From April 198 AD.
Yuan Shao led 50,000 troops out of Yanmen Pass, preparing to go north to attack the Hetao area.
Unexpectedly, he would stop at Manhan Mountain.
The army was blocked in front of the pass of Manhan Mountain. After several attacks, the army could not advance. Even if Generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou went into battle in person, they were all repulsed by the opponent and failed to make any achievements.
In the Chinese army's tent.
Yuan Shao's face was so pale that he could almost drip water.
His cold eyes swept across the various counselors and generals under the tent, and an inexplicable anger burned in his chest.
"Kong Ming! A mere brat with 10,000 men led by him actually stopped my 50,000-strong army from seizing the land of the Hetao! If word of this gets out, how can you and I stand in the Central Plains!!" Yuan Shao was so angry that he slapped the table. The wine glass on the table shook out the wine and sprinkled it.
Everyone below was silent.
Yan Liang and Wen Chou were defeated by Pound and lost all face. At this moment, they lowered their heads and did not dare to say a word.
Tian Feng, Shen Pei, and Ju Sue, none of them expected that at such a young age, Zhuge Liang could actually maintain his old ways, use military skills freely, command the three armies, and enforce the law strictly without any flaws.
No matter how many tricks they had, Zhuge Liang saw through them one by one and took countermeasures. As a result, Yuan Shao's army was decimated. From 50,000 soldiers and horses, only more than 40,000 were left.
What's even more deadly is that there is not much food and grass.
The original plan was to wait until the summer harvest before sending troops to Hetao. Because Huchuquan's southward movement disrupted all deployments, Yuan Shao had to send troops in advance. Now the standoff has been at Manhan Mountain for more than a month. Food and grass transportation is difficult, plus Jizhou There was not much food and grass to begin with, and now it is even more stretched.
Withdrawal is imminent.
But losing to Zhuge Liang, a fledgling boy like this, Yuan Jun was a little embarrassed.
Even if the opponent is Zhang Xiu, it makes sense for them to lose.
After all, Cao Cao has already paved the way.
Now Yuan Jun is in a dilemma. He can't afford to lose that man if he retreats. If he doesn't retreat, his army will soon run out of food and fodder. At today's meeting, a decision must be made. The army's food and fodder can only last for three days.
Xu You stood below with a sneer on his face.
He felt happy in his heart: "I told you to listen to me and fight Cao Cao! Go fight Cao Cao! If you don't listen, now it's better. You will be defeated by a fledgling boy. Let's see how you can have the face to offer your advice in front of the lord."
"cough!"
Jushou coughed dryly, raised his eyebrows and secretly glanced at Yuan Shao, whose face was full of anger, and said with difficulty, "My lord, Zhuge Liang is blocking the way, but our army is about to run out of food and fodder, so we need to make a decision early."
"What decision to make?"
Yuan Shao's eyes widened: "Withdraw the troops? I, Yuan Shao, cannot afford to lose this person."
"Lord!"
Toyota found a suitable reason, "Liu Bei teamed up with Jiangdong Sun Ce to attack Lu Bu in Xuzhou. I am afraid that after he plans to plot in Xuzhou, he will become full-fledged and join forces with Cao Cao, posing a threat to our army."
Yuan Shao's cold expression softened.
This reason is at least relatively legitimate, and it sounds good when spoken out.
Seeing that Yuan Shao's expression had softened, the judge immediately said: "My lord, I heard that during the rebellion in Xudu, Zhang Xiu's shadow guard was involved, and the person in charge of the shadow guard was Li Ruye, an important adviser to Dong Zhuo at that time. , Li Ru was invited by Zhang Xiusan to visit the thatched cottage, and his ability is not inferior to ours. The fact that Barbarian Mountain can hold on like this is definitely not Zhuge Liang's fault, but Li Ru secretly helping him."
"Li Ru!"
Yuan Shao narrowed his eyes and nodded.
Li Ru's abilities are well known.
