Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3273 Raised Dust

If anyone can get the result after the fact and then reverse the previous process, then everyone will be Zhuge Liang, but only those who can make plans in advance before the event can be considered wise.

Fei Qian is not a wise man, but he is moving in this direction. After all, for so many years, he has been in the vortex of the Han Dynasty and is in a high position. He has mastered enough information. If he is still calculated everywhere instead of planning in advance, then for Fei Qian, it is undoubtedly a failure.

From a strategic perspective, Cao Cao's attack on the Yuncheng Basin in Hedong is not very meaningful.

Because the Yuncheng Basin in Hedong is a "connected" land.

I can go and he can come, which is called "connected".

Since it is a connected shape, we should first occupy Gaoyang, benefit from the grain road, and win the battle.

Gaoyang is not a county town, but refers to the high place and the sunny side. Cao Cao first built a camp in Zhongtiao Mountain, and then gradually entered the Yuncheng Basin in Hedong. This is undoubtedly a manifestation of his thorough understanding of military tactics.

But this "communication" is time-limited.

Because the spring flood is coming.

Affected by the late spring cold, the river freezes for a longer time than in previous years, which makes Cao Cao more threatening when crossing the river in the early stage. Because Cao Cao has the opportunity to open up several ferry crossings from Hedong to Guanzhong, not only threatening Pingyang, but also advancing into Guanzhong.

But unfortunately, Cao Cao's strategy was destroyed.

Sima Yi performed exceptionally and stopped Cao Hong's steps.

Even if Sima Yi failed to stop Cao Hong, Zhang Xiu on Emei Ridge would become Linfen's new defense line, and on the west bank of the river, Pang Tong had moved his cavalry to Zuofengyi, and would not leave any opportunities for Cao's army to sneak attack Guanzhong.

Cao Cao's first step of pulling failed.

Including Cao Cao's plan to lure Fei Qian, it also failed.

Fei Qian's calmness exceeded the imagination of these people in Shandong.

In the impression of Shandong people, Fei Qian should be like those Xiliang warriors, who would always stroke their spears and shout that they were hungry and thirsty, and then rush up with their men and horses...

Shanxi is good at attacking, Shandong is good at defending, this is the cognition of the Han Dynasty. Just like people often say that Guanxi produces generals and Guandong produces prime ministers, it is actually the same reason. Because the manor economic and political system originally in Shandong determined the customs and choices of Shandong people, and the deep integration of Shanxi and nomadism also led to some nomadic habits of Shanxi people.

If Fei Qian did not take the initiative to attack, the original Tongdi would gradually become a Guadi.

It is possible to go, but difficult to return, called Gua.

So Cao Cao began to turn his face and force the gentry and nobles in the Yuncheng Basin, and began to drive out the people of Yuncheng on a large scale...

Even killing the civilians of Heluo.

All these things were not what Cao Cao wanted to do, but they all had strategic significance.

Just like throwing gold, silver and money on the road, deliberately assuming flags and drums between the mountains and forests, etc., they were actually for the overall strategic purpose.

Cao Cao has now forced the gentry and nobles in the Yuncheng Basin into a dead end with no way out. He threatened them with life and death, used gold and silver as bait, and supplemented it with the name of righteousness and Confucianism, so that these natives of Hedong in the Yuncheng Basin would no longer have any possibility of sitting on the fence. In this way, Cao Cao was actually ready to withdraw his troops, just as Yang Xiu guessed.

Using the natives, population, and wealth of the Yuncheng Basin to cover up the fact that Cao Cao's attack was unfavorable, he could also package it to prove that he had won in Hedong.

The most important part of this plan is that Cao Cao must force Fei Qian to come out and fight.

If the battle is favorable, then there is no need to say more.

If the battle is unfavorable, Cao Cao will retreat immediately.

Anyway, Cao Cao has already obtained part of the benefits.

Even if this benefit is completely inconsistent with its war expenditure, as long as it is averaged and the data is played with a little trick, it is enough to deceive those ignorant people.

The direction of retreat was actually very clear. With the Zhongtiao Mountain camp as the defense point, they would retreat from Tongguan Slope Road, Shanjin, and Chenguan Road. As for the remnants and wounded soldiers that could not be taken away, Cao Cao would leave them to Fei Qian. And he would incite the blood of these remnants and wounded soldiers to the greatest extent possible for the final fight. The so-called "a desperate army will win" is because the destructive power generated in that desperate state of mind is almost terrifying.

