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

Chapter 281 The End of the War
Changping, Jingzhou Military Camp.

"Report!"

"General Huang Zhong failed to attack Puyang and was besieged in Baima by Yan Liang's [-] troops. Wen Chou led [-] troops south and had already attacked Chenliu, cutting off General Huang Zhong's food route!"

When Zhou Qi suddenly heard the news, his expression changed slightly. After learning the details of the matter, he hurriedly summoned his subordinates Wenwu to discuss countermeasures.

Although Yan Liang had [-] soldiers and horses, Huang Zhong was also a famous general in the world. He was also assisted by Wenpin and Yan Yan. He had [-] soldiers and horses under his command, and he occupied a good location in the city, so he was not afraid of Yan Liang.

The greatest threat to Huang Zhong was the [-]-strong army led by Wen Chou.

It has to be said that Yuan Shao had experts under his command and asked Wen Chou to lead his army south to occupy Dongjun first and then attack Chen Liuguo, so that Huang Zhong's grain road could be cut off.

Then Huang Zhong, who goes deep alone, will collapse without a fight in a short time.

After Xu Shu learned the details of the matter, he couldn't help but frown slightly and said, "I didn't expect Yuan Benchu ​​to react so quickly."

Zhou Qi asked: "For the current plan, what can I do?"

Xu Shu said without hesitation: "Sending Huang Zhong to attack Puyang is a risky move. If successful, everything south of the Yellow River will belong to the lord."

"Now that the established strategic goal has not been achieved, General Huang Zhong cannot be allowed to fight, but he can be ordered to withdraw his troops quickly."

Zhou Qi said: "Now Yan Liang has led [-] troops to besiege Baima, and Wen Chou has led [-] troops to attack Chen Liu and cut off his return. How can we retreat?"

Xu Shu thought for a moment, then smiled slightly and said, "This is easy."

"Now that Cao Mengde has also launched an army to attack Yuan, he and his lord are considered allies. Although General Huang Zhong's return route is cut off, he can go west to Hanoi and station troops in Chaoge."

Zhou Qi accepted his words and asked Huang Zhong to stick to Baima first, but he personally led his army northward to station in Chenliu, making a gesture of attacking Wen Chou in order to relieve Huang Zhong's pressure.

At the same time, Zhou Qi sent an envoy to meet Cao Cao at full speed, asking General Chaoge to open the city gate and let Huang Zhong and others enter.

Bingzhou, Yanmen County.

However, it is said that Cao Cao unexpectedly defeated several cities in a row. He was very proud of the spring breeze and planned to take advantage of Yuan Shao's busy schedule to capture the entire territory of Bingzhou. When the Southern Huns Shanyu Huchuquan suddenly led [-] Huns to rush to Bingzhou's aid.

Although Cao Cao was afraid of the cavalry under Hu Chuquan, he was not afraid of them.

What Cao Cao didn't expect was that these Huns cavalry were harassing Cao Cao's food road, forcing Cao Cao to suspend his offensive.

After Cao Cao stabilized the grain road, Huchuquan did not continue to fight with Cao's army in the field. Instead, he entered the city to help Bingzhou general defend the city.

With the addition of [-] fresh troops, even the Huns' cavalry, which was not good at defending the city, made Cao Cao's head as big as a fight and he could no longer advance his offensive.

At this time, Guo Jia had already vaguely felt that the northern expedition to Bingzhou might not go so smoothly.

Guo Jia immediately suggested to Cao Cao that while he personally led a large army to attack the city, he divided his troops to plunder nearby counties. If the counties could be attacked, they would attack them; if they could not, they would plunder the people in the villages outside the city.

In those county towns that had been captured before, all the people in the cities were also plundered.

Guo Jia planned to repeat his old tricks and move the people of Bingzhou into Guanzhong.

In this way, even if Cao Cao failed to capture Bingzhou in the end, he could still steal a lot of people. Having a population in troubled times means having everything.

Cao Cao followed his advice and deliberately informed the city guards about the news.

