This was Liu Jia¡¯s first battle against Cao Cao alone, and it was also Liu Jia¡¯s first move to unify the country. Its importance is naturally self-evident. *1*1* Therefore Liu Jia decided to take action personally.
Under his command were literati such as Pang Tong, Xu Shu, Peng Yi, Zhang Song, Li Hui, and Hua Tuo, as well as generals such as Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, Wei Yan, Pang De, Ma Dai, E Huan, and Wutu Gu. []
The affairs of Chengdu were temporarily entrusted to the joint management of Liu Ba, Fazheng, Huang Quan and others. Gan Ning continued to guard Jiangling and coordinate with Jingzhou. Gao Pei and Lingbao were temporarily stationed in Chengdu, waiting for the situation of Liu Jia's army to change before deciding on their movement.
Zhang Liao and Yu Jin stayed in the interior because they did not want to confront Cao's army. Among them, Yu Jin continued to train new soldiers, while Zhang Liao replaced Li Yan to guard Jiangxia County to guard against Guan Yu who was guarding the west gate for Sun Quan. Li Yan, who originally guarded Jiangxia County, went to Xiangyang County to replace Huang Zhong in guarding Xiangyang County. Huang Zhong went to Hanzhong alone, waiting for Liu Jia's army to arrive and then join together to attack Xiliang. Gao Pei, Zhang Ren, Zhuo Ying, and Yang Hong replaced Zhao Yun to guard Hanzhong, Yangpingguan and Tianshui City.
A few days before the army set out for the expedition, Liu Jia also received two good gifts from God: his wife Sun Shangxiang and Wu Caidi each gave him a big fat boy almost at the same time.
Looking at Fendudu¡¯s crying son, Liu Jia was so happy that he couldn¡¯t open his mouth from ear to ear and became more energetic on the way to the expedition.
After receiving the news from Tan Ma that Liu Jia had sent troops to Yongzhou, Cao Cao was shocked and quickly summoned his men to discuss countermeasures.
Cao Cao said with a grimace: "Everyone, what do you think we should do?"
Cheng Yu said: "I didn't expect Liu Jia to be so courageous. He set off before we had finished resting. The most dangerous situation for us now is General Zhang He's 80,000-strong army. Those elite soldiers who had no losses at that time. If Liu Jia is allowed to kill them If we are blocked in the west of Yongzhou and Xiliang, we will lose one-third of our strength. Although we have 450,000 troops, we only have more than 300,000 combat-effective elite troops. Yu suggested that we should immediately
Zhang He¡¯s army was recruited back to guard the front line of Chang¡¯an and ensure the security of the Central Plains east of Chang¡¯an. The western part of Yongzhou and Liangzhou simply gave up. "
After hearing Cheng Yu¡¯s words, Cao Cao did not express his position immediately, but turned to look at Jia Xu and Xun Yu. Xun Yu also looked hesitant. He said slowly: "Ifif it's just a war, giving up Xiliang would be a good idea. As long as we hold on to the Central Plains, we can try to take it back after we have rested and recuperated and our troops have expanded. But we can't take it back. It¡¯s not bad that we can defend the land of Kyushu. It¡¯s just"
Seeing that Xun Yu was hesitant to speak, Jia Xu nodded and took over Xun Yu's words: "It's just that now is the critical moment for the Prime Minister to ascend to the throne of Wei King. It seems a bit difficult to explain to the ministers if we give up without fighting. I'm worried. Some people took the opportunity to spread rumors. And" Jia Xu himself began to hesitate when speaking.
Once Cao Cao was reminded, he quickly understood what they meant. He asked uncertainly: "If my 80,000-strong army is wiped out by Liu Jia, won't it also damage my reputation?".
Jia Xu said: "This is different. Even if it hurts, the prime minister has ascended to the high position of the King of Wei. It doesn't matter much. And victory or defeat is a common thing for military strategists. The impact of failure after we work hard is the same as giving up without fighting a battle. The impact is completely different. If we run away without fighting, others will say that we are cowardly and soft-headed, and we will make irresponsible remarks. If we fight but fail to win, it is because we have just defeated Ma Chao and are in the rest period and have limited strength. , and the enemy is too powerful. In this case, everyone will understand, and even those who want to oppose will not dare to oppose openly. "
After hearing this, Cao Cao nodded silently.
Jia Xu continued: "If the Prime Minister can take a step back and think about the problem, then there are several advantages to letting Zhang He persist in Xiliang. Even if all the 80,000 troops were eaten by Liu Jia, it would be better than us ordering Zhang He to come back now."
A slight smile appeared on Cao Cao's bitter face. He looked at Jia Xu eagerly and said, "Wen He, tell me, what are the benefits?"
