Cao Ang didn't come here to fight, he just wanted to open an escape route for Sizhou's defeated soldiers and buy some time. However, he didn't expect to encounter this tiger in a cage. He was defeated by more than 800 heroic cavalry alone. The troops rushed to pieces, and were severely beaten by Guo Huai's troops. For a time, the team was divided into countless small pieces and was in a state of being cannibalized.
But this is an army of ten thousand people after all. From Zhang Liao's charge out to Guo Huai's reinforcements arriving, it sounds like a short time has passed, but in fact many of the defeated troops who came down from Mang Mountain have fled.
If we really want to define it by the immediate battle loss ratio, this kind of life-for-life approach to blocking the enemy's pursuit is not profitable, but if we don't consume most of Lu Jun's energy at the Linyang crossing and let them let go of the pursuit, Si The state's defeated soldiers may not be able to escape even a third of them.
Although the current situation is bleak, after all, it is the tribe led by the young master Cao Ang. Even though it cannot compare with Ma Chao's prestige in the army, it can be said that compared with several sons of Yuan Shao's family, many of the soldiers in this tribe are real. Willing to die for Cao Ang.
If not for this, this army of ten thousand people would have been shattered by Liao Shenchong's military morale and defeated.
At present, as long as Cao Ang can survive, not to mention fighting to the last soldier, but the Northern Army brought by Liao Shen wants to let go and chase them, but they can't.
Both Liao Shen, a veteran on the battlefield, and Guo Huai, who came from a wealthy family, actually understood this truth, so the two of them desperately wanted to kill the general in front of them as quickly as possible.
Wails were everywhere all around, Cao Jun was not afraid of death, even Lu Jun, who had the absolute upper hand, could not annihilate this tribe at once; on the battlefield, Zhang Liao and Guo Huai teamed up to make Cao Ang and Cao Anmin suffer a lot, but the same The winner cannot be determined immediately.
The hooked sickle in Zhang Liao's hand drew a series of sharp arcs. Cao Ang and Cao Anmin, who were walking on the battlefield, were juniors who had seen the cruelty of the battlefield. They had even asked for advice from powerful generals like Dian Wei and Xu Chu, but Facing this long sword, it seems that it is powerless.
Zhang Liao gave Cao Ang an extremely strange feeling. He was tough and tough, but from a distance, he felt that his sword skills were not superb. At least compared to Xu Chu's Huoyun Sword, both in terms of strength and sword skills, they were slightly inferior.
The problem is that during the actual confrontation, the two sons of the Cao family felt that they could not exert their strength. The opponent's sword skills were not gorgeous, and the strength of the collision was not overbearing. However, it happened that such a big sword seemed to have an inability Daoming's mystery can stick to both of them.
Cao Ang wanted to leave the battlefield several times and shout his name among the army to intimidate the army. At the same time, he also told the soldiers that he was still alive and must not be cowardly.
But every time I saw the right moment and wanted to rush out, Zhang Liao's hook and sickle blocked the way, and I complained endlessly.
This guy is really a monster. He doesn’t have the sword technique that requires strong force and heavy weight. He doesn’t have the moves that Xu Chu said should be continuous and continuous like the waves crashing on the shore. This sword technique with nothing can actually do it. Suppress me and my eldest brother easily!
It came from Cao Anmin's inner disdain for Zhang Liao, but Cao Ang already understood that Zhang Liao's open and close style of play was not good at fighting generals, but the most efficient way to kill enemies that had been honed over time on the battlefield.
Of course, there is another possibility. From the beginning to the end, he didn't take his brothers seriously. His expression of enjoyment looked like he was performing martial arts on a school field. It was simply hateful!
"General, look, the dust is flying ahead. Cao Cao's defeated army from Sizhou must have arrived. If they continue to entangle like this, they will run far away and cannot let Cao Cao go!" After crossing his horse, Guo Huai pointed to the back of a forest in the distance. said anxiously.
Zhang Liao glanced at the flying dust and immediately understood that Guo Huai's analysis was good. He only glanced behind him. It would be difficult to end this battle in a while. So, he held the knife in both hands, stared at one of the two cao men, and said in a deep voice. : "Kill this one first."
After saying that, he rode forward again. Unlike before, this time Zhang Liao no longer had Cao Ang in his eyes. He stared at Cao Anmin and attacked fiercely. He slashed, chopped, teased, poked and stabbed with his long sword, which was really dazzling.
It was extremely difficult for Cao Anmin to use his gun to resolve each blow. He was constantly pressed by the hook and sickle to break through the defense. Cao Angce immediately stepped forward to help but was blocked by Guo Huai. Sparks flew from the collision between the two guns.
