Overlord!

Not long after Sun Ce inspected the troops, urgent news came from the front line. Cao Cao supervised an army of [-], divided into three groups, and personally attacked Huainan.

Cao Cao still has to fight the Battle of Shouchun and the Battle of Xuzhou!

On its left, General Cao Ren led the army with [-] infantry and cavalry to attack Xia Cai in Jiujiang County.On the right, General Yu Jin and Zhu Ling were the generals, and they supervised more than [-] troops. They marched from the west of Haixi, passing through Sheyang, Ping'an and other counties, with the intention of cutting off the reinforcements from the waterway east of the Yangtze River.

He personally supervised more than [-] people, who came out from Xiapi and went down the Surabaya River to attack the newly established Huai'an County in Jiangdong, intending to recapture the four counties of Xuyi, Huailing, Gaoshan and Dongcheng belonging to Xiapi County!
Cao Cao had deep considerations in choosing this place as the target of attack. First of all, he had to be famous as a moral teacher.

According to the Han Dynasty system, these four counties originally belonged to Xiapi County.Since the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Huai'an County has never been known to exist in the world.

On the other hand, Sun Ce's official positions were Jingzhou Mu, Dian Yangzhou Rugu, and Military Supervisor of Yi, Jing, Yang, and Jiaozhou.

Due to emotions and reasons, Sun Ce should not own Xiapi County and Guangling County, which are subordinate to Xuzhou!
Morally, he had the responsibility of supervising the three states of Yan, Yu, and Xu, and could legitimately send troops to recapture the two counties of Xiapi and Guangling.

In addition to nominal considerations, the most important thing is the military pros and cons.

Cao Cao chose to send troops to Xuzhou in June, which was the same time as Yuan Shu attacked Liu Bei. This was because sending troops in June would delay the autumn and enter the autumn harvest in July. When the news came back to Jiangdong, Jiangdong would gather troops to go north. It wouldn't take long for Cao Cao to send troops to Xuzhou. The river is frozen.

In October, the Huaihe River will be freezing cold and the river surface will freeze. At this time, the convenience of water transportation to the east of the Yangtze River will be weakened to the smallest extent.

However, in the late autumn, the northern cavalry became fat and strong, and could gallop freely on the stiff land.

Although Jiangdong had anticipated that Cao Cao might attack Huainan, the enemy suddenly launched an attack and the defense line still seemed inadequate.

Because it was unclear in which direction Cao Cao would attack, Jiangdong's army could only adopt a front-light and rear-heavy configuration, gathering most of the army's main forces in key military towns, waiting for a counterattack and rushing to support in all directions at any time.

Therefore, Cao Jun's sudden attack still achieved great results.

General Cao Ren attacked three counties in Jiujiang and defeated Yicheng and Ping'a counties in a few days. Tens of thousands of troops besieged Xiacai, a major military town in Huaibei.

The famous general Jin stationed himself on the right road, sent his troops to Guangling, attacked Yandu, captured it with all his strength, and attacked the city. He also briefly attacked the powerful forts along the way, leaving no chickens or dogs behind.

What's more important is that Cao Cao broke through the Huainan defense line in the Huailing area, personally supervised the capture of Huailing, and moved his troops directly to Gaoshan County, which is the seat of Huai'an County and where Xu Kun, the general of Sun Ce's clan, garrisoned.

The urgent military intelligence report reached Jiankang like snowflakes. Under Cao Jun's sudden and fierce attack, Jiangdong's more than [-] defenders in Huainan fell into passivity.

Sun Ce had to immediately summon his subordinates, generals, and commanders of various ministries to discuss how to rush to the Huaihe River line.

Even Zhuge Liang, who commanded the elite cavalry, participated in this emergency meeting.

Other ministers such as Zhang Zhao, Jia Xu, Gu Yong, Yan Zhen, Bu Zhi and others were also present.

In terms of generals, after half a year of recuperation, Zhou Yu, who finally recovered from a serious illness, and other generals such as Zhao Yun, Wei Yan, Jiang Qin, and Chen Wu are also gearing up.

