My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 464: Cao and Liu both blossom

Cao Cao was stimulated by the news that Liu Bei's camp had quietly expanded its territory by thousands of miles, so he had to force himself to advance and speed up the pace of harvesting other weak princes in the surrounding areas.

However, Cao Cao in 205 was not as strong as he was five or six years later in the original history.

The loss of half of Youzhou, the entire Qingzhou, the entire Xuzhou, Huainan, and most of Bohai County made Cao Cao's mobilization capacity and financial resources nearly 30% weaker than the same period in history - and the 30% that Cao Cao lost was almost all added to Liu Bei on the opposite side.

Just one year of recuperation and recovery was not enough to restore much blood. This meant that Cao Cao's plan to use military force against Han Sui and Zhang Lu would definitely not be large-scale.

In the last few days of the first lunar month, the top officials of the Xudu court held emergency consultations and secret discussions, and finally decided on a short-term military scale of only 40,000 to 50,000 people.

Cao Cao did think about using more soldiers, but was held back by Xun Yu.

Although Xun Yu had never been to Nanzheng and had never crossed the Qinling Mountains, he had read a lot and had been dealing with domestic affairs for many years, so he was well-informed. From the tax accounts of previous years, he could see how high the transportation costs were for Hanzhong to pay taxes and grain to the courts in Chang'an and Luoyang during peacetime.

Xun Yu could calculate how much money and food it would cost to maintain a large army for a long time to cross the Qinling Mountains. So he resolutely refused to let Cao Cao expand the scale of his troops and urged Cao Cao to take the route of elite soldiers and strong generals.

Cao Cao was convinced by Xun Yu's explanation of facts and reasoning, and finally he had to admit that what Xun Yu said made sense.

In fact, if Cao Cao didn't listen to Xun Yu, he would probably cause a disaster. In history, when Cao Cao fought Liu Bei in the Battle of Hanzhong, he had to use hundreds of thousands of troops to cross the Qinling Mountains and enter Sichuan. After the army failed to advance quickly and confronted Liu Bei, Cao Cao was almost eaten to death by the front-line soldiers.

Later, the uprisings of Hou Yin in Wancheng and Sun Lang in Luhun (now Song County, Luoyang) were all because the people in the Wanluo area could not bear being conscripted to Chang'an and Hanzhong to transport grain and perform labor service, so they rebelled against Cao and responded to Guan Yu's northern expedition against Xiang and Fan.

It can be said that if Cao Cao had been allowed to fight to the fullest, the troops he mobilized could at least deplete the entire territory of Yongliang and Sili, and exhaust the manpower of the people in these three states on transportation. This is also the main reason why Cao Cao could not continue the war in history.

But in this life, Cao Cao was not so arrogant. Because his success was not so complete, he was more humble and low-key, and more willing to listen to advice. In history, how could Cao Cao listen to Xun Yu's advice in the later period? Xun Yu was sent away in a confused manner.

Cao Cao finally sighed and made the decision: "Forty thousand is enough. When we attack Chencang, we will use the forty thousand first. If there are losses, we will send reinforcements later. When we have gathered fifty thousand, we will go south to Hanzhong!"
Since it is not easy to transport grain to Guanzhong and Hanzhong, we should not deploy too many troops at once, but should send reinforcements in batches. When the subsequent batches of reinforcements arrive at the front line, they can also escort some grain and grass with the army. This will also save a few batches of corvée laborers for transporting grain.

However, with such a small force, we still want to accomplish our mission. Wen Ruo, who do you think should be the general who can take on this important task? The number of people is already small, so we must select the best soldiers and strong generals. "

Xun Yu and Xun You had no objection to the elite troops route. In a combat environment where food transportation was a big loss, a small number of elite troops would certainly be more useful than a large number of rabble.

The final result of the discussion was to let Xiahou Yuan take command, select 40,000 elite soldiers as the first batch, leave 20,000 as backup, send 10,000 people to the front line every month, and transport one or two months more food and fodder for the entire army.

