My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 651 Where is Cao Cao?
Fortunately, although the eastern front suffered a minor setback, its forces were strong. Even if it could not take Fucheng for the time being, it was still able to maintain the battle line, preventing Cao Cao's army from continuing eastward and coordinating with Cao Cao to break through the Jiange and Jiameng defense lines.

However, the original plan had to be adjusted again. Previously, the plan was to launch an attack on the eastern front first, capture Fucheng, completely cut off the connection between the eastern and western Cao armies, and protect the rear of Jiange.

Now it seems that the situation has changed. Without a stronghold like Fucheng to rely on on the eastern front, even with a numerical advantage, there are many more dangers.

Similarly, this also adds a lot of pressure to the western front forces. If the western front forces cannot effectively contain Cao Cao's elite troops, the pressure on the eastern front forces will become even greater.

This undoubtedly made the situation more tense.

For Liu Feng, acquiring food as soon as possible would facilitate the mobilization of troops in the rear to Chengdu, and would also allow him to reorganize nearly 10,000 surrendered Shu soldiers and use them as the main force to defend Chengdu, thereby freeing up field forces.

As a result, the importance of Zhang Song, Qin Mi, Yang Hong and others' grain procurement plan was undoubtedly raised again, becoming even more important.

**
At this moment, Cao Ang was anxiously waiting by the river outside Guandi City.

In the distance, billowing dust approached and then stopped at the riverbank.

This was the force of Sima Yi and Shi Huan, along with the troops of Niu Jin stationed in Pixian. This force of seven or eight thousand men was entirely composed of Cao Cao's elite troops, including many elite soldiers, making them extremely valuable to Cao Ang.

Of course, what Cao Ang worried about most was Sima Yi.

When the small boat carrying Sima Yi appeared at the ferry, Cao Ang personally went to the shore to greet him.

"Zhongda, you're finally back."

Upon meeting, Cao Ang grabbed Sima Yi, looked him up and down, and only breathed a sigh of relief after seeing that the other was safe and sound.

Sima Yi humbly replied, "I am unworthy of your kind words, my lord."

Cao Ang sighed and looked at Jiangnan: "Zhang Ziqiao, Qin Zichi, Yang Jixiu and other villains betrayed their master and surrendered the city to the enemy, almost ruining my great cause. Fortunately, Zhongda was quick-witted and turned the tide, so that the country was spared."

Sima Yi humbly replied again, "I was able to escape safely this time thanks to the great fortune of my lord. How dare I boast?"

Cao Ang's expression suddenly tightened. He pulled Sima Yi aside and whispered, "Zhongda, there is an extremely urgent matter that I need your advice on."

Sima Yi's heart sank, and he suddenly thought of the war in the east.

Could it be that Cao Chun and Cao Xiu suffered a defeat?

Looking at Cao Ang's serious expression, could it be that Cao Chun and his men were completely wiped out?

Just as Sima Yi was filled with suspicion, he suddenly heard Cao Ang's voice beside him.

"Zhongda, we may be isolated and helpless within six months."

"what?"

Sima Yi exclaimed in surprise, quite puzzled. He wasn't puzzled by the lack of reinforcements, but rather by why Cao Ang had suddenly brought up these matters.

In Sima Yi's view, his side was already isolated and helpless. As for Cao Cao's reinforcements, Sima Yi believed that they would be difficult to help his side out of the predicament.

To succeed, Cao Cao's army in Shu must also launch a full-scale attack eastward simultaneously, working together from both inside and outside, only then will there be any hope of escaping the predicament.

It was this understanding that led Sima Yi to abandon the fortified city of Chengdu and transport supplies hundreds of miles away. His aim was to shorten the distance between himself and Cao Cao as much as possible, while freeing up field troops to defeat, or at least repel, the eastern front of the Left Guard Army, in order to coordinate with and support Cao Cao's reinforcements.

However, Cao Ang's next words deeply shocked Sima Yi.

"The General is not in Hanzhong!?"

Even with Sima Yi's composure, he couldn't help but cry out.

Fortunately, the two left the crowd and were protected by their personal guards. In addition, even though Sima Yi was shocked and cried out, he controlled the volume of his voice, which prevented him from attracting the attention of others.

Once Sima Yi came to his senses, he hurriedly apologized to Cao Ang. Cao Ang had told him such confidential information because he trusted him, but he had made a mistake at the first moment. If this were really investigated, the crime of leaking secrets would be a real one.

Cao Ang was quite tolerant of Sima Yi's loss of composure. He not only did not blame Sima Yi, but also showed great understanding of his feelings.

After all, when Cao Ang himself first learned of this news, he was also shocked and lost his composure.

Then, Cao Ang patted the other man on the shoulder and comforted him, "Zhongda, there's no need for that. When I heard about this, I was just as shocked as you are."

