In April, Shanyang County, Yanzhou, Fangdongcheng.

Cao Chun and Xu Chu led 5,000 cavalry to Fangdong City, and Zhang Fei, Jian Yong and Yang Ping went out of the city to meet them.

Cao Chun was about thirty years old, not tall, fair-skinned, and looked polite, without the bravery and heroism of a general. Cao Chun is Cao Ren's younger brother, he has been very smart since he was a child, he was filial piety at the age of fourteen, and he was a waiter at the Yellow Gate at the age of seventeen. Although his young Dezhi is directly related to the sponsorship of the former Taiwei Cao Song, it is not difficult to see Cao Chun's outstanding talent among the children of the Cao family. In order to reverse the unfavorable situation on the battlefield in Yanzhou, Cao Cao not only handed over all the 3,000 tiger and leopard cavalry to Cao Chun, but also gathered the personal guard cavalry of many generals in the army, including his own personal guard cavalry, and gathered 2,000 cavalry for him, hoping that he could capture Changyi and turn the tide.

At this moment, Cao Chun was very surprised when he saw Yang Ping, "Why is Lord Yang here?" Ren Cheng lost? ”

Yang Ping was ashamed, lowered his head and said: "There are many rebels in Northern Xinjiang, and it is difficult for me to resist, so I have to ......."

"Have no choice but to abandon the city and flee?" Cao Chun's face was gloomy, and he said angrily, "You lost Rencheng, what can I do to contain the troops in the northern frontier?" The Northern Xinjiang Army is guarding around Changyi, how can I sneak attack? ”

"Don't worry, sir." Jian Yong hurriedly stepped forward to play a round, "The Northern Frontier Army that conquered Rencheng is still in Rencheng and is not stationed in Changyi, so we still have a chance to sneak attack."

"What's going on?" When Cao Chun heard this, he was surprised and delighted, "Do we really still have a chance?" ”

"Of course." Zhang Fei looked at Cao Chun, and let out a cold snort in his nose, obviously very dissatisfied with Cao Chun's behavior just now. Cao Chun is just Cao Cao's cousin, and his official position is smaller than that of Yang Ping, the minister of the city and the state, what qualifications does he have to reprimand Yang Ping in front of everyone? Zhang Fei's dissatisfaction was on his face, Cao Chun turned a blind eye and looked arrogant, and the commander of the battle did not put on any respectful and humble posture.

"The two adults will enter the city, and we will talk as we walk." Jian Yong was worried that Zhang Fei would say something ugly, so he hurriedly stretched out his hand to ask.

Liu Bei had great confidence in his attack strategy, but after the Northern Xinjiang Army attacked Langya and Guan Yu was defeated and retreated to the East China Sea, it was very likely that the armies of Gao Shun and Zang Ba would move north into Yanzhou and appear in the area of Changyi City to open up a flank battlefield to cover their main army's attack on Chenliu. At this time, if you want to successfully take Changyi, you must drag Gao Shun's army on the front line of Lu State and Ren Chengguo to buy time for your attacking army. But if you want to hold off Gao Shun's army, you need more troops, but Xuzhou has no more troops. In the Battle of Jucheng, Guan Yu lost more than half of his life in Jucheng, and only 10,000 horses remained. After Zhang Fei and Jian Yong's army left Xuzhou and went north to attack Changyi, Guan Yu was able to block the Northern Xinjiang Army in the area of Tancheng in the East China Sea without backup, and it was already very good to stabilize the current front. As for the counteroffensive to recapture Langya State, there is no hope at all, let alone relying on his strength to drag the Northern Frontier Army.

After Liu Bei thought about it carefully, he wrote to Guangling Chen Deng. Ask him to lead his army north to help Guan Yu so that he can reinforce the Central Plains battlefield at the right time. Liu Bei said in the letter, if the Central Plains is lost, Xuzhou will not be guaranteed, what is the point of me leaving many soldiers and horses in Xuzhou? Relying on the strength of tens of thousands of troops in one state, relying on our own strength, to defeat Li Hong in Hebei is undoubtedly a fool's dream. So now we have to unite, we have to work together. I have formed an alliance with Jiangdong Sun Ce, and at this critical juncture, if he not only disobeys the imperial court's holy decree and refuses to go north to attack Hebei and rebel, but also takes the opportunity to betray the alliance and attack Xuzhou, then let him go. Such a person who has neither loyalty nor faith will be tolerated by the world in the future, and will certainly not die a good death.

Liu Bei also wrote a letter to Ji Ling, with sincere words, asking him to obey the imperial court's holy decree and quickly go north to rescue and save Sheji from danger.

After Chen Deng received Liu Bei's letter, he immediately went north. Ji Ling had already received the holy decree and reward given to him by Xuchang before this, but because Sun Ce and Zhou Yu did not move, and Yuan Shu, who was seriously ill, did not say anything, he was hesitant and did not know how to choose. Liu Bei's letter reminded him in time. Ji Ling immediately wrote to Shouchun, stating his determination to protect Sheji, and then led the army to the north day and night.

When the two rushed to Pengcheng one after another, they happened to receive a request for help from Yang Ping, the minister of Rencheng.

Chen Deng believed that Gao Shun had arrived at the Yanzhou battlefield, and the Qingzhou army could no longer pose a threat to Xuzhou, and there was no point in supporting Guan Yu again. Starting from Liu Bei's attack strategy, the armies of all departments should gather together and continue to go north to support Renchengguo, and hold off Gao Shun's army in the vicinity of Rencheng, so as to respond to Zhang Fei's attack on Changyi and turn the tide of the war.

