Xu Huang led his troops to follow Cao Xiu, and the distance between the infantry chasing the cavalry would be getting bigger and bigger, and the physical strength of the infantry on the march was gradually exhausted, and it was difficult to keep up after all.

However, because Cao Xiu was afraid of the large number of cavalry of the Han army, he deliberately kept a distance from Xu Huang of the rear army, and was harassed by Zhang Fei several times, and the speed of the cavalry could not be completely released.

After confirming Ma Dai's retreat, Xu Huang accelerated his march and maintained a rivalry with Cao Xiu.

When the magpie slope caught fire, Xu Huang immediately saw that the sky turned red, and expected that someone had set it on fire. Because I didn't know the specific situation, I was worried that things would change, so I hurried down.

On the way, Cao Xiu sent an envoy to report to Xu Huang: "General Xu, the thief army burned clothes and armor to block the road in Quepo, General Cao has found the nearest path on the left, detour and pursue, send a villain to report, please change the direction of the march, and meet as soon as possible!" ”

Xu Huang's first reaction when he heard it was that the thief army had exhausted its plan, and the whole army reduced its burden and fled.

Xu Huang said with joy on his face: "After running around for a few days, I finally have a gain, I just need to catch up with the thief army, annihilate the main force of the thief army, take advantage of the situation to attack Jingzhou, and take back Xiangfan!" ”

As soon as the military envoy waved, more than a dozen Han soldiers were escorted, Xu Huang felt that some prisoners were disposed of by themselves, why bother! Raising his hand and pointing, the military envoy explained: "General, this is the thief army that captured the stragglers on the road, General Cao has already interrogated it slightly and learned that the thief army is fraudulent!" ”

Xu Huang frowned slightly and said: "The battle situation is urgent, I can't interrogate it in detail for the time being, you tell me what you know, and we'll talk as we go!" ”

The military envoy reported: "The general can rest assured, it is good news for our army!" It is said that only 10,000 of the 30,000 cavalry of the thief army are true, and the remaining 20,000 or so are temporarily recruited county soldiers and horses.

Among them, there are also the strong recruits of heavy money, the domestic servants of the scholar clan, etc., which are even more unbearable, and we have been deceived! ”

Xu Huang's breathing became unconsciously short, and the military envoy said something, Xu Huang thought of the various reactions of the Han army in front of the two armies during the day, and frequently made mistakes when retreating, and someone actually fell from his horse, these details all showed that this army was not battle-hardened, and he fell into self-judgment and failed to think of it.

To be precise, I don't dare to think about it, who would have thought that the Han army would dare to gamble like this, once it was recognized and launched an attack, 30,000 war horses plus 10,000 elites and 20,000 elites would be completely annihilated, and Jingzhou would be defeated without attacking.

Xu Huang's eyes widened and said: "Zhang Fei's courage is indeed extraordinary, maybe there are capable people behind him, admire!" Admire! ”

The military envoy hurriedly said: "General Xu, General Cao felt incredible when he first heard it, and immediately thought that this was a godsend. The thief army tossed for a day, and there were not a few of these miscellaneous soldiers who couldn't hold it and fell behind, and our army rushed forward to catch up, and the thief army collapsed without a fight, and let me slaughter! ”

Xu Huang suppressed the excitement in his heart, kept calculating, and did not forget to drink the order to march and maintain the formation.

After a long time, Xu Huang said to the military envoy in a deep voice: "You explain to General Cao, the more you must calm down at this time, it is impossible for the thief army to force our army to give up the pursuit only with cavalry fraud, and naturally there are still rear moves, and our army should deal with it carefully." Tell General Cao not to blindly chase after him, so as to prevent the thieves from harming my schemes. The military envoy hurriedly replied to inform Cao Xiu.

Xu Huang turned around and called a partial general and said, "General Fang, you lead a team of men and horses to explore the terrain first." Pay attention to the terrain at two points, the first is a large plain, there is no terrain to rely on, it is difficult to stand on the ground.

