At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 279 Strategic Encirclement
"Tap Tap!"

The rebel general Huang Zhong, the Zhonglang general Yan Yan, and the Polu captain Wenpin led [-] soldiers and horses to attack thousands of miles away. They went north from Nanyang County and entered Yingchuan County in Yuzhou.

Yan Yan had a worried look on his face at this time and said: "This time, your lord, let us and our lone army go deep into the Yuan Army's hinterland across Yuzhou and Yanzhou, and attack thousands of miles to occupy Baima, Puyang, and Guandu, in order to eliminate Yuzhou, Yanzhou, and Jizhou." traffic between.”

"Although this plan is good, we are going to attack over a long distance. Not to mention that Baima, Puyang, and Guandu are all important military towns along the Yellow River. I am afraid that Yuan's army has already taken precautions and will be difficult to conquer."

"Even if we are lucky enough to capture it, as long as our army's food route is cut off, we will definitely collapse without a fight. How can we defend these three places?"

No wonder Yan Yan is so worried.

Zhou Qi asked the three men to attack Baima, Puyang, and Guandu, just like the Ziwu Valley Strategy that Wei Yan presented to Zhuge Liang during the Shu Han Dynasty. The soldiers moved dangerously, went deep alone, and attacked the enemy's key areas.

This plan may seem like a clever plan, but in fact it cannot withstand much scrutiny.

Not to mention whether the [-] elite soldiers led by Wei Yan could sneak across Ziwu Valley, even if they could sneak across, whether they could capture Chang'an and let Cao Wei's governor Xiahou Mao, who was guarding Chang'an, abandon the city and flee.

If any accident occurs, Wei Yan and his five thousand elite troops will inevitably be wiped out.

Even if he was lucky enough to capture Chang'an, Cao Wei could quickly mobilize troops and horses to encircle and suppress him. With five thousand troops and horses, how long could he hold on without logistical support?
Of course, when Wei Yan presented the Ziwu Valley plot, he also asked Zhuge Liang to lead his troops to attack Chang'an from Xie Valley and finally join forces with Wei Yan.

Wei Yan didn't even think about it. If it was so easy to invade Chang'an via Xie Valley, why take the risk of Ziwu Valley?
If Zhuge Liang is allowed to go through Xiegu, he must first conquer Sanguan and then Chencang.

Both of these two cities are military fortresses, which are easy to defend but difficult to attack, especially Chencang. In history, Zhuge Liang was defeated here and led his troops to retreat in despair.

Trying to open up grain routes through Sanguan and Chencang and join forces with Wei Yan in Chang'an is tantamount to wishful thinking. Perhaps Wei Yan and his five thousand soldiers and horses had died in Chang'an long before Zhuge Liang captured Chencang.

As for why many people in later generations thought that Wei Yan might succeed, and even Chen Shou thought that Zhuge Liang's conspiracy was short-lived, the most important thing was because of Sima Yi's high evaluation of Ziwu Valley's conspiracy.

Let’s see how Sima Yi relied on Ziwu Valley’s plan: Zhuge Liang was cautious in his life and did not dare to make mistakes.If I were to use troops, I would have taken Chang'an from Ziwu Valley Path much earlier.He is not without plans, but he is afraid of making mistakes and refuses to take risks.

I thought.

The reason why Sima Yi said this was not necessarily because he really believed that Wei Yan's Ziwu Valley conspiracy could succeed. He was most likely using counterintuitive tactics.

Wei Yan was proud by nature and was originally dissatisfied with Zhuge Liang's rejection of his plan. What would happen if Sima Yi's words reached Wei Yan's ears again?
This will inevitably make Wei Yan more and more dissatisfied, causing the Shu and Han generals to be at odds with each other.

Some people may think that with only [-] soldiers and horses, no matter whether it succeeds or not, just make a bet. If it succeeds, you will have beautiful women and beautiful cars, and if you fail, you will not lose much.

This idea is extremely wrong.

Five thousand soldiers and horses, even if China has millions of active troops in later generations, it is a force that cannot be ignored.

If so many soldiers and horses are lost at once, it will inevitably cause shock in the country, an all-out war will break out, and it is even possible to start three wars.

