Feeling embarrassed by the fact that General En sent troops to attack Qingzhou, in addition to our thick-skinned Deputy Director Tao, there is also a thick-skinned and black-hearted brother, and this brother is no one else, it happens to be our Uncle Liu Bei and Liu Huang, who are full of benevolence and righteousness and virtue in the world.

Uncle Liu Huang is actually more embarrassed than Deputy Director Tao, Deputy Director Tao sent troops to Qingzhou because of the imperial court's clear will, which is reasonable and reasonable, even if Tian Kai and Kong Rong are not very bitter hatred for Deputy Director Tao, at the same time, Deputy Director Tao's kindness in Qingzhou is far less profound than Uncle Liu Huang, and Uncle Liu Huang is not only Gongsun Zhan's former classmate and Tian Kai's former subordinate, but also single-handedly caused the breakdown of the alliance between the Xuzhou Army and Gongsun Zhan's army, and at the same time, Kong Rong resisted the pressure of Xuzhou to take him in. Then single-handedly led to the enmity between the Xuzhou Army and Kong Rongjun, so Uncle Liu Huang, whose face was slightly inferior to Deputy Director Tao, although he also had the fig leaf of begging for thieves, still felt a little feverish on his face and ashamed in his heart.

The unprecedented fever on his face is still a trivial matter, and what makes Uncle Liu even more embarrassed is Guan Yu Zhang Fei's accusation, when Uncle Liu Huang relayed Boss Cao's order to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, Guan Yu was a little better, but Zhang Fei immediately jumped up and yelled: "What? Cao Ying asked us to go out with the army to fight Qingzhou? What does he mean? Doesn't he know, eldest brother, your friendship with Gongsun Zhan, Tian Yuanjun and Kong Beihai? Isn't this a place where trapping me is tantamount to unfaithfulness and unrighteousness? If the elder brother follows the order, how will the world view the eldest brother? What do you think of my three Taoyuan brothers? No way! You must not listen to this order! ”

If it weren't for the fact that he was about to get moldy in Xuchang City, Uncle Liu Huang really wanted to listen to the words of the reckless third brother, and resolutely refused Boss Cao's order that was difficult for a strong man, but there was no way, since there was no chance to take charge of the army in Xuchang, and I heard Boss Cao say that Yuan Tan admired himself very much, and asked his brother to go out with the army, so Uncle Liu Huang had no choice but to cover his face and choke with grief and indignation, "The words of the third brother really make the brother shameless, and do not hide the two virtuous brothers, when Prime Minister Cao Cheng ordered the foolish brother to go out with the army, The foolish brother also refused to receive the order in person, and would rather accept the military law than go to Qingzhou, but Prime Minister Cao Cheng took out the edict of the Son of Heaven and ordered the foolish brother to go on the expedition with the will of the Son ......of Heaven. ”

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who proclaimed themselves loyal ministers of the Han family, had nothing to say, in addition to accompanying Uncle Liu Huang to shed a few tears, they had to comfort Uncle Liu Huang in turn, and said a lot of loyal words, and finally the three brothers agreed with tears, that is, after arriving in Qingzhou, they must kill less, and at the same time, they also tried their best to persuade Tian Kai and Kong Rong to surrender, and tried their best to protect the lives of the two benduls, and the Taoyuan brothers were ashamed to embark on the road of crusading against Qingzhou, and with Cao Ren's team once again stepping into Qingzhou, It was also the first time that he stepped into the territory of Qingzhou as an enemy............ "What are you going to do thinking about the past?" It's all in the past. The most important thing now is to quickly pull up a team of men and horses again, get rid of Cao Agui's control, seek revenge on the thieves and blood hatred, and show their skills in this troubled world. ”

Shaking his head, trying to forget the past in his mind, Uncle Liu Huang cheered up and began to look at the scene of Qingzhou after a few years of absence, he did not come back for a few years, the land of Qingzhou was obviously a lot more damaged, there was no longer a little human population on both sides of the road, there were withered trees with bark stripped to the fine, and occasionally a few ruins, all of which were charred and blackened, overgrown with weeds, the fields were overgrown with thorns, and the bones of dead people with white flowers could be vaguely seen, and even weeds grew on the official roads. It is so dilapidated and desolate that no one has walked on it for years, and it is so desolate that it seems that there has never been a human track.

