Tiger Guards

Chapter 233 Precarious
Cao Cao’s military camp on the western outskirts of Xuchang, beside the Ying River.

The army needs to be mobilized gradually. Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan in Hebei are mobilizing for war, and the same is true for King Chen and Cao Cao.

Only bandit-like people like Lu Bu, Zhang Yan, Chen Gong, and Zang Ba were able to dispatch troops and launch attacks quickly.

Even if they were to charge quickly, it would be like a pack of wolves hunting, and they would not be able to march in an orderly manner.

If such an army charges forward, it will plunder and destroy the people even more, and it will also inspire the local powerful people, scholars and civilians to unite against the enemy.

The generals of Cao's army also rushed over from the surrounding garrisons and gathered behind the curtain.

The curtain stood on the bank of Yingshui River, with the opening facing the surface of the Yingshui River.

Military generals and officials wore armor, while civil officials and counselors mostly wore official uniforms.

After Chief Secretary Wang Bi read out Prince Chen's edict, Cao Cao looked around and asked calmly, "The Zhao thieves forged the edict and tricked Prince Chen into raising an army to attack. What are your thoughts?"

Xu County is right next to the State of Chen, so there is no need to send troops to organize any frontline positions. They can gather troops here and wait. The decisive battle will take place here.

The current chief military general is Cao Hong, the General of the Central Army, but Cao Hong is still stationed in the Wankou area.

On par with Cao Hong is Xiahou Dun, who currently serves as the prefect of Chenliu County.

Therefore, when the seats in the meeting were arranged, Cavalry Commandant Xiahou Yuan sat in the front row, followed by Commander Cao Ren, and then Generals and Captains Han Hao, Wang Lang, Liu Dai, Zhu Ling, Yu Jin, and Le Jin.

On the other side, Xun Yu was in the lead, followed by Wang Bi, and Guo Jia sat third.

Before he could welcome the emperor, Cao Cao was unable to recruit officials in the name of the court, so the ranks of civil officials were somewhat sparse.

A capable right-hand man like Cheng Yu had to stay in Yanzhou and could not stay to serve him.

A few years after the Yanzhou Rebellion ended, Lu Bu and Chen Gong's group had been entrenched in Shanyang County for the first half of the year, flirting with the Yanzhou scholars.

Under such circumstances, Cao Cao did not dare to recruit too many Yanzhou scholars into his general's office, not to mention that the Yanzhou scholars were not willing to serve in his office.

It was only this year that we pacified Yingchuan and Runan, and killed and defeated so many Yellow Turban bandits and clan bandits. These leaders were related to the various families of Ruying.

Therefore, even if the people of Ruying were hiding in the wild, they would not easily serve Cao Cao.

At present, if the people of Ruying want to serve Cao Cao, they can only be recruited by Cao Cao’s Zhendong General’s office. This personal bond is too strong.

Cao Cao was unable to serve as the governor of Yuzhou, so the people of Ruying were unable to serve and follow Cao Cao as state officials.

If one is a county official, it does not matter whether he serves as an official or not, and it is also somewhat humiliating to the people of Ruying.

Things were so embarrassing. At the critical moment when Cao Cao was about to shed his skin and transform into a dragon, he was stabbed by Zhao Ji.

The Central Plains is a place prone to war. Without the imperial court or the emperor as a talisman or a shield from war, anyone can come up and kick him.

Do you still want to farm in peace and recruit talents from all over the world?
Cao Cao asked everyone present. The Chief Secretary Wang Bigang had just taken his seat, so it was not appropriate for the officers to speak first, and Xun Yu could not start by setting the tone.

Almost everyone turned to look at the newly arrived Guo Jia. Guo Jia, unfazed, stood up and saluted. "My Lord, from my perspective, Prince Chen is sending out proclamations to all directions in an effort to provoke Lü Bu and Chen Gong into action. Given Prince Chen's steadiness, he will only formally dispatch troops if Lü Bu and Chen Gong can achieve something. Therefore, I believe that gathering troops in Xu and holding off Prince Chen would only play into his plans."

Cao Cao held his wine cup in his hand, pondering Guo Jia's opinion, and asked, "From Feng Xiao's perspective, how should we respond?"

"Lü Bu is impatient and his attacks are fierce, making it difficult for the generals to resist him."

Guo Jia spoke in a loud voice, not caring about the embarrassed looks of the generals opposite him. Guo Jia didn't care about these people's opinions or friendship towards him.

As he spoke, Guo Jia tilted his head slightly to glance at Cao Cao. "Now the Zhao thieves have held the emperor hostage, forging imperial edicts and issuing orders to their ministers to disrupt the empire. The county officials in the Central Plains are unaware of the truth, and therefore suspicious. If Lü Bu launches a vigorous attack, these suspicious officials will rise up and become his accomplices."

"I understand. Looking at all sides, I am the only one who can resist Lu Bu's attack."

Cao Cao sighed and looked at the officers around him, feeling helpless.

Not to mention Lu Bu, Gao Shun alone made Cao Cao helpless.

During the battle of Puyang, he was captured by Gao Shun, who led his troops into the city, during the chaos. If he had not randomly identified a scapegoat in the chaos, he would have lost his head in that battle.

Guo Jia's words were very subtle, but Cao Cao had already understood them. Guo Jia believed that Prince Chen was the "suspicious crowd".

