Juancheng.
Cao Cao had an angry look on his face, glared at the soldier who came to deliver the message, and roared angrily.
"Xia Houyuan fell into the enemy's plan and has now retreated to Fan County?"
The soldier's expression changed with fright, and he nodded hastily, "Yes."
Cao Cao was furious, stepped forward, kicked the soldier down, gritted his teeth and shouted, "Hateful."
Cheng Yu hurriedly stepped forward and said, "My lord, now is not the time to be angry. You should think about how to deal with Lu Bu, right?"
Cao Cao clenched his teeth in anger, burning with anger.
According to his plan, Xiahou Yuan led his troops to block Lu Bu. He did not need to win, he only needed to block. However, not only did he fail to block, but he was defeated and lost his troops and generals.
Lu Qian stepped forward and said, "My lord, I can't blame General Xiahou for this. I didn't expect Lu Bu to be so cunning and use a method of dividing his troops to confuse General Xiahou."
Cheng Yu nodded, "Lü Bu divided his troops and went all the way to Fan County and all the way to Dong'a. General Xiahou can only divide his troops and stop them separately. There is no other way."
Having said this, Cheng Yu sighed, "I just didn't expect that Lu Bu would be so cunning and tampered with the division of troops, causing General Xiahou to be defeated."
The anger in Cao Cao's heart softened a little and he sighed, "If we lose this battle, I'm afraid Fan County will be in danger. What should our army do next?"
Lu Qian frowned and said, "Lü Bu defeated General Xiahou and will definitely lead his troops to Fan County.
However, the lord does not need to worry too much. Fan County has soldiers and horses guarding the city. Coupled with the soldiers and horses brought by General Xiahou, it will not be easy for Lu Bu to break the city. "
Cheng Yu nodded, "Since Lu Bu's army is going to Fan County, why don't we send troops there and join forces with General Xiahou to repel Lu Bu?"
At this moment, Guo Jia, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said, "Although Fan County is in crisis, you have forgotten another thing?"
Cheng Yu frowned slightly, "Fengxiao, what's the matter?"
Guo Jia said slowly, "General Xiahou and General Cao have divided their forces into two groups. Now that General Xiahou has been defeated and retreated to Fan County, there is a city defense, which can at least stabilize it for a while, so there is no need to worry.
However, don't forget that there is also a troop led by General Cao. "
Lu Qian waved his hand and said, "Fengxiao, you are worrying too much. The total strength of Lu Bu's army is only more than 10,000 people. Since the main force is here in Fan County, there will not be too many troops going to Dong'a.
General Cao leads 15,000 troops. Even if he encounters Lu Bu's army, there should be no danger, right? "
Guo Jia smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Since Lu Bu has already calculated the division of troops, there is no reason not to think of this, so I am worried that Lu Bu still has a plan to deal with General Cao."
Cao Cao suddenly said, "Since Fengxiao is worried about Cao Hong's troops, he will send someone to inform them not to pursue them anymore, but to drive Lu Bu's army away."
At this moment, there were rapid footsteps outside the door, and a soldier strode in.
"My lord, Lu Bu's army has retreated, and General Xiahou has led his troops to pursue them."
"What?"
Cao Cao was immediately shocked by the news, "What did you say?"
Cheng Yu grabbed the soldier and asked, "Why did Lu Bu's army retreat?"
The soldier wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "When General Cao's troops were chasing the enemy, they sped up and the baggage troops fell behind. As a result, they were attacked by Lu Bu's army and all were robbed by them.
After General Xiahou learned about this news and the retreat of Lu Bu's army, he was worried that something might happen to General Cao, so he led his troops to rescue General Cao. "
Everyone was shocked when they heard this change. Guo Jia sighed and said, "I didn't expect that Lu Bu was so cunning and attacked General Cao's baggage troops. This time General Cao is in danger."
Cao Cao's expression changed. Xia Houyuan had lost so many soldiers and horses, which made him heartbroken. As a result, Cao Hong's army was in crisis again!
"Guys, do you have any suggestions?"
Lu Qian cupped his hands and said, "General Cao is closest to Fan County, but Lu Bu is chasing us from behind, so we must not retreat to Fan County.
The only way now is to retreat to Dong'a, hoping that General Cao will be there in time. "
Cheng Yu looked worried, "If General Cao doesn't bring much food, I'm afraid he will run out of food halfway through the journey. The situation will not be good!"
Lu Qian smiled bitterly and said, "There is nowhere to go except to Dong'a."
Cheng Yu turned to Cao Cao and cupped his hands, "My lord, why don't you send someone to Dong'a to send a message, and ask Dong'a to send someone to meet General Cao?"
