After parting ways with Zhang Xiu, Shen Chen immediately rushed to Biyang.
Gan Ning stationed troops here.
He now has nearly 7,000 troops under his command.
If it weren't for the fear of Liu Biao's suspicion, this force could even exceed 20,000 to 30,000.
How many soldiers and horses you can afford to raise depends on how much farmland your territory has and how many people there are.
During the Qin and Han Dynasties, it often took twenty to thirty farmers to support one soldier.
Now Shen Chen actually controls two counties, one is Xinye and the other is Biyang.
On the eve of the Battle of Guandu, when Liu Bei went south, more than 100,000 people in Xinye voluntarily followed him, which shows that the actual number of people in Xinye was much higher than 100,000.
Including Biyang and the Yellow Turban households allocated to Xinye and Biyang when the Yellow Turban population of Runan and Nanyang were captured, the combined population of the two counties has long exceeded 300,000.
More importantly, Guanghuangmenting has a population of 30,000 and cultivates 200,000 acres of land. Through retting technology, the output has been greatly increased.
Based on the alternate planting of millet and wheat at that time, the average annual yield was sixty-seven shi per mu. If the output was increased by 20-30%, and after excluding the needs of the people, the annual output of the 30,000 people in Huangmenting could reach 7.8 million shi, which was no better than what Cao Cao used. Tens of thousands of Runan Huangjins are working in the fields.
Therefore, both Gan Ning and Shen Chen currently have abundant food reserves. If a large number of troops are recruited, the existing food reserves of about 6 million dan will be enough to recruit an army of 50,000 for three and a half years.
But Shen Chen knew that although Liu Biao seemed to be kind-hearted, he was actually very suspicious.
The reason why Shen Chen is not suspicious is that he is tied to Deng Hong. Deng Hong married Cai and is regarded by him as one of his own, so he lets Shen Chen do what he wants.
If it were Liu Bei in history, after arriving in Xinye, a large number of heroes came to rely on him, which aroused Liu Biao's suspicion. Later, Cai Mao and Kuai Yue conspired to assassinate Liu Bei at the banquet. It cannot be ruled out that Liu Biao was behind it.
Therefore, it was impossible for Shen Chen to expand his troops in large numbers, not to mention that expanding his troops was not just about food and grass, but also weapons and equipment, tent supplies, soldier training, and discipline.
So now Shen Chen mainly trains a small number of elite soldiers, and Huangmenting soldiers are trained towards the most elite special forces. They pay attention to team coordination. The quality of the soldiers must be high and discipline must be strong. The soldiers must be elite rather than numerous.
After arriving in Biyang, the two united their troops and marched northward.
In the fifth year of Jian'an, that is, in the spring of the first month of 200 AD, the armies of Shen Chen and Gan Ning had already arrived in Duyang, and their troops were directed towards Ye County, Kunyang and other hinterlands of Yingchuan.
Cao Cao was not actually in Guandu at this time. On the eve of the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao had too many things to deal with.
First of all, the Belt Edict incident that broke out at the end of last year, although it has subsided, caused a lot of political fallout for him. A large number of royalists such as Kong Rong realized Cao Cao's true face and began to hinder him.
Secondly, Liu Bei took the imperial edict and attacked and killed the chariots and soldiers, stationed troops in Xiaopei, and a large number of heroes came to join him. Cao Cao had to personally march eastward, defeated Liu Bei, and forced him to flee to the north and join Yuan Shao.
Yuan Shao did not know the news about the Yidai Zhao at this time, but he was already ready for war and sent vanguard Yan Liang and Wen Chou to attack Baima and Yanjin respectively.
After Cao Cao defeated Liu Bei, he went northward non-stop for rescue. Currently, he is still along the Yellow River, confronting Yan Liang and Wen Chou at the Yellow River ferry.
In other words, when Shen Chen set out at the end of the fourth year of Jian'an and entered Nanyang in the first month of the year, Cao Cao's people were still dealing with Liu Bei, who had just escaped because of the clothing edict. Yan Liang and Wen Chou were not dead yet and were attacking Baima and Yanjin.
