Although this article came more than two months earlier than in history, the current Cao Cao is not comparable to the Cao Cao in history. Historically, Cao Cao completely occupied Hanoi in the fourth year of Jian'an, and only in November was Zhang Xiu of Wancheng surrendered, consolidating his left flank. Under his rule, because of the continuous war, compared with Yuan Shao, the troops, grain and grass are not half a star.

And now Cao Cao, not only occupied the land of Sizhou early, but also the long troubles of Lu Bu in Yanzhou and the defeat of Zhang Xiu in the three expeditions did not happen, and the military strength was even more prosperous. Coupled with the promotion of papermaking, printing and official learning, Cao Cao's prestige reached a very high level in the hearts of the people. The emergence of potatoes and corn, coupled with the effective implementation of the tuntian system, has made grain and grass even more abundant. I think that the history of Cao's army's lack of food and food will not appear on the battlefield of Guandu again. Compared with today's Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, although there is still a gap, it is not very big, and Cao Cao is more confident in defeating Yuan Shao.

Moreover, Cao Cao had already begun to prepare for today's battle. Liu Biao of Jingzhou was restrained by Zhang Xiu in Wancheng, and Sun Ce of Jiangdong was even more anxious by the people of Shanyue and the remnants of the remnants of the party, and he was unable to go north. Zhong Xuan sat in Guanzhong and co-opted all forces in Liangzhou to ensure that the left wing was safe. Gao Ye sat in Qingzhou, and he had the intention of crossing the river at any time to ensure that the right wing was safe. As for the frontal battlefield, the newly promoted young general Pan Zhang led 3,000 cavalry to enter Yanjin, and Liu Yan, the Taishou of Dongjun, led his troops to guard the white horse, blocking Yuan's army from crossing the river and driving south at any time. Cao Ren was still guarding Hanoi in case of an invasion by the state, and Xiahou Yuan's troops entered Liyang and made a posture of attacking at any time. Li Dian and Le Jin led their troops to build fortifications in the area of Guandu, preparing to block Yuan Shao's frontal attack. All these arrangements of Cao Jun had already begun before and after the complete pacification of Xuzhou. Baima and Yanjin have already become complete military cities, and the people have long been evacuated. Although Cao's army was not more numerousthan Yuan Shao's troops in terms of numbers, it adopted the strategy of concentrating troops, holding key passes, focusing on fortifications, waiting for work, and striking backwards to deal with Yuan Shao's attack. In contrast, Yuan Shao's dispatch of troops seemed very casual, and it overturned the policy of rest and recuperation formulated earlier in one fell swoop. After the army was reorganized, as soon as Yuan Xi arrived in the plain, Yuan Shao didn't even care about such things as the cold weather in winter, and raised an army of 400,000, ordered Yan Liang to be the vanguard, and came straight to the white horse.

As soon as Yuan Shao's army moved, even Yuan Xi in the plains was ready to move. However, speaking of which, Gao Ye really has to thank Yuan Jun for his hardship, from the time he defeated Yuan Tan to the present, he has left himself more than three months to calmly arrange. Naturally, there is no need to worry about his own rear, Chen Qun, Guo Yuan, Wang Lie and others are all the choice of the moment, stabilizing the rear, and transferring grain, grass and ordnance is naturally not a problem. When it comes to fighting, three of Cao Wei's five sons will follow him in the future, and Taishan's Zang Ba was once again transferred to his command by Cao Cao, plus Gan Ning's navy, Gao Ye felt that if he couldn't cross the Yellow River this time and captured Yuan Xi, he would be sorry for this good deck of cards in his hand.

For three days in a row, Gao Ye, who was in Jinan, received a military report from the front, saying that the north bank of the Yellow River was frequently moved, and there was a tendency to cross the river. This time, Yuan Xi brought troops from Youzhou, plus some of the men and horses allocated by Yuan Shao to him, and the Yuan army that was originally stationed in the plains, the total strength added up to 80,000. However, although Gao Ye fought a big battle with Yuan Tan in Qingzhou, he had the strength of Langya County, plus the newly recruited soldiers in Donglai and Beihai, and the total strength was 70,000. The two sides combined with 150,000 soldiers and horses, all of whom were stationed on both sides of the Yellow River. The frontal battlefield has not yet begun, but Qingzhou seems to be filled with gunsmoke.

