"Zhang Liao is here!"

"Eat me with a knife!"

With these two shouts, Zhang Liao's silver spear and Gao Lan's big knife slashed at Xu Huang, who was in the lead. I didn't want the latter to seem to care, so he directly danced the big axe in his hand in a circle and slashed towards Zhang Gao and the others, but ignored the blades they handed to him. Zhang Liao and Gao Ran were shocked, but now is obviously not the time to accompany Xu Huang to the end, so they crossed the blade to block this move at the moment.

Xu Huang didn't bring many people, and there were no more than 10,000 people. After leaving with Zhang Liao and Gao Lan, Xu Huang quickly led the people he brought to the battlefield directly and rushed to the Luoshui River to open his jaw. Zhang Liao and Gao Ran hurriedly blocked, but their army formation was very open in the north-south direction, but the east-west direction was a little weak. As a result, the two suddenly failed to intercept it.

"Junyi, the big thing is not good, General Cao has been defeated and returned to the Tiger Prison, if we don't join him as soon as possible, I'm afraid that I will be outflanked and annihilated by Liu Bei!" As soon as he connected with Zhang Jaw, Xu Huang told him the latest news. Zhang Jaw was also surprised when he heard it, but then he looked at Xu Huang and exclaimed: "How can Gongming, you are left with such a few people?" ”

"This matter will be mentioned later, but for now, we should try to withdraw from the Tiger Prison Pass first!" Xu Huang gritted his teeth and said, while the two of them commanded the army to cross the river, they blocked Zhao Feng and Zhang Liao and others. At this time, Zhang Jaw and Xu Huang joined forces and had more than 50,000 troops. Zhao Feng, Zhang Liao and others only brought about 80,000 people. Although he has a little advantage, it is difficult to completely crush the opponent. However, they do not seem to be determined to do so, but to try to eliminate the living force of Cao's army as much as possible. And after Zhang Jaw crossed the river with Xu Huang himself, Cao Jun's fighting spirit was obviously discharged. There were more than 50,000 Cao troops, and less than 20,000 finally crossed the river with the two.

"Why did Xu Huang come here?" After the battle, Gao Ran also hurriedly asked. After everyone looked at each other, Zhao Feng speculated that his surname was authentic: "I think that Xu Huang sent scouts to find out about Cao Hong's fiasco, so he rose up and came to join Zhang Jaw and withdraw to the Tiger Prison Pass." It's a pity that I stopped Cao Hong, but didn't stop Xu Huang. Otherwise, neither of them will be able to run. ”

"Why should the general blame himself, the annihilation of nearly 30,000 Cao troops in this battle is already a big victory." Zhang Liao comforted. What they don't know now is that Xu Huang is also a strong man who broke his wrist this time. After learning the news of Cao Hong's defeat, Xu Huang immediately understood that his situation was very dangerous, so he could only gather more than 18,000 soldiers who could still move normally, and then converge to the west and retreat to Tiger Prison Pass. And the remaining 20,000 top-heavy soldiers were all left in Songshan Dazhai as abandoned children. Wang Ping didn't expect Xu Huang to be so decisive, and it was too late for him to order the pursuit. Xu Huang and Zhang Jaw withdrew through Luoshui, and then went all the way north to the Tiger Prison Pass to join Cao Hong. When the three soldiers and horses add up, there are about 100,000 left.

"Now nearly half of the soldiers and horses have been killed and wounded, and Liu Bei's army is overwhelmed. I think it's better to stick to the pass first and wait for the instructions of King Wei! Seeing such a situation, Cao Hong was also speechless. At this time, Tanma had already explored clearly, and Liu Bei had basically dealt with the interior, so he concentrated his efforts on dealing with their group of men and horses in Henan. Cao Hong had no choice but to ask Cao Ying what to do next. Fortunately, Liu Bei did not wave his army to attack. He had just escaped, and after fighting the battle with Xu Huang, he was also exhausted and was forced to temporarily retreat to Xuchang to recuperate.

