lost Henan, Cao Rong was sad in his heart.

This feeling is more devastating than losing half a life.

Because the loss to Cao Wei this time is too great.

At the end of Cao Cao, Cao Wei experienced the Battle of Xiangfan and the Battle of Guanzhong, although he was defeated, his foundation was still the same.

During the Cao Pi period, although Guanzhong Chang'an and Huainan were lost, at least these were vast and uninhabited areas, and almost no population was lost.

But in the hands of Cao Rong, he lost all the populated Hedong and Henan lands, and lost millions of people at once, which was greater than the losses of his father and grandfather combined.

What is the most precious thing in troubled times?

Person.

Human life is not worth much at this time, but it is also valuable.

Because in the eyes of these elites, the people are the most important means of production.

Without people, they would not be able to raise soldiers and horses, grow grain in the fields, or maintain their lives.

As the saying goes, if you lose your land, you lose your land; If people lose land, people and land will survive.

Although the Han Dynasty did not have this sentence, the reason is clear, the people-oriented plan in ancient times has existed since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and the difference depends on whether the ruling class attaches importance to it or not.

Cao Rong attached great importance to the population, otherwise he would not have promulgated a law to recuperate, and tried to transfer grain, grass, soldiers and horses from the powerful of the family to fill the gap.

Therefore, after learning that the territory of Henan was handed over to people and a large number of people were returned to the Han Dynasty, everything was lost.

To put it simply, it is a collapse of mentality.

At this moment, he was crying and mourning, and now he was only 22 years old, but he was like 42 years old, and he was twenty years old and haggard.

Wei Zhen saw his painful expression now, so he had no choice but to dissuade and said, "Your Majesty, things have not yet reached the end of the field, please Your Majesty to cheer up." ”

"Didn't get to that field?"

Cao Rong said sadly: "In the hands of the first emperor and Taizu, Henan has not been lost. It's only in my hands, but Henan is gone, how can I cheer up? ”

Wei Zhen said: "Now that the cavalry generals and hussar generals have retreated, then our strength can be preserved, and there is still a chance to counterattack." ”

"A chance to fight back."

Cao Rong was laughed at by them, and shouted angrily: "How can there be any chance to fight back? ”

Chen Qun said: "Your Majesty, if the soldiers and horses are here, everything is possible, not to mention Your Majesty, think about it, is it possible that the south has annexed Henan, is it the advantage of one thing and the other?" The minister thinks that it is not. ”

"Tell me."

Cao Rong asked with the last glimmer of hope.

Chen Qun said: "The southern invasion is large-scale, and after the powerful people of the Henan family heard about it, they all fled to the north with their baggage and population, and crossed to the north in their clothes, fearing the southern men like snakes and scorpions, this is one of them, and the family will not help them." ”

"Hmm"

Cao Rong nodded slightly, this is indeed the consensus, the south is too ruthless to suppress the Shi clan, those people are afraid of being liquidated, and it is normal to run north.

"Second, the south claims not to take a penny from the people."

Chen Qun continued: "They will distribute the land to the people, but they will not collect the land tax at the first time, so who will supplement their military rations and equipment, as well as the conscription?" ”

"South?"

Cao Rong immediately thought of this.

"Not bad."

Chen Qun nodded: "They can't loot the people of Henan, so they can only transport grain from the south." From Nanyang to Yingchuan is close, but further north is a long way, and they also have from Jiangdong, Hanzhong to Bingzhou and Xuzhou, the distance is not thousands of miles, how can grain and grass afford? ”

It is a truth that everyone knows before the soldiers and horses move the grain and grass, and it is useless to say more about the importance of grain and grass. And the southern Han went north to attack Wei, and it was okay to attack Yingchuan from Nanyang, and even hit Yanzhou, after all, it was more than 300 kilometers from Nanyang to the Yellow River.

But the Han army on the western front and the Han army on the eastern front are different, even if Shen Chen reclaimed the fields in Chang'an, Guan Yu also began to grow grain in the land of Hefei, Huainan, and it is impossible to have such a quick income in a short period of time.

And when they conquered Hedong and Henan, the style of the Han army has always been not to take a stitch from the people.

Besides, they won't be able to get it.

Because Cao Wei's style has always been to cultivate the people under his rule intensively, and he can continue to fish with all his might. Basically, just after the harvest season every year, it is good to be able to leave food for the people, let alone leave more food for the people.

It just so happened that last year's wheat was harvested in May this year, and the Han army had not yet reached Henan in May, and by July, two months was enough for the Cao Wei government in Henan to collect grain.

With the new grain, Sima Yi and Xiahou Yuan's Wei army had very sufficient grain and grass.

This is also the reason why Shen Chen thinks that if Sima Yi sticks to Henan, he may not be able to defeat it in a year or two.

