"The general has given the order to accelerate the advance of the army.”On the way from Xuchang to Xuzhou, a messenger was giving an order to an elite troop that was advancing.
"Elder brother, Zixian's vanguard troops have already arrived in Xuzhou this morning.”Cao Zhen said to Cao Zheng, who was directing the army.
"Got it. Have Zi Xian and Zi Lin launch a few probing attacks on Liu Bei, then retreat and join up with our army.”Cao Zheng ordered.
"Yes." Cao Zhen accepted the order and retreated.
In Tancheng of Xuzhou, although Liu Bei also learned that Yuan Shao had sent troops south, the main force was at Guandu and could not support him in time. Cao Cao could deal with him at any time.
"Reporting, reporting to my lord, something bad has happened. There are tens of thousands of troops outside the city. Their intentions are unknown.”A scout hurried over to report.
Just as Liu Bei was about to give the order to fight the enemy with all his might, another scout hurried over and reported,""Reporting, something bad has happened. My lord, that army has begun to attack the city. We were suppressed by their strong bows and crossbows until we could not raise our heads.”
"What?" When Liu Bei heard that the other party was so powerful, he was a little afraid.
"Who is the enemy general?" Liu Bei asked in horror.
"Reporting to my lord, the enemy's army is flying the Cao flag with a tiger pattern embroidered on it.”the scout replied.
"Fierce tiger pattern? Could it be him?" Liu Bei quickly thought of Cao Zheng. When Liu Bei fought against Lu Bu with Cao Zheng, he had seen Cao Zheng's general flag, which was embroidered with a tiger pattern.
"Did the enemy send more troops?" Liu Bei asked.
"Yes, five miles away from the city, people are shouting and horses are neighing.”the scout continued.
When Liu Bei heard this, he decisively ordered,""Pass down my order to go out of the city to fight. Order General Guan to protect the family and let General Zhang go out with me.”
"Yes." The scout retreated.
Liu Bei could only bite the bullet and start the battle. He believed that with a fierce general like Zhang Fei, he would definitely be able to defeat Cao Zheng.
However, Liu Bei had forgotten that Cao Zheng had defeated Lu Bu in a one-on-one battle. No matter how powerful Zhang Fei was, he was not on the same level as Cao Zheng.
On the other side, in the Cao Army formation outside the city.
"Zixian, do you think Liu Bei will come out?”Xiahou Chong said worriedly.
"Don't worry, Liu Bei will definitely come out. He will send out his entire army to fight us.”Cao Tai said calmly.
Just as the two of them were chatting enthusiastically, the gates of Tan City suddenly opened. Tens of thousands of soldiers rushed out. The leading general had a leopard's head and eyes, and he held a snake spear. It was Liu Bei's third brother, Zhang Fei and Zhang Yide.
"They're here. Zilin, follow the original plan and retreat.”Cao Tai ordered.
Cao Tai's tens of thousands of soldiers fled without a fight.
When Zhang Fei saw that he was so powerful, he could not help but feel a little proud and complacent.
"Pass down the order to pursue the enemy and kill Cao Zheng. When my big brother reports to the emperor, he will be rewarded with thousands of gold and be granted the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Families.”
Zhang Fei encouraged.
Zhang Fei led 30,000 soldiers in pursuit, while Cao Tai and Xiahou Chong ran in front, occasionally throwing down some equipment, making Zhang Fei think that they had indeed lost.
However, when Zhang Fei chased into the valley, Cao Zheng's ambush came out. Zhang Fei was caught off guard and suffered heavy losses. Moreover, the road back to Tancheng was cut off by Cao Zheng, so he could only lead the remaining troops to Mount Mang Dang.
On the other side, Liu Bei saw that Zhang Fei had been out of the city for so long and thought that he had already defeated Cao Zheng. He was a little happy.
"Reporting, my lord, something bad has happened. Our pursuit team was intercepted by Cao Zheng's ambush, and General Zhang's whereabouts are unknown.”A wounded soldier walked in and said to Liu Bei.
"What?" Liu Bei couldn't believe it.
"Reporting, my lord, Cao Zheng's 30,000 strong army has already broken through the east gate. My lord, quickly retreat. If you don't leave now, it will be too late.”Jian Yong hurriedly ran in and said.
Liu Bei had no choice but to bring Mi Fang and Jian Yong out of the city through the north gate and escape in the direction of Qingzhou.
On the other side, because Liu Bei had fled, the counties that had originally submitted to Liu Bei in the six prefectures of Xu Prefecture had all surrendered to Cao Zheng. In the end, only Xiapi City, which was guarded by Guan Yu, was left.
