The scorching autumn sun is not inferior to the scorching sun, and the scorching hot weather is unbearable, but the whole month and a half of siege battles have made the sky above Tancheng smell of disgusting corpses.

Flies flying all over the sky, dense mosquitoes, raging and spreading in Tancheng, in just ten days, non-combat attrition, has exceeded 1,000 people, it is obvious that the epidemic began to spread in Tancheng.

The epidemic appeared ten days ago, and Han Lie, who got the news, immediately asked Diao Chan in the city to send an eagle message to Zhang Yao, who stayed in Linhuai, with a sparrowhawk, informing Chen Deng to contact Hua Tuo and rush to Tancheng immediately.

The people of Tancheng City, including the soldiers, are now more than 350,000 people, if there is a big plague, the result is unpredictable, so at this time, Han Lie also began to be anxious.

Early in the morning, the command post of the city tower in the east city of Tancheng. After Han Lie summoned all the generals to gather, he said in a serious voice: "There is an epidemic in the city, this is definitely not good news for us, we have been defending Tancheng for forty-six days, and the morale of the Cao army has almost worn out, so it is time to counterattack, so I unanimously decided with the military division that when the enemy is attacking the city, Gongming and Ziyi will lead the troops to meet the frontal attack, and Zilong and Youping will attack left and right, and take advantage of the situation to cover up and enter the Cao army's camp, or die. ”

"Whoa." In the battle of defending the city for more than a month, the role of the Red Flame Army is more of the role of firefighters, basically where there is danger, they will appear in that section of the city wall.

The soldiers and horses who held the first line of the city on the city wall were mainly more than 34,000 people and horses in Xuzhou headquarters in Taoqian City, and these horses were arranged on the front line, not because Han Lie deliberately framed them, but because Han Lie saw that these more than 30,000 people and horses, although they were also well-trained, their real field strength was obviously inferior to that of the Red Flame Army.

For this reason, in order to preserve the combat effectiveness of the Red Flame Army, Han Lie had to arrange for the soldiers and horses in the city to fight with Cao Cao, which did not last for 46 days of offensive and defensive battles, and more than 23,000 people died in the city.

While paying such heavy casualties, Cao Cao's soldiers and horses also paid a casualty rate of up to 50,000, of course, this does not refer to Cao Cao's core soldiers and horses, because among these casualties, nearly 30,000 of them are actually the people who were coerced by Cao Cao along the way, that is, the people who served as cannon fodder.

Even so, Cao Cao's 35,000 men and horses were lost by at least half, and their morale had dropped to the extreme.

Not to mention that it was because of the epidemic, even if there was no epidemic, the time set by Han Lie and Guo Jia to counterattack was also on the fiftieth day of Cao's army's attack on Xuzhou.

After the generals left with the order, Han Lie looked at Guo Jia, who was a little pale, with concern, and said, "Fengxiao, from today onwards, don't go out of the command post at all, and be kind to recuperate." ”

"Don't worry, my lord, it's just a little feverish, and there's nothing serious." Guo Jia coughed lightly a few times and said with a hint of a smile.

"You have a thin body, you can't be sloppy in this matter, you must listen to me." Han Lie firmly vetoed: "Ling Tong, from today onwards, until the military division recovers from his illness, you are not allowed to leave a single step, nor are you allowed to move around, if there is a mistake, the military law will deal with it." ”

"Whoa." In the past few months, Ling Tong's character has also sharpened and stabilized a lot, and his size has grown a lot, and his strong physique has already taken on the appearance of an adult.

Walking out of the command post, Han Lie said to Zhang Fen again: "Around the command post, arrange sergeants day and night, light wormwood, expel flies and mosquitoes, and all windows are covered with gauze, which must not only prevent insects, but also transmit light." ”

"Whoa." Zhang Fen hurriedly responded.

Coming to the entrance of the female wall, Han Lie, who was covered with a wet cloth on his face, isolated the rancid smell from around the city wall, and looked up, because the Cao army had not yet attacked the city, the soldiers on the city wall were busy preparing the rolling stone and wood to defend the city, but at this time, everyone's face was covered with a wet cloth.

