The letter from Zhongtiao Mountain was naturally written by Dong Zhao.
Dong Zhao said that everything was going according to plan, but Cao Cao felt that there were some problems.
Just like Cao Cao said, it's too urgent!
Cao Cao can understand the reason for the urgency, but understanding does not mean agreement!
But now that things have come to this, even if Cao Cao sends someone to replace Dong Zhao, it may not have any good results, not to mention that there are no candidates to replace him.
Cao Jian obviously could not understand Cao Cao's anxiety.
Cao Cao walked around the tent twice, then simply opened the tent door and walked out.
Cao Cao looked west.
All I could see was that the sky was filled with stars and the earth was vast.
Human fire is so insignificant in this world.
Suddenly, Cao Cao exhaled a long breath, and his anxious mood calmed down a little.
Cao Zhang didn't know what was going on, so he followed Cao Cao out and stood not far behind Cao Cao.
"Zhang'er, Qiaoqi and I," Cao Cao suddenly said, "there is no enmity."
"Ah?" Cao Zhang was stunned for a moment.
Cao Cao shook his head again and said, "To be precise, there was no enmity at first... now..."
War is inherently about using any means necessary.
The more unscrupulous tactics are used, the more friendship will become indifferent, leaving only the stubborn red and black.
There were too many casualties in this war.
"Zhang'er, you have to understand...this war is not about land or population, but about "Tao"..." Cao Cao said slowly.
""Tao"?" Cao Zhang only had a partial understanding.
Cao Cao nodded, "The way of the Han Dynasty, or in other words, the way of China... It's a pity that there are still many nobles in Shandong who don't understand it."
In fact, Cao Cao had more or less touched the edge of some unconventional wars, but he was not very clear yet, and he could not express his understanding of these unconventional wars.
Lao Tzu said that Tao can be Tao but is not Tao, and this is actually the case.
In ancient times when some concepts had not yet been refined and sublimated, even if some people touched the edge of this high-end theory, it would be difficult to pass on their insights to their children, disciples, or other people.
Just like a three-dimensional creature is difficult to describe in four dimensions.
Cao Cao could feel and understand something about Hussar's current war mode, war philosophy, and war derivatives, but it was difficult for him to tell a third person, even his children.
Cao Cao tried to explain to Cao Zhang, but it was obvious that Cao Zhang had only a little knowledge and only superficially believed that the Hussars' firearms were sharp and had many skills. As long as the Hussars' firearms were broken, the combat effectiveness of the Hussars could be reduced.
Is Cao Zhang's idea wrong?
From a certain perspective, there is no problem.
After all, if the equipment of the Hussars is broken, it will indeed have a great impact on the Hussars, and it can even interrupt the rhythm of the Hussars' attack.
But Cao Cao knew that just damaging these equipment was only treating the symptoms but not the root cause.
Previously, Cao Cao specially sent generals to raid the Hussars Beiqu Workshop Base. In addition to destroying it, he also wanted to gain more knowledge and improve his war equipment.
only……
Everything seems to be destined, and everything seems to be in vain.
Cao Cao waved his hand and lost interest in continuing the explanation with Cao Zhang.
We can't blame Cao Zhang for being ignorant, but for the current Han people, there are no similar words to describe many things, so it is difficult to understand these concepts.
To put it simply, Cao Zhang's understanding is not enough.
"Forget it..." Cao Cao sighed and said to Cao Zhang: "You return to Yanxiang quickly, and I will lead the army there immediately... The original plan... has to be advanced!"
…
…
In the former military camp, Fei Qian was also thinking.
Under the light, most people in the camp had rested, but Fei Qian was still looking at the map, thinking, and planning.
The sound of the patrol's soldiers clashing slowly inside the military camp gradually came, and then quietly left.
Huang Xu walked in, "Lord, it's time to rest."
Fei Qian nodded and then felt the pain in his lower back.
Fei Qian was also nervous.
If we follow the theory of future time travellers, it must be before going into battle, hahaha, rushing to the front, hahaha, and the war is over, hahaha. It is best to participate in every battle and make the greatest contribution. , other generals and soldiers, even if they are besieged, they will dance with guns and sticks and cheer on the side like a magical drama, but they will not step forward and let Fei Qian perform what it means to sweep an army and what it means to cut off. Grass is unparalleled.
