Chapter 9 Fighting for the Central Plains Section 25 Whether the Northern Frontier Army can win the Central Plains War does not depend on how many counties and cities it has conquered, but whether it can defeat its opponents in the end.

If it fails to deliver a devastating blow to its opponent, it will eventually fail and will not be able to gain a foothold in the Central Plains.

At present, the results achieved by the Northern Xinjiang Army are not of fundamental help to the entire Central Plains War. The Great War in the Central Plains has only just begun, and the difficulties we have encountered are only temporary, as long as we maintain our superiority in troops, the Northern Xinjiang Army will be defeated sooner or later.

Looking at the overall situation, we are now at a disadvantage. The states and counties have not yet met with each other, the armies of the states and counties have not yet been assembled, and the superiority in strength and financial resources has not yet been revealed.

If we want to quickly turn our disadvantage into an advantage, we must contain the offensive of the Northern Xinjiang Army as soon as possible and block the Northern Xinjiang Army on the line between Dingtao and Changyi, so as to gain time to turn the tide of the war.

At present, we must not only preserve our strength and avoid a decisive battle with the Northern Xinjiang Army, but also stop the attack of the Northern Xinjiang Army and drag the Northern Xinjiang Army on the battlefield in the Central Plains.

Therefore, at this moment, we have only one countermeasure, that is, to temporarily abandon most of Yanzhou, abandon Changyi, and instead gather heavy troops on the front line of Baima, Dingtao, and Chengwu, and re-set up the blocking defense line with the main defense of the city.

Guo Jia was about to give a detailed account of the deployment of troops, but Cao Cao raised his hand to interrupt him,

"You wait......" he beckoned to the guards standing on either side of the curtain,

"Come here, hold up the map." The two guards hurriedly walked to the desk and picked up the map, and stood in front of the generals.

Cao Cao and Liu Bei stood behind Guo Jia, and Xiahoudun and others also stood up and gathered in front of the map.

Guo Jia was not humble, walked to the map, and continued: "The Northern Frontier Army now has obvious advantages, with strong iron cavalry, brave infantry army, and sufficient grain and grass. On the contrary, our disadvantages are very serious. Yuan Shao's main army was dragged on the battlefield in Henan, and both Kansai and Hanoi were attacked, and Luoyang was in danger. Except for the army left behind in Yanzhou, the rest of the army is still more than 400 miles away from the battlefield. Liu Biao's army in Jingzhou was even farther away from the battlefield. ”

"After our 70,000 people rushed to the battlefield, we were sleepy and lacking horses, if we just wanted to block the Northern Xinjiang Army on the front line of Dingtao and Changyi, and hastily fought with the Northern Xinjiang Army, it would be tantamount to using our own disadvantages to attack the advantages of the Northern Xinjiang Army, and defeat would be inevitable."

"What are our strengths at the moment? It's time, and we have enough time at our disposal. And then we have cities, and there are enough cities. As long as we hold on to the city, stubbornly resist the Northern Xinjiang Army, delay the speed of the Northern Army's attack, and delay the time for the Northern Xinjiang Army to stabilize the front. Then our disadvantage on the battlefield will be reversed immediately, and we will be able to quickly control the initiative on the battlefield. ”

"I just said that. After the Northern Xinjiang Army advanced to the line of Dingtao and Changyi, when the number of infantry troops was insufficient, it was necessary to gather infantry soldiers from two attacking armies to attack one of the cities. "Guo Jia points to the city of Changyi on the map,

"Obviously, this city must be Changyi." The three cities of Puyang, Dingtao and Changyi formed a cone-shaped array in the western part of Yanzhou.

Dingtao is the tip of the cone, and Puyang and Changyi are the foot of the cone. If all three cities are taken, the Northern Frontier Army will be able to use this cone-shaped formation to form a decisive battle with us.

Now that Puyang has fallen, the right grain route of the Northern Xinjiang Army has been guaranteed. The right flank of the Great Army was already protected.

Their immediate priority now is to quickly take Changyi, so as to ensure the smooth flow of grain routes on the left side of the Northern Xinjiang Army and ensure that the left flank of the army is protected.

In order to ensure that the army can encircle Dingtao while laying down Changyi, the iron cavalry on the left and right of the Northern Xinjiang Army is bound to go south at the fastest speed to kill the line of Chengwu and Liangqiu, blocking the return of our army.

If we want to break the attack strategy of the Northern Xinjiang Army, we can only abandon Changyi, quickly march north with a large army, and block the Northern Frontier Iron Cavalry from the city.

The rest of the army quickly detoured through the Liang State and inserted Dingtao from the west side of Chengwu City. Holding Dingtao is equivalent to delaying the attack speed of the Northern Frontier Army, delaying the cone-shaped formation of the Northern Frontier Army, and delaying the time for the decisive battle between the Northern Frontier Army and us.

