Chapter 55: If you ambush me, I will ambush you too
From noon to dusk, the imperial army was digging soil and building mountains of earth outside.
Historically, Yuan Shao built oars directly outside Cao Cao's camp, piled mountains of earth, and shot down Cao Cao's camp with arrows. In the end, Cao Cao used a catapult to defuse the offensive.
This time, Cao Cao took the initiative and piled up mountains of earth inside his camp, using arrows and catapults to suppress the troops outside the imperial army.
Liu Bei's army was unable to break through Cao Cao's camp, so they had no choice but to build fortifications on the spot and move the main force of the army to the other side of the river, squeezing Cao Cao's living space and making it impossible for him to conduct reconnaissance along both sides of the river.
During this process, the imperial court's scouts were able to spread out and investigate the surrounding information. They even reached as far as Junyi County and saw countless grains and grass coming in and out.
However, the scouts had not yet returned to report the news, and another news reached Liu Bei. It was about Chen Mu sending troops from Yingchuan, bypassing Chenliu, and making a surprise attack on Dingtao.
Cao Cao was slightly lacking in strategy and needed top masters like Xun Yu and Mao Jie to help him complete his strategic planning, but in terms of tactics he was a wizard with quite powerful military capabilities. He played with Guo Jiacheng, Cheng Yu, Zhicai, Chen Gong and others.
With careful deployment.
They believed that the imperial court's method of attack would not be to gather the entire army together to attack, but to disperse it. Because the imperial army's military quality was high, the morale of the soldiers was high, and there were many people, concentrated raids would be prone to bad things.
Therefore, if you divide your troops and attack, no matter which road you encounter Cao Cao's main force, you will have the strength to fight, and it is impossible to defeat them one by one. When the time comes for assistance from other roads, you can completely annihilate Cao Cao's main force.
The Ming Dynasty's battle against Nurhaci in the Battle of Sarhu was very similar to the imperial court in terms of tactics. They also divided their forces into five groups to surprise Nurhachi in an attempt to annihilate him in one fell swoop.
However, the tactics of this battle were similar to those of the Battle of Saarhu, but the actual situation was very different.
The Battle of Salhu took place in the northeast, where the terrain was complex. Firstly, the Ming army did not know the terrain very well. Secondly, there were a series of problems such as weather, soldier morale, insufficient food and salary supply, internal conflicts among generals, etc., which caused Nurhaci to be able to
Defeat them one by one.
In Liu Bei's battle to eliminate Cao Cao, he attacked Henan from Sili, Hebei. It was basically located in a flat plain area with very few mountainous areas, so there was no problem of complicated terrain.
In addition, it was summer, the weather was sunny and hot, there were no violent storms or heavy snowfall, the soldiers had a high fighting spirit, sufficient food and salary supply, the internal generals had unified command, and there was a senior counselor authorized by Liu Bei to provide tactical coordination.
The center of the imperial court was presided over by the junior prime minister Xun Yu. In Jizhou, Xun You was the supervisor of the army and formed a military conference group with Zhang Liao, Gao Shun and Xu Rong. In Qingzhou, Zhong Yao, Taishi Ci and Zang Ba were in charge of military affairs.
Therefore, there was no disagreement in terms of tactical coordination. The result was that no matter which side Cao Cao wanted to attack, the enemies on that side could not be defeated by him.
Once the tactics fall into a stalemate, it will definitely be a disadvantage for Cao Cao.
So after in-depth research, he found that without foreign aid, he would definitely die.
Therefore, after Sun Ce withdrew from Yuzhou, Cao Cao held several meetings with his advisers and finally determined that he must form an alliance with Sun Ce and Liu Biao, otherwise he would definitely lose.
Xi Zhicai went to Jingzhou in person to persuade Liu Biao. Even though Cao Cao and Sun Ce had stabbed him in the back, Liu Biao assessed the situation and knew the meaning of death with cold lips and teeth, so he had to send troops to help.
