Chapter 119: Gather the generals, the time has come [Subscribe]

Zhang Dakuo is a bandit, thirty-four years old, with a face full of flesh and a ferocious look.

But his identity was fake, he was a disguised bandit.

The small team he led was a peripheral force of Cao's camp, specifically responsible for pretending to be bandits around Yanzhou.

There are benefits to doing this.

He has a team of more than a thousand people under his command, no more, no less, and they are somewhat famous.

Anyone who wants to attack Yanzhou or is active in the surrounding areas may contact them to join and increase their momentum.

Zhang Dakuo's people can take advantage of the situation to become undercover agents.

Not long ago, he was ordered by his superiors to join a large group of refugees and serve as a double agent among them.

Zhang Dakuo and his group are quite experienced in undercover work.

Previously in Luoyang, a group of people rebelled against Lu Bu, opened the East Gate, and released Feng Fang, the captain of Xiyuan, and others, causing Lu Bu to lose the East Gate that he had just obtained.

That’s Zhang Dakuo’s man.

He was initially planted by Yuan Wei within the Bingzhou Army to monitor its movements.

After they rebelled against Lu Bu from the Luoyang city gate, Cao Cao took them from Chen Ying and had them be in charge of peripheral support, which meant doing the dirty work.

When the Black Mountain bandits came, there were a large number of them and the situation was chaotic. They said their house was on fire, and among the first group of people who fled, Zhang Dakuo was among them.

Among the thousands of people running in the front, Zhang Dakuo was the second.

This time he disguised himself as a bandit and was ordered to kill a group of people entering Yanzhou.

He led his men and ambushed behind a hillside. Seeing the target appear, about 1,200 of his men immediately rushed out from behind the hill.

The other side, with more than a hundred men, saw them coming out and lined up to resist.

The 'bandit' who was rushing in front immediately took out a crossbow.

That’s right, it was assigned by the higher-ups.

The bandits had a crossbow, which scared Jin Shang who was in the car opposite.

Whoosh whoosh!
The troops guarding the emperor's carriage fell down in groups, in panic and fear.

In the attacked carriage, Jin Shang also thought it was bandits at first.

Then he discovered that they had crossbows, his face turned pale and he understood.

Despite the ten-fold difference in troop numbers, Zhang Dakuo's men are still the foundation of the Bingzhou Army and can be considered elite.

A quarter of an hour later, all of Jin Shang's guards were killed.

He was also surrounded by Zhang Dakuo and his men.

Jin Shang found it a little unbelievable. His itinerary was strictly confidential, so why was he intercepted?

He had guessed that the other party was Cao Cao's man.

"Do you know that I am an official appointed by the court and will take up an important position?" Jin Shang pretended to be calm and asked in a stern voice.

An official in the court, what is there to brag about… Zhang Dakuo raised his hand and said, “I am in charge of more than a thousand people, and I am not proud. You only have more than a hundred people, and you were all killed. You don’t understand the difference between a winner and a loser.”

As soon as he made a gesture, Jin Shang and the strategist in the car were instantly shot into hedgehogs.

Zhang Dakuo led his men to search, took away all the property, destroyed the bodies, and retreated as fast as the wind.

News soon spread that a team had been attacked by bandits west of Dongjun, resulting in heavy casualties.

The news then reached Yuan Shu in Nanyang and Yuan Wei in Chang'an.

Jin Shang was killed before he even entered Yanzhou. Was he a bandit?

The two of them saw clearly that it must have been Cao Cao who did it.

But the world was in chaos, and no one could blame Cao Cao for the bandits.

They put a lot of thought into this matter, but unfortunately it was cut off halfway.

Yuan Wei and Yuan Shu subsequently received secret reports.

Several Yanzhou officials with whom they had secretly contacted were also purged at lightning speed.

Cao Cao used Jin Shang's connections with Yanzhou officials to clean up the situation inside and outside, consolidating his power in Yanzhou.

State pastoral office.

The weather was fine in the morning.

Cao Cao was quite free today, and all the work was done by Xun Yu, who was holding his pee and rushing to finish his work, as well as Jia Xu and Xi Zhicai.

He was reading a military book because a war was about to break out.

"The four branches of military strategy are those who use the right way to defend the country, those who use the strange way to deploy troops, and those who plan before fighting."

I myself am a typical military strategist... Cao Cao thought.

"The military situation is like thunder and wind, starting later but arriving first, defeating the enemy with courage and swiftness."

Huo Qubing, the champion of the Han Dynasty, and Xiang Yu of the late Qin Dynasty are both representatives of this lineage. However, Huo Qubing used his troops with precision, and his prior calculations must have been very powerful, so he can be classified as a military strategist.

"The yin and yang of the army are used in accordance with the time and with the help of the power of ghosts and gods."

For example, Zhuge Liang borrowed the wind, fire and arrows.

"Military skills are about training the hands and feet, using weapons, and accumulating mechanisms to facilitate victory in attack and defense."

The military equipment of the Mohists falls into this category.

Cao Cao was extremely familiar with the contents of military books.

But every time I watch it, I gain new insights.

He felt jealous when he saw the detailed description of the soldiers' skills.

Cao Wei has always been at a disadvantage in terms of military skills. The high-end weapons of this era include Zhuge Liannu of Shu Han and Yuan Shao.

The powerful crossbowmen of Jizhou and the cavalry of Youzhou are the best in the world.

These are the two advantages of Jizhou and Youzhou summarized by later generations.

Relying on his strong appeal, Yuan Shao attracted a group of skilled craftsmen who joined him early on.

