mutiny.
This is what Lu Bu is most worried about now. The army's food supply will be exhausted, and the soldiers will be unable to stabilize their morale and will fall into self-disorder.
Under the city gate, Lu Bu hurried to the temporary garrison in the city, his footsteps very anxious and panicked.
Although the soldiers did not know the status of the food and grass, by this point in the march, they could roughly guess that the daily rations were dry and bitter cakes, and there was no rice left for cooking.
He was now not only afraid of a mutiny, but also afraid that during repeated battles, Cao Jun's spies had actually sneaked in and secretly spread rumors.
With such internal and external troubles, this already weak city will collapse in a day.
Not long after, Lu Bu arrived at the place surrounded by soldiers. He pushed through the crowd and came out. He saw several people near the wall whose faces were beaten with blurred faces, bruised noses and swollen faces. There was a pool of blood on the ground and several teeth.
Lu Bu was stunned when he saw this. Looking at the clothes, he could tell that those who were beaten were Wenyuan's cavalrymen. There were several corpses thrown in the distance. Dozens of them were forced into a corner by Hou Cheng and Wei Xu with hundreds of soldiers. The knife is alert and ready to strike.
"What's going on!?" Lu Bu shouted angrily and looked at Hou Cheng and Wei Xu coldly.
"Your Majesty, the current situation must be that after Zhang Liao's fellow was captured, he leaked the information about our army's defenses and informed Cao Cao about Xuzhou's terrain and mountains. Only then could he be able to advance and retreat freely, and be able to bypass our army's back. Think about it. , did our army begin to retreat steadily after Zhang Liao was captured? In the past, we followed the kings and lords to travel south and north. Although there were dangers, we never experienced despair. Now, Cao Cao cannot be defeated by General Xu Rong, and his achievements are only to defeat the bandits and Lao Can a Confucian be better at fighting than a prince?" Next to Hou Cheng, Song Xian, who was also Lu Bu's confidant, immediately clasped his fists and said.
These words, while retaining their own unique insights, are no less than a lick of licks.
After hearing this, Lu Bu lost most of his anger, but he also understood the whole story, and even figured out many of the puzzles.
For example, Cao Cao knew the terrain of Xuzhou better than he did, and he also knew the army well, so he manipulated him into applause.
Is this because I, Lu Bu, am stupid? Of course it's impossible. Cao Cao can't completely understand my thoughts and the situation of food and grass in our army. This is terrible.
However, if Wen Yuan betrays me, it will be completely different. He is my trusted general. He is fully aware of my plans, the defenses in the camp, and the generals who lead the army under his command.
If all these were told to Cao Cao, I would naturally have been known to Cao Cao for a long time, which is why I ended up in this situation.
Thinking of this, Lu Bu's body swayed in a daze, but he quickly shook his head and said, "Wen Yuan is not that kind of person."
"If he wasn't, why would Cao Jun always expect me to be ahead of him!" Wei Xu was rough and majestic. He tightened the knife in his right hand and glanced at the small school captains who were leaning against the wall and looking at each other.
"My general is so righteous and will never betray the lord! If he is captured, he will even want to die! How can he betray his master and ask for glory!"
"The general has followed the prince for many years, and has been with him in life and death. If he had betrayed him, he would have left long ago! How could he betray him now?"
"The general's family is not in Pengcheng. His family is in Tancheng. No one can threaten him!"
"That's an inducement! Zhang Wenyuan is greedy for merit! That's why he surrendered to the enemy! He knows everything about us, so he must have told us everything!"
"Bah! It's obvious that you didn't fight well in the beginning."
A group of people were about to quarrel again. Lu Bu suddenly shouted and calmed both parties. He looked at Hou Cheng and Wei Xu, then smelled the smell of alcohol, and immediately frowned, "Have you been drinking? "
"Junhou, I was really thirsty, so I searched in the cellars in the city and dug out some old wine to drink." Hou Cheng is fat and has a standard general body shape. The fat can protect him well. At the same time, he is also very strong, has unkempt beard, and has small eyes. It is easy to see if he is weak.
Lu Bu was annoyed by this the most. If he argued hard, he would glare like an ox and speak loudly, fearing that the matter would not make a big fuss. This would be the case when he felt guilty, and he would look for various excuses.
"When I entered the city, a ban on alcohol was issued. Even I couldn't drink. Why do you dare to violate the military order!?" Lu Bu said coldly.
"Otherwise, what should I do, Your Majesty, could it be possible that if we watch those rats outside the city mocking us, we would hide in the city and wait to die! I should have known it earlier! Our military rations would have been—"
"Unbridled!" Lu Bu took a step forward, his right hand was as round as a stick, and slapped Hou Cheng in the face with a roar, knocking him to the ground. Immediately, there were red five-finger prints on his right face.
