pdf-ebookys Chapter 183 Guo Jia's Strategy
Chapter 183 Guo Jia's Strategy
Chapter 183 Guo Jia's Strategy
Cao Cao came to a small hill and looked towards Chang'an.
Soon, Cao Ren came over and said, "General, everything is ready."
Cao Cao held his sword in his hand without saying a word. He looked up at the high moon with a calm expression yet a hint of pride.
Cao Ren stood beside him, hesitating for a while, and said, "General, judging from the reports from the spies, there may be more than 300,000 Yellow Turban troops, big and small. Can we really force them to surrender?"
Cao Ren was different from the brothers Xiahou Yuan. Since Cao Cao became the General of Wuwei, his title changed from "Mengde" to "General".
Cao Cao smiled confidently and said, "Feng Xiao's strategies have never been wrong."
Cao Ren said no more, because not far away, there seemed to be a figure swaying in the darkness, and he said, "Here they come!"
Cao Cao snorted coldly and said, "Scare them a bit, try not to kill any people, and save their mouths for food."
Cao Ren responded and strode away.
On the small road in the distance, Gong Du led two thousand people, advancing in the dark, heading straight for Cao Cao's camp.
A man behind him whispered, "Master Qu, are we going to be the first to come forward?"
Gong Du looked fierce and said, "Cao Cao's food and grass are in the rear. If someone gets there first, you'll just have to chew on tree bark!"
The others fell silent.
The purpose of their marching and fighting was actually very simple - money and food.
They would never fight fiercely with the government troops just to occupy a few more cities to expand their territory, nor did they have the ambition of the "Three Dukes and Generals" to "the blue sky is dead, the yellow sky should be established", they just wanted to fill their stomachs.
Dong dong dong
Suddenly, drums sounded around them, and then torches suddenly lit up, stretching out endlessly, shuttling through the forest, like thousands of troops.
Gong Du was startled and turned around quickly, saying, "Run! Run!"
He was the first to run, and the soldiers behind him scrambled to catch up and soon overtook him, running very fast.
Cao Ren came out of the woods and looked at the scattered and shouting Yellow Turban Army. He glanced at the hoes and shovels that fell on the ground, and a strange look appeared on his face.
He had fought several battles with Cao Cao, but this was the first time he had seen such a Yellow Turban Army.
Cao Cao then walked over and looked at the Yellow Turban Army, which looked like stray dogs from their home. His expression remained unchanged, but he was also a little surprised. This was very different from the Yellow Turban Army he had encountered before.
In the past, he followed Huangfu Song and others to fight against the Yellow Turban Army. At that time, the Yellow Turban Army was extremely powerful, and Huangfu Song was defeated repeatedly. It was completely different from today, when he would flee at the slightest sign of trouble.
"withdraw troops."
Cao Cao looked again, then turned and walked back.
After returning to the camp, he came to Xiahou Dun's ward. He did not see Guo Jia and Xiahou Yuan, but he did not ask. He took off his clothes and fell asleep.
Xiahou Dun couldn't sleep. All he could think about was the conversation between Guo Jia and Xiahou Yuan.
The next morning, Cao Cao dressed up and led Cao Ren to prepare for action. Before leaving, he went to Guo Jia's room and saw that he was not there. He asked the guard, "Why didn't Feng Xiao come back all night?"
The guard raised his hand and said, "Yes, Xiahou Sima has not returned either."
Cao Cao thought for a moment and brought Cao Ren to the front of Chang'an City.
Cao Ren looked alert and said, "Meng De, there are probably hundreds of thousands of people here."
Cao Cao didn't care at all and said loudly: "For last night, a million is nothing!"
Cao Ren nodded. It was really useless to flee in all directions at the slightest noise.
Cao Cao personally led the troops and made the siege very powerful, causing panic in the city of Chang'an.
As one of the thirty-six generals, He Yi came with a large army in order to get Cao Cao's hundreds of thousands of grains. Seeing Cao Cao attacking the city, he was not in a hurry and said to Gong Du: "Is it confirmed? Did Cao Cao really bring so much money and grain?"
