Cao Jun crossed the river to the north, and the road was unimpeded.

The large army in Hebei was either taken to Yijing by Yuan Shao, or rushed to the aid of Taiyuan, Shangdang and other places, or gathered Chaoge to attack Hanoi, which was a rare period of weak defense, all of which gave Cao's army great convenience to the north.

The unscrupulous Cao army routed several small Hebei armies along the way, and also intercepted a large number of grain and grass transported to Chaoge, which made the morale of the army even higher, and the soldiers could not wait to capture Yecheng as soon as possible.

Cao Cao's goal is very clear, and his goal this time is the heart of Hebei - Yecheng.

Yecheng is the official office of the General's Mansion, and it is also the residence of Yuan Shao and his family members under the command of Wenwu, and the granary and arsenal in the city have stored a large amount of grain, grass and ordnance, as long as Cao's army can successfully capture Yecheng, it will be able to disintegrate half of Yuan Shao's power in Hebei in an instant.

Therefore, Cao Cao was unwilling to waste time on the cities along the way, so he restrained the soldiers with strict military laws, strictly forbidding the generals under his command to indulge the soldiers to leave the ranks and privately plunder the villages, so as not to delay the march of the entire army, and issued a military order for a rapid march, ordering the vanguard of the army to arrive at the city of Yecheng on the second day.

It's a pity that things are far from going as smoothly as Cao Jun imagined.

···

South of Huanshui, in Wei County.

The cavalry of the Cao army brigade approaching Yecheng was hurrying away, but the scouts sent back by Le Jin and Shi Lian brought a shocking news, so that the Chinese army had to rush to Mingjin and send orders to the cavalry to pass orders back and forth, which made the entire army in a hurry temporarily halt.

"The forward came to report that a large number of Yuan troops had appeared north of Huanshui, including Yuan Shao's own Daxu."

Next to the official road, Cao Cao, who dismounted, had a gloomy face, and said to Guo Jia, Dong Zhao, who accompanied the army, and Xiahou Yuan, Cao Hong, Cao Chun and other relatives and generals who hurried to the military meeting.

"It's-"

As soon as they heard the traces of the Hebei army in the north of Huanshui, the faces of Xiahou Yuan, Cao Hong and others changed color, they were originally immersed in the huge longing of attacking Yecheng and breaking the city by taking advantage of the void, but now they suddenly heard the appearance of Yuan Shao and his army, and they couldn't help but feel a shock in their hearts, and terrifying words such as "conspiracy", "ambush", and "luring the enemy into depth" appeared in their buzzing heads.

"Ming Gong, could it be a suspicious soldier laid by the reinforcements of Wei County?"

Cao Chun, who had a steady personality, was the first to recover, he looked at Cao Cao and asked cautiously.

Cao Cao shook his head, "Gong Liu personally led the elite cavalry across the bridge to fight with the enemy soldiers and soldiers, killing two halberd soldiers, three enemy cavalry, and two cavalry soldiers, and it has been confirmed that the enemy army on the other side is the elite soldiers and horses under the command of Yuan Shao." ”

"Could it be that Yecheng has already been prepared, this is Yuan Shao's ploy to lure our army to go deeper?"

Cao Hong muttered a few times in his heart, and finally couldn't help but speak.

Cao Cao glared at Cao Hong when he heard this, his eyes became more and more fierce, Cao Hong's words were undoubtedly what Cao Cao was worried about now, and as soon as his words came out, they cast a haze on everyone's hearts.

Seeing this, Xiahou Yuan hurriedly spoke out to break the atmosphere, and he said excitedly:

"Regardless of whether Yecheng has been prepared for a long time, or whether it is the elite led by Yuan Shao himself, since our army has arrived here, it will definitely not be afraid of his soldiers and horses in Hebei. Ming Gong, whether it is a war or a defense, please also instruct, our soldiers and horses are willing to refuse for the army! ”

"Hmm." Cao Cao nodded with satisfaction, he glanced at Guo Jia and Dong Zhao, and then said:

"Wonderful courage is commendable! Lone has just discussed with the sacrificial wine and others, the enemy is strange, the situation is not clear, Lone General personally led the troops to the front to meet with the second lieutenant Le and Shi, and took the opportunity to invite Yuan Shao to go out of the battle to test the reality of the Yuan army. ”

"Zihe, you take the cavalry, the guards and the others, and go with Lone."

