Arriving at the Prefecture Mufu, Tao Qian and Sun Jian sat down on the left and right sides respectively.
After exchanging cups and cups, the banquet was over, and Tao Qian asked Mi Zhu to report and share with Sun Jian and others the military situation since Cao Cao and Yuan Xi invaded Xuzhou.
After hearing this, Sun Jian and others felt embarrassed about the situation.
Zhang Zhao said angrily: "In the name of revenge, Cao Cao went to Xuzhou and led troops to bring trouble to the prefectures and counties, causing harm to the local area. It's a shame that even the Yuan family got involved and robbed Xuzhou." He was loyal and upright, although He didn't approve of Tao Qian, but he was still very angry when he heard about the victims in his hometown.
Tao Qian also looked at Zhang Zhao with some embarrassment. He had once taken Zhang Zhao into custody out of shame and anger. With their current status, it was certainly not easy for them to talk to each other.
"Master Tao, father, I would like to lead a brigade of elite troops and go north to Langya to face the Qingzhou Army." The heroic Sun Ce came out to ask for orders.
Tao Qian coughed, looked at Sun Jian and said, "The young general is really a talented person. What do you think, Wentai?"
Sun Jian hummed. His eyes were not limited to Xuzhou. Both Cao Cao and Yuan Xi's armies were battle-hardened, and their generals and strategists were also talented. They were not comparable to those of ordinary warlords. They had to be careful. planning.
"Report!" The herald came to Tao Qian and handed over three urgent documents.
As Tao Qian read, his hands were shaking and he kept coughing. It was obviously not good news.
"Brother Gongzu! Doesn't it matter?" Sun Jian asked with concern.
Tao Qian covered his mouth with a silk handkerchief, waved his hand, and handed the urgent document to Sun Jian.
"Cao Cao defeated Yuan Gonglu, the Black Mountain bandits, and the remaining Xiongnu tribe!" Sun Jian read out, and then said, "Cao Cao's army and Cao Ren's tribe defeated Yinping!"
Regardless of everyone's shock, Sun Jian continued to read out the third urgent report, slowly reading, "The Qingzhou Army Xu Huang's Department left Mount Tai to attack the East China Sea, and Lanling fell!"
"Ah!" Everyone was shocked. They didn't expect the situation to deteriorate to such an extent in an instant. Sun Jian also had a headache. What he was worried about was finally over.
Tao Qian's words became much weaker and he asked, "Look, how can we get out of the siege?"
Chen Deng sighed in his heart. If Tao Qian had listened to his advice earlier and concentrated his forces to defeat the Qingzhou Army, he would not be so embarrassed now. He said, "Cao Mengde is a veteran on the battlefield, and General Fei Sun cannot resist. The Qingzhou Army is a bandit and is the best at it." Wandering bandits will prevent them from attacking the East China Sea and Xiapi."
Sun Jian, Zhang Zhao and others all agreed with Chen Deng's statement. After all, they were experts and they understood what Chen Deng meant.
Tao Qian asked: "Wentai, are you willing to lead troops to Pengcheng to resist Cao Cao?"
"Brother Gongzu, Sun Jian came to Xuzhou just to ensure stability. Just leave it to me to resist Cao Cao's army."
Tao Qian nodded happily and said, "I will let Cao Bao and Liu Xuande from Pengcheng return to Wentai for control. Please be sure to stop Cao Cao."
Sun Jian thought for a while and asked: "Send my son Sun Ce to lead 10,000 elite troops north to Langya to stop the Qingzhou army. Once Cao Cao is defeated, the Qingzhou soldiers will flee back to Qingzhou without fighting."
Tao Qian was a little worried and said: "Master Ling is indeed brave, but is he a little younger?"
"Gong Zu, please be at ease. Although Bo Fu is young, his martial arts skills are superior to mine. I will send two more generals, Han Dang and Huang Gai, to assist. It will not be a problem to resist the Qingzhou army." Sun Jian said.
Seeing that he was so sure, Tao Qian agreed.
■■■
In the mountains of Donghai County, soldiers of the Qingzhou Army were marching in a hurry.
Yuan Xi took Xu Chu and a group of tiger guards to finally leave Qu County.
Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun's cavalry put on Xuzhou military robes and took one step ahead, detouring from Liangcheng to the north of Xiapi, and then pretended to be Xiapi's reinforcements and headed north to Tancheng.