Especially for the Shu Han, first Guan Yu lost Jingzhou, and then the first lord Yiling was defeated, which almost emptied the fortune of this regime.

Zhuge Liang made several Northern Expeditions. Except for the first and last expeditions, he did not lead many troops. At least once he only sent 1 troops.

The loss of five thousand soldiers and horses may be acceptable to the Wei State, but it is definitely a great defeat for the Shu State, which can be very damaging.

Zhuge Liang understood this and categorically rejected the Ziwu Valley Conspiracy, which had a very low success rate.

At this time, the situation of Huang Zhong, Yan Yan, and Wenpin was almost the same as that of Wei Yan's Ziwu Valley Qi Conspiracy. If they were not careful, their entire army would be annihilated.

Yan Yan was more stable and conservative. After all, she still couldn't suppress the doubts in her heart and told Huang Zhong what she was thinking.

never thought.

Huang Zhong laughed out loud when he heard this and said: "General Yan, let's see, have we encountered any enemy troops since we entered Yingchuan territory?"

Yan Yan shook his head and said, "Never."

Huang Zhong asked: "General Yan, do you know why?"

Yan Yan said hesitantly: "It seems that Cao Cao sent troops to Yingchuan twice before and plundered the entire population."

Huang Zhong nodded and said, "Of course."

"Yingchuan was indeed a land of outstanding people before, with many noble families and extremely wealthy people. However, after experiencing the Yellow Turban Rebellion and Yuan Shu's Rebellion, the people of Yingchuan have long since become very dilapidated."

"When Yuan Shao attacked Xuzhou before, Cao Cao sent troops to plunder the population of Yingchuan; when Yuan Shao attacked Yuan Shu, Cao Cao once occupied the entire Yingchuan and moved all the people in the territory."

"We are passing through Yingchuan at this time. Although we are nominally going deep into the hinterland of Yuan Shao's power, in fact the area we pass through is almost deserted."

"This is not only the case in Yingchuan, but also in Chen State, Dongjun and even the entire Yanzhou. The population has long been moved away by Cao Cao."

"Even though Yuan Shao later nominally occupied these places, he didn't even send grassroots officials because he didn't have time to move the population."

"Therefore, general, there is no need to worry about us going deep into Yuan Jun's hinterland. The places we pass are all deserted."

When Yan Yan heard this, he suddenly understood. He slapped his forehead and said, "It's because I don't know much about the situation in the Central Plains that I made the general laugh."

Huang Zhong smiled and said: "General Yan is also a cautious person, so it's good to have this insight. My lord personally led the army to occupy Yingchuan and Dongjun to ensure our logistics supplies. I am not worried about the food route being cut off, I am only worried about If the important military towns such as Baima, Puyang, and Guandu are guarded by Yuan's army, it may not be easy to capture them."

"These three places are only across a river from Jizhou. Once we cannot occupy them quickly, the Yuan army sent by Yuan Shao will arrive in an instant, which will disrupt the lord's overall deployment."

Hearing this, Yan Yan and Wenpin showed solemn expressions on their faces. They did not dare to neglect and hurriedly urged their soldiers to speed up the march.

This time, General Zhou Qi divided his troops into four groups to attack Yuan Shao, which was exactly the strategy formulated by military advisor Xu Shu.

Xu Shu had previously planned to alienate Zhao Wei and make him rebel, causing Yizhou to fall into a whirlpool of civil strife; then he was forced to surrender to Liu Zhang, making Yizhou nominally belong to Zhou Qi; and finally, he designed to make Zhao Wei's ambitions inflated, and then killed him in the next county. , completely solve the future troubles.

Xu Shu's layers of calculations also allowed Zhou Qi to capture Yizhou easily, which can be said to be an outstanding achievement.

It was precisely for this reason that Xu Shu was able to rise to the top as a latecomer. Even though he was born into a poor family, he was still worshiped as a military advisor and a lieutenant general, and inherited the position of Xi Zhicai.

In terms of the ever-changing tactics, Xu Shu may be slightly inferior to Xi Zhicai; but in terms of military strategy, Xu Shu is better than Xi Zhicai, and he is a genius in this area.

