Chapter 56 Chapter Seven Incorporates Qingzhou Army to Compete for Yanzhou Land (8)

So Yuan Shu gathered his elite troops and left the east gate.In fact, Cao Cao's men and horses are not many at the moment, it's just based on morale and clever distribution.So Yuan Shu rushed out of the east gate, no matter what Cao Jun couldn't stop him, not to mention Yuan Shu had gathered such an elite army. Yuan Shu led his army out of the city, ran southeast, retreated for more than 150 li without stopping, crossed Nanji River, Bian River, and Sui River one after another to reach Xiangyi. Unexpectedly, before Yuan Shu could catch his breath, Cao Jun, who was swift like the wind, came after him again.The courage of many people is like this. If you shudder again and again, it will be as fragile and dangerous as a bubble.Yuan Shu was like this at the moment, seeing Cao Cao following him again, he was frightened out of his wits.Hastily abandoned Xiangyi and fled, ran into the nearby fortified city of Taishou, and hung up the sign of avoiding battle.

Due to the hasty retreat all the way, followed by enemy troops, and the continuous escape of two hundred miles, most of Yuan's army had been defeated halfway.As a result, only one-third of Yuan Jun who finally arrived at Taishou City did not arrive.On the contrary, Cao Jun, who was chasing Yuan Shu, had joined Cao Ren's Yanzhou Army. Together with the capture of prisoners along the way, a large army with an absolute superiority in numbers was formed. The city wall of Taishou City is strong, and it was rebuilt not long ago, so it is not easy to attack.Yuan Shu wanted to use this as a basis to take a good breath, so he dispatched the remaining troops to the city defense, just doing a good job of defense.He gradually felt a sense of security in his heart, and began to think about how to deal with Cao Cao.Yuan Shu analyzed Cao Cao's series of actions, and had to admit Cao Cao's superb skills in military command.Coupled with his consistent ingenuity and cunning, he is often unpredictable.And this is the value of military strategists.

Yuan Shu focused on figuring out Cao Cao's intentions. What would he do next? Surround and not attack? Or cut off his food and grass. After a long time, he would not fight and be defeated? He thought of all the possibilities. , or a surprise attack? The purpose is to prescribe the right medicine and take preventive measures in advance.Regarding food and grass, he is not panicking.Because Taishou City is rich in granaries, it cannot be eaten within a year or two, not to mention that from now on, it is planned to use food and grass, so it will not be afraid for a long time.And in such a long time, Yuan Shu still has no way to deal with Cao Cao? What's more, he still has the rest of the Fengqiu area...

However, no matter how elusive Yuan Shu was about Cao Cao, he never guessed Cao Cao's next move.Cao Cao neither made a surprise attack on Shoucheng nor stopped fighting for a long time, but took a move that Yuan Shu didn't expect. This Taishou City is adjacent to Sui River, and the terrain is extremely low.At the end of spring, the snow melted upstream and the river surged.Cao Cao, who was worrying about how to drive Yuan Shu away, suddenly had an idea and shouted: "Yes, yes!" The more he thought about it, the happier he became, and he became excited. On the second day, Cao Cao sent many soldiers to the upper reaches of the Sui River to carry earth and rocks to intercept the rapids.The soldiers worked in full swing, and the labor chants were melodious and high-pitched, which spread far and wide.

Then a spy came to report to Yuan Shu: "Cao Jun has cut most of the upper reaches of the Sui River, the purpose is to block the Sui River, and then burst the embankment to irrigate Taishou City!" Yuan Shu yelled: "Too bad, I didn't expect Cao Cao to have a more vicious move. Taishou City can't stay here, we have to leave as soon as possible, order the whole army to leave the city immediately..." However, before the order was passed on, the spies came to report again: "The embankment in the upper reaches of the Sui River continues to extend and rise, and Cao Jun is still sending more embankment personnel."

