Chapter 3418 It Won’t Be Otherwise

Chapter 3417 It won’t be otherwise

Chen Bin easily defeated the bandits occupying Ji County, and the whole battle was almost suspenseful.

The bandits had no order and sense of honor, and they fled when disaster struck.

Cao Chun was surprised to hear the soldiers report that Ji County had been reoccupied. He originally just wanted Chen Bin to investigate the truth, but he didn’t expect that the Changping garrison commander seemed to be quite capable?

But after Cao Chun and his men rushed to Ji County excitedly, he was left with only anger and disappointment.

Angry, because the outer city defenses of Ji County and the defensive fortifications on the city walls were intact!

What this means, there is no need to say more...

And disappointment is that there is nothing left in Ji County.

When Xiahou Heng left, he looted a batch and burned a batch. After Xiahou Heng left, the local wealthy people also took advantage of the chaos to rob a group of people and took away a group of people. Then the horse thieves came and destroyed the last bit of things...

Now in Ji County, it can be said that it is a mess, but there are not many supplies.

Cao Chun asked his soldiers to collect some supplies "as much as possible".

As for how to collect and where to collect, Cao Chun didn't care.

After all, there is an old saying in Shandong, "Those who achieve great things don't pay attention to trivial matters."

Old classmate Cao did this, and the generals of the Cao and Xiahou families naturally followed suit.

Cao Chun climbed up the city gate tower and looked to the north. He knew that although it seemed very peaceful now, the pursuers of the cavalry would arrive here soon. Zhao Yun must need to gather and appease the people around Yuyang, gather and settle the prisoners of Cao's army, all of which will take time, but it will not be delayed for too long, and it may even be faster than Cao Chun personally estimated.

The fierce offensive of the Northern Region Army of the Cavalry made Cao Chun and other Youzhou soldiers miserable.

Gubeikou was lost.

Yuyang was lost.

Jixian fled.

Most of Luxian also fled...

According to Chen Bin, Juyong was also attacked and is probably not safe now.

Youzhou, which I have worked hard to build!

This feeling is like a stone blocking my chest, and even breathing hurts.

Before the war, I prepared so many things and so many plans, one by one, one by one, but now, few of them can be implemented smoothly.

Just like the fortifications on the walls of Jixian County, they have become a showpiece...

Cao Chun sighed, and suddenly something moved in his heart.

If...

『Come here! Go and ask Captain Chen to come! 』

Cao Chun suddenly had a new plan.

Chen Bin came, with some trepidation.

His instinctive feeling seemed to be a little bad, but he didn't have any good way. Chen Bin's premonition came true.

Cao Chun felt that the fortifications of Ji County were wasted here, so it was better to use them as much as possible!

'Let's burn Ji County! ' Cao Chun was a little excited, and even gnashed his teeth and said, 'We will secretly set up more kerosene at the four doors of the houses in Ji County, and then dig pits and hide soldiers, and set fire to the city at night! It will definitely give the cavalry a good drink! '

Although setting fire to Ji County will make Cao Chun heartbroken, it is better than giving it to the cavalry for nothing.

This plan sounds good, just like Chen Bin's parents gave him the word "Bin", hoping that he would be both civil and military, but in the end he was neither civil nor military. The wishes of the elders are wishes, and the specifics still depend on personal efforts.

Now Cao Chun's wish seems to be just a wish...

Chen Bin swallowed his saliva and asked nervously: "General... Then, who, who will stay in the city to light the fire? '

Cao Chun seemed surprised that Chen Bin would ask this question. He stared at Chen Bin and asked after a while: 'Why, you don't want to? '

Cao Chun frowned, 'You don't think that war is just a matter of going to the battlefield, waving a sword and a gun, and then you can win any victory... No way? '

Chen Bin was speechless.

……

……

Just when Cao Chun said 'No way', Liu Ye was almost in Yijing.

For some reason, the closer he got to Yijing, the more uneasy Liu Ye felt. Looking at the yellow dust on the road ahead, he suddenly stopped the convoy.

This was a rare behavior of Liu Ye, because he came all the way here, and more often he was shouting to go faster, faster...

'Envoy, what's wrong? 'The deputy came up from behind and asked, 'But are you feeling unwell? '

Liu Ye was silent for a while, and suddenly said: 'We can't go to Yijing. '

The deputy was a little surprised, 'Why? '

'We met some refugees these two days...' Liu Ye said in a low voice.

