Koto.
The night was deep, and the drizzle was still falling continuously, dripping on the bluestone ground, making a ticking sound, which was very pleasant.
Wu County has entered the curfew time, and the surrounding city gates have been closed. Under the drizzle, the streets and alleys are silent and quiet. From time to time, all you can see are groups of people wearing shabby clothes. County soldiers from Wu County on patrol.
At night, in Wuxian County, above Ximen Long Street, in the drizzle, the long street is narrow and dark, showing silence and a trace of desolate atmosphere. This is the only way to the Sun family mansion and to the Gu family. .
On the left side of the street, there is an ordinary house. Above the attic, there is a small oil lamp in the house. Under the faint light, three people are sitting quietly. Xu Gong is in the first place, with a low expression, cold eyes, and twisted hands. Fist, looking down at the street outside the window, as if waiting for something to appear.
Xu Gong felt a kind of involuntary madness in his heart whenever he thought that he could kill Sun Ce, his most outstanding eldest son, under Sun Jian's nose.
"Captain Xu, have you made arrangements this time and won't fail again?"
Sitting on the left side of Xu Gong was a man in his forties, with a medium build, dressed in bright brocade clothes, with a round face. It was Zhang Chu, the leader of the Zhang family. He was also looking at the long street outside the window, feeling a little dissatisfied. asked.
The reason why Zhang Chu helped Xu Gong assassinate the Sun family was naturally not because of the great friendship between them. The Zhang family was one of the representatives of the local Jin gentry. Now Sun Jian's power is too strong, especially with Cheng Pu's recent series of actions. , measuring land, censusing the population, etc., have harmed their interests.
The Sun family's aggressiveness naturally aroused their dissatisfaction. In their minds, whether they killed Sun Quan or Sun Ce, they wanted to give Sun Jian a warning, or a lesson.
As long as they can unite the people who killed the Sun family, with this power, the Zhang family can unite the scattered local gentry to fight against Sun Jian's regime. Even if Sun Jian is dissatisfied, he will not dare to do anything to them in order to rule Wu County.
"Ziyang, don't worry, I have made complete arrangements. With thirty disciples of yours and twenty elites of mine, Sun Ce can't fly under Brother Bo Lai's three crossbows."
A smile appeared on the corner of Xu Gong's mouth, his eyes flashed through the cold killing light, and he said confidently.
"Xu Gong, you should know that if Sun Ce cannot be killed this time, we will be the ones who suffer." Sitting on the right is a man in a bamboo hat, his whole body covered in a big black robe, and his face cannot be seen. face.
"So Sun Ce must die!" Xu Gong turned his head, looked at the man in the bamboo hat on the right, narrowed his eyes slightly, and nodded.
This was the person he had been wooing, but he didn't expect it to come to his door automatically.
"Remember, no matter what, Sun Ce must not be allowed to take care of the family!" The sharp voice of the man in the bamboo hat was a bit cold.
"Brother Bo Dao, don't worry, Sun Ce will definitely die here this time." Xu Gong understood the worries of the man in the bamboo hat and nodded solemnly.
Ta-ta-ta...
A burst of rapid horse hoofbeats sounded in the dark long street. The three people's expressions were shocked. They stared out the window and saw in the distance, in the misty rain, three figures wearing raincoats, galloping on the street. , heading straight in the direction of the Gu family.
"Here it is, Sun Ce!" The three of them stood up, walked to the window, and stared ahead. They only saw the figure in the middle, tall, handsome, and conspicuous.
"Hmph, what a Sun Ce. He is worthy of being the son of a tiger. He is extremely brave and bold. He actually dared to go to the Gu family to attack the enemy with only two guards." Xu Gong snorted and said sarcastically.
"Let's do it!" The man in the bamboo hat stared at Sun Ce's heroic appearance and said calmly.
Xu Gong nodded and stared out the window at the looming figures around the street. The tea cup in his hand suddenly faced the street and threw it out with all his strength.
Bang, a crisp sound echoed on the street. Accompanied by this loud sound were dozens of sharp arrows, which broke through the rain and hit Sun Ce and the three of them directly.
"Careful, broken!"
