Han Xiang

Chapter 276 I Sigh My Heart Is Full of Moon

Since Cao Cao sent troops to Xudu in April, and fought with Yuan Shao for the first time in May, the two families of Yuan and Cao confronted each other in Cangting for more than three months.

Different from the battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao was at his home court at this time. Not only did he not show any publicity, but he restrained himself like last year's Cao Cao, sticking to his camp for a long time.

The reason why Yuan Shao's style changed drastically within a year was because Cao Cao suffered a big loss in the first confrontation in Cangting. Cao Cao fought from the front with a disadvantaged force and gained an advantage from the front. If he does not adjust his tactics, he will definitely lose the war.

If the Battle of Guandu was only a setback, another disastrous defeat at Cangting would seriously damage their vitality. This was a situation that neither Yuan Shao nor the nobles in Hebei wanted to see.

After several months of passive stalemate in Cangting, good news from the south came one after another.

Earlier, Liu Bei was arranged to raise an incident in Runan, which belonged to Yuan Shao's own layout, but Sun Quan raised troops to besiege Shouchun, and Changba rebelled in Donghai County, these two things were unexpected surprises.

Yuan Shao knew exactly how much money Liu Bei had.

Sun Quan succeeded Sun Ce, and with Jiangdong as his backing, he was able to make big moves after Cao Cao's death.

It was only after Yuan Shao and Cao Cao switched offensive and defensive roles that he realized how happy Gou Dao was. He didn't have to worry about the distance of food when he was sitting on the home court, but he could respond to all changes with the same.

Cao Cao racked his brains to fight every day, and Yuan Shao only had to wait for Liu Bei or Sun Quan to exert his strength, and he could reap the benefits of being a fisherman, so he acted more conservatively.

The morale and combat effectiveness of Cao's army have far surpassed Yuan Shao's army, and the food supplies for this expedition to Cangting are not as difficult as last year. Last year, only one county of Yingchuan provided food, but now there are two states of Yanzhou and Yuzhou.

I thought I could fight smoothly and take the initiative on the battlefield, but Cao Cao didn't get what he wanted.

In mid-to-late August, the heat in the north of the Yellow River dissipates, and the land of Jizhou slowly turns golden.

The autumn is crisp, and it is the time for the decisive battle.

It's a pity that Yuan Shao had tasted the sweetness of Gou and had no intention of actively attacking at all. Cao Cao's original steady and sure-to-win mentality suddenly became anxious.

Cao Jun marched north after the spring of April, and the soldiers did not prepare winter clothes to protect against the cold. If they could not win in another two months, Cao Cao had to retreat to the south bank of the Yellow River.

Liu Bei's motives in Runan this time are unclear, Li Tong, the pro-Cao Yangan captain, did not dare to move; Shouchun has been besieged by Sun Quan for several months, Jiangdong's patrol boats have penetrated into Rushui and Yingshui; A major threat, as for Changba who rebelled in Donghai County, it can only be regarded as a nebulous disease to Cao Cao.

On the night of August [-], the moonlight fell on Cao Cao's barracks, as bright as day.

After Cao Cao's meal, he looked up in front of the big tent, and saw the full moon above the treetops, like a jade plate hanging in the sky.

Since ancient times, the bright moon sent lovesickness, and when the night of the full moon was even more homesick, Cao Cao couldn't help sighing, which happened to be heard by Guo Jia who was taking a walk to digest food.

"Duke Ming, lamenting on a full moon night? Is it for the country? Or is it for the family?"

Cao Cao followed his reputation and found that it was Guo Jia, a military officer offering wine.

Guo Jia is extremely intelligent and has a straightforward temperament. He can often figure out Cao Cao's thoughts, and he is not as careful as Xun You and Jia Xu, so he is especially fond of him.

As for Guo Jia's indiscretions in private life, it is not a shortcoming at all in Cao Cao's eyes.

"It turned out to be filial piety." Cao Cao nodded first, and then looked at the moon and sighed: "I promised the country with my body, but I have already abandoned my small family. I just saw that the sixteenth month was more round, and I remembered the Mid-Autumn Festival in Guandu last year. Food, and dare not go to war, how can I look up at the sky."

Guo Jia nodded in agreement: "Now the times have changed and the offense and defense have changed, but Yuan Shao can't shrink back."

