Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 274 Liu Bei came down to fight and asked me to wait for the decisive battle tomorrow
The first day of the first month of the 14th year of Jian'an, the first day of the new year.

Wancheng County Government Mansion.

For Cao Cao, this city has indelible traces.

When he came here again, Cao Cao couldn't hide his sadness when he passed the sunset gathering where he was stationed in the north of the city.

The eldest son Cao Ang, nephew Cao Anmin, and general Dian Wei were all buried here.

In addition, Cao Ren, the younger brother, died at the Huangmen Pavilion in Xinye, and Le Jin, the general, died at the bank of the Feishui River east of Nieyang and west of Jiyang.

All kinds of sorrow came to my heart, which also made Cao Cao feel a lot of emotion and worry in his heart.

Fortunately, this emotion only lasted for a few days. After paying homage to the place where Cao Ang and Dian Wei died, Cao Cao embarked on a new journey.

From the dispatch of troops at the beginning of December last year to the end of December, for nearly a month, Cao Cao and Liu Bei faced each other in the Wancheng area.

Taking advantage of this time, Cao Cao forcibly relocated the Li people in this area and conscripted them to live in Runan.

Originally, these people lived and worked here in peace and contentment, with land and houses, but they had to leave their homes overnight, so they were naturally unwilling.

But what can I do?

Although Liu Bei also had 5 horses, due to various reasons, he was unable to fight Cao's army for a long time, leaving the people unprotected and eventually displaced. I don't know how many people left Nanyang and started again.

However, this situation only lasted until the end of the 13th year of Jian'an. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Cao Cao summoned Xun You, Dong Zhao, Mao Jie, Hua Xin, Cao Hong, Li Dian, Xu Chu and others who are currently stationed in Wancheng with him. Have a meal together.

Now the main force of Cao's army is about [-] people in Wancheng, and the rest are stationed in Wuyin, Bowang, Xi'e, Duyang and other surrounding cities by Li Tong, Zhu Ling, Lu Zhao, Feng Kai and other ministries.

The same is true on Liu Bei's side. The main force is stationed about [-] miles south of Wancheng and about ten miles north of Jiyang County. The city is facing each other's Cao Jun head-on, facing each other head-on.

In such a situation where the tip of the needle was against Maimang, Cao Cao was not worried about Liu Bei.

Because Xun You, Dong Zhao, Mao Jie, Hua Xin and others had already analyzed the gap between the enemy and ourselves and the advantages and disadvantages of both sides.

They think that first, Liu Bei is a guest army, and he is not in the Jingzhou army system, and he is not recognized by the Jingzhou army, so it is difficult to issue orders.

The second is that Liu Bei, Wenpin, Gan Ning and others do not belong to each other. In addition, there are many Dongzhou soldiers under his command, and it is year-end homesickness, so the morale may not be high.

The third is that there is a certain gap between the combat effectiveness of the two sides, and the northern soldiers are stronger than the southern soldiers.

Therefore, comprehensively, Cao Cao's advisers believe that even if everyone has the same number of soldiers and horses, Cao's army is still far stronger than Liu Bei's army.

Cao Cao also agreed with their statement.

Because what they said was correct, aside from the fact that Liu Bei had already solved the morale problem, the leadership problem was only barely resolved. In fact, issuing orders must be far less commanding than Cao Cao's.

More importantly, Cao Jun itself is one of the best elites in the world. Even before the Battle of Guandu, Jushou said that the soldiers of Cao Jun were far stronger than Yuan Shaojun in terms of personal ability and teamwork. The strongest army.

In the ancient feudal period, although the southerners might not be comfortable listening, in terms of military combat effectiveness, even the ancients recognized that the northern soldiers were stronger than the southern soldiers. And Shandong soldiers are the most elite soldiers in the world.

Therefore, the soldiers of Cao Jun are the strongest soldiers in the north that even Jushou praised, not to mention the comparison with the southern soldiers. Several battles in Nanyang, where Liu Biao's army could not find the north, is the best proof.

It's just that this time Cao Cao's main force is placed in the north to compete for Youzhou and Bingzhou, and the second-line troops that are slightly inferior are deployed in the south.

