People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 359 Offering Advice
As a whistle sounded, an army consisting of 3,000 light cavalry and more than 10,000 light infantry quickly assembled. Such a composition of troops and equipment was obviously to carry out the combat mission of light troops advancing directly behind enemy lines.

Zhao Yun took a look at the army, then mounted his horse and looked into the distance. His expression unconsciously became cold.

The army was ready to go, and he would soon lead the troops to set off. At this time, Wang Dang also led the other generals here to see Zhao Yun off.

"Zilong, we will be deep behind enemy lines without any supplies or backup. You will have to deal with the situation on your own. I understand the difficulty. It would be best if we can capture Xuchang and capture Liu Xie. If not, that's fine too. As long as you break into the rear, you will naturally disrupt the coalition forces and achieve your goal."

Wang Dang patted the white horse under Zhao Yun and said so.

Zhang Rao also laughed: "Xuchang is where the Emperor of Han resides, so it must be rescued by the enemy. More than 10,000 troops are a bit weak. It may be difficult to capture the important town of Xuchang, but even if they are just at the gates of the city, it will be enough to scare the coalition forces."

Guan Hai glanced at Zhao Yun and could not help but nod: "I still admire Zilong's ability. With your bravery, you are more than enough to complete this mission."

Hearing everyone's instructions, Zhao Yun smiled slightly and nodded, saying: "Generals, don't worry. Zhao Yun dare not say that he can definitely take Xuchang, but he can definitely bring all the brothers back."

Wang Dang smiled and said, "That's good. Even the leader of the sect praised Zilong's ability. I believe in you!"

After the conversation, Zhao Yun turned his horse around and prepared to go to war, and his eyes were looking in the direction of Xuchang.

It is actually a very long distance to advance all the way from here to Xuchang, but Zhao Yun has confidence in himself and his brothers, and this is not the first time he has done this kind of thing of breaking into the enemy's rear.

The coalition forces were defending the city and it was difficult to break through. If they changed their route, their logistics would easily be cut off by the enemy. So the best way was to send a light force to attack the enemy's vital points, force the enemy to leave the city to deal with it.

The army may give great consideration to logistics issues, as they cannot move forward without food.

However, for a small team of more than 10,000 people, the logistical needs are not that great.

Zhao Yun was very familiar with this kind of thing. Even if he just "confiscated" the ill-gotten gains of the powerful along the way, it would be enough to support the army's actions. Back then, the leader led the Yellow Turbans to break out of Youzhou in this way.

"The entire army!" Zhao Yun shouted.

"Yes, sir!" All the soldiers in the army responded loudly.

"Check the equipment and prepare to attack!" Zhao Yun shouted again.

Then the soldiers silently began to check their equipment one by one.

Weapons, portable rations, emergency self-rescue kits, some baggage and other items were all checked and confirmed one by one.

The Yellow Turbans' army could be said to be the most standardized and strict army of the time. Different military tasks had specific and different equipment standards, and everything just had to be carried out according to the standards.

In an assault mission like this, the soldiers would discard almost all armor and only carry the necessary weight.

Each soldier on this expedition carried only necessary weapons, a ration consisting of cheese and dried meat, and a self-help kit, nothing else.

As for the baggage train in the rear, they only carry part of the rations in the early stage and will completely abandon them in the later stage.

Such a lightly armed force could completely leave the enemy army behind if they marched quickly, and they would not have any logistical pressure of their own.

Cheese and jerky are excellent high-quality military rations. One piece is enough to last a day. A sufficient amount of cheese and jerky as portable military rations is not only light, but can also allow Zhao Yun to survive for at least three or four days when he is completely short of food.

The armies of nomadic peoples usually do not have as much logistical pressure as the armies of the Central Plains, so military rations such as cheese and dried meat play a huge role. However, based on the huge benefits brought by the alliance, the soldiers of Xuanxia can also enjoy this high-quality and light military ration.

Of course, the cost is still very high, and only such equipment is available for assault missions deep behind enemy lines.

And this is the confidence in Zhao Yun's heart. Fighting with the Yellow Turbans, he has the confidence to face all challenges.

It is an extremely happy thing for any general to fight with the Yellow Turbans. Here there are the best warriors in the world, the most sophisticated equipment of the era, the most abundant logistical support, and a strict and complete military system.

Given these conditions, Zhao Yun couldn't imagine how he could fail.

He raised his right hand slightly and slowly pressed forward. When the order of "departure" was given, more than 10,000 troops immediately moved, like a slender colony of ants, marching forward in an orderly formation, neither fast nor slow.

Not until Zhao Yun's army had completely disappeared from his sight did Wang Dang glance at the city where the coalition forces were stationed in the distance.

After a cold laugh, he said: "Order the entire army to prepare for battle. The enemy will surely be uneasy when they see Zhao Yun rushing into the rear. No matter how they react, our army only needs to prepare for a battle."

