As night fell, tens of thousands of Cao's troops gradually retreated into the camp.
The camp had indeed become very crowded, but the left camp was flooded and the right camp became the enemy's main attack direction, so they had to concentrate their troops and horses on the right camp.
At this time, inside Cao Jun's main camp, Xiahou Dun, Guo Jia, Dong Zhao, Mao Jie and others discussed whether to raid Yuan Ying's camp tonight.
"The Yuan army is attacking and setting up a temporary camp. There are definitely not many defensive facilities. Maybe they can attack by surprise."
Guo Jia came up with this wonderful idea.
Xiahou Dun began to hesitate at this time and said: "Before Sikong left, Qian warned and warned us not to let us go out. What if we are ambushed by Yuan's army?"
Guo Jia explained: "The war is changing, and the current situation and war situation are also changing. It is not a good thing to defend blindly. That will only make us continue to be attacked. Sometimes launching one or two attacks is more effective than defense.
Useful."
"Um."
Dong Zhao also nodded slightly and said: "It is indeed a way to attack and defend. If Yuan's army has already established a stronghold, it may be difficult to attack, but now they are just preparing to launch a large-scale attack and their foothold is not stable, so you can try."
Xiahou Dun thought for a while and said, "Then I will lead the army myself?"
"No."
Mao Jie stopped him and said: "Sikong is not here. How can the general be the commander in chief of an army? Zhang Liao can be ordered to lead the army to attack Yuan Camp, and Cao Chun will lead the tiger and leopard cavalry to respond."
After the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao began to build his own elite cavalry.
He formed a cavalry force of about 5,000 people based on the group of elite cavalry who had made a surprise attack on Wuchao that year, and with Zhong Yao's help in transporting a group of war horses back from Guanzhong.
There are currently one thousand people in this army who followed Cao Cao to Luoyang, and the remaining four thousand people are led by Cao Chun. They are called "Tiger and Leopard Cavalry" and they are the best among the best.
After hearing the suggestions of several counselors, Xiahou Dun followed suit and said, "That's okay, I'll let Zhang Liao and Cao Chun go there."
"Maybe we can also rob the grain road?"
Dong Zhao made another suggestion: "Yuan Jun moved the camp several miles away from our camp, and their food routes will definitely be lengthened. If they rob the grain, it may be effective."
Guo Jia shook his head and said: "It's hard to say. Yuan's army has more soldiers and horses than us. After the last Guandu, Yuan Shao became much more cautious about food and grass. Sikong tried to rob the food several times, but he was able to resolve it. I'm afraid it won't be that easy.
"
Dong Zhao said: "In the past, they stationed troops in Wating. The white horse was just a stone's throw away from Wating. It was easy to transport grain and grass. But now that they have moved such a long distance, will it be lengthy to transport them to the front line?"
From last year to this year, Yuan Shao's attacks were repeatedly repelled by Cao Cao. Both sides wanted to surround the grain road and deploy peripheral scouts to seize the initiative in the war.
However, Yuan Jun suffered a small loss and retreated to Wating, Yanxian and Weixiang areas more than 30 miles away. Food and grass were also placed in Baima.
The distance between Baima and Wating is very close, so robbing food will definitely not be easy.
Now that they have arrived at Kuangcheng and extended the front line, there may be an opportunity for Cao Jun to take advantage of it.
Mao Jie said: "Even if we want to rob food, it cannot be today. Yuan Jun has just arrived, and there must be plenty of supplies. There will be no food and grass being transported from the rear in a short time."
"That's true."
Dong Zhao thought for a while and said nothing more.
"Report!"
Just then, soldiers came to report.
"Come in."
Xiahou Dun shouted.
The soldier entered the tent, knelt down on one knee and said: "General, the water flow in Zuoying has begun to decline, and the land is now exposed."
"No, they are definitely going to attack Zuoying!"
Xiahou Dun jumped up at that time, and said in a deep voice with a very solemn expression: "Once the left camp is broken, they can double-team from both sides at the same time, and our army will be in danger."
Cao Jun's camps were spread out along the line, mainly composed of the left camp, the middle camp, and the right camp. The rest also had rear camps, but they were all behind these three camps.
