"Ha,..." Zhang Han chuckled, lowered his head and continued to think about the topic just now, and said: "Zang Ba gathered the people in Taishan. If he retreats, he can enter the mountain, and if he advances, he can send troops. He has won the support of the people. If these people want to attack, I don’t know how much the damage will be, so it would be unwise to destroy them now.”
"But they gather people to stand on their own, but they get everything they want. It's like a merchant waiting for a price. He always has to look at several more companies, and it's difficult to accept or surrender for a while. After all, the lives of tens of thousands of people are easily at stake, so it's impossible to agree in one breath."
"Therefore, there is no need to be too anxious when ordering someone to give you the same courtesy as Tao Qian did back then."
"On the other hand, Lu Bu... you are right," Zhang Han thought for a long time and said, "You, Chen, turned your back on the dark side and sacrificed Xia Pi. In fact, this was the greatest harm to Lu Bu. This sword attack was far more serious than the defeat. If he was stabbed in the back, what's the point of worrying?"
That’s why I’m even more worried! Chen Deng couldn't bear it. We betrayed Lu Bu and gave up the city, causing Tancheng to fall into a siege. When Lu Bu knew about it, he would be furious and eager to rescue him.
However, once Lu Bu knew that he could not attack the city, he would definitely flee.
His main advantage is that he is an elite cavalry, has experienced hundreds of battles, and can survive regardless of victory or defeat. How can he be an ordinary person? Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry is not good at attacking cities, but he is very good at roaming and fighting in the field. If he can't be defeated, he can abandon his wife and daughter and run away!
There is no precedent for this kind of thing!
There are many people who abandon their wives and daughters due to military defeat, but there is no guarantee that they will make a comeback and come back for revenge. Being stared at by a tiger and wolf is not pleasant.
Chen Deng wanted to know whether Zhang Han and Xi Zhong...or Cao Gong were sure that they could truly kill Lu Bu in this battle and avoid future troubles.
Thinking of this, Chen Deng took a deep breath, cupped his hands and said, "I understand that since Chen has opened the gate of Xiapi City, she is destined to submit to Duke Cao. She must not have second thoughts, so she should give her full help."
The implication is that Chen has been dragged into the water, so he will do his best to help his lord defeat Lu Bu and then kill him. Zhang Han translated in his mind.
"So, if you have any plans next, please don't hide them secretly. We can work together to eliminate the thieves."
His attitude was very sincere. After all, what Chen was most afraid of now was that Cao Cao would not acknowledge his debts and would only give him merit and rewards, but would not get rid of Lu Bu. After all, he was Lu Bu among those who were known as flying generals. It was not an exaggeration to think that Cao Cao would try to recruit him.
What if Lu Bu surrenders in the future? He made great contributions to Cao Cao, and then rose to prominence, and was highly relied upon. If he comes to seek revenge again, will the Xuzhou Chen family be able to bear it?
Xi Zhong and Zhang Han smiled without saying a word and looked at each other.
Seeing that Chen Deng was anxious, Zhang Han said: "Then it depends on how Lu Bu chooses."
Originally, Zhang Han thought he could annihilate Lu Bu's army in one fell swoop, but Xi Zhicai taught him some knowledge. In short, it was... very difficult.
If Lu Bu is determined to run away, plundering the people along the way, like a bandit, heading straight to Shouchun, he will become Yuan Shu's most powerful halberd and will definitely make a comeback in the future.
But if he doesn't run away and still tries to fight, there is a chance that he will be trapped and killed in Xuzhou. Now it depends on his immediate decision.
…
At the border of Pengcheng, Lu Bu returned to the rescue. After several battles and repelling Cao Hong's front troops, he opened a gap and led his army back to Xiapi. His food and grass were no longer enough to fight, so he could only quickly return to the territory to garrison. After waiting for the food road to be restored, food will be sent to recuperate.
During this period, although there was no major battle, he was very tired from being harassed by cavalry. Although he was quite familiar with cavalry operations, and the Bingzhou cavalry fought bravely, and was not afraid of Cao Cao's elite cavalry, he could not resist the constant harassment.
These cavalry are very cunning. They are not here to attack in a bloody battle, but they are out to disturb the morale of the army. They look like they are about to attack at any time. But if you really don't care about them, they will take the opportunity to rush in and kill them with arrows, and then leave as soon as they touch them.
Lu Bu only realized a few days later that there was no point in fighting them like this. It would only increase the casualties of his troops. The best way to ask the cavalry to harass them was to find a city to garrison them.
