Chapter 362 The new sacrificial wine of Sikong House
After hearing Cao Cao's bold words, Cheng Yu did not do much to dissuade him, but instead showed an expression of appreciation.
He still knew Cao Cao well and knew that his lord was not a man who acted on impulse.
Cao Cao now thought about it and knew that Yuan Shao might sneak attack on him, but he still wanted to attack Tao Shang. He must have had his plan and decision in mind.
"Sikong, Jia Xu's letter also said that if Sikong comes over this time and doesn't receive the goods, you might as well give his advice a try."
Only at this time did Cao Cao pay attention to Jia Xu's strategy. This old guy was in Puyang, and he could guess the movements of himself, Tao Shang, and Yuan Shao almost nine times out of ten. His intelligence was really rare in the world.
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With such profound and ingenious thinking, it would not be an exaggeration to say that his wisdom and scheming are the best in the world.
"Jia Xu... What is the strategy proposed by Jia Wenhe?" Cao Cao unknowingly paid more and more attention to Jia Xu, and even changed his title slightly.
Cheng Yu looked at Jia Xu's handwriting carefully, and the more he looked at it, the more he admired it.
"Jia Xu said that when things get settled here, he would ask Sikong to send troops to go south and capture Yuzhou."
"Capture Yuzhou?" Cao Cao was stunned when he heard this.
Cheng Yu nodded with joy and said: "Yanzhou is short of food, and Yuzhou covers a lot of land. Sikong went south to Yuzhou to replenish grain, expand farmland, and replenish military rations. Secondly, he took the opportunity to reclaim Liang State from the pottery merchants.
Also capture Yingchuan County and Runan County. These two counties have a large population and are the largest counties in the world, second only to Nanyang. If we capture these two counties, our lord's strength will definitely increase greatly."
Cao Cao frowned: "Are you asking Cao to fight Yuan Shu? Cao is not afraid of him. The question is, what's the benefit of offending this beast for nothing?"
Cheng Yu stroked his beard and said: "Jia Xu will definitely become the mastermind of Sikong's subordinates in the future. If Sikong captures Yuzhou, especially Yingchuan County, he can move the government southward and establish a foothold in Yuzhou.
"
After hearing this, Cao Cao thought carefully for a long time and finally understood what Jia Xu meant.
After this battle, as expected, the alliance between Tao Shang, himself, and Yuan Shao was completely broken.
Yuan Shao gained the general and now defeated Zhang Yan to pacify Bingzhou, so his next goal must be the land of Qingzhou.
Qingzhou borders Xuzhou to the north. If the Xuzhou Tao family wanted to maintain stability, they would definitely not let Yuan Shao get involved in Qingzhou.
As for Yuan Shu, who had a deep hatred against Tao Shang, he had been quiet during this period. One reason was that the last fierce battle at Ruxuwu had made the direct descendant of the Yuan family lose confidence and become somewhat autistic.
Secondly, Liu Biao of Nanyang, an ally of the pottery merchants, has been suppressing Yuan Shu, preventing Yuan Shu from taking any rash action.
In fact, Yuan Shu never gave up the idea of attacking the pottery merchant Jinling City, but with Liu Biao on his side, he did not dare to act rashly.
If Cao Cao captured Yuzhou and moved his seat to a county within Yuzhou to intimidate Nanyang County, Liu Biao would definitely not be in the mood to take care of Yuan Shu if his powerful neighbor was by his side.
In this way, Yuan Shu can free up his hands and feet to plot Jinling City.
Of course, Yuan Shu is also very likely to counterattack Yuzhou and then take Runan County.
But Cao Cao was quite confident about this. He felt that between Cao Cao and the pottery merchant, if Yuan Shu was forced to choose one of the two, Yuan Shu would still choose to attack the pottery merchant.
It can not only expand its own power, but also put the Xuzhou Tao family into a situation where they are enemies on three sides. Why not?
Moreover, the Yanzhou nobles united with the Xiliang generals to rebel some time ago. Although they were finally put down according to Cao Cao's plan, it also made Cao Cao extremely disgusted with the other nobles in Yanzhou.
The current Yanzhou nobles are a group of ungrateful wolves in Cao Cao's heart.
Who wants to live in the same room as a wolf?