Facing the sudden arrows, Sun Ce seemed to have been prepared. He reined in the horse's reins, glared, shouted, raised the silver gun hanging on the horse's back, waved it left and right, and shot away the beautiful gun flowers one by one. arrows.
"Kill Sun Ce!"
"Kill Sun Ce!"
At this time, dozens of men in black rushed out on both sides of the street, each with murderous intent. Among them were experts in martial arts. They blocked the front and rear of the long street, tightly surrounding Sun Ce in the middle.
"A group of hidden thieves stabbed my mother and brother a few days ago. I couldn't find you. You came just in time. Today, I will let you come and go, and none of you can escape."
Sun Ce had been holding back this breath for many days. With a roar, the raincoat on his body tore, revealing the blood-red lion king armor. The more he fought, the more brave he became. With a silver gun, in a few rounds, more than a dozen assassins in black died. Under his gun.
"What a great Sun Ce. No wonder some people in Danyang say that he has the courage of an overlord. If he is named the Little Overlord of Jiangdong, he will be able to surpass his father in martial arts within three to five years."
The three people in the attic were a little shocked when they saw Sun Ce's bravery, and all of them looked pale.
At this time, a dozen assassins in black suddenly launched three bed crossbows, two in front and one in the back, blocking the long street. The bed crossbow was a weapon on the battlefield, an unparalleled artifact specially designed to kill these fierce generals.
"Fire the crossbow!"
There was a cold shout from among the black-clothed assassins.
"No, it's the bed crossbow. Protect the general quickly!" Sun Ce's guard, none other than Zhou Tai, raised a big sword and stood directly in front of Sun Ce, facing the bed crossbow.
"Despicable thief! You will die!"
Zhou Tai, holding a long sword, protected Sun Ce's back. Although Zhou Yu asked Sun Ce to be a bait to lure the enemy in the dark, he would never let Sun Ce take risks so easily, so he sent this Jiujiang/thief Zhou Tai, Sent to protect Sun Ce.
"It's just a bed crossbow, what can it do to me?" Sun Ce didn't expect such a sharp weapon as a bed crossbow to appear. He didn't panic at all. He started to move violently, his eyes widened, his legs clamped around the horse's legs, and his crotch The black horse roared and leaped into the air.
"Break it for me!"
Sun Ce was in mid-air, raised the silver gun in his hand, exploded with all his strength, and threw the crossbow at the bed in front of him.
Click!
The silver gun fell from the sky, penetrated the body of a black-clothed assassin, and then directly broke through one of the bed crossbows and penetrated an inch into the ground.
For a moment, there was silence on the long street. The black-clothed assassins stared in panic and horror at the figure standing on the back of the horse in the middle that looked like a god of war.
Even Zhou Tai was a little surprised. Even he couldn't do this move. He and Sun Ce were about the same in martial arts, but he definitely didn't have Sun Ce's innate strength.
"Kill!" Zhou Tai suddenly became excited and rushed out first. Taking advantage of his unpreparedness, he destroyed the remaining two bed crossbows and then started to face the assassins in black, killing them one by one.
The three bed crossbows did not work, so they were destroyed by the two. Of course, the bed crossbows are bed crossbows after all. If they only deal with Sun Ce, a master, no matter how powerful Sun Ce is, he cannot deal with three bed crossbows. But what Xu Gong didn't expect was that the guards around Sun Ce were also top-notch experts.
On the long street, in the drizzle, a messy battle took place. After Sun Ce destroyed the first crossbow, he rode forward and took back his silver spear. After killing several assassins, he suddenly felt an involuntary feeling in his heart. Got a hint of chill.
"die!"
I saw an assassin in black suddenly appeared next to him, and a sword light was like lightning, going straight to his heart.
"A certain family is waiting for you, despicable swordsman." Sun Ce narrowed his eyes slightly and looked calm. Zhou Yu once reminded him that there was a swordsman proficient in assassination beside Xu Gong, so he was prepared and always on guard.
"Break!" Sun Ce raised his spear, jumped off his horse, and broke the swordsman's sword with one shot.
"No." This swordsman was Wang Rui, the last of Xu Gong's three gatekeepers. He originally wanted to take advantage of the chaos to attack Sun Ce, but he didn't expect that Sun Ce's sense of touch was so keen. He forced a move with Sun Ce's spear. He was obviously Feeling Sun Ce's strength, he couldn't help but take a few steps back.
