Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1125 Personal Expedition
Cao Cao started the conversation and made it clear that Qingzhou must send troops. Then all the counselors understood what was going on and began to offer suggestions.

It is normal for them to have concerns. After all, the war has just begun. If they take the initiative to propose to divide the troops at this time when both sides have invested their main forces, they will be questioned by people in the opposing camp. This strategy is also very risky. Moreover, now is a critical period in the fight for the crown prince. Who knows if the hostile factions will take advantage of the situation if the plan suffers a setback?

Now with Cao Cao's endorsement, everyone felt relieved and discussed how to send troops into Qingzhou.

At this time, everyone had not yet learned about Cao Hong's breach of the river, and they came up with many ideas. Seeing that it was getting dark, Cao Cao asked everyone to discuss it the next day.

However, on the next day, news happened to reach Yecheng that Cao Hong was attacked by the Jin army's navy and infantry. The two sides fought, and Cao Hong was forced to dig a river in Yanzhou.

When everyone heard that the battlefield was in Yanzhou, their faces looked unhappy. After all, if a river was dug in Yanzhou, floods would first flood Cao Cao's territory, which would indirectly weaken the damage to the territory of the fierce tiger.

Moreover, this would make it much more difficult for Cao's army to go to Qingzhou. The north was already flooded, and they could only go from the south bank of the Yellow River through Xuzhou and all the way to Qingzhou, but this might lead to an attack from the defenders of Xuzhou and Qingzhou.

Moreover, the river mouth was dug, so Yuan Xi's navy could not go upstream, and Cao Cao's navy could not enter Qingzhou along the Yellow River. If infantry and cavalry were used, the marching speed would be easily affected, which disrupted the previous plans of both sides.

Everyone felt a little disappointed. Why was Cao Hong so anxious? He rushed to dig a river as soon as the war broke out, and the flood discharge point was in his own territory. What happened to him?
And didn’t Zhang Xiu lead his troops to reinforce? They still couldn’t stop the offensive of Yuan Xi’s army, so they had to do such a move that would hurt both sides?
A layer of haze was buried in everyone's heart. At the beginning of the war, none of these three routes had a smooth journey. They wouldn't really lose this war, right?
Moreover, the number of reserve troops that Cao's army can mobilize at the moment is less than 20,000. These are the soldiers left behind in Yecheng, led by Zhu Ling, who are former subordinates of Yuan Shao and fight bravely. But no one can guarantee what effect these 20,000 troops can have.

The other routes of Cao's army were on their way. The fastest one was led by Han Sui in Liang Province, and it would take more than a month to arrive. In other words, within this month, Cao's camp could only rely on the existing forces to fight against Yuan Xi's army.

Yuan Xi obviously saw through this, so he immediately invested all his troops. If Cao's army couldn't resist, they would have no choice but to give up Jizhou!

Zhong Yao said, "The previous plan to recall the garrison troops in Jingzhou was delayed because Liu Bei sent troops to the Han River."

"Most of the Jingzhou troops are naval forces, and their combat power is somewhat unreliable, but it is a pity that they can't be used in this war."

Everyone nodded. After Cao Cao took over half of Jingzhou, many Jingzhou officials surrendered, but Cao's camp had not had time to completely integrate Jingzhou's forces. The reasons for this were: first, Liu Bei sent troops south of the Han River to harass Cao's territory, and second, Liu Biao had not died yet.

Originally, Liu Biao fled to Jingxi, and was frightened and half dead, and was about to die. As long as he died, the Jingzhou surrender faction supporting Liu Cong would collectively offer Jingxi to Cao Cao. This was originally a sure thing.

But according to the information obtained by Cao's camp, Xionghu sent Hua Tuo to treat Liu Biao, and also went to Changsha County to invite Zhang Zhongjing, who was the prefect of Changsha at the time. Together, the two of them actually pulled Liu Biao back from the brink of death temporarily.

Although this extension of life could only extend for another year or two, as Liu Biao was still alive, the Cai family's surrender party on Liu Cong's side began to have concerns. In addition, Liu Bei and Yuan Xi also expressed their support for their eldest son Liu Qi, which made the Cai family even more afraid to act rashly.

The failure to capture Jingzhou also affected Cao's troop mobilization in Jizhou. Moreover, Cao Cao had a large army attacking Yizhou.

When Cao Cao decided to go to war, he recalled Cao Hong and only left the main commander Xiahou Yuan and the vanguard Le Jin to continue attacking Yizhou. After Cao Hong came back, he led his own army, but Xiahou Yuan and Le Jin, who were the top commanders in Cao's army, were temporarily unable to withdraw.

Even if we take Yizhou now, it will take time to stabilize the situation. It may take a year for the two men to come back. We can't count on the battle of Jizhou for the time being.

Everyone's face looked a little grim. They were in emergency on three fronts. How could they break the impasse facing the fierce tiger's aggressive attack?

Facing the silent crowd, Cao Cao stood up and said, "I have decided to lead 20,000 soldiers out of the city, with Zhu Ling as the vanguard and Gongda as the military advisor, to attack the fierce tiger's central army in Anping County in the north!"

"Everything in the city is under the control of Yuan Chang!"

After hearing this, all the counselors breathed a sigh of relief. Cao Cao's decision should be the best solution at the moment.

Zhu Ling is an old general of Yuan Shao. Although he is senior and has fought in many battles, he is not a direct descendant of Cao Cao after all. Especially when fighting against Yuan, Zhu Ling's thoughts are even more difficult to predict. If the generals in Cao's camp had not been stretched to the limit in recent years, it would not have been his turn to become a general.

