Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Now on both sides of Jie Bridge, Yuan Shao has 80,000 troops stationed, while Cao Cao has 50,000 troops stationed.

The difference in military strength seems to be small, but the gap in combat power between the two sides is more than just one.
Most of the troops stationed by Yuan Shao were elite soldiers who had confronted Gongsun Zan at Jie Bridge for a year and had experienced the previous Battle of Jie Bridge.

Among them, the combat effectiveness of the first-line death squad is needless to say.

Even the halberd warriors who had not yet been fully trained, after Yuan Shao handed them over to Zhang He who had surrendered to him, showed combat power far superior to that of ordinary elite soldiers in Zhang He's hands.

In addition, after Yuan Shao initially took control of a part of the horse farms in Bingzhou, he appointed Yan Liang and Wen Chou as generals and quickly expanded the cavalry to more than ten thousand.

In comparison, even if Cao Cao mobilized all his forces, he would inevitably need to divide his troops after initially occupying the three counties in southern Jizhou.

As a result, Cao Cao had only 50,000 troops stationed at Jie Bridge to confront Yuan Shao.

Moreover, compared with Yuan's army, there was a clear gap between Cao Cao's soldiers, not to mention their combat effectiveness, equipment, and morale.

That is, after Cao Cao drained Qingzhou, he also plundered part of the arsenals of Jizhou and Xuzhou, which narrowed the gap in equipment between the two sides.

In this situation, if Yuan Shao launched a fierce attack at all costs, how long could Cao Cao resist?

Once the Jie Bridge was broken, Yuan Shao would be able to cut off Bohai County's connection with the outside world, and even take advantage of the situation to lead his troops southward and directly cut off Cao Cao's retreat route back to Qingzhou.

This is also the reason why Yuan Shao was furious when Cao Cao attacked his rear, but he never regarded Cao Cao as an opponent of the same status as himself.

The gap in military strength between the two sides was too obvious, so obvious that Yuan Shao didn't think it was possible for Cao Cao to stop him.

"What's the plan?" Cao Cao asked anxiously.

Xu You replied.

"Yuan Shao's army is strong, but the territory he governs is unstable and he has been through many battles, so his food and fodder are quite insufficient. We only need to attack and burn the places where Yuan Shao stores his food and fodder, and Yuan's army will collapse in less than three days."

"I wonder where Yuan Shao stores his food and supplies?" Cao Cao asked.

Xu You swirled his fingers in front of him and replied, "What a coincidence! I'm sure you've heard of that location before. It's Bo Luojin."

"Bo Luojin?!"

Cao Cao couldn't help but stand up suddenly, his face flushed.

How could Cao Cao not know this location?
During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Li Zikun's brilliant plan was to have Liu Bei attack Boluojin, and cooperate with Lu Zhi to trap Zhang Jue in it, forcing Zhang Jue to burn himself to death.

Cao Cao also quickly realized why Yuan Shao was hoarding grain in Boluojin.

Boluojin is located on the west side of Zhangshui River. Even if Cao Cao sent a special force to cross Qinghe River, it would be a fantasy to reach Boluojin without being noticed.

On the contrary, Boluojin is not far from Julu City and Jieqiao, and is connected to Julu by an official road. It is relatively easy to transport food and fodder from all over the place to Boluojin.

Moreover, it is quite convenient to transport the grain and grass from Boluojin across the Zhangshui River and then send them to Yuan’s army camp where Jieqiao is located.

Therefore, for Yuan Shao today, the location of Bo Luojin is undoubtedly an excellent place to store grain, which not only ensures the convenience of transportation, but also greatly guarantees the safety of grain and supplies.

But after careful consideration, Cao Cao's expression couldn't help but dim and he shook his head.

"Ziyuan's plan is good, but Boluojin is located on the west side of Zhangshui River. How easy is it to launch a surprise attack on Boluojin?"

Not to mention that Cao Cao did not have many war horses at present. Even if he had cavalry, it would be extremely difficult for him to cross the Qingshui and Zhangshui rivers in succession to launch a surprise attack on Boluojin.

Xu You slowly took something out of his sleeve, placed it in front of Cao Cao, and said.

"Look at this, my lord."