In the lobby, I stared at the map for three days and watched the night, and finally gave the order, beating the drums and gathering the generals. But until everyone sat in the lobby, Gao Ye's eyes were still on the map. It wasn't until Zhou Cang whispered to remind Gao Ye that everyone had arrived, and Gao Ye came back to his senses and turned around.

All the generals saluted, and Gao Ye also returned the salute, signaling everyone to sit down for the time being, and then said: "Everyone, now the horse has returned, saying that Yuan Xi on the north bank has been quite restless these days, and he has the intention of crossing the river. What do you think we should do? ”

Xu Huang, who was at the bottom of the head, immediately smiled when he heard this: "General, what is there to say about this, he dares to come over, just fight." ”

Yu Ban on the other side also smiled and said: "What Gongming said is good, forgive Yuan Xi is just a gentleman, and what do you know how to use soldiers?" He had no more than 80,000 or 90,000 soldiers and horses, but he was ready to divide his troops to cross the river in Pingyuan, Ande, and West Pyeongchang, which was full of loopholes. As long as he dares to come, he will never come back! ”

Gao Ye immediately laughed when he heard this, nodded and said, "It's good that you two can have such confidence. Although Yuan Xi has always been unknown, he also has ministers and generals around him to help, which should not be underestimated. Yuan Zhi, what do you think of Yuan Xi's move now? ”

Xu Shu on the side smiled faintly when he heard this, and then arched his hand to everyone and said: "General Hui, according to the following opinion, I am afraid that this is just Yuan Xi's suspicious plan." Yuan Xi must have come here to contain the generals and soldiers and ensure the safety of the flanks for Yuan Shao on the frontal battlefield. I heard that Yuan Xi had Xin Bi by his side to give him advice, and Xin Bi was also a famous man in Hebei and was resourceful. Now Yuan Xi has no advantage, and the latter general is famous, and he even captured Yuan Tan alive before. Then Yuan Xi and Xin Bi have just arrived, how dare they easily march and start a war with our army? However, Xinbi's plan can be regarded as clever. If we are deceived, we will inevitably divide our troops to strengthen the city defenses, so that the stalemate will naturally be regarded as completing the goal of consolidating the flanks. If we forcibly cross the river, we will inevitably be attacked by Yuan's army, and we will even fail to cross the river and be hit in the upper reaches of the river. In this way, we are in a dilemma. ”

After listening to this, everyone on the side nodded again and again, Xu Shu's analysis is indeed very reasonable, but they didn't expect that the seemingly chaotic use of troops still has these twists and turns. Zhang Liao on the side said: "However, our army must cross the river this time, and only in this way can we threaten the main force of Yuan's army and relieve the pressure on the lord of the frontal battlefield." If it's a stalemate on the riverbank, that's not going to work. ”

Gao Ye nodded and smiled when he heard this: "This thousand-mile river is the natural boundary between our army and Yuan Shao's army, whether Yuan Shao wants to attack the lord, or we want to eliminate Yuan Xi, crossing the river is a must." But how to cross the river needs to be considered in the long run. Now that it is not possible to force it directly head-on, we can also find another way. ”

Yu Ban, who was at the bottom of the head, nodded and said: "The last time I received the news of the Xingba Water Army, they had already arrived in Shouguang, and if nothing else, they will arrive in Tatecheng in the next few days." With the presence of the navy, it is naturally easy for our army to cross the river, but it is better for us to make a state of perseverance now, just wait for Xingba to arrive, and our army will cross the river immediately. ”