Zhou Qi raised troops to attack Yuan Shao this time and asked Xu Shu for advice on where to start the situation.

Xu Shu said: "When Yuan Benchu ​​returned to Yecheng, he left his nephew Gao Gan as the governor of Yuzhou and ordered Zheng Tai and Zhang He to assist him."

"This person, Gao Gan, comes from a well-known family. He has previously managed to consolidate the state, has outstanding political achievements, and is capable of both civil and military affairs."

"Zheng Tai was originally the mastermind of Yuan Shu. He was not only resourceful, but also had a good understanding of the situation in Yuzhou, and won the hearts of the scholars in Yuzhou."

"Although Zhang He has no obvious military exploits, he is known as the Four Pillars of Hebei along with Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and Gao Lan. He is a good general despite his great reputation."

"With these three men stationed in Yuzhou, my lord leads the army to march north. If they defend according to the danger, the Northern Expedition will be greatly hindered."

"Once Yuan Shao sends a large army to help Yuzhou, it may not be easy to gain anything." Zhou Qi's face became serious when he heard this.

Xu Shu may not know Zhang He's ability, but Zhou Qi knows it very well. With Qi and Zheng Tai assisting senior officials, Yuzhou may be more difficult to attack than during Yuan Shu's rule.

And just like Xu Shu said.

Yuan Shao, who is located in Hebei, has a solid backing of senior officials and will not sit back and watch Zhou Qi attack Yuzhou.

Zhou Qi asked: "Does the military advisor have a way to break the situation?"

Xu Shu walked up to the map and said, "If I rely solely on my lord, it may not be easy to attack Yuzhou."

"However, this time Yuan Shao proclaimed himself emperor, which greatly lost the hearts of the people. Liu Shijun has already raised troops from Xuzhou to attack Qingzhou. Even if he loses, he can still contain some of Yuan Shao's troops."

"Hearing what Zhuge Ziyu said, Chen Gongtai rode into Chang'an alone, intending to persuade Cao Mengde to go north from Xiaoguan to seize Bingzhou."

"Whether Bingzhou or Qingzhou, they are more important to Yuan Shao than Yuzhou. If these two people can put pressure on Yuan Shao, then Yuzhou can win."

Xu Shu's analysis was not wrong.

Some people may think that Runan is the hometown of Yuan Shao, and it is also the Central Plains, a place with outstanding people, and its importance must be far greater than Qingzhou and the sparsely populated Bingzhou.

This is not the case.

If we talk about the importance of one place alone, Yuzhou is indeed more important.

However, the game between princes is based on the overall situation, not one place.

Although Yuzhou is rich and even the hometown of Yuan Shao, after Yuan Shu's disaster, it has long since become worse than before.

Yuan Shao is now based in Jizhou, Hebei.

Even though Zhou Qi captured Yuzhou, he still could not shake Yuan Shao's foundation.

On the other hand, Qingzhou is not only bordering Jizhou, but as long as Qingzhou is taken away, it will be able to control the Yellow River. At that time, Liu Bei will take the initiative whether it is offensive or defensive, posing a great threat to Jizhou.

Therefore, Qingzhou is more important to Yuan Shao than Yuzhou.

This is especially true for Bingzhou.

If Cao Cao is allowed to occupy Bingzhou, then Cao Cao can attack both Jizhou and Youzhou, and even directly threaten Yecheng.

It was precisely after seeing this that Xu Shu concluded that Qingzhou and Bingzhou were more important to Yuan Shao than Yuzhou.

If the two of them attack Qing and Binzhou as promised, they will definitely contain the vast majority of Yuan Shao's troops, which will create conditions for Zhou Qi to seize Yuzhou.

Zhou Qi could also see through this and immediately asked: "How are the military advisors planning to capture Yuzhou?"

Xu Shu pointed to the locations of Baima, Puyang, and Guandu, and said: "Yuzhou is difficult to conquer, but Yanzhou is empty. Your lord can send Huang Zhong, Yan Yan, and Wenpin from Nanyang to the north to Yingchuan, and then make a long-distance raid into Yanzhou and occupy Baima and Puyang." , Guandu.”

