"Liu Bei has left the city!" In an instant, Gao Shun started to calculate. Since Liu Bei had already left the city, he must have given up on Xiaopei City. At this time, the Cao army was difficult to defeat and there was also Liu Bei's pincer attack. It was better to transfer the army to Xiaopei and form a horn with Wen Hou in Xu Prefecture.
Thinking of this, Gao Shun sized up Xiahou Dun, who seemed to be exhausted, from afar. The corners of his mouth curled into a smile as he said to the messenger beside him,""Mingjin! Return to attack Xiao Pei City!"
In the blink of an eye, Gao Shun's vanguard changed to the rear, and the rear changed to support. They slowly retreated south, and the rear moved in an orderly manner, without any gaps to take advantage of. The 800 Breaking Ranks were divided into three waves, taking turns to guard the three wings. Gao Shun's advantage in using troops and the strictness of organizing the army was truly amazing.
Liu Bei's army did not bother with Gao Shun and just charged forward to meet up with Xiahou Dun's army. Seeing Liu Bei's army getting closer and closer to him, the sharp light in Cao Ang's eyes grew brighter.
Cao Ang did not chase after Gao Shun's army, which was getting further and further away. Xiahou Dun was seriously injured, and he was the leader of the vanguard army. From now on, he had to plan his every word and action carefully and think twice before acting.
In the Cao army tent, the medical officer carefully examined Xiahou Dun's injuries. Xiahou Dun's nose bone was shattered and his appearance was ruined. He was lying unconscious on the bed with his head wrapped tightly in black silk. It was hard to imagine how much perseverance he had needed to beat the drum to stabilize the morale of the army!
Today was already the tenth day of the ninth month. If nothing unexpected happened, Cao Cao's army would arrive in Xu Prefecture in the tenth month. So what if it was twenty days? Should they station their troops and wait for the Cao army to arrive, or should they do something? At present, Xiaopei was resisted by Gao Shun and Zhang Liao, Chen Gong and Zang Ba defended Xiaoguan, and Lu Bu himself led the other eight generals to build a tiger in Xuzhou. The three places were each other's horns. If he wanted to make a move, he had to shake one place first.
"General, Liu Bei requests an audience outside the tent.”Cao Ang's eyes turned cold when he heard this, but he immediately put on a smile and said,"Quickly invite him in!" A short while later, Liu Bei led Guan Yu and Zhang Fei into the tent. As soon as Liu Bei entered the tent, he walked to Xiahou Dun's bed with a regretful expression and said in a trembling voice,""General Xia Hou, Liu Bei came late, causing you to suffer such a great disaster…It's all my fault!"
Li Dian sighed and said," Lord Xuande, you don't have to do this. It was not your fault. Now that you have escaped safely, you have not let down the general who was injured."”
"Sigh…" Liu Bei sighed and shook his head without saying anything. Cao Ang stepped forward and smiled,""Duke Liu, I wonder what will happen to your family in the city now that you have abandoned it?”
Liu Bei's face stiffened, but it only lasted for a moment. He sighed and said,""Although my family has fallen into the enemy's hands, with Lu Bu, Gao Shun and the others as people, I won't harm them.”
After Liu Bei finished speaking, he turned to Cao Ang and said,""May I know who you are?" "This is Lord Sikong's son, the General Cao Ang," Cao Hong said.”
Liu Bei hurriedly stood up and said,"I've heard a lot about you."”Cao Ang smiled and returned the greeting. He continued,"Now that uncle is injured and Xiao Pei is in the enemy's hands, what should we do in Liu Gong's opinion?”
Liu Bei pondered for a moment and then said seriously," In my humble opinion, Lu Bu is brave, Chen Gong is wise, Gao Shun is good at commanding troops, and Zhang Liao is both brave and resourceful. It's not easy to compare, why not wait for Ming Gong's army to come here and then make a plan?”
"That's right," Li Dian nodded.”Cao Ang smiled." In that case, we'll do as you say."”
Late at night, Sima Yi and Gan Ning arrived at Cao Ang's tent. They only entered after they were notified. Cao Ang was sitting at the head of the table, deep in thought. When he saw the two of them, he smiled and said,"Come, sit."
The two of them sat on either side. Sima Yi said,""General, why did you summon us so late at night?”Cao Ang said in a deep voice," I've been thinking about it during the day. What I've been thinking is that it's a pity to fight without any results. In terms of direct confrontation, our army is definitely not inferior to Gao Shun and Zhang Liao's troops. It's only because our commander is injured that our morale is unstable. That's why we haven't been able to achieve anything. Tonight, I've thought of a plan. I don't know if it's feasible, so I've called the two of you to discuss it.”
