Chapter 45 Chapter 43 - Narrow Escape

The soldiers defending the city regained their morale.They were isolated and helpless, they were fighting hard, but Liu Xuande unexpectedly came to help them, they cheered several times and were very excited. Laozhou Mu Taoqian was overjoyed, and tremblingly said: "Listen to that voice!" He let Xuande take the seat, immediately took off Xiazhou Mu's seal, and said: "From today onwards, please replace me, Tao Qian. , lead the Xuzhou state pastor, and take the position of the lord." Xuande was shocked, and tried his best to refuse, saying: "Impossible!" "You don't need to refuse. I heard that your ancestors belong to the great Han family, and you are the authentic blood of the royal family. You are qualified to calm the chaos in the world, and the government is in chaos, to help the society, and to rule the people. Like my old man, his talent is exhausted. Blindly greedy for the state and herdsmen I can only delay the dawn of the new era. I plan to step down from my current position, and the one who deserves to be relieved to step down is you. Please accept Wei Zhong and begrudgingly agree."

Tao Qian's words were full of sincerity.As the rumors said, he is a good state shepherd with no selfishness, a benevolent man who cares about the world and loves the people. But Liu Bei still resigned and said: "I came here to help you. Although I have the strength of a young man, I don't have the virtue of an old state shepherd. It is the misfortune of the people to be a state shepherd. source of unrest." "It's boring and polite. Big brother is too rigid, he doesn't look like a person in this world... Say 'OK', and accept it..." Zhang Fei and Guan Yu stood by the wall behind Xuande, facing each other As if impatient.

Laozhou Mu's eagerness and Xuande's modesty set each other up, and it couldn't end.So the retainer Mi Zhu said from the sidelines: "How about discussing this matter in the future? Right now, the city is full of enemy troops..." "Extremely true." The two nodded, immediately discussed the military situation, asked about the military equipment, reached a preliminary consensus, and decided to resort to diplomacy to seek a solution.So Liu Xuande sent his envoy Cao Cao to send documents to persuade him to cease fighting. Cao Cao had read the Xuande documents, and said: "What!?...Let me put aside my personal grudges and save the country first... Even if I don't accept Liu Bei's preaching, I, Cao Cao, have my own ambitions. A guy who is beyond his control!" He Shred the documents and drink the envoys back. "Behead the envoy!"

Coincidentally, at this time, Cao Cao's base Yanzhou kept reporting from fast horses: "It's terrible! Lu Bu suddenly attacked Yanzhou while the general was away." Why did Lu Bu attack Cao Cao's base area at his empty nest?He is also the one who escaped from the capital. Li Jue and Guo Si controlled the power of the central government, so he was forced to leave Chang'an and stayed in Yuan Shu's place for a time.After wandering in various states, he finally took refuge in Chen Liu and Zhang Miao, where he stayed for a long time. One day, he walked out of the pavilion, pulled out his horse from the courtyard, and was about to take a tour outside the city.At this time, someone leaned close to his face and deliberately whispered sarcasm: "Ah, the famous horses in the world are fat and useless these days!"

This guy speaks strangely. Lu Bu stared at the man suspiciously, without saying a word. That person is Chen Gong. Previously, Chen Gong was entrusted by Tao Qian to be a lobbyist, trying to persuade Cao Cao to stop the aggression, but Cao Cao flatly refused, and finally failed, taking it as a shame, so he did not return to Xuzhou, and went straight to Zhang Miao to hide. "Why do you lament that my horse is fat and useless? Don't talk too much!" Lu Bu said. "No. I mean it's a pity." Chen Gong changed his words, "The horse is a famous red rabbit horse in the world, and the owner is a hero who is known to three-year-old children. But now he is doing nothing and living under the fence. When the world falls apart, When all the heroes are standing still, they play with the horsewhip and spend the sun and the moon empty-handed, thinking it is a pity."

"Who are you to say such a thing?" "My name is Chen Gong, a wanderer, an unknown person." "Chen Gong?...Could it be the county magistrate who once guarded Zhongmu County and left Cao Cao's office to help Cao Cao when he fled the capital?" "Exactly." "Oh, it's so late to meet you! However, what you said to me just now is like a mystery, what is the real meaning?" "The general intends to be willing to lead famous horses, be diners, and travel for the rest of his life? Please tell me first." "No. I also have ambitions, but I haven't got the right time..."