Chen Deng's idea was supported by Zhu Zhu. After Jian Yong left, Zhu Zhu stayed in Xuzhou to supervise the military government, and raised and transported grain and grass for the Central Plains battlefield. At this time, Guan Yu also got the news, hurried to Xuzhou from the East China Sea, and asked to lead the army north into the Yanzhou battlefield.

Zhu Zhu did not dare to offend Guan Yu, and after he convened everyone to discuss carefully, it was decided that Guan Yu, Ji Ling, and Cao Bao would lead 15,000 people north to kill the city of Ren and drag the northern Xinjiang army. Chen Deng took the place of Guan Yu and led 5,000 Guangling soldiers to garrison the East China Sea, waiting for an opportunity to counterattack and drive the Qingzhou army back to the foot of Mount Tai.

"Lord Zhu came to the book and said that at present, Ji Ling's 10,000 troops and Guan Yu Cao Bao's 5,000 Danyang soldiers are rapidly heading north, and it is estimated that they will be able to enter Renchengguo in two or three days." Jian Yong said with emotion, "In order to go north to the Central Plains to fight the rebellion this time, the armies from all walks of life overcame all difficulties, worked tirelessly, marched day and night, and the speed was extremely fast. ”

Cao Chun smiled and said lightly: "If you and I don't do our best, Sheji will fall into the hands of rebellion." ”

Jian Yong nodded and continued: "After the Northern Xinjiang Army took Rencheng, its main army headed towards Changyi, but because they found out that the Xuzhou Army was heading north, they immediately turned back. ”

"Where is the Iron Cavalry of the Northern Frontier Army now?" Cao Chun asked.

"On the front line of Chengwu and Liangqiu City." Jian Yong said, "After Lord Guan's army arrived in Rencheng, Gao Shun's army wanted to eat him, and it needed an advantage in troops. I expect him to ask for help from Changyi, and as soon as the iron cavalry around Changyi City arrives at Renchengguo to support Gaoshun, we will start an attack on Changyi. ”

"We should attack Changyi now." Cao Chun's thick eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he waved his hand and said, "The Prime Minister has ordered Lord Cao in Dingtao City to break through immediately, and we don't have time." No matter how fast Master Guan was, the time when he arrived in Rencheng was also after Lord Cao broke through. After Lord Cao breaks through, if we do not make progress in the direction of Changyi, the Northern Frontier Army may deal a heavy blow to the main force of our army. We don't have time to wait, we have to attack immediately. ”

"It doesn't hurt to wait." Zhang Fei waved his horsewhip, and his tone was unquestionable, "After Lord Cao breaks through, the main force of the Northern Xinjiang Army will all be attracted to Dingtao City. After Lord Guan attacked Rencheng, Gao Shun's army was also dragged down. At this time, the forces of Changyi were empty, and we were very sure of seizing Changyi. ”

"Now there are 25,000 men and horses in Fangdong, and the number of troops is huge, and it is difficult to hide their whereabouts. Once discovered by the Northern Xinjiang Army, this strategy to raid Changyi is bound to fail. Cao Chun hurriedly persuaded, "Lord Zhang, it's better to launch an attack in advance." ”

"My city gate is closed, and the flag on the city is silent, how can the Northern Frontier Army find out?" Zhang Fei shook his head, "If Lord Cao of Dingtao City does not break through, and Lord Guan of Ren Chengguo does not attack, the enemy iron cavalry in the area of Changyi City will not leave." By launching an attack rashly, we will not only suffer staggering losses, but I am afraid that in the end we will not even be able to see the walls of Changyi City. It is not a big problem for us to fail, at most we will withdraw to Yuzhou and hold on, but the tens of thousands of main forces on the Dingtao battlefield will be more than lucky. Zhang Fei approached Cao Chun and asked in a low voice, "Do you want to go different ways with your brother?" ”

Zhang Fei's words blocked Cao Chun, and he didn't say anything for a long time.

"After the Guan people arrived at the Yanzhou battlefield, the defense of Xuzhou was weak, is the safety of Xuzhou guaranteed?" Cao Chun was extremely angry when he saw that Zhang Fei's words were not good. Although the commander of the army this time is Zhang Fei, regardless of his qualifications or family background, Zhang Fei, a barbarian, is very different from himself. If it weren't for the eldest brother's repeated instructions before leaving, he would have humiliated Zhang Fei now. In order to ease the atmosphere, Cao Chun swallowed his anger and changed his mouth to ask some innocuous things.

"With Lord Chen Deng, Xuzhou is impregnable." Zhang Fei said indifferently, "Lord Chen has 5,000 Guangling soldiers, and Master Guan only took 5,000 Danyang soldiers, and there are still 5,000 men and horses still stationed in the East China Sea. It is not easy to block the Qingzhou bandits with the talent of Lord Chen. ”

"When are you going to attack?"

"When the scouts find out that the Northern Frontier Iron Cavalry is moving towards Dingtao, we will start attacking."

After Cao Chun listened carefully to Zhang Fei's attack strategy, he thought about it for a long time, and felt that it was better to attack immediately, and there was really no need to risk being discovered by the Northern Xinjiang Army and continue to wait in Fangdongcheng.

"Opportunities are not waiting for us, we need to create, discover, and find." Cao Chun persuaded him.

