Overlord!

Chapter 284 Yuan Shao breaks through Guandu
Although Man Chong was very excited, he wanted to send all the men and women stationed in Yingchuan to provide for the chariots and disciples, and stick to the front line of Pingyu to survive this life-and-death crisis for Cao Jun.

But the facts are independent of human will. Many times, even if you try your best, it will not help the situation at all.

The terrain of the Central Plains is flat, not as good as that of Bashu and Jiangdong. Liu Bei fought fiercely in Hanzhong. If he defends Hanzhong, he can ensure the stability of Yizhou.But it is not that easy for Man Chong to hold the front line of Pingyu in Runan and protect Yuzhou.

The vast plains of Yuzhou extend in all directions, and armies from all directions can easily bypass the Pingyu line and harass Yingchuan.

After Sun Ce personally brought his army to the military camp under Pingyu City, he unfolded the map in the camp and asked Zhang Hong at the side: "Where have all the armies arrived now?"

Zhang Hong immediately pointed to the map and introduced: "As of yesterday's messenger report, the forwards of Governor Zhou of the Left Route Army have crossed the border of Jingzhou and arrived in Kunyang."

Sun Ce looked at the map, Kunyang, this is also an important place in the Central Plains, controlling the throat of Jingzhou's march into Yuzhou.

The Battle of Kunyang was the battle that Liu Xiu was famous for in the world. The two armies of the New and Han Dynasties fought here to determine the ownership of the world. As a result, the New Army of more than [-] people was destroyed by Liu Xiu in one battle. Everything in the universe is flat.

The situation that Cao Cao faced was actually far less complicated and dangerous than Liu Xiu's. His problem was that if he just stuck to it, he would not be able to defend the flat land of Henan.

If he wants to break the situation, the key is to use offense instead of defense, like Liu Xiu, to defeat powerful enemies head-on.

First, he defeated Yuan Shao in Hebei, and then with the power of victory, he led the entire army to the south.

If he could counterattack with [-] troops and defeat the main force of Jiangdong's army frontally or sideways, then Jiangdong's Northern Expedition would have to end in failure. Frightened by his military power, many of the county guards who had just been captured would probably be defeated. Will abandon the city and leave.

Especially in the middle direction, the county governors and county magistrates of Liang, Chen, Pei, Ru and other places were just appointed for the first time. Cao Cao led an army of [-] to the area between Liang and Pei. The officials of the two places with only a few hundred county soldiers were unable to contend.

But this may be difficult, because the main force of Cao's army is still in Yanzhou, and Jiangdong's right army has already planned to cut off its return route in Yanzhou.

Jiangdong's Northern Expedition was carefully planned for a long time. The main strategic goal of the Central Route Army was to break through the main force of Cao's army in Yanzhou and Yuzhou and destroy its military strength.

The goal of the left army was to leave Jingzhou to cover up Cao Wei's inner circle.

Kunyang is the southwest boundary of Yingchuan County and is closely connected with Jingzhou. The army sent troops from Ye County of Jingzhou and entered Kunyang after leaving Jingzhou.If Kunyang is defeated, the left route army will drive straight in, heading straight for Xu County, and surround Cao's army's supply area from the source.

The right army sent troops from Xuzhou, attacked Yanzhou, and attacked Cao's army behind the front line.Disturb the enemy's main force's food route.

So even if Cao Cao really defeated Yuan Shao, if he wanted to return to his army, he would first have to defeat Zhuge Liang's troops.

At this time, Sun Ce quickly conquered Xu County, and slowly pacified Cai Ru's land.

When the time comes for the battle between the North and the South, the battlefield will be between Huaisi and Huaisi.

This will be true whether Cao Cao wins or Yuan Shao wins.

Therefore, Sun Ce asked with concern: "Where has Zhuge Liang marched now? The right army is related to the outcome of our northern expedition to Jiangdong. If Yuan Shao defeats Cao Cao, where we can draw the border with Yuan Shao depends on the right army." Result!"