But Fei Qian has never paid attention to Cao Cao's coquettishness.

So Cao Cao is very anxious.

The reason for the anxiety is that Cao Cao and his men are about to reach the critical point of support.

If they don't fight again, there will be a chain collapse...

On the south bank of Tongguan, many half-built wooden floating bridges are hanging loosely on the south bank, but no one continues to work. The civilians who were as dense as ants a few days ago suddenly disappeared. Several places that looked like military camps were also empty, and no one moved or processed the piled wood inside.

The walls of Tongguan Lower City had been destroyed by Cao's army in the continuous battles, and it was reduced to ruins. However, Cao's army could not continue to attack Tongguan Upper City on Linzhi Plateau.

The reason is very simple. What is Linzhi?

Because the road leading to Tongguan Upper City is the gap between these Linzhi.

Similarly, there seem to be many roads leading to Emei Mountains, and every fold seems to be climbable, but there are only a few main passages. Did the infrastructure and transportation capabilities of later generations far exceed those of the Han Dynasty? However, there are still only a few main passages in Emei Mountains, and it is impossible to have passages everywhere.

Therefore, if Cao Cao wanted to fight, he could only lure Fei Qian down.

As the core of the frontline generals, Cao Xiu also knew this.

The Hussars abandoned the Yuncheng Basin, and the forward retreated to the Emei Ridge. Only Sima Yi on the flank was left on the Puban line. Cao Jun stationed his advancing camps at Slope, Anyi and Wenxi.

Cao Xiu ordered Liu Zhu to erect the banner of Cao's general at the foot of the slope, preparing to lure Fei's latent army to Zhang Xiu at the front for a decisive battle. According to Cao Xiu's assumption, Zhang Xiu must have wanted to fight, otherwise he would not have led his troops to raid Cao's advancing camp. Therefore, Cao Xiu hoped to lure Fei Qian out of Linfen by luring Zhang Xiu to fight down the slope, consuming some of the hussars and horses.

As spring leaves in a hurry and summer arrives belatedly, it seems that the vegetation in this land is somewhat confused.

Fifteen miles down the slope from the Emei Mountain Pass, the scene has completely changed from before.

This became Liu Zhu's hostage camp.

Two deep trenches were dug outside the camp and sharpened wooden stakes were inserted. The village wall is also thickly covered with mud on the wooden wall, so it will not be easily ignited. A tall sentry tower was erected in the camp, and soldiers were stationed on duty day and night.

In the direction of the camp towards Emei Ridge, there is an open wilderness. There is no complex terrain in the entire area. There were only sparse shrubs, not even some cover.

The rest of the land is not flat, but covered with vegetation, mostly ferns.

Although the Emei Mountains are not as towering and steep as the Taihang Mountains are to Shandong in the Hedong Yuncheng Basin, they are difficult enough for ordinary people. In the passage that humans often walk, the plants and animals have receded, leaving only soft loess, and a layer of flying sand blown by the wind. If you don't take the usual route, it's common for your foot to slip halfway up and slip back to where you were, thus wasting all your efforts.

Where it is difficult for infantry to move, it is also difficult for cavalry to pass.

Therefore, the camp of Liu Zhu and the hostages was equivalent to watching the pass here.

Liu Zhuzheng climbed up the sentry tower and looked towards Emei Ridge.

Liu Zhu was from Shandong, so he once thought that coming to Guanzhong was a natural thing.

The Han Dynasty only had one Emperor, so naturally there could only be one chancellery. What can be said about the Xijing Shangshutai? But after he actually followed Cao Cao all the way to Hedong, his thoughts on regaining Guanzhong gradually dimmed for some reason.

Maybe it’s not that I don’t know, but I just don’t dare to think too much about it.

When he served under Cao Cao in Shandong, Liu Zhu admired Cao Cao quite a lot.

When Cao Cao was young, he was a warrior who wielded a sword to slay dragons.

Let's not say how many dragons he actually killed, but at least he was a warrior who dared to hold a knife and roar at the evil dragon.

