Overlord!

Chapter 222 The situation in the world has been decided, Sun Ce takes Jiangxia
"Shuzi! Insufficiency and conspiracy!"

Sun Ce was furious and threw the military intelligence report in his hand directly on the table!

The civil and military officials in the tent looked around each other in surprise, not sure what had happened, which could make the usually cheerful and generous general so angry.

At this time, the army has gathered in Guangling County, and will soon be able to cross the Hebei River and rush to the aid of Xuzhou.

Even Zhang Hong brought a thousand Jiefan troops and Zhou Yu, Xu Huang and others came to gather together. The army was full of civil and military personnel.As long as reinforcements can be sent north quickly, the situation in Xuzhou will be reversed immediately.

What could happen at such a critical time to make the general behave like this?
Zhang Hong took a step forward, picked up the volume that fell from the desk, opened it and checked it, but immediately his eyes widened with a look of shock.

"Cao Cao overcame dangers and obstacles, marched nearly a thousand miles from Taishan Road, concealed himself, attacked Xuzhou by surprise, and captured Xiapi in one battle?"

Cao Cao's march route is indeed shocking.With his extraordinary talent, he could attack people from thousands of miles away and come out of nowhere, catching Liu Bei off guard.

Under such circumstances, Sun Ce might not be able to turn the tide if he were to guard Jiankang.

But what made Sun Ce angry was: "Guan Yu feared to join the battle. He rushed from Xiaopei to Pengcheng and was ambushed by Cao's army. He was in the important town of Xuzhou, and his elite infantry and cavalry were all killed in one battle! He was so big in Xuzhou that he couldn't even hold on for ten days. He was captured by Cao Cao!"

"A bunch of idiots! They can't hold up the wall."

Zhou Yu took the book from Zhang Hong and took a look at it. The book contained military information passed back by the pioneer general Tai Shici.Cao's army counselors Cheng Yu and Guo Jia both concluded that Guan Yu would definitely come to rescue due to his arrogance, so they assembled more than [-] elite troops and set up an ambush in the west of Pengcheng.

This is a classic siege and reinforcement tactic. Guan Yu is a famous general, so he is naturally prepared.They marched forward, and then joined forces with Cao's army to fight in the west of the city.

The good generals of Cao Jun, Cao Ren, Yu Jin, Xu Chu, etc. all fought to the death, and with the last remaining courage, they fought to the death without retreating.

Although Guan Yu's troops were elite, only three or four of Cao's troops dispersed and reunited!
The two armies fought fiercely for a day, and Cao Jun, Cao Ren, Yu Jin and other generals blocked Guan Yu's fierce attack with an iron wall.

Although Cao Ren was wounded, Yu Jin was almost cut off at shoulder level by the Huanshou Sword, and more than two thousand Cao troops died in the battle, Guan Yu was ultimately unable to defeat Cao Jun Chen in one battle.

At night, more than [-] Cao Jun's cavalry who were in ambush finally attacked and appeared behind Guan Yu's army.

More than [-] Cao's troops marched in with loud noises, and the drums shook the sky. Guan Yu's army was defeated and returned.

Guan Yu's defeat left Liu Bei without strong support and had to break out of the encirclement.

When the military report came, Liu Bei and Guan Yu were both defeated and nowhere to go. Cao Jun captured Xiaopei and Pengcheng in one battle, captured the lives of Liu Bei and Guan Yu's wives, and killed more than ten people including Jian Yong, Xiahou Bo, Chen Dao, and Mi Fang. Named civil and military.Chen Gui, Chen Deng and other wealthy families in Xuzhou surrendered in fear.

After reading the book, Zhou Yu said in shock: "Liu Bei's generals, civil and military forces, were almost wiped out in one battle. Even if they surrendered to Yuan Shao and Liu Biao, they would never be able to recover again. They are no longer a trouble to Cao Cao, and now the Central Plains may be completely destroyed in one day." All owned by Cao Cao."

Sun Ce had to agree with Zhou Yu's words, even the backbones of the force such as Chen Dao and Jian Yong were killed in the battle.Not to mention that Liu Bei is missing, even if he is accompanied by Guan Yu and joins Liu Biao or Yuan Shao, how much power will he have?The team has been wiped out, and it’s hard to survive alone!

