Survival Three Kingdoms

Chapter 681 Turtle Tactics
On the third day of April in the 22nd year of Jian'an, Cao Cao's army passed through Sizhou. News of the death of general Xia Houyuan came from Hanzhong.

"Big-eared thief, you and I are at odds with each other! A child who weaves mats and sells shoes also has today."

Cao Cao ordered Xia Houyuan's eldest son, Xia Houheng, to succeed him as the prince, and his second son, Xia Houba, to serve as the captain of cavalry under Cao Pi.Commander Wen Hu, Lieutenant of Sili, and General Zhu Ling of Pingnan were responsible for the supply of food and grass for the army, and accelerated their march.

In May, when Cao Cao arrived in Chang'an, Yang Xiu acted as the head of the march and followed Cao Cao to Hanzhong along the Chencang Road, but he was hit by another blow.

Liu Bei was on the south bank of Mianshui, worried that Guo Huai would attack him halfway across the river, so he hesitated.In March, Liu Bei learned that Fazheng and Wei Yan captured Dingjun Mountain and killed Xia Houyuan. He left Zhang Fei and his deputy Lei Tong to continue bluffing on the south bank. Arrived at Dingjun Mountain at the end of April.

Liu Bei wanted to open his arms to attack Xiahoushang. Fazheng believed that Xiahoushang had enough troops and it would be difficult to defend against danger. It would be better to capture Tiandang Mountain guarded by Cao Hong. As a result, the two major granaries in Hanzhong were destroyed, and Xiahoushang could only rely on foreign aid. supply.Liu Bei thought so, and ordered Zhang Yi and Zhang Ni to lead ten thousand people to attack Tiandang Mountain.

When Cao Hong heard that the Shu army was coming to attack, he ordered Zhang Hu and Le Wei to go out to feign defeat. He led an ambush and fought out, defeating Zhang Yi and Zhang Yi. But died of Liu Ya.

Liu Bei was furious when he heard the news, and personally led troops to attack Tiandang Mountain. Cao Hong defended according to danger, but did not be wary. Wei Yan led the barbarians to burn Tiandang Mountain. Still meet.Liu Bei captured Tiandang Mountain again and ordered Zhang Yi and Zhang Ni to put out the fire. Unfortunately, a fire destroyed all the granaries, and Fazheng shook his head in distress.

Just when Liu Bei was full of ambition and thought that Hanzhong was already in his pocket, he came to report that Cao Cao had personally commanded an army of [-] along Chencang Road to Nanzheng, the seat of Hanzhong!

Cao Cao came in person?Liu Bei's face was uncertain.Liu Bei didn't deal with Cao Cao for a day or two, it was nearly 30 years, but Liu Bei ran away when he could, and avoided when he could. He never dared to face Cao Cao head-on.In Xuzhou, when Liu Bei heard that Cao Cao's army had arrived, he fled to Hebei alone, regardless of the tens of thousands of people under his command, brothers Guan and Zhang, and his wife and brother-in-law.After so many years, even though he has many soldiers and generals, Liu Bei's fear of Cao Cao has never diminished!Alas, why did I trust Fazheng and Wei Yan so easily?

Not only Liu Bei, but many soldiers in the army were suspicious. Liu Bei brought a total of 10 horses when he went out to the north of Sichuan, and lost nearly 3 people in one and a half years. On the front line of Dingjun Mountain; on the other hand, Cao Cao, Xiahou Shang originally had 5 people, and Cao Cao came to 13, a total of nearly [-], which is twice the difference. How can this battle be fought?Now the Shu army is really in a dilemma, in a dilemma.

"Xiaozhi, I'm trapped in Dingjun Mountain, I can't go in, I can't retreat, what can I do?"

"Our army's morale is booming, and the situation is extremely favorable. Why did your lord say such a thing?" Fazheng asked in surprise.

"Cao Cao's army is coming soon, how should we deal with the lack of soldiers?"

"My lord is worried about this." Fazheng chuckled. "Your Majesty, I'm worrying too much. Although Cao Cao has many troops, Hanzhong is no different than other places. As long as we garrison fortresses everywhere, what can Cao Cao do to me?"