Behind Yuan Xi's army were the three thousand Qu County defenders escorted by Hao Zhao. After conquering Qu County, more than 3,000 Xuzhou soldiers were captured. If these soldiers were let go, they might chase and attack, but Yuan Xi couldn't bring himself to kill them. So Hao Zhao was asked to lead two thousand Qingzhou soldiers to escort him and work as coolies escorting grain and grass.
Zhu Gongdao, a fat and honest man, held the horse, ran to Yuan Xi with his legs spread out, and complained, "Mr., Master. That lady is making trouble again. She is crying to see the Master."
Yuan Xi also had a headache after hearing this. He sent Zhu Gongdao to Mi Zhen's place to assist the Tiger Guard in monitoring them. But seeing that Yuan Xi didn't do anything to them, Mi Zhen gradually let go of her fear and boldly made various demands on Zhu Gongdao and others.
Yuan Xi rode up to the carriage and asked, "Mrs. Wei and Miss Mi, what do you want from me?"
Mi Zhen opened the car curtain, looked at Yuan Xi and said with a wink, "I haven't seen you since we left Qu County. I want to ask you, how is Brother Wei now?"
"Is he the guard? He saved his life. I left him in Qu County. I believe that those of you Mi family will take care of him." Yuan Xi responded calmly.
Mi Zhen frowned and said, "Also, my sister-in-law and I haven't eaten for almost a day. We need to eat."
Yuan Xi turned to ask the tiger guard next to him, "Why don't you give them something to eat?"
"Major General, I gave it to them, but they didn't eat it and threw it away."
Mi Zhenjiao scolded: "Yuan Xianyi, you don't have to insult the people of my Mi family like this. What did you give me? Is it for human consumption? None of my servants eat that food. It's cold and hard!"
Yuan Xi understood immediately that when he went out to fight, most of the food the army ate were dry food such as steamed cakes and scones, or simple wheat rice, millet rice, and pickled black bean vegetables. There are also pigs and sheep, but they are added as a reward or when conditions permit. This eldest lady has never experienced hardship, so she must not be used to those things.
Wei Shi grabbed Mi Zhen and said apologetically, "Sister Zhen! Mr. Yuan, my sister is ignorant, please don't take offense."
Mi Zhen hummed softly: "That's right, isn't that wheat rice for the lower class?"
Yuan Xi knew that wheat rice was indeed eaten by the lower class at this time. Those powerful and wealthy people disdained this kind of food. Giving it to them could be said to be an insult to them, so he said helplessly, "The army is poor, and it is difficult to live in the army." I'm on the march and I really can't bring out anything good to entertain the distinguished guests, Miss Mi, please forgive me."
Then Yuan Xi said to the soldier in charge: "Tell the cook that I will give Miss Mi and Mrs. Wei whatever I eat."
Mi Zhen nodded with satisfaction and said in a sweet voice, "I don't think you are a bad person, so I advise you to leave Xuzhou as soon as possible, otherwise my eldest brother and second brother will come with troops and beat you to the ground!"
Yuan Xi shook his head. In fact, in the army, his own food was not much better than that of the soldiers. And now he is thinking about how to make good use of Miss Mi. When Emperor Taizong Li Shimin was fighting King Kong of the Song Dynasty, he only ate one piece of biscuit for two days, which shows the hardship of the march.
Zhu Gongdao grimaced and begged: "Sir, I won't follow this young lady anymore. The noise all day long gives me a headache."
Zhu Gongdao seemed to be afraid that Yuan Xi would not agree, so he continued: "I know that the young master is going to Tan County, and I know a small road that leads directly to Tan County."
Yuan Xi was surprised. He remembered that two brothers, Zhu Ao and Zhu Gongdao, had lived in Xuzhou, and he was also suffering from the inability to reach Tancheng quickly.
Zhu Gongdao was afraid that Yuan Xi wouldn't believe it, so he said anxiously: "Really, really, I remembered that when I was a child, I took that road to collect firewood with my eldest brother and the others, all the way to the north of the county."
Yuan Xi was surprised. If there really was a shortcut, the purpose of a surprise attack could be achieved. The battle in Tancheng would have added many more variables and tactics.
■■■
Three days later, Tancheng.
Tancheng County Lieutenant Zhang Yuan was Tao Qian's confidant. At the age of thirty, he was promoted to captain based on his military merit. He had experienced more than ten battles, large and small, and was considered a capable person in the army.
