Seeing Cao Cao go ashore, the group quickly disappeared into the twilight, and Sun Ce sighed.

A big fish just ran away, it's all fate.

Although he regretted it, there was nothing he could do, even if he wanted to chase it, the black light was blind, he didn't know that the water here was deep and shallow, in case the horse lost his front hooves and drowned, it would really become a joke. Sun Ce turned his horse's head, returned to the shore, and returned to the camp in a daze. As soon as he sat down, Huang Zhong came in, looking ashamed. Sun Ce knew what he was thinking, waved his hand, and motioned for him to take a seat.

"Alright, don't blame yourself. Cao Cao is a traitor, be careful. I also blame me for this, I want to kill them all, my brain is funny, and I actually use foot soldiers to outflank the cavalry, if you let you go alone, maybe one arrow will solve the problem. ”

"The captain is right, Cao Cao is indeed too cautious, they have a lot of cavalry, we were discovered by them before we could get close, and two people were shot and wounded." Huang Zhong sighed. "If Han Yigong is here, he will definitely succeed."

Sun Ce held his cheeks and didn't say a word. This was an accident, which was not planned in the first place, but exposed a problem: the southern army, which was dominated by foot soldiers, suffered a great loss when it encountered the northern army with cavalry superiority, not to mention that the strength of this scout was very different. The northern knights, who are good at riding and archery, are enough to crush the southern foot soldiers in terms of mobility and personal combat effectiveness, and even archery masters like Huang Zhong can only passively counterattack, and it is difficult to catch up with the other party.

"Order all scouts to act in groups of five, not allowed to be left alone, armed with one three-stone crossbow and two hand-held crossbows."

Huang Zhong responded. "It's just that in this way, the range of reconnaissance we can be limited in."

"Cao Cao has already arrived in front of him, what does it make if he doesn't reconnoitre, just don't give them a chance to sneak attack."

Sun Ce rubbed his hands together and turned to look at the map. Cao Cao has already arrived in front of him, and the main force should not be far away, at most thirty or fifty miles. Isn't he afraid that Yuan Shu will intercept his back road? Wancheng has an army of twenty or thirty thousand, although the combat effectiveness is very average, but it should not be a problem to cut off Cao Cao's retreat. If Yuan Shu ordered people to go out of the city, how would Cao Cao deal with it?

Sun Ce stared at the map for a long time, but he still couldn't figure out what Cao Cao was planning. He told Huang Zhong about his worries, and Huang Zhong also felt incomprehensible. The more Sun Ce thought about it, the more uneasy he became, and sent someone to invite Huang Gai. After listening to Sun Ce's analysis, Huang Gai also felt that Cao Cao's behavior was abnormal and not suitable for the common sense of soldiers. However, he was not as uneasy as Sun Ce.

"Captains, soldiers are not tired of cheating, and it is common for them to deceive each other. However, no matter how much you cheat, it is impossible for the strength of the two sides to be reversed. As long as we keep strict guards and don't let Cao Cao catch the flaws, what can he do to me? The current situation is favorable to us and unfavorable to Cao Cao, we can guard the gate tightly, send more scouts, and wait and see what happens. Wait for the general to catch up, flank back and forth, and then see how Cao Cao copes. ”

Sun Ce weighed it repeatedly and felt that it could only be so. He sent a letter to Sun Jian, reminding him to be careful of Cao Cao's sneak attack, while he guarded the camp and ordered all battalions to strengthen their vigilance to strictly prevent Cao Cao from attacking the camp. For this opponent who has not yet shined, he does not dare to be careless.

——

Cao Cao returned to the Xinye camp, turned over and dismounted, strode into the big tent of the Chinese army, and called Captain Xiahoudun, who was in charge of the affairs of the Chinese army.

"Yuan Rang, you immediately check, after I leave the camp, there are any people in the Chinese army in and out."

