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

Chapter 380 One Year

Guanzhong, Chang'an.

Xia Houyuan took a letter sent back from Xiangyang and handed it to Cao Cao.

"Jiaozhou has been pacified. Zhou Ziyi is recruiting troops on a large scale to prepare for a decisive battle with Yuan Benchu. He once again invites his brother to join forces with Zhao."

After Cao Cao read the contents of the letter, he was silent for a long time before shaking his head and saying: "In this battle, we still have to wait and see. It is not convenient for us to participate in it for the time being."

It wasn't until he watched Xia Houyuan leave that Cao Cao showed a sad look on his face.

Guanzhong is indeed a place with excellent defense, but it is also like a cage, which can also drain people's fighting spirit.

Although Cao Cao wanted to expand his power, he tried to encroach on Yizhou twice, but the result was that he lost troops and generals, and his success was almost defeated.

Now, even if Zhou Qi is preparing for a decisive battle with Yuan Shao, he still lets Zhou Yu lead the troops to garrison Hanzhong. There are also rising stars such as Zhou Ji, the crown prince of Chu, and his confidants Pang Tong, Lu Xun, etc. They are not ordinary people.

Previously, Cao Cao ordered Xia Houyuan to take advantage of Zhou Ji's marriage to the Xiahou family to secretly snoop for information in Chengdu. He also learned about the plan to use a chain strategy to get rid of Guo Jia, and then asked Ma Chao to kill Yu Jin, and finally recruited Ma Chao. It was written by Pang Tong.

Zhou Ji was already able to guard one side before he reached the crown, and there would be no big problem in governing Chu in the future.

At that time, Cao Cao could use all his troops in Guanzhong and take advantage of the Chu State's vitality to harvest the fruits of victory.

It was not until that time that Cao Cao was horrified to discover that the gap between himself and Zhou Qi was not even a tiny bit.

This gap is not only between the subordinates and generals under Ziyu's command, as well as the soldiers, horses and food in the territory, but also the gap between the next generation that is like a natural chasm.

If he could take the opportunity to occupy Bashu, he might still have the possibility to compete in the world.

Although Yuan Shaoming is still slightly stronger on the surface, Cao Cao is more optimistic that Zhou Qi can win for Chu State, which is more internally harmonious and occupies a large geographical area.

It's no wonder Zhou Qi is like this, Yizhou is really too important.

As for Zhou Yu, Cao Cao suffered two defeats at the hands of this man. He already knew how terrifying this young hero who was born in the Zhou family of Lujiang was.

When Zhuge Liang fought against Chunyu Qiong, he used a small number to attack many and devised a clever plan, and finally defeated Yuan's army, making Chu's victory in the first battle and becoming famous.

His only chance now is to hope that when the two fight, even if Zhou Qi can win in the end, he will suffer heavy losses at best.

With Zhou Qi's personal ability, he also occupied the natural dangers of Bashu, Han River, and Huai River, which can be said to be a great advantage. Cao Cao thought that he would not be able to defeat the opponent in his lifetime.

Looking at these people, they are all the next generation trained by Zhou Qi over the years. The oldest among them, Zhou Yu, has just reached his thirties.

It was precisely because of Zhou Qi's acquisition of Yizhou that the money and food in his treasury gradually became full, and he truly had the capital to confront Yuan Shao head-on.

However, even during the critical period of the decisive battle between Chu and Zhao, Zhou Yu still led a heavy army to garrison in Hanzhong, which shows that Zhou Qi was still guarding Cao Cao.

It is precisely because of this strong contrast that Cao Cao, who has always been perseverant in adversity, can't help but feel a little depressed.

Therefore, Cao Cao not only would not participate in this decisive battle between the two sides, but even hoped that the two could fight for longer.

If they wait until both of them are dead, Cao Cao will not see any hope with the strong strength of the younger generation of Chu State.

Now, Zhou Qi has occupied Jiaozhou again, and it can be said that the situation has been achieved.

Regardless of whether Qin or Liu Bang, if they only occupy Guanzhong and do not get Yizhou, a land of abundance with thousands of miles of fertile land, the grain and grass produced in the territory will never be able to supply the huge expenses of the army.

Needless to say Pang Tong and Lu Xun.

"Order Xiahou Dun and Le Jin to lead the troops to Hanoi to garrison the fields!"

Finally, Cao Cao issued this order.

He nominally asked the two to farm in Hanoi County, but in fact he planned to wait until Zhou Qi and Yuan Shao decided the winner, and then directly let the two send troops from Hanoi County to pick the fruits of victory.

Cao Cao's reply did not exceed Zhou Qi's expectations.

However, Zhou Qi no longer cares about Cao Cao's plans. As long as the other party does not side with Yuan Shao, it is the most beneficial situation for him.

Time passes, and a year passes in a blink of an eye.

After Huang Zhong captured Nanyang County, Zhou Qi asked Liu Bei to leave 10,000 Xuzhou troops and hand them over to Guan Yu to help him resist Yuan's army in Guangling County. However, Liu Bei himself led his civil and military personnel, family members, and people to Nanyang through Chu State. , settled there.

Originally, 10,000 Xuzhou troops led by Guan Yu were stationed in Suiling.

However, with the continuous expansion of Yuan Jun's navy, it was not as easy as before for Gan Ning to break through Yuan Jun's navy defense line and transport grain and grass to Suiling.

In desperation, Zhou Qi had no choice but to order Guan Yu to withdraw from Suiling. After crossing the Huaihe River, he led his troops to Dongyang, at odds with Xutai.

With the pacification of Jiaozhou, reinforcements led by Zhou Qi and Xiang Hong also arrived in Guangling County.

All the soldiers and horses of the Chu State added up to hundreds of thousands.

