Chapter 9 Chasing the Central Plains Section 65 Fengqiu City. Just as the soldiers of the Northern Frontier Army on the front line of Fengqiu and Wuchao were about to fight to the death, they were surprised to find that the rebels did not take advantage of their precarious situation to continue the attack.

Zhang He, Gao Lan, Gao Shun, Zhang Liao and other generals in Northern Xinjiang were unbelievable, could it be that something happened to the rebels?

Judging by the morale of the rebels in the past two days, there was no reason for them to give up such a good opportunity to attack.

The Northern Frontier Army was lucky enough to get a respite. Zhang He ordered all departments to strengthen the defensive line, and at the same time urged Zhang Yan to send reinforcements again.

In the afternoon, Lu Bu led two battalions of Yang Yi and Guo Xun to rush to Wuchao and took over the command of the battlefield from Zhang He.

That night, Wang Dang also led his army to arrive and stationed in Fengqiu City. Zhang Yanshu told Lu Bu that the main force of the army had withdrawn to Yuanwu and Yangwu City, and would cross the ditch water tomorrow and withdraw to the line of Yanjin and Sujuju, so Lu Bu must hold on for another day.

Under the city of Fengqiu, the Yanzhou army camp. Because they were worried that their losses would be too large, the coalition forces were unwilling to continue to follow Cao Cao's orders and forcibly attack the Fengqiu and Wuchao lines, resulting in the failure of Cao Cao's strategy to break through the Jishui River and capture Yanjin and Suozao to encircle the Northern Xinjiang Army.

Cao Cao was worried. The failure of this plan means that the Northern Xinjiang Army can smoothly withdraw to the bank of the Yellow River, and Yuan Shao can easily win the Central Plains War without suffering a large loss in his own strength, and he will become the biggest beneficiary of the Central Plains War.

And if he doesn't get out of the battlefield in time, he may become the first target to be eliminated by Yuan Shao.

From today's quarrel in the military discussion, it can be seen that his current position in the coalition army is no longer regarded as a figure of a down-and-out man who has lost his territory.

After the end of the Central Plains War, Yuan Shao's prestige was skyrocketing. As long as he aims the contradiction at himself, Ji Ling, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei will not hesitate to rush forward and settle the new and old hatreds together.

Cao Cao, Xun Yu and others urgently discussed countermeasures.

"Yangwu, Yuanwu, Suozao, Yanjin and other places are only more than a hundred miles away from Wuchao and Fengqiu, and reinforcements from the Northern Xinjiang Army can arrive within a day." Xun Yu sighed and said helplessly,

"Today, we have a truce of one day, which is tantamount to missing the opportunity to break through the defense line of the Northern Xinjiang Army in vain. By tomorrow, things will be very different. ”

"Maybe tomorrow the Northern Xinjiang Army will retreat, and there may not be bloody battles in the area of Fengqiu and Wuchao." Guo Jia pointed to the map on the desk and said,

"But one thing we know for sure. After the Northern Xinjiang Army withdrew to the front line of Yancheng and Baima, it must defend the city in this area. "The Northern Xinjiang Army went south to the Central Plains to fight for half a year, and of course it didn't want to return empty-handed.

In order to pacify the world in the future, they are bound to do everything they can to occupy Yanzhou. Although Zang Ba in Qingzhou has taken refuge in us, and the Northern Xinjiang Army is under the enemy's back, it is difficult to occupy Yanzhou, but Zang Ba is not trustworthy, and he may betray us again at any time and take refuge in Hebei.

Therefore, as long as the Northern Xinjiang Army firmly occupies Baima and Puyang and poses a threat to Henan and the western counties of Yanzhou, it is impossible for Yuan Shao to occupy the entire territory of Yanzhou in the short term.

