My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 631 Zhang He: There are still people who want to take on this tough job

With Guo Huai being beheaded and Cao Xiu's defeat and escape, Cao Cao's army's feint attack in the west was a complete failure.

Cao's army dispatched more than 10,000 cavalrymen to carry out the diversionary mission, but the final result was that more than half of the troops were lost.

Of Guo Huai's 5,000 to 6,000 Xiliang Light Cavalry, nearly 4,000 were killed, and Cao Xiu's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry also lost more than 1,000 men.

Although the total number does not seem large, considering that this is a pure cavalry unit, it is enough to greatly reduce the combat effectiveness of Cao's army in Guanxi.

Cao's army lost a lot of soldiers and horses, and nearly half of them were shot, stabbed, or permanently damaged on the battlefield, but a small part of them were captured by Ma Chao's troops when they were cleaning up the battlefield.

In the end, Cao's army lost more than 4,000 war horses, of which Ma Chao captured 2,000. There were also hundreds of lame and injured horses that could be easily treated, but could not go back to the battlefield after being raised, so they were used as pack horses and plow horses and placed in Dazhong and Hanzhong for farming.

Ma Chao's soldiers also suffered some losses, but he could easily select Xiliang youths from the Dazhong garrison soldiers to replace them, and Zhuge Liang in Chengdu would constantly replenish his worn-out weapons and equipment. As long as there were enough war horses, Ma Chao would be able to restore his cavalry to a size of more than 10,000 sooner or later.

In the two years after the Battle of Hanzhong, Cao's army resumed production, farming and horse breeding in Guanzhong, recruited young and strong men from Liangzhou and the remaining former subordinates of Ma Teng who had fled before to expand the cavalry.

As a result, the results of two years of farming and military expansion were basically lost in this one blow.

As a result, Cao's army in the Guanxi direction had no ability to continue harassing, let alone attack.

Although this feint attack delayed the main force of Liu Bei's army from staying in Shu for more than two months in order to maintain stability in Shu.

But two or three months later, when Zhuge Liang had eliminated the main troublemakers in Shu who opposed the reform, Liu Bei's army would be able to move a large number of troops stationed in Shu eastward without any worries.

As the size of the forces of both sides in the Guandong battlefield becomes more and more equal in the future, in the long run, the advantage and disadvantage of Liu Bei's army over Cao Cao's combat power will be reversed more quickly.

As mentioned above, before Liu Bei defeated Liu Zhang, Cao Cao occupied about half of the world's arable land and population. Liu Bei occupied one-third of the world's arable land and population, and the remaining Liu Zhang and Liu Biao accounted for the remaining one-sixth of the world.

After Liu Zhang was destroyed, Liu Bei's paper power had risen to more than 40% of the world, Liu Biao's remaining share was less than 10% of the world, and Cao Cao still occupied the remaining half.

Considering that Liu Bei developed double-season rice in the south, after swallowing up Liu Zhang, although the population controlled by Liu Bei was still only more than 80% of that of Cao Cao, the total grain output was almost the same.

This year, the Linyi rice planting area in Shuzhong has not been fully expanded, and only about half of the cultivated land can be planted twice a year. In another two years, when Liu Bei has cleared Nanzhong, he will plant double-season rice in the paddy fields of the Shuzhong plain and reorganize water conservancy irrigation.

By that time, even if Liu Bei had not swallowed up Liu Biao, the total grain output of his own territory alone would be able to surpass Cao Cao by nearly 10%.

Moreover, there are a lot of uncultivated wastelands suitable for farming in the south, so time is completely on Liu Bei's side. As long as Liu Bei stabilizes the situation and farms, he will sooner or later be able to ensure that the population and food will slowly crush Cao Cao.

After all, as long as there is more food, the population will definitely grow faster than the other side in the long run. However, if you expect the natural growth of the population to work, it will take at least a long period of "ten years of population growth and ten years of training", and Liu Bei will not delay that long.

The defeat of Cao Xiu allowed Zhuge Liang to suppress the enemy first and then strengthen them, which made his stamina more sufficient and had a far-reaching impact.

