With the cooperation of Liu Xie, the dark tide of Xuchang gradually surged, not only after the ambush, but also the loyal Han people lurking under the water.

The news of the dark tide in Xuchang reached Cao Cao in Xiangyang, and at the same time, Cao Cao also received a battle report from Jiangling.

In the inner hall that Liu Biao used to discuss matters, Cao Cao convened his subordinates to discuss matters.

Cao Cao spread the battle report of Jiangling to everyone in the hall and said: "Erliu besieged Jiangling City Guo Yueyu, and the soldiers and horses became more and more numerous, and the soldiers and horses gradually increased, about 30,000 people. Under the tent, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Liu Pan and other generals have conquered Yiling, Zhijiang, Linfu and other peripheral counties, but only Jiangling is still holding on. ”

The attack and defense of Gangneung in this plane is much simpler than the original history. Cao Ren led his army out of the city to fight Liu Bei in the case of not many soldiers and horses, and fought with Zhang Fei in the Battle of Yiling, but he did not get any bargain after the two battles. And the soldiers and horses of Jingnan converged with Erliu, and there are 30,000 soldiers and horses today.

Yiling is in the west of Jiangling, and it is a key passage into Yizhou. It is not a north-south passage connecting with Xiangyang, nor is it a strategic point, as for why a war was fought.

The reason for this is not difficult to understand, Liu Zhang, the old boy, has been sending grain to Cao Ren. When Cao Cao marched into Jiangdong, Liu Zhang was afraid of Cao Cao's troops, and allocated grain and grass from Yizhou to Cao Cao, so that Cao Cao raised more than 100,000 troops to fight Huo Jun.

In the Battle of Chibi in history, Cao Cao fought with Liu Biao's soldiers and ate the money and grain of Jingyi Erzhou. Even after the defeat, the main force of the northern army was still there, but it was damaged a lot by the plague.

Even if Cao Cao was defeated and retreated, Liu Zhang seemed ready to help Cao Ren. Therefore, Yiling is the main way to enter and exit Shuzhong, and the second Liu must be cut off, how can Cao Ren continue to get Liu Zhang's help.

After telling everyone about the battle in Jiangling, Cao Cao said: "Guan Yu, Mi Fang, and Liu Bei ordered them to go north to Hefei, and Sun Guan, Lu Qian, Zang Ba and others will retreat to Hefei. From time to time, Zhuge Liang colluded with Chen Lan, Chen Ce, Lei Xu and other Jianghuai bandits, and seemed to be in chaos, and he was very worried. ”

"This~"

The civil and military forces whispered, quite worried about the current situation in Gangneung.

Yang Xiu observed his words, and he could already hear Cao Cao's words, and said cooperatively: "Prime Minister Qi, Huo Jun's 20,000 soldiers and horses are not triggered. Second, Liu Bing had more than 30,000 people to surround Jiangling, and when Guan Yu and Mi Fang led their troops to enter Jianghuai. Today's situation is unstable, and Xiu thinks that it is better to abandon Jiangling and let Cao Nanjun lead the army to withdraw to Xiangfan. ”

Cao Cao was silent and looked around at everyone in the hall.

Cao Hong was reluctant to give up Jiangling and said: "Prime Minister, if our army withdraws now, Jiangling will fall into the hands of Er Liu, wouldn't it be a pity!" ”

"Resumption?"

Xiahou Yuan asked rhetorically: "If the war resumes, the soldiers and horses of the Seventh Army should be led south, and troops need to be divided to garrison Xiangfan." ”

Listening to the resumption of the war with Erliu, everyone was unwilling. They finally escaped from the land of Jianghan, and now they no longer want to go south to fight.

