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Since Zang Ba succeeded in the raid of Liyang, countless thousands of stone cargo ships appeared on the Caohe River from Hefei to Shouchun. The mine ships that originally transported ore back to Jingzhou became the food and grass of Cao's army. The continuous grain from Shouchun to Hefei greatly enhanced Hefei's defense ability.

In order to prevent the Han army scouts from sneaking into Hefei, Cao Cao made a major decision a month ago, moving tens of thousands of Hefei people to Shouchun, making Hefei a real military city.

In fact, in several Hefei wars, a large number of Hefei people had moved out to avoid the war, and there were less than 10,000 people left in the city. This time, Cao Cao ordered all to move away, leaving only 70,000 troops left in Hefei city, and 10,000 troops stationed in Shouchun.

Of course, at this time, Cao's army was spreading abroad. Zhang Liao led 10,000 troops into Wujun to assist in the battle. Zhang He was stationed in Ruxukou, Zang Ba was stationed in Wuhu, Hefei and Shouchun had only 50,000 troops.

At this moment, a bad news came to Shouchun. The Nanyang general Cao Hong was killed and Nanyang County had been occupied by the Han army. This news brought a heavy blow to Cao Cao. This was another loss of relatives after Xiahou Yuan. Cao Hong's death made him feel deeply sad.

Cao Cao locked himself in the room. He had not yet entered the water for a whole day and no one saw him. The guards came to persuade him several times, but he ignored him. It was not until the evening that the military advisor Cheng Yu rushed from Hefei.

Cao Cao's guards seemed to have welcomed a savior and welcomed Cheng Yu to Cao Cao's study. Xu Chu whispered to Cheng Yu: "If Wei Gong sees a military advisor, the military advisor should never mention Cao Hong's affairs again. Wei Gong is old and can no longer withstand such a blow."

Cheng Yu smiled and nodded, "Don't worry, I know it in my heart."

A guard came forward to report. After a moment, Cao Cao's tired voice came from the room, "Please come in."

Cheng Yu walked into the room and came to the inner room before seeing Cao Cao sitting behind the table. Cheng Yu was shocked. Before he saw him for a few days, Cao Cao seemed to have been ten years old, his face was full of wrinkles, his complexion was dim, and his spirit almost disappeared. He looked at the table with a dull look in his eyes.

"Why is this why Duke Wei?"

Cheng Yu burst into amazement. Just Cao Hong was killed, and Duke Wei was hit so hard that it seemed even more serious than Xiahou Yuan's death.

Cao Cao sighed, "Although Lian's death hurts me, judging from Jia Kui's report, he also took it upon himself. The Han army who sent him said that he was beaten to death by the people of Wancheng. I believe this is the fact. What makes me sad is that Nanyang County lost an important strategic fulcrum on the Western Front, and it also means that I changed from strategic offense to strategic defense. I hate myself for being stupid. I didn't expect that the Han army would open up the Nanxiang Pass and integrate Guanzhong and Nanxiang. Now I understand that it's too late to regret it."

Cheng Yu was also secretly ashamed. As a military advisor, he did not remind his lord in time that this was also his dereliction of duty. Without the attacking fulcrum of Nanyang, they could not put pressure on Jingzhou from both east and west lines at the same time. The entire battlefield moved eastward to Hefei. The Han army could do its best to prepare for Hefei. From this perspective, the Nanxiang Battle was also part of the Hefei Battle, which made the Han army no longer have any worries.

Thinking of this, Cheng Yu slowly advised: "Duke Wei, please be content with peace of mind. I believe that the failure of Nanyang is only the different strategic deployments of the Han and Wei families. The Han army focused on Nanyang and attacked with all its troops. Therefore, Liu Jing could open up the Nanxiang Pass, while our strategy was in Jiangdong. Therefore, we could help Sun Quan reunify Jiangdong and make the Cao-Sun alliance stronger. This will help us gain the upper hand in the southeast direction. If we lose the east corner, we will inevitably gain the peace. Why should we lose our composure for the gains and losses of a city and a corner?"

Cao Cao nodded, "Zhongde is right. When Liu Jing attacked Nanyang with all his might, we were helping Sun Quan recover Jiangdong. The focus was indeed different. A few days ago, Chen Qun advised me to take the opportunity to destroy Jiangdong and unify Yangzhou. What did Zhongde think?"

Cheng Yu shook his head and said earnestly to Cao Cao: "I will not hide the possibility of Wei Gong. I have repeatedly considered this possibility. But Wei Gong concluded that although we can destroy Sun Quan and expand the territory for a while, in the end, we will make Liu Jing a wedding dress, giving Liu Jing an excuse to send troops to Jiangdong. On the contrary, leaving Jiangdong, there will be a force to restrain Liu Jing and make the southeast a stalemate. The two plans, which one is better or worse, Wei Gong will consider it himself."

Cao Cao laughed and said, "Zhongde's words are in line with my wishes. We not only cannot weaken Jiangdong, but also strengthen the strength of Jiangdong. I have ordered Zhang Liao to give Sun Quan 10,000 barrels of turmeric oil and give him the recipe for turmeric oil. Sun Quan will soon have the ability to attack fire soon, which is crucial to the navy. As Zhongde said, as long as Jiangdong can restrain Liu Jing's eastern front troops, we can place our troops in Luoyang, Xudu's front line, and it is not yet known who will win."

