Lu Bu finally waited for the messenger in Yangyuan City and learned that Lin Mo and his troops had arrived last night, two days later than expected. This made Lu Bu a little at a loss.
Fortunately, Cao Jun's vanguard was defeated with the ingenious plan of setting fire to Anfeng. In addition, the opponent came from afar, so they would definitely choose to take a temporary rest at this time.
Lu Bu looked at the location of Yangyuan on the map. It was still more than a hundred miles away from Panxi Col. If he traveled day and night, he could arrive before dawn tomorrow.
Looking at it this way, nothing big can happen.
"Marquis Wen, Cao's army is newly defeated and has to fight far away. Now it has just arrived at the camp. Are you thinking of hijacking the camp tonight?"
There were only two people in the Chinese army tent, Lu Bu and Zhang Xiu.
He came over on his own initiative.
After hearing about the burning of Anfeng, he was so happy that he stayed up all night. As long as Cao Cao lost, he would be as happy as if he had won the battle.
The only regret is that I was unable to participate in this battle.
In order to snowball victory, he took the initiative to ask Lu Bu to play a night attack.
"The Xiliang cavalry I brought are brave and good at fighting, and they will definitely succeed in one blow!" Zhang Xiu added with a strong fighting spirit.
Lu Bu just smiled and made a gesture to sit down, "Ziwen, I know you are in a hurry, but don't be anxious yet. You have also seen the letter Xuande sent. The cavalry brought by Cao Jun this time are different from those in the past. Different, the combat power is extremely strong, and with the new defeat, the whole army must be cautious in fighting, and now it is better to stop quietly."
Lu Bu already knew about the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. Liu Bei emphasized them in the letter announcing the good news and directly compared them with the Flying Bear Army. It is conceivable that this was not an exaggeration.
Another thing is that hijacking a camp is always a risky and extreme play, and the success rate is really not high.
There are too many people leaving, and they are discovered by the other party's scouts before they arrive, so they can only fall into the trap themselves;
With fewer people going, whether they can come back or not is a question. The best example of this is when Taishi Ci Baiqi robbed the camp under Guangling City.
In fact, unless they are absolutely passive and have to do it as a last resort, very few people are willing to do things like hijacking camps.
It's more like a desperate gamble, an opportunistic game.
"Don't worry, Ziwen."
Seeing the disappointment on Zhang Xiu's face, Lu Bu smiled and explained: "What Yunwen said makes sense. Cao's army will not have much food and grass during this trip. As long as we contain Cao's army, he will retreat within a month." .
When that time comes, Ziwen will lead the army in pursuit, so there is no need to worry. "
"Thank you Marquis Wen for your advice." It turned out that it was the arrangement made by Military Advisor Lin, so it's okay.
Lin Mo's plan to defeat Cao's army earned him a lot of prestige. Not only was he praised by everyone in the military camp, but even Zhang Xiu, who had just become his disciple, highly praised him.
Naturally, Zhang Xiu was willing to believe what he said.
"Report!"
While the two were chatting, a scout ran in and said, "Cao Cao personally led more than 10,000 troops out of the stronghold and is heading towards Ankou County!"
What?
The two looked at each other with different expressions.
One person thought it was a bit unreasonable. The vanguard of 5,000 men was defeated in less than two days. When the morale of the army was in turmoil, they rushed to send out the army without making adjustments. Cao Cao, do you know how to fight?
One person thought this was a good thing. As soon as they started fighting, I would lead my troops from the rear and stab Cao Cao directly.
"Blow the drum and send the order to the civil and military tents to discuss the troops!"
"Here!"
There are several types of drum beats in the army, and they are different for enemy attack, emergency summons and army reorganization.
When the urgent drum beat sounded, it didn't take long for Wei Yue, Xu Sheng, Chen Gong, Liu Ye, Jia Xu and others to rush over.
Except for Chen Deng who stayed in Guangling to help the people and Lu Su who stayed in Lujiang to control the floods, all the counselors who could be named were present.
When General Lu Bu announced his love to the public, the civil and military officials were also stunned.
Probably, no one expected that Cao Cao would choose to take action at such an inopportune time.
But soon, everyone had suspicions in their minds.
Although Cao Cao had a strong fighting force here, he was rushing on the road in a hurry. He probably couldn't keep up with the food and grass supplies, so he was in a hurry to deal with Liu Bei, which would create an established fact and use this to force us to retreat.
"Don't be stunned, let's talk." Lu Bu knocked on the table to wake up everyone who was wandering in their thoughts.
