Chapter 893 Big Chess
In the warm Mushui River Valley, in early spring in March, the grass grows and orioles fly, but the area around Ju County seems to have entered winter, and it is desolate and withered.
On the bank of Mushui River ten miles away from the city, Guan Yu and Heifu's 30,000 troops were stationed here.
At this time, they had surrounded Ju County in the south, but for some reason, Guan Yu did not launch an attack on Zang Ba in Ju County.
On the contrary, during this period of time, Guan Yu continued to lead his tooth soldiers to hunt and cruise around, as if they had no intention of fighting.
This made many people in the army confused. They didn't know what medicine was sold in Guan Shuai's gourd.
Today, Guan Yu is still wandering around the Mushui River Valley with his five hundred horsemen, displaying his abundant force wantonly in this hunting ground where the grass grows and the orioles fly.
In fact, Guan Yu is hunting on the surface, but in his heart he is thinking hard about how to break the situation.
From the beginning to the end, Guan Yu never regarded Zang Ba in Ju County as his opponent. In his opinion, those Langya thieves could not achieve anything at all. He was always paying attention to Cao Cao's movements.
Last month, when Cao Cao went south to Beihai, Guan Yu once thought of having a decisive battle with him in the Gaomi area of Beihai.
But in the end Guan Yu thought about it and gave up.
Because under the circumstances at the time, for Guan Yu, not only did he lead his troops into Beihai to cut off Cao Cao's retreat, he actually also took the initiative to jump into the encirclement of the Qingxu coalition forces.
Although Guan Yu is confident in a decisive battle with Cao Cao, he will be in danger if the Xuzhou army that has been patrolling Langya moves eastward during this process.
Previously, he also sent the capable You Yi north to the north bank of Jishui to get in touch with Dong Fang and Ding Sheng there.
But during this process, we have to pass through the tight area of the Qingzhou Army, which is quite difficult.
Therefore, it was not until Ding Sheng and Dong Fang defeated Cao Jun's water defense line and finally moved south to Linzi that the two sides finally restored contact.
But with this connection, Guan Yu, Ding, and Dong had conflicting ideas about the war.
At that time, Ding and Dong had already besieged Linzi, Qi State, and defeated two reinforcements coming from Le'an in the wild, and their morale was high.
So the idea of Ding and Dong at that time was to let Guan Yu lead his troops to continue to contain Cao Jun in the Beihai area and not let him return for reinforcements, and they could calmly take care of Linzi City.
But Guan Yu disagreed with this plan. In his opinion, Linzi was just a dead city, and what really mattered was Cao Cao.
Even if Ding and Dong succeeded in taking Linzi, it would still be a failure if they let Cao Cao go.
So Guan Yu asked Ding and Dong to keep only part of their army to continue besieging Linzi, while most of the rest went south to Beihai to besiege Cao Cao with him.
As long as Cao Cao and his 30,000 troops are successfully eliminated in Beihai, the overall situation of Qingzhou will be decided.
From the perspective of his understanding of Cao Cao, Ding Sheng is actually as good as Guan Yu, but he is not willing to cooperate with Guan Yu in going south.
The key point is still the word "cooperation", the essence of which lies in military merit.
When Ding Sheng and the others went south, they definitely wanted to take all the credit from Qingzhou. Now that Guan Yu and the others broke in from Beihai, they had already taken a share of his credit.
Now he is asked to go south to cooperate with Guan Yu, but he is really not happy.
But Ding Sheng was not happy to be useless. Dong Fan knew the overall situation, and both of them knew that even though they were both at the same level as Guan Yu, Guan Yu was actually the leader. .
So Ding Sheng had no choice but to compromise. After discussing with Dong Fang, he decided to send 15,000 troops to move along the outer line of Yimeng Mountain to Beihai.
It was under this situation that Guan Yu decided to use this window period to defeat Zang Ba's tribe entrenched in Ju County first.
Once this unfavorable factor outside the battlefield is eliminated, Guan Yu will be more confident in annihilating Cao Cao in Beihai.
But Guan Yu's plan could not keep up with the changes.
Just before the reinforcements that Ding Sheng and Dong Fang wanted to separate were about to set off, the military report sent from the Sheqiu camp was also sent to the main camp under Linzi City.
It turned out that after the camp learned that Ding and Dong had successfully broken through the Jishui defense line and besieged Linzi, they decided to let them allocate part of their troops to implement the latest plan of the camp plan.
Although Zhang Chong, who was sitting in Sheqiu at this time, had never been to the front line in person, he had a good understanding of the entire battlefield and was more able to consider the war from an overall perspective.
When he learned that Zang Ba's troops stationed in Langya had arrived in Ju County from Kaiyangqian, he discovered a new fighter plane.
Where was Kaiyang before?
This place was the main route from Yimeng Mountain to Xuzhou at that time, which was also the main entrance of Nimeng Passage.
It can be said that Zang Ba's previous task was to block this important road in Kaiyang to prevent the Taishan Army from entering Xuzhou from this position.
