Chapter 373 Cao Yuan's Cold Winter
After two successful robberies in a row, the morale of Zang Ba's army became increasingly high, and the soldiers were immersed in the joy of a rich harvest.
Zang Ba suddenly received a piece of news from a captured general of Cao's army.
Cao Cao had just stockpiled a lot of food and fodder in Lu County.
Although there were many soldiers in the city, numbering about 5,000, they were nothing but a piece of cake in Zang Ba's eyes.
Zang Ba immediately became interested.
"This is fat meat that is right in front of our mouths. If we can take over Lu County, won't the problem of food and grass be solved?"
Xu Shu, however, looked solemn and said without hesitation: "Lu County cannot go."
"This is too strange and too coincidental. We just succeeded in two consecutive robberies and this news came right after. I'm afraid it's a trap carefully designed by Cao Cao."
"We are in great need of food and grass right now, so they want to use this bait to lure us in. Once we step into Lu County, there will be no return."
Zang Ba frowned slightly when he heard this. Although he knew that what Xu Shu said was not groundless, he still felt a little unwilling.
"That's impossible. I saw that general was trembling with fear. Under our tactics, he should be telling the truth. Besides, we also knew about the situation in Lu County before, so what he said should be consistent with what we said."
Xu Shu shook his head slightly, his tone firm and unquestionable: "I don't believe there are any coincidences in this world. I would rather we misjudged than touch this pie that fell from the sky."
If he were in his shoes, and were dealing with an enemy like Zang Ba, the only strategy he could adopt would be to lure the enemy.
Therefore, he had already prepared for it.
No matter how true or important the news is, it will not change his mind at all.
"Xuan Gao, I still say the same thing. If you want to rob, then draw lots. Otherwise, stop. You still have two last chances." Xu Shu said without question.
Seeing this, Zang Ba hurriedly said, "No, no, no, let's draw lots."
After saying that, Xu Shu continued to take out the notes, but he took out the one from Lu County and threw it away.
In Lu County, the extremely anxious Jia Kui, after learning that Longxiang County had been robbed, seemed to have been drained of his last bit of strength. He collapsed to the ground with empty eyes.
Mao Jie, standing aside, also had a frown on his face, his expression so gloomy that water could drip out of it.
"Military Advisor, is there any other solution?" Xiahou Yuan was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
Although Zang Ba's raids were rare, he gained a lot each time. In total, he lost thousands of soldiers, and countless civilians and money and food.
In order to contain Zang Ba, a large number of troops were stationed in the surrounding cities where people still lived.
If this continues, their losses by the end of the winter will be unimaginable.
"There's nothing we can do." Mao Jie said in a deep voice.
"Set up more beacon fire points and secret sentries, and strengthen patrols..."
Unable to deal with Zang Ba, Mao Jie could only resort to these stupid methods to try his best to prevent things from happening.
This kind of highly mobile elite is difficult to deal with.
If it were early spring, we could still defeat them with the help of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry's speed.
But in this cold winter, he had no way to stop Zang Ba.
According to Mao Jie, after Xiahou Yuan made the arrangements, it did cause some trouble for Zang Ba.
Zang Ba also realized that it was time to stop.
Marching and fighting in winter is not so easy. Even the elite troops under his command cannot sustain it for long.
Besides, if you gamble on your luck for a long time, you will always run into trouble. You can just quit while you are ahead. However, quitting does not mean that Cao Cao and Yuan Shao's army will live a peaceful life.
In the following period, Zang Ba no longer sent out his elite main forces, but instead dispatched a small number of elite teams to harass the remaining counties and villages in the surrounding areas from time to time.
Cao Cao and Yuan Shao's troops had to remain vigilant as if they were facing a powerful enemy, guarding against Zang Ba's sudden and real attack.
Some teams sneaked into the city and set fire to the warehouses, while some teams deliberately left many traces of suspected large-scale marching troops on Yuan Shao’s army’s grain transportation trails, and also set up some simple traps, scaring the grain transport teams so that they stopped moving forward.
Although such frequent harassment did not cause a devastating blow to Cao Cao and Yuan Shao's armies, it kept their morale low and caused panic among the people.
The soldiers have been in a state of high tension for a long time, their spirits are almost collapsed, and they become nervous at the slightest sign of trouble.
The generals were even more worried and kept complaining to their superiors and asking for help. However, facing the elusive tactics of Zang Ba's army, Mao Jie and others had no good strategy and could only continue to send more men, further dispersing the troops.
At the same time, Zang Ba was not idle either.
As his territory continued to expand, Zang Ba gradually became a rival to Yuan Shu in the Taishan Mountains, and continued to erode Yuan Shu's territory.
While expanding, Zang Ba also built up the territory he had conquered and began to construct camps and tunnels everywhere.
These camps were built on the mountains with dangerous terrain. They were not only easy to defend but also difficult to attack, but they could also echo each other to form a tight line of defense.
There are secret passages connected together, so if the situation becomes unfavorable, the soldiers can take the opportunity to retreat and preserve their strength.
The people who had been robbed from the surrounding areas were all settled by Zang Ba, and began to work as laborers in the mountains, or cultivate fields and do other work within their capabilities.
Slowly, a winter passed.
This winter was so long and difficult for Cao Cao and Yuan Shao.
But in Zang Ba's eyes it was exceptionally fast.
He still had a lot of things to do, and time passed by.
When the ice and snow melted, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao immediately took action.
A large number of cavalry appeared around Mount Tai and immediately pursued Zang Ba's army once they found any trace of him.
Although Zang Ba, who had been prepared, did not give the enemy any opportunity to take advantage, he was indeed suppressed in the area around the mountains.
After all, on the plains, two-legged creatures can't outrun four-legged creatures.
Although his range of activities was greatly restricted, Zang Ba never stopped harassing them.
Because he knows very well that if he doesn't move forward, he will regress.
Once Yuan Shao and Cao Cao slowly shrink the battle line and the war begins, it will be impossible for him to gain space to maneuver.
Therefore, even if it would cost some price, Zang Ba continued to fight with Cao Cao and Yuan Shao in the area around the mountains.
At this time, it becomes clear what benefit Zang Ba had gained from recruiting those bandits.
Although their fighting ability is average, they are obedient.
Not only can it be used to bluff and cheer, but it can also help to contain the enemy.
Of course, Zang Ba was not the kind of person who would abandon the bandits after they had done their work. He did not let these bandits die in vain, but instead formulated some tactics to avoid casualties as much as possible.
Even if forced to do so, these bandits were allowed to surrender.
The presence of these bandits greatly reduced the losses of the troops.
At the same time, Yuan Shu, who had been silent, also began to take action.
(End of this chapter)