After the troops arrived, Sun Ce spoke first: "After summarizing the military information in the past few days, it can be seen that Cao Cao's army is indeed coming in large numbers. Although Cao Cao did not claim to have a large army, but with three groups of troops advancing, the scale will not be less than five or six in any case. Ten thousand, it can be seen that he came from almost empty country."

Sun Ce then ordered people to bring the map, pointed at it and said: "Cao Cao's left army has surrounded Xia Cai. Xu Sheng, the commander of the Beifu Army, led more than [-] men to fight to the death. With his personal understanding of Xu Sheng's bravery and fierceness, Xu Sheng If we choose to defend rather than take the initiative, the enemy army may far outnumber the defenders."

After all, this was Xu Sheng, one of the twelve tiger ministers of Jiang Biao. Historically, he only led 200 people to guard Chaisang, and then went out of the city to defeat thousands of people led by Huang She, the son of Huang Zu, and beheaded more than a thousand people.

In the Battle of Ruxu, the warships of the Wu Navy were blown to the north bank of the river. The generals were frightened and no one came out. Only Xu Sheng led the soldiers ashore alone and broke into the formation. Cao's army was frightened by Xu Sheng and fled, with many casualties. Very big.

This is a general who is very good at leading troops to surprise the enemy and frighten the enemy. Whenever he is sure, he will definitely lead his troops out of the city and defeat the enemy.

What's more, the Beifu Army under his command was formed by recruiting brave people from the northern refugees. It was as elite as the Jiefan Army. The five hundred soldiers were all brave and elite, and had good armor and weapons. They could raid enemy camps without difficulty.

But in this case, Xu Sheng still chose to defend the city, which shows how critical the situation is.

This is the last major military town in Jiujiang County north of the Huaihe River. If this place is destroyed, Sun Ce will no longer have a foothold on the north bank of the Huaihe River.Tens of thousands of grain, military supplies, and baggage in the city will fall into the hands of Cao's army.

However, this is the place that Sun Ce is least worried about. In addition to Xu Sheng's defense of Xia Cai, on the south bank of the Huaihe River is the military town of Shouchun where Lu Su garrisoned. There are [-] disciples, [-] elite cavalry and [-] soldiers in the city. Navy!
Generals Huang Zhong, Zhou Tai, Han Dang, Ling Cao, Quan Cong, Lu Dai and others gathered on the Shouchun and Zhongli lines.

As long as Lu Su sends his troops to the north, he can break Cai's siege.

With [-] elite infantry and cavalry rushing to support, the attacking Cao army would not dare to continue the siege and would have to withdraw from the siege.Otherwise, under attack from both inside and outside, Cao's army on the left may be defeated and return.

If thousands of elite soldiers were lost, Cao Cao's plan to contain Jiangdong would have completely failed.

Yu Jin on the right was just to contain Jiangdong's troops. After all, in the east of Guangling, counties and cities were very sparse. From along the Yangtze River to the south of the Huaihe River, there was only one Yandu County in this vast territory. Yu Jin laid down the Yandu General. We can't continue to march south and drink from the Yangtze River, right?
After reading the map, Zhang Zhao immediately asserted: "Cao Cao is forcing us to rush to Huai'an. If he wants to defeat me, he will be in Xiapi territory."

Obviously, Cao Cao's counselors were no ordinary people, and they had achieved the ultimate in military planning.

Not only must we draw out Jiangdong's main force, but we must also have geographical advantages.

So they deliberately set the battlefield in Huai'an County.

Going down the Surabaya River from Xiapi, they can easily resupply.In addition to being subordinate to Xiapi, the counties of Huai'an County also have flat terrain, which is suitable for cavalry assault operations.

If Jiangdong sacrifices the advantage of the navy and uses infantry and cavalry against Cao Jun's tiger and wolf divisions, it will be difficult to gain the upper hand.After all, Cao Jun was also an elite soldier who fought in hundreds of battles in the Central Plains.

Sun Ce stared at the map and said, "How do you think we should deal with Cao's army's three-pronged invasion?"