Naturally, the city guard did not want the people to be taken prisoner, so he immediately wanted to take advantage of Cao Cao's division of troops to go out of the city with Huchuquan to surprise Cao's army.

Unexpectedly, Cao Cao had an ambush and defeated the Huns cavalry in a battle.

After this defeat, the general of Bingzhou did not dare to continue fighting with Cao Cao. He immediately asked Huchuquan to gather the remaining defeated soldiers and defend the city, allowing Cao Cao to plunder the people.

However, while Cao's army was plundering people everywhere, a battle report suddenly came, saying that Han Sui and Ma Teng had mobilized all the troops in Liangzhou, invaded Guanzhong, and besieged Chencang.

When Cao Cao heard this, he couldn't help being shocked and said: "Chang'an is only a few days away from Chencang. Once Chencang is lost, Cao Cao will be homeless!"

At this time, Cao Cao did not care about continuing to cause chaos in Bingzhou, so he planned to recall the soldiers and horses that had been plundered everywhere, and then retreated to Chang'an.

At this time, the envoy sent by Zhou Qi came and informed him of his intention, hoping that Cao Cao would ask General Chaoge to allow Huang Zhong to lead his army into the city.

Cao Cao immediately asked his counselors: "Do you think I want to agree to Zhou Ziyi's request?"

Guo Jia paused for a while and then said immediately: "I think the envoy should let Huang Zhong enter the imperial court."

Cao Cao frowned and said, "I'm worried that the dove will occupy the magpie's nest and refuse to leave."

When Guo Jia heard this, he shook his head and said with a smile: "You are worrying too much."

"The foundation of the public lies in Guanzhong. Even if Chaoge and even the entire Hanoi County are lost, what's the harm?"

"If the Duke takes Huang Zhong in, if he is like a dove occupying a magpie's nest, Zhou Ziyi will definitely lose the support of the people, and the benefits to the envoy will outweigh the disadvantages."

What Guo Jia said was not wrong.

At this time, although Hanoi County was under Cao Cao's rule, it was not as violently relocated as Guanzhong. It was still extremely desolate and of low value.

As long as Hangu Pass is in the hands of Cao Jun, it doesn't matter whether there is Hanoi County or not.

Of course, this is only for Cao Cao today.

Once Cao Cao takes over Longxi and plans to march eastward, Hanoi County will become a battleground for military strategists.

At least for now, the strategic value of Hanoi County has not yet been realized.

Hearing this, Cao Cao nodded slightly, and then said: "I have long wanted to defeat Han Sui and Ma Teng and annex Longxi. However, Liangzhou is bitterly cold and has been managed by these two for a long time. It is not a wise move to go on an expedition rashly."

"Today, these two people don't know the destiny and actually take the initiative to invade my territory. Wouldn't it be better for me to personally lead the army to Liangzhou to conquer it?"

"However, Han Sui and Ma Teng are not weak. I am worried that Yuan Benchu ​​will send troops to attack when they are fighting. Now that Huang Zhong is allowed to enter the court, he can not only defend the city for me, but also act as a deterrent to Ye City. Isn't that right? Beautiful?"

Guo Jia smiled and said: "I'll make you wise!"

"The current melee between Yuan Benchu, Zhou Ziyi, and Liu Xuande is a great opportunity for the emperor to expand his power. It would not be in the interests of the emperor to allow Huang Zhong to be besieged in Baima."

"Only by keeping the three princes on par and locked in a protracted war can you have a chance to conquer Longxi."

Cao Cao immediately no longer hesitated and summoned Zhou Qi's envoy. He first expressed his longing for Zhou Qi, his old friend, and then generously expressed that Huang Zhong could lead his army to Chaoge with confidence.

The envoy bid farewell to Cao Cao, went straight to meet Huang Zhong, and ordered him to withdraw to Chaoge and station troops here to maintain a deterrent to Yecheng.

At this time, Huang Zhong had fought with Yan Liang several times, with both sides winning or losing.

Generally speaking, Huang Zhong, who had fewer soldiers, won more than he lost.

