Crossing the river in a battle, Cao's army of 6,000 palace troops were wiped out, the general Jiangong Hou Li Tong was killed, before crossing the river was annihilated on the north bank of the Yellow River more than 10,000 troops, missing more than 2,500 people, the generals Xiahou Yuan, Zhang He, Dian Wei, Li Dian and Yu Ban and others were injured successively, among which Yu Ban was the most seriously injured, so far not out of the danger period, and even if it can be rescued, it must be blind in one eye and disabled for life, the loss is heavy, creating the worst record since Cao Laoda unified the army, Cao Laoda led the 65,000 troops across the Yellow River, Retreating to the south bank of the Yellow River alive, only barely reached 30,000 people, and Cao's army was greatly injured and basically lost the counteroffensive force against Yuan Shao's army.

In view of these miserable circumstances, after paying tribute to Li Tong and the fallen soldiers on the south bank of the Yellow River, Cao Boss immediately ordered a retreat, and did not even dare to return to Dong'e City, which was close at hand, and Fan County, which was threatened by the Xuzhou army, did not dare to go, and directly led the army west to Juancheng.

Of course, the Great Yuan Sangong was unwilling to let go of the remnants of the Cao army and miss this God-given opportunity to beat the water dogs, but the Jizhou army wanted to immediately launch a full-line pursuit, one is that after the Cao army withdrew from the Yellow River, it had destroyed all the ships and bridges at the Cangting Ferry, making it extremely difficult for Yuan Shaojun to quickly cross the river with a large amount of baggage and grass; Second, under the influence of the fierce combat effectiveness of Cao Jun's individual soldiers, Yuan Shaojun's damage in the Battle of Cangting was also quite small, and the casualties were almost equal to Cao's army.

So naturally, in order not to give the sworn enemy and old brother Cao Laoda a chance to make a comeback, not to mention that there are Guo Tu and Xin Bi fanning the flames next to him, even if there is no instigation of Yuan Tan Gongzi and his party, Yuan Sangong immediately remembered the filial son-in-law Deputy Director Tao on the south bank of the Yellow River, and no matter how much the son-in-law's main force is currently there, let alone how much army and grain and grass the son-in-law currently has, he immediately sent a team of light horsemen to cross the river to the south, and escorted the envoy Chen Zhen to the hinterland of Yanzhou to find the Xuzhou army to get in touch. With a letter, he ordered his son-in-law to send troops to Juancheng as soon as possible to cut off the retreat of the rest of Cao's army!

When trouble is coming, in fact, the Xuzhou army is not far from the Cangting battlefield, and the Junzi army is sent north to stabilize the heart of the Jizhou army at the same time, the main force of Xuzhou led by Deputy Director Tao himself has been pulled out to the Dongping Lu City, and the Dongping Taishou Che Xuan appointed by Cao Boss because of the small number of soldiers in his hands, he did not dare to fight with the Xuzhou army in every city, so he took the initiative to give up the small city of Dongping Lu, and contracted his forces to stick to the Dongping County on the north bank of Wenshui to govern the Yancheng City, and the Dongping Lu County Order with only more than 300 township soldiers in his hand also simply surrendered to the Xuzhou army. After Deputy Director Tao praised the county order for voluntary surrender, he immediately set out to rush to cross Wenshui, and successfully crossed Wenshui on the day when Cao's army withdrew from the Yellow River, and the troops approached Wuyan City.

In the next two days, in addition to preparing for the siege of the Xuzhou army, there was also a large number of meticulous work to continuously listen to the situation of the Cangting battle, and during this period, the Junzi army that successfully completed the task of armed parade also withdrew to the main army, and Chen Zhi's team also carried grain and grass to Wuyan and the main force of the Xuzhou army to join the division, although Sun Guan's team had not yet arrived at the Wuyan division, but also sent a messenger to send good news, saying that it had successfully defeated the Cao army Snake Hill defenders and the reinforcements sent by Che Guan, and took Snake Hill and Gang County, At present, it is advancing to Zhangxian, and within five days at most, it is also possible to rush to Wuyan to join the main division, and the tactical plan of the three-way Xuzhou army to join the division in Dongping is a foregone conclusion.

