The generals of Gan Ning have not yet arrived at their destination, Xu Chu is still halfway there, and a horse is galloping in front of him, looking at his direction, he is from Yique Pass.

This horse rushed to the front of Xu Chu's car, and immediately the knight turned over and landed, held up a military report in his hand, and said loudly: "Yique Pass Urgent Report: Cao Ren and Cao Hong's two generals were attacked by Li Meng, Hua Xiong and other generals, and the fierce battle lasted for a long time, and Cao Ren and Cao Hong's troops were slightly defeated. ”

"Got it, you go to the rest meeting and have some food and tea." Xu Chu ordered the knight to retire, and Guo Jia and other strategists carefully read the military report.

The military newspaper was not sent by Cao Ren and Cao Hong, they didn't have the time to do it, but it was a report polished by the military clerks under Gan Ning's account, and they sent someone to send it urgently - this is also Xu Chu's hard and fast rule, no matter which one, you must bring a few scribes with the army, and the role of the scribes is not to give advice, but to record merits, mistakes, and be responsible for counting the results of the war, writing military newspapers, and so on.

However, Cao Cao's suspicious plan finally achieved a certain effect, and Xu Rong and Hu Zhen did not dare to conclude Cao Cao's intentions, so they decided to storm Cao Ren and Cao Hong's camp to test Cao Cao's true intentions.

Captain Hua Xiong of the Dong Military Academy took the lead and came to the battle first. Hua Xiong's appearance also illustrates the mentality of Hu Zhen and Xu Rong, they don't want Cao Ren and Cao Hong's thousands of soldiers and horses to survive for too long, so as not to have too many dreams at night. Hua Xiong was extremely brave, and Cao Ren, who was the commander of Cao Jun's battalion, knew a lot about this, so between Li Meng and Hua Xiong, he used his most elite soldiers to resist Hua Xiong's offensive. As he expected, Hua Xiong preceded Li Meng and led his troops to rush to Yuanmen.

Before the Huaxiong Department reached the front of the battalion, hundreds of Zhang Shi in Cao Ren's camp opened their bows and crossbows to shoot arrows, and suddenly arrows rained down, especially one hundred of them used crossbows, and the deterrent effect was very great, but if Dong Qi was shot, at least he would be seriously injured and fall from his horse. But Hua Xiong led the troops, although the discipline was not very strict, but the momentum was full, plus the soldiers were good, the speed was very fast, when the charge came, like a violent wind, the Zhang Shi in Cao Ren's camp only shot two rounds of arrows, and Hua Xiong's department was in front of him.

As the saying goes: there are only three arrows in battle.

Huaxiong came quickly, exceeding Cao Ren and Cao Hong's expectations.

Fortunately, Cao Ren took precautions and was ready to fight a tough battle, and the trenches dug, the resettled horses, the reinforced fences and the mounds of soil behind the fences all gave Huaxiong a headache, and they were not allowed to approach the front for the time being.

Hua Xiong therefore led his cavalry to ride along the fortifications of Cao Ren's camp, and the knights who knew how to ride and shoot arrows inward, and those who could not ride and shoot drew their short spears and threw them into the camp.

To Hua Xiong's surprise, there were no screams in Cao Ren's camp, and it was obvious that his attack did not have much effect. So he looked at it at the gallop, and saw that there were a group of soldiers holding giant shields in the front row of Cao Ren's camp, and the crossbowmen in the back row were covering the crossbowmen, and those giant shields were full of arrows and short spears, but there were very few foot soldiers who were killed by the short spear through the giant shield, after all, there were not many Dong army cavalry who could have such a strong force.

And Hua Xiong's offensive this time was frustrated, almost a moment later ushered in another rain of arrows from Cao Jun, at this time the two armies were closer, Cao Renbu's bow and crossbow were more powerful, and Hua Xiong could only retreat with the cavalry and leave the danger temporarily.

On the first contact, Cao Ren showed his defensive skills. The cavalry attacked the infantry battalion, and used weapons such as throwing guns and spears to cause casualties after approaching, which was the usual tactics of the Dong army cavalry and the cavalry of the world, Cao Ren obviously thought of this step, so the pre-arranged shield bearer stood in the front to cover the back row to reduce casualties.

This contact also set the tone for the battle that day, Dong Jun, who was already in general morale, saw that a general like Hua Xiong could not capture Cao Ren's camp, and the morale of the remaining soldiers was greatly reduced, although Cao Ren finally suffered a loss due to the difference in numbers, but when the battle ended that day and counted the results, it could be generally seen that Dong Jun's losses were not much smaller than Cao Ren, and the battle loss ratio of the two sides was far less than expected. Moreover, in the eyes of Xu Rong and Hu Zhen, the biggest loss was the fighter.

Xu Chu only learned the details later, and the content written in the military newspaper was far less detailed.

But even if you only look at the results, Xu Chu sighed with emotion at that time: "Cao Zixiao was defeated by Lu Bu first, and now he is ashamed and then brave, he is really a fierce warrior." ”

Xu Chu never expected that Cao Ren's surprise to him was far more than that.

