In the spring of March, the earth warms up, everything recovers, peach and willow green.

Wuchao is a plain with a radius of more than ten miles, located in the territory of Suozao County, because it is adjacent to Wuchaoze in the south, so it is named.

The place where Yuan Shao's army hoarded grain was set up here, and it was guarded by 10,000 horses led by the partial general Su You.

In order to conceal the whereabouts, the Yuan army piled up the grain and grass in the camp tent, there are heavy guards outside, looking at it from a distance, there is not much difference from the general camp, more than 100,000 Yuan army troops are stationed near Guandu, the camp alone has been set up in more than a dozen places, stretching for more than 20 miles, and those who do not know the inside story will never think that this ordinary village gate is the place where Yuan Jun hoards grain.

The Wuchao granary stored 500,000 stone grain and 250,000 stone forage, which could supply the daily diet of 140,000 Yuan soldiers for five months. Why didn't Yuan Shao hoard the granary in the camp of the main army to protect it, but ran to the black nest to stock up on grain?

First, the main task of the main army is to fight a decisive battle with Cao's army, and to move at any time according to the battle situation, without a fixed place, or to advance or retreat; If grain and grass are hoarded in the main battalion, it will inevitably hinder the march and combat and affect the operation.

Therefore, few people put the granary and the camp of the main army together.

Second, the granary is most afraid of fire, the water in the Wuchaoze in the south of the grain hoarding camp is sufficient, and it is convenient to take water, if there is a mistake, you can quickly take water to extinguish the fire and keep the grain and grass.

Third, Wuchao is more than 50 miles away from the front line, and there are more than a dozen fences along the way, and the Cao army wants to attack the Wuchao granary. You have to bypass the camps along the way. In this way, the whereabouts of the Yuan army detectives along the way will be discovered, so as to launch a surprise attack on the middle of the road to protect the grain and grass.

Considering the above reasons, Yuan Shao, under the advice of advisors such as Xianbei, Feng Ji, and Xu You, placed the place of grain hoarding in Wuchao, and ordered Su You to lead 10,000 elite soldiers to guard it.

But Yuan Mai knew that this was not safe, and if it was according to the natural development of history, it would not be long before Xu You would surrender to Cao Cao and offer a plan to burn the black nest.

Ultimately. With a fire from Cao Cao. The burning of 500,000 stone grains in Wuchao dealt a huge blow to the military morale of the Yuan army, which eventually led to the great rout of the Yuan army and allowed Cao Cao to lay the foundation for dominating the north.

Therefore. The war was just beginning. Yuan Mai always paid attention to the situation in the black nest. There are nearly 100 scouts and scouts sent alone, closely monitoring every move around the black nest, and there is any disturbance. Always report back to yourself.

Just like this, Yuan Mai felt that it was not enough.

Wuchao is a heavy land, and there is absolutely no room for the slightest mistake, so he personally brought Xu Shu, Guo Huai, Zhu Gongdao, Zhou Cang, Zhang Xun and others to lead 8,000 elite soldiers to be stationed on the north bank of the Yellow River, only forty miles away from Wuchao in the south. And a large number of boats have been prepared, as long as there is any wind and grass in the black nest, they can cross the river at any time to help.

Even so, Yuan Mai still felt that it was not enough insurance.

He also ordered Zhang Liao and Wang Shuang to lead their troops to evacuate Luoyang, march in a circle to Suozao County, and then find a hidden place to camp within about thirty miles around Wuchao, ready to rescue Wuchao at any time.

With these nearly 20,000 horses hiding in the shadows to protect the granary, Yuan Mai breathed a sigh of relief for the safety of the black nest. Leaving Fu Zhu, Tian Chou, Zhuge Jin, Yuan Yao and others to sit in Huai County, supply grain and grass to all parties, and contact all parties.

He also ordered Gao Shun to lead 10,000 horses to leave Anyi, the administrative office of Hedong, advance southward, and garrison in Hebei County on the north bank of the Yellow River, build fortifications, consolidate defenses, and confront Hongnong County on the south bank of the Yellow River.

