Rejuvenation of the Han Dynasty in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 424
Liu He sent troops to attack Xuzhou on three routes. Cao Cao sent Xiahou Dun to go north to reject Guan Yu, and personally led troops to Xiaopei.

There is Weishan in Xiaopei and Pengcheng, Weishan Lake at the foot of the mountain, Zhaoyang Lake in the north, and Dushan Lake and Nanyang Lake in Rencheng. , Rencheng and Pengcheng.

In May, the two Han armies in the Central Plains responded to the north and south and marched eastward. The northern route was led by Cheng Pu, the governor of Yanzhou, and marched from Shanyang to capture Xiaopei. The southern route, with Zhang Fei as the general, set out to attack Pengcheng from Runan.

Cao Cao reorganized his troops in Xiaopei, scouts sent letters and reports, and news from all over the country was sent like snowflakes. Xuzhou was facing a life-and-death battle, and this battle was also related to the situation in the Central Plains.

Hearing that Yanzhou soldiers had arrived in Shanyang, Cao Cao led his troops northward to join Xiahou Yuan, and set up camp at Dushan to meet the enemy. Within a day, the general army arrived, and the two armies faced each other in Fanghe territory.

Cao Cao was watching the battle in front of the battle, when suddenly a general from the opposing camp rushed out and shouted: "Cao Mengde, the emperor ordered you to return the land of Yanzhou and Yuzhou. How dare you disobey the order and do you intend to rebel?"

Xia Houyuan was furious when he heard the words, and he stepped out and shouted coldly: "Bao Xin gave up the land of Jibei, why did you give it back, who are you, dare to shout in front of the battle?"

"It's Hua Xiong, the vanguard of rebellion!" Hua Xiong raised his knife and said coldly: "The traitor, why don't you catch him quickly?"

"Ask about the knife in someone's hand first!" Xia Houyuan was furious and urged his horse to kill.

The two began to fight in front of the formation, both of them were sword-wielding men, their moves were open and closed, and only the dust flew up. After more than thirty rounds, there was no winner.

Hua Xiong hadn't fought for more than a year, so he was willing to give up, and then urged his horse to chase him. Xia Houyuan quietly took the bow and arrow, turned his head and shot three arrows behind him, Hua Xiong couldn't dodge, was shot in the shoulder blade, and retreated in pain.

Xia Houyuan turned his horse's head to chase after him again, Gao Shun urged his horse to meet him without saying a word, Cao Chun from Cao Cao's formation also galloped out, Ji Ling and Yu Jin came out to meet him at the same time, and there was a sudden chaos on the field.

Seeing that there were so many lieutenant generals in Cheng Pu's army, Cao Cao was short of generals under his command. Fearing that Xia Houyuan and the others would make a mistake and no one would command the troops, Cao Cao hurriedly called for money to withdraw the troops, and both sides retreated temporarily.

Hua Xiong returned to the camp with an arrow wound, and a military doctor had come to bandage him. Fortunately, he was protected by armor, so the injury was not serious.

Hua Xiong was so angry that he gritted his teeth and said angrily: "I didn't expect Xia Houyuan to be so good at archery. I was careless and didn't miss it!"

"Cao Cao has many powerful generals under his command. When fighting, you must not be careless!"

Cheng Pu comforted him and told Hua Xiong to recuperate first, while the rest of the generals guarded the camp carefully and made plans when Liu He arrived.

Although the army of the Central Plains was pressing down on the situation, Cao's army seemed weak, but today Xia Houyuan injured the enemy general in front of the battle, which greatly increased Cao's confidence, which shows that Liu He's soldiers are not invincible.

The generals were discussing in the tent of the Chinese army. Cao Chunyan said: "Today, the enemy general Hua Xiong was injured, and Liu He's army was greatly defeated. It is better to take advantage of the shock of his army's morale and rob the camp overnight."

Cao Cao narrowed his narrow eyes slightly, shook his head and said with a smile: "Cheng Pu is a veteran general. He knows the art of war well, how can he be unprepared? I am worried that they will rob the camp instead."

Cao Chun wondered, "Do they still dare to rob the camp?"

Cao Cao said: "If our army wins for a while, they will be arrogant and let their guard down. If Cheng Pu took the opportunity to rob the village, he would just follow his plan."

