Koto.
At this time, the Sun family was still brightly lit. Sun Jian was wearing a firm robe, kneeling in front of the desk in the study, quietly reading the book of war.
"Father!" Sun Ce led Zhou Yu into Sun Jian's study.
"How is it?" Looking at the two of them, Sun Jian raised his head, smiled slightly, and asked: "You two made a lot of noise, I can hear it here. Have you caught anyone?"
"I caught them all. Not only did I capture Xu Gong, but I also captured someone you wouldn't expect. But this time, Gong Jin plotted against him. The three people he captured were almost killed."
Then Zhou Yu took over Sun Ce's words and analyzed them in detail.
"You mean, they are also sending out bed crossbows?" Sun Jian was furious, with a trace of murderous intent exuding from his body.
"Indeed, if Gong Jin hadn't arranged it properly and asked Zhou Tai to accompany him, I might have failed this time!" Sun Ce was still a little scared when he thought about it.
"Ruthless enough. I think they think a certain family is easy to bully. Then let them see the anger of my Sun family this time. Then the assassins killed later must not be Xu Gong's people, right?" Sun Jian frowned. , his eyes were a little cold: "Xu Gong doesn't have such a lot of energy."
"Definitely not, they are here for Gu Zhou."
Zhou Yu's eyes lit up slightly and he said in a low voice.
"Gu family?" Sun Jian stood up and walked to the window of the study, staring at the drizzle outside with tiger eyes, a little uncertain.
At this time, in the Gu family mansion, Gu Tan looked a little anxious and hurriedly walked into the study of Gu Hong, the head of the family. Gu Hong was sitting on the bamboo mat in the room with a gloomy expression.
"Uncle, were our Gu family involved in the assassination just now?" Gu Tan asked directly.
"Um!"
Gu Hong raised his head, looked at Gu Tan, his eyes were calm, nodded, and sighed: "After Gu Zhou was dismissed from his official position, he was always dissatisfied with us getting close to Sun Jian, so he secretly funded Xu Gong's actions. By the time I found out, he had already It was too late, so in a hurry, I made a bad move."
He regretted it now. Gu Zhou got involved. As long as the Gu family didn't admit it, he could still get it back. At most, the losses would be serious, but the next move he made was a bad move that would definitely offend the Sun family.
"You mean, kill Gu Zhou?" Gu Tan glared.
As long as Gu Zhou dies, even if the Sun family has grievances and no proof, it can't do anything to the Gu family. At most, the Gu family will take a step back.
"Um!"
Gu Hong nodded.
"The action failed?" If it succeeded, Gu Tan didn't feel that this move was bad, but if it failed, it would be an unnecessary move and offend the Sun family even more.
"Yeah!" Gu Hong nodded.
In the early morning, the rain stopped, but the fresh and refreshing air in Wuxian County was filled with a tense atmosphere.
Last night's bloody battle on Ximen Street and the attack near the county government office. Xu Gong, Zhang Chu, and Gu Zhou of the Gu family all united to assassinate Sun Jian's eldest son, Sun Ce. Instead, Sun Ce set up an ambush and captured them all.
This matter has spread to everyone in the county overnight
Now everyone's eyes can feel a kind of calmness after suppression, and everyone begins to stare at the county governor's mansion, waiting for the decision of the fierce tiger Sun Jian, or in other words, waiting for Sun Jian's butcher knife.
"Xu Gong is really overestimating his abilities. I'm afraid he's dead this time!" In the streets and alleys, some wine shops, teahouses, and scholars gathered in groups, and they were discussing.
In fact, Xu Gong and the others don't care much. Xu Gong has lost his use value and has become an object of Sun Jian's power at most.
"I heard that the head of the Zhang family is involved, and Mr. Ziyang is also involved!"
But Zhang Chu is different. He is a relatively famous scholar in Wu County. The Zhang family is a representative of the local Jin gentry in Wu County. This makes them afraid that Sun Jian will make a fuss about this and use Zhang Chu's affairs to attack the local Jin gentry. Killing.
"I heard that even Gu Zhou of the Gu family was involved. General Polu will definitely be furious this time, and the Gu family will not be able to escape his responsibility!" one of the wine boys said in a low voice.
The most important thing is that this matter involves the Gu family, the giant of the Jiangdong gentry. Gu Zhou is also a representative and important figure of the Gu family, and his official rank is Wu County Magistrate, so many people regard this matter as being instructed by the Gu family.
"The Gu family is not the Zhang family. I'm afraid General Polu must also be careful!" someone sighed.
Now everyone is looking forward to the collision between Sun Jian and the Gu family.
