Chapter 300 Cao Cao's Gambling Battle "General, scouts report that Liu Xuande is leading his troops westward, heading towards Hangu Pass." Just as Zhang Liao was preparing to take a rest, intelligence suddenly arrived. Zhang Liao, still fully clothed, immediately walked towards the big tent and ordered his men to call over his generals and Guo Jia. "Military Advisor, Liu Xuande has gone to attack Hangu Pass." Zhang Liao said in a deep voice. "I know." Guo Jia said boredly. "Then what should we do? Once Hangu Pass is captured by Liu Bei, he can lock Guanzhong and prevent us from advancing westward." Zhang Liao asked. Hearing this, Guo Jia smiled faintly: "It's not that exaggerated." "Now that Henei and Luoyang are about to fall into our hands, even if Liu Xuande captures Hangu Pass, what can he do? Will he dare to continue westward into Guanzhong?" "And we have more than one way to enter Guanzhong. We can also go directly to Chang'an from the south of Hedong." "Liu Xuande's capture of Hangu Pass was, more accurately, just a nail in the wall." Guo Jia casually pointed to the map of the surrounding area.
"Although Hangu Pass is easy to defend and difficult to attack, it is just an isolated pass. Why should we care about it?" "First, we will take Luoyang, and then block the Yique and Guangcheng passes. This way, Liu Bei's army at Hangu Pass and Cao Ren's army in Luoyang will be in the same situation." "Without food supplies and external aid, it can be taken in a snap." Despite having a huge advantage, Guo Jia ignored Liu Bei's intentions. You fight yours and I fight mine. Even if we can't take Guanzhong this year, what can we do? Taking the 100,000 Cao troops in Luoyang is not bad. At worst, we can come back next year. If you have a strong foundation, you will be strong. No matter how many tricks you come up with, I will remain unmoved. After listening to Guo Jia's analysis, Zhang Liao's eyes sparkled, but he was still a little worried and said: "Military Advisor, if Cao Cao harasses us again, I'm afraid we will be pinned down in Henan." "It doesn't matter. We can be contained if we want to. How much food and grass do Cao Cao and Liu Bei have to waste with us?" "Besides, once we have cleared the area around Luoyang, we can temporarily abandon Guanzhong and head south to Nanyang. Then it will depend on whether Liu Bei dares to defend Hangu Pass to the death." Pang Tong was not the only one who was good at attacking when the enemy was about to come to his rescue. These were all tricks that Guo Jia had used in his daily life. Although Pang Tong is now extremely intelligent, he is still too young to rival Guo Jia, and his thoughts have already been seen through at a glance. After saying this, Guo Jia yawned, turned around and prepared to go back to the tent to take a nap. Before stepping out of the camp gate, he suddenly seemed to think of something: "Oh, by the way, if we have time, we can send 10,000 elite soldiers to set up an ambush around Tang Ju. I remember there is a valley there." "Go south from Luoyang, cross the river, and go in a detour. Hide a little better and don't get discovered right away. Remember to quit while you're ahead." Looking at Guo Jia's graceful back as he left, Zhang Liao fell into deep thought. The generals under his command turned their eyes to Zhang Liao: "General, what should we do?" "Then follow the military advisor's plan." "Cheng Feng, you lead an army of 10,000 and set up an ambush at the place mentioned by the military advisor, waiting for the enemy to take the bait."
"promise!" On the way to Hangu Pass, Pang Tong anxiously waited for information from the direction of Luoyang. However, there was no news of Zhang Liao sending troops, not even a single soldier was mobilized. "Shiyuan, I'm afraid our plan has already been seen through by Guo Fengxiao." Kuai Liang said bluntly. Liu Bei and Kuai Yue supported Pang Tong's plan, but Kuai Liang had already seen through everything. Although this is the only possible strategy to mobilize Zhang Liao and is worth a try, it is still not enough to deal with Guo Jia. Although these counselors under Tian Ze may seem unknown, they are actually very capable. "My lord, in this case, we can only fight with Tian Chengshou." Pang Tong said with gritted teeth, his face looking a little ugly. When he was in Jingzhou, he could easily deal with those local tyrants and bandits. But when it came to dealing with Tian Chengshou now, he felt helpless, the difficulty was too great. Liu Bei smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. I have long wanted to compete with Tian Chengshou. Even if I lose, it doesn't matter. At least Jingzhou is still in our hands. At worst, we can make a comeback." In fact, considering the pros and cons, Liu Bei could have completely avoided fighting this battle. Anyway, the worst outcome would be that Tian Chengshou would severely damage Cao Mengde and then take over Guanzhong. It has little to do with him, and he can even take advantage of it. But Liu Bei was not a man who would compromise for the sake of mediocrity, but had ambitions to rule the world. If I retreat now, I am afraid I will never have such a good opportunity to compete with Tian Chengshou in the future. Moreover, Liu Bei had once formed an alliance with Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, and he was sincere in that. Naturally, he would not do such a despicable thing as selling out his teammates. Liu Bei has relied on benevolence and credibility all his life, and he will never go back on his word at this time. "If Cao Mengde's army is reorganized a little, it should be possible to gather 150,000 troops. Add to that our 100,000 troops, a total of 250,000. We should have a certain chance of winning against Zhang Wenyuan." Pang Tong took stock of the combat power of both sides and said in a deep voice. "But I'm afraid Zhang He will come and disrupt the situation. It would be best to block Zhang He north of the Yellow River." Kuai Liang said. "We don't have any extra troops. If we want to win, we must concentrate all our strength, even if we have to disperse a small force." Kuai Yue frowned. "It all depends on whether Cao Mengde has the courage. If he is willing to fight desperately, there may still be a chance of a battle." Pang Tong said. "Where does Cao Mengde have extra troops?" "Yes!" Pang Tong said firmly. "Cao Mengde must have left an elite force in the direction of Chenliu to prevent any unexpected events." "But that is Cao Mengde's last trump card. Once it is drawn, if we, Yuan Shao or Sun Ce take the opportunity to attack, Cao Mengde will at least lose one state." Liu Bei frowned. "At a time like this, the only way to win is by gambling! I believe in Cao Mengde and dare to take this risk!" …… After receiving Liu Bei's letter, Cao Cao laughed out loud.
"The one who understands me is Pang Shiyuan!" At this moment, Cao Cao seemed to have seen a confidant. He is never afraid of losing. Rather than sit and wait for death, he would rather bet everything for that glimmer of hope. Just as in the original historical trajectory, he bet on the Battle of Guandu. He bet that Xun Yu and others could defend the base camp. I bet that Liu Bei’s harassment could not shake his foundation. I bet that Liu Biao would not dare to go north. Bet that Sun Ce will not invade the Central Plains. I bet there will still be internal strife in Xiliang. At that time, he gambled too much, and if something unexpected happened, he would be killed without a burial place. However, he did not hesitate at all. Because if you don’t gamble, you can only wait for death. Once you take a step back, you will no longer have the courage to win. "Tell Liu Xuande that I, Cao Mengde, have made a bet on this battle!" (End of this chapter)