The longest path in the game was Gaia's strategy.
No one had expected that the most exciting part of the Battle of Chibi, the "Burning the Red Cliff", would end as soon as the campaign began.
All of a sudden, the Feudal Lords on Cao Cao's side were caught off guard.
What would happen after the Red Cliff was set ablaze? Let's remember.
After the defeat at the Red Cliffs, Cao Cao ordered a big fire to burn the supplies and warships of the Wulin Camp. Then he led the rest of his troops to retreat to the Dreamy Cloud Swampland to the west. They got lost along the way.
Cao Cao took the road back to Huarong. At that time, the road was muddy and there was a strong wind blowing. Cao Cao ordered the weak soldiers to use weeds to pave the road so that the cavalry could pass. But the weak soldiers were trampled by the retreating troops, sinking into the mud and being trampled to death.
One had to admit that Cao Cao was truly ruthless.
In the Romance of the Tang Dynasty, Zhuge Liang arranged for Guan Yu to guard Huarong Road in advance, and Guan Yu let Cao Cao escape because of his friendship, etc., were naturally fictitious. Even so, Cao Jun's journey was very difficult.
At the same time, the armies of Zhou Yu and Liu Bei advanced by land and water, pursuing the enemy.
Zhou Yu's army chased after Cao Cao's retreating army while the navy went upstream to attack Jiangling.
Liu Bei and Huang Gai's navy entered Dongting Lake. Huang Gai's navy turned to the Yuanjiang River and seized control of Wuling County, Linyuan. Sun Quan appointed him as the Wuling Prefect.
Liu Bei went up the Xiang River to attack Linxiang, the capital of Changsha. Han Xuan surrendered to Liu Bei without any resistance. At the same time, Sun Quan and Zhang Zhao sent their troops to the east. One attacked Hefei, the other Dantu.
After Cao Cao fled back to Jiangling, he left Cao Ren, Man Chong, Wen Pin and the others to guard various places while he ordered his army to return to the north.
Apart from the troops he had lost at Red Cliffs and Wulin, Cao Cao had decisively abandoned his weakened soldiers during his retreat. He had retreated in a hurry and did not bring any supplies with him. Many of his soldiers had also starved to death. As a result, more than half of Cao Cao's army had died.
Of the 100,000 strong army, less than 40,000 managed to escape back to Jiangling.
Cao Cao's elite troops, led by Xu Chu, Cao Xiu, and Cao Chun, were the most adaptable. Their cavalry had traveled all over China faster than anyone else and suffered few losses. The one who suffered the greatest loss was the navy, which was almost completely wiped out. As a result, they lost control of the Han River and the Yangtze River.
The other legion of Cao's army, Zhao Yan and the other six legions, were not in the main battlefield of the Chibi, so they were not affected by the main battlefield. They successfully returned to Jiangling without suffering any direct losses.
Strictly speaking, Cao Cao's army did not suffer too many losses.
Due to the loss of the navy and the low morale of the army, Cao Cao was not in the mood for war. He could only retreat to the north and take his time, allowing Sun Liu to continue growing. That was how the Three Kingdoms came to be.
As such, Cao Cao's first task was to dissuade Cao Cao from returning. Instead, he wanted to use Jiangling as a base to fight Sun Liu's army head-on.
Otherwise, everything would be for naught.
…
Just as the lords were making a ruckus, the battle announcement sounded on time.
"Campaign announcement: 40 lords participated in the Battle of Red Cliffs, a total of 620,000 soldiers. Cao Cao's camp has 15 feudal lords with a total of 270,000 soldiers. Sun Liu's camp has 25 feudal lords with a total of 350,000 soldiers. "
The China region had 50 participants, but only 40 of them participated in the end.
The further the war progressed, the more it was the domain of the giants. Ordinary lords did not have the confidence to participate in such a contest. If they were unlucky, the contribution points they received would not even be enough to revive the dead.
The entire Yellow Flame Alliance had joined Sun Liu's camp.
Firstly, with Di Chen's intelligence network, it was not difficult to guess that Shanhai City would join Cao Cao's camp. Secondly, the temptation of Zhou Yu, Zhuge Liang, and Zhao Yun was stronger than that of Cao Cao's generals and strategists.
If not for the 'defection' of the Siege Lion and Seeking Dragon, the two sides should be evenly matched.
But now, the two sides were slightly tilted.
Thinking of this, the expressions of Bai Hua and the others became more and more unsightly.
"Campaign announcement: Due to Cao Cao's army being weaker than Sun Liu's camp, according to the rules, Cao Cao's camp will automatically receive a 25% increase in defence."
…
"Campaign announcement: Based on the results of the nobility and contribution points test, Cao Cao's Mutant Army will be represented by He Yue Wuyi, Duke. Sun Liu's Mutant Army will be represented by Di Chen, Second Class Marquis. "
…
Whether it was Cao Cao's camp or Sun Liu's camp, the Mutant Army's military strength exceeded that of the opposing armies. Therefore, in this battle, the Mutant Army would play an even more important role.
The weight of the Mutant Army was especially heavy.
On Cao Cao's side, the armies of Shanhai City, Lingxi City, Luo Feng City, and Wan Shi City totaled 150,000 soldiers, more than half of the Mutant Army.
With Shanhai City's prestige, Ouyang Shuo would have no problem leading the Mutant Army.
But Ouyang Shuo was not so optimistic.
Because in his own camp, Ouyang Shuo saw Yunan City's Qin Fen, Lingnan City's Ruan Ping, and Xiangnan City's South of Rosy Clouds.
The existence of these three people meant that Cao Cao's camp would not be peaceful.
