In late February of the seventh year of Jian'an in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Jicheng. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

With Kou Zhun returning to Jicheng and once again joining the Shangshu Affairs to take charge of state affairs, the contradictions in the court became more intense.

At the same time, rumors about the general's intention to usurp the Han Sheji began to spread rapidly in Guanluo, Hebei, and the Central Plains, and people were panicked for a while.

Then, Xu Da and Zhang Liaofeige on the battlefield in Longnan passed a message to the imperial court, the Bashu army was going north to Hanzhong, and Longnan was estimated to be about to go to war, please step up the allocation of grain and grass. Wei Yan of Qingzhou, Gao Shun of Yanzhou, and Xu Huang of Yuzhou also successively flew pigeons to pass the imperial court, Cao Cao's army in Xuzhou moved frequently, and the army of Jiangdong also gathered on the south bank of the Huai River again.

At the beginning of March, the Northern Xinjiang Army was defeated on the battlefield of Nanyang, and the news of the rebels' all-out counteroffensive spread far and wide, and the people in Guanzhong, Luoyang, and the Central Plains were panicked.

On the third day of the third month of March, Kou Zhun was assassinated in Taixue, and seven of his guards were killed. Hearing the news, Bao Zheng, the captain of Sili, led two hundred elite soldiers to Taixue to protect Kou Zhun and return to the city, but he was assassinated again in the city, and Bao Zheng was accidentally injured by an arrow.

At the beginning of March, Liu Bei of Yizhou led an army to attack Longnan, and Xu Da, Zhang Liao, Gao Lan, Hua Xiong and others led an army to block it.

At the same time, Zhou Yu rushed to Lujiang to meet Lusu, and Sun Quan also sent Huang Gai to lead 5,000 men and horses to the south bank of the Huai River, and the two armies crossed the Huai River one after another to confront Wei Yan's 12th Army.

Cao Cao of Xuzhou took advantage of the fact that Xu Huang led the main force of the 11th Army Corps Chen to the Huai River, and suddenly sent troops to attack Suiyang of Liang State. The Northern Xinjiang Army held on to the ground and asked for help from Gaoshun in Yanzhou. Gao Shun ordered Zou Jing of Changyi to lead his army south to attack Xiaopeicheng and threaten Pengcheng. The two sides then fought continuously in Liang and Pei.

Jingzhou reinforcements, under the command of Liu Qi and Cai Mao, launched an attack on Xinye.

Li Yi ordered the imperial court to immediately supervise the transportation of grain and grass to help the army start a decisive battle on the battlefield of Nanyang.

However, in the midst of the mutual accusations and criticisms of the ministers on the national policy, the Jicheng court gradually fell into paralysis after Kou Zhunlian was assassinated, and was helpless against the increasingly chaotic situation, and was unable to take effective measures for a long time.

In early March, Tian Feng was ordered to go to Jinyang to seek the advice of General Li Yi on the handling of the current situation.

After Tian Feng left, the ministers of the DPRK and China were all waiting and watching, from the ministers such as the Three Princes and the Nine Secretaries, to the officials and subordinates of the various governments, all of whom had no intention of handling government affairs. The situation in Jicheng is becoming more and more confusing.

But at this time, Li Yi suddenly led the Iron Cavalry of the Pro-Guard Army back to Jicheng and suppressed the opposition with iron and blood.

………………

In mid-March, Chen Liu.

Guan Yu, Chang Yuchun, Gao Shun, Xu Huang, Wei Yan, Zhang He, Lü Bu, Xue Rengui and other army commanders gathered in Chenliu to discuss the strategy of destroying Cao Cao's forces.

Xu Shu gave a detailed account of the situation on the battlefield in Xuzhou.

