There is no need to question Lan Tian's ability. Guan Yu put his heart into his stomach when he saw the certainty of his words. The strong performance of the trapped troops on the battlefield was also a source of his confidence.
After Guan Yu settled his accounts, Lan Tian called Pang De and Chu Qing to explain in a low voice. After hearing this, both of them opened their eyes wide and thought, can they still fight like this?
Fancheng lost contact with the outside world for nearly ten days. During this period, Cao Ren sent hundreds of scouts to the outside world. Most of them were intercepted and killed by Pang De and Chu Qing's cavalry. A small number of those who took a detour and fled to the north were never heard from again.
In addition to the corpses of the scouts, the city received countless true and false arrows from outside the city.
There is news that Deng County has been captured;
There is news that Zhang Liao has been defeated;
There is news that Sun Quan is attacking Hefei again and Cao Cao is sending troops to Huainan;
There is news that Cao Pi was assassinated during the rebellion in Yecheng;
There is news that Cao Cao died of a headache;
...
Because most of the arrow books were seen by the soldiers guarding the city, Cao Ren was worried about the damage to morale and ordered the officers and soldiers to peek. However, Niu Jin was responsible for the city defense for a long time. After Niu Jin was injured, Cao Ren's control over the grassroots officers and soldiers weakened, so this order could not stop him. The curiosity of the soldiers.
The emotions accumulated in these days can no longer be stopped. In the days when there is no news from the outside world, even if it is a rumor, I want to read it. Maybe a certain piece of news is closely related to me?
Suddenly one day, a large number of corpses were delivered outside Fancheng. At first there were only dozens or hundreds of corpses, but later they turned into hundreds, thousands, or even thousands of corpses.
These corpses were obviously those of Cao Jun. If they were left in the wilderness, they would be easily eaten by wild animals. The generals who defended the city could not bear the humiliation after their colleagues died, so they secretly moved these corpses back to the city and burned them.
In addition to Cao Ren's Xiangfan garrison in Fancheng, there were also Xu Huang, Yin Shu, Zhu Gai and other troops who came to support them. Each army also knew each other's fellow villagers, so when they saw off their comrades, they found that besides Xu Shang, the deceased , Lu Jian's soldiers, and many of them were Zhang Liao's troops.
This unexpected discovery made the soldiers in each battalion become uneasy, and they all wondered if the previous arrow book was true.
The king of Wei has passed away due to illness, and the prince of Wei, Cao Pi, has been assassinated. These two news are shocking enough. If this is the case, the Central Plains should be in chaos, who will send troops to rescue Fancheng? In addition, Sun Quan is attacking Hefei, which is also an important fortress in Huainan, and Xiahou Dun may not be able to defend it.
Suspicion quickly spread, and Cao Ren strictly ordered the camp leaders to restrain their subordinates and prevent rebellion at this critical moment, but he was also beating a drum in his own heart, because the rumors were well fabricated.
Cao Cao had suffered from head wind for a long time, and he was already old and could die at any time. In addition, the "Wei Xi case" broke out in Yecheng in September this year. Cao Pi suppressed it with thunderous means and executed Zhang Quan and Liu Wei who had rebelled with Wei Xi. , Wang Can, Song Zhong and others, Cao Pi is extremely likely to encounter vendetta.
If both things are true, then there is no need for Cao Ren to stay in Fancheng. Without important ministers in charge of the military in the rear, the succession struggle will be bloody.
Cao Ren temporarily calmed down the soldiers in the camp, and then he came to Zhao Yan with sorrow and asked: "Boran, what do you think of those 'rumors'?"
Zhao Yan shook his head and replied: "It should be both real and fake, but those corpses cannot be fake..."
"Now the military is impetuous. If this continues, something big will happen. Is there any good way to help me?" Cao Ren looked anxious.
Zhao Yan looked very embarrassed. He sighed and said: "Although Guan Yu did not besiege the city, he blocked the water and land routes. If he wants to break the situation, he can only wait for King Wei..."
"I also want to wait for King Wei, but time waits for me..." Before Cao Ren could finish his words, the guards outside the palace rushed in with panicked expressions.
The guard first clasped his fists and saluted, then stood there and gasped, "General... something is wrong..."
Cao Ren scolded him sternly: "How can you behave in such a panic? What's wrong with you?"
The guard swallowed his saliva and replied: "I don't know what rumors people have heard, saying that because we lack winter clothes, we are going to break into people's houses and rob their property, and they say..."
"say what?"
"That's what the general did in Wancheng, and he massacred all the innocent people in the city..."
"Asshole, I slaughtered Wancheng because of Hou Yin's rebellion, just to warn those unprovoked thieves that becoming a thief will result in a dismembered body. Which traitor is slandering me?" Cao Ren slammed the case angrily, and then his eyes were fixed on Zhao one by one. Yan body, because he was the one who initiated the idea of robbing the people, and so far Cao Ren has not told anyone else.
Zhao Yan felt numb at the sight and quickly waved his hands to explain: "This matter has absolutely nothing to do with me. Maybe it's because the rumored arrow book was picked up by the common people..."
Cao Ren saw that Zhao Yan's eyes were clear and he didn't look like he was lying. Besides, there was no point in slandering him. His frown gradually relaxed and he ordered the guards in a deep voice: "Zhao Yilang's guess is reasonable. Take people to the city to investigate as soon as possible." , I will report back as soon as I have the results."
"Wei." The guard clasped his fists and left.
When Zhao Yan saw Cao Ren calling him by his official name, which was far less intimate than the previous call, he knew that Cao Ren's doubts had not been relieved, so he thought about it and said: "At this time, the officers in the camp are impetuous and the people in the city are very panic. Fan Cheng sees I can’t stay here any longer, General, why don’t we abandon the city first, let’s find a way to join the king, and then take it back from Guan Yu.”
"Who knows about Guan Yu's bravery? We can still hold on with our backs to the city. If we go out of the city, we will easily be ambushed by the enemy. It will be difficult to come back at that time. In addition, most of the soldiers are wearing single clothes now..." Cao Ren thought of his sick bed. Niu Jin, who is in high school, is not confident enough to escape from Fancheng.
Zhao Yan quickly suggested a plan: "Didn't the people say that we plundered property? We in Fancheng don't want it, so why do we care about the feelings of these Guizhou chiefs? After robbing them of their winter clothes, we can just drive them to Deng County like cattle and sheep, and use the people to trip them up." With the hands and feet of the Jingzhou soldiers, we can successfully withdraw from the encirclement."
Cao Ren's eyes lit up and he praised: "Wonderful."
"If the King of Wei is still alive, you can say that you have received news when we meet that the King is critically ill and the Crown Prince has been assassinated, so you have no choice but to abandon Fancheng..." Zhao Yan added.
"Hiss...that's all we have to do..." Cao Ren nodded.
After the conspiracy between Cao Ren and Zhao Yan was completed, they immediately summoned the generals of the battalions to begin execution. The soldiers were very enthusiastic when they heard the order. Whether they were looting property or escaping, it was good news at the moment. It was much better than sitting in Fancheng and waiting for death. .
Cao Ren divided the soldiers and horses in Fancheng into two groups. In one group, Yin Shu and Zhu Gai led the troops to drive the people towards Deng County, while the other group circled westward and went north to join Cao Cao.
After a long chase, Fancheng became an empty city without fireworks. Except for the old, weak, sick and disabled who could not walk, 90% of the soldiers and civilians had left the city.
There were Chu Qing's scouts near Fancheng, and their every move was under Lantian's surveillance. Not long after Cao Ren's main force left the city, Gan Ning's navy went south and landed.