The deputy nodded.

Youzhou is now caught in the war, and those who have the ability to escape have already escaped. Most of the remaining refugees have no choice but to flee to Jizhou with their families because they are afraid of being caught in the war.

Those who "fortified the city and cleared the fields" are not mentioned...

Mainly other refugees who fled.

Liu Ye went north and met many such refugees.

'Yesterday, some refugees said that Yijing was occupied by the Hussars...' Liu Ye said, 'So we can't go to Yijing. '

'No...' The deputy couldn't understand it.

Yijing was occupied by the Hussars, wouldn't that be better? They don't have to run to Yuyang, which is even farther away? After all, it's the Hussars. When they arrive, they will give the imperial edict, and that's it, right?

But Liu Ye had a different idea from his deputy.

As a counselor who is at least a second-rate level, Liu Ye has his own understanding and analysis of the war situation in Youzhou.

Cao Jun obviously couldn't hold on any longer.

The loss of Youzhou is a surprising, but it seems to be an inevitable result.

Now that Yi Jing was attacked by the Hussar, if the news is true, then the Hussar's control of Youzhou and their pre-war plans will far exceed the expectations of everyone in Shandong.

So since the Hussars have made such a far-reaching plan, will they give up the entire plan just because of a mere edict?

Liu Ye thought it was impossible. Especially the middle and lower-level generals of the Hussars, they are completely different from the generals of the Shandong faction.

The king of hell is easy to meet, but the devil is difficult to deal with.

Although this sentence was not summarized and popular in the Han Dynasty, it did not prevent Liu Ye from understanding that the edict must be submitted to the top brass of the Hussars to achieve the greatest and best effect.

Especially this edict was originally intended to target the Hussar Northern Territory Army and Zhao Yun...

If it falls into the hands of others, even if it is finally handed over to Zhao Yun, it may even not pass through Zhao Yun's hands at all, but directly handed over to the hands of General Fei Qian, then wouldn't the plan fail again? Already?

Therefore, Liu Ye felt that if he arrived in Yijing, he would be giving all the initiative to the cavalry generals in Yijing. Even if he noticed something was wrong, he would not be able to make any changes.

"Can't go to Yi Jing." ” Liu Ye glanced at his deputy, “But that’s not all. You take half of the people and walk slowly to Yijing. I’ll take the other half and find another way…”

"ah? "The deputy's eyes widened in surprise, "I...I'm going to Yi Jing? 』

"What if?" Liu Ye asked back.

…

…

Late at night, Zhongtiao Mountain camp.

Cao Cao strode into the Chinese army's tent.

All the generals stood up to greet him.

"How is the Tongguan Hussars offensive today?" "When Cao Cao faced the generals and counselors, his smile remained unchanged. He asked the three of them to sit down and asked with a smile, "What are the casualties of our army? 』

"Today, debris is still being cleared on land in Tongguan, but the naval forces still attack once a day. ” Lu Chang reported, “At Tongguan, it seems that they are not too anxious to attack. Probably they want to wait until we cross the river and are in danger of Weihan before attacking with all our strength. 』

Tongguan Ban Road is only a small part of Weihan Zhigu.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, countless soldiers died here.

Cao Cao nodded slightly.

"The casualties in the past two days have not been large... However, due to the failure to receive material replenishment, the food shortage situation in various ministries has become increasingly serious. "Dong Zhao said from the side, "Although there are not many ships in the Guanzhong navy now, it is a great threat to our army crossing the river... It's not a big deal if the pontoon bridge is broken. If it threatens Shaanxi and Tianjin..."

After hearing this, Cao Cao nodded slightly.

The other generals and counselors recounted their story one by one, and Cao Cao did not interrupt them midway.

After they all finished talking, Cao Cao ordered the guards to hang up the map, and also asked the guards to make some food and drink. After all, it was late at night and everyone was somewhat hungry.

Lu Chang and Dong Zhao were in Zhongtiao Mountain. After the meeting, they went back to their tents to rest. However, the lieutenants of the Tongguan camp had to rush back overnight, so they also needed to eat a little. They couldn't go on an empty stomach, in case they were halfway there. If you lose your strength and fall into the river, you are so unlucky.