Now the biggest obstacle to our attack on Changyi is the iron cavalry of Yan Rou, Jiang Wu and Wei Jun. According to the scouts' investigations, Wei Jun's iron cavalry has been haunting the areas of Dongping, Rencheng and Shanyang County to protect the rear of the Northern Xinjiang Army and the safety of the grain route. Yan Rou and Jiang Wu's armies were stationed on the front line of Chengwu and Liangqiu City, and within a hundred miles southwest of the two cities, they were in the range of their activities. If we take the initiative to attack and lure out the enemy cavalry, we can not only successfully raid Changyi, but also drag Yan Rou and Jiang Wu's iron cavalry to support the Dingtao battlefield. Why not kill two birds with one stone? As for Wei Jun's army, since the appearance of Guan Daren in the direction of Renchengguo and threatening the grain route of the northern Xinjiang army, he must divide his troops to support Gao Shun. The remaining part of the iron cavalry had to protect the grain road, and the possibility of staying in Changyi was very small.

Cao Chun's words did not move Zhang Fei. Zhang Fei had his own considerations, in his opinion, if the Northern Xinjiang Iron Cavalry had stayed on the south bank of the Jishui River and had not fallen into the Dingtao battlefield, it would be difficult for him to hold even if he took Changyi. What's more, there is now Gao Shun who rushed from the Qingxu battlefield. Once they are surrounded, the 20,000-strong army will die, and even if they can break through, they will suffer heavy casualties. Cao Chun wanted to launch an attack on Changyi before Cao Ren broke through, and the purpose was simple. He did not want to capture Changyi, but wanted to use his own forces to drag the Northern Xinjiang Army on the battlefield of Changyi, so as to help Cao Ren break through the siege smoothly and help the Yanzhou Army successfully retreat to the line of Fengqiu and Chenliu. In Cao Chun's eyes, there is no life and death of the Xuzhou Army at all.

Zhang Fei vetoed.

Cao Chun was not discouraged and continued to persuade. The two armies of you and I have just withdrawn from the Jianghuai battlefield, and we have been fighting with Yuan Shu for more than a year, and the depth of the enmity between the soldiers can be imagined. Now in the army attacking Ren Chengguo, Ji Ling has 10,000 people, while Guan Yu only has 5,000 people. If Ji Ling or Ji Ling's subordinates defect, Lord Guan Yu and the five thousand Danyang soldiers will not only face the disaster of annihilation, but we will also lose the opportunity to attack Changyi. At that time, even if Yan Rou, Jiang Wu, and Wei Jun all arrived on the Dingtao battlefield, we would not be able to attack Changyi. Because Rencheng is only more than 200 miles away from Changyi, Gao Shun's army can be killed overnight. As long as he surrounds us in Changyi and waits for the main army on the Dingtao battlefield to come back, we will be completely annihilated.

This sentence made Zhang Fei's heart chill, and a trace of uneasiness suddenly appeared on his handsome face. When he heard that the Xuchang Imperial Court issued an order to appease Yuan Shu's subordinates and asked Ji Ling, Liu Xun and others to lead the army north into the Central Plains battlefield, he felt that something was wrong. The relationship between Yuan Shu and Li Hong is well known to the world, especially after Yuan Shu's accident, he immediately ordered his son Yuan Yao to evacuate to Hebei with the families of dozens of Yangzhou officials. Imagine in this case, how many generals under Yuan Shu dare to fight head-on with the Northern Xinjiang Army? Yuan Shao was too bold, and in order to block the attack of the Northern Xinjiang Army, he dared to take this risk and recruit Yuan Shu's army to fight north.

Zhang Fei hesitated for a long time, but still shook his head. The Xuzhou army has lost 10,000 people in Jucheng, and the 20,000 people led by Liu Bei are trapped in the Dingtao battlefield and life and death are uncertain. At that time, don't say that Xuzhou can't be saved, homeless, and even your life is worried.

If you are not absolutely sure, you will never send troops to attack.

"As long as the Northern Frontier Iron Cavalry does not leave Changyi, I will not attack."

Cao Chun glanced at Zhang Fei angrily and turned away angrily.

In the middle of the night, Zhang Fei was awakened by a noisy and rapid footsteps.

Jian Yong rushed in panting, "Yide, Cao Chun is out of the city." ”

Zhang Fei was stunned for a moment, then jumped up and scolded. Cao Chun went to war without authorization, and the situation on the battlefield immediately changed.

"Yide, Cao Chun takes the initiative to attack, and he will definitely be able to lure out the Northern Frontier Iron Cavalry, should we fight or not?"

Zhang Feisan walked to the front of the desk in two steps, spread out the map, and took a closer look at it by the dim candlelight, "Xianhe, order the army, withdraw from Fangdong City, cross Heshui in the south, and along the south bank of the Heshui River, and rush east for one hundred and fifty miles to reach the Nimu Pavilion." ”

"Mud Mother Pavilion ......" Jian Yong pointed to the map and said in surprise, "You plan to attack Changyi from the direction of the Surabaya River?" ”

"It's the only way to hide the army's tracks." Zhang Fei said helplessly, "The attention of the Northern Xinjiang Army is in the area of Fangdong, Danfu, Bocheng, and Jishi City in the southwest, once Cao Chun attacks, we will definitely be exposed." If you want to continue hiding, you can only rush to the vicinity of Zhaoyang Lake immediately. The Northern Xinjiang Army neglected to take precautions in the area of the densely watered Surabaya River and Zhaoyang Lake, and only after the Northern Xinjiang Iron Cavalry pursued and killed Cao Chun and left the vicinity of Changyi City, we went north along the Surabaya River and killed Changyi directly from Fanghe City and Dongyi City. ”

"Okay, okay." Jian Yong nodded again and again, "Just do as you say." ”

"Order all departments to withdraw from the defense of the east overnight." Zhang Fei picked up the battle helmet on the desk and said angrily, "Don't contact Cao Chun, let him fend for himself." ”

In April, Jiyin County, Yanzhou, Chengwu City.