The retreat of the Northern Xinjiang Army this time was directly related to the burning of grain and grass in Wuchao and the old city. Originally, they transported grain and grass by land and water, but because Liu Bei, Gao Gan and others took the opportunity to send troops to recover most of Hanoi and occupy Yanjindu and Qingshuikou, two important ferries on the Yellow River, the waterway and grain channel were cut off.

There were more than 100,000 troops on the battlefield of Guandu, and it was obviously overstretched to transport grain and grass by land alone, so after the grain and grass accumulated in Wuchao and Gushi were burned, the Northern Xinjiang Army could not support it immediately.

And our timely counteroffensive clearly exposed our intention to block them on the front line of Yanjin and Suojube to encircle and annihilate them.

In this unfavorable situation, the Northern Xinjiang Army had no choice but to retreat. However, the retreat of the Northern Xinjiang Army at this moment does not mean that they have completely lost the initiative on the battlefield, on the contrary, their retreat is precisely to reverse the current unfavorable situation on the battlefield in order to regain the initiative on the battlefield.

Although the grain and grass baggage in Wuchao and Gushi were burned, there was still grain and grass in Jizhou, Baima and Puyang, Dingtao and Changyi, and as long as the Northern Xinjiang Army withdrew to the line of Baima and Yancheng, the army of more than 100,000 foot cavalry could be replenished in time.

In the past, we have said that the most difficult time for the army in northern Xinjiang should be September. After the autumn harvest in October, their shortage of grain and grass will be alleviated to a certain extent.

Therefore, it is a very wise move for the Northern Xinjiang Army to take the initiative to withdraw more than 100,000 troops at this moment. In this way, they retreated hundreds of miles, close to the Yellow River, which could not only save the people's food consumption in long-distance transportation, but also make it safer for the army to retreat to Jizhou at any time, and at the same time quickly regain the initiative on the battlefield and confront us again on the front line of Baima and Yancheng.

"If nothing else, the Northern Frontier Iron Cavalry will soon appear on the Hanoi and Yanzhou battlefields in order to attack our two flanks, delay our attack, strike at our grain routes, and prepare for a counterattack after October." Guo Jia raised his two hands, his right hand on the line of Dingtao, Jiyang and Dongdu, and his left hand on the line of Jixian, Huojia and Huaicheng.

"Did you see that?" Guo Jia looked at the Yanzhou generals gathered around, and drew two traces on the map with both hands.

"When the Northern Xinjiang Army attracts all our forces to the front line of Yanjin, Suozao and Yancheng, then their iron cavalry will definitely take advantage of the emptiness of our rear forces to decisively attack from both flanks of the battlefield and threaten the hinterland of Henan." Guo Jia looked at Xun Yu and asked softly, "At this time, what should Yuan Shao do?" ”

"Divide the troops back to Henan and stop the attack of the northern iron cavalry on both flanks of the battlefield." Xun Yu was surprised and delighted,

"Our chance has come."

"Yes, our chance has come." Guo Jia looked at Dian Wei and Xu Chu and said with a smile,

"The two adults had a good fight today. Without today's fight, the contradictions in the coalition forces would not have erupted, and we would not have become the target of public criticism. Now that we are not popular with the coalition forces, and the adults have been deprived of the command of the battlefield, is it necessary for us to fight bravely at the front of the battlefield? ”

"After the Northern Frontier Army withdraws from the Fengqiu and Wuchao lines, the coalition forces will follow in pursuit, and we will naturally stay at the rear." Guo Jia patted the two cities of Jiyang and Dongdui on the map hard,

"Now we are eagerly awaiting the appearance of the Northern Frontier Iron Cavalry. As long as they call and start attacking Junyi and Zhongmu, our army left behind will be ordered to go south to block it. ”

"We will be out of the battlefield, and we can fly south to attack Xuzhou." Cao Cao was very excited, and smashed his fist on the case,

"When Feng Xiao said this, the originally chaotic situation became cheerful. Fengxiao, you are still sober-minded. Guo Jia smiled faintly and shook his hand at Cao Cao,

"Let's not rush south, don't."