"The last general asked for orders to rush to Ankou with 5,000 men. When Cao's army weakens in attacking the city, he will attack with thunderous force to make him suffer the same fate as Anfeng!"
It was not easy for Zhang Xiu to speak first, but Wei Yue, who was eager to make contributions, seemed to be afraid of being overtaken first, so he was the first to ask for a fight.
With him taking the lead, Zhang Xiu didn't have to worry about anything. He bowed and said, "General Chu Nan is so brave. I am willing to go with you!"
"Count me in! Marquis Wen, the last general invites you to fight!" Xu Sheng, who was finally promoted to captain and had the qualifications to discuss troops in front of the tent, followed him unwillingly.
In the battle of Anfeng, Cao Cao's army was defeated. The soldiers now felt that Cao Cao seemed to be soft and could be bullied. No one still remembered that the enemy in front of them was a powerful leader who controlled the emperor and ordered the princes to dominate the Central Plains.
Habit is a very scary thing. If it were in the past, Lu Bu would have slapped the counter without hesitation and shouted, "Okay, order troops, order troops!"
But now, Lu Bu opened his mouth subconsciously. He wanted to ask where Yunwen was.
Finally, he swallowed it.
Peng Cheng's parting words could be heard in his ears. Now this army is no longer the thousands of men and horses who followed him to live in the open and live in no fixed place.
With the entry of forces from different classes, this place should no longer even be my own place.
Lu Bu took a deep breath and looked to the left attentively, "Gongtai, Ziyang, Wenhe, why are you three not talking?"
Chen Gong was fine, but Liu Ye and Jia Xu were both startled. Will our words work?
After all, this question made Liu Ye feel much more comfortable. He mused: "Cao's army is eager to attack Ankou. I think there is insufficient food and grass. Marquis Wen may send his troops to pretend to attack Cao's camp and encircle Wei to rescue Zhao."
Lu Bu's eyes lit up and he nodded slightly. This was a good choice. It could avoid a head-on collision with Cao Cao and help Liu Bei retreat from the enemy.
Chen Gong bowed and said: "I believe that Liu Bei's army is small and there are few generals, and Ankou is Baili Xiaoguo. It is impossible to compete with Cao's elite troops. If the war falls into a stalemate, even if we feign an attack, Cao Cao may not be able to retreat in time." If Liu Bei is defeated immediately, the opportunity will be ruined."
"So, you are also in favor of direct rescue?" Lu Bu rubbed his chin and looked at Chen Gong, who nodded and added: "The only thing that needs to be considered is that there may be an ambush by Cao Jun at Donglinkou, the only way to rescue Liu Bei. "
Jia Xu couldn't help but glance at Chen Gong, waiting for the next words.
"Want to gather around for reinforcements?"
Lu Bu showed a look of sudden realization, "Then how should we deal with it?"
Chen Gong twirled his beard and said in a deep voice: "This is just a possibility. Cao Cao has already mobilized more than ten thousand people to attack the city. There are not many soldiers and horses left behind. It should be impossible to distinguish anyone and set up an ambush.
Just ask the soldiers to be careful immediately. "
Obviously, he was a little hesitant. He thought it was possible, but he didn't think it was too reasonable.
Is it possible that Cao Cao dared to play so big and leave an empty camp?
That's the lifeblood of survival, it's impossible.
Lu Bu's eyes rolled. Although he was hesitant in his heart, Lin Mo's words echoed in his ears over and over again. This kid can't always be by my side.
For a moment, his eyes were fixed, and he glanced at Wei Yue, "Chu Nan, Ziwen, order five thousand troops to rush to Ankou's aid!"
"Here!"
After the two bowed, they excitedly tossed their robes and turned around to leave the tent.
Looking at Xu Sheng with an eager look on his face, Lu Bu reacted, smiled and nodded, "You go too."
"Thank you, Marquis Wen!"
The matter had been finalized and everyone left one after another, but Lu Bu was a little lost in thought.
He has always participated in battles like this, but today, here, in the life-and-death showdown with Cao Cao, he no longer took the lead as before.
He just wanted to truly become the commander of this team.
Under the gate, the cavalry and infantry filed out, and Lu Bu watched them leave.
There were more than 3,300 cavalry in the camp. He brought 2,000 from Guangling, and Zhang Xiu brought the rest.
In this operation, they took away 1,800 people. Lu Bu's 1,500 Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry did not participate. This was his trump card and would not be moved easily.
Wei Yue and his entourage gradually moved away with five thousand people. In the end, even the silhouettes of the infantry were obscured by the forest leaves, but Lu Bu was still looking at the direction in which they were leaving.
