Vol 2 Chapter 2870: Fan Li tried to make amends, and Cao Cao was forced to abandon
Chapter 2870 Fan Li’s attempt to remedy the situation, Cao Cao was forced to abandon Dingtao
Bai Qi's order to Wei Rui was to lurk ten miles away from the battlefield, but it was obviously not easy to do this. After all, there were four thousand cavalry wandering outside the battlefield. With Cao Cao's caution, how could he not be on guard?
So, in order to confuse and paralyze Cao Cao, Wei Rui and Fu Youde chose to divide their troops into two groups.
Wei Rui personally led thousands of cavalry, pretending to be four thousand cavalry and heading north, pretending to take a detour to join Bai Qi's main force, while Fu Youde led the remaining troops to hide.
Wei Rui, as the commander-in-chief, handed over such a major task to his deputy general Fu Youde. This was naturally not because he was afraid of taking responsibility, but because Fu Youde was stronger and more suitable for the main attack task.
After Fu Youde took over the military power, he found that it was almost an impossible task to hide from Cao Jun's spies and sneak ten miles away from the battlefield quietly.
Even with Wei Rui attracting attention for him, Cao Cao still did not relax and did not reduce the number of spies in the West at all.
Although Fu Youde could shoot these spies, he couldn't do it without letting one of them escape. As long as one of them escaped, it would mean alerting the enemy.
With desperation, Fu Youde could only choose another dangerous place to ambush, and finally chose a dense forest sixteen miles away from the battlefield to hide his troops.
For the cavalry, a distance of six miles is nothing, but for Bai Qi's plan, an extra six miles means an increase in risk.
So, while Fu Youde was waiting for the signal, he was also thinking of ways to deal with Cao Jun's spies faster and more covertly, so that Cao Jun would receive the news of the Qin army in the west as late as possible.
“General, we have discovered the locations of Cao Jun’s spies in thirteen places, and the number of them is about thirty-eight.” Deng Guanhui reported.
Fu Youde immediately showed a serious look on his face when he heard this. After all, there were already thirteen places that had been discovered on the surface. What about the secret agents?
Without dealing with these spies, Fu Youde would not be able to hide from Cao Jun and launch an attack, so he decided to personally lead his team to kill Cao Jun's spies after receiving Bai Qi's signal to prevent the news from leaking.
Fu Youde was also afraid that he would miss Bai Qi's attack due to his own mistakes, so he made all preparations as much as possible. As for whether he could succeed or not, it all depended on luck.
What followed was a long and anxious wait, but Bai Qi did not keep Fu Youde waiting for long. Fortunately, the smoke released by the main force of the Qin army was still clearly visible from Fu Youde's side even though it was sixteen miles away.
After receiving the signal, Fu Youde did not immediately order the dispatch of troops. Instead, he personally led an elite team of fifty people to snipe and kill Cao Jun's spies on the sixteen-mile journey.
As we all know, scouts are the strongest unit, and they are also the unit with the highest death rate.
The overall quality of Cao Jun's scouts, also known as spies, is not bad. Generally speaking, it is impossible to encounter a situation where they can't even run away. However, it is a pity that this time they encountered Fu Youde, the God of War, personally leading the team.
Fu Youde was very lucky. With his cautious response, the team destroyed seven clear-face strongholds and three undiscovered dark sky positions. They were cleared ten miles away from the battlefield without being discovered by Cao Jun.
“Send a signal to move the army.”
After giving the order, Fu Youde immediately led his team to continue sneaking, but this time his luck was not so good. Although he knocked down Cao Jun's spy post eight miles outside the battlefield, he failed to detect Cao Jun's spy, and asked the other party to The signal was sent.
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Looking at the loud arrows ringing in the sky, Fu Youde's expression suddenly changed, and he could no longer care about anything else. He ordered the entire army to stop taking any concealment and march at full speed. Three thousand cavalry headed straight for the main force of Cao's army.
On the march, Fu Youde kept praying that his first leading battle would go smoothly and that Cao Jun must not be given a chance to react.
This is the first time that Fu Youde has led an army in battle. There are too many things that are difficult to buy and difficult to think about, and he is also worried about gains and losses. But in fact, the success or failure of Bai Qi's strategy has little to do with him.
Bai Qi's order to Fu Youde was ten miles, but Fu Youde sneaked to eight miles before being exposed. If Cao Jun could react to this, it would definitely not be Fu Youde's responsibility, but something wrong in other aspects.