His only value was that he prevented Liu Bei's army in Shuzhong from rushing to the Guandong battlefield until July, buying Cao's army a few months of time.

However, as long as Cao's army fails to make good use of this time difference and fails to achieve results during this time difference, Cao Xiu's efforts will be a pure loss.

……

While Cao's army was feinting an attack in Guanxi, Xiahou Dun and Zhang He were also busy on the battlefield in Jizhou.

Cao Cao issued military orders to Xiahou Dun and Cao Hong almost at the same time.

Yecheng was closer to Xudu, so Xiahou Dun received the order one day earlier than Cao Hong. However, Yecheng was still far from the front line of Hejian County, so when it finally fell into Zhang He's hands, it was one or two days later than Cao Xiu.

Because it was a feint attack, Cao Cao certainly would not specially send his trusted generals to cause trouble. This task fell directly on the heads of the local garrison generals in Jizhou.

Cao Cao's army's current garrison commanders on the You and Ji fronts are mainly composed of three former surrendered generals from Yuan Shao's camp:

The main general in charge of the northernmost section of Youzhou Daijun and Shanggu defense zone was Jiao Chu, the former main general of Yuan family's Youzhou army, and he was in charge of generals such as Qian Zhao and Yan Rou.

Hejian County in the northern part of Jizhou was under the charge of Zhang He, who had Su You and Feng Li under his jurisdiction.

The Pingyuan, Qinghe and western parts of Bohai County in the southern part of Jizhou were under the charge of Lu Kuang, who was in charge of Ma Yan and Zhang Yi.

In this mission, Jiao Chu's defense zone is far away and it is impossible for him to participate in the battle, so his men can also take a break.

According to Cao Cao's intention, the exploratory attack on Bohai should be mainly carried out by Zhang He. However, considering the actual geographical situation, Lü Kuang's defense area also borders the eastern part of Bohai County controlled by Zhou Yu, so if Lü Kuang wants to make merit, he can take the initiative to ask for a chance.

After receiving the order, Zhang He hesitated for a few days. While making preparations before the attack, he was thinking about how to control the scale of the feint attack.

The main reason is that Zhang He has fought so many battles with Liu Bei's camp over the years, and he has a clear idea of his own strength.

Back then on the battlefield of Xuzhou, he was first defeated by Guan Yu, and then defeated by the joint forces of Gao Shun and Chen Dao under the command of Zhuge Jin. He suffered three defeats in two years. Even if he was originally arrogant, it was time for him to face reality.

Although he now has a lot of troops under his command, it is more than enough to face Zhou Yu in the east. But the problem is that there is the Yishui River in the north, and Zhao Yun's 30,000 to 50,000 Youzhou troops are eyeing him covetously.

If Zhang He ignored the consequences and attacked Zhou Yu ruthlessly, Zhao Yun would seize the opportunity to cross the Yishui River to the south. He thought it would be difficult to defend himself.

"Let's just deal with the task. Send a few thousand men, march lightly and quickly to the Bohai Sea, dig up and destroy the key points of the salt field embankment, and make Zhou Yu's years of construction go to waste. Then rob the Bohai Salt Field's inventory, and that's it. Don't touch those county towns, water forts, and strong and dangerous places at all."

Zhang He finally made up his mind, and his deployment was also prepared according to this idea, that is, to go quickly and come back quickly, grab a handful, destroy a handful, and then run away.

Unfortunately, Zhang He was so cautious that while he was secretly preparing for his mission, one day in mid-April, Lü Kuang from his southern defense zone suddenly came north with a group of personal cavalry to meet with Zhang He, saying that there were military matters to discuss.

……

Lu Kuang’s current station is Dongguan County in Bohai County.

Dongguan County was not originally a big city, but Nanpi County, the capital of Bohai Prefecture, was now under the rule of Zhou Yu. Dongguan County happened to be located in the upper reaches of the Zhang River in Nanpi County, enjoying the advantage of downstream, and was the forefront of the battle against Zhou Yu.

Cao Cao placed a general like Lu Kuang in Dongguang to prevent Zhou Yu from causing trouble.

