Zhou Yu's entry into Yuan Shu's account brought Yuan Shao a shock far more than Sun Jian's conquest of Xiangyang, and even more than Sun Jian's transfer to Yingchuan and his entry into Yuzhou.

The Zhou family is the first family in Lujiang, the Zhou family has a great relationship with the Yuan family, Zhou Zhong still has the Chang'an Imperial Court, Zhou Yi is the Luoyang Order, the Zhou family supports Yuan Shu, Yuan Shu can not only extend his power to Luoyang Jinggi, but also may contact the magnates of the Chang'an Imperial Court and divide the interests in public opinion.

From this point of view, it is very important whether Cao Cao can hold Wancheng. Wancheng was not lost, but Yuan Shu was trapped in Nanyang and could not go north and west. If Wancheng is lost, then south of the Yellow River and west of the Tiger Prison, no one will be able to stop Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shao did not dare to be careless, discussed with the civil and military forces overnight, and finally decided to send reinforcements to help Cao Cao. Although Yuan Shao was preparing for a war with Gongsun Zhan, and there were black mountain thieves harassing him from time to time, and the troops were tense, but the gains and losses of Wancheng were very important, he did not dare to be careless, and sent the general Zhu Ling to lead the 5,000-foot cavalry elite stationed in Liyang to Nanyang, and at the same time spread the book to Yanzhou Assassin Liu Dai, Chen Liutai guarded Zhang Miao and others, so that they could do everything possible to send troops to help Cao Cao, and let people contact the Ruying Township Party, assemble the troops, supply grain and grass, and assist Zhu Ling's army in the battle.

Cao Ang was grateful and asked to accompany the army. Yuan Shao disagreed, asked Cao Ang to stay in Yecheng to recuperate from his injuries, and only sent Cao Chun to go on the expedition with Zhu Ling, and specially added 500 horsemen to Cao Chun, making up the number of 1,000, and gave him more than 200 war horses.

Cao Ang pleaded again and again, tears fell, but Yuan Shao still refused. Cao Ang had no choice but to pretend to be one of Cao Chun's personal guards with the help of Cao Chun and quietly left Yecheng. Knowing that Cao Ang had run away, Yuan Shao was very angry, but he was grateful for Cao Ang's loyalty and filial piety, and rejected the suggestion of the trial to send someone to recover Cao Ang, and sent some medicine to Cao Ang, telling him to recuperate his injuries and not leave sequelae.

For Yuan Yao, who came with Cao Ang, Yuan Shao ordered people to take strict care of him, and he was not allowed to follow in Cao Ang's footsteps.

Facts have proved that he is too careful, Yuan Yao has neither a helper like Cao Chun, nor the courage to escape. From the day he left Wancheng, he accepted such a fate, honestly stayed in the Yecheng Post House, became an apartment, and waited for the unknown ruling.

——

Sun Ce looked at the giant stone throwing machine that was about to be assembled, and couldn't help but want to laugh in his heart.

"Ziyi, do you know that a great man with the same surname as you said that science and technology are the primary productive forces."

"Really?" Deng Zhan was absent-minded, staring at the stone thrower with two eyes, and he was reluctant to leave for a moment. The first merit is Huang Chengyan's father and daughter, which is beyond reproach, everyone recognizes, but the second merit is to be fought for, whoever climbs the wall of Wancheng first will be able to have more loot, and whoever will have the opportunity to become an official and become a knight. Yuan Shu has already agreed, as long as Wancheng is captured and Nanyang is stabilized, Huang Chengyan will be given the title of marquis, then they will also have a chance.

Of course, in addition to the marquis, he has other hopes. He wanted to use his military exploits to fight for the right of pardon for the Xinye Deng family. Yuan Shu has already wiped out all the powerful families around Wancheng, and for the time being, he can't take care of more distant places, such as Xinye. But after capturing Wancheng and stabilizing the situation, no one can guarantee that Yuan Shu will not make persistent efforts and sweep away all the powerful families in Nanyang. The Xinye Deng family is a famous family in the entire Han Dynasty, and it will definitely not escape Yuan Shu's eyes.

If he has military exploits, he may be able to plead for mercy. If the Xinye Deng family can escape the catastrophe, then he, a disciple of the branch, may be able to get the approval of the sect master, and in the future, he will write his name into the genealogy, even if it is a good one.

"How could I lie to you." Sun Ce thought of the old man and sighed faintly. If it weren't for that old man's reform and opening up, he probably wouldn't have had the opportunity to go to university, read so many books, and know so much history.

None of these bastards are easy to deal with, and if he misses a little, he will die worse than Sun Ce in history.

Just when Sun Ce sighed, there was a sudden sound of a gong in the distance, although it was far away, it was not very harsh, and there was the sound of craftsmen knocking next to it, but Sun Ce still heard it clearly.

"Ziyi, return to the camp immediately and guard the camp."

"Whoa." Deng Zhan jumped up and walked away quickly with the guards.

Sun Ce didn't dare to slack off, took care of Huang Chengyan to prepare for the situation, and hurried back to his camp. He wasn't nervous. Yan Xiang had long expected that Cao Cao would use this trick, and in the past few days, the generals of all battalions have been on strict alert, and the Chinese army and the baggage battalion are even more heavily guarded, even if Cao Cao's entire army attacks, it will be difficult to get anything good.

Waiting for Sun Ce to board the general platform of the Chinese army, Pang Shanmin and Pang Tong were already waiting, and when they heard Sun Ce's footsteps, Pang Shanmin turned around.

"General, you're late."

"Late?" Sun Ce was a little surprised, and looked around, although the lights in the camp were bright, but the soldiers were in a tight formation, and they were not breached, and there was not even a sign at all, so why was it too late?

"I mean, the enemy has retreated." Pang Shanmin pointed to the fire in the distance and said, "Look, there are fewer and fewer torches. ”

Sun Ce looked up and couldn't help but smile. The big camp in the northwest was Chen Yu and Liu Shen's, and the sound of war drums also came from there, but it had gradually eased, and there was no sign of fighting.

"This Cao Mengde is so idle that he has maggots, right? Out for a walk? ”

"General, not necessarily." Pang Tong frowned, and his fresh little face showed a worry that was not commensurate with his age. "Five days have passed since the general's ten-day appointment, and the battle is about to begin, Cao Cao sent people to attack the camp at this time, I'm afraid he came for the stone thrower."

"So what, he can still reap the benefits?"

"General Yuan arranged it properly, Cao Cao naturally couldn't get any benefits, but he wouldn't retreat so easily. I think he was just tempting to see what was true and false in the battalions. Next, he will try to find other places, and once he finds a flaw, he will attack it. Even if we can't find a flaw, he will disturb us from sleep and exhaustion. ”

Sun Ce felt justified and couldn't help but look at Pang Tong with admiration. Although this kid is not yet an adult, he has already shown a unique intelligence. These days, I have been in the camp again, listening to him and the generals discussing the military situation, and it is normal for me to be precocious than in history.

"So what do we do in your opinion?"

"Take the initiative, strike first, take the big city first, enter the small city, and let them take care of themselves." Pang Tong turned around, his eyes burning. "General, isn't the giant stone throwing machine going to be test-fired, let them use Wancheng as a target, if they are lucky, blast open a section of the city wall and break their morale, maybe there will be an accident."

Sun Ce touched Pang Tong's head and laughed. "Good idea, I think it's okay. Shi Yuan, you have to be like this, use your brains more, don't be compared to the little girl. ”

Pang Tong looked at Pang Shanmin embarrassedly. "This is what I discussed with my brother."

Pang Shanmin blinked his eyes and quietly raised his thumb.