Chapter 410: Four hundred thousand troops will attack Qin. Anyone who resists the Han army will be punished! Wouldn't it be a waste if the Five Tiger Generals were not used?
Winter of the first year of Zhangwu.

A manifesto to punish Cao Cao was posted all over the four prefectures and counties of the pseudo-Qin overnight.

This manifesto was written by Zhuge Liang himself. It listed all the brutal crimes committed by Cao Cao since the massacre of Xuzhou, as well as his rebellious attempts to overthrow the Han Dynasty and establish his own regime.

The manifesto declared that Liu Bei, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, would personally lead a million-strong Han army to suppress the rebellion, punish Cao and destroy Wei!

The Emperor of the Han Dynasty hereby warns the people of the four states of Bing, Si, Liang, and Yi not to assist King Zhou in his atrocities and be buried with Cao Cao. When the Han army is at the gates of the city, they should follow the will of heaven and the will of the people and open the city to welcome the royal army.

Those who resist stubbornly and follow Cao Cao to the end must be punished by the majesty of heaven!
As soon as the manifesto was released, the people of the pseudo-Qin in the four states were all shocked.

a few days later.

Liu Bei offered sacrifices to heaven and earth in the south of Luoyang City and vowed to attack Qin.

On the southern front, Right General Gan Ning, together with General Lu Xun, who was in charge of Pingnan, led 50,000 Wei troops from Jingzhou, advanced westward from Jiangling up the river, threatening Baidi City in order to contain the Qin army from Yizhou led by Xiahou Yuan.

In the central direction, Emperor Liu Bei personally led an army of 220,000 out of Luoyang and headed west, advancing both by land and sea to take Tongguan.

On the northern front, as the implementer of the first strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking the west, General Huoqi Zhang Fei, under the pretext of joining Liu Bei in attacking Tongguan, led an army of 100,000 from Yecheng to the south, first stationed in Liyang, pretending to cross the river.

Nearly 400,000 Han troops, with the might of a whole country, formally launched a war of annihilation against the pseudo-Qin.

As soon as the Han army moved, spies sent news to Chang'an like snowflakes.

Cao Cao was well prepared. According to the pre-arranged plan, he personally led an army of 100,000 to Tongguan to resist Liu Bei's main force.

In Yizhou, Xiahou Yuan led 30,000 Qin troops from Shu to reinforce Baidi City first to block the Han army from Jingzhou from crossing the Three Gorges.

As for Bingzhou, Cao Cao had secretly increased the number of troops for Cao Ren to 70,000.

Cao Ren then deployed most of the 70,000 troops, except for those who stayed behind to garrison Jinyang, at the Jingxing Pass, Huguan Pass and other pass defense lines east of Bingzhou and the Taihang Mountains.

On the Han army side.

When Liu Bei's troops arrived at the gates of Tongguan, he learned that Cao Cao had led his main force into Tongguan. He immediately summoned Zhang Fei to return north and attack Bingzhou as planned.

Zhang Fei immediately led an army of 100,000, marched north from Liyang overnight, and headed west to attack Jingxing Pass.

The first phase of Fa Zheng's two-pronged strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west was successfully implemented.

...

Tongguan at dusk.

Cao Cao stood on the top of the city wall with his hands behind his back, looking down at the Han camp in front of the pass with a cold but confident gaze.

It stretches for ten miles, with camps densely packed together, and there is no end in sight.

This scene vaguely reminded Cao Cao of the mighty military force of Yuan Shao during the Battle of Guandu.

The Liu Bei in front of him seemed to be even better than before.

"With the Kyushu in his hands, the Big Eared Thief's strength is far greater than that of Yuan Benchu ​​back then..."

Cao Cao stroked his thin beard and sighed, his tone revealing a bit of fear and helplessness.

"Even if the big-eared thief has a million-strong army, how can he get past Tongguan?"

"Don't worry, father. When the big-eared thief retreats to the city one day, our army will pursue him. I will personally cut off his head and avenge my brother!"

Beside him stood a strong and heroic young general, speaking arrogantly and domineeringly.

The person who spoke was Cao Cao's third son, Prince of Rencheng, Cao Zhang.

Unlike Cao Pi and Cao Zhi, this third son had no interest in classics or poetry, and knew nothing about them. He just liked to read military strategies and practice martial arts.