Therefore, to a certain extent, except for the three thousand Huangmen soldiers who belong to the super-first-line troops of the trapped camp and tiger and leopard cavalry, Liu Beijun and Wenpin Army can only be regarded as second-line troops, and Cao Jun soldiers are slightly stronger than them. second-line troops.

In addition, this second-line force was personally commanded by Cao Cao, and its combat effectiveness must be comparable to the elite first-line force of the Cao army's main force placed in the north of Jizhou. Therefore, defeating Liu Bei was naturally easy for them.

"Everyone, it's New Year's Eve. In the past, everyone used to celebrate the New Year at home, but today I want to accompany Gu to fight here, so Gu set up a glass of wine to entertain you all."

Sitting on the main seat, Cao Cao looked around at the many advisers and generals, raised his glass with a smile and said, "Come, drink this glass to your heart's content."

"Thank you Sikong."

Everyone raised their glasses together and drank it down.

After Cao Cao drank, he put down his glass and said in a loud voice while his attendants were refilling wine: "Liu Bei is a defeated general who hits a stone with an egg. I wrote to him a few days ago, asking him to surrender and return to the court of Chendu with him. Unexpectedly, he wrote back. To scold Yu Gu angrily is really ignorant of current affairs."

Hua Xin said with a smile: "Sikong is about to sweep the north, with millions of troops, no one can stop him. Liu Bei is only 4 to [-] troops now, how can he fight against Sikong?"

"Hahahahaha."

Cao Cao laughed loudly, raised his glass again and said, "Come, have another drink."

Everyone had another drink.

Xun You put down his wine glass, wiped the corners of his mouth and said, "Ming Gong, even though this is the case, we still have to be careful in this battle. The incompetent Liu Cong and Zhang Yun were sent by Liu Bei to restrain Guan Yu with only 3 horses. The most important thing now Yes, it depends on the situation on the Baqiu Jiangdong side."

"Yes."

Cao Cao suddenly sighed and said, "I didn't expect that one day, Gu's victory would depend on the face of a kid like Sun Quan. But this kid, Sun Quan, has a bit of guts, and actually made an alliance with Gu to carve up Jingzhou, and Sun Wentai, the tiger in Jiangdong, was born Two good sons, the eldest son is exactly like his father, and the second son is not bad."

Dong Zhao clasped his hands in his sleeves, nodded slightly and said: "Sikong, we really need to wait for news from Baqiu in this fierce battle. Although our army should be stronger than Liu Bei's army, it will not be easy for him to attack the city camp if he is stationed in the city camp." .”

"A detailed report shows that the Jiangxia navy has only 3 people, while the Jiangdong navy has [-]. The two sides are facing each other in Baqiu. Zhou Yu is also an outstanding talent, so he should be able to gain the upper hand."

Xun You pondered: "It's just that we still have to plan for the worst. If Zhou Yu can't conquer and Liu Cong can't resist, if we continue to spend in Nanyang, it will only delay the time to regain the north, so we moved the people to Yingchuan, Runan, Filling up the Dingkou of the Central Plains is not in vain."

"Ah."

Cao Cao raised his wine glass again, thinking carefully.

They really have to wait for Baqiu to decide the outcome of this battle. After all, both sides have 5 people. Although the analysis shows that they are stronger than Liu Bei, there is no reason why they must be strong on paper.
In the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao's army of more than [-] troops was as imposing as a rainbow, and put great pressure on Cao Cao like a dark cloud cover. Didn't he succeed in the surprise attack in the end?

Therefore, neither Cao Cao himself nor Liu Bei dared to start a war easily, and could only rely on cities and camps for defense and confrontation.

Now both sides are waiting for the result of Baqiu's split.

Sun Quan won the Battle of Baqiu, and Sun Quan marched northward to attack Liu Bei with him.

If Sun Quan loses, Cao Cao will naturally choose to retreat, but it is not a loss to move so many people before retreating.

Therefore, this is the most steady way, instead of fighting the enemy to the death.

"Report!"

At this moment, a soldier came in from outside the door and said, "Liu Bei sent someone to deliver a letter."

"Bring it up."

Cao Cao looked around and jokingly said, "There is a letter from Liu Bei at the New Year's Eve, isn't this guy wanting to give me New Year's greetings? Hahahahaha."

