Chapter 263 Breaking the pot
At the Liyang battlefield, Cao Cao arrived first.

The west city of Liyang had already fallen. When Cao Ren was preparing to cut off the tunnel, the defenders of the west city retreated into the city of Liyang through the tunnel overnight.

Reinforcements from Hebei also gathered and approached, and Cao Ren lost the opportunity to attack the isolated city of Liyang.

Before Yuan Shang launched the attack, Cao Cao hurried and finally arrived at the battlefield.

One thing is very clear, an alarm must have been issued before Luoyang, which was defended by Xiahou Dun, fell.

When the flank was still relatively safe, Cao Cao decisively crossed the river from Chenliu, and after the army arrived in Henei, it marched towards Liyang.

Cao Cao arrived in Liyang first and led more than a hundred cavalrymen to conduct reconnaissance fifty miles north.

To the south of Neihuang County, we can see that Yuan’s army has seven camps connected east and west, which are more than 40 miles wide. There must be many camps connected front and back in depth.

The whole structure is like an inverted 'T'. If you want to investigate further, you can only take a detour.

The Hebei scouts blocked the surroundings and when they saw Cao Cao's hundred-plus cavalry approaching, they also began to gather; Cao Cao took the initiative to retreat more than ten miles.

Dismount and get off the horse at the river bank, feed the horse and rest the horse's energy.

Cao Ren, who was traveling with him, drew arrows on the ground, focusing on the rear camp of Yuan's army: "The Golden Eagle Banner appeared here. According to scouts, there are enemy cavalrymen who look like the Black Bandit and Taishi Wengong. They are also approaching to scout our army and have no intention of fighting. As soon as our scouts approached, the enemy cavalrymen retreated. So we don't know whether they are real or fake."

Cao Cao lowered his brows as he looked at the map of Yuan's army drawn by Cao Ren. After a moment's thought, he said, "This is a trick of the boy."

At this time, Cao Ren looked up at him and said, "I have the same suspicion, but I saw Guan Yu's banner at the Golden Eagle Banner, with the words 'Han Shou Ting Hou Lie Jiangjun Guan' written on it, and I don't know whether it is true or not."

Cao Cao frowned and asked, "How is Yunchang these days?"

Guo Jia and Du Xi, who were accompanying them, looked at each other, and Guo Jia took two steps forward and said, "Mingsir, when Marquis Liang withdrew his troops from Guanzhong, Zhao Yun and Wen Pin escorted 5,000 Wuhuan captives back to Jingzhou. Marquis Guan went north to replace Zhao Yun, and later, with Marquis Liang's permission, he went to Hedong to recruit troops."

Cao Cao laughed and said, "This must be a treacherous plot to deceive me! Yuan Shang is narrow-minded. His father, concubines, and clansmen were all killed by him. He cannot tolerate Yuan Tan, so how can he live in harmony with the black thieves? There must be someone in his army pretending to be a black thief, intending to deceive me."

Cao Ren stood up and put away his arrows, and asked, "Brother, do you mean to feint an attack on Liyang to force Yuan's army to fight?"

"Starting tomorrow, we will launch a feint attack on Liyang."

Cao Cao looked up at the faint smoke rising from the camps of Yuan troops in the north and said, "How can we know their strengths and weaknesses if we don't attack them?"

Cheng Yu, who was standing behind him, opened his mouth to advise a quick attack, but the main force of Yuan's army had already been lured away. If they let it go so easily, when Liu Bei launched an attack, Yuan Shang would attack from Hebei, which would put them in a passive position.

Only by beating Yuan Shang severely can we effectively warn others.

Now it’s a gamble, betting that the friendship between Black Bear and Yuan Shang has not reached that critical step.

At this moment, in Yuan Shang's camp, Yuan Shang was sitting in front of a sand table made of yellow mud.

An opportunity for battle was right in front of them. Cao Cao's main force was still west of Qi County and Chaoge; the only Cao troops near Liyang were Cao Ren and Cheng Yu.

Cao Ren was a military commander as a counselor, not a separate general. Cao Ren's troop deployment was often adjusted according to different combat missions.