Jia Xu said: "The first is that with the help of this war, we can eliminate some people who are dissatisfied with the Prime Minister ascending the throne of Wei King. We can also recruit troops and store grain more conveniently. The second is that Zhang He did not withdraw but stayed in Xiliang and Liu Jia's battle can buy us precious time. If Liu Jia's army wants to eat Zhang He's troops, it must chase our 80,000-strong army into the interior of Xiliang. Even if Liu Jia'er and the others don't fight, it will take several months to get in and out. Time. This not only buys time for the Prime Minister to ascend to the throne of Wei, but also buys time for our army to rest and recruit troops. Secondly, our 80,000-strong army is a battle-hardened elite soldier with very strong combat effectiveness. Now they have We have captured the cities in Beidi County, Xinping County, Anding County and other places, and Wuwei County is in the process of being captured. As long as Zhang He's army is ordered to resist city by city, relying on the role of these cities, Liu Jia's effective forces can be greatly eliminated. Liu Jia wants to completely eliminate us. The 80,000-strong army must increase its troops. Even if we divide the enemy into twoAt a loss of one to one, Liu Jia also lost 80,000 elite soldiers. Eighty thousand elite soldiers are certainly important to us. But for Liu Jia, it is more important. We hold the land of Kyushu, with a large population and easy recruitment, but it is very difficult for them. In other words, their loss of vitality is far greater than ours. After they are exhausted and we have rested, our hundreds of thousands of troops can suddenly attack them, or we can let them stay in the bitter cold Xiliang, while we directly attack Jingzhou and Yizhou. Liu Jia's remaining troops are strong. It is difficult to resist our attack. "
Cao Cao smiled and said in agreement: "The first reason Wen He said is a bit far-fetched, but the next two points are reasonable. Are there any more?"
Jia Xu did not feel complacent, but smiled secretly and said: "Liu Jia's purpose of sending troops to Xiliang is nothing more than two-fold. One is to avenge Ma Chao and regain their homes for those Xiliang soldiers who took refuge, so that they will be more determined to fight in the future. Follow him. The second is to take a fancy to Xiliang's good horses and strong men, which may provide them with powerful cavalry. As for the first aspect, we don't care about it and can't control it, because they can do it whether we withdraw our troops or not. Do this. But for the second aspect, we have something to do, we can completely destroy their dream"
Having said this, Jia Xu did not finish completely. Instead, he looked at Cao Cao and smiled.
"Haha, that makes sense. This reason for not allowing Zhang He to withdraw his troops is more sufficient than the first three. Okay! That's it." Cao Cao smiled, maybe in high spirits, and later added, "Since we can't get it, You, Liu Jia, don¡¯t want it either. Humph!"
The last nasal sound made everyone feel cold: Cao Cao is going to kill the people and horses of Xiliang!
Jia Xu, who came up with this poisonous plan, further said: "Now Zhang He's army is still a sword, thrusting forward. Now we must turn them into a strong shield. In addition to ordering General Zhang He to immediately shrink his troops and stop the large army from continuing, the Prime Minister Capture the remaining counties in Xiliang and use all your strength to store up grain and grass to repair the city. In addition to driving all the people into the city to prepare materials for defending the city, the prime minister will also send some generals and troops who are good at defending the city"
Xun Yu quickly objected: "Yu basically has no objection to Wen He's strategy of talking about the land just now, but he objected to sending more troops to build this hole. Now that we have decided to abandon Xiliang, we should proceed according to the method of abandoning the land." Soldiers, what¡¯s the use of adding more troops?¡±
Xun Yu saw Cao Cao and Jia Xu looking at him with smiles, and he knew from their expressions that they disagreed with him. So he continued: "Add our new recruits? It doesn't mean much. These soldiers with little training will not play any role when meeting Liu Jia's elite soldiers. They only increase our losses. Add our elite soldiers? Get rid of General Zhang He." We have 80,000 elite soldiers, and all our other elite soldiers in other places add up to only more than 200,000. Except for those who must be stationed by Sun Quan for water defense on the Yangtze River and several large states and counties, they are mainly elite soldiers brought back from Tongguan by the Prime Minister. They are all our treasures. We cannot tolerate our most wasteful things. Yu knew that Wen He did this to comfort General Zhang He and also to improve their morale, but he took other methods entirely."
Cao Cao laughed and said: "Other methods are only verbal at best. They are just asking General Zhang to lead Liu Jia's troops over, and we will attack them from the front and back. But both the generals who command the troops and the soldiers who fight know that it is true. If there is any pincer attack, we have to wait until they lead Liu Jia's army to Xiliang. If they don't send some troops during the lead-in process, the loyal General Zhang He probably won't have any objections, and it's hard for others to say, they will They will guess that we are going to abandon them. Therefore, it is necessary to send troops, and they must be sent out with great fanfare. I must personally bid farewell to these soldiers."