The guard of Hongnong County is Xiahou Shang, the nephew of Xiahou Yuan, who is good at using soldiers, and his 8,000 men and horses are stationed in Hongnong County, facing each other across the river from the east of the river.

With Gao Shun guarding the frontier fortress in Hedong and Jia Kui sitting in Hedong, the defense of the entire Hedong County is impregnable.

He also transferred Zhao Yun to lead 10,000 troops to withdraw to the area of Heyang County, which is subordinate to Hanoi County, to garrison the area, echo with Xu Shengshui's division stationed in Mengjin, defend the base camp of Huai County, and confront each other with General Cao's army, who was guarding Henan.

At the beginning, Yu Ban heard that Yuan's army crossed the river to attack Luoyang, so he gathered soldiers and horses from all over Henan under Luoyang City, preparing to compete with Zhang Liao and Wang Shuangyi.

Who knew that before the two sides clashed, the news of the loss of Hedong came, and Yu Ban understood Yuan Mai's plan of "striking the east and attacking the west".

However, Yu Ban didn't take it to heart, the defense area he was responsible for was the entire Henan Yin, and Hedong County was Xiahou Yuan's defense area, even if it was lost, it didn't have much to do with him, as long as he kept the counties in Henan.

When I heard that Zhang Liao and Wang Shuang's soldiers and horses were only thirty miles away from Luoyang, they suddenly turned around and headed east, not knowing what they wanted.

Yu Ban judged that Zhang Liao and Wang Shuang probably felt that Luoyang had hoarded heavy troops, so they were ready to attack Xingyang instead, so they left Wei Kai and Lu Zhao to guard Luoyang, and he and Zhu Ling led 15,000 people out of the city to pursue.

Chased all the way to the territory of Xingyang, Yu Ban found that his judgment had made a mistake again, Zhang Liao and Wang Shuang did not attack Xingyang, but went east without looking back, all the way through Yangwu and Fengqiu, and headed towards the area of sour jujubes.

"Is this Zhang Liao sick? Lead Lao Tzu in circles! ”

Yu Ban was a little angry, and he really couldn't figure out what the state army was planning? Fearing that Luoyang would be lost, he left 5,000 men and horses for Zhu Ling, let him garrison Xingyang, and led 10,000 people to withdraw to Luoyang.

Anyway, the area of sour jujube where Zhang Liao and Wang Shuang went belonged to the Chen Liufang area, which was Cao Ren's area of responsibility and had nothing to do with him.

Moreover, Cao Chengdu led the army to fight with Yuan Shao in the battle of Guandu, and it was only sixty or seventy miles away from the sour date, so there was no need for him to give up the defense area, and he was led by Zhang Liao's nose, as long as he protected his territory, no one could say anything about himself.

Just when Zhang Liao was led by the nose, Xiahou Yuan, who failed to cross the river, led 20,000 people into Henan. Originally, he planned to assist Yu Ban and the state army in a big battle, but when he arrived at Luoyang City, he learned that Zhang Liao had led the army to retreat, and jumped eastward into the area of sour jujubes, and he was nowhere to be found.

"General Wen Ze, how about you and I jointly cross the river and launch a strong attack on Hanoi?"

Xiahou Yuan stationed his soldiers and horses outside Luoyang City, and brought one hundred and ten henchmen into Luoyang City, and made a request to Yu Ban, hoping that Yu Ban would cooperate with him and cross the river to attack Hanoi.

Yu Ban refused without hesitation: "Zhao Yun has already stationed troops in Heyang, Xu Sheng's sailors are entrenched in Mengjin Port, there are hundreds of warships, and it is really difficult to cross the Yellow River." Moreover, Yuan Shao's 150,000-strong army was fighting a decisive battle with Cao Gong in the Guandu area in the east of Henan, and it was only one hundred and fifty miles away from Luoyang. Cao Gong blames it, who can bear it? Forgive forgiveness and can't do anything! ”

Xiahou Yuan knew that Yu Ban was holding the idea of "not seeking merit, but seeking no fault", but his level was comparable to him, and he had no right to command Yu Ban. And what Yu Ban said is not unreasonable, whether the river crossing can be successful or not, if Yuan Shao takes the opportunity to attack Luoyang, it will inevitably lead to the enemy on his back. It is understandable that Yu Ban refused to send troops for his own interests.

