On the fourth day after receiving the news, a meteor fell outside Dingtao City. Suddenly, flames burst into flames and horses and donkeys brayed in unison. Some people said: "When the big star falls, either a noble person is born or a noble person is about to die!" Then someone else said: "Could it be that we have lost our troops and generals in this battle, and we are all going to die here?!" Even if there are repeated orders in the army, Rumors are prohibited. But not only the soldiers, but also many officers were worried. I also heard rumors that Chen Chong had defeated Liu Fan and Lu Bu one after another from Guanzhong, and had raised a large army to help. He would soon cross Hangu Pass, and in this way he would be attacked from both sides. All kinds of unfavorable news made Cao's soldiers even more worried.
At this time, Cao Cao had decided to withdraw, but it concerned the overall situation, so he did not inform the generals of the news. Instead, he sent a message to Bao Xin first, asking him to lead his troops across the river and retreat into Hanoi. After his withdrawal was completed, he would withdraw again. .
It was already April, and even the unprecedentedly cold spring was over by this time. The surrounding willows are flying like rain, and the green grass on the ground falls with the wind, revealing the sparse or dense white or blue flowers in the grass. Sometimes he would look at the flowers in a daze, and he couldn't help but remember the past a long time ago. Suddenly, he said to his adopted son Cao Zhen who was accompanying him: "Back in Luoyang, I sent Chen Chong to the White Horse Temple at night, and the starry sky was like this that night. Unexpectedly, more than ten years have passed since then, and we will finally meet on the battlefield."
He took a breath and smiled sadly: "When I first heard about Chen Chong's assassination, I felt pity and joy. The pity was that he was so smart that he died at the hands of a villain, but the joy was that if he died, Liu Bei would The strategy of ruling the roost, without Chen Chong, is just a rhinoceros with a broken horn. I will catch him sooner or later. But now he has survived again. What a pity. In this way, history will be like iron in the future. Between me and Chen Chong, Just like the pair of swords Yitian and Qingzhi, only one can be passed down to future generations."
When Cao Cao said this, he showed Cao Zhen the Heavenly Sword on his waist. Cao Zhen was wearing Mingguang Iron Armor and holding a plow knife in his hand. He stared at the Heavenly Sword in Cao Cao's hand resolutely and said, "In a short moment in life, the winner is the king and the loser is the enemy. Who is the winner?" Isn’t it human? Now that our army is in dire straits, I feel sad and sad, so I’d better leave it until it’s done.”
"This is really a warrior's answer!" Cao Cao couldn't help but sigh. He looked at Cao Zhen and said to himself: "Unexpectedly, A Shao Wen is weak, but his son has the spirit of ending the army. Maybe it will be Zi Dan who will prosper my family in the future."
The next day, Cao Cao summoned all the generals in the army, and the tent was crowded with people. Cao Cao looked around at the people and saw that there were more than sixty important officials in the tent. They were equipped with knives and sat down on thick animal skin mats.
Cao Cao said to everyone: "Everyone has been working very hard these past few months. Since the Battle of the Bohai Sea, we raised troops to cross the river and fought all the way from Qingzhou to Hulao without rest for a moment. Now that I think about it, it has been almost half a year, right? How many hardships we have gone through!"
"Now the war has been going on for a long time, even the spring plowing season has passed, and Liu Xuande is still huddled in Hulao Pass. It seems that at least this year, he will not dare to fight with me. But so what? I have occupied Hebei. Henan is half cut off, and Liu Fan and Han Yue are watching over Kansai. In terms of human and financial resources, the strength of East and West has been reversed. I only need to recuperate and train my troops until Kansai is attacked by locusts and the men and horses are starved. , I will contact Ke Bineng again and attack him from both sides. Now that your majesty and Liu Bei are at odds, many loyal ministers in the court have been exchanging letters with me. As long as there is a natural disaster, I will use Beilu to mess with him, and I will not worry about no one messing up from inside. Get up. When I come back with my army, crushing the thieves will be like crushing a bird’s egg!”….