Since Tao Qian asked various places in Xuzhou to prepare for the war, Zhang Yuan strengthened Tancheng's city defense. After Tao Qian increased his troops, Tancheng had nearly 10,000 defenders, making it as strong as Xiapi, Pengcheng and other places. In recent days, news of the fall of Lanling in the East China Sea has made the already tight defense even more tense.
To the south of Tancheng, streaks of dust rose, and then a large group of cavalry appeared. Behind the cavalry were nearly two thousand infantry. These soldiers and horses all bear the banner of Xuzhou Army, and their uniforms and armors are also of Xuzhou standard. All about 4,000 people marched to Tan City in a mighty manner.
Zhang Yuan was called to the top of the city by his subordinates. He was surprised and asked his soldiers with loud voices to shout to the people below the city, "Which general are you waiting for?"
"Master Tao Shijun belongs to Lord Cao Hong. Because the Qingzhou soldiers came from Lanling to invade Tancheng, we were ordered to come to the rescue."
Zhang Yuan asked the soldiers to put down the hanging basket, "Let your general in charge come up and verify his identity."
At the foot of the city were Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao who were deceiving the city. Several generals in charge looked at each other. Fortunately, they had a countermeasure beforehand.
Zhang Liao stared at a captain with cold eyes, "You know what to do! If there is any mistake, not only you, but also the children of Qu County will not be able to eat!"
It turned out that this captain was a captain of the Xuzhou garrison who was captured in Qu County.
The captain nodded in agreement, and after a while, he and the other two sergeants were hoisted up the tower.
Zhang Yuandang looked at the three of them, "I don't know how to call them?"
The captain raised his hands and said: "Master Zhang, don't you recognize me? I am Li Yu, the captain of Lord Cao Hong. When I was surrounded by the Quexuan rebels, you rescued me. I remember the celebration banquet, sir. Got drunk on the spot.”
Zhang Yuan squinted his eyes and recalled carefully, vaguely remembering that there was such a person, "I remember, there is such a thing. I am also being cautious, please don't take offense."
Li Yulian said he didn't dare, and then handed over the forged documents awkwardly. Zhang Yuan looked at it for a while and felt that there was no problem, so he ordered the city gate to be opened.
Just as the city gate opened a crack, another army came from the south. The slogan is the word "grandson".
"Send the order, please wait and open the city!" Zhang Yuan looked confused and immediately stopped.
The gate of Tan County City is open a crack. At this time, another army came from the south. The slogan is the word "grandson".
"Send the order, wait a minute and open the city!" Zhang Yuan looked confused and immediately stopped, he took out the sword from his waist, "Where are those soldiers?"
A group of defenders on the city tower also raised their weapons and surrounded him.
Li Yu's face turned pale and his hands couldn't help shaking, "Brother, how could I know! What is that flag?"
Zhang Liao, who was at the bottom, didn't have time to think too much. He jumped his horse across the suspension bridge and ran towards the city gate. When the gap was about to close, Zhang Liao inserted a halberd into it. He fought with his hands, and the city gate stopped and closed abruptly.
Dozens of horsemen followed Zhang Liao to the city gate without any orders. More and more cavalry stepped on the suspension bridge to prevent it from being hoisted. A few soldiers spent some time and cut off the iron chains of the suspension bridge.
Dozens of soldiers immediately dismounted, pushing with their hands and pushing with their arms. They competed with the defenders at the city gate, not only in terms of strength, but also in terms of life and death.
Zhang Yuan finally knew that Li Yu and the others were here to deceive the city, so he fired weapons at the three of them. Although the three of them resisted, they were outnumbered and they all died on the tower after fighting for a while.
Xuzhou did not have many cavalry. Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao were afraid that too many cavalry would arouse suspicion, so they only had 2,000 soldiers on horses, while the other half of the 2,000 soldiers became infantry.
Zhao Yun also saw the big banner with the word "Sun" in the back. Although he didn't know which soldier it belonged to, it was definitely from the Xuzhou Army. He immediately ordered the infantry behind him to line up and put up their shields to defend against the arrows shot from the city and to guard against the unknown troops behind him.
Arrows flew down, and even though the soldiers had shields, they were crowded on the narrow city gate drawbridge, and many people were killed or injured. Zhang Liao and dozens of other soldiers were struggling to open the city gate.
"Together, open!" "Together, open!" Zhang Liao and his soldiers all shouted in unison, pushing forward in unison. Once, twice, three times, the city gate was finally pushed open. The cavalry behind them, who were still struggling to resist the rain of arrows and rolling logs, quickly rode into the city.