Yan Rou suspected that he had misheard, and he pointed at the scout and asked, "Did you see clearly?" Is it really the cavalry of the Yanzhou Army? ”

The scout was very sure, "It's definitely a tiger and a leopard ride, and it can't be wrong." ”

"Cao Cao's tiger and leopard riders are only 3,000 people, why did they pop up so many at once?" Yan Rou felt very strange. Among the rebels, Yuan Shao had the largest number of cavalry, and there were cavalry in Guanzhong and Luoyang. Although Cao Cao has been in Yanzhou, it took several years to establish a tiger and leopard cavalry because of the continuous disasters and wars in Yanzhou and the lack of financial resources. This tiger and leopard cavalry had fought with the Northern Xinjiang Iron Cavalry on the Jizhou battlefield the year before last, and it is said that it is still very sharp. Now it suddenly appeared on the south bank of the Jishui River, obviously to contain its own forces and prevent itself from supporting the Dingtao battlefield. It seems that Cao Cao is going to start a big war in Dingtao.

"Urgently tell the general, saying that Cao Cao's tiger and leopard cavalry appeared in the direction of Chengwu, it is estimated that Cao Cao will make a desperate bet in the near future and fight hard."

"Tell Lord Jiang Wu of Liangqiu City again, ask him to go out and try to encircle and annihilate the tiger and leopard with me." Yan Rou smiled and said to Yang Ming, "This is Cao Cao's strongest army, let's not miss the opportunity." ”

"What if the general wants us to support the Dingtao battlefield?" Yang Ming hesitated.

"The general has already said that no matter what happens on the battlefield of Dingtao, we must stick to the vicinity of Changyi City and not cross the Jishui River." Yan Rou said with a smile, "When you arrived in the Central Plains, you have been idle, and now it's time to move your muscles." ”

Yan Rou, Jiang Wu, and Yang Ming each led a large army to roar out, chasing and killing the rebel iron cavalry in all directions.

Cao Chun and Xu Chu flickered east and west, wandering, and rode around the Great Plains with the Northern Xinjiang Iron Horse.

Yan Rou's anger came up. He immediately decided to expand the attack to 200 li, and ordered Wei Jun to approach the Surabaya River with iron cavalry to protect Changyi. Liu Yu, who was stationed in Changyi, was ordered to be on guard.

Jiang Wu felt that if the army was too far away from Changyi, it would take time to return to help, and it was necessary to strengthen the defensive forces in the city.

Yan Rou told Gao Shun and asked him to send troops to Changyi City in a hurry, and at the same time urged him to defeat Guan Yu as soon as possible and not to waste time in Rencheng. It is necessary to put the main forces into the attack on the front line of Fangdong and Bocheng, so as to help the main force of the army to quickly kill Chen Liu after the end of the Dingtao War.

Under April, sixty miles west of Dingtao City, Ming Pavilion.

Since Cao Cao received that the Northern Xinjiang Army had surrounded Jiyang and cut off his retreat, he immediately slowed down the pace of his attack and patiently waited for the moment when Cao Ren broke through.

In the course of the attack, the Yanzhou Army and the Xuzhou Army gradually explored a set of methods to deal with the Northern Xinjiang Army. The northern Xinjiang army used trenches, deer barricades, and horse rejection as formations, supplemented by dense arrow arrays to block the opponent's attack. They used makeshift felled trees to make huge rafts to shield them from long arrows, burned deer and horses with extraordinarily long torches, and built bridges over ditches with ladders. Although the battle scene was far less bloody and tragic than at the beginning, the speed of the advance of the Yan and Xu armies was getting faster and faster.

Yu Poison and Qin Yi, who were in charge of the frontal blockade, saw that the blocking formation had lost its power, and immediately summoned their subordinates to discuss countermeasures. The military commanders and military candidates came up with ideas one after another. The enemy uses a giant raft to block the arrow array, then shoot it with a rocket and burn its giant raft. The deer and the horse are easy to ignite, so they are soaked in the river water after they are made, and the wood is soaked and will not burn in a short time. When the enemy crosses the trench with a ladder, he spreads flammable grass and trees in the trench, does it with oil, and when the enemy crosses it, he ignites the grass and trees in the trench with rocket shots, and burns the enemy along with the ladder.

Yu Poison and Qin Yi reported the countermeasures to the camp urgently. After discussing with Li Yi, Lu Bu, Yushi and others, Li Hong asked Dong Zhao, Wu Ye and others to urgently arrange for the people to prepare materials and implement a new blocking method. On the one hand, he told Yu Poison and Qin Yi that they would not use these methods to deal with the enemy for the time being, first gradually attract the rebels in the direction of Dingtao, and wait until the rebels in the city broke through and the rebels outside the city launched a fierce attack with the intention of breaking through the blockage, and then dealt a fatal blow to the rebels.

Three days later, Cao Cao and Liu Bei commanded the army to advance to Xiping Pavilion, thirty miles away from Dingtao City.

Li Hong gathered three battalions of the southern army, six battalions of the northern army, and 20,000 iron cavalry of the Huns here, a total of 65,000 troops. Cao Cao gathered 30,000 Yanzhou troops, 20,000 Xuzhou troops, plus 13,000 troops trapped in the city, for a total of 63,000 troops.

The two sides were evenly matched, and a big battle was imminent.

The Northern Xinjiang Army placed the infantry army in front, supplemented by iron cavalry on both wings, and met the enemy in a "pin" shaped battle formation.