Xun You coughed and said, "It is better to withdraw the army from Jiangling sooner rather than later." Our Jiangling soldiers and horses are outnumbered, and the enemy soldiers and horses are more numerous, unless we benefit from Jiangling, it will be difficult to protect Jiangling. In my opinion, the army can be withdrawn from Jiangling, and then stick to Xiangfan, and move the people of Hannan to Nanyang counties. ”

In history, after the Sun and Liu coalition forces broke through Cao, the battle of Nanjun could be fought for more than a year, and it was related to Sun Quan and Liu Bei. Liu Bei was in a hurry to take the four counties of Jingnan, and Sun Quan sent tens of thousands of troops to fight Hefei.

In this period of more than a year, Zhou Yu only relied on 20,000 or 30,000 soldiers and horses to launch the Battle of Yiling, and then launched the Battle of the North Road, forcing Cao Ren to retreat by cutting off external supplies to Jiangling.

However, this time is completely different, Liu Qi divided his troops to take Jiangling, Liu Bei fully cooperated, and Huo Jun raised 20,000 sailors to threaten Xiangfan. Cao Ren's situation was quite difficult, otherwise he would not have sent several letters to Cao Cao asking for help. And as time goes on, Liu Qi integrates Jingnan soldiers and horses, and will send more soldiers and horses to besiege Jiangling.

As Xun Yu said, unless Jiangling is beneficial, Jiangling will not be able to hold it over time.

Cao Cao pursed his lips and said unwillingly: "What the princes said is very reasonable, it is advisable to withdraw the troops of Jiangling, and increase the army of Xiangfan, and use the danger of Xiangyang to resist the enemy in Hannan." ”

"This?"

Cao Hong was not very reconciled, and said: "Prime Minister, in the Battle of Chrysostom, our army suffered heavy casualties, and now abandon Jiangling......"

Cao Cao raised his hand to interrupt and said: "Jiangling Zhucheng, although Lone is unwilling to abandon it, but due to the turmoil in Jianghuai, it is necessary to transfer troops and horses to benefit him, so he has to withdraw his troops now." When the Central Plains recovers, I will go back to Jiangling with you. ”

"No!"

After a pause, Cao Cao said: "The matter of the withdrawal of troops from Jiangling today should be discussed deeply. Second, Liu Tun's soldiers were outside Jiangling City, and he was worried that Zixiao led the army to retreat, and it was difficult to retreat. ”

"Wenhe, Gongda?"

Jia Xu, who lowered his eyes, seemed to be awakened, raised his head, and arched his hand and said: "I think that when we send soldiers and horses south to meet Caonan County, soldiers and horses and Jiangling, with the strong field combat ability of our army, Jingchu soldiers and horses will not dare to chase deeply." ”

Cao Cao frowned slightly, and said: "There are 40,000 soldiers and horses in Jiangbei, and Gu has already dispatched Zhang Liao and Yu Ban to lead 10,000 soldiers and horses to support Jianghuai. Looking at the soldiers and horses under the lonely present, only 30,000 soldiers and horses in Jiangbei remained, and more than 10,000 soldiers and horses in Xiangyang City. If you want to pick up filial piety, there are only 10,000 soldiers and horses available. The rest of the soldiers and horses are of other use. ”

Xun You picked up the conversation and said: "Prime Minister Qiyu, Xiangyang has the potential of mountains and rivers, which is extremely steep and abnormal, with thousands of soldiers, it is enough to resist tens of thousands of enemies. Now it is better to send Xiangfan soldiers and horses to the south, and join the people of 10,000 people in Jiangbei to save Caonan County. At that time, our army could have 20,000 people, and although Er Liu took advantage of the victory, he did not dare to chase after our army! ”

"Then Huo Jun welcomed the troops south and attacked our army with the Erliu army, what is it?" Cao Cao asked.

Xun You pondered for a while and said: "It is feasible to bluff, send the sergeant to the south, and carry out the plan of increasing the stove, so that the second Liu Wei does not dare to chase deeply." And thousands of cavalry can be dispatched to inspect the Han River, Huo Jun went deep into Xiangfan alone, and did not dare to leave the ship easily. ”

"What does Wen He think?" Cao Cao asked.

