Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3064: Don’t be impatient, don’t make chaos, don’t let anything happen

The problem Xia Houyuan encountered was not "miasma", but altitude sickness. Although the Hedong area in Shangdang, Shanxi is not as high as the roof of the world, nor is it a frequent area for altitude sickness, people who have been staying at relatively low altitudes for a long time will suddenly be highly excited and nervous to engage in high-intensity exercise. , this kind of enjoyment going up and down will naturally increase the chance of altitude sickness.

In fact, in most cases, as long as you drink more water, rest more, and get used to it for a few days, this gap is nothing. But the problem is that Xia Houyuan is in a hurry...

In a hurry, something goes wrong.

Xia Houyuan was eager to hurry, but at Tongguan, there was a slap on the table angrily.

The flags and arrows swayed a few times, as if they were about to fall.

"Stupid!" 』

After receiving the letter from Xia Houyuan, Cao Cao could not control his rising anger, "Greeding for merit and rushing forward!" You missed me! 』

Wei Yan is stuck in Shaanjin, which is equivalent to being stuck on Zhongtiao Mountain. One side can monitor the river, and the other side can overlook the east of the river. For Cao Cao, only after Wei Yan is removed can the smooth development be possible. The invasion of Hedong threatened Pujin Ferry and Longmen Ferry, and then either detoured to attack Tongguan, or directly attacked Chang'an.

In other words, if the Hussars want to bypass Zhiguanxing and attack Heluohanei and other places, Xiahou Yuan, with the support of Cao Cao's army, can easily cut off their food routes and attack their nodes. At this time, the power of the attack can be Play to the max.

The greatest threat is before the arrow is shot. Xia Houyuan's original position is like a knight on a Chinese chess board. Before determining the direction of attack, there are many options. The opponent must consider and deal with them and cannot relax. But after Xia Houyuan jumps into the enemy's formation, that's all that's left. In one direction, even if you step back, the horse's legs will be pinned by the soldiers.

Xia Houyuan's attack was undoubtedly a weapon that should have been left in the later stage and used in advance.

Originally, Cao Cao wanted to let Xiahou Yuan return to Shaanxi and cooperate with Cao Xiu to destroy Wei Yan. But now it's better. Xiahou Yuan has a "general outside"!

This made Cao Cao very angry...

Because the elite cavalry of Cao Cao's army of less than a thousand can stir up a certain local node and play an important role at a certain stage, but it is not worthwhile to fight from the beginning to the end, or to spend money on the front.

Xia Houyuan is like a sharp blade in the hands of an assassin. It must be hit with one strike and cannot be consumed by fighting. This is completely different from ordinary Cao Jun soldiers!

Under Tongguan, there were thousands or even tens of thousands of casualties, and Cao Cao would not even frown, because there were not many other places in Shandong, and there were definitely a lot of lives!

But the war horse...

It's okay if Xia Houyuan's attack goes well. If it is damaged, when Cao Cao needs someone to hold him back or follow the hussars, but he has no horses, what will he do then? Therefore, Cao Cao's arrangement for Xia Houyuan in the early stages of the battle was mainly to attack the hussars attacking Hanoi from the east of Hedong, destroy their morale, and disrupt their positions. Generally speaking, they can be regarded as flanking cavalry whose main responsibility is to protect the main force. Formation, harassment, flanking and other functions, but there is no intention of letting Xia Houyuan be the main offensive force.

And now, because of a victory, Xia Houyuan went directly deep into the enemy's territory, and even boasted that he had seized the opportunity to attack Pingyang...

This is equivalent to the original flank becoming the current prominent part!

The original flank has now become the main direction of attack!

Xia Houyuan did show his fierce strength, but also lost his original agility.

Cao Cao is the attacker.

The advantage of the attacking side is that they can choose different directions of attack, choose the time and place, the number of troops to invest, etc. These are all advantages of the attacking side, but once the attacking side's choices are constrained and forced to a few, then the attacking side will The advantage is gone, and the defender can easily take corresponding countermeasures.

Xiahou Yuan's attack forced Cao Cao to follow up.

