ebookland Chapter 242 Where is Cao Cao?
Chapter 242 Where is Cao Cao?
Chapter 242 Where is Cao Cao?
They originally guessed that Xi Zhicai's change in attitude was due to pressure from the imperial court, but they didn't expect that it was actually due to the Black Mountain Army!
The Black Mountain Army invaded Shangdang County from Changshan State and then threatened Luoyang. The imperial court absolutely could not tolerate this!
In panic and anger, the spearhead naturally pointed at Cao Cao, who was ordered to attack the Black Mountain Army!
Everyone's expression changed, except Cao Cao, who had no expression on his face. He said calmly, "How will Bingzhou respond?"
Xi Zhicai shook his head and said, "This is all the information I got."
Guo Jia drank the wine slowly, his eyes became sharp, and said: "In Luoyang City, there are 20,000 Yulin troops, which is enough to be worry-free. But, we must not let the Black Mountain Army besiege Luoyang!"
The rebels attacking the imperial capital is a huge event. Even if there is no worry, no one can bear the subsequent accountability!
And Cao Cao was the first to bear the brunt!
Cao Cao stood up suddenly and said, "Send the troops immediately!"
Xi Zhicai asked, "General Cao is going to send troops to Luoyang?"
Cao Cao's narrow eyes were filled with coldness, and he said, "Changshan Kingdom!"
Xi Zhicai coughed lightly and pretended to be thinking.
From the perspective of military strategy, there is nothing wrong with Cao Cao's decision. Besieging Wei to save Zhao or destroying the bandits' lair is indeed the best tactic.
But the consequences are also serious. When Luoyang City is relieved in the future, someone in the court will definitely impeach Cao Cao for "sitting by and watching the rebels invade the capital without providing assistance, and having ulterior motives"!
This crime was enough to get Cao Cao executed along with all his nine clans!
Guo Jia, Cao Ren, Xiahou Dun and others looked at Cao Cao in silence.
They are not stupid and naturally understand the terrible consequences of Cao Cao's actions.
But none of them objected.
Cao Cao led his troops northward, without any concealment, and attacked Changshan State directly.
Cao Cao, who had been marching in secret, suddenly revealed his whereabouts, causing great shock in Yanzhou and Jizhou.
The Black Mountain Army in particular received the news and learned of Cao Cao's location, and took more targeted actions.
Jizhou, which was originally relatively peaceful, suddenly started to move at high speed. Ying Shao and Zhang Liao deployed troops to deal with anything that might happen.
The Black Mountain Army in Huguan, Shangdang County, which had intended to test Luoyang, now dared not move, as if waiting to see which way the wind would blow.
Cao Cao crossed the counties and states and arrived at Changshan State. His army rushed straight to Jingjing like wind and thunder.
The year before last, the Black Mountain Army was in high spirits and besieged Ying Shao in Changshan State for more than half a year. Afterwards, the Black Mountain Army was defeated, and Ying Shao and others were unable to completely wipe out Changshan State, so there were still many Black Mountain Army troops entrenched in the State.
This time, Zhang Yan gathered the leaders of the Black Mountain Army from various places and gathered them in Jingjing, ready to fight the government troops head-on to avoid being defeated one by one.
Jingjing Mountain.
Zhang Yan sat in the main seat, and below him were Yu Du, Yang Feng, Sui Gu and other so-called Black Mountain military leaders, that is, slightly bigger leaders, as well as many smaller leaders such as Liu Shi, Qing Niu Jiao, Huang Long, Zuo Xiao, Guo Daxian, Li Damu, and Yu Digen.
Zhang Yan still has more than 100,000 troops under his command, while Yu Du, Yang Feng and others have only 50,000 to 60,000 troops. The others have even fewer, with 30,000 or 20,000 being considered a lot, and a few thousand or a few hundred being the most.
The smaller ones depended on the larger ones, while the larger ones were half independent and half dependent on Zhang Yan, making a living by plundering on the hilltops.