"Isn't the time just around the corner?!... Now, Cao Cao is going to attack Xuzhou, and Yanzhou has only a few people guarding it. At this time, Yanzhou is attacked like lightning, and a large piece of land can be owned by the general in one fell swoop. wild." Bleeding on Lu Bu's face, he said, "Ah, that's right. Well said! Listening to your words, my laziness has been dispelled. Just do it!" thereafter.Yanzhou became a street of chaos.Lu Bu's men took advantage of the false attack to enter the city, occupied Cao Cao's base, and then took advantage of the momentum to expand the military chaos to Puyang (now Puyang, Henan).

"Mistake!" Cao Cao bit his lip tightly. He regretted his mistake, but it was too late.He received the bulletin while attacking Dazhai in Xuzhou, thinking: "What's going on?" He was at a loss for a while. However, he was already quick-witted and witty.After the momentary confusion was shaken off, sharp wit came into play immediately, and his face returned to normal. "The envoy of Liu Xuande who came from the city earlier has not been beheaded yet... can't be beheaded! Bring it quickly!" Then, he said to Xuande's envoy: "After thinking about it, the letter has a certain reason. Listen to his advice, I will Cao Cao simply and decisively withdrew his troops. Please go back and convey this message."

After repeatedly telling the envoy, he solemnly sent the envoy into the city, and at the same time withdrew to Yanzhou immediately like a flood receding. Although it was accidental, Xuande's document received such a miraculous effect. Needless to say, the defenders were overjoyed. Tao Qian, the old state shepherd, came to force Xuande to give him the power of the state shepherd, saying: "You must replace I accept the seal of Xuzhou Mu. Although I have a son, I am weak and cannot bear the heavy responsibility of Zhou Mu." But Xuande refused to accept it no matter what, he just went to a village called Xiaopei near the township, came out of the city, raised soldiers here, and guarded the land of Xuzhou from the side.

Give it a quick whip.Cao Cao led the army and withdrew to Yanzhou. The more dangerous the situation, the more tenacious because of the heroic spirit.This is Cao Cao's nature. "Lu Bu, what is it!" Cao Cao's momentum has already overwhelmed his opponent.He geared up and rushed to Yanzhou, thinking that it would take more time to regain the robbed Yanzhou. He divided his troops into two groups, let Cao Ren under his banner surround Yanzhou, and attacked Puyang by himself.He believed that the enemy Lu Bu occupied Puyang and would stay in Puyang city. Approaching Puyang, he ordered: "Rest in place!" Let the soldiers and horses take a breath, until the blood-red sunset set in the west, they did not move.

