As night fell, the battle came to an end, and the air was filled with a strong smell of blood.

At noon, the battle for the defense of the city broke out.

The Cao army and the besieging rebels fought bloodily, shouting and killing to the sky, screaming again and again, and the noise and noise came and went.

For a whole afternoon, Cao Cao always sat in the main hall of the county government to review the bamboo slips, steady as a rock, and he was not surprised.

The main hall gate was open, and the pedestrians and soldiers passing in front of the county government only had to turn their heads to see Cao Cao concentrating on government affairs. In the silence, many soldiers and people in the city who were originally panicked saw this scene, and they couldn't help but feel relieved, so they helped the soldiers defending the city to carry stones and rolling wood, and picked up wounded soldiers to go down to the city for treatment.

"Hoo ———!"

Sensing that the light in the main hall was getting darker and darker, Cao Cao, who was not moving at all, raised his eyes to look at the night outside the door, and sighed, the anxiety that had been raised in his voice and eyes finally let go, and his tense heart gradually relaxed.

"Finally held the first wave of the Lü Bu rebels' offensive, this was the first time in the two months of fighting between our army and the rebels that we held the head of the city steadily, and did not let a single rebel soldier climb the head of the city to kill in the city. This is a good sign to be happy about, which shows that the rebel army of Lü Bu has been defeated, and its strength has been greatly reduced, and it is far less rapid and powerful than before. With this happening, it is entirely possible for our army to repel the rebels, gain a chance to breathe, and make a comeback! Looking at the light of the torches in the darkness outside the door, Cao Cao thought to himself.

Tom tom!

With a sound of footsteps coming from far and near, Xun Yu's handsome figure came into Cao Cao's sight, and then the figure crossed the threshold and strode into the main hall.

"My lord, this is our army's casualty report this afternoon, please read it." Walk quickly to the handsome case. Xun Yu handed over a roll of bamboo slips and said respectfully.

"Well, Wen Ruo has worked hard, sit down and talk." Cao Cao bowed his head slightly, and waved his hand to signal Xun Yu to sit down. Then, he put the bamboo slip on the table, got up and walked to Xun Yu's side and sat down, and said in a harmonious voice: "Put the battle report aside for the time being, Wen Ruo briefly talks about the casualties of the enemy and our army." ”

"No, my subordinates obey." Xun Yu happily responded. Then he said: "In the whole afternoon of bloody fighting, our army suffered 13,478 casualties, of which more than 7,000 were killed and about 6,000 were wounded. Among the fallen officers, five lieutenants were killed in battle. More than 70 people were killed in the battle, and more than 200 low-level generals such as the commander and the team leader were killed. The casualties were not small. But not a single soldier flinched from the battle. All the casualties were wounded in the front, heroic and tenacious. Now that the war is over, the battalion generals are actively repairing the city walls, stockpiling defensive ordnance, and always guarding against the rebels' sneak attacks at night. ”

After talking about his own battle situation in one breath, Xun Yu's tone paused slightly. After relieving his breath, he continued: "Our army has suffered heavy casualties, and the casualties of the Lu Bu rebels are not small. Although the three cities of Dong'e are small and the walls are short, they are condescending to resist the rebels after all, and they are very well prepared with stones and fire. It belongs to waiting for work. Therefore, Lü Bu's rebels attacked three cities at the same time, although the morale was high, and the soldiers were brave and not afraid of death, but they failed to attack the city after all, nor did they break through the city gate, and they never reached the city after an afternoon of fierce fighting. By the end of the siege battle, the Lü Bu rebels had killed more than 6,000 soldiers and wounded more than 10,000 soldiers, and the overall casualty figure was more than 30% higher than that of our army.

In addition, the total strength of Lü Bu's rebels in pursuit this time was only more than 40,000 people, less than 50,000. Therefore, nearly half of today's battle was lost, presumably tonight, Lu Bu's rebels will once again mobilize the defenders of other cities to support the siege, otherwise the rebels will not be able to attack the city in recent days, and can only fight a small fight.

However, our army must not go out of the city to fight it head-on, because the wolf cavalry led by Lu Bu did not participate in the siege and was unharmed. Once our army goes out of the city to fight, it will definitely fall into the arms of Lu Bu and be defeated by the wolf cavalry under his command in one fell swoop. After all, the reason why we have been defeated again and again before is due to the wolf cavalry army, and in a head-to-head battle, even if our army has tens of thousands of troops, it will not be able to stop the iron cavalry charge of the wolf cavalry. The bravery of the wolf cavalry in Bingzhou is indeed worthy of its reputation, unmatched, and difficult to resist! ”

After finishing speaking, Xun Yu's face showed a look of embarrassment and amazement, as if he was very worried about the wolf cavalry under Lu Bu's command.

