The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

After reading this military report, Xun Zhen didn't say much, but ordered the military officer in charge of investigating the movements of Cao Cao's subordinates to continue to pay attention to the movements of Cao Cao's subordinates. Go on promise.

When the army reported, Xun Zhen attacked Li Jue and Guo Si this time, and King Qin rescued him, and the nominal lieutenant Zang Ba was in the tent.

After the military official left, Zang Ba asked Xun Zhen, and said, "Ming Gong, Cao Mengde has now passed Pubanjin and entered Guanzhong, and he heard what was said in the military newspaper that he had passed through, and he showed the so-called secret edict of the emperor to the place where he passed. He called on him to be diligent with the king, so it seems that the emperor not only gave Ming Gong a secret order, but also gave Cao Mengde a will to save the Qin king. Cao Mengde has this holy purpose, which will be beneficial for him to go to Chang'an. Will he enter Chang'an before our army because of this? Do we need to make arrangements in advance for our army's attack on Huayin County? Or do we still have to wait for Cheng Junchang's reply before we attack?"

Zang Ba asked several questions in one breath. In fact, in one sentence, it turned out that Cao Cao also had the imperial decree. In order to prevent him from borrowing the help of the imperial decree, he first entered Chang'an and attacked Huayin. Cheng Jia's reply was sent to ensure the safety of the emperor before attacking.

Zang Bazhi's question is understandable.

Xun Zhen is not in a hurry to enter the military pass now, because he is worried about Liu Xie's safety, but if Cao Cao enters the pass first, first, Liu Xie may also be killed because of this, and second, if Liu Xie is not killed, Cao Cao takes it. go? No matter which of the two things that might happen, Xun Zhen would have gone all in vain?

Xun Zhenan was impermanent, without any impatience, he smiled and said to Zang Ba, "Why should you worry, General? Didn't I tell the officers to pay more attention to the movements of Meng De's department? He has just crossed Pubanjin and entered the country. Zuo Fengyi is still a few hundred miles away from Chang'an, and when he crosses Zuo Fengyi and then crosses the Wei River, he will finally be able to enter Jingzhao Yin, if you want to be anxious, don't be too late."

Zang Ba thought for a while, guessed what Xun Zhen meant, and said with relief, "Yes, Duke Ming must have thought that Cao Mengde's trilogy was worthy of thousands of people, because he expected that he would not be able to invade Chang'an, so he was not in a hurry. , but so?"

Xun Zhen smiled but did not answer.

However, the next day, Xun Zhen dispatched his close officials and invited scholars and village elders from Hongnong County to come to his camp for a banquet.

After Zang Ba heard this, he was at a loss, and couldn't understand why Xun Zhen didn't hurry up to prepare for the battle in Chang'an, but why did he spend his precious time entertaining these irrelevant county gentry? ——The so-called "irrelevant" does not mean that these scholars and village elders are useless. Zang Ba is also clear about the role these scholars and officials can play in public opinion, but in comparison, they can play a role now. The effect on Xun Zhen is not very big, so in Zang Ba's view, it can be put aside for now.

Zang Ba also attended Xun Zhen's banquet.

At the banquet, when the wine was half full, Xun Zhen raised the wine glass and said something to all the scholars at the banquet. The words entered Zang Ba's ears. After listening, Zang Ba suddenly realized why Xun Zhen took the time Leisure, on this occasion, feast these gentlemen of Hongnong County.

What Xun Zhen said was: "I am now leading my troops from Changyi to Gui County, and what I did is because I received an order from the Holy Master, ordering me to go to King Qin in Chang'an. Now I have defeated Zhang Ji. All the thieves, leaving and entering the pass, there is only Huayin in the middle, but why are the troops stationed here, and they refuse to go west? I am afraid that all of you have doubts about this. I am a soldier under my account, and there are people who are puzzled about this. I will take this opportunity today to give you an explanation while having a happy gathering with you.

"The reason why I have stationed troops in Guixian County and have not attacked Huayin until now is not because I have no confidence in laying down Huayin. Although Huayin is strong, all the thieves in Zhang Ji were defeated by me and fled to Peer. If you go to attack Huayin at this time, it will be easy to get it, but those who have not attacked until now are because they are worried about the safety of the Holy One!"

A scholar from Hongnong County said: "What does the general mean by this? Why are you worried about the safety of the Holy Master?"