Sun Ce was riding a pure black horse. He was suspicious when he saw a large group of soldiers gathering under Tan City from a distance. Now that the shouts of killing were heard, he was even more certain that the enemy was at that time. So Sun Ce ordered Han Dang to lead the left army and Huang Gai to lead the right army. They surrounded the enemy from three sides and cooperated with the defenders to surround and annihilate them.
Young and frivolous, Sun Ce was particularly confident in the gun in his hand. He believed that except Lu Bu, who was known as the best general in the world, no one else could surpass him. When he saw the handsome Zhao Yun with his white horse and white robe, Sun Ce couldn't help but praise him.
Seeing that the south tower was in danger, Zhang Yuan immediately asked his soldiers to sound the alarm and summon reinforcements from elsewhere. As for Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun's troops, except for more than 300 people who were killed by arrows, the rest gradually squeezed into the gate of Tancheng.
Sun Ce rode his horse straight towards the opposing general. He raised his gun and shouted, "I am Sun Ce, who is under the command of General Polu. Who are you? Do you dare to tell me your name and fight me!"
Zhao Yun saw that most of the soldiers were crowding into the city, so he had no worries, so he held his gun and cupped his fists and said, "I've heard of you, remember, I am Changshan Zhao Zilong!" After Zhao Yun said that, he rode his horse and raised his spear to stab Sun Ce in the face. .
Sun Ce also smiled heartily, called on his soldiers to surround the enemy troops entering the city, and then fought with Zhao Yun at the city gate.
Zhao Yun led hundreds of soldiers to block the city gate. They could not let Sun Ce's army enter the city, otherwise they would be in danger of being flanked.
The defenders on the city wall could not tell the difference between the enemy and ourselves below the city, so they stopped shooting arrows and went down to the wall to resist the enemy.
Sun Ce fought with Zhao Yun more than a dozen times in a short time. Both of them tried their best, and the two big guns flew up, forcing the nearby soldiers to get out of the way. Zhao Yun was able to fly the spear heads with ease, but Sun Ce was struggling. Make a judgment.
After Zhang Liao entered the city, he led his cavalry to attack everywhere. However, the streets in the city were not wide, so the cavalry could not exert much combat effectiveness. They could only try to attract the defenders to come closer.
County Lieutenant Zhang Yuan also descended from the city wall and ordered his soldiers to form formations to block and encircle the enemy. This resulted in a stalemate among the three parties. They all know that in this situation, they can only fight desperately. If one party gives in at all, there is a danger of defeat.
Two quarters of an hour later, Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao's troops were gradually forced into the city. Sun Ce, Huang Gai, and Han Dang also led more than 4,000 soldiers into the city and joined Zhang Yuan for ventilation.
It does not mean that Zhao Yun will definitely win if his force value is higher than Sun Ce. It is just personal force, but the battle situation also depends on the changes in the battlefield situation. Obviously the situation is not good for Yuan Xijun.
"Master Zhang, please ask your soldiers to encircle you from the north and east, and don't let the Qingzhou Army's cavalry attack randomly. If we encircle you from the south and west, we will definitely annihilate this Qingzhou Army!" Sun Ce suggested road.
Zhang Yuan saw that the situation was getting more and more favorable to them, so he ordered his soldiers to follow Sun Ce's suggestion and surround Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun's troops.
Zhang Liao, Zhao Yun and others guarded the houses and streets. They both felt that the situation was not good.
"Zilong, let's lead a sudden attack to boost morale. According to the report from yesterday's scout, the Major General and the others are nearby. We will lure all the enemy troops here!" Zhang Liao said loudly.
Zhao Yun nodded, holding a gun and leading a group of personal guards to guard a street entrance to block the Xuzhou soldiers. Sun Cejun's attack.
Han Dang, Huang Gai, Sun Ce, Zhang Yuan and others gathered together and commanded their soldiers to encircle and annihilate the Qingzhou Army.
Zhang Yuan said gratefully: "Thank you, Major General Sun, for your rescue, otherwise Tancheng would have fallen."
Sun Ce laughed and said, "Master Zhang, are those Qingzhou soldiers? I see that Yuan Xi is also eager to win, so he sent so many cavalry to deceive the city. Now, if they are blocked by us, we will definitely destroy them all."
