It was already the fourth day when Liu Bei learned that Zhu Jun's troops were fighting Dong Jun in Hedong County in the north.
This news was intercepted by military scouts. Because Huayin County and Zheng County are Huayin and Huaxian in later generations, and they are only seventy miles apart, Liu Bei will naturally send detective horses and scouts to investigate the information there. .
This information was that Zhang Liao led more than ten scouts to ambush at the traffic artery outside Zheng County and captured a courier heading north from Zheng County to Linjin.
The content of the intelligence was actually very simple. It was Xu Rong's letter asking for help, saying that he only had more than 10,000 troops and it was difficult for Zheng County to defend against the onslaught of the Kwantung Allied Forces, so he planned to retreat to Baqiao and join forces with the Chang'an defenders to resist.
At the same time, Xu Rong hoped that Niu Fu would come to support Chang'an as soon as possible after defeating Zhu Jun, because Chang'an's current total strength was only 20,000 to 30,000 people. Once the coalition forces besieged Chang'an, Chang'an would be in danger.
After seeing this letter, it was only then that Liu Bei understood why the journey across the Qinling Mountains was so easy and smooth, without even fighting any major battles.
It turned out that someone was carrying the burden for him, and most of Dong's army was attracted to Hedong County.
At that moment, Liu Bei immediately summoned Cao Cao, Sun Jian, Bao Xin, and all his trusted generals, and held a military meeting at his mansion in Huayin County.
The letters are presented to everyone one by one.
Cao Cao suddenly realized and said: "My journey was so smooth before. I thought the Dong thieves were afraid and hid their troops in Chang'an. But I didn't expect that General Wei had already made a truce with Xianbei and was also attacking Dong Zhuo."
Liu Bei nodded: "Our army does not have many troops. I originally thought that attacking Chang'an would be difficult, but I didn't expect that General Wei would come to help. Mencius said: The right way will help you many, the wrong way will help you few. Dong Zhuo is cruel and unkind, causing harm to the world, and the world can't wait to live. Eat its meat, now it seems that it will not last long."
Sun Jian thought more simply and couldn't understand the twists and turns inside, so he asked: "I'm a little strange, how come this letter happened to fall into our hands, and the letter not only told us that General Wei was fighting with Niu Fu , and also exposed the enemy's strength, which is not consistent with common sense."
Cao Cao replied: "This is indeed strange, but this matter should not be false. Otherwise, how can we explain why the enemy did not set up an ambush in Nanshan?"
"this......"
Sun Jian was speechless for a moment and did not understand the reason.
Bao Xin nodded: "Yes, although there are indeed doubts, Dong Zhuo is also a veteran general. How could he not understand the value of Nanshan's natural dangers? If all Dong Zhuo's troops were in Nanshan, I'm afraid it would not be so easy for us to come. Huayin."
"So there is only one possibility, that is, the letter is true, and General Wei is indeed fighting Dong Zhuo. Most of Dong Zhuo's troops are indeed in the east of the river."
Liu Bei made a summary.
The logic of things is very clear and very simple.
One thing that the five princes have been wondering about is why the defense line in the Qinling Mountains is so stretched.
In the battle of setting up an ambush at Guangtong River, the coalition forces had numerical and equipment advantages. Duan Yan only relied on the favorable location and suffered a three-to-one battle loss.
It can be seen that if Dong Zhuo could send 50,000 people, he would probably be able to seal the Kwantung Allied Forces in the Qinling Mountains for a year or two.
Therefore, they couldn't figure out why Dong Zhuo didn't defend the Qinling Mountains well.
So in the end, they came to a very far-fetched conclusion - that is, Dong Zhuo was afraid and did not dare to fight the coalition forces, so he chose to hide his troops in Chang'an.
But this explanation is indeed untenable. After all, anyone who is not a fool can see the importance of the geographical location in the Qinling Mountains.
Dong Zhuo was also a veteran who had fought in the South and North for so many years, so it was impossible not to see this.
So along the way, several people were quite surprised by this matter.
But now that they saw this letter asking for help, everyone suddenly figured out the reason.
It turned out that it was not that Dong Zhuo did not want to let go of this area, but that he did not expect that the Kwantung Army would attack in winter, and that Zhu Jun actually attacked from the north, so he had to dispatch troops and horses to defend it.
In this way, everything can be explained.
In addition, everyone remembered that Wang Kuang, the governor of Hanoi, and Zhang Yang, the governor of Shangdang, found excuses to leave the alliance because of the intrusion of the Baibo Army and the Xianbei Tribe.
From this, it can also be confirmed that Zhu Jun has indeed not continued fighting with Xianbei.
Otherwise, it would be impossible for Xianbei to go to the party to cause trouble.
"Since you said so, it seems that this matter is indeed true. General Wei really fought against Niu Fu in Hedong, but..."
Sun Jian frowned and said: "Judging from this letter, Dong Zhuo has sent most of his troops to Hedong. General Wei may not be able to hold on for long. Should we also send troops to Hedong to assist Wei?" General?"
To aid Zhu Jun?
Everyone was silent for a moment.
Their current mission is to enter Chang'an and rescue the emperor.
If I go to help Zhu Jun, will it ruin the plan?
After all, their advantage is fighting in winter. It takes a long time and when winter passes, it will be difficult to fight.
Liu Bei thought for a while, turned to look at Guan Yu and said, "Second brother, you are from Hedong, what do you think?"
Guan Yu shook his head and said: "It's too far. From Huayin to Anyi in Hedong, you have to pass through Linjin, Puban, Xieliang, and Yi County, and you have to cross a big river. It's equivalent to going back to Shaanxi County from here. Normally walking through the capital It will take more than ten days, and the route is still in the hinterland of Dong's army. Once we get into a war, even more time will be wasted, and our army may not have enough food and grass."
