Johime Three Kingdoms

Chapter 95 The War-torn Central Plains

In the late summer and mid-June, when the heat is still hot, the stalemate Xuzhou battle situation ushered in a decisive change!

Four months ago, Ji Ling claimed to have 20, but in fact there were [-] Jiujiang veterans and more than [-] recruits raised along the way. Now it is considered a huge army. It left Runan in a mighty manner, captured Xiaopei, and pointed its sword at Xuzhou. .

Facing the menacing Yuan Shu, Cao Cao temporarily made peace with Liu Bei - after all, Yuan Shu not only had a dispute with Liu Bei over Xuzhou, but also had a dispute with Cao Cao over Yuzhou.

If Xiaopei is captured, not only will the territory of Xuzhou be flat, but Yuan Shu will definitely take advantage of the situation to take Pei County and enter Yingchuan!
"Xu" means "Shu" - originally, the territory of Xuzhou was mainly composed of plains, with no danger to defend. It can be said that it is a place of four battles that is easy to attack but difficult to defend.

During the Tao Qian period, the seemingly honest old Tao Qian captured Xiaopei as the west gate of Xuzhou, which gave Xuzhou a glimmer of hope.

Therefore, Cao Cao's initial strategic policy has always been to capture Donghai County, Pengcheng County, and Langye County, that is, to share Xuzhou with Yuan Shu using the Huaihe River as the boundary, and then to have a showdown with Yuan Shu.

However, now Lu Bu's troops have actually cooperated with Liu Bei to survive in Xuzhou. At this time, facing Yuan Shu's move north, Cao Cao can only choose to cooperate.

Especially at this time, all parties in the world are not at peace. As Dong Zhuo's old subordinates, who once held the emperor hostage, the four generals Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou, and Zhang Ji who were dominating Guanzhong at this time were no longer enough because of the disaster in Guanzhong. In order to support their Liangzhou elite, they turned against each other.

Fan Chou was killed by Li Jue, while Zhang Ji left Guanzhong to "get" grain from Nanyang.

This forced Liu Biao to accept Yuan Shu's overtures three months ago and the two sides temporarily stopped fighting. This not only allowed Yuan Shu to concentrate on dealing with Cao Cao and Liu Bei in the north, but Liu Biao also violently killed Zhang. Ji!
You must know that although these Xiliang generals are not as famous as the fierce generals under the various princes, most of their subordinates are soldiers who have been baptized by the Huns and Qiang in hundreds of battles. Not only the army is elite, but the grassroots officers are also very skilled in fighting. , the generals also have the most basic military literacy, which is far beyond what ordinary armies can match.

However, by such a coincidence, Zhang Ji was defeated by the Jingzhou army in Rangcheng, and even Zhang Ji himself was killed!

Afterwards, Liu Biao also took the initiative to mourn and express condolences for Zhang Ji, expressing his understanding of the Xiliang army's behavior of "taking" food when they had no choice but to express his deep regret for Zhang Ji's unexpected death...

At the same time, Zhang Xiu, the nephew who inherited Zhang Ji's army, was lured to surrender. Zhang Xiu was impressed by Liu Biao's sincerity. Secondly, and more importantly, he had nowhere to go. Although the Xiliang army was strong, it still had to eat!

There is no way to go back from Guanzhong, and now almost all places are occupied by these princes. It is no longer the time when there was only some regular defense. If we attack by force, we are worried that we will not be able to capture the city before the army rations are exhausted.

If this continues, the army will disperse little by little without fighting, and even the Xiliang army, which has always had poor military discipline, may mutiny!

Therefore, Zhang Xiu accepted Liu Biao's proposal and settled in Wancheng at the northern end of Nanyang County - the northern gate of Jingzhou facing the Central Plains.

Nanyang County is located in the north of Jingzhou. It is one of the most prosperous counties in the world. Like Runan County, its population exceeds 200 million, which is equivalent to half the state.

Moreover, the terrain conditions are superior. It is blocked from the Central Plains by Funiu Mountain. As its name suggests, the mountain looks like a lying cow. There are only two roads between it and the Central Plains that can use troops.

