In 210 AD, the ministers under Cao Cao once again went to Liu Xie, asking Liu Xiexan to give up the throne and support Cao Cao as the emperor. Taiwei Yang Biao suppressed it on the grounds that King Wei had not returned. Cao Cao, the king of Wei, sent Yang Xiu, a former army member, to return to Xudu, express his intentions, and suppress the ministers, but Cao Cao rejected the matter of Chan concession.

In the same year, Yuan Xi of Hebei Province sent troops to attack Cao Cao in the name of Cao Cao's usurpation. Yuan Xi led an army of 200,000 troops from Yecheng south to attack Hanoi, trying to recapture all the counties north of Cao Cao's Yellow River. Cao Cao sent Cao Ren as a general to lead an army of 100,000 to the north to support Hanoi.

At the same time, Liu Bei led an army of 100,000 to attack Qingzhou from the south of the plain, and Cao Cao, with Cao Chong as his commander, led an army of 150,000 to meet Liu Bei. Liu Bei's army was stationed at the junction of Fan County and Qingzhou, and did not move south for half a step in January.

Cao Chong was also stationed thirty miles away from Liu Bei's army. Lu Rui came to Cao Chong's military camp as a chariot general.

"See Lord Overseer!"

"You don't have to be polite, they are all old acquaintances, this time General Ben came just to reward the three armies, and the rest of the military affairs are handled by General Cao." Lu Rui pressed his hands and signaled that everyone did not have to be formal.

"General Xie!"

"Yes!" Lu Rui nodded, the generals under Cao Chong's command were full of talents, in addition to the young talents of the Cao family and the Xiahou family, Zhu Ling, Li Dian, Le Jin and other old people who raised troops from Cao Chong were all under Cao Chong.

"On the orders of the Son of Heaven." Then Lu Rui read out the official words of rewarding the army as usual, and asked Cao Chong to reward the three armies, after all, Cao Chong is the commander of this army.

After rewarding the three armies, Lu Rui left Cao Chong behind. Discuss Liu Bei's affairs.

"Brother Rui. I heard that my little nephew is a year old? Cao Chong took out a jade pendant from his arms.

"This is a gift from my uncle, to my nephew."

"It's rare, it's rare. Brother Chong has always taken things from my general's mansion, and today I can finally get some money back. Lu Rui took the jade pendant, it was crystal clear and bright, and the color was bright, it was a good jade pendant, which was worth a lot of money.

"Look at what Brother Rui said, my uncle will find a daughter-in-law for his little nephew in the future!"

"Well, my son's happiness will be entrusted to my little uncle. Brother Chong. The family matter will be discussed later, what is Liu Bei's movement now? Lu Rui smiled, Cao Chong said farther and farther, but still pulled back to business.

"Liu Bei? Brother Rui, this Liu Bei is really interesting, he said that he was crusading against our army, but he was stationed here and did not act for many days, just blocking the rangers sent by our army. Cao Chong put down a battle report and glanced at Lu Rui.

"Brother Chong didn't find anything wrong? Or has it already been acted? Lu Rui smiled slightly. As soon as he entered the barracks, Lu Rui noticed that something was wrong. 150,000 troops, but there are only 50,000 troops at most in the barracks.

"Hahahaha, it seems that nothing can be hidden from Brother Rui, Liu Bei doesn't want to go south at all, I'm afraid Zhuge Liang has already set a strategy to lure the enemy deep, this 100,000 army is just a bait here, the purpose is to delay time, build a good defense line in the Hebei Plain, and when Liu Bei retreats, you can use the defense line to block our army from going north." Cao Chong took a sip of tea and took out a map of Pingyuan County.

According to Cao Chong's speculation, Zhuge Liang should have wanted to use the strategy of fortifying the walls and clearing the wilderness to deal with the Cao army, collect the grain of all the counties into the city, and then rely on the tenacity of the city to resist the attack of the Cao army.

It is now the early spring, the water of the Yellow River is slowly melting ice, and in the summer it is the flood season, Liu Bei should wait until after the summer, before the autumn harvest to return to Hebei, when the wheat near the plain is collected into the city, Liu Bei can rely on the city to resist the Cao army going north, and at the same time take the opportunity to seek fighters to deal with the Cao army.

"Defending with dots? Brother Chong, it seems that you have already thought of a way to crack Zhuge Liang's strategy. Lu Rui smiled slightly, it seems that Zhuge Liang is powerful, Cao Chong is not bad, he has already expected Zhuge Liang's plan, this is also what Lu Rui thinks, connecting points is indeed a good way to defend the plains, if he is Zhuge Liang, he will also use this defense strategy.