In this matter of military strategy, it was finally the turn of Zhou Yu, a famous general throughout the ages, to show off his talents.

So Zhou Yu stood up immediately, with a majestic and heroic appearance, and spoke generously, saying: "I think Cao Jun has no intention of sinking the cauldron in this battle, and it will be difficult to achieve success."

"There are Yuan Shao in the north and Yuan Tan in the east, both of whom are watching with eager eyes. Therefore, they are coming in large numbers, and they dare not even claim to be a hundred thousand people. The generals are especially willing to fight, and the soldiers must be timid."

"From my perspective, they need to defend the Yuan family in the north and secure the powerful internal forces. The number of available troops is no more than 8, and as few as 5 or [-]. Among them, it can be regarded as [-]!"

"And I have [-] elite soldiers in Jiangdong who can carry out the Northern Expedition. Their number may not be less than that of Cao's army."

"But the power must be greater than that of Cao's army. The general can personally supervise the three armies. He claims that 15 people will march to the north, and Cao's soldiers will be shocked!"

This wave is a typical example of bragging about one's own numbers and strength before a war to show off one's own strength.After the war, they brag about a wave of three enemy armies forming a cloud to show off their own magical capabilities.

The 15-strong army is known as the [-]-strong Northern Expedition. No matter what the reality is, it will definitely shock the world.

No matter how slow Yuan Shao reacts, he should take some action.

Moreover, Jiangdong's [-] professional elite soldiers, against Cao's army of [-] to [-], must have some disadvantages in terms of scale, and they have advantages in combat power and maneuverability.After all, Jiangdong is now defending and Cao Cao is attacking.

In these large-scale wars in the late Han Dynasty, whoever attacked basically suffered a disastrous defeat.The defensive advantage is simply too great.

Zhou Yu also took a fancy to this point and said: "Besides, Mr. Xu is a general of the general clan. He has won the hearts of the people and the city is well-supplied, so there is nothing to worry about."

"Xu Shengxiong was strong and strong, and he defended the city. Although the enemy surrounded it ten times, it was not possible to see that the city could be captured."

"I heard that the general has arrived with 15 troops. These two generals will fight to the death."

"The general can gather his troops calmly and station himself at Hangou to support him. The army can advance and retreat freely. If he provokes and attacks, he will be defeated!"

It was necessary to break it, Sun Ce smiled, he was worthy of being Mizhouro.

The three armies have not moved yet, but their momentum has already been seen.If you win first and then fight, why worry about war?
Sun Ce nodded and said: "With the Huaihe River as a dangerous obstacle, Cao Cao lost his opportunity by attacking suddenly. When Cao Cao's army marched into Huai'an, He Qi had already sent generals Dong Xi, Lu Dai and others to lead an army to rescue Huai'an. Now there are elite soldiers and young men in Huai'an. No less than 5000 people. Even with Cao Cao's ability, it is difficult to promote them."

The biggest problem facing Jiangdong now is that the army has not yet assembled. After all, Jiangdong has not yet mobilized for the Northern Expedition.

The army was previously in a defensive posture, stationed in Xiangyang, Jiangxia, Huainan, and Guangling.

If Cao Cao had unified the north and had 10,000+ troops, he might not have carried out such a small-scale three-front attack, but would have connected counties across states and launched a large-scale attack on the south from three directions: Xiangyang, Shouchun, and Guangling.

Cao Cao's current attack can only be based on the center, and the right wing only plays a containment role.

As for the left side of Xiangyang, it was just a show. After all, they had to risk the advantage of the Jiangdong navy to cross the Han River to attack Xiangyang. Without an army of [-], Lu Meng on the other side might not even raise his eyes.

The same is true for Jiangdong's deployment. Most of the troops have been gathered in Huainan and Guangling, with a scale of nearly [-].

There are only more than [-] people in Jiangxia and Nanjun.

Now that it is confirmed that Cao Cao did not go south to attack Jiangxia and Lujiang in the direction of Runan and Nanyang, then the defenders in this area can rush to support the east road.

