Changyi.
When Lu Bu received the news that Cao Mengde was sending troops, he immediately called everyone for discussion.
After everyone came together, he told everyone about Cao's army's movements.
"Everyone, Cao Jun has sent out troops. If the direction of march does not change, it is probably the direction of Dingtao."
After hearing these words, Chen Gong nodded, "If Cao Jun's attack direction is Dingtao, we don't have to worry too much."
Everyone nodded after hearing this.
Dingtao City has thick walls and complete defensive supplies. If you want to break through such a strong city, you will never succeed without paying a heavy price.
Chen Gong said with a smile, "Since Cao Mengde wants to attack Dingtao, why don't we take this opportunity to sneak attack from the rear?"
Cheng Lian hurriedly stepped forward and handed over his hand, "Marquis Wen, why not let the Bingzhou cavalry attack in advance for the sneak attack?"
Lu Bu nodded, "As long as the matter is settled, of course we will use the Bingzhou cavalry."
There is no doubt about this. Bingzhou Cavalry is fast and is the best sneak attack team.
After saying this, Lu Bu turned to look at Xu Shu, only to find that he frowned, "Mr. Yuan Zhi, isn't it a good thing that Cao Mengde led his troops to attack Dingtao?"
Among the three cities, the strongest one is of course Dingtao, and it is also where Lu Bu most hopes Cao Mengde will go.
Now that Cao Mengde has really gone to Dingtao, he has got his wish.
Xu Shu frowned and said slowly, "Marquis Wen, we all know that Dingtao's defenses are strong, and I believe Cao Mengde should also know that."
At this point, Xu Shu paused, but then, without waiting for anyone to answer his words, he continued.
"But since Cao Mengde knows, why does he still go?"
When everyone heard these words, they couldn't help but be surprised, and then they came to their senses.
"Yes, Cao Mengde must know that it is not easy to attack Dingtao, but why would he go?"
Cheng Lian suddenly exclaimed, "Is there a fraud in this?"
Chen Gong's expression changed. After thinking carefully for a moment, he said slowly, "Cao Mengde is extremely cunning. He knows that Dingtao is strong, so even if he chooses to attack, it shouldn't be Dingtao."
Zhang Miao frowned, "Among these three cities, the one with the strongest defense is Dingtao, and the weakest one should be Juye. If Cao Mengde wants to attack, the first target that comes to mind should be Juye, and It’s not Dingtao!”
Chen Gong nodded, "Meng Zhuo, you are right, you really shouldn't choose Dingtao?"
Zhang Miao stretched out his hand to hold his chin, and thought about it carefully, then his expression suddenly changed, "Could it be that there is Cao Mengde's insider in Dingtao City?"
Everyone couldn't help being surprised when they heard these words.
The reason why we were able to successfully capture Dingtao in the first place was because we had internal support, so we easily captured this solid city.
But after saying this, Zhang Miao shook his head, "Impossible!"
"In order to avoid this situation, we have conducted a thorough quick check after occupying the city this time. Apart from the local people, there are indeed very few outsiders."
Chen Gong nodded, "There shouldn't be anything wrong."
The reason why the two of them were so sure was because after capturing Dingtao, the first thing they did was to distribute food to the people.
When food was distributed again, detailed registration was also done, which was equivalent to another census of the population.
At that time, we had already paid attention to this situation. We would conduct detailed surveys on the population in other places, and the county government basically controlled it.
With this census, if outsiders enter the city, it will be much easier to find out the whereabouts of these people.
Therefore, until now, it has not been found that a large number of outsiders have entered Dingtao.
Zhang Liao suddenly said, "Mr. Meng Zhuo, leaving aside the outsiders for now, is it possible for a local to be Cao Mengde's internal agent?"
Zhang Miao's expression changed slightly, and then he waved his hand, "General Zhang, probably not."
At this point, Zhang Miao paused, but then, without waiting for Zhang Liao to answer his words, he continued.
"In the Battle of Yanzhou, those who wanted to submit to Cao Mengde basically all chose to side with Cao Mengde when they captured Dingtao last time. They have been dealt with by breaking the city this time.
Most of the remaining people are neutral. Except for a few prosperous servants, even if the rest of them have evil intentions, they don't have the strength to worry about it.
As for several of them, people have already been closely monitored, so there will be no mistakes. "
Chen Gong nodded, "In this regard, there should be no accidents."
After hearing what everyone said, Xu Shu nodded, "This shows that Cao Mengde wanted to attack Dingtao not because he had an internal agent in the city, but for other reasons.
And what is the reason?
