"Cao Ren is here to fight hard!"

It was Liu Bei who said this, and at this time he was personally leading people to besiege Cao Ren in the field and the thousands of last remnants of the army at the core. But seeing that Cao Ren was like a mad tiger, he led these thousands of people, and almost fought to the death with Zhang Fei and Zhang Liao who surrounded him. His arm was already wounded, and at this time he relied on a single knife to kill the enemy. There were already more than a dozen wounds on his body, large and small, but he didn't realize it and continued to fight. What's even more terrifying is that he is not alone, almost all of these thousands of Cao soldiers are so willing to sacrifice their lives and forget to die.

"Lord, this should be Cao Ying's Qingzhou soldier!" Chen Gong, who drove forward, looked at the vicious fight in the field, and sighed softly. Liu Bei nodded, he knew that the Qingzhou soldiers were absolutely loyal to Cao Ying, and when they were cornered, it was Cao Ying who took in these desperate Yellow Turban remnants. Since Chu Ping defected to Cao Ying in the third year, they only identified with Cao Ying as the main father. Historically, even if it was Cao Pi's account, Cao Pi's heir, they didn't buy it at all. If you want them to surrender, that's don't think about it.

"300,000 Qingzhou troops, if they are all so tenacious, how should I compete with Cao Mengde?" Liu Bei valued the thousands of people who refused to surrender in the field, and also muttered to himself. When Chen Gong on the side heard this, he hurriedly opened his mouth to convince him: "Although the Qingzhou soldiers are diehard loyalists of Cao Ying, there will not be so many as 300,000. Cao Mengde has always exaggerated, when he incorporated the Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army, there were indeed millions of people, but excluding the families of the rebels, the most people who were organized into an army were 70,000 or 80,000. The rest were either used as tuntian guests, or incorporated into the rest of the military horses. If it was 300,000 troops and horses, everyone fought to the death like this, why was Cao Mengde so embarrassed in Guandu back then, and Yuan Benchu would have been defeated in one fell swoop. ”

"That's right!" Liu Bei reacted, and he was also a little embarrassed about his suitable grass and trees. Looking at Chen Gong, Liu Bei knew that as Cao Ying's former friend, he should know these things. At this time, although the Qingzhou soldiers in the field were fighting desperately, after all, Liu Jun was not paper-based, and with an absolute advantage in numbers, they gradually gradually controlled the situation.

Cao Ren didn't know how long he had been killed, he didn't know how many knives he had been hit, and he wasn't in the mood to care about who of his subordinates had just fallen, he only knew that he was about to run out of strength. Finally, after cutting down another enemy, Cao Ren felt a numbness in his hand, and the single knife in his hand almost flew out of his hand. In his busy schedule, he looked down and saw that the knife in his hand had been notched in many places and could no longer be used.

With such a distraction, Cao Ren suddenly felt that something was not quite right around him. It's quiet, it's too quiet, it's not like it's in the middle of a fierce battle. Cao Ren looked up a little dazedly, but found that there was a large area around, and only he was still standing here. The large area that fell around was all his own people and Liu Bei's people. After seeing this scene, Cao Ren knew that the general trend had really gone. As soon as this breath fell, Cao Ren suddenly had no strength to continue to fight again, the knife in his hand fell to the ground with a "boom", and the whole person squatted down and gasped.

"Cao Zixiao, don't come unharmed!" Although he knew that it was impossible for Cao Ren to surrender, Liu Bei still said hello. Hearing this, Cao Ren cheered up and raised his head. Looking at Liu Bei in the distance, and Zhang Fei and others who were on guard around him, Cao Ren took a long breath before saying: "Uncle Liu Huang has been absent for a long time, and now it is said that Cao Ren's soldiers are defeated here, and he only complains that his skills are not as good as others." Now, there is only one thing to ask for. ”

"What?" Liu Bei didn't know what Cao Ren would ask him for, so he couldn't help but be surprised. But Cao Ren smiled and said: "I just ask Uncle Huang to bury me back to the ancestral grave of the Cao family in my hometown in Qian County, I am very grateful!" After speaking, Cao Ren crossed the single knife in his hand and pulled it hard at his neck.

In the splattering of blood, Cao Ren's burly figure fell to the ground. Looking at Cao Ren's corpse, Liu Bei seemed to come back to his senses for a while, and finally sighed: "Pass the order, prepare a good coffin, and send Cao Zixiao back to Qian County for burial, as he wishes!" ”

"Lord, Cao Ren is Cao Ying's cousin after all. I think it's better to leave this matter to Cao Ying himself, I'm an outsider after all! Pang Tong on the side admonished. Liu Bei didn't think there was anything wrong with hearing this, so he nodded and handed it over to Pang Tong to handle the matter. Chen Gong and Xu Shu on the side frowned slightly when they heard this, but they didn't say anything after all.