Especially now that the left camp has been submerged, Cao Jun's rear food route is basically drawn from Pingqiu County to the middle camp and right camp on the front line, and then transported to the left camp through the internal network connecting the large camps.
This also means that camps stretching for several kilometers are connected like a honeycomb.
Once Yuan Jun penetrates the left camp, they can launch an internal attack on the middle camp and right camp from Cao Jun's left wing. This is a great threat to Cao Jun.
"Don't worry"
Guo Jia pondered for a moment, shook his head with a wry smile and said: "Zuoying only needs to send a large number of sentries and scouts to investigate. I guess they will not regard Zuoying as the focus of their attack."
Xiahou Dun wondered: "Why is this?"
Guo Jia said: "Zuoying has been submerged in water for a month. The ground has long been soft and it is difficult for men and horses to walk on it. I am afraid that this is just a cover for Yuan Shao. He may send a small group of people to attack Zuoying. The main direction of attack is the middle camp.
and Youying.”
"But when Zuoying's defense force is so thin, even if they only send 10,000 or 20,000 people to attack, it will be difficult to defend it."
Mao Jie said with some worry: "Once there is a loss in Zuoying, we will be behind bars."
"Hmm"
Mao Jie's worries made Guo Jia also fall into deep thought.
In fact, this is still a competition between the counselors of both sides, as well as a psychological game.
Guo Jia believed that Yuan Jun might still place the main attack direction on the right camp, so he still focused on defending the right camp.
But if Jushou Tian Feng and others guessed Guo Jia's mentality and did the opposite and attacked Zuoying in a large scale at night, they would be very passive.
Even if the land is difficult to navigate, you don't need too many people. Ten or twenty thousand people are enough.
Ju Shou once said that Yuan Jun's personal quality is not as good as Cao Jun's, so 80,000 vs. 50,000 should be a balance of power.
But the problem is that this balance of power depends on who is in charge.
With the same army of 100,000, there is a huge difference between Han Xin commanding it and Liu Bang commanding it.
Although Cao Cao is definitely not as good as Han Xin, the military immortal, Yuan Shao cannot compare with Liu Bang, so the gap is just as big.
Previously, Cao Cao personally commanded, and in the battle against Yuan Shao, the numerical gap of 80,000 to 50,000 could be shortened through excellent tactical play and superb personal qualities of the soldiers.
But now that Cao Cao is away, he has lost his backbone, the left camp has been flooded again, Cao Cao's army's morale and morale have also been damaged, and their combat effectiveness will seriously decline.
At this time, the huge difference in numbers between the two sides became apparent.
After all, they have 30,000 more troops than you.
Therefore, in this case, once a tactical loophole appears, it will be fatal.
However, Cao Cao took Xun You away.
The counselors in Cao's camp cooperated closely with each other and cooperated very well.
Among them, Guo Jia is responsible for enemy psychology, Xun You and Cheng Yu are responsible for tactical play, and Xun Yu, Dong Zhao and Mao Jie are responsible for strategic planning.
Everyone connects and communicates with each other, and ultimately can help Cao Cao find the perfect solution.
Cheng Yu is not here now, and neither is Xun You.
Apart from analyzing the enemy's psychology, Guo Jia couldn't come up with a better response tactic.
Even though he later proposed the tactic of surprise attack on Liaodong, in addition to accurately grasping Liu Biao's psychology that time, the actual so-called tactic of quick troops almost killed Cao Cao.
Dong Zhao and Mao Jie's strategic planning is no less than that of Xun Yu, but what is needed now is not a strategic plan, but a practical tactical plan.
So the three of them were in a bit of a dilemma.
Finally, Xiahou Dun said: "Then send another 3,000 people from the left camp. Now the left camp is completely covered with mud. Even if the enemy launches a massive attack, they may not be able to break through immediately."
The three of them looked at each other, nodded and said, "This is the safest way."
At that moment, Xiahou Dun mobilized his troops and sent 3,000 men to the left camp. He had also left 5,000 men in the left camp before, leaving 8,000 men. Although there were still many empty camps, he only needed to defend the outer camps.
That's enough.
