The Nameless of the Common Clans

"Bang~"

After another fight, it was still difficult to determine the winner. Ma Chao wanted to go past Xu Chu to chase Cao Cao, but Xu Chu was determined to protect Cao Cao from escaping. After dozens of rounds of fighting, Xu Chu's Tiger Guards were almost wiped out, and more than half of Ma Chao's cavalry were also killed. A horn sounded in the distance, which meant that Cao Cao's reinforcements had arrived. At this time, there was obviously no chance to continue chasing Cao Cao. Ma Chao looked at Xu Chu with hatred, and the spear in his hand became more and more brave. He wanted to kill Xu Chu before Cao's army surrounded him to relieve his hatred.

The spear flew and gradually became a little weird. Xu Chu was already struggling, but he still dragged Ma Chao desperately. There were not many Tiger Guards around. Once Ma Chao retreated, facing the rush of Xiliang Iron Cavalry, Xu Chu could only die on the spot no matter how fierce he was.

"Puff~"

Ma Chao's spear left a bloody hole in Xu Chu's body, but Xu Chu's sword almost split Ma Chao's forehead. Fortunately, Ma Chao raised his head to dodge in a hurry, but his helmet was cut by Xu Chu's sword. Although Ma Chao's spear injured Xu Chu, he failed to kill Xu Chu.

"You're lucky!" Blood kept flowing from Ma Chao's forehead and slid down his face. The horn of Cao's pursuers behind him was very close. He had no time to entangle with Xu Chu anymore. He turned his horse's head and led his men and horses to kill in the opposite direction.

Xu Chu furiously killed more than a dozen Xiliang cavalrymen who wanted to take advantage of the opportunity, and he was also stabbed twice, but this disaster was finally over.

"Zhongkang, where is the lord!?" After Xiahou Yuan arrived, he saw the new recruits in a mess and felt something was wrong. He chased all the way, but he didn't catch up with Ma Chao. Instead, he saw Xu Chu resting in the same place and bandaging his wounds, and asked hurriedly.

"My lord has fled... ahem... my lord has retreated back to Suiyang." Xu Chu sighed, looked at Xiahou Yuan and said, "My lord is fine, general, you should chase the thief as soon as possible!"

Cao Cao was indeed fine, but a little embarrassed. He was forced by Ma Chao to cut off his beard and abandon his robe. This was definitely the first time in Cao Cao's career. When he returned to Suiyang, if Cao Cao had not been supported by his warhorse, he would have almost fallen to the ground.

"My lord, are you fine?" Xun Yu, who came hurriedly, looked at Cao Cao like this, and said while supporting him.

"I am fine." Cao Cao took a deep breath, then looked at Xun Yu and said, "Pass on my military order, order all units to do their best to capture and kill Ma Chao, regardless of life or death!"

Without too many words, Ma Chao had offended Cao Cao this time.

"Yes!" Seeing that Cao Cao was indeed fine, Xun Yu nodded and immediately gave the order.

On the other side, after Ma Chao got rid of the pursuers, his scouts quickly found that Le Jin was leading his troops to rush over here.

Turning his head to look at the tired soldiers behind him, Ma Chao knew very well that it would be difficult for him to win against any army at this time. Although he had just killed Cao Cao's guards, in the battle with Xu Chu's Tiger Guard Camp, Ma Chao's cavalry suffered heavy losses. If he started another battle at this time, he would definitely lose.

"General, what should we do now?" a general asked.

"Go south!" Ma Chao said after thinking for a moment. Cao's encirclement must have a loophole with Xiahou Yuan's pursuit, and this loophole is in the south.

In fact, it was just as Ma Chao thought. Because Ma Chao suddenly went crazy and went straight to the central army to cause trouble, Cao Cao's previously deployed encirclement network had errors and loopholes, which also gave Ma Chao a chance to break out. When Xiahou Yuan received Cao Cao's order and prepared to continue to encircle Ma Chao, Ma Chao had successfully shaken off Le Jin and broke out from Xiahou Yuan's direction. Later, Cao Hong and Li Dian were a step slower and failed to trap Ma Chao again.

After Cao Cao got the news, he could only secretly admit that he was unlucky, which indirectly helped Ma Chao become famous.

"How could Chen Mo let such a reckless man come to explore the strength of our army?" Cao Cao couldn't help but complain to Guo Jia and Cheng Yu around him.

If it were a normal general, unless he knew that Cao Cao was bluffing, he would not find Cao Cao even if he wanted to break out. After all, no one would have thought that Cao Cao, as the commander of the three armies, had few elite soldiers around him, but he didn't scare Ma Chao. Instead, he was killed by Ma Chao and almost staged a scene of the army taking the commander's head.

If he really succeeded, Cao Cao would be laughed at even after his death.

"I heard that when Chen and Cao were fighting in Muye, it was this Ma Chao who accidentally found the place where Yuan Shao stored grain, which eventually forced Yuan Shao to fight Chen Mo." Guo Jia shook his head. This Ma Chao was really a bit weird. Not to mention his ability, his luck was really good. Last time he accidentally burned Yuan Shao's military rations, this time he directly attacked Cao Cao, forcing Cao Cao to cut off his beard and abandon his robe. Not only did he test Cao Cao's strength, but he also made himself famous. By the way, before the battle even started, the morale of Cao's army was low. How could people go to reason with this?