Although the progress of the war was as smooth as planned, but the cautious Deputy Director Tao still did not dare to take it lightly, in view of the undecided outcome of the Cangting side - at least there is no accurate information about who won and who lost, in order to prevent just in case, Deputy Director Tao was still prepared with both hands, while letting the army seize the time to prepare for the siege and build a large number of siege weapons, while not in a hurry to launch a siege, stationed troops at the Wenshui Ferry, ready to slip south at any time - if the Great Yuan Sangong loses again, Deputy Director Tao was not interested in a decisive battle with the main force of Cao's army in the hinterland of Yanzhou.

On the morning of the third day after the end of the Cao army's river crossing battle, when Deputy Director Tao was inspecting the military situation in the camp, a Xuzhou Xizuo who went north to inquire about the news finally stumbled in front of Deputy Director Tao after being authenticated by the Xuzhou army, bringing the news of Cao's defeat to Deputy Director Tao. Hearing this report, Deputy Director Tao was extremely excited, grabbed the unlucky collar and yelled in ecstasy: "Is the news accurate? Did you hear about it, or did you see it with your own eyes? ”

"My lord, the villain saw it with his own eyes." The dusty Xuzhou Xiaozuo gasped and replied: "The villain was ordered by General Cao Hong to lurk in the Dong'e area to collect news about the Cao thief team for our army. After hearing that the gentleman's army of our army showed up at the Cangting ferry and immediately retreated, the villain knew that something big must have happened, so he took the risk of lurking at the Cangting ferry to watch the battle, and saw the defeat of the Cao thief and the victory of the Jizhou army, and also saw that the Cao thief lost very badly, and the Yellow River was full of the corpses of the Cao thief soldiers, and the villain knew that the lord must be concerned about this matter, so he hurried south to report the matter to the lord. In two days, the villain walked almost 200 miles, and even his shoes were worn out. ”

Deputy Director Tao looked down at the fine feet, and found that one of his cloth shoes had indeed been worn out, and his two feet were drenched in blood, and it was indeed a very hard journey. ”

The fine work was overjoyed, and hurriedly struggled to thank him, Deputy Director Tao hugged him with his own hands, and suddenly remembered something, and hurriedly asked: "By the way, there is another major thing I forgot to ask, do you know how many Cao thieves have withdrawn from the Yellow River?" ”

"About 30,000 people." Na Xizuo hurriedly replied: "The villain peeked at the battle in Cangting on the high ground of the mountain, and quietly counted the team of Cao thieves crossing the Yellow River, and found that about 30,000 people Cao Thief's team withdrew from the Yellow River, and then Cao Thief scuttled all the ferries. ”

"And so many Cao thieves have withdrawn from the Yellow River?" Deputy Director Tao's heart froze, and he waved his hand to let the guards support the meritorious service to rest, Deputy Director Tao thought for a while, and immediately ordered all the civil and military personnel to gather in the big tent to wait for orders, and then Deputy Director Tao called the two henchmen to the side alone, and whispered in front of them to give instructions, and the two guards bowed down and sang a promise, and also hurried down to act according to the order.

In a moment, Xuzhou civil and military gathered in the big tent to marquis, in front of many accomplices and lackeys, Deputy Director Tao smiled and announced the news of the defeat of Cao Jun Cangting, a Xuzhou military general was also suddenly thunderous, all happy, although a Xuzhou strategist is not as gloating as the generals, but they are also nodding one after another, very satisfied with the results of the Xuzhou army, successfully weakened although not the strongest but the most dangerous opponent Cao Jun team.