He suddenly remembered what Cao Ren, his subordinate, reminded him earlier. Cao Ren's words are as follows: "Lv Bu is brave, and the nearby princes are unstoppable. And recently Chen Gong has been following him. I heard that he has Wen Yuan, Xuan Gao, Hao Meng and other powerful generals under his command. If you accidentally face , there may be an accident, and there is no time to regret..." Cao Cao is now repeating these words in his heart, and he doesn't feel particularly frightened.He thought that Lu Bu may be brave, but he has no wisdom.Strategists Chen Gong and his like are nothing but ronin, and cowards who betrayed themselves and fled, just let him see and see. on the other hand.Knowing that Cao Cao was coming, Lu Bu crossed Mount Tai and returned to Puyang from Teng County.He didn't need Chen Gong's remonstrance, he was heroic, and confronted Cao Cao with more than 500 horsemen, as if to say: "Cao Cao, what are you afraid of!" In Cao Cao's piercing eyes, "Lü Buxi village is weak". He led Li Dian, Cao Hong, Yu Jin, Dian Wei and others to cross the mountain road in the dark and attack suddenly. Lu Bu defeated Cao's army in a frontal field battle that day, proud of his victory.Chen Gong reminded: "Xizhai is dangerous!" He didn't take it seriously and fell asleep. There was chaos in Puyang City.Xizhai fell immediately, and Cao Jun raised the banner.But Lu Bu, who jumped up, commanded the battle and said: "I will take back the stockade by myself and show it to you. You can't let an enemy soldier go back alive!" In a blink of an eye, his subordinates restored order and surrounded them with drums beating. Cao Bing, who crossed the mountain and went deep into the enemy's line to launch a surprise attack, was not a large army in the first place, and was not familiar with geography.The camp once occupied has turned into a dangerous place for Cao Cao and others. In the melee, the sky was already pale.Cao Cao looked around, and almost all the soldiers he could rely on were scattered or killed in battle.Knowing that he was in a deadly situation, he yelled "Oops" and fled away. He fled south, and the fields to the south were full of enemy soldiers; he fled east, and the forest to the east was full of enemy soldiers. "It's getting worse!" His horse lost its way and had to gallop towards the back mountain that had been turned over yesterday. "Ah, Cao Cao is fleeing over there." Lu Bu's army chased after him.Of course Lu Bu was among them. Fleeing to and fro, Cao Cao lost his way at a crossroads on the inner city street.He kept beating the horse's belly until the whip would break.At this time, a group of enemy shadows appeared in front of them. "Bang bang bang bang", the high-pitched sound of bangzi came from the enemy group.It was too late to say it, and then it was fast, Cao Cao was targeted in all directions in the west, and arrows shot like a gust of wind. "It's time to die! Who will save me!?" Cao Cao couldn't help but wailed, and blocked the arrow that was shot at him. At this time, someone in the distance let out a roar of "嗤——", the sound was like barking. At a glance, the man was carrying a big halberd in each of his left and right hands, each of which seemed to weigh eighty catties.Among the enemy group, he slashed and slashed, and came galloping. The blood of the people and horses was like a flame. "My lord! My lord! Get off your horse quickly, lie down on the ground, and dodge the enemy's arrows!" He ran close to Cao Cao, who was being attacked by arrows and was in a dilemma, and reminded him loudly. Who is Tao?It turned out that it was the evil that had just been recruited under his command, that Dian Wei! "Oh, it's evil!" When Cao Cao heard the warning, he jumped off his horse and prostrated himself on the ground. Elai also rolled off the saddle and swung his halberds like turning a windmill to fend off the arrows.Then he strode towards the enemy army and said boldly: "You wait for a crooked arrow, how can you hit me!" "Arrogant man! Kill him!" More than fifty enemy soldiers rushed forward in a group. Evil came to good fighting, and won ten enemy daggers.He threw the jagged halberd at the enemy army and took ten short swords with him. He turned to Cao Cao and said, "The enemy army has already fled. Hurry up now!" He held the bridle for Cao Cao on foot and ran.Two or three attendants followed closely behind. But the rain of arrows still poured down on their masters and servants.Elai put his helmet neck guard upright, hid his head under it, took the lead, and ran forward. "Hey, soldiers!" Seeing another group of enemy soldiers chasing closer, he shouted loudly behind him. "I've been running like this. If the enemy soldiers chase you within ten paces, call me." In the whizzing rain of arrows, he kept covering his face with his neck gaiter, like a sleeping wild duck. "Ten steps away!" The followers behind told him. "Coming?!" In an instant, E Lai pulled out a dagger from the dagger he was holding tightly in his hand, and threw it with a "swish". A cavalry of enemy soldiers scrambling to catch up came with a thud, and an upside down fell from the saddle to the ground. "Ten steps!" came the voice from behind. "Oh!" The dagger flew across the air, and the flying general flew out. The enemy soldiers on horseback fell cleanly. "Ten steps!" The