"It's the end of the year again, and Liu Bei has no foundation, so he must be impatient."

Hua Xin agreed with a smile.

Xu Chu had already brought the letter from the soldiers and submitted it to Cao Cao's case.

When Cao Cao received the letter, he thought that Liu Bei was really extravagant. He used precious paper to communicate with him several times. Although paper has become popular in the south, it is only used by dignitaries like him in the north, and its value is still very high.

Immediately after he opened the letter, he burst out laughing, looked around and saw that everyone was looking at him curiously, so he couldn't help smiling and said to them: "Hahahaha, it's really interesting, everyone knows that Liu Bei is here. Did you write anything in the letter?"

"It can't be an invitation to us to fight."

Hua Xin made a joke.

"good."

Cao Cao laughed and said, "Liu Bei came down to fight and asked Gu to fight tomorrow. It's really interesting."

"strangeness."

Mao Jie, who had been silent before, pondered and said: "It is impossible for Liu Bei not to know that there is a gap between him and us, and to force a decisive battle with us. Even if it is a fierce battle in the wild, he may not be able to win us. Why do you want to fight? ?”

"There are only three possibilities. One is that the outcome of the Baqiu battle has been decided. No matter whether Sun Quan wins or loses, he will fight us decisively!"

Xun You analyzed: "After all, if Sun Quan wins, if the Jiangdong Army goes north, he will definitely lose, so he will choose to try to defeat us first, and then defeat Sun Quan in the south, so as to defeat them one by one. If Sun Quan loses, he will fight us even more. , hold us back, and wait for the reinforcements from the Jiangxia Navy to arrive."

"What about the second possibility?"

Cao Cao asked.

Xun You said: "The second possibility is that the battle of Baqiu has not yet been decided, but the Jiangxia Navy continued to be at a disadvantage, which made Liu Bei extremely anxious. He was afraid that Sun Quan would win, so he wanted to defeat us as soon as possible, so that he could go south to help Baqiu. "

"Ah."

Cao Cao stroked his beard and nodded slightly. Xun You's analysis hit the nail on the head and made sense.

Xun You continued: "The third possibility is that Liu Bei found reinforcements."

"Reinforcements? What reinforcements can he have?"

Cao Cao sneered.

"some."

Dong Zhao also said: "Don't forget, Sikong, there is Zhangxiu in the west!"

Zhang embroidery?

Cao Cao narrowed his eyes.

This madman who killed his eldest son and his confidant General Dian Wei.

During the Battle of Guandu, I accepted him to surrender with good intentions, but as a result, this fellow broke his promise many times, which completely made them lose the possibility of joining forces.

After all, the battle of Guandu was precarious for Cao Cao. In order to increase his strength, he could only endure the revenge of killing his son and killing his general.

But now that he has become a big deal, why don't he hold back?
Now even if Zhang Xiu knelt in front of him, he would kill him!
"What's the latest news about Baqiu?"

Cao Cao asked suddenly.

Xun You said: "It was sent yesterday, or five days ago. Zhou Yu repeatedly attacked Baqiu and almost wiped out Shen Chen. Because Liu Pan came to help in time, Zhou Yu was barely repelled."

Shen Chen was the Jiangdong navy that was defeated in the Hongkou fire on December 13, 27. Four days have passed since today.

Jiang Xia's naval division rested in Baqiu for two days, and then went north. In two days, they had already arrived in Fancheng.

In ancient times, due to the underdeveloped communication, the news was extremely lagging, so Cao Cao's latest information was the news that Zhou Yu led an army to storm Baqiu five days ago and almost defeated Shen Chen.

Knowing this, Cao Cao nodded slightly and said, "Zhou Yu currently has the upper hand, and it is impossible for him to be defeated in just a few days. Therefore, he alone thinks that Liu Bei is eager to fight against Gu because of Baqiu's precarious situation. With Zhang Xiu, there is no need to worry."

Xun You was surprised, "Is Sikong planning to fight?"

"nature!"

