Chapter 295 Dilemma
"Are you sure?" Cao Cao stared at Xi Zhicai and asked in a deep voice.
"That's right, my lord. It has been found out that Tian Chengshou and Zang Ba's troops are stationed near Gaodu County around the Taihang Mountains. The other legion that carries their talents is Zhang He's legion, stationed in Qinshui County." Xi Zhicai nodded.
When marching and fighting, intelligence comes first.
Especially when facing someone as talented as Tian Ze, Cao Cao naturally had to be on guard in advance and find out the enemy's situation.
"This is going to be difficult!"
Looking at the positions of the various legions under Tian Ze's command on the map, Cao Cao frowned.
"Tian Ze's army marched south to attack Luoyang. The battle line was long. To cross the Yellow River, they had to pass through two ports, Mengjin Ferry and Xiaopingjin Ferry. As long as these two ports were blocked, the siege of Luoyang could be lifted in less than half a month."
"Zhang He is stationed at Qinshui. Even if we take Mengjin Ferry, they can still transport food and grass through Xiaopingjin Ferry. If we send troops to attack Xiaopingjin, our already small force will be divided into two again, and we may be defeated one by one."
"Since ancient times, the weak have relied on surprise attacks to defeat the strong. It is necessary to concentrate military forces at one point, create a local advantage, and attack the enemy when they are unprepared." Xi Zhicai said in a deep voice.
"The key to this battle lies in how to confuse and mobilize Zhang He's troops."
"Can we find out where Tian Ze's army's food and fodder are stored?" Cao Cao asked.
"Based on the intelligence we have at hand, it is most likely located in Qinshui," said Mao Jie.
"Zhang Liao's troops are heading south to Luoyang. There are many rivers along the way. In order to prevent the food and grass from spoiling, they cannot carry too much. Once the food and grass in Qinshui are lost, there will inevitably be chaos." Cao Cao said.
"The counties around Qinshui are not big cities. The city defenses are not high, and they cannot accommodate a hundred thousand troops. If we can succeed in the sneak attack, we will win this battle."
Mao Jie nodded, then frowned and said, "My lord, this is the crux of the problem. Zhang He will most likely set up camp nearby to facilitate garrisoning and food transportation. But Tian Chengshou's talent is bestowed on Zhang He, so it may be difficult to launch a surprise attack."
Xi Zhicai smiled slightly: "Not necessarily."
……
Zhang He's troops were stationed between Qinshui County and Bo County.
When he learned that Mengjin Ferry had been recaptured by Cao Cao again, Xun You frowned slightly.
"Military advisor, should we send troops to strengthen the defense of Xiaopingjin Ferry?" Zhang He asked.
Since Mengjin Ferry was captured by the enemy, Zhang He was naturally worried that Cao Cao would take advantage of the situation to attack Xiaopingjin Ferry, thus completely cutting off Zhang Liao's army's food supply.
"Not for now." Xun You said in a deep voice.
"Although Wenyuan's army does not have much food and grass, it will definitely not be a problem for them to sustain for more than half a month. The enemy's situation is still unclear at this time, so we must not act rashly."
Xun You still takes Cao Cao seriously and is a strong rival.
Compared to Yuan Shao, who likes to use his power to oppress others, Cao Cao, who takes an unconventional approach, is more difficult to deal with.
Because Tian Ze was so powerful, Yuan Shao's combat strategy was greatly restricted, but Cao Cao was different.
"Once we divide our forces, our strength will inevitably be weakened, giving the enemy a chance to gain a local advantage and outnumber the enemy. Send more scouts to get a clear picture of the situation first."
Zhang He nodded.
"Also, send someone to contact Youping and ask him to lead 20,000 naval forces south along the Qinshui River and stand by nearby in case of an emergency." Xun You said cautiously.
"it is good."
Seeing Xun You treating him like a formidable enemy, Zhang He couldn't help but become more cautious.
Soon, Zhang He realized how difficult it was to deal with Cao Cao.
Xiaopingjin Ferry was captured by Cao Cao as expected. Looking at the many red dots around it on the "mini map", Zhang He frowned.
After Yuan Shao and Cao Cao knew about Tian Ze's "small map" talent, they quickly thought of a way to deal with it.
After all, since they could only observe the enemy's movements and could not accurately detect the number of enemies, Cao Cao simply deployed many spies. In this way, although Zhang He could guard against sudden attacks by the enemy, he did not know the enemy's strength.
"Military Advisor, what should we do?"
If they just waste time like this, I'm afraid Zhang Liao's army will run out of food and supplies before the Luoyang defenders and will be forced to retreat north.
"Wenyuan must not move rashly. Otherwise, once Cao Cao blocks us south of the Yellow River, we will be at risk of being attacked from both inside and outside. The results of our long siege of Luoyang will also be destroyed."
"Now that things have come to this, we can only take the risk." Xun You said in a deep voice.
Cao Cao was obviously well prepared this time and had already made many arrangements around Luoyang.
The scouts could not get any useful intelligence. Cao's army was everywhere, and the dust was flying everywhere. They could not tell whether it was just a bluff or the real main force of Cao's army.
The long supply line between Qinshui and Xiaopingjin Ferry could be an ambush point for Cao Cao at any point. Similarly, Qinshui could also be Cao Cao's target.
Xun You had already prepared to be led by Cao Cao, and the reason he waited so long was to wait for Zhou Tai's reinforcements.
Now that Zhou Tai has arrived, with an extra layer of insurance, he feels more confident.
"Leave 30,000 troops to guard the main camp, and we will send troops to retake Xiaopingjindu."
The 70,000-strong army left the camp and marched south.
The scouts of Cao Cao's army soon learned the news.
"The turtle finally showed its head!" Xi Zhicai smiled slightly.
The army's march south was not smooth sailing. Cao's army had been harassing them constantly, using various means such as raiding the food supply routes and night raids, which made Zhang He extremely uncomfortable.
At this moment, the advantage of Cao Cao's numerous talented generals was immediately revealed.
The journey that was supposed to take only three days took ten days to arrive.
What lay before Zhang He was an empty Xiaopingjin Ferry.
Later, news came from the Qinshui camp that the main force of Cao Cao's army had besieged it.
"Are you sure it is the main force of the enemy?" Zhang He asked again.
"Flags blocked out the sky, dust was flying, and there were over ten thousand soldiers in sight. They must be the main force of the enemy." The scout reported.
"And the offensive was quite fierce, killing and wounding hundreds of our elite soldiers in one battle."
"I understand." Zhang He nodded, feeling a terrible headache.
"Cao Mengde's way of using troops is truly amazing." Xun You couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the letters of intelligence in his hand.
He could vaguely estimate that Cao Cao's military strength was no more than 100,000, but he was able to create such an illusion that they were completely fooled by him.
This is probably not something that can be achieved simply by relying on ability. I'm afraid some kind of terrible talent is involved.
"True or false, what exactly is Cao Mengde's goal?" Xun You, who had been quite confident, now became vague.
"Is it the Qinshui Camp, Xiaopingjin Ferry, or us?"
This kind of guessing the enemy's psychology and gambling-style warfare was originally his forte, but now the mentality of both sides is completely different.
Xun You had too many concerns in his heart, but Cao Cao was risking everything.
It was so that for the first time Xun You felt that his talent was suppressed and he was in a dilemma.
Even though his intuition told him that Cao Cao could not attack Qinshui, he still had to lead his troops to rescue, because what is real can also be false, and what is false can also be transformed into real, and Cao Mengde has this ability.
(End of this chapter)