At this point, all the generals understood that the marshal was preparing to retreat this time.
Cao Cao then said: "I want a strong force to cut off my rear for me. This person must guard Juyang so that the pursuers from Guanxi cannot cross the Pu River."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Zhao and Xu Zhu stood up almost at the same time. A smile appeared on Cao Cao's lips and he said: "Two ferocious tigers, it was you who fought with blood to protect me during the Bohai Sea. It's thanks to your hard work this time."
Lu Zhao cupped his hands and replied: "I am willing to let the marshal lead the battlefield, but I hope that I will die together with the enemy's superior general. I will have no regrets with this seven-foot body!"
Gao Huan looked at them, feeling warm in his heart. But when he came out of his tent and saw the less majestic Dingtao City in the distance, he felt a new sense of powerlessness in his heart. He turned around and sighed to the generals: "I had a headache during the war and could hardly see. It took a long time, but in the end, the reputation was completely transferred to Zang Ziyuan!"
The generals dispersed, while Cao Cao stood there, quietly feeling the breeze of late spring.
At this time, news of the withdrawal spread to various ministries, and there were cheers one after another in the army. And Cao Cao was at the center of this noise, and he felt more and more that time was passing by. He suddenly had an illusion, as if he was not in the sound, but on a cliff. There was no end in sight up and down, and he couldn't let go and could only continue to climb to the top of the mountain. The ignorance and frivolity of his youth were far away from him, but he could not help but feel sad in his heart. Therefore, before completely withdrawing his troops, he casually wrote a poem "Autumn Hu Xing" in his account. Although the rhetoric was not gorgeous, the artistic conception was lofty and indifferent. The text is as follows:
Going up Sanguan Mountain in the morning, how difficult is this path? Going up Sanguan Mountain in the morning, how difficult is this path? Newton couldn't get up and his car fell into a valley.
Sitting on a rock, playing the five-stringed qin as a Qingjiao rhyme.
When I feel confused, I sing to express my ambition. Go up to Sanguan Mountain in the morning.
What are the three husbands who will come and be by my side? What three husbands will come and be by my side.
With his back covered by the quilt, he seems to be a non-permanent person. Why do you blame yourself for your hardships? Are you hesitant to come here?
Songs express aspirations. There are three husbands.
I live in Kunlun Mountain, the so-called real person. I live in Kunlun Mountain, the so-called real person.
There is something to be gained from the profound Tao, and there are famous mountains and calendars to view. Traveling to the eight extremes, pillowing on a stone and drinking from the flowing spring.
After pondering undecidedly, he ascended to heaven and sang to express his ambition. I live in Kunlun Mountain.
If you go, don't chase it, because you will always be held by regret. If you go, you can't chase it, because you will always be held by regret. Sleep peacefully every night, feeling melancholy and feeling sorry for myself.
It is upright but not erroneous, and the words and poems are based on the reasons. What has been passed down through the scriptures has been passed down from the West.
Songs express aspirations, but they cannot be pursued after they have gone.
On the night of Bingzi in the fourth month of summer, Cao Jun suddenly relieved the siege and left. At dawn, except for the cavalry who had been cut off from the rear, the army divided into two groups. They arrived in Changyi and built a defense line from the Lu State area in Shanyang. They retreated all the way to Zhencheng and Puyang, and began to cross the river and return to the north. The forts built under the city ignited with raging flames. Soon, all that was left of the forts where Cao's army was stationed around Dingtao was a mess of ruins.
At dawn, you can still see Cao Cao's cloud-patterned flag cover in the distance. Lu Zhao and Xu Zhu looked towards the flag cover to say goodbye. They were surrounded by tiger and leopard warriors who had experienced hundreds of battles.
However, at this moment, in Dingtao City behind them, there was no expected sound of gongs, drums, or cheers from the soldiers. The defenders in the city did not seem to be rejoicing at the rescue, and were still in deathly silence. ….
Two days later, on a windless morning, the black flag of the Guanxi Cavalry appeared in the sky of Jishui in the southwest.
