Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

"If you have a cavalry, why should you be controlled by others?"

Cao Cao sighed and realized that his failures in Donghai County were also due to his carelessness, which led to the destruction of his cavalry by Li Ji and the loss of the initiative.

Now facing the "escort" of a large number of Yangzhou cavalry, Cao Cao had no way to counter.

"Cavalry! Cavalry! Without cavalry, how can we occupy the Central Plains?!"

At this moment, Cao Cao's determination to implement Xun You's strategy became even stronger, and he kept urging the army to speed up the march.

……

While Liu Bei led his army back and headed straight for Pengcheng to provide support, he was also closely watching the movements of Cao's army.

However, the situation developed three points more smoothly than expected.

Cao Cao hastily withdrew his troops, allowing the troop led by Sun Ce to continue to recover lost territory, but he did not deliberately delay time or wait for an opportunity to march south again.

As military reports were sent back, everyone became aware of this fact.

"Cao Cao has really retreated..."

If Cao Cao still had his eyes on Xuzhou and was planning to pretend to withdraw and then wait for an opportunity to move south, then he should march slowly to buy time.

But Cao Cao's rapid retreat was as if someone was chasing him from behind. Once he was far away from Xia Pi State, it would take him a lot of effort to turn back even if he wanted to.

……

Near the border of Pengcheng State, Liu Bei's army temporarily stationed in a camp for rest.

Liu Bei browsed the information sent back by Sun Ce's fast horse and spoke with a complicated tone.

"This thief Cao's actions are really hard to predict."

After hearing this, Wei Yan spoke with admiration on his face.

"My lord, you are probably overthinking it. What is so hard to figure out? We in Yangzhou are strong and our soldiers are brave and good at fighting. And the thief Cao was defeated again under the command of the governor. It is normal for him to evacuate Xuzhou out of fear."

Although these words seemed to flatter Li Ji, given Li Ji's great reputation, they also won the approval of many people present.

Even Liu Bei felt that what Wei Yan said made sense.

"That's true. Cao has always valued Zikun. Now he has suffered a setback at Zikun's hands. He knows that it is impossible to do anything. He is unwilling to fight to the death with the few remaining troops in his hands. It is understandable that he wants to retreat."

"My lord, you are too flattering."

Li Ji begged for mercy again and again, revealing a bitter smile.

If others were scared away by his reputation, Li Ji would still believe it.

But although Li Ji could despise Cao Cao's extremely selfish thinking and moral level, he had to pay attention to Cao Cao's ability and courage.

If capturing Xuzhou was Cao Cao's only way out, Li Ji believed that Cao Cao was absolutely determined to fight to the death.

Therefore, Li Ji almost concluded that Cao Cao's retreat was because Cao Cao changed his strategic policy and abandoned Xuzhou to take other places to resolve the dilemma of Qingzhou.

However, Li Ji was unable to determine what specific strategy Cao Cao had changed.

but……

Li Ji looked at the map of Pengcheng State hanging in the big tent, with a meaningful look in his eyes.

Regardless, Cao Cao undoubtedly sold out his ally Yuan Shu in order to evacuate Xuzhou smoothly. Therefore, after further confirming that the possibility of Cao Cao returning to Xuzhou was very small, Li Ji spoke.

"My lord, although Cao has escaped, he has also given us a great opportunity."

Liu Bei, who was still feeling regretful for not being able to kill Cao Cao, came to his senses and asked.

"Huh? What do you say?"

Unless it was intentional, Li Ji never had the habit of being mysterious, so he spoke frankly.

"It's a great opportunity to wipe out Yuan Shu's army in one fell swoop."

Immediately, Li Ji stood up and walked to the map hanging in the big tent. He first simply marked the location of Pengcheng and Liu Bei's army, and then continued.

"Now, our army is close to Wuyuan City, and it is about 150 to 200 miles away from Pengcheng."

"The 4,000 cavalry led by Yide have already arrived in Pengcheng. The letter sent back by the envoys indicated that the danger in Pengcheng had been temporarily alleviated, which made Ji Ling somewhat doubtful."

"Yide has also contacted Zang Ba. Zang Ba has been defending Pengcheng for about ten days. He has almost been captured several times but he has not surrendered. It is clear that his heart is not with Yuan."

"Therefore, with the cavalry led by Yide arriving in Pengcheng, it is enough to ensure that Pengcheng will be safe within ten days."

No one questioned this series of judgments.

The role of 4,000 cavalrymen in defending the city may be limited, but their impact on morale is undoubtedly huge.

Not to mention that the defenders would feel hopeful and their morale would soar after confirming the arrival of reinforcements;
Ji Ling, who was attacking the city, would also become somewhat uncertain, worrying whether there would be more troops to support Pengcheng.

Liu Bei nodded repeatedly, signaling Li Ji to continue.

Li Ji paused slightly, and swept his eyes around the tent, focusing mainly on the four disciples who followed the army. After observing their reactions, he continued.

"The timing Ji mentioned is that although Cao Cao fled, he used Yuan Shu's army to contain us, and then he was able to lead the remaining troops to retreat from Xuzhou."

"Under such circumstances, Cao Cao would definitely not tell Yuan Shu the true situation. Ji Ling even concluded that the main force of our army was still fighting Cao Cao in Donghai County."

"And this is the great opportunity that Ji just mentioned. We may be able to use this opportunity to swallow up Yuan Shu's 100,000 troops in one fell swoop, and then... march west to take Yuzhou."

At this point, Li Ji's eyes revealed a sharpness and greed that he didn't usually have.

When he is unsure, Li Ji will always stay calm;

But when a great opportunity really appeared in front of him, Li Ji was also greedy.

Qingzhou was too far away from Jing and Yang provinces, which were Liu Bei's base, and was extremely poor. Crossing the entire undecided Xuzhou to take Qingzhou was both risky and of limited benefit.

But Yuzhou is different. Yuzhou borders five states, namely Sili, Yanzhou, Xuzhou, Jingzhou and Yangzhou, and is the real heartland of the Central Plains.

When Jingzhou and Yangzhou wanted to go north to the Central Plains, Yuzhou was actually the one standing in their way.

Li Ji's original plan for the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains was to send out two armies from Jing and Yang states at the same time to attack Yu state from both sides.

Therefore, Yuzhou has always been under the fangs that Li Ji wanted to bar.

Now Cao Cao sold out Yuan Shu, lured Yuan Shu's 100,000 troops into Pengcheng, and then he just walked away.

But in Li Ji's view, this was tantamount to Yuzhou, which had been on guard against Jing Yang, opening its legs and opening a door for a straight advance.

As long as the 100,000 Yuan troops entering Pengcheng are destroyed, then what difference will there be between Yuzhou, which was originally like a hedgehog, and only a few pieces of underwear left? (End of this chapter)