Pang Tong's words, although they sound relatively humane, are even very kind. But his real intention is to use Cao Ren's death to stimulate Cao Ying. After all, Cao Ren is Cao Ying's cousin, and he has followed him for many years since he started the army, and his friendship is not trivial. No matter how calm Cao Ying is, in the face of Cao Ren's corpse, he will be extremely angry and even lose his mind. In this way, it will be easier to lose his cool, which will make Liu Bei more likely to take advantage of it. Although this method is effective, they really disdain to use this somewhat indiscriminate method. But now that Pang Tong has used it, even if they oppose it, it is not easy to say it clearly.

Due to the timely opening of the city gates, the battle of Tiger Prison Pass eventually turned into a street fight. Of the 40,000 Cao troops guarding the pass, more than 30,000 were killed or captured, of which 5,000 Qingzhou soldiers were all killed, and thousands of people fled through the back door of the city. Correspondingly, Liu Bei's army and horses also lost more than 20,000 people. The first battle of the Northern Expedition was so tragic that Liu Bei sighed.

What Liu Bei didn't expect was that it was not just in the Tiger Prison. At this time in Hanzhong, there was also a scuffle. On a remote road in the Qinling Mountains, Xia Houen was leading the five thousand elite soldiers, under the leadership of several local hunters, to prepare to cross the large camp set up by the Sichuan army at the intersection, and then kill the opponent's rear, and kill Zhao Feng by surprise.

"Summons the order, take a break!" Xia Houen looked at the scorching sun, and also ordered the whole army to rest for the time being. This was the fifth day they had entered the Qinling Mountains, and according to Orion, who was acting as a guide, it would take three days to completely bypass the enemy camp.

"If you take the valley road directly, you can save more than 200 miles of mountain roads, at least a few days. It takes so much time to detour this path, and the path in this river is difficult to walk. Xiahouen, who was in the shade of the tree, also muttered to himself with some complaints. As soon as he finished speaking, a smug voice came from above his head: "Since it's difficult to leave, don't go!" ”

"Who?" Xia Houen was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly looked up. But the next scene simply made Xia Houen's soul fly: countless strange foot soldiers, like evil ghosts descending from the sky, slaughtered from the grass on both sides of the mountain road, from the trees, and even from behind the stones. These people are all athletic and extremely flexible. Dressed in a strange rattan coat and painted with oil paint on his face, he brandished his sword in his hand and screamed at their thousands of helpless soldiers.

"Hurry up and get into battle!" After Xia Houen reacted, he was immediately anxious, and hurriedly ordered to engage in battle. But as soon as they fought, these Cao Jun were suddenly taken aback. Not only because the opponent's skills are extremely athletic, but also because they are really weird, their own swords are cut up, the fragile rattan armor is actually not moving, their weapons are all swinged, this group of enemies is simply invulnerable.

These Cao soldiers are all elites under Xiahou Yuan, and they are also healthy people in the army. They have also seen opponents who are generally skilled, so they will not panic in any case. But now this group of enemies is really terrifying, their faces are colorful, their skills are invulnerable, and with their skills, they are simply devilish. As soon as this thought came to mind, these brave soldiers also lost their fighting spirit, and more and more people began to retreat, looking for a way to escape.

"Damn, why can't you kill it!" Xia Houen made several consecutive swords to no avail, and suddenly became anxious. Gritting his teeth, Xia Houen threw down the steel knife in his hand, pulled out the long sword behind his back and fought again.

"Snort" several swords, several enemy soldiers were also cut off the rattan armor, and then people were also hacked to death. But this kind of magic weapon is not available to everyone, and Xia Houen's small efforts really can't make waves. After a short time, the rest of the soldiers were either killed, captured or surrendered, leaving Xia Houen still leading hundreds of people to resist stubbornly. Wang Ping and Zhu Ran, who led the team, glanced at each other, and invariably stepped forward to attack Xia Houen together.

Xia Houen is inferior to either of them in terms of martial arts. Although there is an extra sword, it is still not an opponent. If it weren't for the fact that the two of them were afraid that the sword in his hand was as sharp as clay, and they didn't dare to use their own blades to catch it, Xia Houen would have been knocked down in less than ten moves. Rao is like this, after dozens of moves, Xia Houen was still kicked in the stomach by Wang Pingxun, and the whole person was kicked to the ground, and before he could get up, he already had several blades on his neck.

"Good guys!" Looking at the sword that Xia Houen had just captured in his hand, Wang Ping was also full of praise. Looking at the two ancient seal characters on the scabbard, Wang Ping was illiterate, so he naturally didn't know what was written. Zhu Ran stepped forward to take a few looks, and also said lightly: "Qingyu Sword? ”

"How can you be a general, do you know this sword?" Wang Pingqi said. Zhu Ran nodded, and then spoke: "I heard that Cao Ying has two swords, one is leaning on the sky and the other is Qingyu, and the end is sharpened like clay. The Heavenly Sword Cao Ying is self-matched, and the green steel sword is worn by his nephew Xia Houen. It seems that this guy is Xia Houen! ”

"Yifeng is really well-informed, Wang Ping admires it!" Wang Ping knew that Zhu Ran was born in a big family in Wuzhong, and his knowledge was much stronger than that of his own old man. I don't want Zhu Ran to smile and say: "How do I know this, it's just that I heard General Zhao talk about it by accident in the past!" ”