So there was a rumor in the court that they were going to send people to take over the stalls in Yuzhou. Liu Biao's army, commanded by Wenpin, crossed the Dabie Mountains and went north into Runan County. Then he crossed the Run River and went straight to Chen State, where they stopped at the border between Chenliu and Chen State.
Fugou stopped Chen Mu.
Chen Mu did not show mercy to Liu Biao's death-seeking behavior. Unlike Liu Bei who was in a stalemate, Chen Mu had been taking measures to besiege Wenpin's army. The two sides fought for more than ten days, and Chen Mu finally cut off the food and grass.
beat.
There is no way, the Jingzhou army is stronger than the navy, and the elite combat effectiveness of the army can only be ranked in the second line in the Central Plains. And their ordinary soldiers have terrible combat effectiveness, even worse than the county soldiers.
Therefore, facing Chen Mu like a wolf and a tiger, the most elite Central Army troops, even though Wenpin brought 30,000 troops, which was comparable to Chen Mu's troops, the two sides met in the wild north of Fugou River.
After the battle, Wenpin actually lost more than 3,000 people, while the imperial army only lost a few hundred people.
Such a gap made Wenpin realize that it was impossible to defeat the imperial army in a fierce battle in the wild. Therefore, after the defeat, he hurriedly gathered up the defeated troops, retreated for dozens of miles, and set up camp on the same spot, trying to use the camp to defend the enemy's attack and delay it.
strategic purpose.
However, although Wenpin had clearly understood that there was a huge difference in frontal toughness between them and the imperial army, he did not expect that the gap was even greater than he imagined. Chen Mu launched several attacks in succession in these ten days.
, the offensive was overwhelming.
In fact, if Wenpin wants to stop Chen Mu, he can only choose to intercept in the wild. If he runs into a city and relies on the city's strength to defend, he is not a fool. He will not fight you directly, but can he take a detour instead?
The terrain to the south of Chenliu is not like Guandu. The surrounding dozens of miles are soft due to siltation, making it difficult to get around. Chen Mu can completely ignore him and go directly north, either to join Liu Bei or to attack Cao Cao's army.
Cut off Cao's army's retreat from the rear.
Therefore, at first Wenpin could only intercept in the wild.
After the war, he knew what cruelty meant. The five thousand people in the front army were wiped out in an instant. That is to say, he was quite cautious. After seeing that the front army was about to collapse, he immediately ordered the withdrawal, so that he did not lose all 30,000 people in his army.
over there.
Now that he has formed a camp and is stationed in place, Chen Mu has already defeated him. The strategic significance of letting Liu Biao go north to support Cao's army has completely lost its effect. At this time, he can make two choices.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The first is to ignore Wen Pin who is in a defensive state and go directly north.
The second is to completely eliminate the Jingzhou Army.
Chen Mu chose the second option because he believed that it would be better to cut off one of the enemy's fingers than to injure them.
He wants to capture Cao Cao, and he also wants to capture Liu Biao.
The Jingzhou Army has few combatable troops. Although these troops can only be regarded as third-line troops in Guandong, they are already capable troops in Jingzhou.
If they were completely wiped out here, it would be a big deal for Liu Biao. In the future, there would be less resistance when he goes south to attack Xiangyang.
Therefore, between leaving and annihilating the enemy, Chen Mu decisively chose to annihilate the Jingzhou Army and completely eliminate the Wenpin Department.
This decision attracted unanimous support from the entire army. Under the twenty-level military merit system, the entire army fought feverishly.
More than ten days later, after several battles, the Civil Service Department lost troops and generals, and its morale was very low.
You must know that he went north this time with sufficient food, grass and equipment. In order to mobilize morale, Liu Biao also gave him a lot of rewards, just to prevent the imperial court from destroying Cao Cao, because everyone knew that after Cao Cao was destroyed, he, Liu Biao, would be next.
However, the huge gap cannot be made up by some rewards. In the last decisive battle, Wenpin's camp was breached and countless people surrendered. Even Wenpin himself was captured by Zhao Yun.
