"Boom!"

The trebuchet carried huge stones and smashed them the city walls. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

After a period of onslaught, the city wall of Hexiang was already a little crumbling, and although Cao Ang repeatedly sent people out of the city to fight, they were all defeated.

Chen Xu even made people storm the city day and night, without stopping at all.

"Kill!"

The earth-shattering shouts of killing sounded, and the Guanzhong army launched a fierce attack again with various siege equipment.

Cao Ang waved the sword in his hand and shouted: "Fire oil, fire oil, burn the siege equipment!" ”

"Archers, archers, shoot the enemy!"

"Spearmen prepare, stab the thieves who climb the walls!"

Cao Ang's voice was a little hoarse, but he still stood on the city wall, pulling his throat and commanding loudly.

During this time, the offensive and defensive battles in Hexiang City were very fierce, if it weren't for Cao Ang's upright body, who had been staying on the city wall to boost morale, I am afraid that Cao's army would have collapsed long ago.

"In order to survive, in order to protect the homeland, kill the enemy!"

The generals of the Cao army also shouted loudly, helping to boost morale and fighting at the front line.

The flag swayed, the war was rolling, and the shouts of killing shook the sky.

This tragic offensive and defensive battle caused both sides to lose a lot of soldiers and horses, and it was not until nightfall that the Guanzhong army slowly retreated.

Cao Ang held on to the battlements, looked at the Guanzhong army that receded like a tide, and couldn't help but gasp for breath.

"Hurry up and distribute food and water, after the Guanzhong army has dinner, they will continue to attack the city after a little rest!"

Cao Ang's voice was extremely hoarse, and he even lost his voice a little.

"Lord, drink some water."

Guo Jia carried a bowl of water, slowly walked to Cao Ang's side, and handed it over.

Taking the clear water and looking at Guo Jia, whose face was as pale as paper, Cao Ang couldn't help but ask with concern: "Strategist, you are not feeling well, so you should go to the city to rest." ”

Since Cao Cao's death, Guo Jia's health has also deteriorated.

Especially in the recent period, Guo Jia has worked hard every day and has become more and more haggard.

Now that many of the older generation in Xuzhou have passed away, although the Cao family has many rising stars, compared to these older generations, it is still a step behind.

Cao Ang knew the significance of Guo Jia to Xuzhou, and knew that if Guo Jia's body collapsed, Xuzhou would really have no chance of life.

In fact, Guo Jia in this time and space, because he did not follow Cao Cao on an expedition to Wuhuan, caused the water and soil to accumulate and die of illness, and he has lived for many more years.

Rao is like this, Guo Jia is also fifty-four years old this year, plus he usually doesn't pay much attention to health preservation, and he works hard every day, and his health is getting worse and worse.

If it weren't for the support of a thought in his heart, I'm afraid Guo Jia would have fallen ill a long time ago.

"Ahem, Jia is fine, the lord should drink some water to moisten his throat first."

Cao Ang drank the water in the bowl in one go, and then turned his head to look in the direction of the Guanzhong military camp, and a look of worry flashed in his eyes.

"The wall of Hexiang is crumbling, I'm afraid it will be broken in a few days."

In fact, there were 100,000 Cao troops in Hexiang City, and if the city was tall and had enough grain and grass, it would be able to defend for a long time.

However, Hexiang is only a small county town after all.

In the face of all kinds of sharp siege equipment of the Guanzhong army, it is a miracle that it can be held to this day.

Guo Jia said in a low voice: "Sun Quan was dragged by Xu Xian again, and there is no way to send a large army to help." ”

Cao Ang's face was not very good-looking, but he didn't have the slightest solution.

Guo Jia once again offered his advice: "To this day, the Guanzhong army is difficult to resist, and the lord should fight and retreat, and stick to every city in Donghai County. ”

"If it continues to delay, it is very likely that the Guanzhong army will run out of food and grass and withdraw to Guanzhong again."

Cao Ang thought so and acted according to the plan.

On the second day, Cao Ang left 2,000 soldiers to bluff, but he abandoned the city with his army and withdrew to the next county seat, Changxi.

Chen Xu conquered Hexiang, waved his troops to attack Chang Xi again, and stormed the city for two months, Chang Xi was lost, and Cao Ang retreated to the next county seat, Cheng County.

In March, Chen Xu conquered Cheng County.

Zhou Yu said to Chen Xu: "Cao's army fought and retreated, so that every time we captured a city, we paid huge casualties and consumed a lot of time. ”

"If this goes on for a long time, the morale of the soldiers will be low, and more and more money and food will be consumed, which will put huge pressure on logistics."

Chen Xu woke up when he heard this, and immediately issued an order to slaughter the city, and said that if the people dared to help Cao's army defend it, there would be no chickens and dogs left on the day the city was broken.

The order to slaughter the city made many people in the county town frightened, and fled outside the city desperately, and the people who stayed behind also refused to help defend the city.