"The situation in Qingzhou is really worse than we estimated before." There was a human voice behind his ears, and when Uncle Liu Huang looked back, he saw that it was Cao Ren and Cheng Yu who led several Cao army generals to ride over, and Cao Ren, who spoke up, nodded politely to Uncle Liu Huang, and said to Cheng Yu next to him: "Mr. Zhongde, it seems that our hope of solving part of the military rations in Qingzhou on the spot is about to fail, Qingzhou is desolate like this, and it is difficult to supply on the spot." ”

"It doesn't matter." Cheng Yu replied unhurriedly: "According to the detailed report, in order to prevent our army from poking him in the waist, Natian Kaipifu sent the puppet Yanzhou Assassin Shi Danjing to lead an army of 8,000 to reinforce Licheng, and brought a large amount of grain to make a long-term plan, as long as our army quickly takes Licheng, we can solve at least one month's grain." And the grain tuning land of the main force of the Tiankong thief army is also in the county town directly north of Licheng, and if the action is fast, our army may still have hope of taking the county. ”

"In this way, it is better to solve all the food and grass problems of our army and reduce the burden on the rear." Cao Ren nodded, and suddenly turned to Uncle Liu Huang and asked, "Xuande Gong, you have been stationed in Qingzhou for a long time, do you know where Qingzhou has the most abundant grain and grass?" Can I get the most rations after breaking the city? ”

Uncle Liu Huang hesitated a little, until Cao Ren asked, Uncle Liu Huang replied very reluctantly: "I only remember that when I abandoned the plains and went south to Xuzhou, the grain price of the plain was 100 yuan per bucket, the grain price of Linzi was 120 yuan per bucket, and the grain price of Beihai Opera County was 40 yuan per bucket. Later, when Beihai was borrowed, the price of grain in Xixian County doubled, and it is unknown what the situation is now. ”

Although Uncle Liu Huang, who was benevolent and righteous, did not answer Cao Ren's question directly, General Cao Ren and Mr. Cheng Yu still smiled, and then Cao Ren nodded and smiled and said: "Thank you Xuande Gong for your advice, it seems that Kong Wenju is still very good at governing the territory and protecting the people. ”

"Good." Cheng Yu also nodded and said: "Although it is a little far away, it doesn't matter, when Yuan Shao's army is in Tian Kai's old nest and under Zi City, our army can use the excuse of cutting off Tian Kai's wings and volunteering to attack Ju County, in short, we must not let the grain in Beihai be cheaper Tao Ying thief." ”

At this time, the general Niu Jin, who served as the vanguard, sent someone to report, saying that the vanguard army had arrived under the city of Licheng, but the defenders of Licheng did not go out of the city to meet the battle, but only dug deep pits and built walls to close the four gates. And Cao Ren did not hesitate, and immediately ordered: "Tell Niu Jin that there is no need to rush to launch an attack, first set up camp five miles outside the city, wait for the arrival of the main force of our army, and then launch an attack tomorrow." ”

"No." The herald took the order and left, and Uncle Liu Huang glanced at Cao Ren and Cheng Yu, and carefully reminded: "General Zixiao, Mr. Zhongde, although Licheng is small, it is very difficult to capture it immediately. ”

"No matter how strong Licheng is, can it be compared to Shouchun and Hefei, which are the world's strongest cities?" Cao Ren smiled lightly: "I'm afraid that even Xiao Pei, who was stationed in Xuande Gong back then, can't compare?" These cities can be captured quickly, not to mention this small calendar city? ”

"What does Cao Ren mean by that? Ironically, I was frightened by Tao Ying's thief and took the initiative to abandon Xiaopei Chengchi, which is surrounded by water on three sides, to flee for my life? Uncle Liu Huang was a little secretly angry, but after thinking about it, he found that it was not like it, "No, if Cao Ren is ridiculing Uncle Benhuang, what are you doing when you mention Shouchun and Hefei, the two strong cities in the world?" Didn't Cao Ren know that the reason why Tao Ying's thieves were so powerful was because Tao Ying had a real thunderbolt in his hands? Yes! Don't......? ”

After suddenly beating the spirit, and then looking at Cao Ren and Cheng Yu who were smiling confidently and other Cao Jun civil and military, and thinking of Cao Boss's powerful intelligence ability, Uncle Liu Huang also showed a little smile on the corner of his mouth, and took the opportunity to volunteer: "General Zixiao, since the general intends to take Licheng quickly, although Bei is not talented, he is also willing to go into battle in person, lead the infantry to fill the moat of Licheng, and open the way forward for the general." ”

Some people are willing to do the drudgery of filling the moat, of course General Cao Ren smiled, and said: "Xuande Gong volunteered, and he couldn't ask for it, but the time is urgent, within three days, Xuande Gong must open the road to the annex city for our army." ”

"Please rest assured that if you can't open the way for the general to advance within three days, Bei will personally carry the soil and fill the river." Uncle Liu Huang replied with a smile.