At present, the Northern Xinjiang Army has a total of more than 210,000 troops in the Eastern Theater. However, only the infantry confronted Cao's army on the front line, and the cavalry was not on the front line. Among them, there are more than 30,000 troops of Wei Yan's Twelfth Army on the Langya line, more than 60,000 troops of the Second and Seventh Army Corps on the Yanzhou line, and more than 60,000 troops of the Fifth and Eleventh Army Corps on the Yuzhou line.

Xuzhou's military strength is estimated to be around 200,000. After Cao Cao occupied Runan and Peiguo in Yuzhou and Lujiang and Jiujiang in Yangzhou, his vitality was greatly restored. It has always been Cao Cao's dream to go north to the Central Plains to seek hegemony, so in recent years, he has vigorously promoted the soldier system in Xuzhou, and the expansion of the army is very powerful. Once our army goes south, it will inevitably forcibly recruit troops and pull all the men who can fight under his rule into the battlefield, so that he can expand his army by at least another 100,000.

Jiangdong has been vacillating between Chang'an and Xiangyang, this kind of person has no faith at all, only when they are beaten to nothing, they will come to their senses, otherwise they always think that they can dominate one side by relying on the Yangtze River. This time, Sun Quan and Zhou Yu combined 30,000 troops to cross the Huai River to the north to respond to Cao Cao's attack on the Central Plains.

This time, the lord mobilized more than 200,000 troops to march south, determined to occupy Xuzhou and completely eliminate the threat of the Central Plains.

There was a sudden joy in the big tent.

The generals did not expect that the main guild would choose to fight south in the Central Plains. Now that the central battlefield is in a stalemate, if the army in the eastern battlefield goes south, the imperial court's financial resources may be even more limited, so whether the imperial court can continue to supply the needs of the army and ensure the needs of the battlefield is the key to victory.

Gao Shun, the general of Zhendong, raised his own question: "The imperial court is rich enough to support the army to attack for a few months?" Can it hold out until the end of the year? ”

"The lord came to write and said that after the Jicheng crisis is over, the wealth of the imperial court can be increased from three places at present. One is to confiscate the property of some wealthy businessmen of the gate valve family, one is the income from the atonement of sins, and the other is donation. The Hu tribes in the northwest and in the desert will also provide livestock and forage for the cavalry army. Xu Shu said, "After the spring harvest in May, the tension in the imperial court's wealth can be eased. If the army can reach the front line of the Huai River by the end of April and complete the planned attack deployment, we can still get food from Xuzhou. ”

"After careful calculation, the General's Mansion believed that the army could attack continuously for five to six months. If all goes well, we can fight all the way to the north bank of the Yangtze River and recover Jiujiang and Lujiang County. ”

"What about the Nanyang battlefield? Have you been besieging without attacking? Gao Shun continued to ask.

"Whether the Nanyang battlefield will start a major battle depends on the progress of the Xuzhou battlefield." Xu Shu pointed to the map and said, "If we can capture Pengcheng and Xiapi before July, kill the Huai River, and successfully end the battle of Xuzhou, then we can get a lot of grain and grass from Xuzhou." In this way, the imperial court was able to supply part of the grain and grass to the Nanyang battlefield, allowing them to attack Wancheng and end the protracted stalemate. ”

"Capture Pengcheng before July?" Gao Shun frowned, looked at Guan Yu and said, "Could it be that the lord plans to use the speed of the cavalry to kill the Huai River directly, cut off Cao Cao's retreat, and trap Cao Cao's army in Pengcheng and Xiapi?" ”

Guan Yu nodded and said, "Are you worried that the Xuzhou battlefield will be like the Nanyang battlefield, and it will also be deadlocked?" ”

"Cao Cao has at least 50,000 to 60,000 elite men and horses, if he withdraws all these men and horses into the city, according to the city, we want to capture Pengcheng and Xiapi around July." Gao Shun said worriedly, "It is impossible for us to let the cavalry attack the fortifications, and they have traveled thousands of miles to Jianghuai, so it is inevitable that there will be losses such as water and soil adaptation." Our existing army of 160,000 infantry soldiers not only has to defend the first line of the Huai River, but also has to attack strong cities such as Pengcheng and Xiapi, and the strength is obviously insufficient. ”

