Chapter 437 Offensive and defensive changes
As soon as Guo Jia's plan came out, all the civil and military officials under Tian Ze nodded repeatedly.
He is indeed a genius and can always come up with new ideas.
Yuan Shao and other princes were now unable to fight frontal sieges and field battles and could only defend themselves, but they were short of food and horses, and the Central Plains was flat and blocked by the Taishan Mountains near Qingzhou.
Taking all these factors into consideration, Guo Jia's strategy was simply created naturally for this condition and could not be more suitable.
Even Chen Gong, who was somewhat reluctant to fight on two fronts, couldn't help but fall into deep thought at this moment.
War is not only about fighting, it is also an economic account.
Whether it is population, land, terrain strategy or the impact on development and reform, it all has its value.
What Chen Gong weighed was whether fighting this war was worth it in terms of the delay in development, pressure on domestic affairs, and consumption of materials, compared with the population, land, and long-term positive impact that could be gained.
This account is difficult to calculate, especially when people have different positions. The values of various factors in different people's minds are also different, making it difficult to say who is right or wrong.
The reason why Chen Gong was reluctant but did not strongly refute was because of this reason.
However, Guo Jia's strategy greatly dispelled his concerns.
Although a large number of Qingzhou's population was secretly moved to the south by Yuan Shao, it still has a solid foundation.
Moreover, the land is fertile, there are few powerful families, and the territory is not large.
Once it is taken, the pressure of internal affairs is not too great. Only about half of the staff of Jizhou is needed to maintain healthy operation.
The investment in manpower and materials was definitely worthwhile compared to the output, and many worries were eliminated. Chen Gong really could not find any reason to object.
Seeing that his civil and military officers all showed their approval, Tian Ze nodded slightly and said, "Let's follow Feng Xiao's plan."
"But these 100,000 cavalrymen..." Tian Ze couldn't help but hesitate.
Xiliang was newly settled, and for the sake of safety, a large number of cavalry were arranged to support the battle. However, the cavalry of Bingzhou and Youzhou also shouldered important missions, especially when Huangfu Song had just taken office.
No matter how powerful a commander is, he has to understand the situation of the army before he can formulate strategies and command operations.
Although the north was extremely stable, the wars of foreign conquest never stopped for a moment.
Once this kind of battle begins, it cannot be stopped. Otherwise, if you give the opponent a chance to catch his breath, he will quickly recover and all your previous efforts will be wasted.
Therefore, after taking office, Huangfu Song did not make major changes to the overall strategy immediately after taking office, but only made minor adjustments, focusing his main energy on rectifying the military equipment in various places, enforcing discipline, and punishing corruption.
Tian Ze didn't want to hold Huangfu Song back at this time.
"Your Majesty, I suggest that we draw the cavalry from Xiliang." Cheng Yu said without hesitation.
"Now that Xiliang has stabilized and Hanzhong is under our control, we don't need too many cavalry. We only need to keep 20,000 to 30,000 elite troops. The rest can be transferred to the Central Plains battlefield."
Dong Zhao also agreed: "Your Majesty, Zhongde is right."
"Yizhou is full of mountains and obstacles, so a large number of cavalry cannot be deployed. Only a small number of elite cavalry are needed. The Central Plains with its flat plains is the battlefield where a large number of cavalry should gallop."
The Battle of Central Plains was completely announced to the world.
Offense and defense have changed shape!
The princes in the Central Plains no longer had the possibility of launching a northern expedition and could only defend themselves to the death.
With many checkpoints in Sili and Zhang Lu in Hanzhong, Dong Zhao was not worried that the war would spread to Xiliang. So it was a waste of talent to keep so many cavalry in Xiliang.
Guo Jia's strategy can be said to have opened a window for them.
The Central Plains must be conquered, and it will be easy. This is the consensus of people all over the world.
Because there was no strategic location to defend the Central Plains, it was only a matter of time before it was lost. Otherwise, Yuan Shao would not have secretly transferred the people of Qingzhou to the Lianghuai area.
However, if one wants to take over the Central Plains by normal means, the losses will probably be huge.
Because Yuan Shao and Cao Cao knew very well that the Central Plains was difficult to defend. For the long-term, they would definitely squeeze out every last bit of essence from the Central Plains and then make it into a big bomb and throw it at Tian Ze.
The brilliance of Guo Jia's strategy lies in taking the Central Plains without attacking. Theoretically, it is entirely possible to completely control the Central Plains without damaging its vitality.
After all, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao were both heroes, and they had the world in their hearts.
They could plunder in the Central Plains or even massacre the city, but this would undoubtedly be another huge blow to their own prestige.
The Han people have the same name.
If it was the completely ruined and chaotic late Han Dynasty in the original historical trajectory, it would be fine, but even massacres in cities became almost commonplace.
But now under Tian Ze's control, although various princes continue to fight each other, the overall order has strangely become stable.
It was as if Tian Ze was going to war with Yuan Shao and others, involving only the army and having almost no impact on the people.
Breaking the moral bottom line in this situation is undoubtedly digging one's own grave.
Even Tian Ze didn't have to do anything himself, Yuan Shao and others' subordinates would be caught in constant internal strife.
Therefore, even if Yuan Shao and Cao Cao did not care about the lives of the people and no matter how cruel they were, they could only pretend to be wise kings.
Tian Ze tied his own hands and feet out of benevolence and justice, and the impact it brought was much greater than many people imagined.
"Who will lead the troops?"
Tian Ze nodded slightly to Cheng Yu and Dong Zhao's suggestions, and then asked this question.
All of a sudden, all the civil and military officials began to discuss the matter.
"Your Majesty, I think Generals Zilong and Ziyi are good at cavalry combat and are the most suitable candidates," Dong Zhao suggested.
Among the five talented generals under Tian Ze's command, Xu Rong will be stationed in Hebei, Guan Yu will intimidate Yuan Shao, Zhang Liao will be stationed in Liangzhou and attack Yizhou, Zhang He will guard Sili, and Xu Huang is not good at cavalry, and it is better for him to stay in Qingzhou just in case.
Therefore, in Dong Zhao's opinion, it would be better to choose from among many talented generals.
Zhao Yun and Taishi Ci, who performed most outstandingly in the Battle of Xiliang, are undoubtedly the best candidates.
However, Cheng Yu has a different opinion.
"Your Majesty, I think it is most appropriate for Gongming to lead the cavalry."
"Oh? Why?" Tian Ze asked.
Cheng Yu said in a deep voice: "Although Gongming is not good at large-scale cavalry combat, his greatest characteristic in using troops is strict military discipline and calmness."
"The difficulty of this battle does not lie in the combat. There may even be few battles. The role of the cavalry is more focused on containment and division, and the emphasis is on mutual coordination and response to emergencies. This is exactly Gongming's strength." Cheng Yu said.
Being ranked among the top five famous generals, Xu Huang's strength is definitely worthy of measurement.
It was only because the soldiers under Tian Ze were of extremely high quality and had strong organizational skills that Xu Huang's abilities did not seem so outstanding.
In terms of organizational ability, Xu Huang is not much inferior to Zang Ba, and in terms of overall view and large-scale combat command, he is far superior to the latter. He is born for major battles.
(End of this chapter)