Hou Cheng seemed to be woken up by a slap, and the pain when he fell to the ground kept coming. After his eyes were in a trance for a while, he was much more awake. He quickly got up and stood up straight, lowering his head and not daring to look at Lu Bu. He thought that Lu Bu at this time, He was also dejected and had already lost his fighting spirit, but that didn't seem to be the case.
"Hou Cheng, Wei Xu, and Song Xian gathered together to cause trouble. They should have been dealt with by military law, but now that the enemy is facing us, let's make a note for the time being. Each of them will receive twenty military sticks! To suppress the power of the army!!"
Lu Bu's voice spread everywhere, making the soldiers present look frightened, but in fact they already had their own thoughts in their hearts. Hou Cheng and others felt trembling in their hearts, and their hands were trembling. Twenty army sticks, that can't be solved overnight...
Zhang Wenyuan was captured, but his soldiers were treated favorably. We loyally followed him and never left him, but we ended up like this...
After following Wen Hou for several years, he never had any peace and quiet. He was constantly fighting in the north and south, but now he was in a desperate situation, but he still had to be beaten.
The three of them looked at each other secretly, but didn't say anything. They remained silent and allowed Lu Bu's guards to hold them down and take them to receive military sticks.
At this time, Lu Bu turned slightly to the group of Zhang Liao's old men, glanced around with his peripheral vision, and said solemnly: "You have followed Wen Yuan for many years. Wen Yuan has also experienced life and death with me. We are worthy of brothers. I believe he will not betray me." , but people’s words are terrifying, and the military’s morale is hard to boost. If we want to prove that Wen Yuan has no second intention, we need you to actively kill the enemy. Every word and every word is feeble! Only by working hard can we clear away his doubts, do you understand!?”
The young general's eyes were red, and he didn't know whether it was tears or blood. He wiped the corners of his mouth, clasped his fists and said vaguely: "Thank you sir, we will fight bravely to prevent my general from carrying the Lord on his back." Seek the name of glory!"
"Okay, you all prepare, follow me out at midnight tomorrow and kill the south gate defenders."
"yes!!"
Dozens of people on the ground, as well as hundreds of black-armored sergeants in the distance, immediately clasped their fists and shouted orders.
Everyone's expressions became excited again, and they were very grateful to Lu Bu. Some people's eyes were blood red, and they wanted to fight out immediately.
"Junhou, do we want to break out from the south?"
"Yes, you can only pass through the south gate. You have fought against Cao Ren's troops several times. If we fight hard, we still have a chance to escape to Yangzhou. Yuan Shu will definitely support us. Jiangnan is a land of plenty. , rich in products, when we get to Yangzhou, we don’t have to eat these dry raw foods like we did in Xuzhou." Lu Bu glanced at the crowd coldly and shouted: "Stay alive! Follow me to Yangzhou!"
"At the end of the Han Dynasty, the outcome of the battle is yet to be determined. I, Lu Bu, am the great Han Marquis Wen!! I will definitely lead you to break out!"
"Marquis Wen is mighty!!"
After one person shouts, everyone else gets excited.
"Gongtai," Lu Bu saw this, looked back at Chen Gong, and said softly: "Tomorrow, take out all the food and share it among the soldiers."
"Fengxian, this..." Chen Gong also knew that this day would come, but when it actually arrived, his heart was still confused, as if he had been falling, and he was quite worried. How could he break out from Cao Ren's army?
Cao Ren had at least 20,000 to 30,000 troops and was well-armed. Since he was chasing him all the way, Marquis Wen also lost more than he won. He could only repel him but not disperse him.
If it were an ordinary quantity, Marquis Wen would be able to do it with ease. It is precisely because the number is multiple that of his own that he can be like this. Moreover, this time they are waiting in full formation, and I am a tired army.
Could it be that we want to imitate the "last-ditch battle" and fight bravely to fight for a slim chance of survival with the orders of the soldiers? Or is it possible to break through alone and capture Cao Cao in order to seek a breakthrough?
Lu Bu looked at him coldly and said nothing.
By the time these soldiers returned to their camps and prepared their armaments and swords with great momentum, Lu Bu and Chen Gong had returned to the city gate tower. Looking at the camp with flags fluttering to the north, it was obvious that Cao Cao did not take him seriously at all. .
"Gongtai, we are not going through the south gate." At this time, there were only two of them left in the camp, and the guards outside were far away. Lu Bu suddenly said.
These words startled Chen Gong, and he turned around and stared at Lu Bu numbly, as if he was stuck in his throat and didn't know what to say. He could only look at him helplessly, but his mind was extremely complicated, and he actually... made a fuss in the east and wanted to run away. .