"Let's go!" Wang Rui turned around and left without any hesitation. Unfortunately, it was already a bit late.
"Want to leave!"
Sun Ce sneered, and a drop of raindrops fell on his handsome face, showing his incomparable fortitude, and there was also a trace of shocking murderous aura in it.
"Keep your life!" The spear in Sun Ce's hand was faster than his voice. It gave him a heart-breaking blow on his back and pierced his body. Wang Rui's eyes widened with a trace of trepidation. The willing gaze slowly fell.
In less than a quarter of an hour, the battle came to an end. In the long street amid the rain, except for Sun Ce and a few others, all that was left were dead bodies.
Jizhou, Hejian County.
In order to guard against the intrusion of Gongsun Zan's cavalry, Yuan Shao personally led 30,000 troops to station here, echoing Ju Yiyuan who was stationed in Zhongshan.
A group of 5,000 cavalrymen was marching back to camp. Yuan Shao brought Guo Tu, Xu You, Feng Ji, Chunyu Qiong and others accompanying him to the village gate to greet him.
Generals Gao Lan and Han Meng, who were riding in front of the cavalry brigade, quickly dismounted and returned to their posts, and reported back, "Fortunately, I lived up to my command and repelled Gongsun Zan's invading cavalry."
Yuan Shao smiled and stepped forward to help the two of them up, and said, "Two generals, please stand up. You fought well. Let Gongsun Xiao'er see that our Jizhou cavalry is not a good man."
Under Yuan Shao's guidance, everyone returned to the Chinese army's tent.
Chunyu Qiong smiled and said: "Gongsun Zan was defeated at Jieqiao, and his momentum is no longer what it was before. Although he has invaded repeatedly, it is just a small fight to harass the place under my rule. Why not take this opportunity to attack Jixian together with Ju Yi?"
After several repulsions and a small victory for Gongsun Zan's cavalry, Yuan Shao became more confident, but when he thought of Yuan Shu in the south, he still shook his head and said, "Our army is scattered throughout Jizhou, and I'm afraid we won't be able to defeat Gongsun Zan with a small number of soldiers."
Guo Tu thought for a while and suddenly said: "Gongsun Zan colluded with Yuan Shu, Tao Qian, and the Black Mountain bandits. Why don't we also contact Gongsun Zan's enemies?"
"Gongze, who are you talking about?" Yuan Shao asked with some confusion.
Guo Tu smiled and pointed to the northeast, "Wuhuan people!"
"Ah!" Yuan Shao suddenly woke up and slapped his thigh, "Wonderful, Gongsun Zan and the Wuhuan people are mortal enemies, and he is good at riding and fighting. I just accept him."
Guo Tu continued to suggest: "My lord only needs to send people to the Wuhuan territory in Liaodong and Youbeiping, give their leaders money and silk gifts, and promise benefits. I believe they will be happy to send troops with my army to attack Gongsun Zan."
"Wonderful! Wonderful! According to Gongze's plan, we will send people to Liaodong immediately." Yuan Shao narrowed his eyes and smiled.
Feng Ji saw that Guo Tu had been in the limelight, and was unwilling to accept it. He then suggested: "Wuhuan is far away after all. Gongsun Zan is famous for conquering foreign tribes. He mostly fought with Wuhuan and never saw Wuhuan." Can benefit from it.”
"Then do you have a better plan?" Guo Tu sneered.
Feng Ji laughed, "Not only that, but it can also have an immediate effect. Gongsun Zan can die without a burial place without our army!"
Yuan Shao couldn't help but be moved when he saw that Feng Ji was so sure, "What's the plan?"
Feng Ji and Guo Tu looked at each other for a while, then raised their hands and said to Yuan Shao: "My lord, please don't forget who Youzhou Mu is? Gongsun Zan is stationed in Ji County, which is adjacent to Liu Bo'an. How can Liu Yu not take precautions? As long as we provoke him, Deepen the conflict. Explain Gongsun Zan's threat to Liu Yu, and Liu Yu will definitely send troops to destroy Gongsun Zan."