"Brother Rui, the main force of our army has all arrived in Xuzhou, including the 30,000 iron cavalry with the most combat power of our army, and when the time comes, our army will bypass the Yellow River by boat, go straight to the hinterland of Hebei, and raid Pingyuan County!" Cao Chong pointed with his hand and pointed to the place name of Pingyuan. Ming Xiu plank road darkness Chen Cang!

"Brother Chong, it seems that you not only want to destroy Zhuge Liang's plan, but you also want to use cavalry to destroy the autumn harvest in the plain area, and then Liu Beijun may not even have military rations." Lu Rui smiled, Cao Chong used ships to transport the army to Hebei, just to give Liu Bei a fatal blow.

"Brother Rui is still smart, Hebei has a cold climate, and can only rely on one season of wheat to get a year's grain every year, as long as our army destroys all the wheat outside the city, how can Liu Beijun deal with our army without a harvest? The plan to clear the wilderness is self-defeating. ”

"As for Liu Beijun in front, when the time comes, I will cut off Liu Beijun's back road, so that Liu Beijun cannot return to Hebei, and let Liu Bei know the military prestige of our army!" Cao Chong confidently said his plan, not only to mess up the rear of Hebei, but also to trap Liu Bei's army here, so that Liu Bei knew how powerful Cao's army was.

"Cangshu can have such a plan, Brother Rui is relieved, since Cangshu led the main force to Hebei, then this place will be handed over to Brother Rui. As long as Cangshu blocks Liu Beijun's back road in front, the rest will be left to Brother Rui. "Cao Chong has come up with a countermeasure, and Lu Rui, as a supervisor, of course has to contribute.

"So, thank you Brother Rui!"

"It turns out that Cangshu will be polite?" Lu Rui patted Cao Chong's head and smiled at him.

After Lü Rui and Cao Chong agreed on a strategy, Cao Chong left the barracks with his guards and generals and went to Xuzhou to join the main force that had gone ahead. Lu Rui stayed in Cao Chong's military camp and continued to confront Liu Beijun in front.

Time flies, and in a blink of an eye it's summer. At this time, near Jieshi, Hebei, Cao Chong's army had all landed, and Cao Chong set up a temporary military camp in Jieshi and began to give orders here.

"Cao Zhen obeys orders!"

"Cao Zhen is here!"

"Order Cao Zhen to lead an army of 30,000 to block the Yellow River, build trenches, and not let Liu Beijun, who is in the Qingzhou territory, return to Hebei!"

"The last general commands!"

"Cao Xiu obeys orders!"

"Cao Xiu is here!"

"Ordered Cao Xiu to lead 20,000 troops. Capture the county seat near Cao Zhen's defensive line. Assist Cao Zhen in defending the Yellow River defense line! ”

"The last general commands!"

"Cao Zhang's obedience!" "Cao Zhang's here!" "Cao Zhang, with General Ben, led 30,000 cavalry to destroy all the wheat fields near Pingyuan County. General Ben wants to make Liu Beijun near Pingyuan County have no food to use this year! ”

"The last general commands!"

"Zhu Ling, Li Dian, and Le Jin led an army of 20,000 to guard the two wings!" "The last general commands!" After Cao Chong issued a military order near Jieshi, the army of 100,000 divided into two routes and marched towards the plains at the same time.

In a small county town near Jieshi, the soldiers in the city are farming outside the city. "Brother Wang, you say, why do we want to participate in farming? Put down your weapons and plough the fields. What is this like? A young soldier dropped his hoe and looked displeased, he had come to join the army, why did he start farming again? In order to ensure the autumn harvest, Zhuge Liang asked the soldiers of the county near Pingyuan County to participate in the spring and summer farming, and after the autumn harvest, he returned to the city for defense.

"Brother Xiao Zhao, don't complain, you and I are both soldiers, and we can do whatever the general tells us to do. Anyway, food is also a military item, there is no food. You and I can't eat enough, how can we fight? Brother Wang picked up the hoe and started working again.

"Hahahaha, I didn't expect that the plains of Hebei are more spacious than the plains of Yanzhou, and there is no cover for more than ten miles, this is horseback riding!" Cao Chong's cavalry was approaching the small county town, and according to the map, this small county town near Jieshi was the first prey of Cao's army. Cao Zhang rode freely on his own horses, and the plains of Hebei were more suitable for cavalry combat!

"Third brother, keep some strength, and only when you get to the county seat can you kill the enemy!"

