After instructing the whereabouts of these soldiers and horses under his command.

Liu Zheng is waiting, waiting for his brocade guard to come back, more accurate news.

Although now he also knows about the battle of Xiapi City, Yuan Shao suffered heavy losses, but Liu Bei on the other side did not have any losses, and tens of thousands of troops were still stationed in Xiapi.

If Liu Zheng launched an attack on Liu Bei at this time, he would not be able to play a too absolute role, and he would face tens of thousands of troops under Liu Bei.

Liu Zheng can only play a decisive role in annihilating Liu Bei in one fell swoop only when Liu Bei and Yuan Shao fight again.

Liu Zheng did not wait too long for this opportunity.

Because soon, Liu Beijun in Xiapi City was already ready to move.

After defeating Yuan Shao's tens of thousands of troops in the first battle of Xiapicheng, the morale of Liu Bei's men and horses increased greatly, and the soldiers and horses under Guan Yu did not lose many people in the first battle of Xiapi, at best, two or three thousand people were killed and wounded.

Killed Yuan Shao at the cost of two or three thousand people, and more than 40,000 people under his command.

Such an achievement is an honor for any general.

In this way, Guan Yu, who was already very inflated, became even more arrogant.

In order to take advantage of the victory and pursue, Yuan Shao's men and horses were not given a chance to breathe, and after Zhao Yun's men and horses supported him to Xiapi City, they only rested for one night.

Guan Yu took the initiative to pursue Yuan Shao's soldiers and horses.

Because of the shock brought by the battle of Xiapi, the military advisor Sun Shao did not stop Guan Yu when he proposed to pursue Yuan's army, and at this time, taking advantage of the high morale of Picheng, it was indeed necessary to send soldiers and horses to pursue Yuan Shao's army.

These days, they have sent a large number of scouts to inquire about the news in the vicinity, and they have known for a long time that Yuan Shao is nearby, with only more than 60,000 soldiers and horses.

These more than 60,000 soldiers and horses, excluding some temporary troops stationed in various county towns, can be regarded as the main force.

Now Yuan Shao's main force, after the battle of Xiapicheng, only more than 10,000 people are stationed in Donghai County, and this bit of manpower is not taken into Guan Yu's eyes at all.

If it weren't for the sake of prudence, Guan Yu would have wanted to lead the soldiers and horses in the city to pursue directly to Donghai County when he was fighting Yuan Shao outside Xiapi City.

It's a pity that at that time, the Guan Yu army in Xiapi City had a series of major battles, resulting in serious physical consumption of the soldiers in the city.

Now, after resting for a night, the soldiers in Xiapi City have recovered their strength, recuperated their spirits, and have the support of Zhao Yun's men and horses.

Now there are nearly 30,000 horses in Xiapi City, and these soldiers and horses are much more than Yuan Shao's remaining men and horses, and it is time for them to turn defense into attack.

Sun Shao was stationed in Xiapicheng alone, and then Guan Yu and Zhao Yun each led 10,000 soldiers and horses to pursue Yuan Shao's army, wanting to completely drive Yuan Shao out of Donghai County, and even if possible, kill Yuan Shao's army directly in Xuzhou.

Tan County.

This is the seat of Tokai-gun.

The distance from Xiapi to Tan County is not far, and it is precisely because it is not far that Guan Yu and Zhao Yun's soldiers and horses soon arrived near Tan County.

Liu Zheng's Jinyi guard, when the soldiers and horses in Xiapi City were dispatched, immediately told Liu Zheng of Huai'an City the news.

Liu Zheng was waiting for this opportunity, waiting for the people of Picheng to be dispatched.

When the news reached Liu Zheng's ears, Liu Zheng immediately understood that this opportunity was what he had been waiting for.

"Okay, this is the time!"

Knowing that Zhao Yun and Guan Yu were leading an army of 20,000 at this time to attack Donghai County, Liu Zheng did not intend to miss this opportunity.

He had already ordered his army of 40,000 to be divided into 30,000 horses.

Only about 10,000 people are still stationed in Huai'an.

Among them are more than 10,000 regular troops commanded by Zang Ba, and 3,000 are the trapped camp of Lu Bu's commanders, that is, Liu Zheng's own 2,000 personal soldiers.

This is all the troops he can now command in Huai'an City.

However, if these forces are used for surprise attacks, they are simply more than enough.

After learning that Zhao Yun and Guan Yu were rushing to Tan County in Donghai County, Liu Zheng did not make any more stops in Huai'an City, and gathered the 15,000 soldiers and horses led by his own soldiers and horses and went straight to Tan County.

On the way from Huai'an to Tan County, you have to pass through Siwu County.

Although the road is not very far, it is also separated by one hundred and eighty miles, and in addition, Liu Zheng can't blindly rush to the road, and he also needs to take into account the surrounding environment.

Try to avoid being detected by Liu Bei and Yuan Shao's spies.

Without knowing that Guan Yu and Yuan Shao were fighting, Liu Zheng did not need to quickly approach their battlefield, but only needed to gradually bring his soldiers and horses closer to them and wait for the opportunity.

And this opportunity may exist at any time, so Liu Zheng's plan is to try to maintain the mystery of their whereabouts and avoid being detected by the enemy, in case the news that the soldiers and horses they led appear here is known by Guan Yu, with Guan Yu's courage, he may not dare to lead an army of 20,000 to attack Yuan Shao.

Once Guan Yu and Yuan Shao can't fight, then Liu Zheng's plan will be in vain.

Therefore, concealing your whereabouts is the most important thing at the moment.

And there is definitely no way to hide the whereabouts of the army crossing the border, and the more people there are, the more difficult it is to hide their tracks.

So after thinking about it in the end, Liu Zheng decided to lead only 5,000 soldiers and horses to the surprise attack.

These 5,000 soldiers and horses are the 3,000 soldiers of the trapped camp under Lu Bu and the 2,000 elite guards under his command.

Although there are only 5,000 soldiers and horses, these 5,000 soldiers and horses are the most elite 5,000 people under Liu Zheng's command, and the soldiers of any battalion cannot compare with these 5,000 people.

After all, they are the elite of the elite who are carefully selected from the many military camps under Liu Zheng's command.

Tan County.

Since the defeat outside Xiapi City the day before, Yuan Shao led his army to withdraw to Tanxian County to recuperate temporarily.

After a full day's rest, the low morale finally recovered some, but because of the heavy losses and the loss of troops, no, the Yuan army in Xuzhou has no morale to defend here.

In the governance office of Tan County, Yuan Shao invited the trial, and Ji Feng and the two discussed the next strategy.

"Zhengnan, I hate that I didn't listen to your advice, which led to the loss of troops and the defeat of the generals, and I regretted it too late."

Yuan Shao looked at the trial in front of him and pretended to regret it.

Hearing Yuan Shao say this, the judge felt a little proud, but he didn't dare to show too much in front of Yuan Shao.

It's just a complacent thing to say, an afterthought.

"My lord, if you had followed my strategy as early as when you were fighting with Guan Yu in Xiapi City, we would not have fallen to this point."