Volume 3: The Land of Jingchu Chapter 326: Great Victory at Yanjin
When Yuan Shao's main force was attracted to Bai Ma, Cao Cao quietly led 30,000 elite troops , which was also his last reserve, and rushed out in full force and crossed the Yellow River from Yanjin!
It was only 500 miles from Baima to Xudu, and the commander, Xiahou Dun, was already injured...
Everyone thought that Cao Cao would definitely go to support, so after Cao Cao spread the news, no one questioned it.
However... Cao Cao did not go to Bai Ma, but forced a crossing to Yanjin. The defenders of Yanjin were caught off guard and quickly fell.
Then Xiahou Yuan led three thousand Leopard Cavalry, traveled three hundred miles in two nights and one day, and rushed from Yanjin to Jun County - that is, the corresponding county seat on the north bank of Baimajin!
This marching speed is faster than that of ordinary scouts delivering letters...
Without any warning, not only did they panic the defenders of Jun County, but they also directly captured Junjin. Afterwards, they pretended to be a defeated army, falsely claiming that Liyang had fallen, tricked the enemy into opening Baimazin on the south bank, set the ferry on fire, and then returned to Junjin on the north bank of the river.
Then, on the one hand, news was released to Liyang, saying that Yuan Shao’s main force had been defeated in Bai Ma and Yuan Shao had died. On the other hand, news was released to Bai Ma, saying that Liyang had been lost and the army’s retreat and food supplies had been cut off!
At the same time, Cao Cao personally led more than 20,000 infantry and cavalry and quickly marched towards Liyang...
Xiahou Dun and Xun You had already agreed on a date with Cao Cao. Originally, Yuan's army tried its best to suppress the spread of rumors. However, on the night of the fire at Baimazin, Xiahou Dun, Yu Jin, Xu Huang, Cai Yang and others who were stationed in various camps in Baima, each sent out their troops and shouted "good news" from Liyang, Hebei on the battlefield!
For a while, the front-line camps of Yuan's army were fine, but many camps in the rear had already learned that Baimajin had fallen, so they easily believed the news and blew up the camps directly...
In history, when there was no White Rabbit Effect, the Battle of Guandu was probably the same.
Historically, Cao Cao made a feint to the east and attacked in the west, pretending to launch a surprise attack on Yanjin, then defeated Yan Liang's vanguard at Bai Ma head-on, and then retreated all the way south, and fought with Yuan's army at Guandu, where there was no way to retreat - Guandu had no way to retreat, as it was only 200 miles away from Xu Du.
At this time, Xu You turned away from Yuan Shao because his family had committed a crime and had not been pardoned. He defected to Cao Cao and told "A Man" the location of Yuan's army's granary. Cao Cao then successfully attacked Wuchao with light cavalry and burned down Yuan's army's granary. The morale of Yuan's army collapsed, making the Battle of Guandu a classic example of defeating a larger force with a smaller one.
However, although Cao Cao successfully attacked Wuchao at that time, Yuan's army had not actually starved. After all, the army had half a month's worth of food and fodder, and did not rely on the large granary to deliver meals every day.
Even at that time, Cao's army did not have much food. If they really continued to fight, Cao Cao would still lose more than he won...
It would be more accurate to say that Yuan’s army was defeated not so much because of a lack of food, but because of the news that the granary was attacked!
Liyang is actually still very safe now. It was just ambushed from behind by the enemy on Yanjin and Junjin, which were already unprepared, and Baimajin was burned by the way.
Just this fire made the soldiers of Yuan army feel that the news was credible.
Compared to the camps attacked head-on by Cao's army, the camps in the rear that were not attacked at first were the ones that were bombed more often, and this panic continued to spread...
In the era of cold weapons, camp bombings were completely uncontrollable. The more troops there were, the greater the damage!
Yuan Shao and his generals hurriedly stabilized the morale of the army, thus avoiding a complete defeat. However, only half of the 300,000-man army was left, and the others... most of them were not killed in battle but "lost", and they needed to be gradually gathered.
