Chapter 108 Chapter Fourteen

In order to make up for the initial military setbacks and restore morale and military prestige, Yuan Shao gave up the entanglement with Yu Jin in the Yanjin area, crossed the river from Baimajin, and then surrounded Baima City where Liu Yan was stationed. The vanguard general Yan Liang commanded the Baima City. Siege operations.Yan Liang was brave and ferocious, and the generals of Liu Yan's army almost lost their courage when they heard of his name. Liu Yan had no choice but to adopt a strategy of sticking to his defenses, strengthening his fortifications, and tenaciously resisting with arrow rain and falling rocks.

Liu Yan's emergency document was sent to Cao Mengde's base camp. "How to solve the danger of Baima?" Cao Mengde did not expect Yuan Shao's vanguard to attack Baima City so soon. Xun You said: "If we moved our troops to Yanjin and pretended to attack Liyang, Yuan Shao's headquarters, Yuan Shao would definitely deploy heavy troops to defend Liyang, and then we would send light cavalry troops to Baima to relieve the danger of Baima." Cao Mengde decisively adopted Xun You's suggestion, and led his army to pretend to cross Yanjin to attack Liyang. Yuan Shaoman thought that Cao Mengde was desperately coming to Liyang, so he immediately transferred his heavy troops back to the north bank of Yanjin, preparing for a decisive battle with Cao's army going north.

Unexpectedly, after Cao Mengde's main force arrived in Yanjin, he only left Xiahouyuan's infantry at the ferry, pretending to cross the river in a big way, but he led the light cavalry troops to Baima City. Cao Mengde was stationed on a dirt hill outside Baima City. Looking at the wide field in front of the mountain, Yan Liang led about 50,000 to 60,000 elite troops in a formation.Cao Mengde had heard of Yan Liang's prestige for a long time, but unexpectedly he had a large number of troops, but he only brought a few thousand troops with him. It seems that Cao Mengde had made up his mind and pointed at Yan Liang with a horsewhip and said, "Who can take Yan Liang's head?"

Lu Bu sent Song Xian to pat his horse and jumped down the mountain. In the blink of an eye, Cao Mengde saw Song Xian rolling off the horse.Seeing that his companion was beheaded, Wei Xu didn't wait for Cao Mengde's order, and ran down the mountain with a spear in his hand, and was cut in two by Yan Liang's sword in the blink of an eye. "Who dares to fight?" Before Cao Mengde finished his sentence, Xu Huang rushed down the hillside, and was defeated after a while panting.Cao Jun had to rely on the terrain to parry. Cao Mengde felt depressed when he saw that he had lost two generals in a row. Cheng Yu said, "It seems that Guan Yu is the only one to go."

Cao Mengde waved his hands again and again, saying: "Impossible, Guan Yu will abandon me after he has made great achievements!" Cheng Yu said: "If Liu Bei is not dead, he must vote for Yuan Shao. In that case, Guan Yu can follow the prime minister forever?" Cao Mengde thought it was reasonable, and immediately sent someone to ask Guan Yu to help him in the battle. Soon, Guan Yu rode a red rabbit horse that was as red as coal, and ran towards Yan Liang with the Qinglong Yanyue Saber in his hand. In the same blink of an eye, Guan Yu had already rushed back to the main formation with Yan Liang's head in his hand.With a wave of Cao Mengde's horsewhip, Cao Jun chased down the mountain like a storm.

"Yun Chang is really a master." Cao Mengde praised him sincerely. Guan Yu wiped the Yanyue knife with his sleeve, and said lightly: "I am not worthy of praise. My brother Zhang Yide took the head of the enemy general among millions of troops, just like grabbing something in his pocket." With such a reminder, Cao Mengde thought of the man with the leopard head and eyes around him, the beard bristling, and the voice like thunder.He warned himself: "When you meet Zhang Yide in the future, you must not take it lightly! If you can get him, it will be worth losing ten Song Xian."