In addition, he issued an order to Zhang Liao and Cao Chun, ordering them to mobilize their troops and horses and launch a tentative night attack while Yuan Jun's foothold was not stable. If they failed to succeed, they would immediately withdraw.
After Zhang Liao and Cao Chun received the order, they immediately launched into action. Thousands of men and horses were ordered together and prepared to attack the camp at night.
However, what Xiahou Dun and the others didn't know was that at this moment, in Yuan Camp and Yuan Shao's coach's tent, various orders were being issued along with several coughs.
Now Yuan Shao spends most of his time recuperating. Even when there is a meeting, he immediately disbands the meeting after issuing orders to the battalion generals. At other times, he only discusses matters privately with Ju Shou, Tian Feng, Guo Tu and others.
Since Guo Tu lost power, Yuan Shao has been following the advice of Ju Shou and Tian Feng. It has been more than half a year since the confrontation between him and Cao Jun last year, and various preparations are extremely abundant.
Therefore, when the plan was discussed and completed, orders were given directly to the soldiers to do it. Now the ministries quickly received the order, and the generals left the camps like a tide.
Tian Feng walked to the end. He was very old, in his sixties, with weak legs and gray hair and beard. He was using a cane. After everyone was almost done, he walked step by step to the entrance of the camp, ready to
Return to your own camp to rest.
"Yuan Hao."
Yuan Shao was wearing a black silk robe, sitting cross-legged on a blanket, covering his mouth and coughing. When he raised his head, his face was very pale, with almost no blood.
Hearing his call, Tian Feng coughed twice, twisted his body tremblingly, cupped his hands and said, "Ming Gong."
"Yuan Hao, please sit down and chat with me."
"only."
Tian Feng sat on the seat next to him.
Yuan Shao sighed and said: "I used to be stubborn and unwilling to use my life, and I mostly blamed it on Yuan Hao. Yuan Hao was able to ignore his past grudges and still be willing to serve me, which makes me feel deeply guilty."
Tian Feng smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Since you serve Ming Gong, you should be loyal and honest. This is what I do."
"well"
Yuan Shao sighed, shook his head and said: "This is the last chance to defeat Cao Cao. I know that my destiny is approaching, but I can never fall down. However, my body is getting worse day by day, and I feel that there is no time left.
Too much, I feel uneasy."
Tian Feng comforted him and said: "Please cheer up, Ming Gong. It's just a minor illness and it's not a serious problem. As long as Cao Cao can be eliminated, Ming Gong's heart disease will get better and his body will naturally recover."
"I hope so."
Yuan Shao nodded noncommittally, and then said: "I want to make Xiansi my heir, what do you think?"
"That's exactly what it should be."
Tian Feng said quickly: "Since ancient times, when there are many heirs and direct eldest sons, no matter how bad it is, we should establish virtuous ones. Young Master Tan is the eldest son, and he is very wise. With the style of a wise man, how can we establish a young man instead of a virtuous elder?"
"Um."
Yuan Shao said: "I have written down the imperial edict and handed it over to Yuan Hao. If anything happens to me, I will entrust Xian Si to Gong Yu and Yuan Hao."
As he spoke, he took out a bamboo slip.
Historically, he had actually handed over his position to Yuan Tan, and also left a posthumous edict naming Yuan Tan as his heir.
It was later that Shen Pei and Feng Ji privately changed the edict and allowed Yuan Shang to succeed to the throne.
Otherwise, it took Cao Cao 5 years from 202 AD to 207 AD to pacify Jizhou. If there was no conflict between the two Yuans, this time would have been extended by at least 3 to 5 years.
Tian Feng stepped forward to take the edict, put it in his arms, cupped his hands and said: "Respectfully obey Ming Gong's order!"
"Well, you go and rest."
Yuan Shao waved his hands. His eyes were very tired. After closing them, he leaned lightly on the wooden platform, as if he had exhausted all his strength.
Tian Feng slowly walked out of the camp, looked around at the guards at Yuan Shao's door, and then left on his own.
After a while, Yuan Jun suddenly seemed to become lively.
A large number of soldiers and horses started to move out from each camp. Just as Cao Jun wanted to attack at night, Yuan Jun also wanted to attack at night tonight.