But at this time, Shen Chen couldn't do anything else because he was stuck in Duyang and couldn't get through.
Cao Hong occupied Ye County and defended the city. It was impossible for him to pass through the Nanyang Basin to Yuzhou, so the two sides are currently in a confrontation.
The confrontation lasted for more than a month.
By February, Cao Cao had defeated Liu Bei and rushed to the Yellow River for the Battle of White Horse.
It was probably in March and April that Guan Yu was used to kill Yan Liang to break the siege of Baima, Xun You's plan was used to kill Wen Chou, and the troops began to retreat to Guandu.
But Shen Chen was still blocking Yang and unable to move forward.
At this time in history, Zhang Xiu surrendered, and Cao Cao sent Cao Hong to garrison Wancheng to guard against Liu Biao.
But now Zhang Xiu has not surrendered, so Cao Hong has been stationed in Ye County, followed by Man Chong and Li Tong stationed in Yuzhou.
Duyang in the Han Dynasty was the Fangcheng County of Nanyang in later generations. You can tell by looking at the terrain. There is a huge canyon between Fangcheng and Ye County, and both sides of the canyon belong to the Funiu Mountains.
The geographical location of Ye County in later generations is different from that of Ye County in the Han Dynasty. Ye County in the Han Dynasty was just stuck in the middle of this canyon, and its approximate location was Dushu Town, Fangcheng in later generations. Although this canyon is extremely wide, wide from north to south. Twenty kilometers away, Ye County is a hurdle that must be overcome.
If you bypass Ye County and go straight to Yuzhou, with Cao Hong attacking from the back and Li Tong and Man Chong defending from the front, coupled with the reinforcements of Li Dian, Xia Houyuan and Xun Yu who guard Xu Du, it is very likely that this army will be directly killed by you. South or Yingchuan.
So from a strategic perspective, Shen Chen must pull out the nail that is embedded in the gate of Nanyang in Ye County!
It's just that in the cold weapon age, there were no hot weapons, so it was extremely difficult to attack a city. For example, Lu Bu besieged Liu Bei's Xiaopei for more than half a year, Yuan Shao besieged Zang Hong for a year, and Cao Cao besieged Xia Pi for three or four months. If Lu Bu's generals hadn't rebelled, , it is possible to fight for another half year.
Therefore, from a certain point of view, it is not easy for Shen Chen to break through Ye County, which is guarded by the famous general Cao Hong, with the current strength of Shen Chen. Unless they rebel internally, the attack may take a long time.
From the first month to now, Ye County has been surrounded, and grain and grass from the north cannot be transported in. Shen Chen does not know how much grain there is in the city.
At present, he can only prepare for a protracted war.
In mid-March, it was the spring season, summer was about to begin, and the weather was getting hotter and hotter. Outside the county seat of Ye County, Shen Chen's army was stationed. At this time, he was looking at the map and thinking in his tent.
In the past two months, he organized several attacks on Ye County, but Cao Hong repulsed them all.
According to the large number of military books and cases I have read before, Shen Chen used tactics including digging tunnels, attacking from the east and attacking from the west, and encircling three but missing one, etc., but Cao Hong saw through them all.
This made Shen Chen very emotional. Mencius was right, "It is better to have no books than to believe in all the books."
Except for the legendary experience of the great man who used more than 100 students and 20 guns to force the surrender of 3,000 warlord troops when he came out of the mountain, no one is born to fight, including Cao Cao, who accumulated countless defeats in his early days.
Although the knowledge in books is definitely correct, it must be based on the actual situation.
For example, when attacking in the east and west, you feint to attack from the front, but actually attack from the side. Some mediocre generals did not expect it, so they are defeated by you. This becomes a positive case.
But the problem is that Cao Hong has followed Cao Cao for many years in the north and south, and he is also a veteran who has experienced hundreds of battles. He will definitely not make such a low-level mistake.
You can't use some superficial methods to deal with him.
Just like Lian Po, it is worthwhile to confront the Qin army head-on. The only problem is food and grass.
Therefore, fighting in real life does not mean just studying a few military books. It also needs to be treated differently according to different situations.