Nowadays, most of Cao Cao's advisers are from Yingchuan, and many students from Yingchuan Academy are very close to him. If Cao Cao moves his seat of government southward, to a certain extent, it may be more helpful for him to absorb Yingchuan.
Taxi as a helping hand.
Cao Cao once heard Xun Yu say to him that Xu County, which is very close to Yangdi County, the seat of Yingchuan, is a prosperous place with excellent Feng Shui!
Xu Youmu, a scholar during the Emperor Yao period, cultivated this area and got its name from the shores of Yingshui River. Xun Yu also intentionally reminded Cao Cao that if he could capture Yuzhou in the future, it would be a good choice to move the seat to Xu County.
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Thinking of this, Cao Cao took a deep breath and said to Cheng Yu: "Zhongde, go back and write an appointment for me... Let Jia Xu offer wine as the military advisor of Sikong Mansion."
Cheng Yu immediately raised his hand and said yes.
It seems that after this incident, Cao Cao plans to let Jia Xu into his inner circle.
…
Jiuli Mountain, Jinling Military Formation.
After the Jinling Army arrived in the mountainous area of Jiuli Mountain, they immediately stopped the process of returning troops.
Under the arrangements of Tao Shang's generals, the soldiers and horses of the Jinling Army guarded the dangerous points of the Jiuli Mountain battlefield, and set up deer horn camps to guard the mountain roads and valley roads, waiting for the arrival of Cao Cao's army.
Vaguely, thick smoke billowed in the distance, and I saw Cao Jun's troops getting closer and closer to the Jinling Army's defense position at Jiuli Mountain.
The outline of Jinling Army was vaguely visible, and Cao Chun, the general of Cao Army, immediately raised his sword.
"kill!"
The main cavalry of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry at the front of Cao's army began to urge their horses, and the huge cavalry battle group launched a charge, like overwhelming the sky and the earth, with an unstoppable and terrifying impact.
The cavalrymen of the Hubao Battalion brandished their sabers to kill the enemy and rushed fiercely towards the formation arranged by the Jinling Army at the entrance of the valley.
Seeing the tiger and leopard cavalry getting closer and closer, Tao Shang hurriedly ordered Xu Huang: "Retreat and go deeper into the valley!"
The defensive theater of the Jinling Army is in the valley between the two peaks of Jiuli Mountain.
Although it is quite spacious, at least it is not like a plain land, which can give the cavalry of the Tiger and Leopard Battalion endless room to display.
In the battlefield of Canyon Road, at least the fierce offensive of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry can be contained.
Tao Shang knew in his heart that no matter how sophisticated the Jinling Army's armor was, it would be difficult for the Jinling Army, which was dominated by infantry, to defeat Cao Cao's tiger and leopard cavalry on a vast plain battlefield.
The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry almost ignored the tens of meters wide antlers array placed by the Jinling Army at the mouth of the gorge, ravaging the antlers as if they were treading on the sea and flat mountains, and quickly rushed into the hinterland of the canyon.
After the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry led by Cao Chun, Xiahou Dun, Yu Jin, Li Dian, Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Le Jin, Pang De, Yan Xing, Dian Wei and other generals also commanded their respective troops to file in.
But in the canyon battlefield, which is not suitable for a flat charge, the Jinling Army is not afraid of a battle with Cao Cao's army.
In terms of cavalry, the Jinling Army is not as good as Cao Cao's army, but in terms of infantry, the Jinling Army is comparable to Cao Cao's army.
Cao Chun took the lead and led the tiger and leopard cavalry into the battlefield.
When he was young, he saw the Jinling Army relying on a dangerous position and forming a formation in the field. The soldiers in the southeast were glaring fiercely at their own generals.
Cao Chun was stunned for a moment when he saw this, and then laughed loudly: "Okay, he is waiting for us here! This Tao thief has been prepared for a long time, but he is extraordinary."
The wind was howling, there was flying sand, and the two armies faced each other nervously.
Under the command of a group of generals, the various units of the Jinling Army set up their positions according to the danger, especially the crossbow battalion on the high ground led by Gan Ning. Their eyes were filled with blazing fighting spirit. If Cao Jun's cavalry dared to push
If you take any further, they will immediately rain down arrows.