dagger flashed coldly like a flying fish, and whizzed away. In this way, ten daggers stabbed ten enemy soldiers to death.The enemy soldiers were frightened, turned their horses' heads in the dust and smoke, and fled away. "The poor wretches!" E Laizhong grabbed the reins of Cao Cao's mount again, rushed into the fleeing enemy army, swept the enemy with their weapons, and finally broke a bloody path. When I came to the foot of the mountain, I met Xiahou Dun under his banner.He fled here with only a dozen or so riders.More than half of the whole army was killed and injured, and they were defeated miserably.It is a miracle that Cao Cao can save a life. "Without you, even if I have a thousand lives, I can't keep it." Cao Cao said to the evil. At night, it rained cats and dogs, and the mountains to be crossed were dangerous and torrential. After returning, Elai Dianwei was promoted to be the leading captain because of his achievements that day. Recently, Lu Bu has won consecutive battles. A rogue who had been wandering around frustrated all this time, became the master of Puyang City in a blink of an eye.Just now, he beat Cao Cao heartily again, and his morale is booming. "There is a big family of the Tian family in the local area, does my lord know about it?" The counselor Chen Gong said abruptly. Lv Bu also valued his resourcefulness recently, thinking that he had some tricks, so he said, "Is it Tian? He is a well-known rich man. I heard that there are hundreds of servants..." "Exactly. Please call him, quietly." "Order him to pay for the military?" "It's not such a trivial matter. Squeezing money from the rich people under the rule is like quickly eating up your own savings. As long as they achieve great things, they will rush to bring gold and silver treasures into the city." "Then why did you ask Mrs. Tian to come?" "Take Cao Cao's life." Chen Gong lowered his voice and whispered his plan to Lu Bu. A few days later.A farmer wrapped a steamed chicken and tied it to the tip of a bamboo pole, and carried it on his shoulders, wandering near the gate of Cao Cao's village. "This man behaves suspiciously." Cao Bing arrested him. Cao Bing put him in front of Cao Cao regardless of whether he was indiscriminate or not.Then the farmer's attitude changed, and he said: "Please let people step down. I am a secret envoy, not a mediocre servant in your village." Cao Cao retired his soldiers and left his close ministers behind.The farmer cut open the bamboo joint of the chicken, took out a secret letter from it, and presented it to Cao Cao. Cao Cao opened it and saw that it was a letter written by the Tian family, the largest family in the city and quite famous as a rich man.The letter wrote: Lu Bu was tyrannical, and the people in the city were resentful about it.If such people come to be city lords, we will have to flee to other places. Then, the main point of the secret letter: "Now, there are only soldiers left behind in Puyang. Lu Bu has gone to Liyang. Please enter the army immediately. I will wait for the camera to respond and disturb the city. Put up a white flag on the city wall and write a large character-'righteousness' '. I wish to use this as a banner to annihilate the soldiers of Puyang in one fell swoop. The time is now." Cao Cao turned his anger into joy, and said: "God will make me feel ashamed! Puyang is already in my hands!" He rewarded him and asked him to return to his life with the words of promise. "It's dangerous." Adviser Liu Ye said, "For the sake of prudence, please divide the army into three routes and try to advance one route first. Lu Bu has no talent, but Chen Gong must not be careless." Cao Cao adopted this opinion, divided the army into three sections, and approached the city slowly. "Ah, I see!" Cao Cao smiled. Sure enough, the enemy's large and small flags were flying on the city wall.At a corner of the city wall, above the west gate, a large white flag rolled up.Cao Cao set up an arbor to look over, and saw the word "righteousness" written on the flag clearly. "The work is half done." Cao Cao warned to the left and right, "However, before night falls, the whole army rests, and only small-scale battles are allowed. If the enemy comes to lure them, they are not allowed to go deep." The doors and windows of the merchants in the city were closed tightly, and the people all fled. Although it was daytime, the market felt like midnight.Cao Cao's soldiers and horses gathered everywhere, looking for food and water everywhere, preparing for the night general attack. Sure enough, soldiers and horses in the city attacked, and there were conflicts with fewer people in the streets and alleys.Between advance and retreat, the sun quickly set and the sky became dark. In the twilight, a local citizen panicked and ran into Dazhai where Cao Cao was.Grasping the question, the visitor took out a secret message: "I am sent by the Tian family." When Cao Cao heard this, he immediately asked someone to bring it and read it.It is Tian's handwriting, exactly. The first starry time There will be a gong sounding in the city If you don't miss the opportunity, please enter the army The people have been waiting for your army for a long time The iron gate of the city gate opens inward I want to dedicate the whole city to you "Good! The time is ripe." According