Guan Yu turned his head to look at Chang Yuchun and asked, "What do you think?" ”

"I agree with General Gao." Chang Yuchun nodded and said, "If you want to take Xuzhou around July, it is far from enough to rely on the cavalry of the three legions. I think the best way is to give up the Nanyang battlefield and draw 100,000 troops from the Nanyang battlefield into the Xuzhou battlefield. ”

Guan Yu smiled and said: "The 100,000 army is transferred to the battlefield in Xuzhou, the target is too big, Cao Cao will flee south to the Huai River as quickly as possible, so that when we fight Guangling, Shouchun, Hefei and other places, we will face the combined forces of Cao Cao and Sun Quan." At the same time, in order to rescue Xuzhou, Liu Biao of Xiangyang will also go north to attack Yingchuan to contain it. When we turn back and go to Nanyang again, the combined forces of Cao Cao and Sun Quan will break through the direction of the Huai River and attack Xuzhou. If we take care of one thing at the expense of the other, the speed of pacifying the world will be greatly delayed. ”

Chang Yuchun and Gao Shun looked at each other and exchanged glances. Chang Yuchun hesitated for a moment and said: "Does Yun Chang want to lure the enemy deeper, attract Cao Cao's army to the front line of Changyi and Suiyang, and then outflank them with cavalry left and right, cut off their retreat, and encircle them outside Xuzhou?" ”

"Yes......" Guan Yu said with a smile, "If you want to take Pengcheng and Xiapi as quickly as possible, you must first eliminate Cao Cao's elite." Now Cao Cao's main force is facing our army on the front line of Changyi and Xiaopei. Cao Hong's army pinned down the 12th Army Corps on the front line of Suiyang and Xiaocheng. Changyi is more than 400 miles away from Pengcheng, and Suiyang is more than 300 miles away from Pengcheng, which is just conducive to cavalry interspersing. ”

"Now you know what you need to do?" Guan Yu pointed at Gao Shun, Chang Yuchun and the generals in the tent and said, "As long as our main force is trapped in the Nanyang battlefield, Cao Cao will not perceive the danger coming, he will always think that he has a chance to capture Yanzhou, so you show weakness to the enemy, even if you give up Changyi and Suiyang at the critical moment." The farther Cao's army was from Pengcheng, the smaller the chance of escape, and the greater the possibility of total annihilation. ”

The generals looked excited and agreed.

………………

Nanyang.

In the big tent of the Chinese army, Li Jing stood in front of the map, holding a book in his right hand, and slowly pinching something in the air with his left hand. Tai Shici lay on the desk and buried his head in the book.

Lu Yi and Lu Qian walked in together.

Li Jing beckoned them to walk to the map and said: "Pengju came from Chang'an, saying that Liu Bei had conquered the Xianren Pass and was attacking Hechi, Xu Tiande was in a hurry, and the situation in Longnan was a little critical. ”

"Do you want us to go back to Chang'an to help guard Guanzhong?" Lu Yi said suspiciously, "Xu Tiande has a whole legion of more than 30,000 people, as well as the army of the Di people, how could he lose the Immortal Pass?" ”

"Zilong is rushing to Longnan with a cavalry army day and night." Li Jing said with a smile, "Tiande has reinforcements, his mind is big, he wants to lure the Yizhou army to the Hechi area to encircle and annihilate it, and then kill Yangping Pass, trying to conquer Hanzhong in one fell swoop." ”

"Transfer us to the Longnan battlefield?" Lu Qian asked.

"No......" Tai Shici walked up to them at this time, pointed to the book on the desk that had not yet dried the ink, and said to Lu Yi and Lu Qian, "You take the military order and go to fight Hanzhong immediately." ”

"Hit Hanzhong?" Lu Yi and Lu Qian looked at each other.