Chapter 274 Liu Bei came down with a letter of challenge and asked me to wait for the decisive battle tomorrow.

The first day of the first month of the fourteenth year of Jian'an is the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Wancheng County Government Mansion.

This city has an indelible mark on Cao Cao.

When he came here again, passing by Sunset Ju where he was stationed in the north of the city, Cao Cao could not hide his sadness.

The eldest son Cao Ang, nephew Cao Anmin, and general Dian Wei were all buried here.

Also, his younger brother Cao Ren died at Huangmen Pavilion in Xinye, and general Yue Jin died on the banks of the Jishui River east of Niyang and west of Jiyang.

All kinds of sorrows welled up in his heart, which made Cao Cao filled with emotions and worried.

Fortunately, this emotion only lasted for a few days. After paying homage to the place where Cao Ang and Dian Wei died, Cao Cao embarked on a new journey.

For nearly a month from the dispatch of troops in early December last year to the end of December, Cao Cao and Liu Bei faced off in the Wancheng area.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Cao Cao forcibly relocated the Li people in this area and forced them to live in Runan.

Hua Xin asked in surprise: "But if we withdraw our troops, wouldn't he?"

"Reinforcements? What other reinforcements can he have?"

"Um."

This would make Cao Cao's situation very embarrassing.

"There are only three possibilities. One is that the outcome of the Battle of Baqiu has been determined. No matter whether Sun Quan wins or loses, he will fight us decisively!"

Because what they said is right, aside from the fact that the morale problem has been solved by Liu Bei, the leadership problem has only been barely solved. The actual issuing of orders is definitely far less commanding than Cao Cao.

"What about the second possibility?"

Cao Cao suddenly asked.

After hearing this, Cao Cao nodded slightly and said: "Zhou Yu currently has the upper hand and cannot be defeated in just a few days. Therefore, I thought that Liu Bei could only be eager to fight Gu because Baqiu was in danger. This battle could only be repeated again.

With Zhang Xiu, there is no need to worry."

Originally, these people lived and worked in peace and contentment here, with fields and houses, but they had to leave their hometowns overnight. Naturally, they were unwilling to do so. This caused anger and grief among people.

"yes."

Xun You hesitated and said: "Since Zhou Yu has the upper hand, why should Sikong be in a hurry for success? Wait until Sun Quan defeats Shen Chen, why not go north to attack Liu Bei?"

Therefore, to a certain extent, except for the three thousand Huangmen soldiers who belong to the trapped camp and are super first-line troops at the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry level, Liu Bei's army and Wenpin's army can only be regarded as second-line troops, and Cao's soldiers are slightly stronger than them.

second-line troops.

Cao Cao narrowed his eyes.

The two temporarily formed an alliance because of the common piece of cake in Jingzhou, but they also chose to break up because of this benefit.

Xun You said: "The second possibility is that the battle of Baqiu has not yet been decided, but the Jiangxia navy continues to be at a disadvantage, which makes Liu Bei extremely anxious, fearing that Sun Quan will win, so he wants to defeat us as soon as possible and rush south to rescue Baqiu.

"

"good."

Therefore, neither Cao Cao nor Liu Bei dared to start the war easily, and could only rely on cities and camps for defense and confrontation.

Jiangxia Navy rested in Baqiu for two days, and then headed north. In two days, they had actually arrived at Fancheng.

Therefore, if he wants to gain something, he must defeat Liu Bei and completely incorporate Nanyang into his territory.

Xun You continued: "The third possibility is that Liu Bei has found reinforcements."

After drinking, Cao Cao put down his wine glass and said loudly while the waiters were refilling the wine: "Liu Bei, a defeated general, is always beating a stone with an egg. A few days ago, I wrote a letter to him, asking him to surrender and return to the court in Chendu. Unexpectedly, he wrote back.

To scold Yu Gu angrily is because you really don't know the current affairs."

At present, the main force of Cao's army is about 30,000 people in Wancheng, and the rest are stationed in Wuyin, Bowang, Xi'e, Duyang and other cities around Wancheng by Li Tong, Zhu Ling, Lu Zhao, Feng Kai and other troops.

If Sun Quan loses, Cao Cao will naturally choose to retreat, but after all, he relocated so many people before retreating, so it is not a loss.

But what can be done?

Cao Cao nodded and said: "Therefore, Sun Quan, son, has to be on guard."

Hua Xin laughed in agreement.

However, this situation only lasted until the end of the thirteenth year of Jian'an. On the first day of the new year, Cao Cao summoned Xun You, Dong Zhao, Mao Jie, Hua Xin, Cao Hong, Li Dian, Xu Chu and other counselors currently stationed with him in Wancheng.

Let the generals have a meal together.

Hua Xin said with a smile: "Sikong is about to sweep across the north, with millions of troops and horses, no one can stop him. Liu Bei only has 30,000 or 40,000 troops now, how can he resist Sikong?"

