit Wu, the veterans may complain. Breeding, no intention to fight; Li Shu can't bear the burden, and gathers crowds to make trouble! And this move is like the intention of the thief Wu to surround the spot and fight for help, it is really not advisable!"

"Instead of this, the old officials secretly thought that it would be better to abandon the new city of Hefei and let the soldiers of all states and counties rest and recuperate. Only the old officials and supervisors will be kept here to contain the Huaikou and help Shouchun City. Waiting for the soldiers to nourish themselves Gather up your strength, when the time is right, fight again, and destroy the thief Wu Hefei Xincheng, it's not difficult!"

"In the end, it's the shortage of food and fodder."

"The old minister has recently heard that soldiers and horses from Yongliang have entered Jingxiang to garrison for defense. Luoyang's Chinese army is marching in a hurry, and His Majesty also ordered the tiger and leopard cavalry and the Wuhuan Tuqi cavalry to come to Huainan for rescue. The daily cost is tens of thousands. Although Fang Qiu’s income in the treasury can support a large army for several months, the thief Wu has come here this time, and he has already taken the lead. The victory cannot be determined by a single battle! Your Majesty, Over the past few years, our country has been conquering east and west, fighting all the time, the livelihood of the people has been withered, and the treasury is also empty. Once the war drags on for a long time, our army's food and supplies may not be sustainable."

After talking about all his thoughts and concerns, Man Chong moistened his throat with a lamp, and then continued to add something softly.

"Your Majesty, it has been more than ten years since the battle of Yiling, and the rebellion against Shu is not what it used to be! Although the national strength of the thief Wu is not weak, but after all, he is an enemy in a corner of Pian'an. Those who are fighting for the life and death of our country Wei are Ni Shu ear! The old minister secretly thought that this battle must not consume too much people's strength and hurt the country's reserves, so that it will be difficult to resist Ni Shu in the future!"

"Ugh"

Cao Rui, who was just hugging and listening to his thoughts, couldn't help sighing after hearing Man Chong's last words.

Gein also knew in his heart that Jiang Dong would not have the chance to win the Central Plains.

Even if the entire Huainan is occupied, it is impossible!

However, once Nishu occupies the Sanfu in Guanzhong and moves the capital to Chang'an, it may be difficult for Wei to rule!

The prestige and destiny inherited by the Han Dynasty for 400 years cannot be offset by manpower.

But for Man Chong's plan, he didn't applaud him and carried it out as he said.

It's not that Man Chong's plan is not good, but that he really has the difficulty of not abandoning Hefei New City.

Gein Manchong is a minister, and what he thinks about is the tactical level of defeating the enemy; and as the emperor, what he worries about is also the angles of the princes in the temple, the aristocratic family, and his personal martial arts and martial arts.

Since he succeeded to the throne, he has accomplished such feats as destroying Liaodong and northern Xianbei, restoring several counties in the northern part of Bingzhou, etc., and restoring thousands of miles of land for the country.

But it also lost the land of Longyou and Liangzhou.

The loss of soldiers and generals on the Yongliang front, and repeated defeats have already caused him a great loss of prestige and turmoil in the temple.If in the face of the thief Wu's invasion, he also abandoned the city to avoid the war and voluntarily retreated, how would the people in the world talk about Wei?
I am afraid that the common people think that Wei's soldiers are on the decline.

Especially in the heart of the Central Plains, which has been in chaos for decades, no one wants to believe that Wei Guo can protect them from the flames of war.

Accumulating small steps can reach thousands of miles, accumulating small streams can form rivers and seas.

vice versa.

Wei Guo's prestige has gone through too many blows over the years, and Cao Rui no longer dares to take any more risks.

Yes, Man Chong's planning is also risky at the strategic level.

Now Cao Rui also knows about Jiangdong's move to rebuild the fortress in Xiaoyaojin.