Xun Zhen looked at all the soldiers in the room and said, "Please imagine, if I attack Huayin now and enter Chang'an, what would happen to the thieves Li Jue and Guo Si in a panic. What happened? I'm afraid that you and I can't predict it! The thieves of Li and Guo are crazy, and it is not ruled out that they may endanger the emperor. If the emperor encounters an accident because of this, isn't it my fault?"

Many scholars in Hongnong County understood what Xun Zhen meant, and nodded in agreement.

Xun Zhen went on to say: "That's why I have been late and have not launched an attack on Huayin. A few days ago, I sent a competent official under my account to sneak to Chang'an to meet the princes in the court. Contact, just wait for my official to send a letter back and report that I know that the Dukes of Chang'an are confident that they can guarantee the integrity of the emperor, so I will immediately send troops to attack Huayin, and attack Li Jue and Guo Si thieves while entering the customs!"

The Hongnong gentry during the banquet fully understood that Xunzhen was stationed in Hongnong County, not to take Huayin County.

Someone raised a glass and said to Xun Zhen: "I will use this wine to wish the general to invade Chang'an in the future, and he will be successful and help the emperor out of danger!"

Many of the remaining Hongnong gentry also raised their wine glasses and said in unison, "I wish the general to invade Chang'an in the future, and he will be successful and help the emperor out of danger!"

Another scholar said loudly: "The general's loyalty and painstaking efforts will definitely be rewarded by the general after the sage knows it."

After the banquet was over, Zang Ba returned to the tent and thought about Xun Zhen's remarks at the banquet. The more he thought about it, the more he admired Xun Zhen. : "Zhendong and Mengde, you can see the competition."

Today's banquet is not a war, but it is also a war. This is a battle of public opinion.

After the next day's banquet, even if Cao Cao and Xun Zhen had obtained Liu Xie's secret decree, at least in the minds of the Hongnong gentry, Cao Cao was already a success in being loyal to the monarch, and could not be compared with Xun Zhen.

After more than ten years of military service, Xun Zhen is now not only fighting old battles, but he also deeply understands that the saying that war is a continuation of politics is really not bad at all.

A purely military victory is not enough to be happy, and it may be of little use to the realization of his future aspirations. It must be a political victory on top of the military victory. If we can achieve a political victory, it doesn't matter if there is a military defeat, but of course, this defeat is not a traumatic one.

...

Although Xun Zhen seemed indifferent to Cao Cao's movement after crossing Pubanjin and entering Zuo Fengyi, he was actually paying close attention at all times. On Cao Cao's side, they have been closely monitoring the movements of Xun Zhen's department.

Hongnong County and Hedong County are across the Yellow River, so compared to Xun Zhen, it is much more convenient for Cao Cao to inquire about the movements of Xunzhen's department. There is constant information from Hedong County on the other side of Hongnong County to Cao Cao and Wang Yi's army. middle.

It crossed the Yellow River from Pubanjin, entered the territory of Zuofengyi in the west, and marched for more than a day, before reaching Linjin County.

There is a local warlord entrenched in the city.

Cao Cao and Wang Yi chose a place outside the city to camp.

When they were stationed in the camp, the latest military report about Xun Zhen was sent from Hedong.

The report in this military report is similar to the previous military reports. It is still "Xunzhen was stationed in Hongnong County, and his troops did not advance to Huayin, nor did they intend to cross the river north to attack Hedong".

Cao Cao laughed and said to Zhang He, "Jun Yi, how is it? Let me tell you that Zhenzhi will never invade Hedong County. Is it credible now?"

When Xun Zhen first attacked Xin'an and Yiyang in Hongnong County, it was nothing. Later, the military newspaper said that after Xun Zhen's soldiers and horses attacked Hongnong County, Zhang He and others were all shocked and worried. They will not cross the Yellow River from Hongnong County to the north and attack Hedong County to cut off their retreat. Cao Cao didn't take it seriously at that time, so he comforted the generals and said: "If you are as worried as you are, and attacking Hedong from the north at this time, you will see small profits and forget the great righteousness. Zhen is not such a person, you are relieved, and Hedong will be safe and sound. Zhenzhi will not commit it."

Zhang He and others were dubious at the time, but now it has been four or five days since Xunzhen took down Hongnong County.

Hearing Cao Cao's words at this moment, Zhang He admired it very much, and said to Cao Cao, "The public information is like a god!"

Cao Cao stroked the beard under his jaw, smiled and said: "I can't say that things are like gods, but I have a better understanding of Zhenzhi. Although our army and him are not the same way, but they are all under the secret order of the emperor to go to the King Qin of Chang'an. Help me, if he is on our way to Chang'an, and after attacking our army, think about it, what will the world think of him, and what will people say about him?

