Chapter 374 Tian Ji Horse Racing
Yuan Shu's counterattack came quickly.
The method adopted was the same as that of Zang Ba before, which was to continuously send small groups of troops to harass.
When it comes to bullying the weak, Yuan Shu is more familiar with it than anyone else.
Although he was not good at fighting tough battles, he knew best how to take advantage of having more soldiers.
If Zang Ba wanted to ensure sufficient strategic space, he had to deal with the enemy around the border.
Because Cao Cao's side had lost the initiative and lacked generals skilled in mountain warfare, it was quite easy for Zang Ba to deal with them, as he could easily pull the enemy back by relying on the terrain.
However, Yuan Shu was familiar with mountain warfare, and because his business was too large, in order to prevent being eroded step by step again, Zang Ba stationed troops in various dangerous places.
Yuan Shu keenly realized the drawbacks of this tactic and took quick action.
If the troops are dispersed, they can be easily defeated one by one.
Yuan Shu used a small number of troops to constantly contain and pull the enemy back, while at the same time sending out several large armies to concentrate on encirclement and suppression, avoiding the strong and attacking the weak, resulting in a tug-of-war.
This kind of retaliatory action made Zang Ba quite annoyed.
For the first time, he felt that the huge size of Mount Tai was not a good thing, as it also gave Yuan Shu plenty of room to maneuver.
He had no way to drive Yuan Shu out and could only slowly "torture" each other with Yuan Shu.
However, this time the roles were reversed and he became the one who couldn't afford to fight.
"Xuan Gao, you are right." Xu Shu looked at the battle report in his hand and couldn't help but sigh.
Although the tug-of-war with Yuan Shu did not seem intense, it never stopped for a moment, and dozens or even hundreds of soldiers were lost almost every day.
There was no other way. There were too many places that needed to be defended. With Yuan Shu sparing no effort in manpower and attacking from all directions, such losses were already the result of Zang Ba's elite troops.
Only then did Xu Shu realize how wise it was for Zang Ba to gather those bandits.
Although their combat effectiveness is still insufficient, they are not much worse than ordinary soldiers if they hold some strongholds, which reduces a lot of pressure on them.
When Zang Ba heard this, there was no sign of complacency on his face, but instead his brows were furrowed.
He had indeed anticipated that Yuan Shu would launch a frenzied counterattack, but he had never imagined that the other party would be so "rogue".
This style of play rendered most of his previous arrangements ineffective.
Because Yuan Shu was not trying to eliminate Zang Ba or seize territory at all, his intention was to consume Zang Ba's military strength.
Therefore, the strongholds and tunnels that Zang Ba carefully prepared have now become a double-edged sword.
It had no effect against the harassing Yuan Shu troops.
Although they were able to play a role for the first time when facing the main force of Yuan Shu's besieging army, they ended up shooting themselves in the foot after falling into the hands of Yuan Shu's army.
"It's only early spring now. Your Majesty originally planned to attack Xiliang around the autumn harvest, but according to the current situation, I'm afraid we will lose no less than 20,000 to 30,000 troops by then."
"And they will face problems of low morale and fatigue among soldiers."
Upon hearing this, Xu Shu couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
Things have changed. They were so proud just two months ago, but now they have suffered the same fate as Yuan Shao and Cao Cao's troops.
In Xu County, Cao Cao was shocked when he learned about the battle situation in Mount Tai.
"I didn't expect that Yuan Gonglu would have this ability!"
Cao Cao couldn't help but be surprised.
After all, Zang Ba was a good general who gave both him and Yuan Shao a headache. He really had extraordinary abilities, and even if he had all kinds of strategies, he could not do anything about it.
Unexpectedly, he was caught by Yuan Shu. "According to what Yuan Shu revealed, most of the soldiers he is fighting against Zang Ba are bandits, so he doesn't care how many are sacrificed."
"Moreover, because this was an offensive and defensive battle centered on the stronghold, Yuan Gonglu also adopted a number of strategies to guard against night attacks. The troop casualty ratio of both sides was not high, and was much lower than a normal frontal combat." Xi Zhicai said.
"Zang Ba can only make a trade-off between strategic space and soldiers now. I'm afraid there is no other better way."
"Yuan Gonglu's plan is really ingenious." Xun Yu exclaimed.
Things are so unpredictable. Yuan Shu, who was invincible, actually became the trump card to restrain Zang Ba.
Not only that, Xun Yu even felt that Yuan Shu's tactics were the best choice to restrain Tian Ze.
However, the current situation no longer allows them to adopt this tactic, and they can only rely on this tactic to gain slight advantages in local areas.
"In this way, the threat posed by Zang Ba can be greatly reduced." Cao Cao breathed a sigh of relief.
He couldn't help but care. After all, Zang Ba's existence was too fatal to them.
The area of Taishan is adjacent to four states. If it is not controlled, he and Yuan Shao will not be able to execute their original strategy.
"If we continue like this, when Tian Chengshou attacks Xiliang, we will only need to leave tens of thousands of soldiers to garrison in addition to Yuan Shu's troops." Xi Zhicai said.
Cao Cao nodded and said: "Pay more attention to Tian Chengshou's movements during this period, and be careful to prevent him from taking action prematurely."
"We are no longer the ones in a hurry. Tian Chengshou doesn't have much time left. I want to see what decision Tian Chengshou will make."
Just as Cao Cao thought, Tian Ze was speechless after learning about the situation in Mount Tai.
"Yuan Gonglu."
"I didn't expect that he would be the one to break the balance in the end. Yuan Shao used an inferior horse to pin down Zang Ba, a superior horse. Tsk!"
Cheng Yu stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, although Xuan Gao is not in any danger, it will be very disadvantageous to our strategic plan this year if we continue to consume him like this."
"Why not postpone the plan to attack Xiliang and let Zang Ba retreat first?" Zhang Zhao said.
"No!" Cheng Yu said without hesitation.
"The plan to attack Xiliang must not be changed, and it cannot be delayed any longer."
"If we delay, something bad will happen. The princes of the Central Plains have united. The situation in the world can no longer tolerate us delaying any longer. Otherwise, the gains will outweigh the losses."
Chen Gong, who had always disagreed with Cheng Yu's political views, rarely agreed with him at this time.
"What Zhongde said is right."
In Chen Gong's eyes, conquering the world is a business.
Whether or not to start a war depends on current interests and long-term gains and losses.
The reason why Chen Gong was unwilling to support the quick conquest of the world was because Tian Ze’s current accumulation was not enough, and trying to become a big man in one bite would do more harm than good.
But at the same time, Chen Gong would not support his side missing the opportunity and delaying the pace of unifying the world too much.
That would only give other princes more time to grow and become stronger, causing more losses to the people. All in all, it would definitely be a loss.
Especially now that Zang Ba has entered the Taishan Mountains, if we stop here, all the previous losses will be in vain.
It simply became an internal conflict with the princes of the Central Plains.
"Xiliang must fight this year!"
Tian Ze set the tone directly.
(End of this chapter)