Cao Anmin was unable to resist the seven different killing moves of the hook and sickle in a row. Facing the hook and sickle passing by, he had no time to raise his gun to block and could only lean back a few inches to avoid this fatal edge.
Unexpectedly, just as the hook and sickle passed across his throat, it suddenly stopped and was dragged over. The hook and sickle on the blade locked on Cao Anmin's neck.
Poof!
A bloody mist dispersed from the hook and sickle, and Cao Anmin fell straight off his horse.
"Anmin!" Cao Ang shouted sharply.
Zhang Liao didn't know who the person he killed was, but he knew that if he knocked this person down again, the stubbornly resisting army behind him would fall apart, so he charged forward with his horse.
Cao Ang's martial arts skills were much higher than Cao Anmin's, and even Guo Huai, who still had insufficient combat experience, was lower than him.
But when he tried to fend off Zhang Liao and Guo Huai at the same time, even if he had his teeth shattered, he would be unable to do so.
In just two or three rounds, after Guo Huai's spear was against Cao Ang's weapon, Liao Shen handsomely turned his horse, Gray Shadow Xu Lulu raised his front hooves, and the hook sickle was raised high, Zhang Liao used his arms to exert force, and the blade was wrapped around The overwhelming power of Mount Tai fell heavily.
Keng!
There was a loud noise, and the blow hit the gun barrel of Cao Ang's crossbar, making a bang of metal collision. The huge pressure caused his mount to collapse.
After falling, Zhang Liao's hook and sickle swept past, and it was about to kill Cao Ang. Cao Ang himself had already had the consciousness to die, but it was a pity that he could not hold Zhang Liao back for too long.
Just within an inch of Cao Ang's throat, the hooked sickle that was about to succeed was shaken away by an overbearing force. Before Zhang Liao could raise his eyes to see clearly who was coming, the opponent's long knife swept over him.
This attack was so sudden and violent that Guo Huai's position was not threatened, but Zhang Liao could not avoid it. He simply took advantage of it and fell to the ground with his gray shadow.
Seeing that the opponent was about to take advantage of the victory and pursue the attack, Zhang Liao, who was lying on the ground, used all his strength to swipe the hook and sickle, and then he was able to force the attacker back.
Taking advantage of a brief opportunity to flick the reins, Gray Shadow carried him back to his feet.
"Young master, hurry up and let me stop this guy!" The man was tall and round, with a majestic appearance and a pair of eyes that were calm and intimidating.
It's Xu Chu.
Zhang Liao knew him. In fact, neither he nor Dian Wei actually appeared on the battlefield compared with other generals. Most of them served as Cao Cao's bodyguards.
However, when Lu Bu fought against six in Puyang, Xu Chu was among them. Perhaps because both of them used swords, and Xu Chu's sword skills were much higher than those of others present at the time, Zhang Liao was most impressed by him.
"General Xu!"
Cao Ang stood up in embarrassment and remounted his horse, holding on to his crooked tasseled helmet, gritted his teeth and said: "You came just in time, let's take down these two thieves together!"
"Master, please hurry up and meet Sikong at the front."
Xu Chu, who had his back to Cao Ang, raised his hand, then turned to look at the stunned Cao Ang and said, "I can't leave Sikong for too long."
It was probably because of this reminder that Cao Ang woke up from the fierce battle on the battlefield. Yes, Xu Chu was his father's bodyguard general. I guess a scout had reported the bloody battle to his father, and Xu Chu was sent to take care of it.
When the army is in turmoil, it is indeed a threat if Cao Cao has no warriors to protect him.
Looking at the troops and horses he brought with him, every ten of them had been surrendered. It would be of no use to our side to continue to entangle them, so we immediately retreated with a shout of gold.
"Which way to go?"
Zhang Liao sneered coldly and instigated Gray Shadow to kill Cao Ang.
Damn it, I chose the wrong one out of the two, but now, the identity of the other party is confirmed, and the goal is clear.
Xu Chu said nothing and slashed at Zhang Liao with his sword, and the two immediately fought with each other.
The God of Liao is indeed ferocious. He has no major shortcomings in terms of commander-in-chief, military skills, courage, fighting skills, and martial arts. He can be called a hexagonal general.
However, when comparing Dou Jiang alone, there is still a certain gap between him and Xu Chu.
As soon as Fang made contact, the numbness in his arms caused by the collision of the two swords made Zhang Liao clearly realize that the strange power of the guard general in front of him was really quite big.
Even though Guo Huai also picked up a spear to help, Xu Chu could still walk between the two of them calmly and was unable to break through him to pursue Cao Ang.
However, Xu Chu was not reluctant to fight. After a few rounds of contact, he estimated that Cao Ang had run far away. The Huoyun knife drew a diagonal arc and swung away from Zhang Liao in front of him. Then he drew back the knife and teased the startled Guo Huai, raising his mount high and almost falling. After catching the horse, he did not pursue the victory, but turned the horse's head and left quickly.