The two big families of the Gu family and the Lu family are different from the Wujun family. They are the real giant family in Jiangdong. They are a big family that transcends Wujun and has influence covering Jiangdong.
A middle-aged Confucian scholar in his early thirties, wearing a silk scarf and a simple commoner robe, looking a little downcast, walked through the streets and alleys of Wuxian County. As he walked, he listened to many comments and began to feel silently in his heart. Think about it.
In less than half an hour, the middle-aged Confucian scholar had already arrived in front of the Wu County Sheriff's Mansion. He raised his head and stared at the gate of the Sheriff's Mansion. There was a trace of struggle in his heart.
His name was Zhang Zhao. He wanted to join Sun Jian, so he recommended himself. Although he was young and eager to learn, and had great abilities, he had been in prison before and was a little unsure of himself.
Zhang Zhao was from Xuzhou. He was young and studious and well-known in his hometown. A few years ago, there was a war in Pengcheng, Xuzhou. The rebellion was put down by Xu Qian, the state pastor. Later, Xu Qian heard about his name and wanted to conquer him.
But he had already felt that troubled times were coming, and Xu Qian was not a hero. He was not willing to take refuge, so he postponed it. Instead, he offended Tao Qian, who did not expect Tao Qian to throw him into prison.
Last year, his friend Zhao Yu, who became the prefect of Guangling, begged Tao Qian to rescue him from prison. However, he was afraid that Tao Qian would hold a grudge. After he was released from prison, he took his family all the way south to Jiangdong to avoid trouble.
But what Zhang Zhao didn't know was that his escape from Xuzhou was inseparable from the secret help of Sun Jian and Sun Ce. Sun Jian had long been eyeing this talent. And later became Sun Jian's entrusted minister.
Zhang Zhao also stayed in Wu County for several months. He started to pay attention to Sun Jian when he entered Wu County. He had been observing Sun Jian for some time. As early as more than a month ago, he made up his mind to join Sun Jian, but he only had Zhang Zhao's I am proud, so I must find a suitable opportunity.
What happened last night gave him the opportunity to understand what Sun Jian was most worried about.
Sometimes, I think that history has not taken good care of the father and son Sun Jian and Sun Ce. They both died young. In fact, the talents of the Sun family father and son are at the forefront in the Three Kingdoms, even in any period of history. It is a pity, God does not Holiday year.
Moreover, talented warriors all went to Yuan Xi willingly because of the charisma of Sun's father and son, instead of being forced to go to Yuan Xi like many people.
For example, Guo Jia, Jia Xu, Sima Yi and others did not want to work for Yuan Xi at first, but Yuan Xi's agency was too manipulative, so these people had no choice but to get into Yuan Xi's car.
However, the initial intentions of those who seek refuge in the Sun family and the Yuan family are different. It is a pity that if the Sun family had the power of the Yuan family and his sons, the military ability of Cao Cao, and the political ability of Liu Bei, maybe.
The Sun family was the one who unified the Three Kingdoms. It was a pity that Yuan Xi had nothing to do with him. No one expected that Yuan Xi was a person from outside time and space, and a Cheng Yaojin appeared in history.
Langya, outside Yangdu City.
A group of more than 400 Xuzhou cavalry rode out of the city. Their leader was a young man with a square face and thick eyebrows.
The young man was wearing iron fish scale armor, with a resolute look on his face, and said loudly, "The Qingzhou soldiers used to be just yellow scarf bandits, there is nothing to fear. Pay attention, if you encounter the Qingzhou soldiers later, retreat quickly, don't be reluctant to fight!"
"promise!"
More than three hundred vanguard cavalrymen of the Qingzhou Army appeared in the distance. The young general waved his hand, and the four hundred strange soldiers lurking on the high ground beside the road quickly dispersed, circled, and appeared behind the vanguard of the Qingzhou Army.
As the whistle blew, the middle-aged general rode his horse and slashed viciously with his sword. More than four hundred well-trained knights also cooperated, sprinting and slashing with excitement.
The more than 300 cavalry at the forefront of the Qingzhou soldiers were caught off guard and were scattered as soon as the battle began.
More than three hundred Qingzhou cavalry were divided into several parts. They were elites selected from the Qingzhou infantry, but they had not been trained in cavalry warfare for a long time and did not have much experience. After being separated, the Qingzhou cavalry worked hard to gather together.
The young general with a square face commanded four hundred Xuzhou cavalry. Each attack was short and swift, and then he retreated into formation and attacked again.
After half an hour of fighting back and forth, less than half of the Qingzhou soldiers were killed. It seemed that they had kicked the iron plate.