After Xiahou Dun received Cao Cao's feint attack order, he could not have handed it over to Zhang He alone. After all, the 150,000 garrison troops in Jizhou were not something that Zhang He, a man of a different surname, could have the final say in. The frontline counties must have shared power.

At the beginning, Xiahou Dun asked Zhang He to lead the attack, and asked Lu Kuang to coordinate and help Zhang He defend, so as to avoid Liu Bei's army from attacking against him and causing any accidents.

There was nothing wrong with the order itself, but after reading it, Lu Kuang felt very uncomfortable and had his own ideas.

"According to General Xiahou's intention, the easy job of attacking Zhou Yu in the east was taken by Zhang He. But if Zhao Yun in the north takes advantage of the opportunity to attack when Zhang He attacks, I will have to help him defend the Yishui line.

Wouldn't that mean I'm doing a thankless job? I won't get any credit, and if I'm not careful enough, I might end up making mistakes. No, I can't let Zhang He deceive me and try to please the Prime Minister and General Xiahou."

This was what Lu Kuang was worried about at the time, and then he came to meet with Zhang He in person to discuss how to fight this battle specifically.

When Zhang He heard that Lü Kuang came to ask for a meeting, a bad thought flashed through his mind, fearing that Lü Kuang would cause trouble.

After all, they were all surrendered generals from Yuan Shao, and they had some small grudges a few years ago - during the Battle of Xuzhou, Zhang He and Guo Jia were only required to defend Pengcheng County, and he had no obligation to rescue Chang Xi of Taishan County who was besieged by Guan Yu. If he had refused to fight at that time, he might have been able to drag it out.

However, because Zhuge Jin spread rumors about Cao's army in that battle, he made up a rumor that "Zhang He complained that Cao Cao used people like piling up firewood, and the latecomers were superior", which forced Zhang He to go out to fight Guan Yu in order to prove his innocence. In the end, he lost so badly that he not only failed to save Taishan County, but also caused the loss of Pengcheng County. And the background material for Zhuge Jin's rumors was exactly two people: Chang Xi and Lu Kuang. Both of them surrendered to Cao later than Zhang He, but because the timing of their surrender was very important to Cao Cao, Cao Cao gave them officials that were not lower than Zhang He, or even higher than Zhang He.

Zhuge Jin simply threw dirty water on Zhang He, saying that Zhang He was jealous of the two and that was why he was unwilling to give his best, forcing Zhang He to prove himself.

Today, several years have passed since the Battle of Xuzhou, but the poison from the dirty water Zhuge Jin threw back then is still there.

Because of Zhuge Jin's provocation a few years ago, the relationship between Zhang He and Lu Kuang has never been able to return to the harmony they had when they were both generals under Yuan Shao. Once this chain of suspicion is planted, it is difficult to untie it.

Zhang He felt that "after the Battle of Xuzhou, the prime minister did not blame me. Instead, he praised me for fighting again and again despite repeated defeats and for not fearing strong enemies, and promoted me. Lu Kuang must have been dissatisfied with this."

And Lu Kuang indeed thought so, because he suffered fewer defeats in the battles with Liu Bei's army, so he did not think that his ability was worse than Zhang He's.

Lü Kuang had only been defeated in the battle when Zhou Yu and Taishi Ci joined forces to rescue Yuan Tan, and Lü Xiang, who was left behind, was killed in the battle. But after that, Lü Kuang never fought against Liu Bei's army again.

In addition, Lü Kuang was a man of few talents and had not fought in a war for several years, so he would naturally think, "I lost every battle, and Zhang He lost every three battles. What can you brag about in front of me? Do you still want me to assist you?"

……

Based on their mutual suspicion, the tactical discussion between Zhang He and Lu Kuang naturally did not go smoothly.

After hearing about Zhang He's plan, Lü Kuang immediately found fault with it: "The Prime Minister asked us to destroy the salt fields in Bohai County as much as possible and inflict heavy damage on Zhou Yu. Even if we cannot capture Nanpi City for the time being, why don't we take the opportunity to clean up other small counties in Bohai?
You actually only plan to send a few thousand troops to harass them. Isn't that a blatant disobedience to the Prime Minister's military order? And I heard that Zhou Yu has been operating a salt field in Bohai for several years, and the accumulated sea salt is one million stones. If you go with such a small number of people, and they are all cavalry, without infantry and baggage, you will have to transport them many times even for looting. Isn't that a big mistake?"

