Sun Ce was busy for two days to clean up the battlefield, load the prisoners and booty, and was about to return to Xiangyang, when he suddenly received news from the scout. Cao Cao led a large army to arrive, numbering about six to seven thousand, and had now reached the vicinity of Xinye.

Sun Ce was surprised. What does Cao Cao want to do? The lone army is deep, what you want is to be surprised, now that Xiahou Yuan's entire army has been destroyed, a surprise attack is no longer possible, and it is tantamount to a fool's dream to relieve the siege of Xiangyang with his six or seven thousand people, what does it mean to continue to move forward, counting on Kuai Yue in Xiangyang City and him to attack inside and outside? Isn't he afraid that Yuan Shu will copy his back road and cut off his grain route?

Sun Ce asked himself more than the deity, and his understanding of Cao Cao was clearer than that of many people in the world, but at this moment, he did not dare to determine what Cao Cao wanted to do. As the saying goes, people are separated from each other, and they don't know how to do things, and no one has the ability to read minds, so it is impossible to know what the other party is thinking.

However, he can decide how to do it himself. Before he figured out Cao Cao's intentions, he decided to retreat and become invincible. In order to attack Xiahou Yuan, he chose a position forty or fifty miles away from Xiangyang City as his position, and launched an attack when Xiahou Yuan was about to reach his destination and was most tired. Now, in order to ensure that the main force led by He Dad can respond in time, he must retreat his position.

While Sun Ce sent scouts to inquire about Cao Cao's movements, he also sent someone to inform Sun Jian that Cao Cao did not give up and forced him up. Although his strength is similar to Cao Cao, he doesn't feel that he must be Cao Cao's opponent, be prepared, in case he can't beat Cao Cao, he should call his parents and shout, there is nothing to be ashamed of. Even the deity Sun Ce has no experience of defeating Cao Cao, and he really doesn't dare to hold it up as an impostor.

Sun Ce asked Huang Gai to lead the troops to withdraw first, and after Huang Zhong broke off, he commanded the Chinese army. Huang Zhong had just beheaded Xiahou Yuan, and the morale of his troops was booming, even if he encountered a strong enemy, he would have the strength to fight. The Chinese army led by him was the strongest and suffered the least losses, and could complete the attack mission. Huang Gai has rich combat experience, let him be a reserve, he should be able to grasp the opportunity, rush up to ask Cao Cao for his life if he wins, and retreat with the main force if he can't win.

Generally speaking, the reserve is usually in the hands of the main general, and Huang Gai also said so, but Sun Ce felt that he had just led the troops to fight, and the timing was not necessarily more accurate than Huang Gai, and it was better for Huang Gai to undertake this task.

Huang Gai was very grateful for Sun Ce's trust and respect, and assisted Sun Ce even more wholeheartedly, eager to tell Sun Ce everything he knew. He worked step by step, perfectly fulfilling his duties as a pioneer, and letting Sun Ce worry as little as possible.

Sun Ce controlled the speed of the march and was ready to engage at any time. He and Cao Cao were seventy miles apart, and if Cao Cao was in a hurry to catch up with him, he would be able to take advantage of him physically. Even if Cao Cao sent cavalry first, he would not be in a hurry.

After a day's walk, he crossed the river and set up camp on the south bank of the river. Choosing this place to stand up can curb Cao Cao's possible cavalry advantage to the greatest extent, and once Cao Cao comes to attack, he can also attack halfway. In case the situation is tense, Daddy Sun Jian's reinforcements can arrive in an hour at most. Coupled with the naval warships led by Huang Zhong, his advantage is obvious, and he can cross the river at any time to launch a counterattack.

It's not a clever plan, but it's a safe one, and there are no flaws. He had also thought about frowning and thinking about such a thing before, but after following Sun Jian to learn how to use soldiers, he knew that these were all conjectures, and there was nothing to think about in a war, first of all, he couldn't make mistakes and couldn't give the other party a chance. The Art of War says, "First invincible, then invincible." You can't win against me, but you can win against the enemy" is what it means.

After setting up camp, Sun Ce didn't dare to be idle, and took Dian Wei and others out of the camp to inspect and check the terrain. It's not that he doesn't believe in Huang Gai's ability, but as a general, he must be as familiar with the surrounding terrain as possible, and once a battle occurs, he knows where there may be danger and where he can carry out a surprise attack, and if he wants to retreat, he must also know where it is convenient to run.

His previous war horse was killed by Dian Wei's halberd, and it was stewed that night. When Han Dang left, he left him two captured horses, one of which was Xiahou Yuan's mount. Although it is not a thousand horses, it is better than ordinary horses, and the red fur is very smooth, and the harness is also very luxurious, and it is very conspicuous surrounded by a group of foot soldiers.

After walking around the camp, Sun Ce restrained his mount by the water. On the other side of the water, there are also more than a dozen riders, who are looking over here. Although there was a pool of water, Sun Ce could also feel that those people were different, especially those knights and war horses, who knew at a glance that their riding skills were good and they were elite knights.

Who's this? While Sun Ce filtered the generals of the Cao Army he knew in his mind, he instructed Dian Wei and the others to be on guard. It's winter now, and the water isn't too deep, and in some places you can wade through it on horseback. If someone is familiar with the terrain, it is also a big trouble to suddenly charge.

"Zigu, who is the person in the middle, do you know him?" Sun Ce leaned down and asked Dian Weidao. Dian Wei had no words, and Sun Ce didn't want to call him by his name, so he simply called him a word. Wei has the meaning of leather rope, the role of the leather rope is to tie things, and the bundle must be stable, and Zigu also hopes that this fierce goods can protect themselves and not be attacked by people at close range.

Dian Wei didn't mean to be very grateful, but just accepted the word very calmly. This somewhat made Sun Ce a little disappointed.

"These cavalry are the personal guards around General Cao, led by his brother Cao Chun, and the one in the middle ......" Dian Wei's eyes widened and he carefully identified it, but it was getting late, and he couldn't see it clearly. It doesn't seem to be Cao Chun, Cao Chun is very young, he doesn't have so many beards, and he is taller. Looks ......"

Sun Ce's heart suddenly moved. "You don't mean to say that that person might be Cao Cao, right?"

Dian Wei hesitated. "In terms of shape, it does look a little similar, but this horse is not the famous horse he usually rides, I'm not sure."

Sun Ce's heart was moved all of a sudden. Whether it's or not, you have to him all at once. Since Xiahou Yuan can hang up so easily, who dares to guarantee that Cao Cao can't. If Cao Cao can be killed, the strongest opponent will be strangled in the cradle. Cao Cao has always been his biggest trouble, and he is more worried than the Yuan brothers.

It's a pity that the opponent has too many cavalry, and he rides alone, and the rest are all foot soldiers, and if he really wants to fight, he will definitely suffer. Even if he doesn't fight, the other party wants to leave, he can't catch up, only eat the soil.

Sun Ce quickly thought about it, called a personal guard, and whispered a few words in his ear. The guards understood, and under the cover of everyone, they quietly ran away. After feeling out of the other's sight, he spread his legs and ran wildly towards the camp.

Sun Ce motioned for Lin Feng and the others to stay on the shore, kicked the war horse lightly, and went down the riverbank. In winter, the water is shallow, and a large river bank is exposed, with many pebbles on it, and the horses must be careful to avoid slipping. Sun Ce took the reins of the horse, clamped the horse's belly between his legs, and went down to the water's edge. He reined in his mount, straightened up, looked at the blurred figure opposite, and shouted.

"On the other side, is Dongjun Taishou Cao Gong? Jiangdong Sun Ce is here, is Cao Gong willing to meet? ”

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