This not only slowed down the speed of grain consumption at the front line, but also reduced the number of civilians transporting grain in the rear. The reinforcement troops would not have to return after transporting grain to the front line, but could directly engage in battle on the spot.

In terms of generals, Cao Cao equipped Xiahou Yuan with Xu Huang, Zhang Xiu, Lu Zhao, Feng Kai and others.

In addition, Zhong Yao was already in charge of Guanzhong, and Duan Wei, a surrendered general from Xiliang, was guarding Huayin and Hongnong.

Since Xiahou Yuan was given an important task, after arriving in Chang'an, he was able to dispatch the original troops in the Guanzhong area. Cao Cao entrusted all the affairs west of Tongguan to him.

In addition, Ma Teng, who is now Cao Cao's "ally", can also help Xiahou Yuan.

As for the military advisers, considering that this battle would require many generals from Xiliang, including Zhang Xiu and Duan Wei, Cao Cao sent Jia Xu over to help Xiahou Yuan supervise the generals and coordinate those soldiers from Xiliang.

With Zhong Yao in charge of logistics and Jia Xu in the army, they should be able to make up for Xiahou Yuan's shortcomings. Cao Cao's arrangement was a painstaking effort.

At the same time, if Cao's army only withdraws 40,000 to 60,000 soldiers from Guandong, it will not reduce the combat effectiveness of the eastern line of defense against Liu Bei. The number of people withdrawn is not large, and the confidentiality work is done well. Liu Bei's army will not know the news for several months.

Zhang Lu, Han Sui and other vassals were located in the northwest of the Han Dynasty, while Liu Bei's power was in the southeast and northeast of the Han Dynasty. Han Sui and Zhang Lu were the vassals farthest from Liu Bei, and the roads were difficult and it was normal for the news to be transmitted slowly.

No matter how well Liu Bei did his job as a spy, it was useless because of the natural geographical environment. Just like when Liu Bei secretly attacked Gongsun Du, it took Cao Cao a long time to get the news.

...After Cao Cao made all the arrangements, Xiahou Yuan was recalled to Xu Du in early February.

Cao Cao personally gave him many instructions, and told him to make full preparations. Xiahou Yuan then hurriedly led a part of the cavalry to Chang'an. The rest of the troops and generals would also gather in Chang'an one after another.

It is expected that the army will be fully assembled in March, and after the busy spring farming season, the formal attack on Chencang will be launched in mid-March or at the latest in April. Then if everything goes well, the snow in the Qinling Mountains will completely melt, the ice flood and muddy period in the mountainous areas will also be over, and the roads will be easier to travel.

After Xiahou Yuan left, Cao Cao no longer had to worry about military matters, but Cao Cao still had to personally oversee the supporting political measures.

Both Xun Yu and Jia Xu expressed some concerns to Cao Cao at the right time, hoping that Cao Cao could better win over and promote Ma Teng to ensure the smooth progress of the battles in Guanxi and Hanzhong.

This is also easy to understand - originally in history, Cao Cao sent reinforcements to Zhong Yao in Chang'an in 211 AD, saying that he wanted to fight Zhang Lu. But in the end, those Xiliang surrendered generals in Guanzhong who nominally obeyed Cao Cao were suspicious and worried that Cao Cao was going to "use the pass to attack Guo" and completely destroy them, so they united to resist, leading to the battle between Ma Chao and Han Sui.

Of course, Cao Cao's attitude towards the surrendered generals in Guanzhong in history also had to bear a large part of the blame, because Cao Cao did not want any of the Liangzhou generals to become powerful, he just wanted them to be scattered for a long time and play a balancing hand. In this way, when Cao Cao wanted to break this balance, these people would unite and rebel against Cao, and Cao Cao could only regain control of the situation by killing the leader.

