"Hehehe, Gongjin, look at Bowen. He's close to a beautiful woman, but he's feeling guilty and talking nonsense. Haha!”
Sun Ce smiled and looked at Xu Zhen helplessly.
Zhou Yu was also amused." I didn't expect you to be so shy in front of two women when you could wipe out 100,000 troops on the battlefield with a wave of your hand."”
"Don't be anxious. With Bofu and I here, I'll definitely ask you to marry Qiao Mu and bring her back.”
In the house, Sun Ce had already sent a military order a long time ago, delivering the letter to Elder Qiao. This man surnamed Qiao was also one of the local aristocrats.
Moreover, he had once served as a local official and had a deep family background.
As soon as he entered, he came out to welcome him.
The old man was white-haired and had a charmingly naive face. He wore a cloth robe and looked very simple.
Xu Zhen and the other two dismounted and greeted him.
"Dare I ask, who is the Lord?"
Zhou Yu and Sun Ce looked at Xu Zhen at the same time." Old Sir, this person is Xu Zhen, the Marquis of Zhongyong.”
"He has been in love with my daughter for a long time and wants to marry her back to Xu Capital. In the future, my father will have glory, wealth, and peace.”
"Xudu, the journey is long. Lord, please come to my humble abode for a chat.”
"I have already agreed to the marriage proposal of the two generals, so of course I will let my daughter leave with the marquis. However, recently, someone from Yangzhou crossed the river and said that Xuzhou is currently at war. If I go immediately, I'm afraid there will be trouble. Therefore, the journey is dangerous, so it is better to get married in River East. When the war stops, I will follow the marquis back to Xu Capital.”
Elder Qiao's words caused Xu Zhen's expression to change. Dian Wei, who was accompanying him, was also stunned. He hurriedly strode in from outside the manor and stood beside Xu Zhen.
"How could this be? Xu Prefecture was at war? This is unheard of."
Xu Zhen frowned. He couldn't think of who would attack Xu Prefecture. It couldn't be the rebel soldiers of Qing Prefecture, right?
"Where did the news come from? Where are those people?”
Xu Zhen's expression immediately turned cold and furious.
"Lord, those are all refugees who fled to River East. People along the way are saying that they might receive military reports in a few days.”
Sun Ce's expression immediately changed. He then smiled bitterly at Xu Zhen, but he was a little reserved.
"Brother Bofu?"
Xu Zhen frowned and looked at him angrily.
Zhou Yu hurriedly pulled Xu Zhen back." Ai, Bo Wen, you can't blame Bo Fu for this."”
"Indeed, the military report was received seven days ago. Liu Bei attacked the northern part of Yangzhou and called on all the vassals to eliminate the bandits in the name of the emperor's edict, naming Cao Cao as a traitor.”
Xu Zhen was stunned.
The imperial edict?
Why was there still the matter of the imperial edict? Liu Bei did not even enter Xuchang.
No, he didn't meet Tian Zi. Tian Zi was only eleven or twelve years old this year, barely twelve. No matter how mature he was, he wouldn't be like this.
Who did it? Dong Cheng? Yang Biao?
Zhong Yao?
Or was it that old fellow Sima Fang, or his son Sima Yi?
Impossible, Sima Yi was just a young kid now, a nobody.
Xu Zhen's mind was in a mess. Sun Ce and Zhou Yu thought that he had already blamed him. Their expressions immediately changed. Sun Ce hurriedly said,"Bowen, you can't go to this battle. Now that Xuzhou and Yangzhou are in chaos, Liu Bei will never let you go. If you want to take a detour, you have to pass through Jingzhou.”
This was what Sun Ce was afraid of. He was worried that Xu Zhen would know that Xu Du was in trouble and would definitely return. If he really returned, he might use his own troops.
"I only have twenty thousand soldiers and less than five thousand elite soldiers. Most of them are navy warships, so I can't cross Hefei now.”
Xu Zhen immediately took a deep breath and fell into deep thought.
"I should go back. Old man, please invite the two girls out and follow me back to Xuchang.”
"Lord, the journey will be dangerous. You only have a thousand people, how are you going to return?？”
The old man was dumbfounded. He had never seen such a person before. He was now in the southern part of Yangzhou, waiting for the war to be settled before returning. Wasn't that good?
"Lord, are you really going to lead these 1,200 riders back?”
"That's right. Even a thousand miles must be returned."
Xu Zhen had already made up his mind, and he was even more high-spirited after that.
At this moment, Elder Qiao had his hands behind his back. He took a deep breath and exhaled." Good, good, good!”
