200,000 elite men and horses gathered in Xiangfan, which was destined to be the largest war after the Battle of Chibi, and the defeat of the Jiangdong army in Jingnan lost too many troops, and it was no longer able to compete with Cao Liu, and once Liu Bei's men and horses defeated Cao Cao, Xiangfan was returned to Liu Bei At the same time, it also means that Liu Bei's military horses have the ability to threaten Cao Cao in the front.

In fact, although the previous battle of the ditch and the battle of Hanzhong, although Liu Beijun defeated the Cao army, but the Cao army did not suffer substantial losses, in fact, the people of Bazhong and Hanzhong were moved into the Guanzhong, and the fertile fields of Guanzhong that were deserted because of the war were enough to fill the losses of the Cao army in these two battles, and even exceeded, in the long run, it was a far-sighted move.

Because the land in Guanzhong is fertile, what is lacking is only the cultivators, and with the cultivators, the military resources can be replenished at the same time, and the national strength can be more enriched.

Cao Cao, who has always been strong, can also endure the defeat of his subordinates in the ditch and Hanzhong.

However, the battle of Xiangfan is related to the change of the situation of the two forces in the future, for Liu Beijun, if he wants to revive the Han dynasty in the north, he must occupy Xiangfan, and then attack Wanluo.

For Cao Jun's generals, whether Yuzhou or Wanluo is an indispensable place, both places are grain producing areas, and Yuzhou is densely populated, with many talents, which is a symbol of the Xu capital of the center of the world at this moment, and it is also under the protection of Xiangfan, once Guan Yu breaks through Xiangfan, it will inevitably lead to a series of drastic changes, so Cao Cao can not let out Xiangfan, and he is unwilling to let go.

In the specific situation at this moment, the Jingzhou army and horses still have an advantage, after all, the big city of Xiangyang is already in the hands of the Jingzhou army, and there are only less than 5,000 defenders in Fancheng. However, outside Fancheng, there are more than 40,000 elites eyeing Fancheng, and the reason why they can't capture Fancheng is that they can't capture Fancheng. It's just because Fancheng has been transformed into a military city in the simple sense of the word for Cao Ren, and there are no civilian facilities at all.

The city has already prepared enough grain and grass, enough for the military horses in the city to eat for one or two years, which is ready to defend the city to the death, and it is Guan Yu to attack the city several times. None of them could taste what they wanted, and they thought about the methods of fire attack and water attack, but they only killed and injured many scholars in the city, but they could not shake the slightest trace of this fortified city.

Zhang He's men and horses surrounded Xiangyang City and attacked day and night, but the city was more than 10,000 elites of the Jingzhou army led by Zhao Lei, so he used the method of military and surrounded it by ten. Five is to attack, double is to fight, the enemy can be divided, less can escape, if not, can be avoided. Therefore, the small enemy is strong, and the big enemy is also captured.

At this moment, Zhang He is only more than 30,000 people, and it is really difficult to attack Xiangyang, but at this time, he shows the abundance of a famous general. Although there are only 30,000 horses, Zhang He uses the terrain and clever tricks. Although Zhao Lei is the former military governor, he is responsible for the grain and grass of the Jingzhou army, and he is the grain officer.

To be able to face the world's famous general Zhang He, it is not easy to defend this city.

Zhang He's eyes were gloomy, and the deputy general on his side couldn't help but feel related when he saw Zhang He at this moment. Because he has been Zhang He's deputy general for more than ten years, since the defeat and injury of Zhang He Hanzhong, his temperament has changed greatly, and every time he kills the enemy, he is very ruthless, and he is also a lot more ruthless.

The last time he was ordered to exterminate the traitors in Wancheng, Zhang He used a trick to open the city gate, and actually killed all the rebels in the city, and the blood filled Luoshui, and the corpses even blocked Luoshui, which made people shudder.

At this time, Xiangyang City was already shrouded in night, a hundred days passed, but Zhang He's troops did not truce, but lit torches, and fought hard to attack the city, Zhang He was already outside Xiangyang City, countless military horses stormed Xiangyang City under the cover of starlight bonfires.

Xiangyang City across Xiangshui, divided into two cities, the south city, the north city is connected by a rope bridge, the south city is slightly smaller, the north city is the main force of Zhao Lei, about 8,000 people.

And Zhang He has been storming the northern city, in fact, because although the southern city is only garrisoned by more than 2,000 troops and horses, but across the Xiangshui, Zhang He, who has only 30,000 people, will not waste his experience and wade through the water to attack. The north of the city has always been the focus of Zhang He's attack, but at this moment, Zhang He is standing in the east of Xiangyang City, near Xiangshui, with no more than 1,000 soldiers on his side.