In this life, Cao Cao knew that he was not strong enough, and he could not rely on toughness or play a balancing game with Guanzhong and Longxi. As early as when he destroyed the high officials of Bingzhou, he relied heavily on the combat power of Ma Teng and Pang De.

After that, in order to deal with Liu Bei, Cao Cao knew that supporting Ma Teng might make him difficult to control in the future, so he had no choice but to drink poison to quench his thirst.

Because Cao Cao knew very well that even if Ma Teng posed a threat in the future, it would be a very distant thing. Before Liu Bei was destroyed, Ma Teng would not be the first to stand out.

For the sake of Liu Bei, a priority target, and to compete with Liu Bei for the expansion schedule, Cao Cao had no choice but to accept it, even if it made Ma Teng difficult to deal with in the future.

This time, when Xiahou Yuan attacked Chencang and then Hanzhong, he needed Ma Teng's cooperation, otherwise 40,000 to 50,000 people would not be enough to ensure a quick victory.

When attacking Chencang, Ma Teng could directly assist in the siege. After Chencang was captured, even if Ma Teng's troops were not allowed to cross the Qinling Mountains and move south, Ma Teng would be needed to block Han Sui's subsequent counterattack and consolidate the Longshan defense line for the court.

If Ma Teng is not given a high enough position to make him loyal to the country, Xiahou Yuan will feel a chill down his spine and feel uneasy all the time even if he enters Hanzhong - Xiahou Yuan's retreat depends on Chencang City.

If Ma Teng suddenly lost his balance and cut off Chencang, Xiahou Yuan would be stuck in the middle of nowhere and would starve to death in the Qinling Mountains.
Therefore, Cao Cao asked Xun Yu and Jia Xu for their opinions on how high a price should be offered to Ma Teng and how to keep him stable and make him give his best.

Xun Yu's offer was relatively low and more stable, and Cao Cao always felt that it would be difficult to be effective.

Jia Xu's offer, on the other hand, was more radical, more imaginative, and more daring.

Finally, Cao Cao personally made the decision: "Just follow Wenhe's advice, and make some minor adjustments. Give Ma Teng a secret agreement! As long as he cooperates with the court to destroy Zhang Lu and Han Sui, the Longshan Mountains will be the boundary, and the area west of the Longshan Mountains will belong to his Ma family forever. After Han Sui is destroyed, all of Han Sui's people will belong to him! Other Xiliang generals who are still wavering will also be annexed by him!
Moreover, as long as Zhang Lu and Han Sui are captured, I will give up the position of General of the Cavalry and recommend Ma Teng as General of the Cavalry! When the time comes, let him lead the petition and ask Your Majesty to promote me as Prime Minister! I don't want the title of General of the Cavalry! Just being a Prime Minister is enough!"

Historically, Cao Cao dared to force Liu Xie to appoint him as prime minister only after he had completely destroyed the Yuan family and obtained the heads of the brothers Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi. Before that, his civil service position had always been Sikong.

In this life, since Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi were killed last year, even if there is only Yuan Tan left who has surrendered to Liu Bei, it cannot be considered that the Yuan family has been completely wiped out.

But if Zhang Lu and Han Sui could be killed, the heads of these two people combined would be equivalent to that of Yuan Tan.

Cao Cao wanted to be the prime minister, and his military achievements and prestige were barely enough. In order to deal with Liu Bei, his new enemy, he urgently needed to further improve his status and power in the court of Xudu and suppress the internal vacillation and opposition.

Cao Cao's secret agreement was quickly delivered to Ma Teng, almost at the same time when Xiahou Yuan arrived in Chang'an and met with Zhong Yao.

Moreover, it was Jia Xu himself who sent the secret agreement to Cao Cao. As a general from the Western Liang Army, Jia Xu's status and position were high enough to serve as a matchmaker.

Ma Teng was stationed near Mei County at the time. When he heard that Jia Xu was coming to visit, he immediately received him very solemnly.

(End of this chapter)