Chapter 7 Before winning, first thinking about defeat
The smart people of this era seem to have this ability to observe things.
Guo Jia took one look at Yuan Shao and knew what kind of person he was and what his fate would be in the future, so he defected to Cao Cao without hesitation.
Zhuge Liang looked up at the sky and knew when it would rain and when it would blow.
Cao Cao arranged for the night command to be useless, so Yang Xiu began to pack his luggage and prepare to go home.
If a modern person thinks that he must be smarter than the ancients because he has traveled to ancient times, that is obviously a pretentious thing. People's wisdom is not worse than yours, they just don't have as much knowledge as you.
Therefore, if you want to deal with the elite of an era, in addition to being more knowledgeable than him, the more important thing is that your IQ should not be too low. You must be as smart as him in order to compete with him.
Chen Mu felt that he had a pretty good IQ, so he finalized the plan to harvest wool and started the next strategy without stopping.
"Zhang Jiao retreated to Guangping. Guangping is less than a hundred miles away from Julu. In the Han Dynasty, there was no such thing as a kilometer. It was really troublesome to calculate, but it should be about thirty or forty kilometers. Horseback support would only take more than an hour.
Together with Guangzong next to it, these three places are really impregnable."
Looking at the map in his hand, Chen Mu thought carefully. Guangping, Julu and Guangzong in the Han Dynasty were all different from those in later generations. The three places at this time were closer to each other, a bit similar to Julu and Guangzong in later generations.
The geographical location of Heping Township forms a stable triangle. It has been Zhangjiao's hometown for many years and is deeply rooted.
It is almost impossible for Lu Zhi's more than 30,000 troops to besiege these three places. If he rashly attacks any of the cities, he will easily be outflanked and attacked by enemies from the other two cities.
If you don't do well, you will lose the battle.
"No wonder Lu Zhi wanted to set up camp in Guangzong and make a protracted plan. It turned out to be for this reason. It seems that the battle here will not be resolved in a short while, and other plans must be planned separately."
After staring at the map for two days, by the end of March, the army had rested and prepared to set off again.
Although there is talk of being vigorous on the battlefield, Zhang Jue has retreated to Guangping, and there is no fear of him escaping. Lu Zhi's army has been a little tired after defeating the enemy for several days. If they don't rest, they will be tired when they arrive in Guangping. This is a taboo for military strategists.
, Lu Zhi will naturally not commit the crime.
In April, the grass grows and the orioles fly.
During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the population gathering was mainly in counties and prefectures. Handan was the capital of Zhao State during the Warring States Period, and it was also connected to Yecheng and Sili in Xialian, and to the north of Zhao State. Julu's traffic arteries extended in all directions, and people came and went in an endless stream.
.
There is a straight and wide official road outside the city in the north of Handan. There are pavilions and pavilions on the right side of the official road at the city gate. The Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system. Ban Gu's "Book of Han·Hundred Officials and Officials" once said: "The great rate
There is one pavilion in ten li, and the pavilion is long. There are ten pavilions in one township, and there are three elders in the township, who have high rank, stingy husbands, and wanderers."
It means that there are one pavilion and ten pavilions in one township near the city. Based on this, it radiates all the territory under the jurisdiction of a county. Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, started his rebellion as the pavilion chief and finally conquered the world.
There are large green wheat fields as far as the eye can see on both sides of the official road. However, the wheat fields are not neat. The wheat ears closer to the official road have been pulled out and are bare. Only the wheat seedlings are still left in the farther places. Countless field slaves are just wearing clothes.
Wearing short-nosed trousers and shirtless, we were busy among them, carrying water continuously from the turbulent tributaries of Fushui near Handan.
A few days ago, the Yellow Turban Rebellion swept across the country. Tens of thousands of people from Zhang Jiao's tribe besieged Handan. The Handan County magistrate and the powerful people in the city resisted desperately, and Lu Zhi's timely rescue was able to protect this place. Otherwise, the plains outside the city were protected.
