: The road is facing the sky, each side

"A fatal weakness?" Fu Xie said with a look of movement and asked, "Does the lord mean that the coalition forces have different orders and it is difficult to form a joint force?"

"No." Before Ma Yue answered, Jia Xu responded, "Tao Qian, Liu Biao valued reputation, Yuan Shao, Sun Jian valued reality, and the rest of Min Gong, Yuan Yi and others were just followers. Especially Cao Cao is very good at winning people's hearts and is more accustomed to using his power. With him in the middle of mediation, it is definitely not difficult for the coalition forces to achieve unified orders."

Xuchang, the coalition camp.

Cao Cao held the imperial edict and was above the emperor. Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Tao Qian, Sun Jian, Lu Bu and other princes knelt down on the ground.

"The imperial edict says: Yuan Shao is the general, Yuan Shu is the general of chariots, Sun Jian is the general of cavalry, Lu Bu is the general of guard, Tao Qian is the general of light chariots, and the other princes are all generals. All the soldiers and horses of all the princes in the world are controlled by the general, but if there is a communiqué, you must not use excuses to recommend the commission..."

Cao Cao stopped here and watched coldly, and saw Yuan Shao's face lighter.

"...Prime Minister Cao Cao, in charge of military affairs, and assisted the generals, General Yuan Shu of the chariots and cavalry, and General Tao Qian of the light chariots, immediately transferred food and fodder from Xuzhou and Yangzhou to supply the army's needs to fight against rebellion. The other generals were all rectified. They should fight with Ma Ni to protect the Han Dynasty and reward this."

Luoyang, Ma Yue’s official residence.

Fu Xie asked again: "Is it because the coalition forces' food and grass are not maintained?"

Jia Xu said: "Ji, Xu, Yinfu, Yangzhou, the coalition forces have no worries about food and supplies."

Fu Xie said: "In this way, the lower officials don't know what the fatal weakness of the coalition forces are?"

Ma Yue said: "It's very simple. Although the coalition forces are numerous... there are no cavalry!"

The counselor Fa Zhen said worriedly: "But lord, three years ago, the 18th coalition forces did not have any decent cavalry. On the other hand, Dong Zhuo had more than 100,000 elite cavalry under his command. However, the final result was that Dong Zhuo was defeated in Sishui and Huzhu, and finally even Luoyang fell."

"That's Dong Zhuo, not this general!" Ma Yue waved his arm fiercely and shouted, "Dong Zhuo defended the pass with elite cavalry and waited for hundreds of thousands of infantry soldiers in Guandong to come to attack. He had violated the taboo of military strategists. How could he be defeated? If the general was replaced by Luoyang, he would have to defend the Sishui and Hulao with a small number of elite infantry, and then led three elite cavalry out of the side with bandit tactics, and raided Ji, Qing, Yang, Yu, Yan and the eighteen princes naturally retreated when they saw a fire in the backyard."

"Oh, so the lord already has a scheming in his mind?" Fu Xie said, "I wonder how to fight this battle?"

Xuchang and Yuan Shao’s central army tent.

A mountain and river topographic map was already hung on the screen more than one person. The 13 princes of the Central Alliance Army and their generals, and the strategists stood around the screen for half a circle. Cao Cao stood at the innermost part of the crowd, with his finger map explaining.

"According to the detailed information, this time the Ma Butcher gathered the barbarians under the Yuezhi, Wuhuan, Qiang, Qinhu, Western Region Huqi and others, and together with the Han army in Liangzhou, a total of more than 200,000 troops!" Cao Cao said this and said with emotion, "I really didn't expect that in just three years, the Ma Butcher's army had reached more than 200,000."

Yuan Shu said: "So what if it's more than 200,000, it's just a bunch of native chickens and tiles, and it's vulnerable."

Cao Cao smiled faintly, and did not refute, and continued: "However, the only thing that is to be thankful is that due to the restraint of the West, North and South Road coalition forces, Ma Butcher's 200,000 troops were not all gathered in Luoyang. Among them, 20,000 troops were led by General Fang Yue to guard the old camp of Hetao, and 30,000 troops were led by General Xu Huang. They were stationed in Guanzhong, Wuguan, and 50,000 military farm troops in Longxian to support the war ahead at any time. The troops stationed in Luoyang were actually only more than 100,000."

"Take." Sun Jian sneered, "Are there not fewer than Dong Zhuo back then?"

