"PS: This chapter is very long."

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In the afternoon of the sixth day of the seventh month, when Zhao Yu was preparing to hold a banquet for Chu Yan, Ju Sheng, and Cao Wu in Chen Lang's mansion, in Yingyin City, which was more than ten or twenty miles away from Xuchang, Xiang Xuan, Yan Xuan, Zhong Fei, and Zhou Gong, the four nominal generals, had a disagreement over whether to attack Xuchang.

“…… General Zhou, of course Xiang understands that 'meeting Liang County' is the ultimate goal, but now that Xuchang has not been broken, how can we send troops to Chenliu? In my opinion, Xuchang should be taken first! ”

"General Xiang, Zhou has always respected you, and several successive battles have also been dominated by you, but there is one thing I have to mention, Xuchang has consumed too much of my energy and effort, if not, Zhou could have led the army to help Chen Qushuai attack Chen County early, without letting Chen Shuai lead a weak division into a bitter battle...... Do you know how difficult it was for Chen Qushuai to attack Chen County with a weak division? I can't wait any longer. ”

"Xuchang is not broken, how does General Zhou plan to end the war on Yingchuan's side?"

"Just send an army to garrison Yanling and contain Xuchang. …… In this way, there are almost 30,000 troops who can support Chen Qushuai. ”

"What about Zhou Hu in Xuchang?"

"Yan Ling has 10,000 soldiers, which is enough to contain Zhou Hu."

"What about Yingyin, Changshe, Linying and other places? Once we draw troops, then Zhou Hu will inevitably immediately recover Yingyin, Changshe, Linying and other places, and even Yuncheng and Zhaoling will not be able to protect ...... at that time."

"General Xiang, you insist on capturing Xuchang, but what can you do if you capture Xuchang? Unless you can kill that Zhou Hu, otherwise, even if Xuchang falls, that Zhou Hu can escape back to the three counties of Kunyang, and use his forces in the three counties of Kunyang to gradually recover Yingyin, Changshe, Linying and other places......"

"At the very least, it can delay the date of his recovery. …… You must know that there are nearly 20,000 soldiers and nearly 100,000 people in Xuchang City, and now these are all in the hands of that Zhou Hu......"

"You also said that there are nearly 20,000 soldiers in Xuchang City, so let me ask, what price do we have to pay to defeat Xuchang?"

"General Zhou, you are too stubborn!"

"No, it's General Xiang who is stubborn."

From the side, Yan Yu and Zhong Feier looked at each other.

That's right, the source of today's disagreement comes from Xiang Xuan and Zhou Gong.

Xiang Xuan's proposition was to attack Xuchang first, and then wave his army to reinforce the Jiangxia Yishi Qu Shuai Chen Miao, help him jointly defeat Chen Liu, and then join the Jiangdong Yishi in Liang County.

However, Zhou Gong advocated ending the war in Yingchuan and immediately reinforcing Chen Miao.

It can be said that the strategic propositions of the two are completely opposite, and the trouble is that neither Xiang Xuan nor Zhou Gong can convince the other.

It is undeniable that Xiang Xuan is the most relied on general of Changsha Yishi Qu Shuai Guan Shuo, and from last year to this year, he can be said to be in the limelight in Yingchuan County, but don't forget that Zhou Gong is also one of the best fierce generals in Jiangxia, but he is not as flamboyant as Xiang Xuan on weekdays.

Seeing that Xiang Xuan and Zhou Gong had red faces and red ears, and the latter looked indifferent, Yan Xuan and Zhong Feier were caught in the middle, and they couldn't help but feel a little difficult.

After all, in their opinion, Xiang Xuan and Zhou Gong actually made sense - if they couldn't break through Xuchang first, they couldn't put their hearts to support Chen Xuan; However, if Xuchang must be attacked first, it will inevitably delay Chen Miao's attack on Chen Liu, and finally delay the strategic goal of 'joining forces with Jiangdong Yishi in Liang County'.

This is like the chickens or eggs in this world, which is a difficult problem to debate.