As a result, not only in the Bai Ma area, many defeated soldiers fled directly back to Hebei, and some even returned to Liyang in an organized manner!
While bringing the unstable news to Liyang, it also gave Cao Cao an opportunity...
In just three days, the false "loss of Liyang" turned into the real "food route was cut off", and Yuan's army was on the verge of collapse.
Xu You suggested that Yuan Shao make a desperate move and continue south to take Xudu, but not only was he rejected by Yuan Shao, but he was also scolded by the annoyed Yuan Shao, who accused him of having bad intentions...
Originally, Xu You had come up with the idea sincerely, anticipating that there would not be many soldiers in Xu Du at this time. As long as they defeated the main force of Cao's army in front of them and sent troops to Xu Du - Xu Du was originally just an ordinary county town. Although the city walls have been reinforced and it is still the nominal capital, but... how many people in the court are not on good terms with Cao Cao?
Even Dong Cheng wrote a private letter to Yuan Shao, hoping that he would come to save the emperor!
As long as tens of thousands of troops are deployed to the city of Xudu, external threats will come and internal troubles will emerge. What can Cao Aman do to resist?
There were still tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in Yecheng, Yuan Shao's old nest. Xu You thought that Feng Ji who stayed behind, even if he was two Guo Tus short, was at least a calm and upright man. What could Cao Cao do if he sneaked across the river?
However, this sounded too risky, and Yuan Shao was not good at listening to advice that did not match his own subjective consciousness. In addition, Xu You had urged Yuan Shao to attack , which made Yuan Shao, who was in a bad mood, take the opportunity to vent his anger and accuse him of being involved with the ministers of Xu Du and wanting to be a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty...
Xu You was so angry that he stamped his feet, pointed at Yuan Shao's nose and said: You are the loyal minister, and your family of four generations and three officials are all loyal ministers!
The meeting ended in a bad way, and Xu You was even dismissed and imprisoned by Yuan Shao.
When Guo Tu saw that Xu You was going to attack violently, which would make Yuan Shao so angry, he immediately advised Yuan Shao to withdraw to Hebei. This was exactly Guo Tu's wisdom. He would suggest the opposite of what Yuan Shao was angry about...
Gradually, Yuan Shao always adopted his opinions and naturally became more and more dependent on him!
If it was a prosperous time with factional strife, Guo Tu might have a chance to become a favored minister, but now...
The result was just as Xu You said, the rash withdrawal made the military morale even more unstable - the larger the number of troops, the more difficult it was to control the "military morale", and they were often forced to advance without retreat.
As they retreated, deserters appeared in each camp before they even crossed the river. Moreover, after they crossed the river, they were pursued by Xiahou Dun and harassed by Xiahou Yuan's Leopard Cavalry on both wings. When they arrived in Liyang, the king's flag had already been changed on the city wall!
It turned out that just one day ago, the elite troops led by Cao Cao arrived at Liyang.
Cao Chun, who usually trained and led the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, led two thousand Tiger Cavalry among them, disguised as the defeated soldiers returning from the south bank, and tricked open the gate of Liyang City. Indeed, many defeated soldiers were rushing back to Hebei at this time, and Liyang was their first stop for regrouping.
While blood was gushing out of the city gate, Cao Cao led the infantry ambushed outside the city and rushed in, breaking through Liyang City!
Originally, there were quite a few troops stationed in Liyang, but the problem was that they had accepted a large number of defeated troops, and the city gates were directly opened by trickery...
With those frightened birds around and having lost the advantage of the city walls, they can only fight in the streets. How can these second-line troops be a match for Cao's elite army?
If wall battles are good for restoring the morale of the defenders, then street battles are the opposite. They are the most challenging for the morale of the defenders. Not all armies are willing to fight after the enemy enters the city...
After Cao Cao killed Jiang Qi who was guarding Liyang, he left and heard the news that the main force of Yuan’s army had crossed the river.