"Hmm." Cao Cao nodded lightly and said in a deep voice: "What Wen Ruo said is very true. Lu Bu didn't have much strategy in this fight, and what he relied on was his own incomparable martial arts and the lightning-fast Chitu BMW under him. If Lu Bupifu's bravery alone is not enough to fear, the only thing that makes people uncomfortable is that he still has a wolf cavalry army of more than 10,000 people under his command. This cavalry is too strong, superb in horsemanship, well-equipped, skilled in bows and horses, and tacitly cooperating with each other, enough to be ten and unstoppable. Because of this, our army fought head-on with it three times, and all of them were defeated, and they were defeated by the wolf cavalry. ”

Speaking of this, Cao Cao sighed: "Speaking in detail, our army also has more than 30,000 war horses, and it is also not weak in battles with other princes, and it is invincible. However, the previous battle between our army and the wolf cavalry under Lu Bu was a huge gap, and the judgment was not the opponent of the wolf cavalry at all, and more than 30,000 war cavalry were shocked by more than 10,000 wolf cavalry and collapsed. It was precisely because of the unfavorable initial battle of the war cavalry that the morale of the guide zhì was low, which led to a series of defeats after that. ”

After Xun Yu heard this, he nodded slightly but didn't answer, not because he didn't want to speak, but because he didn't know what to say. If it is to give advice or government affairs and military aircraft, he is better at it, so he is naturally the best at it, but when he encounters this kind of battlefield battle with real swords and guns, it is really not his forte, and he has more than enough heart but not enough strength.

It can be seen that it is not unreasonable for military generals to be more popular than scribes in troubled times. No matter how many good strategies the scribes had, they still had to rely on their capable soldiers to carry them out, and if the soldiers were not elite enough, even if they had good strategies, they would be in vain. Just like the battle of Yanzhou in front of him, with the wisdom of Chen Gong alone, he will definitely not be able to fight Cao Cao, Xun Yu, Cheng Yu and other wise people, not to mention Lu Bu, three Lu Bu tied together is not as wise as Cao Cao. However, a Chen Palace plus the brave and invincible Lu Bu, and then a hundred battles of Xiao Riding Wolf Cavalry to help, Cao Cao was defeated again and again, and even the old nest was wiped out by Lu Bu, and now he can only be trapped in three small county towns, and he can't live in fear.

In the dispute between Chu and Han in the past, Liu Bang united hundreds of thousands of troops to attack Xiang Yu several times, but was defeated by Xiang Yu three times in a row. rushed for his life and almost lost his life. After such a series of defeats, Liu Bang had to rely on Han Xin, worship the general, and finally rely on Han Xin, who was both civil and military, to defeat Xiang Yu and create a Han world.

And today, the war is chaotic, and there are not a few capable ministers and strategists, and each prince has a few top wise men in the world to give advice to him. However, no matter how good the strategists are, they have to be strong in order to succeed. Otherwise, even if there is a clever plan to calm the world, there is no strong army that can calm the world, and it is useless to talk on paper.

Now Xun Yu heard that Cao Cao was quite envious of the wolf cavalry under Lu Bu's command, but he didn't know how to answer. After all, a super powerful war horse cannot be achieved overnight, and it needs to be tempered in every way to become an army. It's like the wolf cavalry under Lu Bu. Long before Dong Zhuo occupied Luoyang, it had already begun to take shape. Subsequently, after countless battles, it gradually formed the current powerful wolf cavalry army.

In contrast, Cao Cao has been fighting for more than three years since Chen Liu's army, although he has more than 100,000 soldiers and horses under his command, and he can also be called a hundred elite soldiers, but it is really compared with the wolf cavalry under Lu Bu. is still too immature, the gap in combat effectiveness is very large, and it will take a few years of continuous tempering before it can compete with Lu Bujun.

After a moment of silence. Cao Cao took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Xun Yu. When Xun Yu read the letter, Cao Cao said softly: "This letter was written to me by Yuan Shao two months ago, and the letter was very powerful, and it was originally very beneficial to our Yanzhou army. However, now we are unable to protect ourselves, the situation is very difficult, the foundation of Yanzhou has been lost, and we are still pursued and besieged by the army led by Lu Bu thieves. But what was said in the letter was about to be carried out immediately, and perhaps Yuan Shao had already prepared for it, and as soon as the time came, he would immediately send troops westward. What should I do? ”

After calming down, Cao Cao continued: "Such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is hard to come by, and if we miss this opportunity, even if we take the initiative to contact Yuan Shao in the future, I'm afraid he may not be willing to send troops to help." But this time it is different, this is Yuan Shao's initiative to join us and others to send troops, and if he wants to dominate at that time, he must send troops and food. Relatively speaking, we only need to send troops to help, and we don't need to use food and salary.