Dingtao's defense is strong and it is not easy to attack. However, he chose this city which is the most difficult to attack. There must be something wrong. "
Zhang Miao frowned, "Since there is no internal response, could it be an external reason?
For example, Cao Mengde will have reinforcements coming to help him attack Dingtao? "
Chen Gong shook his head, "It's impossible. Dingtao's defense is strong. Even if there are reinforcements, we will have to suffer heavy losses to break the city. I don't think Cao Mengde would do such a disadvantageous thing anyway, right?"
When Lu Bu heard what everyone said, he nodded and said slowly, "Cao Mengde chose this place. Is there any way that we don't know that can successfully break the city?"
After saying this, Lu Bu turned to look at Xu Shu, who was frowning, and asked tentatively, "Mr. Yuanzhi, do you have any ideas?"
Xu Shu said slowly, "Cao Mengde is cunning. There must be a reason why he did this."
At this point, Xu Shu paused for a moment before continuing, "Since we can rule out the idea that Cao Mengde has an internal conspiracy, it means that he is not thinking about this, but about outside the city.
What Mr. Gongtai said just now is right. With Dingtao's defense, even if there are 30,000 more reinforcements, if we want to capture Dingtao, we will suffer heavy losses, and it is not an easy task.
Therefore, we can also be sure that Cao Mengde's intention should not be reinforcements. "
Having said this, Xu Shu breathed a long sigh of relief and his eyes brightened, "Cao Mengde wanted to attack Dingtao. First, there was no internal support in the city. Second, there were no so-called reinforcements. He just wanted to attack Dingtao with his own strength.
Everyone, do you think Cao Mengde can achieve success with his own strength? "
Hearing this, Zhang Miao snorted coldly, "No matter how powerful Cao Mengde is, it is absolutely impossible to attack Dingtao in a short time."
Chen Gong also nodded, "Meng Zhuo is right, it is indeed not easy, even impossible."
Xu Shu nodded and suddenly laughed, "Since both of you said this, it means that although Cao Mengde is attacking Dingtao, what he really wants to attack may not necessarily be Dingtao."
Hearing this, Cheng Lian was a little confused and scratched his head, "Mr. Yuan Zhi, Meng De came to attack Dingtao, but he didn't attack Dingtao. Why did you say that I was confused? What's going on?"
Chen Gong's eyes suddenly brightened, he clapped his hands, and said with a smile, "I understand. Mr. Yuan Zhi means that although Cao Mengde is attacking Dingtao on the surface, in fact, he may have other intentions."
Zhang Miao frowned, "But what is Cao Mengde planning?"
Xu Shu smiled slightly and said, "Mr. Meng Zhuo, if there is no accident, Cao Mengde has concluded that Tao is fake. What he really wants to fight is probably the reinforcements we sent."
Zhang Miao clapped his hands fiercely, "Oh, yes, we will definitely send reinforcements to rescue Dingtao when the time comes. Cao Mengde can take the opportunity to set a trap and eliminate the reinforcements we sent to weaken the strength of our army."
Xu Shu nodded, "Doing this will not only weaken our army's strength, but more importantly, it will be more beneficial to them if we can fool them."
"A fish out of sight?"
Chen Gong was shocked, "Mr. Yuan Zhi is right. It would be terrible if Cao Mengde not only eliminates our reinforcements but also sneaks into our reinforcements."
When everyone heard these words, their expressions changed and they all turned to look at Xu Shu.
Xu Shu nodded, "If there are no accidents, I'm afraid this is Cao Mengde's real intention."
This time, even Cheng Lian understood, "Good boy, Cao Mengde is so cunning, I'm confused."
When Lu Bu heard these words, his heart couldn't help but feel anxious.
I thought that when Cao Mengde came here, everyone could have a good fight.
But I never expected that Cao Mengde would be so cunning. If Xu Shu hadn't seen through his plan this time, he might have fallen into his trap.
Zhang Miao looked a little ugly and gritted his teeth and said, "If Cao Mengde succeeds, our army will not only suffer heavy losses, but also lose the city. The consequences will be disastrous. Cao Mengde is really hateful."
Chen Gong nodded, "Thanks to Mr. Yuan Zhi this time, otherwise I will fall into Cao Mengde's trick."
Zhang Liao cupped his hands and said, "Marquis Wen, since Mr. Yuan Zhi has seen through this plan, our army might as well follow it."
Lu Bu asked with a smile, "General Zhang, why do you mean to use the enemy's tactics?"
Zhang Liao said coldly, "Since Cao Mengde thinks that we have fallen into his trap, then we will let him think that we have fallen into his trap. When the time comes, as long as we use some tricks, we can cause Cao's army to suffer heavy losses."