"Brother Chong, rest assured, when you arrive at the county seat, you will be the first to break through the city gate for your brother!"

"Brother Wang, listen, is there the sound of a large number of horses galloping?"

"Brother Zhao, do you want to be lazy again? Where in our city are there a large number of cavalry, all infantry, and horses galloping, and you don't need money to be a horse? Brother Wang patted Xiao Zhao on the head, this kid wanted to be lazy again.

"No, Brother Wang, my ears are smart!"

"Cao Jun Cao Jun, a lot of Cao Jun!" Suddenly, another soldier beside him pointed into the distance, only to see a piece of black pressing, all of them were cavalry, and one of the big flags had a Cao character written on it!

"Ah, run, a lot of Cao Jun!" The soldiers who were farming outside the city reacted and hurriedly fled in all directions.

"Kill, don't leave one, let Liu Beijun see how powerful we are!" Cao Zhang took the lead and rushed over with the soldiers riding tigers and leopards. Poor Liu Beijun only had a hoe in his hand and could not resist the attack of the heavy cavalry, and soon the small county town with only a thousand defenders was broken by Cao Chong.

After breaking through the county seat, Cao Chong immediately ordered all the cavalry to drive into the wheat field, trample the wheat field with iron horses, and persecuted all the wheat fields, and then began to rest in the county seat.

"Cangshu, these people are not our army's opponents at all, a small county town, it's really not enjoyable!" Cao Zhang ate the barbecue and waved his fist, indicating that he hadn't fought enough.

"Third brother, rest assured, this is just a small test for our army, there will be more and bigger cities for the third brother to attack in the future, as long as the third brother is not tired."

"Cangshu, as long as there is a fight, the third brother will definitely not get tired!"

"Okay, third brother, let's have dinner, let's go, there is a small county town nearby. Take it tonight! Cao Chong took a bite of the barbecue and a smug smile appeared on his face.

"Night raid? This is interesting, good! Cangshu, after eating the barbecue, we will set off! Hearing the words night attack, Cao Zhang had the spirit to eat the barbecue in a big gulp, hoping to set off as soon as possible and capture another county seat.

After eating the barbecue, Cao Chong and Cao Zhang set off with the army, and the captured county was handed over to Zhu Ling and Li Dianlejin's team to take care of the aftermath. Cao Chong's cavalry descended like a fierce tiger and soon broke through another county seat.

After January, Cao Chong broke through more than 20 large and small counties near the plain, and even the important town of Nanpi in Hebei was taken by Cao Chong.

In the Plains Taishou Mansion, there were more and more official documents on Zhuge Liang's desk, and at this moment Zhuge Liang understood that his plan had been seen through by Cao Chong, and Cao Chong also used countermeasures. caught Zhuge Liang off guard.

"Strategist. Now we may not be able to implement our plan to clear the wilderness. Cao's army destroyed our army's wheat fields, and now our army's cities can only survive on grain storage. A young general glanced at Zhuge Liang worriedly, this person was Liu Bei's adopted son Liu Feng!

"Military Division, according to the intelligence of the former army, the Yellow River defense line has also been blocked by the Cao army, and my father's retreat has also been blocked, what should our army do now?"

"Feng Gongzi doesn't have to worry, now our army still has more than a dozen cities in hand. Now it is only necessary to strictly order the defenders in various places to close the city gates and hold out, which should be able to resist Cao's army for several months. Zhuge Liang appeased Liu Feng, as a commander of the army, if Liu Feng was jealous, it would affect the morale of the army.

"Shut the gates? Strategist, don't we want this year's harvest? Liu Feng was stunned for a moment, closing the city gate meant that the grain outside the city would be destroyed by Cao Jun.

"Feng Gongzi, this is an expedient measure, if our army still cares about some wheat, it will only make it easier for Cao Jun to defeat our army."

"Feng Gongzi. Immediately let the soldiers of the city build trenches, and at the same time gather all the iron weapons of the city under our rule to the plains. Lianghui wrote a letter to Yecheng. Let Yecheng build a batch of iron pillars, and when the time comes, Feng Gongzi will personally go to Yecheng to escort them to the plain. Zhuge Liang ignored Liu Feng's doubts, and just issued a series of military orders for Liu Feng to execute.

"This?" Liu Feng's face was full of doubts, what kind of gourd medicine is Zhuge Liang selling, iron pillars, and collecting iron tools, what is this for?

"Feng Gongzi, the lord gave Liang Ling an arrow before leaving, does Feng Gongzi want to disobey?" Zhuge Liang saw that Liu Feng was a little hesitant, so he carried Liu Bei's military order out.