When the war is over, it will be extremely beneficial to us, regardless of the outcome of the war. If the alliance wins, we can move westward and capture Sili after recovering Yanzhou; If Yuan Shao is defeated, we can also wait for the opportunity to capture Jizhou and replace it. It's a pity that such a good opportunity is in front of us, but we are trapped by Lu Bu's gang, and we have no time to withdraw in a short time. What can I do? ”

"Hmm." Xun Yu looked at the letter carefully, and then took advantage of Cao Cao's words to concentrate and ponder. When Cao Cao's voice fell, he nodded and said, "What the lord said is very true. At the moment, we are in a very difficult situation, if Lu Bu's thieves chase after us, even if we can defeat Lu Bu in the end, it will be a tragic victory for both sides, and the gains outweigh the losses. And once the situation develops to this point, it means that we will completely lose the opportunity of the alliance, and it is very likely that the princes of the alliance will take advantage of the situation to destroy us, so as to completely eliminate our power.

In other words, even if none of the princes deliberately targeted us, after they allied with us, no matter what success or failure, they would take the opportunity to get together and divide up the states of the Central Plains. And because the lord did not lead the army to join the alliance, he naturally would not get any benefits, but would become the target of their partition. ”

Speaking of this, Xun Yu's voice paused for a moment, and then he said in a low voice: "Weighing the pros and cons, the subordinate lord Jian Yiyi must participate in this Central Plains Alliance no matter what, even if he completely gives up Yanzhou!" ”

"Give up Yanzhou?" Cao Cao was stunned, his face changed greatly, and he asked in disbelief: "Why did Wen Ruo say this?" If I give up Yanzhou, won't I have completely lost my foothold? Without a foundation, sooner or later we will be wiped out and annexed by other princes, and there will be no place to bury us! ”

"Don't worry, listen to your subordinates." Xun Yu seemed to be confident, and said without impatience: "The reason why my subordinates said to give up Yanzhou is just the worst plan, just in case." If there is really such a day, the lord does not have to worry, we can go south to take Yuzhou, or capture Jingzhou, both of which can be established. In particular, Jingzhou is located in the hinterland of the Central Plains, with a vast area, with nine counties, more than 100 counties, a large population, and very wealthy. In addition, Jingzhou is also connected to Hanzhong and Yizhou, which is a rare place of foundation.

However, at present, Liu Biao in Jingzhou is not an easy person, with more than 200,000 troops under his command, and his strength is strong, and he cannot be provoked. However, if I really lose my foothold, then there is no need to scruple, and we are still sure to capture Jingbei County with our strength. ”

After a pause in his tone, Xun Yu changed his words and said: "Judging from the current shape, although we are in a disadvantageous situation, our strength has not been damaged too much, and we have lost all the cities, but the soldiers and horses in our hands have not been damaged much, and our strength is still there."

The Art of War says: save people and lose land, and people and land are both saved; Saving land and losing people, people and land are lost. As long as the lord has a strong soldier in hand, why worry about not having a foothold in the city. Moreover, Yanzhou is the foundation of the lord's business for many years, and the Lu Bu thieves want to seize Yanzhou, even if the city is in their hands, the people of Yanzhou still have their hearts on the lord, and sooner or later they will return to the lord's hands.

The reason why his subordinates said to give up Yanzhou was actually just a joke to confuse Lu Bu and others. The lord could write a letter to Lu Bu to inform the thief about the alliance, and promised to give up Yanzhou and no longer compete with him for the city, so the two armies stopped fighting a truce. However, the lord had no foothold in the city for the time being, so he temporarily borrowed the three cities of Dong'e to garrison troops, and after the end of the alliance, he handed over the three cities of Dong'e to him. After that, we led the troops to leave Yanzhou and find another foundation.

In addition, the lord should also write to inform Yuan Shao and ask him to help advise Lu Bu; There are also brothers Chen Liu, Zhang Miao, and Zhang Chao, who made a strong statement, prompting them to dissuade Lu Bu from calling off the army and making a truce. With such a multi-pronged approach, Lu Bu will inevitably call out the army and truce, because the Central Plains Alliance is also very important to him Lu Bu, which can make him lose his shame and avenge the pain of the broken fingers of the Bahe River in the past. I don't know what happens under the Lord's will? ”

"Oh?" Cao Cao groaned, with a sly smile on his face, and said with his chin: "If Wen is talented, this strategy is very good!" But since then, won't my Cao Cao have a bad reputation for betraying his word and treachery in the future, and lose his trust in Lu Bu? ”

"Hahaha!" Xun Yu laughed when he heard this, and sneered with a very disdainful expression: "The lord's words are wrong! Everyone in the world can say 'Xinyi', boasting of his words and having faith, but Lu Bu is not worthy of mentioning the word 'Xinyi'! Thinking of Lu Bu's evil deeds, slaughtering Ding Yuan, killing Dong Zhuo, abandoning Wang Yun and fleeing for his life alone, what kind of face does he have to mention the word 'Xinyi'?

Therefore, the lord may leave a reputation for deceiving anyone, but deceiving Lu Bu will not be criticized, let alone criticized, because Lu Bu deserves it, and deceiving him is equivalent to doing the right thing for heaven! ”

———————————————— (To be continued)(To be continued......