Chapter 982 Taking the Initiative to Show Weakness

"Has the emperor been moved away?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Qi, the emperor and all the officials have been driven to Xiapi."

Cao Cao hummed and nodded.

Pengcheng is a famous historical city. It was the capital of Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu four hundred years ago. However, Pengcheng's geographical location is too close to Yuzhou and Yanzhou. Once Liu Ye invades, Pengcheng will bear the brunt.

Nowadays, the reason why Cao Cao can compete with Liu Ye is that he is actually at a disadvantage in terms of military strength, but politically, because he supports Liu Bian as emperor, he can form a situation where the two emperors of the East and the West stand side by side in the world. If Liu Bian is captured by Liu Ye, then Cao Cao will be dishonored.

Therefore, Cao Cao ordered Liu Bian to temporarily go to Xiapi Palace. Xiapi is located in the heart of Xuzhou, surrounded by Pengcheng, Huainan, and Qingzhou, so it is relatively safe.

"Order the entire army to abandon Xiaopei and other cities, and shrink the entire army to the vicinity of Xiao County to resist Liu Ye!"

Cao Cao gave an order, and Cao Jun near Xuzhou was immediately mobilized. He ordered people to build two fortresses around Xiao County to compete with Xiao County. The three fortresses were at odds with each other to compete with Liu Ye. .

When Liu Ye's 100,000 Xiliang infantry cavalry recaptured Xiaopei and several other cities without bloodshed, they arrived at Xiao County and couldn't help but look solemn.

"It seems that Cao Mengde plans to fight a protracted war with our army this time."

In addition to the Xiaoxian city and two walled cities, several trenches were dug outside the city. In front of the trenches were numerous antlers and horse guns. If you wanted to break through such a heavily defended city, you could only risk human lives. fill.

"How many troops are there in Cao's army stationed here?" Liu Ye turned to Guo Jia and asked.

"Qin Gong, Cao Cao's army originally stationed in Xuzhou was about 50,000 men. However, I heard that the general personally led the army to the east, and Cao Cao urgently recruited 30,000 men and horses from the army. Therefore, there are about 80,000 Cao troops in Xuzhou. Come on, the enemy's military strength is comparable to ours," Guo Jia replied.

Due to lack of food and grass, Cao Cao implemented military garrison on a large scale. The garrison troops in various places could be transformed into armies at any time when necessary. Although the combat effectiveness was slightly insufficient, it was enough to defend the city.

"So, Qingzhou and Huainan should also have mobilized some of their field troops, right?"

"Yes, Qingzhou and Huainan should each mobilize 10,000 to 20,000 field troops."

Jiangdong was captured by Cao's army for just over a year. In order to gain the support of Jiangdong's nobles, the military system was not implemented.

"So, this is really a tough battle." Liu Ye sighed with emotion.

Now there are only two major princes left in the world, Liu Ye and Cao Cao. As long as this battle can be won, the Han Dynasty will be reunited. However, Cao Cao is very powerful. Liu Ye wants to defeat Cao Cao's army in a short time. It is not just talk. So simple.

"It doesn't matter, our army has collected a large amount of food and grass from the people, and it can definitely fight a protracted war. Cao Cao does not have as much territory as our army, but he has mobilized an army equal to our army. The pressure on logistics is not small. If there is a confrontation, then Keep at it." Jia Xu smiled.

In fact, the battle between Liu Ye and Cao Cao was very similar to the Battle of Guandu in history. Tian Feng once suggested that Yuan Shao send light cavalry to surprise Xuchang, but Yuan Shao did not adopt it because his child was seriously ill. Later, he and Cao Cao had a stalemate in Guandu, but Cao Cao was still suffering so much that he wrote a letter to Xun Yu who stayed in Xudu to complain, planning to Return to guard Xudu.

Cao Cao was under great logistical pressure, and although Yuan Shao had more troops and horses, he also had more food and fodder. Whether it was a quick victory or a protracted war, it would be beneficial to Yuan Shao.

Similarly, whether it is a quick battle or a protracted battle, it is also beneficial to Liu Ye.

The only advantage to Cao's army is that it is fighting on the local territory, and the transportation distance of food and grass is shorter, so the logistics pressure is smaller. However, with Zhuge Liang's idea of ​​​​a wooden cow and a lost horse, the Xiliang Army's logistical pressure has also been reduced. Liu Ye had already ordered people to build large granaries in Dangxian, Fengxian, Peixian (not Xiaopei, Gaozu's hometown) and other places. All the grain and grass were transferred to these places and then sent to the military camps.

"In this case, our army will spend time with Cao's army here to see who can outsmart the other." Liu Ye laughed.

"Mr. Qin, I have a plan, first decide on Huainan!" Guo Jia said with gleaming eyes.

"Fengxiao, tell me quickly."

"Huainan is an important area for Cao's army, because Huainan connects Xuzhou and Jiangdong from north to south. Once Huainan is captured, Cao's army will be cut off from the north and south, which will definitely cause a major blow to Cao's army's morale!"

This is the case with the Battle of the Wild Kings in history. During the Warring States Period, the Qin State sent troops to capture the Wild Kings of South Korea, and in one fell swoop separated South Korea's Shangdang County from the mainland, with the intention of forcing Shangdang County to surrender and annex Shangdang County. seventeen cities. After Shangdang County was divided, people were in panic. However, the governor of the county, Feng Ting, was unwilling to surrender to the Qin State and simply surrendered to the Zhao State, causing the disaster to be diverted eastward. This was also the inducement for the subsequent Battle of Changping.

"Xiahou Dun in Huainan was newly defeated and his army was in low morale. However, after gathering the troops in the field, his strength was around 40,000, while Liu Yuzhou's army was only 30,000. He might be able to win in the field, but this time Xiahou Dun was afraid of sticking to a few strong cities such as Shouchun. , will not go into battle easily." Ma Chao interjected.

"Our army can divide its forces and send a cavalry army south to Huainan to fight in conjunction with Liu Yuzhou!"

Guo Jia said in a long voice: "Our army occupies Liangzhou, Bingzhou, and Youzhou, and the horse-producing lands are all in the hands of our army. However, Cao's army recently captured Liaodong and had no time to train cavalry. Therefore, the army must have more infantry and less cavalry, and our army must have more infantry and less cavalry." There are tens of thousands of cavalry.”

"Send a cavalry force south to join forces with Liu Yuzhou to cut off Cao's army's food routes, pursue the enemy, and continuously eliminate the effective strength of Cao's army in the Huainan area. In this way, our army will occupy a strategically active position!"

As soon as Guo Jia said this, Ma Chao immediately stepped forward and said: "Mr. Fengxiao, who should I choose to divide the troops? General, please order Ma Chao to fight."

Ma Chao is a veteran general in the Xiliang army and has great prestige. Ma Xiu, Ma Tie and others are his younger brothers. Naturally, they dare not compete with their elder brothers for credit. Therefore, except Ma Chao, no one stepped forward. Ma Chao was proud to see this. Yangyang thinks that this task belongs to me.

However, Liu Ye did not point to Ma Chao's general, but instead said: "Zilong."

When Zhao Yun heard Liu Ye calling his name, he immediately stood up and said, "Yun is here, what are the general's orders?"

"You led five thousand cavalry south to cooperate with Liu Yuzhou in fighting in Huainan. Can you cut off Cao's army's food and grass?" Liu Ye asked.

Zhao Yun did not expect that Liu Ye would entrust such an important task to him, so he couldn't help but get excited: "Yun takes the order, thank you General for your trust!"