Volume 5: Overlord of the Sea Chapter 576: Xingshun Seven Years
The seventh year of Xingshun, also known as the "13th year of Jian'an" in history...
If there had been no White Rabbit Effect, this winter would have been Cao Cao's unlucky time - the Battle of Red Cliffs directly ended Cao Cao's dream of unifying the country during his lifetime and created a corner of the Three Kingdoms pattern.
In the world of Cheng Ji, Cao Cao probably got over his bad luck seven years ago and has been relatively lucky this year.
But what remains the same is that this year is “still” a year of great changes in the world!
One is the Battle of Hanzhong...
If the Han Dynasty took control of Hanzhong, it could form a horizontal alliance and lay the foundation for annexing the north and the south. If the Chu State took control of Hanzhong, it could swallow up Xichuan, unify the south, and gain half of the country.
Facts have proved that Chu State was the one who made the most of a move. Not only did it miraculously move all the way north from the Han River, but it also shocked the world by causing Yangping Pass to explode on the spot...
On the one hand, he gained Zhang Lu's allegiance and had the righteous cause of stabilizing Hanzhong. He swept across the Hanzhong Basin, and on the other hand, he relied on trenches and bunkers built in a short period of time to steadily block the Western Liang Army in Chencang.
The State of Chu, which had not made any major moves for six or seven years, now stretched its back and broke free from the previous shackles in one fell swoop, and was about to take Xichuan into its pocket!
Another "big event" that caused less waves was that Wei defeated Yan's cavalry in one fell swoop, crossed the Liaoze, and was already close to the enemy...
The Yan State originally had thousands of plate-armored cavalry and the natural barrier of Liaoze. Even if it could not protect western Liaoning, it could at least keep the enemy out of Liaodong.
However, Gongsun Kang fell into Tian Yu's trap, or to be more precise... Yang Xiu's trap!
Tian Yu was born into a noble family in Youzhou. He initially served Gongsun Zan. When Gongsun Zan became weak and incompetent, Tian Yu became alienated from him and began to work without putting in any effort. Later, he defected to the Wei Kingdom and was highly valued by Cao Cao.
He had previously served as the Governor of Youzhou in the Wei State - although the Wei State itself only had half of Youzhou, it did not prevent him from being appointed the Governor of Youzhou.
The main responsibility is to mediate with the State of Yan!
This time, Yang Xiu suggested using Tian Yu to mislead Gongsun Kang...
Tian Yu "improved" all of Wei's plate cavalry into iron chariots - in addition to the heavy armor on the horses and the men, there were also four riders leading a "war chariot", which not only had soldiers with axes and halberds, but also had iron spikes and sabers on the body...
Plate cavalry can't go fast anyway, so they just enhance their crushing destructive power further, which has a retro feel!
Tian Yu used this formation to defeat some grassland tribes that were subject to the State of Yan and were trying to test the State of Wei.
That was so easy.
After all, with plate armor, the insufficient horse archery on the grasslands could hardly cause damage to the plate armor cavalry, and the range of the Wei crossbow was also longer than that of the opponent. As for the frontal charge...
When the Wuhuan people, who were three to five times their number, collided with the armored chariots, they were thrown to the ground and crushed!
After easily defeating the Wuhuan people, Gongsun Kang also noticed the armored chariot. Unlike plate armor, the chariot did not require much technical content. It was made with a wooden cart and then equipped with shields, swords and spears.
Although the Wuhuan people suffered heavy losses, Gongsun Kang laughed at the time, thinking that Tian Yu's cleverness backfired and he offered him a good strategy.
After all, when it comes to plate armored cavalry, Yan State has the largest number!
However……
When Gongsun Kang transformed all his plate-armored cavalry into armored chariots, he thought he had succeeded, but it turned out to be exactly what Guo Jia wanted.
In Liaoze, they took advantage of the slightly freezing cold current in September and dug an ice-covered ditch that was "passable by people but not by vehicles" and killed most of the Yan State's plate armored soldiers in one fell swoop!
The chariots that were popular during the Spring and Autumn Period had weaknesses such as difficulty in turning, slow speed, and easy dragging of each other after forming a formation. That's why after King Wuling of Zhao adopted the Hu clothing and horse riding, all countries successively transformed themselves into cavalry.
Xiahou Yuan and his military advisor Guo Jia took advantage of Gongsun Kang's greed and the weakness of the chariot to destroy Gongsun Kang's greatest support in one fell swoop. They also crossed the Liaoze Lake and confronted Gongsun Kang...
The so-called armored vehicles had no ability to stop on the slippery ice surface. The trench was not too deep or wide, but they could not withstand the impact of rows of vehicles smashing into it!
Liu Bei didn't expect that Gongsun Kang would be so incompetent. Although he had previously pretended to launch a northern expedition against the Wei Kingdom, he was stopped by Xiahou Dun who was stationed in Le'an.
After all, the situation in Hanzhong was tense at the time, and Liu Bei had to be ready to provide support at any time, so he didn't dare to attack with all his strength!
Originally, Liu Bei just wanted to contain the enemy, and he also thought that Yan State could at least block it...
If Liu Bei had known this earlier, he would have definitely forced a northern expedition!
But when I got the news, it was already too late...
Moreover, the situation in Hanzhong was not as simple as "failed to take it down". The Chu State fought smoothly in Badong and Hanzhong, which made Liu Bei very nervous!
How could we fight to the death with Cao Cao?
Although the changes in Liaodong did not have as far-reaching an impact on the world as the Battle of Hanzhong.
However, it was of vital importance to the State of Wei - originally in history, the Gongsun clan was not only "relatively well-behaved" and stayed in Liaodong, but more importantly, for the vast and prosperous Cao Wei, Liaodong was not very important, even if it was not a waste of time.
Therefore, after Gongsun Kang presented the heads of the two Yuans, Cao Wei also accepted his allegiance.
However, now not only has Gongsun Kang become much stronger, but Cao Wei is much weaker than before the Red Cliff in history!
This also means that the Gongsun family has become a "bag worth licking" in the eyes of Cao Wei...
Especially after Cao Cao promoted the transformation, occupying Liaodong not only meant the stability of the backyard, but also meant that the Three Han and Buyeo on the Korean Peninsula, as well as Yiluo and Goguryeo in the northeast of Youzhou could be brought under his control.
At least for the State of Chu, after the news from Youzhou arrived in October, it successfully diverted the focus of the palace from Hanzhong to Liaodong.
Of course, among the people and even among the officials in Jiangshan Garden, what everyone cared more about was the great victory in Hanzhong.
However, as the headquarters of the Chu State, one must always look three steps ahead before taking one step!
After learning that Wei's attack on Yan was so successful, Bai Tu was already hesitating whether to focus on Youzhou...
After all, after occupying Hanzhong, Badong, Bazhong, and even southern Xinjiang were under the influence of the Chu State, Xichuan was already a piece of cake.
If Wei were left alone, once the Chu navy was driven out of Bohai Sea, it would take several times more effort to re-enter in the future!
This matter concerns the future foreign strategy of the State of Chu, and it has also sparked discussions in the palace.
Bai Tu thought of Gan Ning again at this time, and couldn't help but sigh: "If only Governor Gan could come back in time... then there would be nothing to choose, and we could fight on two fronts!"
Only in the palace could Bai Tu express his feelings. After all, those present were the core leaders of the Chu State, and they knew everything about the expeditionary navy.
Otherwise, if it was outside, Bai Tu would not give people the lead to badmouthing him...