"Then, the ones Fengxian wants to take away are his old troops, right?"
Chen Gong looked at him deeply and came closer to ask him softly, but his heart was torn and bleeding. At first, he valued Cao Cao and thought he was the Ming Lord. It was not until Cao Cao started to rely on talents and cultivate the fields to support the people that he realized that he was the master of the Ming Dynasty. His heart was not benevolent and righteous, and Cao Cao did not follow the royal path.
Following Lu Bu, although Chen Gong did not think that Lu Bu was a benevolent and righteous king, he did obey his own words. Perhaps when he governs a place in the future, he can slowly apply benevolence and righteousness and find a wise master to support him.
But now he discovered that tigers and wolves are tigers and wolves, and Lu Bu's plan can be called ambitious! He doesn’t want to go to Han either! ! His decisions of Marquis Wen and Beheading Dong were not motivated by his desire to serve the Han Dynasty. He did not have the ambition to bring peace to the people of the world. What he also wanted was a great cause for the country!
The so-called general's name is indeed the result of being killed in a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. He was defeated but did not die precisely because he dared to give up.
Chen Gong thought that Lu Bu had the style of the overlord of Chu, but he only learned bravery. When the overlord of Chu arrived in front of Wujiang River and was saved from a desperate situation, it was because he himself led the cavalry to kill him, instead of relying on the sacrifice of his horsemen. And in the end, he died not because he was unable to escape, but because he couldn't cross the Wujiang River!
What is hanging over the river is his dignity and guilt. He cannot afford to live with it. Once it passes, these will be lost.
People know that such people are stupid, but history often praises such people.
Victory or failure will not be tilted because of a person's charm, but people's hearts will.
Under Chen Gong's gaze, Lu Bu nodded without hesitation and said: "Gongtai, these people are Zhang Liao's tribe. They are the soldiers he has led for five years. They came out of a life-and-death fight. They are not surrendering to me." Because I, Lu Bu, have won the hearts of the people, and simply because I am Zhang Liao’s commander."
"Hou Cheng, Song Xian, and Wei Xu have also been with me for many years. Today, we have a sudden rift with them. Although this feeling has been suppressed, it can no longer be restored. Whether Zhang Liao betrayed me is no longer important, because these Wenyuan people The old department has become an outlet for emotions in the military.”
"If we want to live, it is best to abandon them."
Lu Bu turned around, stood with his hands behind his back, and said with a rather vicissitude in his tone: "The South Gate army is heavily surrounded, and Cao Cao and Cao Ren personally command it. The situation is as solid as a rock and difficult to break. But once the troops from the South Gate rush out, , the north gate must be reported by Xin Arrow and Flying Cavalry, so that the army will surround the mountain to the south of Xia Qiu!"
"This is the time for us to break through! I have already calculated before the battle. Cao Hong has less than 10,000 soldiers and horses. They are evenly matched against me. If I lead my elite cavalry to attack, I will definitely be able to break through the opening and escape!"
After Chen Gong heard this, he laughed loudly, and the laughter echoed in the gate tower for a long time. At this time, his eyes suddenly became fanatical, and he stared at Lu Bu and said: "This is a good plan, attack the east and attack the west! Secretly attack Chen Cang! No! Fortunately, you are the battle-hardened Marquis Lu Wen! Everyone in the world knows that you are brave, but they don’t know that you, the person in charge, also have a plan in mind! If this plan can be successful, Cao Cao’s 50,000-strong army will be played by Marquis Wen. Time! You can escape from death! Escape from life! Go to Yangzhou, join forces with Yuan Shu, dominate the south of the Yangtze River, and then map the Central Plains!!
"Hahaha!! What a brilliant idea, what a brilliant idea!! But neither Cao Cao nor Cao Ren are mediocre people! How could Marquis Wen deceive him?"
Chen Gong's thin face suddenly froze, his complexion turned from sallow to pale, and his voice suddenly became hoarse and low: "If you and I are to meet each other, if this plan can be successful, we actually need one more thing."
"What is it?" Lu Bu looked at Chen Gong in surprise. He felt that Chen Gongtai seemed a bit weird at this time, but he couldn't think of anything weird, so he could only follow the words and ask.
Chen Gong's eyes widened, and a look of determination appeared on his complex face. He folded his hands and held a salute, bowed down, and said loudly: "Jing Ke assassinated Qin, and the young master presented his head! Marquis Wen's plan to escape, Gong, I am willing to join the game with my own life! Only then will Cao Cao be convinced that you and I were escaping together, how could we go our separate ways, and he hates me so much!"
"Gongtai," Lu Bu was about to say more, but Chen Gong had already turned his back, spread his wide sleeves with his hands and lowered them, raised them up again, tightened his black hat, and then bowed deeply to Luoyang. , loudly shouted: "Cao Cao's traitor, what a wise man? The leader is running for war! He only hopes for hegemony!! Dukes Gonggun and Lord Yiyi! They all belong to this traitor!"
