flstandardbreds Chapter 138 Surprise Attack
Chapter 138 Surprise Attack
Chapter 138 Surprise Attack
The first year of Yonghan, the first day of the first lunar month.
Cao Cao assembled 20,000 soldiers in the imperial guard camp, accepted the imperial edict, got the seal and the imperial token, and after completing the transaction, he led his army eastward.
After walking just over twenty miles, Cao Cao ordered his troops to set up camp, cook meals and rest.
In the tent, Cao Cao stared at the map of Yanzhou, brows furrowed in thought.
News came one after another from Yanzhou that Shanyang County had fallen into Qiao Mao's hands, and the other seven counties and kingdoms, as well as the Yellow Turban rebels and Yuan family forces that had been dormant after being suppressed by Huangfu Song last time, took advantage of the situation and rose up. The whole Yanzhou was already in chaos.
"Chen Liu."
Cao Cao stared at Chenliu County, trying to determine the direction of advance.
"Munde."
Xiahou Dun came in, looking unhappy, and said, "A letter came from Luoyang City, saying that many people are impeaching you and making a scene in front of His Majesty."
Cao Cao looked normal, his narrow eyes flashed with coldness, and he said, "Don't worry about it. Is Miaocai gone?"
Xiahou Dun sat down next to Cao Cao and said, "Well, Zi Lian went to Nanyang."
Miaocai was Xiahou Yuan's courtesy name, and Zilian was Cao Hong's courtesy name. These two men followed Cao Cao's orders, one to Pei State and the other to Nanyang to collect food and recruit soldiers.
Cao Cao was still very confident in these two people. He picked up the map and walked out of the tent, asking, "Where is the military advisor?"
Xiahou Dun was very dissatisfied with Guo Jia. He snorted and said, "Let's go find a place to drink."
Cao Cao didn't care about this. As soon as he came out of the tent, he saw Guo Jia coming over. He walked over quickly and said, "Fengxiao, I want to leave Yuan Rang here to set up a false formation while I lead my troops to attack and head straight to Chenliu. What do you think?"
Guo Jia drank the wine leisurely and said, "General, how long have you not been back home?"
Cao Cao was startled, then realized, and said, "Feng Xiao wants me to go through Pei State and head straight to Shanyang County?"
After saying that, he quickly glanced around, pulled Guo Jia into the tent, and said, "Fengxiao, please tell me in detail."
The three entered the tent and sat down. Guo Jia drank another sip of wine, wiped his mouth, and then said: "Qiao Mao and others acted in a hurry, so they urgently need to capture Shanyang County to strengthen their momentum. What the general needs to do is to recapture Shanyang County, which will not only hit the heart of the rebels, but also severely damage their morale!"
Cao Cao was greatly shocked, his eyes widened, and he said in a deep voice: "Feng Xiao is indeed my Zi Fang! Tonight, I will lead the army and take a detour to Pei State! Yuan Rang, I will leave you 2,000 men, bluff and attack Chenliu. Remember, you must move fast and slow at times to attract the attention of the rebels!"
Xiahou Dun looked at Guo Jia deeply, then stood up and raised his hand, saying, "I will obey your orders!"
Cao Cao waited for him to leave, and then said to Guo Jia, "Fengxiao, you are not feeling well. I will let Yuan Rang protect you. We will meet in Shanyang County."
Guo Jia held the wine jug in his hand to his lips, and after listening, he looked at Cao Cao and said with a smile, "General, are you afraid that I will drink and cause trouble for you?"
After saying that, he threw the wine pot and said, "I won't drink anymore, but when we get to Shanyang County, the general must treat me to good drinks."
Seeing Guo Jia's decisiveness, Cao Cao immediately said, "When I recover Shanyang, I will personally get good wine for Fengxiao and we will drink together until we are drunk!"
"It's a deal." Guo Jia said.
The two men looked at each other and laughed, as if the recovery of Shanyang was a certainty.
That night.
The camp was peaceful as usual, but Cao Cao led his troops and quietly left through a small path in the dark.
After walking for a distance, Cao Cao and Guo Jia rode their horses, bypassed Chenliu, entered Jizhou, and headed straight for Pei State.
Pei State borders Shanyang, but Pei State belongs to Yuzhou.
When daybreak came, Xiahou Dun pretended that Cao Cao was still in the army, and went to the big tent to "report" from time to time.
After two days of rest, Cao Cao's 20,000 troops broke camp and continued to march towards Chenliu.
Inside Luoyang City.
It is supposed to be an annual leave, but not many important figures in the court actually get to rest.