Following that, Cao Ang told the two of them his plan. Sima Yi lowered his head and pondered for a moment before suddenly saying,""Although General's plan is good, why did you include Liu Bei?”
Cao Ang's face darkened." Liu Bei looks honest on the outside, but he's actually extremely treacherous. When he saw my army coming today, he didn't send troops to help and pincer Gao Shun. Instead, he took advantage of our stalemate with Gao Shun's army and fought for a long time before sending troops to break out. Does he think I don't know?!"”
Sima Yi pondered for a moment and said,"If that's the case, I have a way to defeat Gao Shun and kill Liu Bei. However, I'll be letting General Xia Hou down.""Zhong Da, try it out."
After Sima Yi explained the technique, Cao Ang's expression changed and he said,""This plan is not bad, but it's a little disrespectful to Uncle Xiahou. I need to report this to Uncle Xiahou before I can act.”
The next day, Cao Ang summoned all the generals to his tent. After everyone had arrived, Cao Ang looked around for a while and said softly,""Last night, I paid a visit to my uncle late at night and decided to recapture Xiaopei and march straight to Xuzhou!”
Everyone was shocked when they heard this. Li Dian hurriedly went forward and said,"General, this matter is of great importance. General, you can't act in a fit of anger.”Cao Ang waved his hand slightly." I'm not going out of anger. It's just that this expedition is of great importance. As the vanguard, how can we return without any achievements?" I discussed this matter with uncle last night. Don't doubt it.”
Everyone was silent for a while when they heard this. Cao Hong asked suspiciously,"Then, how do we take back Xiao Pei?" "Pretending to be dead!" Cao Ang smiled. As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Bei and Li Dian were the first to react."Could it be that you want General Xia Hou?"
" That's right. Spread the rumors that uncle was severely injured last night and was caught off guard in the army. Then, the army slowly retreated and sent another person to pretend to be the rear guard to lure Gao Shun over…Liu Gong, I'm afraid you're the only one who can do this.”
"I'm willing to lend you a hand, General," Liu Bei hurriedly said.”Cao Ang chuckled and said," Good, as I expected, Gao Shun will send troops to scout after hearing Uncle's death letter. Liu Gong, you should fight and retreat. Don't retreat too quickly and lure Gao Shun over. Cao Ang will station troops in Juye to ambush. At that time, you and I will work together from the inside and outside to defeat Gao Shun in one fell swoop!"”
A few days later, in Xiaopei City, Gao Shun and Zhang Liao received an unexpected piece of news. Xiahou Dun had died in the main camp due to heavy arrow wounds and late treatment. The vanguard of the Cao army had all hung white flags, and wails filled the air as they slowly retreated northwest.
"There's a trap!" Zhang Liao immediately blurted out after hearing this. Gao Shun frowned and asked the scout,"When the Cao army goes west, do you have any troops to cover the rear?”
"It's said that Liu Bei is the one who left the troops to stop them," the scout said.”"Liu Bei?" Gao Shun and Zhang Liao were both shocked. After a while, Gao Shunfang said,"This matter might not be false. The Cao army's commander has just died and the soldiers are in great grief. It is reasonable for Liu Bei to cover the rear.”
"General, are you going to send troops?" Zhang Liao frowned.”Gao Shun sighed." Defending for a long time is not a good plan. Xuzhou is a place of war. Other than Xiao Pass, there is almost no danger to defend. If we let this army escape, they will definitely come back after they meet up with Cao Cao's main army.”
"Since that's the case, why don't you and I send troops to test the waters?" Zhang Liao asked.”Gao Shun nodded and said,"If this matter is true, then I will definitely destroy this army and break Cao Cao's arm!"”
————
At this moment, Cao Cao's army was slowly retreating to the northwest, leaving Liu Bei's army behind. At this moment, Liu Bei was carefully studying the map in front of him, his eyes filled with doubt. Previously, Cao Ang had given him the task of retreating while fighting, dragging while fighting, leading Gao Shun's army to the border of Xuzhou. At that time, Cao Ang would station his troops to set up an ambush, wipe out Gao Shun's main force in one fell swoop, and recapture Pei City.
"Elder brother, you have been thinking about this for the entire afternoon. What is it?”Liu Bei raised his head and saw a green-robed man striding into the room. It was Liu Bei's younger brother, Martial Saint Guan Yu.
"Sigh…Second brother, this time Cao Ang arranged for us to lure Gao Shun's army into the competition. I don't know why, but I feel that something is wrong.”"What's wrong, brother?" Guan Yu asked curiously.”
Liu Bei shook his head and said," I can't say for sure. This plan to lure Gao Shun was carefully laid out by Cao Ang. Brother, I carefully examined it and found no mistakes. However, I still feel that something is wrong. This kid is very knowledgeable and his schemes are not inferior to Cao Cao's. Sigh…"
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