"Lord Yuezhang has already won a big victory in Cangting, and we can't let the Jizhou team look down." Deputy Director Tao waved his arm again and shouted: "Pass my order, immediately send 20,000 troops to attack the saltless city, and we must take the saltless city for me before our army and the Jizhou army will meet, and pull out the last nail that hinders our army from meeting with the Jizhou army!" ”

The big tent suddenly quieted down, not to mention the resourceful Xuzhou strategists, even the brave and unscrupulous Xuzhou generals all looked at each other, and then Chen Zhi came forward and said timidly: "Lord, are you sure that you will attack Wuyan City now?" The garrison of Wuyan City is very strict, and our army's siege weapons are not complete, so at this time, I am afraid that the chances of victory are not great, right? ”

"It's fine!" Deputy Director Tao waved his hand again in a fit of propriety, and said: "Cao Thief Cangting was defeated, the Cao thief team in Wuyan City must be demoralized, and the soldiers have no fighting spirit, I have already learned just now, our army has built a large number of flying ladders in the past two days, and some of the large siege weapons such as thunderbolt cannons and ladder trucks are also close to completion. ”

"What's wrong with my lord today?" Jia Lao Poison was suspicious, but he didn't speak, "Get carried away when you are proud, isn't this the lord's consistent style of deceit?" Also, Cao Jun lost the Battle of Cangting, our army should consider it first, and it shouldn't be to immediately launch a siege and join Yuan Shao as soon as possible, right? ”

"My lord, please be cautious." The person who stood up to remind him was the new strategist Shi Yi who didn't know much about Deputy Director Tao, and arched his hand and said: "Not to mention whether the news of Cao Thief's fiasco in Cangting has been spread to Wuyan City, even if it has been spread into Wuyan City, it is by no means so easy for our army to break through the fortified city with a simple flying ladder, and I hope the lord will think twice." ”

"Hey, you see, I'm all confused by the joy of Cangting's good news." Deputy Director Tao smiled embarrassedly, and hurriedly changed his words and said: "I didn't make the order clear just now, I didn't ask you to break through the Saltless City today, I wanted you to send troops to fill in the moat outside the Saltless City first, open the way for attack, and also form psychological pressure on the Cao thief team in the Saltless City, and strive to force this Cao thief army to abandon the city and flee alone." As for when to launch the siege, of course, it will have to wait for our army to have a large number of siege weapons. ”

Xuzhou Zhongwenwu breathed a sigh of relief, and secretly laughed at Deputy Director Tao's rare excitement gaffe, and then Yi suggested again: "Lord, if you just carry soil and stones to fill the saltless moat, you will no longer need to send 20,000 troops in one breath to mobilize the crowd, right?" According to the following opinion, 10,000 troops are enough, and there are not many defenders in the city of Wuyan on the left and right, and they do not have the courage to go out of the city to engage our army. ”

"According to Ziyu's opinion, send 10,000 troops." Deputy Director Tao was very able to follow the advice, and then waved his hand and said: "But this time I will personally supervise the battle, and within three days, I must fill in the moat of the two northeast gates of Wuyan, intimidate the Cao thief defenders in Wuyan City, and force them to break through and flee from the west gate." ”

This time, no one finally stopped Deputy Director Tao's vigorous head, and the Xuzhou army quickly dispatched 10,000 cavalry, under the personal leadership of Deputy Director Tao, to kill the saltless east gate, and began to fill the saltless moat that had become a low trench because of drought and lack of water. And the reaction of the Cao army defenders in Wuyan City was also as expected, not a single soldier dared to go out of the city to meet the arrogant Xuzhou army, but honestly hid in the city and guarded the door, waiting for Cao Boss's Cangting reinforcements - this was expected, because Cao Boss was still on his way back to Juancheng quickly, and he hadn't had time to decide how to adjust the defense of eastern Yanzhou, and the poor General Che Xuan really didn't even know the news that Cao Boss had been defeated in Cangting.

Of course, it is not blindly closed-door, in order to delay the speed of the Xuzhou army's river reclamation, the chariot must not arrange a large number of crossbowmen to shoot arrows on the city wall, and the Xuzhou army is in accordance with the siege law, first in the moat with a long shield to form temporary fortifications, arrange archers to shoot arrows behind the shield, suppress the defenders of the city, cover the Xuzhou infantry team that then caught up with the soil and transport the dead, fill the trenches, the arrows in the sky are dense like flying locusts, the heads on the ground are like ants, and the Xuzhou infantry pushing the wheelbarrow to carry the earth and stones is endless, although the formal battle has not begun, But it's already intense.

