Chapter 198 Both jade and stone are destroyed
"Something's wrong. Yuan Benchu can't be that simple." Tian Ze said in a deep voice.
An army of 100,000 attacked Huguan, and an army of 250,000 approached Jizhou.
On the surface, Yuan Shao had already mobilized almost all the troops he could. After all, Jizhou and Qingzhou still needed to be defended, which would require at least nearly 100,000 troops.
But Tian Ze always felt that there was something fishy about such a simple attack.
"Yuan Shao's target is probably still in the Taihang Mountains." Guo Jia judged after sorting out the known information.
The main directions that Yuan Shao could attack were Youzhou and Taihang Mountains.
Although Youzhou is the key point for Tian Ze, Tian Ze has deployed a large number of troops for this reason.
Although the Taihang Mountains are steep, the 30,000 troops of Zang Ba and Taishi Ci, as well as the thousands of guards left behind by Xu Huang, are the most likely breakthrough point for Yuan Shao.
This is also confirmed by Yuan Shao's own appearance in the Taihang Mountains.
"But even if we know this, we still have to prioritize ensuring the safety of Jizhou's border and Youzhou." Tian Feng said with a slight headache.
Although he had absolute advantages in all aspects, as Yuan Shao said, Tian Ze's greatest advantage was also his absolute weakness, which was that he was too stable.
Yuan Shao dared to take the risk, but Tian Ze did not.
Yuan Shao could try his best to empty Jizhou and exchange one for one with Tian Ze to devastate Youzhou, but Tian Ze could not.
Therefore, even though they knew that Yuan Shao's target was mostly Bingzhou and that 250,000 troops were approaching, Guan Yu and Xu Huang had to focus their main energy on defending the northern part of Jizhou.
If the country had not been forced into a desperate situation, the war would never have spread to Youzhou.
"Yuan Benchu is really smart." Tian Ze shook his head speechlessly. This move really hit his weak spot.
He always managed to seize opportunities in desperate situations and magnify and exploit them. Yuan Benchu, who was not arrogant, was definitely worthy of the title of role model for the world.
"My lord, how about sending some more troops to support Zang Ba? We can use fewer troops to attack Bingzhou." Dong Zhao said.
Tian Feng shook his head: "Lü Fengxian is not a pushover, and Li Ru's schemes are even more vicious."
"Although we still have 150,000 troops available, it will be no problem for us to defeat Lü Fengxian, but if we withdraw more troops, I'm afraid it will be impossible to take Bingzhou as soon as possible."
"Bingzhou has many natural defenses. If Lu Bu is determined to hold on, or avoid fighting, it will probably be no problem to drag it out for half a year."
"In order to avoid any more trouble, it is better not to reduce the troops to conquer Bingzhou. Otherwise, it will be exactly what Yuan Benchu wants."
Yuan Shao had already figured out Tian Ze's thoughts and style of doing things.
Tian Ze wanted to take Bingzhou quickly, but Yuan Shao refused to let him do so and wanted to engage in a tug-of-war to prolong the battle line and time.
"Does Yuan Benchu no longer want to seize the Central Plains and conquer the world?" Dong Zhao frowned.
This strategy was a lose-lose situation. Although Yuan Benchu managed to hold Tian Ze back, the price he had to pay was unimaginable.
This kind of tug-of-war was a huge test for logistical support. If Yuan Shao fought like this, he would only "injure 800 enemies and 1,000 of his own", as he did not have rich fields and lakes.
"Yuan Benchu's choice of 'burn both sides to the ground' is a brilliant move. Otherwise, he would have no chance of winning." Guo Jia said with a smile.
He admired Yuan Shao's courage and spirit, thinking he was a man who could accomplish great things.
If you keep looking ahead and behind, where will the chance come from? It will only lead to a slow death.
Just like Cao Cao in the Battle of Guandu, judging from the results, he was quite wise.
But who knows how much pressure Cao Cao was under at that time.
Before the war, almost no one thought Cao Cao could win, not even Cao Cao himself. This move of using the weak to defeat the strong would undoubtedly be ridiculed as overestimating one's own abilities if the result was not a big reversal.
To a certain extent, as Yuan Shao said, God helped Cao but not Yuan. Although Cao Cao was wise and intelligent in this battle, luck also played a big part.
But Cao Cao won the bet in the end.