So after he broke through the siege of the soldiers and horses of brothers Cao Hong and Cao Ren, he immediately returned to Xiapi territory. But perhaps due to fate, the only one who could garrison troops in the surrounding area was... Xia Qiu.
"Xia Qiu, it's actually Xia Qiu..." Lu Bu dismounted and entered the city. He walked very tiredly and with difficulty. He stepped on the dusty ground with his thick cloth boots and took off the iron helmet on his head.
Standing next to him was Chen Gong, who was dressed in black robes. His beard was messy, and his eyes were cloudy. Chen Gong, who no longer had the elegant appearance of a nobleman, sighed deeply as he followed Lu Bu into the city.
"Actually, are you coming back here?"
"There are less than a thousand troops stationed in Xiaqiu. This place is equivalent to an empty city. All the people around it have followed Liu Bei and fled to Cao Cao. If we garrison here, it will be very dangerous. Please take the lead..." Chen Gong pulled Lu Bu and said sincerely He said: "I suggest you rest here for a while and then march another thirty miles immediately to get close to Xiapi so you can feel at ease."
"Otherwise, once we are besieged, we will be trapped in this city, and this city... has no food at all!"
The people have been taken away by Liu Bei. Even if they want to grab food and recruit husbands, they can't do it. There is no rice for cooking here.
Lu Bu was even more surprised, and there was no reason to feel angry in his heart. If Liu Xuande had been stationed in Xia Qiu, how could he have suffered such a defeat today, "The dog thief Liu Bei! He turned his back on me! When he came to Xuzhou, Tao Gongzu would have taken him in, otherwise The soldiers were scattered and died a long time ago, they are really the thieves who added insult to injury."
"How can someone like this kind of people spread the name of their benevolence? They are treacherous disciples! These three brothers are all the rats of this world!!"
It can be said that he kept these words in his heart without scolding and displeased him, but marching and fighting were like this. How could everything go as he wished?
After the fire was set off, Lu Bu went to the city gate tower and took a look inside the city. The city was in ruins, with dirt and dust everywhere, and many debris and discarded objects left by the people when they left. The hundreds of soldiers were all gray-headed, sallow and thin, with no fighting power at all.
The city of Xiaqiu will need at least several years to be rebuilt due to the relocation of the people. Moreover, enough people must move here to settle down and establish military camps before it can be viable.
Lu Bu thought of this and sighed deeply, "I have been marching and fighting for ten years, and I have never experienced such a decline. I cannot advance to Pengcheng first, and retreat without food and grass. There is no more difficult situation than this... …”
As he talked to himself, a feeling of suffocation surged in his heart, and he felt extremely depressed. At this time, people like to think about what if they had "failed" in the past.
If Yanzhou is available and Zhang Miao and Chen Gong are there to help, what will be the outcome?
What if you respect Liu Xuande enough to invite him to Tancheng and join him in Tao Qian's business?
He even recalled the time in Chang'an. If he had not dealt with his dear Dong Yifu with Wang Yifu, the ending would have been better. After all, among the generals under Dong Zhuo's command at that time, Lu Bu had gradually become the most trusted one. Bit.
When he thought of this, Lu Bu couldn't help but think of the gentle countryside of Tancheng. It was too tiring to fight. Not only was the body tired, but the mind was also haggard. Now he just wanted to return to Tancheng as soon as possible and rushed back to the government office to ask where Diao Chan was.
At this time, Lu Bu's general Hao Meng came up to the city wall with an extremely anxious expression. He almost ran all the way to Lu Bu's side, cupping his fists and saying: "The king is in trouble! The defeated army from Xiapi came to surrender, and the Chen family and his son betrayed the king." , Kaicheng surrendered to Cao Cao, and now Cao Jun has occupied Xiapi!"
"ah!?"
Lu Bu and Chen Gong felt as if they were struck by lightning, and their eyes swayed.
Chen Gong's face flushed even more. He stretched out his hand in the direction of Xiapi and asked through gritted teeth: "Chen, Chen and his son, take advantage of my army's expedition to open the door to welcome Cao Cao into Xiapi, and then use their own connections to recruit and surrender all the places for him." , so that all counties and counties must respond, this is, this is my strategy!!"
"Originally, we were supposed to take down Yanzhou in order to expel Cao Cao. Why are we being used on ourselves now! God's will is like this, God's will is like this!! Ahhh!!"
Chen Gong suddenly lost his mentality, as if someone stood behind him with a spoon and kept banging expressionlessly for three days and three nights before collapsing. He never dreamed that the strategy used to kill Cao would be used on him today.
This is using my strategy to defeat me again. Cao Mengde, you are so vicious! !