The wet cloths were proposed by Han Lie, and these wet cloths were soaked in the potion, which not only had a certain disinfection effect, but also played a role in isolating the rancid smell.

Although the battle has not yet begun, but the battle that lasted for more than a month, on the walls of Tancheng, you can see bloodstains everywhere, especially at the foot of the city wall, piled with burned corpses, although most of these corpses are the enemy's, but there are also many soldiers defending the city.

Burning the corpse, it was also an order given by Han Lie, the reason why this order was issued, there was no way, thousands of corpses fell under the city every day, if they were not burned, then the rancid lesions caused would be even more terrifying, on the contrary, burning the corpses at night every day, although it seemed cruel, it was actually better to protect the people in the city from being infected by the epidemic.

But even from the very beginning of the battle, Han Lie urged Chen Qi, Mi Zhu and others to repeatedly rectify sanitation and control water sources in the city, but the scorching hot weather and brutal fighting still caused epidemics.

As soon as the sky was brightened, Cao Cao, who had not slept all night, summoned the generals to his Chinese army tent to discuss military matters.

"Now the situation is very unfavorable to us, yesterday I received news from Wen Ruo from Dongjun, Lu Bu, who was recommended by Yuan Shao as the captain of Si Li, appeared in Guandu, and the direction is likely to be Chen Liu, or Dongjun, it seems that this time the battle against Xuzhou had to end early." Cao Cao is a man who wants to save face, although he has fought so far, he has admitted defeat in his heart, but on the surface he does not have the slightest intention of admitting defeat.

"Lord, Dongjun is where I am fundamental, if there is a loss, my tens of thousands of soldiers will have nowhere to return, now although we have not been able to take Xuzhou, but the war for more than a month, but has already given Xuzhou a great shock to the military and civilians, is a three-year-old child, hearing the name of the lord is also frightened, at this time had to retreat, to make a comeback next time, will be able to take Xuzhou in one fell swoop." Don't drive Cheng Yu, the word Zhongde, knowing that at this time, maintaining Cao Cao's face is related to the morale of the three armies, so he rushed out of the way.

"What Lord Cheng said is very true, but if we retreat rashly like this, I am afraid that the defenders in the city will inevitably follow and pursue, and we need to think of a foolproof strategy. In addition, there is not much grain and grass left in our army, and the next batch of grain and grass will arrive in about five days, so we will notify the general Che who transports the grain first, turn around from Xiapi, and go to Guangqi to station, meet our department and prepare ships, so that the army can take a boat from Guangqi Water to Juye, which can not only reduce the distance, but also allow the soldiers to rest. Dong Zhao also said that although he did not explicitly say that he would withdraw from the army, this remark naturally showed that he also supported the withdrawal of the army.

"What do you generals think?" Cao Cao's expression did not move, and he squinted slightly and looked at the generals and asked.

"Ask the lord to give the order." Xiahoudun, Cao Ren, Yu Ban and other generals, although they also hope to withdraw from the army, but the battle is fought to this extent, under the loss of the generals, they are also disgraced, if there is no Cao Cao's general order, they dare not easily retreat, as a general, if the retreat is light, it will affect morale, and the heavy will shake the morale of the army.

"Zhongde is right, Yanzhou is my foundation, and I can't afford to lose." Cao Cao's words basically set the tone, and then he suddenly stood up, opened his mouth and said with a smile: "Victory and defeat are a common thing in soldiers, and this expedition to Xuzhou is indeed a bit busy, but Han Ziyang is indeed a strong opponent." ”

Seeing that Cao Cao was suddenly in a good mood and laughed, the hearts of the generals were also relieved, and they laughed in agreement.