"Second brother, Xiapi City is the only city that hasn't submitted. Guan Yu has led 8,000 soldiers to guard it.”Cao Tai said to Cao Zheng.
"Got it. Zixian, send Liu Bei's soldiers to Xiapi and tell Guan Yu that Liu Bei and Zhang Fei are trapped at Mount Mang Dang.”
"Guan Yu is loyal and will definitely go out to help. Our army will take the opportunity to seize the city. Other than Liu Bei, no one else can subdue him. Since that's the case, we'll capture him if we can, and get rid of him if we can't. In short, we can only take advantage of Guan Yu and not lose out.”Cao Zheng looked at the people around him and said.
"Yes." The few of them accepted the order and retreated.
While Guan Yu was sitting in the manor, Cao Zheng's trusted aides and surrendered soldiers arrived at Xiapi City.
"General Guan, something bad has happened. The lord fought with the Cao army yesterday, and in the end, the lord and General Zhang were trapped at Mount Mang Dang outside the city. We risked our lives to break out of the encirclement and came here to report to the general.”The leader of the wounded soldiers said.
"Whose subordinates are you? "Guan Yu asked.
"We are General Zhang's subordinates. " The wounded soldier replied.
" Sun Qian, immediately gather all the cavalry in the city and follow me out of the city to rescue Big Brother and Third Brother. "Guan Yu immediately ordered.
If the lord is surrounded, it must be because Cao Cao's army has arrived. General only has 2,000 cavalrymen, how can you save him? "Sun Qian advised.
Even if we die, the three of us will die together. "After Guan Yu finished speaking, he led his troops out of the city.
When Guan Yu led his troops to Mount Mang Dang, they were obstructed by Cao Tai's troops. However, in order to save his people, Guan Yu did not fight with Cao Tai and only charged up the mountain.
When Guan Yu arrived, he realized that there had indeed been a great battle there, but he did not find any traces of Liu Bei and Zhang Fei. Guan Yu realized that he had been tricked. When he looked in the direction of Xiapi, the city was already on fire. It turned out that Cao Cao had already taken down the city without shedding a single drop of blood.
Guan Yu regretted leaving the city. His elder brother had entrusted his wife and children to him because Guan Yu was more stable than Zhang Fei. He did not expect that not only did he lose Xiapi, but his eldest brother's wife and children had also fallen into the city.
At this moment, Cao Zheng's 20,000-strong army had already surrounded the mountain. The bows and crossbows had also been deployed. As long as Guan Yu charged down the mountain, even if he didn't die, he would be severely injured.
Xiahou Chong took out a simple loudspeaker and shouted into the mountain,""Guan Yu, you idiot, you've already been surrounded by us. Otherwise, we will take down the mountain first, then hand Liu Bei's two wives over to the soldiers to deal with in front of you, making you and Liu Bei live like tortoises for the rest of your life.”
"Whether you surrender or not, it's up to you."
Cao Zheng was very embarrassed when he heard this. He could only hold his head with his hand and comfort himself.
Cao Tai patted Xiahou Chong's shoulder. Seeing that Guan Yu hadn't moved for a long time, he suggested,""Zilin, Guan Yu might not be able to hear you. Why don't you walk a little further ahead?”
After Xiahou Chong heard this, he confidently said to Cao Tai," Don't worry, Guan Yu will definitely hear it with such a loud loudspeaker."”
"Then why hasn't Guan Yu made any movements after you've been shouting for so long?”Cao Tai said unhappily.
At this moment, Cao Zheng could not stand it anymore. He directly said to Cao Zhen beside him," Ziming, prepare to lead troops to attack the mountain."
Then, he said to Cao Tai and Xiahou Chong,""Don't make a fool of yourself there. Just by saying that you don't want to practice your skills, you can send someone to bring Liu Bei's wife here.”
When the two of them heard this, they could only say,"Yes."”
However, the trapped Guan Yu didn't hear Xiahou Chong's words clearly, so he didn't care.
However, he soon discovered that Xiahou Chong had given up on the idea of summoning them to surrender. In addition, Madam Gan, Madam Mo, and Liu Bei's newborn daughter had been brought to the side of the army.
Not only that, the Cao army began to attack the mountain. Because they were going up from the bottom, the cavalry could not spread out. Thus, Cao Zheng ordered the shields to be in front, the spears to be behind, and the crossbows to be equipped in the middle. There was also a group of cannoneers who were ready to throw thunderbolts at any time.
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