Three Kingdoms: I help Liu Bei grow thousands of miles

Page 167

Guan Yu and Zhou Cang hurried out of the city, while Xu Shu ordered people to prepare troops and horses, and at the same time handed over the city defense matters to Guan Ping. Although the threat from the Yangtze River had been lifted, there was no guarantee that Jiangling would not be involved in meticulous work. Xu Shu worked very hard on Jiangling city defense, Don't worry about other people's safety.

Because Xu Shu was not in a hurry, he waited until the next day to bring [-] soldiers to Dangyang. He walked slowly on the road for two days before arriving, and Guan Yu had already made a commotion in Hanshui.

In order to deal with the invading navy from Jiangdong, Guan Yu took away all the warships he could mobilize, including those patrolling the Hanshui River. After Cao Ren got the news, he sent dozens of patrol boats to send news from the south to Xiangfan every day. deliver.

Leaving the shock of the Jingzhou Navy, Xiangfan's patrol boats were no longer limited to the waters of Zhangshan, and had wandered southward to the vicinity of Xiakou. The Yangkou Canal and Xiashui, two tributaries connecting Jiangling, also had Cao Jun's patrol boats in them. After Lu Su took over Jiangxia's defense, he only cleared the eyeliner in Jiangxia's waters for the time being.

Jingzhou's naval forces reentered the Hanshui River. Guan Yu aggressively captured more than a dozen patrol boats along the way, but was "accidentally" escaped a few of them.

The news of Guan Yu's navy going north was quickly sent back to Xiangfan.

Lu Chang, the prefect who stayed in Xiangyang, sent someone to deliver a letter to Cao Ren, and at the same time sent someone to Runan to ask for help.

It was dusk when Xu Shu arrived in the south of Dangyang City, and Zhao Yun and Liao Hua had already withdrawn their troops and returned to the camp.

Zhao Yun was overjoyed to see Xu Shu. Cao Ren was not only good at defending the city, but also proficient in formations. Zhao Yun had endless power but couldn't use it. In addition, Cao Jun had more troops than his own, so Zhao Yun and Liao Hua dared not divide their troops to attack.

"It's good if you come, military commander, has the trouble in the Yangtze River been solved?" Zhao Yun asked.

Xu Shu replied: "Yunchang and Ziyu have been settled properly, and now Cao Ren's army has not retreated. We can't let Cao's army take root here, otherwise Jiangling will be threatened at any time."

"Cao Ren is really powerful. He only set up a thousand-man formation outside the south gate. General Zilong tried several times but failed. The other three generals went to fight, but the opponent couldn't hold out." Liao Hua shook his head straight. .

Xu Shu's face was serious: "Oh? This is interesting. As long as Cao Ren's formation is broken, he will definitely abandon Dangyang and go to Xiangyang. Yuan Jian (Liao Hua) can take advantage of me and Zilong to break the formation tomorrow morning and lead three thousand troops to rush Go to a secluded place in the north of Dangyang to lay an ambush, and after Cao Ren's main force has left, attack and kill the army behind him, leaving behind some food and supplies."

Zhao Yun asked with a smile: "Why is the military advisor, like Yide, always wanting to take advantage of Cao Jun? But why are you so sure that Cao Ren will leave? Could it be that someone will attack Xiangfan?"

Xu Shu affirmed: "I remember Ziyu's famous saying, 'If you can't take advantage, you will suffer a loss'. After thinking about it, it really makes sense. General Guan's main navy set out first, and now they should approach Xiangfan along the Han River. If Cao Ren If you are not afraid of being isolated, you will definitely lead your troops back."

"I knew the military division had back-hands." Zhao Yun nodded repeatedly.

In the early morning of the next day, Xu Shu and Zhao Yunming attacked Dangyang. Cao Ren still set up formations in the south of the city, waiting for Zhao Yun to break through the formation with great contempt.

Niu Jin knew Zhao Yun, who was on a white horse and silver armor, and when he saw the Jingzhou army coming to attack the city again, he stood at the top of the city and sneered coldly: "It is said that Zhao Zilong is the tiger general in the world, but it is a pity that he has defeated the general several times in a row, and he is shameful again today." Now?"

