Overlord!

Chapter 265: Win Xuzhou
In November, the Battle of Huainan officially ended. With the support of Cheng Yu, the main force of Cao Cao's army withdrew from the Xiaqiu line to Runan.

Even though Zhou Yu's more than [-] men invaded Jian County in the southeastern border of Runan from Huaibei, they still had to choose to withdraw in the face of nearly [-] Cao troops, and it was difficult to completely destroy them.

In this battle, Cao Cao's performance really amazed Jiang Dong.

His intelligence was extraordinary, and when all the advancing troops were not going smoothly, he alone retreated with all his troops.

Cao Cao's battle was not without mistakes. When Yujindong Road was destroyed, he forced the attack on Dongshan and went his own way, which resulted in the loss of thousands of troops. Even general Xiahou Yuan was killed.

But even though he was under heavy siege, he remained undisturbed, pretending to be fishing and determined to fight to the end.I calmly waited until late October when the Huaihe River froze and then receded overnight.

Only a thousand people were left to bluff, and they were destroyed by Jiangdong's army in one battle.

This also shows why the Huaihe River is not like the Yangtze River, which is a natural chasm between the north and the south.

The Huaihe River freezes in winter, which is very convenient for riding in the north.

In this case, Cao Cao was assisted by Cheng Yu's army, and the Jiangdong army was unable to completely surround him.

This is also related to the strength of both sides. The size of Jiangdong's army is not much different from that of Cao's army. It is difficult to cross thousands of miles to surround Cao's army.

In the Battle of Shiting, Jiangdong's advantage was so great and Cao Xiu penetrated so far. With Lu Xun's talent, it was still impossible to surround Cao Xiu, a general of the Cao clan.Sun Ce wanted to defeat Cao Cao in one battle, but it was indeed difficult to achieve.

To have such a situation, unless it is like the Battle of Guandu, the opponent's granary is burned to the ground.

Zhou Yu also served a similar task, but the Huaihe River was difficult to form a natural moat, and Cao Cao decisively withdrew his troops. After getting support from Cheng Yu, the battle in Huainan failed to become the second Battle of Guandu.

But despite this, Jiangdong still achieved great gains in this battle.

After the troops along the Huaihe River were recovered and the troops entered Xiapi, the battle was completely over.

With a smile on his face, Zhang Hong reported to Sun Ce personally: "General, our army defeated Cao Cao in this battle. Although we did not kill Cao Cao's thieves, we advanced in three directions and killed and captured more than ten thousand Cao Cao's troops. Cao's army probably had no less than 2 elite troops, so it was definitely a disastrous defeat. He also lost many heroes such as generals Xia Houyuan, Yu Jin, Han Hao, Chen Deng, etc. After several years of rest and recuperation, nearly half of them were lost in one battle!"

When Sun Ce heard this, he also smiled.

In this battle, Jiangdong counterattacked based on the right time, location, and people. Therefore, the heavy damage to Cao's army may be no less than the disastrous defeat he suffered in the Battle of Feishui in history.It's a pity that Cao Ang was not seen in this battle, so he followed Cao Cao and withdrew his troops.If Cao Ang can be killed, the Cao family will lose their legitimate son, and the entire people will be scattered like the Yuan family. The factional dispute between Cao Pi and Cao Zhi will greatly weaken the cohesion of Cao Ying.

In this battle alone, more than tens of thousands of people were beheaded and captured by Jiangdong's army. This result was enough to severely damage Cao's army.In fact, there were still many wounded soldiers and scattered soldiers who fled. The real loss of Cao's army may not be less than 2 people.This is definitely a disastrous defeat.

It can be said that without three or four years of rest, Cao Jun will no longer be able to launch an offensive against Huainan. For a long time in the future, both Sun and Cao will be in a situation of attacking from the south and defending from the north.

Then Sun Ce asked with a smile: "As a result of several years of rest and recuperation, Cao's army lost nearly half in the first battle, but captured a lot?"