Cao Cao was startled, then he picked it up and took a look. It turned out to be a handwritten order with Yuan Shao's seal, allowing the holder of the order to transport grain to the Boluojin granary.

Xu You asked while Cao Cao couldn't help showing ecstasy on his face.

"I'm giving this to you, sir. I wonder if you feel more confident?"

Cao Cao looked at the order that decided the life and death of the two armies and said.

"With this warrant to help us, why worry about not accomplishing great things?"

Immediately, Cao Cao, who couldn't wait, gave Xu You a lot of promises and rewards on the spot. After reassuring Xu You, he held a military meeting overnight. He ordered Xiahou Yuan to be the leader and Zhu Ling to be the deputy. They immediately selected 3,000 elite troops to bypass the Jie Bridge and enter Julu County with a hand order, in order to attack Bolujin by surprise.

This warrant is undoubtedly the best pass.

Li Ji had already told the world the importance of the position of Boluojin.

If Boluojin is blocked, the troops in Guangzong and Jieqiao areas east of Zhangshui River will have no way to retreat.

That night, Xiahou Yuan and Zhu Ling each selected their soldiers and chose their best and most trusted men, and left Cao's camp under the cover of darkness.

Watching Xiahou Yuan leading his troops away, Cao Cao seemed calm, but he also understood that victory or defeat depended on this one move.

Xiahou Yuan bypassed the boundary bridge and entered Julu County and arrived at Boluojin. Even if he marched quickly, it would take about three days.

Even if Xiahou Yuan successfully burned or controlled Boluojin, Yuan’s army camp would still have at least three to five days’ worth of food and fodder.

Six to eight days!

In other words, even if everything went well, Cao Cao would have to hold out for at least six days to resist the fierce attack or counterattack of Yuan's army.

Read more latest popular novels at 6.9*shuba!

"Liu Da'er rose to prominence because of Bo Luojin, so I am no exception."

"Eight days, just hold on for eight days, and great things can be accomplished."

Cao Cao was excited, but he did not feel worried. Instead, he was determined to fight to the death.

After actual contact, Cao Cao found that the elite troops under Yuan Shao were even more powerful than he had imagined, making him vaguely feel as if he was facing Liu Bei's military households and soldiers.

If he didn't take risks, Cao Cao felt that the possibility of delaying the battle until winter was almost zero.

The next day.

The actions of Yuan's army were exactly as Xu You had said. Compared with his previous reserved attack, Yuan Shao began to launch a fierce attack on Cao Cao at all costs.

After the halberd soldiers led by Zhang He and the vanguard soldiers led by Qu Yi were transferred to the front army by Yuan Shao, they quickly inflicted huge casualties on Cao's army.

The two armies fought until sunset, and Cao's army, which suffered more casualties than the attacking army, barely repelled Yuan's army.

Day two.

Under Yuan Shao's orders, brave generals such as Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and Chunyu Qiong led their troops to intensify their attacks on Cao's army.

Cao Cao, who had previously lost Dian Wei, now had Xiahou Dun as the most powerful warrior under his command.

But no matter how hard Xiahou Dun fought, he was unable to cope with all the difficulties.

The rampages of Yuan's generals caused the casualties of Cao's army to continue to increase, and many middle-level generals of Cao's army were killed.

In the end, it was Cao Cao who personally went into battle to boost morale, and they were able to barely hold on.

Day three.

Yuan Shao, who had thoroughly seen through the strengths and weaknesses of Cao's army, felt that he had already secured victory, and continued to order his elite troops to advance.

He intended to rely on his absolute elite forces to forcibly break through Cao's defense line.

This method is extremely brutal and will not take into account casualties, which will result in extremely heavy casualties for Yuan's army.

But, it is extremely effective.

With the vanguard of death-defying soldiers and halberd-wielding soldiers as spearheads, brave generals such as Yan Liang and Wen Chou personally went to the battlefield to disrupt the formation, which made it extremely difficult for Cao Cao to resist.

However, this time Yuan's army's attack lasted only half a day before they retreated quickly like a tide.

Cao Cao, who was watching this scene, understood the only possible reason for Yuan Shao's sudden withdrawal, which was the accident at Bo Luojin, even though he had not yet received the message from Xiahou Yuan.

My plan has worked! (End of this chapter)