At the front of the battle array, fifteen hundred ballistae were unfurled. In front of the ballista position, there was an obstacle consisting of trenches and horses rejected.

At the rear of the battle formation, there were stone cannons with their heads held high. Stones coated with fire oil piled up and emitted an unpleasant smell. The soldiers and men of the chariot battalion stood solemnly, waiting for the war drums to beat for the attack.

The war drums exploded, and the Yan and Xu armies, under the command of Cao Cao, launched a tidal attack on Xiping Pavilion.

Suddenly, the shouting and killing sound was earth-shattering, soaring into the sky.

Li Hong was stationed on the high place of the horse, looking at the attacking army in the distance rolling over with the momentum of overwhelming mountains and seas, like layers of huge waves set off by a shocking tsunami, and his heart suddenly boiled with blood, "beating drums and ......"

The drums of "Dong Dong ......" are fierce and dense, like a hundred spring thunders blasting into the sky, which is extremely powerful.

As in the previous days, the rebel soldiers, under the cover of the huge rafts in the front row, carried the ladder all the way, erected a ladder bridge over the long and wide trench, and laid wooden planks. The only difference is that there are too many attacking soldiers today, and on a battlefield hundreds of paces wide, there are at least tens of thousands of soldiers running, shouting, and shouting hoarsely.

The huge raft trembled and groaned excitedly under the fire of dense long arrows, and struggled to stride towards the target.

With an order, hundreds of extra-long torches stretched out from the gap in the giant raft and placed directly on the deer and the horse. Many of these improvised barriers are made from nearby houses and are very easy to ignite. The smell of burning wood rose in the wind, and billowing smoke began to rise.

The battle is getting fiercer.

Jade turned his head to look at the blue sky behind him, and a burst of melancholy passed between his eyebrows.

The general only put 10,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 iron cavalry on the western battlefield of Xipingting, and the remaining 45,000 troops were distributed within 30 miles from Xipingting to Dingtao City, preparing to encircle and annihilate the rebels who broke through and fled. The general pinned his hopes of stopping the main force of the rebels on the 20,000 cavalry, did he despise the opponent too much? Cao Cao and Liu Bei, with their absolute superiority in troops, really couldn't break through our resistance? The distance is close, and the slightest mistake will allow the rebels to break through, and this battle is too tense.

A ride to the dust. Jade's heart contracted suddenly, and the strong feeling of suffocation made him shake a few times involuntarily.

"General, the enemy has broken through, the enemy is out of the city......"

Li Hong waved his hand excitedly, and the horsewhip in his hand was drawn into the air, "Order Lord Lu Bu to withdraw from Xicheng immediately and let Cao Ren break through." ”

"Summoned Liyi and Fan Li, and prepared to encircle Cao Ren. Hurry up ......"

The rebels cleared the obstacles faster and faster, and the dense crowd of enemy soldiers gathered behind the giant raft, swinging their weapons and slashing at the burning deer and horses. There were too many of them, the attack was too fierce, and the roar was so loud that even the arrow array of the Northern Frontier Army seemed to have become trembling and weak under their roar. The deafening sound of killing deeply irritated these soldiers who had been fighting for many days, and they couldn't wait, they couldn't wait to fly over the obstacle and smash their weapons into their opponents' chests. The passionate emotions made them gradually lose patience, and many people rushed up to forcibly dismantle the embers without waiting for the deer to refuse to burn the embers.

The Northern Frontier Army spent several days of effort on this blocking position, and it took a great deal of effort, and the density of the deer and the rejection of horses exceeded the enemy's imagination. As time went on, they found that the deer and the horses were getting bigger and bigger, some of them were made of whole freshly cut trees, some of them seemed to have been soaked in water for a long time, and they were still wet, and it was impossible to set them on fire.

The Northern Army seemed to know that they were in trouble, and the long arrows in the sky suddenly disappeared, as if to help them cross the obstacle unhindered.

Without the threat of arrows, the enemy's advance increased suddenly, and more enemies followed closely behind the front of the protrusion across the trench.

On the position of the "Dong Dong ......" Northern Xinjiang Army, the war drums of a hundred faces suddenly beat together, and the huge war drums suddenly swept the entire battlefield like a stormy wave.

The arrow array rose again, and a huge burning black cloud looked extremely strange against the blue sky. Burning stones with long black tails roared all over the world, thrilling.

The trench burned in an instant, and the flames rose to the sky, and then the flames burned more and more, devouring the ladders on the trench with impunity, and many of the enemy soldiers who were crossing the ladder bridge were caught off guard, and turned over and fell into the flames. In a short period of time, a huge wall of fire rose into the air, cutting the battlefield in two.

Cao Cao and Liu Bei were dumbfounded and at a loss. Nearly 10,000 attacking soldiers were overwhelmed by the raging fire in an instant.

The rebel soldiers were stunned. The deafening sound of killing, the fierce sound of war drums abruptly stopped, the soldiers who were running and shouting suddenly stopped, and half of the battlefield suddenly fell into a deathly silence.

Screams of pain could be heard from the fire.

As soon as the "boom ......" sounded, the rebel soldiers did not wait for the golden gong to sound, turned around and ran, one by one wolves rushed to the pigs, and the terrifying shouts tore apart the blood on the battlefield and made people's souls scatter.

The rebel soldiers, surrounded by the flames, collapsed in an instant.

The burning rafts were discarded at will, and no one cared about the roaring arrows in the sky, and everyone let out a terrible cry, running and trampling in the dense array of deer and horses. More people completely disregarded life and death, threw away their weapons, raised their hands high, and rushed to the positions of the Northern Xinjiang Army.