Cao Cao nodded, "That's all."
Guo Jia suddenly said, "General Cao is in trouble this time, but General Xiahou will also be in danger."
When everyone heard this, they were immediately surprised, "Could this also be Lu Bu's plan?"
Guo Jia sighed and said, "If Lu Bu's army sets an ambush halfway, General Xiahou will definitely be defeated."
Cao Cao's expression changed and he yelled, "Here comes, hurry up and deliver the message, tell him not to chase, and withdraw to Fan County as soon as possible."
Guo Jia smiled bitterly and said, "I hope it's not too late."
Cao Cao gritted his teeth, his expression fluctuating. After a long time, he suddenly snorted coldly, "Lü Bu is too bullying. If you dare to come, don't go back."
"Leave 5,000 soldiers and horses to defend the city, and the rest will follow me to Cangting!"
When everyone heard this, they were immediately surprised and said hurriedly, "My lord, you must not do it. If Lu Bu's son has a plan, you will regret it!"
Cao Cao shook his head, "I have made up my mind, don't say anything else, just go and prepare."
…
Xia Houyuan and Xu Chu led 4,000 troops and horses, rushing all the way to pursue Lu Bu's army in front.
On the way, Xia Houyuan kept sending spies to inquire about the situation of Lu Bu's army in front.
"General, Lu Bu's army continues to advance. It is about 80 miles away from us."
"General, Lu Bu's army stopped to set up camp and prepare to rest. It is about 80 years away from us."
Xia Houyuan felt a little relieved after hearing the news that the spies kept coming back.
"Is there any news from General Cao?"
Hearing the question, the spy shook his head, "If you want to find out what's going on over there, you need to bypass Lu Bujun. So far, the news has not come back."
Shi Huan came over, raised his hands and said, "General Xiahou, it's getting late now. Since Lu Bu's army has stopped, why don't we also stop and rest?"
Xia Houyuan looked around, pondered for a moment, and shook his head, "Our army is too far away from Lu Bu's army. If something happens ahead, we may not be able to rescue him in time."
At this point, Xia Houyuan suddenly emphasized his tone and said, "Give me the order to let everyone walk for another hour before resting to shorten the distance between us."
Shi Huan bowed his hand and went to the army to deliver orders.
The waning moon was in the sky, and under the bright moonlight, the earth was covered with a layer of silver gauze. The woods and mountains in the distance seemed to be unreal, with only faint black shadows outlined, which made people feel extremely unreal.
When everyone was about to approach the mountains in the distance, Shi Huan hurried over and said, "General Xiahou, the official road ahead passes through the mountains. The road is not easy to walk. Why don't we stop and rest."
Xia Houyuan nodded and pointed at the mountain in the distance with his whip, "Let everyone walk to the edge of the mountain and stop to rest."
Everyone came to the foot of the mountain, and with an order, the army stopped and began to set up camp.
After a day's journey, everyone was tired. After dinner, they all rested early.
Xia Houyuan was sitting in the Chinese army's tent, but he didn't feel sleepy at all. He looked at the oil lamp in front of him with burning eyes, but he was thinking in his heart, where was Lu Bujun going?
Just when Xia Houyuan was thinking hard, the sound of messy footsteps and rapid breathing came from outside the big tent.
"Has General Xiahou rested? Is there an urgent military situation?"
Hearing the noise outside, Xia Houyuan perked up and shouted at the door, "What's the military situation? Come in and talk."
Soon, a veteran soldier strode in from outside the door and said with his hands raised.
"General Xiahou, there is news from General Cao."
Hearing these words, Xia Houyuan's eyes lit up. He came out this time to rescue Cao Hong. If nothing happened, wouldn't it be a good thing?
"General Cao's food was robbed, and people were in panic. He had already chased him to Cangting, but now he has no choice but to retreat to Dong'a."
Xia Houyuan asked hurriedly, "Did Lu Bu's army pursue him?"
"I heard from the spies over there that Lu Bu's army hiding in Cangting has left the city, but it is still far away and there is no threat."
After hearing what the spy said, Xia Houyuan breathed a long sigh of relief. Just as he was about to speak, the soldier who inquired about the news spoke again.
"General Xiahou, although Lu Bu's army from Cangting can't catch up with General Cao, the main force of Lu Bu's army is heading in the direction of intercepting General Cao."
Upon hearing the news, Xia Houyuan stood up suddenly and asked loudly, "Are you telling the truth?"
"If there are no accidents, and their two armies march according to their original routes, they should meet tomorrow night."
Cold sweat broke out on Xia Houyuan's forehead, "Does General Cao know?"