Cheng Yu stood up and bowed deeply, "Since that's the case, why is Duke Wei so frustrated? It makes the army panic. The war is coming. I hope Duke Wei can cheer up his spirit, inspire the army's morale, and let the ministers and others see hope for victory."

Cao Cao nodded silently, "What Zhongde said is true"

Cao Cao accepted Cheng Yu's persuasion and began to cheer up his spirits. He ordered the general Yu Jin to lead 10,000 troops to station in Shu County, which was necessary for the Han army to attack Hefei from the mainland. The 10,000 vanguards of the Han army had already been killed to Juchao County, only 70 miles away from Shu County, and the two armies confronted each other.

The area of ​​Feichao is called Wutou and Chuwei. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it was the main battlefield for the battle between Wu and Chu. Among the countless city strongholds, a city is the most important.

One is Shu County, which is the Lujiang County in later generations. It has a high terrain in the west and low terrain in the east, facing Chaohu Lake in the northeast and the Yangtze River in the southeast. Two official roads in the territory meet, cross the main roads, and reach all directions. It is also a land of fish and rice with a large population, and its strategic position is important.

The second is Wan County. Wan County has a large population and a developed economy. It is the largest grain-producing county in Lujiang. It can provide sufficient supplies to the army. Moreover, the Wan Water is wide and flat, and can be feasible for thousands of stone warships. It can directly enter the Yangtze River through the Wan Water. Historically, this was a bridgehead for Chu to attack Wu State and a place that must be fought for by military strategists. At present, the main force of the Han army is stationed in Wan County.

The last strategic location is Lu'an County. Lu'an County is located in the eastern section of Dabie Shandong, which is just a crossing area from the mountainous area to the plain. The county town is high and easy to defend but difficult to attack, and is conducive to the cavalry's attacking eastward.

More importantly, Lu'an County is located between Hefei and Shouchun and occupied Lu'an County. It can directly cut off the connection between Shouchun and Hefei by cavalry, and it can also go to Shaopi Lake to destroy the water transportation between Shouchun and Hefei. It is an important strategic location.

Cao Cao was also well aware of the importance of Lu'an County. He ordered the general Xu Huang to lead 10,000 troops to station Lu'an. Cao Cao occupied two strategic locations east of Hefei.

This formed the entire Hefei defense line with Hefei as the center, Ruxukou, Shuxian and Lu'an County as the outer defense, Shouchun as the back defense, and Xuzhou and Jiangdong as the strategic support. It was like a huge shield, guarding Hefei's important town from all directions to the west.

The Han army is like two sharp spears, attacking the giant shield on Hefei from both water and land lines. First, they choose the breakthrough point, either breaking through Ruxukou from water and land, or finding a breakthrough from land.

Judging from the current deployment of the Han army, there is no sign of breakthrough from the water. No Han army warships are advancing eastward. However, there is movement on the land side. Huang Zhong sent a general Xiang Chong to lead 10,000 vanguards to Juchao County, about 70 miles away from Shu County. The Han army seemed to be preparing to break through from Shu County.

Early this morning, a team of 20-person Cao's scout cavalry ran in the hilly areas south of Lu'an County. In order to attach importance to intelligence, the chief general Xu Huang sent ten scouts to patrol within a radius. Moreover, Xu Huang was in charge of military discipline and did not allow soldiers to disturb the people. There was once a soldier stealing a fisherman's boat. After Xu Huang found out, he ignored the pleading of the generals and killed the soldiers and shocked the entire army. Xu Huang was thus deeply loved by the people of Lu'an.

This scout cavalry is seventy miles away from Lu'an City, and they are also beginning to be alert. This area will be ambushed by Han army scouts at any time, and once they are ambushed, it may be fatal.

The cavalry slowed down and walked slowly in a valley. At this moment, someone shouted above his head: "You can't go ahead."

The scouts were startled and pointed their crossbows at the top of their heads. A big tree was above them. A woodcutter about fifty years old slowly came down from the tree and bowed, "Several soldiers, there will be danger ahead and you can't go any further."

The commander of Cao Jun urged him to come forward and asked, "Brother-in-law, what threat is there in front of him?"

"The Han army was stationed in front of it"

The scouts were startled and asked again: "Is it the same patrol as us?"

"No, there were at least tens of thousands of people, and they just arrived last night."

Several Cao army scouts immediately realized the danger. They climbed up the mountain and looked down from the top of the mountain. Sure enough, there were a military camp stationed about ten miles away on the other side of the valley. Judging from the scale, there were at least nearly 10,000 people. There were sentry guards all around, with strong guards and patrols constantly. Their mountain road was relatively hidden and not discovered by the Han army.

The scout Cao's army was panicked, hurried down the mountain, rushed back to Lu'an County to report to the chief general Xu Huang.

In the big tent, Xu Huang stood in front of the map and pondered for a long time. He had received a report from the scout. He never expected that the Han army would appear in Lu'an County, and there were as many as 10,000 troops. It seemed that the Han army's vanguard attacked Shuxian was just a cover, and his real target was Lu'an County.

Mao Jie, a strategist who came to Lu'an with food and grass, smiled and said, "It seems that the general's measures to protect the people have gained, and even the woodcutter also helped the general. This is the opportunity given to the general by God. How can the general not seize it?"

Xu Huang pondered for a moment and said, "The Han army had many tricks. Perhaps they deliberately exposed it and led my army to ambush. Another Han army took the opportunity to seize Lu'an County. At that time, we were attacked from both sides and were in danger."

"The general's worries are very correct, I don't know how the general is going to deal with it."
Chapter completed!