Chapter 71 Strong Inertia

Two days later, Yu Jin and Li Dian arrived at the Wankou front one after another.

Without waiting for them to discuss the military situation, Liu Bei's troops began to retreat in large strides.

Even Zhao Yun and Black Bear in Jackdaw Road led the knights to retreat to the rear.

The question was clearly placed before Xiahou Dun, Yu Jin and Li Dian: should they pursue the case or not?

The armies led by the three men met in Ye County, and the three men discussed under the shade of trees on the roadside.

Xiahou Dun did not look very well. In the past few days, the detachment he sent to Jackdaw Road was attacked day and night.

Nearly a hundred cavalrymen were captured by the enemy and their lives or deaths were unknown.

As long as you dare to send out scouts, the other side will rob and kill you.

Whether they are mounted scouts or foot scouts, as long as they leave the camp, they will be hijacked and captured.

In just three days, the soldiers in the two camps were in a panic.

In this situation, there is no way to investigate the strength of Jackdaw Road, let alone go around Jackdaw Road to investigate the Wancheng area.

According to intelligence, there are 5,000 people under the command of Liu Qi in Wancheng. This information was sent by Wumeng Duwei Lu Chang eight days ago.

Now he was unable to break through Jackdaw Road to conduct in-depth reconnaissance, and Lu Chang stationed in Duyang was unable to send any information... This showed that Lu Chang's situation was very bad. Wancheng was in the shadow, what if a large army was gathering there?
Xiahou Dun said to Lieutenant General Yu Jin and Lieutenant General Li Dian with a serious expression, "The enemy troops stationed on Jackdaw Road are very elite. They have captured nearly a hundred of our officers, soldiers and scouts. We don't know how many enemy troops there are on this road, nor do we know the situation of Lü Chang in Duyang."

He observed the two men's expressions and continued, "Before the two armies were in a stalemate, I was at a disadvantage. I am puzzled that Liu Bei retreated as soon as the two generals arrived."

Yu Jin was a little confused when he heard this, as the opponent was fighting very aggressively on Jackdaw Road.

How can there be no casualties in a clash between scouts?
Liu Bei didn't have much money to begin with, so was it necessary for him to waste precious scouts just to block the information on Jackdaw Road?
Therefore, there must be some secrets within Jackdaw Road. The most likely possibility is that there is an elite army stationed there, waiting for an opportunity to strike out.

Whether attacking Luyang or attacking Duyang from the flank, it would embarrass our side.

But there is also a possibility, that is, Liu Bei was bluffing.

Blocking Jackdaw Road at all costs is just to prevent our side from discovering the real situation.

Li Dian was also confused. Liu Bei did not have the money to launch a strong blockade now; and there was no sign that Liu Biao would mobilize a large army.

If Liu Biao really mobilizes a large army, someone in Xiangyang will find a way to send the intelligence to us.

Not to mention ten thousand, even a transfer of around three to five thousand would be difficult to conceal.

As long as Liu Biao's abnormal behavior is noticed, the information can be sent to us.

Just as the three were pondering the issue, Xiahou Dun's chief secretary came over quickly and presented a silk book with both hands: "General, a letter from the envoy from the south."

"Why are you so late?"

Xiahou Dun took it and saw that the silk book had no seal. He could smell the obvious smell of sweat in his hand. He immediately spread it out and read it, frowning: "It turns out that Liu Qi's army of 5,000 people is not allowed. He only has more than 3,000 people. He lent 1,500 people to Liu Xuande. The bad thing is that Liu Xuande has planted accomplices in Duyang City. The city has been broken, and the men and women officials have moved to Wancheng."

He immediately handed the silk book to Yu Jin and the other man, and looked at the chief secretary with his one-eyed eye. The chief secretary replied, "Before Liu Xuande was stationed at Wankou, many knights patrolled the road and wanted to kill the messengers. That's why the messengers from the south didn't dare to take the risk. They only rushed to Wankou when they saw Liu Xuande withdraw his troops."

"It's bad for me!"

Xiahou Dun was filled with hatred, but he also knew that the messenger did not dare to take any risks.

If captured by Liu Bei, it would not just be the messenger who would die.

If we follow the clues, many people in Jingzhou will be in trouble; before they get into trouble, they will definitely not let the messenger's family have an easy time.

When Yu Jin was reading the silk book and saw that Liu Bei's army had less than four thousand men, he subconsciously narrowed his eyes and smiled a little.

When the silk book was passed to Li Dian, he just glanced at it casually and suddenly understood everything.

No wonder the enemy forces in Jackdaw Road were frantically robbing and killing their own scouts, just to block their vision.

If Xiahou Dun had divided his troops and taken the Jackdaw Road early on, three battalions of two thousand men would have been enough to defeat the detachment sent by Liu Qi in the Jackdaw Road.

Fifteen hundred people, just two battalions.

Let alone two battalions, even the five battalions of Jingzhou Army could not withstand the attack of the three battalions of Northern Army!

Since the Battle of Guandu, the Northern Army has had this confidence.

Xiahou Dun saw the change in Yu Jin's expression and said immediately: "If we want to stabilize the people in the Central Plains, we have to defeat Liu Xuande. Liu Xuande's attack has two purposes."

"The first is to stir up trouble in Ruying and disrupt the core of our army; the second is to hold back our army for Hebei."

Xiahou Dun wanted to settle the political account and the people's heart account, and continued to say to the two: "He has dragged down my more than ten thousand elite troops with a few thousand people. How will the people of the Central Plains view this? So he will win without winning; if our army allows him to retreat easily, it will also be a defeat without losing."