The soldiers and generals who looked like black clouds blocked the spacious road in the canyon and made it airtight. If you looked at it from the sky from the perspective of a flying bird, you would not be able to find a single gap among these people to allow the opponent to penetrate through.
But Cao Jun was not afraid at all. Tigers and leopards were riding in the front line, war horses were neighing, and spears were shining. In the middle of the open space where the two armies were facing each other, there seemed to be a suffocating feeling in the air.
Under the hooves of the tiger and leopard cavalry, there is the power of the earth shattering. Under the halberd of the Jinling Tiger Guard, there is the power of turning mountains and seas.
The pottery merchant behind the Jinling Army couldn't help but swallow softly.
I haven't experienced such a prelude to a war for a long time.
Behind Cao Chun, Xiahou Dun galloped up and said solemnly: "Sikong has an order, no matter what arrangements the Jinling army makes, we will fight!"
"kill!"
"kill!"
"kill!"
In the Chinese army formation behind the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, Cao Ren, who commanded the armies on behalf of Cao Cao, loudly ordered: "Three armies! Beat the drums! Defeat the enemy!"
The dull sound of drums resounded in the sky, and soon after, Cao Chun, Xiahou Dun, Dian Wei, Cao Hong, Pang De, Yan Xing, Li Dian, Yue Jin, Xia Houyuan, Yu Jin, Xia Houjie, Xia Houlian, etc. were seen.
The various troops that were the vanguard began to crush the Jinling Army with heavy drumbeats.
In the rear formation of the Jinling Army, Tao Shang also raised his hand slightly and shouted: "Welcome the enemy!"
The sound of horns resounded in the sky.
Generals such as Zhao Yun, Tai Shi Ci, Xu Chu, Tao Ji, Xu Rong, Xu Huang, Gan Ning, Zhou Tai, Dong Xi, Xu Sheng, and Pan Zhang also led their troops to fight back.
The black tiger and leopard cavalry led the way, with Cao Jun's infantry behind them. They were like a giant steel dragon, swallowing clouds and mist, sweeping across the sky, and charging towards the Jinling army.
Although Tao Shang and Cao Cao had tried each other several times, they were all minor fights, but today was the first bloody battle between Tao and Cao's armies with real swords and guns!
Horse hooves splashed, flags fluttered, dark clouds covered the sky, and the murderous intent in the entire canyon made people awe-inspiring. The bloody atmosphere spread wantonly throughout the entire venue.
Before the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were about to collide with the Jinling Army, the crossbow battalion led by Gan Ning began to prepare.
These soldiers remained calm and stared at the fierce cavalry with cold and stern eyes.
"Crossbowmen prepare!"
Gan Ning shook the bell on his waist and shouted loudly.
"Whoa!"
The neatly raised arrows emitted an icy cold light and were aimed at the tiger and leopard riders who were running closer and closer.
"Fire the arrow!"
"Whoosh whoosh!"
A hundred steps away, some of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalrymen in the front cavalry of the Tiger and Leopard Battalion were hit by arrows. They either fell to the ground, or drew an arc in mid-air, and then hit the thick ground hard.
On the stone ground, before he even had time to utter a scream, he was trampled to death by the cavalry behind him. The blood flowing out of the arrow holes in his body stained the soil on the field red in the blink of an eye.
But even so, the remaining tiger and leopard cavalry seemed to be invisible and still charged forward coldly.
Even a ferocious and barbaric person like Gan Ning could not help but feel his scalp numb when he saw this.
Where did this ghost cavalry pop up?
Don’t they know what fear is?
Which general in Cao's army trained him?
"Keep firing! Fire arrows for me!" Gan Ning shouted repeatedly, directing the crossbow battalion to attack non-stop.
However, the obstruction of the arrow rain was only temporary, and the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry finally rushed into the Jinling Army's formation.
And the torrential rain of blood accompanied the fighting spirit of both sides, and a fierce battle that should have happened long ago began.
…
"Boom!"
The shouts of death in the canyon were accompanied by the rolling thunder, which seemed to disturb Yuan Shao, who was driving his troops to the battlefield dozens of miles away.
Yuan Shao looked up at the sky and murmured: "Is this going to rain?"