Originally, there was a huge gap in numbers between the two armies - even if Yuan Shao withdrew, each battalion had more than 100,000 people. Even if they could not withdraw together, they would gradually surround Liyang and it would be unbearable!
Therefore, Cao Chun suggested that Cao Cao leave first, with the Tiger Cavalry covering the rear, and at the same time set fire to the granary in Liyang.
However, Guo Jia, the military advisor who accompanied the army , offered a risky plan, which was accepted by Cao Cao...
The reason is simple. Guo Jia explained the pros and cons very clearly. This time, he used both deception and bluffing to catch Yuan's army in the dark. Although it would cause them serious damage, for the giant Hebei, the damage would only last for "a hundred days".
Although it is not really that exaggerated, it will only take two or three years for Yuan’s army to recover...and what about Cao Cao?
Not only will Yuan Shao be more cautious by then, but given the current situation in Xu Du, Cao Cao will either win or lose.
Only by using thundering means and defeating Yuan Shao greatly can we intimidate the evil spirits in the court. Otherwise, once Cao Cao's lofty ideal of "fighting disloyalty in the name of the emperor" is flawed, the return of Yuan Shao will only be more ferocious than he is now!
Cao Cao also deeply agreed with Guo Jia's judgment, which was the rational aspect.
On the other hand, Guo Jia's face was pale, he was panting, and he was coughing until his lungs were about to burst. It was hard not to be moved. Even Cao Chun, who was refuted, hurried to support him when he saw this...
Cao Cao finally listened to Guo Jia's advice and immediately ordered people to clean up the situation. All the soldiers on the city walls were replaced by soldiers whose injuries were not too serious and who were full of energy and spirit, and they waited leisurely for Yuan's army.
When Yuan Shao was at Bai Ma, the central camp he led was at the rear of the entire army, and when retreating, it was naturally at the front, and was even one of the first few camps to arrive at Liyang.
After Yuan Shao discovered that Liyang had fallen, he personally went to the city to meet Cao Cao...
Cao Cao, who had already washed, changed his clothes and put on invisible high heels, laughed and told Yuan's army that the entire Hebei area had been returned to the court and even Yuan Shao's nephew Gao Gan had surrendered, and advised Yuan Shao to surrender.
Yuan Shao knew it was fake and was so angry that he almost vomited blood. He just wanted to order the siege of Liyang and trap Cao Cao in the city, but many of his generals who were already frightened believed Cao Cao's lies, and there was another riot...
Cao Cao even opened the city gates and sent the infantrymen who were still able to fight to charge at Yuan Shao's main camp!
A few days ago, the Yuan army was in Bai Ma, with smoke from cooking fires blocking their eyes and looking like it could crush everything. But now it collapsed at the first touch. Seeing that the two supporting formations had already been defeated, Yuan Shao had no choice but to lead the central camp of his own formation to retreat eastward, hoping to bypass Liyang. Yuan Shao did not believe his lies that the Hebei area had been completely occupied.
However, after walking for less than ten miles, when they passed a forest, the tiger cavalry ambushed in the forest broke out, first shouting that Yuan Shao should die, then shouting that Yuan Shao was dead, and then flayed Yuan's army, so they had to continue to take a detour...
As he made a detour, he was caught up by Xiahou Yuan and the Leopard Cavalry behind him, and they continued to beat him up!
Even when he was chased into a valley, the engine of Yuan Shao's armor overheated and burned out - it was just a gilded armor, and it was easy for a BMW engine to run too hard. If it was a wooden or stone armor, it would be even worse. This was why Lu Bu always trained by looking at the white map.
At this time, Yuan Shang, who was with the army, unloaded his engine and handed it over to Yuan Shao, which saved his father's life. However, Yuan Shang himself died in the valley.
Poor Yuan Shao still had nearly 100,000 soldiers and horses running behind him, and he could only be chased like a stray dog. The 100,000 people behind him were stopped by Cao Cao in Liyang, and Cao Cao told them a ghost story - the name is easy to guess, it is called "Yuan Shao is Dead"...