"If we send troops to garrison these three places, we can not only cut off Yuzhou's food routes, but also block the Yuan army sent by Yuan Shao to support Yuzhou."

"My lord can ask General Zhou Cheng and General Zhang Liao to attack Runan from Jiangxia and Lujiang to contain the main force of Yuan's army in Yuzhou, and ask Jiangxia County Governor Zhou Jing to go to Jiujiang to help General Xu Huang attack Pei. My lord personally leads the army to occupy Yingchuan, Dongjun and Chen Guo can not only ensure the food routes along Baima, Puyang, and Guandu, wait for the opportunity to occupy the entire territory of Yanzhou, but also complete the encirclement of Runan."

"At that time, Ruyang's army was alone and was surrounded by enemies on all sides. Even with Gao Gan, Zheng Tai, and Zhang He, it was difficult to change the general situation."

After hearing Xu Shu's words, Zhou Qi suddenly became enlightened and couldn't help but secretly praise Xu Shu's conducting art.

Zhou Qi had been fighting in the south and north for more than ten years. When it came to uniting his troops to fight, the two armies faced each other and won the decisive battle, he was naturally far better than Xu Shu.

But in terms of overall strategy, he is not as thorough as Xu Shu.

Not only Zhou Qi, but even the late Xi Zhicai cannot compare with Xu Shu in this regard.

It has to be said that Xu Shu's strategic layout can be described as bold and careful, and he planned every step of the way. He not only made dangerous moves, but also used upright tactics. It was simply impeccable.

Why do you say so?
Xu Shu was said to be bold and careful because he actually dared to send a general to go deep into the army, directly crossing Yuzhou and Yanzhou from Nanyang, and then occupied Baima, Puyang, Guandu and other important military areas south of the Yellow River.

At a sudden glance, using troops like this is no different than seeking death.

You know, in ancient times, marching operations had to ensure logistical supplies, so it was very possible to go deep alone.

Not to mention that the important military towns of Baima, Puyang, and Guandu are all easy to defend and difficult to attack. Even if people are sent to attack thousands of miles away, it will probably be difficult to conquer them.

Even if they are lucky enough to win, if the high officials send people to cut off their food routes, these [-] troops will become a turtle in the urn.

However, Xu Shu had already considered this.

As Huang Zhong said before, almost all the people in Yingchuan, Dongjun and even Yanzhou were relocated, and even the most basic officials were left.

This also means that Huang Zhong and others will not encounter any resistance when going north, which is far easier than sneaking across Ziwu Valley.

With Zhou Qi personally leading the army to occupy Yingchuan and Dongjun, he could not only ensure the food routes for Huang Zhong and others, but also form an encirclement with Zhou Cheng, Zhang Liao, and Xu Huang against high-ranking officials.

There were not many soldiers and horses under the command of Gao Gan, and the main force had been restrained by Zhou Cheng and Zhang Liao, and they were unable to cut off Huang Zhong's grain road.

The reason why Xu Shu is said to be as careful as his hair is because he suggested transferring Zhou Jing to help Xu Huang and lead troops to attack Pei State together.

Who is Zhou Jing?He is the head of the Zhou family in Pei State, and is quite famous and influential in Pei State. Even though the family has moved to Jiangxia, due to the continuous expansion of Zhou Qi's power, his influence in Pei State has not decreased but increased.

You can imagine what will happen when Xu Huang and Zhou Jing lead their troops to invade the country of Pei.

as predicted.

When the people and scholars of Pei State learned that the general Zhou Qi had sent troops to kill him, and Zhou Jing went to persuade him to surrender, wherever Xu Huang passed by, the scholars and people everywhere ate pots of pulp to welcome the king's army.

It didn't take long for the entire Pei Kingdom to be completely occupied by Xu Huang.

At the same time, after Zhou Qi occupied Yingchuan, he did not continue to advance to Dongjun, but went east to occupy Chen State.

Chen State, like Yingchuan, was completely plundered by Cao Cao. It had no troops stationed at all and was easily occupied by Zhou Qi.

As such.

Before Gao Gan, Zheng Tai, and Zhang He could react, they were besieged by Zhou Qi's troops in Runan County and were left alone.

(End of this chapter)