Zhang Miao asked hurriedly, "General Zhang, please tell me what method should be used to make Cao Mengde fooled?"
Zhang Liao pondered for a moment and said slowly, "Cao Jun's action this time is obviously to deal with the troops who came to rescue. As long as we send reinforcements, I am afraid we will fall into Cao Mengde's trick.
In this case, it is better to target this method by setting up an ambush and waiting for Cao Mengde's troops to attack our reinforcements. "
Hearing this, Zhang Miao's eyes lit up, "General Zhang, do you mean that since Cao Mengde wants to eliminate our army's reinforcements, let us destroy the troops they sent?"
Zhang Liao nodded, "Yes, in this way, Cao Mengde will definitely not be suspicious. Once these soldiers and horses are eliminated, his strength can be weakened."
Chen Gong sneered, "Yes, even if Cao Mengde cannot be eliminated, his strength must be weakened."
…
Ding Tao.
Winter winter winter!
Amidst the rumbling of war drums, Cao's army formed a formation outside the city, with spears standing in a row and flags covering the sky. The momentum was astonishing.
Zhang Chao, who was ordered to guard Tao Ding, saw Cao Jun's army outside the city wall like a tide, and his expression changed.
Cao Mengde clapped his horse forward, pointed his whip at Zhang Chao on the city wall, and said loudly, "Zhang Chao, you villain, you dare to attack Dingtao. You really don't know how to live or die."
In history, Lu Bu failed to attack Yanzhou and retreated to Xuzhou. In the process, both Zhang Chao brothers were killed by Cao Mengde, and their whole family was wiped out.
"The Romance of Fairy Wood"
Lu Bu took the initiative to withdraw from Yanzhou to preserve his strength. After careful calculation, he saved the lives of the Zhang brothers.
Facing Cao Mengde's question, Zhang Chao hesitated and said loudly, "Cao Mengde, the matter is over, there is no need to say more. If you want to attack the city, then just send troops."
Hearing this, Cao Mengde sneered, "Zhang Menggao, although you are unkind to me, if you surrender to Kaicheng now, I can guarantee that you will forget the past. Now this is the last chance I give you. If you don't agree, you will wait until the city is broken." That’s when your whole family will be destroyed.”
When Zhang Chao heard Cao Mengde's vicious words, he was so frightened that cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and even his hands were trembling slightly.
However, Zhang Chao also knew very well that even if he surrendered now, with Cao Mengde's temper, he might not end well.
He and Chen Gong were good friends, and of course they knew what Cao Mengde had done before. It was simply impossible to count on surrendering to save his own life.
"Zhang Menggao, do you agree or not?"
Zhang Chao wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said loudly, "Cao Mengde, you don't need to say anymore, I won't listen to you. If you want to enter the city, then order the attack."
Hearing Zhang Chao's answer, Cao Mengde's eyes shot out a murderous look, "Zhang Menggao, in this case, don't blame me for being ruthless when the city is broken."
After saying this, Cao Mengde raised his hand high and then waved vigorously, "Attack the city."
As Cao Mengde's order was conveyed, countless soldiers immediately rushed towards the city wall carrying ladders.
"Kill!"
"Ahhh!"
Zhang Chao looked at the soldiers of Cao's army rushing over like a tide, and he did not dare to neglect, and immediately roared.
"Archers prepare, release arrows."
Rest, rest, rest!
Puff puff!
"Ahhh!"
At Cao Mengde's order, the attack on Dingtao finally began.
Li Dian, as a strong general of Cao's army, immediately waved a big sword and kept shouting, directing the soldiers to rush forward.
""kill! "
"kill!"
"Whoever can climb the city wall will be rewarded greatly."
"Soldiers, the time has come to make great achievements."
"Whoever dares to retreat, let him taste the sharpness of my sword first."
Amid Li Dian's roar, the soldiers carried the ladder and rushed to the city wall, braving the rain of arrows from the sky. Then they put on the ladder and began to climb up quickly, hoping to win the first prize.
The reason why Lu Bu and others have confidence in Dingtao is because the city wall of Dingtao is indeed strong and high. Even if Cao's army is brave, it is not that easy to charge up.
The soldiers of Lu Bu's army guarding the city wall saw the soldiers of Cao's army rushing up. They immediately raised the stone without hesitation and smashed it down hard.
"Throw stones and knock them down. Do they dare to come up?"
"oops!"
"Throw it quickly!"
Although the attack by Cao Jun's soldiers was fierce, they were still beaten and fell from the ladder in the face of stones and wood thrown down like raindrops.