It was also at this time that Liu Ye and Xun Chen, who accompanied Deputy Director Tao to the front of the battle to supervise the battle, seized the opportunity and time, and cautiously reminded Deputy Director Tao: "Lord, since the Cao army has been defeated in Cangting, it doesn't matter when our army will break through the saltless city, or even be able to break through the saltless city, the lord should hurry up and formulate a countermeasure after joining forces with Yuan Shaojun, which is the top priority of our army at present." ”

"Isn't this already preparing?" Deputy Director Tao, the twenty-fourth filial son-in-law, bowed his mouth in the direction of the saltless city where the fierce battle was in full swing, and said with a smile: "Break through Wuyan as soon as possible and open up the road between our army and the Jizhou army. ”

"It's more troublesome." Xun Chen warned: "Lord, please forgive Chen for being blunt, as the so-called Dou Mi En, bear the rice revenge, the lord of the father-in-law saw that our army quickly took Wuyan City, he will definitely take this for granted, not only will he not be grateful to our army for his response, but he will also unrealistically ask our army to send troops and food to destroy the remnants of the Cao army for him!" ”

"My lord, what Mr. Youruo said is very reasonable." Liu Ye said with a calm face: "With Yuan Shao's surname, the messenger who will ask our army to send troops immediately must already be on the way, and now we are required to send troops, and in the future, we will be required to shoulder the heavy responsibility of fighting hard and viciously, and send money and food to send troops to exterminate the remnants of Cao thieves for Na, endlessly, the lord had better prepare in advance, so as not to be caught off guard at that time, not only to fall into passivity, but also to rapidly deteriorate the relationship between our army and the Jizhou army." ”

"How can I not understand the truth that Mr. Youruo and Mr. Ziyang said?" Deputy Director Tao showed a wry smile and said, "But when things come to this point, our army can't immediately withdraw its troops for no reason, and not join forces with Lord Yue's army, right?" ”

"You can surround the saltless city without fighting." Liu Ye suggested: "Then under the pretext that the city of Wuyan is not broken and cannot go north, I refuse all kinds of unreasonable orders from Yuan Shao asking our army to send troops." ”

"Wuyan is less than two hundred miles away from Cangting, and it can be reached in three days at most by walking on the official road, and it only takes more than a day for fast horses." Deputy Director Tao said slowly: "Our army is besieging the saltless city without fighting, how can it hide from the eyes of Lord Yuezhang? At that time, once Lord Yuezhang asks why our army can't do anything, how can I, as a son-in-law, explain? ”

Liu Ye and Xun Chen both closed their mouths, and they both knew that it was impossible to do things perfunctory without working at this time, and when they were in trouble, Deputy Director Tao suddenly started a fire, pointed at the direction of the saltless city with a horsewhip and said angrily: "Whose team are these soldiers who are filling the river?" Didn't eat, did you? Why is it so slow? ”

Everyone looked up and saw that the Xuzhou army that was currently filling the river was indeed behaving a little badly, cowering in front of the whistling arrow rain of the saltless defenders, not daring to move forward, and there were some phenomena of stagnation. When he identified it carefully, Liu Ye said: "Lord Yu, it's General Qin Yi's team, do you want to send someone to send General Qin over and scold him in person?" ”

"No need, I'll go myself." Deputy Director Tao waved his hand, Suo surnamed Ma moved forward, ready to go to Wuyan City to supervise the formation, Liu Ye and Xun Chen and others were shocked, and hurriedly shouted danger, asking Deputy Director Tao to come back immediately, but the careless Deputy Director Tao didn't listen at all, Pegasus rushed very fast, and soon opened up the distance with Liu Ye and others, fortunately, Deputy Director Tao's personal army followed closely with shields, ready to protect Deputy Director Tao who was careless and adventurous.

Deputy Director Tao's greed for life and fear of death is also famous, when he was about to enter the range of the bow and arrow of the saltless defenders from a distance, Deputy Director Tao also decisively turned over and dismounted not to be a live target, and then strode forward under the protection of the shield of the pro-soldier and rushed into the range of the bow and arrow of the defenders in the city, whipping and whipping their own soldiers who were timid and did not dare to step forward, and those Xuzhou soldiers who were greedy for life and afraid of death saw Deputy Director Tao coming to the city in person, and they did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly rushed forward, charging against the rain of arrows and stones on the city wall. Only then did Deputy Director Tao put down the slave owner's brutal whip with satisfaction, continued to shout loudly, and ordered the soldiers to speed up the river filling.

