After the defeat during the day, Cao Cao's army was forced to retreat to the Dong'an area to camp and rest.
"Fengxiao, what did you mean by what you said during the day?"
Cao Cao had been thinking about what Guo Jia said during the day, but because he had not been to the front line in person, he could not make an accurate judgment.
Guo Jia, who was drinking to please himself, was suddenly asked by Cao Cao and quickly swallowed the drink in his mouth.
"My lord, according to Jia Tiantian's observation, although Xiang Ji's army in Chu State is strong, his number of soldiers is definitely not large."
Seeing the questioning look on Cao Cao's face, Guo Jia controlled his desire to betray himself.
"First, although Xiang Ji showed off his cavalry today, he did not take advantage of the victory to pursue it.
This shows that his troops are definitely not large, so he does not have the courage to fight a decisive battle with our army."
Hearing what Guo Jia said, Cao Cao's eyes suddenly lit up.
Can't you see that this drunkard actually has such vision? Cheng Yu and the others really didn't fool me. With this strategic vision, this drunkard is enough to become Cao's strategist.
Seeing Cao Cao's satisfied look, Guo Jia paused and continued his analysis.
"Secondly, not too much time has passed since our army received Liu Bei's letter.
And based on the marching speed of our army, the Chu army of that nationality probably also withdrew from Qingzhou after receiving the message from the lord to send troops.
This is enough to show that the number of Chu troops attacking Qingzhou will never exceed one hundred thousand, otherwise the time wasted on logistics will be far more than this.
Moreover, since Xiang Ji's expedition to Qingzhou failed, then based on my lord's understanding of Liu Bei, is it possible that Xiang Ji will be able to escape unscathed?"
Cao Cao's eyes brightened even more.
What a great talent! Unexpectedly, this drunkard is really a great talent!
Just from this tiny clue, we can deduce Xiang Yu's approximate military strength!
Cao Cao had no doubts about what Guo Jia said.
After all, the truth lies here, and Cao Cao himself is a military master, so it is natural for him to understand.
"Fengxiao, in your opinion, how many Chu troops will there be under this banner? Are they as powerful as today's cavalry?"
Cao Cao decided to consider Guo Jiazai to see where this drunkard's limit was.
At the same time, although Cao Cao did not witness today's cavalry duel with his own eyes, after hearing what the Xiahou brothers told him after returning, Cao Cao also knew that Xiang Ji's cavalry unit was definitely the best among the best.
Moreover, the strange fighting method also made Cao Cao think about it.
"My lord, according to Yi Jia, the number of Xiang's troops must not exceed 50,000. Otherwise, with his arrogance, he would never give up the pursuit of the forward battalion.
As for whether the lord is like the cavalry today, I am not sure about this."
Less than 50,000? Then my current military strength is still twice that number.
Although the defeat during the day had shaken morale, the problem was not that big, and the number of his cavalry was not large, so it would not play a decisive role in a battle involving hundreds of thousands of people.
Gradually he made a decision in his heart, and Cao Cao came out of his state of contemplation.
"Instruct all generals to come quickly to discuss matters."
The opportunity is rare.
Now Xiang Ji's power has far surpassed his own, and Cao Cao knew this.
Previously, it was because he was not sure of winning Xiang Ji and it would be disadvantageous for him to start wars everywhere at the same time, so Cao Cao just wanted to make a splash.
But what I saw was different.
Nowadays, Xiang Ji has been newly defeated and has insufficient troops. Moreover, although this place is within the territory of Xiang Ji's Chu State, it is far away from his home base of Pengcheng, and it takes a long time to go back and forth.
Then, the situation is very clear.
As long as we seize this opportunity and keep Xiang Ji here, the Chu State he built will inevitably collapse.
As for the land of Xuyang and Erzhou, Cao Cao is lying if he says he is not greedy.
When the generals arrived, Cao Cao told them his plan.
"Instruct the whole army to prepare for the expedition and set off for Yangdu immediately in the early morning.
Generals, please remember that this battle does not require the complete annihilation of the Chu army. As long as we can retain that record, it will be the greatest victory for our army."
It doesn't matter how many Chu troops Cao Cao kills, as long as he can kill Xiang Yu, then the leaderless Chu troops are just a bunch of sheep.
When he saw the generals leaving one after another, Cao Cao sent another order and called Liu Bei's envoy Sun Qian over.
"Mr. Sun Qian, please rush back to Qingzhou immediately and be sure to deliver this letter to your lord."
Since he decided to use troops against Xiang Ji, Cao Cao must win with one blow.
Who am I sending troops for? Now we are about to have a decisive battle with that country. You big-eared thief can't sit back and wait to pick peaches, right?
So even if Liu Bei lost to Xiang Ji in Qingzhou, no matter how weak his men were, he could still raise an army of tens of thousands, right?
Regarding the matter of besieging and killing Xiang Ji, Cao Cao would never dislike having too many troops.
Moreover, the fighting power of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei was also urgently needed by Cao Cao.
After all, if you want to kill Xiang Ji, your top combat power will definitely play a decisive role.
Boss Cao doesn't want his generals to work hard anymore.
If, if, Liu Bei's brothers and Xiang Ji could die together, the scene would be so beautiful that I dare not even think about it.
Shu said.
After a night's rest, the Chu army's physical strength had recovered. Just when Xiang Ji was about to order the entire army to set off, the waiter brought him some bad news.
What!?
Cao Cao's army appears not far ahead?
Damn it! When did this happen? Why didn’t the soldiers on guard at night notice it?
When Xiang Ji heard that Cao Cao's army was approaching, he immediately knew that something was going to happen.
Why? He only has 30,000 troops left in his hands, and he is still fighting a series of battles. Neither his physical strength nor his morale are in the best condition.
Although Cao Cao's army was defeated by him yesterday, he did not damage the foundation.
Therefore, if the Chu army faces Cao Cao's army in its current state, the Chu army will definitely be in trouble.
Although it is easy to escape by yourself, will Xiang Yu abandon his subordinates and escape?
What's more, the remaining 30,000 people are Xiang Ji's most elite troops in Chu State.
This includes my nearly 5,000 Canglong Cavalry and more than 10,000 Xiang Family Army.
This is the foundation of Xiang Ji, so Xiang Ji will not abandon them no matter what.
However, judging from the current situation, it is probably too late to retreat. In that case, they will only be continuously pursued and eroded by Cao's army until the entire army is annihilated.
"Send the order to the entire army! Prepare for war!"
Since there is no way to escape, then let’s fight!
After receiving Xiang Ji's order, the Chu army immediately took action.
No mobilization is needed, no slogans are needed.
They only know that they are the soldiers of Chu State and the soldiers of Xiang Ji.