Jiang Yiqu honestly followed Yan Liangwen back to Yecheng, but he didn't dare to mention the matter of throwing Cao Cao, if they knew that they were determined to go to Xuchang with an army of 60,000 after receiving Zhang He's letter, even if Lu Bu and Lin Mo could bypass him, Yan Liangwen Chou would not agree.

Naturally, Cao Cao didn't know about Jiang Yiqu's escort, after all, Yan Liangwen moved too fast, and he didn't even make any waves.

By the time he was sure of this, the vanguard army of the northern kingdom had already driven out of Yecheng.

Cao Cao was dressed in sheepskin and sat in front of the brazier, his eyes deep.

Life is always like this, it can't be smooth sailing, after receiving Jiang Yiqu's reply, Cao Cao was happy and couldn't sleep for a while, because his army of 60,000 was too critical for himself at this stage, and could be used as a strategy to curb Lin Mo's further expansion.

And now, Lu Lin collected all the 60,000 troops of Liyang without firing a bullet, although Cao Cao did not completely know the details of the northern kingdom, but he could probably judge it.

Especially under the premise that Xu Sheng has returned to Pengcheng with an army of 50,000, Lin Mo can still mobilize 70,000 or 80,000 people to march in the direction of Youzhou, and at the same time, Liyang's defense has not slackened at all, just from this level of analysis, Lu Bu now has no less than 200,000 troops under his command.

Thinking of this, Cao Cao couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

Only a few years ago, he was an insignificant three-surnamed slave who didn't even have a place to stand, but now, whether he wants to admit it or not, he has replaced Yuan Shao as the most powerful prince in the Han world.

Even if it is himself, except for the Son of Heaven in his hands, whether it is a military general, or a soldier, a horse, a grain and grass, there is no slightest advantage, and he has even opened a certain gap by him.

Not to mention anything else, the fact that Xu Sheng returned to Xuzhou with an army of 50,000 made Cao Cao uneasy.

According to the latest battle report of the scouts, in addition to 30,000 troops stationed in Xiaoguan, 20,000 troops were stationed in Peicheng, which means that he must increase his troops in Shanyang County and Qian County accordingly to prevent them from suddenly attacking.

This still does not take into account the soldiers and horses on hand of Anfeng Zhang Liao, if you want to fully fortify, at least 30,000 to 50,000 troops must be spread out.

After the Central Plains War, Cao Cao's army had more than 80,000 people, and later took over the old department of Zhang Yang in Hanoi, and captured more than 20,000 people on hand of senior cadres, and the soldiers and horses were actually more than 100,000.

The problem is that in the battle of Anfeng, Xiahoudun lost nearly 20,000 troops and two-thirds of the cavalry, which directly led to the setback of Cao Cao's military strength.

Fortunately, this year's harvest was good, because the previous investment in the Kanto region, grain, grass and taxes have been qualitatively improved, and Cao Cao took advantage of the situation to recruit 20,000 strong men.

In total, Cao Cao's soldiers and horses still have more than 120,000.

It sounds like a lot, but when you really mobilize it, you will feel overstretched.

First of all, in addition to dealing with Lü Bu's expansion and forming a linkage with Yuan Xi, Xiahoudun, who was in the border and annexed the state, also had to resist the raids of the Huchuquan Department of the Xiongnu, and the 40,000 people he had on hand really couldn't move.

Moreover, Zhang Liao's garrison on the southern side of Anfeng could not be less than 20,000 people.

Finally, as the strategic border between the north and the Central Plains, White Horse City, 10,000 people can no longer be less.

These alone cost 70,000 people, so Guo Jia had suggested that 50,000 people should enter Jingzhou to form a sense of oppression to deter Liu Cong and Cai Mao from obediently handing over the power of Jingxiang.

Now, Xiao Guan and Xiao Pei have increased their troops, Shanyang County and Qian County can't do without action, even if it is to defend according to the danger, you have to increase your troops separately.

In this way, Cao Cao fell into a problem, there were more troops, and fewer people went to Jingzhou.

Naturally, it is impossible to deter Liu Cong and Cai Mao, after all, Jingxiang is known as the 200,000 people of the land and water army, even if some of them are divided by Liu Qi, the soldiers and horses that these two people can mobilize must be at the level of more than 100,000.

But if all the troops are transferred to Jingzhou, his defense line will be torn apart in an instant, thinking of this problem, Cao Cao couldn't help but rub his temples.

originally thought that as soon as Liu Biao died, his strength would immediately grow by leaps and bounds, but he didn't expect that Lin Mo began to sprinkle the Northern Army to various points to contain himself, but he fell passive.

Lin Mo is not Yuan Shao in the end, he knows too well how to give full play to the advantage of troops, if Yuan Shao was willing to do this, the Central Plains would have fallen into his hands long ago.