Cao Ren and Cheng Yu nodded and smiled, but scolded together in their hearts: "Old slippery head, you must know that our army also has a real thunderbolt!" ”

So, after arriving outside the city of Licheng, the confident General Cao Ren and Mr. Cheng Yu didn't even have time to go to the city of Licheng to explore the terrain in person, and immediately began to assemble the thirty thunderbolt cars brought by the army, and the troops were dispatched to prepare for the siege of the city. No matter how dense the enemy's arrow rain on the city wall is, he will never take half a step back, and he will live and die with the river reclamation team! The impassioned words made the foreheads of the Cao army's auxiliary troops jump, but they also received a lot of morale-boosting effects.

By the way, it may be because of the premonition that the end is near, that night, the city of Licheng is also brightly lit, the voices of people are boiling, and the sound of shouting is endless, as if it is grinding guns in battle, desperately reinforcing the city defense. And when the scout sent the news to Cao's camp, General Cao Ren, who was personally supervising the craftsmen assembling the thunderbolt car, didn't care, and waved his hand and said: "Don't pay attention to it, wait for tomorrow our army's secret weapon thunderbolt to go into battle, so that they will still be screaming and shouting." ”

The night passed quickly, and in the early morning of the next day, the thirty weakened versions of the Thunderbolt were finally assembled, in addition to the ladder trucks and crashing vehicles that needed to be built temporarily, all the preparations were basically completed, General Cao Ren did not hesitate, and immediately ordered troops to attack the city, preparing to use the Thunderbolt to level the enemy fortifications on the city of Licheng, while hurrying to build other siege weapons, until the enemy's fortifications were completely destroyed, and then launch a hand-to-hand siege - perhaps even this hand and foot can be spared, Because it was basically the first time that the defenders of the real thunderbolt had been encountered, and no army had the courage to fight to the death.

Because this is the first battle of the Cao army's expedition to Qingzhou, and it is also the first dispatch of the Cao army's secret weapon thunderbolt, so Cao Renjun's top and bottom attach great importance to this siege battle, 30,000 troops dispatched 20,000 in one go, and also arranged a large number of troops to protect the thunderbolt to prevent the defenders of Licheng from organizing death squads to raid the city, Cao Ren and Cheng Yu and others also came to the battlefield to command the battle, ready to see the real power of the thunderbolt in the specific actual battle, and also to boost morale - if conditions permit, You can even go to the city to surrender.

After coming to Licheng with thirty flesh-and-blood version of Xiangyang cannons, something unexpected happened to Cao Ren, Cheng Yu and Liu Huangshu and others, only one night passed, and the Tibetan soldiers on the city wall of Licheng changed its appearance, and the tall and majestic city tower was like wearing a condom, and it was suddenly completely shrouded by a strange blue and black thing. When they looked closely, Cao Ren, Uncle Liu Huang and others found that those strange blue and black things turned out to be thick straw ropes, each straw rope was as thick as a sea bowl, and one heel was directly placed on the top of the city tower, covering the city tower tightly, and at the same time, the grass rope was also splashed with thick mud, which was extremely strange and surprising.

"What kind of fame is the Shan Jing Pifu doing?" With a head full of confusion, Cao Ren and Cheng Yu chose to respond to all changes with the same, first ordered thirty weakened version of the thunderbolt to line up outside the south gate of Licheng, and then loaded a huge stone bullet weighing more than 200 kilograms, adjusted the aim, and finally cut the straight throwing spoon tether together, the load box was pulled down by gravity, the throwing arm suddenly rose, and the thirty stone bullets were driven by the habitual surname to fly out, whistling towards the Licheng City Tower two hundred steps away............ There is no imaginary thunderclap, no imaginary cracked houses and collapsed earth and rocks, no imaginary shouts of the defenders, and the joy of Cao's soldiers and soldiers. Some were just a dull sound, and after the huge stone bullets hit the roof of the city tower, which should have been extremely fragile, they didn't even smash a few tiles, and the momentum was absorbed by the soft and tough thick straw rope, and then slid weakly to the ground, but became a powerful weapon used by the defenders of Licheng to smash the siege vehicles of the Cao army............ A few stone bullets flew into the city, but there was still no sound of broken tiles and broken houses in the city, and it was not known whether the houses near the city wall had been demolished, or whether they had already put on condoms made of straw rope like the Tibetan soldiers' castle towers.

There was also a stone bullet that happened to hit the pillars of the tower, but these pillars were also tied with thick straw ropes soaked in mud, so after the stone bullet hit the pillar, it simply bounced up, and it did not hurt the pillar at all.

