By this time Zhong Yao, Zhang Ji, Pei Mao, Wei Jian and others had been driven from Guanzhong to Luoyang.
Luoyang is now dilapidated, but in the early years Liu Biao sent people north to slightly repair the palace. At this moment, the original palace in Luoyang was in ruins. Cao Cao summoned everyone.
When Cao Cao camped in Kuangcheng, Mao Jie strategically preferred to take the initiative to defeat the Kwantung Allied Forces and prevent the Kwantung Allied Forces from threatening Cao Cao's left wing on the western front.
Dong Zhao believed that the key to defeating the Kwantung Allied Forces was to defeat Tao Sheng, a high-ranking official, to prevent them from cooperating with each other.
By guessing the psychology of the Kwantung Allied Forces, Guo Jia believed that counterintuitive tactics could be used to disintegrate their alliance.
Although Xun You had no plan, he came with Cao Cao because he wanted to find a tactical way to defeat Tao Sheng, a high-ranking official, and then continue to follow the ideas of Mao Jie, Dong Zhao, Guo Jia and others.
This was another joint plan by Cao Cao's counselors.
Dong Zhao and Mao Jie were responsible for the strategic direction, Guo Jia was responsible for guessing the enemy's psychology, and Xun You was responsible for the implementation of the specific plan. Such perfect cooperation was the team of counselors that Yuan Shao couldn't envy, and it was also the key to Cao Cao's ability to defeat Yuan Shao every time.
So at least strategically and tactically, Cao Cao still found the initiative.
After he arrived in Luoyang, he told everyone the strategy discussed by many counselors in Cao Ying. Zhong Yao and others thought it was very reasonable, so they all made suggestions and perfected the details of the strategy.
Zhang Ji, Pei Mao, Wei Jian and others all volunteered to lobby the generals in Guandong, while Zhong Yao and Xun You helped Cao Cao plan to defeat Tao Sheng.
The specific strategy is also very simple.
Since the enemy is immobile, they will take the initiative to lure the enemy to attack. In this way, they will turn passivity into initiative and transform the static battle between the two sides into a mobile battle. They will always be able to find the enemy's flaws.
Cao Cao thought it was reasonable, so in late April, he sent 5,000 men from Yujin to cross the Yellow River in Juan County. He did not bother Yuan's army in Wudehuai County, but went straight to the north and attacked Xiuwu, Huojia, and Ji.
County and other places pretended to attack Yecheng by surprise.
Of course, Gao Gan and Tao Sheng were not stupid enough to think that Cao Jun would really attack Yecheng, but their food route was in the rear. They knew very well that Cao Jun always liked to cut off people's food routes, so they immediately led troops to rescue them, hoping to
Defeat this Cao army.
However, Cao Cao personally led his army across the river and met Gao Gan Tao Sheng in the wild near Xiaoxiuwu. The two did not know that it was Cao Cao who was coming personally, and thought it was just Yu Jin. Once they had captured him, they took the initiative to attack.
The clinker Cao Cao commanded well, and the central army was as solid as a rock. The left and right wings suddenly outflanked them. Even though their numbers were about the same, they directly defeated Gao Gan and Tao Sheng in a battle of annihilation.
In this battle, Xu Chu, the leader of Cao Cao's bodyguard, killed Tao Sheng in formation. The senior officials were frightened and fled in panic. The army collapsed and countless people were killed and captured.
By the beginning of May, Cao Cao personally led the army to Xin'an.
At this time, the Kwantung Allied Forces actually did not attack because they ran out of food and grass.
Guandong was already very dilapidated. According to records in a letter written by Wei Zhi later to Xun Yu, at that time more than 100,000 households in Guanzhong fled to Jingzhou, and tens of thousands of households fled to Hanzhong. Countless people died, and the entire Guanzhong Basin had less than one tenth population.
.
Basically even if there is a population, it is occupied by the generals in Guanzhong, namely Han Sui, Ma Teng, Hou Xuan, Yang Qiu, Li Kan, Zhang Heng, Cheng Yi, Ma Wan, Liang Xing, Cheng Yin and others.