He Yi is not a reckless man. The fact that he can live to this day is enough to show his ability.
Gong Du was a little ashamed of the night raid last night, and said confidently: "We brothers have carefully investigated several times. The large warehouse stretches for miles, and the food and grass are covered like clouds. There is no doubt about it! And we have also received news from Luoyang, which is certain!"
He Yi didn't speak any more, and stared at Cao Cao in the distance with cold eyes.
He had more than 100,000 men under his command. They hid from place to place under the attack of Zhu Jun and made a living by looting. However, Qingzhou was in ruins and there was nowhere else for him to go. He wanted to go to Yanzhou, but was beaten back by Zhu Jun.
He endured the winter with great difficulty, with hundreds of thousands of mouths crying for food and countless eyes staring at him.
Upon learning that Cao Cao had so much money and food, he brought his men over without any hesitation.
Gong Du looked at his expression and suddenly said, "General He, we agreed before that we would split the money and food in half, and then join forces to kill people in Jinan and Pingyuan."
The area east of Beihai State was basically the territory of the Yellow Turban Army and had long been plundered. Only Jinan State and Pingyuan County were slightly better under the management of Zhu Jun.
He Yi smiled slightly and said, "Of course."
Gong Du saw that his smile was so fake, and he became alert.
Since its establishment, the Yellow Turban Army has been in constant fighting and has no internal unity at all. For example, the millions of Yellow Turban Army in Qingzhou fought on their own, with neither a commander nor an alliance. Even if there was a short-term cooperation, it would quickly fall apart for various reasons.
"kill!"
The Cao army cavalry rushed forward, drew their bows and shot arrows, and the arrows fell on the top of the city like rain.
The Yellow Turban Army on the city walls suddenly panicked and began to resist in various ways.
Some were waving half-broken spears, some were shaking hoes, some were hiding under the city walls, and some were swarming down from the top of the city walls.
Gong Du held up a shield, hid behind the wall, and shouted, "Defend the city! Defend the city!"
This was the first time that Cao's army shot arrows into the city, and Gong was panicked.
He Yi was also a little nervous and picked up the big knife, but found that the Cao cavalry under the city did not enter the range of their archers, so they just took turns shooting arrows.
"Don't panic! Don't panic! Cao's army is not attacking the city!"
He Yi shouted to calm people down.
"Master Qu, something bad has happened!"
As soon as he finished speaking, someone ran up to the top of the city wall and shouted, "South Gate, Cao's army's ladders have appeared. They are about to attack the city!"
He Yi was startled and said urgently: "Tell them to hold the city! Do not allow any government troops to enter the city!"
Gong Du stood up and said, "He Shuai, you stay here and I'll go to the south gate!"
"Okay, okay." He Yi nodded repeatedly. He was a little scared of being beaten by Zhu Jun.
Gong Du hurried downstairs, looked back at the rain of arrows, and ran a little faster.
When we arrived at the South Gate, we found that Cao's army not only had ladders, but also catapults, as if they were ready to attack the city!
"Hold on! Everybody hold on!"
Gong Du paced back and forth, yelling.
The Yellow Turban Army was good at attacking cities and looting everywhere, but rarely defended cities. Gong had little experience and just kept waving his sword and shouting.
Cao Ren, who was not far from the city, had no intention of attacking the city, but just made his stance clear.
It was not until evening that Cao's army withdrew.
Gong Du and He Yi, who were standing on the top of the city wall, looked very unhappy.
He Yi asked, "Did Cao Cao do this before?"
Gong Du nodded and said, "He has been testing me."
He Yi glanced at him and cursed him inwardly, "Idiot."
This was not a test by Cao Cao, but a strategy to tire out the enemy. When they were tired enough, Cao Cao would suddenly launch an attack when they least expected it!
Then, they will be completely defeated!
"He has only more than 10,000 men. We will fight him in the field tomorrow!" He Yi suddenly said in a deep voice.
Gong Du was startled and said, "What if it's a trap? You saw it last night. Cao Cao was waiting for me to attack the camp. Fortunately, I retreated quickly!"
