When Cao Cao received the news, he was sleeping late in Yangping Prefecture. His brother-in-law, Qin Shao, came over and woke him up from the couch.
Cao Cao had always had a headache, so he slept very lightly. At this time, Qin Shao woke him up in the middle of the night. He jumped up, lost his composure and asked, "Why is it so late to tell us! If so, Henan is in danger!"
After that, he hurriedly put on his clothes and armor, went to the outside of the city to summon the soldiers under his tent, and sent someone to notify Guan Yu who was not far away, and ordered his troops and horses. Without waiting for the Henan army to arrive, he headed towards Puyang at lightning speed. . Cao Cao personally led the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry on this trip. He covered the 400-mile journey in one day and night, and finally entered Puyang before the Gengcang Army.
Just after arriving in Puyang, Juyang ordered Ren Jun to bring another bad news to Cao Cao. He said that Zhang Chao, the prefect of Jiyin, was defeated by the rebel army and led his people to flee north. He was actually shot by the rebel army with two arrows, and one arrow hit Cao Cao. An arrow hit his back and ankle. Although he was not killed on the spot, when Zhang Chao was escorted to Juyang by Zang Hong, Zhang Chao gradually died on the horse due to bleeding.
Zhang Chao was originally the governor of Guangling and the younger brother of Zhang Miao, the governor of Chenliu, a close friend of Cao Cao. He took the initiative to move to Jiyin because of the rebellion against Dong. The Suanzao armies united the year before last, and he was mostly the mediator, so he became very famous. Cao Cao was able to take control of Yanzhou. And powerful. Therefore, when everyone in Cao's army heard the news of Zhang Chao's death, they felt bitter and sad in their hearts, and they all spontaneously mourned for Zhang Chao, so that Puyang was in a miserable state.
Cao Cao was extremely dissatisfied with this situation. He gathered all the sergeants on the high platform in the south of the city and said loudly: "In the past, Ma Fubo once said: A man should die in the field and be buried in horse leather. How can he lie down in bed? Evil in the hands of a woman! Today, Commander Zhang died for his country to quell the rebellion, which is exactly how a hero dies. If we want to commemorate him, it should be the blood of men, not the tears of women!"
The soldiers all felt justified, and then their morale was restored. However, Cao Cao knew that the enemy situation was unknown at this time and it was not yet time for a decisive battle, so he left most of his troops in Puyang to wait for Guan Yu, while he went south to Lihu to welcome back the remnants of Zhang Chao's army. At this time, Cao Cao abandoned his horse and walked forty miles with the coffin in person, returning north to Puyang with hundreds of Jiyin's remaining soldiers. By the time he arrived, Guan Yu's and Zhang Miao's remaining troops had also arrived in Puyang.
In a few days, everything was turned upside down, and the three of them looked at each other in silence. Zhang Miao took a closer look at Zhang Chao's body and saw his younger brother lying in the coffin, wearing a red military uniform, a tiger flower crown, and an iron nail belt, with his eyes closed as if he was sleeping. Zhang Miao rubbed Zhang Chao's palms that had lost their warmth, and said with tears: "We usually say that we die for our country, but I don't think it matters to me, but when Meng Gao left, I felt like I had died for once." The words were so sad. Cao Cao also cried when he heard the words and promised him: "Even if I don't risk my life, I will definitely avenge Meng Gao."
So a military meeting was held to discuss the current situation with everyone. Based on the current situation, General Liu Bei is still reorganizing his army in Nanyang, while Xiahou Dun, the governor of Dongjun, and Cao Ren, the governor of Shanyang, are besieged in the two cities of Dongmin Changyi. With the exception of Dongjun, Yanzhou can be called the fall of Juzhou, and if It would be a bit pointless to try to counterattack when the enemy is outnumbered and we are outnumbered.