Yuan Shu panicked, stood up and said, "Let's go now, I'm afraid it will be too late." So Yuan Shu led his left and right soldiers and horses to gallop out of Taishou City, boarded a wooden boat, crossed Sui River, and fled to Ningling City, which was on a higher ground. Cao Cao saw Yuan Shu's every move clearly.In fact, when he sent people to cut off the Sui River upstream, it was just a gesture of breaking the embankment to irrigate the city. The purpose was to deceive Yuan Shu, frighten him, and abandon Taishou City.So when Yuan Shu left the city, Cao Cao had no intention of stopping him.

Now that Yuan Shu abandoned Taishou City, it was exactly what Cao Cao wanted.But he didn't stop there, and led his troops to catch up. Cao Cao then crossed the Sui River and rushed straight to Ningling City, and deployed soldiers under the city.Seeing this, Yuan Shu abandoned Ningling again and fled. This time, Yuan Shu no longer took chances. He not only escaped from the border of Yanzhou, but also crossed Yuzhou, which was attached to him, and went straight to his old lair——Yangzhou City.Frightened by the speed of Cao Jun's pursuit, he crossed the Yangtze River without thinking about it and arrived at Jiujiang City. Only then did he stabilize his three souls and seven souls and save his life.

In this way, Yuan Shu retreated from Kuangting to Fengqiu, then fled to Xiangyi, Taishou, Ningling, and finally entered Jiujiang City. Yuan Shu's unprecedented retreat this time covered a distance of more than 600 li.It looks panicked, like a bereaved dog.As a leader of the Southern Kwantung Army, he was defeated so badly by the newly formed Cao Cao Army, which shocked the whole world.Therefore, everyone had to look at Cao Cao differently. In fact, Cao Cao also fought very hard in this pursuit.First of all, the disparity in the number of the two sides is too great, and Yuan Shu's troops are many times more than Cao Cao's.Cao Cao's advantage lies in his sufficient psychological preparation. He did not feel guilty because of the large number of opponents, but dealt with it calmly.He knew that he couldn't win if he fought head-on, and only by fighting wits did he adopt psychological tactics.He first made a surprise attack to gain an advantage, and then followed up with a "six hundred miles pursuit" that was as fast as the wind, which did not give Yuan Shu a chance to calm down and think.Judging from the mobilization of the troops on both sides, Cao Cao had no intention of annihilating Yuan Shu's troops, but only wanted to completely blow the morale of Yuan Shu's army.Cao Cao put on a siege several times, but in fact he never made a complete siege, and always kept a route for Yuan Shu to retreat.Generally speaking, Cao Cao was only chasing in one direction, and his purpose should only be to scare Yuan Shu.

Due to the rapid pursuit of the whole army, there was one time where there was almost no water for a day and a night.The sun was very poisonous that day, and the weather began to turn hot in late spring and early summer. The soldiers were sweating profusely, and their mouths were dry. Within ten miles, there was almost no water source.The soldiers had smoke in their throats, their hearts were on fire, their minds were dizzy, and their legs were getting heavier and heavier.Cao Cao knew that there was no water to quench his thirst, but he sent several groups of people to search around, but there was no sign of water.And in order to create strong psychological pressure on Yuan Shu, he must not stop for a little rest, what should he do?

Just at this moment, another fast horse that explored the water galloped back. Cao Cao had a flash of inspiration, and he rode his horse to meet him and asked, "Didn't you see a plum grove in front of you?" The fast-horse soldier was taken aback for a moment, not knowing what Cao Cao meant, he just promised in a daze.So, Cao Cao turned his horse's head, pointed his whip to the back and side of the soldiers, and shouted: "My sons, I have discovered a plum forest in front of me, and it is full of sour plums. Hurry up, everyone, let's go!" Picking plums ahead to quench your thirst..."

With this shout, the whole army cheered, and immediately, all the soldiers were full of tongue and spirit. Although plums were not eaten, the effect of psychological stimulation quenched the thirst of all soldiers.This has become the story of "Looking at plum blossoms to quench thirst" that has been passed down through the ages.