To be honest, Bai Qi’s plan this time is actually quite crude, and the main focus is actually on ‘gamble’.
Bai Qi knew that Cao Cao didn't know his back-up plan, so he was bluffing when he bet on Cao Cao.
Cao Cao was forced into a desperate situation, but he couldn't afford to lose, so even though he knew there might be a scam, he still decided to take the gamble.
Facts have proved that Cao Cao lost the bet again this time, but he still had a chance to make amends. However, he was in the middle of the situation and naturally couldn't see clearly, so the person who made amends could only be Fan Li.
On the battlefield, the attention of the people on Cao's army was basically attracted by the battle between Kong Xuan and Yin Shou. Even if Bai Qi changed from defensive to offensive formation, it did not attract many people's attention.
Cao's army is full of cavalry, and its mobility is much better than that of Qin's army, which is full of infantry. It can advance or retreat or defend, and there is no fear of the Qin army taking the initiative to attack.
Even Cao Jun was eager for the Qin Army to take the initiative to attack, so that they could find the Qin Army's flaws in mobile warfare and defeat it.
But after Bai Qi focused on defense, he did not take the initiative to launch an attack, which disappointed many Cao Jun generals.
At the same time, the situation on the battlefield also changed again.
As the battle continued, Kong Xuan, who was 140, became stronger and stronger. Even though the super **** general Yin Shou was assisted by the two gods of war, Tantai Yu and Xia Houyuan, and the cooperation between the three was perfect, he was still It is inevitable to gradually fall into disadvantage.
If the fight continues in this manner, Yin Shou will definitely be defeated in twenty more rounds at most, and Kong Xuan will be unstoppable by then.
At this time, Cao Cao's face was as gloomy as water. He never imagined that Bai Qi's back-up man was neither Li Cunxiao nor Jiang Song, but Kong Xuan, who had never been on the battlefield, and he would also die because of his carelessness. Pay a heavy price.
Excluding the injured Cao Ning and Cao Qiudao, the three generals Yin Shou, Tantai Yu, and Xia Houyuan were the strongest lineup Cao Wei could field, but even so they could not defeat Kong Xuan.
If the fighting continues, the three generals Yin Shou, Tantai Yu, and Xia Houyuan will definitely be damaged. Cao Cao cannot accept the death of any of the three.
If the fight does not continue, Cao Cao will not dare to fight Bai Qi decisively with Kong Xuan around, so he will have no choice but to retreat.
Even if he retreated, Cao Cao would not dare to go back to defend Dingtao, because he would be trapped and killed by Bai Qi in the city.
Therefore, for Cao Cao, retreating means giving up Dingtao, and giving up Dingtao means giving up all the territory east of Dingtao, as well as Chen Liu's 100,000 troops. This price is also unacceptable to Cao Cao.
"well."
Fan Li naturally saw Cao Cao's dilemma, and couldn't help but sigh and said: "My lord, it's time for the strong man to cut off his arms. If we don't make a decision, our fifteen thousand cavalry will probably suffer heavy casualties."
Hearing this, Cao Cao was startled at first, and then said in disbelief: "Military advisor, our army has all the cavalry, they can advance, attack, retreat or defend. Can Bai Qi force our army to fight decisively?"
Fan Li shook his head and said: "My lord, the premise that we went out of the city to fight was because we thought Bai Qi was bluffing, but it turns out that Bai Qi was not bluffing. Instead, he dug a big hole for us to jump into.
Hong Xuan's appearance on the battlefield is the biggest variable in this battle, but with Bai Qi's style, he must have another back-up plan, and this back-up plan is the key to defeating our army. "
Hearing this, Cao Cao felt chills all over his body, and a familiar feeling of fear came over him again, making him shiver.
Jia Xu, Bai Qi, are you really my nemesis of Cao Cao? Cao Cao roared crazily in his heart.
Cao Cao is not a stupid person. After being reminded by Fan Li, he also reacted and briefly reviewed the overall situation. He immediately realized that Wei Rui and Fu Youde's army, which he had ignored, would most likely be the key to Bai Qi's victory.
“I never expected that I, Cao Cao, who has been fighting all his life, would fall for Wei Rui, an unknown young general.” Cao Cao said through gritted teeth.
"If Li's prediction is correct, Wei Rui's troops will arrive on the battlefield soon. By then, our army will be caught off guard and will be caught in a situation where the Qin army will attack from both sides."