"I sigh that my heart is like a full moon. I was a little complacent after the Guandu battle. I thought I could win over Yuan Benchu, but I didn't expect to be careless." Cao Cao frowned: "We have been dragged in Hebei for too long. If we continue to waste like this, Yuan Rang will definitely not be able to keep Shouchun. Liu Bei raised an incident in Runan in July, but he has not invaded Yingchuan until now. His behavior is so suspicious. Could it be that he has been instructed by an expert? I really can't feel at ease."

Guo Jia stepped forward to comfort him: "Duke Ming is able to introspect himself, and he is far superior to Yuan Shao, but if he withdraws at this time, months of hard work will be in vain. Wouldn't we be exhausted from the north-south attack? It would be best to defeat the northern army at once, just like how we dealt with Yuan Shu back then, and completely subdue him."

Cao Cao shook his head bitterly: "Don't I know what Feng Xiao said? However, Yuan Shao avoids fighting, and there are rebels in the rear, and it seems that autumn will turn into winter."

"The sun is at midday, the moon is full, the moon is eclipsed, the sky and the earth are filled with emptiness, this is a natural principle. Minggong can introspect himself, but Yuan Shao will never do it. He may be like the full moon in the sky, which is about to be full and lose money."

Cao Cao heard that there was something in Guo Jia's words, but he couldn't figure it out for a while, so he asked eagerly, "What does Feng Xiao mean?"

Guo Jia looked at the full moon and said solemnly: "Whether it is Liu Bei, Sun Quan or Chang Ba, they must have secretly communicated with Hebei. What does Yuan Shao think? Isn't it just waiting for us to show our flaws? Now that we know Yuan Shao's intentions, why doesn't Minggong use his plan? "

"The meaning of filial piety is to use"

"We are in the land of Hebei, and Yuan Shao's eyes and ears are everywhere. If the lord withdraws his troops on the grounds that Xu Du is in a hurry, do you think Yuan Shao will take advantage of the situation and pursue him?"

"Hahaha" Cao Cao burst into laughter suddenly, and after laughing, he pointed at Guo Jia and nodded: "I have filial piety to help me, so why worry about the uncertainties?"

Guo Jia was used to being praised, and after accepting it happily, he continued to add: "Using the withdrawal of troops as bait, this strategy can only be used once, and it may not be possible to completely wipe out the enemy."

"Don't ask for total annihilation, as long as you can do heavy damage, come here."

Cao Cao took Guo Jia's hand, turned around and walked into the big tent, and said as he walked, "Since Feng Xiao doesn't feel sleepy, please accompany me to make a total calculation. We must arrange and implement it as soon as possible, and the fighter plane cannot be delayed any longer."

"only."

The two had just returned to the big tent and sat down when two figures, one tall and one short, blocked the moonlight outside the door.

Cao Cao raised his head and smiled happily. It turned out that Jia Xu and Cheng Yu heard Cao Cao's unique laughter and rushed to the main tent to check.

"Wen He, Zhong De, you came at the right time. I have to follow Xiao Xiao's plan to destroy Yuan. Let's discuss it together tonight."

Seeing Cao Cao's enthusiastic waving, Jia Xu and Cheng Yu stepped forward together and sat down in front of the battle map.

Guo Jia was enlisted to serve as Cao Cao's military counselor, and his duty was only to provide strategic reference, but because he had no experience in commanding troops, he could not deploy strategies to combat.

Jia Xu and Cheng Yu are not mere strategists, they all have the experience of leading troops and commanding battles, especially Cheng Yu, who is eight feet three inches tall. His identity is the prefect of Jiyin and General Zhenwei. east.

The four masters and servants discussed until late at night, and finally decided on the joint combat strategy of using the withdrawal of troops as bait, luring the enemy to go deep, and ambush on all sides, leading the Hebei troops into the ambush area leading to the Yellow River ferry and annihilating them.

No matter how many enemies are finally wiped out, Cao Cao will withdraw his troops after the war. If he does not deal with the worries of Liu Bei and Sun Quan, he cannot wholeheartedly eliminate Yuan Shao.

Withdrawing the troops was like foreplay, the more tricks the more excited Yuan Shao, gathering boats to cross the river, packing up the camp's luggage, and intentionally spreading rumors were all means.

When Cao Ying was 'moving' from top to bottom, Cao Cao secretly called Zhang Yun and Gao Lan to the big tent, saying that there was an extremely important task that required the two to shoulder the burden in the future.

(End of this chapter)