My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 422: Going Without Any Reason
Liu Bei's army originally had a large number of troops stationed in Taishan County, and before the battle even started, they had already stored food in the Taishan area in preparation for a protracted war.

Therefore, Guan Yu had to organize the troops and launch the "Lu salient" offensive to attack Cao's army from the north and south, which could be done in just a few days.

As for the Cao army on the opposite side, it was estimated that they were not fully prepared for the offensive of Liu Bei's army.

This is not to say that Cao's army did not have wise men. At this point in the stalemate, Cao Cao brought two old villains, Guo Jia and Jia Xu, with him, and only left Xun You in Hebei to coordinate the work of eliminating the remaining enemies and restoring the situation.

With the wisdom of Guo Jia and Jia Xu, they could certainly predict that Liu Bei's army might organize a counterattack after being suppressed by Cao Cao for two or three months.

But the problem is, there are only thieves who can steal for a thousand days, but there is no one who can guard against thieves for a thousand days.

After two or three months of fighting, Cao's army has proved that they can only succeed and have a better casualty exchange ratio by attacking Liu Bei's Pei County salient from the two river plains in the south.

The Mangdang Mountain area to the west of Pei County and the Jiuli Mountain area to the north of Pei County are much more difficult to attack than the river plain area to the south.

Over time, it would be impossible for Cao's army to ignore the more efficient battlefields and continue to hoard heavy troops on the inefficient battlefields, eating and doing nothing.

Therefore, the troops of Zhang He's army located in Liangdi, west of Pei County, and the troops of Le Jin's army located in Ludi, north of Pei County, were gradually withdrawn and weakened between the twelfth month of last year and the beginning of February this year.

Anyway, there is nothing to do for the troops to stay here, so it is better to focus more on the south and less on the north.

Jia Xu and Guo Jia had also reminded Cao Cao of this, and Cao Cao humbly accepted its advice. However, as time went on and Liu Bei did not attack, he would relax and return to his old ways.

So, at the end of early February, Guan Yu ordered Zhang Liao and Gao Shun to lead the northern and southern armies to break out from Mount Tai and Jiuli Mountain area and head straight for the Lu plain.

The Cao army deployed in the salient of Lu State was caught off guard.

At the beginning, Le Jin did not know the strength of Liu Bei's army, nor the size of the enemy, so he wanted to defend it tightly, not giving up any county, and setting up defenses layer by layer. As a result, those small counties with weak defense facilities were defeated by Gao Shun, who had superior offensive capabilities.

Also, because Cao's army was relatively weak in strength and scattered in all directions in this battlefield, and was defending in a comprehensive manner like pepper sprinkled on a surface, Gao Shun seized the opportunity and surrounded and annihilated the defenders of the two Yanbian counties.

After Le Jin's border defense troops suffered losses, they realized that after Liu Bei's army had been hiding in a low profile for two or three months, it suddenly broke out. This was not a feint attack but a real move.

Le Jin was so overwhelmed that he could only hastily withdraw the remaining troops to the vicinity of Qufu and Yancheng, the most important cities in Lu. At the same time, before being surrounded, he also sent an urgent messenger on horseback to bypass the Lu salient and first report to Zhang He for emergency assistance, and then go around to the southern line to inform Cao Cao.

There is no need to say much about the importance of Qufu, as all Chinese people know it.

It was the capital of the State of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. It is also the former residence of Confucius and the hometown of the sage.

As Le Jin withdrew his troops, he was naturally able to protect the area around Qufu. As for the small counties in the periphery, he could not take care of them even if they were temporarily lost.

After Le Jin held out for two days, Zhang He received an urgent report, so he quickly dispatched troops to extend the defense line to the north to prevent the gap opened by Guan Yu and Gao Shun from further expanding.

It was a pity that Zhang He did not have many troops, and he also had to be wary of whether Liu Bei's army was making a feint or attacking by crossing Mangdang Mountain, so he did not dare to weaken the combat effectiveness of his own defense zone too much and sacrifice himself for others.

Two days later, Cao Cao, who was on the Fuli-Suiyang line, also received urgent news. He then made a big detour from the southern line of the Pei County bulge and transferred part of his troops to the northern line.

However, because it took time to mobilize a large army and it had to bypass Liu Bei's occupied area, it took seven or eight days to get support and gradually relieve Le Jin.

Guan Yu, Gao Shun and Zhang Liao did not linger in the battle, and withdrew their troops back to Pei County before Cao Cao's main force arrived.

Before leaving, Guan Yu naturally relocated a small half of the population of Xue County and Zou County, two small counties in the south of Lu that had been captured by his side, on a voluntary basis.

Xue County was the fief of Lord Mengchang, one of the four nobles of the Warring States Period, and a fairly prosperous county in Lu. The story of Lord Mengchang's retainer Feng Xuan burning the bonds of debtors for him happened in Xue County.

When Cao's reinforcements arrived, Guan Yu had already returned victorious, having killed, wounded, or captured several thousand Cao's soldiers, and captured thousands of households, and safely retreated to the area south of Jiuli Mountain and Taishan Mountain Area.