After hearing this, Yuan Shao felt that it was really possible to get rid of Gongsun Zan immediately, "Mr. Feng's plan can be said to be even more powerful!"
Xu You saw that Yuan Shao had acknowledged this, so he agreed: "In recent years, there have been turmoil everywhere. Millions of people have come to settle from Qingzhou and Xuzhou. Liu Yu is good at governing. Youzhou has become a It is no less wealthy than Jizhou. Let Liu, Yu, Gong, and Sun Zan attack each other, and our army can concentrate its forces to reap the benefits."
Yuan Shao stood up energetically and said, "I will send someone to take care of it immediately according to Sir's plan."
Just when Yuan Shao was plotting against Gongsun Zan, Gongsun Zan was leading a group of cavalry back to a small town near Ji County.
Guan Jing, Gongsun Xu, Gongsun Fan, Shan Jing, Tian Yu, Wang Men and other subordinates all came to the city gate to greet him.
In his early twenties, the heroic Gongsun Xu stepped forward quickly, led Gongsun Zan's horse, and asked with concern, "Father, you are not in danger, are you?"
Gongsun Zan stroked his long beard with his hand and said with a smile: "How can the Jizhou cavalry be the opponent of our Youliao cavalry? Our army won for a while and then returned in triumph."
"The general is brave!" everyone agreed.
Guan Jing and Tian Yu, who were standing aside, looked at the expressions of the cavalry soldiers behind Gongsun Zan, but they felt suspicious.
Gongsun Zan led everyone back to the mansion. After everyone sat down, Guan Jing asked, "Have you ever captured grain, fodder and other materials?"
Gongsun Zan hummed and said, "Jizhou's cavalry came very quickly, so they had to abandon supplies during the battle. Later, they were afraid that Yuan Shao's infantry would encircle them, so they rushed back after winning for a while."
Guan Jing said oh and said nothing.
Gongsun Xu said angrily: "Father, these days you have been out on the expedition, Liu Yu has sent soldiers to provoke you."
Gongsun Zan looked slightly cold, "Liu Yu? Wait until Yuan Shao is defeated before making further calculations!"
Just after he finished speaking, Gongsun Zan thought of something and said with a smile: "It's ridiculous that Yuan Shao thinks he is right in dividing his troops to resist our army, but he doesn't know that he has fallen into the trap."
All the subordinates were very surprised and didn't know what Gongsun Zan meant. Only Guan Jing and Tian Yu vaguely guessed something.
Gongsun Zan drank a bowl of wine and said slowly: "At the end of last year, the Hou General Yuan Jiujiu sent people secretly to discuss with me how to deal with Yuan Shao. Finally, the Hou General came forward to unite the Black Mountain Army and the remaining Xiongnu troops in Bingzhou, so that We and the other four families will attack Yuan Shao together."
Gongsun Zan understood from his younger brother Gongsun Yue and said, "This is the reason why we attacked Jizhou at the beginning of the year."
Gongsun Zan nodded and smiled: "This is not a comprehensive plan, it is just a trick."
Everyone was puzzled and made speculations.
Gongsun Zan said with a smile on his face, "The Black Mountain bandits are attacking Changshan, Yuan Shu is attacking Yanzhou, and our army is attacking Hejian. This is just to divert Yuan Shao's troops. The real rear attack is in Yecheng."
Everyone said "Yeah" and listened quietly to Gongsun Zan's explanation.
"There are also people in Jizhou who are dissatisfied with Yuan Shao. Yuan Jiujiu has already contacted Han Wenju's old department in the army. After the soldiers and horses from all directions have diverted Yuan Shao's main force, the Black Mountain bandits should be released from inside and they will attack Yuan Shao's lair together. Then we will wait for a pincer attack. Yuan Shao's life is at an end!"
Yecheng, where Yuan Shaojun was stationed.
In a heavily guarded tent, four generals of Yuan Shao's army were having a secret conversation.
A Cavalry Captain named Wei Xian, who was in his thirties, cleared his throat and asked, "Is everyone ready?"
"Just wait for the order to avenge Master Han, Master Geng Wu, Master Guan Chun and the others!"