Therefore, even if the Han army wants to replenish grain and grass on the spot in Henan, it is basically impossible.

They still need to mobilize food from the rear.

As the Han army went deeper, the more grain and grass needed to be mobilized, and the longer the road was.

If the Han army wanted to defeat Cao Wei in a short period of time and enter Hebei, the logistical pressure would become huge. For example, during Liu Yu's Northern Expedition, he almost withdrew his troops several times due to food exhaustion.

To put it simply, Chen Qun wanted to use strategic depth to drag down the southern Han and make their grain and grass supply problems. The most important thing is that the opponent's grain route is long, and it is easy to attack. It only takes one success, and the other party may retreat back.

At that time, Cao Wei did not have a chance to regain the lost ground.

Although the chances are slim.

Hearing Chen Qun's analysis, Cao Rong finally recovered a little bit and muttered to himself: "Yes, yes, we still have room to fight back." ”

"Third, Your Majesty must not forget to merge states."

Chen Qun said with a smile: "Although the general suspects that Zhuge Liang's cavalry has gone north, the road is far away, how can he arrive so quickly." And the general of the chariot cavalry is on the way, as long as Zhong Gong can hold out for a while, and wait for reinforcements, we can defeat Shen Chen, and even recapture the land east of the river, and the possibility of turning defeat into victory is very great. ”

"I hope so, I hope so."

Cao Rong looked at the northwest with a blank gaze, Bingzhou has now become a place where the two sides wrestle, Shen Chen gave up the opportunity of Henan to attack Sima Yi and went north directly, probably expecting Sima Yi to escape, and now that Sima Yi has also gone north to save Bingzhou, I hope he can catch up.

If Shen Chen had defeated Wuqiu Jian before Sima Yi arrived, it would naturally be all over. If not, then Sima Yi's cooperation with Wuqiu Jian, plus the Huns, might be able to deal a heavy blow to Shen Chen.

Both sides are both hunters and prey, and it depends on who can have the last laugh. This battle decided not the national fortunes of the Southern Han Dynasty, but the national fortunes of Cao Wei.

I hope Sima Yi can live up to his trust.

Cao Rong thought to himself.

．

．

On July 6, at the end of the morning eclipse, the Han army left the camp.

The sound of horns, drums, and shrill whistles filled the sky.

The sound of the trumpet was the loudest, and it was used by the commander to summon the various departments; And the sound of drums spread throughout the base camps of the various departments, which was used by the captains and generals of the headquarters to gather the thousands of soldiers under their command; The whistle was transmitted the shortest, and it was used by the soldiers of each Qutun team to summon their own troops.

In this way, the junior officers gathered the team through the whistle, and then the intermediate generals integrated into the school troops through the sound of drums, and the last group of Han soldiers went out of the camp and gathered outside the camp, becoming an army as a whole.

The number of people in each school is basically around three or four thousand, and there are more than ten phalanxes listed, and there is no end in sight to the sea of people, and the formation is arranged outside Gaodu County.

The center of the military formation is the headquarters of the commander's office, surrounded by several generals and hundreds of personal guards, Shen Chen rode a horse and slowly came to the formation, the flag was held high behind him, the word "Shen" swayed gently in the wind, and the hunting sound, giving all the soldiers a great morale boost.

Morale is an ethereal thing, unlike a certain item in the game that can increase a certain effect.

However, just as the heirloom jade seal is the most symbolic symbol of imperial power in the world in the hands of Qin Shi Huang Yingzheng, it is no different from an ordinary jade in the hands of Yuan Shu. It is not the object itself that gives an item the ability, but the person holding it.

If this "Shen" military flag were replaced by someone else, it would probably not be able to achieve the effect of making all the soldiers feel high and morale, but in Shen Chen's hands, it is synonymous with invincibility.

At this moment, the Han army is assembled outside the city, the sea of people is like a dark cloud pressing the city, and what is even more terrifying is that so many people of the Han army are gathered together, but they are silent, and it is as quiet as the blue sky at night.

No one spoke, no one exchanged ears, some were just solemn, staring ahead without squinting, like groups of terracotta warriors.

This is the discipline of the Han army, and it is also the iron blood and slaughter brought by a veteran of a hundred battles, which can not be compared with those soldiers and horses in the city who have a short training time and few who go into battle to kill the enemy.

In contrast, the Huns who were called to accompany the siege were much worse, in the northwest corner of the city, the chaotic Hun cavalry stood scattered without formation, some exchanged heads, some shouted continuously, and the horses neighed, as if a vegetable market was busy.

Wu Qiu Jian stood on the city tower and watched, the Wei army was like a great enemy, they were pouring into the city, all kinds of bows and crossbows and arrows were ready, and the faces of every Cao Wei soldier were full of fear.