"No!" Seeing that Zhuge Liang was like this, Liu Feng had no choice but to go down to carry out the military order.

Qingzhou, in Lu Rui's military camp, the information that Cao Chong successfully raided Hebei has reached Lu Rui's hands.

"Uncle, it seems that Cangshu really did not live up to the expectations of his middle father, now the Yellow River is blocked by Cangshu, Liu Bei's retreat has been blocked, as long as Liu Bei retreats, our army will march to oppress!" Lu Rui handed over the bamboo slip to Xiahoudun.

"Yes, Cangshu is really powerful, this general has been fighting for many years, and he has to say a word to Cangshu!" Xiahoudun took the battle report and also praised Cao Chong.

"Extraordinary, Liu Bei is trapped, do we want to transfer troops from Beihai and Fan County, and set up a circle on the periphery first, so as not to prevent Liu Bei from jumping over the wall and attacking south?"

"Uncle don't worry, since Liu Bei just wants to lead our army to the north, he must not have brought siege equipment, and Liu Bei does not have many cavalry, even if Liu Bei wants to go deep into our army, it is in vain, and now Liu Bei is afraid that he will not know that his back road is blocked, Rui will remind Liu Bei!" Lu Rui smiled slightly, and suddenly thought of a fun plan.

Three days later, Liu Bei's military camp ushered in Lu Rui's envoy, and after the messenger handed over the letter to Liu Bei, he left the military camp.

"Shi Yuan, how is this good?" Liu Bei received a letter from Lu Rui, and the first time he sent spies to find out the news, and sure enough, the defense line on the north bank of the Yellow River was blocked by Cao's army, and Cao's army used ships to bypass the Yellow River defense line. This is not what worries Liu Bei the most, what worries Liu Bei is that he has not received news for several months, indicating that Zhuge Liang in the plain has also encountered a major crisis, otherwise he would not have sent spies to inform Liu Bei.

"Lord, judging from the current situation, Kong Ming is not comfortable in the plains, and this Cao Chong's surprise attack has completely broken our army's plan, and we all think that our army is going to change its plan." Pang Tong quickly made a judgment that Zhuge Liang could not be relied on, this time he had to rely on himself.

"Strategist, what should our army do now?" Liu Bei was stunned, and when he heard Pang Tong's analysis, his base camp was in danger, what should he do with this lone army of 100,000?

"My lord, according to the unification, it is speculated that the strength of the Cao army is not enough to completely block the Yellow River defense line, and if our army advances west into Fan County, there may still be a glimmer of life."

"Fan County? Shiyuan, that is Lu Rui's lair, since the Zhongping period, Lu Rui began to run Fan County, now it has been more than 20 years, I heard that there are tens of thousands of elite people in the city, our army can capture Fan County? Liu Bei was stunned for a moment, if he went to Fan County, it would still be a dead end for Lu Rui to lead the army to attack him later.

"The lord misunderstood, of course Tong knew that Fan County was Lu Rui's lair, and it had been the front army position of the Cao army to resist the Yuan clan for many years, and the defense was tight, but Fan County has a vast area, and its north is the line of Baima Yanjin, and Cao Chong's army can block the riverbank in the plain area, but Tong speculates that Cao Chong's army has not yet been able to touch the line of Baima Yanjin, and we still have a chance." Pang Tong arched his hand and returned to Liu Bei.

"What does Shiyuan mean to look for an opportunity to withdraw to Hebei?"

"No, my lord, it's to refuse to stay in one place and wait for the right time. If our army retreats to Hebei now, it will definitely be troubled by Yuan Xi, our army is stationed in the area of Fan County, can attack, retreat can defend, look for opportunities, wait for the opportunity to turn defeat into victory! ”

"Good! It's up to Shiyuan! Liu Bei couldn't think of any way, so he had to listen to Pang Tong's strategy.

On the other hand, Zhuge Liang began to shrink his forces in the plains, and withdrew the main forces to the county town centered on the plains, and Zhuge Liang sent people to step up the construction of cities to resist Cao Chong's army.

Cao Chong divided his troops to raid Hebei Plain County, Zhuge Liang retreated to defend the enemy, and Pang Tong took advantage of the opportunity. Cao Jun and Liu Beijun formed a stalemate between northern Qingzhou and eastern Hebei. At the same time, on the Western Liang side, Cao Cao led a large army to quell the rebellion in Tianshui. Xiahou Yuan led an army of 50,000 deep into the Qiang tribe to prepare for a new battle! (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you for your great support!!!