There was no longer any worries that Xun Zhen would attack Hedong County, but Xun Zhen kept his troops in Hongnong County, which inevitably caused Zhang He to raise another doubt. He asked Cao Cao and said, "This is very true. He has already defeated the bandits of Zhang Ji and has occupied most of the territory of Hongnong, only Huayin County is separated from Guanzhong, but why has he stationed troops in Hongnong County and has been slow to move westward?"

Cao Cao didn't understand why Xun Zhen did this at first, but who was Cao Cao? Not only is he good at military, but his political vision is also beyond ordinary people's. Therefore, after only one night, Cao Cao guessed the purpose of Xun Zhen's actions, and guessed that Xun Zhen must be worried about Liu Xie's safety, so he delayed Do not move, do not fight Huayin. At this time, Xun Zhen should have already started to contact the court officials, and when Liu Xie's safety can be guaranteed, he should no longer delay and enter the army.

It's just that although he had guessed Xun Zhen's purpose, he couldn't tell Zhang He and the others these words.

If I told Zhang He and the others, what if they also proposed to station troops here first, and then go to war after ensuring Liu Xie's safety, how could Cao Cao persuade them?

Because it was Cao Cao who shook his head and said, "I can't guess this. Maybe it was because Zhang Ji's thieves were defeated, but Huayin's city was strong, and Zhenzhi's troops were marching long distances, fighting for days, and in urgent need of rest. So he hasn't attacked Huayin yet."

Zhang He and others were fooled by Cao Cao, but they believed Cao Cao.

Having said that, since Cao Cao already understood the reason why Xun Zhen did not move forward, why didn't he want to use Chang'an after ensuring Liu Xie's safety like Xun Zhen did? Wasn't he afraid that the Liu Association would be harmed by Li Jue and Guo Si when his troops marched towards Chang'an, or that Li Jue and Guo Si would be coerced into other places by Li Jue and Guo Si?

This is because the situation of Cao Cao and Xun Zhen is different.

Xun Zhen had many soldiers and horses, so he could wait. Cao Cao's troops were few and his overall combat power was not good, so he couldn't wait. If he waits, then he will definitely not be able to compete with Xunzhen in the end, so he must take a risk and try to see if he can seize the opportunity that Li Jue and Guo Si's attention are probably mostly attracted by Xunzhen, and break into the Chang'an.

Camp is over, rest for the night.

The next day, Cao Cao sent his Changshi Kingdom with a generous gift to Linjin County, where he saw the local guard and declared the imperial decree to the guard, saying that he was coming to King Qin. Then Liu Xie has promised that all the righteous people of King Qin will be rewarded in the future, and the guard will definitely reward them.

It is also the banner of Yuan Benchu, and the imperial decree of Liu Xie. In addition, the guard of Lin Jin is a local, not a direct line of Liangzhou soldiers, and there is civil strife in Li and Guo, and at the same time, Xun Zhen has already invaded Hongnong and other backgrounds. Under the influence of the situation, this general made a decision to make way for Cao Cao, and was willing to send some troops to follow Cao Cao to the Qin King of Chang'an.

This is really a victory in the first battle~www.wuxiamtl.com~ The soldiers passed through Linjin without bloodshed, and the soldiers and horses were also enriched a little. Cao Cao and Wang Yi succeeded in the diligent Wang Chang'an, and their confidence in being able to rescue Liu Xie was increased. Not a lot.

From the west of Linjin County, across the Luo River, Cao Cao and Wang Yi led the troops to continue to the southwest, and further on, it was the Wei River. To this point, there are two marching directions to choose from. One is to travel westward along the north bank of the Wei River, and the other is to cross the Wei River to the south. Going south is the boundary of Jingzhaoyin, entering Zheng County, where there are strong troops from Liangzhou stationed; going west, entering the border of Xiagui, there are also Liangzhou guards in Xiagui, but there are fewer troops and horses.

Cao Cao and Wang Yi chose the direction of Xiagui.

Outside the city of Xiagui, Cao Cao still tried to persuade him to surrender, but he failed to persuade him to surrender. Cao Cao ordered Zhang He, Cao Ren, Lu Qian and others to attack the city for a while. This siege was originally a test, so Cao Cao temporarily withdrew his troops and set up camp with Wang Yi. The two discussed with Zhang He and other generals, the kingdom and other officials a plan to capture Ji.

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