Chapter 403: Change the target and focus on food and grass!

Chapter 403: Change the target and focus on food and grass!

Xiao He had a reason for this idea. He had gone through a long journey to the rear of the imperial army, and he would never return empty-handed. Especially at present, the defense of the two counties of Bashu was quite weak, almost like an empty city. This situation undoubtedly gave Xiao He a lot of room to show his skills.

Xiao He said to General Duosi beside him with a serious expression: "General Duosi, the situation is urgent now and we cannot afford to make any mistakes. We must act decisively and immediately send people to capture more locals so that we can understand the specific situation here. As for launching a surprise attack on Hanzhong, we need to hold off for now."

Upon hearing this, Duo Si nodded without hesitation and said, "Yes, sir. Don't worry, Lord Xiao He. I will arrange people to conduct an investigation right away!" Before he finished speaking, he quickly stood up and rushed to deal with the matter.

It was for this reason that Xiao He completely ignored Gao Yao's extremely strong objection and resolutely insisted on personally leading the army to carry out the plan of a surprise attack on Hanzhong. You know, the situation on the battlefield is ever-changing and fleeting, and no one can accurately predict how long it will take to march. Moreover, although the number of 10,000 troops is not particularly large, how to use them reasonably and where to deploy these troops all depend on the commander's own wisdom and decision-making ability.

As long as the strategies and tactics are formulated appropriately, even such a small force of 10,000 people can also unleash unimaginable power. It is no exaggeration to say that if this small-scale team is used properly, it is entirely possible to play a role equivalent to that of 100,000 soldiers. At present, Hanzhong is already within reach, but if we can decisively abandon the direct attack on Hanzhong and instead change the direction of the attack, exerting exponentially more pressure on the court's army,

This is the most critical goal of this operation. If the person in charge of this matter is not Xiao He, but Duo Si, even if he finally arrives at the destination after going through all the hardships and dangers, he will most likely choose to launch a strong attack immediately after arriving. In this way, not only is it likely that the expected combat effect will not be achieved, but there is a great probability that it will lead to an undesirable outcome of getting half the result with twice the effort. Therefore, how to fight this battle has undoubtedly become a more urgent and important issue.

The original intention of attacking Hanzhong was to resolve the crisis facing the southern border, but unexpectedly, the situation changed dramatically. To successfully resolve this dilemma, the best strategy is not to attack Hanzhong directly. In fact, as long as the news of the attack on Xianyang and the cut-off of the imperial army's food and grass was spread, it would take less than ten days for the imperial army to fall apart and become desperate. By then, whether the attack on the southern border can continue is no longer the core of the problem. Even if Qin Shihuang is reborn, it is probably difficult to deal with such a difficult situation.

This operation must not be carried out near Hanzhong. After all, there are a large number of defenders in Hanzhong waiting for battle. If an offensive is launched rashly against the pass, it is very likely that the Hanzhong troops will come out in full force and launch a surprise attack. It is true that seizing the pass is undoubtedly a key node to curb the passage of the imperial army from north to south, but in view of the development of the coalition forces attacking Xianyang, whether the pass is lost at this time is relatively insignificant. More importantly, even if the pass is occupied and the main road is impassable, it does not mean that the transportation of grain and grass will be cut off. As the saying goes, "all roads lead to Rome", by cleverly taking a detour, grain and grass can still be delivered to the destination smoothly.

Xiao He's idea now is to confirm the reliability of the news first, and then lead his troops directly into the two counties of Bashu, and at the same time cut off the food and grass from the two directions of Zhentuo and Nanhai County. One of them is aimed at the pass, and the other is aimed at food and grass, which are essentially different.

On the other side, after going through a lot of hardships, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan had already quietly returned to Xia County and was resting here. The originally hideous wound on his broad and strong shoulders had healed for the most part, but the traces of the previous injuries could still be seen. Despite this, although his physical condition had improved, if he were to engage in a fierce battle again, he would probably still be a little overwhelmed. After all, it was not so easy to restore a severed arm. In a short period of time, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan's martial arts value had been severely damaged. At least for now, he absolutely could not easily fight with others.

What really made the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan feel torn and overwhelmed was the complicated situation of the current war. At this moment, in the lobby of the government office of Xia County, several battle-hardened generals were sitting together, all looking at the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan sitting on the main seat. They all looked at each other, wanting to say something but stopping, as if they had thousands of words in their hearts that they wanted to say, but they didn't know where to start, let alone how to persuade this awe-inspiring commander.

The reason for this situation is actually very simple - we just received news that the enemy general Gao Yao is preparing to transfer his troops from Guilin County to Nanhai County. This intelligence is like a heavy bomb, instantly breaking the original strategic balance and making the current situation more confusing. Faced with the various suggestions made by the generals in front of him, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan felt upset. Among them, nearly half of the generals have begun to propose withdrawing troops to preserve their strength and avoid direct confrontation with the enemy; some of them advocate taking this opportunity to take the initiative and catch the enemy off guard; the remaining generals remained silent, and seemed to be weighing the pros and cons and thinking about a more prudent response strategy.

If it was simply a loss of manpower, they would just reorganize the army and fight again, but now the more important thing is the loss of food and grass. In half a month at most, the imperial army will face the embarrassment of running out of food. This is also the biggest problem of the imperial army now. Although there is subsequent food and grass, the subsequent food and grass can only allow the army to fight for one more month at most.

If they want to conquer Nanjun, there is only one month left, and almost every general present is pessimistic about this. This war has lasted for three months, but unexpectedly, the court has suffered more serious losses so far. The court's troops have been lost by nearly 80,000 people, while the southern border army has lost less than 50,000.