Zhao Yun ignored Niu Jin's sighs, and clasped his fists to ask Xu Shu, "Military Master, this formation is a bit mysterious, let me show you when I enter the formation first."

"Zilong be careful." Xu Shu reined in his horse and looked familiar.

Zhao Yun led a group of troops into the formation, only to see that the formation suddenly moved, with infantry shields covering the front of the formation, and pikemen piercing and attacking behind.

Zhao Yun relied on his personal bravery to charge left and right, but the opponents were like rivers and rivers going east and west, and the troops he led soon became tired of coping and fell into a dangerous situation.

Seeing this, Xu Shu immediately called for gold to withdraw his troops. Zhao Yun fled back covered in blood, and only a dozen or so cavalry escaped from the two hundred followers. Cao Jun laughed fiercely on the city wall.

"Military division, you saw it clearly just now, do you want me to explore the formation again?" Zhao Yun asked out of breath.

Xu Shu stretched out his hand to stop him, "This is the eight-door Golden Lock Formation. The eight doors are Xiu, Sheng, Injury, Du, Scenery, Death, Surprise, and Open. From the door of life, the door of scene, and the opening of the door, you enter auspiciousness, from the door of injury, and the door of shock." , Shut the gate and enter the injury, enter through the Du gate and the gate of death and die.

Cao Ren did have some skills, but it is not difficult to break through this formation. General Zilong can attack from the Shengmen Gate in the southeast corner, and if he goes out to the west Jingmen Gate, the formation will be chaotic. "

"I'm going to prepare now." Zhao Yun was overjoyed.

Xu Shu called Liao Hua again and told him: "Zilong will break through the eight-gate golden lock array. Yuan Jian can take advantage of Cao Jun's attention on the south gate and sneak around to the north of the city to ambush. Dangyang will break the city at this time."

"Wei." Liao Hua cupped his fists and accepted the order.

Niu Jin on the city wall saw that Zhao Yun was defeated and did not retreat, so he asked the general Cao Ren curiously: "General, Zhao Yun is very unusual today, it seems that he is mobilizing troops to break the formation again, is he crazy?"

Cao Renxu picked up his goatee, "Zhao Yun is not a man who has made a name for himself, maybe he lost his soldiers and horses several times in the past two days and found a way to break the formation?"

"Impossible, the general's eight-door golden lock formation is so mysterious, how can Zhao Yunpiff see through it?" Niu Jin didn't care.

At this time, Cao Ren had received Xiangyang's request for help, and was planning how to withdraw from Dangyang. Suddenly, his elite cavalry came to report that a small number of Jingzhou troops were secretly moving eastward.

Cao Ren was very keen and instinctively sensed the danger, "Immediately let Cai Ji replace Chen Zhao, who is in the front line, and we will immediately purge our troops and gather to the north of the city.

Zhao Yun should have an expert here, and he wants to cut off the way back to Xiangyang, but what can Xu Bingma do to me? "

"Then, general..." Niu Jin asked suspiciously.

Cao Ren frowned: "Be careful when sailing for ten thousand years."

Niu Jin nodded and followed Cao Ren down the city wall, lamenting that Cao Ren did not forget to replace Chen Zhao before he left. After all, his nephew was closer to Cai Mao's nephew.

Chapter 349

Zhao Yun selected hundreds of elites to line up in front, and Xu Shu asked people to carry out the wine stored in the army to strengthen their courage, and when they were ready, they entered the battle again through the Shengmen in the southeast corner.

The leader of the Bamen Golden Lock formation was temporarily replaced by Cai Ji. A few days ago, he served as Chen Zhao's deputy general in the formation, and his sudden promotion made him very excited.

Cai Ji watched Zhao Yun enter the battle. He commanded the formation to change step by step. The soldiers kept moving after receiving the military order, imagining insulting Zhao Yun a few more times, and then retreated back to the city for the morning shift.

Zhao Yun's formation-breaking team was mixed with infantry and cavalry. Zhao Yun got Xu Shu's instructions and ordered the soldiers to keep the formation and move with him, and secretly ordered the crossbowmen to hide in the team, so that they could shoot and kill the bannermen while they were marching.

If large formations want to quickly change formations, they will use command flags as the first choice for orders. Although Zhao Yun failed to create formations in the past few times, he found that there are blue flags in every gate. The only color that is so evenly distributed is the hunting target of archers. Just the blue flag bearer.