This kind of words cannot be publicized. If they are made clear in public, it will certainly show contempt for the enemy and boost morale.

But when these words reached the ears of King Chen, he also wanted to save face. If he really changed his strategy and led his troops to attack, then Cao's army would be in real trouble.

First of all, Cao Cao must go and stop Lu Bu himself. No one else is suitable, and there is no suitable person.

Whether they win or lose, there will be negative consequences. There is a high probability that Prince Chen will wait and see how the war develops. The current Prince Chen is no longer the Prince Chen during the Yellow Turban Rebellion. At that time, Prince Chen was full of blood and hot-blooded, and he only wanted to wait for the Yellow Turbans to become stronger and Emperor Ling to die suddenly.

By now, King Chen was facing resistance from the scholars in Yan and Yu and was unable to recruit famous scholars to serve him. King Chen became disheartened and gave up the idea of external expansion and concentrated on governing the State of Chen.

Anyway, no one dared to provoke him, so he and the officials and people of Chen State watched as people from all over the world fell into the water and struggled.

The situation in the State of Chen was already abnormal. No one around dared to offend King Chen. They were all waiting for him to die of old age.

How many more years can King Chen, who is almost fifty years old, live?
Cao Cao then said, "Chen Gong has secretly taken up residence in Pei State and is planning to take advantage of the chaos to attack Ruyin. Who is willing to go and stop him?"

Cao Ren, renowned for his offensive prowess and command of cavalry, immediately stood up and bowed, "Sir, I am willing to go."

Xiahou Yuan followed closely behind, bowing: "I, your humble general, invite you to fight."

The others were tactful and sat there waiting for instructions.

Cao Cao was in a dilemma again. Both Cao Ren and Xiahou Yuan were famous for their bravery in battle and mostly cooperated with him in battle.

Lack of experience in leading troops in battle alone.

Comparing the two, Cao Cao still felt that Xiahou Yuan was more stable, so he said: "Miao Cai, lead your troops to Ruyin and hold it firmly, and do not engage in battle with Chen Gong."

"Here!"

Ruyin... It is called Ruyin, but in fact it is on the south bank of the lower reaches of Yingshui River, connected to Yingshui River in Xu County.

With Ruyin City in hand, Chen Gong would not dare to advance too far unless he took Ruyin; the powerful men and clan bandits in the counties behind Ruyin would not dare to act rashly and would continue to wait and see how the situation changed.

This is what war is like. What you are gambling with is not only your wealth and your own life, but also the lives of your relatives and friends.

Before the situation becomes clear, few people dare to bet everything.

For most people, even if the situation becomes clearer, they will still conduct repeated investigations and confirmations before changing their stance and trying to get a consolation prize.

Cao Cao had no better solution, he could only divide his troops.

Xiahou Yuan went to guard Ruyin, leaving Xun Yu to guard Xu County, while he was responsible for fighting against Lu Bu.

Wherever Lu Bu went, Cao Cao would intercept him.

If Lu Bu really makes a breakthrough, the various clans that have been watching from the sidelines will rise up, and by then Lu Bu's power will expand rapidly; even the largest waiting force, King Chen, will launch a swift offensive.

In order to stabilize the situation and suppress internal resistance, Cao Cao had no choice but to fight Lu Bu himself!

There are too many forces involved in this battle. If any front collapses, the overall situation will be affected.

Even Liu Biao of Jingzhou might send troops to attack Cao Hong together with Zhang Xiu. Cao Hong must hold Wankou firmly and push back the enemies from Jingzhou.

Otherwise, if the Jingzhou army leaves Wankou, the counties in the Central Plains will inevitably be in turmoil.

The last time the Jingzhou army left Wankou was when Sun Jian was fighting against Dong Zhuo.

The battle against Dong Zhuo was divided into three battlefields. Wang Kuang's army was annihilated by Dong Zhuo in the northern battlefield of Henei; Yuan Shao and Cao Cao were ambushed in Xingyang when they pursued Dong Zhuo in the middle, and their army was also annihilated.

Sun continued to advance on the southern route and was the first to enter Luoyang.

What army did Sun Jian lead at that time?
Sun Jian's main force was the Jingzhou soldiers who suppressed the Jingnan Rebellion. He then killed the governor Wang Rui and the Nanyang County Magistrate Zhang Zi and annexed their armies.

Jiangxia County Magistrate Liu Xiang also gave his full support. Sun Jian almost mobilized the elite troops from all the counties in Jingzhou to march north to fight against Dong!

All the counties in Jingzhou, except Guiyang which was remote, participated in it.

In the battle against Dong Zhuo, the soldiers of Jingzhou followed Sun Jian and became famous.

If Sun Jian had not been accidentally shot to death, Sun Jian would have taken these Jingzhou soldiers to expel Liu Biao and would have already completed the actual control of Jingzhou.

Otherwise, how could Sun Jian, with only the less than two thousand soldiers under his command, fight against Dong Zhuo's imperial guards one after another?
Do you really think they are immortal?
Therefore, when the Jingzhou soldiers under Liu Biao's rule broke out of Wankou and looked towards the Central Plains, the people of the Central Plains would instinctively feel fear and waver!
The soldiers of Jingzhou are really strong at the moment. They shot and killed Zhang Ji in winter.

Therefore, because of his reputation, Cao Cao did not want to become enemies with Liu Biao.

At present, few people know that the Jingzhou soldiers are just a shell.

(End of this chapter)