Overlord!

If Cao Ren led his troops to defend the city, how long would it take to defeat this defense line?
Historically, after the Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao was defeated. Zhou Yu led an army of [-] from Jiangdong to besiege Nanjun and storm Jiangling. It took more than a year to conquer Jiangling.

In the Battle of Xiangfan, Guan Yu advanced by land and water to besiege Xiangyang. The fighting lasted from July to December, and he failed to break through Xiangyang guarded by Cao Ren for half a year. Instead, he was defeated by Xu Huang, and countless people died after crossing the river.

Regardless of the Battle of Jiangling or the Battle of Xiangyang, Cao Ren did not defend the city in the early stage. He actively fought with Zhou Yu and Guan Yu and was forced to defend the city after his defeat.

Even in this case, sieges often lasted for months.

If Cao Ren can't hold back now and leads a large number of troops to guard the Huaibei defense line, it will not be easy even if Sun Ce personally supervises the army to attack.

As long as Cao Ren can lead his army to defend the important town on the Huaihe River for half a year, then the victory of Cao Cao's battle on the Yellow River in the north will be determined.

This is why in this era, it is always difficult for allies to agree to attack the enemy together.In addition to inconvenient communication and lagging information, the most important thing is that with today's technical conditions, it is too difficult to break through a heavily guarded city.

In the Battle of Hongdu, Zhu Yuanzhang's main force was fighting Zhang Shicheng of Soochow, leaving only Zhu Wenzheng to lead 60 troops to guard Hongdu.Chen Youliang took advantage of the emptiness and launched a large-scale attack with 85 troops, but the enemy was not defeated for [-] days.Zhu Yuanzhang won the war in the other direction, successfully sent troops to return for reinforcements, and defeated Chen Youliang in another battle, thus settling the world situation.

Sun Ce did not think that Cao Cao was as good as Zhu Yuanzhang, who could attack Yuan Shao in the north and defeat Dongwu in the south, defeating two powerful enemies in one year.

But I also sincerely feel that what Chang Shi said was for the sake of the country.

In this era, if you want to unify the world, uniting vertical and horizontal alliances is just an auxiliary means.The real foundation is to stabilize and strengthen one's own power and defeat powerful enemies, and only then can Liuhe be wiped out.

And Zhou Yu continued: "At this time, not only Yuan Shao's army has not moved, but Cao Cao's main force has not moved. In Qingzhou, only Zang Ba, Yuan Tan, Yan Liang and others are fighting. Even if our army wants to take advantage of the provocation, we still need to When Cao Cao's main force moves northward, Yan and Yu are empty."

Zhang Zhao nodded, and then continued: "Changing orders in the morning and evening is unworthy of the image of a prince. I, Jiangdong, have been planning this Northern Expedition for nearly a year. How can we forget our mission and launch an army rashly when we see small gains?"

"Officials in various states and counties are rectifying the officials, hoarding food and grass, and preparing civilians, and then they will launch the Northern Expedition from Xiangyang, Shouchun, and Xuzhou."

"If Yuan Cao goes to war, these three lines of troops will definitely gain something. How can he act rashly and rely on luck to gain anything?"

Sun Ce couldn't help but nodded and said: "What Chang Shi said is in agreement. Suppose we march in three directions next year, we may have a great victory over Cao Cao. Even if not, there must be one way to achieve success. This is the best way to win first and then fight. It's a good idea to be alone."

"It's just that now that Yuan and Cao are fighting, is it inappropriate for us to just sit back and watch? It seems like we've missed the meeting."

At this time, Zhuge Liang volunteered and said: "General, if you are worried about this, please lead your partial troops to Qingzhou to assist in the battle. Yuan Cao originally planned to raise separate divisions to fight in the Qingzhou area. I, Jiangdong, can also bring thousands of partial divisions in."