In this case, Chen Gongjin, who was in charge of the governance, said: "Sun Bin has a saying: Those who resolve complex disputes do not control the situation; those who rescue the struggle do not fight and suppress; if they criticize the overpowering and suppress the weak; if the shape, pattern and situation are restrained, then they will solve their own problems. . But now the enemy is advancing like wind, invading like fire, suddenly breaking through the two counties, and the front of the army is like the sea, shaking the whole state. It can be said that its momentum has been achieved. In my opinion, our army must first avoid its sharp edge, and then make plans .”
When everyone heard this, they all thought it was reasonable. At this time, Jibei Prime Minister Bao Xin said: "The enemy's army is so powerful. The number of soldiers is not only twice that of our army. Under siege, how can we avoid it? The only plan now is to We must take advantage of the fact that the enemy forces have not yet joined forces and win with all our strength! Our army will defeat Jiyin's enemies first, rescue Yuan Rang and Zixiao, and then attack Chen Liu's thieves. We will definitely win!"
Cao Cao's blood boiled when he heard this, and he said repeatedly: "That's how it should be! A man should be fighting like an eagle. Even if he doesn't succeed, how can he be a housekeeper dog?"
After hearing this, Chen Gong could only come up and advise again: "Ming Gong, be careful. If you miss a move now and lose military morale, Yanzhou will have no foothold."
Cao Cao was very dissatisfied when he heard this. He thought of the war in the past few months and the achievements of Chen Chong and Liu Bei in the past few months. He couldn't express his anger and said angrily: "If Gongtai is so afraid of war, he can stay here." , watch from the top of the city how our loyal ministers of the country break through the formation and kill the enemy when we go to battle!"
Such words are simply scolding Chen Gong for being unfaithful and unfilial. Chen Gong was also a very strong person, his face suddenly turned red, and he suppressed his anger so as not to explode in front of everyone. As soon as Cao Cao said those words, he regretted it. He knew that what Chen Gong said was also true. In addition, Chen Gong was indispensable for his ability to gain a foothold in Yanzhou. Chen Gong was never afraid of difficulties when he accompanied the army in battles. , what I just said was too hurtful.
But Cao Cao was very proud of himself, and even though he knew he was wrong, he did not say anything, but Xun Yu came out to calm the atmosphere. He stepped forward and said: "What Gongda said is reasonable. Now that the bandits and soldiers are numerous, they should not forcefully defeat them. The priority should be to defend the city. However, what Gongda means is that although it is possible to defend the city, it is not necessary to defend the enemy's army. Several times more than I am, if they surround me on all sides, and the army is defeated, how can we survive? We must go out of the city to divide their power first, and then attack them with light troops. Only in this way can we ensure that Dongjun is safe. What is the fight? Where is it?"
Cao Cao then took advantage of the steps and said, "What Wen Ruo said is exactly what I just thought." Then he apologized to Chen Gong and said, "Gongtai, I am reckless, I hope you don't blame me."
Chen Gong's expression became normal and he said slowly: "I just want you to know my sincere heart, and I have nothing else to ask for."
That night, Cao Cao, Bao Xin, and Guan Yu led six thousand knights to the south again. They crossed the Pu River from Juyang and went south to the Dingtao area. At this time, Dingtao City was already covered with more green flags. Cao Cao looked up at the bottom of the city and knew that he was unable to attack the city. He could only retreat and do the next best thing. He captured some local Yellow Turbans to inquire about the news, and then he learned that Guan Cheng's main force had gone to besiege. Changyi.
Unable to attack the city and find a battle, Cao Cao felt helpless and had no choice but to retreat to Puyang and look at his next strategy based on the enemy's situation.
Three more days passed, and news from the two counties gradually disappeared like a stone sinking into a lake. There is no news that the enemy troops have captured Changyi and Dongmin, nor that the enemy troops have come to attack Baima and Puyang. This is extremely puzzling. Cao Cao felt that he could no longer sit back and watch the changes, so he tried to attack Chen Liu instead.
Unexpectedly, just half a day after passing Yan County, the two sides met in the woods north of Fengqiu.