I'm afraid he can only serve as generals under other princes like Wen Pin, Yan Liang, Wen Chou and other generals.

Even if he wanted to become a vassal like Zhang Xiu and Huang Zu, he couldn't.

This time, Zhang Fei no longer has to think about whether to stay or leave. His lord himself has disappeared, his foundation has been lost, and he can only serve as a general. If he follows Liu Bei again, he can only follow Wei Yan as a subordinate or a guest. similar.

But Sun Ce didn't believe that Liu Bei would be content with peace after his defeat.

As for dying in battle, Sun Ce never thought that Liu Bei might die in battle.

The Battle of Yiling, such a dangerous situation, only had a narrow retreat.Lu Xun's troops recuperated for half a year and tried their best to outflank and penetrate them, but he was able to escape.Can Cao Cao, with his thousands of exhausted troops, capture Liu Bei?

Sun Ce was just curious and asked: "If Liu Bei doesn't join me in Jiangdong, where can he go?"

Jia Xu had deep experience in this area and said: "If the Fu army is defeated, all the princes can go to Yuan and the imperial court."

"Now that Yuan Shu has been destroyed, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao are still close and allies. If Liu Bei can go, only the imperial court is left."

Hearing this, Sun Ce nodded slightly.

The battle at the end of the Han Dynasty was the battle between the two Yuan Dynasties. Anyway, the princes who were defeated by Yuan Shao's power fled to Huainan one after another, such as Jin Shang, the governor of Yanzhou, Ying Shao, the prefect of Taishan, etc.

Those who were expelled by Yuan Shu's forces were Yuan Shao and Beitou.

If that doesn't work, you can seek refuge with the imperial court. Historically, after Cao Cao moved his capital to Xu County, a large number of princes and celebrities abandoned their official positions and went to Xu Capital when they didn't know where they were going.

Liu Bei stayed in Xudu for a period of time. After finding an opportunity, he led his troops to fight.

Now that the emperor has returned to Luoyang and wants to revitalize the Han Dynasty, many celebrities have gone to Luoyang from Liu Biao, Cao Cao, and Yuan Shao to serve.

The probability of Liu Bei going to Luoyang is quite high.After all, he, General Zuo, leader of Xuzhou Mu and Liangchenghou, was personally appointed by the emperor, and was responsible for the military commander-in-chief of Xuzhou and Yuzhou.

Now that the armies of the two states were all lost, he could only return to Kyoto to resume his duties.

Thinking of this, Sun Ce couldn't help but take a deep breath. Liu Bei couldn't defeat Cao Cao, but he could defeat the princes in Guanzhong and even Zhang Lu.

The Emperor of Han did not support himself.Twenty thousand of the king's troops died in Guanzhong in one day.

Liu Bei himself asked him to contain Cao Cao in the Central Plains, but he was attacked by Cao Cao and lost Xuzhou.

But what if these two Liu emperors were combined?

In this situation, Liu Bei was about to follow the emperor's orders and disobey him!

What does Liu Bei lack?
Pei Qian commented on him: "When an envoy lives in China, he can disrupt people but cannot rule them. If he takes advantage of the situation and defends the danger, he can become the master of one party."

What he lacks is a separatist territory that can be defended by danger. Xuzhou is too flat for him, with no danger to defend on all sides, so it cannot stop Cao Cao, Lu Bu, and Yuan Shu from attacking from all directions.

But Guanzhong is different. It has been on the edge of Han Valley since ancient times.

If Liu Bei, with the support of the emperor's prestige, convinced the generals in Guanzhong, he would then march to Hanzhong and Bashu.

This situation is roughly the same as when Qin swept Liuhe and Emperor Gaozu advanced eastward.

Even in terms of population, it may be even better.Yizhou was the largest state in the Han Dynasty, with a population of 5608 million.

It depends on how many household registrations Liu Bei can clear out.

As for the capable ministers needed to clear up household registration, Liu Bei really had no shortage of them.In other words, the imperial court is not lacking at all.