After the iron cavalry of the Northern Xinjiang Army came out of the battlefield on both wings, Yuan Shao could clearly see the intentions of the Northern Xinjiang Army. The Northern Xinjiang Army had no intention of retreating to Hebei, and Li Hong was even more reluctant to give up Yanzhou, and they had to confront and fight a decisive battle with the coalition forces. And Yuan Shao saw that the Northern Xinjiang Iron Cavalry appeared on the battlefield on both wings, and the strong enemy in Northern Xinjiang that he feared the most in his heart was no longer on the frontal battlefield, how could he not fight a decisive battle? For him, at this moment, if he wants to take all the Central Plains and achieve his hegemony, there is only one way, that is, to defeat the main force of the Northern Xinjiang Army and drive Li Hong to the north bank of the Yellow River. As soon as the main force of the Northern Xinjiang Army was defeated, it immediately lost its role on the two flanks of Hanoi and Yanzhou. The Northern Xinjiang Iron Cavalry can only retreat quickly, and the other armies of the Northern Xinjiang Army stationed in the northeastern counties of Yanzhou will also retreat to Jizhou one after another under Yuan Shao's advance, so Yuan Shao will fight to the death no matter what. ”

"If we want Yuan Shao to make up his mind to fight a decisive battle with the Northern Xinjiang Army, we must give him to defend Junyi and Zhongmu, so that he has no worries and let him go to the decisive battle wholeheartedly. Regardless of the outcome of the decisive battle, Yuan Shao, Liu Biao and the other units of the coalition army will suffer heavy losses, and we ......" Guo Jia pointed around,

"Except for the 7,000 men and horses of Lord Xiahou Yuan, the 10,000 people here will be unscathed, and we can take the grain and grass of the coalition army and swagger south to Xuzhou. At this time, Yuan Shao, Liu Biao and others were scarred and too busy to take care of themselves, where did they still have the strength to chase and kill us? ”

"Haha......" Cao Cao laughed and patted Guo Jia's emaciated shoulder hard,

"Everything is under the control of Bonghyo. Okay, let's do what Feng Xiao said. Urgently told Xiahou Yuan to obey Yuan Shao's orders and do his best to fight a decisive battle. As for our ......," he pointed to the generals around him,

"When Liu Biao arrives tomorrow, everyone will behave badly, and they will do everything against him, forcing him to leave us behind the army."

"My lord, although we are temporarily staying on the battlefield in the Central Plains, Xuzhou must be taken immediately." After Guo Jia waited for the generals to agree, he suggested again,

"Now Chen Deng is in Qingzhou, and it is estimated that he is crossing the river with Zang Ba to attack Ganling State, in order to force the main force of the Northern Xinjiang Army to return to help, and Jian Yong does not have many men and horses, and Pengcheng is even more useless, it is the best time for us to seize Xuzhou." Cao Cao did not hesitate at all, and immediately sent people south overnight, urgently telling Cao Chun and Ren Jun to join Liu Xun and Xiahou Ba as soon as possible and quickly seize the counties of Xuzhou.

The first day of September. Liyang. Li Hong received a letter from Zhang Yan. Zhang Yan said in the letter that the army had withdrawn to the front line of Yanjin and Suojube.

Yuan Shao's pursuit was very fast, and he bit Koji Yi to the death. However, what is surprising is that the coalition forces on the front line of Fengqiu and Wuchao suddenly stopped after two days of fierce attack.

In order to attract the coalition forces on the front line of Fengqiu and Wuchao to Yanjin as soon as possible, Zhang Yan said that more time was needed.

Li Hong immediately ordered the army to rest for a day and not cross the river for the time being. Yanjin. When Zhang Yan heard that Liu Bei had gathered the main force to counterattack Qingshuikou, he immediately ordered Mustapha of the Changshui battalion to rush across the river to the battlefield in Hanoi to help Peng Lie defend Qingshuikou.

