Xu Wei is the most powerful prince in the world today. When Xu Wei focuses his attention on Da Qian, it is the best news for Liu Bei, Cao Cao and Zhang Lu.
Especially for Cao Cao, not only is he weak, but Da Gan is surrounded by hundreds of thousands of troops. Now he is frightened every day. Da Gan is focusing on domestic affairs. This is the best news he has heard this year.
Last year's locust plague, drought, and war disasters broke out one after another, putting the entire Qingxu land in dire straits.
First, there was a blow due to the Paper Money Rebellion, and then because Da Gan sent 300,000 troops to the border, Cao Cao had to mobilize the entire Qingxu land of 300,000 troops to confront Da Gan. Although the two sides did not fight in Qingzhou, This confrontation alone was enough to consume Cao Cao's meager supply of food and grass.
Not to mention that the rich cavalry was still wreaking havoc in Xuzhou. Not only was the whole of Xuzhou severely affected, but the cavalry of Daqian also took away hundreds of thousands of people, which greatly damaged the vitality of the entire Xuzhou.
After the war, huge efforts were made to provide relief to Xuzhou. The repeated turmoils emptied the treasury of Cao Cao, a poor prince.
Finally, when the locust plague and drought came again, Cao Cao simply did not have enough power to relieve the victims. Even if Cao Cao tried his best, it was difficult to prevent the people under his rule from fleeing the land of Qingxu.
This year can be said to be Cao Cao's most difficult year. The number of people under his rule has dropped by nearly 500,000, and his power is close to collapse. If Liu Bei hadn't been worried about the great strength of the Da Gan occupying the Central Plains, he desperately used Jingzhou The navy transported grain and grass to the Qingxu land to support Cao Cao, but I was afraid that Cao Cao would not be able to survive last winter.
This winter has finally passed, but how can we continue to survive?
This has become the biggest problem facing people like Cao Cao.
During the meeting, Guo Jia faced everyone and said: "Facing Daqian's cavalry and millions of troops, our Qingxu army is simply vulnerable. If there is no other way to prevent Lei Gong's next military action, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to survive this year. !”
Cheng Yu asked: "The center of this disaster is the core territory of Thunder God in the Central Plains. We can't bear it even if it is affected. How can Thunder God be able to continue attacking us? He will have to recuperate for at least two or three years?"
Guo Jia smiled bitterly and said: "This drought and locust plague are unbearable for us, but not for Lei Gong. One thing everyone has thought wrong is that the Central Plains is not the core territory of Lei Gong. Bingzhou, Liaodong and Jizhou are the three major granaries. This is Lei Gong's core territory.
Among the three major granaries, only Jizhou was affected by this disaster, while Bingzhou and Liaodong had great harvests. Even if Jizhou responded promptly, Jizhou's losses were far smaller than we imagined. It did not even damage the foundation of Lei Gong. , Daqian has enough grain and grass to deal with us. According to my estimation, Lei Gong will either attack us after the spring plowing this year, or he will attack us after the summer harvest!"
"We cannot avoid this battle!"
Cao Cao understood that he could survive until now, not because he could fight, but because he had always been lucky and was not the target of Thunder God's hand, so he survived until now.
But his luck was not so good later. Now besides Thunder Lord, there are only three princes left in the world.
Liu Bei had many soldiers, a vast territory, and was located in a water town south of the Yangtze River. It was difficult for Lei Gong's cavalry to exert its full power, so Liu Bei must be Lei Gong's last enemy.
Although Zhang Lu in Hanzhong is weak, the terrain of Yangping Pass is such that only one man can attack it, and no one can open it. The terrain of Hanzhong cannot dismantle a large army. Even if Lei Gong has a million troops, it will be difficult for him to dismantle it.
Cao Cao counted and found that the target of Lei Gong's next attack was ninety-nine times himself.
Cao Cao looked at his own civil servants and generals and said: "This has reached a critical moment for our survival in Qingzhou. You can tell us any strategies to retreat from the enemy, even if they are ridiculous, it doesn't matter!"
Xiahou Dun said: "When the soldiers come, they will block the water and cover the ground. Meng De has supported us for nearly 10 years. Now it is time to repay the service. Lei Gong has an army of one million, which is good. Let us Qingzhou's 300,000 army be not a vegetarian! Who can do things on the battlefield?"
It is true that there are wars in which the weak defeat the strong. Since the ancients could defeat the strong with the weak, why can't we do it!"
Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, Cao Hong and other military generals related to Cao Cao also spoke, but what they said was similar to Xiahou Dun. Everyone might not be able to defeat the Thunder Lord if they fight to the death.
However, few generals with foreign surnames like Zang Ba and local families like Kong Rong were as excited as Xiahou Dun and the others. They and Cao Cao were just getting what they needed, so naturally they could not risk their lives for Cao Cao.