Although Zhang Yan, Yu Du and others were recruited by the court and given official positions such as colonel, the court never paid them any salary. Therefore, in addition to relying on the mountains for their livelihood, looting was the basis of their survival.
The imperial court became increasingly powerful, and the government troops were no longer as easy to bully as before. Their lives became difficult since the year before last.
Zhang Yan sat there, looked around at everyone, and said in a deep voice: "You all know it, tell me."
Yu Du snorted coldly and said, "What's there to say? We are defending the dangerous place. Do we have to fight the government troops head-on?"
The others all looked very pleased.
They responded to Zhang Yan's call and came here because they were afraid of the government troops. Who would be willing to come out and fight against the government troops?
Yang Feng looked like a scholar, which was obviously different from the burly men present, but he sat there, silent, like an outsider.
Zhang Yan took in everyone's expressions, remained calm for a moment, looked at Yang Feng, and said, "Yang Qushuai, what do you think?"
The common people have a special feeling towards scholars. They look down on them and feel disgusted with them, but they also can't help but feel envious and respectful towards them.
When the others saw Zhang Yan asking, they all looked at Yang Feng, waiting for his "clever plan".
Yang Feng was silent for a long time, and then said, "Entering Shangdang and attacking Huguan is a good plan. Now being trapped in Jingjing Mountain is a dead end."
"Nonsense!" Huang Long almost threw the cup and yelled at Yang Feng.
"What do you mean a dead end? Can't we, hundreds of thousands of people, defend against a mere 30,000 government troops?"
"Are we going to go out and fight the government troops again? Didn't we have enough fighting last year?"
"Anyway, I won't come out. If you want to fight, then fight!"
Yang Feng sat there, turning a deaf ear and not looking at anyone.
Zhang Yan frowned, looked at Yang Feng, then looked at the others, and waited for everyone to stop before asking, "Where is Bai Rao now?"
Yu Du and Bai Rao were a little closer. Hearing this, he looked unhappy and said, "We are surrounded in Dongjun, and we don't know what's going on. Marshal, how do you deal with the government troops now?"
In the battle two years ago, the Montenegrin army not only suffered heavy losses, but also suffered a severe blow to its morale, and it no longer had the ambition to capture cities and territories as before.
Especially those small leaders, they just want to occupy the mountain and be the king, and not provoke the government troops.
Zhang Yan obviously felt that his prestige was not as high as before, so he stood up and said, "You guys discuss it, I'll be back soon."
When everyone saw Zhang Yan leave like this, they couldn't help but look at each other.
The government troops are approaching, and you are just going to leave like this without coming up with a countermeasure?
Yu Du glanced at Yang Feng coldly. He knew very well in his mind that small matters should be handled in big meetings, and big matters should be handled in small meetings. Zhang Yan was going to hold a small meeting.
Sure enough, not long after Zhang Yan went out, someone came to invite Yang Feng.
Yang Feng ignored the other gazes and walked straight into the back hall.
Zhang Yan smiled warmly and said, "Yang Qushuai, please sit down. It's been a long time since we've gotten close. Let's have a good chat today."
Yang Feng had no expression. He raised his hand and sat opposite Zhang Yan.
After the maid served tea and left, Zhang Yan looked at Yang Feng and said, "I heard that General Yang defeated Zhang Liao last year. It was really impressive."
Yang Feng's eyes moved slightly, and then he said calmly: "I just attacked by surprise."
Last year, after Ying Shao, Zhang Liao and others had recovered, they launched a large-scale campaign to clear out the bandits in the territory. However, when attacking Qiyang Mountain where Yang Feng was located, Zhang Liao was defeated and had to withdraw his troops.
This also gave the Montenegrin army a chance to catch their breath.
Zhang Yan smiled more and more, and said, "I'm afraid Zhang Liao didn't expect that General Yang Qu would dare to leave the city. He deserved his defeat!"
Yang Feng's reaction was calm, without any expression of joy or pride.
