Chapter 488: Frustrated Cao Cao
Since ancient times, among the means that the weak can take to defeat the strong, cutting off food supply is the most commonly used option.
If the soldiers and horses are not moving, the grain and grass will go first.
In military operations, food and fodder are always an unavoidable topic.
For large-scale military operations, there are generally two modes of grain storage: centralized grain storage and decentralized grain storage, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.
The former is easy to manage and dispatch, and is convenient for centralized defense and material transportation.
The latter can guard against the risk of enemy sneak attacks, and is also more suitable for combat areas with a wide range and long front lines.
Although the Qingzhou battlefield was vast, Xu Huang's army faced an embarrassing problem: they were the attacking party and had penetrated deep into the enemy camp.
It is almost impossible to store grain in a dispersed manner. There are no suitable locations, and the front line lacks sufficient baggage transport troops and insufficient guarding forces.
Therefore, they could only rely on the Qingzhou waterway and take advantage of the convenience of water transportation to obtain food and fodder.
A large amount of food and fodder were stored in Xia Mi County around the Wei River.
It leads to the Bohai Sea to the north, making it convenient for transporting food and fodder to the Liaodong Peninsula, and runs through the entire Qingzhou to the south, making it easy to supply cavalry.
"Ziyuan, is there any way to find out where the Qi army stores their food?"
Xu You looked a little serious: "I have already started to take action on this matter a long time ago. But because the Qi army's blockade is too strict, I have not received any accurate information so far."
"However, after investigation, it should be in this area! We will get the exact news within five days at the earliest." Xu You drew a circle around Duchang and Xia Mi.
Mao Jie nodded slightly: "If I were Xun You, I would also choose to store grain here."
"But is this the only place to store food? Or to put it another way, does the Qi army have a backup place to store food?"
Everyone knows that you should not put all your eggs in one basket.
In a war of this magnitude, the enemy would never ignore the importance of food and fodder and would certainly guard it strictly.
It would be fine if they were just being on high alert, but Mao Jie was worried that the other side had a backup plan, which was the consistent style of the Qi army.
Cao Cao heard this and gritted his teeth and said, "I don't know, but we don't have any better solution now. Moreover, even if the Qi army has a backup grain route, there will inevitably be a gap in the grain supply for a period of time. That's enough!"
At this point, cutting off the food supply is the best solution he can think of.
Even if the Qi army still has backup granaries, it will take time to get them up and running, and this period of time is also their opportunity.
"Meng De, what are your plans?"
"March north to Linzi!" Cao Cao said resolutely.
"With the loss of food and grass, Xu Huang's troops will certainly panic. You can then take the opportunity to lead the army north to Linzi, and the siege of Qingzhou will be broken immediately."
Yuan Shao said solemnly: "Meng De, do you know the risks of doing this? If the Langya area is lost, we will never come back!"
"By then, not only Qingzhou, but even Xuzhou will be lost!"
The reason why Yuan Shao had been resisting Guan Yu's army by blocking the enemy layer by layer was because he was unable to defeat them and did not have enough troops.
When the army moves north, the rear will inevitably be empty.
"Trust Sun Bofu!" Cao Cao said in a deep voice, his eyes revealing his determination to fight to the death.
"Once Sun Bofu arrives, the enemy and our forces will be equal. Zang Ba will not be able to break through the Taishan Mountains in the short term. As long as Sun Bofu can stop Gan Xingba's navy, Langya will be fine."
"In this way, both the enemy and us will be in a state of anxiety in the short term. I believe there will be better opportunities for battle by then. Even if there are none, the Qi army will not be able to delay for too long. Their logistical pressure is much greater than ours!"
Yuan Shao was slightly stunned when he heard this.
"Will the Qi army still have difficulties in logistics?"
He knew better than anyone how prosperous the area under Tian Ze's rule was. The Jizhou area alone was probably much richer than the four areas under his and Cao Cao's rule combined.
However, Cao Cao said that the Qi army also had logistical pressure.
Cao Cao smiled faintly and said, "Benchu, Tianze and we have been fighting for years. We also have to take into account the construction of people's livelihood, the expansion of territory, the suppression of foreign races, the development of the Northeast, etc., unlike us who can throw all our money and food into the war." "This time, Tianze has dispatched no less than one million soldiers and horses on two fronts, and they are all long-distance battles. Especially in Yizhou, it can be said to span thousands of miles."
“Even if there is enough food, how much manpower and material resources are needed to ensure it?”
"If this battle drags on, the Qi army will see no hope of a quick victory and will retreat, looking for an opportunity to retreat and attack again. Because they can now attack in more directions, there is no need to fight to the death in Qingzhou."
Xun Chen and others couldn't help but look at Cao Cao deeply. When it comes to judging the situation in the world, Cao Cao is probably the clearest person now.
Cao Cao's words were like a revelation to Yuan Shao, and he immediately understood.
"Meng De is a great talent!"
Cao Cao smiled faintly, but he was sighing in his heart.
Although what he just said was indeed correct, there were still some things he didn't say.
There aren't many chances left for them.
I'm afraid it will take at most two more battles for Tian Ze to unify the world.
As long as Qingzhou and Jingzhou are lost, they will surrender.
Cao Cao believed that with the loss of Yizhou, such voices would become more and more rampant after this battle.
Today's Tian Ze is like Cao Cao before the Battle of Chibi in history. With the general trend, he only needs to defeat Jiangdong, and Yizhou and Xiliang will naturally submit to him, and unifying the world will be just around the corner.
By then, they probably won't even have a chance to fight to the end.
Because people’s hearts have completely dispersed.
If the battle in the Central Plains completely extinguished their desire to march north.
Then, with the loss of Yizhou, if Jingzhou were lost again, the civil and military officials under their rule would also lose the will to resist.
Even though they had all kinds of advantages, they were still no match for Tian Ze. They were defeated over and over again, and the number of soldiers under their command was decreasing. How could they win?
This is probably what Tian Ze wants to see the most.
The flames of war no longer need to spread, they can unify the world just by staying on the battlefield.
Tian Chengshou, have you thought about all this already?
After realizing this, Cao Cao began to doubt and reversed the whole process.
It seemed that they were all moving in the direction that Tian Ze most desired, either actively or passively.
Today, Tian Ze's pace seems slow but is actually fast.
It took him five years to establish himself as the overlord of Hebei, and only three years have passed since then, when he has conquered Sili, Xiliang, and Yizhou.
Judging from the situation, the world will be unified in less than two years.
And the most important thing is that the people of the world did not suffer much impact.
In Bingzhou, Lü Bu reached a tacit agreement in advance and surrendered after being defeated. In Sili, Li Jue and Guo Si were quickly taken away in one wave. In Xiliang, Gongsun Zan surrendered. In Yizhou, Liu Fan surrendered after being attacked by Chengdu.
Only Jizhou was truly damaged and had to be broken down and rebuilt.
Their current situation is that although the population is growing rapidly, the young and strong men have not yet grown up, and their military strength is getting smaller and smaller.
He and others took the place of Tian Ze and straightened out the internal powerful families in advance, and carried out reforms again, as if they were just waiting for Tian Ze to receive the results.
Whenever he thought of this, Cao Cao felt like flipping the table.
Don't be such a bully!
But reason stopped him.
No matter how aggrieved they are, they still have to live. Tian Ze, the unscrupulous capitalist, squeezed them dry but also left them with a bottom line that they can bear. He really has a firm grasp on them.
(End of this chapter)