Cao Cao was also aware of this. He knew that people like Kong Rong had gone to Hebei and wanted to join Lei Gong, but Lei Gong didn't want people like Kong Rong.
If they really have to wait until they run out of ammunition and food, I am afraid that Kong Rong and others will surrender to Lei Gong in order to save the family. Although Daqian killed all the noble families in the world, what he did more was to kill people and cut off the influence of the noble families.
The local influence, rather than the physical body, was used to eliminate them, leaving a way out for Kong Rong and others.
Businessmen are weak, and the same applies to noble families. For people and forces that are weaker than them, they will go to great lengths to kill them all.
For people and forces stronger than them, they will immediately turn into loyal scoundrels. They will be loyal to these people and sell out their compatriots to preserve their own wealth. This is how the Five Hopes and Seven Surnames in the Wuhu era relied on this
This method has been passed down for thousands of years.
Now, although Kong Rong and others want to be the bastards of Lei Gong, they think they can still wait for Lei Gong's descendants.
So Cao Cao knew clearly that the only people he could rely on now were generals from his relatives like Xiahou Dun.
Guo Jia looked at everyone's expressions and knew that the people in Qingzhou were heartbroken.
However, he still said to Xiahou Dun: "To defeat the strong with the weak requires the right time, location, and people, but we are not here either. Lei Gong doesn't even need to attack us. As long as he puts hundreds of thousands of troops on the border, it will be enough to collapse us.
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This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "And the only reinforcements we can rely on, Liu Bei, can't protect himself at this time, and it will be difficult for him to support us!"
Last year was indeed a year of disasters that could not be seen in a hundred years. Locust plagues and droughts occurred frequently in the Central Plains, and the areas south of the Yangtze River were not easy to live with. In Jingzhou, heavy rains continued for more than a month in July, and the water level of the Yangtze River surged. By August Floods destroyed flood control levees in various places in Jingzhou, and floods occurred frequently in various places. Among them, Changsha County was the most severely affected. The county and city were soaked in floods.
But the war was not over yet at that time. Liu Bei gritted his teeth and tried his best to repel Daqian's invasion of Nanyang County. At the same time, he sent Yuan Ji to perform post-disaster reconstruction for the victims of disasters in various places in Jingzhou and Yangzhou.
The locust plague broke out in the Central Plains, allowing Liu Bei to escape the disaster. After that, the princes from all walks of life licked each other's wounds.
But at this time, Liu Bei's good luck in the past few years seemed to have run out.
After the flood, an unprecedented typhoid plague broke out in Jingzhou. It started in Changsha County and spread to eight states and counties in the south of the Yangtze River. Millions of people were threatened by the plague and did not dare to leave their homes. Hundreds of thousands of people were infected with the plague. , hundreds of thousands of people died of the disease, and the plague did not disappear until the weather cooled down after the autumn harvest.
It can be said that the consequences of this plague are more serious than the floods, which greatly damaged the vitality of the entire Jiangnan area. Now Liu Bei is licking his wounds, so Guo Jiacai said that Liu Bei will not be able to support him in the next war.
Zang Ba thought for a while and said: "There is no danger in the land of Qingxu. Our army will definitely be defeated if we stay in Qingzhou and Xuzhou. Can Ming Gong propose to the general that our 300,000-strong army retreat to Yangzhou and rely on the advantages of the Jianghuai River?" Resist the Thunder Lord's army.
In this way, although we have lost Qingzhou and Xuzhou, we have retained an army of 300,000 people after all. With these 300,000 more troops, we can save half of the Han Dynasty. Lei Gong is now acting against the Han Dynasty, and it will definitely not last long. As long as we escape the Han Dynasty, When the Qian army is sharp, wait until Lei Gong begins to lose, and then we will fight back! Isn't that how the Yellow Turban Army was defeated back then? If we don't compete with Lei Gong for the gains and losses of this city and a place, we will just sit back and watch Lei Gong defeat himself!"
Everyone looked at Zang Ba with a surprised look on his face. He could say such shameless words. Everyone knew that the Da Qian Army and the Yellow Turban Army were completely different. Lei Gong had been prosperous for more than ten years, and the world was about to be unified by him. He wanted to Defeat, I'm afraid they won't be able to see it even if they die.
Zang Ba basically wanted to leave Qingzhou and run away, but he actually said it so righteously.
But they didn't know that Zang Ba was also very regretful and tormented in his heart. They must know that he and Yu Du were allies back then. He and Guan Hai and Guan Cheng were even more like brothers. They rebelled and fought together.
If he hadn't lost all hope at the beginning, he wouldn't have betrayed Yu Du and the others to seek refuge with Cao Cao.