The door curtain opened, and a middle-aged man dressed as a farmer came in, "My lords, my subordinates are under the command of General Lang Zhongping. I heard from my general that I would like to ask your lords if you are ready. If possible, our army will enter the city in three days." .”
Wei Xian handed him a letter, "Please give this secret letter to General Zhang Yan. In three days, we will cooperate with your army to capture Yecheng."
Zhang Yan's spies put away the secret message and left the military camp at night.
■■■
Liu Bei took Zhang Fei and Jian Yong and galloped along the path from Yinping to Pengcheng.
After a period of interrogation by the Pengcheng defenders, Liu Bei finally entered the city and came to Tao Qian's temporary residence.
Tao Qian, a man with gray beard and hair, personally welcomed Liu Bei in. "It's all thanks to Xuande who fought tooth and nail to defend Yinping, thinking he was my barrier to Pengcheng!"
Mi Zhu, who was engaged in the battle, also bowed his hand and saluted Liu Bei, saying, "It's all thanks to Duke Xuande to resist Cao Cao's army and keep Xuzhou peaceful."
Tao Qian summoned Zhao Yu, Zuo Rong, Cao Bao, Chen Deng, and Cao Hong to listen to Liu Bei's battle report with Cao Cao's army.
After Liu Bei finished speaking, Tao Qian let out a long breath and said, "Xuzhou is safe for the time being. What do you think we will do next?"
Liu Bei looked at the people present, cupped his hands and said: "Tao Shijun, if you can trust Liu Bei, let me lead the army to pursue and attack Cao Cao."
Upon hearing this, Cao Bao immediately objected, "More than 100,000 troops of Empress Yuan's army are attacking Yanzhou. Chenliu and other places are about to attack. It is enough for them to deal with Cao Cao. Why should our army go out lightly?" He had always regarded himself as a wealthy family in Xuzhou and looked down upon Liu Bei. This guest general.
Tao Qian's close confidant Cao Hong also echoed: "Exactly, Empress Yuan's army is powerful, so why can't it stop Cao Cao? Moreover, Yuan Xi of Qingzhou is attacking me in Langya, so our army should concentrate its forces to give it a severe blow. Xuande is unavoidable. No matter the severity."
Tao Qian nodded in agreement.
Chen Deng immediately retorted loudly, "Otherwise, Tao Gong knows that although Cao Cao's military strength is not as good as Yuan Gongdao's, he has led troops for many years and has experienced many battles. It can be seen from these years of east and west expeditions that he is very good at using troops. They can often use clever tricks to defeat the many with the few, and the weak with the strong. Whether Yuan Houjun can defeat it is still unknown."
Zhao Yu, a famous scholar summoned by Tao Qian, also agreed: "Cao Cao believes that Tao Shijun is the enemy who killed his father. He is not sure why he will die at this time. If he defeats Yuan Gongluo and returns to Xuzhou, our officials and people will be in danger! It's time to gather troops. Ma and Yuan Highway attack Cao Cao!"
The kind-hearted Zuo Rong shook his head and said, "The Qingzhou army is attacking Langya. According to the news, Zhuxian, Dongguan and Haiqu have fallen one after another. Yuan Xi's troops are pointing directly at the East China Sea and Xiapi! According to Zhao Sir, I told Yuan Long that if Cao Cao wins and then engages the Qingzhou Army in a pincer attack, wouldn't it be more dangerous for us?"
"Otherwise! Cao Cao is my mortal enemy. He will not give up until he kills Tao Shijun and takes over Xuzhou. But what is Yuan Xi's plan in Qingzhou?" Chen Deng asked in return.
After a pause, he continued his analysis: "Xinding, Qingzhou, is short of money and food. After Yuan Xi occupied the three counties, he also looted money and food. It can be seen that he is helping Cao Cao for profit. The emperor only needs to send one person to scold him for being rude. Later, he will If you try to appease him again, I promise you some benefits, so that you can make him retreat."
Liu Bei and Zhao Yu also came out to second the proposal and said, "We also approve of Yuan Long's strategy."
Tao Qian thought that it would be a good idea to have the Qingzhou Army retreat if he could provide some money and food. Just when he was about to reply, he was stopped by one sentence.
"Wait a minute! Don't you know what Yuan Xi did in Langya besides robbing money and food?"