"Xuzhou Jigu has been training troops for a long time. Langya has 20 dan of military rations, which can be used by [-] people for a year. Even if thousands of light troops are sent, it will not hinder the Northern Expedition."

"Because Cao Cao and Yuan Tan are not popular among the people of Qingzhou, Beihai, Donglai and other elders will definitely eat pots of pulp to welcome the king's master."

Zhuge Liang's implication was obviously that while Yuan and Cao's armies were clashing along the Yellow River, Jiangdong sent troops northward to seize the empty eastern part of the peninsula. Beihai, Qi, Donglai and other places were empty and could be defended.

After all, the main force of Cao's army has not entered Qingzhou yet, so this area is bound to be very empty. Jiangdong's army took advantage of the provocation and expanded the territory to several counties.

As long as Cao's army is defeated in the three-way Northern Expedition next year, these newly expanded Qingzhou counties can be stabilized, and there is no need to worry that Cao's army will attack with heavy troops and take them back again.

This requires a general who can fight tough battles. He can only command a small number of elites, but he can move forward and destroy the enemy's army head-on.

Zhuge Liang is undoubtedly very suitable to serve as the commander of this army.

So Sun Ce agreed to his request and said: "Yes, as you said, I will take you as the commander-in-chief and supervise Zhang Fei, Huang Zhong and Wei Yan. They will ride three thousand horses together and march north to Qingzhou."

There are tens of thousands of troops garrisoned in the Xuzhou area. The 2000 men from Zhang Fei and Wei Yan's troops are transferred to Qingzhou, which will not affect next year's Northern Expedition. Huang Zhong is commanding the right part of the Jiefan Army, which is from the Jiankang Forbidden Army. The elite troops were mobilized to reinforce Zhuge Liang's troops.

Even though they only have a few thousand people, they are definitely elite soldiers.

If the two armies faced each other in the wild, Cao's army did not have three to five thousand elite soldiers. It would be impossible to capture these one thousand elite soldiers without paying heavy casualties.

In fact, it is said that it spans Qing and Xu states, but from Langya to Beihai, it is completely the distance from Jijun to Linjun, which is much closer than Jiangdong from Jiankang to Wujun.

The land in the Central Plains is fertile and the counties are densely packed. We sent troops from Dongwu County in Langya and went up the Weishui River. After leaving the county, we entered Gaomi County in Beihai. After marching a few dozen miles, we arrived at the counties of Gaomi County.

The distance between the two counties is so close that many children of intermarriages can walk back and forth.

Zhuge Liang personally raised [-] elite soldiers and marched to the gate of Gaomi City without any obstruction.

Beihai Kingdom has not been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. At that time, the cavalry commanded by Guan Ying defeated the Chu army in one battle here. The general Zhou Lan was born.

There's no way, it's high in the south and low in the north, so it's really not an area suitable for defense.

However, Gaomi's dense population aroused the admiration of Zhang Fei who was accompanying the army. He followed Zhuge Liang and said: "Military Advisor, this Qingzhou is empty for defense, but the population is really large. There are especially fields and ridges among the fertile fields, which is much more prosperous than Xuzhou." ."

After the last battle at Dongshan, Zhuge Liang commanded Zhang Fei to defeat Dianwei and Huang Zhong to kill Xia Houyuan. Zhuge Liang's prestige in the army greatly increased, and no one dared to doubt his ability to command troops.

More importantly, he was obviously highly valued by Wu Hou and regarded him as Han Xin and Wei Qing.

Among the brothers who followed Wei Qing to fight, which one was not a marquis or a general?
Therefore, Zhang Fei now sees clearly that if he wants to have the opportunity to go to the front line and make contributions, he must respect and respect this military advisor.

He, Zhang Fei, is not a rough person. On the contrary, what he respects the most is this kind of prestige and reputation in the world with extremely high talent and learning.

And Zhuge Liang is obviously in line with the direction he respects in all aspects today.