After receiving the order from the envoy, Huang Zhong immediately led his army to attack Yan Liang during the day. At night, he quietly withdrew his troops and entered Hanoi County to the west. He was then welcomed into Chaoge by Yu Jin.

After the news reached Yecheng, Yuan Shao walked to the map, frowned and said, "Huang Zhong has stationed his troops here, I feel uneasy."

No wonder Yuan Shao is like this.The straight-line distance between Chaoge and Yecheng is only a few days' journey.

Fortunately, the mountains in the middle are steep and difficult to pass through, so we can only go around through Dongjun.

Even so, the place where Huang Zhongzhi stationed troops could also greatly threaten Yuan's army's food routes, making Yuan Shao feel very uncomfortable.

Jushou also walked to the map, and then said: "You can order General Chunyu Qiong to lead five thousand troops and garrison them in Baima to resist Huang Zhong."

Yuan Shao accepted his words.

But Zhou Qi was quietly relieved after learning that Huang Zhong had safely evacuated to Chaoge.

But soon, Zhou Qi couldn't be happy anymore.

Because Han Sui and Ma Teng besieged Chencang, Cao Cao was the first to withdraw from the battle against Yuan Shao.

Immediately afterwards, Liu Bei's offensive in Qingzhou was blocked. Under Yuan Tan's strategy of clearing the country, defending the city, and not confronting the Xuzhou army, Liu Bei ordered his troops to storm the city. His soldiers suffered many casualties, but they still could not make any further progress.

Seeing that the protracted battle was insurmountable, Wuhuan cavalry rushed from Youzhou to aid Yuan Tan.

Liu Bei had no choice but to lead his troops to retreat.

The three princes jointly attacked Yuan Shao. In just half a year, Cao Cao and Liu Bei had already withdrawn their troops.

Now, Zhou Qi has to face Yuan Shao alone.

He summoned Chen Wen and asked, "How is the war in Yuzhou?"

Chen Wen replied: "General Xu Huang captured Pei State, then led his troops to the west, joined forces with Zhang Liao and Zhou Cheng, and besieged Ruyang."

"However, before Yuan Shu became emperor, he had already carried out massive construction projects and built Ruyang like an iron barrel. At that time, Yuan Benchu ​​led an army of more than [-] and attacked fiercely for several months without being able to defeat it."

"The troops and horses under the command of the three generals are far inferior to those of Yuan Benchu ​​in the past. Even if they try their best, they can hardly make any progress. Now the war has reached a stalemate."

When Zhou Qi heard this, he couldn't help but frown.

He thought for a long time and finally sighed: "Both Cao Mengde and Liu Xuande have withdrawn their troops, and Ruyang has been unable to attack for a long time. If I devote all my strength to a decisive battle with Yuan Benchu, I am afraid that both sides will suffer."

"I want to imitate Cao Mengde and move the people of Runan and Pei to Jing and Yangzhou, and then withdraw his troops. I wonder what the military advisor thinks?"

Xu Shu thought for a long time and said: "My lord, this is a great kindness."

"However, the process of relocating the people takes a long time. I'm afraid that it won't be long before Yuan Shao arrives in person with his army. If my lord wants to successfully relocate the people of Runan and Pei, he needs to hold off Yuan Shao for at least three months."

"Pei is the country closest to Xuzhou, so it is better to give it to Liu Bei. This will also strengthen Liu Bei's strength and make him better block Yuan Shao for our lord."

Zhou Qi thought so and said: "Then just follow the advice of the military advisor and move only the population of one county in Runan. This trip is not in vain!"

What Zhou Qi said was not false.

Yuzhou is located in the Central Plains and is extremely wealthy, especially Runan County, where the Yuan family of Runan is located. Even after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, it was not greatly affected.

Later, although Yuan Shu was not good at governing the country, he still had some enthusiasm for the people of Runan, which attracted people from other places to flock to Runan.

Especially when Cao Cao captured the populations of Yingchuan and Chen, many people migrated to Runan to avoid disaster.