Sima Yi forced himself to remain calm, then asked the question that had been troubling him most: "My lord, where is the Grand General now? Has he returned to Luozhong again? Or has something major happened in the court?"

Cao Cao's westward advance, his entry into Chang'an, and his journey through Baoxie Road to Hanzhong were all well-known. Xiahou Yuan's vanguard had already arrived in Hanzhong. Although these events took a considerable amount of time, Cao Ang and others eventually learned of them.

Now that Cao Cao is suddenly not coming, Sima Yi suddenly realized that the place Cao Cao went to was probably a more important place, and his first thought was that something had happened in Luoyang.

"Nothing has changed in Luozhong, and the court is stable. Besides, the Grand General did indeed head south, but he didn't take the Baoxie Road; he took the Wuguan Road instead..."

"The General intends to take Xiangyang!?"

Cao Ang was stunned by Sima Yi's words.

After a moment, Cao Ang sighed in admiration: "People in Luozhong often praise Zhongda for his divine strategies, saying he is a genius of unparalleled talent. Although I greatly value your talent, I also thought the rumors were too absurd and exaggerated. But only today do I realize that what people say is not false. It is because I did not know Zhongda's true talent."

Although Sima Yi had something on his mind, he had no choice but to thank Cao Ang for his praise. He then pressed on, asking, "General, if you intend to take Xiangyang, are you not afraid of becoming sworn enemies with General Zuo?"

Cao Ang said with a wry smile, "Zhongda, General Zuo has trapped us in Shu and is determined not to let us go. Isn't that turning us into enemies?"

Sima Yi was immediately taken aback, and after a moment he slowly nodded.

Liu Feng rejected Cao Cao's offer and insisted on trapping Cao Ang in Shu, which shows that he had great ambitions.

Although Cao Cao was unaware of Liu Feng's ambitions, as a first-rate strategist of his time, he had keenly sensed the crisis. And as a first-rate tactician, he knew even more clearly that he absolutely could not place his resources and hopes on breaking through the treacherous passes of Jiameng and Jianmen. Therefore, while Cao Cao used the pretext of rescuing Shu to mobilize troops and gather strength, his true objective was never Jiameng Pass, or rather, not entirely Jiameng Pass, but rather Jingzhou.

For Cao Cao, the three passes of Jiameng, Tianxiong, and Jianmen were all strategically important and easily defensible locations. Tianxiong, the weakest of the three, could have been a formidable stronghold for Cao Cao, even at the cost of tens of thousands of his elite troops, if properly defended.

He mobilized only fifty to sixty thousand troops, and even if he wanted to break through the three passes, at best he would lose more than half of his forces at the gates of those passes. Moreover, the initiative of the situation remained in Liu Feng's hands, and he could deploy reinforcements by water and land.

Therefore, unless Liu Feng wanted to, Cao Cao had almost no chance of conquering Shu.

Therefore, Cao Cao's southward expedition to rescue Cao Ang was a ruse from the very beginning; his true objective was always Xiangyang.

Compared to the three passes of Jiameng, Xiangyang, although also a formidable city of its time, was undoubtedly much easier to capture. Moreover, although Xiangyang was under Liu Feng's control, many counties to the north of Xiangyang were under Cao Cao's control. Among them, the closest county, Deng, was only five li away from Xiangyang, while Shandu, Chaoyang, and Caiyang were only twenty or thirty li away.

These areas are relatively close to Xiangyang and have been less affected by the wars over the years. Moreover, they have benefited from the economic prosperity of Xiangyang and are among the richest counties in Nanyang Prefecture. They not only have a large population, but also have a lot of grain reserves.

This is clearly due to the advantage of location.

Meanwhile, although Liu Feng occupied Xiangyang and the entire Jingbei region for only two years, Liu Biao managed to establish himself in Xiangyang and Jingbei for a full ten years. Although he was slightly less capable, he still left behind a reputation for benevolence and virtue in Jingbei.

With Liu Biao's former protégés and officials as inside help, the conquest of Xiangyang and Jingbei would have the advantage of popular support.

Finally, with the arrival of spring and abundant water resources, the stored grain from various counties in Nanyang can be smoothly transported to the outskirts of Xiangyang by waterway, which is truly the opportune time.

Attacking the three passes of Jiameng is not only extremely risky and results in heavy casualties, but also puts you at the mercy of others.

On the contrary, the conquest of Xiangyang and Jingzhou was achieved with the right timing, location, and popular support.

As a brilliant strategist, Cao Cao could not possibly have failed to see this.

Another point is that once Xiangyang falls, many counties and towns in northern Jingzhou are likely to surrender under the dual political offensive of the imperial court and Liu Biao. Cao Cao's army could then quickly advance south along the Mian River, threatening Jiangling and Nanjun. The former, in particular, is an important distribution center for supplies for the Left Guard Army's entry into Shu.

