Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 234
Cao Cao led the remaining troops to Wulin, and met the defeated generals Zhu Gai and Yin Shu on the way.

When Zhu Gai saw Cao Cao in the crowd, he quickly dismounted and cried: "Prime Minister, Gai has shouldered the heavy responsibility of being the prime minister. The Wulin Grain Village was defeated by Jiangzuo's soldiers and horses. Not even a tenth of the grain or grass was left, and most of it was burned down by the enemy."

Cao Cao held the reins and frowned and said, "Why are you crying like this? But Huo Jun led his navy up the river and led his army to attack Wulin Liangzhai."

Zhu Gai wiped away his tears and told Cao Cao the ins and outs of Wulin Liangzhai.Wulin was a passing point for Cao Cao's land and water. Cao Cao valued Wulin's geographical key. It was a rare dry land in Yunmengze, which was convenient for Wulin to camp and transport food and grass.

On the night when the fire burned in Jinkou, Huang Zhong and Wang Wei led their troops across the river to attack Wulin Liangzhai at night, and set fire to the grain in the southeast wind.Gai Yin Liangzhai was divided into villages, and two generals, Zhu Gai and Yin Shu, were well prepared. They defeated Huang Zhong and Wang Wei and saved part of the grain and grass.

In the following days, Huang Zhong and Wang Wei joined forces to defeat Cao Cao's Jiangzuo Navy and then invaded Wulin.Generals Zhu Gai and Yin Shu had already taken precautions, learned from the experience of burning grain and grass, and chose a secret place to transport part of the grain and grass.During the second wave of attacks, the two generals were defeated by the coalition forces and had no choice but to burn food and retreat in defeat. They hid in the Wulin to inquire about Cao Cao's news and prepared to retreat to Jiangling.

Now that we learned that Cao Cao led his troops to flee to Wulin, the second general led his troops back.

Knowing the outcome of Wulin Liangzhai is both joyful and sad.The good news is that the second general has saved a small amount of food and grass, so that he and his sergeants can eat; but the sad thing is that there is not much food and grass in Wulin, and there is still a difficult Huarong Road of two to three hundred miles.

Cao Cao sighed and asked, "How much food and grass is left in Wulin today?"

Zhu Gai restrained his emotions and said: "I'd like to inform the Prime Minister that there are about 60 shi of grain and grass in Wulin Liangzhai. However, it was burned by Huang Zhong, and Jiangzuo's army came to seize it. There are only [-] to [-] shi of grain and grass left, which can be enough for three days." Forty thousand soldiers for several days.”

Hearing this, Cao Cao was overjoyed and said with a smile: "Twenty-thousand to thirty thousand stones of grain and grass is enough, that's enough. It's three to four hundred miles from Wulin to Jiangling. Our army will travel both ways, and the grain and grass saved will be enough for our army to march to Jiangling."

Surviving in the wilderness in Yunmengze for those few days was truly a nightmare.In the past, 10,000 to [-] stones of food and grass were not enough to fill the teeth of the [-]+ army, but now it is a life-saving straw for his [-] to [-] sergeants.

Zhu Gai looked troubled and said: "After the prime minister's defeat, Huo Jun and Liu Bei led the navy up the river. Seeing that they could not seize my food and grass, they led the navy back up the river. They were afraid that the two thieves might set up an ambush ahead. Or besiege Jiangling City.”

Huo Jun did not leave Yunmengze to pursue, but led his navy up the river, much faster than Cao Cao's troops.While Cao Cao was still trying to survive in the Yunmengze wilderness, Huo Jun led his army to their destination and asked the sergeants to recharge their batteries.

When Cao Cao saw Zhu Gai around, his morale was low, he smiled and said: "I led the defeated army to Daze alone. The roads for hundreds of miles were muddy and difficult to navigate. There was no food on the left and right. The soldiers ate shrimps, crabs and weeds. Now I have to stay in Wulin for a few days. How could he be discouraged instead of getting enough food?"

As he spoke, Cao Cao waved his whip forward and said: "Our army is defeated. How could Cao Nanjun in Jiangling not know that our army has food and grass to eat? How can we be discouraged? Now we must march quickly to Nanjun. When we reach Huarong County, our army It’s An Ye!”

