"Zhuo County is lost!"

In the meeting hall where Gongsun Chan gathered a group of people, Gongsun Chan looked at his subordinates with a calm face, and said calmly without the slightest emotional fluctuation. That tone, as if what was lost was just a city that had nothing to do with him, not Zhuo County, which he had once served as the governor of Zhuo County and was of great significance to him.

Looking at Gongsun Zhan's calm face, the lowly civil and military officers didn't know if Gongsun Chan was really calm, or if he hid his anger in the proud body that had killed countless enemies. So, no one stood up and spoke either.

A look of self-deprecation flashed at the corner of Gongsun Zhan's mouth, he had long expected such a reaction from his subordinates. Think about Yuan Shao's command, there are countless capable people, strategists and fierce generals, none of which Gongsun Chan can reach. Now in the face of the loss of a city of great significance, no one has come forward to say a good plan, and Gongsun Chan feels that he has failed too much.

"That's it, since Zhuo County has been lost, there is no need for Zhuo County to continue to defend it. The order was sent down, and the three armies were reorganized and withdrew from Juxian tonight. ”

Compared with Zhuo County, Yu County really has no defensive advantage. The reason why he retreated to Yuxian was just to wait for news from Yuan Chang's side, who knew that Yuan Chang would not move, and Gongsun Zhan still wanted to compete with Yuan Shao, but the important city in the rear was taken by the other party. When Zhang He led the 10,000 troops from Zhuo County, Gongsun Zhan would fall into the situation of being attacked from both sides, although Zhang He only had 10,000 soldiers and horses, but, with the momentum of victory after capturing Zhuo County, this 10,000 soldiers and horses were definitely comparable to 350,000 soldiers and horses. Therefore, Gongsun Chan wisely chose to retreat.

"Subordinates and other orders!"

Facing Gongsun Zhan's orders. No one has the slightest objection, and even if there is disagreement, it is useless. Can they now make a more constructive proposal than a retreat? Apparently not. Therefore, obeying Gongsun Zhan's orders was their only choice.

That night, in addition to leaving a few old and weak people to garrison the city, Gongsun Zhan led the army to retreat from Yuxian County all night.

The next day, when Yuan Shao was preparing to attack the city, he found it unexpectedly. The building in the county was already empty, and the figures of Gongsun Zan and the 150,000 army disappeared. In this regard, Yuan Shao was inevitably annoyed. The joy of Zhang He winning Zhuo County has also faded a lot. It was precisely because of the news that Zhang He took Zhuo County that the strategists under Yuan Shao's command were a little distracted, and they didn't think too much about Gongsun Zhan's reaction. It was only then that Gongsun Chan retreated so easily. Otherwise. This time, Gongsun Zhan's soldiers and horses must leave tens of thousands of corpses.

When Zhang He took Zhuo County and Gongsun Zhan retreated from Zhuo County, Yuan Chang was still carrying out rectification and reform in Tong County. There was no rush to let the army continue to advance, the siege of the city was simple, but the construction after the capture of the city was much more difficult. For the territory that will become his own territory in the future, Yuan Chang will not relax in the slightest.

When the county was almost rectified, Yuan Chang ordered the army to continue to advance. And this time. It has been ten days since Zhang He took Zhuo County.

But it was said that after Gongsun Zhan retreated from Yan County at that time. Yuan Shao did not pursue, but rested for many days before continuing to advance. However, this time, Yuan Shao's soldiers and horses were advancing a little slowly, as if they were deliberately waiting for the action of Yuan Chang's army. After Gongsun Zhan withdrew from Zhuo County, a city called Liangxiang City was left at the junction of Zhuo County and Yan State, leaving an army of 30,000 people, although this city is not as strong as Zhuo County, but it also belongs to the middle and upper level, with these 30,000 troops, Yuan Shao's 150,000 army wants to take Liangxiang City in a short time, it is not a simple matter. Moreover, the Liangxiang City Guard left by Gongsun Zan this time is his righteous son Gongsun Ran, and Gongsun Ran, who has rich combat experience, is by no means a hard bone that is easy to gnaw. Liangxiang City was an obstacle to intercepting Yuan Shao's forward route, and on Yuan Chang's side, Gongsun Zhan was also prepared. That is also the route that Yuan Chang must pass, a city called Ancicheng in the territory of Yan State, which is as strong as Liangxiang City, and it is also left with 30,000 soldiers and horses to garrison. The guards in the city are also veterans who have followed Gongsun Chan for many years. As for Gongsun Chan himself, after leading the army to retreat to Jixian County, he once again summoned the soldiers and horses of each county and expanded the strength to 250,000. Jixian County, where Gongsun Chan is located, forms a horn with Liangxiang City and Anci City, and once the two cities are in danger, Gongsun Chan of Jixian County can send troops to support in time. Even if Yuan Shao and Yuan Chang bypassed these two cities and attacked Jixian directly, the soldiers and horses of Naliang Township City and Anci City would be able to surround Yuan Shao and Yuan Chang from the rear with Gongsun Zan of Jixian County. Everything seems to be so flawless, but in fact, it will be as wishful as Gongsun Chan thinks?

