It was not Cao Cao who came, but forward Xia Houchun.
Xia Houchun led 30,000 advance troops to Yecheng in the morning, and sent 500 rangers to patrol within a 30-kilometer radius of Yecheng.
Because of the effect of Zhang Xiu's letter, the entire Cao camp knew that Zhang Xiu on the other side was a weak person who surrendered before fighting, and Xia Houchun did not take him seriously.
Thirty thousand troops were stationed outside the city, and he entered Yecheng with his men.
Near night.
Standing on Hanshan Mountain, you can clearly see a huge military stronghold outside Yecheng. Inside the military stronghold are densely packed military tents, dotted with flames.
"Lord, this is a God-given opportunity! If we rush down now, we can definitely annihilate all the forwards of Cao's army!" Hu Che'er saw that the enemy's army was undisciplined, and it was a good opportunity to surprise and win.
Zhang Xiu also knew that most of Xia Houchun's men were recruited from the Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army, and their military appearance was not good.
He remembered that these Yellow Turbans also caused trouble.
He couldn't help but have the urge to go down the mountain and let Cao Cao's vanguard troops be defeated in a single battle, but he took a deep breath and suppressed the urge in his heart.
His target was not Xiahou Chun, but Cao Cao.
Cao Cao's army has not come, and killing his vanguard will not have much effect. On the contrary, it will arouse Cao Cao's vigilance.
Their position is very close to Yecheng. If they are not careful, they will be discovered by Cao Jun's scouts. At that time, a surprise attack will be impossible.
Li Tong also came over.
The injury on my arm has improved a lot after applying medicine. After a day of rest, I have recovered a lot of energy.
When Hu Che'er saw him, he snorted coldly and looked away.
Li Tong didn't pay attention to Hu Che'er. He looked down in the direction of Yecheng. Seeing that there were few people patrolling the night, he asked, "General, why don't you attack at night?"
Zhang Xiu said: "It doesn't mean much. On the contrary, it is to alert the enemy. Our enemy is Cao Cao, not Xia Houchun."
Hu Che'er was so anxious that he was afraid of missing this opportunity: "My lord, now that Cao Jun despises us, we just seize this opportunity to destroy his forwards and let him know how powerful we are!"
"Then what?"
Zhang Xiu turned back to look at Hu Che'er and said calmly, "Then they discovered our location. When Cao Cao comes, will hundreds of thousands of troops surround the mountain and cut off water, trapping us to death on the mountain?"
He knew how Ma Su lost his street pavilion.
"I..." Hu Cheer stared blankly, speechless.
Zhang Xiu patted him on the shoulder and said patiently: "When fighting a war, we have to take one step at a time and think ten steps forward. If Xia Houchun is killed, Cao Cao's threat to us will still be there, and our position will be exposed and we will lose the initiative. This is unacceptable." Take it.”
"Remember, in fighting, the initiative must be in your own hands. Otherwise, you will have to be passively beaten. Be prepared. Cao Cao's army will come tomorrow. When the time comes, we will have a tough battle."
After Hu Che'er was told the truth, he grinned and stopped thinking about the heads below, and went back to prepare.
Zhang Xiu and Li Tong were left on the top of the mountain.
The two of them looked at the fire camp below, and the cold wind hit their faces painfully.
The soldiers in the camp all wore thick cotton clothes and did not dare to light a fire. They huddled together to keep warm. Compared to Xiliang, this place was pretty good.
"General, why don't you kill me?"
After waiting for a long time, Li Tong couldn't help but speak. He killed Lei Xu, and Lei Xu's subordinates hated him. Zhang Xiu suppressed the resentment of the soldiers and kept him.
The cold wind blew across his face, making Zhang Xiu's robe rustle. Looking at the firelight in front of him, he said frankly: "Because I have no generals in my hands, the fact that you can survive fifty rounds in my hands shows that you have Your strength is very good, it would be a pity to kill you, but I will spare your life and let you replace Lei Xu."
"Isn't the general worried that I will betray you in the face of battle?"
Zhang Xiu grinned, showing his white and neat teeth: "Since I have decided to use you, there is no need to doubt your character, me! I don't doubt the people I employ, and I don't doubt the people I doubt."
Li Tong felt that Zhang Xiu was trying to win over people's hearts, which was a common method used by superiors. He smiled and said, "Since the general is not interested in the suspects, what will the general want me to do? How many people will I bring?"