Soldiers and horses were coming and going, and countless torches lit up the entire night sky.
It is summer, the night sky is blue, and the bright moonlight shines on the earth, illuminating the land for several kilometers in radius.
In fact, Cao Jun wanted to attack at night, just to harass the tired enemy. Xiahou Dun also asked Zhang Liao and Cao Chun to try it. If it didn't work, they would withdraw immediately. As long as Yuan Jun was harassed so that they could not have a good rest.
After all, a night like this is not suitable for a night attack.
Yuan Jun did not attack at night, but chose to raid Cao's camp openly. They brought many carriages with hay, firewood and grease on them.
Tian Feng's strategy itself was to take advantage of the fact that Cao Jun's right camp was crowded with a large number of troops and horses, and launch a surprise attack to create chaos.
So I barely covered it up, just to see if I could light up the fire and arouse Cao Jun's nervousness.
As a result, in this case, the troops and horses attacking each other met halfway.
There were no torches on either side.
But the moonlight was so bright that we could see each other from a few miles away.
Cao Jun immediately began to retreat. Yuan Jun saw the opportunity and immediately launched a pursuit.
The two sides quickly approached one after the other.
Soon there were all kinds of shouts of death, the sound of running, and the sound of horse hooves.
Zhang Liao reacted quickly and led his guards to cut off the rear and use infantry bows to spray a shower of arrows. Cao Chun ordered the cavalry to use horse bows to cover the retreat of the infantry.
The two sides clashed with arrows, and after briefly repelling Yuan's army, they retreated to the Youying camp.
The originally quiet right camp of Cao's army suddenly roared with horns. The sudden attack by Yuan's army really caught them off guard. Many soldiers did not have time to stand in their proper positions for defense. They hurriedly grabbed their weapons and ran out of the camp gate.
With the sound of drums beating, Yuan Jun immediately launched the first attack on the camps outside Cao Jun's camp. He used his shields to withstand the rain of arrows, lit the hay on the charger, and rushed towards Cao Jun's camp.
A large number of Cao's troops were crowded in the right camp, and there were problems with the temporary command. As a result, Yuan's offensive did not have much offensive pressure at all in a short period of time.
Soon the surrounding Zhang He camp was on fire.
Less than two-quarters of an hour later, Xiahou Dun in the middle camp also received the news, and immediately led his troops to support himself without hesitation.
The entire perimeter of Cao's army was in chaos.
Although they also considered whether Yuan Shao would attack at night, they did not expect that Yuan's army would arrive so quickly, and their own army was too bloated, so they could not respond in time.
The only good news is that although Cao Jun's command was chaotic, Yuan Jun's attack was also chaotic.
After only the first wave burned Zhang He's army camp, they were blocked by other camps, and then a large number of bows, arrows, crossbows, and catapults were used to quickly defeat part of the invading Yuan army.
It was inconvenient for both sides to command at night, which caused great problems for both the enemy and us in the fight.
For example, Yuan Jun sent 40,000 people over this time, but only a few thousand people fought at the front, while the other 20,000 people split up and headed south to attack other camps.
Although it did cause chaos to other camps on the outer right flank of Cao's army, as they went south and continued for several miles, they encountered repeated attacks from Cao's army. As a result, Cao's army in the rear slowly restored order and began to go out to guard the camps in an orderly manner.
Therefore, at this time, the entanglement between Yuan and Cao's armies was taking place to the north, northeast, and east of Cao's camp. The entire wilderness was densely packed with enemy and enemy soldiers attacking each other.
The war was in a state of turmoil. It looked like a lively fight, and the fire was spreading rapidly.
But in fact, the quality of Yuan's army from the grassroots soldiers to the middle-level generals was not as good as that of Cao's army. Therefore, this raid did not achieve Tian Feng's purpose of disrupting Cao's army. It would be a matter of time before Cao's army recovered and repelled Yuan's army.
The two sides are still fighting.
Time passed by minute by minute, and no one noticed that at the three-quarter mark, there were more than 20,000 men and horses approaching quietly to the north of Cao Ying, several kilometers away.