Cao's army went around half a circle and ran back and forth in vain. They gained nothing and wasted their energy, money and food.

More importantly, as a result of this turmoil, Cao's army's original harassment offensive on the southern front was interrupted, and it was unable to organize another attack on the Huoshui line and the Mangdang Mountain area for at least half a month.

This point in time was exactly the time when Liu Bei was worshipping the rebuilt Mausoleum of King Xiao of Liang in Pei County and meeting with envoys from other Liu clan relatives and princes.

In other words, Cao Cao spent two or three months in Suiyang and Fuli, in order to prevent Liu Bei from having a smooth alliance, and to threaten other princes of the Liu clan with military might, so that they would not dare to stand in the wrong camp.

As a result, not only was the purpose of this political propaganda completely unfulfilled, but it also resulted in a small loss of soldiers and population. Instead, it gave Liu Bei a fresh and exciting little victory, allowing him to take advantage of the opportunity to flex his muscles to Liu Biao and Liu Zhang and carry out on-the-spot propaganda.

The only thing to be lucky about was that after all this turmoil, Cao Cao's side did not lose any states, counties or lands, but only lost personnel and supplies.

When this news reached Cao Cao, he was furious and had a minor headache, feeling dizzy for a while.

Fortunately, the attendants nearby were quick-witted and quickly helped Cao Cao lie down on the couch to rest.

Cao Cao took a few deep breaths, and finally his eyesight cleared up. The double vision gradually returned to normal, and then he cursed a few words in a hoarse voice:

"Zhuge bastard! Zhuge bastard! Zhuge bastard! I swear to kill you!"

Guo Jia and Jia Xu were both nearby. After hearing this, they saw that Cao Cao was furious and did not dare to persuade him immediately. They could only wait until Cao Cao's anger subsided a little before Guo Jia gave him a pertinent advice: "Mingsong, you should take care of your health and not get too angry. Liu Bei has Zhuge Liang as his planner and Guan Yu as his commander. Given the current situation, if our army wants to continue to fight Liu Bei head-on, I'm afraid it will be difficult to make any progress."

Cao Cao waved his hand in annoyance, sweeping away the hot linen towel that the attendant had just applied to his forehead. He stared blankly for a few seconds before he sighed:
"I'm afraid it will not work if we try to stop Liu Bei from taking advantage of the alliance. If Liu Bei wins at this critical moment, our army will only be in greater chaos if we try to turn the tables, giving the enemy a chance. We might end up losing more money."

Only Cao Cao could say this in person. Guo Jia and Jia Xu would never dare to say it.

After Cao Cao set the tone, the two no longer had to worry about the issue of responsibility and could continue talking smoothly.

Jia Xu also advised: "Since the prime minister also thinks so, then our army will have 200,000 or 300,000 troops stationed in Qiao and Lu, which will be useless.

I think that after Liu Bei's meeting is over and the envoys of Liu Biao and Liu Zhang return, it is time for our army to withdraw some of its troops to reduce the consumption of military rations on the front lines and allow some soldiers to return to farming. Spring plowing is approaching and there is no benefit in wasting time any longer."

Cao Cao did not comment on Jia Xu's statement. He just looked at Guo Jia again and saw that Guo Jia also showed approval. He knew that this suggestion was discussed by Guo Jia and Jia Xu before they came.

The two of them should have divided up the tasks. When Cao Cao was angry, each of them gave some unpleasant advice to share Cao Cao's unhappiness.

Otherwise, given Jia Xu's self-preservation, he would definitely not have said so much.

Cao Cao sighed, "Feng Xiao thinks so, I think so too. But if we withdraw part of the frontline troops, what will we do in the future? We can't break through Xu Huai now, can we break through Xu Huai after a few years of recuperation?

We are recuperating, and so is Liu Bei. After several years of expansion, although the manpower under Liu Bei's rule is still not as good as ours, it is estimated to be about half of ours. Liu Bei also has the help of Zhuge's family, and has made good progress in agriculture, industry and commerce, and skills. I am afraid that if he is allowed to develop for a few more years, he will be more difficult to deal with. "

Cao Cao knew very well that if Liu Bei did not take advantage of the opportunity to stab him in the back and take back the three and a half counties during his destruction of Yuan Shang, but instead watched him completely consume most of Yuan's territory, Cao Cao would be very happy.

Well, after digesting it all, the comparison of the human strength between himself and Liu Bei on paper should still be more than 70:30.

However, Liu Bei took advantage of Yuan Shang's destruction to stab him in the back and took over three and a half counties. The difference between the two was six or seven counties, which was almost equivalent to the shortening of the strength gap of a state.

According to current estimates, he owns about half of the world's arable land and population, and Liu Bei owns nearly 30% of the world.
Liu Zhang and Zhang Lu could take 10%, and Liu Biao had the remaining half. Yuan Tan also directly controlled half of Youzhou, half of Bohai County, and several counties in the northernmost part of Qingzhou, which together accounted for about half of the world's population and arable land (Qingzhou's Beihai, Donglai and other places had already been eroded and controlled by Liu Bei's army, and Yuan Tan's strength was greatly damaged, and he was no longer able to defend such a large territory).