General Yamen, who was led by the Qingzhou cavalry, saw that he was no match for them, so he had to retreat slowly with his remaining cavalry of more than a hundred cavalry.
The young general with a square face did not pursue, but gathered his troops and prepared for the next attack.
On the same day, the Qingzhou soldiers' vanguard infantry formation was also ambushed and suffered more than 500 casualties.
■■■
At the foot of Chenliu City, there was the sound of arrows piercing the air and the shouts of soldiers.
Yuan Shu personally put on armor and commanded his troops to attack the city.
A group of Yuan Shu's soldiers crawled forward in the dark and narrow tunnel. From time to time, baskets of soil came from the front, and they took them and continued to pass them back.
The cold and damp breath penetrated through the leather armor and penetrated into the skin of these soldiers. In the endless darkness, they endured depression, waiting for the order to move forward, and crawled forward step by step.
The sound of ground breaking in front became more and more urgent, and suddenly the light shone like a tunnel, dispelling the darkness. Yuan Shu's soldiers quickly jumped out of the tunnel regardless of the stinging eyes.
When they opened their eyes, they saw that it was the courtyard of a private house. One, two, three, the small courtyard was crowded with more than thirty people.
A young woman in her thirties was holding a dustpan. She was shocked by the sudden arrival of soldiers, and she was stunned and did not react.
A soldier in front saw that it was not good, so he stepped forward, wrapped his arms around the woman's waist with one hand, and covered her mouth with the other hand.
The woman struggled to move and made a "wuwu" sound from her mouth. The soldier was frightened and covered his hands tighter. Under the gaze of everyone, the woman gradually became silent.
After a long time, the soldier let go of the corpse with its eyes bulging white, and breathed a long sigh of relief.
"Kill!" a man shouted while running.
All the soldiers were shocked, and while chasing and killing them, they asked the people from the day after tomorrow to come out quickly.
On the city wall, Lu Qian directed Chenliu. The organized civilians in the city were busy delivering stones, rolling logs, feather arrows and other materials to the top of the wall to act as a logistics force.
Li Dian and Li Tong calmly let their soldiers resist Yuan Shu's army's attacks in waves.
"Report! The enemy dug a tunnel and appeared in the city. Many people have already entered the city!" A Yamen general, covered with injuries, ran to the top of the city to report.
Li Dian shouted and led more than 600 private soldiers and the Yamen general down the city.
Next to a private house in the market, a hundred soldiers of Yuan Shu's army had appeared. Li Dian knew something was wrong and led his team into the house with guns drawn.
Li Dian and others didn't care about anything else. They took the ladders and entered the courtyard from the wall. After a while of fighting, Yuan Shu's soldiers outside were finally killed.
Li Dian tightened his grip on his spear, drove down the tunnel hard, and stabbed to death a soldier who was about to show up. "Throw those corpses in and fill up the entrance of the tunnel! The rest of the men quickly go to inspect other parts of the city."
Li Dian led his troops on a patrol and immediately rushed back to the city wall to rush for reinforcements.
At this time, Li Tong also had a hole in his breastplate, blood was seeping out, and his face became pale.
"Wenda!" Li Dian quickly supported him and asked the soldiers to carry him down.
Li Tong waved his hand and pushed Li Dian away, and said anxiously, "It's just a scratch on the flesh. The next wave of enemy soldiers is coming up again. Get ready to roll rocks and logs!"
Waves of feather arrows hit the city head. Li Dian crouched down, grabbed Li Tong, and hid behind the battlements. After a brief stagnation, Yuan Shu's soldiers swarmed up the ladder again.
Yuan Shu looked at the soldiers from both sides fighting on the city wall. His eyes were filled with anger and he said angrily, "Why can't we attack them? What do they do to eat!"
The Yuan family really can stand and talk without pain in their backs.
Yan Xiang frowned and said, "My lord, our army will suffer heavy casualties in attacking the city like this. Even if we capture Chenliu and obtain grain, it will be difficult to fight against Cao Cao's main force returning for reinforcements!"
Yuan Shu's eyes were red and he said angrily: "We have already stopped eating. If we don't kill Chen Liu, do we have to eat turf at night?"
Yan Xiang, Yang Hong and others also knew that the situation was critical, but Yuan Shu had always been stubborn and had an extremely violent temper when he encountered something he did not like, so they did not dare to make any suggestions.
"Tell Ji Ling! If we can't capture Chenliucheng, let him raise his head and come to see him! The battalion at the back should put their knives on it. Anyone in front who dares to retreat will be killed!" Yuan Shu gave the order.
The rolling log with wooden spikes was lifted up by Chen Liu's defenders, and the soldiers moved it to the battlements in twos and threes.