Zhang Yan made a few polite remarks, but seeing that he could not tell the depth of Yang Feng's attitude, he pretended to be thoughtful and said, "General Yang Qu should have seen the current situation clearly. Do you think we should resist the danger and fight against the government troops?"
They are now trapped in a dangerous pass. The only way to win is to wait until the government troops run out of food and are forced to retreat.
Yang Feng shook his head and said, "This time, it is the Han court's decision. And since Huguan has been breached, they will definitely not give up easily. If we are trapped in Jingjing Mountain, we will be the first to collapse."
Zhang Yan remained silent and just poured tea.
There are now hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Jingjing Mountain. Some of them come with money and food, while many come with nothing but their mouths.
The consumption of hundreds of thousands of mouths is a terrifying number every day!
Zhang Yan took a sip of tea, slowly raised his head, and asked, "What do you think, Yang Qushuai?"
Yang Feng stood up, his expression serious, and said: "General, go to Huguan, and then transfer to Liangzhou. We can't stay here any longer."
Zhang Yan originally thought that Yang Feng would come up with a plan to attack the government troops again and force them to withdraw, but he never expected that Yang Feng would want to go to Liangzhou.
Not to mention the foundation built over the years, just talking about the current situation, Zhang Yan doesn't think it is time to escape.
"Really, we can't fight?" Zhang Yan thought for a long time, staring at Yang Feng and asked.
Yang Feng's eyes were grim as he said, "We fought this time, but what about the next time? The government troops are getting stronger and stronger, not like before. We have no food or supplies and no help from outside. If we drag it on, we will only be defeated!"
Zhang Yan frowned deeply.
He agreed with Yang Feng's words that they could not be trapped in Jingjing Mountain and fight against the government troops. They would definitely be the first to collapse.
But he couldn't just run away!
He felt that he could still fight against Cao Cao!
Zhang Yan has tens of thousands of elite soldiers under his command, and together with others, it is enough to form an army of 100,000. How could he be afraid of Cao Cao's mere 30,000 troops?
Seeing this, Yang Feng said more seriously: "General, it's not too late to leave now. Once the government troops surround Huguan, we will have no way to retreat!"
Zhang Yan moved her butt unconsciously, and a trace of solemnity flashed across her eyes.
He had to admit that what Yang Feng said made a lot of sense, but he was reluctant to leave and was unwilling to do so!
However, the number of government troops in Bing, Ji, Yan and You increased, and their control over the states and counties continued to increase. They could no longer plunder at will and be invincible as before.
Even if we can withstand Cao Cao this time, the days ahead will still be very difficult.
Perhaps, as Yang Feng said, defeat is inevitable sooner or later.
Seeing his hesitation, Yang Feng continued, "General, Yuan Shu in the south is trapped in four counties. In my opinion, he will not survive this year! After the court deals with Yuan Shu, how long can we hold out?"
Zhang Yan's expression became more and more unnatural, but he still said unwillingly: "Really, we can't fight? The Han Dynasty is declining, and the change of dynasties is just around the corner. How can we escape to a remote place?"
Yang Feng sighed and said, "General, the Han Dynasty was in decline many years ago. The current court has been keeping a low profile and concentrating on managing the northern states. Can't you see it? First it was Bingzhou, then Yanzhou, Qingzhou the year before last, Jizhou last year, and now after pacifying us, all the northern states except Liangzhou are in the hands of the court. Yuan Shu has been defeated, who can change the dynasty?"
Zhang Yan looked at Yang Feng, wanting to say something but stopping herself. She just picked up the teacup silently and drank it quietly.
The tea, which was originally very hot, had turned cold. After drinking the cold tea, Zhang Yan shivered all over.
"Marshal! The government troops have arrived!" Suddenly, a guard rushed in and shouted in panic.
Zhang Yan's expression changed immediately and he asked, "Where is Cao Cao?"
"In less than a hundred miles, we have already captured Yuanshi." said the guard.
Zhang Yan's face was as gloomy as water, and he was shocked and angry.