Moreover, Cao Cao concluded that the reinforcements Xia Houyuan destroyed were not "reinforcements" at all, but bait!

"This General Baidi!" ” Cao Cao cursed, “Stupid and reckless! Regardless of the overall situation! 』

The reason for scolding is because Cao Cao can only scold now.

If Xiahou Yuan could be ordered to maneuver, Cao Cao would not scold him.

Because of Cao Cao's understanding of Xia Houyuan, Xia Houyuan must have crashed into the net at that moment. Either the fish died or the net broke. Even if Cao Cao issued the order now, it was too late.

Now it's okay. When Xia Houyuan makes a move, everyone knows that Cao Cao is planning to attack Hedong...

Cao Cao will indeed attack Hedong, but does he need to make more preparations and arrangements in advance?

Xia Houyuan neither asked about the overall strategy nor communicated with the friendly forces, and just charged in. It looked fierce, but in fact it was stupid.

No matter what tactic it is, it is most effective only when it is used for the first time. Because no one could have imagined it, the effect is naturally the best. And no matter how much it is imitated later, it loses the original feeling. Shocking, people will definitely be wary of it. Cao Cao knew that Xiahou Yuan wanted to stage a Yecheng attack in Pingyang, completely disrupting the hussar army's deployment, and even opening up a loophole for the hussar army. However, Xiahou Yuan's behavior also meant danger.

"Ming Gong, now we can only attack Hedong and support General Miaocai. "Guo Jia said slowly, "Tongguan is difficult to conquer quickly... Let's launch the original strategy in advance..."

Guo Jia spoke halfway and did not continue.

Guo Jia did not expect that Tongguan would be so difficult to attack.

Although every possible consideration has been taken when formulating the plan, the difficulty of Tongguan is still beyond everyone's imagination.

To give a very simple example, in the era before the rise of thermal firearms, who would know what a shooting preset unit is, what a cross-fire strike is, and what a long-range coverage and shielding is? Perhaps the rudimentary application of these concepts did have some clues in the era of cold weapons, but the real maturity must be in the era of hot weapons, so when Fei Qian applied these concepts to Tongguan, which has naturally convenient terrain and high and low altitudes. When there is a dangerous gap, the difficulty is definitely not as simple as one plus one equals two.

Even though Tongguan has not yet used gunpowder on a large scale...

Tongguan's catapults and crossbows can even suppress Cao's catapults while accurately attacking the supervisory teams who try to force laborers and farmers to approach Tongguan!

Although this "precision strike" still has a lot of errors, it can still be achieved with a single coverage.

This means that when Cao Jun really sends regular soldiers to attack Tongguan, the basic command military academy must withstand the attacks of catapults and ballistae!

Flesh and blood cannot compete with crossbows and stone bullets, not to mention those hand grenades, kerosene bullets, and other bullets that have not yet been used...

Once the grassroots organizers are killed and blocked, Cao Jun's military system is like a human body that has lost its joints or skeleton. It will immediately become stiff in movement, or simply collapse!

This is a very serious problem, and Cao Cao has no way to make up for it or improve it.

Because including Cao Cao, the military system of the entire Shandong and even Jiangdong is to point to the point, and the superiors control the subordinates. If this kind of joint skeleton is lost, the remaining soldiers, no matter how many there are, will be at a loss and not know what to do. , I don’t know what the goal is...

If you fool the people, you will ultimately be fooled.

How to change this?

How can it be changed?

"Ming Gong, the matter has come to this," Guo Jia said slowly, "there is only one thing left to do..."

Cao Cao pondered for a long time and said nothing.

To enter Guanzhong, you can take Tongguan Pass, you can take the ferry, or you can let Xiang Yu resist at Tongguan and secretly take Wuguan Road like Liu Bang did.

Only children do multiple-choice questions. This time, Cao Cao wanted them all.

From north to south, there were beacon fires almost everywhere, because Cao Cao not only had many people, but also many leading generals from the Cao family and the Xiahou family that he could trust. Because there is no doubt about the loyalty of the generals of the Cao family and the Xiahou family, and they also have the same interests, Cao Cao can let these generals lead the troops separately and march in separate ways. As long as there is a breakthrough in any direction, the army can directly respond.

