Chapter 211: The Trickster There was nothing wrong with Xu Huang's choice. From his point of view, the main strategic significance of the northwest Jizhou where he was stationed lies in the northern Taihang Mountains. Most of the local people had already evacuated, and the rest were swept away by Lu Kuang and Lu Xiang, resulting in the fact that the only place Xu Huang occupied was Shangquyang. Once Yuan Shao's main force attacked Jingxing in the west, his defense of Shangquyang would basically lose its meaning. As for the issue of Yuan Shao's army passing Changshan Pass and taking Lingqiu Road to enter Bingzhou, he had never thought about it at all. Changshan Pass is located at the northwestern border of Jizhou, and Lingqiu Road is located at the junction of Youzhou, Bingzhou and Jizhou. After Tian Ze settled in Youzhou, he strengthened the border defenses of Dai County and merchants. Coupled with the strategic defense of the Daxianbei Mountain, Changshan Pass, a very important pass that once blocked the southward advance of the Hu Lu, has basically lost its function. Especially after Tian Ze strengthened the defenses in Daixian and Guangchang areas and took over the northwest of Jizhou, this place was almost abandoned. In order to reduce the pressure on the garrison and avoid the possibility of Yuan Shao passing through this pass to the north, the roads and fields here have never been repaired, so even marching is extremely inconvenient, let alone transporting food and fodder. What's more, Xu Rong is stationed in Youzhou. Attacking Youzhou from here would be as difficult as Wei Yan's Ziwu Valley strategy. Moreover, there is a heavily guarded Hulao Pass at the entrance of the valley, which is completely a dead end.
Without a sufficient supply of food and grass, the army would probably collapse within a few days. Although it was possible to go west through Lingqiu to Bingzhou, there was also the same problem. The road was more than 200 miles long and was rugged and difficult to travel. It would take at least ten days for the army to pass through it. Although Xu Huang didn't know much about the latest intelligence in the Jingxing area, he was very clear about the intelligence near Bingzhou. Tian Ze's troops have already approached Yanmen Pass, and Lu Bu cannot hold out for long. Yuan Shao took the Lingqiu Road, but with too few troops, it would be useless. With too many troops, the logistics and food could not keep up. It was meaningless, and it would be better to attack Jingxing. As for the possibility of a short decisive battle between Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and Tian Ze's army, Xu Huang had not thought about it either. Firstly, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao fought Huguan and Tumenguan so vigorously that it did not seem fake at all. The number of soldiers sacrificed in the siege alone was no less than tens of thousands. Xu Huang did not believe that this was a feint. Secondly, according to the information sent by the spies, there were at least 100,000 troops stationed at the two passes. It would take a lot of organizational and operational capabilities for Yuan Shao and Cao Cao to raise such a large army in a short period of time, unless it was premeditated. Thirdly, Xu Huang thought that Cao Cao should still be in Huguan now, and it was impossible for him to go north and bypass Bingzhou. Because in that case, the logistics would fall completely into Yuan Shao's control. As long as Yuan Shao had a little idea, Cao Cao's tens of thousands of troops could be destroyed in a snap. Fourthly, there is only one chance to pass Lingqiu Road. Once it is discovered, it will be easily cut off by Xu Rong. Then Yuan Shao and Cao Cao's army will become an isolated force. If the battle is not favorable, they will be in danger of death or even annihilation. Tian Ze had nearly 100,000 elite troops under his command. Yuan Shao and Cao Cao did not have an army of 200,000 and were simply not capable of a fight. The dispatching, marching routes, logistics support, retreat arrangements, etc. of an army of 200,000 were all problems. And this was all within Yuan Shao's expectations. There was only one chance. It was impossible to destroy Tian Ze under such an absolute disadvantage. And with Tian Ze's strong talent, it was also very difficult to use cunning tactics. This opportunity can only be obtained by paying a huge price and bearing huge risks, taking advantage of the situation right under Tian Ze's nose and in a situation that no one can expect, by catching him off guard and attacking him when he is unprepared. However, Yuan Shao also miscalculated. That was Tumen Pass. Yuan Shao's original plan was to consume almost all the defenders of Tumen Pass, pretend to rest, and attract Xu Huang to come to the rescue. Then he would turn his forces to defeat Xu Huang and wait for an opportunity to march north. At the same time, they captured Tumen Pass and opened up connection with Bingzhou as a retreat route. As a result, Tumen Pass has not yet been opened and he has to go north.
In order to ensure success in one battle, Yuan Shao summoned almost all the troops he could mobilize, including Chunyu Qiong and his 20,000 troops under Huguan, Han Meng and most of the troops attacking the pass under Tumenguan, and he managed to gather another 120,000 troops. After such a long time, Xun You and Zang Ba in Huguan also noticed that something was wrong. However, Cao Cao's 20,000 troops led by Zhu Ling were still blocking the pass, closing their camps and defending, so they could not easily take it down. Lu Bu also withdrew nearly half of his troops from the west, leaving nearly 10,000 troops to defend the place. Qian Zhao at Tumen Pass also noticed that Han Meng's offensive suddenly stagnated, and there seemed to be signs of a large army retreat. However, he was short of troops and worried that Han Meng was trying to lure him out of the pass, so he did not dare to act rashly. At this time, Taishi Ci, who was located near Taihang Mountains, was very helpless. The situation changed too quickly. Yuan Shao had been fighting in various places non-stop. He was not sure about the target of his attack and almost completely abandoned defense. At this time, Taishi Ci had no idea what he should do. Attacking Jizhou? Cavalry is not good at attacking cities, and they are alone in the attack. If they go too deep, they will be easily surrounded. Harassing Yuan Shao? Yuan Shao did not even react when Yecheng was surrounded. It was obvious that he had completely given up the idea of defending. Harassing him several times was ineffective. Threatening the food supply route? Except for some gains in the beginning, Yuan Shao's baggage troops rarely appeared in the range of Taishi Ci's guerrilla warfare. With a large number of troops deployed, Taishi Ci realized that Yuan Shao's main force was no longer in the vicinity, but was heading north. Before Yuan Shao's army attacked Huguan, he prepared half a month's worth of food and fodder in the camp according to the configuration of an army of 200,000. Therefore, the food and grass in Zhu Ling’s army were enough for him to eat for half a year. Even taking into account damage and mold, it could at least last for three or four months, which was enough. The situation at Tumen Pass was the same. They were attacking the pass, and they were also stockpiling food and fodder in advance to prepare for garrisoning. Just when Taishi Ci was hesitating whether to return to Huguan, the scouts sent by Qian Zhao actually found him. After learning the news that Tumen Pass was besieged by a large army, Taishi Ci immediately realized, based on the intelligence he had, that Huguan was just a feint attack. Without hesitation, he left behind 3,000 cavalry just in case, and led 7,000 elite cavalry north to support Tumen Pass. At this time, it had been half a month since Tumen Pass was besieged. On the way north, they discovered a large number of baggage troops and Yuan Shao's army. Taishi Ci became more certain of his idea. He tried his best to avoid fighting, quickly accelerated the march, and headed straight for Jingxing. In just five days, he arrived at its vicinity. He began to conduct guerrilla warfare with Jingxing as the center, but soon he found that the same situation as around Huguan occurred. Yuan Shao's troops and baggage train around Jingxing gradually disappeared. Spies reported that Yuan Shao's main forces had begun to move north. What on earth was going on? Taishi Ci was completely confused. (End of this chapter)