Zhang He responded in a businesslike manner, saying, "A general is not bound by his sovereign's orders when he is away from home. How can the Prime Minister know the latest situation on the Bohai front when he is in Xudu?"

Since Commander Xiahou has entrusted me with the task of feinting the attack on Bohai, I must be responsible for the safety of the soldiers! Zhou Yu is cunning. If our army is slow to act, we will not be able to retreat if we find that the situation has changed. It is better to just use light cavalry to harass. "

Lu Kuang sneered: "You are such a coward! You have been defeated three times by Liu Bei's generals and have lost all your courage! If you were just as timid as you are, with Zhou Yu's wisdom, how could he not see that we are just feinting?

If you do this, it will backfire and alert the enemy, who will see through the Prime Minister's intention to not start a war in the north but to find another opportunity to fight. Wouldn't that cause a big loss for the court? If this really causes a loss, I will naturally file a petition to the Prime Minister and Commander Xiahou, saying that everything was due to your cowardice!"

What Lu Kuang said was really unreasonable.

But he put the big hat of "destroying the prime minister's important affairs due to cowardice" on Zhang He, and Zhang He really couldn't bear this crime.

Who can take this responsibility? We are all surrendered generals from Yuan Shao. If we insist on doing this to our own people, we will have no chance of survival.

Zhang He was also angry and could only retreat to advance: "Yes, I did suffer three defeats in three battles with Liu Bei's generals! I am not like General Lu, who only lost one battle! Since you are so brave, are you willing to take the lead this time?
If you really dare to use the infantry and chariots of Dongguang and Pingyuan, and march steadily down the Zhang River to pacify Bohai, I don't mind covering for General Lu and ensuring that General Lu will not be threatened by the Yishui River from the north! But if General Lu can't even deal with Zhou Yu alone, then I can't help you."

Lü Kuang was provoked by Zhang He, but he was not afraid of fighting. He immediately said, "Okay, as long as General Zhang holds the north for me and ensures that the enemy will not cross the Yishui River to reinforce Zhou Yu, I will be able to defeat Zhou Yu alone! When the time comes, don't go to the Prime Minister and cry and say that I stole your credit!"

Zhang He's mouth twitched slightly, and he calmly admitted: "General Lu's achievement is also a blessing to the court. My personal honor and disgrace are not worth mentioning. General Lu, please do as you please. If you need my army to cooperate with food and military supplies, just let me know."

Lu Kuang seized the opportunity to launch the main attack, and without further ado, he proudly left Zhang He's residence.

As for other matters requiring coordination in military supplies and logistics, he would naturally send his staff to liaise with Zhang He's men. He was too lazy to take care of these chores himself.

……

After Lü Kuang left, that evening, a civil servant who was in charge of raising military supplies for several years rushed to Zhang He in a hurry, apparently wanting to persuade him.

This man is called Dong Zhao, and he is currently serving as the local governor. In history, when Cao Cao went on an expedition to Wuhuan, he was entrusted with the task of mobilizing grain and grass from Jizhou to Jixian County in Youzhou and maintaining the logistics of the expeditionary army. Dong Zhao also dug two temporary ditches connecting Yishui and Zhangshui to ensure the logistics of the army was intact.

In this life, although Cao Cao never had the chance to go on his own expedition to Wuhuan, and he couldn't even take over Youzhou and Jixian, Dong Zhao was still left in Jizhou by Cao Cao to be responsible for the logistics of the military rations in the Hebei defense zone.

Lü Kuang wanted to launch a feint attack and was also prepared to plunder and transport Zhou Yu's salt fields and summer wheat supplies, which naturally required the use of a large number of carts, donkeys and mules. This dispatching work naturally fell on Dong Zhao's head.

A few days ago, Dong Zhao was still following Zhang He's idea to prepare for the light cavalry harassment. Now that he suddenly changed his mind and asked for so many things, Dong Zhao immediately felt miserable.