These people had a certain number of people under their rule, and each had tens to thousands of soldiers. They relied on these people to farm the land and could barely survive.
But they can still use the little population and food they have in their own territory. If they travel a long distance to Kanto, the food and grass supply line will be extremely long. Between 50 and 60 thousand people plus auxiliary soldiers, civilians, craftsmen and horses, the daily food and grass consumption will be hundreds of millions.
Counting tens of thousands of stones, food and grass are naturally not enough.
So while they stationed troops in Shaanxi County and waited for the subsequent grain and grass to arrive, they also sent people to urge Gao Gan and Tao Sheng to send grain from Zhiguanxing through Wangwushan to Yucheng, and then from Yucheng to Dayang County.
Come.
As a result, the people sent reported back, and Cao Cao arrived in Luoyang in person, led his troops and defeated Gao Gan and Tao Sheng, and then led the army to Xin'an and attacked them.
For a time, the Kwantung Allied Forces suddenly had different thoughts and evil intentions.
In mid-May, after a period of investigation, Cao Cao sent Zhang Ji, Pei Mao, Wei Jian and others to the camp of Ma Teng, Yang Qiu, Zhang Heng, Cheng Yi, Liang Xing and others.
The reason for this arrangement is that Ma Teng and Han Sui have a grudge and can be divided.
The remaining candidates, Li Kan, Ma Wan, Cheng Yin and others are from Hedong. They themselves are from Hedong local powerful people. They are all stationed in Dayang County, where they can transport food nearby and have no worries about food.
Yang Qiu, Zhang Heng, Cheng Yi, Liang Xing and others were from Xiliang, and the territory they occupied in Guanzhong was not in Hedong County. The transportation of grain and grass was very far away, so the grain and grass had bottomed out at this time.
Zhong Yao and others analyzed that the coalition forces were not of the same mind, and others might not necessarily give them food, so Yang Qiu and others must be shaken in their hearts, and they could be fought over.
Cao Cao agreed with their suggestions and sent people to lobby accordingly.
Two days later, Zhang Ji arrived at Ma Teng's military camp.
Ma Teng was in a bad mood at this moment, because he actually didn't have much food and grass.
He promised Yuan Shao, firstly because Yuan Shao was powerful and prestigious, and secondly because Yuan Shao promised to provide him with food and grass support, so he came over.
The tasks of Gao Gan and Tao Sheng in Hanoi were first to contain Cao Cao's western front, and secondly to transport grain and grass to the generals of the Guanzhong Allied Forces.
As a result, the first batch of food and grass was delivered, helping them defeat Duan Xuan. However, before the second batch of food and grass arrived, Gao Gan and Tao Sheng had been eliminated. In the blink of an eye, they were alone in the battle.
You must know that this is not a battle in Guanzhong. The troops need to cross the Qinling Mountains to leave Hangu Pass. The straight-line distance along the route is more than 200 kilometers. The road is winding and winding. The actual distance is more than 300 to 400 kilometers. It is rainy along the Qinling Mountains, and the logistics supply is very difficult.
Transportation is very difficult.
Without Yuan Shao's support, their food supply would run out in two months, so Ma Teng was very worried now.
Hearing that Cao Jun's envoy Zhang Ji was coming, he sent people to his tent.
"General."
After Zhang Ji came in, he smiled and handed over to Ma Teng. He had been the magistrate of Xinfeng County for several years and knew all the princes in Guanzhong.
When Ma Teng saw him coming, he pretended to be an old friend and laughed and said: "It turns out to be De Rong. I haven't seen you for a long time. Since you abandoned your official position and left, you have been missing. Unexpectedly, you went to the imperial court. Now you are here."
Where can I find a better job?"
Zhang Ji smiled and said: "I asked the general to take care of me. Last year I returned to Chendu, paid homage to His Majesty, and was appointed by the imperial court as the prefect of Hongnong."
"oh."
Ma Teng nodded and asked, "In that case, why did De Rong come to my camp?"