"Two, two."

Seeing that Xiang Xuan and Zhou Gong were arguing, Yan Xuan played a round and said, "Why don't you take a step back?" ”

Hearing this, Xiang Xuan and Zhou Gong turned their heads to look at Yan Xuan, which made the latter feel a lot of pressure.

I saw him cough and said: "It's better to do this, let's fight Xuchang again, use all our strength, if we still can't conquer it, let's follow what Zhou Gong said, immediately turn to Chen Liu, give up Yingchuan." …… What do you two think? ”

“……”

Xiang Xuan and Zhou Gong glanced at each other and frowned in unison.

But in the end, the two nodded.

Seeing this, Yan Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Since this is the case, without further ado, it is better to meet on the eighth day of the first month, that is, one day later, to attack Xuchang together." ”

"Good!"

The other three all nodded.

Because the next offensive against Xuchang will decide whether to completely abandon Yingchuan County, Xiang Xuan naturally has to do his best, therefore, he issued an order to the 3,000 troops stationed in Changshe, ordering the generals to bring 3,000 soldiers and the new soldiers recruited in Changshe City during this time, all of them to prepare to rush to Xuchang.

Zhong Fei and Zhou Gong also thought of a place with Xiang Xuan, and each sent people to Linying and Yanling to bring the new soldiers recruited by their righteous teachers in the two county towns during this time to Xuchang.

Regardless of whether these new soldiers can play a role, at least they must completely overwhelm the defenders of Xuchang in terms of numbers, so as to cause psychological pressure on the defenders of Xuchang.

A day later, that is, on the eighth day of the seventh month, Xiang Xuan, Yan Xuan, and Cao Suo led nearly 30,000 soldiers to Xuchang.

At the same time, Zhong Fei and Zhou Gong also led more than 15,000 soldiers each to the southern and eastern suburbs of Xuchang.

Seeing the rebels coming back, they once again set up a siege posture outside Xuchang City, and the alarm bells sounded loudly at the west, south and east gates of Xuchang City.

Immediately, Wei Shi Hanhe told Zhao Yu about the matter: "Captain, the rebels once again set up a siege posture on the west, south, and east sides of the city, and their strength far exceeded that day. ”

"Oh."

Hearing the news, Zhao Yu had no waves in his heart.

Because he had already guessed that Xiang Xuan and the others would definitely try to attack Xuchang again in the past few days, so he quickly transferred Chu Yan, Ju Sheng, Cao Wu and the soldiers of the second battalion of the 4,000 brigades.

He immediately left the Governor's Office and came to the West City Gate first-after all, all the previous signs showed that these rebels were dominated by Xiang Xuan, and Xiang Xuan was outside the West City Wall.

I have to say that Han He's proclamation was not exaggerated at all, and when Zhao Yu led the generals to the west gate, he saw that the western suburbs outside the city were full of rebels.

I have to say that looking at the nearly 30,000 rebels outside the city spreading out the formation in the open space, the soldiers in the city really felt a lot of pressure.

What's more, this time the rebels also brought more than 20 ladders and countless siege ladders.

It's just the rebels outside the western city walls!

Suddenly, Liao Guang seemed to notice something, and said softly: "There is still a face to hit Xuchang?" ”

"Huh?"

Zhao Yu was slightly stunned, looked in the direction pointed by Liao Guang, and found that in the array of rebels, there was actually an army dressed as a county army.

There is no doubt that this county army, to be exact, is the 'former county army', which is obviously the one that Cao Suo brought to Yingyin a few days ago, and the person who led this army is undoubtedly Cao Suo, although Zhao Yu has not found Cao Suo for the time being.

"It seems that he has defected to the rebels with an iron heart, or rather, there is no way back for Cao Suo......