For example, when Yuan Shao defeated Zang Hong, he relied purely on attrition, and when Cao Cao defeated Lü Bu, he relied on the trick of flooding the enemy with water. In addition, Lü Bu had internal problems, and Shen Chen also had to come up with countermeasures.
"During this period, we have been collecting intelligence, and we can learn that Cao Hong currently has five thousand troops. Last year, Yuzhou shipped a large amount of food. I am afraid there are thousands of carts, which can last for a year."
"Based on the current situation, it is definitely not possible to surround the point to send reinforcements and waste them in vain. Cao Hong has enough food and grass, and Man Chong and Li Tong are not fools. It is impossible to come to the rescue when Cao Hong has enough food and grass. They will definitely arrange for people to pay close attention. "
"But the Battle of Guandu is coming to an end this year. Before I defeat Cao Hong, the battle on Guandu will be over. Then it won't be good for Cao Cao to come to rescue him personally."
"Then what method should I use to break the city?"
Shen Chen thought silently in his heart.
It was not that troublesome to defeat Cao Ren and Le Jin. They came to the door by themselves. Now it is indeed not easy to defeat Cao Hong who is defending the city.
In other words, excluding the two battles of Cao Ren and Le Jin, this war will be the first battle he directly commands, and it is also a siege battle. If he wants to achieve his first victory, he must consider all aspects. .
"Achen."
At this time, Gan Ning entered the tent with his shirt off. As soon as he entered, he grabbed the kettle on the table and drank two sips. Then he said: "Then Cao Hong is determined to die in the city and will not come out no matter how much he scolds." ,what should I do?"
No matter how much you yell or scold, you won't come out?
Shen Chen suddenly had an idea and said, "Uncle Xingba, if you were Cao Hong, what would happen if you were in the city before you went out to fight?"
Gan Ning said without hesitation: "There is no need to think about it. If our army is defeated, he will chase us out."
"anything else?"
Shen Chen asked.
"Anything else?"
Gan Ning scratched his head: "Maybe Xu Du was attacked."
Shen Chen's eyes lit up and he said: "If I pretend to be the main force with a partial force and go north to attack Xudu, do you think Cao Hong will come out?"
Gan Ning thought for a while and said, "Unless we make him think that our main force is really heading north."
Shen Chen muttered: "It's not impossible to do this."
"any solution?"
"March at night and camp during the day."
"What kind of solution is this?"
"Uncle Xingba, if you think about it, when we march at night, we ask the soldiers to hold more torches. The enemy's reconnaissance cavalry cannot see the specific number of people, so they will definitely count them by the number of torches. When setting up camp during the day, the enemy will not dare to come close to count the troops. At most We can judge by looking at the stove fire, so we can just make more stove fires."
"The problem is that the partial division does not have enough troops. I heard that Cao Cao still has a large number of troops in the hinterland of Yingchuan in Runan. If the partial division goes into danger alone, isn't it asking for death?"
Gan Ning asked the most fatal question.
This strategy is a desperate one. The main force enters the hinterland of Runan alone. There are Cao troops everywhere. Once a head-on battle occurs, not only is the true strength easily exposed, but it is also very dangerous.
For example, during our army's Long March, many partial divisions pretending to be the main force and sharing the pressure for the main force were surrounded and suppressed by large enemy forces, and eventually fell on the Long March.
So this plan may be very effective, but it is also very dangerous and will eat into the command ability of the leader of the partial division.
Shen Chen said: "The battle is actually about psychology. I have to guess Cao Hong's psychology. He must want to defend Ye County now. If I want to defeat him, I must mobilize him. There is no way."
"Then who will lead this partial army?"
Gan Ning asked again.
Shen Chen said without hesitation: "We will start packing up the camp today, and in the evening all the troops will bypass Ye County and go north. Uncle Xingba, you will lead the army into Lushan, and I will lead the three thousand people from Huangmenting to pretend to attack Xudu."
Gan Ning said in surprise: "Ah Chen, think about it carefully. This plan is too dangerous. I still don't recommend you to do it."
"Actually, it's not that dangerous. I really won't attack Xudu."