......

Gan Ning and Wang Yan led their troops to the east of Yique Pass, and heard the faint sound of shouting and killing in front of them, so they arranged for the soldiers to set up camp, and then climbed the heights and looked.

In front was the camp of Cao Ren and Cao Hong, and there were Dong troops in the west and north.

The two of them saw Shao Leaning, and they heard the sound of Dong Jun's drums in the west, and the banner of Xu Zi was waving in the wind.

Wang Yan exclaimed: "The enemy general Xu Rong is out!" ”

Gan Ning looked at it silently, but saw that Xu Rong personally led the main force of foot soldiers to attack Cao Ren's camp, and the front row of foot soldiers held shields, pushed pontoon bridges, or carried bags filled with dirt, and prepared to fill in the trenches and demolish the fortifications under the cover of a group of cavalry charges. He also exclaimed: "The enemy general Xu Rong is going to use the cavalry as the sharp edge and the infantry as the auxiliary, gradually encroaching on Cao Zixiao's position, and then rushing up to break his camp. Cao Zixiao is in danger! ”

It is no wonder that Gan Ning is nervous, Xu Rongwei is famous, and defeated more than 20,000 men and horses of Bao Xin and Weizi in Xingyang, and his name has been widely spread all over the world, and in Gan Ning's view, Xu Rong's tactics are step-by-step and very stable.

For Xu Rong's textbook-like tactics, Wang Yan also secretly studied and absorbed them, but after watching Cao Ren's response, Wang Yan praised Cao Ren instead, and said to Gan Ning: "Xingba and look, Cao Zixiao is really powerful!" ”

But it was Cao Jun who immediately made two responses.

The first response, Cao Ren ordered the soldiers in the army with better archery skills to shoot the pontoon bridge that Dong Jun placed on the trench with rockets; In the second response, Cao Ren added two more fortifications - the fence of the camp and the mound behind the fence had been made before, and now, under the leadership of officers at all levels, another trench was dug behind the mound, and some pits were arranged behind the trench.

After a stalemate for an unknown amount of time, Xu Rongbu easily led his troops to Cao Ren's camp, but saw Cao Jun's soldiers building soil and digging pits behind the fence, so it can be imagined that their mood was probably angry and helpless.

At this time, Wang Yanyou exclaimed: "Xingba, Cao Zixiao's camp is wide open!" ”

The gate was wide open, and it was not only Gan Ning and Wang Yan who were watching the battle, but also Xu Rong who was even more surprised. Gan and Wang clearly saw that as soon as the door of Cao Ren's camp opened, hundreds of soldiers swarmed out, and Xu Rongbu was suddenly in chaos. However, after a period of chaos, it immediately returned to an orderly state.

"It's a master's move." Gan Ning sighed and continued to observe the battle situation.

I saw that the Cao soldiers who went out of the camp to fight against the war were extremely brave, and by taking advantage of the terrain conducive to the foot soldiers, they rode around with Xu Rongbu, one of them was wearing armor and holding a knife, and there were more than ten guards around him. In this way, after nearly half of the soldiers brought out were killed and wounded, the sound of gold in Cao Ren's camp was loud, and the warriors outside the camp immediately retreated in an orderly manner, winning precious time for the repair of the fortifications behind them.

Gan Ning said categorically: "These warriors are all brave and wounded, and they are indomitable, they should be the Danyang soldiers recruited by General Cao in Yangzhou!" ”

Hearing this, Wang Yan nodded heavily. Danyang County has many dangerous mountains and bad waters, and the people are fierce, and the Danyang soldiers recruited by Cao Cao have grown up in that environment since they were children, and they are naturally brave and ruthless, and they are very daring to fight. At this point, his Yingchuan tribe and Ganning's Shujun Yicong are not as good as Danyang soldiers.

Wang Yan admired Cao Ren in his heart, in this situation, in order for the generals to calmly judge the situation, and take the soldiers out of the camp at risk, I have to say that Cao Ren's courage and military strategy are comparable to ordinary generals.

"Xingba, Cao Zixiao is fighting hard, should I go to the rescue immediately?"

Gan Ning shook his head and said, "Look at it." He pointed to the north of Cao Ying with his hand, and continued: "Xu Rong's elite is exhausted, and Hu Zhen's main formation has not moved at all, we are all foot soldiers, and if we go to save it at this time, we may trap ourselves in it." ”

Wang Yan suddenly felt reasonable.

Yes, Hu Zhen hasn't made a move yet, if he rushes to rescue Cao Ren and Cao Hong at this time, it may usher in Hu Zhen's cavalry, which is extremely uneconomical.

But listening to Gan Ning said again: "The prince has given you and me the right to make decisions on the spot, and you must not let your subordinates die in vain...... In this way, one of you and I will go to Cao Ren's camp to consult with him, and the other will stay here and wait for the opportunity to act, and make an appointment to use the smoke as a sign, what do you think? ”

Wang Yan thought for a while, nodded and said: "This is very good, Xingba, you are the main general, you should stay in the command of this formation, and the task of going to Cao Ying will be handed over to Yan!" ”

......