Nowadays, there are a large number of capable ministers in the imperial court, from Xun You and Zhong Yao to Zhang Ji and Jia Kui, from Xu Shu to Sima Lang. There is no shortage of advisers, military advisers, capable ministers and officials.

Especially Xun You, this is a mastermind who can be compared with Jia Xu, Tian Feng, Zhang Zhao and others.

At that time, I am afraid that it will not be the Zhuge family who made bets in three places, but the Xun family's descendants who will serve as officials in Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, and Liu Bei respectively.

Liu Yao died in Guanzhong, and when Liu Bei entered the court, he became the highest-ranking general besides Dong Cheng.If the emperor were to form an army again, fight steadily, and go to wipe out the princes, Liu Bei would be the No. 1 choice to lead the army.

Obviously, it was not just Sun Ce who could see this situation.

Zhang Hong, Zhou Yu and others also saw it clearly. Zhang Hong sighed: "It is a pity that all the [-] royal troops of the imperial court died in Longshan. Otherwise, Liu Bei's hero and the imperial court's prestige would have been Liu Bei's service to the country and he would not be able to challenge the court. Yuan Shao and Cao Cao It all depends on the command."

Serving the country without seeking justice was Jia Xu's strategy for Li Jue and Guo Si.

It's a pity that these two people are just warriors with no plans. They only know cruelty and violence, and have no ambition to conquer the world.Therefore, the body is dead and the clan is destroyed, and the head is passed down.

At this time, Liu Bei entered the court again and implemented this policy.I'm afraid it's too late.

After the imperial army was destroyed, a new army was reorganized and began to expand territory and fight for peace.

The Battle of Guandu in the Central Plains may be over.

It is almost impossible for the Han Dynasty to stay in the country and rejuvenate the country.

Being able to take advantage of the danger and separatist power is already the protection of the ancestors.

Sun Ce no longer had the energy to pay attention to Liu Bei's defeat. No matter how angry he was, it would not help, so he said: "Now we have to pay attention to Cao Cao's situation. It is a foregone conclusion that the Central Plains belongs to Cao Cao. The task now is how we deal with Cao Cao. So powerful."

Cao Cao was so powerful that at this time, it could be said that he was at the height of his power.

Although due to Sun Ce's intervention, he failed to coerce the emperor to order the princes.

But every disadvantage must have an advantage. Due to the rise of Sun Ce, Cao Cao also encountered several powerful enemies and suffered several defeats.

Especially in the Battle of Feishui, he did not lose Cao Ang, Cao Anmin, Dian Wei and other generals, nor did his army suffer heavy losses. On the contrary, he forced Zhang Xiu to surrender in one battle and recruited nearly [-] Xiliang troops.

This greatly increased his strength. In terms of military prosperity, it was equivalent to two more years of development than in history.

This situation can be more clearly demonstrated by looking at Emperor Liu Xie.

The imperial court lost [-] elite troops in Guanzhong, and the entire ZTE movement suffered a heavy setback. Without two years of recruitment and reorganization, it would be difficult to restore the situation.

Cao Cao had suffered a major defeat at Huishui, and his army was so powerful that he not only had tens of thousands more elite soldiers, but also saved a lot of time in conquests, allowing him to rest and recuperate calmly.

The other aspect of self-cultivation lies in Yuan Shu in Huainan and Lu Bu in Xuzhou.

These two powerful enemies were defeated by Sun Ce.

Cao Cao saved a large number of conquests in the east and west, and directly occupied the Central Plains.

Especially now, he unexpectedly attacked Xuzhou and won a complete victory.

The Central Plains was leveled in one battle, and he completed the unification of forces earlier than Yuan Shao.

If the time for Yuan Shao to attack Gongsun Zan remains unchanged, the Battle of Guandu will still break out next year.

Then Cao Cao will have at least two years this year and next to reorganize his troops and strengthen his troops. At the same time, he will farm for production, accumulate grain and train his troops.

It would not be like in history when he was still conquering Zhang Xiu on the eve of the Battle of Guandu.The Battle of Guandu had already broken out, and he was still far away from the front line, leading his troops all the way from the Yellow River to Xuzhou to conquer Liu Bei.If Yu Jin hadn't led two thousand troops to garrison and block the bank of the Yellow River, Yuan Shao could not pull out, and Cao Cao would have been forced to withdraw in a hurry.