Although he was not a man of wisdom and strategy, he had some insight, so he went to Zhang He to advise him: "General Zhang! Although I am not very familiar with military strategies, I know that Zhou Yu is quite cunning.

If General Lu Kuang rashly advances slowly with great fanfare, it will certainly give Zhou Yu more time to deploy countermeasures. Moreover, he is slow to act, and if he makes a mistake, it will dampen the morale of the court. Why don't you dissuade him?"

Zhang He sneered helplessly at Dong Zhao's advice, "Master Dong, I have already tried to dissuade him. But if you can't persuade me, what's the point of me saying it? Lu Kuang has always felt that his military ability is better than mine. I have been defeated in three battles, so how can I be qualified to advise him?"

Maybe he is brave and resolute, and can really defeat Zhou Yu head-on. Jizhou is a flat land. As long as you don't cross the Zhang River, there are no other big rivers in Bohai. Even if Zhou Yu has the advantage of naval forces, he will have no place to use them. On the plains, the enemy may have no place to ambush. Who knows. "

Dong Zhao touched the smooth chin under his fat face, pondered for a while, and could only sigh and give up.

He is a civil servant and has no say in this matter. It would be bad if the prime minister suspected that he was interfering in military strategy.

……

Neither Zhang He nor Dong Zhao were able to stop Lu Kuang's arrogance.

Two days later, Lü Kuang led several thousand light cavalry as the vanguard, plus 20,000 infantry and auxiliary troops, dragging several thousand carts and a large number of donkeys and mules to set out on the expedition.

His goal was also very clear. After approaching Nanpi downstream from Dongguang, he disembarked directly and went ashore, traveling only by land and advancing in the east direction.

Bypassing the fortified city of Nanpi, they attacked the three counties of Zhangwu, Fuyang and Gaocheng, which were distributed along the coastline to the east of Nanpi.

Lü Kuang had long been aware of the enemy's situation. He knew that in recent years, Zhou Yu had set up military farms along the three counties of Bohai Sea and built a series of salt fields along the coastline.

When Bohai County was under the rule of Yuan Shao, it was the most populous county in Jizhou. Before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the county was said to have a population of two to three million.

Therefore, the land in Bohai is absolutely flat and fertile. Almost all of these three counties are wheat fields, and there is not a single piece of rotten land in the hills and mountains.

Lu Kuang sent out his troops a little later than Cao Xiu and Guo Huai on the western front, so after just a few days of the attack, the wheat on the road could be harvested directly and used as military rations.

Although wheat that has not yet fully matured has a higher oil content and a lower yield, and cannot be stored over the winter, it is absolutely fine to fry and eat it immediately after harvesting, and it also has the fresh and oily aroma of new wheat.

Lu Kuang's army quickly harvested all the military farms west of Gaocheng County. The baggage carts, which were mostly empty when they first set out on the expedition, were now filled with roasted new wheat.

Seeing their troops marching as easily as if they were on a picnic, Lü Kuang's generals Ma Yan and Zhang Yi also praised them:

"The general's reputation really scared Zhou Yu. I heard that there was a nursery rhyme in Jiangdong in the past, 'There is Zhou Lang in the battle along the river'. It shows that as long as we don't march along the Zhang River, Zhou Yu will only dare to defend the city and dare not come out to fight on land!"

"Throughout history, it is rare to find someone like this general who only needs to bring enough donkeys and mules to fight, and does not even need to prepare extra food and fodder, and can directly eat the enemy's food!"

Lü Kuang was flattered by Ma Yan and Zhang Yi, and he was quite proud: "Those Jiangdong rats, what else do they dare to do except fighting on water and defending the city? Do they dare to fight on land and in the field with the men of Yan and Zhao? We can come and go as we please!

If Zhao Nan crossed the Yishui River to attack us from both sides, I would still be a little afraid of him. But Zhang He has made an agreement with me, and he will block the Yishui River and prevent Zhao Nan from going south. If he fails to do so, it will be Zhang He's fault in the future, not ours.

We just need to focus on dealing with Zhou Yu! Dealing with Zhou Yu will be a great achievement!"

(End of this chapter)