But this support will take at least several months to arrive.

This means that Xu Kun, Sun He, Dong Xi and others must hold on to Huai'an for at least two or three months, so as to ensure that the front line is worry-free. If they can hold on to the city for more than six months, Xu Kun will intimidate the enemy!From then on, Cao Jun did not dare to attack the defense line guarded by Xu Kun.

This is not impossible.

In fact, the problem Cao Jun is facing now is also extremely serious. They broke through the Huaihe River with heavy troops in the middle, making it impossible for the scattered patrolling Jiangdong Navy to stop it north of the Huaihe River. However, as the war dragged on, the naval forces along the Huaihe River and the Yangtze River were all After quickly gathering, Cao's army's supplies in the middle were already threatened by the navy.

The navy had burned several batches of supplies that Cao Jun intended to transport across the river, burning dozens of ships and tens of thousands of stones of food and fodder!

Even for an army of [-], this is enough food for nearly ten days.

Moreover, as the Jiangdong Navy gradually gathered, its scale became larger and larger, and it had already blocked some sections of the Huaihe River. Not to mention transporting grain, even Cao Jun's regular troops did not dare to appear along the Huaihe River.

After all, the size of the Jiangdong Navy is tens of thousands, and it can mobilize hundreds of ships, battleships, and walking boats. When the fleet is dispatched, the river is full of Jiangdong's white sails.

This is why Cao Jun deliberately chose to cross the Huai River at Huai Ling. The water flow here was fast and the water turned sharply. The Huai River left a turbulent corner from south to north and from north to south.

Yuan Shu did not build the Huaihe River at the beginning, but it became a major advantage for Cao's army.

Under this water situation, Cao Jun could still garrison a military camp on the south bank of the Huaihe River, guard the corners of the Huaihe River, and transport food with difficulty to the west of the Huaihe River.

However, if Lu Su defeated Cao Ren upstream and the navy moved eastward along the current, Cao Jun's grain transport route to Huaixi would also be cut off, and Cao Jun would have to retreat without a fight.

Zhuge Liang therefore said: "Cao's army deliberately chose Huai'an as the battlefield in order to defeat the main force of our army. I think it would be unwise for the general to lead his troops directly."

"Cao's army comes in three directions. We don't necessarily need to meet the enemy in three ways. To attack the enemy with more and less is what the military strategists want. Therefore, we can divide our troops into two directions, rush to the aid of Shouchun all the way, join forces with Lu Zhonglang, and use the navy to defeat Cao's army on the left road."

"Use cavalry all the way to surround and annihilate the enemy's right division! If both the left and right sides are defeated, Cao's main force will not retreat in time, and it will become a turtle in the urn."

"My elite navy will cover his return, our brave cavalry will attack him, and Cao Cao himself will be captured in Huainan!"

Sun Ce burst out laughing and said, "What you said makes sense, let Jiangdong give Cao Cao a cavalry shock!"

One reason why Lu Su has not yet launched a counterattack is that he cannot act rashly to avoid greater loopholes in the entire defense line.

Another reason is that they are waiting for the main force of Jiankang to come to their aid, and combine the strength of elite soldiers and powerful generals to defeat Cao Jun in one fell swoop, thereby forming an encirclement and forcing Cao Jun to retreat.

Lu Su may not be able to defeat Cao Ren if he has an army of five thousand.

But Zhou Yu led an army of more than ten thousand, which Cao Ren could not resist!

Cao Ren can defend the city and challenge Zhou Yu. If he wants to fight the enemy in the wild, he can block Zhou Yu's troops. Cao Ren will not succumb to Cao Cao!

Sun Ce was not worried about the decisive battle on the left.

However, the main force of cavalry on the right flank surrounded Yu Jin, and Sun Ce frowned.

No one in Jiangdong has ever commanded such a large cavalry.

After thinking carefully for a long time, Sun Ce made the appointment: "With Zhang Liao as the chief general, Zhuge Liang and Chen Wu as deputy generals, and commanding five thousand elite cavalry, we can break through the ban!" (End of Chapter)