Shen Chen pointed at the map and said: "Uncle Xingba, look, the Cao army we have discovered is located in Ye County, Kunyang, Wuyang and other places. The rest of Cao's army, I guess they are in Sili, Xudu, Ru South, Shandong."
"Why is this?"
Gan Ning asked.
"Cao Cao is surrounded by enemies on all sides. Sun Ce defeated Huang Zu at the end of last year and is very likely to organize his troops and attack Xudu."
Shen Chen said: "Yuan Shao occupied Hebei and attacked Cao Cao with three armies from Sili, Yanzhou and Shandong. It was impossible for Cao Cao to divide his troops for defense. Although there was Liu Shijun in the south, Liu Shijun was restrained by Zhang Xian. He could attack him. The only ones who pose a threat are us and Zhang Xiu, so he can't send too many troops to Nanyang."
This analysis is correct. Cao Cao's real enemy is Yuan Shao. Now Yuan Shao's main force has begun to cross the river and is about to march to Guandu. Then Cao Cao must place the focus of his troops on Yuan Shao.
Historically, Cao Cao only led 30,000 to 40,000 men to fight against Yuan Shao in Guandu.
But that doesn't mean he only has this few people.
Cao Hong settled in Wancheng with a small force, about four to five thousand men, just to guard against Liu Biao.
Li Tong and Man Chong were not in Runan to guard against Liu Biao, but to guard against Sun Ce.
Zang Ba was in Qingzhou, and Yu Jin and Yue Jin led 5,000 infantry and cavalry in Sili.
There are also some who guard (guard) Liu Xie in Xudu.
So it seems that Cao Cao allocated a large number of troops to defend Sun Ce and Liu Biao, but in fact the other two groups also defended Yuan Shao's troops, which were in Qingzhou, Xuzhou and Sili.
The same is true now.
At present, Cao Cao's force distribution can be regarded as sending an additional part to Nanyang. Cao Hong's 5,000 troops are in Ye County.
Behind him, there are still three to four thousand people in Kunyang, Wuyang and other places.
Then there were Man Chong and Li Tong who were guarding Sun Ce in Runan. They also had seven or eight thousand men.
Xudu has nearly 10,000 people.
Most of the remaining troops are in the north.
If the troops in Sili and Shandong are included, Cao Cao's troops to defend Yuan Shao were actually more than 60,000.
Shen Chen pointed at the map and continued: "There are not many troops in Kunyang and Wuyang. If I lead a partial division to go north, then I will probably have to face Xu Du's troops and Runan's reinforcements. As long as we can avoid a head-on battle with them, I will You can return it at any time.”
Ye County is in the middle of the canyon, and Kunyang and Wuyang are on the left and right sides of the exit of the canyon, to the north and south of Ye County in later generations. These three counties are in a corner, but as long as you bypass Ye County in the Han Dynasty, start from Kunyang and Wuyang passes through the middle, and behind it is the entire hinterland of Yingchuan. The only defender of Cao Jun is Xu Du.
In other words, if Kunyang and Wuyang are compared to a mouth, after passing through these two counties, it will be like a monkey getting into the belly of his sister-in-law, and it can turn Cao Cao's hinterland upside down. At that time, many people will be shocked, even if Cao Hong If you don’t want to leave the city, you have no choice but to leave the city.
"Well"
Gan Ning pondered for a long time and asked: "Ah Chen, are you sure?"
Shen Chen nodded: "I have to give it a try."
"good."
Gan Ning said, "Then I'll listen to you."
The two of them did not hesitate at that moment. Shen Chen immediately ordered the entire army to pack up and salute, and at the same time made a large number of three-pronged torches.
This kind of three-pronged torches are about one meter in front and back. When marching, there is an average of three meters per soldier. There are three torches within these three meters. At night, it looks like there are three soldiers.
In this way, Huangmen Pavilion's 3,000 troops can be disguised as 9,000 troops. The scouts will naturally be confused when counting, greatly increasing the number of soldiers.
However, these torches were not used when bypassing Ye County. Tens of thousands of people marched at the same time in the middle of the night, heading north in a mighty manner.
Soon, they traveled dozens of miles overnight, passed through Wuyang and Kunyang, and approached Xiangcheng.