"I, Chen Gong, are so ashamed of this big man that I am unable to do anything more!"
When he bowed, Lu Bu immediately understood what he was thinking. He stopped and looked at his back. At this moment, he realized that Chen Gong's shoulders had drooped feebly. He lowered his head and lowered his hands, as if he had an empty sack. He could not straighten his waist. He walked out of the gatehouse lobby.
…
night.
The Xiaqiu city gate was wide opened. Chen Gong led Zhang Liao's old troops and Xuzhou soldiers to gather in the south gate. Then he opened the city gate wide and rushed out. After raising fire, he went straight to Cao Ren's camp. After a while, a group of soldiers and horses immediately rushed toward Cao Ren. Heading east, other cavalry were guarding the outside.
At this time, inside Cao's camp where the campfire was swaying, cavalry soldiers and horses appeared like snakes. The shouts of the mountain roar spread like a tsunami, and accompanied by the sound of horse hooves that shook the earth, they rushed in pursuit.
Chen Gong was dressed in black robes and riding a white horse, following a tall general holding a halberd. This general was wearing Lu Bu's general armor. Sure enough, Cao Ying's cavalry rushed out, and the leader Cao Ren held a long sword, reined in his horse and pursued him straight through the forest.
At the same time, there were countless signals, drums, and trumpets sounding, all of which were issuing orders to gather troops to drive away those who followed. They yelled, cursed, and mocked him inside and outside the city for a long time. They were waiting for the moment Lu Bu came out of the city to surround and kill him!
At this time, the city gate suddenly opened wide in the north gate. Many of the defenders on this side had been transferred. The defenders hiding on the city tower saw Cao Hong leading his troops away, leaving a few behind. According to estimates, the number of cavalry and infantry should be less than 4,000.
From this point of view, this is the best time.
Lu Bu's elite cavalry, plus the troops of Song Xian, Wei Xu, Hou Cheng and others, there are still two thousand cavalry in total, which is enough to kill and go straight to Yangzhou, plundering the people along the way to replenish food and grass, and there will be a lot of potential in the future.
The world is uncertain, the outcome is unknown, and Lu Bu doesn't want to die yet!
In the jungle outside the north gate, there was an ambush in the forest. They were all strong infantrymen wearing two pairs of armor, but holding spears and halberds. The leader among them was Dian Wei.
He wore a headband to block his stray hair, and iron armor on his body to protect his heart and lungs. His back was against the trunk of a giant tree as a roadblock, and there were huge rocks blocking the road on both sides.
The ground with their backs was filled with heavy long soldiers such as halberds and spears.
At this time, the person next to Dian Wei suddenly woke up and pulled Dian Wei: "Brother! There is the sound of horse hooves! Sure enough, someone is running this way!"
"Well, don't panic. Just how I taught you how to throw today," Dian Wei squeezed the handle of the halberd in his hand, his eyes focused, and said secretly: "Put them closer, and then tell me..."
Praise! !
Under the moonlight, a galloping horse came running, and the figure of the cavalry appeared first from the path in the distance. The leading horse was extremely fast, and was strong and tall. It was more fierce than ordinary war horses, and it seemed to exhale white mist from its mouth. From blur to clarity in a blink of an eye.
"Brother, we're coming! It's less than a hundred steps away!"
"Tell me again within ten steps!"
Dian Wei said in a deep voice, his eyes became more solemn and his tone became solemn. Dozens of brothers around him were all standing ready, and their breathing gradually became heavier. Only Dian Wei closed his eyes slightly, but his ears were fully relaxed, listening carefully to the sound of horse hooves.
"drive!"
"There's a roadblock ahead!!"
"Get over it! Go around the forest!"
"Be careful of an ambush!"
The sound of someone talking kept coming. The person next to Dian Wei was about to move, but was held down by Dian Wei. Then there were several snatching sounds, and arrows whizzed past his head.
The back of the man's clothes was soaked with cold sweat. If he had been in a hurry just now, he would have been shot through the head by the arrow that was blown by the strong wind.
"Rush over! There may be no one here!"
The mighty voice shouted. At such a close distance, even if there were infantry ambushes, it would be too late to set up a gun! Just cross over!
Dian Wei grinned at this moment, and all the muscles in his body suddenly tightened. Su Wei's shouts rang out from beside him, "Ten steps!!"
Dian Wei's eyes flashed, his body like a mountain suddenly turned up, and he roared: "Kill!"
5K chapter! There’s another chapter coming soon! You all can’t wait to watch Ten Thousand Words tomorrow morning.
(End of chapter)