I'm afraid that's more than just the destruction of dozens of miles of wheat fields.
Lu Zhijun finished resting and began to march along the wide official road to the north.
As the vanguard army, Liu Bei's troops set off a stick of incense ahead of time. In order not to disturb the people, the army marched in steps. The first group of vanguard troops only had 3,000 people. Including the current Liu Bei's troops, there were only 3,500 people, forming a line.
The word is long snake formation, all the way north along the official road.
It was not yet midday, and there were many cars and horses coming and going on the road, as well as many pedestrians.
There are Confucian scholars wearing simple clothes and shoes, businessmen dressed in elegant clothes, and some Guizhou officials wearing black or white clothes. Because the world is uneasy and the roads are rough, pedestrians often carry short knives and long swords with them.
Chen Mu observed on horseback and found that there were no secrets in marching and fighting in this era. When the military camp was launched outside the city, both the indigenous residents near the county and foreigners from other places could watch at will, without any awareness or measures of confidentiality.
If he were Zhang Jiao, he would definitely send someone to lurk into Handan first to observe the movements of the officers and soldiers. After discovering the departure of the officers and soldiers, he would report back to Guangping with light cavalry, and then adopt corresponding strategies to counterattack according to the enemy's actions.
This is called information warfare.
However, Guangping is located northeast of Handan and belongs to the North China Plain. The terrain is flat all the way and there is no place to ambush. On the contrary, there are dozens of lofty mountains such as Taihang Mountain Branch, Banshan Mountain, Wuhua Mountain, and Heilong Mountain to the northwest. Unfortunately, Lu Zhi and
Didn't go in that direction.
"Second brother, third brother and fourth brother, look at how vast this plain is and how beautiful the sky is." Liu Bei rode a tall horse and put on his newly issued leather armor. Looking at the mountains and rivers from a distance, he looked high-spirited.
Chen Mu raised his head and looked into the distance. It was the morning, the sun was rising in the east, and its soft rays were falling on the earth, bringing infinite vitality to the world.
Zhang Fei sighed: "It's such a beautiful weather, but it's a pity that there isn't a pot of good wine."
Liu Bei laughed and said: "Third brother, after the Yellow Turban is broken and the mountains and rivers are pacified, wouldn't it be nice for us brothers to drink and have fun together again?"
Guan Yu's lips moved slightly. He originally wanted to tell Liu Bei about Chen Mu's bribery of the quartermaster, but he hesitated for a moment and still didn't say anything. It wasn't that he wanted to make a report, but in his eyes, since everyone was sworn brothers, they were all prosperous.
If one loses, both will suffer.
What Chen Mu did is not a good thing in the eyes of people with moral values, especially in the Qin and Han Dynasties, when morality had not yet been corrupted, scholars respected the conduct of a gentleman, and knights valued benevolence, righteousness, and heroism.
Guan Yu was afraid that what Chen Mu had done would spread out and damage Liu Bei's reputation, which would make Lu Zhi unhappy and cause even more trouble.
However, he remembered that he promised his fourth brother not to tell his eldest brother, so in the end he could only sigh and remain silent.
Chen Mu said to Liu Bei: "Brother, I have seen the map. The three counties of Guangping, Julu and Guangzong are only a few dozen miles apart from each other. Julu is Zhang Jiao's hometown. As long as Zhang Jiao is not stupid, these three counties will definitely be separated."
As the foundation, the defense is impregnable. Yiyang Quliang criticized the three counties of Zhang for easy gains, but the three counties of Guangping, Julu and Guangzong are afraid that they will have to fight a tough battle, so we must be prepared for a protracted war."
Liu Bei nodded: "I think so too. Before setting off, I asked my master. He also felt that Julu and Guangzong were difficult to attack. He was afraid that Zhang Jiao would retreat to Julu and Guangzong. He was still considering whether to send Qingqi to bypass Guangzong.
What do you think about cutting off Zhang Jiao's retreat path after we are defeated?"