But reality cannot be like this.
In a small-scale battle, Fei Qian can lead a team, or if it's like an army on one side, Fei Qian can also lead it. But when the battlefield is dispersed, each battlefield must be handed over to others.
Only a qualified leader knows how to grasp the big and let go of the small.
But it will take time for the news of each battlefield to be spread.
Even if the news is passed on, it still depends on how others describe it and how they write the report. It is obviously impossible for Fei Qian to control all the details.
At the same time, due to the distortion of details, Fei will also encounter difficulties and obstacles in inferring certain issues.
Things that were originally simple to handle by oneself become uncertain when handed over to others.
It is not yet known whether Pang Tong's side is unstoppable or whether he was lured deeper by Cao's army.
"What exactly does Cao Jun want to do?"
Fei Qian was not sleepy at all. Although he promised Huang Xu to rest, he just left the table. He walked out of the tent and looked in the direction of Zhongtiao Mountain.
Fei Qian seemed to be telling Huang Xu, but also seemed to be sorting out his thoughts and telling himself.
"Zhongtiao Mountain, Tongguan..."
Fei Qian pointed, "In this Zhongtiao Mountain, no matter whether the defense map is true or false, we will fight with them... because this defense map is only effective for this period of time. Over time, it will have little effect."
None... And Tongguan is another battlefield... Then in Jingxiang... Youzhou..."
"If I were Cao Jun, I wouldn't fight like this..."
"If it is a quick battle, then if you want to stabilize the occupied territory, you must disperse your troops..."
"If you don't ask for the land, but only the characters, it will be like a barbarian..."
Fei Qian suddenly turned his head and looked behind him.
There is not a lot of food and grass in the former army camp, and it is mainly transported from Anyi and Pingyang.
But now, the weather is so dry that all you need to do is set a fire, and the fire will get out of control.
Cao Cao is definitely not a peaceful person. He is stable when the wind is favorable and the waves are against the wind. The more disadvantaged he is, the more he will come up with strange plans...
So what is Cao Cao's conspiracy?
forage?
In history, didn't Cao Cao like to cut off people's food routes the most?
When commanding operations, when a certain place feels particularly dangerous, there is likely to be another danger approaching that is not easy to detect.
"Anyi has already caused trouble once..." Fei Qian seemed to have caught something, "Hasn't Pingyang's Youwensi reported back yet?"
"Reply to my lord, not yet." Huang Xu replied.
"Now go scold the candidate camp, select some good players, and investigate left and right!" Fei Qian ordered, "If we send people to Anyi Pingyang, we must send more scouts to investigate, and we must prevent Cao Jun's spies from sneaking into the granary!"
"Follow the order!" Huang Xu accepted the order and went to arrange it.
Fei Qian's frown relaxed slightly.
Now he seems to be playing chess, except that the chess pieces on the chessboard are all alive and can move on their own. If you don't pay attention, the chess piece may disappear without knowing where it is...
Suddenly, soldiers rushed over, "Report! Dali Qing Sima's urgent military information report!"
"Bring it here!"
Fei Qian said as he walked into the big tent.
Tonight is another sleepless night.
…
…
At the fourth watch, it's still dark.
Pang Tong, Zhang Liao and others met in front of the formation while the soldiers were making fire to cook food and prepare breakfast.
"It will take time to disassemble and hoist the artillery. Although there is generally no problem with the Tongguan Slope Road, it will still take some time to transport the artillery here, but time cannot wait..." Pang Tong said first, "I will let the navy
Bringing two small cannons over can provide some help... However, the soldiers have been fighting for days and are somewhat exhausted... Wenyuan needs to pay some attention when deploying his soldiers."
Zhang Liao nodded, "I will pay attention."
Pang Tong said to Zhu Ling again: "Now that we have advanced here, the transportation of grain and grass has become longer and longer. Although there is assistance from the navy, after all, the number of buildings and ships is small, and we still have to rely on land transportation, but this plateau and ravines... If we can cross the ravine to sneak attack, Cao Jun will definitely want to sneak attack on us... General Zhu still needs to strictly patrol in this regard, and must not be careless."