Yuan Shao said: "Although the total number of Ma Butcher's army is higher than that of Dong Zhuo's Liangzhou army back then, the difference is not a little bit in terms of combat power."

Cao Cao said: "What I said at the beginning is that, in terms of the 100,000 troops stationed in Luoyang, only 20,000 troops are elite troops in a hundred battles. Another 20,000 troops have participated in several battles after two years of training. They are elite troops. The remaining tens of thousands of Qiang soldiers and the Hu cavalry in the Western Regions are just mobs. Although the remaining 20,000 Liangzhou chaos troops are all troops of war, they are not bad if they really fight and don't cause trouble for the horse butcher."

Henan prefect Min Gong said: "Isn't it easier to defeat Ma Butcher Ma than to defeat Dong Zhuo?"

"That's not the case. When two armies fight, the number of troops and the strength of combat are not the only factors that determine the outcome." Cao Cao said in a voice, "The ability of the main general is equally important. At this point, the horse butcher is far stronger than Dong Zhuo back then! The horse butcher is more cunning and good at using troops, especially the use of cavalry."

Sun Jian said: "This is because the coalition forces lack nothing, they just lack cavalry."

Cao Cao said: "Dong Zhuo used tens of thousands of elite cavalry to defend the city, waiting for the coalition forces to join forces to attack, and he had already violated the taboo of military strategists, so he was eventually defeated. But the butcher of horses was not Dong Zhuo. This man was aggressive and could sweep the desert with thousands of elite cavalry, destroy the Xianbei, Xiu Tu, and the Western Regions. Therefore, he would never trap Luoyang and wait for us to attack."

Sun Jian can be said to have a deep understanding of the horse butcher's use of cavalry. Even one of his eyes was blinded by the horse butcher, and he couldn't help but nod and echoed: "Prime Minister, this is right. The horse butcher started his career with 800 bandits and never lost in the Central Plains. This shows how this person uses cavalry."

Yuan Shao said: "Then Meng De thought, how would the horse butcher fight this battle?"

Cao Cao said: "The horse butcher may have defended Hulao Pass with a small number of elite infantry, and then used elite cavalry to attack Ji, Qing, Xu, Yan, Yang, and Jing states, and used this to force all coalition forces to retreat."

Luoyang, Ma Yue’s official residence.

"The coalition forces fight the coalition forces, we fight ours." Ma Yue waved his hand and continued, "The road is facing the sky, go one side!"

"The magic of using troops lies in one's heart." Jia Xu smiled and said, "Lord is called avoiding the real and attacking the virtual. If you attack him, you will be saved."

"Report..." As soon as Jia Xu finished speaking, a military general suddenly came to report to him, "Lord, Mr. Ju Su asked for a meeting."

"Such bet?" Ma Yue said, "Please beg quickly."

After a moment, Ju Su, who was black and thin, appeared in front of everyone. As soon as he entered the hall, Ju Su said to Ma Yue urgently: "Lord, Luoyang has been gone, Liu Bei is dead, and Duke Ze and General Gao Shun have revenge. The lord values ​​affection and righteousness, and has long known the name of sympathy for ministers and soldiers. Why not go back to Guanzhong at this time? Why should you fight this battle with the princes in Luoyang?"

Ma Yue's eyebrows frowned slightly and asked in a narrow voice: "Zhezhu thinks this battle should not be fought?"

"It shouldn't be fought!" Ju Su said without hesitation, "The lord has just conquered Mobei and the Western Regions. The army has been fighting abroad for many years. The soldiers are inevitably tired and tired of war. Moreover, in order to conquer Mobei and the Western Regions, our army consumes a lot of manpower, material resources and horsepower. If there is no three to five years of rest, it is really not appropriate to launch a major war."

“…”

"Also, the training of 100,000 military troops is insufficient, which is very useful. Guo Si's 20,000 old subordinates and Duan Wei, and Yang Feng's 8,000 old subordinates were all from the Liangzhou chaos army, and they were worried about mutiny in front of the battlefield. Although there was a little grain reserve in the north, it could only maintain the 200,000 army for half a year. If all these are not good for our army, if we fight at this time, the chance of victory is slim."

“…”

"If the lord can delay the war for five to ten years, the situation will be completely different. By then, the Mobei and the Western Regions have returned to their hearts. Zhou Cang, Pei Yuanshao and Wang Yuan will be able to carry tens of thousands of cavalry south to the Central Plains, and 100,000 military military troops in the north have been trained. There are tens of thousands of elite troops under the lord. Who can stop the world?"