"No!!"

The battle was approaching, and Xiahou Yuan, Cao Hong and others, who were military generals, hurriedly agreed and acted on their own orders.

After a while, Cao Chun, Wen Ji and other generals also gathered their men and horses, as Cao Cao's forerunners, and Xu Chu, Ding Fei and other personal guards jointly escorted Cao Cao, Guo Jia, Dong Zhao and others, and rode their horses to the Huanshui bridgehead.

···

In the north of Huanshui, Yuan's army is in the array.

Yuan Shao, who was haggard and had thin cheeks, looked at the Cao Jun knight who was shouting loudly on the bridge, his eyes were deep, and he pressed the Sizhao sword on his waist, and was silent.

Five days ago, when Xu You rushed to the Yuan army camp under Yijing City with Cao's soldiers, and brought Yuan Shao information that Cao Cao was plotting to attack Yecheng, it immediately caused an uproar among the top echelons of the Yuan army.

After repeatedly confirming the authenticity of the intelligence, Yuan Jun's high-level civil and military forces suddenly turned into ants on a hot pot, all of them were uncertain, and even divided into two factions that were fighting endlessly.

One faction is dominated by the cautious and conservative Tian Feng, advocating that only a small number of soldiers and horses be left to confuse Gongsun Zhan, Yuan Shao immediately led the army south to defend the safety of Yecheng, and the other faction is mainly to win the radical Feng Ji, and strongly advises Yuan Shao not to fall short, the Hebei army has been besieging for many years, and finally forced Yijing's Gongsun clan into a dead end step by step.

Yuan Shao hesitated for this, and finally rushed to Yijing Xu You analyzed for everyone.

In the west, Yan marched to storm and annex the state, containing a large number of Hebei soldiers and horses. The judges and others who stayed in Yecheng were deceived by Cao Cao's tricks, which caused the danger of Wei County's defense being empty, and gave Cao's army the opportunity to invade on a large scale.

At present, for their own side, the most urgent thing is time, as the lord of Hebei, Yuan Shao must rush back to Yecheng with elite soldiers before the Cao army attacks Yecheng and causes the hearts of the people in Hebei to be shaken.

The Hebei army besieged Gongsun for many years, the cavalry gathered, and the grain and grass were piled up, even if the troops were withdrawn in a large way, the army could not return to Yecheng in a hurry, but it would prolong the time for Yuan Shao to rush back to Yecheng because of the marching speed of the army.

Therefore, it is better to leave Liangchen Meng to continue to besiege Yijing, and Yuan Shao will rush back to Yecheng with elite men and horses, I believe that with Yuan Shao's presence, the Cao army that originally took advantage of the weakness and plotted to attack Yecheng will be frightened, coupled with the strong city fortifications of Yecheng, it will definitely be able to make the invading Cao army retreat.

Even if Cao Jun is really determined to fight Yuan Jun, then Yecheng is on guard, relying on the city fortifications, and can hold on until the day when the Hebei army returns.

At the critical juncture, Yuan Shao didn't have time to hesitate any longer, he immediately followed the advice of Xu You, who sent important information in time, and left Fu Zhu, Feng Ji, Guo Tu, Yan Liang, Wen Chou and many other civil and military forces to continue to besiege Yijing, and he led Tian Feng, Xu You, Zhang He, Gao Lan and other civil and military forces and 5,000 elite cavalry to the south that night, all the way through the county, and urgently returned to Yecheng to help, not daring to linger for a moment.

Although at present, he finally intercepted the Cao soldiers and horses who intended to sneak attack Yecheng at the Huanshui bridgehead in time, but the cavalry under his command ran around day after day, all of them were tired, and once the Cao army was attacked by the surging Cao army, he was afraid that he could not resist the attack, so he had to give way to the bridgehead passage and withdraw to Yecheng to defend in embarrassment.

