Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

The situation in Qingzhou had developed to this point. Although it seemed that only half of Beihai Commandery had actually been captured, Cao Ren was well aware that the defensive strength of Qingzhou had already collapsed for the most part.

Now, even if Cao Ren tried his best to mobilize all available forces, the available forces in Duchang City were less than 30,000, and the commanderies and counties in Qingzhou were extremely empty of troops, with basically no defensive capabilities.

In addition, with the fall of Linzi, even the maintenance of food and grass would become a problem.

For Cao Ren, the feeling at this moment was nothing less than wanting to kill the enemy but being unable to reverse the situation.

"Bang, bang!"

Cao Ren hammered the table twice in frustration, then propped himself up on the table with both hands, forcing himself to calm down.

As Cao Ren gradually sorted out the current situation, he realized that there were only two choices left in front of him at this moment.

Either hoard all the winter supplies needed to defend Duchang City, conscript as many young men as possible, and then seal the city gates and desperately defend it to the end.

The burning of Dongchao Ford made Cao Ren understand that it would be difficult to get reinforcements from Jizhou before the end of winter. He had to desperately drag it out through the winter before the situation in Qingzhou could usher in a turning point.

Or, while Li Ji was still in Chunyu City, decisively abandon Duchang City and the three eastern commanderies of Qingzhou, and instead retreat to the three commanderies of Le'an Commandery, Jinan State, and Pingyuan Commandery closer to Jizhou, and defend step by step.

Although this choice seemed a bit frustrating, it was after Cao Ren's careful consideration that he felt that this was one of the few remaining advantages of Qingzhou, using the vast and deep territory of Qingzhou to contain Li Ji as much as possible.

Gradually, Cao Ren's thoughts unconsciously leaned towards the latter choice.

For no other reason than that Cao Ren ultimately did not directly face Li Ji's imposing Northern Expedition army, and still had the confidence to firmly defend Duchang City until the beginning of the next spring.

Compared to gambling everything in Duchang City, retreating to the three commanderies near Jizhou, although this move seemed ugly and frustrating, it seemed more稳妥一点.

Cao Ren, who gradually had the demeanor of a great general sitting in charge of one side, did not care about the loss of his own reputation, and valued the gains and losses of the Great Wei more.

Defending the entire territory of Qingzhou was already impossible, and abandoning the chariot to protect the commander was also...

Just as Cao Ren was about to make a decision, Mao Jie's figure appeared outside the door requesting an audience.

When Cao Ren granted Mao Jie's request and saw Mao Jie in a hurry, Mao Jie's first words made Cao Ren feel a little surprised.

"General, I have a plan that may restore Qingzhou!"

Cao Ren's expression shook, and he asked quickly. "Xiaoxian, what ingenious plan do you have?"

Mao Jie disregarded etiquette and said directly.

"Just now, I went to find the defeated soldiers who had fled back from Chunyu City one by one to inquire, and learned that the key to Chunyu City's sudden fall was that the Han army was wearing unknown warm clothing, so that the Han army could move freely even in the severe cold."

Cao Ren's expression changed slightly. This detail was something that he, who had only browsed the military reports, had not had time to understand in his haste.

And Cao Ren also realized the seriousness of the situation immediately, and asked anxiously. "Is every soldier in the Han army wearing that unknown warm clothing?"

"According to the description of the defeated soldiers, all the Han soldiers they saw were wearing the same warm clothing." Mao Jie said in a deep voice.

Suddenly, even though he was in the winter, Cao Ren, who was anxious and flustered, was covered in sweat.

If we talk about what kind of clothing wealthy officials and nobles wear to keep warm in winter, it is naturally mainly fur, which is enough to ensure that they are not afraid of the severe cold.

However, furs are expensive and cannot be popularized among soldiers.

For ordinary soldiers, the best way to keep warm in winter is to hide in a sheltered place and light a stove to keep warm and avoid frostbite.

And if the Han army really didn't fear the severe cold, then Cao Ren knew that defending Duchang City was almost impossible.

Without anything else, the Han army only needed to attack strongly every day, forcing the Cao army to defend, and using the severe cold as a knife, they could scrape the Cao army to the point of collapse.

And what Mao Jie said next was also to persuade Cao Ren, saying.

"Therefore, General, you must not defend Duchang City to the death, you should quickly retreat to the Le'an Commandery area to avoid the Han army's sharp edge!"

If it had been a month ago, Cao Ren would have been furious upon hearing this, and would have retorted why he needed to avoid the Han army's sharp edge. He might have even questioned the person who said it.

But Cao Ren at this time didn't even have the confidence to retreat to the three commanderies of Le'an, Jinan, and Pingyuan, and muttered.

"The Han army has this warm wonder, even if we retreat from Duchang, I'm afraid it will be of no avail."

Upon hearing this, Mao Jie waved his sleeves and said loudly. "General, don't worry, this is both the Han army's strength and its weakness. The strategy to turn defeat into victory lies within it."

Cao Ren suddenly reacted and asked quickly. "I wonder what ingenious plan Xiaoxian has to defeat the Han army."

"Retreat to Le'an and cut off their supply lines."

Mao Jie said eight words, and then explained in detail. "Now the Han army's sharp edge is strong, and they also have that unknown warm wonder, making it difficult to confront them head-on."

"However, that Li Zikun must also be aware that the Han army's advantage is precisely to take advantage of the winter weather, and they must occupy Qingzhou on the south bank of the Yellow River before the beginning of spring, otherwise the outcome will still be uncertain when the King leads the army to aid after the beginning of spring."

"Therefore, although it seems that my Qingzhou is on the verge of defeat, in reality, that Li Zikun is just racing against time. If the General retreats step by step, Li Zikun will have to continue to press on step by step."

As soon as Cao Ren heard this, he suddenly felt enlightened and had a deeper understanding of the seemingly one-sided situation in Qingzhou.

It seemed that Qingzhou could not be defended, but the Han army could not afford to delay either.

"So, all this general needs to do is find a way to retreat to the three commanderies of Le'an, Jinan, and Pingyuan and defend them to the death, dragging it out until the beginning of next year?" Cao Ren asked subconsciously.

"A blind defense will inevitably lead to losses, and our army's strength is insufficient, I'm afraid we can't outlast the Han army..."

"Even if the Han army is so extravagant that even the young men transporting grain have that warm clothing, once it encounters snowfall, there is still the possibility that the supply line will be difficult to maintain with snow on the road."

"Moreover, the General is familiar with the terrain of Qingzhou. Once the Han army's supply line is constantly lengthened, the more flaws there will be for the General, and it is not difficult to judge the route of the Han army's grain transport."

Hearing this, Cao Ren had already completely understood Mao Jie's meaning, and suddenly stood up and said with a burning gaze.

"Perhaps the Han army can be rampant for a long time, but this general only needs to successfully cut off their supply line once, enough to bury this Northern Expedition army entirely within Qingzhou."

"That's the truth." Mao Jie responded.

"Good plan! Wonderful plan!"

Cao Ren suddenly felt as if he had broken through the clouds and seen the clear sky, and quickly made up his mind, saying.

"If you want to take it, you must first give it!"

"This Beihai Commandery will be given to Li Ji, and this general will lead the army to retreat to Le'an Commandery..." (End of this chapter)