"We have reinforcements and supplies," Cao Cao said with a smile, "They are all here. 』

Cao Cao pointed to a location on the map.

Everyone stretched their necks to watch, and then they also saw some joy among each other.

"However, these reinforcements will not come here..." Cao Cao waited for everyone to digest the news, and then said slowly, "When I was studying military books in the early years, I often lamented the method of the Spring and Autumn Period, and lamented that the six countries could not be united. ...Now we know that the defeat of the Six Kingdoms will last for a long time...Qi Huan, Jin Wen, Qin Mu, Song Xiang, and Chuzhuang are the five hegemons. In terms of quantity, half of Shandong and Qin are only one. How can they unite the six countries? Gai Yiling also. 』

"Today, what is the order for the land of Shandong?" 』

Cao Cao looked at everyone and smiled. He didn't know whether he was laughing at himself or some other person or thing.

"With an order from the King of Qin, the fish and rice of Sichuan and Sichuan can be adjusted, the Hu cavalry of the Western Rong can be driven away, and the Qiang slaves of the Mobei can be controlled." The soldiers and the people unite their orders and actions. Let's look at Shandong today. Can the emperor's order be sent to counties? 』

Everyone was speechless.

"Therefore, if there is a defeat now, Shandong can win, and then Shandong will win in the end." If we win now, Shandong will be different, and we will win for a while, but will eventually be defeated by Qin. 』

Although Shandong is not as scattered as it was during Dong Zhuo's time, with the so-called eighteen princes, in fact, for Shandong, the superficial unity does not really form a joint force.

Cao Cao's army has now withdrawn from the Heluo area. If the situation is declining, the Hussars will enter the Heluo area. Although they can occupy Luoyang, on the surface they can march to threaten Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Jizhou and other places, but in fact they are the same as before. Just like Dong Zhuo, once an army goes deep alone, it will be attacked from multiple places...

Of course, the premise is that Shandong must move in unison and form a unified understanding again.

This is very important.

Although Shandong's strength will be greatly weakened after this defeat, it also weakens the difficulty for Cao Cao to unify various places!

Foreign enemies are tyrannical and dangers are approaching. The land of Shandong is facing the greatest crisis!

If they cannot be unified together, Feiqian will sweep across the prefectures and counties, and the country will be overturned.

Just like the Qin Dynasty back then.

Cao Cao had considered these things in detail before the war, but he couldn't say them in advance. After all, at that time, most Shandong people were very proud and felt that their Shandong was vast, rich in resources, and full of outstanding people and beautiful scenery...

After Fei Qian occupied Guanzhong, his power expanded rapidly. Cao Cao could no longer delay and had to fight, but he made preparations for both hands. If he won, everything would be fine, but if he lost, he still had the last trump card.

This is one of them...

The difficulty is of course very high.

People's hearts are difficult to control, and their desires are like a bottomless abyss.

If Shandong cannot be united, then even if Cao Cao has three heads and six arms, it will be useless.

Therefore, winning is not necessarily a good thing, and losing is not necessarily a bad thing.

It's just that Lao Cao and Guo Xun and others didn't expect that so many generals of the Cao and Xiahou families would be lost in this battle...

To save the country, the Shandong collective under Cao Cao must be strong enough.

If the Shandong collective wants to be strong, it is far from enough to rely solely on the taxes of Yuzhou and the strength of Qingzhou soldiers. It must also try every means to weaken the strength of the opponent.

If the forces of the Northern Territory Army, the Guanzhong gentry and other prefectures and counties can be restrained and even fight each other under the rule of the cavalry, it will certainly be the best and most labor-saving way.

Cao Cao defeated the two Yuans, occupied Jizhou, Youzhou, Qingzhou, Xuzhou and other places, and later took over Jingzhou. He was secretly criticized, slandered, and abused by many people, even including his childhood friends, his friends, and his relatives...

But what about now?

What would happen if Fei Qian occupied more places?

Cao Cao conquered Jizhou and Yuzhou by force, and climbed up on the corpses of the two Yuans, and then the people of Shandong believed that Cao Cao's position was not legitimate!

Because according to the rules of Shandong, it is "recommendation"!

After all, the thing of recommendation has been around for three or four hundred years. Even if it is a monster, it has become a spirit, parasitic in the body of the Han Dynasty. It hurts to tear it apart.