Hearing what Fan Li said, Cao Cao immediately said: "Since I have seen through Bai Qi's trick, how can I give him a chance to attack from both sides? He can use his plan to kill Bai Qi's strange army first."
But Fan Li shook his head and said, "My lord, don't you understand? The key point of this battle is neither Bai Qi nor Wei Rui, but Kong Xuan."
Hearing Fan Li's words, Cao Cao felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
Yes, Cao Jun is indeed capable of destroying Wei Rui's partial army, but doing so does not make much sense, because if it is delayed for too long, it will still be entangled by Bai Qi's main force.
In addition, if Yin Shou's side is defeated, Kong Xuan, who has no one to resist, will most likely be able to ride through Cao Cao's army on his own, capture Cao Cao alive and return.
If Cao Cao is captured, no matter how good the battle is, it will be meaningless.
With this thought, Cao Cao suddenly realized that he was in a desperate situation. Apart from withdrawing his troops before being attacked by the Qin army, there seemed to be no other way to go.
But if they really retreat, it means giving up all the territory east of Dingtao, as well as the 100,000 troops trapped in the quagmire of Chenliu.
Seeing that Cao Cao was still hesitant, Fan Li was about to say something when he noticed smoke burning in the direction of the Qin army's camp. He quickly pointed and said: "My lord, look, this should be Bai Qi's signal to Wei Rui. If my lord returns, If we don't make a decision early, it will be too late by the time the Qin army comes over. "
Hearing this, Cao Cao smiled bitterly and said:
Cao Cao turned his head and looked at the smoke in the distance. After a moment of silence, he said with a wry smile: "If we withdraw our troops this time, what difference will it make to the country's subjugation? It's better to fight with Bai Qi."
“If you can’t fight, you are courting death.”
Fan Li became anxious after hearing this, and quickly advised: "My lord, even if we lose the four western counties of Yanzhou, we still have six eastern counties.
Now that the Demon Sect has entered the situation, hundreds of thousands of rebels are ready to go to the battlefield at any time.
With the resources provided by the Demon Sect, our army can expand again and quickly regain its strength.
Our army is far from exhausted and still has the ability to compete with the Qin army. But if we fight Bai Qi now, once all these 15,000 cavalry are defeated, our army will really have no chance. . "
Fan Li doesn't usually talk much, but he always gets to the point, and this time is no exception.
After hearing this, Cao Cao pondered for a moment, then finally calmed down and ordered in a deep voice: "Instruct Cao Qiudao to lead a thousand cavalry and leave behind to cover the retreat of the three generals Yin and Shou, and the rest of the army will retreat."
Hearing Cao Cao's words, Fan Li breathed a sigh of relief. Originally, Cao Wei didn't have many cards to play, and there were even fewer after this battle, so he absolutely couldn't make any more mistakes.
At the same time, Bai Qi, who had just sent the signal, saw that Cao's army was also changing its formation. At first, he thought that Cao's army was responding to his own change, but he soon realized something was wrong, because if there was a war, Cao's army's formation should be cohesive. rather than dispersed.
“Is Cao Cao trying to run away? What went wrong?”
Bai Qi was also a little puzzled by this. He didn't reveal any obvious flaws. How could Fan Li see through his plan?
Bai Qi quickly realized the reason. It was not that he made a mistake, but that when Kong Xuan's trump card was exposed, it was not difficult to guess that Fan Li had other back-ups based on Fan Li's strategy.
In addition, without Tian Feng around to help him improve it, Bai Qi's strategy this time was indeed rough, and it was really difficult to deceive Fan Li.
Now is obviously not the time to dwell on these matters. Bai Qi made a decisive decision and decisively ordered the entire army to attack across the board. The main force of 40,000 Qin troops immediately rushed towards Cao Jun, and the decisive battle began without warning.
On the other side, Fu Youde led his army to sneak to eight miles west of the battlefield, and began to march at full speed after his traces were exposed. However, before he had gone two miles, he heard the clarion call for the Qin army to launch a general offensive.
"What's going on? We haven't arrived yet, so why did the general launch a general attack in advance?" Liu Tichun asked with a puzzled look on his face.
"I'm afraid there's an accident. Please pass on the order and arrive at the battlefield as quickly as possible." Fu Youde shouted and ordered.
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(End of this chapter)