The remaining Ma Teng, Han Sui, Gongsun Du and others are basically negligible. Their population is only at the level of a large county in the Central Plains, and is not worthy of being promoted to the state level.

Of course, this only counts population and economic strength. If we consider military strength, the actual combat effectiveness of these border princes is often higher than the strength that their population should show. Because border areas are often in war, the people are tough, even if they are poor and hungry, the proportion of civilians who are martial is very high.

With the population directly controlled by Liu Bei exceeding half of Cao Cao's court, coupled with the technical support and production management support brought by the Zhuge brothers, and watching both sides farming in peace, Cao Cao felt that he had no guarantee of victory.

Simply waiting has no future.

Therefore, he threw this issue into the open, forcing Guo Jia and Jia Xu to come up with an idea: You can persuade me to withdraw my troops, and you can let me give the troops a year to rest and recover, which is also fine, but there must be a long-term plan.

During the truce with Liu Bei, we must think of new expansion directions for the court, pick some soft persimmons to squeeze, and ensure that the court's strength will continue to expand and grow.

Guo Jia also understood Cao Cao's intention, so he offered a suggestion: "I think that after withdrawing the troops this year, we can rest for a year to support the people. This is necessary. We have been fighting against Yuan Shao and Yuan Shang for four years. The people and soldiers have not been able to rest and are already stretched to the limit.

A year later, the imperial court could consider making greater use of Ma Teng and promising him an unimaginable high position in exchange for Ma Teng's efforts and joining forces with the imperial court to defeat Han Sui, allowing the imperial court's army to directly control Chencang Road and Longshan.

Then, Liangzhou and Sanfu can be split into Yongzhou and Liangzhou, and then Ma Teng can be promised to stay in Liangzhou forever in exchange for Ma Teng's garrison in Longxi and not hinder the court. Afterwards, the court army can advance from Chencang Road and Baoxia Road to attack Zhang Lu in Hanzhong.

If Zhang Lu in Hanzhong is captured, the whole territory of Yizhou can be taken. Liu Zhang is weak and cannot defend it. If Yizhou is captured, the court can strengthen the whole territory of Qin and the land of the Three Jins to resist Qi and Chu controlled by Liu Bei and Liu Biao. It will surely win the game with the advantage of upstream.

After all, in the Warring States Period, if Qin conquered the Three Jins and then attacked Qi and Chu, they would surely perish.

The reason why Liu Bei can have a stable and deep rear is because there are natural barriers in the south, such as the Yangtze River and Huai River, and the weak navy in the north cannot cross. Once we get Shu, we will be like the prosperous Qin, with the upper reaches of Chu. The danger of the Yangtze River is shared by Qin and Chu. "

Guo Jia only mentioned the territories of the six major powers in the Warring States Period, but not Yan. Today, Yan and Dai are naturally divided equally between Cao and Liu. Cao Cao owns Dai, and Liu Bei (Yuan Tan) owns the eastern part of Yan. They can be regarded as offsetting each other and need not be considered for the time being.

Cao Cao thought about it and said, "After withdrawing the troops, I can rest for a year, and then destroy Han Sui first and then Zhang Lu. These two tasks can be completed within a year. Zhang Lu and Han Sui are not strong enemies.

But it is impossible to destroy Liu Zhang within the same year. The road to Shu is difficult and dangerous. Unless Liu Zhang is directly scared and surrenders without a fight, it will take at least until the next year to destroy Liu Zhang. If Liu Zhang is threatened by our army, he will ask Liu Bei for help. Wouldn't it be that we helped Liu Bei find an excuse to enter Sichuan?"

Guo Jia: "Even so, the imperial court cannot fail to eliminate other princes just because it is afraid of giving Liu Bei an excuse. Now the world is divided into two. The land that the imperial court does not take will sooner or later be taken by Liu Bei. The land that Liu Bei dare not take for fear of his reputation will sooner or later belong to the imperial court. When that day comes, the worst that can happen is that we will compete with Liu Bei in speed in Shu to see who can take Shu first.

Moreover, the plan of resting for one year is not rigid and can be adjusted according to circumstances. If Liu Bei does not make any expansion moves in the next year, then our army can rest assured.

If Liu Bei makes any unusual moves against other princes, it means that the troops Liu Bei can use to launch a surprise attack on the imperial court will be reduced. Then our army can leave fewer troops to guard against Liu Bei and take action against Han Sui in advance. "

Cao Cao thought about it and realized that this was indeed the truth. His depression about having to withdraw his troops from Qiao also dissipated a little:
"Well, let's temporarily follow Feng Xiao's advice, stop fighting and take care of the people, and then plan for war."

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PS: Although I merged 5,000 words into a large chapter yesterday, today it has at least 8,000 words, which can be considered as paying back the debt. So that’s it.

(End of this chapter)