"Lin Mo's move is most likely to deter Sikong, so that he can take Youzhou into his pocket."

Cheng Yu, who was thin and small, but had cold eyes, continued: "There are many soldiers in the northern country, but not all of them are elite.

In the past two years, Lu Lin Weng's son-in-law has indeed been invincible, but the elite department at hand has also suffered a lot of damage, and the troops that Xu Sheng brought back to Xuzhou have more than enough to defend the land, but they can't do it.

What's more, at present, a three-sided encirclement has been formed against Jizhou, and it is impossible for Lin Mo to have any intention of the Central Plains without breaking this deadlock. ”

Cheng Yu's analysis is still very reasonable, although he has not won a battle with the Lu army in the past few years, and has lost many elite soldiers.

However, the elite of the Lu army suffered not a small loss.

The general weak brigade follows the elite to make a strong momentum, and it is no problem to chase and kill, make up for the leaks, and let them attack the city head-on, which is tantamount to a moth to a fire.

According to Cheng Yu's judgment, the soldiers and horses brought back by Xu Sheng are all weak brigades, which are not enough to attack the city, and as long as they are strictly defended, they may not be able to survive.

Cao Cao shook his head, "But if the Northern Army is now mobilizing the army and just making a gesture to show me, all the real elites are concentrated in Xuzhou, and even Yan and Henan are instantly breached at the gate, and even Xuchang is in danger, which has to be guarded against." ”

Cao Cao tapped on his head, his face depressed.

"I think it's a matter of course."

It was Chen Qun, wearing a wide robe with a velvet bottom, and he slowly bowed his head and said: "After all, at this time, it is against the way of using soldiers, it is against the sky, Lin Mo is a soldier, it is impossible not to understand this truth, maybe the soldiers who went north are suspicious soldiers, the real elite, they have indeed entered Xuzhou, just waiting for Sikong to lead the troops to Jingxiang, he will take the opportunity to attack." ”

"Lin Mo's use of soldiers is unexpected, this is indeed like his usual style, and I also agree with Changwen's opinion." Du Xun, who is also from the Yingchuan faction, also expressed his opinion.

Jingzhou must be taken, with the current territory and troops, it is not enough to compete with Lu Bu to enter the evenly matched, especially it can be assumed that he takes Youzhou, if he does not have the strategic backyard of Jingzhou, sooner or later he will be eaten away step by step.

The judgment to be made now is whether the real elite of the Northern Army is in Xuzhou or Youzhou.

Or, Lin Mo's real purpose is to recover Youzhou, or to annex the Central Plains when he goes south to Jingzhou.

Moreover, you can't delay this matter, in case Lin Mo takes Youzhou with thunderous means, at that time, the prestige will be even worse, and Cai Mao is still willing to bow down and be a minister, but the two of them have to say.

It would be great if Jiang Yiqu hadn't been brought back to Yecheng, people are always prone to come up with countless ifs when things don't go well, just like Cao Cao at the moment.

"Sikong, send 10,000 additional soldiers and horses to Shanyang and Qiaojun."

In the cold winter season, Guo Jia, who was already thin, wrapped himself into a zongzi, and while wearing a big hat, he also had to rely on the fire to drive away the chill on his body.

"Take 30,000 people to Jingxiang?"

Cao Cao twisted his fingers, "Less."

"I also feel that there is less in the lower ranks, and for the sake of today's plan, I can only transfer 20,000 people from the headquarters of General Xiahou in Bingzhou to come back."

After Guo Jia finished speaking, Cao Cao instinctively laughed, "Yuan Rang only has 40,000 people in his hands, and half of it will be taken away at once, in case Lin Mo pretends to kill him, we won't have time to rescue at all." ”

"Sikong, there is Taihang Mountain in the middle of Jizhou and Bingzhou, and it is not so easy to cross, not to mention, there is Zhang Yan here." This time it was Xun You's squeak, and obviously, he also agreed with Guo Jia's approach.

"It's just grass on the wall, he received my bounty before, and received the favor of the court, but when he really wanted to contribute, he made a lot of excuses, and the mountain bandits and the like were not credible!" When it came to Zhang Yan, Cao Cao's brows were wrinkled into a Sichuan character, he had already tightened his belt to live, and he dared not do anything after receiving the money, and sooner or later he would clean him up.

"Sikong."

Xun You smiled slightly and said: "The reason why Zhang Yan is swaying is nothing more than wanting to meet the source left and right, but if we break his thoughts, it is estimated that he will do his best to do things for the imperial court." ”

Cao Cao looked at the sparks jumping in front of him, and after a pause, he reacted and looked straight at Xun You, "What did you say?" ”

(End of chapter)