The war in Youzhou is in full swing, and the war in Xuzhou is not far behind.

Let's talk about Cao Ren and Xiahou Yuan first, leading 50,000 soldiers and horses from Hexiang and Changshu to attack Xuzhou's Zhizhi Xiapi. Because Cao Ren and Xiahou Yuan did not kill on a large scale, the defenders of the city on the way resisted a little and then surrendered. And after Cao Ren and Xiahou Yuan acted according to their own will, they really did not receive the reproach from Cao Cao, and they were relieved, and they accelerated the pace of attack. As long as he takes Xiapi and captures Tao Qian as soon as possible, then Cao Cao will not attack the city again along the way, and Cao Cao will not continue to slaughter the city. In this way, it also has great benefits for Cao Cao's rule in Xuzhou.

It's just that at the beginning, Cao Ren and Xiahou Yuan attacked the city very smoothly, however, at the beginning of the attack on Fuyang City, the resistance encountered was much greater. And Cao Ren and Xiahou Yuan only learned after conquering Fuyang City and capturing the guards that Cao Bao controlled the families of these city guards, and if these guards did not resist desperately, the consequences could be imagined. While Cao Ren and Xiahou Yuan were angry, they had no other way but to continue to move towards Xiapi City step by step.

Compared with Cao Ren and Xiahou Yuan's side, Cao Cao's attack on Pei County was not very smooth. Pei County is Liu Bang's hometown, and Pei County is basically the children surnamed Liu, and because of the preferential treatment of Pei County by the imperial court, Pei County can be described as very rich, and there are extremely many private soldiers. Of Cao Cao's 50,000 soldiers and horses, only 30,000 were assigned to attack Peixian, while the other 20,000 soldiers and horses were on guard against Liu Bei and Kong Rong. Although Cao Cao looked down on Kong Rong and Liu Bei's troops, but. Cao Cao despised Liu Bei and Kong Rong strategically, but he did not relax in the slightest tactically. Kong Rong's soldiers and horses all the way are not concerned for the time being, Liu Bei is among the soldiers and horses all the way. But there were two people who made Cao Cao jealous. If Guan Yu and Zhang Fei led troops to rush when they were attacking Pei County with all their might, it would put the army in an unfavorable situation at that time. So, there were originally Qingzhou Tian Kai's soldiers and horses in history, where did they go?

Historically, when Gongsun Chan and Yuan Shao went to war in the early stage, Gongsun Chan had a great advantage. is to press Yuan Shao to fight. It wasn't until Bai Ma Yicong was broken by Yuan Shao's halberd that he fell into disadvantage, and then his power slowly weakened. In the end, the army was defeated and self-immolated. And now because of Yuan Chang's arrival, Gongsun Chan was beaten by two people, and Gongsun Chan has always been in a weak position. Qingzhou Tian Kai's soldiers and horses naturally don't have the leisure to help Tao Qian.

"My lord. So on. I'm afraid our army will suffer heavy casualties!"

Xiahoudun, as the commander of the siege, looked at his own soldiers who were constantly falling, and looked at Cao Cao with a little worry. However, in the face of such casualties, Cao Cao's expression remained unchanged, his eyes calmly looked at the position of the city wall that was fighting, and his indifferent tone sounded in his mouth.