Everyone was paying attention to Qiao Mao's rebellion, and naturally they were also paying attention to Cao Cao's army that was sent to quell the rebellion.
At the Chancery's desk, the Prime Minister is on duty.
Wang Yun, Xun You, Li Ru and Zhong Yao were sitting on both sides, discussing matters with Yang Biao.
Li Ru raised his hand to Yang Biao and said in a deep voice: "Prime Minister, Envoy Ding is trapped in Dingtao, and the entire Yanzhou is in danger. Cao Cao is marching slowly and is afraid to move forward. Please replace him!"
Xun You and Zhong Yao looked at each other, and a serious look flashed in their eyes.
Cao Cao had spent three days and still hadn't left Sili! What he did most was to write letters to the court, demanding military rations!
Wang Yun glanced at Xun You and Zhong Yao with a solemn look, and said, "If the rebels capture Jiyin County, Chenliu will be undefendable! Should we ask the Grand Marshal to lead the troops personally?"
No one doubted Huangfu Song's ability. Seeing that the rebels were gaining momentum and threatening Luoyang, and Cao Cao was stagnant, the voices in the court calling for Cao Cao to be replaced gradually grew louder.
Yang Biao had a stern face and a dignified expression, and said nothing.
He couldn't figure out what the emperor in the palace meant, so he didn't dare to say anything. Similarly, if he spoke up for Cao Cao, he would be implicated if Cao Cao was defeated in the future.
Therefore, silence is golden.
Wang Yun saw Yang Biao pretending to be thoughtful and silent, and his eyes were sharp. He said, "Prime Minister, is it possible that the rebels have reached Luoyang and you are still silent?"
Yang Biao looked at him, glanced at Xun You and Zhong Yao, and suddenly said in a deep voice: "Changing generals on the battlefield is a taboo! I will send a letter in the name of the Secretariat to urge him to speed up the army and immediately join Ding Yuan to wipe out the rebels!"
"What if Cao Cao ignores us and misses the opportunity to fight?" Wang Yun pressed on.
Yang Biao looked at Xun You instead and asked, "Minister Xun, how much money and grain has the court raised?"
Xun You bowed and said, "At present, there are only 10,000 stones."
Yang Biao snorted coldly and said, "Ten thousand shi, I'm afraid Cao Cao has run out of military rations now!"
Yang Biao didn't say it to Wang Yun and Li Ru, but the two of them were still blocked.
Seeing that the atmosphere was too tense, Zhong Yao said thoughtfully, "Prime Minister, Prince, please come forward and raise money and grain from the wealthy families in the capital."
Seeing Zhong Yao handing over the door, Yang Biao ignored Wang Yun and came down, saying, "I have been hosting banquets these days and have borrowed 10,000 shi of silver. However, I have to pay it back."
"Of course I have to pay it back,"
Xun You quickly responded, "Once the summer grain arrives, we will arrange for it in full and pay a certain amount of interest."
Wang Yun suppressed his anger and said, "I will also find a way to get money and food, but we must urge Cao Cao to advance quickly and join Ding Yuan. I am worried that Ding Yuan will not be able to hold out for long."
Ding Yuan was trapped in Jiyin and Dingtao, surrounded by enemies on all sides. Not to mention attacking the rebels, he couldn't even defend himself. His situation was precarious!
"Your Majesty is here!"
Suddenly, a long and sharp cry of a eunuch was heard outside the door.
The five people in the room hurriedly stood up, turned around, and saw Liu Bian coming in in casual clothes with a warm smile.
"Your Majesty, we are honored to see you." Yang Biao and his four companions raised their hands in greeting.
Liu Bian sat down at Yang Biao's seat and said, "No need to be polite."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." The five people took seats and surrounded Liu Bian on both sides.
Liu Bian got straight to the point and said, "I came here today to talk about two things. The first is about changing the reign title and issuing the policy guidelines after the court session. The second is about the rebellion in Yanzhou. The Secretariat should focus on rectifying the internal affairs, and the Grand Marshal's Office will be responsible for suppressing the rebellion. Everyone should perform their duties and focus on the work, and don't spread your energy too thin."
Wang Yun looked angry and said, "Your Majesty, Cao Cao's army is too slow. By the time he reaches Chenliu, I'm afraid Ding Yuan will have been beheaded and Yanzhou will be in a state of chaos!"
Liu Bian nodded and said, "I have ordered the Grand Marshal's Office to send a letter to urge them. The Shangshutai should not make any further moves, lest the pressure is too great and the morale of the troops in suppressing the rebellion is shaken."