The reason why there is only one is because Yizhou still has enough troops to defend Cao Cao. In addition, the people of Jiaozhou do not have a strong sense of belonging to the Chu State due to the initial decision of Jiaozhou.

At this time, it was obviously unrealistic to recruit soldiers in Jiaozhou on a large scale and ask them to leave their homes and come to Guangling County to fight against Yuan's army.

Moreover, although Jiaozhou is stable, there are still many hidden dangers. Nowadays, stability should be the priority. Therefore, not only did the pacification of Jiaozhou fail to bring much help to Zhou Qi, but he also had to spend energy to manage it in a short period of time.

The only advantage is that the Nanzhong soldiers and horses led by Xiang Hong, as well as the soldiers and horses staying in the southern counties of Jingzhou and Yangzhou, can be mobilized to the front line.

But after Yuan Shao turned to attack Huaiyin, because he had to cross the Huaihe River, and the navy led by Jiang Qin was crossing the river, and the navy under Zhou Jin and Gan Ning were ready to go to support him, Yuan's army's plan to cross the river several times was blocked. Ended with failure.

Seeing that several offensives were blocked, Yuan Shao had to first train his navy in Hongze Lake, and then look for opportunities to fight the Chu army.

While Yuan Shao was training his navy, many small-scale water battles broke out between the two sides in Hongze Lake. Naturally, the Chu side won more and lost less.

If it weren't for the fact that Yuan Jun's water stronghold was backed by land and a large number of Yuan's troops were stationed there, I am afraid that Yuan Jun's water stronghold would have been captured by Zhou Jin long ago.

The two sides have been in a stalemate in the Hongze Lake area for more than a year, but no decisive battle broke out. Seeing winter gradually approaching, it is another great test for both sides.

In Xutai City, in Zhou Qi's temporary residence, a stove has been lit in the house.

Perhaps because of the Little Ice Age, Zhou Qi still felt very cold even though he was located south of the Huaihe River.

It was such a cold weather, not to mention going out to fight Yuan Jun, even staying indoors felt bitingly cold.

Not only Zhou Qi and the Chu army felt cold, but also Yuan Shao and his soldiers, who were not even able to withstand the cold better than the Chu army.

Although most of Yuan Jun was born in the North, the temperature there is even lower in winter. If there is a lack of clothes, people will freeze to death from time to time.

However, due to the high air humidity in the south of the Huaihe River, the cold here is classified as wet and cold, while the north is classified as dry and cold.

The more humid the air, the greater the thermal conductivity, the easier it is for the human body to lose heat, and the lower the body temperature will be.

In winter in the north, dry wind blows. Although the temperature is very low, the heat conductivity is poor. As long as you can wrap yourself tightly in clothes, the cold wind will not easily penetrate into the body and take away heat.

However, the humidity and cold south of the Huaihe River is cold to the core. Even if you are tightly wrapped, the cold wind can still get into your body.

Therefore, although the winter temperature south of the Huaihe River is not as low as in the north, people feel cold due to the lower body temperature in the wet and cold state.

Even if Yuan Jun's soldiers could adapt to the cold winter in the north, they were still a little uncomfortable after arriving in the south.

Zhou Qi looked at Gan Ning, who had just walked in and was enjoying the heat, and asked: "During this period, there have been a lot less battle reports coming from Hongze Lake. Has Yuan Jun calmed down?"

Gan Ning moved closer to the stove and said: "The weather is too cold, and everyone is reluctant to move. If we accidentally fall into the water during this battle, even if we can be rescued, there is a high probability that we will not survive."

Gan Ning's words are not an exaggeration.

Some people may think that even though the weather is cold, as long as the person is rescued in time and put on dry clothes, he may not die.

This is not the case.

Soldiers fighting between the two armies unfortunately fell into the water. It was not easy to salvage them in time. Even if they were salvaged, there was a high probability that they would fall ill because the weather was too cold.

With the medical technology of this era, many common diseases in future generations may be fatal in this time and space.

Bacterial infection, viral infection, fever, cough, if not carefully cared for, may take people's lives.

Especially during this season, soldiers lived together in military camps, making it easier for influenza to spread.

Although the medical technology of the medical school founded by Zhou Qi is also developing rapidly, the productivity of this era is ultimately limited. Once there are too many sick soldiers, the supply of medicinal materials will not be available.

Zhou Qi pondered for a long time and asked: "Have you ever heard about the movements of Yuan Jun's main force?"

Gan Ning shook his head and said: "These days, most of Yuan's troops are living in the camp, and they are rarely seen."

Zhou Qi frowned slightly and said, "It's such a cold day, why doesn't Yuan Benchu ​​withdraw his troops?"

As soon as Zhou Qi finished speaking, he saw his bodyguard striding in and said, "Your Majesty, Xin Pi, the envoy of the State of Zhao, has come to meet the Lord."

Zhou Qi raised his eyebrows, then stood up and said, "Let him wait in the guest room first, and call Yuan Zhi over by the way!"

The personal guards took the order and left.

Not long after, Xu Shu came to the house and asked, "Why did the Lord call me here?"

Zhou Qi took Xu Shu's hand and said with a smile: "Yuan Zhi is from Yingchuan. Today I will introduce you to someone from the same county!"

Xu Shu asked with confusion on his face: "Who is it?"

Although there were many scholars in Yingchuan, and there were countless talented ones, most of them took refuge in Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.

Only people with bad backgrounds like Xi Zhicai and Xu Shu joined Zhou Qi's command.

To this day, Xu Shu still doesn't know who there are in Yingchuan in Chu who are worthy of Zhou Qi's personal introduction.

Zhou Qi gently stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Xin Pi, Xin Zuozhi!"

(End of this chapter)