The second is that the forests are dense and the hills are cluttered, and it is easy to hide thousands of people. If the thieves retreat in these two directions, report it to me as soon as possible! Fang Biao will go as promised.

Xu Huang sent someone to Zhang He again to see if there was anything unusual in the camp.

Zhang Fei led the crowd to gallop all the way, because the Han army was divided into two types: Feng Xi's infantry and Zhang Fei's cavalry, in order to maintain the same speed, the Han army rode one horse and two times, and the weight increased, and many horses were obviously panting.

Lei Tong slowed down his horse speed to see Zhang Fei who was pressing the formation behind him: "General, Feng Xidu asked me to inform the general, we have been running for two hours, and the sky is already about to dawn, plus the previous non-stop confrontation for a day and a night, the horses can't hold on!" ”

Zhang Fei kept whipping the horses and said, "I know, I am a little tired when I sit down on the black horses, let alone ordinary horses." There is no way, I dare not stop, as soon as I stop to rest, the hooves of the horses will become weak, and the soldiers will be tired and paralyzed.

Cao Jun's movements are unknown, even if he stops now, will he be chasing after him. Cao Jun encountered obstacles in Quepo, they had to make a detour to chase, we were tired and they were tired, we could get rid of Cao Jun if we ran down, and stopping would give Cao Jun a chance, the risk was too great. It is difficult for us to have the strength to fight, and it is better to be tired and paralyzed than to be hacked to death, and then hold on.

Tell Feng Xi not to stand up, and continue to hold on! Go, the general has already informed the soldiers and horses of Nanyang to answer in front, and Shaoqing will arrive! Lei Tong agreed, and the horse shouted and cheered.

The Han army stood up and forcibly marched nearly dozens of miles. The Han army scouts came to report: Leng Bao and Zhao Lei, two generals, came to respond.

Zhang Fei was overjoyed, and the Han army urged the horses forward, and saw the Han generals Ling Bao and Zhao Lei leading the crowd to greet them from a distance.

The two met, Zhao Lei, Ling Bao and others bowed their hands to meet Zhang Fei, Feng Xi, Lei Tong and other generals, Zhang Fei also smiled politely and said: "Seeing you makes me feel at ease, our army can get rid of the chasing Cao army." ”

Ling Bao replied: "The three generals can rest assured, the last general and Zhao Dudu have already built a camp in the south, although it is simple, but it is enough to rely on the Cao army!"

Meals have been arranged in the village, and the soldiers can take a short rest, and then withdraw to Jingzhou after turning to Nanyang! ”

Zhang Fei said: "Okay! Feng Dudu and General Lei asked everyone to hold on and go to the camp to eat! Feng Xi and Lei Tong promised loudly.

Zhang Fei turned around and said: "General Lingbao, the battle situation is urgent, I haven't been able to ask in detail about the situation of the Ganning Department, Captain Han Guan vaguely said that the army was defeated and lost tens of thousands, tell me how the specific losses are!" ”

Ling Bao and Zhao Lei glanced at each other, Zhao Lei licked his lips and said, "Third General, the last general will tell you the truth!" Half of the 40,000 soldiers and horses were lost, Hu Xiong and other generals were all killed in battle, and General Gan was ...... Stab wounds and several arrows ......! ”

Zhang Fei was distressed when he heard that half of the soldiers and horses had been lost, but after all, he had been on the battlefield for a long time, so he didn't react much.