"I see!" Wang Ping nodded at this time, looked at the sword in his hand, Wang Ping thought for a while and said: "Wang Ping is grateful to General Zhao for his kindness, and he can't repay it. Now I want to send this sword to General Yu and talk about my thoughts, I don't know what General Zhu thinks? ”

Although Wang Ping came from a humble background, he also knew the sophistication of people. Xia Houen was captured by himself and Zhu Ran, and how to dispose of the loot still needs to be discussed with Zhu Ran. Zhu Ran thought for a while, remembering that he was Sun Quan's hair, and since Sun Quan was exterminated over the years, Zhao Feng still placed himself in Hanzhong to avoid being excluded with Sun's old ministers, which can be regarded as a favor to himself. Now I might as well follow Wang Ping and be a favor, and I agreed at the moment.

"Zijun, Yifeng, you guys are so angry, Zhao deserves it!" Looking at the Qingyu Sword in his hand, Zhao Feng also couldn't put it down. This kind of divine weapon, who doesn't love it when you practice martial arts? Zhao Yun is not here now, so he will cheapen himself.

"The general's words are serious, by the way, the general, then Xia Houen has been captured, I don't know how the general is going to deal with it?" Wang Ping asked hurriedly after being modest. Zhao Feng smiled when he heard this, and then waved his hand and said: "Tie him up and hang it in front of the army with his banner, Xiahou Yuan will see it, and he will naturally know what to do!" ”

"General, Xiahou En is Xiahou Yuan's nephew, if you humiliate him, won't Xiahou Yuan have to fight with us?" Wang Ping couldn't help but be surprised when he heard this.

"Hehe, Xiahou Yuan marched into Xiegu Road, and sooner or later the grain and grass would run out. The reason why he refused to withdraw his troops was because he was counting on this Xiahuen's surprise attack. After seeing his nephew, Xiahou Yuan naturally knew what was important. Unless he wants to bury all the 100,000 troops here, he will definitely retreat! Zhao Feng said confidently.

"Or so!" Zhu Ran nodded and said, and immediately ordered someone to tie Xia Houen to the front of the army, and bind him to a wooden stake, and hang his war chess together. After Cao Jun's patrol guards saw it, they hurriedly went to report to Xiahou Yuan.

"What?" Knowing that his nephew was captured alive, Xiahou Yuan was also taken aback. After a long pause, Xiahou Yuan suddenly ordered: "Pass my general's order, and the whole army will retreat to Chang'an as soon as possible!" ”

"General, no matter the major general?" When Xia Houlan heard this order, she couldn't help but wonder. Hearing this, Xiahou Yuan smiled bitterly and said, "The reason why Zhao Botao tied En'er to show the public is to tell me not to count on his strange army anymore. If I stay here any longer, once the food and grass run out, it will be a death, and it is better to withdraw the army as soon as possible. "Having said that, being eaten to death like this, Xiahou Yuan really felt aggrieved.

"I see!" Xia Houlan nodded and went to arrange the withdrawal of the army. After a few days, Cao's army all withdrew from Xiegu Road, and Zhao Feng also released Xiahouen as Xiahou Yuan wished. In this battle of Hanzhong, in the end, Zhao Feng relied on his geographical advantage to let Xiahou Yuan return in vain. But the two of them felt very aggrieved in their fight, Xiahou Yuan was like this, and so was Zhao Feng. The latter has advocated attacking all his life, but he encountered Xiahou Yuan several times, and he was forced to defend because of insufficient troops, which was really aggrieved.

"Xiahou seconds, I really hope to have a chance to compete with you!" Zhao Feng muttered to himself. Xiahou Yuan has always fought bravely in battle, and it is definitely worth looking forward to having a good fight with him. However, what Zhao Feng didn't expect was that he had never been able to have such an opportunity.

It was only Zhao Feng and Xiahou Yuan who were aggrieved, and at this time, Cao Ying, the king and prime minister of Wei in the current dynasty, was at ease by the Yellow River and valued the mighty river crossing team. He personally led an army of 200,000 to the south to deal with Liu Bei, and he was already halfway across the river.

"King Wei, King Wei!" Just when Cao Ying was in high spirits, he saw a horse coming quickly from afar, but the person on the horse was the strategist Cheng Yu, who shouted while coming.

"Zhongde, why are you so panicked, you can't hold your breath, isn't it learning from Xu Ziyuan?" Cao Ying, who was in a good mood, also made a joke, and as soon as he said this, even Xu Chu, who had always been serious beside him, couldn't help grinning. A few years ago, Cao Ying couldn't bear it, and finally found a no, and sent him to Bohai to be a small county prince, just asking for nothing to be pure.

"King Wei!" Cheng Yu's tone was anxious, and he didn't mean to joke at all. Looking at the smile on Cao Ying's face, Cheng Yu gritted his teeth and said honestly: "According to the Tanmalai report, Liu Bei has already led the army to break through the Tiger Prison Pass, and General Cao Ren died on the battlefield!" ”

"What?" Suddenly hearing the bad news, Cao Ying only felt that the world was spinning in his mind, and he got off the horse as soon as it was dark.

(To be continued)