"Of the 300,000 Northern Expeditionary Army, there are only more than 100,000 left, and some of them are controlled by Liu Shuye and Pang Shiyuan, entrenched in Jingnan. It is estimated that after the rebellion between the two is quelled, the losses of this advance will reach 200,000. Fortunately, Xu Huang abandoned more than 20,000 people in Songshan, and finally fought with Cao Hong and Zhang Jaw, and also captured more than 30,000 prisoners, which can finally be replenished a little. In addition, Hanzhong has now been occupied by Sima Yi's subordinate Guo Huai, and the three counties of Longxi have also fallen. General Wenchang was in Qingzhou, due to insufficient troops, was captured by Cao's army in Linzi City, and now has retreated to Beihai. Pang Shiyuan and Liu Shuye had 60,000 or 70,000 troops, entrenched in Jingnan and Bajun. Jiaozhou Thorn Shi Guangyuan's side, there is no news for the time being. ”

In Xuchang City, Chen Qunyang, who had just arrived, sprinkled this large paragraph, and finally described Liu Bei's current embarrassment in detail. Lao Liu can be regarded as a person who has experienced a lot of ups and downs, and now he is speechless when he sees that the loss is so serious. The loss of Hanzhong and Longxi, as well as half of Qingzhou, made Lao Liu a little overwhelmed. Not only him, but Zhao Feng was also extremely unhappy: Lao Tzu just left Chengdu, and you lost half of Yizhou to me. Zhuge Liang, Lu Xun, what are you doing to eat. Anyway, he still left them about 40,000 troops, plus the county soldiers, why did he ask people to do it so badly so quickly?

"Since Jingnan and Bajun are still entrenched by the rebel party, and they are still in the period of national mourning, Lone decided to withdraw the troops as soon as possible, mourn for His Majesty first, and exterminate the remnants of the traitors!" Liu Bei was stunned for a long time, and finally put forward such an opinion. Everyone was silent when they heard this, and there was no way to do it.

A few days later, in Xuchang, Liu Bei held a grand sacrifice ceremony for Emperor Han Xian, and built a mound for Emperor Han Xian. To Zhao Feng's surprise, what was buried in this well-dressed mound was the bloody edict that the imperial physician Ji Ping brought to Liu Bei back then. In this way, the funeral is even more shocking. At the funeral, Liu Bei denounced Cao Ying for tyrannical power and killing the Son of Heaven. Speaking of the emotional part, Liu Bei couldn't help but burst into tears, and the soldiers and civilians who were watching also burst into tears. At the same time, news from other places is also coming one after another. After being convinced that Liu Bei had escaped, Pang Tong and Liu Pan took the young Liu Yong and his mother Zhuge Ying hostage, and led the remnants of more than 40,000 people to flee Jingnan to Ba County, while Shi Guangyuan from Jiaozhou personally took a boat north to meet Liu Bei and plead guilty. Liu Bei demoted him to three levels and demoted him to Xiapi County, and Wu Ju, the former Cangwu Taishou who was familiar with Jiaozhou, took over as the pastor of Jiaozhou. In addition, Liu Bei issued an edict, declaring that except for Pang Tong, Liu Pan and other six first offenders, as long as the rest of the rebellious people came to surrender immediately, they would not be questioned. Under such a multi-faceted three-dimensional offensive, Liao Li, who was still on the sidelines, and Cui Zhouping, who was still on the sidelines, also surrendered. As a result, the only rebel leaders left were Pang Tong, Liu Pan and Ma Liang.

"At present, Pang Shiyuan led the army into Ba County, I am afraid that he wants to take advantage of the emptiness inside Xichuan to seize Chengdu. Lord, without further ado, I'm afraid I'm going to rush back to Xichuan as soon as possible! After Zhao Feng figured out the situation, he immediately asked Liu Bei for instructions. Liu Bei also knew that the situation was urgent, so without waiting for the national mourning to be completed, he asked Zhao Feng to lead the 60,000 Sichuan army to return to the army first.