Jizhou's crossbows are superior to those of other parties in terms of preparation capacity, production speed, and the shooting strength of the crossbow arrows formed by the secret patterns engraved on them.

After thinking it over, Cao Cao wrote a letter and asked someone to deliver it to Yuan Shao.

Since they had formed an alliance, Yuan Shu and Gongsun Zan began to communicate with each other and asked Yuan Shao for a few powerful crossbows for research.

afternoon.

Bian Mei came to him to report that she had found a group of artisans who could make armor. However, they were in Bingzhou and were kidnapped as bandits. She secretly spread the news that she would sell her skills to whoever could rescue them.

Cao Cao was overjoyed. He put Bian Mei in charge and sent a team of people to her to get the person back at all costs.

The weather in October is already a bit chilly.

Bian Mei wore a gray-green long dress designed in the style of phoenix tree branches. It was a very elegant outfit, but her every move revealed her innate charm.

Bian Mei always felt that Cao Cao's eyes were filled with some special emotions when he looked at her. She reached out to smooth her hair. Her white wrists were dazzling under her wide sleeves.
"If the governor has nothing else to do, I will go down and make the arrangements."

After Bian Mei left, Cao Cao continued writing.

He was writing a military training plan, and the selection of the Qingzhou army was almost complete.

The next step is to disrupt their training in order to form a strong fighting force.

When Cao Cao finished writing the military strategy and was looking at it carefully, Diao Chan, dressed in a crimson purple dress and embroidered shoes, walked in lightly.

Yin followed behind, looking majestic and awe-inspiring, forming a strong contrast with Diao Chan's delicate face.

Cao Cao patted the seat beside him.

Diao Chan turned around and glanced at the door like a thief.

Dian Wei and Xu Chu, like clay sculptures or wooden statues, never look back.

She came to Cao Cao and sat on the cushion beside him. After thinking for a moment, she reached out and took off her shoes, revealing her beautiful feet in white silk stockings.

Her face was very rosy, and she said to Yin, "You go out too."

Yin tilted his tiger's head and lay down on the other side of Cao Cao, then raised his furry paws and covered the tiger's face to show that he could not see anything.

"Governor, I miss my foster father. I wonder how he is doing in Chang'an."

Diao Chan asked in a low voice: "I want to go to Chang'an to see my adoptive father. Will the governor allow it?"

Cao Cao thought for a while and said: "After some time, if there is a chance, I will take you to Chang'an." After he finished speaking, he took out a message bead.

He wanted to keep abreast of changes in Luoyang at all times, so he was in contact with Wang Yun and left a message bead in his hand.

"You've seen me use this message bead before. One of the beads is with your adoptive father. If you knock it three times, your adoptive father will receive the message and he will reply to you if he is free."

Diao Chan took the message bead.

Cao Cao then made a gesture and asked her to change her posture.

Diao Chan obediently stood up and adjusted her position.

Cao Cao stretched out his hand, and the front of his Han skirt bulged slightly...

By late October, the diversion of the Qingzhou army was initially completed.

A total of 110,000 soldiers were selected, with the best physical fitness and combat experience.

These troops, led by Zhang Liao and Huang Zhong, trained day and night with the eight military training methods compiled by Cao Cao himself, and were further eliminated. Ultimately, the number of people left would be controlled below 100,000.

The two of them took turns leading the new army to enter Qingzhou from the northeast corner of Yanzhou, attacking Qingzhou and sweeping away the Yellow Turban bandits in Qingzhou.

Following Xun Yu's advice, they turned around and robbed the Yellow Turban Army of the wealth accumulated after years of rampage.

At this time, it had been ten months since the call for talents was issued, and there had been some responses from various parts of Yanzhou, with many people coming to join.

Among these people, Cao Cao discovered the names of Yu Jin and Le Jin.

Both of them are native to Yanzhou.

Yu Jin, whose courtesy name was Wen Ze, was from Juping County, Taishan Prefecture.

He was recommended by Bao Xin after he saw Cao Cao's order to recruit talents, and was allowed to join Cao Cao's army for training.

Le Jin, courtesy name Wenqian, was from Yangping, Dongjun, Yanzhou.

Both of them were later ranked among the Five Elite Generals and were rare generals in Cao's camp.

People came to surrender one after another. Although they were not very talented, their popularity in Cao's camp grew.

Zhang Liao and Huang Zhong took turns leading their troops to Qingzhou for training, which became more and more frequent, and they also had opportunities to engage in battle with the Youzhou troops who were also in Qingzhou.

Among them, there was one who left his name in history for giving away his pears. He was Confucius' 20th-generation grandson Kong Rong, who was the prefect of Beihai, which was in Qingzhou at the time.

He was a three-good student who wanted to do something. He was very dissatisfied with the bandits in the chaotic area and the soldiers under Cao Cao who used fighting the bandits as training.

But he had few soldiers and generals, so he could only sit back and watch, without the ability to intervene.

Leading the surrendered Qingzhou soldiers to fight the Qingzhou bandits has another advantage: it can cut off the possibility of the Qingzhou army's rebellion.

The more brutal the killing, the less likely the Qingzhou army will repeat itself.

Time progressed to November, and the first year of Chuping was coming to an end.

Taishi Ci also came to Yanzhou.

At the same moment in Youzhou, Zhao Yun received Cao Cao’s fifth letter: ...The time has come to eliminate the bandits and secure the country, and to save the lives of millions of people!
Cao Cao has been gathering generals and accumulating strength during this period, and his army has now grown to a considerable size. It is time to take action.

But who to attack first is a question worth considering.

Ps: This chapter is late, sorry~ Please vote
(End of this chapter)