If Cao Cao can capture Xiangyang, the Left Guard Army will be caught in a dilemma in Shu. If Cao Cao can continue his efforts and capture Jiangling, then Cao Ang's predicament in Shu will naturally be resolved.

In this way, Cao Cao not only relieved Cao Ang's predicament but also gained full control of the fertile and prosperous lands of Jingbei. This also directly threatened the Yangtze River shipping route, effectively dividing Liu Feng's previously closely connected Jiangnan territory, which relied on the Yangtze River, into three weakly connected independent territories. The strategic initiative would then shift to Cao Cao, who controlled Jingbei.

This is much more worthwhile than attacking the three passes of Jiameng.

After thinking it through, Sima Yi couldn't help but exclaim, "I wonder who offered this plan to the General. Just now, my lord praised me for having a divine strategy. I am ashamed to accept such praise. Perhaps only this wise man deserves such accolades."

Cao Ang did not think Sima Yi was unworthy, but he quite agreed with the second half of Sima Yi's statement.

"I heard that this plan was proposed by Mr. Zhicai and Mr. Wenhe after discussion, and it was adopted by my father at the time."

Cao Ang readily shared all the information he knew with Sima Yi, and finally asked, "Zhongda, how likely do you think this plan will succeed? And how should we proceed afterward?"

Sima Yi pondered for a moment, and after much deliberation, he cautiously replied, "Although the timing, location, and popular support seem to be all in my hands, the Left Army is elite, its soldiers are brave and fierce, and its weapons are excellent. Jia Kui and Dong Xi, who are guarding Xiangyang, are veteran generals who have followed General Zuo for many years and are deeply trusted by him. Although General, your southward expedition has the legitimacy of the imperial court and the old friendship with Liu Biao, taking Jingbei will still not be an easy task."

Although Sima Yi's answer was somewhat pessimistic, Cao Ang nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Because what Sima Yi said was exactly what he was thinking.

However, at the end, Sima Yi still gave a clear answer: "I'm afraid it should be divided into four and six."

Cao Ang blinked and asked curiously, "Who's four and who's six?"

Sima Yi replied seriously, "The Left Army is well-rested and has a fortified city to rely on, so we should have a 60% chance of winning."

If the Left Guard Army is counted as 60%, then Cao Cao would only have 40% left.

However, Cao Ang was somewhat satisfied. In his view, a 40% chance was already quite high. After all, victory and defeat are common occurrences in war. Now that the Cao family was in dire straits, if they couldn't fight back, they might as well surrender as soon as possible.

Of course, deep down, Cao Ang had even stronger confidence in his father. Moreover, if Cao Cao succeeded, the situation would be drastically reversed. Cao Ang's predicament of being trapped in Shu would suddenly turn into a winning position, allowing him to coordinate with Jingbei from afar.

In particular, under Sima Yi's management, Cao Ang, although he lost the fortified city of Chengdu, was closer to Fucheng. Moreover, he still had tens of thousands of Shu soldiers and able-bodied men, as well as a million shi of grain reserves.

With these supplies and troops, Liu Feng could no longer ignore him.

If Liu Feng were to turn back to rescue Jingzhou, Cao Ang could take the opportunity to expand his territory and even delay Liu Feng's eastward retreat.

If Liu Feng doesn't move, he can rely on his stored grain to confront him. The longer the conflict drags on, the better it will be for Cao Cao's campaign in Jingbei.

Cao Ang pressed on, "Then how should we respond?"

Sima Yi shook his head: "My lord, this is a very serious matter. Please allow me to think about it carefully for a few days."

Cao Ang clearly understood this principle and did not press the matter further. Instead, he accompanied Sima Yi back to Guandi.

By nightfall, Cao Cao's army had all crossed the river to the north, leaving Pixian to Liu Feng.

There was nothing that could be done about it; Pixian County is only twenty or thirty miles away from Chengdu.

If Cao Cao's army gains the upper hand, then Pixian would naturally be the best forward base, not only for close observation of the movements within Chengdu, but also for serving as the best early warning point.

It would be virtually impossible for a large force to bypass Pixian and launch a surprise attack on Guandi.

Standing atop the city wall of Pixian, one can clearly see the entire river surface from the city wall to the waterways on both sides, making it impossible to cross illegally.

However, Cao Cao's army is currently at a clear disadvantage. Not only are his generals unwilling to garrison Pi County, but even if they were, they would likely be easy prey for Liu Feng, waiting to be devoured. If the Left Guard Army were to deploy the heavy siege equipment that previously ravaged Chengdu, Pi County, a small place, could only hold a maximum of three or four thousand men. With such a small force, they wouldn't last a single day against the Left Guard Army.

Since that's the case, why not just abandon Pixian, preserve our strength, and fight again later?

(End of this chapter)