This is the reason why Yuan Shao chose to prepare for battle in the north north of Huanshui, but did not ambush Cao's army who crossed the bridge, nor did he tear down the bridge.

Originally, Yuan Jun planned to scare off the Cao army, but he didn't expect that although the Cao army stopped marching, he did not retreat immediately, but prepared for war on the spot, and sent a messenger to loudly invite Yuan Shao to come out and meet Cao Cao on the bridge.

"There is an order, please ask General Yuan to take a moment on the bridge!"

The loud voice of the Cao Jun knight came from afar, and it fell into the ears of Yuan Shao and the others, and it was so harsh.

When will Cao Apu, the clown who once needed his troops to send troops for assistance three times and twice, be able to run to the land of Hebei to spread wild.

Tian Feng rode his horse slowly to Yuan Shao's side, and in the past few days, the sides of his thighs have been ground to blood, but as a high-profile driver, he can only endure the pain in his lower body, and advise Yuan Shao and say:

"Ming Gong, our army is running from afar, and the men and horses are tired, if you can use this suspicious strategy, it is naturally good to scare off the Cao army, if you can't deceive Cao Cao, then retreat to Yecheng, there is still room for redemption. Don't take any chances, go to danger in person, meet the cunning and changeable Cao Cao on the bridge, in case the madman steals and hurts the body, it is beyond remorse! ”

Xu You, who was also tired from running around, didn't think much of it, he glanced at Tian Feng, snorted coldly, and said to Yuan Shao:

"Ming Gong, Cao Cao is a person, he knows a lot, his people are cunning, but they are also suspicious. He went all the way north, wanting to attack Yecheng, and suddenly encountered our army here, and his heart must have been terrified. The so-called invitation on the bridge is just a temptation of luck when you are in a dilemma. ”

"Since we have decided not to enter Yecheng first and defend to the death, and abandon the people gathered outside the city, but come to the north of Huanshui to wait and force the Cao army to retreat. How can there be any intention of retreating from the battle, you can go to the bridge and meet that Cao Cao, and solemnly declare that he reneges on the covenant and raises swords in vain, and he can never be scared back to Yecheng by Cao Cao's small trick. ”

"Ziyuan, you are lucky, this is to put Ming Gong in danger! Ming Gong, the son of a daughter, can't sit down, how can he be in danger, and send a messenger to reject Cao Cao. ”

Tian Feng saw that Xu You repeatedly encouraged Yuan Shao to go to the bridge and Cao Cao for a while, and he was so angry that his eyes were round, his white beard trembled, he pointed at Xu You and reprimanded, and then turned his head to persuade Yuan Shao.

Xu You smiled and sneered.

"Don't drive in the field, don't enter the tiger's den, get the tiger, help the crisis since ancient times, and become a big thing, how can you be in the battle. Although you is a staff scribe, he also admires the courage of Ban Dingyuan to attack and kill the Xiongnu envoys, and is willing to go with Ming Gong. As for don't drive, haha, just learn from that Guo Sui, save your life, and enjoy your success! ”

"Xu You, you-"

"Enough!"

Tian Feng glared at Xu Yu angrily, but Yuan Shao was already impatient with the argument of the staff around him, he interrupted the quarrel between the two, glanced at Tian Feng, and said slowly:

"Don't drive the kindness, take it alone. Cao Apu is an old friend of Luoyang in the past, and today he is invited, if he is afraid, he should not let Cao Jun see through the reality of our army, and secondly, he will also make Cao Agui laugh and be afraid of him. ”

"Since ancient times, the prosperity of kings has their own destiny, and Cao Ah hides what I am! Alone in the Bohai Sea, with tens of thousands of soldiers to sweep away Yan Zhao Haojie, so that Gongsun was discouraged, Montenegro fled, dominating the land of four states, but now he met this little Kou and avoided it, what face will he have in the future to fight for the world? ”