Others did not know Cao Cao's plan, but Liu Bian knew it very clearly.
Wang Yun hesitated and slowly put down his hand. In his heart, he still wanted to replace Cao Cao and let Huangfu Song lead the army.
Xun You saw that Liu Bian had suppressed Wang Yun and said, "Your Majesty, I would like to go to Yingchuan to raise money and food."
Liu Bian waved his hand and said, "Leave the money and grain issue to Cao Cao. Let's discuss the promulgation of the policy outline."
Xun You looked at Liu Bian, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself.
Since the outbreak of the Golden Rebellion, the imperial court has had fewer and fewer means of controlling its generals, and now there is almost only one left: money and food.
This last one was also given to the generals, which was about the transition from offense to defense, and the imperial court had to ask them to do things.
Yang Biao blinked his eyes, observing Liu Bian's expression, pondered for a moment, and said, "Your Majesty, regarding the tax cuts in the outline, the Shangshutai believes that the amount should not be too much or too large. For counties and prefectures with serious disasters, the limit should be three years..."
Liu Bian waited for him to finish, thought for a moment, and said, "Continue."
Yang Biao bowed and said, "Regarding the post of the Governor of Grain, I think that Sili, Bingzhou, and Youzhou are temporarily feasible, but Ji, Yan, and Yu need to be further investigated. Yi, Xu, Yang and other places are far away and have many bandits. The court cannot reach them, so they need to be supervised by the governors and provincial governors..."
Liu Bian took the teacup handed over by Pan Yin and said, "What the Prime Minister said makes sense. Please feel free to speak your mind and pool your wisdom."
After Liu Bian's words, Xun You, Zhong Yao, Wang Yun and Li Ru spoke one after another and had an in-depth discussion on the collective measures of the policy outline.
On the other side, it took Cao Cao less than three days to reach Fengxian County.
In the evening, Cao Cao hid his troops in the mountains and forests, and summarized the information he had gathered. He said to Guo Jia solemnly: "Fengxiao, Qiao Mao appointed Bao Xin as the governor of Shanyang and gathered 10,000 soldiers to guard Changyi. Other places are occupied by bandits, so there is no need to worry about them."
Guo Jia looked at the map in his hand and said, "Envoy Ding is trapped in Dingtao. If we can recapture Changyi, Dingtao will be relieved, and then we can go all the way north and head straight for Puyang!"
Puyang, the seat of Dongjun, was the base camp of Qiaomao.
Cao Cao thought the same thing. He looked back with a worried look on his face and said, "We are marching too fast. Miao Cai will never be able to catch up. The current military rations are only enough for three days at most."
As the saying goes, food and grass must be sent before an army moves forward. This shows the importance of food and grass. If the food and grass are exhausted, there is no need for the rebels to attack, and Cao Cao's 18,000 troops will be defeated without a fight.
Guo Jia's expression remained unchanged, his eyes fixed on Changyi, and he muttered to himself, "The rebels are surging, and have gathered hundreds of thousands of them. The food and grass they need must be incalculable. So, where are they storing the food and grass?"
Cao Cao was startled, his eyes suddenly opened wide, and he searched everywhere on the map of Yanzhou.
Not long after, he said, "Rencheng and Dongping are definitely not the right choices. They want to go west to Luoyang. These two places are too far away. The same is true for Dongjun. The most suitable place should be in Dingtao. Dingtao is still defended by Envoy Ding. Therefore, the place to store food and grass may be near Changyi!"
Guo Jia looked up at him, and subconsciously reached out to touch his waist. He felt nothing, smiled nonchalantly, and said, "Whether it is true or not, if we take Changyi, the general can get at least ten days of military rations!"
"enough!"
Cao Cao was overjoyed, pacing back and forth, and suddenly said in a deep voice: "Pass my order, rest for half an hour!"
Guo Jia stretched out his hand to stop him and said, "I heard that General Cao is familiar with many noble families in Yanzhou?"
Cao Cao was puzzled and asked, "What does Fengxiao mean?"
Guo Jia smiled calmly and said, "Qiao Mao is plotting rebellion and is unpopular. Many noble families will surely be dragged into it. If the general lends a helping hand at this time, I think countless people will be grateful."
Cao Cao was so excited that he said, "I'll write the letter right away!"
Once he gets these letters out, there will definitely be people in Qiao Mao's rebel army who will be tempted to do something, some will tip off the rebels, some will come to join him, and some will even stab Qiao Mao and his men in the back!
More importantly, this is a good way to alienate traitors like Qiao Mao, split their forces, and shake their military morale!