This was a completely unexpected encounter-style field battle. Guan Hai led 60,000 men and was heading towards Suanzao, while Cao Cao led 6,000 knights on his flank. The encounter was in a dense forest, leaving no room for maneuver for both armies. , we can only fight head-on.
At this time, the Wuyang camp that Guan Hai relied on was at the rear of the army. Most of the Gengcang sergeants facing Cao's army were infantry. Moreover, in the forest, it was difficult for the archers to aim at the horses, and it was difficult for the officers to direct the outflank.
In contrast, Cao Cao at this time brought only light cavalry, each carrying a knife and a bow and arrow. As they galloped in the forest, the cavalry's arrows hit the enemy's faces like fallen leaves, and soon there were moans and groans all over the place. At this time, they used knives to cut off the throats that had not yet died, and then changed into formations in the large army. Before they were finished, they had hung the bleeding heads on the saddles, leaving only a few dozen corpses behind, and then fled away like a flying horse.
Siluke
After capturing nearly a thousand men, Cao Cao was so happy that he danced on his horse to let all the soldiers cheer for him. As a result, he was accidentally scratched by a branch and cut his jaw. But he didn't care. After leaving the forest, he ordered his men to ambush on both sides of the road. If there were pursuers behind them, they could use this opportunity to catch the enemy by surprise.
However, Guan Hai did not send troops to pursue him. He only commanded the troops to gather the bodies of the deceased, and then sped off from the forest, while he and Wuyang camp personally reared up. After leaving the forest, they would rather take more detours and avoid the deep mountains and dense forests, and settled in Zizao the next day. After that, there was no movement to go north to Dongjun.
This move greatly puzzled Cao Cao. He returned to Puyang and discussed with Xun Yu, saying: "If the rebel army has no intention of advancing into Dongjun, they should send troops to stay at Chenliu Yongqiu, and then join forces with the Jiyin rebel army and pull out. Changyi and Dongmin. If the enemy's army aims at Dongjun, then they should use troops to surround Baima in Yanxian County and surround Puyang. Now he is stationing his troops in jujube and will not advance or retreat. Isn't it extremely unwise?"
Xun Yu had been trying to figure out Geng Cang's intention these days, but he could taste some of it. He analyzed it and said: "Why did Ming Gong's remarks stop at Yanzhou? Looking at Yanzhou, jujube is indeed of no use. But looking at the world, the jujube troops were stationed back then to unite the world. You righteous man, isn't it you, Duke Ming, who plans to invade the capital?"
Cao Cao was shocked when he heard this. He immediately took out the map and looked at it again and again. After a long time, he hesitated and said: "If this is the case, there is something difficult to understand. If the bandit army is planning to go to Henan, how can they treat Dongjun as if it is nothing and put the sword on the neck?" ?”
Xun Yu reached for the map, pointed at Yuzhou and said: "Yanzhou is in trouble today because we thought that Yuzhou was protected by Yuan Shu, and the rebel army would not be able to attack Yanzhou from now on, so we made a mistake. It can be seen from this that the rebel army was determined. There are extraordinary people, and if you look at their plans and plans, they all cover the world, and their original ideas are isolated. How can you treat them with common sense?"
Speaking of this, Xun Yu moved his finger to Jizhou and said solemnly to Cao Cao: "If my prediction is correct, the rebel army will have reinforcements in Hebei and will soon go south to Yanzhou to attack Dongjun. At that time, we will not only have too much time to take care of ourselves." , and may even be in danger of overturning, please be careful."
Cao Cao looked at what Xun Yu was pointing at and sweatdropped for a moment. He was about to open his mouth to refute, saying that he and Yuan Shao were very close and would not end up like this, but before he could say anything, what Yuan Shao did before the Luoyang Rebellion suddenly came to mind. for. If Yuan Shao and Geng Canghang colluded, what should I do?
For a moment, Cao Cao held the Yitian Sword at his waist and was silent.