"Is he Cao Cao's guard general Xu Chu? He is very skilled in martial arts!" Guo Huai watched him run away without any intention of pursuing him. The gap in strength was still too obvious.
"The few who can survive a fight with Marquis Wen are weaklings."
Zhang Liao shook his head helplessly, and then greeted the Xiaoni cavalry behind him, "Continue to chase with me!"
There are tens of thousands of Cao's troops, most of them infantry. They ran all the way from Tongguan to here. My legs are not broken and I can't get up soon. I can't kill you Cao Ang. It's not bad to take thousands of prisoners. This can be regarded as a retreat. Ask for the next best thing.
Fighting was going on in Luoyang, but the news of Cao Cao's defeat at Tongguan had already spread to the land of Jingxiang. It is not an exaggeration to say that there were three shocks in one day.
Of course, the Jingzhou civil and military forces in Nanyang and Nanjun who surrendered to Cao Cao were shocked, and the people in other counties were still very excited.
For example, Wei Yan is in Jiangxia at this moment.
After receiving Huang Zu's letter, he immediately packed his bags and rushed to Xiling. During this period, Liu Bei actually never stopped comforting Huang Zu. This also gave Wei Yan a reason to go to Jiangxia. No one would Doubt he was gone forever.
Liu Bei was also very happy. He regarded himself as a supporter of the Han Dynasty. Seeing that the national traitors in his mind were suppressed for this reason, the liberation of the Han Dynasty seemed to be in sight.
Moreover, Nanyang is currently in turmoil. If you think of ways, you may not be able to instigate some people to come back.
But soon, he clearly realized that although Cao Cao was defeated, this defeat directly pushed Lu Bu to the well-deserved position of the first prince of the Han Dynasty.
He is afraid that he will become the second Cao Cao.
He is even more terrifying than Cao Cao. After all, no matter in terms of territory, grain, taxes, or troops, even Yuan Shao during his heyday could not compare with Lu Bu now.
It's good that the national traitor is Cao Cao, but if the two parties continue to be entangled, the final result will only be that they are both annexed by Lu Bu and become a speck of dust under the wheel of history.
In fact, in this dimension, the evidence for Cao Cao being called a traitor to the country is not conclusive. At least, he did not strangle the imperial concubine to death, did not hunt around him, and did not declare himself the king.
Liu Bei probably forgot that he only called him a traitor in order to avoid being restrained by the emperor.
Therefore, when the situation is changing dramatically, Liu Bei feels that he should expand the situation a little bit, otherwise the way for the revival of the old Liu family will be blocked.
When he was about to ask Zhuge Liang for advice, Guan Yu hurried in.
"Brother, the Wusheng County Magistrate sent someone to report that they saw Lu Bu's cavalry at the foot of Yang'an Mountain!"
After Guan Yu finished speaking, everyone in the hall looked at each other. Zhuge Liang immediately asked, "How many troops and horses are there? Who is the general in command?"
Guan Yu said solemnly: "There are not many soldiers and horses. There are thousands of people. There are no flags. They can only be identified from the armor. But from the look of the general commanding the army sent by the county magistrate, he should be Zhao Yun."
"Zilong?" Liu Bei's heart sank, and his eyes revealed a touch of sadness.
Since the battle of Xiaoguan, Zhao Yunke has had a failed military career. He defeated Cao Jun, conquered the Northern Kingdom, defeated Wuhuan, defeated the ten tribes in Guanzhong, and defeated the generals in Jiangdong. He can be called the number one fierce general of the Lu Army. Lu Buzhi The existence of the first person.
Therefore, when he heard this name again, Liu Bei actually felt a little uncomfortable in his heart. Zhao Yun was originally mine, mine, just like Lin Mo.
When we were in Youzhou, we slept together and felt like brothers. It was just because he returned to Youzhou after resolving the siege of Xuzhou. After that, his brother died of illness and returned to Changshan. Otherwise, we should be the brothers of Liu, Guan, Zhang and Zhao. ah.
Lu Bu relied on Zilong in the most critical battles. If he was under my command, why would he be like this?
"Not good!" When Liu Bei was sad, Zhuge Liang's expression suddenly changed.
"Kong Ming, what happened?"
"Does that thief Zhao Yun dare to attack our Jiangxia?" Zhang Fei immediately raised his eyebrows.
Zhuge Liang slowly shook his head, "My lord, after Cao Cao's defeat in Sizhou, the Central Plains is no longer tenable. He will definitely move the capital. At this time, Zhao Yun suddenly crossed Yang'an Mountain and went north. I suspect that Lin Mo ordered him to move the capital in the middle. Dao Jie returns to the emperor!"