"In addition, Hetao, northern China, Guanzhong has abundant grain reserves, and ten years of accumulation is enough to support the lord's need to conquer the lord's battle in the world. The lord can condemn the generals stationed in Chencang, Ziwu, Wuguan to shock Hanzhong and Jingyang, and then lead hundreds of thousands of cavalry and infantry troops eastward to Hangu to compete for the Central Plains. If the lord can sweep the caves of Liting, the world can be determined."

Ma Yue was silent.

He had to admit that Ju Shu's strategic vision was indeed very unique, and the analysis he made was indeed reasonable. Doing as Ju Shu said was undoubtedly an extremely safe way. But unfortunately, Ma Butcher is a complete gambler, and he habitually bet on all his belongings every time he gambles.

But this time, the butcher Ma had a reason to have to fight.

The horse butcher was not unable to wait for ten years. In fact, the horse butcher was still young, far younger than Cao Cao, Sun Jian, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and others, and he could afford to wait. The reason why the horse butcher was eager to fight was because he knew that ten years later, the entire Central Plains had already become the world of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao would have a army of hundreds of battles! At that time, even if the horse butcher was carrying hundreds of thousands of cavalry and infantry to compete in the Central Plains, he might not be able to win steadily.

The reason is very simple.

The butcher Ma was dominating the Pass and Liang. Although his troops were strong, he had a fatal weakness compared to Cao Cao in the Central Plains, which was that he had too few people and had a serious lack of talents!

Even if the horse butcher can gather hundreds of thousands of cavalry and infantry troops, it will only be prosperous for a while and cannot last forever. However, Cao Cao has tens of millions of people for him to consume, and there is even an inexhaustible talent advantage! In the face of absolute strength, all conspiracies and conspiracies will be useless. Similarly, in the face of the huge population advantage of the Central Plains, the horse butcher in Liang has a slim chance.

This battle seems rash, but in fact it is well-intentioned.

Butcher Ma was never intoxicated by the army of 200,000 under his command, nor was he blinded by the anger of hatred. On the contrary, he was more awake and calm than ever. In fact, Butcher Ma was always very calm, even when he was furious, he was calmer than others.

If this weren't the case, the horse butcher wouldn't have lived today at all.

Ma Yue signaled Jia Xu with a thumbs up. Jia Xu nodded slightly and said to Ju Xu: "That's the truth, the lord certainly needs five to ten years to rest and recuperate, have you ever thought about what the entire Central Plains will look like in ten years? Cao Cao is very talented and has a strong general under his command, and he is like rain. Now he uses the emperor to command the princes. Ten years later, I am afraid that the entire Central Plains will become Cao Cao's territory."

"this……"

Jia Xu said again: "At that time, the lord did not use Guan and Liang's troops to suppress the princes in the world, but used Guan and Liang's less than two million manpower to fight against tens of millions of people in the Central Plains. The success or failure can be seen."

"But how could Cao Cao unify the Central Plains ten years later?"

Ju Su was still a little dissatisfied. Although he had unique strategic vision, he lacked the ability to read people and could not see Cao Cao's potential like Jia Dushi and Ma Butcher.

"It's better to trust that there is nothing," Ma Yue said in a deep voice, "If it's not Cao Cao, then it's Yuan Shao. If it's not Yuan Shao, then it's Sun Jian. In short, there will always be someone to unify the Central Plains in ten years! We must prevent this situation from happening, at least until Hetao, Guan and Liang accumulate enough manpower and material resources, we cannot lead the Central Plains alone."

Jia Xu took Ma Yue's words and said, "So, the decisive battle in Luoyang is not really about fighting against the princes in the world. The lord's real intention is just to take this opportunity to weaken the war potential of the princes in the Central Plains, that is, to make the entire Central Plains more chaotic and evenly matched."

Ju Su nodded silently, then sighed Haoran: "But it has also caused trouble for the tens of millions of people in the Central Plains."

Jia Xu said: "This is also impossible. If you don't do this, how can you force the people of the Central Plains to migrate westward? If the people of the Central Plains do not migrate westward, how can you turn the barriers around? What about Liang's population disadvantage to the Central Plains?"