Yuan Shao returned to Liyang to set up his formation. The news that Yan Liang's head fell to Li Yang spread, and Yuan Shao was angered again.He immediately sent Wen Chou, another vanguard general who was as famous as Yan Liang, to lead an army of 50,000 to 60,000 troops across the river from Yanjin to attack the main force of Cao's army.At the same time, he also sent Liu Bei to follow him, preparing to recruit Guan Yu.Prior to this, Yuan Shao had learned from the soldiers who were defeated back to Liyang that the one who killed his beloved general Yan Liang was a big man with a red face and long beard who held a Qinglong Yanyue knife in his hand. Yuan Shao knew it was Liu Bei's brother Guan Yunchang as soon as he heard it.Yuan Shao was ready to kill Liu Bei in a panic, but Liu Bei was quick to think, and said: "There are many people of the same appearance in the world, how can we judge that the person who killed Yan Liang was Guan Yunchang?" Yuan Shao also regretted that he almost killed a good man.

After Cao Mengde solved the danger of the white horse, he was both happy and worried. He was happy that Yuan Shao's spirit was dampened in the first confrontation.What is worrying is that Guan Yu's great achievements mean that the day of leaving him is not far away.That day, he really witnessed Guan Yu's majesty. Who would be willing to let such a warrior go far away? He thought, unless it is a last resort, Guan Yu will not be allowed to fight in the future. I would rather raise him for nothing and let Yuan Shao know Guan Yu's name enough! On the second day after the white horse was relieved, Cao Mengde brought the light cavalry back to Yanjin to join Xia Houyuan.He has already made a plan for the next step. It is expected that Yuan Shao will send a large army to attack Xudu directly. In order to strengthen the defense along the line, especially the deployment of Guandu in the planned theater, he will send back Xiahouyuan's main force first, and order the convoy to retreat southward slowly. , He led a small number of cavalry to break the rear.

Jushou, who was put on a torture weapon, once again advised Yuan Shao not to manage the transfer of Cao Jun in the southern area of ​​Yanjin, and first set up the base camp on the north bank of Yanjin Ferry, and then sent an advance force to Guandu to investigate Cao Jun's deployment and activities in the Guandu area. .Yuan Shao had a deep prejudice against Jushou, so he insisted on dividing the former army into two groups, led by Guo Tu and Chun Yuqiong respectively. Xu You also persuaded: "My lord, we should hold off on advancing troops and wait for the movement. Before the food and grass arrive, people and horses will go first. This is a big taboo in using troops!"

The appraiser had always been at odds with Xu You, so he whispered in Yuan Shao's ear, "My lord, don't trust him, this kid had a very close personal relationship with Cao thief before." When Yuan Shao heard this, he wanted to punish Xu You, but he couldn't find any evidence of Xu You's adultery with Cao Cao, so he said angrily: "I have made up my mind, who dares to say more!" and shook the hilt of his sword with his hand. Yuan Shao himself led an army across the Yellow River from Liyang to the south, established a dense bridgehead in Yanjin, and urged Wen Chou to pursue Cao Mengde's troops as soon as possible.

In order to appease Guan Yu, Cao Mengde quickly played to the court and named Guan Yu the Marquis of Hanshouting.Suddenly he heard that Wen Chou had crossed the Yellow River and set up camp in Yanjin. Cao Mengde first sent people to move the people who might be disturbed by the war to the west of the south bank of the Yellow River, and led his own army to resist Wen Chou's vanguard. On the southern slope of Baima Mountain, Wen Chou and Cao Mengde's Duanhou troops met.From the report of the outpost scouting horses, Wen Chou learned that Cao Mengde personally led several cavalry troops on the hill and was directing the retreat of the transport convoy.In order to avenge and steal credit, Wen Chou did not listen to Liu Bei's persuasion, and took the initiative to attack Cao Mengde without reporting to Yuan Shao.