Zhang Hong immediately nodded and said: "The harvest in this battle was extremely rich. The main reason was that Zhou Yu defeated Cao Ren and captured all the supplies in his camp. Yu Jin led his troops to surrender and also gave them all the supplies. Cao's army marched in three directions, except for Cao Cao himself. In addition to returning safely, supplies were lost on both the east and west routes. In this battle, our army captured more than [-] stones of grain and grass from Cao's army, more than [-] oxen, horses, and donkey carts, more than a thousand war horses, and countless equipment, baggage, arrows, etc. .”

Jiangdong itself was very wealthy in terms of food, grass and equipment, so Sun Ce didn't care much about this aspect.

But there are more than [-] oxen, horses, donkeys, carts, etc. This is a huge harvest!Coupled with more than a thousand war horses, these are the supplies Jiangdong is in urgent need of!

Sun Ce sighed and said: "It's a pity that Cao Cao's cultivation is too short. With the wealth of the Central Plains, we have won this battle so much that we should have more gains."

In the Battle of Shiting, Cao Xiu left tens of thousands of chariots behind and fled in a panic.Cao Wei, who unified the north, was still much richer than Cao Cao now.

The materials seized now are not enough for one-tenth of the consumption of Jiangdong's army.

After all, since September, Zhang Zhao has begun to recruit civilian men in advance to prepare for the winter grain transportation.

It was precisely because of his early preparations and the recruitment of [-] civilians that Jiangdong's army had the scale advantage on the battlefield.

In this battle, Jiangdong's army was at a slight disadvantage in the middle, but both the east and west had full advantages. Not only were their troops more capable, but their size was also superior to Cao's army.

In the early stage of founding the army, the situation of being forced to defeat the enemy with a small number did not happen.

With more than [-] troops and more than [-] civilians mobilized, the cost of this battle in Huainan was naturally extremely huge, and the Jiangdong treasury also lost more than half of it.

However, with these more than 25 chariots, the number of civilians who need to be mobilized for the next battle can be significantly reduced.One cart can transport [-] shi of grain. These four thousand carts can transport more than [-] shi of grain. Even with baggage and fodder, [-] shi of grain can be sent to the front line.

That's why Sun Ce lamented that Cao's army was still not rich enough. If Cao's army lost tens of thousands of vehicles, Jiangdong only needed to mobilize [-] civilians to drive the army to ensure a long-term northern expedition of [-] troops.

Zhang Hong also felt the same and said with emotion: "It is true. The war in the Central Plains has caused people to live in dire straits and the world is in chaos. Under Cao Jun's rule, the people are hungry and desolate. Not only are there few cattle and horses, but the people are also dead and injured. Ten houses in Xuzhou are already empty. It’s hard to describe how terrible it was, there were almost no survivors left, bones were exposed in the wild, and there were no roosters crowing for thousands of miles.”

There is not even one living person left in a hundred!

Sun Ce frowned. If it is as Zhang Hong said, it is hard to say how many people will be left in Xuzhou.

After returning from Cao Cao's defeat, Jiangdong's army crossed the Huaihe River and entered Xiapi territory.

In fact, according to the Han system, the Battle of Huainan was fought in Xiapi County. After all, Dongshan County originally belonged to Xiapi County.

If we talk about it broadly, this battle is actually Cao Jun's Eastern Expedition, which is probably a bit similar to Cao Cao's attack on Lu Bu in Xiapi.If Cao's army was defeated, Xiapi would naturally be owned by the enemy.

Sun Ce repelled Cao Cao and marched into Xiapi without ceremony. Cao Chun led his troops to retreat when he saw that there was nothing he could do. After Chen Deng held on for more than eighty days, he was finally captured by Xia Xiang.

Chen Deng can be said to be an absolutely capable minister. According to Chen Deng's original intention, after Cao Cao withdrew his troops, he would stand by himself for at least two hundred days.Waiting for Cao Cao to regroup and take back Xuzhou again.