But Xia Houyuan's arrival was almost equivalent to forcing Cao Cao to shift his focus to Hedong!

"The Hedong Ferry must be opened as soon as possible..." Dong Zhao also said from the side, "If General Miaocai needs military support, he can also supplement it..."

Cao Cao's face became increasingly gloomy.

Dong Zhao was talking about military supplies, but in fact he was saying that if Xia Houyuan was in danger and was blocked in Hedong County, at least he could open an opening to save his life...

Cao Cao and Guo Jia both knew this, but they didn't say anything about it, so as to maintain some face, but Dong Zhao exposed it...

But if Dong Zhao is at fault, it cannot be considered his fault.

After all, before you think about victory, you should think about defeat first.

"Don't worry, sir..." Guo Jia rolled his eyes, "This can also be regarded as an opportunity to win..."

Cao Cao became more excited and said with a smile, "How do you say that?" 』

"After a long battle with no results, morale will inevitably decline..." Guo Jia said, "Now General Miaocai...well, it can be regarded as a small victory, which is inspiring..."

Cao Cao nodded.

Guo Jia continued, "Secondly, Tongguan is so thick that it is difficult to rush down immediately. It is also the original strategy to stir up Hedong... It doesn't hurt to move it a little earlier..."

Cao Cao hummed.

"Thirdly, in the land east of Hedong, there were many people who had good relations with the Yang family in the past..." Guo Jia cast his eyes on Yang Xiu, "Now... I am bothering Ancestor De to compile a book in order to keep in touch and work together on important things..."

Yang Xiu smiled bitterly, knowing in his heart that he would not get any benefits and would be scolded by others, but he could only accept it.

Cao Cao laughed and said, "Good!" Be filial! 』

The originally dull atmosphere is now a little more relaxed.

"Ming Gong, before that, attack Fenglingdu first..." Guo Jia drew on the map, "Here, we can destroy the beacons and build a pontoon bridge..."

The reason why Fenglingdu became famous in later generations was probably thanks to Daxia Yang. After all, as a hero, how can he not have a few beauties who have a crush on him? This kind of secretly cool pretense may be a vulgar routine in the Internet literary world in later generations, but it was rare in the martial arts world at that time.

The ferry north of the river is called Fenglingdu, and the ferry south of the river is called Tongguandu.

Moreover, Fenglingdu is not a point, but a surface.

If to the north of Fenglingdu there is a leg extending down from Zhongtiao Mountain, weakly reaching into the belly of the river, then Fenglingdu is the instep of this leg that is submerged in the water. As for people crossing the river, they are like ants catching fallen leaves.

The river formed several bends. After passing the bend, the water flow became relatively slow, and Fenglingdu was formed. If you wait for the winter to completely freeze, Fenglingdu can also walk directly on the ice. The most troublesome part is spring and summer. Not to mention a lot of rain in summer. In spring, it is warm but then cold. The river has just thawed on the front feet, and the back feet may be frozen again, making it impossible to sail or walk on the ice. All we can do is stare. .

Cao Cao's plan also took the weather into consideration, so he chose to attack Chang'an near autumn and winter. After entering winter, the water flow of the river decreases and is no longer as fast as in summer. If the pontoon can be successfully built, you can come and go freely even after the spring thaws. However, due to the presence of Wei Yan, the road across the river was blocked. If Wei Yan could not be eliminated, the route would not be safe.

At night, under the cover of darkness, Cao Hong approached the crossing point with three thousand soldiers and horses.

This crossing point is obviously not the best, but it is the safest for Cao Jun.

There are many crossing points on both sides of the river, some are wavy hills with wide valleys and gentle slopes, and some are gentle water surfaces with muddy mudflats, but in the end we have to face the same big river, a river that is both sentimental and ruthless.

"Captain, the crossing point is just ahead!" 』

The person who led the way for Cao Hong was a military officer from the Yang family in Hongnong. A few days ago, he was still wagging his tail at the Yang family's children, but now he has become accustomed to bowing and bowing to the Cao family's children. Regarding the surrounding situation, these soldiers of the Hongnong Yang family obviously have more say.