Perhaps because he was afraid that Xun Yu would be embarrassed, Cao Cao smiled and said to Xun Yu: "Wen Ruo, don't worry too much. If the ancient Yun Ci didn't lead an army, how could he not die in a war? As long as we commanders always think about dying less, As long as they are human beings, they should lose those who deserve to be lost. In fact, even if they are new recruits, their role is better than those strong men captured temporarily, right?"
Speaking of which. Cao Cao suddenly stopped smiling. He said in a serious tone: "Only a few gentlemen know about this strategy. Please don't mention it outside this door."
Three days later. As expected, Cao Cao sent 30,000 soldiers led by Zhang Wei, Xu Shang, Lu Jian, and Lu Qian at the west gate of Xuchang to support Zhang He's army. After the news reached Cao's army who was fighting, the morale of the 80,000 troops who were attacking the city was so high that they were no longer suspicious.
When they arrived at Tianshui City, Liu Jia and the others immediately discussed ways to deal with Cao's army after receiving news from Tanma about Cao Cao's reinforcements.
Liu Jia, Xu Shu and several generals were discussing in a low voice over the map hanging on the wall, while Pang Tong asked several detective horses again and again.
After asking, Pang Tong ordered Tan Ma to leave, and then said with a smile: "Cao Cao seems to be abandoning Xiliang this time "
Ma Chao immediately asked strangely: "They immediately sent 30,000 reinforcements. Why did Zuo Sima say they were abandoning Xiliang?"
Several other people turned their heads and looked at Pang Tong.
Pang Tong said: "There are two points that can be guessed. One is that there is a problem with the timing of Cao Cao's sending troops; the other is that there is a problem with the generals and soldiers sent by Cao Cao."
Wei Yan also asked: "We came to attack, but they sent reinforcements to stop us. What's wrong with the timing of sending troops?"
Seeing that there were people who had the same doubts as himself, Ma Chao asked, "Could it be that when Zhang He's army is surrounded by us, then will it be the right time for Cao Cao to send troops?"
Pang Tong smiled and said to Ma Chao: "Meng Qi is right. If Tong is Cao Cao, he must wait until our troops drive Zhang He's army to Xiliang, that is, after we cut off Zhang He's army's retreat, before sending out troops. This will It has the best effect. Cao Cao is also good at using troops, so his rush to send troops is obviously a helpless move. The purpose of these 30,000 troops is just to boost the morale of Zhang He's 80,000 troops."
Huang Zhong, who had just arrived from Xiangyang for a day, asked: "Why did Zuo Sima say that Cao Cao sent troops in a hurry? Isn't there a saying that rescuing troops is like putting out fire? Could it be that Cao Cao couldn't even send out 30,000 prepared soldiers?"
Pang Tong said: "That's not true. The timing of war is important. It is of little use to send troops too early or too late. Now 60,000 of Zhang He's 80,000 troops have arrived at Wuwei County in Xiliang, and the newly occupied Beidi County, Xinping County, and Anding County In such a large area, there are only more than 10,000 soldiers guarding and clearing out the remaining troops. We must drive them all to Xiliang and occupy their Beidi County, Xinping County, Anding County and other places. It cannot be done in ten or twenty days. It can be done. Moreover, according to common sense, Zhang He's 80,000 troops can persist with us for a long time compared to our 140,000 troops, but there is still no problem if they persist for five or six months. Now it is necessary to send 30,000 troops who have never fought in a war. Did the troops and a few incompetent generals come? Cao Cao and Meng Qi were exhausted at the front lines of Tongguan and Chang'an, and we ended the war quickly in the south. The troops only walked a few more days and suffered no losses. Big, so we can get here quickly. How can Cao Cao rest and recuperate in such a short time? His purpose here is to use Zhang He's army to drag us to Xiliang to fight each other, buy them time to recuperate, and at the same time eliminate us. It will help them fight with us in the future. Moreover, according to the news reported by Cheng Tanma, Cao Jun has now begun to drive the people into the city, killing the people who oppose it, and also drives as many cattle and horses into the city as possible, and those that cannot be kept in the city. He kills them without hesitation, even the newly born ponies, what does this mean?"
When Ma Chao heard this, he cursed angrily: "Old thief Cao Cao, Ma and you are at odds with each other!"
Liu Jia asked: "Cao Cao made the decision to abandon Xiliang so early. What should we do? Will our army still have to fight Zhang He? If we fight hard with this abandoned son of Cao Cao, won't we just fall into the trap of Cao Cao's thieves? A treacherous plot?"
Ma Chao was anxious after hearing Liu Jia's words. He was very worried that Liu Jia would not attack Xiliang, but he could not give a reason for his objection. He felt that Liu Jia's words made sense: How could anyone jump into the trap while looking at it? He could only stare at Pang Tong.
Pang Tong glanced at the anxious Ma Chao with a smile, and said with a smile to Liu Jia: "Haha, since Cao Cao sent two states to you, King of Shu, why did you refuse? If you don't accept it, you won't accept it for free!"