One starts from Wancheng and passes through Luyang and Ruzhou to Hulao Pass. After passing the pass, it is Luoyang. When the heroes attacked Dong, Nanyang County was occupied by Yuan Shu. At that time, Yuan Shu and Sun Jian who had taken refuge with him took this road. Going north.

The other one also starts from Wancheng and passes through Bowang, Fangcheng and Ye County, and reaches Xudu - this is the road Cao Cao will take when he goes south in the future.

Once Wancheng is lost, Jingzhou soldiers can only retreat south to Xinye and give up the northern part of Nanyang. On the contrary, as long as Wancheng is not lost, it will be difficult for the Central Plains soldiers to enter Nanyang. If they do not enter Nanyang, they will naturally not threaten Jingzhou.

This also shows how important the topography of Wancheng is to Jingzhou.

As for Zhang Xiu's garrison in Wancheng, he was just like Huang Zu to Liu Biao, who "listened to the tune but not the propaganda". Anyway, Liu Biao gave him food, so he was here to "watch the gate".

But when Zhang Xiu came, Cao Cao felt uncomfortable.

Liu Biao's previous arrangements in Nanyang County had always been weak, and in name he and Cao Cao were allied to fight against Yuan Shu, so Cao Cao didn't feel anything.

But now that Zhang Xiu is in Wancheng, Cao Cao always feels that there is a knife aimed at his chrysanthemum...

Under this situation, Cao Cao could only make a truce with Liu Bei first, while fighting Yuan Shu in Yingchuan, while having to be restrained by Zhang Xiu.

Even so, Liu Bei and Zhang Liao did not have an easy time in Xuzhou.

Fortunately, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were both powerful generals, and Zhang Liao was even more courageous and resourceful. Gao Shun's eight hundred traps were known as invincible in battle.

The two sides joined forces and fought fiercely with the Huainan Army led by Ji Ling for several months in the Xiaopei and Pengcheng areas. Each side had its own victory or defeat.

It is now June, and the weather is still hot. Xuzhou is still reluctant to defend, but unable to defeat the enemy, it can only wait for Ji Ling to run out of food and retreat.

However, after the fall of Shucheng, Lujiang County completely fell into the hands of Yuan Shu. The grain road in the rear was much smoother, and Shucheng's grain reserves were obtained. A month ago, Zhang Fei led his men to intercept the grain road and failed, resulting in a small defeat. Although Huainan Food is tight, but looking at it now, Ji Ling will not be short of food before winter!
At this moment, Pengcheng and Xiaopeizhong were brewing a change that could decide the situation of the battle...

On this day, the Cheng and Xu clans of the Xuzhou noble clan donated a batch of beef and wine to the army. Liu Bei was very happy and told Zhang Fei not to drink too much. The army officers were also not allowed to drink more than one liter (approximately one liter). Together with future generations 250ml), at the same time, Xiaopei’s allies must not be forgotten.

Taking advantage of the truce, Cheng Jie and Xu Tong led people to bring cattle and wine to Xiaopei, and Wei Xu welcomed them as a representative.

Under the persuasion of Xu Tong and Cheng Jie, Wei Xu got drunk, and Xu Tong secretly conveyed words to Wei Xu, tempting him with the title of marquis, and alienating Lu Bu on the grounds that he would go south - several of Lu Bu's generals in Xiaopei Xu Tong had also investigated their temperament before, and when he saw that it was Wei Xu who greeted them, he had already started to celebrate in his heart.

As expected, Wei Xu was secretly moved. Although Xu Tong did not admit his guilt after sobering up, after returning to the city, Wei Xu was criticized by Zhang Liao for drinking, which made him even more dissatisfied.

Zhang Liao and Gao Shun have always been Lu Bu's confidants, but in terms of qualifications, when they were under Ding Yuan, Wei Xu and others were above them.

Before Lu Bu left, he handed over Xiaopei to Zhang Liao, which already made Wei Xu and others dissatisfied, but... some were convinced after seeing the abilities of Zhang Liao and Gao Shun, while others were always grudges. Wei Xu was undoubtedly the latter.

So he began to take the initiative to contact the Xu family in secret, and the Xu family and the Cheng family had already secretly colluded with Yuan Shu...

(End of this chapter)