But now Zang Ba's troops have actually moved forward to Ju County and directly gave up this passage. Maybe Zang Ba and others saw Guan Yu, who had been stationed in Fenggao before, appear in Beihai.
Just because there is no Taishan Army on the other side of Nimeng Passage.
This is indeed the case. After Guan Yu took the mountain road from Yimeng Mountain and entered Beihai, there was indeed no excess troops in the Fenggao area.
But the changes in the battle situation are so interesting.
Ding and Dong Dajun, who had previously stayed in Pingyuan and Jinan, successfully broke through the Jishui defense line and drove straight into Linzi.
Linzi has a passage into the valley of Fenggao.
Therefore, the positions of Ding and Dong's army and Guan Yu's army were suddenly exchanged.
After Zhang Chong realized this change in the battle situation, he immediately seized this opportunity.
He ordered Ding and Dong to select elite assault cavalry to enter the Yimeng Mountain area from Linzi Pass, then transfer to Laiwu, and then enter the Nimeng Passage from Culai Mountain.
What is the mission of this elite cavalry?
That is to enter Langya directly, go deep into Donghai County, and then directly destroy the Xuzhou Army's grain depot and supply route in Xuzhou.
In fact, many people in the army felt that the king was too cautious during this battle.
Whether he asked Le Jin to besiege Xuanhu or Xu Huang to attack Shouchun, this was the case. He even asked Guan Yu, Ding Sheng, and Dong Fang to attack Qingzhou with a combined force of 60,000.
Cao Cao is certainly good at fighting, but is he too cautious?
After doing so much, the frontal battlefield in Pengcheng was just a Peixian County, and it was really opened.
But of course Zhang Chong had his own considerations in doing so.
As the final decisive battle, he deeply understood the meaning behind it.
It can be said that you can win countless times, but at the final moment of the battle for hegemony, you only need to lose once, and all your efforts will be in vain.
This is the case with Cao Cao in history. He had won and lost before, but just because he lost at the critical node of Chibi, the unification of the world came to nothing.
In the future, Cao Cao launched several unification wars southward, and even the scale of several wars was far larger than that of Chibi, but they all ended in defeat.
The unification of the world has never been what it should be. In fact, even if the four hundred years of unification between the two Han Dynasties formed the community of the world, local isolationism will always be dominant for everyone.
If Zhang Chong loses this decisive battle, even if he makes a comeback in the future, he will encounter even greater resistance.
After all, people are like this. The first time they were panicked, but if he won once, the situation would be completely different.
If you can win the first time, you can win the second time. This is confidence. In fact, people, don’t they just rely on faith?
In terms of the current situation, regardless of popular support, if Zhang Chong loses, the situation will be very bad.
Although he is sweeping Yanyu now, in fact the Taishan Army is not stable in these places.
Once defeated in the decisive battle, the Taishan Army would have no choice but to retreat to the Kyoto area without any danger in the Central Plains. When the time comes, will there still be the current line of Tao and Hus to greet them when they leave the Central Plains?
At that time, people were afraid and dispersed.
So no matter how great the advantage is, Zhang Chong does not dare to fight in vain.
It is precisely because of this that Zhang Chong asked Xu Huang to attack Shouchun, in order to plug the defense loopholes in the Central Plains; and precisely because of this, he mobilized his troops and sent three generals to attack Cao Cao, in order to solve Qingzhou first this external factor.
Zhang Chong understood very clearly that if he wanted to encircle and annihilate the Xu and Yang coalition forces in the Pengcheng area, he must first deal with Cao Cao in Qingzhou.
Linzi, where Cao Cao is located, is too important. He can enter Yimeng Mountain from here, then enter the Laiwu area, and then directly attack the rear of the Taishan Army.
But now, Zhang Chong has directly eliminated this possibility.
He asked Ding and Dong to surround Linzi, then sent their cavalry back to Laiwu, and then went deep into the hinterland of Xuzhou, directly cutting off the supplies in Pengcheng.
Zhang Chong was never afraid of fighting with Chen Deng and Sun Jian.
He was afraid that Chen Deng would defend Pengcheng and fight to the death, and even more afraid that Sun Jian would retreat and return to Yangzhou without a fight.
Yes, Zhang Chong is most worried about the latter situation.
In fact, to a certain extent, the main reason why Zhang Chong did so much was to mobilize Sun Jian's Yangzhou Army to go north to Pengcheng to participate in the war.
What Zhang Chong wanted was to completely annihilate the Yangzhou Army and other naval forces in this decisive battle.
The reason is very simple, that is, once the Yangzhou army returns to Yangzhou, Zhang Chong has no confidence that he can cross the Yangtze River and go south.
Contrary to what everyone knows, the Yangtze River at this time was much wider than that of Zhang Chong's later generations.
Historically, Cao Pi tried to cross the river from Guangling south.
But as soon as he saw the vast river surface, he immediately flinched, and then returned in a hurry.