After all, Jiang Dongzhi was still a long way away from Xia Xiang, who was still north of the Huaihe River. As long as Chen Deng could hold on to this military formation, Sun Ce might not be able to devour Xuzhou.

When Cao Jun came back, the ownership of Xuzhou was still undecided.

If the situation develops as planned by Chen Deng and all the cities in Xuzhou are defended, it will be really difficult for Sun Ce to capture Xuzhou.

Fortunately, Cao Cao was extremely unpopular.As Zhou Yu said, the king's teacher must conquer without fighting.

Cao Cao's several large-scale massacres in Xuzhou made the heroes of Xuzhou feel the shame of their father and brother and were unwilling to stick to Cao Cao's side.

Liu Bei killed Che Zhou, the governor of Xuzhou, and the whole of Xuzhou immediately changed its banner. This may not be because Cao Cao's atrocities were extremely unpopular with Xuzhou's people.

Therefore, although Chen Deng wanted to die for Cao Cao, all the heroes in Xuzhou wanted to change his ways.

So Xuzhou heroes wanted to kill Chen Deng and surrendered to Jiangdong.

It's just that Chen Deng was very capable. He eliminated all three assassinations. Hundreds of rebels in the city were killed and pacified by him. The Prime Minister persisted for more than eighty days. In the end, his direct subordinates stole the guards. After opening the city gate, the city was taken down by the inside and outside forces.

The one who opened the city was Chen's tribe, a direct descendant of Chen Deng. This shows that Cao Cao's situation in Xuzhou is indeed over.

The Chen clan was also forced to give up supporting Cao Cao and instead support the Chen Southern clan.

The Nanzong is the branch of Guangling Sheyang, represented by Chen Jiao, who had previously played for Jiangdong.

After Sun Ce obtained Chen Deng's head, he sent it to Luoyang together with Xia Houyuan's head to show his military exploits.

One of these two people is the Zhonglang General appointed by Cao Cao, and the other is the Xiapi Prime Minister appointed by Cao Cao. Their execution will not only enhance the military power of Jiangdong, but also win the hearts of Xuzhou people.

Because the people of Xuzhou already hate Cao Cao as much as the sea.

Zhang Hong said: "Xuzhou was originally the smallest among the thirteen states, with a population of only more than two million. Now that Cao Jun has massacred and destroyed the population, there may only be tens of thousands of men and women around the Prime Minister. In order to kill Cao Jun, the elders of Xuzhou have poured out their lives. Men, women, old and young went into battle. Even women and children were thrown at them with stones. Therefore, there may be only a few people outside Xiapi, and there may be no living people."

Sun Ce sighed deeply. The population of Xuzhou has not yet been counted, so it can only be in the tens of thousands. The number has dropped sharply from more than two million people to tens of thousands in less than ten years. It is not like there are only one living in a hundred. This is tragic. The level is second only to Guanzhong.

This also shows how serious the harm caused by war in troubled times to the people of the world.

Looking more optimistically, the whole of Xuzhou is deserted. Sun Ce can conquer the five counties of Xuzhou in one fell swoop. From Xiapi to Pengcheng, from Donghai to Langya, they all fall into Sun Ce's hands.

What's bleak is that among these five counties, three counties have lost all vitality, millions of acres of fertile farmland are abandoned, and the cities and villages are depopulated, making them as spooky and terrifying as ghosts.

Capturing this huge Xuzhou would not be as beneficial to Sun Ce as capturing a slightly richer county!
Fortunately, at this time, Zhang Hong comforted Sun Ce and said: "Since the troubled times, there have been no less than 10 people who have gone south from Xuzhou and taken refuge in Jiangdong. There are also more than [-] refugees and refugees in Guangling. When the general pacifies Xuzhou and stabilizes the Central Plains, Then the people will return to their hometowns one after another, and it will not be difficult for there to be more than [-] people north of the Huaihe River."

After hearing Zhang Hong's opinions, Sun Ce finally felt a little comforted.