Yuan Shao complies with the Shandong process and was recommended, but Cao Cao is not!

If you say it, Cao Cao should actually be regarded as "the lower overthrows the upper"!

So, if the General of the Cavalry also conquered the Shandong areas by force, what would be the result? How will the people of the world view the General of the Cavalry? Will the General of the Cavalry be accused of being a traitor to the Han Dynasty and become the second Dong Zhuo of the Han Dynasty? If everyone in the world believes that the capture of Heluo by the Cavalry and the march into Youzhou is the beginning of the demise of the Han Dynasty, will the various forces of the Han Dynasty join hands to deal with Fei Qian?

Cao Cao certainly cannot predict what the future will be like, but he will try to spread this kind of thinking and let Fei Qian follow the mistakes of Dong Zhuo. At the same time, try to get rid of his position from the role of occupier as much as possible and become the world's "recommendation" to replace Yuan Shao!

To make Cao Cao the only force that can "save" the country in the hearts of the people of Shandong!

By that time, the counties and prefectures that had been against Cao Cao and were secretly against him could truly gather under Cao Cao's banner, hold high the banner of fighting against Dong... Oh, fighting against Fei Qin Wang, and constantly launch counterattacks against Guanzhong, and finally achieve a decisive victory!

To ​​let the world know that now there is only Prime Minister Cao in the world, and only the Cao army is still tenaciously and unyieldingly protecting the emperor and saving the country!

Then the reason why Cao Cao occupied Jizhou and monopolized power before was because he wanted to fight against Fei Qin Wang!

It was a forced and helpless move!

Now that the Cao army retreated from Hedong and withdrew from Heluo, it was not only because of the strength of the Hussars, but also because of the rebellion in Shandong!

The Cao army has been exhausted and unable to support it. The fault is not Cao Cao, but those Shandong thieves!

Of course, in this strategy, Xun Yu and Guo Jia also ambushed some small thoughts...

Cao Cao guessed some.

He was very unhappy at first, but now...

He is still unhappy, but not as intensely.

After Cao Cao finished talking about these plans with the generals, he looked around and checked everyone's expressions.

Everyone in the big tent was silent, chewing on the meaning behind Cao Cao's words.

War is the continuation of politics.

The Cao army, Cao Cao, Fei army, Fei Qian, the two armies are fighting here, not just for the blood and casualties of fighting, but for the future route of the world and the ownership of power.

If Cao Cao wants to show his loyalty to the Han Dynasty and the emperor to the Shandong people, he can't just leave the battlefield and evacuate Heluo easily, but he has to be beaten back!

The more intact the Cao army is, the less nervous the Shandong people will be. On the contrary, if the Cao army is defeated, it will be beaten out and rushed back, crying to the world with blood and injuries, "It's not that the Cao family and the Xiahou family don't save the country and don't protect the emperor, but the traitors in Shandong are causing trouble and pulling their legs! Now, except for Prime Minister Cao, there are rebels everywhere and traitors everywhere! '

In this case, Cao Cao can kill those guys who jumped out to flirt with the cavalry without much hidden dangers...

Taking the fat accumulated by these guys, it is possible that it can not only make up for Cao Cao's losses, but also make the Shandong court rich!

Cao Cao looked around and said again: 'Now the emperor will issue an edict to mediate...Calculating the time, it should be almost time...And if we are defeated by the cavalry at this moment...then how will the people of the world view the cavalry? '

Cao Cao didn't expect any edicts at all.

That thing, to be honest, those who care about the emperor will respect the emperor without an imperial edict, and what's the use of more imperial edicts if they don't respect the emperor?

Will Fei Qian respect the emperor?

Maybe, but what about his generals...

So, there will inevitably be conflicts!

The suffering and punishment Cao Cao suffered in the past, now it is more or less Fei Qian's turn to suffer!

Cao Cao smiled slightly, and seemed to have a plan in mind.

Everyone looked at each other, "My lord, do you mean... we are ready to retreat?

Cao Cao nodded slowly, "Starting tonight, we will increase the number of stoves and reduce the number of soldiers! Start retreating!

As soon as Cao Cao finished speaking, he heard anxious footsteps outside the big tent.

"Prime Minister! Suoyang Pass is lost!

Cao Cao's heart jumped violently, and his color changed slightly, but soon returned to normal.