According to the population statistics of Yonghe Five Years in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Runan County alone had 210 million people, and Nanyang County, known as the number one county in the world, had only 250 million people.

Even the population of Runan County alone is larger than the total population of some states.

Although the population of Runan has dropped sharply now, there are still more than 100 million people. It was also the capital of Yuan Shu's arrogance back then, and it is the core of Yuzhou.

As long as Zhou Qi plunders all the people in Runan, Yuzhou will be abolished. Even if Gao Gan, Zhang He and Zheng Tai guard Ruyang, what's the use?

Zhou Qi then led his army to the Chen Kingdom and divided his troops into Fule and Yangxia counties, guarding them by the water and forming horns with each other.

He also gave the state of Pei to Liu Bei and asked him to lead troops to garrison Pei County.

Not long after Zhou Qi completed the deployment, Yuan Shao immediately marched south with 30 infantry and cavalry.

Yuan Shao divided his troops to [-] to guard against Liu Bei who was stationed in Pei County. He led the rest of his troops and began to attack Fule and Yangxia counties.

In the wild confrontation, Zhou Qi was also afraid of Yuan Shao's large numbers and his cavalry.

It was a battle to defend the city, but Zhou Qi was not afraid at all.

The two sides were in a stalemate for more than three months, and the population of Runan County was gradually forcibly moved to the south of the Huaihe River. During this period, Zhang He led his troops out of the city to attack the Jingzhou Army.

However, Zhang He was faced with two good generals, Zhang Liao and Xu Huang, as well as Li Ru, who was under Zhou Cheng's command, to provide advice. Therefore, instead of gaining any advantage by leaving the city, he lost troops and generals.

At the same time, Huang Zhong also continued to send troops to harass Yuan Shao's grain road.

Although Chunyu Qiong led five thousand soldiers and horses to garrison Baima, Huang Zhong did not attack the city. He only went around Baima to grab grain. He took away everything he could and burned what he couldn't take away.

Chunyu Qiong went out to fight in the city and was defeated by Huang Zhong. Even he was almost killed by Yan Yan.

Yuan Shao had no choice but to ask Gao Lan to lead [-] troops and cooperate with Chunyu Qiong to ensure the safety of the grain road. This made Huang Zhong dare not act rashly.

In this way, Yuan Shao's offensive was greatly weakened.

The two sides ended up in a stalemate for more than four months, and most of the population in Runan County was relocated.

The reason for this is that there are too many aristocratic families in Runan, and there are many clans. Many people are unwilling to leave their homeland, which wastes a lot of time.

Zhou Qi didn't want to offend those people now, so he asked Zhou Jing to let those aristocratic families, powerful men and clans go when he forcibly relocated the people of Runan.

Unexpectedly, these people actually went further and began to hide the nearby people.

This move made Zhou Qi furious, and ordered Xu Chu to lead his army to attack many Wubao and kill many people. Only then did the aristocratic and wealthy families become frightened and no longer dared to hide their population.

Even so, Zhou Qi only moved more than [-] people in April, which was less than half of Runan County's population.

In addition to the fact that many aristocratic families, wealthy families, and clans accounted for a large number of the population, it was also because the people here were attached to Yuan Shao and were unwilling to leave their hometown and be forcibly relocated.

Many people hid in the deep mountains and forests, or relied on their familiarity with the terrain to avoid being hunted by the Jingzhou Army.

Seeing that it was becoming more and more difficult to relocate people, and the return on investment was gradually failing, Zhou Qi had no choice but to order a stop to the forced relocation of people, and then led his troops to retreat.

This battle was somewhat anticlimactic and lasted for nearly a year, with both sides winning and losing.

Zhou Qi withdrew his troops, but took away more than [-] people in Runan. He also captured Pei State and handed it over to Liu Bei. He had a slight advantage.

Yuan Shao had not founded the country for a long time, and the stalemate with Zhou Qi in Chen State for so long was very costly. Even if he suffered the loss of being dumb, he was unwilling to continue fighting.

Seeing Zhou Qi withdraw his troops, Yuan Shao did not continue the pursuit.

(End of this chapter)