"Lord Yan Rou's iron cavalry has reached the front line of Dongdui and Jiyang, do you think he should make a proper attack?" Jia Xu looked at the map on the desk, frowned and said,

"At this time, you should give Yuan Shao some good news, lest he hesitate again after he kills Yanjin."

"Yuan Shao is very resolute in fighting Yangwu, and the Fengqiu battlefield should be strongly cooperated, why did he stop instead?" Zhang Yan threw the battle report in his hand onto the table and said puzzledly,

"What is Yuan Shao thinking? Is there something going on within the coalition? ”

"Although there are many contradictions between the various departments of the coalition army, this is a critical moment in the war, and no one dares to take their lives as a child's play at this time." Jia Xu shook his head and said,

"In my opinion, it is probably because we withdrew too quickly at Guandu, and the losses of the coalition forces in Fengqiu and Wuchao were too great, so Yuan Shao changed his mind and gave up the strategy of blocking us on the front line of Yanjin and Suozao, and instead concentrated on driving us across the Yellow River."

"If Yuan Shao really thinks so, our strategy of deceitful defeat and luring the enemy will be successful." Zhang Yan said with a smile,

"Give Ziyu (Yan Rou) an order to divide part of his forces and attack Xiao Huang, Junyi, and Chen Liu first. We want Yuan Shao to know that the main force of our iron cavalry has arrived at the battlefield on both flanks, ready to delay his attack speed. It is hoped that he can correctly judge the current battle situation and quickly gather forces to attack north. ”

"For Yuan Shao, driving us across the Yellow River is not considered to have won the Central Plains War, and he can only be regarded as truly winning the Central Plains War after occupying Yanzhou and taking the Central Plains. So from this point of view, Yuan Shao would go north anyway to seek the opportunity for a decisive battle. Jia Xu said,

"Now that he's caught up, there's no turning back."

"My lord, at present, Liu Bei is still continuing to attack in the direction of Yanjindu. After Mustafa crossed the river, if he and Lord Peng Lie quickly defeated the rebels and beat the rebels to the west bank of the Qingshui River, it is very likely that Liu Bei's army would give up crossing the river after we withdrew to Yanjin, and instead counterattack Lord Peng Lie, and beat him all the way to Chaoge City, coerce Jizhou, and cooperate with the main force of the coalition army from the flank to attack on the frontal battlefield. Sima Yi said on the side,

"Should you tell Lord Peng Lie in a letter and ask him not to fight in the area of Jixian and Huojia for the time being before we withdraw to Yancheng, so as not to affect the decisive battle on the main battlefield." Yan shook his hand,

"If Peng Lie and Mustafa can't quickly kill in the area of Ji County and Huojia and defeat Liu Bei, I will punish them. The more fierce we fought on the battlefield in Hanoi and the more fierce our attacks became, the more convinced Yuan Shao was of the fact that the main force of the Northern Xinjiang Iron Cavalry left the main battlefield. If you want to attract all of Yuan Shao's main forces to the area of Baima and Yancheng to fight with us, this is the best way. "Former Martial City.

Yuan Shao commanded the army to kill the Jishui River, captured Yangwu, and then continued north, killing the original Wucheng.

Koji led his army to retreat all the way, discarding a large amount of baggage. Xiahou Yuan, Liu Pan, and Wen Ping were in a dilemma, and they didn't know if they followed Yuan Shao's army to pursue north.

At this time, they received a letter from Kuai Yue and learned that the coalition forces had stopped their attacks on the front line of Fengqiu and Wuchao.

Kuai Yue did not explain the reason for the truce in the letter, but the three of them still guessed from Kuai Yue's tone that there might be problems within the coalition forces.

