Leping is only a small county, and although Cao Cao was defeated, his strength was not greatly damaged, and of course more than 20,000 soldiers and horses could not enter the city in one go. Even if it can fit so many people, the food and grass in the city can't support it for long, after all, this is not a military stronghold.

Only the Chinese army entered the city with Cao Cao, and the rest of the soldiers and horses were divided into four parts, which were camped outside the four gates as a shield for the city gates, so as not to be completely surrounded by the Qingzhou army in the city and cut off the grain route.

There are many advantages of this arrangement, if Wang Yu waves his army to attack, the troops outside the city can rely on the city to fight, and with the help of long-range firepower on the city wall, even if they are defeated in the end, they can also cause considerable damage to the enemy.

In addition, the soldiers and horses in the city can also go out of the city to rescue. Coming out of the gates of the city in battle, you can rotate the battle, and those who keep the battle in battle are the new forces; If the enemy fails to besiege the other gates, reinforcements from inside the city can also join forces outside the city and carry out a surprise attack on the enemy forces besieging the city.

Of course, the morale of the troops outside the city is also a factor that needs to be considered, after all, after the new defeat, the morale of the whole army is extremely low, if you can't garrison it with reliable troops, it is easy to lose the camp.

Because of this, the fact that the Jizhou army of the Lu brothers and the whole army entered the city is not surprising at all.

Although he escaped this catastrophe, Lu Xiang was not relieved at all, at this moment, his heart was full of panic and uneasiness. Today's defeat was largely caused by the collapse of his brother's right wing, and it is difficult to say whether Cao Cao would be angry because of this and use his brother to establish his authority.

In the past, of course, he would not have such worries, he was just Yuan Shao's general, but his status was not necessarily under a vassal like Cao Cao. That is to say, Cao Cao's identity is not bad, and he also has a certain scale of power, otherwise Lu Xiang would have looked at him coldly.

This. It was very clear in Liu Bei, who was placed under the military fence in Youzhou.

Although Liu Bei is pretentious and has a very personal relationship with Gongsun Zhan, his status in the Gongsun Army is very low. That is to say, Tian Kai has a rough temperament, does not pay attention to the subtleties, and treats Liu Bei with some affection, and others treat him as a poor relative who rubs his food.

So. Liu Beicai has always been by Tian Kai's side.

If you don't have the strength and are vassal, you just have no status!

Cao Cao was similar to Liu Bei, and when he started the Yanzhou Raiders, there were only more than 3,000 people. Compared with Yuan Shao, who is sitting in Jizhou, the comparison of strength is even more disparity than Liu Bei's Gongsun Zhan. The battle of Dongjun Ping Heishan relied on Zhang Jaw's assistance to win the final victory, and for this, he paid the price of sending his son into Yecheng as a hostage.

And the Lu Xiang brothers are Jizhou generals. Born in a famous family in Dongping, even if it is Yuan Shao, he treats each other with courtesy and does his best to envelop him. The status in Jizhou is not necessarily lower than that of Yan Gang, Shan Jing and others.

In the face of Cao Cao, the Lu brothers have a very psychological advantage.

But this is no longer the case. After the successive battles in the Central Plains and Hebei, the forces of Yuan and Cao have undergone major changes. Yuan Shao was counterattacked by Gongsun Zan and Wang Yu, and most of Jizhou's territory had been lost. It has the meaning of wind and rain, which makes people dizzy. It's also embarrassing.

On the other hand, Cao Cao has already swept Yan and Yu, with many generals, and the powerful Yuan Shu beat him to the point that he even lost his nest Runan to Zhou Ang, and went to Yangzhou all the way.

The situation reversed, and now Yuan Shao has asked Cao Cao, for Cao Cao's dispatch of troops, Yuan Shao also took the initiative to release the proton, and also responded to Liu Dai's proposal to let Cao Cao integrate the Jizhou soldiers and horses in the Yangping area as the deputy commander of the Eastern Front.

With Yuan Shao's always high profile, to achieve this level is already considered to be groveling, where does Lu Xiang still have any confidence to put on a condescending posture towards Cao Cao? He is only worried now that Cao Cao took advantage of the defeat of the army to sacrifice his brother's flag and annex these thousands of soldiers and horses by the way.

This is not an impossible thing, as long as Cao Cao has the heart to sell the eastern front to Wang Yu, secretly retreat, and sell Liu Dai to Wang Yu by the way, he will be able to reap the benefits.