What Zang Ba never expected was that as soon as he took refuge with Cao Cao, the Thunder Lord took over the entire Hebei area with the power of devouring mountains and rivers. The Yellow Turban Army took advantage of the Thunder Lord's influence, transformed from a cocoon into a dragon, and skyrocketed. Now Guan Hai is almost here. He has become the new founding hero. He is only one step away from becoming the new founding hero, but this step is a huge difference.
Now he can only stay in the Han Dynasty and become a general who is squeezed out by Xiahou Dun and others. However, he does not even dare to seek refuge in Hebei, for fear that Guan Hai and others will retaliate against him, and then his life or death will be uncertain.
Now that Da Qian was unstoppable, unable to win despite repeated battles, and unable to surrender, the only choice he had was to escape to Jiangnan.
But Kong Rong said excitedly: "It is absolutely impossible. Zang Ba's strategy will bring disaster to the country and the people. Not to mention giving up the land of the two states without fighting will bring a big blow to our Han Dynasty. Just saying that these 300,000 troops retreated to Yangzhou. It's impossible. The family records of our soldiers are all in Qingzhou and Xuzhou, and Lei Gong always has broad soldiers. These soldiers who surrender to Lei Gong will not only not be killed by Lei Gong, but Lei Gong will also allocate fields to them.
Under such circumstances, there will be no soldiers willing to follow us to Yangzhou. As long as our army issues this order, I am afraid that the entire army will riot and even cause a mutiny. At that time, we will face the same situation as Yuan Tan last year. The army of Thunder Lord will be defeated at the first touch, this strategy is basically self-destructive!"
Kong Rong is a local leader in Qingzhou. A powerful clan like him will not give up their territory as long as there is a slight possibility, because giving up their territory means giving up their own power.
Zang Ba retorted: "Can't we take away the soldiers' family records so that we don't worry about the soldiers rebelling?"
Kong Rong sneered and said: "Not to mention whether these soldiers are willing to follow us, the cost of these millions of people migrating thousands of miles must exceed tens of billions. Do you think Qingzhou can afford such a huge expense now? Do we really want to do this? If you have money, you might as well recruit 200,000 more troops!
Moreover, with the current state of the imperial court, it is afraid that it cannot accommodate millions of people, not to mention that Yangzhou has become a plague now. Go outside and ask the people how many of them dare to go to Yangzhou now!"
"If you want to escape with your life, just flee to the south of the Yangtze River. Don't disrupt the morale of our army here, or I will kill you here!" Kong Rong waved the sword in his hand and said fiercely.
Being so beaten by Kong Rong, especially having his inner thoughts revealed, Zang Ba was so ashamed that he did not dare to speak any more.
After that, the meeting hall fell into silence, and no one could think of any way to resist Thunder God. The gap between the two sides was so great that they could only rely on miracles.
After half a day, Xun You said: "Can Daqian and the others shift their main attack direction to Nanyang County? Nanyang County is located in the south of the Yangtze River and has dense water networks. Jingzhou's navy can support the counties in Nanyang County, and there are high mountains as obstacles around it. Weakening the strength of Da Gan's cavalry, with Liu Bei's strength, even if Lei Gong launches hundreds of thousands of troops to attack Jingzhou, he may not be able to conquer Nanyang County."
"According to Lei Gong's fighting habits over the years, he does not like to fight on two fronts, but focuses on one target until he wins. This is how Yuan Shao's power was defeated.
Last year he attacked Yuan Tan, but for the land of Qingxu, he only threatened us and made it difficult for us to support Yuan Tan. Can we take advantage of Lei Gong's habit and move his troops to the south?"
"Let Liu Bei be the main force to bear the pressure of Daqian's army, and our army will contain the soldiers of Daqian's army in the land of Qingxu. As long as Liu Bei can withstand Daqian's attack, the Han will have a chance to come back to life, and even if Liu Bei It can’t withstand Daqian’s attack, but it can buy us a few years and get a chance to breathe!”
As for the matter of being too far away, Xun You did not continue to talk about it. Now everyone is struggling to survive, and every year they can survive counts.
Xun You's words are not much different from Arabian Nights. Now that the Central Plains has been conquered, the Qingxu Land occupied by Cao Cao seriously threatens the territory of Daqian Central Plains. As long as a normal person makes a choice, he will definitely destroy it first. Cao Cao, who was in the invaded area, fought a decisive battle with Liu Bei to unify the entire world.
But Guo Jia's eyes lit up and he said: "This possibility may not be impossible. As long as the lord persuades Liu Bei to take the initiative to attack Yuzhou, then the main force of Dagan will definitely be attracted by Liu Bei, and even if we cannot succeed, we will force Dagan Enter a two-front battle situation, so that our army can withstand Daqian's attack!"