But after all, Zhu Ling's identity was a hidden danger. If he was allowed to lead troops out of the city to attack Yuan Xi, and he turned around and rebelled, the entire situation in Jizhou would collapse completely. So Cao Cao used the tactic of personally leading the army to easily eliminate Zhu Ling's identity as a general.

Moreover, only Cao Cao could do this. He had the qualifications and ability to suppress Zhu Ling. No other Cao Wei official in the city could shoulder this responsibility. Now Cao Cao had nipped the problem in the bud and chose the most trustworthy Zhong Yao to stay behind. His personal expedition was a reassurance to everyone.

Because over the years, except for the time when Cao Cao got carried away by his composure in Wancheng and was ambushed by a ferocious tiger, in a head-on battle, Cao Cao only had to retreat after a minor disadvantage, and he had never suffered a head-on defeat.

In other words, Cao Cao is the real stabilizer of Cao's camp. With him taking action, the situation will definitely be stabilized!
As expected by Cao Ying, Cao Cao led his troops out of the city and rushed to Anping, where they encountered Zhang He's army, which was suppressing Xiahou Dun. Although Zhang He used his troops cautiously, he did not expect Cao's reinforcements to arrive so quickly. In addition, Cao Cao mobilized Li Dian's army, with Zhu Ling and Li Dian as the left and right wings, and launched a surprise attack on Zhang He's army at the same time.

Zhang He was caught off guard and his army formation was in some chaos, but he had learned from his previous lesson and almost at the same time as the attack, he deployed the rear army that had not been deployed to the battlefield.

Zhang He's rear army had seven or eight thousand people, mainly engineers, and they used shield carts and battering rams as a means of attack. Although this type of troop deployment was useless most of the time, it was unexpectedly effective when the flank was attacked.

Zhu Ling and Li Dian originally wanted to attack Zhang He's army directly and destroy its formation, but Zhang He's rear army placed the chariots across the front of the formation, and then squatted behind the chariots and shot arrows, making them like a hedgehog, causing Zhu Ling and Li Dian to suffer a great loss.

Li Dian still wanted to go around to the rear, but Xu Huang had already noticed it and came with his cavalry to entangle him, and the situation became deadlocked for a while.

Zhang He had no time to be happy, because he keenly discovered that the movement of Cao's army that arrived this time was unusual, making it extremely difficult for him to deal with.

The first thing he thought of was the defeat he had suffered in Shouchun last time, and he guessed that the person behind the scenes might be Cao Cao himself!
He acted decisively and transferred part of the soldiers in the central army to defend Zhu Ling, and then placed all the remaining vehicles in the rear army in a row in the central army.

Sure enough, when Cao's army saw that Zhang He's vanguard resistance was a little weak, they immediately sent thousands of Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to launch a surprise attack. They rushed into Zhang He's central army like wild beasts, putting Zhang He's front line in danger.

Zhang He knew that the situation was hopeless, so he ordered both wings to retreat at the same time and set all the carts in the central army on fire. The thatch inside the carts burned fiercely, temporarily blocking the pace of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. But after receiving the order, they rushed through the flames at the risk of their lives and pressed forward on Zhang He step by step.

Zhang He frowned, Cao Jun was fighting for his life right from the start. Although he had made a lot of preparations in advance, the waves of Cao Jun's offensive, which were like a tide and made him breathless, were about to reach Zhang He's defense limit!
He felt a little aggrieved. Yuan Xi trusted him so much and gave him an army of nearly 30,000. However, the timing and people were not on his side. The other party had more command and mobilization, generals, and soldiers than him. Was he going to lose again this time?
He gritted his teeth and decided that he must not be defeated again. If all 30,000 troops were wiped out, he would become a sinner for all eternity!
Thinking of this, he gave the order: "The whole army should retreat slowly, and all the cavalry should follow me to cover the rear and stop the enemy!"

The two sides collided, and Zhang He ran into Zhu Ling head-on. The two sides started fighting from this encounter. The two iron spears were like swimming dragons, and every move was aimed at the opponent's vital points.

The two were old acquaintances. Zhang He cursed, "Zhu Ling, you are a shameless person!"

"Your whole family was killed by Gongsun Zan, and it was Lord Benchu ​​who defeated Gongsun Zan and avenged your whole family. You actually betrayed the Yuan family. Do you still have any shame?"

"Wen Chou was forced to surrender because of his family. What excuse do you have?"

"I heard that Lu Zhao also surrendered to Cao Cao like you. What a shameless couple!"

Zhu Ling blushed and snorted coldly: "Zhang He, stop talking nonsense. You are lucky. What other choice do we have?"

"Everyone serves his master. The real thing will be revealed with his hands. Look at the gun!"

The two sides fought back and forth for dozens of moves. Although Zhang He's martial arts were superior to Zhu Ling's, Zhu Ling was determined to defend the vital points and entangle Zhang He to delay time. He could wait, but Zhang He could not.

Zhang He also saw through Zhu Ling's thoughts and cursed in his heart. Seeing that the rear army had almost retreated, he waved his gun and wanted to retreat with them.

But at this moment, a troop of Cao's army rushed out and shouted, "Feng Kai, a subordinate of the King of Wei, watch out!"

Zhang He secretly groaned. Feng Kai was also one of Cao Cao's generals with a different surname. As a guard, he had good martial arts skills. If he was surrounded here, he would be in great danger!

Thinking of this, he fired two shots to force Zhu Ling away, then retreated with his cavalry, with Zhu Ling and Feng Kai chasing closely behind.

In the center of Cao's army, Cao Cao said to Xun You unhappily, "No news about Cao Xiu yet?"

"Didn't we give him an order to go around the enemy's rear in advance? Why hasn't he shown up in two days?"

"Otherwise, none of the 30,000 Jin troops in front of us will be able to escape!"

(End of this chapter)