"Whoosh!" The arrow flew and the soldier carrying it fell down, but the people behind him quickly made up for it.
"Grumpy!" The rolling wood rolled down the ladder, and the soldiers climbing the ladder were hit on the head! Rows of people were crushed to death.
Ji Ling, who had a short beard and looked like a general, was anxious when he saw that the siege was thwarted.
"Report! General Ji, two of the five tunnels collapsed, and only two led to the city. However, they were discovered. All the brothers died in the battle, and the tunnels were sealed!" Several soldiers came to report.
Ji Ling couldn't help but sigh, "Does God want our army to be defeated?"
"General, what should we do next?" the deputy general asked.
Ji Ling remembered Yuan Shu's order not to retreat. He waved his two-edged sword and ordered, "I will contain you here, and you lead a secret attack from the city!"
"Got the order!"
Yuan Shu was angry and regretful at the same time. Yang Hong had also said before that he would send heavy troops to guard the retreat. However, Yuan Shu concentrated most of his troops in order to quickly capture Chenliu and then directly attack Dongjun.
From a distance, more than a hundred riders were running toward Yuan Shu. After repeated interrogations by his own soldiers, Yuan Shu finally saw clearly that they were Li Feng, Liu Xun and others whom he sent to occupy the three counties of Chen State.
"Zitai, Li Feng, why are you in such a mess? Where are the more than 40,000 soldiers?" Although he had roughly guessed, Yuan Shu still asked without giving up.
Liu Xun and Li Feng dismounted and knelt down to Yuan Shu, saying, "The general is incompetent and fell into Cao Cao's trick. He was ambushed in the Chen Kingdom and all the troops were separated."
Yuan Shu's energy and blood surged, and he staggered. Fortunately, Yang Hong and others beside him caught him in time.
Before Yuan Shu could react, Cao Ren and Cao Chun's cavalry chased Li Feng and the others from a distance. Although the two thousand riders are not many, their momentum is not weak.
Yuan Shu was frightened and said in a panic, "Cao Cao is coming in pursuit, what should we do?"
Yan Xiang quickly suggested: "My lord, there is no need to panic. You can send Lu Bu from the right camp to attack. Their cavalry is invincible and can defeat Cao Cao's army in one fell swoop."
Yuan Shu agreed and quickly sent people there.
The battle between Cao Cao and Yuan Shu was very similar to the battle between Murong Chui, King of Wu of the Yan State, and Huan Wen, the Great Sima of the Eastern Jin Dynasty during the Five Hus and Sixteen Kingdoms period. Murong Chui also harassed and outflanked Huan Wen's rear troops and logistics, causing Huan Wen to lose control. The Northern Expedition was defeated.
■■■
Lu Bu, along with Gao Shun, Hou Cheng, Wei Xu and others, were watching Yuan Shu's army attack the city in the camp. After looting in Yongqiu County, they had not yet run out of food, and Lu Bu was happy to watch them fight each other.
But after Cao Ren's cavalry appeared, Lu Bu's eyes tightened, and then he sneered unconsciously.
"Why is Marquis Wen laughing?" Wei Xu asked.
Lu Bu stretched out two fingers, pointed at Cao Chun and Cao Ren's cavalry, and commented, "Those must be Cao Cao's cavalry. How dare you pursue them here? How bold they are."
"Cao Cao's troops have always been fierce and swift. It seems that Li Feng and the others were defeated and were pursued back." Gao Shun said.
At this moment, Yuan Shu's order was delivered to Lu Bu.
Lu Bu looked at it, then threw it to the others and asked, "Look, do you want to continue helping Yuan Shu?"
"The way back is cut off, and Chen Liu can't attack in front. I think Yuan Shu is 80% likely to be defeated. We don't have to back him up." Hou Cheng said.
Lu Bu closed his eyes and thought for a while, then said decisively, "We can go to Hanoi to settle down first and make plans."
Then Lu Bu opened his unruly eyes with a fierce expression, "But it's not too late to defeat the cavalry in front of you first before leaving."
"Marquis Wen, is it worth it?" Hou Cheng advised. Now that he had decided where to go, he didn't want to waste it in vain.
Lu Bu laughed wildly and said disdainfully, "In someone's eyes, except for the Youliao cavalry, which are still worthy of attention, the rest of the cavalry are not worth mentioning. In one meal, I can defeat them!"
He didn't know the reason, he just purely pursued the thrill of fighting. He was born to fight, but it was a pity that if he was born into a ruling world, he might be a flying general again.
After saying that, Lu Bu picked up his halberd and mounted the red tug horse.