Since Hanzhong had been lost, Zhao Yun's men stayed in Xuchang to assist Li Yan in guarding Yanzhou. The 60,000 people that Zhao Feng took away were all his descendants in Xichuan. Except for the battle losses, the Sichuan army that went out this time is already here. Before leaving, although it was still the period of national mourning, Liu Bei still personally led people to send people out of Xuchang City twenty miles. 60,000 horses left Xuchang, first returned to Jingxiang, and then took the road from Fuling to Xichuan.

Liu Bei has stabilized his foothold a little now, but Cao Ying's place is still a piece of chicken feathers. Originally, the situation was very good, and Liu Bei had been trapped and killed in Xingyang, but coincidentally, at this time, the Son of Heaven was suddenly killed on the outskirts of Yecheng and put a black cauldron on his back that could not be taken off. And the riots and uprisings in various places have not stopped in the past month. In the face of this situation, Cao Ying had to use both grace and power, on the one hand, to crack down, and on the other hand, to appease people's hearts.

After a grand funeral for the Son of Heaven, Cao Ying sent Xiahou to put down the rebellions in various parts of Hebei, and at the same time summoned the ministers of the clan to prepare for the establishment of a new monarch. At Cao Ying's insistence, Liu Shu, the nine-year-old king of Fengdi, was appointed as the new monarch, and he could ascend the throne after choosing a good day. In addition, Cao Ying signaled to the general Xiahoudun, and the great Si Nong Xunyou successively opened the government to govern affairs, and continuously recruited dozens of children of the Hebei family, and finally stabilized his position a little temporarily.

However, all of this is almost nothing compared to the loss of Guanzhong and the death of Xiahou Yuan. Next, Cao Hong led his army back to Hebei in defeat, telling him that Liu Bei had escaped from Xingyang. One had a blow, so Cao Ying couldn't react, and finally fell ill.

After being treated by the imperial doctor, Cao Ying only rested for only two days before convening everyone to discuss the matter. When Cao Hong, Cao Xiu, Jia Xu and other civil and military officers saw Cao Ying, they couldn't help but be frightened. Under the blow of these successive changes and defeats, Cao Ying suddenly aged a lot. What used to be just a little gray hair is now almost half white.

With a smile to signal that everyone does not need to be nervous, Cao Ying also has a general understanding of the current situation after listening to Jia Xu explain the current situation. "In other words, Guanzhong has been occupied by Sima Yi's kid?" After listening to the latest news, Cao Ying said without any emotion.

"Exactly, just because General Miaocai was killed, Zhong Miao surrendered to the enemy, Sima Yi raised troops in Guanzhong, and now Guan Long Haojie has responded. Not only that, because Zhao Botao was not in Xichuan and the garrison in Hanzhong was empty, Sima Yi took the opportunity to pacify Hanzhong in one fell swoop. At present, this person has gathered the soldiers and horses of Guanzhong and the Black Mountain Army, but he also has more than 100,000 soldiers, as if he is a prince! Jia Xu said lightly, listening carefully, there seemed to be a trace of disdain in his tone.

"Sima Yi, I still underestimated him, I didn't expect him to use His Majesty's death to make a fuss." Xun You also sighed. With Xun You's wisdom, in connection with Sima Yi's reactions before and after the incident, he naturally figured out the key to this. Cao Liu fought a decisive battle with an army of more than 600,000 troops, and in the end each suffered heavy losses, but Sima Yi took the opportunity to pacify Guanlong and Hanzhong. It is no exaggeration to say that these two powerful people in the world were both used as guns by Sima Yi.