This led to this bear-tiger general becoming the sharpest minion in Zhuge Liang's tent.

As the commander-in-chief of an army, he must have knowledgeable and wise people as his confidants, people who are careful and cautious as his ears and eyes, and people who are brave and good at enemies as his minions.

Zhuge Liang was also very satisfied with Zhang Fei's minion. After all, such a majestic and flying general was a rare hero in the world.

Whenever there is a front line that is difficult to defeat, as long as he is sent there, he will surely be able to overwhelm thousands of people, stand up to powerful enemies, and be invincible.Therefore, Zhuge Liang was also confident about defeating the enemy head-on, saying: "This will undoubtedly benefit our army. As long as there is a supply of food and grass, and the people feed the army with cattle and wine, our army will definitely be able to defeat the enemy and harvest all the youth. It's not even possible." The previous situation cannot be restored. During the Chuping period, the Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army, with millions of troops, plowed and fought, rampaging across the north and south of the Yellow River. It was not until they encountered Gongsun Bogui's cavalry that they were defeated in the Bohai Sea and transferred to Yanzhou. Our army passes here again today. Along the way, we can win the hearts of the people and defeat Yanzhou soldiers."

While the two were talking, a ranger came on horseback and reported: "Military advisor, the heroes in Gaomi City have sent people to ask for help. They have killed Cao Jun's guards and surrendered to the city."

There are about 500 defenders in Gaomi City. This is the information that Zhuge Liang had investigated before sending troops. However, the [-]-man troops were directly coerced by Qingzhou's powerful forces and surrendered. It can be seen that the situation in Qingzhou is more tense than Zhuge Liang expected.

Zhang Fei immediately said: "Military advisor, the situation in Qingzhou is so boiling. It can be said that one man is raising his arms and the whole state is raising his voice. At this time, as long as we march forward and take the Beihai County directly, all the counties and counties will raise their flags in response. Beihai can It will be decided in ten days!”

Zhuge Liang couldn't help but nodded with satisfaction and said: "Yide now also knows the art of war. In time, he may not be able to become a great general with outstanding military achievements! What you said is true. As long as we wait for the enemy to advance forward, we can capture Beihai County in one battle and destroy it. If the main force of Cao's army is taken, the people in various counties who are sitting and watching will rise up and respond, raising flags one after another to drive Yuan and Cao away and surrender to Jiangdong."

This battle is the time to demonstrate the superiority of Jiangdong's rule.

The troops used by Cao Jun to attack Qingzhou were all Taishan bandits. How can one imagine the military discipline? They must be extremely unpopular with the heroes and noble families of Qingzhou.

No aristocratic family is willing to accept rule under the rule of bandits.

Even if Cao Cao came over, his farming system would not be popular among the people.The farming system imposed a tax of ten to sixty-seven, which made the people suffer.This hardship is not only material poverty, but also great physical hardship.

Therefore, in Yan and Yuzhou, there are soldiers who flee every year. Except for those refugees who really can't survive, no one wants to work as cattle and horses in the camps, and they have no property.

Under Jiangdong's rule, the land system was not established and development was encouraged, which was undoubtedly more suitable for powerful families.

This point did not have far-reaching influence in Jiangnan in the past, because both Jingzhou and Yangzhou were vast and sparsely populated, and the powerful had always lacked land but not people.

But in Qingzhou, this system will have unparalleled appeal!

Among the three families of Yuan, Cao, and Sun, Qingzhou's powerful men will definitely eat pots of milk to welcome the king of Jiangdong.

Therefore, after Gaomi surrendered without a fight, Zhuge Liang immediately took Zhang Fei as the vanguard and continued to march westward with light troops and troops, heading straight to Juxian County, where Beihai County was located.

It is actually not accurate to say that it is a county government. Beihai is a vassal state, so Jixian County is the capital of Beihai State.

At the beginning, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu sealed Liu Xing, the second son of his eldest brother Qi Wu King Liu Yan, here to lock the key to Qingzhou.