He said yes three times in a row.
A smile gradually appeared on his face. He held Xu Zhen's hand and said sincerely,"General, you are truly a hero of the world. This old man has entrusted the two girls to the hero.”
" Sir, this is…" Xu Zhen's eyes moved a few times.
She didn't understand what he meant.
"I originally thought that the Lord was a person who wanted to fish for fame. He already had two wives, but he still wanted my two daughters. Now it seems that the general is a person of character and is extremely heroic.”
Xu Zhen nodded." Xu Du is my foundation. Now that I'm in trouble, I must return."”
"Old sir, come with me. I have 1,200 soldiers and can protect you along the way.”
"Husband, please wait a moment. We will leave after we have prepared our luggage.”
Suddenly, a rather intellectual voice came from inside. A graceful figure appeared from the window. They must have heard what Xu Zhen said just now.
"Good!"
Xu Zhen didn't hesitate and waited outside for a while. Sun Ce and Zhou Yu prepared some rations that they could carry with them and placed them on their warhorses.
Then he set off from Lujiang.
Zhou Yu's navy fleet escorted them all the way to the Great Marsh, entered the border of Jing State, and then went ashore to Huainan.
……
Seven days passed.
Cao Cao's army marched to Xuzhou and was defeated by Lu Bu in the first battle. Lu Bu came from the side and mobilized all the tigers and wolves in Bingzhou to defeat Cao Cao's side army. Then, Liu Bei came out of the city and joined forces with Lu Bu.
Lu Bu, Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei were all valiant generals. Each of them led thousands of soldiers to pursue the Cao army, causing Cao Cao to suffer heavy losses.
Cao Cao was so angry that he lost all his courage. Suddenly, Liu Bei became so brave?
At the Xuzhou camp.
"How many more soldiers are there?"
"Our army still has 90,000 men. We can surround Liu Bei's Shouchun at any time, but Shouchun is too solid and unbreakable.”
General Li Dian and Yu Jin both looked disappointed. Although they were brave and good at fighting, they were unable to take down Shouchun.
Liu Bei was in Shouchun, while Lu Bu had set up camp ten miles away, near a mountain and a river.
At this moment, they could form a corner. If one side was in trouble, the other side could support them. Cao Cao only needed to attack Shouchun, but he had to guard against Lu Bu and the others.
"Is Lu Bu's military advisor still Chen Gong?”
Cao Cao asked coldly.
Cheng Yu nodded." Yes, it's still Chen Gong."”
"Then it's not strange. This person knows me. Meng Zhuo is dead, but Chen Gong is still alive.”
Cao Cao clenched his fists. He had wanted to kill this man for a long time, but he had never had the chance. After the rebellion in Yanzhou, he only found out that Chen Gong and Lu Bu had escaped together.
"Ai, Zhongde."
Cao Cao closed his eyes, rubbed his temples, and called out to Cheng Yu.
Cheng Yu was so frightened that he quickly came over, his face full of fear.
"It's time for you to come up with a plan. How do you think we should break this situation?”
Cheng Yu looked around awkwardly, only to see the generals staring at him with eager eyes.
'I…'
F * ck, I like it now. Now you suddenly call me C. Isn't it a little difficult for me?
I have a plan, but I don't have much confidence in it.
I couldn't say it.
"I, I…"
" Don't be afraid to say it. I will make my own decision…" Cao Cao stared at him, but he could still smile.
"Yes, Shouchun City cannot be attacked. In a short period of time, we will definitely suffer heavy casualties. Moreover, we have indeed lost a large number of soldiers.”
"Why don't we quietly retreat and lure one of them to attack?”
"No matter who comes, we can ambush them. If we break one wing first, they will move if they don't attack. If the enemy moves, we can take advantage of it. When you are in a stalemate, it is better to retreat for the sake of advancing, and to use action to subdue silence.”
Cao Cao patted the table and smiled." You see, you shouldn't always live in Bowen's shadow.”
"I still need some primer."
Cao Cao suddenly leaned against the back of his chair, his eyes wide open. He opened his arms and waved his wide sleeves. His mouth twitched a few times as he sighed,"Li Dian, Yu Jin, Xu Huang."
"I'm here!"
The three generals immediately stood up and cupped their fists to receive the order.
"Lord, please instruct me."
"The three of you, from today onwards, for two consecutive days, lead your men to attack Shouchun City day and night. Only attack one side of the city. Cao Hong, lead the army to guard the side road.”
"If you encounter Lu Bu, you only need to retreat and flee.”
"Here!"