In Yanzhou, there are now only two major forces, Cao Cao and Liu Dai, if Liu Dai dies, there is no reason for Yanzhou to fall into the hands of others. And Yuan Shao's main force still exists, even if the eastern front collapses, at most it will lose the advantage of Wang Yu's encirclement, and the combat power is still above Wang Yu's lone army.

At that time, the Hebei War was fought one after another, and Cao Cao retained his strength and retreated to Yanzhou, while integrating Yanzhou's forces and recuperating his strength; While waiting for the opportunity, wait until the two sides of the Hebei War are exhausted, and then there will be a praying mantis catching cicada and yellow finch behind, that ......

To do all this, the annexation of one's own brother's troops is undoubtedly an iconic signal!

What to do? What now?

Lu Xiang frightened himself and was so frightened that he ignored the movement around him, and didn't notice at all that the target he was waiting for outside the courtyard gate had appeared.

"Zisheng, didn't you say that General Cao gathered to discuss matters? If you don't go to the Chinese army to listen to orders, what are you doing here? ”

Lu Xiang raised his head suddenly, and saw that it was his brother Lu Kuang, and suddenly had a backbone: "Brother, are you okay?" ”

"What can happen?" A trace of hatred flashed in Lu Kuang's face, and he snorted coldly: "Although Wang Yu Xiao'er is strong, if he wants to stay so, it is not so easy!" ”

"That's good, that's good." Lu Xiang looked his brother up and down, and after a run away, the clothes and armor on Lu Kuang's body were a little scattered, and he was described as quite embarrassed, but there was no bloodstain, obviously not injured, Lu Xiang suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

"What's there to worry about, can anyone eat me? Let's go, go to the Chinese army, General Cao's military orders are very strict, and the three drums are not coming, even if it is you and my brother, you have to eat military sticks. Brother's care warmed Lu Kuang's heart, he patted his brother's shoulder, smiled and comforted a few words, and then walked towards the Chinese army.

After walking a few steps, he found that Lu Xiang didn't follow, Lu Kuang stopped, turned around and asked, "Don't leave yet, what are you doing standing here stupidly?" ”

"Brother, let's just go over like this?" Lu Xiang walked a few steps quickly, approached his brother's side, and asked in a low voice.

"Otherwise, how can we get there?" Lu Kuang blinked, his face uncertain.

"Alas, my eldest brother, what do you tell me to say about you!" Lu Xiang was worried for a long time, but Lu Kuang was like a nobody, so anxious that he stomped his feet. Look left and right. Seeing that no one was paying attention, he dragged his brother to an inconspicuous corner, and asked in a dumb voice, "Brother, did we win or lose today?" ”

Lu Kuang slapped his brother's hand away, and said angrily: "You and I are both in Leping City, no matter how you look at it, it doesn't look like you have won the war." ”

"It's right to lose, right?" He didn't think so, but Lu Xiang looked solemn, and asked a series of questions: "Then tell me, how did you lose this battle today?" See General Cao later. How do you explain this? If he condemns you with a military order, how shall I deal with myself? ”

"Hmm......" Lu Kuang froze slightly, looking like he had reacted in hindsight. Seeing this, Lu Xiang hit the railway while it was hot: "I just lost the battle, and I will hold a military meeting." No matter how you look at it, it doesn't seem like a good road, maybe it's a Hongmen banquet for you and me! ”

"What?" Lu Kuang was taken aback by his younger brother's expression and tone, and he stammered when he spoke: "It's not that serious, right?" With General Cao's current pattern, is it necessary to deal with our brothers in such trouble? ”

"How not? Brother, listen to me......"

Lu Xiang stared. With a pale face, after expressing all his worries, he concluded: "Although the right wing has been repeatedly repulsed today, the left front is still intact. It's just a little bit of a decline, these days to practice the formation, don't you know the several changes of the yoke formation? General Cao has spare strength! Then think about it, why did he withdraw his troops when he said that he would withdraw them? ”

"I can't see it. Zisheng, you have made great progress these days. It's not bad, it's good. Lu Kuang nodded again and again when he heard this, and asked with a smile: "You say, why did he withdraw his troops?" ”