Zhang Ji said: "I want to ask the general, how much food is left?"
Ma Teng raised his eyebrows and said, "Could it be that De Rong came to our army to serve as a liaison?"
"Of course not."
Zhang Ji talked eloquently: "The general has come a long way, so he must rely on Yuan Shao for food and grass. However, Yuan Shao's troops in Hanoi have been defeated by Cao Gong, and the food cannot be supplied. How long can the stalemate continue?"
Ma Teng remained silent. He did not have much food. He did not know how long it would take for the next batch of food to arrive. Once there was no new food in another month, he would have no choice but to retreat.
Zhang knew what was going on when he saw his appearance, and immediately said: "The general has a grudge against Han Sui. Does the general intend to let it go?"
Ma Teng looked at him and said, "De Rong wants to instigate me and turn against Han Sui?"
Zhang Ji shook his head and said: "That's not the case. I just want to remind the general that this battle is ultimately between Yuan Shao and Duke Cao. What is the reason for the general to leave the enemies around him unguarded and come to attack Duke Cao from afar?"
"Now that the general is short of food, it will be easy for Duke Cao to defeat you. But the general is an enemy of Duke Cao. The advantage belongs to Yuan Shao. What can the general get?"
"So it is better to join forces with us and defeat Han Sui together. The general can take revenge and gain the entire Guanzhong and Xiliang, and the court is also willing to reward the general. Wouldn't it kill two birds with one stone?"
Ally with Cao Cao?
Ma Teng hesitated and fell into deep thought.
His current predicament is lack of food and grass, and Zhang Ji is right.
It would be easy for Cao Cao to destroy them. As long as he waited patiently for more than a month, when they were short of food and retreated, he would easily defeat them.
Even if Yuan Shao defeats Cao Jun while Cao Cao is away from the front line, what will they gain?
He suffered a big loss, but Yuan Shao got all the benefits. Why?
So to a certain extent, this is equivalent to working for Yuan Shaobai and taking the risk of losing troops or even being wiped out, which is totally not worth it.
only.
But Ma Teng was also very hesitant.
In fact, he couldn't defeat Han Sui. His total military strength was only more than 10,000, while Han Sui had 30,000 or 40,000.
Previously, Zhong Yao and others acted as mediators, and they barely managed to avoid being destroyed by Han Sui.
Later, Han Sui forced him to agree to form an alliance with Yuan Shao, and since Yuan Shao was really strong and could be relied upon, he allied with the generals in Guanzhong to attack.
If he rebels again now, he is mainly afraid that he will not be able to defeat Han Sui. If he fails to eliminate Han Sui and lets him escape back to Guanzhong, he will be in trouble by then.
Therefore Ma Teng hesitated for a while.
Zhang looked at his hesitant look and asked, "What else does the general have to worry about?"
Ma Teng smiled bitterly and said: "I don't have enough troops for Han Sui, so I'm afraid I won't be able to defeat him."
Zhang Ji smiled and said: "With Duke Cao here, why should the general have such worries? The general only needs to send his protons to Chendu and join us to destroy Han Sui. All Guanzhong will belong to the general!"
"Um."
Ma Teng finally made his decision and said through gritted teeth, "Okay, I will agree to form an alliance with Duke Cao."
Zhang Ji was overjoyed and bowed his hands, saying, "General, you are wise."
He immediately went back to report.
The same statement also appeared in the camps of Yang Qiu, Zhang Heng, Cheng Yi, Liang Xing and others.
Many envoys sent by Cao Cao analyzed the pros and cons to them, explaining the current dilemma they faced and the dangers of continuing to confront Cao Cao.
Everyone was not of the same mind. After being analyzed, they were persuaded and agreed to form an alliance with Cao Cao.
At this time, one-third of the troops of the Kwantung Allied Forces were won over by Cao Cao through counterintuitive tactics.
On the night of May 21st, Cao Cao agreed with them to raise fire as a signal to attack Han Sui's camp and eliminate Han Sui in Shaanxi County!