There were also some stone bullets that smashed on the city wall, but the defenders of Licheng on the city wall, just like the special surname of the thunderbolt cart stone bullet that had long been known, were either hidden in the dead corner of the stone bullet behind the arrow stack, or saw the stone bullet flying to the left and right to dodge, avoiding the forward slide that might occur after the stone bullet landed, so a full eight stone bullets hit the top of the city wall, but did not hurt a single defender soldier.

Seeing this scene, the Cao army was silent, and the soldiers of the Cao army who were about to raise the flag to cheer and cheer to boost morale were stunned, and the Cao army thunderbolt gunners who had already raised their hands and were ready to jump and shout were like mud carved wooden tires, and Cao Ren, Cheng Yu and Liu Huangshu and other senior generals seemed to have been detained, looking at the head of Licheng motionlessly, with a frozen smile on their faces.

I don't know how long it took for Cao Ren, Cheng Yu, Uncle Liu Huang and others to finally come back to their senses, and then beat their chests together and scolded, shouting frantically, "Tao Ying annihilates the thief!" I'm fucking your mother's eighteenth generation ancestor————! ”

"Xuzhou's Tao envoy Jun really didn't lie to us." At the same time in Licheng City, Gongsun Zhan's deputy Shan Jing nodded, and began to congratulate himself on making the right choice, choosing to believe Tao Ying's letter and informant, and also preemptively arranging these mud grass ropes called guard fences according to Tao Ying's instructions, and finally restrained Cao Jun's secret weapon Thunderbolt. And after the rejoicing, Shan Jing did not hesitate much, and immediately sent people out of the city to cross the river to the front line of the plain to report the matter to Tian Kai, so that Tian Kai could fight on the main battlefield with peace of mind, and he did not have to worry too much about the safety of the flanks.

……………… Or at the same time in the city of Yecheng, Jizhou, Deputy Director Tao wrote a letter to his father-in-law after passing through Yanzhou, and finally sent it to the front of the Great Yuan Sangong, although the Great Yuan Sangong was a little strange and proud of the son-in-law's letter for no reason, but he still learned the previous lesson, carefully checked the seal on the fire paint, and then opened the envelope to take the letter to watch, but after reading the content of the letter, the Great Yuan Sangong smiled, and was very pleased to smile in front of a few henchmen present and said: "I didn't expect Ying'er to be so filial, I actually want to personally lead the army north to fight Qingzhou for me, and I don't have to worry about the war in Qingzhou. ”

"Tao Envoy Jun wants to personally lead the army to crusade against Qingzhou for the lord?" Several of the henchmen of Da Yuan Sangong are all happy - because once Tao Ying personally leads the army to the north to attack Qingzhou, then the Xuzhou army will inevitably be extraordinary, and it will never be perfunctory.

"yes." Da Yuan Sangong smiled and nodded, and said with more relief: "Ying'er not only wants to personally lead the army north to fight Qingzhou, but also bring my daughter to the army, so that my daughter can get together with her relatives in Qingzhou, and also said that if there is a chance, you will kowtow in front of me and offer me the jade seal of the country in person." Well, it's still filial, my son-in-law didn't make a vain move. ”

Xun Chen and the others were even more overjoyed, although they vaguely guessed that Tao Ying decided to personally lead the army to attack Qingzhou, but considering that this was not a bad thing for the Jizhou army after all, Xun Chen still bowed to the three princes of Da Yuan, and said with a smile on his face: "Congratulations to the lord, congratulations to the lord, the virtuous son-in-law of the lord personally led the army to crusade against Qingzhou, and Qingzhou must be determined!" Chen took the liberty of speculating that Tao Zhijun personally led the army north, and the lord could save at least half a year in Qingzhou. ”

"yes." Although Da Yuan Sangong didn't understand Xun Chen's voice, he still twisted his beard and smiled: "It should be like this, I heard that Ying'er has not lost a battle since he personally led the 800 gentlemen's army to the south to conquer Guangling, and even Cao Apu heard his name. ”

"Father, brother-in-law wants to bring my sister to Qingzhou as well?" Yuan Shang took the opportunity to stand up and asked for an order from the eldest Yuan Sangong again: "In this case, the child dares to ask for an order, please let the child lead the state army east into Qingzhou, and join forces with his brother and brother-in-law to fight the thief - the father also knows that the child and Fang Mei are the most kind, and after a long time, the child also really misses his sister, and asks his father to be gracious." ”

"Nope." Yuan Sangong, who is not yet senile and dementia, shook his head decisively this time and refused: "Shang'er, you are your younger brother, Yuan Tan is your brother, and the strength of the state army is several times better than that of the Qingzhou army. One army and two masters, there will be a big mess. ”