"However, when Puyang and Changyi are lost, and the left and right flanks of the army are completely exposed, it is very unrealistic for us to rely on our own strength to defend Dingtao." Guo Jia's hand swiped down from the Dingtao and Chengwu cities on the map.

"This line of defense will be difficult for us to hold even after Liu Biao's Jingzhou army arrives. Because the Northern Frontier Army will not give us so much time, if it wants to fight a decisive battle with us, it must quickly capture Dingtao and Chengwu, so as to use the solid cone-shaped formation to form a strong and continuous attack force. "Therefore, we must take advantage of the time of holding Dingtao to quickly unite with Yuan Shao and form a second arc defense line on the line of Baima, Yanxian, Fengqiu, Chenliu, and Xiangyi to block the second round of attacks by the Northern Xinjiang Army.

Whether or not this line of defense can be held has a direct bearing on whether or not we can hold back the attack of the Northern Xinjiang Army, whether we can win enough time for the allied forces to resist Hebei, and whether we can completely reverse the current battlefield situation that is extremely unfavorable to us.

"However, the Northern Frontier Army had already taken into account the huge obstacle of this defense line to their capture of the Central Plains, so they sent troops south to cross the Yellow River to attack Henan as early as mid-March." Guo Jia shook his head and said helplessly,

"Only today can we see the great role played by the Northern Xinjiang Army in attacking Henan on the Central Plains battlefield." The Northern Xinjiang Army's attack on Henan deceived us and diverted our attention from the Central Plains to Henan, making us completely ignore the possibility of them attacking the Central Plains.

Second, it restrained our troops, and Yuan Shao's main army was all dragged to the Henan battlefield by them, but we couldn't wait to launch the Jianghuai War.

As Yuan Shao's main army returned to Henan, the Northern Xinjiang Army then completed their third goal of attacking Henan, that is, to capture Puyang and cover the main force of the Northern Xinjiang Army to attack Dingtao and Changyi.

Now we see that the fourth goal of their attack on Henan is to prevent us from establishing a second line of defense to block the main force of the Northern Xinjiang Army from capturing the Central Plains in the shortest possible time.

Yan Liang, the general of the Northern Xinjiang Army, led an army of 40,000 to attack Henan, and in a short period of time, relying on the favorable terrain of Chenggao, Xingyang, and Aocang to complete the cone-shaped formation.

Although Yuan Shao's speed of reinforcement was very fast, because the main force of the Northern Xinjiang Army quickly moved south to the Central Plains, Yuan Shao, like us, did not want to consume his forces prematurely.

There are many reasons why Yuan Shao is reluctant to lose troops, but for now, it seems that his choice is completely correct.

If he and Yan Liang fight to the death, not only will the alliance and coalition to fight against Hebei not succeed, but even if the alliance succeeds, we will lose our absolute superiority in troops.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please take a look at the deployment of the forces of the two sides in front of you." Guo Tu pointed to the map and said,

"Yuan Shao and Yan Liang faced off against each other in Henan. Cao Ren, Xiahou Yuan and the main forces of the Northern Xinjiang Army confronted each other in Dingtao and Changyi. Our army is still on its way back to Yanzhou. At this time, Yuan Shao's army could not eat Yan Liang, and his main army was on the battlefield in Henan.

And if we want to establish a second line of defense in the near future, Yuan Shao must withdraw his troops from the Henan battlefield to help Yanzhou, but he can't withdraw.

Yuan Shao couldn't withdraw, and he was unable to defeat Yan Liang of the Northern Frontier Army alone. It is difficult for us to stop the Northern Xinjiang Army from continuing to attack on the front line of Dingtao and Chengwu, so the result of the Central Plains War is self-evident.

Guo Jia looked at Cao Cao, Liu Bei and the generals in the tent, and said with a serious expression: "Judging from the Jizhou War the year before last to the beginning of the Central Plains War this year, Li Hong's use of troops has reached an unbelievable level. If we want to defeat him, in addition to holding on to Dingtao and quickly establishing a second line of defense, we must defeat Yan Liang as soon as possible and build a third line of defense. ”

"Build a third line of defense?" Cao Cao asked in surprise,

"If Liu Biao's Jingzhou army can quickly rush to the front line of Chenliu and Xiangyi, the second line of defense should be able to stop the Northern Xinjiang Army."

"Without the help of Yuan Shao's army, the first-line troops of Baima, Fengqiu, and Chenliu in the north of the second line of defense are very weak, and they can't stop the Northern Xinjiang Army at all. This is also one of the purposes of the Northern Xinjiang Army to open up the Henan battlefield. Guo Jia said undoubtedly,

"The Jingzhou army has traveled thousands of miles and needs time to rest and recuperate, so it cannot be immediately put into the battlefield. And our army of about 200,000 people is all concentrated in the Central Plains, and we will definitely not be able to supply grain and grass in the short term. ”

"It is inevitable and necessary to continue to retreat." Cao Cao waved his hand angrily and scolded fiercely.

