jdhmnovel Chapter 478 Cao Cao begins to give his final instructions.
Chapter 478 Cao Cao begins to give his final instructions.
In times of low productivity, the role of able-bodied laborers was irreplaceable. Farming required able-bodied laborers, war required able-bodied laborers, and building bridges, paving roads, and transporting goods all required able-bodied laborers.
But there are only so many able-bodied men. If you're fighting a war, you can't farm, and if you're farming, you can't fight a war. After all, able-bodied men are human, not gods. They can't be in two places at once; they can't fight a war, farm, and build a construction site all at the same time.
This is just like being unable to hold you when you're holding bricks, and unable to support you when you put down the bricks—it's full of helplessness.
Therefore, Man Chong's plan was to gather hundreds of thousands of troops at the border, forcing Liu Bei to bring his army to the border as well, thus preventing Liu Bei from farming.
Without farming, there would be no food. If the food shortage lasted too long, Liu Bei would collapse on his own without Cao Cao having to lift a finger.
So here's the question: with troops stationed on the border, it's a two-way street. If Liu Bei can't farm, can Cao Cao?
There's really no need to worry about that, because Cao Cao occupies the Central Plains, with a population nearly twice that of Liu Bei. Not only is his territory full of fertile fields, but his grain production is also much higher than Liu Bei's. Furthermore, the terrain along the way is flat, making it much easier to transport grain than Liu Bei's. If we really follow Man Chong's advice, how many years, two, three, or five years can Liu Bei hold out against Cao Cao?
This is like two companies engaging in a price war. Cao Cao's company has 200 million in assets, while Liu Bei's company only has 100 million. Cao Cao uses 100 million to fight Liu Bei, reducing Liu Bei's assets to zero, while Cao Cao still has 100 million left. Even if the attacking side incurs greater costs, needing to spend 150 million to reduce Liu Bei's 100 million assets to zero, it is still worthwhile for Cao Cao.
As long as Liu Bei is kicked out of the game, the initial investment can be easily recouped, and may even double.
Although Cao Cao agreed with Man Chong's statement, he still said unwillingly, "Does this mean that I really have no hope of taking Jiangling? With such a big variable as Sun Quan's elimination, am I really not going to gain any benefit at all?"
He was unwilling to accept it. He originally thought that with such a good opportunity as Guan Yu's raid on Jianye, he would definitely be able to seize Yangzhou and Jingzhou. In the end, not only did he not seize them, he also lost Longxi. He lost out big time.
Man Chong smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, please read General Cao Ren's battle report again. Guan Xing defeated Lu Xun by constantly flanking and attacking from behind. The reason for Lu Xun's defeat was that he was forced to divide his troops by Guan Xing, and then Guan Xing defeated them one by one. In other words, Guan Xing is best at cutting up the enemy and nibbling them away bit by bit. We can't make the same mistake again."
"Furthermore, Guan Yu amassed an army of 100,000 in Jiangdong in less than a year. In terms of military strength alone, he was no less than General Cao Ren. In other words, Guan Yu and General Cao Ren could offset each other."
"On the other hand, Guan Xing's forces have doubled again after defeating Lu Xun, while we don't have enough troops to restrain him. As a result, Guan Xing can lead tens of thousands of elite troops to rampage across the battlefield and attack whomever he wants. This is too dangerous for General Cao Ren and General Xu Huang."
Thinking of Guan Xing as a variable, Cao Cao felt a surge of helplessness he had felt when facing Yuan Shao back then. He closed his eyes and struggled for a long time before finally making up his mind. When he opened them again, he said firmly, "You're right. We can't play mind games with Guan Xing anymore. We can't win. Since trickery won't work, let's give up our illusions and use our strength to fight head-on."
"Order Cao Ren and Xu Huang to immediately abandon their positions and retreat to Fancheng. Also, order Xiahou Shang to mobilize laborers to rebuild Fancheng and make it an impregnable fortress that surpasses Tongguan. For a long time to come, Fancheng will be the front line for the court to fight against Liu Bei. Therefore, Fancheng must be so strong that Liu Bei cannot cross the line."
Both Xiangyang and Fancheng were built along the Han River; Xiangyang is on the south bank of the Han River, while Fancheng is on the north bank.
What's even more remarkable is that Xiangyang is sandwiched right between the Qinling Mountains and the Huai River basin. If the Qinling Mountains and the Huai River are likened to two walls, then Xiangyang is the gate between the two walls. Therefore, Xiangyang has always been the gateway to Jiangnan. If Xiangyang is lost, Jiangnan cannot be defended.
However, this was the situation when the north was strong and the south was weak, and the north was attacking. When the south was strong and the north was weak, and the south was attacking and the north was defending, Fancheng, located on the north bank of the Han River, naturally became the gateway to the Central Plains.