It was the New North Army under Chen Chong who came, but it was just some vanguard troops, about three hundred horses. The leader was Guanqiu Xing, the commander of the Northern Army. When he saw that there was no army under the city, only Cao Jun's cavalry was still there in the distance, he couldn't help but said disappointedly: "What a pity, the traitors are moving so fast! It seems that there will be no big battle." Seeing that there were only a few people in the distance and no large troops, his adjutant said: "In that case, why not cut off a few heads first and go to the dragon head to ask for credit!" Guanqiu Xing was in his early twenties at this time, young and energetic. , nodded slightly and said: "That's fine." So they did not enter the city, but continued riding northeast.
However, Cao Jun's cavalry ran very fast, and they soon lost their trace, and then got lost in the forest, and had to go back in disgrace. At this time, the sky has not darkened yet, the earth is hard, and there seems to be only the sound of horse hooves echoing in the forest between heaven and earth. Guanqiu Xing walked in the front and looked up at the sky. He did not see crows or other birds startling, which made him a little surprised. I thought to myself that probably because Cao Jun had been passing by for several days, the birds would have flown away long ago.
At this moment, several groups of reddish-brown things suddenly ran out from a forest entrance. From a distance, they looked like several foxes passing by. No one noticed it at first, but when they looked closer, the reddish-brown thing seemed bigger than a fox. And their number is increasing, with twenty or thirty subordinates. They seemed to be irritated. When they saw the soldiers and horses, instead of avoiding them, they howled and ran straight towards them. Its cry was hoarse and creepy, and the war horses were so frightened that they stopped moving forward. Someone recognized it and shouted: "It's not a fox, it's a jackal!"
Are these jackals that attack their prey in groups and even tigers are afraid of them? People in Guanzhong rarely see jackals. Tigers, wolves and foxes are common in the mountains and forests of Hedong, but jackals are rarely seen. I don’t want to be in Yanzhou, which is famous for its prosperity and harmony.
During the trip, I encountered a group of jackals.
Because the war horses were afraid of the swarms of jackals, they cowered and remained motionless. The knights on horseback hurriedly got off their horses, took off the bows on their backs, drew out their hunting arrows, and shot at the red figure running towards him quickly. Sharp arrows shuttled among the jackals, and arrows were shot into the soil one after another, but they moved too fast and it was difficult for the arrows to hit the target.
In the blink of an eye, several jackals rushed to the front. The first one opened its mouth and sharp teeth, pointed at Guanqiu Xing's stunned mount, and bit the horse's front leg. The horse was trembling with pain and could no longer stand firm. Wuqiu Xing was furious, pulled out his knife and slashed at the beast's back. The beast was very clever. He suddenly let go of the bloody horse's leg and ducked under the horse's belly.
At this time, the following jackals also came closer, scurrying like ghosts among the panicked horses. The crowd showed off their dazzling knives, clattering and slashing, and for a while people shouted and horses neighed, and the scene was chaotic. Not long after, a jackal's retreat was chopped off by a knife. The beast let out a ghost-like wail and rolled on the ground. A soldier took off his spear from his horse and stabbed him randomly. The tip of the spear pierced its belly, and the foul-smelling intestines overflowed. He jumped it up to demonstrate against the horde of jackals that had been driven out. The beasts didn't run far away. They gathered together and lay down on a few high rocks, licking the blood on each other's faces and claws, and howling from time to time. Arrows from the crowd were shot at them, and they jumped to avoid them, but they refused to run away.
Suddenly, someone pointed at something on the ground and said, "Look, what is that!" Someone looked up on the ground and found that it was something picked out from the belly of a jackal corpse. When he got closer, he discovered that it was a human finger bone!
Only then did people remember that jackals also made a living by eating carrion. There were so many jackals here, and they must have been attracted by the strong smell of corpses around them. Guanqiu Xing and others couldn't help but look pale, and a thought lingered in everyone's mind: If it is like this outside the city, what kind of tragic situation must it be in Dingtao City, which has been besieged by Cao's army for several months?
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Chen Ruicong