Xiahoudun was taken aback and hurriedly asked what happened. Cao Cao told him about his encounter with Sun Ce, and Sun Ce called Po Xingzang. Xiahoudun's eyes shrank. "I immediately sent someone to investigate. However, Meng De, Zhao Pet's entire army was wiped out, his life and death are unknown, and it is normal for someone to know you. ”

Cao Cao shook his head. "I know that Zhao Pet knows me, but there are not many people around Sun Ce, so there should only be personal guards. Do you think Sun Ce will keep the people who just surrendered to him by his side as personal guards? Yuan Rang, be prepared, it's always good for you to go and check. ”

Xiahoudun didn't say anything more, turned around and went out.

Cao Cao spread out the map, but he was a little absent-minded, always recalling the passage of looking across the river with Sun Ce in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more frightened he felt. If there is really a mole, wouldn't he have gone away from the ghost gate? Thanks to Sun Ce's small number of cavalry, he may not be able to return safely.

"Awn." Cao Ang's voice rang out outside the tent.

Cao Cao was startled, came back to his senses, and hurriedly let Cao Ang in. Cao Ang entered the tent, glanced at Cao Cao, and carefully covered the tent door. "Ah Weng, it's late at night, why haven't you rested yet, be careful of catching a cold."

Cao Cao glanced at Cao Ang and smiled with satisfaction. "Zixiu, sit down." Cao Cao beckoned, pulled Cao Ang to his side, untied his big tie, and tied it again. "Why haven't you slept yet?"

"Ah Weng personally went out to the camp to reconnoitre, I was so worried that I didn't dare to sleep."

"What's there to be afraid of?" Cao Cao laughed, but smiled a little reluctantly. "Zixiu, the battlefield is dangerous, and your Uncle Miaocai has just died again, is he a little scared?"

Cao Ang was silent for a moment. "Ah Weng, I'm not worried about my own safety, I'm worried about your safety. You are the commander of the first army, if anything goes wrong, it will be difficult for our lone army to maintain, and it may collapse at any time. I shouldn't have said it, but I can't help but say that you're taking too much risk. If Mother had known, she would not have agreed. ”

Cao Cao blinked and smiled. "Your aunt is a good woman, but her temper is not very good, and she doesn't know how to use soldiers, so don't follow her example. By the way, I met Sun Ce. He's about the same age as you, but he's already in command. ”

Cao Ang lowered his head. "My son's incompetence has disappointed Awen."

"Huh-" Cao Cao reproached: "Zixiu, you have to be confident, don't always feel inferior to others." Sun Ce was just seventeen years old and was able to command his troops to fight, not because of how strong he was, but because his father was willing to let go. I think his camp deployment is also very average, not better than you. Speaking of which, I was too strict with you and didn't let you try. This is my responsibility, not yours. ”

Cao Ang stared at Cao Cao in surprise, his heart beating faster. "Aweng, is this true?"

"Of course it's true. However, Sun Ce's insight is superior, and I think his handling of Xiangyang Haoqiang is very reasonable. It's just ......" Cao Cao paused for a moment and shook his head again. "It's just that I'm in too much of a hurry, I'm worried that even if he wins Xiangyang, he will also make a wedding dress for others. Alas, the family has deep roots, and it is not so easy to deal with. ”

At this time, Cao Chun rushed in. "General, Yuan Shuqin led an army of 10,000 and has already pursued to Shuyang, less than twenty miles away from our army."

Cao Ang was startled and stepped forward. "So fast?"

Cao Cao raised his eyebrows. "Good time!" He laughed. "Yuan Highway is really a waste, if he doesn't go out of the city, I really can't do anything about him. Since you're here, don't blame me for being rude. He got up, walked back and forth twice, and turned to look at Cao Ang.

"Zixiu, you go to meet Sun Ce tomorrow on my behalf, don't embarrass me."

Cao Ang puffed up his chest and responded. Cao Cao said to Cao Chun again: "Zihe, increase the scouts, make sure that Sun Ce can't see or hear, and don't know anything about the movements of our army." ”

"Whoa."

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