Cao Cao understood this, and he also knew that he was nearing the end of his life and could no longer fight Liu Bei. He knew that after his death, Cao Wei would inevitably shift from strategic offense to strategic defense. Therefore, he ordered Xiahou Shang to rebuild Fancheng, which had been reduced to ruins by Guan Yu, in order to make Fancheng an insurmountable barrier for Liu Bei.
Cao Cao continued, "I order Zhang He, Guo Huai, and Cao Zhen to all withdraw to Guanzhong and prepare to travel to Nanyang via Wuguan Pass. Then I order..."
"Wait, Lu Xun has been captured. Sun Quan's choice is crucial. If Sun Quan surrenders to Liu Bei at this time and abandons Yiling and Yidao, allowing Zhu Ran and Sun Huan, who are stationed at Yiling and Yidao, to go north to the three eastern counties to cut off Xu Huang's rear and attack Liu Bei from both sides, Xu Huang will be in danger. Tell Xu Huang not to go to the three eastern counties. He should immediately withdraw from Ziwu Valley to join me and then head to Xiangfan via Wuguan Road."
"Furthermore, didn't Deng Ai say that if given five years, he would definitely emulate Guan Xing's land reform and eliminate all the foreign tribes in the Longdong region where the two prefectures of Anding and Beidi are located, turning Longdong into a stable rear area for the court? I will give him this opportunity and appoint Deng Ai as the Prefect of Beidi, the Governor of Longdong, and the General Who Pacifies the North. He is to immediately go to Longdong to take up his post."
Guan Xing's rise made Cao Cao realize the inadequacy of his reserve forces. Under such circumstances, he naturally had to vigorously promote and cultivate young people. Deng Ai was a young talent that he was preparing to cultivate with all his might. However, Deng Ai was still too young and could not be allowed to face a powerful enemy like Liu Bei as soon as he appeared. That would overwhelm the young man.
Therefore, Cao Cao planned to let Deng Ai start with small tasks and use the Longdong region as a stage for Deng Ai to train and give full play to his abilities. He believed that Deng Ai would become more mature and experienced after being trained.
"Yes..." The group bowed and took their leave.
Watching the departing figures of the group, Cao Cao coughed violently again, coughing up blood.
Sensing his weakness, Cao Cao quickly ordered, "Send word to my heir Cao Pi to rush to Wancheng and wait for me. I have something to tell him."
He is now going to Xiangfan to confront Liu Bei. If he returns to Luoyang after the confrontation ends, he may not be able to hold out. If he dies on the way, he will not be able to see Cao Pi to give his last instructions. Therefore, Cao Pi must come to see him.
Thinking of this, and then of Liu Bei's robust physique, Cao Cao couldn't help but curse the heavens for their injustice and complain that the heavens hadn't given him another ten years.
With Cao Cao's order, the massive machine of the Wei army started running again, and messengers ran out in batches to deliver the message to all sides.
After receiving orders, the troops attacking the Han army withdrew one after another, assembled in Guanzhong, and prepared for the defense of Guanzhong. The remaining troops were personally led by Cao Cao and all rushed to Yaoguan, where Lantian was located. After entering Yaoguan, they marched straight to Xiangfan along the Wuguan Road.
……
Yangping Pass, also known as Yang'an Pass, is a vital route from Hanzhong to Qishan and Chencang. Historically, Zhuge Liang launched six expeditions to Qishan, and he passed through Yangping Pass on several occasions.
After Liu Bei's Northern Expedition ended and he withdrew to Hanzhong, he knew that Yangping Pass would become a key target of the Wei army, so he ordered Zhang Fei to personally guard it.
As expected, Zhang Fei did not stay at Yangping Pass for long before Zhang He attacked from Chencang.
Faced with Zhang He's attack, Zhang Fei strictly followed Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang's instructions to stay inside the city and not come out, which infuriated Zhang He, who was jumping up and down but had no way to stop him.
That day, Zhang Fei was patrolling the city wall as usual when a scout who had been patrolling outside the city rushed back and said, "General, something bad has happened! Zhang He has retreated."
Zhang Fei asked in astonishment, "They retreated? Where did they retreat to?"
The scout replied, "They've retreated to Chencang. I only came back to report after Zhang He had retreated thirty li. They've already retreated thirty li, so they definitely can't go back. They couldn't possibly be putting on a show for us."
Zhang Fei asked in surprise, "That's strange. Why did they retreat all of a sudden? Did they get tired of fighting and didn't want to fight anymore?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than someone behind him shouted, "Third General, General Anguo has annihilated Lu Xun's 50,000-strong army in Jiangdong and captured Lu Xun himself. The King orders you to immediately withdraw to Nanzheng to prepare for the eastern expedition."