Chapter 42: Are military affairs so difficult? [Seeking follow-up reading]

Cao Cao walked forward, while Dian Wei, Xiao Xiang, and Zhang Liao followed slightly behind him.

The other guards dispersed and took up guard duties.

The carriage that Concubine Yu was riding in also followed slowly.

"Did you know that Dong Zhuo's reinforcements were blocked by General Huangfu's troops yesterday?" Cao Cao asked.

Zhang Liao replied: "The Queen Mother announced it this morning, and all the ministers know about it. I bumped into a few people from the Zhen family and we were just discussing this matter."

Cao Cao: "If you had the chance to lead an army, how would you stop Dong Zhuo?"

Zhang Liao believed that might is right.

This has something to do with his childhood experiences, and his desire to possess powerful strength.

When Cao Cao spoke to him, he started from what he was most interested in, namely, the use of troops and the control of powerful military force.

He also calmly brought Zhang Liao to the level of opposition with Dong Zhuo to consider the issue.

Zhang Liao followed Cao Cao's thinking and thought: "If I lead the army, I will choose a place to block the Liangzhou people because they are good at riding and are in a hurry to get to Luoyang. It would be best if I could suddenly attack them while they are running fast and attack them from two fronts with a sharp arrow formation to hit their weak points."

"Then tear the formation apart and defeat the entire army."

This is a collision of thoughts among famous generals.

Cao Cao had looked at the marching map and made judgments from a distance, just like Huangfu Song was commanding on the spot.

Zhang Liao had roughly the same idea at this moment.

He said that attacking the weak points of the Liangzhou army meant that if the enemy spread out their troops and hurried on the journey, their formation would inevitably spread horizontally, while being weak vertically, there would be an opportunity to send troops to penetrate it.

Zhang Liao's use of troops is more cruel to the enemy and to me.

However, the method of launching surprise attacks and blocking battles, using troops to attack the flanks, and taking the initiative was basically consistent with the views of Cao Cao and Huangfu Song.

Cao Cao asked again: "If Dong Zhuo sends reinforcements to Luoyang, but I don't have many soldiers, what should I do?"

"We can't defeat the enemy head-on, we have to set up an ambush. The troops from Liang Province will lose the advantage of terrain if they come to our Central Plains."

Zhang Liao said: "They are marching far away. If it were me, I would be lying in wait in Fufeng County."

Cao Cao stopped, picked up a small stone, and casually drew a few strokes on the ground, vividly expressing the geography of Fufeng County mentioned by Zhang Liao.

After finishing the painting, he handed the stone to Zhang Liao.

Zhang Liao also squatted down and drew his intention with stones:
“No matter how influential Dong Zhuo is in Liang Province, there won’t be many troops willing to follow him all the way to Luoyang at this stage.”

"It will be divided into three routes at most. I think two of them will go through Fufeng County, and the other one may be more obscure."

Cao Cao asked, "You mean to say that Dong Zhuo's last leg of troops will advance northward from Liang Province, then enter Bing Province from the north, turn south, and head straight for Luoyang?"

Zhang Liao's eyes lit up: "General Shang is a man who knows military affairs well and has accurate judgment. Liao's humble opinion is the same as General Shang's."

Liangzhou is the area of ​​the Hexi Corridor, which is also Wuwei County.

It was conquered and established as a county during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han.

Going north from its location, one has to pass through the areas of the Qiang, Di and other ethnic groups.

To others, marching through nomadic tribal territory is fraught with difficulties.

But Dong Zhuo's people can.

He made good friends with some Qiang and Di tribal leaders, borrowed their roads, traveled secretly and could advance quickly, making him very difficult to defend against.

In their correspondence, Cao Cao and Huangfu Song pointed out that if Dong Zhuo had three reinforcements, two of them would come along the Hexi Corridor to Luoyang in the southeast direction.

There is another route, which may go from the north and pass through the Qiang and Di tribal area.

Finally entered Bingzhou and turned south.

Of course, the fact that Dong Zhuo's troops could remain hidden and conduct long-distance raids was related to the chaos in various places.

In the last years of the dynasty, local provinces and counties had already shown signs of separatism, and rebellions continued, with sometimes multiple rebel groups breaking out in a single year.

The power of the central government has been weakened to the extreme.

Many senior officials on the frontiers are trying to wait and see.

The defense lines in various places have become rotten like sieves.

Otherwise, no matter how powerful Dong Zhuo's reinforcements are, they will not be able to hide and get close to Luoyang.

The conversation between Cao Cao and Zhang Liao fully demonstrated their military talents and cognition, and they got along very well.

The two men wrote and drew on the ground, and the entire guard team and the carriage stopped and waited.

Zhang Liao made full use of his strengths, and Cao Cao occasionally gave guidance from the side, but he was able to hit the key points directly.

The more Zhang Liao talked, the more his heart surged like the tide.

This captain of the Xiyuan Army was much more powerful than he had expected.

Zhang Liao's talent in military affairs and the use of troops rarely convinced anyone, including Ding Yuan and Lu Bu.

But when he talked with Cao Cao, he was attracted by Cao Cao's erudition, eloquence, and his insights, which he readily quoted from many military strategists and tactics and cited extensively.

The two of them were on the ground, drawing with stones back and forth to express their views.