"If you want to become an elite, you must have experienced the tempering of war. Casualties are necessary. It's also worth it! Yuan Rang, Ci is not in charge of the army. Thou art the commander of the three armies, and thou shalt not have the kindness of a woman. ”

Yes, the Lord's teachings will be taken to heart. ”

Of course, a character like Xiahoudun naturally does not have the heart of a woman. It's just that seeing his own soldiers suffer such casualties, he will naturally feel heartache in his heart. However, Cao Cao said so, so he could only accept Cao Cao's teachings.

"Zilian, how is Liu Bei and Kong Rong moving there?"

Hearing Cao Cao's name, Cao Hong, who was behind him, stepped forward, glanced at his mouth, and sneered disdainfully: "Liu Bei and Kong Rong, two people who are greedy for life and afraid of death, only dare to lead the army to wave their flags and shout in the rear of our army, but they dare not rush up to fight with our army. Lord, the last general will ask for battle, and lead 5,000 soldiers and horses to repel these two-way soldiers and horses!"

Cao Hong was a little depressed, originally this siege Cao Hong had invited Cao Cao to take the position of pioneer. As a result, because Liu Bei and Kong Rong arrived on the battlefield, Cao Cao sent him to monitor Liu Bei and Kong Rong instead. However, Liu Bei and Kong Rong did not dare to fight with Cao Cao's troops, and Cao Hong could only watch the other generals kill the enemy on the battlefield with red eyes, and he could only stare dryly, unable to do anything. In fact, Cao Hong also understood that Cao Cao's arrangement was good for him. At the beginning, for this vanguard position, Cao Cao's generals broke the head, and although it was more dangerous as a vanguard, it was also the team that fought the most. Perhaps it was for Cao Hong's sake that he saved himself, and in the end Cao Cao gave the vanguard to Cao Hong. However, Cheng also Xiao He defeated Xiao He, also because Cao Hong saved Cao Cao's life, when Liu Bei and Kong Rong appeared on the battlefield, Cao Cao immediately transferred Cao Hong's position, Cao Cao may be worried about the danger of Cao Hong who saved himself. Cao Hong objected but it was useless, Cao Cao's reason was also very convincing, the existence of Liu Bei and Kong Rong's soldiers and horses posed a serious threat to his own side, which was related to the survival of his own army, and Cao Hong could not take on such a heavy task. Cao Cao said so, but Cao Hong could still oppose it? They all said that this was a heavy task, and if Cao Hong still objected, it would be a loss of Cao Cao's face, and it would make Cao Cao unhappy. Therefore, Cao Hong's heart has always been depressed.

"Zilian, you must not underestimate the enemy on the battlefield, that will only bring disaster to yourself. Kong Rong aside, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei under Liu Bei are not unprecedented, these two are fierce generals of ten thousand enemies. ”

Hearing Cao Cao say this, Cao Hong could only suppress the idea of going to war.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are indeed brave, and no one who has seen the battle of Tiger Prison Pass will doubt it. Under Cao Cao's command, there are only a few people such as Xiahoudun and Xu Chu who can match him. However, Xiahoudun had to command the army to attack the city, and Xu Chu was Cao Cao's guard, so naturally he couldn't leave easily. If Cao Hong led 5,000 soldiers and horses to attack Liu Bei, the result can be imagined.

"Kill!"

"Rush!"

Under the city wall of Pei County, Cao Cao's soldiers shouted and rushed to the head of Pei County. Cao Cao's soldiers deserved to be an elite division, even though the defenders of Peixian County had the advantage of the city wall, they were even beaten with a casualty ratio of two to one. The second is the Pei County defenders, and the other is Cao Cao's soldiers. With the advantage of the city wall, the casualties of the defenders of Pei County were twice that of Cao Cao's soldiers, which shows the strength of Cao Cao's soldiers. Of course, there is also a reason, that is, the defenders of Peixian County cannot be regarded as regular soldiers. Pei County is the territory of the children surnamed Liu. Most of the troops are the private soldiers of the Liu family, and there is naturally a huge gap between the combat effectiveness of private soldiers and regular soldiers. If it weren't for the bloody lesson of Cao Cao's slaughter of the city, even the Liu family in Pei County would not be so stubborn.

"The sixth team is ready. Attack!"