"General, the selected Huishui soldiers have already set off, a total of more than 3,000 people, according to the general's strategy, while our army stormed the north city, attracted the attention of Zhao Lei, these 3,000 men and horses protruded from the water, killed the south city, to break the south city by surprise, so that the enemy army north and south can not be connected, must be disordered, so, our army will storm the north city again, it is bound to achieve the effect that the general wants!" The lieutenant said slowly.

Zhang He's temperament has long changed, since he hit his throat and shot through Huo Yi with an arrow, he barely saved his life, but his voice was extremely ugly, as if the roar like breaking the wind made people inexplicably have a heart-rending feeling.

Zhang He didn't speak, he was used to silence, and that kind of voice would make him feel extremely embarrassed, so he just nodded, and his eyes swept to the southern city of Xiangyang in the distance, his eyes were full of coldness.

"General! General Cao Ziwen of Fancheng sent an urgent report! The scout brought a letter.

Zhang He didn't take it, the deputy general immediately took the letter, as if he had long been used to it, slowly pulled off the seal, read it carefully, and after a while, the deputy general took a breath of cold air.

Looking up at Zhang He, Zhang He looked at the deputy general impatiently, and the deputy general said in a deep voice: "General, General Cao Ziwen's tiger and leopard cavalry suffered a loss in Fancheng, and it was Huo Yi's cavalry who came, taking advantage of General Cao's unpreparedness, to kill more than 2,000 tigers and leopards with more strikes and fewer shots!" ”

Zhang He also looked at the deputy general in astonishment, and the deputy general continued: "General Cao Ziwen wants our army to be careful of the other parts of Huo Yi's reinforcements, and not to advance lightly, he wants to retreat north to the north of Xiangyang, so as not to make dumplings for Huo Yi's army." ”

Zhang He just nodded slowly, but his eyes were still looking at the southern city of Xiangyang. Although Cao Zhang's warning is not unreasonable, he has been planning for a long time, and he has left the empty southern city and not attacked, just for this moment, how can he give up attacking the city for the illusory Huo Yi reinforcements? Isn't that funny? Moreover, this is a rare opportunity to capture Xiangyang City.

The deputy general knew Zhang He very well, and seeing that Zhang He was silent, he was also standing quietly beside Zhang He, and the deputy general said loudly: "General, we have agreed to attack Nancheng in the second half of the night, I think, it is still early, why don't you camp here and wait for a few hours?" ”

Zhang He nodded slowly, and the deputy general immediately ordered the soldiers to set up their tents.

Gan Ning's men and horses have arrived in Dangyang in this hundred days, and Xiangfan is already in sight, he has an attitude of peace of mind if he arrives sooner, and orders the navy to advance at full speed, and be sure to feel outside Xiangyang before the sun rises.

Xiangshui is slow and flat, and Gan Ning doesn't have to worry about the appearance of reefs that only appear in the river water in the Caichuan and Shu areas, but just urges the warships to move forward quickly. I was speeding up and wanted to arrive early.

The north of Xiangyang City is in full swing, but the south city is extremely calm, Wang Fu is guarding in the south city, the south city is not big, only one-fifth the size of the north city, and most of them are some warehouses, and the grain and grass of the defenders of Xiangyang City are here.

More than 2,700 soldiers were divided into three teams by Wang Fu, one round every four hours, to guard the city defense, and in peacetime, the soldiers stayed in the barracks near the city.

Every night, in addition to the 900 or so people who were normally garrisoned, there are also about 900 people who have to rest in the Tibetan cave at the head of the city to prevent accidents.

In the middle of the night, the water and grass in Xiangshui are overgrown near the city wall, and countless figures float up, these figures are extremely vigorous, and slowly climb the suspension bridge connecting the north and south cities on Xiangshui. Midnight is undoubtedly the moment when human willpower and vigilance drop to the lowest point, and this moment is the proof, most of the thirty or so soldiers guarding the suspension bridge are dozing off, and this moment is also the moment when the shift is about to change, and it is normal for the soldiers to be unable to hold on.

It was at this moment of dozing off that countless figures from the water quickly climbed onto the suspension bridge, and with the cooperation, the soldiers guarding the bridge were quickly resolved. Some were shot through the throat even while they were asleep.

Behind the drawbridge, there is the southern city, and the soldiers at the head of the city are all on the periphery, and no one notices that Cao Jun is so bold and steals the city from here.