"Your Majesty, there is an urgent letter from Xizuo." Dian Wei walked into the study.

Xu Ding took the letter and opened it.

It turned out that it was Yizhou's detailed work to report the battle situation in Yizhou.

"Cao Cao is really not simple, with only 20,000 or 30,000 troops, he took Liu Zhang's foundation. He also recovered Nanzhong, and became a brother with the barbarian king Meng Shu. Xu Dingdao.

"What!"

Jia Xu, who was sitting on the side, was shocked: "Cao Cao has gained Yizhou and incorporated the barbarian army, doesn't he have an army of 100,000?" ”

"It should be about the same."

Xu Ding thought for a moment.

Before Cao Cao entered Yizhou, there were about 30,000 regular troops. After eliminating Liu Zhang, tens of thousands of troops had to be surrendered. Now Meng Huo's army has been absorbed, which is 120,000!

These 120,000 can be counted as regular troops.

You can send Yizhou to fight at any time.

And...

In the land of Sichuan and Shu, there were twelve large counties with a population of five or six million, and for many years, Liu Zhang rarely recruited troops. If we recruit troops now and gather two or three hundred thousand people, it should not be difficult.

Jia Xu's eyes rolled, and he arched his hand and said, "Your Majesty, the minister has a suggestion." I'm afraid that His Majesty won't allow it. ”

"What advice?"

Jia Xu chuckled a few times and said, "Compared with the Western Shang Empire, our biggest flaw is not only weapons, but also soldiers. They have a few million troops, and we only have two or three hundred thousand, which is really a little small. Chancellor suggests... After the Battle of Yangzhou was over, he sent an army to Hanzhong to engage Cao Cao and capture his newly recruited army. It shouldn't be that hard for us. In this way, we will have enough troops to form the Third Army. ”

"Good idea, but..."

Xu Ding worried: "Cao Cao now not only has Yizhou and Xiliang, but also Nanzhong, which is not what it used to be. Once we fight, I am worried that we and Cao Cao will stalemate and stalemate. Not conducive to the frontal battlefield. ”

"Hahaha..." Jia Xu laughed a few times.

"My lord, Cao Cao's army, if it had been placed a few years ago, would have been a strong force. But now, we all use machine guns and artillery, can he win? ”

Jia Xu arched his hand: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I only need to bring a division to go, and I can firmly control the battle situation." A large number of Cao's troops were captured and sent to the Central Plains. ”

"You're going?"

Xu Ding shook his head and said, "No." You are the commander-in-chief of the Second Army, and you deserve to be on the frontal battlefield. How can you go to the rear to raise troops? Let's talk about this later. ”

"Your Majesty..."

"Needless to say. Take Yangzhou first. ”

"Yes."

Jia Xu's suggestion was firmly engraved in his heart.

The twelve counties of Sichuan and Shu have a large population and abundant food and salary.

Although he did not have the extra troops to attack now, he could send an army to engage Cao Cao as Jia Xu said. With the combat effectiveness of the new army, it should be possible to capture the enemy army easily.

In this way, the soldiers of the twelve counties of Sichuan and Shu will not become the soldiers of the Chinese Empire.

..........

Cao Cao and the barbarian king Meng Shu formed brothers with different surnames and celebrated in Chengdu for several days.

Afterwards.

Meng wanted to return to Nanzhong.

Cao Cao suddenly repented and had bad intentions!

He didn't trust Meng Huo very much, and wanted to send people from the Cao family to garrison and manage Nanzhong.

Sima Yi persuaded: "The lord must not. If you kill Meng Huo, you will have an enmity with Nanzhong. At present, Meng Shu has already returned to the lord, and promised to send troops to help in the war when necessary. This has been beyond the minister's expectations.... ”

"Those who are not of my race will have different hearts. These barbarians, seemingly open-minded, are actually capricious. For a little food, ordnance, it is possible to rebel. Rather than wait until then, it is better to exhaust the three armies and completely exterminate the barbarians while they are necessary. Cao Cao said.

"My lord, Nanzhong is not easy to take."

Sima Yi took out the map and pointed it out to Cao Cao: "Hundreds of miles in the south, most of them are mountains and mountains, and the barbarian people and soldiers all live in caves..." ”

"The terrain there is very easy to hide and ambush soldiers, and once you go deeper, no matter how many troops there are, there is a danger of annihilation. Moreover, the miasma in the mountains and forests is very serious, and we cannot keep it in the mountains and forests for a long time, otherwise, there is a risk of poisoning. ”

"My lord, think about it, in such a situation... Can we pacify Nanzhong by force? ”

"The only way is to let Nanzhong take the initiative to join it. The lord has already done this, so why should he go back on it? ”

Cao Cao groaned a little.

He felt that Sima Yi's analysis was correct.

Nanban is indeed difficult to conquer.