At that time, there were many so-called celebrities who kept their mouths tightly shut. They were really driven into a hurry, and they would occasionally come up with one or two indifferent words to criticize.

Later in Suanzao, it was Cao Cao who actually showed his sword towards Dong Zhuo, even though he was beaten unconscious. Most of the other Shandong princes and local scholars just showed their middle fingers to Dong Zhuo and then went back to drink.

More than ten years have passed in the blink of an eye, and now he is fighting Guanzhong and Xiliang Wufu again, but Liu Zhu feels that there seem to be a lot of changes. Recalling those things back then, it feels like a dream.

The rumble of horse hooves brought Liu Zhu back from his memories.

A group of cavalry was heading north at the edge of the camp.

Cao Jun's scouts suffered so many casualties that Liu Zhu didn't have many experienced scouts in his hands. Inexperienced and lone scout teams were easily attacked by the hussars, so now they have become such a large-scale scout cavalry formation. Strictly speaking, they are not scouts at all, but an early warning team.

Although this camp blocks the largest pass in the Emei Mountains, there are still some small passages that are passable. It is difficult for large groups of people to pass, but small groups of troops can pass through. The hussar scouts sneaked out through those small passages that Cao Jun was unfamiliar with and attacked Cao Jun's scout queue.

In order to ensure that these precious war horses would not be lost again, Cao Jun's scouts no longer tried to detect the north. At least, they did not go together, but only the people secretly hid...

In Shandong, people are cheaper than horses.

If you hit and kill a person, you can pay thousands of dollars and it will be fine. If you hit and kill a cow or horse, oh, that will be expensive!

This group of cavalry went to pick up the people who were hiding in the past according to the originally planned time.

Some of the horses were added by Cao Xiu.

To make a horse run, you always need some grass...

Liu Zhu could tell that these war horses originally came from Hedong. They were scattered and not very gregarious. There was still a big gap between them and real war horses. They were only usable by generals.

Suddenly, the cavalry column that had just gone to the north ran back in disarray, with an inexplicable fear, "Here we come!" coming! The hussars are coming! 』

The camp suddenly became chaotic, and many soldiers screamed subconsciously.

"Calm down!" 』

Liu Zhu shouted loudly.

The soldiers gradually calmed down.

"Drumming!" Gather together! Get ready to fight! 』

Liu Zhu came down from the sentry tower and ordered the guards around him, "Report to General Cao in the rear..."

The guard responded in a low voice, and then said, "General Cao...will he come to help?" 』

Liu Zhu didn't answer and went straight to the Zhongjun tent.

…

…

On the Emei Mountains, Xun Chen led a group of troops and looked down at the "Cao Jun scouts" who were escaping in a hurry.

What Xun Chen brought was not his own general's flag, but Zhang Xiu's flag.

Of course, Xun Chen also wore a suit of armor. He took off the Jin Xian crown he was used to wearing on weekdays and replaced it with a Dou Sun.

Seeing those "Cao Jun scouts" running so fast, Xun Chen was a little surprised. He turned to the military lord Li Er and asked, "Is this what Cao Jun scouts are like now?" 』

Li Er had previously brought the private servants of the Hedong nobles and squires to confront Xiahou. After hearing Xun Chen's question, he said: "These don't look like regular Cao army scouts, but more like those Hedong private soldiers. Disorganized and vulnerable. 』

Xun Chen nodded, "As expected." 』

He originally thought that these Cao troops down the slope were bait.

What Xun Chen brought was not the main force of the former army at all. He just used Zhang Xiu's flag to swing around.

He will not attack the camp down the slope, but he can take a walk in the wild to scare Cao Jun. It not only serves as a cover for the expansion of the army, but also poses a posture to accept the battle. Otherwise, if Cao Jun really felt that the attack was hopeless and retreated without any reason, it would be even more difficult to deal with.

The war horse under Xun Chen's crotch seemed a little anxious and uneasy, shaking its neck frequently, snorting, kicking and kicking, refusing to stand still.

Li Er took a look, coughed, and hesitated, but finally reached out and grabbed Xun Chen's horse's reins, "Chang Shi, don't pull this too tight..."

Xun Chen's war horse was nervous because Xun Chen was nervous.

When you are nervous, you always subconsciously tighten your grip. The war horse naturally feels uncomfortable...