Whether it was because Lin Mo was not around or because he did not participate in the battle in person, Lu Bu always felt vaguely uneasy in his heart.
This uneasiness is not without reason.
For this army that has survived hundreds of battles under the smoke of war, the commander of this army should have long been accustomed to the calm before the storm.
Therefore, Lu Bu was wondering if he had missed something.
Yunwen told me to adopt the opinions of all parties. Everyone expressed their opinions. I followed what he said and weighed and adopted them.
wrong!
Lu Bu suddenly thought of someone, but Jia Xu hadn't spoken yet.
There were many people at the time and the opinions were one-sided, so he was ignored.
Lu Bu had a certain understanding of Jia Xu, and he could be regarded as an old friend at least. He had heard Li Ru say more than once that Jia Xu's talent was not inferior to his, but he just didn't like to talk.
Lin Mo was extremely excited when he received a letter from Zhang Xiu to defect to him, but this excitement was not because of Zhang Xiu, not because of his Bu Qu, but just because of Jia Xu.
He turned back to look at the camp, and then looked at the direction in which the army was leaving. Everyone was gone. Is there any need to ask?
After only a brief hesitation, Lu Bu felt that he should go and have a chat with him, whether it was to reminisce about the past, ask for advice, or express his uneasiness.
Thinking about this, he strode towards Jia Xu's camp.
"Why did Marquis Wen come here?" Jia Xu was quite surprised by Lu Bu's arrival and hurriedly invited him to sit down and make tea.
"You and I were colleagues in the past, and now we are working together for a great cause. Shouldn't you come and see us?" Lu Bu asked with a smile.
"It's my time to visit Marquis Wen," Jia Xu explained with a smile.
A pot of tea was brewed, and the two of them sat across from each other and drank tea.
Lu Bu was not good at beating around the bush, so he went straight to the point in a few sentences, "Wen He, I know that you are very resourceful, and Yun Wen also praised that your talent is even better than his. You know, Yun Wen doesn't often praise others. But why didn't you say anything when you were in the military tent just now? Could it be that you were worried?"
Jia Xu was a little stunned when he heard this.
He was surprised that Lu Bu could be so careful to discover himself who had a weak sense of existence. He was even more surprised that a prodigy who had achieved success as a young man and dominated the two states would praise him so much.
He was happy about the former, because Lu Bu at least had the insight to become a master.
Regarding the latter, he was a little confused.
During the battle of Burning Anfeng, he saw Lin Mo's methods and immediately understood that recruiting Zhang Xiu was probably Lin Mo's idea behind his back. He even suggested the thirty thousand stones of food and grass.
After all, he is Lu Bu's son-in-law, and Lu Bu obeys his advice. Even if Wen Houyi is as reckless as before, with Lin Mo here, this camp is worth his stay.
In the long run, it may not be possible to set off an evenly matched confrontation with Cao Cao in the Central Plains.
But this was Lin Mo's ability. As for himself, he finally felt that his status was too embarrassing and he was not suitable to put forward opinions that were contrary to those of the sages in the account.
"Wenhe."
Seeing that he didn't speak for a long time, Lu Bu's eyebrows tightened and he said in a deep voice, "Since we're here to share the same feelings, why should we hold back?"
"I don't dare. The matter is a foregone conclusion. It's useless to say more. If I have a conflict with you, wouldn't it destroy the morale of the army?" If these words were asked in the Chinese army's tent, he might throw out some opinions, but now Wei and Yue have already There is no point in saying anything after sending troops.
"It's just you and me here. Let's talk like old friends. Let's talk about it. I'm willing to listen to your thoughts." Lu Bu refilled Jia Xu's half cup of tea with his own hands, and his words were quite sincere.
I can't believe what happened to Marquis Wen, and he has changed so much.
The scene in front of me seems to be different from when I was in Guangling City.
If Prime Minister Dong was willing to listen to advice, why would the world be in chaos now?
Feeling the heat in Lu Bu's eyes, Jia Xu felt that if he kept hiding it, he would be disrespectful. He immediately stood up and bowed, "Wen Hou asked me to say, I dare not not say it, but if what I said is not right, I won't listen to you." , please forgive me, Marquis Wen."
Lu Bu pressed his hand and said, "What are you doing? I told you that this is a heart-to-heart talk between old friends, not a discussion of military affairs. Sit down."
For this reason, Jia Xu felt that he could really speak out what was in his heart.
After sitting down again, he looked at Lu Bu steadily, and after a moment, he said loudly: "I have three strategies for Marquis Wen to choose from."
Three strategies: upper, middle and lower?
Lu Bu leaned back a few inches, you bastard, you had so many thoughts just now in the Zhongjun tent but didn't say a word.
