Chapter 158 It’s hard to decide
Currently, after taking over three counties, Cao Wei in Jiangdong has more than 200,000 soldiers.

But among this army of about 250,000, there are only a few elite soldiers, only about tens of thousands. Most of the troops are of mixed quality, and weapons and armor are in short supply.

Among them, Cao Yuanjing had a force of 8,000 elite soldiers under his command, which was the most powerful force in the Wei army. They were brave and good at fighting, and were the foundation for his rise to power.

These eight thousand men were all from Danyang. Cao Yuanjing himself and his main team and main generals were all descendants of the Cao clan and direct relatives by marriage.

King Cao Cheng of Chu and Crown Prince Cao Yan each had a group of elite soldiers composed mainly of people from Danyang, with a total number of around three to four thousand people.

The same was true for General Miao Xianyun, Front General Li Chengsi, and Rear General Liu Changyan. They selected the best soldiers and gave priority to these elite soldiers in terms of the best armor, equipment, and even food.

The main combat mode of the Wei army was to use elite troops as a whip to drive various miscellaneous soldiers, rebel armies, and refugees to consume the enemy with human wave tactics.

At the critical moment, elite troops were dispatched to make the final decision and secure victory.

If the opponent is too strong and the team in front collapses at the first blow, the elite soldiers at the back can retreat calmly. As long as these elite soldiers are still there, it doesn't matter how many miscellaneous soldiers are consumed.

In addition, the Left General Zhu Jun, the Right General Lu Gongren, the Guard General Gu Chang, the Commander General He Chongyan, and the Guard General Zhang Hongjing, all generals from the great families of Jiangdong, each had thousands or even nearly ten thousand followers under their command.

In fact, the combat power of these powerful tribes is quite impressive, and they are well-trained and well-equipped, but as the family capital of the aristocratic families, their combat style is very conservative.

So if you calculate carefully, among the huge army of the Wei Dynasty with a total number of up to 270,000 to 280,000 people, the main elite troops are only about 50,000.

Cao Yuanjing personally led his army to attack Yuzhang. The front general Li Chengsi, the rear general Liu Changyan, the left general Zhu Jun, and the right general Lu Gongren, in addition to their elite troops, each of them also commanded about 10,000 miscellaneous soldiers. Together with the navy, the total number of people was about 80,000.

The army led by Miao Xianyun and Cao Cheng basically included all the remaining combat-capable troops of the Wei Dynasty, except for Crown Prince Cao Yan who had to stay in Jianye.

Naturally, the movements on the south bank of the river could not be concealed from the Zhennan General’s Mansion on the north bank.

Li Yuanhui, who was in Hefei, knew without hesitation that a war was going to break out after learning that the Wei State in Jiangdong had begun to accumulate large amounts of food and fodder and requisition ships.

Whether Jiangdong sends troops to Yuzhang or crosses the river to attack Jianghuai, it means a major war.

Military orders were immediately issued, and all the troops, including the Chaohu Navy and the battalions that were still recruiting new soldiers from various places, were to assemble along the river.

A huge map of the Jianghuai region, including Jiangdong and Jingzhou, was hung in the commander's hall, with a huge sand table in the center.

Li Yuanhui summoned the generals currently in Hefei, such as General Liu Xuanji, Guard General Xiao Shizhi, General Chen Zhen, Sima He Gui, Yin Gong, Zhou Ben, Guo Xing, Xiahou Yuanhong, as well as aides such as Li Qinglian and Xie Xun, a total of more than ten people, to discuss military intelligence.

Everyone initially agreed that Cao Yuanjing's target was Yuzhang.

Yuzhang County is geographically located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and the threat it posed to the Wei State downstream was greater than that posed by the Jianghuai River on the opposite bank.

Moreover, Li Yuanhui had already focused on the defense of two strategic locations in Guangling where large-scale crossings of the river could be carried out. Although it could not be said to be impregnable, it could definitely hold out until reinforcements arrived.

As for taking the Rushu River into Chaohu Lake and attacking Hefei, there is no problem with this route, but Hefei is a fortified city and is protected by water currents around it, so it is difficult to besiege the city and it is impossible to take it in a short time.

If the time is delayed for too long, if the navy of Yuzhang goes straight down the river, they don't need to do too many tricks. They can just sink two large ships to temporarily block the Ruxukou Pass, or they can just focus on the grain transport fleet of Jiangdong.