If it weren't for the long-term training of the war horse, it would be impossible to say that he would have lost his temper now.

It's not that Xun Chen doesn't know how to ride a horse, it's because this time it's different.

Xun Chen had been in Pingyang before, preferring civilian logistics work. Although he could also ride a horse, it could be said that this was his first time actually leading soldiers and horses into battle. Of course, Xun Chen can continue to do civilian work in the rear, and there is no need to take the risk of going to the front. Anyway, according to Shandong's custom, the task is given to Li Er. If it is executed well, Xun Chen plans and strategizes well. If he does it wrong, it means Li Er's execution was not in place...

But Lu Bu's incident had a great impact on the officials under Fei Qian.

Military glory, who doesn’t want military glory?

Of course, in addition to military merit, there are other reasons.

Xun Chen breathed quickly and relaxed his hands and feet.

The war horse felt Xun Chen's change and relaxed, not as anxious as before.

Xun Chen nodded to Li Er, "Thank you for your advice." You are still better at riding. 』

Li Er smiled and said, "Chang Shimo dislikes my talkativeness." 』

"where. Xun Chen said, "I hope the military princes will remind me more." 』

Li Er nodded in agreement.

This is no polite statement.

After all, Xun Chen is the commander of this army. It cannot be said that his horse was frightened and ran out directly. So, should Li Er and others follow or not?

Xun Chen also knew that he was in some way, so he turned his horse and walked behind, saying to Li Er, "Next, I will bother Marquis Laojun!" 』

Li Er laughed loudly, "How dare you say anything?" This is my own business! 』

Compared to Xun Chen who was a little nervous, the other hussars had long been accustomed to it and were skillfully prepared for battle. Most of them looked relaxed. Under Li Er's greeting, they roared through the pass and came from Emei Ridge. The top of the slope goes down the slope.

In the distance in the wilderness down the slope, two teams of hussars with a total of one hundred riders were galloping back and forth, chasing down the fleeing Cao army scouts.

Li Er sent out scattered scout teams to expand further to the two wings. They ran around in the wilderness, exploring bushes and ditches hidden from sight.

The rest of the troops lined up horizontally and moved forward slowly.

Therefore, although the number of hussars descending the slope was not large, they seemed to be all over the mountains and plains.

The weather has been sunny these days, the land is dry, and when the cavalry runs a little, yellow dust is flying all over the sky, forming a huge formation invisibly, shocking Cao's soldiers and hastily retreating to the camp.

Cao's army did not have enough cavalry in the camp down the slope. Even if there was a large group of cavalry, the quality was very poor and they could not compete with the hussars. This caused Cao's army to fall into passivity on the local battlefield.

The cavalry, as the controller of the battlefield in the cold weapon era, is by no means a lie. Those soldiers of Cao's army who acted as "scouts", after seeing the power of the hussars, did not dare to step forward to detect Xun Chen and Li Er's strength. Even if they were hindered by the forced order, they stepped forward and wandered around. Before he could wait, The hussar rode forward, then retreated in panic. As a result, Liu Zhu and the others knew that the Hussars were coming, but there was no accurate information about how many of them were coming.

At this moment, Liu Zhu understood that these Cao Jun cavalry under his command were really too weak. Perhaps only the cavalry of the Central Leading Army and Zhonghu Army could compete with these hussars, and he could not let the only Cao Jun cavalry After all the losses, some people were still left to be responsible for asking for help or reporting to the rear, so in the end we could only order these Cao cavalry to return to camp.

『They do look like elite cavalry.』 Liu Zhu frowned and pondered, 『Are these cavalrymen really here?』

Hu Zhi looked desperate and muttered in a low voice: 『It's over... these rubbish, rubbish! It's over, no matter whether the cavalrymen fell into the trap or not, I just know that we are going to be trapped here!』

Liu Zhu turned his head to look at Hu Zhi, 『If you can't shut up and can't control your legs from shaking, then just go back to your own tent!』

Hu Zhi twitched his face nervously, 『Okay! That makes sense. Anyway, I'm not good at military affairs, here... I'll leave it to you...』

After saying that, Hu Zhi shook his hands and feet and left the command position with his hands and feet.

No one laughed at Hu Zhi, because everyone knew what the next battle would ultimately mean...