Zhao Yun followed Xu Shu's route and rushed into the formation, and found that there was no difficulty. In addition, the archers hit several standard bearers, and some of them were chaotic for a while when the new standard bearers took over.

The eight-door golden lock formation is constantly changing, and through the changes, the soldiers and horses entering the formation are cyclically blocked. The soldiers were led away by Zhao Yun during the movement. The two gates were pierced through one corner by Zhao Yun vertically.

When Zhao Yun came out from Zhengxi Jingmen, the Golden Lock Formation of Eight Gates had been smashed in chaos, and the soldiers and horses brought into the formation were basically undamaged.

Facing the ridicule of the Jingzhou soldiers, the defender Cai Ji's cheeks were hot, and he wanted to get into the mud right away. When he looked back, he found that Cao Ren and Niu Jin were gone in the city. Did the two generals think that their command was poor?

Huge pressure surged onto Cai Ji's forehead, and then beads of sweat burst out one by one.

At this time, Xu Shu marched with drums. He wanted to test Cao Ren's determination to defend the city. Zhao Yun, who had broken the formation, turned his horse's head and commanded the accompanying soldiers and horses to attack again.

"General Cai, it seems that the other party is going to attack the city from the south, so let's quickly retreat to the city?" Cai Ji's entourage hurriedly reminded.

There are only a thousand people in the eight-door golden lock formation, and without the defensive power of Dangyang City Wall, it cannot withstand the attack of thousands of Jingzhou soldiers.

Cai Ji nodded, "Okay, okay, go and call the city gate open, and I'll direct the defense."

"only."

Jingzhou soldiers stepped on the drums, shouted and ran forward. Zhao Yun's troops charged forward. Because they broke through the eight-door golden lock formation, the morale of the troops was far higher than before, and Cai Ji's soldiers couldn't resist it.

"Is the city gate open? We can't stop it anymore." Cai Ji asked anxiously as his attendants rushed over.

The attendant swallowed his saliva, "General, the last general just shouted for a long time, but there was no answer in the city, and no one came to open the door, could it be..."

"Impossible, absolutely not..." Cai Ji turned his head with a frightened expression, because the archers on the city wall also disappeared. When did this happen?

From the moment Cao Ren replaced his nephew Chen Zhao, the troops outside the south gate had already been abandoned, because he wanted to transfer the baggage in Dangyang City, so he and Niu Jin gathered at the north gate ahead of time. Dangyang is important.

"What's wrong with the general?" the follower asked anxiously.

Cai Ji made a decisive decision: "General Zixiao should be worried that opening the city gate will allow the other party to sneak in, so hurry up and take everyone to the east to detour into the city."

"Wei." The entourage arranged immediately.

The sound of shouting and killing became more and more intense. Seeing that there were fewer and fewer soldiers and horses, Cai Ji waved his whip in a panic, first retreated, and then walked west with the whip.

But as soon as Cai Ji ran a few feet away, he realized that something was wrong, and the entourage who sent the order led many soldiers to chase after him.

"Didn't I tell you to run east? This is the west..." Cai Ji was extremely surprised.

"The last general did send an order to go eastward, I don't know why they caught up, I'm here to protect the general..." Sui hurriedly explained.

Cai Ji was speechless. Originally, he wanted to sneak away by himself, because there were so few people, he would not be noticed. Now this fleeing team has long been targeted by Zhao Yun.

It's useless to talk, let's run.

The galloping and vigorous cavalry chased after them, covering and killing the panicked deserters along the way. Zhao Yun suddenly recalled the moment when he chased and killed Cao Jun. The sword was seized at Changbanpo, Dangyang.

Thinking of this, Zhao Yun threw his gun on the side of the road, drew out the green sword at his waist, and rode his horse to kill the enemy, killing several generals in an instant.

When Cai Ji supported Ma Xiang and turned his head, he found that Zhao Yun had given up his long spear. He was one inch long and one inch stronger in the immediate battle. His eyes were wide open, and he finally made a decision.

Wealth and wealth are in danger, what can Zhao Yun without a gun do?Perhaps his chance to make a name for himself has come, Cai Ji swung the long knife in his hand and reined in his horse to go back.