The three of them discussed. At present, the situation is obvious, the Northern Xinjiang Army is about to retreat to the front line of Yanjin and Suozao, and even if the coalition forces break through Fengqiu and Wuchao now, it will be too late to capture Yanjin and Suozao before the Northern Xinjiang Army.

The original plan to encircle and annihilate the Northern Xinjiang Army on the front line of Yuanwu and Yangwu has failed. The three of them immediately decided to follow Yuan Shao to the north and wrote to Liu Biao to explain the reason.

On the same day, Xiahou Yuan received a secret letter from Cao Cao. Xiahou Yuan comprehended, led the army all the way, and took the lead in catching up with Yuan Shao.

Seeing that the coalition forces were chasing after them quickly, Lu Yi and Yushi did not meet the battle, and led the army to cross the ditch water and retreat into the sour jujube.

Yuan Shao immediately ordered, and all the troops crossed the river overnight to attack and kill the sour jujube. Xin Ping hurriedly dissuaded, the army traveled more than 200 miles in three days, and also fought fiercely with the strongest army of the Northern Xinjiang Army on the banks of the Jishui River for about a day, and the soldiers were already exhausted, so it was better to rest for one night in the original Wucheng for the time being.

Yuan Shao categorically refused, at this moment the Northern Xinjiang Army was attacked on three sides, not only the morale of the army was weakened, but the soldiers were even more tired, and this was a good time to attack, and the Northern Xinjiang Army must not be given any respite.

Xiahou Yuan was very active this time, and took the initiative to lead the army to cooperate with Yuan Shao's army to launch a fierce attack on the Northern Xinjiang Army on the other side of the ditch water.

Under the city of Fengqiu, the Jingzhou military camp. After Liu Biao received Kuai Yue's letter, he was shocked and angry, and rushed to Fengqiu City overnight, convened the generals of the unified army from all walks of life, and redeployed the attack.

Cao Cao is the prime minister, of course he will not surrender his identity to the Jingzhou military camp to obey Liu Biao's arrangement, but in order to take the overall situation, he still asked Xun Yu to take Cao Hong, Shi Lian, Li Dian and others to the Jingzhou camp to participate in the military meeting.

The scene of the military discussion was very chaotic, and before Liu Biao finished his opening remarks, Cao Hong and Ji Ling quarreled.

In the past two years, Yuan Shu first took advantage of the Jizhou War to attack Yanzhou, and later the Yanzhou Army and the Xuzhou Army counterattacked Yangzhou Jiujiang, and the resentment between the two sides was very deep.

Cao Hong seemed to be deliberate, and scolded Yuan Shu as soon as he opened his mouth, if it wasn't for Yuan Shu's perverse behavior, how could the Central Plains have such a bad situation today?

He was a traitor, which immediately angered Ji Ling, and the two immediately quarreled in the big tent. Cao Hong was open-mouthed, and after scolding Yuan Shu, he scolded Tao Qian again, if it wasn't for Tao Qian's help, Yuan Shu would have died a long time ago, how could he escape to Yangzhou to suffer misery?

Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and other generals of the Xuzhou Army immediately jumped up and ridiculed each other. Cao Hong still couldn't understand his hatred, and scolded Sun Ce and Zhou Yu in Jiangdong to the fullest.

How can Sun Fu and Lu Su endure it? Probably Cao Hong scolded too badly, and Sun Fu was so angry that he even pulled out his knife.

There was chaos in the big tent, Liu Biao, Kuai Yue and others couldn't stop it, and no one listened to them when they shouted hoarsely. Kuai Yue hurriedly called the guards and forcibly dragged Cao Hong and the others away.

Cao Hong saw that his goal had been achieved, and led people to roar away. Liu Biao thought about it for a long time and decided to put the Yanzhou army aside for the time being, and let Kuai Yue, Guan Yu, Sun Fu, Lu Su and others lead the army to continue the attack.

In the afternoon of the same day, the coalition forces launched another attack on the front line of Fengqiu and Wuchao. Jump to