Therefore, he who rushed to aid Huainan many times, it is not difficult to infer that after Jiangdong builds the fortress, the canal between Dongfei River and Nanfei River will inevitably be widened, so that the Jiangdong water army can smoothly move northward and drive to Shouchun City.

In this way, if Man Chong's strategy of harassing and exhausting him by riding frequently does not work as expected, then Wei Guo will get twice the result with half the effort if he wants to recapture Hefei City in the future!

After all, taking advantage of Thieves Wu's current foothold is not stable, it is much easier to fight decisively than pulling out the city.

"What you said is quite in my heart, and I will make a decision after I listen to other people's opinions."

After a long silence, Cao Rui said quietly, "However, Hefei has fallen into the enemy's hands, so you can prepare for the war first. Well, it's late at night, so I won't disturb your rest."

After saying that, he signaled that Man Chong doesn't need to send it off according to the etiquette, got up and strode out of the tent.

Sitting alone in the military tent, Man Chong sighed quietly.

It's not that he didn't understand what Cao Rui meant by "preparing for the war first" when he left.

It's nothing more than carrying out fortified walls and clearing the wilderness within a radius of three hundred miles to the south of Shouchun City.

After Jiangdong occupies Hefei City, Bingfeng will also expand a lot.For example, Li Shu who farmed around Shouchun City, and people in counties near Lu'an should move away from the front line as much as possible, so as not to be affected by the war or be taken captive by the thief Wu to Jiangdong.

But he knew in his heart that Cao Rui did not approve of his plan.

In other words, Cao Rui is the successor after all.

When you ascend to the throne of God, you are sitting on the world.Instead of relying on thousands of soldiers and horses, Wei Wu Cao Cao, who has accumulated one city and one county, and laid down such a huge foundation with one knife and one gun!

Therefore, Cao Rui did not have the decisiveness of Wei Wudi's leaping horse and whipping his whip.

Not to mention the arrogance of fighting hard!

Man Chong, who has stayed in Jingxiang and Huainan fronts to fight against Jiangdong since the 13 years of Jian'an expedition to Chibi, how could he not know Jiangdong's intention to build the old city of Hefei?
How can you not know that if you don't seize Hefei New City now, it will lead to the evolution of the Jianghuai situation?

But weighing the pros and cons, shouldn't the power of two evils be the lesser!
The battlefield is changing rapidly, and only the fearless can achieve great success.

Just like in the past when Cao Cao of Wei Wu conquered Wuhuan, the three prefectures in the north, if he was worried about Liu Biao of Jingzhou attacking Xuchang and was afraid of his hands and feet, how could there be a big river to the north of the river and no more troubles!

I can't bear it for a while now, insisting on competing with the thief Wu for power and depleting the national power. In the future, I will rebel against Shu and return to the bandits. I'm afraid it will be too late for regret!

Ugh.
Man Chong drank the cold wine in one gulp, rolled up his clothes and fell asleep in a sluggish mood.

It was Jiang Ji who came to supervise and lead the Luoyang Central Army. Since the emperor Cao Rui claimed to listen to him, he must have listened to Jiang Ji's strategy.

That is to say, attacking the thief Wu by force to solve Shouchun's predicament can never be changed.

He is also heartless.

However, he guessed wrong on this point.

When Cao Rui was in Luoyang, he had already asked Jiang Ji about it.

Therefore, after he left the army tent and returned to his own place, the person he recruited to discuss was the Minister of Zhongshu who accompanied the army this time.

During the imperial conquest, he can only entrust many affairs of the Luoyang Temple to his officials, but he cannot change everything. He has to send a horse to check with him. It is inevitable to bring a central official with the army.

Because of the relationship that came so quickly, Zhongshu Supervisor Liu Fang and Zhongshu Ling Sun Zi were both old and suffering from the ups and downs, so they brought along Zhongshu's assistant, Wang Ji.

Zi Boyu, a native of Donglai, Qingzhou.

He was born in a poor family, Ju Xiaolian, and was once the farewell to Wang Ling, the governor of Qingzhou at that time.