I didn't want Cao Ying to hear this, but he smiled and said: "With Sima Zhongda's intelligence, it's still okay to engage in conspiracy and tricks." But if you want to sit on one side and choose talents, he is far inferior to me and Liu Bei! ”

"The lord's words are true, Sima Yi just took advantage of General Xiahou's dispatch to Hanzhong, and the lord and Liu Bei fought fiercely in Henan, and even Zhao Botao was not there, so he took advantage of it. Now that Zhao Botao has returned to Xichuan, I am afraid that he will not be able to do anything anymore! Jia Xu also praised. Cao Ying nodded, and immediately began to discuss a series of matters such as the succession of the new monarch.

In the following days, Cao Ying burst out with amazing energy. The new monarch succeeded to the throne, reorganized the armaments, and cared for the people's livelihood, and everything was carried out in an orderly manner. "Although there is a slight drought in Hebei this year, it has nothing to do with the overall situation, so the grain and grass are very sufficient. It's just that in the battle of Henan, more than 100,000 soldiers and horses were lost, and I intend to recruit 40,000 new soldiers for the time being to replenish the soldiers. ”

"The newly acquired land in Qingzhou is not fertile, and it is adjacent to the front line, so Yuan Rang can be ordered to carry out military cantonment to supplement the military!" Pointing to the Qingzhou section on the map, Cao Ying continued.

"Si Li was originally the foundation of the Sima clan, although Sima Yi is entrenched in Guanzhong now, but the foundation is still shallow, I have ordered Wen Lie to march into Hedong County and clear the foundation of the Sima clan!" Cao Ying's thinking is so wild, pointing his finger to one place after another on the map, announcing his decisions. Jia Xu and the others, who were listening, just nodded in agreement, and asked Cao Ying if there was anything they didn't understand.

"It's just that the lord, in the previous war, had consumed a lot of grain and grass accumulated in Hebei. Now that Guan Long has been lost again, there is no shortage of food and grass in the future, so what can I do? After Cao Ying finished speaking, Dasi Nong Xunyou asked. The issue of grain and grass has now become a new issue.

"Since the year before last, Yuan Rang has carried out military cantonment in Liaodong, which must be enough to solve part of the grain and grass problem. In addition, at the end of last year, Buyeo and Samhan repeatedly violated our border, and I intend to send people to attack these two places next year to solve the grain and grass problem. Cao Ying said without thinking. When the people who were listening to the order heard this, they also nodded hurriedly.

"In this Henan war, Liu Bei's battle losses will only be more than mine. But I lost Guanzhong, and Liu Bei lost the land of Hanzhong. If the confrontation continues for a long time, Liu Bei can still restore people's livelihood, but I can't help it. Therefore, there is a need for another solution. To conclude with such a paragraph, Cao Ying also suspended his own planning. At this time, the people who were fighting outside the door had already knocked on the first shift, and Cao Ying also asked everyone to go back to rest.

"Husband, the night is deep, and it is the new monarch's enthronement ceremony, so let's rest early!" After seeing everyone leave, Cao Ying was still checking some of the latest military reports, and Cai Wenji was also a little distressed.

"It's okay, Wen Ji. The situation is a little unstable at the moment, I still need to make all preparations, you can rest first, I will come right away. Cao Ying smiled. At this time, although Cao Ying's hair was a lot whiter, his face was very ruddy and energetic, and he didn't look like an old man of half a hundred at all. Cao Hong and the others were also very surprised by Cao Ying's good physical strength, but then they were sincerely excited. In their opinion, a healthy Cao Ying is enough to lead them to solve any problem. Even, the reappearance of Cao Ying's vitality does it mean that God favors them again. If this is the case, then there is hope for everything.

sent Cai Wenji away, Cao Ying took care of all the recent things, and then drank a bowl of soothing soup and went to bed. Not long after, the sleeping Cao Ying let out a burst of snoring. What he didn't know was that after he fell asleep, Cai Wenji beside him opened his eyes and looked at his old face stupidly, his eyes full of distress and worry.

(To be continued)