The horse galloped fiercely under the warm sun, and Cai Ji raised his sword to slash Zhao Yun's back, but his strength and speed were not enough. With years of combat experience, Zhao Yun had already sensed the opponent the moment he raised the sword.

The moment the broadsword fell, Zhao Yun pressed one hand on the saddle, turned around and swung the sword strangely with the reverse thrust.

With a sound of jingling, the Qingzhi sword cut off Cai Ji's blade accurately, and then swung the sword forward with undiminished strength, only to see a cavity of hot blood gushing from his neck.

Cai Ji's head and broken blade fell to the ground at the same time. He had a chance to escape but died because of greed.

Looking at Cai Ji's attire and horses, Zhao Yun infers that this person should be a general, why can't he think about turning around and looking for death?Because the main general was beheaded, the rest of the Cao army saw that their companions were getting fewer and fewer, so they had no choice but to surrender on their knees and beg for mercy.

Seeing that there were almost no defenders on the south wall, Xu Shu judged that Cao Ren's attitude towards defending the city might be negative because of the attack on Xiangyang, so he ordered a strong attack from the south gate, while Zhao Yun led hundreds of soldiers to detour to the west gate.

Not long after Xu Shu entered Dangyang from the south gate, Zhao Yun also knocked on the west gate by surrendering troops, and then two groups of soldiers and horses fought street battles with the remnants of Dangyang City. Two hours later, Zhao Yun and Xu Shu joined forces in the center of the city.

"Did Zilong meet Cao Ren's main force?" Xu Shu asked when they met.

Zhao Yun shook his head: "I didn't see..."

Xu Shu's left palm and right fist collided together, and he said sadly: "Cao Ren is really cunning and quick-witted. He purposely used the eight-door golden lock array to delay time, and arranged for dead men to fight in the city. It should be leaked by Yuan Jian when he made a detour." lost track..."

"Then what should we do now?" Zhao Yun asked eagerly.

Xu Shu quickly said: "Cao Ren raised an elite cavalry, Yuan Jian only brought [-] soldiers to ambush, if impulsive blocking may be in danger, Zilong quickly led [-] soldiers to the north to meet them."

"As long as Cao Ren doesn't have a new formation to block the way, I will definitely bring Yuan Jian back to Dangyang intact." Zhao Yun clenched his fists.

After Cao Ren settled Dangyang's defense, he personally led the elite cavalry to open the way ahead. When he walked slowly for twenty miles, he didn't find anyone setting up an ambush at all.

Cao Ren stroked his beard and pondered. Was the group of soldiers moving eastward in the morning suspicious?Maybe not at all.

3 Fifty Chapters Fishing in Troubled Waters

"Uncle, what are you thinking?" Chen Zhao asked curiously when Cao Ren was standing on the horse pondering.

Cao Ren frowned and replied: "Yesterday Taishou Lu sent a letter saying that Guan Yu attacked Xiangyang and Fancheng from the Han River. We must hurry back. The reinforcements from Runan may not be able to cross the river smoothly."

"No wonder uncle suddenly gave up Dangyang, then now..." Chen Zhao hesitated to speak.

Cao Ren held the horsewhip in his hand and looked at the soldiers marching slowly: "The marching speed of escorting the luggage is too slow. I plan to lead the cavalry from the headquarters to return to Xiangyang first. You, Deputy General Niu and the rear army should follow carefully. Grain and grass are all belongings outside the body, so you can deliberately block the way to hinder their advance."

"Wei." Niu Jin (Chen Zhao) cupped his fists at the same time.

After Cao Ren confessed, he immediately led his cavalry away. He was the son of Chen Muhou Cao Chi. He recruited an army of thousands of people in his early years. This is the predecessor of Cao Ren's elite cavalry. Become stronger.

Later, Cao Cao raised troops in Chenliu, and Cao Ren led his troops to respond. He was equal to Liu Bei's Guan Yu in Cao Ying, and often led troops alone in battle, possessing relatively strong strength and autonomy.

In the era of the cold war, the cost of building a cavalry was very high, and it was impossible to support it without a certain strength. Cao Ren had no inheritance rights because he was a concubine. Cao Chun also had the strength to form the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry because he inherited the title.