"The Lord is right." Yuan Tan Dang's Xin Ping took the opportunity to stand up, saluted to the eldest Yuan Sangong and said: "The lord's words are very true, one army and two commanders will cause trouble, and the eldest prince has a good command of the army, and he uses weak troops to resist the nesting soldiers of Tian Kai and Kong Rong, and there is still no chaos at all, making it difficult for Tian Kong and the two thieves to advance an inch. His Majesty suggested that the lord might as well order the eldest prince to take over the reinforcements of the state, and consolidate the strength of the two armies in one hand, so that he would be able to break the two thieves of Tiankong and determine the entire territory of Qingzhou in a war. ”

"Lord, by all means." The trial was anxious, and he hurriedly stood up and objected: "Lord, the eldest prince is too young to command such a big battle, and he has never commanded such a big battle, and he hurriedly took over the command of such a decisive battle of more than 100,000 people, I am afraid that it will be embarrassing and heavy." ”

"Mr. Jeongnam's words are wrong." Xin Ping laughed: "Who is born to fight?" Who in the world commanded a 100,000-scale battle as soon as he debuted? However, how can Mr. Jeongnam assert that the eldest prince cannot command such a decisive battle? Besides, if the eldest prince is also young, then isn't the third prince even younger? But why did the third prince still resolutely ask for an order to lead the state army to Qingzhou to fight a decisive battle with the two thieves of Tian Kong? ”

There was nothing to say about the trial, and Yuan Shanggongzi's face was uncertain, and after thinking for a long time, he gritted his teeth and stomped his feet, and simply knelt down on one knee to Da Yuan Sangong and hugged his fists and said: "Father, Mr. Xin is reasonable, the child and brother are too young, and it is difficult to take over the command of such a big battle rashly!" Even so, the child has the courage to ask his father to lead the army to Qingzhou, and the father is mighty, and the two thieves of Tiankong will inevitably be invincible and captured, which is far better than appointing others to be a hundred times more handsome! ”

After saying these words loudly, Yuan Shang added viciously in his heart: "Yuan Tan Pifu, I can't get the great merit of Qingzhou, and you don't want to get it!" My father personally led the army to Qingzhou, I see what chance you have to monopolize Qingzhou! ”

What made Yuan Shanggongzi breathe a sigh of relief was that after hearing these words, Da Yuan Sangong immediately patted the table in front of him, and said with a smile: "Shang'er's words are in line with the father's intentions, in fact, the father has been thinking about this issue for a few days, whether to personally lead the army to conquer Qingzhou." ”

"My lord, no."

Xin commented in a hurry, and was about to open his mouth to object, but Yuan Sangong rolled his eyes and snorted coldly: "What's the matter? Do you think that I am not worthy to command this decisive battle in Qingzhou? ”

Xin Ping retracted his head helplessly, but Xun Chen over there opened his mouth and agreed: "The lord's conquest of Qingzhou is indeed wonderful, although the eldest prince can fight well, but after all, he has too little experience, he is young and competitive, and he is eager to make meritorious contributions. ”

Seeing that Yuan Shang and Xun Chen both opened their mouths, the trial naturally also agreed with their understandings, and persuaded the third prince of Yuan to avoid Yuan Tan's monopoly on Qingzhou, and the third prince of Yuan did not hesitate this time, and quickly said: "Okay, since all the dukes think that I should personally go to Qingzhou, then I will go to Qingzhou in person, and also go to meet my daughter and son-in-law by the way, all blame Cao Apu for blocking the road, I haven't seen what my son-in-law looks like until now, this opportunity can't be missed." ”

Note: What is the protective fence rope, the old friends of the pure wolf should know, here is an introduction to the new friends: the protective fence is not a fictitious tactic, but two years after the end of the historical Xiangyang Defense War, the Southern Song Dynasty military and civilians invented the tactics of restraining the harmonious cannon, from the "Song History Volume One Hundred and Ninety-seven", the original text is as follows: Xianchun nine years, along the border counties, because of the descending system of harmony artillery, there is a touch of ingenuity, don't put the cannon far above it. And it's a strategy to break the cannon. The method, with rice grass into a strong rope, four inches around, thirty-four feet long, every twenty for the bundle, do not tie a hemp rope to the back pillar of the building, build over the building, droop to the ground, the beam hangs four or five floors, the building is surrounded by mud, the rocket artillery can not invade, although the artillery is useless. And it is light and does not cost money, and it is called "Protective Fence". - But it's a pity that this tactic was invented too late and didn't have the power to return to heaven, otherwise the weapons of the Harmony Sect might not have been able to break Xiangyang and Fancheng.

(To be continued)