Xia Houyuan felt a pain in his head when he heard it, and asked, "How does my lord plan to use the plan?"

Cao Cao paced in the tent with his hands behind his back. After a long time, he slowly said: "Although Cheng Pu is wise and brave, he is fierce and eager to win. If he suffered a setback in the first battle, he must find a way to save the city. Robbing the stronghold is the best way. I am about to He thinks he's got it."

Joining the army, Chen Jiao seemed to have come to his senses, and said: "Your lord, you want to wait for Cheng Pu to come to rob the village first, but ambushed outside the camp to annihilate his army?"

"This is a plan!" Cao Cao twitched his beard and smiled, and said slowly: "I will not only cut off his way back, but also rob his stronghold, and maybe defeat Cheng Pu in one battle."

Chen Jiao asked doubtfully, "How can my lord follow his plan?"

Cao Cao sighed in his heart. Although Chen Jiao was resourceful, he was still far behind Xi Zhicai. Now there is a lack of counselors in the army, and he alone makes decisions and plans. From time to time, his head hurts. He is very worried about the key At that time, he had a headache and made a big mistake.

Bad thoughts flashed by, but his face was still calm, and he smiled: "First, I deliberately leaked the news to let Cheng Pu know that I was going to rob the stronghold. In the camp, we happen to defeat his soldiers first, and then counterattack Cheng Pu's camp, but it depends on the battle."

Chen Jiao frowned and thought for a moment, then he finally came to his senses and clasped his fists and said, "My lord's plan is exquisite and unpredictable. It is expected that Cheng Pu is no more than a martial artist. How can he see through my lord's plan?"

Xia Houyuan was puzzled when he heard this, and scratched his head and asked, "My lord, after talking for a long time, how should we deploy troops?"

Cao Cao didn't explain, and said: "Miaocai is famous for his speed when he marches, and he often takes the enemy by surprise. This time it is just right: tonight, you will go to rob the stronghold first. When you are close to the enemy camp, you don't have to kill it. They used rockets to feign attack and harass the outside, but they retreated to Jishui, and when they saw the fire in the enemy camp, they fought back from the north."

"Obey!" Although Xia Houyuan didn't quite understand Cao Cao's intentions, he had no doubts about the military orders and went to prepare immediately.

Cao Cao didn't send orders anymore, and ordered all the generals to go to rest first, and deliberately asked Xia Houyuan to prepare troops and horses early, so that the enemy could find out the news and take precautions, so that he could follow his plan.

After waiting until after dark, they secretly summoned Zang Ba, Gao Lan, Li Tong and other generals, and first said to Zang Ba:
"Zang Ba later led his troops to ambush behind the mountain in front of him. When he saw the enemy coming to rob the village, he let him go. He only saw the fire in our camp, but he divided his troops and cut off his way back. He led his troops back and took advantage of the momentum to attack them. Behind, you can win all."

He also ordered Gao Lan and Li Tong, "You two lead an army each. When the enemy comes to rob the camp, you don't have to deal with the affairs of the camp. You go to the enemy camp from the way they came at night and set fire to it first." Burn the camp and enter the village, someone will come to meet you."

The three of them were ordered to go to prepare. Seeing that he had no task, Cao Chun hurriedly cupped his fists and said, "My lord, I..."

"Zihe, don't be impatient, I will fight the enemy with you!" Cao Cao interrupted Cao Chun, stroked his beard and asked, "How is the tiger and leopard cavalry training going?"

Cao Chun sighed helplessly: "Originally when Gongsun Zan was here, he promised to send three thousand good horses, but now Qingzhou is occupied by Liu He, and all the horses in Hebei are under his control. There is a shortage of horses in the army, and the tiger and leopard cavalry have not yet fully formed. "

"Time is destiny?" Cao Cao sighed looking up to the sky, walked to the door of the tent with his hands behind his back, looked at the sky full of stars, and said slowly: "If I can defeat Cheng Pu and win the land of Yanzhou, I will win There is still room for change... God can help me Cao Mengde?"

Cao Chunyan said: "Even if the sky doesn't help, the master's spirit in the sky will help us succeed."

The corners of Cao Cao's eyes twitched a few times when he heard the words, and an inexplicable sense of ominousness rose in his heart. He said no more, and ordered Cao Chun to lead his troops to lie outside the camp. , waiting for the enemy to come.

(End of this chapter)