As a result, the relationship between Cao Jun and the people in the county began to become bad, and it was much easier for the Guanzhong army to conquer the county seat.

Rao is like this, it still took Chen Xu a year to hit Tan County, the capital of Xuzhou.

The Guanzhong army besieged Tanxian for more than a year, and the city wall of Tanxian County was already dilapidated, and the city was broken within a few days.

The sound of war drums rumbled, flags covered the sky and the sun, and the roar of soldiers shook the heavens and the earth.

Guo Jia stood on the city wall and looked into the distance, and could vaguely see the banner of the Guanzhong Army, and after a long time said to Cao Ang: "Lord, please take a step to speak." ”

Cao Ang didn't dare to slack off, and immediately followed Guo Jia and walked down the city wall to a quiet hut.

As soon as the two entered the house, a sickly flush appeared on Guo Jia's face, he coughed violently a few times, and hurriedly covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief.

Cao Ang saw that on the white handkerchief, a touch of red slowly appeared, and the area became larger and larger.

"Strategist, Strategist, you're coughing up blood! I'm going to call a military doctor! ”

Guo Jia hurriedly said: "The lord doesn't need to be like this, I naturally know Jia's condition very well, and it won't last long." ”

Cao Ang was shocked when he heard this, and couldn't help but tears in his eyes, and said: "The military advisor is the pillar of the Great Qi, and now is the time for the life and death of the Great Qi. ”

Guo Jia said with a wry smile: "I know that Chen Wenzhao has a weakness, that is, he attaches too much importance to friendship, and he is even more affectionate to Dian Wei. ”

"When the Guanzhong army defeated Chen Liu, Chen Wenzhao would definitely accompany Dian Wei back to his hometown, so he sent someone to infiltrate himself early, wanting to stab Chen Wenzhao to death."

"Chen Wenzhao's eldest son, Chen Zheng, leads Chang'an; The second son, Chen Jun, is the nephew of General Zhao Yun, and the commander of the army is stationed in Youzhou; The youngest son, Chen Ai, went out with the army, and when Chen Wenzhao was away, he temporarily served as the commander of the three armies. ”

"If Chen Wenzhao dies and sends someone to provoke these three people to fight for power and profit, the powerful Guanzhong will collapse in an instant."

"It's a pity that the assassins still didn't succeed!"

Speaking of this, Guo Jia's tone was full of regret, and he couldn't help coughing violently a few times.

Cao Ang was stunned for a long time when he heard this, and then said: "Chen Wenzhao has already set the position of the son, and the relationship between the three Chen brothers is very good, even if Chen Wenzhao dies, I am afraid that they will not compete for power and profit with each other." ”

Guo Jia said with a smile: "The lord's words are wrong. ”

"If Chen Wenzhao is suddenly assassinated and killed, and there is no clear indication that Chen Zheng will succeed to the throne, even if Chen Jun and Chen Ai do not have the intention of competing for the lord of Guanzhong, the factions belonging to them will definitely have their minds fluctuating."

Chen Xuxiong is very talented, and he handles the relationship between his subordinates very well, although there are factions under his command, but it is not obvious.

However, there is still a faction after all, and behind each of Chen Xu's sons, there is a faction.

For example, Chen Zheng, his mother is Zhang Ling, and she has served as a state pastor in Yizhou for many years, so she will definitely get the support of the old Yellow Turban Department and Yizhou.

As for Chen Jun, his mother is Zhao Yu, and he led soldiers and horses to be stationed in Youzhou.

If Zhao Yunken supports Chen Jun, with Zhao Yun's prestige and connections in Guanzhong, he may not be able to compete with Chen Zhengyi.

As for the youngest son Chen Ai, he seems to be the most powerful, but the potential forces behind it are not small.

It must be known that Lu Bu defected to Chen Xu at the beginning, but he did not come to defect alone, but also brought a lot of old departments and some generals.

Although Lu Bu is dead, but Lu Bu's old departments still belong to Chen Ai's family.

The most important thing is that Chen Ai was the temporary commander of the 200,000-strong army at that time, and if he could be ruthless and use his military power to eliminate dissidents, he would not be able to compete with his two brothers.

As Guo Jia said, even though these three brothers are unwilling to kill each other.

But if the matter comes to an end, and he faces the temptation of the lord of Guanzhong, Guo Jia will sow discord again, which will not make the three brothers turn against each other.

Therefore, Guo Jia's plan to send someone to assassinate Chen Xu at that time and want to make Guanzhong collapse was indeed well thought out.

Of course, what has not happened, even Guo Jia is not sure that when that time comes, the three Chen brothers will kill each other.

But Guo Jia has no choice, and the only way to save Xuzhou is assassination.

The assassination of Chen Xu was successful, and there is still a glimmer of life.