Xu Chu had already taken the letter from the soldiers and submitted it to Cao Cao's case.

Third, there is a certain gap in the combat effectiveness of the two sides. Northern soldiers are stronger than southern soldiers.

Dong Zhao also said: "Sikong, don't forget, there is Zhangxiu to the west!"

Cao Cao also agreed with their statement.

In addition, this second-line force was personally commanded by Cao Cao, and its combat effectiveness was certainly comparable to the elite first-line force of Cao's army that was placed in the north of Jizhou. Therefore, defeating Liu Bei was naturally easy for them.

"strangeness."

Although Liu Bei also had 50,000 troops, he was unable to fight with Cao's army due to various reasons. As a result, the people had no shelter and were eventually displaced. I don't know how many people left Nanyang and started over.

"Pass my order, strictly organize the troops, display the banner, and strengthen the military power."

Dong Zhao put his hands in his sleeves and nodded slightly: "Sikong, we really need to wait for news about Baqiu in this fierce battle. Although our army should be stronger than Liu Bei's army, he is stationed in the city camp, so it is not easy to attack by force.

.”

What's more important is that Cao Jun is one of the elites in the world. Even before the Battle of Guandu, Jushou said that Cao Jun's soldiers were far stronger than Yuan Shao's army in terms of personal ability and teamwork. This shows that Cao Jun belongs to Yuan Shao Jun in the north.

The strongest army.

In the ancient feudal period, although southerners may find it uncomfortable, in terms of military combat effectiveness, even the ancients recognized that northern soldiers were stronger than southern soldiers. For example, the "Book of Han" clearly records that Guanzhong soldiers and Hebei soldiers

And Shandong soldiers are the most elite soldiers in the world.

Mao Jie, who had been silent before, began to think deeply and said: "It is impossible for Liu Bei not to know that there is a gap between him and us, so he forces a decisive battle with us. Even if it is a fierce battle in the wild, he may not be able to defeat us, so why would he declare a challenge?

?”

Cao Cao looked around and said jokingly: "I received a letter from Liu Bei at the end of the year. Does this guy want to pay me New Year's greetings? Hahahahaha."

They really have to wait for Baqiu's side to decide the winner of this battle. After all, both sides have 50,000 people. Although analysis says that they are stronger than Liu Bei, there is no reason why they must be strong if they are strong on paper.

In the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao's army of more than 100,000 troops was as powerful as a rainbow and put great pressure on Cao Cao like a dark cloud. Wasn't it because of his surprise attack that he succeeded in the end?

"It's the end of the year again. Liu Bei has no foundation, so he must be very impatient."

They believed that first, Liu Bei was a guest army and was not in the Jingzhou Army system. He was not recognized by the Jingzhou Army and could not issue orders.

"some."

"Report!"

"Send it up."

Cao Cao received the letter and thought that Liu Bei was really extravagant. He used precious paper to correspond with him several times. Although paper has become popular in the south, in the north only powerful people like him can use it, so its value is still very high.

Then he opened the letter, made a sudden "poof" sound, laughed, looked around at everyone, and saw everyone looking at him with curious eyes, so he couldn't help but smile and said to them: "Hahahaha, it's really interesting. You know Liu Bei is here."

Did you say anything in the letter?"

The same is true for Liu Bei. The main force is stationed about fifty miles south of Wancheng and about ten miles due north of Jiyang County. Wenpin Ganning and others are scattered in Yuyang, Nieyang, Biyang and other places north of Xinye.

The city was facing Cao's army from all sides, facing each other head-on.

Cao Cao suddenly sighed and said, "I didn't expect that one day Gu's victory would depend on the face of a child named Sun Quan. However, this child Sun Quan was quite courageous. He actually allied with Gu to carve up Jingzhou, and Sun Wentai, the Jiangdong Tiger, was born.

Two good sons, the eldest son is very much like his father, and the second son is not bad either."

"good."

Although Cao and Sun are united at this moment, it does not mean that they are close partners.

"What Sikong means is that even if Sun Quan defeats Shen Chen, he may sit back and watch the tiger fight, waiting for both us and Liu Bei to suffer?"

Cao Cao narrowed his eyes and said, "Gongda really thinks that Sun Quan is trustworthy?"

At this moment, a soldier came in from outside the door and said: "Liu Bei sent someone to deliver a letter."

"Um."

"But."

Xun You said: "It was sent yesterday, or the news was five days ago. Zhou Yu repeatedly attacked Baqiu and almost annihilated Shen Chen. Because Liu Pan came to the rescue in time, Zhou Yu was barely able to repel Zhou Yu."

Cao Cao laughed and said: "Liu Bei came down with a letter of challenge and asked me to fight tomorrow. It's really interesting."

"nature!"

Cao Cao asked.

Hua Xin made a joke.
To be continued...