Therefore, the winner is the king and the loser is the bandit, and Yuan Shao was nailed to the pillar of shame.
"From the 100,000 newly recruited soldiers, 50,000 will be rotated to the remaining states for garrison. 30,000 troops will be drawn from various states to assist in the defense of Jizhou." After thinking it over, Tian Ze decided to prioritize stability and squeezed out another 30,000 soldiers from various states.
"As for the Taihang Mountains, I trust Xuanbo and Gongda." "As long as we can attack Bingzhou as soon as possible and block the main gap in the Taihang Mountains from the west, the pressure from Zang Ba and his men can be completely released, and we can even open the checkpoints and form a situation of closing the door and beating the dog."
"Fortunately, Zang Ba has spent a lot of money and food in Taihang Mountains over the past year, so Yuan Shao and Cao Cao have no chance to find a path across Taihang Mountains." Cheng Yu glanced at Chen Gong calmly and said secretly.
Chen Gong looked grim and glared at Cheng Yu fiercely, but didn't say anything more.
A crying child has milk.
Zang Ba is one of these people.
He was doing population business in the Taihang Mountains, and he was in an advanced position and alone in deep territory, so he often took this opportunity to ask Chen Gong for money and food.
Sometimes he would even go around to collect money and sell the looted people to Chen Gong, detaining some young and strong people and asking them to do hard labor for a few months.
Only then did they have sufficient money, food and manpower to start large-scale construction in the Taihang Mountains.
Cheng Yu always felt that Chen Gong was too stingy. If the armies from all over the country could give Zang Ba the same treatment in terms of money and food, there would be no need to worry about major events.
However, Chen Gong refused to accept the challenge.
Are you kidding? If they do that, there will be no development under their rule.
He was too lazy to argue with Cheng Yu about this matter. Whatever you say, it's just two words: no money.
Everything has its own rules, and turning a blind eye to Zang Ba is the maximum he can tolerate. The only two people in the army who have this treatment are Zang Ba and Gan Ning, because these two people can bring population.
"My lord, if we delay, something unexpected will happen. We should send out troops as soon as possible," Tian Feng suggested.
Tian Ze nodded: "Wenyuan!"
"I am here!" Zhang Liao stepped out upon hearing the voice.
"I will personally lead the expedition this time, with you as the commander, Zhao Yun, Ma Teng, Le Jin, Pang De, Gao Shun, Qu Yi, and 150,000 soldiers, to Bingzhou!"
"promise!"
As Tian Ze dispatched troops, the news was quickly passed to Yuan Shao through Xu You's intelligence network.
"Tian Chengshou has dispatched troops to Bingzhou, personally leading an army of 150,000." After Yuan Shao scanned the intelligence, he burned it in the furnace.
"When did the troops mobilize?" asked Cao Cao.
"Ten days ago."
Hearing this, Xi Zhicai looked deeply at Xu You beside Yuan Shao.
What a terrifying intelligence capability.
It only takes ten days to get accurate intelligence and pass the news here. You know, nearly half of the journey is within Tianze.
"It seems that Tian Chengshou was not fooled." Cao Cao said with a little regret.
In fact, what he hoped most was that Tian Ze would send reinforcements to the Taihang Mountains or Jizhou, so that he would have a chance for a decisive battle. However, he would definitely not be the main force in the decisive battle.
No matter who wins or loses between Tian Ze and Yuan Shao, both of them will suffer heavy losses, which is the outcome he wants to see most.
Yuan Shao glanced at Cao Cao indifferently. How could he not guess what Cao Cao was thinking?
But it is not the right time to fight with Tian Ze yet.
If a full-scale war breaks out, the outcome will inevitably be mutual destruction. Whether he wins or loses, it will be disadvantageous to him rather than beneficial, because he does not have the strength to enter Youzhou.
His current goal is to block Tianze's development with a small-scale battle. He will not take the initiative to fight a decisive battle with Tianze without taking over the Central Plains.
"The situation is pretty much what we expected. Now it depends on whether Zang Ba can see through our plan." Xi Zhicai said.
“Whether he can see through it or not, it will not affect the overall situation. After all, except for Gao Lan’s army, the rest of the troops can switch between feint attack and main attack at any time. When necessary, any army can be turned into the main attack.” Ju Su said lightly.
(End of this chapter)