And...

As soon as the station is opened, I don't know when it will end, in case the Huaxia Kingdom comes to attack, the big thing will be suspended.

"Okay."

Cao Cao said: "This matter is over. You will send the barbarian king for me. ”

"It's best for the lord to send it in person, so as to show sincerity." Sima Yi said.

"Is he going now?"

"Not yet."

Cao Cao and Sima Yi went to see off the barbarian king.

It was sent to Hanjia City, a hundred miles away.

The barbarian king was grateful.

He didn't know that just a moment ago, Cao Cao wanted to kill him.

After the barbarian king is gone.

Cao Cao felt like he had lost something, and he was depressed.

In fact...

In his heart, he still wanted to kill Meng Huo, and with a full breath, he captured Nanzhong. In this way, there will be no worries in the future.

Seeing the figure of the barbarian king getting farther and farther away, Cao Cao could only sigh.

Sima Yi said: "The lord doesn't have to feel pity, the barbarian king will keep his promise, fight the enemy together with us, and unite with the outside world, what is the difference between this and the lord's own troops?" ”

"Even if what you say is reasonable."

Cao Cao took Sima Yi back to the city.

........

A few days later.

There is a message sent by the fine work.

It's about the Battle of the Central Plains.

Cao Cao carefully understood the battles of Xuzhou, Hebei, and Jingzhou, and was shocked. According to the detailed report, the confrontation between the Western Shang Empire and Xu Ding lost more and won less.

And the weapons of both sides are no longer swords, bows and arrows.

It's firearms!

Such as rifles, grenades, machine guns, cannons.

If you are a thousand meters away, you can kill an enemy.

Compared to his troops, the strength is simply a world apart.

Cao Cao panicked inexplicably.

Such a formidable enemy is right under his nose. Maybe one day, Xu Ding and the Western Shang Empire will hit Yizhou, how will he resist it then?

"Zhongda, do you know about the war in the Central Plains?"

"The minister knows."

Cao Cao said: "It's ridiculous that we thought that the strength was not much worse than Xu Ding. Now it seems that he is not unable to conquer Yizhou, but disdainful. Because with his strength, he can destroy us with a backhand. When the soldiers and horses of the Western Shang Empire retreat, it should be us then. ”

"Absolutely."

Sima Yi said: "Therefore, what the lord has to do now is to enrich the country and strengthen the army, reform the military system, and have troops like the Western Shang Empire, so that he can truly gain a foothold in the world." Moreover, Xu Ding can't be let know, otherwise it won't be long before Xu Ding's army will come to Yizhou. ”

"You're right...."

Cao Cao was also thinking about this problem.

Sima Yi took out a roll of paper from his arms and handed it to Cao Cao: "The minister has long known about the Central Plains, and he was worried that the lord would be afraid, so he didn't tell him." This is a detailed work sent by the minister to the Central Plains, and the drawings drawn are for the lord to see. ”

Rifles and artillery are depicted on the picture.

"Xu Ding and the Western Shang Empire, the weapons used, probably like this." Sima Yi said.

"Just this little thing, you can shoot a thousand meters?" Cao Cao exclaimed.

"Yes."

Sima Yi said: "Not only can it shoot a thousand meters, but the penetration power is also a machine gun." Their artillery can raze all the cols to the ground. This is several times more destructive than the oil caused. ”

Cao Cao: ".... ”

Although Xu Ding has not yet called.

There was also no sign of the Western Shang Empire's invasion of Sichuan and Shu.

But Cao Cao felt like there was a knife hanging above his head at all times.

"Go and call Cao Ren." Cao Cao instructed the soldiers outside the door.

"No."

Cao Ren soon arrived.

Cao Cao asked: "Now how many soldiers and horses do I have in Sichuan and Shu?" ”

Cao Ren said: "Back to the lord, we have 140,000 soldiers and horses everywhere. Among them, 100,000 were regular troops, all of whom were assembled in Chengdu and were being strictly trained. ”

Sounds good.

But when he thought of Xu Ding in the Central Plains and the Western Shang Empire in Jiangdong, Cao Cao didn't feel a headache.

Sima Yi said: "Don't be in a hurry. Let's send someone to the Central Plains first, find a way to get new weapons, or buy the person who has Xu Ding and buy it from him. ”

"As long as you have a lot of new weapons, you can form a new army."

"Hmm."

Cao Ren was confused when he heard it.

He asked, "My lord, my lord." What a new weapon? ”

Cao Cao said: "You don't know. Go down and train the troops well, and without our military order, the troops in the battalion must not go out lightly. In addition, all counties in Yizhou were ordered to immediately block all passes. No outsider, no one, anyone, is allowed to enter. So as not to affect the war situation in the Central Plains, the development of Yizhou. ”

"No."

Cao Ren turned and left.