The former Yang's military academy pointed to a mound in front of him and said, "This is it!" 』

Cao Hong looked around.

At the foot of the hill is a flat open land. The river curves slightly here, making it seem quite gentle. It is indeed a good place to cross the river.

"How far is the patrol post on the other side from here?" ” asked Cao Hong.

That's right, the bandit army.

Everyone is a thief except himself.

The former Yang's military academy was stunned for a moment because he didn't know about this. When I was under the Yang family, I was just living and waiting to die day by day. How could I pay attention to the changes on the other side of the river? Being able to know some matters on the south bank of the river is already considered very diligent.

However, after a while, the former Yang Family Military Academy knew that he was wrong. Cao Hong was not asking him at all, but Cao Family's scouts.

Cao's scout knocked the former Yang Military Academy away and pointed in both directions, "There are beacons above and below. One is on a hill five miles south, and the other is ten miles north... A beacon." There are about ten soldiers among them... These beacons have been built for two years..."

Cao Hong nodded.

No wonder Cao Cao said before that Fei Qian was very cunning, and not only was he cunning, he also thought things through very carefully. He prepared the beacon two years ago...

It's just that Fengsui is dead. If you want to use it, you still have to rely on people.

And people...

Cao Hong glanced in the direction of Shaanxi and Jin.

There was chaos in the night.

I failed to seduce Wei Yan in Shaanjin before, so what about this time?

Cao Hong waved his hand and ordered: "Build the bridge immediately and prepare to cross the river!" 』

Setting up a pontoon bridge is simple, but not simple.

First there must be a boat.

Then swing the boat lengthwise, and then hook the boats together with wooden planks.

The pontoon bridge was erected successfully...

But this kind of floating bridge is too easy to be destroyed. All it takes is a fire or a few impacts from a few huge logs lowered from the upstream...

Therefore, if you want the pontoon bridge to survive for a longer period of time, you must not only build the bridge, but also remove the beacons.

At least the two nearest beacons need to be conquered and they must not be allowed to sound the alarm.

So, Cao Hong took his troops and crossed the river by boat to go to the beacon.

Cao Hong and his men are naturally considered to be elites, and thanks to Tuo Feiqian's fortune, they have also vaguely touched on the edges of special operations. After all, in a war environment, learning tactical skills is almost instinctive.

The soldiers stationed in the beacon were just ordinary county guards. When Cao Hong and others approached, although they discovered Cao Jun at the last moment and made screams and warnings, they did not last long. He was soon swallowed up in darkness.

Cao Hong shook the blood from the blade proudly and said, "Count the heads to see if anyone has leaked." 』

The soldiers clicked the beacon up and down and came back, "Colonel, I have seen it, everything is here, no less." 』

"good! 』

Cao Hong raised his head and looked at the night. It was already about the third watch. According to calculations, the pontoon bridge would be built around the fourth watch, and then the river could be initially crossed before dawn. As the number of soldiers crossing the river increased, the pontoon bridge would be built. After it was completely light, Cao Jun could cross most of the river and even establish a relatively complete beach position.

Everything seems to be going well.

Cao Hong lay on the guardrail at the top of the beacon and looked around.

The screams and warnings of the soldiers in the beacon were probably too short, and they did not seem to cause chain alarms in other areas...

Except for a few night owls chirping from the distant mountains and forests, the surroundings were still quiet.

Cao Hong stayed for a while and found nothing unusual, so he got off the beacon, leaving a few soldiers at the beacon to pretend to be the soldiers originally on duty, and then walked back with his men.

In the distant mountain forest, between the trees, there is a hut built on a big tree.

The hut is hidden among the branches of the trees and is very secluded.

Inside the hut, there were two people with pale faces who were whispering.

"Did you hear that just now?" Is it a warning sound? 』

"Fengsui didn't respond... Something happened, something must have happened!" 』

"Call again...if there is no response, report it quickly..."

After a while, several more calls of night owls sounded in the forest, as if they were flying alone in the night...

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