Later, he was called into Luoyang as Secretary Lang, but Wang Ling asked for his return because of Wang Ji's ability to act as an agent. Situ Wang Lang refused to send him again;

So Cao Rui knew that Wang Ji was excellent in both talent and virtue, so he was promoted to the center and given the post of Minister of Zhongshu.

However, Cao Rui summoned him to make a plan, not because he hoped that Wang Ji, who had never supervised the troops before the battle, could come up with a better plan than Man Chong.

He asked Jiang Ji and Man Chong successively about the strategy, and he had roughly made a decision on how to dispatch the war in his heart.

Calling Wang Ji was just to hear a different voice.

Everyone's position is different, and the advice given is naturally different.As a monarch, you should listen to and choose, discard the chaff and keep the chaff, so that nothing is missed.

Anyway, long nights of sleepless sleep.

And listen, if it is beneficial to the situation of the war, it is of course a pleasant surprise, if there is no convenience, let's just chat.

Surprisingly, Wang Ji, who was in touch with the secrets in the center and knew the deployment of troops in Huainan and Jingxiang in Wei State, gave roughly the same advice as he thought, and Jiang Ji was neither more radical nor more radical. Adventures in the abandoned city.

He also believed that the Wei State should attack the short with the long, and use the advantage of a large number of cavalry to invade the Wu army's grain road, so that it had to divide its troops to guard the east and south Feishui coasts to relieve the pressure of Shouchun City being trapped.

However, the main force of the Wei army did not directly fight the Wu army, or wait for the opportunity to cover up.

Instead, they marched in a dislocation, admonishing the Luoyang Central Army to enter Lujiang County along the Qulu Canal built by Jia Kui in the past; while Xiahouba's troops who entered Jingzhou from Guanzhong went eastward from Jiangxia County and the Luoyang Central Army pinched Lujiang from left to right. .

In order to force Jiangdong to retreat from Shouchun, or to abandon the camp and transfer troops to Lujiang to fight against the Wei army.

Because if Jiangdong didn't come to rescue Lujiang County, with the strength and city defense of Shu County and Wancheng, it would be impossible to resist the pincer attack of Wei army.And once Lujiang County is occupied by Wei State, Wei Jun will be able to march to Ruxuwu behind Chaohu Lake, and pull out the stronghold that Wu State relies on to connect the north and south of the river!

All the soldiers of Wu State in Jiangbei will be reduced to turtles in the urn!
Naturally, this kind of scheduling also has unpredictable dangers.

The defeat of Cao Xiu in the past proved that Lujiang County is densely covered with water, and it is easy to retreat to the south. Moreover, Luoyang Zhongjun and Yongliang Biebu are mostly northerners who are accustomed to cold climates, so it is difficult to exert their combat power in Lujiang.

Drive in with a large army, if you are not careful, there may be another battle of Shiting!
But Cao Rui felt that this was nothing to worry about.

It is late autumn and September now.

When the Luoyang Central Army and Yongliang's other troops arrive at the battlefield, take a short rest before marching, it will be winter and October at the very soonest!
At that time, the weather will turn cold, and the swamps and muddy roads will also be frozen by the cold climate; the rain will decrease, the water level of the river will drop, and the elite navy of Wu State will not be able to flow into the inland rivers and lakes along the tributaries of the great river, etc., many things are not conducive to Wei State. The factors of soldiers will melt away with the coming of winter!
So, why should he worry about repeating the mistakes of the Battle of Shiting?

"Although Bo Yu has never supervised soldiers, he has a strategy in his heart that is no less than a veteran general!"

After listening to Cao Rui, he immediately clapped his hands and praised, with no concealment of joy in his eyes, "If this battle is successful, I will definitely give you the merits of Jiaqing, and I will worship you as the supervisor!"

Yes, he wants to take Wang Ji's words for this strategy of retreating from Wu.

(End of this chapter)