Yu Jin nodded immediately and said, "I agree with what Lord Yuan Rang is worried about. If we fail to severely punish Liu Xuande, our army will retreat and he will come again; our army will come and he will retreat again. If this keeps repeating, our elite troops will be exhausted and become a laughing stock in the world."

We can't fight according to Liu Bei's rhythm, as Liu Bei only has three or four thousand men.

Going in and out of Wankou repeatedly, ordinary generals could neither defeat nor stop Liu Bei.

If left alone, Liu Bei will gradually expand the harm; if we want to take action, we must send a high-level team.

If Liu Bei runs away every time he comes, and you don't chase him, how can he dare to come?

Another question is, after Liu Bei retreated, would your high-level team stay behind to garrison, or withdraw to Hebei to join the battle? If you garrison, more than 10,000 elite soldiers will be killed in vain; if you withdraw to Hebei, Liu Bei will come to Wankou to hang out again.

As long as we understand the account clearly, and with Liu Biao's limited intervention, it is best to chase Liu Bei and beat him to death!

They did not seek to kill Liu Bei. Even if three thousand of their own men were used to replace one thousand of Liu Bei's men, it would be enough to make Liu Bei heartbroken for half a year.

Inflict pain on Liu Bei and leave a general to guard Wankou.

The main elite forces can be deployed to Hebei. If Hebei is captured, the whole world can be conquered with just one order. Why bother about Liu Bei?

Even though the discussion was very clear, Li Dian had no interest in pursuing.

Even if Liu Bei was captured and killed, the life and status of the Li family would not change fundamentally.

He was not short of such great achievements. Compared with fame, he wanted his troops to return home safely and be reunited with his wife and children.

After all the heroes are defeated, it is none of the Li family’s business to decide who will rule the country.

So, is there any need for the Li family to fight so desperately?

Cao Gong's courtesy was based on the strength and unity of Li's troops.

Without my tribe and clan, what would I be?
After all, I am different from Yu Jin. Yu Jin came from a poor family and his troops can be replenished at any time if they are destroyed. There is really nothing to feel sorry for Yu Jin.

So was Yu Jin, and so was Xiahou Dun.

Li Dian's desire to not fight was written all over his face, but Xiahou Dun and Yu Jin were not angry when they saw it. When marching to war, there must always be some people following behind to escort the baggage and supplies.

The three people have different backgrounds and positions, and their pursuits are also different.

The tasks were assigned immediately, with Li Dian leading the rear team to escort the supplies; Xiahou Dun's five battalions and Yu Jin's three battalions joined forces to pursue Liu Bei along the Jingyu Road.

The two battalions of Xiahou Dun's detached troops joined forces with two battalions of Luyang defender Lu Zhao to form a separate unit and advance along the Jackdaw Road.

The various armies met at Duyang.

Lu Zhao has three battalions under his command, and leaving one battalion is enough to defend Luyang City.

As for the Battle of Liyang that attracted worldwide attention, before the actual fighting broke out, a field chase involving tens of thousands of people broke out in Wankou.

Xiahou Dun knew very well that he could not only consider the present, but also had to consider the overall situation.

For example, in the most important battle of Hebei, only after the accounts there are settled clearly can the accounts of this flank battlefield be settled.

Let’s calculate Hebei first.

No one is willing to take on the challenge until the critical moment.

Liyang was a fortified city, so Zhang Liao, Xu Huang and Zhang Xiu simply set up camp and built a city nearby, adopting a step-by-step siege tactic.

The most cost-effective approach is to cut off the supply to Liyang City and Liyang West City and starve the defenders to death.

If the defenders of the two cities run out of food and lose the cities, it will deal a fatal blow to the foundation of Yuan’s rule.

Therefore, Cao's army's siege tactics were to force the Hebei army to engage in a field battle when they came to the rescue.

Surround the spot for reinforcements.

Whether it was forcing the two cities of Liyang to surrender by cutting off their food supplies, or defeating the reinforcements from Hebei in a field battle, it could quickly shake the foundation of the Yuan family after Yuan Shao.

By the time June came, the scorching heat was too much torment for the armored soldiers.

Therefore, Cao’s army can only advance step by step and use the most stable tactics to encircle the two cities of Liyang.

The two cities of Liyang support each other. Even when the weather is cool, Cao's army will not attack unless it is absolutely necessary.

It is a tradition to drive the surrendered troops to attack strongholds, but Zhang Liao, Xu Huang and Zhang Xiu on the front line all made great contributions during the Battle of Guandu.

If we just let them attack and die, how will they control the surrendered generals and outsiders in the future?

If the surrendered generals and troops are unwilling to attack the city, should we let the people from Qiaopei, Ruying or Qingzhou attack the city?
The key to the two cities of Liyang lies in how much food the defenders have stored.

If there was enough food, Hebei would sit back and watch Cao's army continue to besiege the city.

Even if no fighting breaks out, life on the front line of the siege will make the soldiers mentally and physically exhausted.

No matter how elite they are, they cannot withstand the erosion of time.

The most optimistic estimate of Cao's army was to capture Liyang after a year of siege.

As for Yuan Shang being unable to control the internal situation and Hebei exploding and collapsing... although this possibility exists, the officers and soldiers of Cao's army do not have much hope.

The Battle of Guandu killed and buried alive 80,000 surrendered soldiers from Hebei. Who in Hebei dared to surrender easily?

Revenge on Cao's army is the current mainstream voice in Hebei.

Therefore, Xiahou Dun knew very well that at present, the most important thing was not to rush in Hebei after Yuan Shao's death, and to cut off Liu Bei's claws.

Otherwise, when the fierce confrontation with Hebei comes, Liu Bei will come to the Central Plains to stir up trouble again and again, which will really be bad news!
(End of this chapter)