The reason is that the coastline at this time was dozens of kilometers farther west than it is today.
At that time, Guangling was the estuary of the Yangtze River, and this estuary was trumpet-shaped and forty miles wide. Looking from Guangling to Dantu on the other side, the turbulent sea water pouring into the river estuary was daunting. .
The reason why this problem is a problem is that the Taishan Army currently does not have enough warships to cross the river.
This problem was also caused by Zhang Chong.
His judgment on the situation of the world at that time was that you cannot conquer the world quickly and you cannot govern the world slowly.
So he initially tried to conquer the world by conquering one place and one place. It was not until the development of the situation later that the Taishan Army had to take action as soon as possible, and then there was a series of battles that would determine the world.
From the Daibei War to the Taiyuan War, to the Hanoi War, the Kyoto War, and the Yiluo War that determined the future of the Central Plains, it can be said that the Taishan Army completed its journey from Hebei to half of the world in just over a year. leap.
In this process, the resource reserves of the Taishan Army were consumed hugely. Even though Zhang Chong had ordered Yecheng to choose big wood to build the navy, it was still too late.
So what is the situation now?
He, Zhang Chong, must let Pengcheng side fight him, and he cannot stay in the city.
Because Chen Deng and Sun Jian also have a lot of troops, it is said that the total is no less than 50,000. This kind of force is actually not weaker than his main force.
So once Chen Deng chooses to defend Pengcheng, the strength of the Taishan Army may not be able to capture Pengcheng in a short time.
You must know that in this era, it is normal for a city defense battle to last for several years.
But the Taishan Army did not spend so long with the Xuzhou Army. You must know that the remnants of the Dong family in Liangzhou, Li Jue in Yizhou, Liu Biao in Jingzhou, and even Yuan Shang only have one city.
They are all waiting for this opportunity.
Once Zhang Chong puts most of his main force in Pengcheng, other places will definitely be empty. When these enemies seize this opportunity, the world will change.
The simplest way to prevent Pengcheng from clinging to death is to cut off Pengcheng's food routes, and now is such an opportunity.
At the same time, this cavalry can also serve as Zhang Chong's second line of insurance in the hinterland of Xuzhou.
Once the Yangzhou Army really retreats from the battlefield, this cavalry will be needed to intercept the Yangzhou Army's return.
In short, Zhang Chong only wants one result, and that is to prevent the Yangzhou army from returning to Jiangdong.
In order to complete such an arduous task, Zhang Chong specially appointed Taishi Ci as the main general.
Tai Shici is not only good at mobile warfare, but has also walked through the Nimeng Passage with Guan Yu many times. He has enough understanding of Xuzhou in Huaibei and is the most suitable commander for this special battle.
Therefore, Zhang Chong divided another 5,000 forbidden troops from the camp and asked them to follow Tai Shici to the Laiwu area.
Afterwards, Taishi Ci waited for the assault cavalry regiment that was separated from the armies of Ding and Dong in Laiwu, and then the five thousand forbidden troops continued to guard Laiwu and were responsible for the hub of Laiwu.
In the end, Taishi Ci will lead about 4,000 cavalry south to Xuzhou, completely turning Xuzhou's heart upside down.
In order to completely achieve the suddenness of breaking into the Nimeng Passage, Zhang Chong also ordered Guan Yu in the Beihai area to look for opportunities to enter Langya.
Whether it is to completely annihilate Zang Ba in Ju County or just contain him, what Zhang Chong wants anyway is to prevent Zang Ba from returning his troops.
When these latest combat plans were gradually transmitted to the three commanders, they naturally became the guiding strategy for all decisions.
Soon Ding Sheng and Dong Fan determined the cavalry strength to go to Laiwu. Ding Sheng took out his Youzhou Cavalry, and Dong Fan also took out his old capital to replace the Northern Cavalry.
Two legions with four thousand cavalry generals rushed to Laiwu.
After Guan Yu learned of this military order, he had no choice but to postpone the decisive battle against Cao Cao, and focused his attack on Zang Ba in Ju County.
Under such circumstances, Zang Ba, who was trapped in Ju County, may not even know that he was so important and needed to let King Zhang mobilize his troops like this.
But Guan Yu was worried about this situation because he was not sure what Cao Cao would do at this time.
In any case, the king has withdrawn four thousand assault cavalry from the Qingzhou battlefield. This must mean that the situation in the Qingzhou battle has become uncertain.
Because the Taishan Army's most overwhelming advantage over the Qingzhou Army is actually its assault cavalry power.
And now that Zhang Chong has been transferred away, Cao Cao's cavalry strength is almost the same as Guan Yu's.
But Guan Yu also knew that the king's decision must be far-sighted.
It was this tangled mentality that made Guan Yu so troubled that he started hunting after the war.
At this time, Guan Yu looked at his tooth soldiers chasing the prey, and could only sigh:
"My lord, you really played a big game of chess!"< br>
But is everything really as you expected?
In the blink of an eye, the clear sky turned hazy!