Chapter 106 Chapter Fourteen

Cao Mengde asked, "Who will play Yuan Shao's striker?" "It is reported that they are Yan Liang and Wen Chou. It is said that these two men have unstoppable courage." Xun You said. Cao Mengde said disapprovingly: "Yan Liang and Wen Chou are not worthy of praise. They have the courage of ordinary men. They are similar to our Xiahou brothers. This kind of generals are the most taboo to fight independently, and they cannot be allowed to be the vanguard." Xun You said: "The most critical issue at present is which place to choose as the battlefield."

Guo Jia said: "As long as the two places of Yanjin and Zhencheng can block Yuan Shao's attack, the main force of Yuan's army must choose Guandu as a breakthrough point." When Xun You and Guo Jia were discussing, Cao Mengde had already focused his strategic attention on Guandukou.At this moment, the topography of the Guandu area reappeared in his mind: the vast ferry, the north of the ferry is a natural barrier of Guandu water, which is very beneficial to the defenders; the north and south sides of the ferry are large open land, flat terrain, which is conducive to our Cavalry combat; Yuan Shao's Southern Expedition Army had to be blocked by the Yellow River, gutter water, Beidu water, and canal water from Liyang to Guandu. Difficulties will become Yuan Jun's most serious crisis.

The decisive battle between us and Yuan Jun must be at Guandu! Yes, Cao Mengde clenched his fist. Mountains and rains are about to come, and the wind is full of buildings, and the atmosphere on the north and south banks of the Yellow River is extremely tense, and there is a tendency to explode. At this time, the news of the death of Sun Ce, the overlord of Jiangdong, reached Xudu. Cao Mengde was as happy as a festival when he heard the news, and said: "It's a pity for the little overlord of Jiangdong, the world has one less person to join in the fun for the time being." Obviously, Sun Ce's death relieved another major pressure on Cao Mengde's front.

"What's going on in Jingzhou?" Cao Mengde was still a little worried about Liu Biao. Xun Yu said: "Prime Minister, don't worry, I have already bought Liu Biao's main generals and the county guards near the Yangtze River with gold and official positions. Even Liu Biao's wife-in-law Cai Mao and famous scholar Kuai Yue objected to Liu Biao's use of troops in Yuzhou. The troops from Changsha, Lingling, Guiyang, and Wujun will definitely come and turn against us." Cao Mengde held his beard in his hands, and said loudly: "We have completely taken advantage of the right time, favorable location, and harmonious people. Guandu, Guandu, that's where Yuan Shao will be buried!"

In March of the fifth year of Jian'an, the ice and snow in the northern land had already melted, and the smoke of war never chose the season. Yuan Jun's outpost in Liyang was frequently mobilized. Although Cao Mengde was confident, the tense situation on the front line existed objectively. There are only more than 700 Cheng Yu troops guarding Zhencheng, and Zhencheng is located at the forefront of Cao Jun's eastern front.Therefore, it may have been strongly attacked by Yuan Jun at the beginning of the war. Cao Mengde rode his horse to Zhencheng. "Does General Cheng need reinforcements?" Cao Mengde asked Cheng Yu.

Cheng Yu seemed to reply without thinking: "There is no need to add a soldier." "Are you really sure?" Cao Mengde wondered.It's not easy for six or seven hundred people to deal with Yuan Shao's main force. Seeing Cao Mengde's doubts, Cheng Yu slowly explained: "Yuan Shao has assembled more than 100,000 main troops in Leyang. If he goes all out to attack Zhencheng, no amount of reinforcements will help. There is a lot of power, and he thinks he is invincible. Now that we have few soldiers, he must not take it seriously. It is very possible to give up Zhencheng. If the defense of Zhencheng increases, Yuan Shao will think that Zhencheng is important, so he has to attack , so reinforcements will only increase our crisis and pressure."

Cao Mengde listened to Cheng Yu's explanation, thought for a moment, and said, "I really admire General Cheng's courage and insight." As a result, Cao Mengde gave up his plan to increase Zhencheng's defensive force, and spared a large number of main forces on the front line of Guandukou. According to the original plan, Yuan Shao should command the main force to cross the Yellow River from Baimajin and Yanjin after the Yuantan army in Qingzhou defeated Zang Ba's blockade, and break through from the center and left wing with the flanking method. Yuan Shao stationed troops in Liyang, waiting for the progress of Yuan Tan's army, in order to implement the overall strategic goal.

What Cao Mengde was most worried about was whether the flank forces could block Yuan Shao's attack. If Yuan Shao could not open the gap in the flanks, he would surely break through from the center, and thus a decisive battle between the two armies at Guandu would be formed. Zang Ba was originally the leader of the Montenegro Party. He was first retaken by Lu Bu, and then he voted for Cao Mengde because of Lu Bu's defeat. "General Zang, if Yuan Tan's army attacks you aggressively, how long can you hold on?" At that time, Zang Ba's army had only more than a thousand horses, while Yuan Tan's attacking force was about 20,000, not to mention the wise general assisted by Gao Gan. Cao Mengde couldn't help worrying about it.

"How long does the Prime Minister need me to persist?" Zang Ba asked back. "It will take at least two months. In this way, Yuan Shao's flank forces will be blocked, and he will inevitably concentrate and break through from the center." Cao Mengde once again clarified the stakes. "Let's not talk about two months, even if it's ten or a hundred years, Yuan Tan will never want to break through Zang Ba's defense line!" Zang Ba boasted. "How do you defend?" Cao Mengde asked very carefully. "I was originally a bandit in the mountains. The mountains and mountains in Qingzhou are the most suitable for me to fight. Yuan Tan attacked from all fronts, and we would disperse and hide. If he split the road and outflanked them, we would concentrate on eating them one by one." Zang Ba said his story operational intent.

This is a conversation between Zang Ba and Cao Mengde before sending troops to Qingzhou. Yuan Shao thought over his strategic deployment repeatedly and was very satisfied.If nothing else happened, it would take less than half a month for Yuan Tan and Gao Gan's Qingzhou and Bingzhou armies to tear open the gap between Cao Cao's left and right wings. Yuan Shao raised his finger, Yuan Tan and Gao Gan have been stationed in Qingzhou for seven days.He estimated that the two had already made progress, so he prepared to attack Zhencheng.Both Liu Bei and Ju Shou disagreed. "Zhencheng is not in our main battle line. Even Cao Cao doesn't pay attention to this small town. We have sent a very small number of troops to guard it. There is no need for us to capture it." Liu Bei said.

The judge said: "My lord's military strength is so powerful, we should rush across the Yellow River before the flood season and reach Xuchang. Our hundreds of thousands of troops are as powerful as a broken bamboo, so there is no need to look forward and backward." Yuan Shao used Liu Bei as an advisor because Liu Bei was familiar with Cao Cao's military situation. He believed that Liu Bei's and the judge's opinions were more pertinent, so he gave up his plan to attack Zhencheng.