A few months ago, they were peasants who had just put down their hoes, and they were pulled into battle after less than two months of training, although they were defending the city and occupying a favorable position, almost more than nine adults here were on the battlefield for the first time, and they were naturally uneasy.

Liang Xi looked at the situation outside and said with some concern: "General, the enemy has attacked. ”

"yes."

Wu Qiu Jian sighed and said, "It would be nice to wait a little longer." ”

"The soldiers were very frightened."

Liang Xi said: "Shen Chen was in a hurry to attack, presumably because the general was on the way to help. ”

Sima Yi sent someone to remind them that Shen Chen had already come north to attack.

They all knew that Sima Yi was coming, and Sima Yi asked them to hold on for a while longer, and the reinforcements would arrive soon.

Now it seems that Shen Chen also understands this, so he plans to rush to attack and put pressure on Wu Qiujian.

Wu Qiu Jian groaned: "You say, if the Han army is attacking the city, the Huns suddenly attack from behind them, what will happen?" ”

Liang Xi immediately understood what he meant, and said tentatively: "The general wants to send a signal now?" ”

"Yes, there is this idea."

Wu Qiu Jian said.

They originally planned to find a quiet time in the dead of night, and suddenly attack at night, cooperating with the Huns to attack the Han camp at night.

But when he learned that Sima Yi was coming, he thought it would be safer to wait for Sima Yi to come.

But now seeing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity on the battlefield, Wu Qiu Jian is thinking that if he attacks at this time, it will be a miracle effect.

However, after a while, Liang Xi shook his head, pointed to the northwest direction and said, "General, look over there." ”

Don't look at it.

I saw that the Han army had begun to prepare to attack the city at this time.

With an order, the siege equipment that Zhao Yun had built when he was stationed on the bank of the Qinshui River was brought up, and a large number of Han troops in the south shouted the words "Great Han Wansheng" and "Great Han Wansheng", and the mountains began to advance like a tsunami.

Only the formation of the Han army in the northwest corner is still solemn, they seem to be standing there like steel, and if they look carefully in the direction they are aiming for, they are vaguely towards the foot of the northwest city wall of Gaodu County.

At first glance, one might think that they were planning to attack the corners of the city, but attacking the corners of the city was thankless, and there were many towers on them.

Then the remaining targets seem to be only the Huns in the same northwest corner!

"Shen Chen doesn't trust the Huns!"

Wu Qiu Jian immediately made a judgment, frowned and said, "It seems to be faintly on guard." ”

"That's normal, too."

Liang Xi said: "If he trusted the Huns, he would not have chosen to attack Luoyang, and he was wary of foreign races from the beginning. ”

"If you are not of my race, your heart will be different, Shen Chen can read it thoroughly."

Wu Qiu Jian smiled dumbly.

This sentence comes from "Zuo Biography", which is a truth that everyone who reads the book knows.

However, if the alien is willing to take refuge, imagine that most people are elated and fully accepted.

After all, no one will dislike their lack of soldiers.

However, with the current strength of the southern Han Dynasty, there is probably no need for the help of these Huns, and Cao Wei can sweep away the declining rivers and rivers on his own.

This may also be Shen Chen's confidence to be wary of those Huns.

Soon, the siege began.

The Han army poured out of the city like a tide, and the Wei army immediately rained arrows and rained out.

The wooden curtains were pushed over, and the Han soldiers hid behind the wooden curtains, carried the ladders to the outside of the city, and began to climb the city.

Gaodu County served as the seat of Shangdang County, but there was no moat, which greatly facilitated the attack of the Han army.

The Wei army's bows and crossbows, rolling stones, and lime and fire oil were constantly spilled out, surrounding the west city gate and the three-mile-long city wall, and the two sides fought fiercely.

The battle lasted until the afternoon, and although the 50,000 Wei army was certainly inferior to the Han army in the field, it was a defense of the city after all, and it occupied great convenience, so even if it attacked like this, it still did not take the county seat.

It was only in the evening that the Han army dragged its tired bodies, leaving one or two thousand corpses outside the city, which receded like a tide.

Seeing this scene, Wu Qiujian immediately said to Liang Xi: "The general said that Zhuge Liang may have sent a large group of cavalry to help, and the cavalry of the Han army is brave and good at fighting, and even if the Huns rebel at that time, they may also be broken by their cavalry." Now is a golden opportunity, the enemy will be exhausted after a day of fighting, even if he has the intention of guarding against a night attack, he will only guard against us, not against the Huns, when the time comes, go and put a signal, attack the camp tonight! ”

"Yui!"

Liang Xi responded solemnly and decided the battle of Cao Wei's life and death tonight.

(End of chapter)