Shaking his head slightly, Zhao Yu turned his head to look at Chu Yan who was standing beside him, and asked, "How do you feel?" ”

I saw Chu Yan looking at the rebels outside Xicheng with a solemn expression, and after hearing Zhao Yu's inquiry, he let out a long breath and said with a wry smile: "It's really ...... Spectacular. Compared with such a big battle, the battle we waited for in Black Tiger Mountain at the beginning could not be regarded as a war...... Was it the same last year in Kunyang? ”

"It should be a little inferior." Zhao Yu nodded slightly, and then pointed to the rebels outside the city and said: "The actual strength of Xiang Xuan and Yan Xuan should not be so much, obviously there are some new soldiers they recruited in nearby counties, and some of them are mostly county soldiers who were deceived by Cao Suo......"

As he spoke, he patted Chu Yan's arm and encouraged, and then smiled and said with relief: "Next, I will have to work hard for you to command the war for me......

Chu Yan took a deep breath, clenched his fists and said, "Please big leader...... No, please rest assured. ”

"Well, I have faith in you. By the way, I asked Liao Guang and Ju Sheng to assist you. As he spoke, he turned his head to look at Liao Guang and Ju Sheng and asked, "No problem, right?" ”

Ju Sheng smiled and nodded, while Liao Guang solemnly hugged his fists: "Obey." ”

Seeing this, Zhao Yu nodded with satisfaction and ordered: "Tian Qin, Jia Shu, you two go to the south city wall to assist, Cao Wu, Qin Yu, you two go to the east city wall to assist." …… Just in case, Liu Tu, you go to the north city wall to help defend it. ”

"Yes."

Except for Liu Tu, who was a little depressed, the rest of the generals all hugged their fists and received their lives.

Just as Zhao Yu was assigning tasks to the generals, Xiang Xuan came to the city with a team of guards and stopped a stone's throw away from the city.

Zhao Yu originally thought that this Xuan was going to shout to him, but unexpectedly, that Xiang Xuan shouted at the city gate tower and the city wall: "Listen to the guards in the city, today my Xiang Xuan will break Xuchang!" If you want to live, open the door and surrender quickly, and if you resist, when the city is broken, you will be slaughtered! ”

As soon as he finished speaking, the 30,000 rebels behind him shouted in unison, and the shouts were like a wave sweeping across the city, causing everyone in the city to stagnate.

"It turned out that they were here to demonstrate and intimidate......

With a slight movement in his heart, Zhao Yu saw that Xiang Xuan was about to turn the horse away, and immediately shouted: "Xiang Xuan." ”

“……”

Xiang Xuan heard the shout, glanced back at Zhao Yu on the city gate, and didn't bother to pay attention.

He didn't want to fight with Zhou Hu anymore - he couldn't fight horizontally and vertically.

Seeing that Xiang Xuan actually ignored himself, Zhao Yu was also a little anxious, and shouted loudly: "Xiang Xuan, I still have an old friend of you here, don't you want to see it?" ”

"What?"

Xiang Xuan turned around at this time.

Not long after, in accordance with Zhao Yu's order, Wei Shi Hanhe brought Cai Wei from the prison to this place.

"General."

With Cai Wei's joyful shout, Xiang Xuan's pupils shrank, and his face became ugly, he suppressed his anger and shouted at Zhao Yu: "Zhou Hu, when you and I exchanged prisoners that day, you lied to me that Cai Wei was dead......

Zhao Yu spread his hands and apologized insincerely: "I'm sorry, it's the little official in the bureau who made a mistake......

“……”

Xiang Xuan glared at Zhao Yu hatefully a few times, and then sneered: "So, what do you want to do when you bring Cai Wei to see me this time?" Threaten me to withdraw my troops? ”

"Of course not."

Zhao Yu shook his head, and then said in a deep voice: "On that day, I promised Li Junshou that I would take down Cao Suo's head, as long as you hand over Cao Suo, whether you live or die, I will return this member under your command to you intact." …… To reassure you, I can release him immediately, as long as you agree to it in public. ”

At this time, Cao Suo was in the array of rebels, faintly heard Zhao Yu's shout, and his expression changed greatly for a while.

He looked nervously in Xiang Xuan's direction, feeling both gains and losses.

At the same time, Xiang Xuan was also struggling in his heart.