Jia Xu stroked his beard and said, "Jiangling is rich, and it is a pity to withdraw the army from the city today." Liu Bei has always regarded himself as benevolent and loving the people, and Liu Qi is the lord of Jingzhou. He thought that when Cao Nanjun withdrew his troops, he burned the city with fire. When Liu saw it, how could he dare to lead the army to chase after him, and he had to enter the city to save the people as soon as possible! ”

"And in addition to the armor, bows and crossbows, the money, grain, and baggage can be discarded, and with five days' food, march to the north in a hurry, and join the soldiers and horses going south, and they can return to Xiangyang together. As for Huo Jun's department, it can be learned from Xun Junshi's words. Erliu didn't dare to chase deeply, and there were horsemen on the side, Huo Jun was difficult to achieve, so he shouldn't worry. ”

Jia Xu grasped Liu Bei's personality traits and suggested a strategy to burn the city to slow down Liu Bei's pursuers. Without Erliu raising troops to pursue, it would be difficult for Huo Jun's 20,000 people to prevent Cao Ren from withdrawing to Xiangyang.

After all, Huo Jun's shortcomings are that he doesn't dare to go too far from the boat. The lone army fought deep on land, and after a long battle, the supply of food and grass was not available, and it was only a matter of time before it was defeated.

"Good!"

Cao Cao heard the strategy of Jia Xu and Xun You, and he was not very happy in his heart, and said: "The three generals Zhang He, Zhu Ling, and Li Tong are ordered to lead their troops and horses to the south, and they must be taken until Zixiao has to return to Xiangfan." The people of Jianghan and Han Dynasty, who can move north, all migrate to Nanyang, Nanxiang, Zhangling and other counties. ”

As he spoke, Cao Cao changed his words and said: "And the life is full of pet soldiers 3,000 Tun Xiangyang, and Xu Huang's soldiers are 7,000 Zhenfancheng." When the soldiers and horses of Jiangling returned, they were led by Zixiao and guarded the two cities of Xiangfan. Now lonely Xuchang, Yecheng letters, Xianbei, the Southern Xiongnu are not smooth, lonely can not stay in Xiangfan for a long time, the rest of the civil and military with the lonely return to the country. ”

"No!"

After everyone finished discussing the matter, Cao Hong stayed behind and said: "Prime Minister, the main force of the Seventh Army in Xiakou is still there, and the current strength is insufficient, so you can also recruit new troops from the Central Plains, why withdraw it easily." If Huo Jun and Liu Bei fight with our army in the field, they may not be able to win! ”

Cao Cao took out two letters from his bosom, handed them to Cao Hong, and motioned for him to open them.

After reading the contents of the letter, Cao Hong's face changed drastically, and he looked up at Cao Cao. But he saw that even though Cao Cao was anxious in his heart, his expression was as usual and he didn't see any anxiousness.

Cao Cao put his hands behind his waist and said lightly: "Rumors are spreading in Xuchang City today, some say that the lone soldier was defeated and died, and there is also that the lone soldier was besieged by Huo Jun in Xiangyang. Under the rumors, the Son of Heaven has other plans, and he has to return to Xuchang to appease everyone. ”

Cao Hong's face was not angry, and he said: "If there is no prime minister to raise troops to welcome him, the Son of Heaven does not know who will die at whose hands." Today, I don't think about the grace of the prime minister, and I go against the conspiracy, which is really hateful! ”

Cao Cao lost about 100,000 soldiers in Jinkou, and killed Lejin, Cheng Yu, Cao Chun, Lu Zhao and other generals, who were already distressed, how could they easily give up Jiangling City. However, the dark tide of Xuchang was surging, and Cao Cao couldn't help but go back to calm everyone's hearts.

The lesser of two evils, Gangneung is far less important than his basic plate. Abandoning Jiangling today shows Cao Cao's decisiveness, but it is also Cao Cao's helpless move.

It's late

(End of chapter)