"promise!"

Cao Cao, who came out of Yunmengze, led the remnants of more than 2 people. On the way, he acquired two generals, Zhu Gai and Yin Shu, and more than 3 additional troops, bringing him to [-] more troops.After a brief rest, the army took Huarong Road again, and then trudged forward in Yunmengze.

Blessings never come in pairs, and misfortunes never come in pairs.While walking on the Huarong Road, the spring rain began to fall, a light drizzle, accompanied by the cold air of late winter and early spring. The rain soaked the clothes of Sergeant Cao's army, making the Huarong Road even more muddy.The sergeant who had just escaped from hunger encountered the wet and cold spring rain. Hunger and cold were constantly torturing Sergeant Cao's soldiers.

Some sergeants reluctantly walked out of Zuoyunmengze. After being watered by the cold spring rain, they developed fever and collapsed on the muddy road, becoming stepping stones for the rest of Cao's army.

Fortunately, Yun Mengze had already screened out a group of old and weak sergeants. Most of the remaining sergeants were young and strong, and not many fell ill during the journey.

Moreover, they had only traveled a third of the way to Huarong Road. On the way, Cao Cao learned that the Jiangzuo sergeants led by Liu Bei and Huo Jun were stationed in Jianli Township, and the Jiangzuo soldiers were waiting for work.

The bonfire was lit in the dark night. Cao Cao raised his hands to keep warm, and sometimes waved his hands to disperse the flies around him.

Around him, flies were flying.Since his defeat at Chrysostom, Cao Cao's red robe has long been covered in mud, and his whole body exudes a foul odor.The majestic face in the past is now with loose buns, dirt and scars, and looks like a beggar.

Cao Hong, Xu Huang, Le Jin, Xia Houyuan, Cao Chun and other generals of Cao's army were also in such a mess, and they were even worse.As for the civil servants and counselors, they would still maintain some grace and wipe the dirt on their faces with clean water to avoid being too embarrassed.

The orange bonfire reflected Cao Cao's dirty face, and he said: "Liu Bei and Huo Jun camped in Jianli and stationed troops on the north bank of Xia River, blocking our army from going to Jiangling. Zixiao did not have the troops to support us. Now our army How to deal with it?”

Cao Hong scratched his itchy scalp and said: "Prime Minister, Liu Bei and Huo Jun are stationed at the military station to wait for work. The soldiers under the tent are fully equipped and have been recharging their strength for a long time. It is better to go northwest to Xiangfan."

Xun You scratched his shoulder with his hand and said: "Prime Minister, if our army wants to go to Jiangling, the only way is to cross Jianli and cross the Xia River. However, it is two to three hundred miles from Jianli to Jiangling. Even if the Prime Minister joins the army to fight and breaks through the blockade of the two thieves, , but if you take Huarong Road, you will be chased by the two thieves, so the Prime Minister should think twice."

Xu Huang struck at his rusty armor, raised his hands and said: "If the Prime Minister wants to go to Jiangling, Huang is willing to lead the soldiers under his tent to defeat the enemy and fight for the Prime Minister's bloody path, and lead the soldiers to the rear to stop the enemy from behind."

Cao Cao looked at Xu Huang, whose armor was rusty, and took out the rusty sword from Xu Huang's waist. He sighed and said, "Our army was defeated in Zhouling and traveled a long way here. Most of the way we traveled was through mud and wetlands. The armor is rusty, the swords and spears are dull, the bows and crossbows are damp, the soldiers are tired, but they can still fight against the elite and powerful enemies."

In the past, Cao Cao would have loved to fight Liu Bei and Huo Jun in the wild.Thirty thousand soldiers from the north faced [-] soldiers from the south. If there was no conspiracy and the two armies were just fighting in formation, Cao Cao would have almost no problem defeating Liu and Huo.

However, today is no longer the past. The soldiers of Cao's army who have been tortured by hundreds of miles of Yunmengze are already tired and disorganized. Moreover, with the current armor and equipment, they are simply unable to fight against Jiang Zuo's sergeants.

Previously, Cao Cao had hoped that Cao Ren would lead troops from Nanjun to help, but now there was no sign of Cao Ren, so he had little hope of safely retreating to Jiangling!
After listening to the advice and some thinking, Cao Cao gave up the idea of ​​​​running to Jiangling.But Cao Cao was not in a hurry to express his position and said, "Let me think about it for a while." "Wen He stays!"