Sima Yi said: "The lord is wise. Blockade Yizhou to prevent news from leaking. As long as Xu Ding and the Western Shang Empire do not fight, our soldiers and generals will not know the strength of the enemy army, and they will not have the psychology of fear of war. ”

........

At this time, Cao Cao could only use this method to deceive himself.

In fact, what happened in the Central Plains can be hidden from the people, but how can it be hidden from the family? Cao Cao and Sima Yi, don't you know? Presumably, at this time, the families in Yizhou are already well aware.

In order to gain a foothold in Bashu and not be wiped out by the Western Shang Empire and Xu Ding. While blocking the news, Cao Cao began to rack his brains to get new weapons.

And let Cao Ren select a group of soldiers to be used as components of the new army.

But...

New weapons are not so easy to get.

That had to be taken from the enemy.

If you want to get it for nothing, or steal it from Xu Ding, the chances are almost zero. , because Huaxia's control of firearms is very strict, and the control of bullets is even stricter. In peacetime, soldiers are not allowed to carry bullets when they do not fight. Only in times of war, will they be issued temporarily.

Cao Cao sent people to Xuchang, which was destined to fail.

Xuzhou.

Pengcheng.

Preparing to attack Yangzhou, Xu Ding gave the order to attack.

In addition to the First Army, two brigades held Pengcheng.

All the rest of the soldiers and horses, including Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang's troops, participated in the battle and drove towards Yangzhou.

Xu Ding is also in the army.

At war with the Western Shang Empire, he never dared to be careless.

This offensive war, more attention.

For every ten miles the army marched, he had to explore the way.

Whenever we pass through mountains and jungles, we must use a satellite monitoring system to grasp the situation in the mountains. If something is wrong, stay put.

In such a cautious situation, we advanced more than 300 miles.

The Western Shang Empire finally made a move.

The strength of two brigades left Shouchun and marched towards Xu Ding's army.

Behind those two brigades, there were three more divisions, carrying heavy artillery and a large number of mobile equipment.

This is an elite mechanized force.

It may be left over from the last Battle of Xuzhou.

"Your Majesty, our task is to feint against the enemy, so we have to make a big noise. The minister suggested that the division should be divided into seven routes and march to Yangzhou. One can put pressure on the enemy to send all their troops out. Second, if our troops are scattered, the enemy's troops will also be scattered, and when General Lu Xun's strange troops arrive in Shouchun, they will not be able to return to help. Once the troops on the frontal battlefield are withdrawn, the overall situation will be affected. More beneficial to us. Jia Xu said.

"Good strategy."

Xu Ding immediately agreed: "However, first pass the order to all departments, and do not go any further." If they get too close to Yangzhou and exchange fire with the enemy, they will soon return to Shouchun's aid. ”

"Yes."

Jia Xu sent someone to deliver the order.

The troops that drove out of Pengcheng consisted of nine divisions, plus four artillery battalions, four guard units, and directly subordinate troops. All the personnel combined, a total of 100,000.

Xu Ding agreed with Jia Xu's strategy.

Divide the 100,000 into seven parts.

Six division commanders were elected, each commanding one, and attacking Yangzhou from different roads.

The rest of the troops, about 40,000 people, followed Xu Ding and Jia Xu to attack from the middle and serve as the main force of the feint. Pin down most of the enemy's forces.

In the past, when fighting with the Western Shang Empire, it was the opponent's military strength that had the advantage.

This time it's the opposite.

Xu Ding's army was 100,000, but the Western Shang Empire had less than 40,000.

The rest were stationed in Shouchun.

"Report..." While the army was still on the march, a soldier came: "Your Majesty, our vanguard is engaged with the enemy five miles away. ”

"Got it."

Xu Dingdao: "Let's go and investigate, if there is any situation, I'll report it again." ”

"No."

The scouts rode away.

Jia Xu opened the map, glanced at it and said, "The enemy's formation is a little strange. Their troops, as we thought they were, were not sending troops to hold back the remaining six of our divisions, as we had envisaged. ”

"What do they want to do? Aren't you worried that our 60,000 people, bypassing their main force, will attack Shouchun City directly? ”

Xu Ding also glanced at the map, but said with a smile: "Isn't this good?" Let's contain their main force first, and you order Lu Su and the Second Army to march towards Shouchun. ”

"Your Majesty..."

Jia Xu became more and more worried, and said: "According to the minister's understanding of the Western Shang Empire, they are all fighting without leakage. At least on the face of it, that's what happened. However, the troops that are now engaged with us are full of loopholes in their formations, and they are not like the style of the past. The minister was worried about fraud. ”

"What do you think?"

Jia Xu said: "The minister suggested that the other six soldiers and horses should be stationed in place to build fortifications. We sent a commando team to attack the enemy and beat their intentions out. Only when we know their intentions can we fight back. ”