He suppressed his inner displeasure and nodded to signal the other party to continue.
"The best strategy is to strike later. Although Ankou is a small town and Liu Bei has less than 10,000 troops, his newly defeated Cao Cao army has an elite vanguard and strong morale. Coupled with the grain, grass and weapons we sent, it will be enough for him to resist Cao Cao for two to three days. ?
When their fighting comes to an end, if Marquis Wen personally leads a powerful force to suddenly attack, Cao's army will be defeated! "
Wonderful
Lu Bu held the teacup in his mouth, but seemed to have forgotten to put it in his mouth, savoring Jia Xu's words carefully.
This is completely regardless of Liu Bei's life and death, using him to exhaust Cao Cao's military strength, and finally reaping the benefits. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a good plan.
"How about the middle strategy?" Lu Bu took a sip of tea and looked at Jia Xu.
"The middle strategy is to attack the stronghold. Now is not the time to send out troops to attack the city, but Cao Cao did it. There is only one explanation. The siege is a bait. He has other purposes. After thinking about it, what can I do? If there is a threat to the army, we should encircle the point for reinforcements and set up an ambush at Donglinkou as Gongtai said.
Therefore, we do not need to worry about Liu Bei's life or death, nor do we need to go to Donglinkou and go straight to his military camp.
In an instant, thousands of troops can be used to stage a feint attack first, and if he does not set up an ambush, the whole army can launch a general attack. If he is planning to lure our troops into a sneak attack, he can at least convey his general's information to Cao Cao to act as a deterrent and slow down his siege. "
Lu Bu looked straight at Jia Xu with complicated eyes. Zi Yang said the same thing, but he didn't seem to be as considerate as Jia Xu thought.
However, this approach also has drawbacks. If you lead the army to leave, wouldn't your camp be empty?
Then I risked the lives of the entire army for Liu Bei.
"What's the next step?" Lu Bu moved his butt, put down the teacup, and looked at Jia Xu seriously.
Jia Xu let out a long sigh and spoke in a slightly louder tone, "The next best thing to do is to ask Marquis Wen to quickly lead his troops to Donglinkou. That is the only possible place to set up an ambush. In this way, even if General Wei is ambushed, Cao Jun will never expect that there is someone behind us." There is a troop of troops rushing to help.”
"Rush to Donglinkou"
Lu Bu repeated what the other party had said, but he thought it was alarmist, "Is it so serious?"
Jia Xu sighed, rubbed his brows and shook his head: "I can conclude that Cao Jun must have set up an ambush, but I can't definitely tell whether the ambush point is at the camp or at Donglinkou. But to be on the safe side, Marquis Wen should lead his troops to see it. Look, if there is peace, you can feel at ease."
There is some truth to this.
Jia Xu's best strategy was too vicious and lacked martial ethics, but it was extremely beneficial to his own side.
The middle strategy is too risky. If you are not careful, you will either be defeated by the opponent, or the rear camp will be stolen.
Of course, these are just some assumptions that exist in my mind. Wei Yue has already led his troops on the expedition, and it is impossible to change it into Jia Xu's best or middle strategy. Military orders are like mountains, how can they be changed overnight?
But this third strategy
Lu Bu stood up slowly, clasping his chin in thought.
Could it be that the vague uneasiness I felt before really came from Donglinkou?
What he said is right. Go over and take a look. If there is any situation, you can take action. If nothing happens, it will be okay to come back. You should go out to inspect the terrain.
"Okay! Wen He, I'll order the troops and head to Donglinkou!" Lu Bu finally made up his mind, feeling relieved in his heart.
"Thank you Marquis Wen for your trust."
Jia Xu knew that without Lin Mo, Lu Bu would not be where he is today, even though he could not have as many advisers as Cao Cao, Yuan Shao and others.
But besides him, Lin Yunwen, there were Chen Gong, Liu Ye, Lu Su and others who were all above him in terms of merit and feelings. Lu Bu still followed his own advice, thinking that he really needed courage and a heart. A determined heart.
Lu Bu left, and the red robe of Xichuan Hundred Flowers was as dazzling as before. Jia Xu looked around and murmured: "It has a little flavor."
Jia Xu has always understood that an overlord who is destined to make great achievements in troubled times does not only rely on the assistance of a certain person, but also relies on his own talent.
Without Duke Huan of Qi, Guan Zhong would not have been able to leave a name for his talents.
Without Emperor Gaozu, Han Xin might have always been a halberd-wielding man.
He has also been looking for someone who can stop him.
Lu Bu
It has a little taste.
(End of chapter)