Hanzhong and northern Sichuan are mountainous, and the terrain is steep, which is not conducive to large army operations. As long as the fortresses are strangled, they are easy to defend and difficult to attack.Liu Bei was still preoccupied, "Even so, how can we retreat Cao Jun?"

"Hehe, my lord, just think about it. Dingjun Mountain and Tiandang Mountain, where the two grain stores in Hanzhong were located, were all destroyed by me. Xiahou still relied on mobilizing granaries from Chang'an from Chencang Road. At this time, Cao Cao's [-] troops came to Hanzhong again. Where did Chang'an come from? Grain supply? As I expected, Cao Cao can only rely on Sizhou and Hedong County to transport grain to Hanzhong. These two grains will not be transferred from Chencang Road, and the distance will be doubled, and they will only be transported westward along the Mian River .And the Mianshui line has already fallen under my control, so I only need to send a few generals to harass along the road, and Cao Cao will definitely suffer. In a few months, hahaha, in my opinion, Cao Cao is the one who can't advance or retreat!"

Fazheng's strategy is to occupy the mountain road, confront Cao Cao, and see who consumes energy and kills whom.The strategy of killing one thousand enemies and injuring eight hundred is not fighting for human life, but family property, money and food!Cao Cao is rich and powerful. Although he lost the four northern states, after all, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. Zhang Lu’s five buckets of rice are used up, and there are still several states to support; Zhuge Liang is in Chengdu, but the people tighten their belts. The bottom line is about to come to an end.

It is about [-] miles to transport grain and grass from Chengdu to Dingjun Mountain, and it is also about [-] miles to transport grain and grass from Hedong to Hanzhong. The distance between the two armies is roughly the same, which is not easy.The only difference is that although the Shu army's grain transportation road is difficult, it is very safe. Cao Jun's grain transportation is close to Liu Bei's occupied area.Therefore, Fazheng is not to interfere with Cao Cao, but to constantly harass and destroy Cao Cao's grain road.

It is conceivable that Cao Cao's army was stationed in Hanzhong for a battle, but Liu Bei retreated to various passes and stretched out his sinful claws to scratch Cao Cao on time.

Liu Beilong was very happy not to start a war with Cao Cao, and he really praised Fazheng.The rewards for capturing Dingjun Mountain and beheading Xiahouyuan also came down. Wei Yan was promoted from General Yamen to General Against Rebellion, Fazheng was promoted to General Zhonglang, Zhao Yun and others each received a reward.

Zhao Yun and Fazheng strictly guarded the main roads everywhere and did not go to battle; Wei Yan, Zhang Yi, and Zhang Ni each led 5000 troops to attack Cao Jun's food road along the banks of the Mian River; Zhuge Liang was ordered to continue to reinforce Dingjun Mountain.The battle between Cao Liu and Hanzhong entered the third stage, and the two sides faced each other.

As Fazheng expected, Cao Cao came to Hanzhong eager to fight Liu Bei, but Liu Bei shrank his head, making Cao Cao full of anger and nowhere to vent.The two armies had been in a stalemate for nearly a month, and the grain transportation team in Hedong had been harassed by the Shu army twice, and nearly half of the grain and grass would be destroyed, which was an astonishing loss.Cao Cao had no choice but to send Pang De and Xu Chu to patrol along the Mian River, but they would still be caught by the Shu army from time to time, which was hard to guard against.

What is even more unbearable is that after entering June, the heat in Hanzhong was unbearable. Most of Cao's troops were from Yanzhou and Yuzhou, and they suffered acclimatization and heat stroke one after another.The Shu army hid in the shade, and Cao Jun suffered a lot.In February, Cao Cao sent troops to Qiaojun, encountered a plague in March, left Qiaojun in April, arrived in the northwest in May, and stayed in Hanzhong in June. For nearly five months, Cao Jun has been in fear and exhaustion. Returning, some soldiers began to desert as deserters.

(End of this chapter)