Ouyang Shuo could not guess whether it was a coincidence or intentional that the three of them chose Cao Cao's camp. Thinking of the impending war in the Southern Region, this battle became more and more interesting.
With Di Chen and the others occupying a province, the number of lords in the China region decreased sharply. The four major city-states became the backbone of the lords.
In this battle, the number of lords from the four major city-states alone reached eight. They also had a certain amount of authority in the Mutant Army, and Ouyang Shuo could not command them.
In any case, Ouyang Shuo's first task was to meet Cao Cao.
At ten in the morning, Ouyang Shuo entered Jiangling City with 3,000 Divine Martial Guards and Xiahou Ying.
It was not that Ouyang Shuo was putting on a show, but there were too many people in Cao Cao's camp with ulterior motives. Ouyang Shuo had to be cautious to prevent people from taking risks out of desperation.
If Ouyang Shuo was assassinated, it would be a big problem.
In the military camp, E Lai led the city guards, while Bai Hua, Feng Qiuhuang, and Lao Ai's 50,000 soldiers were led by Luo Feng City's General Zhou Bo.
The two armies began to work together in the military camp, and at the same time, they were also monitoring Ruan Ping and the others.
Cao Cao's Mutant Army had already planted the seeds of distrust before the battle began, and they were on guard against each other.
…
In the 13th year of Jian 'an, when the Red Cliff was burned, Sun Zhongmou was 26 years old, Zhuge Kongming was 27, Zhou Yu and Gongjin were 33, Liu Xuande was 47, and Cao Mengde was 53.
Cao Cao was the oldest, over 50 years old. He was already at the age of knowing his destiny.
It was not hard to understand Cao Cao's urgency. After defeating Liu Bei, he wanted to attack Sun Quan without sufficient preparation, in an attempt to unify the world.
"Time waits for no man!"
It was no wonder that Cao Cao would recite such a sorrowful song at the Red Cliff.
Singing to wine, how long will life be?
For example, the morning dew, the passing days are many.
Generous, unforgettable.
How to resolve one's worries? Only Du Kang.
…
Clearly like the moon, when will it be gone?
Worry comes from within, and cannot be cut off.
More and more strangers, in vain.
…
The mountains are never too high, and the sea is never too deep.
The Duke of Zhou spits out, and the world returns to his heart.
…
Cao Cao's mood at that time was very complicated. He had the lofty aspirations of sweeping the north and leading the army to the south, but he also had the feeling that he was over 50 years old and had yet to succeed in his hegemony.
The Cao Cao that Ouyang Shuo met at the City Lord's Mansion was different.
The Red Cliff was defeated, and his hegemony was in vain. He retreated pathetically, and his army's morale was low. After a series of setbacks, no matter how optimistic Cao Cao was, he could not hide his dejection.
Although Cao Cao's voice was still forthright, he could not hide his disheartened heart.
In the reception room, Cao Cao sat upright. Below him sat an old man dressed like a scholar. None of the generals under his command, not even his "bodyguard" Xu Chu, were present.
After the great defeat, the generals were probably busy reorganizing the army.
Seeing the old man, Ouyang Shuo's eyes narrowed. The images of historical figures in the game were not fabricated by Gaia out of thin air. Those that had portraits passed down were based on them. Those that did not have portraits were based on movies and television works.
Therefore, as long as a feudal lord put in a bit of effort, he would probably be able to recognize historical figures.
Ouyang Shuo had spent a lot of effort on historical materials. Combined with the information from the Battle of Red Cliff, he immediately determined that the old man in front of him was Cao Cao's important strategist — Jia Xu.
Jia Xu was a famous strategist and tactician of the Wei Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period. He was known as the 'Poison Warrior'. He had hundreds of ingenious and meticulous plans. Jia Xu was extremely intelligent and good at self-defense. He was known as the representative of a strategist.
When he died, Jia Xu was 77 years old. He was one of the few people who died a good death during the Three Kingdoms period.
In the real Three Kingdoms period, Jia Xu could definitely be ranked among the top three strategists. As for Zhuge Liang, Zhou Yu, Sima Yi, and the others, strictly speaking, they could not be considered pure strategists.
In the Wei Kingdom's camp, only Xun Yu, Guo Jia, and Xun You could be mentioned in the same breath as Jia Xu.
Before the Battle of Red Cliff, Jia Xu had suggested to appease the people instead of mobilizing troops to attack Jiangdong. Unfortunately, Cao Cao had endured for two months, but in the end, he could not hold it in anymore. He sent troops to Jiangdong and suffered a crushing defeat.
Therefore, Cao Cao naturally valued Jia Xu even more.
It had to be said that Cao Cao's generosity in using people was worth learning from.
Ouyang Shuo bowed and saluted. "How can an extraordinary person be without clothes? Greetings, Prime Minister!"
Xiahou Ying, who was following behind Ouyang Shuo, looked at Cao Cao with a complicated expression, but he did not salute.
"Who are you? How dare you be so rude to the Prime Minister?" When Jia Xu saw this, he rebuked Cao Cao.
When Xiahou Ying heard this, he smiled and looked at Cao Cao. "Do you recognize me?"
In fact, when Xiahou Ying entered, Cao Cao's eyes narrowed. He was somewhat puzzled. When Xiahou Ying opened his mouth, he basically confirmed his guess.
"May I ask if you are the ancestor of Duke Teng?"
Xiahou Ying's portrait was hung in the ancestral hall of the Xiahou Clan.
"Yes." Xiahou Ying nodded.
"Ah!" Jia Xu was shocked.
However, Cao Cao did not care. He left his seat and hurriedly walked over.
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