"Lord, danger, please get out of here quickly!"

Seeing Deputy Director Tao coming to the city in person, Qin Yi, who was leading the army to fill the river in the distance, also rushed over, wanting to persuade Deputy Director Tao back to safety, but at this moment, Deputy Director Tao, who was carrying a horse whip, suddenly screamed like a pig, turned over and fell to the ground. Dirty dark red blood also continued to pour out from the cracks between the fingers of Deputy Director Tao's hand covering the wound, quickly staining half of Deputy Director Tao's chest! - Retribution!

"The lord has been shot! The lord has been shot! The lord was shot by a stray arrow! ”

Qin Yi and Deputy Director Tao's personal soldiers roared wildly together, and at the same time, the personal soldiers lifted Deputy Director Tao and quickly retreated, and the Xuzhou soldiers who were filling the river under the city wall were also in chaos, and hurriedly threw down the flat shoulders, rattan baskets and wheelbarrows, etc., and retreated backwards like a tide, and the Xuzhou civil and military generals in the rear were also shocked, and hurriedly led the army to rush forward to rescue. Only the Cao army defenders on the saltless city were thunderous with joy, waving their flags and shouting, and the chariot who was supervising the battle in the city tower was even more overjoyed, and hurriedly rushed out of the city tower to look into the distance, and shouted in surprise: "Who did you shoot?" Shot that one of the potter generals? Why is the Xuzhou thief army so chaotic? ”

"General, it looks like our stray arrow has hit the pottery thief himself!" Several Cao soldiers shouted excitedly: "We heard just now that the Xuzhou thief army shouted that the lord was hit by an arrow, as if our stray arrow shot the pottery thief himself!" ”

"The pottery thief himself? Our stray arrows hit the pottery thief himself?! ”

Che Xuan was so surprised that he couldn't believe that he could have such luck, and then looked into the distance, and saw that the Xuzhou army was completely chaotic, and countless Xuzhou civil and military generals riding tall horses rushed to a position, which really seemed to have hit Deputy Director Tao himself. In ecstasy, the chariot simply knelt down on the city wall, opened his arms and raised his head to the sky and roared, "Heavens! O earth! Emperor Dongyue! You must bless it, bless the stray arrows of our army, it is indeed the one who shot Tao Ying and the thief himself! Please, please! ”

The god of Cao Jun's team finally went to work today, and the stray arrows shot on the saltless city did indeed hit the evil Deputy Director Tao himself, and when Deputy Director Tao was carried to safety, the blood flowing from Deputy Director Tao's right chest had already stained his upper body, and his eyes were closed and he simply passed out. Inspect the injuries of Deputy Director Tao.

After leaning over and carefully examining the wound, Jia Lao Poison quickly tried his breath under Deputy Director Tao's nose with his hand, and then shouted: "There is still breathing, immediately carry the lord back to the camp for rescue!" Again, immediately withdraw the troops and withdraw to the battalion! ”

The generals of Xuzhou were full of sweat and agreed, and quickly organized their own troops to protect Deputy Director Tao and retreated quickly, and the guards carried Deputy Director Tao on a stretcher to the camp. Che Zhou was afraid that the Xuzhou army would be deceitful, and he didn't dare to chase too much, but after trying his best to catch one or two prisoners, he immediately collected his troops and returned to the city, and tortured the Xuzhou prisoners in the city. The sky has eyes————! ”

Coincidentally, when all the Xuzhou troops withdrew to the camp, Chen Zhen, the messenger sent by the third prince of Yuan, also happened to lead the army to find the door of the Xuzhou camp, and finally entered the Xuzhou camp through identity verification.