At this moment, he couldn't wait to eat Li Hong alive.

"After Liu Biao's Jingzhou army arrived at Yingchuan, he could enter Henan nearby and attack Yan Liang from the direction of Zhongmu and Guancheng. Yan Liang was attacked before and after, and he was in danger of being wiped out at any time, so he could only choose to retreat. "Guo Jia fingers Xingyang,

"After Yan Liang withdrew from Henan, we immediately established a third line of defense along the line of Xingyang, Guancheng, Zhongmu and Kaifeng." Guo Jia frowned and thought for a moment, and smashed his fist into Zhongmu City on the map,

"The decisive battle is very likely to be in the Zhongmu area." Since he had to hurry the next morning, Cao Cao made a quick decision and accepted Guo Jia's suggestion.

He exchanged views with Liu Bei, and then decided that Liu Bei would lead the army to Chengwu and contain the iron cavalry of the Northern Xinjiang Army.

Liu Bei once followed Liu Yu to the north to defeat the rebels of Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju, and fought many battles with the Karasuma Iron Cavalry.

A few years ago, he also worked with Gongsun Zhan against the iron cavalry of the Northern Xinjiang Army, and had rich combat experience in dealing with the iron cavalry.

Cao Cao himself led the army to make a detour through the Liang State and kill Dingtao from the west side of Chengwu. Cao Cao personally wrote a letter to Xun Yu and Li Tong, asking them to give up Changyi at an appropriate time.

The generals were then ordered to go out of the account. Cao Cao and Liu Bei left Cheng Yu, Guo Jia, and Sun Gan behind, and the four of them discussed the book to the imperial court, and gave detailed explanations and explanations of the analysis and countermeasures related to the Central Plains War.

In addition, Cao Cao personally wrote a letter to Yuan Shao, explaining the reason why he and Liu Bei could not rush to Xuchang in person.

"Zhongde, you and Gongyou (Sun Qian) will go on the road early tomorrow morning, and rush to Xuchang day and night." Cao Cao handed the letter to Cheng Yu and Sun Qian, and solemnly instructed,

"This battle is related to the survival of the Han Society, and we must work together to defeat Li Hong, so no matter how Yuan Shao and Liu Biao arrange, you must support me and Lord Liu on your behalf, and there will be no obstacles." Cheng Yu and Sun Qian bowed down to receive the order, and Liu Bei sat on the side and stopped talking.

"Xuande, what do you want to say?" Cao Cao asked strangely,

"Is there anything else you and my brother can't say?" Liu Bei smiled bitterly and said in a low voice: "Yuan Shao asked the Son of Heaven to pardon Yuan Shu's subordinates, but he did not pardon Yuan Shu, and his intentions are unknown. He wanted to take this opportunity to win over Yuan Shu and his men and take Jiujiang County for himself. We fought for a long time, and finally forced Yuan Shu to a dead end, but in the end, we had to give up Jianghuai because the Northern Xinjiang Army attacked the Central Plains. Yuan Shao was so blatant in taking advantage of the fire to rob, it was too much. If Yuan Shu does not die, the southern part of Xuzhou will not be at peace, and the Central Plains War is more likely to have unexpected changes because of this. Could it be that Brother Meng De turned a blind eye to this matter? Cao Cao pondered for a long time, then turned his eyes to look at Cheng Yu and Guo Jia.

I really didn't want to offend Yuan Shao in this matter. The Northern Xinjiang Army is fighting Yanzhou, and he is about to be homeless.

In the current situation, if he wants to recapture Yanzhou, he depends on Yuan Shao's help. gave such a dozen to the Northern Xinjiang Army, and he was extremely discouraged, and his mood was extremely low, and he even had the idea of bowing his head and obeying Yuan Shao.

Looking back on the ups and downs of the past ten years, and the countless harsh lives and deaths I have experienced, in the end it was a failure, which is really frustrating.

I have repeatedly struggled in adversity, and the enthusiasm of the year has long since cooled, and all I have returned is endless sadness and disappointment.

The distance between reality and dreams is too far, and his ambition has long since sunk, leaving only a trace of survival instinct.

Cheng Yu understood and said to Liu Bei very cautiously: "Yuan Shao has Yuan Shao's strategy, and we have our countermeasures." Give Jianghuai to Yuan Shao, don't say that adults are unwilling, even tens of thousands of Yanzhou Army and Xuzhou Army soldiers are unwilling. ”

"What is Zhongde's countermeasure?"