Wen hired 30,000 troops for this battle, but less than 20,000 survived. This was because Chen Mu repeatedly ordered not to kill prisoners, and sent a large number of supervisory teams to monitor the battlefield.
Otherwise, even the surrendered enemies will most likely be slaughtered by the crazy central army, and all 30,000 people will die.
After defeating the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Chen Mu spent two days dealing with post-war matters. He sent people to Yingchuan and asked the Yingchuan prefect to bring troops and horses to receive the prisoners and clean the battlefield.
After all, more people died in this battle, and it was a hot summer day. If left unchecked, it would lead to a plague. Therefore, we burned what needed to be burned and buried what needed to be buried, which took two days to complete.
He always sends people to report to Liu Bei about matters on his side. The last time Liu Bei got a letter was the good news that Chen Mu gave him the day before yesterday, saying that Wenpin had been eliminated.
The news I learned today is that Chen Mu has finished handling post-war matters and decided to go north. He does not intend to join him, but goes straight to Jiyin.
Liu Bei is still in Guandu at this moment. To the south of Cao Cao's military camp, the imperial army has begun to set up camp and decided to camp here today.
There are almost no defensive measures, and the only ones used on the frontal battlefield are some earth hills and fence fortifications.
It seems that he looks down on Cao Cao.
But the torches scattered throughout the wilderness and the large number of siege equipment show that people are eager for you to come out and fight them to the death. This will save a lot of trouble.
"The fourth brother eliminated Wenpin the day before yesterday, and today he sent a message saying that he planned to go north to attack Jiyin and cut off Cao Cao's retreat."
After Liu Bei read the letter, he smiled and said to everyone: "As long as we delay Cao Cao, Cao Cao's army will be defeated."
At this moment, the scout came to report: "Your Majesty, we have found the grain field in the rear of Cao's army."
"oh?"
Liu Bei quickly asked: "Where?"
"Junyi County."
"Get the map."
Immediately some soldiers brought the map.
Everyone gathered around.
Mao Jie pointed to the map and said: "Your Majesty, Junyi is only more than thirty miles away from Guandu. If we attack here by surprise, it will only take half a day to go back and forth."
It is fifty miles from Guandu to Wuchao, and one has to cross a river. In comparison, Junyi County is much closer.
Liu Bei nodded and said, "How many people can we detect in the city?"
The scout replied: "I don't know the exact number of people. We found a large number of hidden sentries on the periphery, so we didn't dare to get close, but I guess there won't be too many."
"Is the city strong?"
"It's not strong. Junyi County is in dilapidated condition, and most of the outer city walls are incomplete."
"Are you sure you saw the food and grass?"
"I saw it. The rear is still transporting food to the city. The lower-ranking officials can see it clearly."
"good."
Liu Bei was overjoyed and said: "The team will take note of their contribution and go down."
The scout captain said happily: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Then leave.
Liu Bei then looked around at the crowd and said, "Everyone, what do you think? Junyi County is not strong. If Cao Cao's granary can be burned, Cao Cao's army can be completely wiped out in this battle."
Dong Zhao thought: "Information from the Military Intelligence Department revealed that Cao Cao's available troops did not exceed 70,000. The secondary prime minister commanded the northern troops and horses. General Zhang Liao went south across Baima to capture Yan County. Cao Cao's army along the Yellow River had been repulsed and the remnant troops were concentrated.
In the Fengqiu area, Ji Yin also has to stay behind, and his troops in the rear are indeed not too many."
"What Gongren means is that we can send Qingqi to take Junyi directly?"
Wang Lang asked.
"good."
Dong Zhao nodded: "The terrain of Guandu is complicated, which is not conducive to cavalry galloping, but the rear is different. It is a flat land. Junyi has no city wall, and the cavalry can directly enter the city. Cao Cao's main force is in Guandu, so everyone in the rear can't do it.
!”
"Good, that's what I mean."