If Yuan Shao wins, both Hebei and Jiangdong can breathe a sigh of relief.

The two sides are still allies, and there is no chance that they will fall out and fight each other immediately.

After all, the Central Plains are not barbarians and beasts, and it is important to have a master who is famous.What if Yuan Shao really had just joined forces with Jiangdong and defeated Cao Cao.If he immediately attacks Jiangdong on the back foot, he will be extremely unethical and unpopular, and there is a high probability that he will be defeated.

After all, Jiangdong was a powerful prince for a while, with stable strength and the life of the three armies.If they are attacked by allies, the soldiers will definitely feel resentful and want to avenge themselves.Hebei has lost both morality and people's hearts. It can be said that they have abandoned the art of Wan'an and promoted an unknown division, which is bound to fail.

And Jiangdong is so forge ahead, and the changes in the general trend of the world are not limited to Jiangdong.

It should be said that the most significant impact of Jiangdong's rise to power, besides itself, should be its impact on the outcome of the war in the north.

If Jiangdong is so powerful and Cao Cao can still win, then Jiangdong's rise is meaningless, and the Northern Expedition has actually failed.

How incompetent must Yuan Shao be to allow Cao Cao to turn defeat into victory?

Zhang Hong spoke generously, pointed to the right side of the map, and said: "Zhuge Liang's right army and our middle army swore to go out at the same time. They have left Pengcheng and marched into Pei. Cao Chun, the commander-in-chief of Cao's army and Prime Minister of Pei, led two thousand troops to resist. As a result, the joint battle was not going well, so they abandoned the city and fled to Yanzhou."

"The right route army has conquered Peixian County, moved up the Surabaya River, broke through the Shanyang defenders, and marched to Kangfu Road. It divided its troops into two groups, taking Wei Yan to the west to capture Changyi, and continuing along the Hebei River to capture Kangfu Road. ."

"If we defeat Kangfu's army and go north to Dongping County, Dong'a is already in sight! If we defeat Changyi, we can take Jiyin and Chenliu to the west and cut off Cao's army's retreat."

Sun Ce nodded with satisfaction. Zhuge Liang was able to divide his troops into two groups. His greatest asset was undoubtedly his large number of chariots.

Jiangdong has long adhered to the strategy of accumulating valleys to train troops, making the troops extremely elite. Zhuge Liang commanded more than ten thousand elite infantry and cavalry, and could fend off tens of thousands of bandits.

With this combat power, only a few thousand chariots can supply a small number of elites and thousands of infantry.

Otherwise, like Cao's army, with tens of thousands of troops on foot and cavalry, they would have no choice but to take the Kangfu water route.

With this foundation, Zhuge Liang can directly divide his troops.

This is the most terrifying thing about the mules and horses.

It is difficult for the enemy to hold a strategic position and block one's own rapid maneuvers.

This would still be possible in terrains like Yumen Pass, Jiange Pass, and Yanmen Pass where one man is in charge and ten thousand men can't get through.

In the core hinterland of the Central Plains, which is flat and connected in all directions, it is impossible for Cao Jun to defend one place and block Jiangdong's advance.

This is the battlefield for the decisive battle of large armies. Since ancient times, the only thing that has been able to fight in the Central Plains is a huge army, which marches all the way to defeat the enemy in the south and north.

Trying to defend the Central Plains will only lead to focusing on one thing and losing sight of the other, causing leakage everywhere.

Therefore, after Zhang Hong introduced the situation on the east road, Sun Ce made a direct assertion: "If this is the case, Cao Chun must not be Zhuge Liang's enemy, and his troops entering Yanzhou is inevitable. Cao Chun wants to stop Zhuge Liang unless he has [-] cavalry."

And if Cao Cao now allocates [-] troops to Cao Chun, it will only lead to his defeat at the hands of Yuan Shao.After defeating Yuan Shao, he allocated [-] troops to Cao Chun, but it was too late to rush to rescue Yuzhou.