"Because of the Great War in the Central Plains, we had to withdraw our troops and return, but Sun Ce and Zhou Yu are still there. At this time, Yuan Shao issued an order in the name of the Son of Heaven to pardon Yuan Shu's subordinates, precisely to prevent Sun Ce and Zhou Yu from continuing to attack Yuan Shu with troops and occupy Jianghuai. Yuan Shao does not want to see Sun Ce and Zhou Yu occupy Jianghuai, and we do not want to see that on this point, we are consistent with Yuan Shao. Cheng Yu paused, looked at Liu Bei's face, and continued: "It is precisely because we have the same thing with Yuan Shao that we should support Yuan Shao's decision and let Sun Ce and Zhou Yu withdraw to Jiangdong first. With Yuan Shao and us agreeing on the same opinion, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu were forced to withdraw their troops for the time being. ”

"During the Jianghuai War, Yuan Shu's men were very divided. Liu Xun surrendered to the imperial court and took refuge in the prime minister. Ji Ling has a close relationship with adults. Li Shu and Zhou Yu walked very closely. The relationship between Yuan Yin, Zhang Jiong and Sun Ce is also very warm. At present, the only people who have been following Yuan Shu are Yan Xiang, Yang Hong and Liu Fu. Cheng Yu waved his hand, his face showing disdain,

"After we, Sun Ce, and Zhou Yu withdrew their troops from Jianghuai, Jiujiang County was also lively. Yuan Shu had learned from the past, once he got a chance to breathe, the first thing he did was to eradicate the rebellion. All we have to do is to help Jiujiang County get into chaos and let Yuan Shu and his own men eat dogs. Regardless of whether Yuan Shu put down the rebellion in the end, or Liu Xun and Li Shu killed Yuan Shu, there is no strength in the Jianghuai region that can compete with us. When the dust settles on the Central Plains War, the ownership of Jiujiang County is estimated to be clear. Liu Bei suddenly realized, and nodded at Cheng Yu again and again,

Zhong De has a point. There is a way to surrender without a fight, so why bother to fight again. Teachable and teachable. The next day, as soon as the army set off, Pengcheng Jian Yong sent someone to deliver an urgent book.

"Guan Yu was defeated in Jucheng, and more than half of the whole army was lost, so he asked for support." After Liu Bei read the letter, he was shocked,

"The Northern Xinjiang Army actually killed Xuzhou." Cao Cao looked at Liu Bei in disbelief, almost suspecting that his ears had heard it wrong,

"Brother Xuande, do you see clearly? Is it the Northern Frontier Army or the Yellow Turban Army? Liu Bei casually handed the letter to Cao Cao,

"Xianhe (Jian Yong) said in his letter that Gao Shun of the Northern Xinjiang Army and Zang Ba of Qingzhou would go south with the Yellow Turban Army, and they have now forced Yangdu and threatened Kaiyang." Cao Cao hurriedly glanced at it and exclaimed, "Yun Chang has been severely injured and seriously injured. ”

"His army's losses are too great, and now if he wants to stop the pace of the Northern Xinjiang Army's attack on Xuzhou, he must immediately send troops back to help." Liu Bei said helplessly,

"Brother Meng De, if the northern counties of Xuzhou are lost, it will not only be the grain and grass that will be lost, but also the Central Plains. Once the Northern Xinjiang Army advanced to the front line of the East China Sea and Pengcheng, it would not only play a great role in the rapid stabilization of Yanzhou County by the Northern Xinjiang Army, but also go north to support the Central Plains battlefield. Cao Cao looked up to the sky and sighed, there was a feeling of darkness.

Gao Shun's Northern Xinjiang Army, Zang Ba's Qingzhou Army, and Guan Hai's Yellow Turban Army were at least about 50,000 troops capable of going north to support the Central Plains battlefield.

If these 50,000 people are allowed to advance smoothly to the Central Plains battlefield, their own military superiority will be drastically reduced. Now, whether Gao Shun supports the Central Plains battlefield, or Liu Bei divides his troops to return to Xuzhou, the comparison of forces on the Central Plains battlefield will change.

"Xuande, how many people are you going to send back? Will you personally lead the army back? ”

"I plan to let Zhang Fei lead 10,000 people back to Xuzhou as soon as possible." Liu Bei shook his head and said,

"Compared with the Central Plains War, which is related to the fate of Sheji, the safety of Xuzhou is nothing. It is believed that with the strength of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, the Northern Xinjiang Army can be completely blocked in the Zhengcheng area of the East China Sea, so as to prevent the Northern Xinjiang Army from invading Xuzhou and going north to support the Central Plains battlefield. Cao Cao patted Liu Bei's shoulder gratefully, feeling sad in his heart.

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