Zhu Ling cupped his hands and said, "The general will definitely take strict precautions!"
Ma Yue said: "If we can get through Yanxiang, we can make great use of cavalry!"
Pang Tong nodded and said, "That's true. It's not difficult to defeat Cao's army. What's difficult is not only to defeat it, but also to keep as many of Cao's troops as possible! Otherwise, if the elite of Cao's army still exists, fight this year and come back next year, it will be a waste of money." , we will lose money.』
The three of them discussed the situation on the battlefield for a while, and gradually came to a preliminary estimate.
"If we open up Yanxiang, we will not only break Shaanxi and Tianjin and cut off Cao's army's north-south communication, but also arrange troops all the way along the river. Xiaopingjin, Mengjin, and Heluo all need troops... Then we will need more troops." Bring out the troops from Guanzhong..." Pang Tong exhaled, "At the end of this year, we will increase the number of troops."
Zhang Liao said: "If we want to fight along the river and defend Heluo, we will need at least 10,000 more soldiers..."
Pang Tong nodded, "Almost, we have the strength."
But after a while, Pang Tong said again: "However, Guanzhong still needs to be guarded, and the soldiers should not be mobilized too far... If there are more, we will have to wait for the troops and horses of Sichuan, Shu and Hanzhong... The troops and horses of the Northern Territory are also terrible." It’s enough, but it can’t be divided...』
Ma Yue said: "No, let's recruit troops on the spot! Aren't there still prisoners of the rebel army? We can use them too!"
Pang Tong glanced at Ma Yue, "Those are not very useful...at least not now."
"I will understand," Ma Yue said, "but we can still let them do common chores..."
"..." Pang Tong frowned slightly, but didn't say anything.
It was a busy early morning and time was running fast. Soon the soldiers had finished their breakfast and began to line up.
Zhang Liao and others separated and were busy on their own.
Pang Tong sat in front of the map and meditated.
He heard that some of the military academies in the army had begun to talk about what would happen after Shandong was captured...
Some people want to add more Hunda to their homes, but that’s not a problem.
The problem is those who regard Shandong Cao's army and the people of Shandong as inferior, and suppress and bully them intentionally or unintentionally.
As Ma Yue said, what's the point of doing some "rough work"?
If it's just a battle like this, then of course it won't be a big deal, but if you want to start spreading military power across the world, then sooner or later something will go wrong.
Zhang Liao received a letter from an "old friend", which proved that Cao Jun not only wanted to make trouble in the military, but also in interpersonal relationships. Pang Tong trusted Zhang Liao, but he had some concerns about Ma Yue.
But now we still have to focus our main attention on Tongguan Old City...
The war drums beat and the soldiers shouted, the three-color flag marched eastward.
With the roar of war drums, Zhang Liao led his troops to approach the old city of Tongguan, but he soon noticed that the soldiers of Cao's army seemed to be a little different today.
The most direct thing is that the drums and shouts are louder.
This means that the morale of Cao's army has been significantly improved.
Why does this happen?
Zhang Liao frowned and realized something was wrong. He got off his horse and strode onto an observation car.
The vantage point is not very high, but it can provide Zhang Liao with a wider perspective.
Zhang Liao took out a telescope and carefully observed Cao Jun's movements.
Zhang Liao suddenly saw a large banner looming in the city.
"Prime Minister Cao?"
Zhang Liao was stunned for a moment.
In the early morning, they had a brief military meeting, and the discussion was still about how to break through the old city of Tongguan. They also believed that the key to the follow-up battlefield lies in the follow-up breakthrough and control of the nodes on the river. As long as Pang Tong's follow-up troops and supplies can be smooth, then
You can win victory in Heluo.
However, Zhang Liao and the others had just finished their discussion. Why did Cao Cao's banner appear here?
It was as if Cao Cao had listened to their discussion and now came over to put pressure on them and demonstrate.
"Dong dong, dong dong dong!"
Above the old city of Tongguan, the sound of war drums also sounded, and then a burst of cheers suddenly broke out.
"Prime Minister! Prime Minister!"
"Ten thousand victories! Ten thousand victories!"
