Chapter 73 Chapter Nine: The Aunt Lost Her Nephew (4)

Zhang Xiu's pursuers were numerous, Cao Ang and Cao Anmin's death squads resisted desperately, and all died in battle.Only in this way can Cao Cao's few people escape from danger. However, Cao Cao's wife, Mrs. Ding, was very dissatisfied with the death of her beloved son, and she fell out with Cao Cao, so she returned to her hometown alone.Aside from feeling guilty, Cao Cao also sent someone to make a proper settlement for her.But Mrs. Ding didn't appreciate it, and ignored Cao Cao from then on.Cao Cao had no choice but to appoint Cao Pisheng's mother, Bian, as his wife. This is a later story.

Here is an introduction to Dianwei.At this time Dian Wei was still waving his pair of halberds weighing 80 jin, and led dozens of his death squads to block the gate, desperately preventing Zhang Xiujun's assault team from entering the base camp.Zhang Xiu's army couldn't get the exact news of Cao Cao, which affected the mobilization of the chasing troops.It can be seen from this that the reason why Cao Cao was able to escape safely was inseparable from Dian Wei's death squad. But seeing that there were too many Zhang Xiujun, Dian Wei's men were all killed in battle.Dian Wei himself was injured dozens of times because he was not wearing armor. In the end, he did not have the strength to use the double halberds, so he had to fight with a short knife, which was curled up.In the end, due to too much blood loss, he moved slowly, and was shot in the back again, screaming several times, bleeding all over the ground and died.

However, Zhang Xiu, who was frightened by the beating, still did not dare to step forward. It was not until Dian Wei breathed out his last breath that Zhang Xiujun stepped forward and cut off Dian Wei's head. Cao Cao wept bitterly when he heard the news of Dian Wei's death in Wuyang City.So he sent someone to negotiate with Zhang Xiu, asking for Dianwei's body to be buried in a grand manner. After Cao Jun assembled in Wuyang City, because of heavy losses, Cao Cao no longer wanted to fight again, so he ordered to retreat to Xudu first.Zhang Xiu got the news of Cao Cao's retreat and immediately prepared to pursue the victory.

Jia Xu advised him not to act hastily, but Zhang Xiu refused to listen, and continued to pursue with his team. However, Cao Cao personally led the main force to counterattack in Wuyang City, and was beaten and fled.Cao Cao's army did not pursue, and quickly withdrew to Xudu. Zhang Xiu was defeated and returned to Wancheng. He was ashamed to see Jia Xu.But Jia Xu advised him to return to the teacher immediately and fight again. Zhang Xiu was puzzled, but Jia Xu said that the situation of the army had changed, and another attack would surely win. Zhang Xiu hurriedly collected the remnants of the army and chased Cao Jun again. Sure enough, he won a big victory and got a lot of weapons and supplies.Zhang Xiu didn't know the secret, so she asked Jia Xu about it.

Jia Xu said frankly that although Zhang Xiu's command and combat ability was not as good as Cao Cao's, it surpassed Cao Cao's generals.When Wuyang City gathered and retreated, due to the seriousness of the situation, Cao Cao would definitely cut off the rear, and all the soldiers were determined to die. Their combat effectiveness was definitely beyond the reach of the Zhangxiu Army, so they would definitely be defeated by Cao Jun.After the pursuit battle turned defeat into victory, Cao Cao was in a hurry to return to Xudu, thinking that the crisis was over, and he would hand over the responsibility to other generals. At this time, Zhang Xiujun went to pursue and would surely win.

After hearing this, Zhang Xiu suddenly realized, and admired Jia Xu's incisive analysis very much. When Cao Cao ordered the immediate retreat from Wancheng to Wuyang City, the troops split up.At this time, something went wrong with the Qingzhou Army led by Xiahou Dun. In the past, the Qingzhou Army had always had a loose military discipline due to poor training. This time, taking advantage of the chaotic retreat, a large number of soldiers went to the countryside to rob people's homes.The common people suffered unspeakably as if they were being robbed by bandits. When Colonel Pinglu Yujin heard the news, he was also in the process of retreating urgently at the time, so he immediately assembled troops to encircle and suppress the villagers to reassure the villagers. Yujin usually used warnings to stop and drive away the Qingzhou soldiers who robbed people's homes. Only those who resist and do not listen will be punished.