This is called temple calculation in military strategists, which is to use deduction to analyze the enemy and our own situation.

Zhang Liao chatted for a while and felt like he was getting more and more addicted.

"Okay, we'll talk again when we have a chance. That's all for today."

Cao Cao saw that Zhang Liao was still in high spirits, but he stopped right there. When you plant seeds in the ground, you have to plant them just right so that they can germinate easily. Planting them too deep or too shallow is not appropriate.

Zhang Liao felt that the discussion was not thorough, but since Cao Cao had the initiative, he thought that was just right.

"The situation in Luoyang City is volatile. Wenyuan, if you encounter any difficulties, you can come to me and I will do my best to help you."

After Cao Cao finished speaking, he turned around and got on the car.

The carriage roared and went away in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Liao politely saw him off and thought about the conversation that had just taken place, feeling it was full of aftertaste.

"Wenyuan, I saw you and General Cao talking enthusiastically just now. What did you talk about? You are so in tune with each other."

A little further away, a group of people led by Zhen Yu did not leave and came closer.

They were looking for Zhang Liao for other matters.

"General Cao and I will put ourselves on the side of General Huangfu and Dong Zhuo to predict each other's routes and how to deploy our troops," Zhang Liao said frankly.

Zhen Yu: "General Huangfu is indeed powerful. If he hadn't taken action, the consequences would have been disastrous if Dong Zhuo's reinforcements had arrived in Luoyang.

I have discussed this with many people in the court, and even General Cui said that unless it is General Huangfu, it would be too difficult to determine the route of Dong Zhuo's reinforcements."

Zhang Liao: "There are many possible routes from Liangzhou to Luoyang, but making predictions about military affairs is not as difficult as you say!"

"General Cao and I... forget it. You guys don't understand military affairs."

Zhang Liao had talked with Cao Cao and felt that chatting with the Zhen family would be boring, so he bowed and left.

Zhang Liao left, and Zhen Yu and his party also returned home.

Zhen Yu asked his sister, "Zhen Xin, you have seen Zhang Liao, what do you think?"

The Zhen family served as officials in the court, had extensive connections, and had always been good at "investment".

The family study that the Zhen family has been studying for generations is the "Lin Jing", which is also another name for the Spring and Autumn Annals.

The content of the Spring and Autumn Annals is to use history as a mirror and is good at using the "Spring and Autumn style of writing" that incorporates praise and criticism in recording events. It is the most accurate way to judge people and things.

The Zhen family studied the Spring and Autumn Annals and were good at observing people.

The ancient scrolls of the Spring and Autumn Period in their family have been nurtured for many generations and can reflect the fortunes of some people.

You can’t get all of them right, but seven or eight out of ten.

Therefore, the women of the Zhen family generally marry well.

Zhen Yu could see that Zhang Liao was a powerful military strategist, and if they could marry, they would surely become prominent in the future.

For women in this era, it is not shameful for a widow to remarry.

Zhen Yu began to think about arranging a marriage for his sister.

Zhen Xin shook her head slightly and refused: "Zhang Liao is not a good match for me. I don't like him. He is younger than me."

Zhen Yu smiled and said, "If you don't like it, then you don't like it. What's the point of talking about size?"

Zhen Yan asked, "Brother, you have the Linjing scroll in your family. Can you tell what Cao Cao's fortune is like?"

Zhen Yu frowned and said, "It's strange, I have seen Cao Cao more than once, and I have tried to observe his luck and fortune, but I have never succeeded."

“But I think he has good skills and is obviously someone who can get things done.

If my younger sister is willing to marry Cao Cao, I can also go and help you."

Zhen Xin was shocked: "I will never marry Cao Cao. His family is the descendant of eunuchs, how can I marry into the Cao family?"

Zhen Yan could probably guess what Zhen Xin was thinking: "Do you like Lu Fengxian?"

Zhen Xin's face flushed, "Lü Bu is a hero of the world, brave and good at fighting. In my opinion, no one in the world can compare to him. If it's him... I'm willing. It's okay to be his concubine. I'm sure that with the connections of my Zhen family, Lü Bu will rely on me the most in the future."

Zhen Yu nodded and said, "Lü Bu's family background is not high, but he has great military luck, so he is a good candidate."

……

Cao Mansion.

Concubine Yu went out for a walk and returned to the mansion. She was in a good mood and walked back to the inner house gracefully.

Cao Cao came to the study again to discuss matters.

At night, the two of them climbed onto the bed. Yu Qing leaned on Cao Cao shyly, with a charming look on her face.

At this time, Cao Cao suddenly listened attentively.

Yu Qing's face also turned pale when he heard the noise.

Suddenly there was a burst of shouting and killing in the city.

Cao's mansion is not far away to the southeast of the imperial palace, and the sound came from the palace.

Cao Cao glanced at Yu Qing, "It's not a big deal. Dong Zhuo's men are attacking the palace as a counterattack against Huangfu Song's attack on his reinforcements. But it's just a feint. He doesn't intend to fight to the death yet."

"I have something to say."

Yu Qing raised her face and said, "I want to be your legal wife, not a concubine."

"If you are worried about my identity, I have thought of a solution."

The woman's jumping thoughts made Cao Cao stunned.

Yu Qing turned over and sat up, took out a small box and took out several things.

(End of this chapter)