With the current situation, Cao Cao's powerful occupation of the Central Plains may be greater than what he gained in history by holding the emperor hostage to control the princes.

Holding the emperor hostage to control the princes is only a means, not the ultimate goal.

What Cao Cao wanted was to be able to quickly strengthen himself by holding the emperor hostage and ordering the princes to help him wipe out the Central Plains.

Now that he has dominated the Central Plains and is powerful, whether he can hold the emperor hostage to the princes, the losses to him may not be as great as the gains now.

As for how to deal with Cao Cao, Zhang Hong was silent for a moment and then said: "Now the situation in the Central Plains has been decided. Cao Cao cannot be eliminated suddenly. The general's best plan is to marry Cao Cao and form an alliance."

"Cao Cao did not hesitate to send envoys to visit Jiangdong in advance. I am afraid that this is his intention. He wants to break up with the general after capturing Xuzhou. He will capture Xuzhou and help us capture Jiangxia."

Cheng Pu immediately frowned and asked: "Cao Cao has just captured Xuzhou, but his foundation is unstable, his people are not attached to him, his soldiers are exhausted, and his army is out of food. Why don't we continue to march and capture Xuzhou?"

Zhang Hong looked at Cheng Pu and asked directly: "What's the point? Xuzhou has changed hands several times and has experienced wars for a long time. There is only one person left in the population, Donghai and Pengcheng are close to Qiu Ruins, and Xiapi and Pei were massacred and plundered by Cao Cao Loot. Even if we capture Xuzhou, the population we can gain will only be 10, which may not be as good as Jiangxia."

This number of 10 people is not the number of 10 people after Haoqiang concealed his household registration, but the total number of people in Xuzhou including Haoqiang and Qiuxu refugees.

Xuzhou was originally the smallest of the thirteen states in the world, with a peak population of just over two million, equivalent to a county in Nanyang.

Counting Cao Cao's massacre of Xuzhou this time, it was already his third massacre.

Except that Guangling is located in Huainan and is controlled by Sun Ce.Several counties in Xuzhou north of the Huaihe River were almost slaughtered by Cao Cao.Under the flames of war and looting, the people will inevitably suffer heavy casualties.

If we calculate based on the situation of nine out of ten houses, Xuzhou is lucky to have 20 people left. It was Cao Cao who raised his noble hand and put down the butcher's knife.

These 20 people are still in fear and continue to flee south.

Therefore, capturing Xuzhou may not be as powerful as Jiangxia County in strengthening Jiangdong.

Jiangxia County has a population of 26, but it has experienced relatively few wars, and now more than [-] people are left behind.

Seeing that Cheng Pu was speechless, Zhou Yu spoke up to relieve him, saying: "It is not a bad idea to fight to the death with Cao's army to fight for Xuzhou. This can indeed severely damage Cao's army, but Cao's army is tired and our army is also in trouble."

"The army has just captured Huainan and suffered heavy casualties. It also encountered a natural disaster and the ground was thousands of miles away."

"At this time, we will travel thousands of miles north to compete with Cao Cao. We will fight to the death, and we will only let Yuan Shao reap the benefits."

After Zhou Yu finished speaking, the civil and military personnel in the camp suddenly became calm and made a decision in their hearts.

It is absolutely inappropriate to take the initiative to attack the Central Plains at this time. Not to mention the current severe drought in Huainan, which is not a good opportunity for the Northern Expedition.If we insist on sending troops, I am afraid that the people will not be able to survive and starve to death everywhere.

Even if he defeated Cao Cao and captured Xuzhou.Even with a bolder idea, it only took two or three months to defeat and kill Cao Cao, and seize all the Central Plains lands such as Xuzhou, Yanzhou, and Yuzhou.

What about next year?

The Jiangdong army, which suffered heavy casualties, continued to fight against Yuan Shao's [-]-strong army in the ruins of Yanzhou and Xuzhou with only [-] to [-] exhausted troops?

That would probably mean handing over the world to Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao won directly.

(End of this chapter)