Three Kingdoms: Fusion of Entries, Change of Destiny

Chapter 205 The Chenliu Army Sets Off Again, First Stop: Chen State

The arrival of Liu Bei's envoy further solidified Cao Cao's idea of ​​sending troops to attack and seize Xuzhou.

Cao Cao then went to the palace to meet the emperor and successfully obtained the imperial edict to send troops to attack Yuan Shu and Lü Bu.

However, the emperor unexpectedly made a condition to Cao Cao: Cao Cao was required to send someone to receive the Governor of Henan before he set out with his troops.

The seat of the Henan Yin government was Luoyang!
Cao Cao understood that the emperor was missing the old capital.

Although Henan Yin is now in decline, it is not without value. Its population, agriculture, economy, and other aspects are actually slowly recovering.

Zhang Ji of Guanzhong is dead, and Li Jue and Guo Si have been crippled by Cao Yan and can only live in a remote corner. Now they are being suppressed by Duan Wei to the point of almost being unable to breathe.

The threat west of Luoyang has been reduced to a minimum.

In the south, Cao Chun garrisoned Wancheng, and Wuguan was also captured by Zhang Liao and his troops. The entire Nanyang Commandery had been taken by Cao's army, and the area south of Luoyang was generally stable.

Needless to say, the entire Yanzhou region was their territory.

From this perspective, only Zhang Yang of the northern Henan Commandery, which is adjacent to the Governor of Henan, poses a certain threat.

However, Zhang Yang has neither the ambition to expand nor the corresponding strength.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Cao Cao felt that it was indeed time for him to take over the position of Governor of Henan.

Cao Cao agreed to the emperor's request.

After deliberation, the court officials decided to recommend Sima Fang's son, Sima Lang, to take over as governor of Henan.

Sima Fang did not appear much during the Three Kingdoms period, but his descendants were all famous figures in history.

He had eight sons, known as the "Eight Talents of Sima". Among them, his second son, Sima Yi, was the most famous. He had the appearance of "eagle's eyes and wolf's gaze" and was praised by later generations as "Tomb Tiger".
Sima Fang served as the magistrate of Luoyang and the governor of Jingzhao in his youth, and was an absolute loyal subject of the Han Dynasty.

Emperor Xian appointed Sima Fang's son, Sima Lang, to take over as Governor of Henan, partly to cultivate his own power base, and partly as a form of favor to Sima Fang.

In August of the first year of Jian'an, Yuan Shu, who had completely broken ties with Lü Bu, dispatched his generals Chen Ji and Lei Bo to reinforce Ji Ling.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Liu Bei wanted to retreat under the cover of night.

However, Ji Ling had been monitoring the movements of Liu Bei's army for some time. Upon learning that Liu Bei had begun to retreat, he immediately mustered his troops to pursue and kill him.

Liu Bei suffered a major defeat, losing more than half of his 20,000-strong army.

Ji Ling also seized Xiaopei, turning Liu Bei into a wandering force once again.

That's really terrible!
……

On Lu Bu's side,

Because of Chen Gui's earlier reminder, Lü Bu brazenly broke his marriage agreement with Yuan Shu and betrayed the alliance with Yuan Shu.

Furthermore, in order to demonstrate his stance to Cao Cao, Lü Bu ordered Han Yin to be escorted to the capital and presented to Cao Cao to curry favor.

When Cao Cao met Han Yin, he killed him without any mercy.

When the news reached Yuan Shu's ears, he immediately flew into a rage.

He felt that Lü Bu didn't take him seriously at all, and that he had been greatly insulted.

Enraged, Yuan Shu decided to immediately send troops to attack Lü Bu to vent his hatred.

He recruited soldiers extensively in Huainan and quickly assembled seven armies, which marched in a mighty force towards Xiapi, Xuzhou.

These seven armies were led by generals Zhang Xun, Han Xian, Yang Feng, and others.

Including the troops of Ji Ling, Chen Ji, and Lei Bo, the total number of infantry and cavalry was 180,000, making for a very large military force.

Wherever Yuan Shu's army went, banners covered the sun, swords and spears gleamed in the sunlight, and dust flew everywhere, creating an extremely terrifying spectacle.

When Lü Bu learned that Yuan Shu had raised an army to attack, he was greatly alarmed.

His current forces number only about 10,000 men, and he has only about 400 warhorses left. Compared with Yuan Shu's army, the disparity in strength is too great.