Cao Cao's face became even uglier when he heard this. So, Ma Chao was really a lucky general, but not his lucky general.

After sighing for a while, Cao Cao said: "Order all departments to continue moving forward."

Once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back. Cao Cao can't give up this battle because of Ma Chao. He can't wait any longer. This battle is imperative.

"Yes!" Everyone agreed. After Cao Cao joined Xu Chu, he gathered his troops again and set out for Chenliu. Although Ma Chao escaped this time, Cao Cao vowed to avenge him next time.

This time, Cao Cao did not dare to wait for only the logistics workers and new soldiers to set off. Xiahou Yuan and Le Jin followed the guards on the left and right and rushed all the way to Chenliu, ready to fight a decisive battle with Chen Mo.

On the other side, Chen Mo has also sworn to go to war. This time, Chen Mo also mobilized a lot of troops, 70,000 troops from Guanzhong and Jizhou, plus the garrison in Xingyang, plus the army in Jizhou that competed with Cao's army. This time, Chen Mo sent more than 100,000 troops. Since the chaos in the world and the disputes among the princes, although the princes claimed to have hundreds of thousands of troops in each battle, in fact, this battle between Chen Mo and Cao Cao was the war with the most troops mobilized so far.

Counting the troops mobilized by both sides in various battlefields, the total number of troops in this battle between the two sides is close to 300,000. The eyes of the princes in the world all fell on this side. It is no exaggeration to say that this battle may determine the final ownership of the entire world.

At the end of December, 70,000 troops marched out of Chenggao and entered the battlefield of the Central Plains. Various large-scale war equipment was continuously pulled up. In this battle, Chen Mo's goal is not only to defeat Cao Cao, but also to completely take over the Central Plains.

Xingyang, General's Mansion

"My lord, this is the defense map of the Xingyang area. Please take a look." Yu Sheng had a huge map hung up for Chen Mo and a group of counselors and generals to watch. In addition to Xingyang, Aocang, Zhongmu, Jingxian, Guancheng, and Longcheng, cities controlled by Chen Mo east of Chenggao, Yu Sheng also chose strategic locations such as Guandu, Meishan, and Putian to set up camps, and marked the garrison, troop distribution and other information.

"In order to prevent generals from betraying, these cities and camps have two main generals. If the main general defected, the deputy general had the right to kill him, and vice versa. In addition, beacon towers were set up in various places. Food and grass were delivered every half month. Every time, the flags, passwords and corresponding tokens needed to be matched. If any of them did not match, they would be regarded as enemies." Yu Sheng explained in detail to Chen Mo and others the deployment of soldiers in this area and his defense measures.

Chen Mo listened with great interest, and turned his head to look at everyone and said, "You are all veterans in the army, do you have any additions?"

Additions?

The generals looked at each other, how to add? Yu Sheng has arranged almost all the enemy's attack methods that can be thought of. If anyone wants to attack Chen Mo's city east of Chenggao, they can't think of any way except for a strong attack. If there is a problem, it can only be said that Yu Sheng has allocated the troops too carefully, but because of this, if the enemy army attacks one point, it is difficult to spare a hand to support, and the whole body will be affected. But now that Chen Mo has come, he has brought 70,000 elite troops, so this problem is no longer a problem. In terms of defense, Yu Sheng has done it to the extreme. No matter which direction the Cao army attacks from, there is no other way to go except for a strong attack.

Even if someone was instigated to rebel or someone launched a sneak attack, it would be impossible to achieve any major breakthrough according to Yu Sheng's arrangement. Even if Cao's army attacked purely by force, the so-called 300,000-man army would not have the strength to attack Luoyang even if they finally broke through Chenggao.

Moreover, now that Chen Mo is here, it is impossible to give Cao Cao the opportunity to advance step by step.

After a moment, Xun You was the first to exclaim: "I have heard that General Yu is known as the Iron Wall General. Today, after seeing this picture, I know why the general has this title! If the deployment from Xingyang to Zhongmu is as the general said, I am afraid no one can find any omissions."

The other generals also nodded silently. Yu Sheng, like Bao Geng, was the earliest general to follow Chen Mo. Although he has always been independent, he is far less dazzling than Bao Geng, who was the earliest to follow Chen Mo, among the generals under Chen Mo. Many people even feel unfair for Bao Geng. Why can Yu Sheng be independent, but Bao Geng has been with Chen Mo until he died and was conferred a title.

Now looking at this picture and listening to Yu Sheng's unhurried explanation, the generals are convinced. The Iron Wall General is worthy of his reputation. Facing such an opponent, it is absolutely difficult for the enemy to break through his defense line.

Although Bao Geng was brave, he died in battle the first time he fought alone. Although it was a bit disrespectful to the dead, Yu Sheng was indeed stronger in terms of ability. At least he was blocking the front, and everyone could rest assured.

"Now Cao Cao is attacking, Yu Sheng, where do you think is suitable for a decisive battle with Cao's army?" Chen Mo asked with a smile.

"Guan Du." Yu Sheng pointed to the map and said, "The terrain here is open, suitable for cavalry to gallop, and if Cao's army wants to use a trick, it will be difficult to work. The west is high and the east is low, and the terrain is more favorable to our army."

Chen Mo nodded, looked at the map and smiled, "Not bad."