When he heard that Gan Ning was hit by an arrow, he was shocked and said: "How is the injury, tell me quickly!" ”

Zhao Lei said bitterly: "The injuries are so great that I can't ride a horse." The bumpy wounds on the way to the south were cracked several times, and I was groggy and ...... woke up from time to time! ”

Before Zhao Lei finished speaking, Zhang Fei's facial features were wrinkled, and he grabbed his head with his hands and shouted: "Why not report it early!" ”

Zhao Lei was so shocked that his ears were buzzing, and Ling Bao answered: "General, General Gan didn't tell you for the sake of tens of thousands of soldiers!" It is precisely because the three generals don't know that they can be calm and stable, and smoothly bring the whole army back safely! As a general, the last general thinks it should be like this! ”

Zhang Fei was stunned, nodded slightly, and said, "Yes, yes, knowing or not knowing is useless!" ”

Zhao Lei hurriedly continued: "General rest assured, we have already sent the best Lang Chinese medicine to treat General Gan." Because General Gan wears a brocade robe, the brocade robe has strong lines, and the arrows penetrate the body without expanding the wound and causing swelling, nor do they hurt the vital point.

The real injury was caused by rushing, but it didn't affect the bones, so you should be fine with a good rest! ”

Zhang Fei clenched his fists tightly, calmed his anxious heart, and said slowly: "Go to the village to rest first, and then make plans." In addition, send someone to see if Xingba is better! ”

Cao Xiu bypassed Quepo and wanted to find another shortcut to chase him, but the road near Quepo had long been blocked, and it was difficult for people and horses to walk, so it was time-consuming and laborious to clean up.

Cao Xiu was worried, and the military envoy brought Xu Huang's words, and Cao Xiu was really surprised after hearing it. What Xu Huang said is indeed reasonable, Zhang Fei is bold, but as a general in command, it is unimaginable to take risks again and again, regardless of the lives of his soldiers.

Cao Xiu looked left and right at the group of soldiers, and the deputy general thought that Cao Xiu had something, so he hurriedly said: "General, the war is urgent, and the last general asks for an order to immediately lead someone to clear a way!" ”

Cao Xiu looked around, sighed and said: "The soldiers have worked hard all night, and they are already exhausted, so they will clean up the road again, even if they struggle to catch up with the thief army, they can fight again!" Order, stop the pursuit, retreat to an open place to rest, and wait for General Xu to come! ”

Under Cao Xiu's order, a group of Cao cavalry untied their horses and rested on the ground.

Cao Xiu led his personal guards to be on guard, and before he had rested for less than half an hour, Zhang He's military envoy hurriedly came to find Cao Xiuyu and reported: "General Cao, General (Cao Ren) has rushed to the army with his troops, and he has joined forces with General Zhang He!" ”

Cao Xiu listened and said: "I know, does the general have anything to say!" ”

The military envoy said with an embarrassed face: "The general asked the villain to speak, be sure to bite the thief army, but ......!" ”

Cao Xiu understood what he wanted to say and smiled: "It's late, it's too late!" The general came an hour earlier, and the big thing could be decided, but now it can't be done! The envoy didn't know how to talk, and was silent.

Cao Xiu continued: "General Xu Huang can send someone to go!" ”

The envoy replied, "Someone else is coming!" ”

Cao Xiu said: "Although we have not been able to stop the thief army, but the general has arrived, you should hurry up to report the battle situation, maybe the general has another decision!" ”

Turning his head to the guard, he said: "Gather the troops and horses immediately, and join forces with General Xu, so as not to scatter the troops and be taken by the thieves and generals. ”

The two met, Xu Huang's intention was the same as Cao Xiu's, the two discussed, Cao Xiu's troops were stationed in place, and Xu Huang went to see Cao Ren to explain the battle situation.

Xu Huang finished his salute, and he and Xin Bi (who was ordered to oversee the army and had caught up with Cao Ren halfway. See Chapter 174 for details).

Cao Ren learned that he failed to stop the thief army, and when Xu Huang arrived to explain the situation in detail, Cao Ren was quite annoyed, and unfolded the map to mark what Xu Huang said in detail.

Cao Ren pointed to the map and said, "In this way, I would have arrived in time and would still be stopped by the Quepo fire!" ”

Xu Huang arched his hand and said: "General, when the fire breaks out in Quepo, our army will lose its fighters!" ”

Cao Ren rubbed his bloodshot eyes and stood up.