For example, at this moment, Cao Ren was ordered to supervise the troops in Liyang. Zhang Liao, Xu Huang and Liu Xun who had retreated south before were all under Cao Ren's supervision.

Now, in addition to Cao Ren's main force, there are still Le Jin, Shi Huan and Zhang Xiu left, with a total of more than 12,000 troops.

Cheng Yu was the governor of Yanzhou as the prefect of Jiyin County, so the army that Cheng Yu led to reinforce some time ago was relatively simple, consisting of 3,000 Jiyin soldiers from his own department and more than 10,000 Yanzhou soldiers.

The size of Cao Ren's and Cheng Yu's armies was similar, with a total of less than 30,000 men.

He also has more than 30,000 people here, and there are more than 8,000 defenders in Liyang City. If he attacks against the odds now, he may be able to catch Cao Ren and Cheng Yu off guard.

Yuan Shang was a little unsure, so he asked his chief clerk Li Fu, who was watching the sand table with him, "I want to attack the enemy camp. What do you think?"

"Cao's army has no way to retreat. This is a desperate situation. If we can't defeat them in one battle, their troops will gather again and we will be entangled. If their main force comes from behind, even if our army has the upper hand, it will suddenly collapse."

Li Fu approached the sand table and said with some regret: "If there were more than 10,000 knights on the western wing of our army, it would be enough to block the enemy's reinforcements."

Without seeking to defeat Cao's army in the direction of Hanoi, more than 10,000 knights were dispatched and camped nearby. Cao Cao's main force did not dare to be careless.

It was difficult to mobilize the cavalry. In the Battle of Guandu, 10,000 cavalrymen from Jizhou crashed into the south bank and were all wiped out.

Later, the Battle of Cangting was fought, and the last bit of cavalry strength was almost exhausted.

We can't count on Yuan Xi either. It's already difficult for Yuan Xi to stop Xian Yu Fu without any support.

The same thing happened to the Wuhuan King Tadun. Behind the Wuhuan was the Xianbei.

It would be a stretch if the situation in Youzhou did not deteriorate or fall behind.

"I don't have ten thousand cavalry, but I have suspicious troops."

Yuan Shang raised his hand and pointed in the direction of Hanoi: "This is the best opportunity at the moment. Cao's army is divided into two, and the opportunity to fight is fleeting."

Li Fu observed Yuan Shang and saw that he looked determined, so he said, "The Grand Marshal will never sit idly by and watch our army fail. What he wants is the position of the Minister of State. The lord has submitted a petition, asking to be in charge of the affairs of the Ministry of State Affairs with the Grand Marshal. The Grand Marshal has fulfilled his wish, so how can he sit idly by and watch?"

If it was General Yuan Shao who sent a memorial to Xudu, they would still take a look at it. But Yuan Shang, the successor General, had no influence at all, and sending a memorial to Xudu would not get any response, but would cost the envoy his life.

Therefore, Yuan Shang's memorial... just pretend to publicize it within the country, and the envoy can just throw the memorial into the Yellow River. There is no need to risk his own life.

"I know what he's worried about."

Yuan Shang stood up and walked to the wooden screen. He reached out and grabbed the hanging scabbard, then pressed the hilt with his right hand and pulled it out.

Yuan Shang waved his sword and rubbed the blade with his thumb, squinting his eyes, "He dare not come to Hebei. If he comes to Hebei, he will not dare to help me defeat Cao Cao. Otherwise, he will be in danger. He is a suspicious person and cannot be lured by the Shangshutai."

Li Fu followed behind Yuan Shang and said, "My lord, in every battle, we should anticipate the enemy in front of us; before the battle, we should anticipate defeat. If our army were to be defeated, would the Grand Marshal just sit there and watch?"

Hearing this, Yuan Shang's face was expressionless: "You mean, if we can win this battle, then win, but if we can't, then bring in the tiger to drive away the wolf?"

"Yes, I am afraid that Cao's army will plunder the surrounding areas and capture our people."

Li Fu's face was expressionless. "The people have suffered greatly from this, so they will surely feel resentment. Perhaps we can feign defeat and lure them to move north with all their strength. When the Grand Marshal arrives to help, we can work together from within and without to defeat Cao's army in Ye."