When he said something, he was preparing to hit a soft nail.
Zhang Xiu stared into his eyes and said: "Tomorrow Cao Cao's army will come to Yecheng, and at the latest the day after tomorrow they will launch an attack on Duyang City. Tomorrow, I will allocate you five thousand troops, plus your own troops." One thousand people, a total of six thousand people, marching hundreds of miles to attack Xudu, must be in an siege posture..."
Li Tong swallowed, his thick Adam's apple slid violently twice, and he was speechless.
Five thousand cavalry besieged Xudu.
This is the key point of this battle. Zhang Xiu actually gave him such an important task.
Zhang Xiu continued: "Duyang City cannot hold on for long. You must force Cao Cao to return to rescue Xu Du before Duyang City is broken. I will kill Cao Cao's army from Hanshan."
This feeling of being truly trusted made Li Tong feel like he could burst into tears. He stood there staring at Zhang Xiu for a long time.
Zhang Xiu knew that Li Tong surrendered.
He walked over and patted Li Tong on the shoulder: "Get some rest early. We will set off early tomorrow morning. Whether I and the 20,000 people in Xiliang can survive will be left to you."
Then Zhang Xiu turned around and walked towards the military tent.
Li Tong turned around and knelt on the ground, bowing to Zhang Xiu: "Tong, I am willing to submit to my lord!"
Zhang Xiu breathed a sigh of relief.
He quickly turned around and helped Li Tong up, and said happily: "If Wenda can wish me, I will fulfill my wish!"
Hu Che'er did not stay away, but stood watching from a distance, fearing that Li Tong would do something unfavorable to Zhang Xiu. When he saw Li Tong surrendering, he smiled honestly.
Although he is a bit naive, he is not a fool.
Before Zhang Xiu killed Li Tong, Hu Che'er had already guessed Zhang Xiu's thoughts. As for Lei Xu's subordinates, he could completely suppress them.
The next morning.
When the sun rose high, a large number of people and horses appeared in the direction of Yecheng. The roar of people and horses could be heard ten miles away.
At this time, Li Tong bid farewell to Zhang Xiu, took six thousand men and horses, and set off from the back mountain to detour to Lushan City, avoiding the cavalry from the direction of Yecheng, and rushed towards Xudu.
Zhang Xiu retracted his troops and crawled into a valley in Han Mountain.
At the foot of Hanshan Mountain, Cao Cao's rangers made inquiries over and over again. Some of the rangers rushed up the gentle slope to search. Fortunately, they did not go deep, otherwise they would have really discovered it.
This shows that Cao Cao's army as a whole has a contemptuous attitude towards Zhang Xiu. Otherwise, if Cao Cao came in person, the investigation intensity of the scouts would never be so weak.
Cao Cao's expedition this time was at Yu Jin, Dian Wei, Cao Ang, Xiahou Chun, Cao Anmin and other generals. He appointed Guo Jia as his military advisor and left Xun Yu and Cao Hong to stay in Xudu.
After a day's rest, 150,000 troops marched to block Yangcheng.
Standing on the top of Duyang City, Jia Xu looked at the dark army outside the city. His face was sullen and he said nothing. His narrow eyes were hidden under his eyelashes, making it impossible to see through his inner thoughts.
Chen Yu's arms were already trembling nervously.
If Jia Xu hadn't been here, he might have surrendered in Kaicheng.
The soldiers on the city wall, new recruits and veterans, were mixed together, giving the new soldiers some psychological support and preventing them from being defeated in a single battle.
Two thousand Xiliang cavalry in the city dismounted and were always ready to go to the city to rescue.
Jia Xu carefully inspected the things guarding the city and showed his face to let the new recruits see him and calm their nervousness.
But when the recruits saw the military pressure coming over them like a black ribbon, they still couldn't control their nervousness.
Cao Jun has already dug a trench ten miles in front of Duyang City and camped.
At this time, Cao Cao took Dian Wei, Yu Jin and Guo Jia to climb Tongbai Mountain in the south to observe the situation in Duyang City.
The wind is freezing on the top of the mountain.
Seeing the soldiers and civilians in Duyang City busy carrying defensive items to the top of the city, Cao Cao sneered lightly: "I didn't expect Zhang Xiu to want to defend Duyang City."
Guo Jia looked at the busy crowd in the city, but he had a different view.