"Defeat!" Lu Xiang said categorically: "It's just a fraud. His goal is to put the blame for the defeat on your head, anyway, your right wing is the first to collapse, even General Yuan can't say anything! He cured you of your crimes, and I will definitely not watch it, just like that, he can wipe out you and my brothers, and take you and my soldiers! ”

"Hehe, Zisheng, in fact, you think too much. Don't worry, listen to me first......" Lu Kuang smiled mysteriously and said: "There is nothing wrong with these ideas of yours, when General Cao withdrew his troops, it was indeed not yet at the end of the mountain, and he retreated to Yanzhou by deception, and he did have the benefits you said." But I'm sure his purpose is different from what you think! ”

“…… How so? Lu Kuang's tone was also quite affirmative, and Lu Xiang, who had always respected his brother, was also surprised.

"First of all, Wang Yu is a major threat to all the heroes in the world, and there are many people who want to put him to death! If you think about it, you will know that the people who are good friends with him are all people who are short-sighted and have no great ambitions to win the world, but anyone who has this ambition regards him as a great enemy of life and death! General Cao's luck is a little worse, but his ambition is not ordinary, think about it, such a good opportunity, will he give up easily? ”

"What does the eldest brother mean......" Lu Xiang frowned and thought for a while, and hesitated: "Is General Cao really defeated today?" ”

"Then I don't know." Lu Kuang shook his head: "General Cao is more intelligent than others, there is always something calculating, right?" Anyway, as long as you know, he will not ignore the overall situation and let Wang Yu occupy Jizhou. As for annexing our brother's soldiers and horses, hehe, he may have this plan, but he will definitely not adopt this method at this time. ”

"Why?" Lu Xiang's eyes were puffed out, confused.

"Think about the temperament of the lord, if General Cao really did this, would he swallow this breath, when nothing happened, and then go to fight Wang Yu?" Lu Kuang's voice was extremely low, almost inaudible.

"This ......" Lu Xiang subconsciously wanted to retort that no matter what, Yuan Shao would regain the lost territory first, but when the words came to his mouth, he couldn't say anything.

Taking into account the overall situation, this is not Yuan Shao's style, although everyone in famous families often puts this sentence on their lips, but it is usually used to ask others. Let others take care of his overall situation, this is his style, and this order must not be reversed.

Cao Cao really annexed his own soldiers and horses, and it is difficult to say what kind of response Yuan Shao would make. Continuing to fight Wang Yu and going back to settle accounts with Cao Cao is only one of the possibilities; It is not impossible to give up the lost land, shake hands with Wang Yu, and cross the river to fight for Yanzhou with Cao Cao; The possibility of turning enemies into friends with Wang Yu and attacking Cao Cao together also exists!

During the decades of the reign of the first emperor, were there fewer similar battles and changes in the court? Don't look at allies now, if someone pulls back, or if an enemy falls, the next moment they will draw their swords against each other!

From the death of Emperor Ling to Dong Zhuo's entry into Beijing, a series of changes occurred before and after. This truth is perfectly verified.

Cao Cao will definitely have his own plans, but if he does it blatantly, he must be prepared to turn against Yuan Shao. Thinking of this, Lu Xiang breathed a long sigh of relief, and his heart finally fell back into his stomach.

Lu Kuang said unsatisfactorily: "In addition, think about it again, if he really makes up his mind to merge with you and me, why does he have to use a knife and a gun?" Just say no? ”

"Huh?" Lu Xiang was stunned.

"Ahhhh Isn't that obvious? ”

Lu Kuang smiled and said, "As the saying goes: good birds choose trees to perch. Our brother is not Yuan Shao, why do you have to hang himself on this tree? It's troubled times! We don't have the ability to dominate one side, but don't we have the right to choose the owner? After losing the battle today, General Cao can certainly use me to establish authority, but think about it the other way. He can also show grace, right? ”

The theory of "this ......" was not profound, but Lu Xiang still frowned and thought for a while before turning the corner completely.

"After this battle, no matter whether you win or lose, Jizhou is greatly injured. The Wuhuan people suffered countless losses under Gongsun Zhan, and the 100,000 army went south or something, maybe it was a bluff, even if it really came. Seeing the banner of Gongsun Zhan, eighty percent will run away, and when the time comes, Qingzhou and Youzhou can still echo each other from afar. In support of each other, the war in Hebei is long. ”

"But General Cao's side ......" Lu Xiang wanted to say, and the heroes in Cao's army gathered. With the skills of the two of them, there is no place at all.