At the beginning, Chen Zhen couldn't believe that Deputy Director Tao would encounter such an unfortunate thing, until he saw Deputy Director Tao's half of his body stained with feather arrows on his chest from a distance, Chen Zhen stomped his feet and shouted, "The sky has no eyes, how can a loyal and benevolent gentleman like Tao Yuanjun be shot by a stray arrow?!" God bless me Jizhou, God bless loyalty!! ”

Tao Ji and Ma Zhong and other Xuzhou generals who were red-eyed were tightly stopped outside the sleeping tent, and waited from the afternoon until it was completely dark and his hair was a little messy before Jia Lao Poison came out of the sleeping tent, and met Chen Zhen on behalf of Deputy Director Tao, Chen Zhen hurriedly asked about Deputy Director Tao's injury, Jia Lao Poison replied in a hoarse voice: "The bleeding has stopped, but whether people can be saved, Lang Zhong is not sure, I have sent someone back to Xuzhou to invite Mr. Zhang Zhongjing, I hope the lord can survive until Mr. Zhang Zhongjing arrives." ”

"God does not bless loyalty, God does not bless loyalty." Chen Zhen paused again, and said, "Mr. Wenhe, how could Tao Yuanjun fall for the arrow of the Cao thief?" How did Cao Thief's stray arrow hit Tao Envoy? ”

"It's not to rush to break through Wuyan and open the way for our army to join your army."

Jia Lao Poison shook his head, gave a general introduction to what happened during the day, and by the way, he also commended Deputy Director Tao's twenty-four filial piety virtues, Chen Zhen inevitably sighed again after hearing it, both regretted Deputy Director Tao's unfortunate arrow, and was embarrassed to ask Deputy Director Tao to immediately send troops to cut off Cao Laoda's way back, but Jia Lao Poison pretended to ask about the Cangting battle situation first, and then congratulated the Jizhou Army on the victory of Cangting, and then asked: "Mr. Xiaoqi is here, but he is here to convey the order of the original duke?" At the moment, the lord is unconscious, and there is no master in the army, if the gentleman doesn't mind, please explain anything to Xu. ”

"It's ......." The kind-hearted Chen Zhen was a little embarrassed to take out the letter from the third prince of Da Yuan, and said: "Mr. Wenhe, this is a letter from the lord of my family to Tao Envoy, I originally wanted to ask the envoy to immediately send troops to cut off the ...... of the Cao thief's return, but now, it seems that it is impossible." ”

"Thank you Mr. Xiaoqi for your understanding, it's really impossible." Jia Lao Poison looked at the letter, and said helplessly: "Please also ask Mr. Xiaoqi to truthfully report the matter of this day to Ben Chu Gong, explain the reason why our army cannot send troops immediately, and when the lord wakes up, I will present the letter to the lord." ”

"Of course, of course." Chen Zhen agreed repeatedly, and asked with concern: "Tao Envoy Jun is an arrow, I don't know what Jia Junshi's next plan is?" ”

"I am going to order the withdrawal of the army tomorrow, and temporarily retreat to Dongping Lucheng, so that the lord can heal his wounds with peace of mind." Jia Lao Poison replied, and said impassionedly: "But please Mr. Xiaoqi return to Ben Chu Gong, please don't worry about the Cao thief team in the Saltless City, even if the Lord is seriously injured, our army will definitely take the responsibility of containing the Saltless Cao Thief team, and will not let Ben Chugong's flank be in danger." ”

What else could Chen Zhen say, he had to obediently thank Jia Lao Poison, and said sincerely: "In this case, then thank you Jia Junshi and your army, Zhen temporarily borrowed your army camp to rest for the night, and then returned to Cangting and reported the matter to the lord." ”

At the same time in Wuyan City, General Che Zhou finally received two orders from Cao Laoda's fast horse, one was to order Che Zhou to abandon Wuyan and lead the army to retreat to Juancheng to join the main force, and let the Xuzhou Army and the Jizhou Army meet in Dongping County, so as to intensify the contradiction between Deputy Director Tao and the Great Yuan Sangong as soon as possible. The second is to order Che Zhou to take Xu Shu into prison and put him in a prisoner car and escort him to Juancheng. And after General Che Zhou received the order to abandon the city on his own initiative, not only did he not have any regrets, but also danced happily and said: "After the meeting, it is best to meet with the prime minister immediately, I have a good news to play the prime minister in person, great news!" ”

(To be continued)