Hearing this, Liu Guan and Zhang all had expressions of surprise.
Yes, Wuguan is not far from Nanyang. If they go in that direction, they are obviously taking action. However, they all subconsciously felt that Lu Jun suddenly crossed the border because he had thoughts about Jingzhou, but they forgot about it. .
"Don't worry, eldest brother, I will go with my second brother to intercept Zhao Yun and welcome back the emperor!" Anyway, Zhao Yun's men could only come with a thousand cavalry, and no matter how poor Jingzhou was, he could still manage it with a thousand or several hundred cavalry.
Coupled with Zhao Yun's lone army going deep, Zhang Fei was absolutely confident that he could take back Liu Xielai from his hands.
"Brother, third brother, this is a good idea. Let Zhao Yun lead people to fight with Cao Jun first, and then we can strike later." Guan Yu also thought this move was very good.
"Second brother and third brother, what are you talking about? Zilong led troops to Cao Ying to rescue the emperor, but I started from it. Then wouldn't it look like Cao Cao to the world?" Liu Bei dismissed the two people's thoughts first, and then looked at Zhuge Liang.
"Lord, I'm afraid this matter is not that simple."
Zhuge Liang, who was wearing a crane cloak, twirled his fingers and frowned, "It stands to reason that even we have received the news. It is impossible for Huang Zu not to know, but he actually chose to acquiesce."
Before Zhuge Liang finished speaking, Liu Guanzhang took a breath and widened his eyes. Was he going to resist?
"Kong Ming, what does he want?" Liu Bei's tone was trembling. This matter seemed to be more important to Liu Bei than bringing back the emperor.
After all, Huang Zu had 50,000 navy men under his command. If he betrayed him, he would not be able to stand in Jingzhou, a land with many water systems.
Let alone compete with Lu Lin, Cai Mao can use the navy to divide his territory on the Xiang River and the Yangtze River. Even if he holds the land of five counties, he may fall into a difficult situation at any time.
"Huang Zu is a common man, I have long said that he should be replaced!" Zhang Fei was cursing again, seeming to have forgotten that he is the real Jiangxia Prefect, and you can't change him.
"It's still too early to draw a conclusion. It's also possible that he wasn't angry about us letting Sun Ce go, so he chose to turn a blind eye to Zhao Yun. He's very negative now."
Zhuge Liang was pacing back and forth, thinking deeply, and soon made up his mind, "My lord, the only plan for now is to go to Jiangxia with the young master, on the one hand, to test Huang Zu's choice, and on the other hand. "
Zhuge Liang paused, glanced at Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, and said firmly: "We must rescue the emperor. Only in this way can we stabilize the situation in Jingzhou."
"This is easy to handle. My second brother and I will go rescue people, and my eldest brother and the young master will go to Jiangxia!" Zhang Fei knew that as long as Zhuge Liang supported the strategy, 80% of it could be implemented, and he laughed.
Liu Bei looked embarrassed and did not make an immediate decision.
In any case, if Zhao Yun went to save the emperor, he would be acting upright, and he would do it from behind. It looked more like the actions of a thief. Of course, the success rate of this method was very high, but he didn't bother to use it.
"Brother, Zhao Yun has an old relationship with us after all. If you miss him and don't want to kill him, then the three of us brothers will go together and stop Zhao Yun on the way. Xiao Xiao will let him release the emperor out of righteousness."
Speaking of this, Guan Yu's half-squinted Danfeng eyes darkened, "If he is stubborn, it's no wonder that my third brother and I are to blame."
Compared with Zhang Fei's rough approach, Guan Yu's method is obviously more in line with Liu Bei's wishes.
He nodded slowly and said: "Zilong values love and justice, and also knows right from wrong. If I lobby in person, I think he will understand."
Not to mention abandoning the dark side and turning to the bright side, Liu Bei still knew Zhao Yun's character very well. When he tried to reason with him as the emperor's uncle, he didn't look like someone who would have his own way.
After all, everything he did in the past was to clear up the war for the Han Dynasty. From this perspective, Zilong was loyal and courageous.
"Forget it, I don't want to hurt Zilong, but I don't want to sit back and watch His Majesty fall into prison again, so I followed what Yun Chang said and rushed to Jiangxia to explain the interests to Zilong face to face." Liu Bei finally made a decision.
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei exchanged glances and both breathed a sigh of relief.
I'm afraid that Liu Bei won't agree to intercept Zhao Yun. As long as he agrees, it will be easier. When Zhao Yun agrees to let him go, it's best. If he doesn't agree, don't blame the three brothers for not remembering their old friendship.
The only pity is that he is in a high position now, otherwise he may not be able to help if he is under the command of the eldest brother.
(End of chapter)