"I have thought about this before. General Lu has a large number of cavalry in his hands, and there are many plains in Guangping area, which are suitable for cavalry to gallop, and the army is behind him, so there is no need to worry about supply problems. Even if there are many people in Zhangjiao, he wants to eat them all
It is unrealistic to have cavalry on the plains. So this method must be a good strategy to kill two birds with one stone. First, it will cut off Zhangjiao's retreat, and second, it will block Julu's reinforcements. If I guessed correctly, General Lu will definitely do the same.
"
As Chen Mu was talking, he suddenly felt the earth shaking. He turned around and saw dust rising from the official road a few miles away. It seemed like there were thousands of troops galloping behind him.
Liu Bei also looked back at this large group of cavalry and murmured to himself: "It seems that the master has already made a plan."
The commander of the cavalry is Wu Fu, the captain of the Yue Cavalry School. Although he is a captain and not a general, he is a senior general with a rank of 2,000 stone. He is a senior general in charge of the Northern Army's Zhonghou. Under his leadership, the cavalry troops surpassed the vanguard.
The army headed north along the official road, and seemed to have taken another road.
Meng Zhen, the commander of the vanguard army, watched as Wu Fu led his troops to overtake him, and wondered: "Is Captain Wu trying to steal my vanguard army job?"
Others were confused, but Liu Bei and Chen Mu knew that they planned to bypass Yiyang County and Guangnian County from the north, arrive at the rear of Guangping County, and cut off Zhang Jiao's retreat from Guangping County to Julu County.
"No wonder Zhang Jiao was later besieged and died in Guangzong, not the Julu lair he had run for many years. It turned out that the access to Julu was cut off and he had no choice but to flee to Guangzong County in the east. It seems that his little
The flapping wings of the butterfly have no effect, and the wheel of history is still turning on its normal trajectory."
Looking at the cavalry's retreating figures, Chen Mu thought to himself.
"Fourth brother is really good at predicting things."
Liu Bei came back from his shock and looked at Chen Mu differently again.
He got the news from his master, but the fourth brother had already concluded that his master would do this. This astuteness and intelligence were truly amazing.
Although the second brother and the third brother are brave, they have no strategy. In this troubled world, how many people can be brave and brave? Sure enough, only with wisdom can we seize the opportunity and be unfavorable.
"Brother, you are overly praised."
Seeing Liu Bei's fiery gaze, Chen Mu shuddered.
This guy is a pervert. Every time he sleeps, he shamelessly drags Zhang Fei and Guan Yu together. He calls them four brothers and sleeps together to cultivate their relationship. Who knows if he has any strange hobbies.
"What do you think, fourth brother, of our chances of winning this battle?" Liu Bei asked again.
He felt that although the Yellow Turban Army was a mob, they still had a large number of people, and they still occupied the city and defended it. The party with fewer people attacked the city with more people. However, it seemed that the chance of victory was not good.
Chen Mu replied: "This kind of thing is hard to predict, but if you force me to say it, the chance of winning is very small."
Liu Bei's eyes widened: "Fourth brother thinks so too?"
"Yes."
Chen Mu nodded: "It turns out that eldest brother and I wanted to get together."
Liu Bei sighed: "Yes, we have a small number of people, and it is a siege battle. If the Yellow Turbans from Jizhou arrive together, the chance of victory may be slim."
"Is the eldest brother worried about the reinforcements from the Yellow Turbans? I didn't think about this. It seems that the eldest brother is worthy of being the eldest brother. I only thought of three situations in which our army would be defeated, but the eldest brother thought of four."
Chen Mu looked impressed.
Liu Bei: "???"
What are you talking about?
What is the situation in which three of our armies will be defeated?
Is there any other reason besides the fact that there are many people on the opposite side and there are few of us?
Everyone has the same head, so why are you so much smarter than me?
I really want to ask my fourth brother what the situation of the other three is.
But I didn’t dare to ask.
What if he thinks I'm mentally retarded...
It would be too detrimental to my dignity as the big brother...