"In this case, it's abrupt, don't dare to bother General Wen Ze, I'll try my best to recapture Hedong!"

Xiahou Yuan sighed depressedly, and took advantage of the excitement to return disappointed. Hedong fell, Ren Jun was captured, he, the supreme general of the defense area, had no light on his face, and he really couldn't swallow this breath if he didn't recapture Hedong.

Since Yu Ban was unwilling to cooperate, Xiahou Yuan had no choice but to lead his troops to withdraw from Henan, and stationed his soldiers and horses at Hangu Pass, training soldiers and horses while sending people to collect boats, looking for opportunities to cross the river and counterattack Hedong.

Compared with the ban, Xiahou Yuan's strategic vision is more far-sighted.

The terrain of Hanguguan is dangerous, controlling Luoyang in the east and Hongnong in the west; To the west, you can stick to Hongnong County, to the east you can rush to Luoyang, and at a critical juncture, you can even march in a hurry to enter the Guandu battlefield to support the main force of Cao's army.

To the north, you can cross the Yellow River from the Heyin Ferry, or attack Hanoi, or plunder the east of the river, so that Yuan Mai can not be peaceful; To the south, it can echo Wancheng and deter Liu Biao in Jingzhou. He could even march to Runan at the fastest speed, gallop to the aid of Cao Hong, and attack Liu Bei.

Hangu Pass, a place where troops are stationed, can be said to reach Jiuqu, which can be attacked and defended, showing Xiahou Yuan's unique military talent.

The wind and grass are blowing, the stars are hanging and the fields are wide, and the battle situation on the bank of the Yellow River is about to break out.

In the middle of the night, a patrol of the Cao army caught two Yuan army scouts on a sheep's intestine path, tied them up and escorted them back to the camp and handed them over to the general Shi Lian Faluo.

"Drag it down and serve until they explain what their purpose is, and then drag it back!" Shi Jian waved his hand expressionlessly, and the only way to deal with these scouts was to torture them to make them speak.

After a heart-rending scream sounded, Shi Jian asked the desired result, this scout was sent by Han Meng to explore the way, ready to deliver grain and grass to Yuan Shao's camp. hurriedly took more than a dozen guards, rode lightly to the camp where the main general Xu Huang was, and presented the information obtained to Xu Huang.

"General Gongming, tonight I inadvertently captured Han Meng's scouts, and I learned that he will escort 50,000 stone grains and grass tonight, and send them to the Yuan army camp through the 'Green Snake Ridge', please make a decision quickly!"

Xu Huang, who was wearing a black scarf and a heavy face, was reading the military book, and after listening to Shi Lian's report, he fell into deep thought.

It is already the time of the year, and it is only two hours away from the sub-hour, and it is necessary to lead the troops to the Green Snake Ridge for at least one hour; And from the camp where he was stationed to Cao Cao's base camp to report, the back and forth was at least half an hour, plus the time wasted by the deployment of troops, it was likely that Han Meng would escort the grain and grass across the Green Snake Ridge and enter the camp of the Yuan army.

"Ambush Han Meng and burn grain and grass!"

Xu Huang slapped the table, made a decisive decision, and quickly put on the armor.

Shi Jian hesitated: "Didn't you go and ask Cao Gong?" ”

"It's too late, the battlefield opportunity is fleeting, for the generals need to have the courage to make a decision on the spot, I led five thousand elite soldiers to ambush Han Meng, you take care of the camp at home, while sending someone to report to Cao Gong, ask him to send troops to respond!"

When Xu Huang spoke, he had already put on his armor neatly, lifted the mountain axe, stepped on the horse, and led five thousand elite soldiers straight to the Green Snake Ridge. (To be continued......)