Chapter 366 Both sides suffer losses
A battle with a doomed outcome finally came to an end with Liu Bei's retreat.
Liu Bei's retreat was expected by Yuan Shao and others.
After all, although Liu Bei is kind, he is not a fool.
It is impossible for me to do such a stupid thing as sacrificing myself to help them.
If Liu Bei really gambled on himself around Gaotang and was willing to be the "bait" with a chance of death, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao would choose to cross the Yellow River to the north without hesitation.
It’s a pity that they are just allies after all. They were quite surprised that Liu Bei was able to support them for such a period of time so that they could return to help.
Upon learning the news of Liu Bei's retreat, Tian Ze, who was in charge of the rear, also realized that it was time to end the war.
Winter is coming.
Liu Bei's retreat provided strong support to Cao Cao and Sun Ce, and once again formed a joint defense line of the four princes.
In this situation, it would be dangerous for Zhang Liao and Guan Yu to confront him again.
Therefore, Tian Ze recalled all the troops without hesitation.
Of course, except for Zang Ba's troops stationed in Taishan County.
Despite the existence of Yuan Shu, Zang Ba's troops were still able to gain a firm foothold in Mount Tai thanks to Tian Ze's transfusion.
Relying on dozens of key nodes and roads, they forced the bandits under Yuan Shu to stay away and firmly occupied nearly 20% of the territory of Mount Tai.
Although it is not large, there is enough strategic space for Zang Ba to station and operate here.
"Your Majesty, is it a bit conservative to call Zilong back?" Cheng Yu asked.
"Zilong could have been stationed near Gaotang to support Zang Ba. Why call him back so early?"
Hearing this, Jia Xu shook his head slightly and said, "Zhongde, only the cards hidden in your hand have deterrent power."
"In this battle, although Zilong fought with great force, he also exposed himself at the same time."
"Its talent is quite strong, but it is also easy to be targeted."
"Staying in Gaotang will certainly not mean we have to worry about the danger, but it will also give Yuan Shao and Cao Cao some preparations to deal with it."
He fully understood Cheng Yu's desire for territory.
Although he was a strategist, Cheng Yu always maintained the mentality of a military general.
However, in the fight for the world, we cannot look at the gains and losses of a single city or place, but must look at the overall situation.
Cheng Yu was obviously too obsessed with the success or failure of the Central Plains.
Tian Ze also nodded.
He doesn't like to take the initiative because it's not safe enough.
This battle fully implemented the strategy of defensive counterattack, which enabled him to firmly control the situation and the rhythm of the war.
Although there was some trouble in Gan Ning's army, it was within his expectations.
Almost everything about this battle was in Tian Ze's plan, so there was no possibility of failure.
Even if Zhao Yun failed, Tian Ze had enough backup to make up for it. Zhang Liao's troops, Guan Yu's troops, and Xu Huang's troops were all backups, and the main focus was on stability, not giving Yuan Shao and other princes any chance to change their fate.
Not until everything was settled did Tian Ze dispatch Zhang Liao and Guan Yu's troops to launch an offensive.
Thirty percent of the troops participate in the battle, 40% are in reserve, and 30% are in defense. Although this style of fighting is rigid, it is most suitable for Tian Ze who has an absolute advantage.
Because it is basically impossible to lose in this way, Tian Ze's tolerance rate is greatly increased.
Even if he suffered a series of defeats, Tian Ze had plenty of time to reorganize his army and replenish his defenses.
This is the point about Tian Ze that makes Yuan Shao and others feel most desperate.
No matter how big the advantage is, Tian Ze can always hold on. He never goes all in or attacks with a flying dragon. Instead, he advances step by step steadily, leaving them with no hope at all.
In the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao was under great pressure, as the two sides were far apart in terms of combat power. But Cao Cao still held out a glimmer of hope.
Because he knew that Yuan Shao had already mobilized almost all of his troops, and as long as he could find a way to win, he could reverse the situation.
However, Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and others had no such idea in this battle.
They understood that defeating Zhao Yun was just the beginning. There would be the Battle of the Yellow River and the Battle of Southern Hebei. They would have to gamble many times without having the advantage before they had a chance of winning.
Even if they win, they may not win, and it is very likely that both sides will suffer losses.
"Next year, our main target is Xiliang," said Tian Ze.
"In the Central Plains, Zang Ba's army of nearly 100,000 is enough. At least it can contain the 300,000 troops around Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, which is extremely beneficial to us."
"Besides, this war consumed at least 100,000 soldiers of the coalition. Even if they can replenish some of them, the number of soldiers who can participate in the war next year will be at least 100,000 less than before this war."
For Tian Ze, the consumed troops can be replenished at any time, but due to comprehensive considerations such as logistics, it is not suitable to expand the army further.
However, for the princes, the lost troops and money were difficult to replenish.
"Your Majesty is wise!" said Jia Xu.
"Next, we can use Xuangao as a springboard to continue a small-scale war of attrition with Yuan Shao and Cao Cao's armies."
Jia Xu and Tian Ze had the same idea.
Do whatever is most stable.
Why do we need to pursue a smooth push?
Why do we need to seek to crush others with force?
It was clearly a sure win.
There are too many weird things in this world.
If the Battle of Guandu happens again, or if a meteorite falls from the sky, where will Tian Zeshang go to seek justice?
Tian Ze still can't understand why Gan Ning, who had such advanced warships, was counterattacked by Zhou Yu.
In this world, there is such a thing as talent, and many things can no longer be inferred by common sense.
Especially since there were so many outstanding generals under the command of Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and other princes, with all kinds of strange and powerful talents, Tian Ze had to be on guard.
"Winter is not suitable for fighting." Cheng Yu said.
Jia Xu nodded: "Yes, that's why it is more suitable for us to fight."
Tianze has sufficient food and cotton clothes, and even has the spare capacity to build improved means of transportation such as sleds.
Even in heavy snow and freezing cold, we are able to move.
Although there will be some impact, it is still much better than the coalition forces in thin clothes.
Since we have sufficient supplies, we must give full play to our advantages.
As long as you don't help the enemy, it doesn't matter how much you squander. It's just a waste of time.
"Yuan Shao and Cao Cao can no longer organize a large-scale army to stop us. It can be said that there is almost no road ahead between us and Zang Ba."
"We can take advantage of this winter to give Zang Ba the opportunity to replenish his troops and food supplies. We can also seize most of the Taishan Mountain Range and force Yuan Shu back."
Previously, Zang Ba was unwilling to fight Yuan Shu because it was difficult to replenish troops and food, and attacking the bandit army under Yuan Shu would not be worth the cost.
But now that we have sufficient troops and food supplies, we no longer have to worry about this.
Upon hearing this, Tian Ze nodded slightly.
This is a brilliant move both from a strategic perspective and from the perspective of consuming the coalition forces.
In particular, the special nature of Zang Ba's army and the topography of Mount Tai made this a "mutually destructive" battle.
This is the kind of battle that Tian Ze likes to fight the most.
Strong foundation and willful!
(End of this chapter)
