Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1049 One step

The news of Empress Fu's death in the cold palace spread throughout Xudu, and everyone had different moods. However, even if they made weak voices of dissatisfaction in private, they were immediately covered up by another turbulent voice.

The ministers wrote to the emperor to represent Cao Cao as the king.

The number of people on the list this time was much higher than that of the Duke. There were not only hardcore die-hards like Zhong Yao and Dong Zhao, but also rising stars like Chen Qun, Yang Xiu, and Sima Yi. Public opinion was rampant for a while, and its momentum It was so strong that everyone felt that Cao Cao would accept the canonization soon.

After all, Cao Cao's current power is no longer consistent with his name, so it is natural to take this step.

However, at this time, Cao Cao settled down. He still wanted to build up momentum, and the fastest way was to capture Yizhou.

Cao Cao's overwhelming offensive years ago came to an abrupt end at Jianmen Pass on the Golden Bull Road. Cao Cao was not dissatisfied with this. He believed that although Xia Houyuan and others were loyal to their duties, they were still a little behind in strategy. So he prepared to send two counselors there.

Among the counselors under his command, there are those who are good at internal affairs, headed by Chen Qun, and the rest are Chen Lin, Yang Xiu, and others. There are also those who are good at strategy, headed by Xun You. Below are Meng Gongwei, Sima Decao and other Jingzhou faction, who were sent to deal with Liu Bei, and the remaining The people below were picky and picky, and the most suitable ones were Xinpi and others who had returned from the defeat.

Although Cao Cao's navy suffered a defeat, Cao Cao believed afterwards that Xinpi, Sima Yi and others had done what they could under the circumstances. Even if they lost Xiakou, it was because they could not cry alone, so they did not hold the two responsible. Much encouragement to him.

Cao Cao finally noticed Sima Yi's talents. He invited Sima Yi to have in-depth talks several times, and he felt more and more that this young man was not simple.

At this time, Sima Yi was sitting in the hall, accepting Cao Cao's questioning. He analyzed the key points of the important roads on the Xichuan map that Cao Cao took out one by one, and Cao Cao couldn't help but nod.

"There are Southern Barbarian Qiang people on the Yinping Road in the west. They are all dependent on Liu Zhang. They are stubborn, unable to understand the language, and have many variables."

But in comparison, Xiahou Dun's military capabilities were somewhat defeated. There were not many soldiers in Jizhou. The five counties including Wei County occupied by Cao Cao were all large-population counties. However, Xiahou Dun was still unable to suppress Tian Feng, who was under Fierce Tiger. Knowing that the opposite side only occupies three and a half counties, this is somewhat embarrassing.

So Cao Cao endured physical discomfort and pain, and began to step up his military affairs, mobilizing food and fodder for soldiers, and planning a personal expedition to Jizhou.

After Sima Yi left, Cao Cao fell into deep thought. Although Sima Yi had vowed to do so, Cao Cao thought that he might not be sure that Yizhou would be difficult to fight even if he was there in person. Sima Yi's guarantee was probably from the young and energetic Haikou.

This made Cao Cao want to go on a personal expedition, because in his opinion, Fierce Tiger's vitality was severely damaged by last year's battle, not to mention that it was still fighting with Jiangdong, and it would be difficult for him to have enough energy to take care of Jizhou. This was a great opportunity for him to break through Fierce Tiger's defense line. Chance!

In Cao Cao's eyes, being able to capture Yizhou within two years was beyond expectations. After all, Liu Zhang had been operating in Yizhou for so many years. How could it be so easy to break through the pass?

But Cao Cao knew that Xiahou Dun could not be entirely blamed, because the water supply line for Yuan Xi's army on the opposite side was too convenient. It relied on the water system of the Yellow River and the Huaihe River, which made everything from troop deployment to logistics much faster. He had a huge thought in this regard.

"Besides, although Jianmen Pass is dangerous, it has not been conquered before, so Yi will do his best to help General Xiahou succeed immediately."

However, Cao Cao felt that his health was deteriorating. He wanted to be crowned next year anyway and then establish the heir apparent. However, to be crowned king requires building momentum. No matter how hyped up by the officials, it would not be as convincing as expanding the territory. But now There are not many opportunities to stay around Cao Cao's territory.

So Cao Cao thought over and over again and decided to immediately send Sima Yi to Hanzhong to help Xiahou Yuan make suggestions on the Jinniu Road and figure out how to conquer Yizhou as soon as possible.

"There is still room on both sides of the Taurus Road to maneuver. Even if the enemy breaks off both wings, there is still a possibility of saving it."

"Although the Baoxie Road on the east side can be passed through, the route behind it may be attacked by Liu Biao and Liu Bei's troops. If you ignore it, you may make a wedding dress for him."

Of course, Cao Cao had some different thoughts in his heart. He found that Sima Yi was a deep-minded person. Cao Cao thought that when he was young and strong, he would naturally have ways to use Sima Yi for himself, but now that he is dying, how to use Sima Yi is very difficult. It's worth pondering.

Sima Yi replied: "It is the safest."

"Okay!" Cao Cao nodded solemnly, "You capture Yizhou and the day when our commander returns to the court, I will personally reward you!"

Especially Xiahou Dun, who was guarding Ye City, disappointed Cao Cao. The wrist is very clever.

Finally, Cao Cao said: "So you think it is safest to march from the Golden Bull Road?"