Cheng Yu was stunned. After the generals left, he leaned over and asked with a puzzled look,""My lord, why is this?"
" Hehehe…" Cao Cao laughed, but his smile disappeared immediately."I had no choice."
……
That night.
Xu Huang raised the fire to attack the city. He sent up the scaling ladders and charging chariots, leading the soldiers to charge continuously. The arrows on the city were almost empty, and they attacked for an entire night.
After he rested, he continued to attack one side of the city wall from the top of Jin. However, Liu Bei did not dare to place all his troops on this side, and continued to guard the three sides of the city.
Guan Yu was at the foot of the city, leading the cavalry to prepare for battle.
However, the city had not been breached, and the Cao army was still attacking the city.
As time passed, no one knew how much time had passed, but the guards on the city gates were already exhausted and trembling with fear. Even when they heard the shouts of the Cao army, their hearts trembled.
Outside the city gate, there were corpses everywhere, and the ground was almost covered in wounds.
Liu Bei, who was standing on the city gate tower, was trembling with fear.
"Zijing, how long has Cao Cao been attacking?”
Jian Yong looked at the sky and his Adam's apple suddenly bobbed up and down." 18 hours!”
"It's been more than a day…"
"Terrifying."
How terrifying.
Liu Bei's heart was trembling. This was enough to show how determined Cao Cao was.
He had made up his mind to take down Shouchun quickly and leave Liu Bei with nowhere to go.
"Have the scouts who went to beg Yuan Shao returned? Xu You is a smart person. He will not sit idly by. Once we attack Xuchang, Cao Cao will definitely return!”
"I don't know. Right now, Cao Cao has surrounded us from all directions. Other than the soldiers he used to surround us, Cao Cao still has 90,000 soldiers to attack the city.”
"I'm afraid that even Lu Bu can't save us.”
Jian Yong's expression was filled with despair. He had followed Liu Bei for so many years and had experienced many battles, but none of them had been as desperate as today.
The city would probably really be unable to be defended.
"Second brother and third brother will be my last hope.”
Liu Bei still had 10,000 soldiers, and they were all elite troops. They were currently in the city, ready to attack. If it was really difficult to hold, he would let these soldiers climb up the city walls and defend the city.
From this, it would depend on the determination of Cao Cao's soldiers.
If he really did not care about anything, then he would probably die and return pale.
"Yuan Benchu, why didn't you send troops…"
"Sigh, if he attacked Cao Cao's rear, wouldn't he become the overlord of the north? How could he not sense such a good opportunity?”
Liu Bei was already beginning to panic. When he had first planned this trip, he had never thought that this would happen.
Yuan Benchu was the leader of the Eighteenth Route Alliance Army and had led troops for many years. He had at least decades of military experience, but he couldn't even see this opportunity.
However, he had yet to advance. Even if he only stationed troops at Guandu, it would be good to scare Cao Cao.
"My lord, look, they're gone!"
Jian Yong suddenly pointed to the front, his face filled with shock!
"The Cao army has retreated, retreated!"
Liu Bei's lips were dry. He immediately looked out of the city, his eyes filled with disbelief." Retreat, finally retreat?"”
"Zijing, hurry! Immediately send troops out to investigate the situation of Cao Cao's army. See what happened to them, why they retreated, and whether they were surrounded by Yuan Shao!”
"Here!"
The Cao army retreated and left Shouchun City.
At this moment, outside Shouchun City, there were piles of corpses, broken walls and potholes everywhere.
It was difficult for the sentry cavalry to go out, and they needed soldiers to clear the way out of the city gate.
The sentry cavalry only returned late at night.
Jian Yong immediately informed Liu Bei.
"My lord, the Cao army has not retreated."
Liu Bei was stunned.
"No? Then why did they suddenly retreat? Could it be…"
He frowned, and then his eyes lit up. He quickly asked,"Did the Cao army…set up camp at the main roads and arrange for patrols to patrol the roads, but did not continue to retreat?”
"That's right," Jian Yong nodded.”
Liu Bei suddenly understood." I understand. Cao Mengde is eager to attack the city, so he has expended too much of his forces. At this moment, he has no choice but to retreat and reorganize his army. However, he still occupies the main roads. It seems that he is determined to surround us until we die. If Yuan Shao does not move his troops, we will definitely not be saved.”
"How long can the military rations in the city last?”
Cao Cao turned around and asked.
Guan Yu sighed,"At most half a month."”
"Good, Second Brother, Third Brother, Cao Cao is already at the end of his rope. Our chance may have come!”
Liu Bei steeled his heart and suddenly revealed a fierce expression.
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