Seeing that Li Fu was still trying to persuade him, Yuan Shang was very tempted and waved his hand to stop him: "Let me think about it carefully."

As soon as Cao's army started killing people, Hebei was bound to be resentful. The people wanted to die with Cao's army and would spit in the other's face even if they died.

If it cannot be contained, the scale of killing by Cao's army will continue to increase dramatically, which will frighten the people of Hebei and make them dare not resist.

If the timing of Black Bear's reinforcement was right, the people of Hebei, under extreme fear and anger, would naturally burst out with extremely high determination to fight; and Cao's army would be far away from the Yellow River at that time, so they would definitely be able to inflict heavy damage on the enemy!
The counties between Liyang and Yecheng actually had a small registered population. How many people could Cao's army kill?
Think about it the other way around, and think from the black bear's perspective.

Is it important to have a nominal Shangshu Xingtai?

Is the survival of Hebei more important, or is a Shangshu Xingtai more important?
If their side loses the decisive battle in Liyang and Cao's army invades Hebei on a large scale, how can Black Bear sit still?
Therefore, there is really no need to hesitate about this battle.

The only thing to do is to burn your boats and either defeat Cao Ren and Cheng Yu in one battle, or be defeated and flee, waiting for rescue by the Guanzhong troops!

As for whether Cao's army would go deep into Hebei to plunder and kill... given the Cao's army's style, this kind of plunder and killing after a victory would not be something Cao Cao could suppress.

In particular, Yu Jin's troops, who had strict military laws, were almost wiped out by Hei Xiong and Liu Bei in the Battle of Bowangpo last year.

Yu Jin is now training his troops again, but his military prestige has been greatly reduced due to the severe damage suffered by his headquarters. Therefore, Yu Jin now does not have the foundation to enforce strict military discipline on the battlefield.

Putting aside the unexpected factor of Yu Jin, who could force the various troops of Cao's army to stop pursuing and looting?
Although Han Hao, Shi Huan and others were strict in military discipline, it was only limited to daily life.

Faced with wartime looting, no one could suppress it except Yu Jin.

Yuan Shang thought about it again and again, and then said to Li Fu: "Let's cook at three o'clock today, and bring three days' worth of dry food. I want to fight the enemy to the death."

"Yes, I will inspect the camps right away."

Li Fu bowed deeply, and Yuan Shang instructed him again, "I will lead the troops in the front and try to defeat the enemy in one battle."

Seeing Li Fu trying to persuade him, Yuan Shang said, "This is a vicious plan that you and I set up. I led the army to fight the enemy hand-to-hand, so I feel better. If I can win, I will win. If I can't win, it's because I am not strong enough, not intentional."

"Yes, I understand."

Li Fu bowed deeply again. The problem of Cao's army's looting was something that even Cao Cao had no solution to.

Besides, it was neither moral nor logical to sit idly by and watch the defenders of Liyang perish.
Attacking to save the defenders of Liyang is something that is in line with the common call of the people of Hebei.

If we sit back and watch the defenders of Liyang being destroyed, not to mention the defenders of the surrounding counties and cities, the morale of the army assembled by Yuan Shang would be unstable.

Therefore, sending aid to Liyang is a move that Hebei must take.

If they were defeated, it was because of lack of strength, not because they deliberately set up a vicious plan and pretended to be defeated... The so-called pretended defeat was just said this to save face.

After the defeat, Cao's army's pursuit, looting and slaughter were objectively unstoppable.

Everything was almost destined. The only way to change it was to burn his boats and rush to Liyang with more than 30,000 people to fight a decisive battle with Cao's army there.

If we win, everything will be easy; if we lose, we can just follow the backup plan.

Yuan Shang had made up his mind. Before nightfall, the scouts from Henei County returned with news that was not very good, but also very good.

It is very likely that Cao Cao arrived in Liyang first.

This shows that the cooperation between Cao Ren and Cheng Yu will not be affected by the gap; but it also shows that as long as they attack Cao Cao fiercely, they may achieve a great victory!

As the difficulty increases, the chances of achieving a big victory also increase significantly.

Yuan Shang, a wealthy man from Hebei, actually didn't have many good choices.

Being able to find Cao Cao and fight him head-on is naturally a great win!

(End of this chapter)