After Cao Ren left, Niu Jin urged his pawns to hurry, because it took two days to go north from Dangyang to Bian County, and it took nearly two days to walk from Bian County to Xiangyang. Seeing that the sky was getting dark, he walked far Some prevent Zhao Yun from catching up.

The marching infantry could barely keep up, but the team carrying the luggage was obviously unable to do what it wanted. Seeing this, Niu Jin called Chen Zhao and told him: "Young master and the brigade go forward, and then camp for another thirty or fifty li, and I will take 2000 people to escort After the luggage is broken."

"Then I'll wait while I walk." Chen Zhao nodded.

Niu Jin and Chen Zhao divided their forces again, and Chen Zhao was worried that there would be a sneak attack from the rear, so he deliberately selected [-] elite soldiers to march slowly, and support them between the front army and the supply team.

The baggage team walked for five miles, and finally came to Liao Hua's ambush point. He remembered Xu Shu's words to only attack weak links, so he first let go of Cao Ren's cavalry, and then let go of Chen Zhao's main infantry.

When Niu Jin escorted the convoy to appear, Liao Hua knew that he could no longer let go.

Shouts were released from both sides of the official road, and thousands of torches shone like fireflies. Then Liao turned himself into the first soldier to seize food, grass and supplies, and Niu Jin commanded the rear army to fight in panic.

Because the two sides had equal strength, the fight was evenly matched, but both sides had keenly noticed the sudden gathering of torches on the official road, Zhao Yun who was chasing behind, and Chen Zhao who was supporting in front.

Knowing that it was Liao Hua who was blocking the attack, Zhao Yun hurriedly mobilized his soldiers and horses to rush to the battlefield.

Chen Zhao also appreciated his own judgment very much. He knew that Niu Jin would be in trouble, and thought that each of our nephew and uncle would save you once.

When the troops rescued by Chen Zhao arrived, Zhao Yun had already joined the battlefield first, and Niu Jin couldn't resist his retreat. At this time, night had completely fallen, and the enemy and us fought together with torches.

Seeing that reinforcements were coming, Niu Jin didn't want to waste his time here, so he ordered others to abandon the luggage, and ran directly to Chen Zhao's reinforcements to join them before retreating.

Zhao Yun and Liao Hua clung to each other, and Chen Zhao's army was also forced into a dark melee. The two sides fought for two hours, causing casualties to each other, but because it was difficult to distinguish the enemy from ourselves in the dark, it was easy to accidentally injure them. In the end, everyone had a tacit understanding and withdrew their troops to the north and south. .

Niu Jin gave up food and supplies and returned to the north, while Zhao Yun and Liao Hua collected the spoils and returned to Dangyang.

Cao Jun walked two or three miles forward, joined the main force of the former army and found that Chen Zhao was not there, Niu Jin hurriedly called a lieutenant general and asked, "Where is Mr. Zhao?"

"Didn't he go to rescue you?" General Pi replied.

Niu Jin opened his eyes wide and swallowed his saliva. Could it be that Chen Zhao died in the scuffle just now?When I returned to Xiangyang, how would I explain to Cao Ren?

Niu Jin is an open-minded person. He didn't worry too much about Chen Zhao's disappearance, and ordered the large army to light torches and continue on. Whether it's a blessing or a curse, he can't avoid it. When he sees Cao Ren, he can only report the truth.

In fact, Chen Zhao didn't die in battle. He was dragged off his horse in the melee just now, and when the two armies separated, he was pushed back by Liao Hua's soldiers by mistake. He had no choice but to pretend to be an infantry and go south.

In order not to make the officers and generals next to him suspicious, Chen Zhao took off the general's armor on purpose, and then deliberately fell down while pushing the grain cart, rolling the plaster of his underwear and hair all his life, looking like a little soldier in distress .

Chen Zhao originally wanted to take the opportunity to escape, but Liao Hua's army was pushing the baggage cart in front, and Zhao Yun led the team to follow behind, so there was no possibility of escaping.

In this way, Chen Zhao was forced to approach Dangyang, but there was not much time left for him to escape. When he arrived at Dangyang and unloaded the captured luggage, Liao Hua would ask the various departments to count the number of people, and there was a high probability that the 'fakes' would show their true colors. Bi Lu, so Chen Zhao lowered his head all the way thinking about how to get out.