He Yi snorted coldly and said, "There is no reason to defend the city forever. We have more people and more power. No matter how cunning Cao Cao is, what can he do? "
Before he finished speaking, a soldier on the watchtower shouted, "Cao Cao's reinforcements have arrived!"
He Yi and Gong Du's hearts skipped a beat and they quickly went up to the watchtower.
The two stood on tiptoe and saw dust rolling in the distance and flags with the word "Zhu" fluttering, stretching to the horizon.
"At least ten thousand people." Gong Du muttered to himself.
He Yi's face darkened. If it was just Cao Cao alone, he would be confident that he could deal with him. But if Zhu Jun came, he would have to be careful!
On the other side, Cao Cao’s camp.
Cao Cao looked at the top of Chang'an County with a smile on his face.
Not long after, Xiahou Yuan rushed over and asked, "Meng De, can you scare them?"
Cao Cao stroked his beard, his narrow eyes flashing with pride, and said: "A frightened bird will half-believe it even if it doesn't believe it."
After saying this, he suddenly turned to Xiahou Yuan and asked, "Where is Fengxiao?"
Xiahou Yuan shook his head and said, "The military advisor brought more than 30 people and said he was going to look for wine."
Cao Cao's eyes widened and he said, "Quick, find him back! No, I'll go find him myself!"
The Beihai Kingdom had long been devastated by the Yellow Turban Army, so where would it get any wine?
Xiahou Yuan thought about what Guo Jia said and said quickly, "I'll go too."
They took their men and rode on horseback, searching for a long time but finding no trace of Guo Jia, so they had to return to the camp.
One of Cao Cao's personal soldiers followed him and whispered, "Military Advisor, will he run away?"
"Stop talking nonsense!" Cao Cao's face darkened and he shouted.
The guards immediately bowed and dared not say anything more.
Xiahou Yuan pushed him away and said, "Go and get ready. No one in Chang'an County is allowed to sleep alone tonight!"
Most of these personal soldiers were descendants of the Cao and Xiahou families. In other words, they were either uncles, brothers, or nephews.
The personal soldiers responded and left in a hurry.
Cao Cao didn't say anything and walked straight into the tent.
Cao Ren didn't follow up, and had to prepare for a 'night attack' on Chang'an County at night.
It had been dark for quite some time, and just when they were resting after lunch, Cao's army suddenly sounded drums and the sound of horse hooves could be heard everywhere.
Cao Ren led 5,000 soldiers and horses, circled the city and attempted to attack several times.
Chang'an County was suddenly in chaos with shouting and screaming.
Gong Du's more than 100,000 people were already a mixed bag and extremely difficult to manage; now with the addition of He Yi's more than 100,000 people, the crowd immediately turned into a mess.
Cao Cao stood at a distance and watched, and said in a decisive tone: "Ten days at most!"
For three consecutive days, Cao's army launched an uninterrupted "siege" on Chang'an County, day and night.
On this day, Cao Cao came back from the front line, and his first question was, "Has Fengxiao not come back yet?"
The personal soldier quickly said, "Yes. The military advisor hasn't come back yet."
Cao Cao did not expect a positive answer and walked towards the tent with his head down.
The personal soldiers chased after him and said, "General, Xiahou Sima is missing."
Cao Cao paused and asked, "You mean Yuan Rang?"
The two brothers Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Dun were both given the title of "Military Sima".
"Yes." said the soldier.
Cao Cao stopped, turned his head to look outside, and frowned.
Cao Cao was a little confused by Guo Jia's sudden disappearance. Now that Xiahou Dun was gone, Cao Cao calmed down. His expression changed slightly. He said in a deep voice: "Order the whole army, do not attack the city tonight. Serve the soldiers with good wine and meat and let them eat to their heart's content!"
The personal guard was overjoyed and said, "I obey your command!"
Cao Ren and Xiahou Yuan heard the news and rushed over. Xiahou Yuan said, "Meng De, we don't have much food and grass. If we eat and drink like this, we won't last more than five days."