People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 241 Shame
The place where Xuan Xia's cavalry advantage is truly utilized is not on the front battlefield; their greater value lies in their own mobility.

The tactical value of 4,000 elite cavalry was definitely something Yuan Shao could not ignore, and he soon tasted the bitter fruit of it.

After the first battle, Yuan Shao and Xuan Xia quickly came into a standoff, and as Xuan Xia set up their camp, Yuan Shao felt even more at a loss as to where to start.

They took advantage of the enemy's rest and attacked first, and used their two carefully prepared trump cards, but the results were not satisfactory. Now that Xuanxia and the Yellow Turbans were ready, the fight would only be more painful.

After this battle, everyone in Yuan Shao's camp was terrified. The Yellow Turbans had limited military strength. If Guangtou Xu could gather an army of hundreds of thousands, they could truly be invincible, and this was not impossible.

How many troops can be supported depends on how many resources are available. With Youzhou's current population and land, building an army of thirty to fifty thousand is already the limit according to the Yellow Turbans' current standards. This is only possible when Xuanxia completely eliminates the middle class of nobles and powerful families in the country and the court's income structure is unprecedentedly simple.

But if Xuan Xia were allowed to take over more territory, such as occupying Jizhou, Qingzhou, Bingzhou and other places, then the 100,000-man army would be a piece of cake, and with continued expansion, the size of the army would only get bigger and bigger.

If Xuan Xia continues to develop at this pace, perhaps one day we will really see them leading hundreds of thousands of troops to conquer the country.

However, this is definitely not a scene that the nobles and powerful people in the world want to see.

"My Lord Governor, after the Yellow Turbans set up camp, they sent cavalry into our rear to block our food supply. If this continues, our army may be in dire straits." Xun Chen reported the situation to Yuan Shao with a worried look on his face.

When Yuan Shao heard this, he felt a headache.

The Yellow Turban Cavalry is heavy cavalry on the front battlefield, which can be used to break through the enemy's formation and launch an assault. When they leave the front battlefield, they can be used as light cavalry to harass the rear. Now it seems that the latter is more deadly.

Only after fighting against an opponent with powerful cavalry can you feel the importance of cavalry.

If I had a strong enough cavalry now, how could I be controlled by the Yellow Turbans today?

Now the Yellow Turban cavalry were running rampant behind him, and he had no way to stop them!

Jizhou is a vast plain, an excellent place for cavalry to perform. It is simply a pipe dream to catch the enemy's cavalry relying solely on one's own infantry.

After the war, Yuan Shao confronted the Yellow Turbans. Since he could not defeat them head-on, he could only fight a war of attrition.

After all, after a round of sweeping, Changshan could hardly support the long-term supply of the Xuanxia army, and it was too far to requisition food from Youzhou. In this way, as long as Yuan Shao could keep his composure, he would be able to bring down the Yellow Turbans sooner or later.

However, Xu Chen, like Yuan Shao, was planning to exhaust the enemy to death.

Xuan Xia is certainly not having a good time, but with cavalry blocking the food supply route, the one who will be even more uncomfortable will be Yuan Shao. The two sides have only been in a standoff for seven or eight days, and Yuan Shao is already getting restless.

There was silence in the military tent, and it was obvious that everyone present realized that the current situation was somewhat unsolvable.

The reality is that our army cannot break through the front and has no means to counter the cavalry, so the logistics lines are blocked and we can't get through both ends, so we can't eat this meal.

"Governor, our army should prepare to retreat. It will take more than one day to defeat Xuanxia. It is better to retreat for the time being and first annex Qing, Bing, and Yanzhou to grow and develop, and then try to stabilize Xuanxia."

In the end, it was Tian Feng who sighed and took the lead to say what no one else was willing to say.

Retreat and give in were obviously words that Yuan Shao disliked. As soon as Tian Feng finished speaking, Yuan Shao frowned. Although he did not lose his temper, his eyes were full of dissatisfaction with Tian Feng.

Yuan Shao thought that Tian Feng should bear primary responsibility for the outcome of the war, after all, it was Tian Feng's strategy that he first adopted.

So he ignored Tian Feng and looked at the others: "We have already fought to this point, how can we retreat so easily? Don't you have any way to break the deadlock?"

Everyone below looked at each other in silence, and silence itself was a response.

Yuan Shao became even more disappointed. Actually, he understood the situation, but he just didn't want to face it. He couldn't accept that he, who was so ambitious, was defeated by the charlatan Xu Guangtou!
Guo Tu, who had always been cheerful before, remained silent at this critical moment. In the end, Xun Chen had to bite the bullet and come out to persuade him.

"Those who want to accomplish great things should not be obsessed with the short-term. For the governor, Xuanxia is not the opponent he should be obsessed with now. After he takes over Qingzhou, Bingzhou, and Yanzhou, with the combined strength of the four states, Xuanxia can be easily destroyed.

Our army is now in a difficult situation. If we cannot make a decision early, there will be chaos. Once the army's supplies are difficult to maintain, and with the Xuanxia army watching covetously, our army will be in danger of being wiped out.