Zhang Rao and Guan Hai responded in unison, and then they also laughed: "If they want to be a coward, they still have to see if we agree. If you have the guts, don't go to save that so-called Han emperor and see if they can sit still."

Several people smiled at each other, all with expressions of determination to win. They didn't know how to lose this battle, this was the confidence that Xuanxia's national strength gave them.

With systematic military theory construction and learning, Xuanxia's generals no longer view war in isolation.

They understood very well that victory or defeat might not be decided on a specific battlefield, but might have been clear before the war even started.

Wars are always fought over the organizational strength, population, land, and resources of both sides.

As for these things, Xuanxia, ​​which had already begun to transform in the direction of industry, was no longer in the same dimension as the Han Dynasty. The war simply manifested these things in the form of force and violence.

Zhao Yun's light troops marched quickly and did not hide their intentions from the coalition forces. They passed through the cities where they were stationed and walked right in front of them with a swagger. Even Cao Cao watched Zhao Yun leave.

Xuan Xia suddenly sent such a light army to the rear. It was obvious what he wanted to do.

At least, both Cao Cao and the advisers and generals around him knew it well.

Guo Jia thought for a moment, and then analyzed it to himself: "The enemy army deliberately showed us their intention to attack the rear, obviously to lure our army out of the city to fight. They are..."

Thinking of this, Guo Jia's brows knitted together: "They must be going straight to Xudu. Only Xudu is the place that our army must save."

This is actually not difficult to guess. After Guo Jia said this, everyone came to their senses one after another. Then everyone's face looked ugly. Now the problem came to them.

Xun Yu was also worried: "Now that our main forces are stationed here, the defense in the rear is actually very empty. Although the enemy's light army is not large in number, given the Yellow Turbans' combat power and their ability to march quickly, I'm afraid the rear really has no way to deal with them."

Hearing this, Cao Cao suddenly felt his head throbbing and his old headache came back again.

He hissed softly, trying to suppress the pain and appear as calm as possible, then he leaned on the parapet with one hand and said, "That means we must stop this enemy army. If we also order a strong general to lead the light army to pursue and deal with them, can we hold them back?"

Guo Jia sighed, "I don't think so. The Yellow Turbans are strong and good at marching quickly. If we send too few troops, they will easily turn around and wipe them out. But if we send too many troops, we will definitely not be able to catch up with them. It's really a dilemma."

Now, Cao Cao had an even bigger headache.

However, after Guo Jia's eyes flashed, he also made a suggestion: "The emperor is more important than Mount Tai, and we must save him. The only way now is to lead the army back to defend Xu Du. If the emperor is alive, everything can be done. If the emperor is gone, everything is lost."

When these words were spoken, everyone had different expressions, and it seemed that they did not like this suggestion very much.

Even Cao Cao frowned. If he returned to defend Xu Du at this time, how would he deal with the main force of the Yellow Turbans behind him? Moreover, wouldn't this be equivalent to giving all the large tracts of land in Yanzhou to Xuan Xia?

The emperor is very important and no mistakes can be made, but the cost of going back to rescue him would be too high.

Guo Jia saw the reaction of the crowd, but he was not in a hurry. After a slight smile, he spoke again: "Of course, our army's return is not for rescuing the emperor, but for..."

At this time, Guo Jia stopped talking and pointed in the direction of Xuanxia camp in the distance.

Everyone looked at each other in confusion, until Guo Jia smiled and offered a plan to Cao Cao again, then everyone slowly came to their senses and became interested.

Cao Cao's eyes lit up, and he slammed the wall hard: "Okay, although Fengxiao's plan is risky, once it succeeds, it may be able to turn the situation around in one fell swoop. Let's see if the Yellow Turbans are capable of seeing through it!"

Guo Jia chuckled: "Speaking of this plan, I am also imitating the old plan Xu Chen used when he was escaping from Youzhou. It can be regarded as giving someone a taste of their own medicine."

When everyone heard this, they all burst into laughter.

Cao Cao's eyes flashed coldly, and he did not waste a moment: "Immediately send someone to Liu Bei and Sun Quan to tell them the details. This time, I will make sure Wang Dang has the worst consequences!"

After making a plan, the coalition forces quickly took corresponding actions.

The coalition forces did not foolishly send light troops to pursue Zhao Yun, but chose to lead the entire army to defend. Only two days after Zhao Yun ran away from them, the three coalition forces finally organized their army, withdrew from the city one after another, and then began to shrink towards Xuchang.

This was a very difficult decision, and the emperor had to rescue the city. However, once the city was rescued, the coalition forces would lose the advantage of the city walls and would be completely exposed to the Yellow Turbans.

Wang Dang obviously would not let the coalition forces return to defend easily. In fact, at this point, Zhao Yun's role has been fully demonstrated.

The Yellow Turbans finally forced the coalition forces out of their tortoise shells, and they no longer had to struggle to fight back.

When the coalition forces withdrew from the city one after another, Wang Dang immediately launched an attack on the coalition forces.

(End of this chapter)