"promise!"

All the civil and military personnel retreated, leaving only Cao Cao and Jia Xu by the bonfire.

Cao Cao looked at the dancing flames and asked: "The road to Jiangling is still more than two hundred miles away, and the Huarong Road is rugged and difficult to navigate. Therefore, he wanted to lead his army to Xiangfan, but he was afraid that Liu and Huo would block him, so he led his troops to pursue and kill him along the way. , it’s hard to escape.”

As he said that, Cao Cao looked up at Jia Xu, who even he could not figure out, and asked sincerely: "I wonder if Wen He has a plan to teach orphans?"

Jia Xu lowered his eyes and said, "May I ask, Prime Minister, do you know why Huo and Liu are here?"

Cao Cao pondered for a while and said: "The solitary tiger is in China, sitting in the north. If Liu Bei doesn't kill the solitary tiger, it will be difficult to plot against China. Moreover, Jiangling is dangerous and rich. If the solitary tiger goes to Jiangling, he will be harmed by Wu and Chu."

After the defeat, Cao Cao was still clear-headed and knew what Liu and Huo wanted.

Jia Xu stared at the bonfire and said: "Since the Prime Minister knows what Huo and Liu are afraid of, why not rush to Jiangling as he wishes."

Cao Cao showed a look of astonishment on his face and said, "Wenhe's words are nothing but laughter!"

Jia Xu stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Xu said that the Prime Minister rushed to Jiangling, but he never said that the Prime Minister actually went to Jiangling."

"Ok?"

Seeing that Cao Cao was displeased, Jia Xu did not give in and said: "The enemy troops are stationed at Jianli to prevent the Prime Minister from heading towards Jiangling. In order to frighten Liu Huo, the Prime Minister might as well order people to rush to Jiangling with a feint army to lure the two enemies to block this unit, and then In order to contain Liu Huo. At that time, the prime minister can take the opportunity to cross the river from the lower reaches of Xia River and rush north to Xiangfan."

Cao Cao frowned and said, "If this strategy is adopted, wouldn't it be difficult for this pretend army to escape and they will die at the hands of the two thieves Liu and Huo?"

"Ok!"

Jia Xu looked indifferent and said: "Every gain must have a loss. Since the Prime Minister wants to protect the generals and sergeants, this may be the only feasible strategy. When the Prime Minister has to go to Xiangyang, we will observe the situation and then discuss Jiangling."

Cao Cao was already leaning towards Jia Xu's strategy and said: "The soldiers in the north are very brave, and most of the generals are lonely and helpless, so they can't bear to abandon them."

Jia Xu understood Cao Cao's meaning and pondered: "Aside from the Prime Minister, the only people Liu Bei hates are Cai Hao, Zhang Yun and others. It is better for the Prime Minister to let his army be used as bait, mixed with the flags of other generals, to lure Liu Bei to fight against Cai and Zhang Yun." Zhang two."

"De Gui?"

Cao Cao muttered for a few times, feeling unbearable, and said: "Degui is a lonely friend and has contributed a lot to the conquest of Jingzhou. But now..."

Jia Xu glanced at Cao Cao and stopped talking.

He believed that Cao Cao, as a hero, would be able to make a decision.Or as Cao Cao said, Cai Mao contributed a lot to him in the process of acquiring Jingzhou. If he abandons Cai Mao, he will feel sorry for him.

But in other words, Cai Mao has lost his role in capturing Jingbei for Cao Cao. It would not be a pity to throw it out as bait now.If you surrender the South, now that the warships have been burned, Cao Cao has no hope of winning the South in the short term.

As for the emotional problems of the Xiangyang nobles, it is normal for someone to die in today's chaotic wars.

After a while, Cao Cao said with emotion: "Wen He's words made me suddenly enlightened."

"I wonder if Wen He can teach me a detailed strategy?"

"The Prime Minister is like this..."

In the orange firelight, Jia Xu whispered the details of the strategy to Cao Cao, and Cao Cao nodded in agreement.

　I have something to do today, so I wrote late, so I got even later.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)