Behind is a flaming wall of fire, and the only place to survive is in front. Ahead are ballistas with their mouths wide open.

Yu Poison's face was murderous, and the excitement of revenge made him tremble, and his hoarse cry turned into crying at this moment, "Release, release...... Kill them...... Kill them ......"

"Boom...... Boom ......" 1,500 ballistae roared in unison, and the battlefield shook violently at this moment.

Bows, ballistas, stone cannons, all the weapons that can kill the enemy, cheered at this moment, and the arrows and stones rained down like a storm.

The Northern Xinjiang Army surrounded Cao Ren's army in the small pottery pavilion twenty miles outside Dingtao City.

Lu Yi commanded the three battalions of Chen Jian, Ku Chief, and Chang Gong, and also used a strong blocking position to block Cao Ren's army on the gallop road, making it difficult to advance an inch.

Lü Bu followed with two battalions of Guo Xun and Zhang Falcon in pursuit, and successfully cut off Cao Ren's retreat by using a small river.

Fan Li, Zhang Zhen and others led the rest of the army to pounce fiercely from the north.

Cao Ren, Xiahou Yuan, Xin Bi and others commanded the army, backed by the Jishui River, rushed left and right, and fought to the death. They could not imagine that Cao Cao and Liu Bei's 60,000 troops were in Xipingting, ten miles away, and when the main force of the Northern Xinjiang Army surrounded them, they could not break through the resistance of the Northern Xinjiang Army and save themselves from the encirclement.

Cao Ren looked up at the sky and shook his head helplessly. Big brother, it's getting dark, if you don't come again, we will be wiped out.

"Zixiao, we can't kill it back." Xiahou Yuan was covered in blood and staggered over, "That rebel Lu Bu set up hundreds of ballistas on the river, and in the past, he was sent to death. What to do? You have to think of a way. ”

Cao Ren bowed his head and was silent.

"If we had known this, we would have died without going out of the city." Xiahou Yuan scolded angrily. He led the men and horses from Cangting to Dingtao, although more than half of the men and horses were lost, but they were not as embarrassed as today.

"Why hasn't Big Brother come yet? He is only ten miles away from us, only ten miles ......"

"Miaocai, don't say a word." Mao Jue coughed twice, reached out and opened the water bladder and took a sip of water, "It's only been a day, what are you anxious about?" Do you think the Northern Frontier Army is the Yellow Turban Army, just let us kill it casually? ”

"Don't I worry?" Xiahou Yuan pointed to his nose and shouted, "Open your eyes and see, the Northern Xinjiang Army has surrounded us by the Jishui River, and the iron cavalry of the Huns is rushing back and forth to kill, we can't rush out, we can't fight and can't fight, how long can we hold out?" ”

"It'll be fine when it's dark." Cao Ren shook his hand and said with a wry smile, "When it gets dark, the Northern Frontier Army will stop attacking." We used the evening time to set up a car formation. As long as we block the iron cavalry of the Huns, we can still hold on for a few days. ”

"The leopard dares to take the Huns to the Central Plains...... Xiahou Yuan gritted his teeth, "The leopard must be a Xianbei person, he is not our Han people, definitely not." ”

The fast horse galloped in.

"My lord, Lord Xinbi asked for help, he couldn't tear through the defense line of the Northern Frontier Army, and he was pressed and beaten by Liyi all the time, and he was about to be unable to support it."

Cao Ren was taken aback and stood up suddenly. Xinbi and Caiyang attacked the Western Front with 6,000 men, trying to open the gap, but on the opposite side was Liyi, the most elite army of the Northern Xinjiang Army, with far more troops than Xinbi and Caiyang. It is commendable that the two of them can hold out for a day, but once the Western Front is broken through by Koyi, the Northern Frontier Army is bound to attack overnight, and they will not want to support it.

"Please hold on until dark." Cao Ren turned to look at Xiahou Yuan, "How many people do you still have?" ”

"There are more than 2,000 more." Xiahou Yuan shook his head and said, "Lu Bu has been attacking fiercely, and if you withdraw some of your men and horses at this time, the defense line will definitely be torn apart by Lu Bu." Or call your person. ”

"What about Wang Zhong?"

"Wang Zhong was repeatedly attacked by the Northern Xinjiang Army and the Huns, suffering heavy casualties, and the northern defense line was precarious." Xiahou Yuan said in frustration, "Even if we can survive tonight, it will be difficult to survive tomorrow. The defensive line to the north may be left undefended by tomorrow. ”

Cao Ren sighed and ordered Li Hui to take two thousand Chinese troops to support, "If these two thousand people are finished, we will completely lose hope." ”

Xiahou Yuan and Mao Jue were silent, and they all looked up at the sunset in the west.

Xiping Pavilion.

After the heavy losses suffered by the Yan and Xu armies, their morale was weakened, and it was not until the afternoon that they reluctantly reorganized their army and launched another attack on the Northern Xinjiang Army, but the scale of the attack was small. The soldiers were terrified, and as soon as they saw flaming arrows in the air, they immediately hugged their heads and ran away. Cao Cao ordered the soldiers who fled to be killed, and only then did he barely control the situation. Until dusk, the army failed to break through the trench. Every time the soldiers ran to the edge of the trench and smelled the disgusting smell of burnt meat, they could no longer take a step. They did not dare to turn around and run away, so they had to lie on the ground with their heads in their hands, waiting for the sound of the retreating gong.