The distance from Shaanxian County to Anyi, where Zhu Jun is located, is only about a hundred kilometers. The problem is that the Yellow River and the Zhongtiao Mountains lie across it, making it impossible to cross.
Therefore, if Liu Bei wanted to join forces with Zhu Jun, he really had to take the route Guan Yu said.
Guan Yu was originally from Jieliang, Hedong. Anyi was right next to Jieliang, so he naturally knew the surrounding terrain clearly.
But to make such a long circle, there is no time. After all, they only have seven or eight days of food and grass left in their hands. Without food, they will definitely not be able to fight.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, so they did not have to waste time going to Hedong, so they could still wait for food and grass according to the original plan, and take advantage of the depth of winter in December. Continue to attack Chang'an.
Cao Cao glanced at everyone and said slowly: "If we don't come to the aid of General Wei, then there are only two ways left in front of us."
"Two roads?"
Everyone looked at him, shouldn't they continue to implement the original plan?
"Yes, the first way is to follow the original strategy, wait for the logistics and food supplies, and then send troops to capture Zheng County, attack Baqiao, and then move to Chang'an."
Cao Cao nodded, with a sense of pointing the country: "But think about it, everyone, General Wei is fighting the Dong thieves in Hedong. Judging from the letter, General Wei is in a disadvantageous condition and may be defeated at any time. Once Niu Fu defeats him,
, and when we return to Chang'an, Dong Zhuo's troops will be much stronger than ours. If we don't capture Chang'an in winter and the weather warms up in spring, our army will be at a disadvantage."
"When the late emperor sent General Wei to Bingzhou to fight Xianbei, he mobilized about 30,000 soldiers from Jizhou. Plus some troops left by Ding Yuan, the number of soldiers and horses in Bingzhou was probably 40,000 at most. Now there are only 2000 soldiers left in Chang'an.
Judging from the 30,000 troops and horses, Dong Zhuo sent at least 60,000 to 70,000 troops to Hedong, so General Wei is indeed at a disadvantage."
Liu Bei took over what he said and mentioned something.
"What Meng De said makes sense. When the weather gets warmer, the advantage of cotton clothes will disappear. Moreover, the walls of Chang'an City are high and thick, and the food and grass inside must be piled up like mountains. Even if the siege lasts for three to five years, it may not be possible to break it."
"General Wei's soldiers and horses are all county soldiers. It's okay to guard Yanmen Pass and fight against Xianbei. But when they encounter the Xiliang army that looks like wolves and tigers, and there are only a few people, it really won't be a good deal."
"Then according to what Meng De and Xuande want, the Northern Guard General cannot continue. If our army cannot capture Chang'an in a short time, won't our army be defeated when Niu Fu returns to the defense?"
Everyone was talking a lot and were very worried about the future.
Cao Cao continued: "So I think we can make a dangerous move and use the second strategy."
"What strategy?"
Everyone was curious.
Cao Cao looked at everyone and said word by word: "Surprise attack on Chang'an!"
Surprise attack on Chang'an?
After hearing his words, everyone began to think carefully.
Judging from the information obtained now, Chang'an has few soldiers, only 20,000 to 30,000 people.
Moreover, fighting in winter is an advantage for the coalition forces, which is crucial.
If 70,000 troops can attack Chang'an before Niu Fu defeats Zhu Jun and returns to defend Chang'an, then there is a good chance that they can really break through the city and defeat Dong Zhuo.
In this way, the great achievement of killing the national traitor and rescuing the emperor will be all recorded on the five people. By that time...
Thinking of this, everyone, including Liu Bei, began to breathe quickly and their hearts began to beat.
The opportunity to become famous and prosperous is now!
Only Wang Lang managed to calm down and reminded everyone: "But our army has insufficient food and grass. If we stay in Huayin, we can barely wait until the first batch of food and grass arrives. If we make a surprise attack on Chang'an, we will be in danger.
If he succeeds, he is Huo Qiaoqi; if he fails, he is Li Ling..."
This sentence is like a bucket of cold water poured on everyone's mind, making everyone calm down.
indeed.
Now the army has gone deep alone. Even though the distance from Huayin to Shaanxi County is only a small distance, the road is too difficult to walk and the baggage is slow to arrive. Even in Huayin, the army has to save money and tighten its belts to wait until the third day.
A batch of grain and grass.
If we attack directly by surprise, it means giving up food and grass. People are made of iron rice and steel. Once there is a stalemate outside Chang'an for several days and the soldiers have no food and grass, their morale will be greatly disturbed and they will be defeated directly.
By that time, the coalition forces will be really in danger.
Sun Jian pondered for a moment and said: "It is less than 200 miles from Huayin to Chang'an. If you travel quickly, you can get there in three to five days. Now the army can still support it for seven or eight days. In other words, we can leave it to attack the city.
The time is less than two or three days, it is indeed a risky move."
Cao Cao smiled bitterly and said: "But if we don't fight, even if we stay here to wait for food and fodder, we will have no chance of winning when Niu Fu returns. As long as Dong Zhuo relies on his troops to defend Chang'an, our army will have no choice but to retreat to Luoyang after spring arrives.
"
"It seems that a surprise attack on Chang'an is our only way to win."
Liu Bei's eyes were determined, and he slapped the case and said: "The Emperor is still waiting for us in Chang'an, and I don't want to waste this opportunity. In this case, we will make a surprise attack on Chang'an to rescue the Emperor!"
Seeing his decision, the three princes looked at each other, nodded, and said with cupped hands: "Then respect the alliance leader's order!"