Although 20 people are evenly distributed in dozens of counties in the four counties of Huaibei, each county has only a few hundred households, and a township has only a few dozen households, which is not as good as one mile or Lu in the past, but at least the entire Xuzhou can be filled. It is enough to ensure that every county and every township has fertile land cultivated.

If we continue to recruit refugees, appease the bandits, and collect the fleeing soldiers under Cao Cao's rule, Xuzhou may soon have a population of 30 again. Add in the two counties of Guangling and Linhuai in Huainan, and the total population will exceed 50. The date can be expected.

With a population of 50, coupled with the vast and flat fertile fields of Xuzhou, where they can rest and recuperate for several years, this is Wang Ba's foundation, which is equivalent to half of Shu Han.

Therefore, it is very important to choose a professional service provider in Xuzhou.

Sun Ce's favorite was Gu Yong, who was a capable minister in Jiangdong and a representative of the Jiangdong gentry.Letting him take charge of Xuzhou can greatly inspire the entire Jiangdong gentry and let them feel the most significant results of benefiting from the Northern Expedition.In the future, they will more actively support the army's Northern Expedition.

However, Gu Yong was already the governor of Danyang. As a high-ranking official with two thousand stone, in the Han Dynasty, the governor of the prefecture and state was often on equal footing with the nine ministers. It was impossible for him to serve as a subordinate of the governor. That was a downgrade.

Sun Ce thought for a while, but there was no suitable candidate, so he asked Zhang Hong: "Who do you think from Jiangdong can rule Xuzhou alone?"

By naming Jiangdong, Sun Ce asked Zhang Hong to recommend a famous person from Jiangnan.

Zhang Hong thought for a moment and asked: "How about the second young master? The second young master is quite talented in politics, and the eldest son is the only one in the city, as the poet calls him."

"Zhongmou?" Sun Ce thought for a moment and then shook his head and said, "No, Zhongmou is young and cannot take on important responsibilities."

Although Jiangdong has a tradition of appointing clan members as local governors, such as Xu Kun, Sun He, and even Sun Ce's younger brother Sun Yi all served as governors of Danyang, Sun Ce still did not want to suddenly promote Sun Quan to the position of governor of Xuzhou.

Considering Sun Quan's military prowess, it would be okay to let him guard the natural dangers of the Yangtze River, but let him guard a vast plain like Xuzhou. I'm afraid that if he takes office this year, Xuzhou will be lost next year.

Secondly, he is a descendant of the Sun clan, so he was asked to serve as Xuzhou's chariot. It seems that the Sun clan benefited from its expansion, while the Jiangnan gentry's benefit was less obvious.

"I only care about the talented people from Danyang, Wujun, and Shanyin counties, such as Gu Yuantan."

This time Sun Ce made it very clear that he wanted representatives of aristocratic families from the three counties of Jiangdong.

Zhang Hong thought carefully for a long time and then said: "I recommend Wei Teng, the meritorious Cao Cao of Poyang County."

Weitten!

Sun Ce's eyes lit up, and he immediately said: "Yes, I will move to Wei Teng as a farewell commander in Xuzhou, and as a lone governor to oversee the military and political affairs of Xuzhou."

Wei Teng was a wealthy family in Kuaiji County. He was well-known in the state and county for his reputation. He was upright and dissatisfied in his behavior, so he was respected by the scholar-bureaucrats in the south of the Yangtze River.

Moreover, he was very popular, and he was forthright in admonishing him. When Sun Ce was angered, many people were willing to take risks to intercede for him.

If he were to supervise the military and political affairs of Xuzhou, he would surely be praised by Jiangdong scholars, and the Jiangdong family would take this as a good thing.

This is undoubtedly very consistent with Sun Ce's original intention.

At the same time, his qualifications and talents are very outstanding. In Jiangdong, he has always been known as a talented person on par with Yu Fan.

In the early stage, he also served as Sun Ce's meritorious officer.

Now that Yu Fan is in charge of Yangzhou, it is appropriate for Wei Teng to be in charge of Xuzhou.

(End of this chapter)