"General Cao knows this, so he has ordered to change direction and deviate to the north, hoping to bypass Lu Bu's army."
"To the north?"
Xia Houyuan nodded, then waved his hand, "Go down and rest first."
Looking at the spy's leaving figure, Xia Houyuan frowned and wondered in his mind, did his marching route also need to be changed?
Cao Hong's soldiers and horses deviated to the north, the further away they were from here. If they wanted to rush over to join him, even if they themselves also deviated to the north, they might encounter Lu Bu's army during the detour.
Lu Bu's army is in the middle of the two armies, and it is indeed impossible to get around it.
Xia Houyuan can be sure that his spies can get information about Lu Bujun. On the contrary, Lu Bujun's spies can also get the location of his troops, making it even more impossible to get around.
Just when Xia Houyuan was thinking hard, Xu Chu and Shi Huan heard the news that the spy had returned and immediately rushed over to inquire.
"General Xiahou, how is the situation with General Cao?"
Xia Houyuan repeated what the spies had just said, and finally said, "Lü Bujun is among us. If you want to rush over to join us, you will be easily discovered by them. I am worried about this matter. What do you two think?"
What could Xu Chu do? He waved his hand as big as a cattail leaf fan vigorously, "What are you afraid of? If you meet Mr. Lu Bu when you go around, then have a fight with him."
Xia Houyuan turned a blind eye to Xu Chu's suggestion, turned to look at Shi Huan, frowned and asked, "General Shi, what do you think?"
Shi Huan was brave, good at fighting, and thoughtful. Cao Cao valued him very much and worked hard to cultivate him.
Hearing the question, Shi Huan frowned, lowered his head and thought for a moment, and suddenly said, "General Xiahou, why do we have to go around and why do we need to join General Cao?"
Xia Houyuan was stunned, "We rushed over to meet up, of course we want to join forces to deal with Lu Bu."
Shi Huan cupped his hands and said with a smile, "General Xiahou, if you just want to join forces with General Cao, why do you have to join forces?"
Hearing this, Xia Houyuan's eyes lit up, and suddenly his heart suddenly dawned on him. He slapped the table and laughed.
"General Shi, you are right, why do you have to go around, why do you have to merge, haha!"
Xu Chu was a little puzzled and asked doubtfully, "General Xiahou, why don't I understand what you were talking about just now?"
Shi Huan said slowly, "General Xiahou said that even if we don't go around, we can join forces with General Cao. If that's the case, then why do we have to expend so much effort and take such a big risk? We might as well keep walking slowly from behind." , and it can preserve the soldiers’ physical strength, so why not do it!”
Xia Houyuan secretly praised Shi Huan for his plan and nodded with a smile, "Yes, if Lu Bu in front turns around and wants to attack us, we can retreat quickly to relieve our army's crisis."
Shi Huan frowned and said, "Actually, although our army is small in number, it is 80 miles away from Lu Bu and there will not be much danger. I am worried about General Cao."
Xu Chu looked at Shi Huan with wide eyes, even more confused, "General Cao has 15,000 soldiers and horses, why is he more dangerous than us?"
After hearing this, Xia Houyuan sighed, "If there is no accident, maybe there will be no food there tomorrow."
Hearing these words, even the reckless Xu Chu's expression changed, "Oh no, if you don't have enough to eat, what are you going to fight for?"
Shi Huan nodded, "Although General Cao may collect food along the way, it is only a drop in the bucket from a few small villages and cannot solve the food problem of the entire army!"
Xia Houyuan sighed inwardly, but said nothing because he had nothing to say.
Without food, everything is possible!
Everyone rested outside the mountain for a night, and the next day, they continued to move along the official road.
Early in the morning, the spies sent out at night returned the news.
"General, Lu Bu's army has already set off, and its target is General Cao. It has also changed direction, which is confirmed without a doubt."
Xia Houyuan was secretly surprised and hurriedly ordered to speed up the march.
The official road continues into the mountains, and the mountains next to it gradually become steeper.
Just when Xia Houyuan's army reached the steepest point, they suddenly heard a whining horn sound above their heads.
Woohoo!
As the horn sounded, countless boulders and wood fell from the top of the mountain.
Looking at the big rocks and wood rolling down, Xia Houyuan's expression changed, and he secretly screamed.
I originally thought that Lu Bu's army was in front, but I didn't expect that an ambush was set up here.
"Ahhh!"
With the sound of whistling wind, huge rocks and wood fell among the soldiers of Cao's army, knocking down the soldiers in front of them. They kept knocking down four or five more soldiers with huge inertia.