When he was young, he even worshipped Dian Wei as his teacher, and claimed that he had mastered martial arts that were unmatched by any man.

Now Cao Zhi went north to Bingzhou to follow Cao Ren to gain military merit. Cao Pi, as the eldest son, assisted Xiahou Dun in guarding Chang'an. Cao Zhang followed Cao Cao to the front line of Tongguan to fight against the attack of the Han army.

Generals such as Cao Hong, Xu Huang, and Le Jin all raised their lips and smiled as they listened to the Third Prince's arrogant words.

That look seemed to be secretly laughing at the child's arrogance and ignorance, and his lack of knowledge of the immensity of the world.

How many princes and famous generals in the world died at the hands of Liu Bei?
Even Lu Bu, who was the best in the world back then, died at the hands of Liu Bei. How dare you, a young boy who has only practiced martial arts for a few years, say that you want to kill Liu Bei?

You are young and have never suffered at the hands of Liu Bei, unlike us who have been traumatized by Liu Bei...

To put it nicely, this is like a newborn calf that is not afraid of a tiger.

To put it bluntly, it means overestimating one's own abilities!
"My Huangxuer is indeed a hero, worthy of being my son!"

Cao Cao did not undermine his son's self-confidence, but instead praised him heavily.

Cao Zhang became more and more conceited and was about to make another outrageous statement.

Cao Cao changed the subject and said:

"Of course I must kill the big-eared thief. I will avenge your brother Zixiu sooner or later!"

"But now the enemy is strong and we are weak. We must have confidence, but we must not underestimate the enemy."

"Although the big-eared thief is hateful, he is the only hero in the world who can compete with my father. Moreover, he has many wise and evil people like Xiao Fang under his command."

"Zhang'er, don't underestimate the enemy."

After hearing Cao Cao's objective evaluation, Guo Jia and other counselors all breathed a sigh of relief and secretly thanked Cao Cao for his calmness.

Cao Zhang was suppressed by his arrogance and felt unhappy. He swallowed and was about to say something else.

Footsteps were heard, and the Yulin Guards presented the latest intelligence.

Cao Cao took it and took a look at it, then a sarcastic sneer flashed across his face.

"Sure enough, the quilt suggestion was too heavy!"

"Zhang Fei's 100,000 Han troops in Liyang suddenly turned back and headed north a few days ago. They must be heading for Bingzhou."

"Big-eared thief, ah, big-eared thief, you really want to make a feint to the east and attack in the west, intending to seize my Bingzhou!"

Cao Cao threw the information in the silk book to his ministers. The city was in an uproar.

The suspense was settled, and all the ministers breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment, praises for Cao Zhi rose one after another.

"Fortunately, your majesty has foresight and has secretly sent tens of thousands of additional troops to the General of the Cavalry. The Bingzhou Army is ready to fight."

"Next, your majesty only needs to issue an imperial decree to the General of Cavalry, ordering him to strictly guard Jingxing Pass, Hu Pass and other passes in the Taihang Mountains, and to hold on without fighting."

"Even if Liu Bei brings all his troops to attack, as long as we take advantage of the terrain and refuse to fight, he will not be able to do anything to us."

"In five months at most, Liu Bei will definitely withdraw his troops."

Guo Jia's face was also filled with a confident smile, as if he had walked out of the shadow of his repeated defeats against Liu Bei.

Cao Cao smiled coldly and waved his hand:
"Just as Fengxiao said, quickly send a warning to Zixiao!"

All ministers took orders.

Cao Cao turned his gaze back to the Han camp in front of the city gate, and a sarcastic smile appeared on his face:
"Liu Bei, you would never have thought that you killed a good son of mine, but I have another better son."

"You want to steal my Bingzhou, so I'll let you have a taste of what it feels like to be turned away."

"Hahaha--"

Above the city wall, Cao Cao's sarcastic laughter echoed.

All the ministers followed suit and laughed.

Only Jia Xu looked at the Han camp outside the city, then looked towards the direction of Bingzhou, feeling a little uneasy in his heart.

When he wanted to remind him, he saw Cao Cao smiling smugly. After hesitating for a moment, he didn't say anything in the end.

...

Six days later, the Han army set up its imperial tent east of Tongguan.

A secret letter from Zhang Fei has been placed on Liu Bei's dragon desk.

"Yide has led an army of 100,000 to attack Jingxing Pass."