Xiahou stood at the forefront of the army on horseback, carefully observing the battle situation in Peixian County. When the time for the previous team to attack the city came, Xiahoudun immediately gave an order decisively. Today's Xiahoudun commands the battle more and more calmly and handily, and he has fully possessed the demeanor of a general. Xiahoudun, who only knew how to fight bravely and ruthlessly by force, is gone, and speaking of which, Xiahoudun can grow to such a point. It was tempered because of the command of the two attacks on Xuzhou. I have to say that Cao Cao's practice of using war to train his subordinates is really in place.

"Boulders, sasswood, boiling oil ready!"

Above the city. I don't know which son of the Liu family is in command, but it's not bad, in the face of Cao Cao's fierce siege, he can still maintain his composure. Not intimidated. This is already not an easy task.

"Attack!"

Boulders, sassal trees, and boiling oil rained down like raindrops, and it stands to reason that this round of attacks could take away at least a thousand Cao Cao's soldiers. However, the soldiers under Cao Cao's command were worthy of being elite, and when they saw the attack above the city, they dodged or defended in time without panicking at all. However, hundreds of soldiers were unfortunately attacked, and most of them were injured. With fewer than fifty people killed, this is definitely a proud achievement.

"Cao Cao's soldiers are really terrible!"

The general surnamed Liu at the head of the city looked at the strong strength of Cao Cao's soldiers, and his heart was awe-inspiring, even if he was an opponent, he couldn't help but praise him. However, after praising Cao Cao, this general Tao Qian's ancestors for eighteen generations in his heart, if it wasn't for Tao Qian to provoke Cao Cao, they would not have suffered such a senseless disaster. Fortunately, their Liu family used their own private soldiers to resist Cao Cao's attack, but Tao Qian's reinforcements were nowhere to be found. You must know that these private soldiers are all built by the Liu family with a lot of money, and for every loss of one, the Liu family has to bear a large amount of expenses. Cao Cao's army has been attacking the city for several days, and the Liu family's private soldiers have suffered at least more than 5,000 casualties. If it had been in the past, the Liu family would have surrendered long ago. However, because of Cao Cao's act of slaughtering the city, the Liu family now does not dare to surrender, so they can only continue to hold on.

"Hateful old thief Tao Qian, you don't want to die well!"

The general surnamed Liu cursed indignantly in his heart, and then continued to focus on the battle on the city wall. Private soldiers also have certain advantages over regular soldiers, that is, they are not easy to mutiny. This is not to say that the private soldiers are more loyal, but because most of the private soldiers' families are in the hands of the Liu family, and if they rebel or cower on the battlefield, their families will inevitably suffer disaster. Therefore, even in the face of Cao Cao's strong siege, the private soldiers could only resist desperately. Even if they die, the Liu family can treat their family well.

"Woooooo

A low and rapid horn sounded, and the general surnamed Liu on the city wall finally breathed a sigh of relief, which was a signal for Cao Cao's army to retreat. In these days, whenever this voice sounded in Cao Cao's camp, it made people feel like a fairy sound, if it weren't for the heavy casualties, the generals surnamed Liu couldn't help but want to cheer, this battle was really too torturous.

"Brother, why didn't Tao Qian's old thief send reinforcements here. Our Liu family is now suffering for him, if he doesn't come, we will vote for Cao Cao and follow Cao Cao to kill Tao Qian's old thief. ”

The general who defends the city is named Liu Miao, and his talent is quite outstanding, so he can serve as the general of the guard. And next to Liu Miao is his brother Liu Miao, who is also a deputy general. Liu Miao's force is average, but his temperament is quite hot. The words of surrendering Cao Cao came out of Liu Miao's mouth more than ten times, but neither Liu Miao nor Liu Miao himself took it seriously. Could Cao Cao be able to survive if he surrendered? Maybe it would be the same fate as Lu Xian, or he would be slaughtered.

Now that Cao Cao's army has withdrawn, Liu Miao's mood is much more relaxed. However, after listening to Liu Miao's words, Liu Miao also had a gloomy face, and said in a deep voice: "According to the scout's report, Tao Qian's 100,000 army has already arrived ten miles outside the city, but it has not entered the city, which is really hateful. Tao Qian must have wanted us to consume with Cao Cao, and wait until about the same time to enter the city. Tao Qian's old thief is really hateful, doesn't he know that this disaster was brought by him!"