The sound is not neat, but noisy and loud.
Zhang Liao frowned.
Is Cao Cao really here?
But it’s okay to come!
Zhang Liao looked back...
From the direction of Dahe Guanzhong, there are ships coming through the waves.
…
…
Cao Cao did not come to Tongguan Old City, but Cao Zhanghe came to represent Cao Cao's flag.
The cheers of Cao Jun were not for Cao Cao, but for Cao Zhang who had brought them the food, grass and supplies they had been waiting for for a long time.
It may be difficult for future generations to understand the temptation of these simple vegetables, fruits, salted fish and vinegar cloth to ordinary soldiers. After all, the vegetables in supermarkets are still green and lovely even in the coldest winter. However, in the present day, after passing
After not seeing non-staple food for a long time, and even the staple food began to shrink, suddenly seeing the grain and grass materials on the baggage truck will definitely cheer from the bottom of my heart!
"The earth is guarded by the city, the city is guarded by soldiers, the soldiers are guarded by people, and the people are guarded by millet." Cao Zhang looked at the soldiers of Cao's army whose morale had improved significantly and there was some joy on their faces. He couldn't help but sigh,
"As the ancients said, you will never deceive me."
However, the pride and relaxation of Cao Zhang and Liu Fu did not last long. Soon they discovered that there seemed to be some changes in the boats on the river...
"What is that?"
Cao Zhang was young and had good eyesight. He pointed at the ship coming from afar and said.
"Guanzhong Tower Ship..."
Liu Fu was a little strange. Is Cao Zhang suffering from hysteria? Why doesn't he even recognize Lou Chuan?
"No, no, I mean the one on the bow..." Cao Zhang squinted and looked at it. Then he was suddenly stunned and couldn't help shouting, "Wait, no way?! They actually installed the artillery on it."
On board!』
When Ma Jun led the navy to fight before, because he needed to cooperate with the breakthrough operation of Tongguan City, he carried soldiers. The war equipment was mainly catapults and ballistae, and no artillery was installed on the ship.
After all, the artillery unit is too heavy, and if the center of gravity of the ship is slightly unbalanced in the river, the stability of the overall ship will be greatly reduced. At first, Ma Jun gave up the idea of installing artillery because of too many difficulties, and
For land support operations, there are artillery in the city of Tongguan, and there is no need for additional installations on the building ships. But now the battle line is beginning to extend, and the drawings for the Sichuan-Sichuan navy to install artillery have also been passed to Guanzhong...
As soon as Ma Jun saw it, he suddenly realized it. His hands were so itchy that he dismantled the ballista catapult overnight, hoisted the artillery onto the building ship, and added counterweight.
Thus, the combination of building ships and artillery appeared in front of Cao Zhang and Liu Fu.
"Can artillery be mounted on the ship?"
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, it would be hard for Cao Zhang to believe that the Hussars would come up with such a thing.
"artillery?"
Liu Fu was also very doubtful. That thing shouldn't require a huge stand. Even if it has wheels, it would take at least a dozen people to push it. Can it be mounted on a building ship now?
Although there is only one bow cannon on the ships of the Hussars Guanzhong Navy, it is conceivable that if such a cannon is used for shooting...
"Quick! Send an order immediately to all soldiers and troops along the river to pay attention! Be careful of enemy artillery!" Liu Fu said loudly.
Originally, we were only on guard against the hussars' crossbows, but now we also have to guard against artillery, especially for some military strongholds closer to rivers. The walls of the strongholds may need to be re-reinforced, otherwise they will not be able to withstand it.
Cao Zhang also reacted and hurriedly ordered, "Place more rocks and sand on the side of the city near the river to prepare for emergencies!"
The soldiers of Cao's army took the order and left in a hurry.
With the approaching of the Hussars Navy, the new mode of coordinated operations on land and water, and the new tactics brought by firearms, Cao's army finally regained its morale, but it fell again...
Cao Zhang looked at it with anxiety in his heart, "This won't work... morale is too low. We must find a way to improve morale! Is there any way to destroy those buildings and ships in Guanzhong!"
Liu Fu thought about it for a while and then slowly said, "Maybe... someone has a plan, maybe I can try it..."