"Isn't that just right?"

Lu Kuang said with palpitations: "Wang Yu's son uses soldiers. has unpredictable abilities, even if he has an advantage, as long as he is negligent, he can completely reverse it. Fierce generals like Lu Yi and Zhang Jaw are not opponents, let alone you and me? Now that he is completely eyeing Hebei, it is really difficult to say whether General Yuan can keep the foundation of Jizhou. ”

"I see." Lu Xiang understood.

The eldest brother's meaning, on the one hand, is to leave a way back, his confidence in Yuan Shao is a little insufficient, and he is worried that there will be no eggs under the nest; In addition, it is too dangerous to fight against Wang Yu, the fierce generals in the Cao army are like clouds, if they play in the Cao army, they don't have to worry about being pulled out and put on the right side with Wang Yu.

"However, people's hearts are separated from their stomachs, and Cao Gong's mind ......"

Lu Kuang waved his hand and said with a smile: "Don't you know when you get to the Chinese army?" Don't worry. ”

The two brothers had a heart-to-heart relationship, and although the doubts had not yet dissipated, Lu Xiang was finally no longer as worried as before. So the two entered the gate and went to the Chinese army.

Although the Cao army is stronger, it is a guest army after all, and the performance of the Jizhou army today is very poor, but the generals and colonels did not put on any face to the Lu family brothers, let alone leave it difficult.

The two of them went all the way to the Chinese army line caused by the county government reform, and they were still far away, when they heard a roar like thunder.

"After so many battles, it is the worst loss in today's battle! Isn't it that the waste in Jizhou can't support it? What's so scary? Isn't it okay to change the formation according to the plan, just let them deceive and lure the enemy, and after attracting it, Zixiao and the Chinese army are flanked on both sides, and they are afraid that he will not succeed? Why did you suddenly get a bang? How many people died along the way? Even if you do lose, that's it! ”

The Lu brothers looked at each other.

Cao Cao has won many battles, not without reason, he is very strict in governing the army, although Jizhou has many soldiers and horses, but only say that the order prohibits, can compete with Cao Jun, or even win a few troops.

In such an army, the rules should be very strict, how can it happen that the generals of the subordinates questioned the Chinese army in person, and even roared loudly?

"Miaocai is a little anxious, but it's no wonder that he is a little hasty in withdrawing today, and our army has only hundreds of soldiers and horses killed and injured in the frontal conflict, but this has been chased down all the way, and the elite after the break alone has lost more than a thousand! Coupled with the right wing with more than half of the casualties, Meng De, this battle is a big defeat! ”

The Lu brothers suddenly realized that the person who roared loudly turned out to be Xiahou Yuan, no wonder he lost his manners, and he didn't provoke Cao Cao's anger.

Xiahou Yuan has been fighting at the forefront today. Before the right flank had retreated halfway, it had already collapsed, and of the 5,000 men who set out, only a little more than 1,000 fled into Leping; However, the left flank has always maintained a complete queue, and behind the army, a solid barrier has been built, which is the biggest highlight of Cao's army in today's battle.

With such great feats and bravery, being short-tempered is naturally nothing.

Of course, more important than the military exploits is that the Xiahou brothers are Cao Cao's relatives! In troubled times, the relationship between blood and blood is the most reliable.

On the same day, Cao Cao suffered a defeat in Xingyang, almost the entire army was annihilated, but fortunately, Xiahou Chun recruited 1,000 Danyang soldiers, and Cao Ren also brought more than 1,000 private soldiers to converge, which passed the most difficult stage. If there were no reinforcements from these two routes, how could Yuan Shao, who was above the top, put Cao Cao in his eyes? Being a vassal is also conditional!

a loyal and fierce general;

Brothers who are connected by blood and help each other;

This dual identity is the best umbrella, even Cao Cao, who governs the army strictly, can only turn a blind eye.

Sure enough, Cao Cao's voice sounded, his tone was low, but there was no anger, but what he said was somewhat amazing.

"Miaocai, calm down, I know you are very unwilling, but there is no way, if you don't retreat in time, I'm afraid today it will not be a loss of five or six thousand people, but the whole army will be wiped out!"

"How is that possible?" There are far more than one or two people who have lost their voices and exclaimed, all the generals are suspicious, and they have been suppressed so far, how can they not be shocked when they are quoted by Cao Cao's words?