Chapter 339 Cao Cao Goes South
Xiahou Dun, who had escaped, looked at the defeated soldiers around him and felt extremely ashamed and self-blamed.
Such a huge advantage was actually calculated by Zang Ba, resulting in more than half of the tens of thousands of troops being damaged.
He was defeated miserably in this battle.
Moreover, after this battle, he realized that he would no longer be able to stop Zang Bajun.
As a result, Cao Cao, who was preparing to concentrate his efforts on Zhu'a to deal with Zhao Yun's army, would have to send troops back to help solve the problem of Zang Ba.
The original strategic plan might be ruined, and Xiahou Dun would be the biggest culprit.
Similarly, Liu Ye, who was beside Xiahou Dun, had the same mentality.
As a rookie, he felt that he was capable of conquering the world, but he never expected to lose so miserably in his first battle!
At this moment, he felt that he was just like a frog in a well. He was really short-sighted, arrogant, and looked down on everyone in the world.
Is it so difficult to deal with just Zang Xuangao?
Liu Ye even began to doubt himself at one point.
But he soon dispelled this self-denial.
The strategy adopted by Zang Bajun this time was quite ingenious.
Especially the operation of ambushing 3,000 elite troops in Liangfu Mountain in advance, which is unimaginable for ordinary people and definitely could not have been the work of Zang Ba.
There must be a first-rate strategist in Zang Ba's army.
Just as Zang Ba's army did not know that he was in Xiahou Dun's army, there was also a person hidden in Zang Ba's army that they did not know about.
Thinking of this, Liu Ye couldn't help but feel unwilling.
Both sides thought they were acting without intent.
But no one expected that the other party hid so deeply.
He was somewhat unwilling to accept his defeat in this battle. If he had known in advance that there was a good plan among the enemy army, he would never have fallen into the trap so easily.
Xiahou Dun looked at Liu Ye, whose expression kept changing, and comforted him softly, "Zi Yang, the responsibility for this battle is mine. I ignored your reminder and made such a big mistake."
"If I had followed your advice and acted a little more carefully, this wouldn't have happened."
Upon hearing this, Liu Ye shook his head slightly.
It's because he is not as skilled as others, and there is no need for Xiahou Dun to cover up for him.
In this battle, he was indeed controlled by the opponent, who was plotting against him completely.
This plan may seem ordinary, but it is actually far-reaching.
Everyone knows that one should not enter a valley, but if one fights rigidly according to this method, one will definitely lose miserably.
Because there are so many things to consider in combat, and it is impossible to address all of the countless issues, we can only weigh the pros and cons and try our best to take them all into account.
This time, they had to chase into the valley, and it was not a momentary impulse. They had been slipped away all the way, and now they finally had the chance, so who would give up?
It is not difficult to be a wise man after the event. From a God's perspective, everyone thinks that he is a first-class counselor and strategist.
But only through personal experience can one deeply feel that every choice one makes is influenced by multiple factors, and it is impossible to be completely objective and unaffected.
A wrong choice may be the inevitable result of many correct choices.
Those mistakes that seem extremely stupid and obvious to later generations are ultimately difficult to understand the full picture unless one personally experiences them deeply, and can only be taken for granted.
"General Xiahou, send a letter for help to the lord. If everything goes as expected, Zang Xuangao will probably come to our hinterland and cause a big fuss next." Liu Ye said with a wry smile.
The army led by Xiahou Dun could almost be said to be the last viable force under Cao Cao.
Every battle with Tian Ze was like a gamble. Cao Cao had to give his all to be qualified to sit at the gambling table and fight for that one chance to win.
Even if Cao Cao wanted to keep a backup plan, he didn't have the capital to do so.
Except for some troops left to defend the borders of Yanzhou, Sili and Jizhou, Yanzhou and Yuzhou were almost undefended. Each county had only a few thousand soldiers, whose combat effectiveness was almost negligible and whose distribution was extremely scattered.
After Xiahou Dun's defeat, no one could stop Zang Ba anymore.
After all, although there is Jiang Qi's army, Jiang Qi is ultimately a general under Yuan Shao, not Cao Cao.
Even if Cao Cao agreed, it would be impossible for them to march smoothly under Cao Cao's command, and it would be a fantasy to encircle and suppress Zang Ba.
Upon hearing this, Xiahou Dun clenched his fists tightly, his eyes full of unwillingness, but in the end he could only sigh and send someone to contact Cao Cao as Liu Ye said.
The overall situation is more important, and now is not the time for him to fight for momentary pride.
If you continue to show off, the result will be even worse.
When Cao Cao, who was still more than 300 miles away from Zhu'a, received the news from Xiahou Dun, his brain disease suddenly recurred and he felt a splitting headache.
After Xiahou Dun's defeat, a huge gap appeared under his command.
He was sure that Zang Ba had already penetrated into the hinterland of Yanzhou and Yuzhou and was looting on a large scale.
From the overall situation, he should continue to send troops to Zhu'a and focus on attacking Tianze.
But if he doesn't go back, he will basically lose the qualifications to compete for the world.
Are you kidding? Who is Zang Ba? He started out as a robber.
Most of the credit for his current status and position comes from plundering people.
Most of Qingzhou was taken away at that time, and Yuan Shao still feels resentful when he mentions this matter.
If he doesn't go back, no matter what happens, half of the state's population will be poached within a month.
If Zhao Yun had delayed for a while longer, he could have resigned from his position as a vassal and surrendered to Tian Ze. The best outcome would have been to retain one state, with the rest of the territory divided up by Yuan Shao and others.
Even though they are allies now, this group of people will never hesitate to take action.
The overall situation is important!
But if Cao Mengde becomes the person who has little influence on the overall situation, then he will have no value and will end up like Yuan Shu now.
Therefore, after a little consideration, Cao Cao did not hesitate to lead 30,000 troops south to put out the fire, and Cao Ren led the rest of the main force to continue to attack Zhu'a to assist Yuan Shao in destroying Zhao Yun's troops.
Zhao Yun breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the news.
Compared to Yuan Shao, who was good at frontal combat, Cao Cao, who always won by surprise, was the opponent he was more worried about.
If Cao Cao were present, he would never dare to divide his troops or adopt guerrilla tactics, because he would be suppressed and calculated by Cao Cao's talents and easily be eroded step by step.
However, if he did not use any unconventional tactics and fought head-on, the combined forces of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao would be no less than 300,000 troops, and he would probably not be able to stop them with just the 100,000 soldiers he led.
After all, Yuan Shao’s talent is too strong, and when combined with Gao Lan, he can nearly double the strength of the army.
Although the enemy's strength has not decreased much, without the core figure Cao Cao, his pressure has been greatly reduced, and he has room to display his capabilities.
Xun You, the military advisor accompanying the army, frowned when he heard the news that Cao Cao was leading 30,000 troops south.
"Cao Mengde is not easy to deal with. I hope Xuan Gao can still keep his sanity and not get too excited and try to wrestle with him."
Cao Cao's extremely abnormal talent plus his own outstanding abilities, when combined, are a king bomb. The power he can unleash in small and medium-scale battles is extremely terrifying and is definitely not something Zang Ba can resist.
(End of this chapter)