Huang Gai is a general who has experienced hundreds of battles. He reminded: "Young General, don't be careless. The Qingzhou Army dares to deceive the city, and its main follow-up force is nearby. We must capture the enemy forces in the city as soon as possible, otherwise we will be outflanked." danger."
Sun Ce clapped his hands and said, "Thanks to General Huang for reminding me, otherwise Sun Ce would have delayed the important matter." After saying that, he raised his gun and wanted to lead his troops to attack and kill him personally.
"Kill!" "Oh no, there is an enemy attack in the north of the city!"
Sun Ce, who had just mounted his horse, was shocked, "I will lead my troops to help the North Gate. General Huang, help Master Zhang to trap this place. General Han Dang, lead the soldiers outside the city to counterattack the enemy troops outside the North Gate."
After that, Sun Ce led more than a thousand soldiers and rushed north. As soon as he arrived at the north gate, Sun Ce complained. It turned out that the enemy troops had breached the city gate and were swarming into the city.
Sun Ce stopped a Xuzhou guard and asked, "How could the enemy attack the city gate so quickly?"
The guard was still in panic, "Sir, the Qingzhou soldiers suddenly appeared from the hills outside the city, and everyone here went to the south of the city. We can't resist them!"
Sun Ce snorted and ordered his soldiers to form a spear formation to block the Qingzhou soldiers at the street entrance.
Zhou Cang first led his troops into the city. At a glance, he saw the majestic Sun Ce riding on a war horse, "Who is that little boy? You better surrender as soon as possible, otherwise your grandfather and I will not be able to use my sword." The one with long eyes."
Sun Ce was extremely angry, "If that thief of yours can defeat a gun in my hand, you can say whatever you want. If you can't defeat him, how about you consider me your ancestor?"
Zhou Cang screamed strangely, rode his horse forward and struck Sun Ce hard with his long sword.
Sun Ce burst out laughing, holding a gun with one hand and sweeping horizontally, blocking Zhou Cang's attack.
The more Zhou Cang fights, the more frightened he becomes. The opponent's strength and skill are so great that he can compete with him. He joined the Qingzhou Army and learned nothing else. However, after getting in touch with Zhao Yun, Xu Chu and others, he realized that there are people outside the world, and there is a sky outside the world.
Zhou Cang secretly thought that he was no match for Sun Ce, so just before Sun Ce counterattacked, he turned his horse and retreated back to the city gate. He knew that as long as he guarded the city gate, subsequent soldiers would continue to move in, and people who could rival Sun Ce would also arrive.
Sun Ce was not willing to let go of this opportunity, and led his soldiers to press under the city gate to drive the Qingzhou soldiers out of the city. He stabbed repeatedly with his spear, forcing Qingzhou soldiers to retreat wherever he went.
Sun Ce laughed and said: "I have heard for a long time that the Jizhou Army and the Qingzhou Army have many capable men and warriors. Why don't you see any generals who can resist me?"
"Don't be arrogant! I'll meet you later." A shout came, and Taishi Ci, who was well-proportioned, strong, and handsome, led his troops and rode into the city.
Sun Ce looked at the other person with squinted eyes and asked, "Sun Ce, Sun Bofu, General Polu's tent. Who are you?"
"Donglai, Taishi Ci!"
After saying that, Taishi Ci immediately stepped forward and stabbed Sun Ce with his spear. The one at the bottom this time was Xunchi Lingli, and Sun Ce's words angered him.
Sometimes the inertia of history is really too great, so Yuan Xi has to be careful, otherwise he will be shattered into pieces as soon as time and space correct him.
Sun Ce saw the way out and did not dare to be careless. He raised his gun and fought with Taishi Ci for more than ten rounds. The fighting spirit of both sides was aroused, and they glared at each other without giving in.
Looking sideways at more and more Qingzhou soldiers pouring into the city, he felt anxious. The battle with Taishi Ci was evenly matched. Our own soldiers gradually showed a tendency to retreat.
At this time, another group of cavalry entered the city on horseback. Among them was a young general who was handsome and elegant. The two strong men next to him were fierce, sturdy and powerful. Sun Ce took a deep breath.
The first battle between Hebei Yuan Xi and Jiangdong Sun Ce began.
Someone asked why the Sun family father and son were so powerful in Jiangdong but became mentally retarded in the north. It was not like that, but Yan Baihu in Jiangdong, Liu Yao and his like were definitely not comparable to Cao Cao and Yuan Xi, and Cao Cao and Yuan Xi's Wenwu were easy people.