When Qingzhou soldiers saw Yujin's troops coming, most of them were frightened and fled one after another.However, the Qingzhou soldiers in Cao Cao's base camp, who were desperately fleeing, reported to Cao Cao for rebellion and slaughtered many people in their own camp.When Cao Cao heard this, how could he not be surprised? He still ordered the troops of Li Dian, Le Jin, and Cao Hong, who arrived first, to regroup as soon as possible for emergency response.On the other hand, a spy was sent to inquire about the movement of the imperial army. After Yu Jin stopped the Qingzhou army who robbed people's houses, he rushed to Wuyang City.But because he was delayed on the way, when Yu Jin was about to reach Wuyang City, Zhang Xiu's pursuers had already gathered.The situation was quite urgent, so Yu Jin had no time to ask Cao Cao for instructions, so he ordered the formation to be deployed first and fortifications to be carried out.At this time, someone told Yu Jin that Qingzhou soldiers had accused him of treason in front of Cao Cao, so it is better to meet Cao Cao as soon as possible to distinguish right from wrong.If under such circumstances, building fortifications here, wouldn't it arouse Cao Cao's suspicion even more?

Yu Jin said sternly: "Now the enemy is behind and will arrive at any time. If you don't build fortifications quickly, how can you resist the enemy? It is not easy to defend yourself, but it is more important to resist the enemy. Besides, Mr. Cao is smart, right and wrong. If you will find out, how can you believe it?" Sure enough, as soon as Yu Jin's deployment was completed, Zhang Xiu chased him.Yu Jin took the lead and fought hard. Cao Jun took the opportunity to break out from Wuyang City and defeated Zhang Xiu's army. Cao Cao was very happy, and he already understood nine out of ten things about Yu Jin.Immediately summoned Yu Jin, and he understood everything when asked, and said to Jin: "We lost very miserably in this battle. But the general was in chaos, and he was still able to organize the army and fight against violent soldiers. In a hurry, he was able to organize Soldiers build fortifications, let go of slander, let go of complaints, and never waver, so that our army can turn defeat into victory. This move by the general, even a famous general in ancient times, may not be able to do it!"

In addition to praising Jin before the generals, Cao Cao also gave Yu Jin a pair of gold utensils, and named Yu Jin the Marquis of Yishouting. When Cao Cao returned to Xudu, even the counties of Nanyang and Jiangling fell to Zhang Xiu's camp, and Cao Cao almost completely lost his right to rule Yuzhou.Although Cao Hong continued to carry out surprise battles against Zhang Xiujun during this period, the effect was not great.Therefore, coupled with the difficulty in food supply, after consideration, Cao Cao ordered to withdraw eastward to Yecheng and hold on temporarily.Zhang Xiu didn't relax, and often sent troops to threaten and harass the defenders of Yecheng.

In the second year of Jian'an, that is, in 197 AD, in December, Cao Cao decided to go west again after respite. At this time, Zhang Xiu's base camp was still located in Wancheng, but his forward troops were deployed in Wuyang City, eighty miles to the northeast.Zhang Xiu's ally, Liu Biao, Mu of Jingzhou, dispatched support troops to Huyang City, about 90 miles southeast of Wancheng, to serve as horns to prevent Cao's army from invading the western half of Yuzhou. Cao Cao adopted a mid-to-long-term strategy this time, and no longer rushed to occupy Yuzhou, but focused on the stable operation of the eastern half of Yuzhou.So Cao Cao sent an overwhelming army to block the gate of Wancheng, making it impossible for Zhang Xiu to get out.And completely cut off the connection between Wuyang City and Huyang City.Wuyang City is closer to Yanzhou, and it is easier to take it, so Cao Cao ignored it at all, but directly sent Cao Ren to lead the army to attack Huyang.

The Zhangxiu forward army guarding Wuyang City thought that Cao Cao would attack them, so they built a very complete defense project.Unexpectedly, Cao Cao's army ignored them, making Wuyang City "no war on the front line".The defenders of Wuyang City didn't know what to do, because the connection with Wancheng had been cut off, so they couldn't advance or retreat, and completely lost their minds. On the contrary, the Jingzhou army in Huyang City, who had come to make do with it, was the first to be beaten unexpectedly.Because there was no preparation, he would lose his mind after a fight, so he had to abandon Huyang City and retreat to Jingzhou.