Nowadays, Cao Cao is also fighting on multiple fronts, not only attacking Yizhou, but also suppressing Liu Bei. Yuzhou also needs to guard against Yuan Xi's infiltration in Jianghuai. The situation in Liangzhou is not stable, and any failure may lead to the collapse of the situation.

But Cao Cao was forced to have no choice. There was not much time left for him. He could only eliminate these hidden dangers as much as possible before his body deteriorated. Otherwise, who in the Cao family would be able to shoulder the burden?

Anyway, he felt uncomfortable, and so did the ferocious tiger. Everyone was the same. They were all racing against time, and competing for a large part of the world depended on luck. Yuan Shao was in a good situation back then, but didn't it suddenly collapse?
So in the spring of the seventh year of Jian'an, the world was once again filled with the flavor of all-out war. Such frequent wars in the past few years have made many people accustomed to it, so they were all waiting silently to see where this year's war would start. . Strictly speaking, people were looking forward to a large-scale war, but in one place, the war did not stop even after the Spring Festival.

Wujunqu.

Yuan Xi's navy's attack on Qu'a has been going on for several months. From before the New Year to after the New Year, the raid turned into a war of attrition, dragging a considerable number of Jiangdong's troops into Qu'a and unable to move.

In the end, Sun Quan did not come back because Lu Xun was always watching behind him.

After Lu Xun drove away Cao Cao's navy in Xiakou, he relied on Zhang He and Xu Huang to gain a firm foothold, and rescued Huang Zu and his generals who were blocked in the Dabie Mountains. After delivering Yuan Xi's handwritten letter to Huang Zu, both sides They formed a nominal alliance to jointly defend Jiangxia.

Huang Zu's navy generals also joined Yuan Xi's navy, in the name of jointly resisting Cao Jun and Jiangdong Army. But in fact, in another sense, Huang Zu and his generals had become guest generals dependent on Yuan Xi. , just like Liu Bei attached to Liu Biao.

What allowed Huang Zu to do this was not only the good conditions provided by Yuan Xi, but also because Yuan Xi proved that he could help Huang Zu resist foreign enemies, which Liu Biao could not do.

With the help of Huang Zu's generals, the strength of Lu Xun's navy increased by leaps and bounds. Among them, a veteran of the Huang family who was in his fifties and previously unknown began to emerge. With his shooting skills, he repeatedly defeated the naval offensive led by Zhou Yu.

Because of the help of Huang Zujun, Lu Xun's navy prevented Sun Quan and Zhou Yu from leaving Yuzhang County with peace of mind, because they clearly saw that once they left, Yuzhang County would definitely be lost. Once Yuzhang was lost, Yuan Xi's army could invade Danyang Wu County by land. , then Jiangdong will be completely finished!

Therefore, after weighing the two sides, Sun Quan had no choice but to prioritize his foundation and set up a temporary headquarters in Nanchang, Yuzhang, where he recruited troops and built ships to resist Lu Xun's offensive.

This was tantamount to actually giving up returning to aid Wu County. Sun Quan was also extremely uncomfortable with this. He naturally knew what would happen if Qu Adius was lost.

Zhou Yu was unwilling to give in. He suggested sending two generals to lead part of the navy back to Wu County to wait for an opportunity to raid Zhuge Liang's retreat to see if they could break the siege of Qu'a.

Sun Ce adopted this suggestion and sent Xu Feng, who was the least injured in the last war, to lead a hundred warships. As a result, just two days after setting off, his whereabouts were clearly traced by Yuan Xi's intelligence network on the north coast.

After being raided twice in the dark night, Xu Feng lost a considerable part of his warships and had to retreat in embarrassment, saying that it was impossible to go back from the Yangtze River and he could only take the land route.

Sun Quan became even more depressed after hearing this. It was fine in summer, but now it is winter. How long will it take to march thousands of miles by land?
So he could only hope that Qu'a could hold on by himself.

However, a month later, the news coming at the turn of late spring and early summer would completely shatter his last glimmer of hope.

At this time, there was a strange fleet of boats sailing slowly on the surface of the Han River.

Several ships in this fleet are completely different from other warships, not in appearance, but in their internal and underwater structures.

If ordinary ships do not use sails, they can only rely on human power to paddle. Usually, dozens of holes are drilled on both sides of the cabin, and dozens of thick wooden paddles are stretched out. Each wooden paddle is paddled by several people. Move, push the ship forward.

This method not only requires a lot of manpower and easily damaged materials such as oars, but also the sailing efficiency is not high, which is far inferior to using wind power, so few people adopt this method.

But these ships now do not use paddles. Instead, they use huge spiral-shaped oars at the stern to push the ship forward. This position was originally used to place the rudder. In order to make room for it, the rudder was placed To the port or starboard side.

The most important difference is that the device that drives the propeller is a square steel cabinet with coal burning inside and white steam coming out of the top.

That's right, after Yuan Xi proposed to combine the waterwheel and the bellows to make two mutually matched devices out of steel, Zhuge Liang improved the drawings based on his own idea of ​​​​a wooden cow and a lost horse. He gathered Jianghuai craftsmen and used water power to punch out the cabinet, which failed hundreds of times. After that, three finished products were finally made.

steam engine.

At this time, Yuan Xi stood and turned his head, watching the big ship chopping the waves under his feet, feeling indescribable in his heart.

These steam engines were not yet perfect, and they often broke down. They were a small step forward, but only a small step.

But in history, it is a decisive step.

(End of this chapter)