With this judgment in mind, Sun Ce immediately said: "Now is the time for all the soldiers to work hard. As long as the Wancheng and Pingyu lines are broken and the troops advance, Yingchuan can be defeated!"

Zhang Hong also agreed with Sun Ce and said: "Now is the time for us to compete with Cao Cao for victory. As long as we can defeat this place first, the world will be settled." The Xu County area is Cao Cao's heartland, and the guards there Xiahou Dun is not a Taoist, but Xun Yu, Mao Jie and others are all outstanding people!

Therefore, if Jiangdong's army is divided into one brigade and moved over, thousands of people will only be able to harass its territory, but will not be able to break through.

Just like what Man Chong said, those who dare not advance from Jiangdong are afraid that our army will deceive them.

Only by winning this front, with no worries and stable food routes, can Jiangdong attack Yingchuan with a heavy army and defeat it with tens of thousands of troops.

Whoever defeats the powerful enemy in front of them first, Sun Ce or Cao Cao, will eventually defeat Yan and Yu.

Thinking of this, Sun Ce couldn't help but think of that troublesome ally Yuan Shao.

As long as he is not so indecisive and can resolutely implement the strategy and advance with Jiangdong as scheduled, instead of advancing troops in advance on a whim, Sun Ce does not need to compete with Cao Cao to win this battle!

If Jiangnan and Hebei advance at the same time, Cao Cao will lose a large area of ​​​​Nanyang, Runan, Pei, Liang, Chen, Shanyang and other counties within a month or two. He will definitely have no chance of winning.

But because of Yan Liang's defeat, Yuan Shao lost face and was angry and raised troops. It has been five months now.

A hundred thousand troops, with men eating horses' chews, may consume millions of dan in five months. Adding in the consumption of civilians and corvees, Hebei will consume at least 200 million to 300 million dan of grain and grass.

If Cao Cao burns down the important land again, Yuan Shao doesn't know if he can hold on?

Cao Cao is good at using his troops and can make many changes. Sun Ce is really worried that Yuan Shao will be defeated.

In the current situation, if Jiangdong wants to defeat Cao Cao, Yuan Shao needs to persist for another month no matter what!

So Sun Ce asked with concern: "Yuan and Cao are facing each other along the Yellow River. How is the current situation?"

What Zhang Hong said was a big surprise to Sun Ce.

"Yuan Jun's army has been advancing vigorously recently, advancing in many directions, and has broken through the Yellow River, Pu River, and Jishui River. Yuan Jun's Hebei cavalry unexpectedly came out of Zhongmou and attacked Cao Jun's flank. Cao Jun was unprepared. He had just suffered a defeat recently and lost a lot of money. heavy."

Send troops from Zhongmu?
Sun Ce immediately looked at the map. Didn't this bypass the territory of the Kansai Imperial Court?

Sun Ce asked in surprise: "The imperial court did not stop Yuan Shao's troops?"

This is Zhongmu County, the throat of Henan. If you are not familiar with this place, a little further west is the key place to compete for the world, that is, the Chenggao-Xingyang line.

The famous Battle of Guandu in history, Guandu is within the territory of Zhongmou.

However, due to the rise of the small imperial court in Guanxi, the battleground between Yuan and Cao became much easier to the east.

The place where the main force of Cao's army is now stationed is the Chenliu line where Zhang Xiu stationed his troops in history.

Zhongmou is an important town in the north, south, and east. The imperial court must send troops to guard it. Liu Bei is not a mediocre person. He must prevent Yuan and Cao from taking over the place and threatening the capital.When the coalition forces attacked Dong, they robbed this place, so they frightened Dong Zhuo into burning the capital and leaving.

If he doesn't know how to defend the Chenggao-Xingyang line, then Liu Bei will not be a general in the imperial court.

However, Yuan Shao's army passed through the imperial court in such a grand manner, came out of Zhongmou and attacked Cao Cao.