It would still be reasonable if he lost at the hands of Li Ru.
"Since our army is threatened by Liu Bei and Cao Cao, and Li Ru is secretly assisting us in the front, it is better to retreat early and make other plans after the summer harvest."
"Here!"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
…
Manhan Mountain, Zhuge Camp.
After learning that Yuan Shao's army had retreated, Zhuge Liang breathed a sigh of relief.
This battle was the first time Zhuge Liang had full command of the battle. He had not slept well for a month, and he was preoccupied with how to prepare for Yuan Jun's surprise attack.
Tian Feng, Shen Pei, Ju Shou and others are all wise and resourceful people.
It is very difficult for him to deal with three people by himself, so the pressure on him is also huge.
After successive battles, the 10,000 troops in the army were reduced to more than 6,000, including 2,000 Xiongnu cavalry sent by Zhang Xian from Yunzhong City for support.
This group of Huns cavalry has completely surrendered to Zhang Xiu's command.
"General, Yuan Jun has finally retreated!" Wang Shuang and Gu Ming walked into the tent. Wang Shuang took off his helmet and said with both joy and fatigue.
Although Wang Shuang and Gu Ming were Wu Yajun and Wu Jijun in the imperial examination, they had never fought a long-lasting battle. Zhang Xiu personally testified in the last battle of Dingxi City, so the pressure on them was not that great.
Now Zhuge Liang is leading the army, and everyone is sweating.
Good thing.
They won.
Gu Ming grinned.
Zhuge Liang also smiled and said more objectively: "Actually, we did not defeat Yuan Jun. This is thanks to Gongsun Zan who stayed in Youzhou for many years and exhausted Yuan Shao's food and grass. Otherwise, it would be difficult for us to win."
Wang Shuang smiled and said: "In any case, we won!"
Zhuge Liang laughed: "Yes! We win!"
At this time, Pang De walked in with a livid face, holding a secret letter in his hand.
Zhuge Liang saw that his expression was wrong, put away his smile, and asked: "Why is General Lingming like this? But something happened in Guanzhong?"
Pang De said: "Cheng Yu used evil tricks and Xiao Pass fell."
What?
The three of them stood up in shock.
Wang Shuang grabbed the secret letter and read it. After reading it, his expression was complicated.
After Zhuge Liang and Gu Ming read it, they were stunned.
Cheng Yu actually maliciously caused the plague, which made Xiao Guan unable to hold on and had to give up.
After thinking about it, Zhuge Liang said: "Because of natural and man-made disasters, Cheng Yu will become a sinner who will be remembered for thousands of years!"
Gu Ming hated him so much that he gritted his teeth and said, "Cheng Yuzhen is a ruthless and unjust person in order to achieve his goal. I pity the people of Xiaoguan for suffering this unreasonable disaster in vain."
"If I can capture Cheng Yu alive, I will kill him with a thousand knives!" Wang Shuang was filled with anger.
Zhuge Liang said: "This matter has been decided by the Lord. We must not talk nonsense. In the letter, Military Advisor Jia has an order. Now Han Sui and Long Keyou are confronting each other in Yinhan City. General Wei Yan has led his army to station in Helan Mountain. Now that Yuan's army has retreated, our army will quickly retreat." Move west quickly and prepare to attack and kill Han Sui."
"General Wang, I order you to lead three thousand troops as the vanguard and march westward with the entire army!"
"Here!"
Everyone agrees.
Just as the killings in Guanzhong were raging, Lu Bu, who was far away in Xuzhou, could no longer hold on.
In the north, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun led by Liu Bei sent 70,000 troops south. Zang Ba surrendered at Kaicheng, directly opening the northern gate, and Liu Bei's army marched straight in.
In the south, Sun Ce led Zhou Yu, Lu Su, Taishi Ci, Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Zhou Tai and others, and sent 50,000 troops north to attack Guangling County and Xiapi State.
Now it is being attacked from the north and the south.
Lu Bu was trapped in Xiapi City and was in danger.
