Volume 2: The King's Way Chapter 180: Seven Wins and Seven Losses
After Liu Xun surrendered the city, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu left Cheng Pu in charge and continued to lead their troops north to Anfeng and attack Gushi.
Bai Tu has already issued a manifesto, to march into Runan to completely wipe out Ni Zhong and give "justice" to the wolfish false emperor Yuan Shu and the generals headed by Qiao Rui who were ordered to plunder the people of Shouchun!
At this time, the troops in Shouchun had already crossed the Huainan River, seized Anfengjin, and approached Ruyin. In addition, they set out from Shucheng, passed Anfeng to Gushi, crossed the Huaibei River and went up to Gepo...
The troops were divided into two routes, east and west, and launched an attack on Runan at the same time.
Seeing that Bai Tu was serious, Cao Cao had no choice but to send troops in advance - otherwise, once Runan fell into Bai Tu's hands, there would only be a narrow Yingshui River between Bai Tu and Xudu...
When facing a Bai Tu who is stronger than Yuan Shu at his peak, Cao Cao can only consider whether to send a hostage to Yuan Shao or to Bai Tu!
Fortunately, although Yuan Shu was already a phoenix with its feathers shed, he still had the elite troops from Nanyang and Runan, so he did not suffer a quick defeat.
"Yuan Shu is such a despicable guy that he actually tries to provoke Bai Tu at this moment!" Cao Cao said angrily.
Moreover, Yuan Shu had previously rebelled against the Han Dynasty and declared independence, which cut off Cao Cao, who held the righteousness of the imperial court, from supporting him, so he had no choice but to "race" with Bai Tu.
"Bai Tu has stored billions of grains in Jiangdong. It is said that... he also uses some magical method to catch tens of thousands of stones of fish every day in Wujun. I'm afraid he has long been planning to intervene in the Central Plains." Liu Ye said.
"That may not be the case. If it weren't for Yuan Shu's atrocities in Shouchun, given the current situation in Jiangdong and Huainan, Lord Bai should have continued to pacify Shouchun," said Xun Yu.
"Hmph! Wen Ruo, do you still think he has no ambition?" Cao Cao said somewhat dissatisfiedly.
Xun Yu smiled bitterly and said, "It was Wen Ruo's fault that I underestimated Lord Bai before. As for now...it doesn't matter whether Lord Bai has ambitions or not."
"Alas, I was deceived by his treacherous appearance. Now he has become powerful in Jiangdong and annexed Huainan. I am afraid that his military strength is even greater than mine." Cao Cao said with emotion.
On the contrary, Guo Jia, who had always disagreed with Xun Yu on this matter before, said at this time: "My lord, don't belittle yourself. Although Bai Tu has now annexed Yangzhou, compared to you, Bai Tu has seven defeats and you have seven wins, which is enough to lay the foundation for your victory in Runan!"
"Oh? What are my seven victories?" Cao Cao asked in surprise.
"Bai Tu sought fame and reputation, and was supported by benevolence and righteousness. Before the war, he had already declared that he would not pardon Yuan Shu's former subordinates who surrendered. However, the lord was able to remember their merits and forget their faults, and accept them. This is one of the reasons.
Now Huainan is suffering from a severe drought, with thousands of miles of scorched earth. Bai Tu can only transport food from Jiangdong if he wants to conquer Runan, while the lord only needs to transport food from the Central Plains. Xudu also has sufficient food and money. Bai Tu's food route is ten times longer than the lord's. This is the second reason.
Bai Tu had never experienced a hard battle in Jiangdong and Huainan, and mostly won by trickery, while the lord's elite troops had been fighting in the Central Plains for several years. This is the third reason;
Jiangdong is a land of water resources, with good boats but few horses. The lord's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry has been trained. If they fight in Runan and the Central Plains, Bai Tu's cavalry will definitely be far inferior to the lord's. This is the fourth reason.
The drought in Huainan has not eased, and the Shanyue in Jiangdong are causing chaos. However, the government in Yanzhou is stable and the people are harmonious. The rear of the lord is stable. This is the fifth point.
Bai Tu regarded leniency as benevolence, and allowed Sun Ce, Lu Bu and other ferocious men to form their own faction, while the lord combined leniency and severity, and the army was united, this is the sixth point;
Bai Tu treated the people he saw as his own parents and children, and would show his grief and anger when they suffered minor injuries. However, the lord cared about the people of the world and wanted eternal peace, so he could tolerate it for a while. This is the seventh point...
With seven wins and seven losses, even if Jiangdong has 100,000 soldiers and horses, how can they compete with the lord?"
After hearing this, Xun Yu, Xun You, Liu Ye and others looked at Guo Jia in surprise - Can you really talk nonsense?
If you think about it carefully, you will find that many of these so-called seven wins and seven losses are ambiguous.
For example, Bai Tu's reputation of "not pardoning those who surrender" would certainly inspire the generals who participated in the Shouchun Incident to fight to the death against Bai Tu, but at the same time, it also made Bai Tu famous for "acting on behalf of heaven", which made the military and civilians united and shared the same hatred of the enemy.
The Jiangdong soldiers did have few horses, but in the flat Central Plains, cavalry could be said to be the decisive force. In this respect, Cao Cao, whose Tiger and Leopard Cavalry had already taken shape, was indeed at an advantage. However... with the presence of the "Flying General", Bai Tu was not completely defenseless in terms of cavalry.