Therefore, this is the choke point of the entire northern part of Qingzhou, with Beihai and Donglai to the east, and Qi and Le'an to the west.

As the capital of the country, Ju County is directly stuck at the junction of the Three Kingdoms.It can be regarded as one of the few strategic military locations in Qingzhou.

Later, Kong Rong served as the Prime Minister of Beihai, gathered the soldiers and the people, gathered troops here to teach martial arts, issued proclamations, and wrote letters himself. He communicated with various states and counties to plan together, and gradually gathered 4 men and women who were bewitched by the Yellow Turban among the officials and the common people. Many people repaired the city, established schools, demonstrated Confucianism, and recommended virtuous people such as Zheng Xuan, Peng Qiu, and Bing Yuan.

This made this place a place of great governance in Qingzhou, with grain, grass, taxes, population, and soldiers all being important places in Qingzhou.

Gains and losses here are not only related to the division of east and west Qingzhou, but also related to the strength and decline of the three parties.

It can be said that capturing Ju County means that the eastern half of Qingzhou will be divided by Jiangdong.

As long as Jiangdong's army can station troops here and block Yuan Cao's army with the city's dangerous passes, the people of Qingzhou in the east can surrender.

Not only Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei could see this important place clearly, but in fact Yuan Tan, Cao Cao, Cheng Yu and others could also see it clearly.

While Zhang Fei led his troops to march towards Jixian, reinforcements from Yanzhou were already on their way.

In fact, Hebei's intelligence on the situation in Qingzhou is not clear.

The troops that conquered Qingzhou were not only the troops of Zang Ba and Sun Guan, but also the troops commanded by Cao Jun general Shi Huan.

It's just that Shi Huan's military discipline was also very corrupt. His burning, killing, looting and brutality were no less brutal than those of Taishan's army, so he was mistaken for Taishan bandits.

There is nothing that can be done about it. The combat power of Cao's army may not be weaker than that of Jiangdong's army. As veterans who have been on the battlefield and fought from the hinterland of the Central Plains, they are proficient in battle formations, good at stabbing, and their combat power is very powerful.

However, due to insufficient wages, the soldiers' willpower and tenacity are definitely not as good as those of the Jiangdong Army.

For that meager salary, their tolerance for casualties must be relatively low.

In order to maintain high morale and motivate his soldiers to fight bravely, Cao's generals could only promise victory and loot after breaking the city, thus motivating the soldiers to fight and defeat the enemy.

This is why princes from all sides attach great importance to good generals, because only good generals can keep these soldiers fighting tenaciously.

As the general of Cao's army who was in charge of Yanzhou affairs, Cheng Yu was a rare good general in the world today.

After Yuan's army increased its troops in Qingzhou, he immediately advised Cao Cao to add an army to Juxian to stabilize the deployment of the entire Cao army in the northeast.

It's a pity that he only has more than [-] troops in his hands, which is not enough to defend Juancheng, and there is no spare power to defend Qingzhou.

After he supported Cao Cao's smooth retreat in the Battle of Huainan, Cao Cao was very afraid of stripping all the military power from the troops in his hands.

If Cheng Yu was not really needed to stabilize Yanzhou, Cao Cao would not want to leave these 700 people to him.

After Cheng Yu's words, Cao Cao quickly understood the status of Ju County, so he hurriedly sent General Li Dian to lead thousands of troops to Ju County for reinforcements.

Only the time consumed in this round trip, coupled with Li Dian's march, made it clear that Cao Jun captured Qingzhou very early. As a result, Cao Jun, who was reinforcing Juxian County, and Zhang Fei's troops, who were fighting for Juxian County, were attacking at the same time. As Ju County sets off, neither side knows the other's whereabouts, but they are both racing against time.

Whoever arrives in Jixian first will have the upper hand in the situation in Qingzhou. (End of chapter)