Lü Bu hurriedly summoned his generals and strategists to discuss countermeasures. Before Chen Gong could speak,

Chen Gui then offered Lü Bu another plan, saying, "Lord Wen, Yuan Shu's attack this time is fierce, but his army, though seemingly powerful, is actually riddled with internal conflicts."

Han Xian and Yang Feng were originally officials of the Han Dynasty, but they joined Yuan Shu out of fear of Cao Cao. Yuan Shu always looked down on them, so the two must have been dissatisfied.

Marquis Wen, you may write a letter and send it to Han Xian and Yang Feng. In the letter, you should reason with them and appeal to their emotions, showing them that you, like them, have made contributions to the Han Dynasty.

Now that Yuan Shu has declared himself emperor, he is a traitor and everyone has the right to kill him.

The general is willing to join them in attacking Yuan Shu, and promises that after defeating Yuan Shu's army, all the money and grain in the general's army will belong to them.

In this way, we can surely persuade Han Xian and Yang Feng to defect, and Yuan Shu's army will collapse without a fight.

After hearing this, Lü Bu thought the plan was excellent and immediately adopted it.

He ordered someone to write a letter and secretly send it to Han Xian and Yang Feng's army.

After receiving Lü Bu's letter, Han Xian and Yang Feng pondered to themselves.

They were already dissatisfied with Yuan Shu's disrespect.

Seeing that Lü Bu's words were sincere and he promised generous benefits, they quickly discussed the matter and decided to betray him and join Lü Bu's side.

……

At this time, Cao Cao also received news from the Eagle Guards about Yuan Shu's attack on Lü Bu and Liu Bei's defeat and escape.

If Yuan Shu were to actually defeat Lü Bu and seize Xu Province, his power would undoubtedly grow even stronger, and he would surely become a major threat in the future.

Therefore, Cao Cao did not delay any longer and immediately dispatched Yu Jin, Yue Jin, Zhang Xiu, and a total of 10,000 soldiers to Chenliu County.

For this eastern expedition, Cao Cao decided to use his most powerful army, namely Cao Yan's Chenliu army!
Chenliu Army is just a general term.

It included 30,000 Qingzhou soldiers, who were fierce fighters, disciplined, and extremely powerful.

There were also 10,000 Flying Dragon Cavalry led by Zhao Yun and Xiahou Lan.

Because these cavalrymen were secretly equipped with double stirrups, and with the careful training of Zhao Yun and Xiahou Lan, their combat strength was no weaker than that of the original White Horse Cavalry.

Then came the 1,200 elite troops led by Chen Dao.

The soldiers of the Trapped Camp were all dressed in heavy armor. The front row held large shields and ring-pommel swords, the middle row was full of horse spears, and the rear row was equipped with heavy crossbows.

Finally, there was Cao Ang's 8,000-strong Mandarin Duck Army.

Initially, the Beggars' Version of the Mandarin Duck Army was established to deal with the Black Mountain Army and the Yellow Turban Army, and at that time it seemed to be able to handle them with ease.

However, as the enemy gradually strengthened, the Mandarin Duck Army's combat power clearly became somewhat inadequate, and it existed more as an auxiliary force.

However, half of the Mandarin Duck Army is equipped with powerful bows and crossbows, so their combat strength should not be underestimated.

Chenliu County will send nearly 40,000 troops this time: 20,000 Qingzhou soldiers, 10,000 Flying Dragon Cavalry, 1,200 Trapped Camp Cavalry, plus 8,000 Mandarin Duck Army.

With the addition of the 10,000 regular soldiers led by Yu Jin, Cao Cao now had an army of 50,000.

Previously, in order to raise military provisions, Yuan Shu sent Zhang Kai to the State of Chen.

As a result, Chen refused to provide Yuan Shu with provisions.
Enraged, Yuan Shu sent Zhang Kai to assassinate Liu Chong and Luo Jun, and then occupied the State of Chen.

The State of Chen was adjacent to Yingchuan Commandery. After Yuan Shu occupied the State of Chen, it undoubtedly posed a threat to Xuchang.

Therefore, Cao Cao's primary target in this military campaign was the State of Chen!

With the military situation urgent, Cao Cao and Cao Yan decided against holding a rally to urge their troops to surrender.

Zhao Yun and Xiahou Lan were the vanguard.
Cao Cao, Cao Yan, and others were in charge of the central army.

An army of 50,000 men marched in a mighty force towards the State of Chen!
(End of this chapter)