Chapter 203 Another confrontation In Guan Yu's camp, upon hearing the news of Xu Huang's great victory, Cheng Yu smiled slightly and murmured, "Xun Youruo, what a pity, you chose the wrong opponent." Although Cheng Yu's talent has become passive for the purpose of training troops, it still retains the effect of active stimulation. Even though the effect is slightly weaker, it can still offset some of the influence of Xun Chen's talent when it is used alone on Xu Huang. For Xu Huang, who was already steady in temperament and whose will was strengthened by Cheng Yu, Xun Chen's talent had almost no noticeable effect as he was on guard. "Brother Gongming, your murderous intent in this battle was a bit too great." Guan Yu frowned slightly when he saw the number of enemies killed in the battle report. Of the 30,000 defeated soldiers, 20,000 were slaughtered. Most of them should have been captured, but Xu Huang didn't care and slaughtered them all. "No, it should be said that it is rational. The war situation in the northwest of Jizhou is critical. Even if we capture the enemy, there is nowhere to place them. It is better to kill them and put an end to it all." Cheng Yu praised. Don't be too soft-hearted. With a big battle imminent, these soldiers are simply a burden. "Moreover, this battle also exposed a huge weakness of Gao Lan's army." Cheng Yu's eyes flashed with a sharp light: "Their cavalry must be insufficient." Xu Huang was able to easily slaughter so many Yuan troops, which must have been due to the advantage of his cavalry. The opponents were mostly infantry, otherwise he would not have been able to escape.
"The other party is too arrogant. Does he really think that we will be manipulated like clay dolls?" Guan Yu snorted coldly. "It's not arrogance, but helplessness." Cheng Yu explained for Xun Chen. "They have no other choice as the gap in strength is too big. If they want to win, they can only gamble. They won the first game by luck, but they will definitely lose the second game." Cheng Yu said lightly. War is always a matter of gains and losses; it is difficult to gain nothing without suffering any loss. Although he didn't like being led by the nose, he had to admit that it felt good to strike back after the opponent attacked. It was really stable. They didn't need to use any tricks at all, they just needed to counter the opponent's moves. Generally speaking, the disadvantaged party will frequently resort to tricks, and the best option for the advantaged party is to crush them fairly. Although the opponent has the advantage of taking the initiative, there are also corresponding risks. Once they detect and break it, they will suffer huge losses. "After losing this battle, it's Xun Youruo's turn to be in trouble now." Just when Cheng Yu was overjoyed, another piece of good news came. The 30,000 elite troops allocated by Tian Ze have arrived. In this way, together with the original army of more than 80,000, Guan Yu now had more than 110,000 elite troops under his command. Gao Lan on the opposite side had already suffered heavy losses during the early harassment and interception, and was also ambushed by Xu Huang, so his military strength was almost falling below 200,000. With this increase and decrease, Guan Yu already had the strength to defeat Gao Lan's army head-on. "Yuan Benchu was too impatient. He knew that his only advantage was his military strength, so he had been completing his strategic layout at the expense of his military strength." "However, when the military sacrifice reaches a certain level, the situation will be reversed!" When Guan Yu heard this, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes. "In that case, it's our turn to perform." The loss of more than 20,000 soldiers at one time was a serious blow to Gao Lan. The most important thing is that the gap in military strength between the two sides has reached the red line. Gao Lan may not dare to easily adopt the method of dividing troops and guerrilla warfare. Otherwise, if he loses more troops, he will be unable to compete with Guan Yu's army.
Previously, Guan Yu was worried about the damage to Youzhou, so he used his troops conservatively. Now that the troops are sufficient and the enemy situation has reversed, Guan Yu, who is full of anger, will naturally not give up. "Send troops south!" With the dual advantages of cavalry and combat power firmly in his grasp, Guan Yu led his troops south without hesitation. The main force of the army pressed Gao Lan, and at the same time divided the army to occupy the villages and counties belonging to Yuan Shao in Zhongshan and Boling counties. Gao Lan was helpless and could only dispatch a small number of troops to defend the city and slow down the speed of Guan Yu's army's siege. "Military Advisor, are we just going to waste time with Guan Yu like this?" Looking at the counties on the map that had been lost one after another, Gao Lan clenched his fists. "There's no other way. We lost the bet in that battle. We no longer have the capital to fight with Guan Yu. We can only drag it on like this, exchanging space for time, and strive for the opportunity to open up the Taihang Mountains for our lord." Xun Chen said calmly. Since you have made a bet, you must be prepared to lose. At this time, they were in the same situation as Cao Cao during the Battle of Guandu, and they had no capital to lose. If they lost any battle, it would be a disaster and they would have to pay a huge price. “But fortunately, before the lord sent out his troops, he had already sent troops to relocate all the villages in the western and northern parts of Jizhou to Qingzhou. Even if these places are lost, the impact will not be significant.” Xun Chen said. Yuan Shao was ready to flee from the beginning, and even moved his seat of government from Yecheng to Qingzhou, so that he could use the periphery of Jizhou as a strategic buffer in case of unfavorable situation. "As long as most of the population is relocated, Zhongshan, Boling, and even some counties in Zhao and Wei can be given up." The weak must have the awareness of the weak. If you want to defeat the strong with the weak, you cannot be obsessed with the defeat of the moment and the gains and losses of a place. Tian Ze's actions have made Yuan Shao and other princes realize the importance of population. Especially for Yuan Shao, Qingzhou under his command was still an empty land, with fertile fields everywhere without an owner. It would be a good thing to move the population there. In the northern part of Jizhou, the balance of war has been unbalanced due to Xun Chen's failure. In the northwest of Jizhou, Lu Kuang and Lu Xiang also encountered difficulties. Although Cheng Xu and Tian Ning were not famous generals, they were not much weaker than Lü Kuang and Lü Xiang. They managed to hold out under the siege of Lü Kuang and Lü Xiang's 50,000-strong army. Although they lost thousands of elite soldiers due to being caught off guard, the remaining troops were still sufficient to garrison, but were blocked in Shangquyang County. When Xu Huang arrived with thousands of cavalry, the situation also turned around instantly. Knowing that their previous plan had been used against them by Xu Huang to fight an annihilation war, Lu Kuang and Lu Xiang did not dare to show off their skills. While Cheng Xu and Tian Ning, who were defending Shangquyang, had not yet noticed Xu Huang's coming to rescue them, they led an army of 10,000 to continue besieging the city, but the two of them quietly withdrew their troops at night. He led an army of more than 30,000 and engaged in a head-on confrontation with Xu Huang. However, they underestimated the value of Xu Huang, one of the Five Elite Generals. Although they had an absolute advantage in military strength, they were far inferior to Xu Huang in tactical command. Relying on the speed advantage of the cavalry, Xu Huang continued to pull back and forth until the army led by Lu Kuang and Lu Xiang showed a flaw. He marched straight in and defeated the two men. Fortunately, the two of them had strong forces. Xu Huang rushed into the central army and after killing for a while, he found that the army was showing signs of gathering again, so he immediately killed them.
Lu Kuang and Lu Xiang fought and retreated, and finally they escaped from the battlefield safely. The severely injured Lü Kuang and Lü Xiang quickly gathered their troops, lifted the siege on Shangquyang, and instead garrisoned in Tang County, Nanxing. Nanxingtang County is located on the southwest side of Shangquyang County, which can just prevent Xu Huang from entering the Taihang Mountains to the west. For a while, the two sides were once again in a state of confrontation. At this time, the main force led by Yuan Shao and Cao Cao had entered Changshan County and was heading towards Tumen Pass in Jingxing. (End of this chapter)