Cao Cao sneered and said: "Liu Bei is just a defeated general under Gu's subordinates. Xuzhou lost to Gu in several battles. Later he was driven out of Xuzhou by Lu Bu, but Gu accepted him. He was not grateful to me, but repeatedly fought against me. Right. Liu Xuande thinks that with tens of thousands of people, he has the strength to fight against Gu, but he doesn't know that Gu has long wanted to make him look good."

"But."

Xun You hesitated and said, "Since Zhou Yu has the upper hand, why should Sikong be so eager for success? When Sun Quan defeats Shen Chen, it's not good to go north and pinch Liu Bei?"

Cao Cao narrowed his eyes and said, "Gongda really thinks that Sun Quan is trustworthy?"

"What does Sikong mean?"

Xun You's eyes widened. His strength lies in military strategy, that is, tactical play. In fact, he is far inferior to other strategists in politics and strategy.

"Sun Quan said he wanted to carve up Jingzhou with me, but no one knows that Liu Biao's support of 20 people is due to the large population and land in Nanyang."

Cao Cao said: "Nanyang is the hometown of Emperor Guangwu. It is said that in its heyday there were 70 million households and more than 150 million people. Even if there are only half of them left, there are still [-] million people. Will Sun Quan willingly give Nanyang to me?"

"What Sikong means is that even if Sun Quan defeats Shen Chen, he might sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, waiting for us to lose both with Liu Bei?"

Hua Xin asked in surprise, "But if we withdraw our troops, wouldn't he be?"

Mao Jie shook his head: "Even if we withdraw our troops and Sun Quan defeats the Jiangxia navy, we can say that he is allowed to sail on the river. There is no navy in Jingzhou. Who can stop him? At least Jingnan and Jiangxia will all belong to him."

"good."

Cao Cao nodded and said, "So Sun Quan has to be on guard."

There are no eternal friends, only eternal interests.

Although Cao and Sun are united at this moment, it does not mean that they are close partners.

The two formed a temporary alliance because of the common cake of Jingzhou, but they also chose to break up because of this interest.

Just like Mao Jie said.

Even if Cao Cao withdraws his troops and does not fight Liu Bei, he will not give Sun Quan a chance to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight.

However, after the Jiangxia navy was destroyed, there was no navy in Jingzhou, and Sun Quan was invincible above the Yangtze River, and he had already won too much for the terrain in the south.

With Yunmengze and the Yangtze River radiating, at least Jingnan and Jiangxia will definitely become the Sun family's sphere of influence, and they can slowly erode Nanjun by then.

Therefore, to a certain extent, even if the Jiangxia navy is defeated, it is in his best interest for Sun Quan to stand still and wait for both Cao and Liu to suffer.

In this way, Cao Cao's situation will be very embarrassing.

The action to regain the north is currently at a standstill, and he is deeply trapped in the quagmire of the south. At that time, he is likely to make a wedding dress for Sun Quan.

So if he wants to gain something, he has to defeat Liu Bei and completely bring Nanyang into his territory.

In the end.

The three families of Sun, Cao and Liu all have their own interests in mind at this time.

It's just that what Cao Cao didn't know at this time was that the Jiangdong Army, which had had the upper hand a few days ago, had been defeated at this moment, and even the commander Zhou Yu died in Hongkou.

Therefore, although their speculations are correct and there is nothing wrong with their strategy, they are wrong from the starting point.

"Pass my order, strictly organize the team, and display the banner to strengthen the army."

Cao Cao got up and looked at the crowd like a tiger and wolf and said: "Tomorrow Gu will fight Liu Bei to the death. Gu must let Liu Bei know that he will always be defeated by Gu!"

"only!"

Everyone suddenly said yes.

Just after the new year, Cao Cao began to rectify his army and horses, summoning the soldiers who stayed behind in the city to prepare for a decisive battle with Liu Bei.

　Regarding the update question, I will be going back to my hometown for the New Year recently. Book lovers should know that my hometown is in a valley, and I go to a small town to walk for three or four hours, and take a motorcycle for half an hour. There is no internet in the mountains. There is no way to code, so I always code in advance, or find a way to go to the town to code, the update is really helpless.Guaranteed to restore ten thousand changes after the next year, because I also want to finish writing as soon as possible and make the next one sooner.I wish you all a happy new year and good luck in everything.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)