Liu Bei said: "Let Xu Chu lead his light cavalry to attack Junyi in this battle."
Among the generals currently following Liu Bei on the expedition, the nine generals include Dian Wei and Qian Zhao, and the sixteen generals include Xu Huang, Wu Anguo, Zhang Yan, Ju Yi, etc.
Among these people, there are very few generals who are good at controlling cavalry. Only Xu Chu has been in charge of Xuanjia heavy cavalry all year round, so he can command cavalry.
Therefore, Xu Chu did his part in this combat mission.
Just when Liu Bei was about to order Xu Chu to return to his headquarters camp on the other side of the river and mobilize five thousand cavalry to prepare for a surprise attack on Junyi.
Jia Xu suddenly said: "Your Majesty, there is a fraud."
"Is it a scam?"
Liu Bei asked in confusion: "Where is the fraud?"
"Your Majesty, do you still remember the message that was conveyed by the insider in Cao Jun's camp yesterday?"
Jia Xu said: "A team of Cao Jun left the camp and disappeared."
“Jun Yi is a trap?”
Liu Bei suddenly broke into a cold sweat, he almost forgot about this.
There was a lot of commotion last night, thinking that Cao's army was attacking the camp, but nothing happened the whole night. He thought it was the internal response that sent the wrong message.
Now it seems that Cao Cao is waiting for him here.
Jia Xu pondered: "No one knows if it's a coincidence. Maybe the spy sent the wrong message. Maybe Cao Cao did secretly arrange an ambush. But be careful and you won't be wrong."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Wen He makes sense."
Liu Bei took it seriously and said: "Then let's cancel this operation. Anyway, if we advance with the general trend and press step by step, we can still eliminate Cao Cao."
Jia Xu laughed: "Actually, we can also use the trick. They can arrange an ambush, and we can also arrange an ambush. If we can burn Cao Cao's food and grass, this battle will not have to be so troublesome, and the victory or defeat can be determined directly in Guandu.
Otherwise, let him retreat step by step and delay."
Liu Bei asked in confusion: "What does Wen He mean?"
"Your Majesty will mobilize the cavalry on the other side of the river tomorrow and head south, pretending to bypass Guandu and attack Junyi by surprise. When Cao Cao gets the news, he will definitely send someone to notify Junyi and let them prepare for our attack."
Jia Xu said his strategy with a smile: "At this time, some of our troops attacked Junyi. After the enemy's ambush was gone, we pretended to be in ambush and retreated, luring them to attack. After luring the enemy deep, our ambush troops came out.
Then destroy all the soldiers and horses of Junyi, and burn the granary of Junyi at this time, and the land of Henan will belong to your majesty."
"good!"
Liu Bei laughed and stood up and said: "Cao Cao wants to ambush me, so I will give him a counter-ambush. His troops are not as strong as mine. I will see how many troops he can send to fight me. It would be best if there is no ambush in this battle.
Even if there is an ambush, I must let Cao Cao know how powerful I am, and when I give orders, I will do as Wen He wishes."
None of the surrounding counselors spoke up to express their opposition. In fact, including Zhuge Liang, Xu Shu and Pang Tong, they had already thought of this. However, their status was not high and it was difficult to speak out directly. Jia Xu's status was slightly higher, so it would be better to speak out.
.
At that moment, Xu Chu got the order and left with great joy. He had been serving as the commander of the personal army beside Liu Bei before and rarely led the army alone. Now is an opportunity. His current military rank is a partial general. Maybe if he makes great achievements in one battle, he can be promoted to Lang.
If you can become a general in your early thirties, your future will be limitless.
After all, among the current twenty generals, almost all of them are veterans who have followed Liu Bei since the time of the Yellow Turbans or Dong Zhuo. The rest Duan Xuan, Zhang Xiu, and Zhang Yan are all special cases. They are Liu Bei who brought tens of thousands of troops to join him.
The starting point is naturally much higher, and Xu Chu joined at a later stage. He is still young and has little military exploits, so he naturally has to fight hard.