As for "leniency as benevolence", it is even more so. Bai Tu is indeed lenient and soft in treating his subordinates and the noble families under his rule, but... this is also Bai Tu's political philosophy, and it is not without limits. It's just that the bottom line is slightly different from Cao Cao's. Even though "strictness in troubled times" is a truth that has been widely practiced, looking at the current situation in Jiangdong, how can it be said that Bai Tu's leniency is a weakness?
Was there good government and harmony under Cao Cao's rule? Haha, Xun Yu heard yesterday that Emperor Liu Xie of the Han Dynasty smashed a vase in anger because a general was dismissed!
The so-called seven wins and seven losses are mostly like this...
However, Cao Cao looked as if he had already believed it, and swept away his previous dejection. He began to discuss with everyone with full confidence how to capture Runan before Baitu.
Xun Yu and others probably guessed that Cao Cao was deliberately cooperating to comfort the army...
This far-fetched theory of victory and defeat obviously cannot be used to predict victory or defeat, but it is good for calming people's hearts.
But no one noticed that Guo Jia's face became even paler at this time!
At the same time, Guo Jia's lips moved slightly, as if he muttered, "Only five?", but no one else heard it.
At the same time, Lu Bu, who was serving as the vanguard, suddenly found that the speed of his cavalry was slowing down.
The experienced Lu Bu immediately ordered his men to stop and check. It turned out that all the values of the warhorse were not in the optimal range. The reason was unknown... Could it be due to acclimatization?
After all, after these years of hard work, although the cavalry under Lu Bu were trained in the way of Bingzhou cavalry, there were very few Bingzhou horses in the war horses. Most of them were Jiangdong horses and Dian horses transported from Jingzhou...
However, Lu Bu vaguely felt that this was not due to acclimatization, but as long as the water source was not poisoned, he felt relieved.
Although it was not within the optimal range, it was still within the normal lower limit. It was just that with so many war horses in the same situation, the cavalry's combat effectiveness was reduced a bit.
…
At the same time, many of the generals stationed in various parts of Runan were discussing the manifesto that Bai Tu had spread throughout the country. They had enjoyed looting the city before, but now...
Bai Tu’s manifesto frightened them. If they surrendered, they would not be pardoned... Doesn’t that mean they would die if they lost?
Fear and anger began to spread in their hearts. They cursed Bai Tu for using their lives to fulfill his own righteousness...otherwise, why couldn't he forgive them?
"It is said that Cao Cao in Yanzhou is also going to go to war with us... It would be great if I were also in the north. Maybe I could survive if I were defeated by Cao Cao..." A clever little guy expressed everyone's thoughts.
…
At the same time, in the team that was transporting grain in Huainan, the morale of the manual laborers suddenly dropped, and the real laborers all had the same thought in their hearts - it's such a hot day, so many small rivers have dried up, and yet they still let us transport grain. Isn't Mr. Bai too much of a hassle?
Of course, after this thought came up, they immediately suppressed it in their hearts - how could they think so much of the benefactor? Now that the family's land has been barren during the disaster, they can have relief food to eat, thanks to the benefactor...
However, after the "distractions" arose, even if no resentment was formed, the speed of transporting grain slowed down a lot.
Even the county lieutenant in charge of the grain transport team said at this time: "Everyone is tired, let's take a rest in the shade ahead!"
As the speed slowed down, the consumption of food and fodder for transportation increased.
…
At the same time, a large number of "new recruits" under Bai Tu's command who had only undergone complete training but had never actually been on the battlefield or had only engaged in less intense battles became worried about the upcoming war.
This time Yuan Shu has been forced back to his hometown, and his subordinates are all his true elite warriors. They should... not surrender again, right?
Can I really use what I learned in training when I go to the battlefield ?
What if the battle is delayed because of me? What if I... die on the battlefield?
Although they immediately thought of the Humin Temple outside Jinling City, thought of the land and tax reduction that their families would receive after becoming grassroots generals, thought of the pensions that their families would receive even if they died in battle, and thought of their children being able to study in the county school in the future, their previous hesitations dissipated a little...
However, recruit syndrome is still silently affecting the morale of Bai Tu's subordinates.
It just so happens that most of Bai Tu's subordinates are indeed such "new recruits", because of the previous grand strategy, even though they have been trained for a year or two, they have rarely seen actual bloodshed!
…
At the same time, in the mountains and forests of Yuzhang, several Shanyue tribes that had been silent before became more motivated as if spring had come, and their tempers became a little worse when they went down the mountain to trade with the Han people.
He used to get into a fight because of a hundred cents, but now he gets angry and wants to hit someone because of a loss of eighty cents...
"Transaction conflicts" and "accidental killings" have always been the fuse for the outbreak of small-scale Han-Vietnamese conflicts. Sometimes a Shanyue riot that wreaked havoc on several counties was essentially just a fight among a dozen people... This put a lot of pressure on Gao Shun.
…
At the same time, Cao Chun, who was training the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, suddenly felt that the cavalry under his command had become much stronger, as if they were performing beyond their normal capabilities, and he was somewhat amazed.
At the same time, in the team that was transporting military rations to Cao Cao, every laborer had good thoughts in his mind and their steps quickened.
At the same time, Cao's army, which had experienced many battles, was calm but also a little excited about the upcoming war.
At the same time, Emperor Liu Xie of Han, who had been repeatedly defeated by Cao Cao recently and was increasingly dissatisfied with him, but had no other options, suddenly felt that the cook Cao Cao had just sent to the palace was not bad, and his mood improved a bit. He burped and looked at Cao Cao, who was handsome, and his fighting spirit faded a little...