"When the army moves, it moves the whole body. Judging from the recent battle scenes, Han Ziyang did not use all his strength, this person is good at using strange soldiers, daring to fight bravely, if we retreat rashly, he will inevitably chase and fight, so we really need to arrange. Cao Cao's expression then changed, and he said solemnly: "Cao Ren, Cao Hong, and Ru are still leading the army to attack the city, and the rest of the generals will pack up the camp, and at dusk, the whole army will begin to retreat, but I expect that the news of our retreat will not be able to hide from Han Lie for long, in order to cut off the enemy's pursuit." ”

"Xiahou Yuan, you lead 3,000 troops, ambush in the dense forest south of Tancheng, responsible for blocking Han Lie's pursuers, Xiahou Yuan, you personally lead our 5,000 cavalry, hide on the south bank of the Kaiyang River, and when Xiahou Yuan and Han Lie's troops are fighting, take advantage of the situation to cover up and kill from the rear, remember to hit the ear and flee immediately."

"Whoa!" All the generals in the tent were relieved at this moment, and there was no shadow in the slightest because of the defeat and retreat. The reason why this is the case is because Xiahoudun and the others have already seen that if they want to capture Tancheng, unless it is the help of God, it is basically impossible to succeed, so this retreat is the most correct choice in their opinion.

Just when the Cao army camp began to prepare for retreat in an orderly manner, Cao Ren and Cao Hong, who were responsible for leading the troops to feign a siege, were hit head-on.

Cao Rengang, who was in front of the military formation, was about to order the archers to advance, ready to suppress, and cover the infantry to enter the city to fight, only to see that the city gate, which had been closed for more than a month, suddenly made a violent sound, and then an army with bright armor, neat military formation, and fluttering flags, like an arrow from the string.

The general headed by Xu Huang is the second general of Tai Shici. Holding an axe and a gun, under the escort of the former soldiers, he rushed straight into the enemy formation, this is Xu Huang's style of play, that is, he dares to fight hard.

The long drive straight into Xu Gongming is not in vain, his front army not only moves quickly, but also dares to fight to the death, thousands of foot soldiers, in a short-distance assault, he can command the soldiers under his command like an arm, with an astonishing speed of mobile assault, straight through the enemy's military formation.

When the enemy reacted, he had already led the army to rush in front of the opponent's army formation, and at this time, the elite in front of his team was everyone holding iron shields and short blades, rushing into the enemy formation like a tiger, tearing a hole directly from the middle, and the sergeants behind would follow this opening, forming an iron stream, penetrating the enemy's central army formation.

Although the rear camp commanded by Tai Shi Ci was also foot soldiers, there were 500 strong archers trained by him, and these 500 sergeants, each of whom had amazing arm strength, was selected from each army to be good at shooting, and everyone could shoot a divine arm bow of more than two stones.

And Tai Shi Ci himself is a marksman, not only can he open a three-stone divine arm bow, or even a five-stone divine arm bow, he can also shoot twenty arrows in a row and be exhausted, and it is not an archery standing still, but on the battlefield of galloping horses, even Han Lie was amazed by his amazing archery skills, praising him as a two-eagle Tai Shi Ci with one stone.

Xu Huang's front army is good at close combat, and Tai Shici's rear army is good at long-range attacks, and the two cooperate to complement each other.

At this time, when Cao Ren and Cao Hong were caught off guard, Xu Huang's front army tore a hole in front of Cao Ren's army array, and Tai Shici, who followed closely, held a five-stone divine arm bow, and took advantage of the panic of the enemy's army formation, pulling the bow and arrows, and the wolf arrows made of fine iron, with a sound of breaking wind, shot directly on the flagpole behind Cao Ren in the Cao army's army formation like lightning.

"Bang!" The wrist-thick flagpole broke in response, and the Caozi military flag on it rose with the wind and fell from the heads of the soldiers in the military formation.

"Shhh Cao Ren, who was only ten steps away from the flagpole, looked at the flagpole that fell under his feet, and the wolf arrow that fell, but he couldn't help but gasp, although he didn't see who released the arrow in the battle, but at this moment, the closest enemy army to him was at least a hundred steps away, which means that the person who shot the arrow was at least at this distance.