Cao Cao was so anxious that he sent a large number of scouts to find out what was going on with the breakout army, but the news he received made him miserable. Cao Ren's army was surrounded in Xiaotaoting, and the Guanjiang army gathered heavy troops to launch a frantic attack, and more than 10,000 people were estimated to be wiped out.

That's when worse news came. The iron cavalry of the Huns, under the command of Liu Ming, the king of Youxian, took advantage of Cao Cao's army to stay away from the grievances, and the sneak attack was successful and captured the city.

Cao Cao was hit so hard that he almost cried bitterly.

The injustices are lost, the grain and grass are cut off, the back road is blocked, and the defeat is decided. Although he still has a numerical advantage at present, in the absence of grain and grass and no backup, it is impossible for him to safely withdraw to the south bank of the Jishui River and return to Yuzhou. This army will be eaten by the Northern Iron Cavalry on the way to retreat. Now the hope for the survival of the army does not lie in whether it can withdraw from the battlefield in time, but whether Zhang Fei and Cao Chun can capture Changyi. If they successfully conquered Changyi, Li Hong, who had already obtained Dingtao, might retreat to the next best thing and divide his troops to attack Changyi first, giving himself a chance to breathe.

Cao Cao's hope was shattered by Guo Jia's words.

"Since Li Hong can divide his troops to surround Jiyang first, sneak attack the injustice, and take into account the possibilities that are about to happen, then he will naturally not miss the protection of Changyi. So far, have our scouts discovered Yan Rou and Zhao Yun's Iron Horse? Yan Rou was originally near Changyi, so what about Zhao Yun? Why didn't Zhao Yun see it? ”

"You're saying that Zhao Yun may have been ambushed by the Jishui River, waiting for us to strike a fatal blow when we retreat across the river?" Cao Cao asked in a panic.

"I don't know where he is, but the Prime Minister's guess may be right. However, ......" Guo Jia looked at Cao Cao and Liu Bei, and said with a sad face, "whether we can escape this catastrophe or not depends entirely on Lord Liu's strategy." If Zhang Fei and Cao Chun can succeed in Changyi, we will definitely be able to evacuate safely. ”

Liu Bei's strategy was originally to defeat the Northern Xinjiang Army, but now the battle situation has undergone unexpected changes, and it has become a life-saving strategy in the blink of an eye.

"Today's battle was too unexpected." Liu Bei looked up to the sky and sighed, "Who would have thought that more than 10,000 people would be wiped out in the blink of an eye, which was too big a blow to the morale of the army." Not to mention the soldiers, even I want to withdraw from the battlefield early. Liu Bei looked at Cao Cao and Guo Jia, and said solemnly, "Feng Xiao was right just now, Changyi is very important to the Northern Xinjiang Army, Li Hong can't be defenseless, and our strategy to attack Changyi may be a mistake at all." Don't count on Zhang Fei and Cao Chun, let's fend for ourselves. ”

Guo Jia smiled bitterly, "The leopard is too cruel, this battle is too big a blow to us." Judging by the bloody methods of the leopards, we do have to find another way to escape. ”

"Hmph......" Cao Cao looked up at the blood-colored sunset and snorted coldly. He wanted to say a few cruel words, but when the words came to his mouth, he felt that saying cruel words at this time was a slap in the face, so he closed his mouth again.

"What now? We can't just watch Zixiao's entire army annihilated. ”

Liu Bei bowed his head and was silent, but the expression on his face could tell that he had lost confidence and had no intention of fighting again.

"We still have a lot of empty ships." Guo Jia pointed to the grain fleet on the river in the distance and said, "After dark, let some boats go down, and count as many people as you can pick up." Guo Jia raised his head and pointed to the sky, "There is a moon tonight, and you can see dozens of steps away." Tell the boatmen not to use torches, or they will be targeted by the archers of the Northern Army. ”

Cao Cao thought that he could save Cao Ren, Xiahou Yuan and others, and the grief in his heart eased slightly. Although more than 10,000 people were lost, it was better than leaving his brother to escape alone. After the loss of Changyi, all the family members were captured by the Northern Xinjiang Army. If he watched Cao Ren and Xiahou Yuan die on the battlefield this time, he would really be like a dead heart.

"Are we going to withdraw overnight, or tomorrow?"

"After we brought back Lord Cao's group of generals tonight, the army trapped in Xiao Taoting also collapsed." Guo Jia sighed in a low voice, "After the Northern Frontier Army won a great victory in Xiaotaoting, it will immediately turn around and surround us. We had the enemy in front of us, and there were pursuing troops in the rear, and the Jishui River blocked our way to retreat south, so it was too difficult to successfully retreat in this situation. Now Lord Liu thinks that we can't count on Zhang Fei and Cao Chun, so we only have one way to escape, which is to go north. ”

"Going north?" Cao Cao and Liu Bei looked at Guo Jia in horror, in disbelief.