Zhang Liao, who was on the side, shook his head and said: "Xingba's naval army, counting sailors, can only carry more than 5,000 soldiers, and our army has 70,000 people. At that time, the thousands of soldiers and horses that were the first to pass will be attacked by Yuan's army. I'm afraid that before the follow-up soldiers and horses have crossed the river, these thousands of people will be defeated, and so on, it is not a wise move to lose troops in vain. ”

Gao Ye nodded and said with a smile: "What Wen Yuan said is good, once the vanguard reaches the other side of the river and is attacked by the Yuan army, it will be difficult to hold on. But Wen Yuan, don't be limited by your old thinking. Taking a boat is not like building a bridge, and you don't have to be on a river to cross a river. I see that Yuan Zhi is colorful, come, give them a good lecture. ”

When Xu Shu heard this, he agreed, and then said: "Historically, the army has crossed the river, from this bank to the other side, there are nothing more than two choices. One erects a pontoon bridge, and the other takes a ferry. But the land of Qingzhou, bordering the sea, and the river is sad, can't we still let General Gan Ning transport the army to Bohai County by sea? ”

As soon as Xu Shu's voice fell, everyone who sat down looked suddenly enlightened, and Xu Huang immediately said: "Wonderful! On the north bank of the Yellow River, there were many Yuan troops, and when we crossed the river, we were naturally afraid of being attacked by Yuan Xi's soldiers and horses. But by sea, as long as the landing place goes around Yuan Xi's back, why didn't I think there would be this hand! ”

Zhang Liao also nodded and said: "Yes, yes, now Yuan Shao is pouring the soldiers of the three states and fighting against the lord." Yuan Xi must have come out of the nest here, and the rear must be empty. As long as there is a surprise army and lands in Yangxin, it will definitely be able to quickly take the city and threaten Yuan Xi's rear. With General Gan Ning in the food, grass and ordnance, there is no need to worry. In this way, Yuan Xijun's entire deployment will be disrupted, and it is really a clever plan! ”

Gao Ye nodded and said, "That's right, that's it." When Gao Ye said this, he immediately got up and said: "Xiahoude listens to the order, you immediately take two thousand troops and rush to the county; Xiahou Shang led 2,000 troops and rushed to Linyi; In these two places, fortify the city and confuse the enemy. Wenyuan, you immediately led 5,000 soldiers and horses to Gaotang, on the one hand to strengthen the city defense, and on the other hand to prepare pontoon bridges and other tools for crossing the river. The river here is narrow, but it is not more than a hundred feet, and it is a good place for our army to cross the river from the plain. "When it comes to weights and measures, every period is different, especially in length. Today's one foot, Gao Ye roughly estimated, that is, more than twenty centimeters in later generations. Gaotang City is adjacent to the Yellow River, and the river is also narrow, estimated to be only 160 or 70 meters wide. It is precisely because of this that Gao Ye asked Zhang Liao to prepare to build a pontoon bridge. In fact, the so-called pontoon bridge is just a simple bridge that is completed by replacing the piers with boats, then erecting wooden planks, and fixing them. The boat as a pier does not need any special shipbuilding skills, and the canoe is completely competent.

The three of them all surrendered their promises, and Gao Ye immediately said: "Wen Ze, you order 20,000 soldiers and horses, and Xiahoulan is the deputy general, and immediately rush to Tatecheng." With the help of Xingba, we arrived in Yangxin from the Bohai Sea as soon as possible. I think Yangxin's garrison must be insufficient, you take 5,000 soldiers and horses to land first, take the city, and the rest of the soldiers and horses, grain, grass and ordnance will arrive in Yangxin one after another. After occupying Yangxin, if you can, you can march to Leling, it doesn't matter if you fight or not, in short, you want to make Yuan Xi feel threatened. Gongming, your 20,000 soldiers and horses are on standby for the time being, and when the time comes, depending on the situation, you will either go to support Wen Ze, or cross the Yellow River from Gaotang with me. Hehe, this time, I also let Yuan Xi know what it means to repair the plank road and secretly cross Chen Cang! Do you get it? ”

"Obey!" The generals bowed their hands in unison. [.]