"I understand." Ju Suhao sighed and said to Ma Yue, "Please rest assured, lord, it's better to have short pain than long pain, so Su still knows it."

Xuchang and Yuan Shao’s central army tent.

Yuan Shao frowned and said, "If the horse butcher really sent cavalry to harass the states, the matter would be really difficult. Meng De thought how should the coalition forces deal with it?"

Cao Cao said concisely: "These are all dangerous and deep ditches and high bases, and they will not fight with each other! In this way, within half a year, the 100,000 troops stationed in Luoyang will be exhausted and destroyed, and the coalition forces will be able to win without fighting! Then, the four coalition forces of the north, west, south and central will advance together, and take advantage of the victory and pursue the horses, and they will surely wipe out the horses in one fell swoop."

Luoyang, Ma Yue’s official residence.

All the generals had dispersed, and only Ma Yue and Jia Xu were left in the hall.

Ma Yue said: "Wenhe thought it would be appropriate to bring many troops to the expedition?"

Jia Xu pondered for a moment and replied: "If there are fewer people and horses, it may be difficult to threaten the heroic city of Dayi behind the coalition forces. The results are limited, but if there are too many people and horses, it is not conducive to mobility. Xu thought that the scale of the Eight Thousand Essence Cavalry was the most suitable, which could not only threaten almost all Central Plains cities, but also ensure sufficient mobility."

"Well, that's it, eight thousand elite riders!"

"For these eight thousand elite cavalry, the lord plans to use the Qiang soldiers as the main force, or the Wuhuan and Yuezhi cavalry as the main force?"

"The Qiang soldiers, Wuhuan, and Yuezhi's cavalry are only 20,000. If this general takes away 8,000 at once, the troops left in Luoyang will be insufficient, so..." Ma Yue's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he said in a narrow voice, "This general plans to select 8,000 elite troops from the old Liangzhou subordinates of Guo Si, Duan Wei, and Yang Feng to go to war."

"This..." Jia Xu frowned, "Master, I'm afraid it's a bit inappropriate to do this?"

"Wenhe, please rest assured." Ma Yue said in a narrow voice, "Although these Liangzhou rioters are all soldiers, they are all bloody men. They have experienced many battles. As long as they are good at training, they may not be a tiger or wolf army! This general has enough confidence to lead this group of rioters into an elite army."

Jia Xu nodded and said, "This is true. If you have the ability to lead a soldier, no one in the world can get out of the right of the lord."

Ma Yue said again: "Now Fang Yueyuan is in Hetao, Xu Huang stays in Guanzhong, Gao Shun is seriously injured, and Xu Chu and Dian Wei are brave enough to stand alone. Although Ma Chao is powerful in the Western Regions, he is still a little young after all. There are almost no generals available in the army. The important task of staying in Luoyang is probably Wenhe will be chosen."

"Don't worry, lord, Xu will do his best to assist the major general in defending Luoyang." Jia Xu said this and said with concern, "It's the lord who led his own army to the heartland of the Central Plains, surrounded by strong enemies on all sides, and was surrounded by dangers. You must be careful. If someone takes over, Xu really should follow his lord to fight against the Central Plains."

"Haha..." Ma Yue laughed loudly, "Thinking back then, I only had eight hundred chaotic people, and I was still free to surround tens of thousands of official troops. Now I lead 8,000 elite cavalry to gallop across the Central Plains, who can do what I can do to me?"

Xuchang and Yuan Shao’s central army tent.

Yuan Shao was about to quit, but suddenly reported that Prime Minister Cao Cao came to visit overnight. He hurriedly stood up barefoot and welcomed Cao Cao into the tent.

"Meng Deshen is here to visit, I don't know what's important?"

"Benchu..." Cao Cao glanced at the guards in the tent and said in a calm voice, "Share you have something important to discuss with you separately."

Yuan Shao knew it and waved his hand to signal the guards in the tent to withdraw, and then asked Cao Cao to sit down. Then he asked: "Meng De, what's wrong?"

Cao Cao said: "When all the princes were present during the day, Cao said that each army was in charge of its dangerous key points, and they were all deep and high and did not fight with them. In fact, it was only a worst strategy. There are still two strategies in the middle and the best, but they are not worthy of being told to everyone."

Yuan Shao asked anxiously: "What is the most important strategy and what is the best strategy?"

Cao Cao said in a narrow voice: "To capture Hetao, the best strategy is to capture and kill the butcher."
To be continued...