Chapter 301 Zhang Liao Runs Away "Military Advisor, according to the information obtained by the scouts, the armies of Liu Bei and Cao Cao seem to be gathering towards Luoyang. Are they preparing to besiege us, or..." Zhang Liao asked uncertainly, looking at the map around Luoyang. He witnessed Cao Cao's cunning in using troops in the Battle of Qinshui. Therefore, even when he saw the army gathering towards him, Zhang Liao instinctively became alert. This might be another trick of Cao Cao. Guo Jia smiled slightly: "This is probably because Cao Cao and Liu Bei are really going to fight to the death!" Guo Jia was not sure whether Cao Cao was serious. However, Liu Bei's return from Hangu Pass must have been for a head-on battle with his own side. The number of troops under Liu Bei's command was no more than 100,000. Although he had two powerful generals, Zhang Fei and Huang Zhong, he was still not ready to fight Zhang Liao's 100,000 elite troops head-on, together with Cao Ren in Luoyang City. "Mengjin Ferry and Xiaopingjin Ferry are now in our hands. If Cao Mengde wants to join forces with Liu Xuande to besiege us, he must find a way to intercept Junyi's possible reinforcements." "If I were Cao Cao, I would definitely withdraw troops from Yanzhou again to take precautions, and use the Yellow River to block Zhang He's troops. In this way, I can gain a combat advantage around Luoyang and concentrate my forces to capture your army." Guo Jia had already guessed what Cao Cao was thinking.
They are a type of people who dare to gamble and are good at it. "Then how should we respond?" Zhang Liao couldn't help but ask. Guo Jia's lips curled up slightly: "Who said that if we want to be safe, we can only defend Luoyang City to the death?" "Cao Cao and Liu Bei both thought that we only dared to fight stupid battles and were afraid to take risks. But they forgot that if we were fully confident, taking risks might not necessarily be risky." "We are not their target." "Military Advisor, what do you mean?" Zhang Liao seemed to have thought of something and looked towards the direction of Yanzhou. "We don't want Luoyang anymore." Guo Jia's eyes flashed. "While the enemy has not yet assembled, we should march westward and head straight for Yanzhou!" "Take away the firewood from under the cauldron. I want to see what choice Cao Mengde will make." "The vast Central Plains is open to us. Especially Yanzhou, which is adjacent to Jizhou. The empty border is uninhabited, which makes our march and logistics more convenient." "If Cao Mengde didn't stop us, we could use Zhou Tai's navy to kidnap most of the people in Yanzhou." Guo Jia said with a smile. Nowadays, everyone in the world knows that life is good under Tian Ze's rule, but the various princes have now strengthened the control over their subordinates. Even Cao Cao came up with a system similar to the baojia system. The people wanted to migrate north, but they could not cross the empty uninhabited areas on the border, nor could they afford the terrible price. Once caught by Cao's army, the outcome would be horrific. Although this method has effectively curbed the outflow of population, it is only a temporary solution and does not address the root cause. Control based on power will collapse instantly once it is destroyed by external forces. As long as Guo Jia's army appeared in Yanzhou, they would be welcomed wherever they went, and the people of Yanzhou would all offer food and drink to welcome the royal army. Who doesn’t want to live a good life? "What if Cao Cao tries to stop us?" Zhang Liao asked. "We will gladly accept the Sili land."
Cao Cao simply didn't have the capital to fight them. If you want to gamble on a fight, you have to get them to give you a chance. "Cao Mengde and Liu Xuande have many outstanding people under their command, some of whom are even better than you and me. If we confront them head-on in Luoyang, we may not win." "This battle is not worth fighting, nor is it necessary to fight." Just as Guo Jia and Zhang He were discussing the matter, a soldier rushed in excitedly. The sound of good news could be heard from afar. "General, our army successfully ambushed Liu Bei's army near Tangju, killing thousands of enemies and winning a great victory!" Zhang Liao was overjoyed when he heard this, and looked at Guo Jia in shock, who had a calm expression on his face. "Military Advisor, how can you be sure that Liu Bei and his men will be ambushed?" Guo Jia smiled and said, "To be frank, it's not worth mentioning. Because we were too cowardly before, Liu Bei's army must be a little numb." "Moreover, their plan to lure the enemy failed, and they were panicked and impatient, so the possibility of being ambushed was naturally very high." Zhang Liao couldn't help but sigh when he heard this. Sure enough, compared with this group of advisers, I am still far behind. Guo Jia's strategies are never confined to the status quo, but rather focus on manipulating people's hearts. "Having been ambushed in a hurry, Liu Bei must be like a frightened bird, not daring to move again. Now is the time for us to take advantage of the opportunity and move eastward," said Guo Jia. "But we still don't know whether Cao Mengde has withdrawn the troops from Yanzhou. Isn't it too early to march westward like this?" Zhang Liao asked. Guo Jia shook his head: "By the time we get the news, it will be too late." "What I can think of, Xi Zhicai and the others can also think of. It's nothing more than creating a time difference. After all, we have more capital and can have many choices, but it's different for them." "We have always been led by the nose before. This time, it is our turn to take action first." In Guo Jia's opinion, given Cao Cao's character, the probability of him transferring troops from Yanzhou was very high, probably more than 50%. This kind of probability is worth a gamble. Even if they lost the bet, it would not be a big deal. It would just give Cao Cao and Liu Bei a chance to join forces and get used to each other in advance. If the bet is won, the battle of Guanzhong can be easily won. After hearing Guo Jia's explanation, Zhang Liao no longer had any hesitation and immediately ordered the army to march out. In order to confuse Cao's army in the city, Zhang Liao set up a lot of scarecrows in the camp, left a few soldiers behind to cover the enemy, and then the army left at night. At this time, Cao Ren was trapped in a jar, completely clueless about the surrounding situation, so he did not notice Zhang Liao's departure at all. He was just anxiously observing whether there were any signs of troops being dispatched from Zhang Liao's camp. Moreover, the high quality of Tianze's soldiers was also reflected at this moment. The night march was stress-free and fast. The large amount of dried meat they carried with them played a great role at this moment.
In order to avoid being discovered, Zhang Liao led his army to deliberately take a detour, while secretly spreading out small groups of elite scouts to investigate the situation in the northeast direction of Luoyang. Cao Cao, who was eager for battle, could not conceal the traces of his army's mobilization. After all, the quality of the soldiers under his command was far inferior to that of Zhang Liao's army, so it was normal for them to reveal their flaws. After learning the movements of the Yanzhou troops, Zhang Liao was completely relieved and accelerated his march westward without hesitation. At this time, Guo Jia's foresight was reflected. Both sides are intent on scheming against the other, so they are covering their tracks. Cao Cao's army was worried about being discovered by Zhang He, so they marched in secret. Their speed was inevitably reduced a lot, and they did not dare to conduct large-scale exploration. Liu Bei's army had suffered a loss before, and they were worried that if they advanced hastily, Zhang Liao would launch an attack before they joined Cao's army, so they did not dare to move forward rashly. By the time they discovered that Zhang Liao's military camp was an empty shell and his main force had disappeared, it was already too late. At this time, Zhang Liao's army had already rushed all the way to the vicinity of Suanzao. (End of this chapter)