As long as we withdraw early, with our military strength, Xu Chen will not be able to do anything to us, and our army can still preserve its strength."

As soon as Xun Chen finished speaking, Xu You, Shen Pei and others all echoed him. At this time, they no longer cared about factional struggles. If they didn't withdraw, everyone would be in trouble, and no one would be against them.

With everyone saying the same thing, even Yuan Shao, who was unwilling to accept it, had to accept the reality.

He walked out of the tent silently and looked at the Xuanxia camp in the distance. The bright yellow Xuanxia flag was very dazzling, and he was about to bow his head to this flag.

This retreat meant that they had to hand over Changshan and Zhongshan. Although they still occupied most of Jizhou, it was as uncomfortable as eating mosquitoes and flies. Moreover, Yuan Shao was not a fool. They said that they would take Bingzhou, Qingzhou and Yanzhou first. Could it be so smooth?
Don’t you know that Qingzhou and Bingzhou are also adjacent to Youzhou? If I want to expand, Youzhou will also want to expand. In the future, I cannot avoid fighting with the Yellow Turbans.

After all, this kind of talk is just an excuse to convince myself to retreat.

But Yuan Shao also knew that this was indeed a helpless choice. He could only wave his hands helplessly and shout out a very unwilling order: "The entire army retreat!"

Upon hearing the order, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Yes, sir."

To have Changshan and Zhongshan taken away by Xuan Xia was like having two pieces of meat cut off by Xu Chen. It was undoubtedly a great shame for Yuan Shao.

Now he could only endure this humiliation in the hope of returning it to Xu Chen in the future.

Of course, although he was defeated in this battle, it also woke him up and realized that his current strength was not enough to compete with Xuan Xia.

cavalry!

We must have an elite cavalry!

Without cavalry, we will face the Yellow Turbans again in the same dilemma!

Yuan Shao realized this. Different methods are needed to deal with enemies with different characteristics. Xuan Xia is destined to be an opponent that cannot be ignored in the Han Dynasty in the future, so he must make targeted preparations.

In addition to cavalry, you also need enough equipment. You can't always suffer losses in equipment!

Xuan Xia's first step outward had already started an arms race with Yuan Shao, and this was just the beginning. Once Yuan Shao was forced to start an arms race, the surrounding heroes would immediately feel the pressure, and they would only make the same choice.

Everyone is starting to roll in. If you don't, you can only wait for death. But this is not bad news for Xuan Xia.

In the past, it was not that people did not want to participate, but that there was no participation. Without the productivity and technology, it was simply a pipe dream to equip the entire army with armor. But now, regardless of whether it is possible or not, they have to force it.

Once they start, it means that they need to invest all their resources madly in the military, which will inevitably further squeeze the living space of the general public.

This may not be very friendly to the poor people in the world in the short term, but in the long run, it will be more conducive to the general public to start seeking change, and it will also be more conducive to the advancement of Xuan Xia's career.

In the foreseeable future, the armor-wearing rate of armies in various regions will gradually increase, and they will all try to build cavalry to cope with increasingly fierce military pressure.

Of course, for Xu Chen in front of him, this is not something worth considering.

When they saw Yuan Shao's army slowly retreating, everyone in Xuan Xia's tent breathed a sigh of relief. This meant that the goal of their battle had been achieved. Although they had no way to defeat Yuan Shao, they at least forced the enemy back and completely took over the territory of Changshan.

A group of people climbed up to the watchtower, each holding a telescope to observe the movements, and watched Yuan Shao's army disappear from their sight.

They did not choose to pursue. Although Yuan Shao had been defeated by their side before, he still had more soldiers and generals. There was no need for Xuan Xia to take any risky actions with the limited number of troops they had now. It was not impossible that they would be defeated by the enemy if they were not careful.

After Yuan Shao's army withdrew, the depressing atmosphere that had lingered in Gaoyi for a long time disappeared like smoke, and the whole city was filled with thunderous cheers from the people.

Not long after, the gate of Gaoyi City, which had been closed for a long time, was completely opened. Before Xu Chen led his troops into the city, the people came out to greet him with food and drink in high spirits.

"That's the Great Heavenly Master!"

"Our Xuanxia soldiers are really amazing. With such a small number of people, they managed to drive the enemy away!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, look at the materials used in this armor and weapon, they look different from the enemy's, no wonder they can win!"

"Our Xuan Xia is so powerful, we don't have to worry about the big man fighting back anymore!"

The people in the city who had been besieged for a long time were all in tears when they saw Xuan Xia's army. The stronger Xuan Xia was, the more at ease they felt, because they knew clearly that their fate was tied to Xuan Xia.

As long as Xuan Xia does not fall, he can keep his current land and will not have to endure heavy taxes and labor service.

Especially the originally cold and serious Xuanxia soldier, when facing the people, he soon began to smile foolishly as if he was meeting a fellow villager, making the people feel closer to him.

When Xu Chen led everyone towards the city gate, many people knelt down on the ground in unison, calling him "Master Tianshi".

(End of this chapter)