This would make the Jiangdong army stuck between Chaohu Lake and Rushu River, making it very uncomfortable.

Therefore, taking Yuzhang first is the most reasonable arrangement for Jiangdong Wei.

Moreover, judging from the previous battles of the Wei army in Jiangdong, the strategic timing of sending troops was always very good.

Cao Yuanjing first started to rebel against Yan when the imperial court launched the second expedition against Goguryeo. At that time, Emperor Cao, who was a private salt dealer, never thought that he would be summoned by the government to fight in Liaodong.

Then can those who went to Liaodong to fight Goguryeo come back? The first time, hundreds of people from their county applied, but none of them came back.

Even though Cao Yuanjing rebelled, he only led his men to plunder and then went to the Huangshan and Tianmushan areas to accumulate strength.

It was not until Yang Xun rebelled that the whole world was shaken that he started to stir up trouble. He defeated the troops of Danyang and Wu counties several times in a row, and his reputation soared.

However, facing the Jiangdong Zhenrong Army led by General Yuwen Tan, the general of the Southern Expedition, they collapsed at the first blow and fled in panic.

This also gave Yuwen Tan and the court the illusion that although Cao Yuanjing was a cunning villain, he was not a concern.

Yuwen Tan might have had some thoughts of keeping the enemy at bay for his own benefit. Finally, when Murong Ying died and King Liang rebelled, Cao Yuanjing really showed his fangs and demonstrated his true strength. He captured Jianye in one fell swoop, and then successively captured Wujun and Kuaiji. His momentum even surpassed Zhai Rang of Wagang.

Now he has ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, dominating one side, which has clearly demonstrated that the Cao Wei regime in Jiangnan is not a simple makeshift team.

If you underestimate these heroes, you will suffer a great loss.

So the next thing is much simpler, Li Yuanhui needs to make a choice.

Yuzhang County, should we save it or not?

Judging from the current situation of the Jianghuai Army, it cannot be saved.

Most of the soldiers in the navy and other units were new recruits, and everyone was skeptical about relying on these untrained people to go to the battlefield. At the same time, the number of warships in the navy was not enough to transport tens of thousands of troops to Yuzhang.

Even being able to complete the escort mission along the way is a problem.

Considering the number of troops in Cao's army, they are fully capable of fighting on two fronts.

So in the end, military advisor Li Qinglian and military officer Xie Xun both suggested abandoning Yuzhang County and fully withdrawing their forces back to Jianghuai.

They also defended the Lujiang River, the Rushu River, and the Liyang and Guangling lines.

However, the guard general Xiao Shizhi proposed a strategy, "besiege Wei to save Zhao".

That is, after the main force of the Wei army attacked Yuzhang, they did not defend Ruxukou, but instead transferred the Chaohu navy in advance to lure the Wei army's detachment ashore and let them attack Hefei.

The Chaohu navy entered the Huai River from the Fei River, detoured through Hongze Lake and Gaoyou Lake, and took the Grand Canal, and marched out from Guangling to launch a surprise attack on Jingkou, threatening Jianye. In this way, the Wei army had to return for assistance.

But this plan has a lot of risks. If the Wei army is allowed to attack Hefei, if Hefei fails, the situation in Jianghuai will be in chaos. Hefei is an important town in Jianghuai.

However, General Chen Zhen suggested that Xiao Shizhi's strategy was feasible, but he should change his thinking.

That is, Ruxukou must not be given up easily, and a camp should be set up again on both sides of the river at the old site of Dongguan to resist the army from Jiangdong.

Because they must go north from Ruxukou.

Dongguan is a pass built by the Eastern Wu at the Rushu River during the Three Kingdoms period. It was the front line of the confrontation between the Eastern Wu and Cao Wei.

They held their ground here and then retreated in stages, luring the Jiangdong army northward into Chaohu Lake to attack Hefei.

This would undoubtedly provide more time, and even if the sneak attack on Jingkou failed, they could quickly go up the Yangtze River and attack the rear of the Wei army in Jiangdong.

These plans all have their merits, but they all seem to be lacking something, which makes Li Yuanhui somewhat hesitant.

It's hard to decide at the moment.

(Happy New Year, everyone.)
(End of this chapter)