The meaning of this display is too much.

First of all, it means that Yuan Shao's army has already passed the Guandu front line!
This is very, very close to Xu County.The shortest route from Hebei to Xu County is not Yan and Henan counties.The nearest straight line path is from Baima and Yanjin, passing through Yin territory in Henan Province. As long as it crosses the four counties of Yuanwu, Yangwu, Zhongmou and Kaifeng, it can invade Yingchuan territory.

Yuan Jun's cavalry has broken through Zhongmou, which means that they can harass the Yingchuan area anytime and anywhere.It is within reach to realize Yuan Jun's strategic promise of light cavalry harassment.

But the significance of this war is more than that. The imperial court actually allowed Yuan Shao's army to leave the country. Is this a statement by the imperial court?The Kansai court also believed that Cao Cao was doomed.

This has a huge impact. Sun Ce has been forcing the court to take sides, and now it seems that it is finally working.

No matter what, the Han Dynasty is now a banner for the world.The attitude of the imperial court will greatly affect the attitudes of countless civil and military officials in Cao's camp.It may lead to Cao's generals rebelling one after another at the critical moment of the confrontation between Yuan and Cao!
Sun Ce immediately asked: "What about the confrontation between Yuan and Cao?"

In this aspect, it was difficult for Zhang Hong to make a conclusion. He frowned and thought for a moment, then said: "It can be said that there is a victory for each other, but there are losses for each."

"According to the document sent back by Zhuge Jin, Yuan Jun's general Ju gave advice: The northern troops are numerous but not as effective as the south. The south is in a critical situation and is not as vulnerable to enemies as the north. The advantage of the south lies in fighting hastily, while the advantage of the north lies in slow fighting. It is better to move slowly and for a long time, and to be open in the open. Take the sun and the moon.”

"Xu You also said that Duke Yuan did not need to attack Cao. He quickly divided the troops to hold it and followed other roads into Xu County, then the situation would be solved. Shao all refused to follow and said: 'I want to surround him first. .'"

"So Yuan Shao and his army camped in front of the prime minister, and established a camp based on Shayuan, nearly a hundred miles from east to west. Cao's army also divided its camps to match each other, but the combined battle was unfavorable, and they patrolled and gradually retreated."

"This month Cao Cao sent out troops to fight with him again, but he was unable to win. He returned to the camp and reorganized the strong wall."

Hearing this, Sun Ce couldn't help but smile. Yuan Shao was determined to defeat Cao Cao and avenge his previous shame!

However, Cao Cao still couldn't defeat Yuan Shao.

Even if he were Yuan Shao, it would be difficult to believe the suggestions of this group of counselors.

Since Yuan and Cao turned against each other the year before last, have these counselors made any achievements?Listening to their suggestions before was always a loss of troops and generals.

Then divide tens of thousands of troops to confront Cao Cao, and lead the main force to leave. If the generals who divided the troops are killed by Cao Cao like Yan Liang, and he is alone, wouldn't he be in a desperate situation?Cao Cao cut off his own food supply, and the current good situation was overturned.

It would be better to go into battle personally and lead the troops to attack Cao Cao.

Use yourself as the dignified formation and Sun Ce as the surprising soldier.

Such magnanimity and magnanimity are worthy of the world!
Moreover, he, Yuan Shao, was so stubborn that he had to surround him first, not that he had any special feelings for Cao Cao.I'm afraid he also wants to win. This time the coalition forces defeat Cao Cao, he definitely doesn't want Sun Ce to gain the upper hand.If he had lost troops and generals before, this time he relied on Sun Ce to defeat Cao Cao before he finally defeated Cao Cao.

Even if he wins the battle, he is afraid that people in the world will discuss it and damage his prestige.

After all, in Yuan Shao's heart, he had no intention of relying on the power of victory to ascend the throne and become emperor, at least he had to become king.Therefore, he must personally defeat Cao Cao's main force to increase his power.

(End of this chapter)