"As you, Prime Minister and Xiaozhi, expected, Cao Ren has already made preparations and is personally leading 40,000 troops to guard Jingxing Pass and prepare for battle."

"There are at least 20,000 Qin troops in Huguan."

"Apart from the troops left behind in Jinyang, the number of Qin troops in Bingzhou is at least around 70,000. It seems that Cao Cao has indeed secretly sent reinforcements to Cao Ren."

Liu Bei stroked his thin beard, looked at Xiao Fang and said with a smile.

Xiao Fang smiled slightly, then pointed his feather fan toward the north:
"It seems that Xiaozhi's plan of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west has been successful. The next step is to implement the second feint to the east and attack in the west, sending troops across the river to attack Jiguan by surprise."

The thoughts of all the ministers returned to the inconspicuous little pass located between the Wangwu Mountains, connecting Henei County and Hedong County.

Liu Bei agreed with this and asked:

"Xiaozhi, do you know which Qin general is guarding Jiguan Pass and how many soldiers are there?"

Fa Zheng was well prepared and answered immediately:
"Cao Ren has mobilized most of his troops to the Jingxing Pass and Hu Pass lines. The Qin army guarding Ji Pass is no more than 2,000."

"As for the enemy general guarding the fortress, it is reported that he is Cao Ren's eldest son Cao Tai, and his deputy general is Yang Qiu, a former Xiliang general."

When he heard that it was Cao Ren’s son, Liu Bei smiled.

On the surface, the front line of the battle between the two armies was Jingxing Pass and Huguan. These two pass cities were the places where life-and-death battles took place.

However, Cao Ren arranged his own son to guard Jiguan, a small pass seemingly far away from the front line. Isn't his intention obvious enough?

Not only can he stay away from the main battlefield and avoid worrying about his life, but he can also improve his qualifications and announce to the outside world that he had participated in the defense of Bingzhou.

"He arranged his own son to stay in Jiguan. It seems that Cao Ren is also a loving father who loves his son."

After sighing, Liu Bei looked at Xiao Fang:
"Since Jiguan is short of troops, this is a great opportunity for us to launch a surprise attack."

"Prime Minister, which general do you think I should send to attack Jiguan?"

The generals were immediately excited and eager to try.

The surprise attack on Jiguan is the key to capturing Bingzhou. If we win, we will be the chief contributor to the battle of Bingzhou!

With such a great achievement, which general wouldn't want to get it?
"Your Majesty, I think that speed is of the essence in this battle, and the cavalry should be the main force, so a general who is proficient in cavalry warfare is indispensable."

"This general must be a fierce general, but he should not easily alert Cao Cao when he is deployed."

"I think this person must be Ma Mengqi!"

"Your Majesty, you can order Meng Qi to lead the light cavalry as the chief general, and Ling Gongji to lead the navy as the deputy general. They can ride the empty grain ships down the river to the east, then land in Henei County and attack Jiguan directly with foot and cavalry!"

Xiao Fang chose Ma Chao.

Originally, Ma Chao had not returned, so he wanted to choose Zhao Yun to take on this important task. The purpose was very simple, which was to gain merit for Zhao Yun.

Only if he has made sufficient achievements can Lao Liu be promoted and reused with justification, and all the generals will be convinced.

Now that Ma Chao has arrived, he is naturally replaced by Ma Chao.

After all, Zhao Yun had the merit of capturing Yuan Shang alive, while Ma Chao came to surrender alone without any merit.

Without any merit, Lao Liu cannot be reused, otherwise it would be difficult to convince the public.

But if we don’t make good use of such a group of Five Tiger Generals, wouldn’t it be a waste of talent?
After capturing Jiguan and taking the first credit for capturing Bingzhou, Liu Bei reused Ma Chao again. Who would dare to disobey?
Ma Chao, who was already eager to try, was immediately surprised. He obviously did not expect that Xiao Fang would recommend him for such an important task.

It really is a timely help!

What’s more, the person guarding Jiguan was Cao Ren’s son.

The hatred of killing his father and exterminating the entire Cao family is irreconcilable, and Ma Chao wishes to kill all the members of the Cao family!

Without waiting for Liu Bei to express his opinion, Ma Chao stepped forward, bowed, and said with emotion:
"Your Majesty, within five days, I will destroy Jiguan Pass, kill Cao Tai, and kick open the gate of Bingzhou!"

(End of this chapter)