Sacrifice Cao Suo to save Cai Wei?

There is no doubt that in Xiang Xuan's eyesight, Cao Suo's value is only the identity of 'former Yingchuan Commander', where is Cai Wei, a brave general on the ground?

Unfortunately, he couldn't.

After all, Cao Suo now also holds four or five thousand county troops who fell to his righteous division in disguise, if Xiang Xuan agrees to this, then Cao Suo will definitely not sit still.

At that time, whether Cao Suo instigated his soldiers to attack his righteous division, or withdrew from this battle and returned to Yingyin to pick up his family, this would seriously affect his Xiang Xuan's attack on Xuchang today.

And more importantly, Cao Suo can be used as an example for people all over the world to defect to his righteous teacher, if he Xiang Xuan dedicated Cao Suo to Zhou Hu, the commander of Yingchuan who represented the Jin Kingdom, in order to save his confidant and beloved general, who would defect to him in the future?

This is the same reason that his righteous master has always tolerated the green forest thieves.

"General Xiang, how's it going?"

Zhao Yu's face under the mask showed a hint of ill will.

At this time, I saw that Xiang Xuan suddenly shouted towards the city gate tower: "Cai Wei! ”

"General......" Cai Wei was in good spirits, and his face was full of gains and losses.

I saw Xiang Xuan take a deep breath and say in a heavy tone: "Cai Wei, you are my confidant and beloved general, I originally wanted to save you, but this Zhou Hu has bad intentions, and wants to use you to disturb the heart of my army and cut off the world to join my righteous teacher, I can't let him succeed, is it...... I can't hurt another person to save you. ”

"General......" Cai Wei's face showed a deep sense of disappointment.

At this moment, I heard Xiang Xuan shout in a deep voice: "If you want to hate, hate me Xiang Xuan ruthlessly, if there is an afterlife, I Xiang Xuan will return your life, but don't hate the righteous teacher, my righteous teacher, is the prince of the world!" ”

After saying that, he resolutely turned his horse's head, raised his arms and shouted: "The three armies listen to the order and attack the city immediately!" ”

"Oh-"

Nearly 30,000 rebels shouted in unison.

At this time, Cai Wei shouted in the city: "General rest assured, Cai Wei would rather die than turn his back on the righteous teacher!" …… Never turn your back on the righteous teacher! ”

made Ju Sheng a little embarrassed present.

“……”

That Xiang Xuan glanced back at the city gate, perhaps hearing Cai Wei's shout.

"Tsk! It's a ...... to be a wicked person and not get a bargain yet."

Secretly scolding, Zhao Yu, who was full of depression, waved his hand and asked someone to pull Cai Wei, who kept shouting, down, while looking deeply at the back of Xiang Xuan.

"If this person can be of my use......

In an instant, a thought flashed in Zhao Yu's heart.

Immediately, he took a long breath and shouted in a deep voice: "All the soldiers in the city will listen to the order, the rebels outside the city are only in vain, nearly half of their troops are new pawns, as long as they resist the rebels' attack, the rebels will no longer have the strength to attack my Xuchang!" …… I hope that all of you will care about your family in the city and fight side by side with my Zhou Hu! As long as the city wall is guarded, Zhou will be rewarded! ”

"Wow!"

The defenders of the city also raised their arms and shouted.

Woo woo –

Woo woo –

Woo woo –

With the horns of the rebels attacking in the west, south and east of Xuchang, this battle related to 'whether the righteous division should give up Yingchuan County' has since begun.

But in fact, not to mention Zhao Yu, even Xiang Xuan knew that in order to retain troops to reinforce Chen Xuan, they would not be able to capture Xuchang at all in such a constrained situation.

He was just unwilling to let the hard work of the past two years come to naught, trying to make the last effort to fight for that last opportunity.

On the eighth day of the seventh month of the twenty-fourth year of Wang, two rebels of Changsha and Jiangxia attacked Xuchang and did not fight.

The next day, the rebels abandoned Yingyin and Changshe counties and withdrew to Yanling.