Bending a bow and shooting arrows to kill people from a hundred steps away is not a big deal for Cao Ren, but if he shoots a flagpole that is no more than the thickness of his wrist, this is not what he can do, seeing that there is such a marksman in the enemy formation, he can't help but gasp.

If the arrow just shot at him, Cao Ren didn't think that he would be able to dodge it in such a chaotic situation.

"Hurry, hurry, Zilian immediately gathered the formation, blew the horn, and waited for the lord's help." Cao Ren was worried that the target on the horse's back was too big, but he turned over and got off the horse, and shouted at Cao Hong on the other side.

"Second brother, you stay in command of the Chinese army, and I will go to supervise the battle in front of the battle." Cao Hong is the age of blood and strength, for more than a month, after more than a month, he has gone through hard battles, but he has never even touched a single hair of the enemy, he has long been suffocated, this will see Han Lie's soldiers and horses actually rushing towards him, he was not shocked, but erupted bloodily, roared angrily and waved his sword and rushed to the front of the military formation.

"Foolish, you stinky boy, come back quickly." Seeing this, Cao Ren shouted angrily, but his shouts were muffled by arrows falling from the sky and the deafening shouts of killing on the battlefield.

"Kill, kill, kill......"

The officers and soldiers of the former military department of the Red Flame Army, under the command of the main general Xu Huang, roared and rushed into the Cao Ren army formation, the morale was like a rainbow, and most of the troops of Xu Huang, who was not afraid of death, were melee blades with ring-headed knives.

The ringhead knife made of fine iron is light and sharp, wide open and closed, and is most suitable for melee white-knuckle confrontations.

This kind of short-range combat formation was trained by Han Lie based on the experience of later generations, and then promoted it throughout the Red Flame Army, but only Xu Huang was the only one who really brought the power of this short-range assault combat to the extreme.

Cao Hong, who was strong in blood, led his troops to rush to the front of the military formation, and he suddenly found that the more than ten sergeants who had just taken a look at him and guarded his war horse fell in a pool of blood like autumn wind sweeping away leaves.

"Damn." Cao Hong, whose eyes were red, snorted coldly, and the long knife in his hand fell, and when the sharp blade slashed down one of the Red Flame Army soldiers who rushed towards him, the other two sergeants slashed at him with swords.

Cao Hong, whose face was cold, was castrated with the long knife in his hand, and with a backhand, the two sergeants who rushed forward died under his knife.

Cao Hong, who was holding a long knife, wearing armor, and boasting of a war horse, killed three people in a row between his starts, and while encouraging the left and right sergeants, he couldn't help but attract the attention of the officers and soldiers of the Red Flame Army in front of the military formation.

"General Cao Jun, the brothers are shoulder to shoulder, behead him, at least you can get the third class of military merit." A soldier's eyes shone brightly, and he rushed forward with a knife, and at this moment, in the eyes of this soldier, Cao Hong undoubtedly represented the dazzling merit medal.

Han Lie's twentieth class meritorious service award, in addition to the real reward, anyone who has accumulated five levels of meritorious service, will also be awarded a meritorious medal, such as the fifth class is a gold fifth-class meritorious medal, and the tenth class is engraved with the tenth class meritorious medal, and it is awarded in front of the whole army, and its meritorious service will be publicized in the place where the sergeant's household registration is located.

"Kill, kill, kill......"

Under the roar of the soldier, the left and right foot soldiers swarmed up, and rushed towards Cao Hong one after another with a sword.

"A group of ants......" Cao Hong shouted, and slashed down with a swing of his knife, and the soldiers behind him also pounced.

On the narrow battlefield, in a short time of incense, hundreds of sergeants fell in a pool of blood, including the Red Flame Army and the Cao Army, basically all the fallen sergeants fought to the death head-on.

In the fierce battle on this side, with the soldiers who led the team, Cao Hong's head was cut off with a knife, and when he was frustrated, Xu Huang, who was on the other side of the military formation, was also attracted to his eyes. (To be continued.) )