Xu Rong is in the array.

As the battle progressed, Xu Rong gradually felt a little weird. He looked at the soldiers of the Cao army who were fighting to the death, and then looked at the Cao Cao military camp in the distance, touched his beard and said in a deep voice: "After more than a day of fighting, there was no movement on Cao Cao's side, something was not right. ”

Hearing this, the left and right asked, "What does the general mean?" ”

"Cao Ren and Cao Hong's camp is set up in the main road, so that General Hu and I can't find out the truth of Cao Cao's own formation," After a pause, Xu Rongyao pointed to the direction of Cao Cao's camp and said: "The number of Cao Jun's camp fighting with us is only a few thousand, and according to common sense, it should have been impossible to hold on, but they have been shaking and not falling, obviously fighting to the death with us." Cao Cao's main formation is a few miles away, and it stands to reason that he will not let Cao Ren and Cao Hong not save them, unless they ......"

"Unless what?"

"Unless Cao Cao has a bigger conspiracy."

Shocked left and right, Xu Rong continued: "Not only is Cao Cao's behavior abnormal......" He pointed to Hu Zhen's main formation and sighed: "General Hu is also abnormal." ”

"What's wrong with General Hu?"

"I know General Hu and his person, fierce and brave, in the past, when he attacked with him, he often took the lead, and in the current war, since the Huaxiong Department rushed for a while, there has been no movement on his side. With General Hu's ability, he would never know that this matter should be combined to attack Cao Ying! ”

Xu Rong is known in the Dong army as a soldier and a person, when he said this, both left and right felt that Hu Zhen was extremely strange, and some generals suddenly said: "General, could it be that General Hu deliberately made our troops attack first, he can sit back and enjoy his success." ”

Xu Rong said with a complicated expression: "At this time, it is not appropriate to speculate about General Hu, you should go to General Hu's formation quickly, and take my words: You should attack quickly with all your strength today, otherwise there is a risk of defeat." ”

Not long after, the generals sent to Hu Zhen's formation returned.

Xu Rong asked, "What did General Hu say?" ”

The general replied: "General Hu ordered the general to continue the onslaught, and he continued to wait for the opportunity. ”

"What?! Didn't you tell him about the suspicions in the battle? ”

"Having said that, General Hu replied: Xu Zhonglang is too suspicious."

Xu Rong was very angry, the facts were in front of him, why did he become suspicious? At this time, he couldn't help but think of the exclusion of those Liangzhou generals when he followed Dong Zhuo around to fight in the past, isn't today's situation a reproduction of the past? Thinking of this, Xu Rong was even more annoyed, the mud bodhisattva still has eight points of temper, he Xu Rong endured for many years, in order to rely on his own ability to gradually change the way others think about him, judging from Hu Zhen's performance today, his years of efforts seem to be in vain.

Xu Rong was silent for a long time, his thoughts were flying, heaven and man were fighting, and finally thanked Dong Zhuo for his promotion and kindness, and said: "No matter what, I expect that Cao Cao will be tired, and General Hu may not notice it for a while...... Anyway, we will continue to attack the camp and break through Cao Ren's defenses, and General Hu will always make a move at that time. ”

So he ordered to go down, ride and foot, and continue to storm Cao Ren's camp.

It was morning when Gan Ning and Wang Yan arrived, and at that time the Dong army had already lined up and started a continuous offensive, and it was not until the afternoon that Xu Rong's main formation gave Cao Ren a chance to breathe.

Wang Yan also saw this opportunity to come to Cao Ren's military camp.

After seeing Wang Yan, Cao Ren was overjoyed and said, "Xu Hou is here?" ”

Wang Yan shook his head and said, "Dume and Gan Xingba led the headquarters to support. ”

Cao Ren was slightly disappointed, but it was fleeting, and he said: "Now that Jinjun and Gan Xingba are here, we can hold on for many days, so after the Dagu Pass is broken, Hu, Xu and other thieves will retreat!" ”

Wang Yan was surprised: "The general is still unwilling to retreat? ”

Before Cao Ren could answer, Cao Hong asserted on the side: "Unless Meng De and Xu Hou break through the Dagu Pass, Zixiao and I will never take half a step back!" ”

Cao Ren continued: "If you don't want to stay here, we don't blame you, just go." ”

Wang Yan was agitated by Cao Ren, and said angrily: "Are there only two loyal martyrs in the world?" Gan Xingba and I both received the great favor of Xu Hou, and we are willing to fight to the death for Xu Hou! ”

Cao Ren laughed and said, "That's very good! This place is narrow, and there are no more than half a thousand horses, I mean, you and General Gan just look at the situation from afar, and when our troops can't hold on, then lead the troops to help! ”

With Cao Ren's words, Wang Yan returned to the main formation to find Gan Ning, and after Gan Ning heard about it, he sighed again: "Cao Zixiao and Cao Zilian are really heroic!" Well, let's do it according to this law! ”