"It's just that it's so hateful. Brother, let's send someone to urge Tao Qian to enter the city, if Tao Qian still doesn't enter the city, we will discuss with the clan elders and temporarily evacuate Pei County, Cao Cao's goal is not us anyway, when Cao Cao solves Tao Qian and vents his anger, we will come back, will Cao Cao continue to slaughter the city. ”

Liu Miao said indignantly, but Liu Miao glanced at him, and he didn't expect Liu Miao to be able to think of this, which is not bad.

"Well, that's true!"

Liu Miao responded in agreement, thought for a while, and then said: "I'll send someone to Tao Qian to urge, if Tao Qian still refuses to enter the city, don't blame us for being unjust." Fifth brother, the matter of city defense will be handed over to you, I will go back and discuss with the clan elders, and if it is really not possible, I will withdraw from Pei County. ”

The Liu family did not think about withdrawing from Pei County, but the price was too great.

The entire Pei County can be said to be the world of the Liu family, whether it is the land and population of Pei County, although it nominally belongs to the imperial court, but the real master is actually the Liu family. This is not only the case here in Peixian, the situation is basically the same in all places in the world. The land annexation was so powerful that it was also one of the root causes of the peasant uprising and the great chaos in the world. And if the Liu family wants to withdraw from Pei County, it is naturally impossible to take everything away, and the people in the city are naturally not able to. If Cao Cao still slaughtered the city like before, then the loss of the Liu family would definitely make them break their muscles and bones, which was not what the Liu family wanted. Therefore, the Liu family endured their anger at Tao Qian and continued to stick to Pei County. Perhaps it was precisely because of this that Tao Qian did not care about it at all. However, the Liu family also has a bottom line, once the casualties exceed their ability to bear, they would rather not Peixian, but also withdraw from Peixian. At that time, it will only be Tao Qian who will suffer.

Therefore, after the men and horses sent by Liu Miao arrived at Tao Qian's camp to express the meaning of the Liu family, Tao Qian agreed very simply this time and immediately led an army of 100,000 to enter Pei County.

"Hmph, it seems that the old thief Tao Qian will also be afraid. ”

When he learned that Tao Qian led the army into Pei County, Liu Miao snorted coldly in his heart. However, the pressure has also decreased a lot. With Tao Qian's 100,000 army, plus Liu Bei and Kong Rong's soldiers and horses outside the city, facing Cao Cao's 50,000 army, Pei County's confidence is also sufficient.

Outside Peixian County, in Cao Cao's camp

"My lord, the spies have come to report that Tao Qian led an army of 100,000 troops into Pei County. Now if you want to take Pei County, I'm afraid it's even more difficult. As soon as Xiahou received the news from the spies, he immediately informed Cao Cao.

"Everything was expected!"

Cao Cao nodded lightly, without the slightest surprise. Of course, there is no surprise, but there is jealousy.

I think that when it was the first time, Tao Qian and Yuan Shu united nearly 300,000 soldiers and horses to attack Cao Cao, but Cao Cao killed people on their backs, and countless soldiers were lost. However, after Yuan Shu returned to Yangzhou, he immediately recruited 200,000 soldiers and horses. And Tao Qian is the same, he also made up for the 150,000 troops. Later, when Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou for the first time, he also killed tens of thousands of troops in Xuzhou, and as a result, this time in the attack on Xuzhou, Tao Qian made up nearly 200,000 troops before and after. The reason why Tao Qian and Yuan Shu were able to recruit troops on such a large scale is not because they have money and food, compared to Cao Cao, who lives a tight life, in contrast, if Cao Cao is the life of Dick, then Tao Qian and Yuan Shu are super rich second generations. Of course, this is only a comparison of money, as for other aspects, Tao Qian and Yuan Shu are not even worthy of the qualifications to carry Cao Cao's shoes.

"By the way, how is the progress on Zixiao and Miaocai's side?"

As if remembering something, Cao Cao asked calmly.

"My lord, Tao Qian's general Cao Bao controlled the families of his subordinate generals and let them resist with all their might. Although General Cao Ren and General Xiahou Yuan were still able to capture the city, the speed was much slower. ”

"Hmm!"

Cao Cao nodded lightly, and didn't react much. Cao Cao didn't speak, and Xiahoudun also stood quietly aside and didn't say anything. For a moment there was only the "crackling" sound of the candles burning, and nothing else was heard. (To be continued......)