"Withdraw troops overnight and go north to rendezvous with Xin Ping." Guo Jia pointed to the map on the table, and his finger was along the banks of the Pushui River, connecting the five cities of Baima, Yancheng, Changyuan, Pingqiu, and Fengqiu, "The city here is still in our hands, as long as we withdraw to the boiled jujube city a hundred miles away overnight, the Northern Xinjiang Army will not have time to pursue us." It will take time for them to completely annihilate the enemy of Xiaotaoting tomorrow, and it will also take time to find the direction of our retreat, and by the time they begin to pursue, we will have already arrived at Boiled Zao City. Boiling Zaocheng is one hundred and twenty miles away from Changyuan, and we can get there in one night. When we got to Changyuan, we were safe. ”

"Going north? To Changyuan? Cao Cao thought for a while, and said helplessly, "When we get there, we have to listen to Yuan Shao, do you know what this means to us?" ”

"My lord, there is no possibility of going south to Yuzhou, so I can only risk going north to break through. If the Northern Frontier Army had reacted extremely quickly and chased all the way, half of us would have escaped to Changyuan. As for the future, let's figure it out. The key now is to defeat the Northern Frontier Army. If the Northern Xinjiang Army occupies the Central Plains, even if the adults go to Yuzhou, how many years will they be able to support it? At present, it is better for adults to temporarily take refuge in Yuan Shao to recover some vitality. As long as we work together to defeat Li Hong, you still have a chance to make a comeback. ”

"Brother Meng De, compared with Dahan Sheji, what is personal honor and disgrace? You are now the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, even if you arrive in Henan, Yuan Shao does not dare to slack off in the slightest. If I have the opportunity in the future, I will definitely help you, I can swear. ”

Cao Cao gratefully patted Liu Bei on the back and let out a long sigh, "Let's go north." I hope we can get out of it. He turned his gaze to Guo Jia and asked with a wry smile, "If you want to get to Changyuan in one day and one night, you have to throw everything away." Our losses are staggering, so to speak, with nothing. ”

"I only brought three days' rations, and discarded all the rest of the grain and grass." Guo Jia frowned, and added, "There are more than a hundred boats loaded with grain on the river, all of them are scuttled." ”

"Forget it. There are more than 100,000 people here, they followed us from the Central Plains to Jianghuai, and from Jianghuai back to the Central Plains, and suffered a lot, so give them these grains. In the future, when we defeat the Northern Frontier Army and return to Yanzhou, we will need the help of these people. Liu Bei hurriedly shook his hand and said, "Yanzhou has suffered too much in recent years, and food is more important than life for the people of Yanzhou. We can't waste so much food in vain, and we will be damned. ”

Cao Cao and Guo Jia looked at Liu Bei in surprise and were speechless for a while.

Liu Bei was worried that they would not agree, and then said, "Bring the grain ashore overnight, distribute it to the soldiers and civilians, and let them go home." More than 100,000 people scattered in a hurry, and it will take a long time for the Northern Frontier Army to find the direction of our retreat. Maybe we arrived in Changyuan, and the Northern Frontier Army didn't know our exact location yet. ”

"In addition, Li Hong brought the Huns to the Central Plains, so that the Huns could tell the people in various parts of the Central Plains about the Huns fighting our Han people through their mouths. The Huns and we have been enemies for generations, and the Huns have never set foot in the Central Plains. It is too shameless for Li Hong, a rebellious man, to unite with the Huns to fight us and usurp the Han Dynasty with the help of the Huns. We want to borrow their mouths to let everyone in the world know that Li Hong is a Hu man and a despicable Xianbei slave. Today, the Hu people want to take away the country of my Han Dynasty, how can my Han people ignore it? How can you not fight back? ”

"Okay, good ......" Cao Cao patted the case and exclaimed, "Xuande, this plan is too good." Li Hong wants to gain a foothold in the Central Plains and dream. ”

Guo Jia arched his hand with admiration and said: "Lord Liu is a step higher, and the lower officials admire and admire." ”

*

Li Hong walked around the big tent, feeling restless.

After Cao Cao and Liu Bei suffered heavy losses in Xipingting, there were still nearly 50,000 people, and if they regained their morale in the shortest possible time and commanded the army to charge Xipingting again, the Northern Xinjiang Army might not be able to stop it. Xipingting's victory in that battle was entirely due to the enemy's surprise. Now the Northern Frontier Army does not have time to set the same trap again, and the rebels cannot be fooled a second time.

The Northern Frontier Army only had so many troops under Dingtao City. It was already very risky to block the main force of the rebels with 20,000 cavalry and encircle and annihilate Cao Ren with 45,000 men. Once the resistance fails, it is yourself who suffers heavy damage. Whether we can win the battle of Dingtao now depends on whether we can completely annihilate Cao Ren tonight.

The sound of horses' hooves galloped in.

Koji Yi walked into the big tent panting, "General, is Cao Cao still attacking Xiping Pavilion at night?" ”

"Nope." Li Hong asked urgently, "Haven't you broken through the resistance of the rebels yet?" ”

"Cao Ren still has a hand, and there are still troops to support Xinbi at the critical moment." Koji Yi waved his hand angrily, "The losses of the tun cavalry battalion and the infantry battalion are too great, so they can't fight hard like this." General, give me 5,000 iron cavalry, and I will personally lead the army to charge into battle. ”

"How's it going to the north? Liu Bao didn't rush in? ”

"Cao Ren brought a hundred Wuhan Iron and Steel cars, plus some baggage trucks, which just formed a car formation and blocked the hill. Liu Bao rushed twice, but the loss was too great and was stopped by Fan Li. Koji Yi wiped his sweat and continued, "Fan Li drew more than a dozen stone cannons from various battalions of the Southern Army, ready to throw fire oil, and burned the car formation with a fire. But once the fire is ignited, it will burn for two hours. With this time, Cao Ren was able to use the baggage truck to reset the car formation. ”

"So you want to take advantage of Cao Ren's arrangement of the chariot formation in the north to lead the iron cavalry to break through?"

"Yes." Lu Yi said, "Since Cao Cao went to sleep at night, and there is no war on the Xiping Pavilion, you can transfer me five thousand iron horsemen." ”

"Okay." Li Hong nodded and said, "No matter what, before noon tomorrow, we must end the battle in Xiaotao Pavilion." ”

Koji bowed solemnly, turned around and walked out of the big tent.