Xin Bi persuaded: "In order to rush to support as soon as possible, the general strictly ordered the troops and horses under his command to march day and night, and there was no time to rest on the road, so it can be said that he did his best. The corresponding fatigue of men and horses is actually embarrassing to fight, even if the thief army is stopped, it will not be able to enter the battlefield at the first time.

It's not a bad thing to be unstoppable, don't stop it, the thief army and the dog jump over the wall in a hurry, fight to the death, our army will suffer heavy casualties with tired soldiers, it's not worth it! ”

Cao Ren was silent, after all, he felt unwilling to lose a great opportunity. Adjusting his mood, Cao Ren sat down again and said, "Gongming, George, come and see!" ”

As he spoke, he marked several locations on the map and said: "These places are the places where the traces of Guan Yu's soldiers and horses were found. Chased it all the way, and lost it inexplicably! ”

Xu Huang and Xin Bi stepped forward to look at the place painted by Cao Ren, and Xu Huang asked, "The soldiers and horses led by Guan Yu are cavalry?" Foot soldiers? ”

Cao Ren said: "Half of each, Pang De's 4,000 cavalry, and another 4,000 foot soldiers!" ”

Xu Huang said: "The general has found out the traces of Guan Yujun!" ”

Cao Ren said: "Hmm! After a pause, Cao Ren said: "It's useless to poke out, and I can't catch up." Yu Ban led the cavalry to chase after him, and according to the report, Yu Wen was paralyzed on the ground for two days and two nights, and he was stunned that he did not catch up.

Guan Yu's march was only one day ahead of our army, and it stands to reason that he rode on foot, and it was incredible that he was so fast! If Guan Yu is walking with a sacrifice, how can the people unanimously say that there are steps and rides along the way! ”

Xu Huang stared at the map and pondered, and Xin Bi was inconvenient to speak. The two were silent, and Cao Ren continued: "Gongming and Zilie sent people to report the victory, I don't want to be stumped, it's important to kill Guan Yu, it's not easy after all, half of the cavalry is forbidden to chase, and I will lead the rest of the soldiers and horses to support!" ”

Speaking of this, Cao Ren high-fived with a fist: "It's a pity it's late!" ”

Xu Huang replied to his senses: "General, the last general can't think of the reason for it for a while, but according to the experience of the last general, a pure cavalry march can get rid of the pursuit of the forbidden general's cavalry!" ”

Cao Ren said: "Guan Yu gave up the pawns!" No, I just said that the people along the way all said that the thieves were cavalry and foot soldiers, and Guan Yu's character couldn't do anything about abandoning the army and running away! ”

Xu Huang knew that Guan Yu cherished his soldiers extremely and was arrogant, this kind of thing was not disdainful at all, and what Cao Ren said was indeed not bad.

Xin Bi suddenly said: "Guan Yu's infiltration of Yuzhou has been a long time, and his grasp of Yuzhou's topography is far beyond what we know.

Abandoning the infantry seems to be abandoning the soldiers and horses at first glance, but our target is Guan Yu, Guan Yu uses cavalry to hook and chase the soldiers and horses, and the infantry looks for the mountains and jungles to hide.

Back then, the Nengeng's thief army quietly infiltrated Luhun several times to rebel, and not long ago used the same method to take Lushan and other places. It's not difficult for a few thousand foot soldiers to hide their figures!

As for what the people said, I can't think of why for the time being, maybe they were bought! ”

Cao Ren agreed: "Yes, yes! Then I immediately ordered the counties along the way to search the mountains and find it, Guan Yu really left his pawns, thinking that the thief army has not gone out yet, and will definitely leave traces!

You can calculate the time, the foot soldiers may still be there, but Guan Yu's cavalry is afraid that they have already run back to Jingzhou! ”

Xin Bi pointed to Nanyang and said: "It's man-made, why should the general think too much, now go to relieve the siege of Nanyang as soon as possible, maybe Guan Yu didn't come out, just block it, it depends on the will of heaven whether it will be done or not!" ”