Otherwise, with the difference in strength between the two sides, it is only a matter of time before Xuzhou falls.

"It's a pity, it didn't work out after all! And I also underestimated the ability of the Guanzhong Army to continue to fight, I didn't expect that after so long, they still won't withdraw their troops! ”

Guo Jia coughed violently, his face full of regret and decadence.

Looking at Guo Jia's appearance, Cao Ang hurriedly stepped forward and gently patted Guo Jia's back.

Guo Jia coughed again for a while, and suddenly said: "Although Chen Wenzhao was furious because of Dian Wei's death, he still led the troops to fight step by step, and he was invulnerable at all. ”

"In the face of the upright division of the Guanzhong Army, it is only a matter of time before our army is defeated."

Even if Guo Jiazhi is full of sky, it is difficult to go against the general trend of the world, and at most it is just delaying time.

Especially in this kind of hard-fought war, the role of the strategist will be greatly reduced.

In war, in many cases, the competition is still about comprehensive strength.

Cao Ang was silent, but a flash of unwillingness flashed on his face.

Guo Jia took in Cao Ang's face, and then said with a little bitterness: "Jia's time is running out, and I can't continue to help the lord keep the foundation." ”

"The only thing I can do is to help protect the Cao family."

Cao Ang's body shook when he heard this, raised his head and said, "Do you really want to come this far?" ”

Long before the army, Guo Jia knew that in this war, Xuzhou's chances of victory were very small, but he still wanted to make the last struggle.

But it turned out that although Guo Jia guessed Chen Xu's character correctly, the assassins failed to carry out their tasks, and the delaying tactics also failed.

Now that the defeat has been decided, Guo Jia can only use the strategy he had set with Cao Ang at the beginning.

Guo Jia's eyes showed a look of pain, and he said, "If the lord doesn't want the Cao clan to be wiped out, he can only act like this." ”

Cao Ang was silent for a long time, and then said with a wry smile: "Since this is the case, let it all be handled by the military advisor." ”

Cao Ang looked a little excited, as if he had been completely defeated, and a death will flashed in his eyes.

Guo Jiayu couldn't bear it and said, "Actually, the lord doesn't have to be like this at all. ”

Cao Ang said self-deprecatingly: "I personally buried the great foundation laid by my father, even if Chen Wenzhao can let me live, how can I survive in the world?" ”

Guo Jia was immediately silent when he heard this, but he felt a throbbing pain in his heart.

That night, Cao Ang led an army of 30,000 to break through the siege, leaving only Guo Jia and 5,000 soldiers to stay in Tan County.

There were once 100,000 Cao troops, but now there is only so little left.

When Chen Xu learned the news, he immediately ordered Zhao Yun to pursue, but after Cao Ang sent elite soldiers to break off, the two sides fought for half a night, and Zhao Yun had to retreat.

When the morning light broke through the darkness, Chen Xu had already led the army to the city of Tanxian and replaced the soldiers who were attacking the city at night.

On the city wall, an emaciated figure stood proudly, even though the face of the soldier next to this person was full of fear, Guo Jia was still smiling.

Chen Xu did not order the siege of the city at the first time, but restrained the three armies to stop in place and walked forward a few steps alone.

Chen Xu raised the spear in his hand, pointed at Guo Jia on the city wall, and shouted: "Cao Ang has fled, the city of Tanxian is broken today, when will Guo Fengxiao not surrender at this time?" ”

Guo Jia looked at Chen Xu with a smile and replied loudly: "If the King of Qin lets the army withdraw back five hundred and five, Jia is willing to tie his hands and go out of the city to surrender!" ”

As soon as Guo Jia's voice fell, the soldiers on both sides were shocked, and a look of surprise flashed in Chen Xu's eyes.

Tian Feng frowned and said, "I'm afraid there is fraud in it." ”

Chen Xu thought for a while, but said with a smile: "The army is ready to fight, even if Guo Jia cheats, what can I do?" ”

"Pass my military order, the army will retreat five hundred steps, and wait for Guo Fengxiao to go out of the city and surrender!"

The Guanzhong military order prohibited.

After receiving the order, they immediately retreated to the back in an orderly manner, and soon left a large open space outside the city.

Seeing this, Guo Jia couldn't help but smile on his face, and said to the left and right: "Open the city gate!" ”

Several Cao generals, who were still unaware, immediately shouted when they heard this: "The god of war really wants to go out of the city and surrender?" ”

Guo Jia looked at them and took out Cao Ang's handwritten letter from his arms, and everyone was stunned after reading it.

It's just that the faces of the generals are different, and some of them have red faces, and their eyes are full of humiliation and unwillingness; Others were beaming.

Seeing everyone's faces, Guo Jia immediately said: "I go out of the city this time, if Chen Wenzhao can agree to protect all the clansmen of the Cao family, we will surrender the city." ”

"If not, you should defend the city and burn the jade!"

The generals immediately responded.