to the plan shown in the secret letter, Cao Cao immediately started to deploy a general offensive. He left Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren outside the lower gate of the city, pushed Xia Houyuan, Li Dian, and Le Jin as the vanguard, and surrounded the Chinese army with Dian Wei and other four generals. shape, slowly approaching the gate of the inner city. But Li Dian felt that the air in the city was strangely quiet, so he said faithfully: "I will attack the city gate first, fight in small groups, and find out the situation of the army. General, please wait for a while." Cao Cao looked disdainful, and said: "The so-called war opportunity, once missed, will lose the chance of winning in an instant. If you make a mistake in Tian's signal, it will disrupt the overall situation." Not only did he not accept it, but he himself took the lead. The moon has not yet risen, and the sky is full of stars.Da da da da... The army horse followed Cao Cao, approached the city gate, and came to the west gate.At this time, there was a sound of conch shells, with a long and eerie sound at the end. "Yeah? What sound?!" The generals hesitated, but Cao Cao rode his horse and ran across the moat suspension bridge, saying, "It's Tian's secret signal! Why are you hesitating!? Why don't you take the opportunity to charge!" In an instant, the front gate opened wide from the inside.The generals thought that Tian's secret letter was not false, and rushed into the city aggressively. However, suddenly. "Oh--" Shouting loudly in the dark, I don't know if it's an enemy or a friend.The people and horses are like raging waves, they have already charged into the city, suddenly want to rein in their horses and look back, but they can't do it. At this time, the sky was full of stone rain.Behind the stone walls and state capital buildings, countless torches were lit together. "Yeah, yay?..." In doubt, the torch was thrown.Rain of fire poured down on the army horses, helmets, and sleeves.Cao Cao was shocked, and suddenly shouted at the back with all his strength: "No! You have fallen into the enemy's trick! Retreat!" Cao Cao realized that it was a trick, and thought it was bad, so he pulled his horse and returned.At this moment, there was a "rumble" sound. The whole army that followed him into the city fell into chaos.Galloping horses and galloping horses, soldiers and soldiers, all lost their way and rolled into a whirlpool. "what happened?" "Get out of town!" Follow-up soldiers and horses are still swarming forward. "withdraw!" "retreat!" The chaos was out of control. After the shower of stones and torches stopped, the four gates of the city were all closed, and Lu Bu's men attacked from east and west, saying, "Don't let an enemy soldier go back alive!" Cao Bing panicked, like fish in a net, all were wiped out, and countless people were beheaded and captured. The mighty Cao Cao was also very embarrassed, bit his lips tightly, and said angrily: "Mistake, misstep!" He fled towards the north gate, which was full of enemy troops; he wanted to rush out of the south gate, but the south gate was already in flames; he wanted to run towards the west gate, but there were shouts from both sides of the west gate, suggesting that there was an ambush. "My lord! My lord! A bloody road has been killed here, hurry, hurry!" He was called Elai Dianwei.Dian Wei gritted his teeth, glared his eyes angrily, and charged away the hordes of enemy troops, clearing the bloody path to the suspension bridge for Cao Cao. Cao Cao galloped down the city, as fast as a flying arrow.Evil Lai from the Queen also followed closely behind, but Cao Cao was nowhere to be seen. "Hello, my lord!" Elai was searching, and one of his own men galloped over. "Oh, it's Dian Wei. Have you seen the lord?" "I'm also worried about the lord, and I'm looking for it." "Where did you go?" The two divided their troops and searched around, but there was no trace of Cao Cao. Looking around, there are fires, black smoke and enemy soldiers everywhere.Cao Cao himself didn't know whether he was running east or west.There is nothing but an endless maze of chaotic troops and flames.He was dazed and didn't know how to get out. At this time, at the dark intersection opposite, a cluster of torches, red, meandered through the night fog. When you get close, you don't need to look, there is no doubt that it is the enemy.Cao Cao thought to himself: "My God!" But it was suspicious to retreat hastily.So he made up his mind and planned to go straight over. Unexpectedly, surrounded by the torches of his entourage, it was the enemy general Lu Bu who came slamming!He held the terrifying halberd horizontally, held the reins of the red rabbit horse with his left hand, and came leisurely.His figure was reflected in Cao Cao's eyes at once, very tall. Cao Cao was taken aback, but it was too late!Cao Cao turned his face sideways, covered it with his hands, pretending to be nothing, and passed by. At this moment, Lu Bu suddenly remembered something, stretched out the tip of his halberd, and tapped Cao Cao's helmet lightly "Dangdang", mistaking it for his general, and asked, "Hey, you know Cao Cao, where is the enemy general Cao Cao fleeing to?" Yet?" "Ah!" Cao Cao falsely said, "I am also chasing Cao Cao. I heard that he is riding a yellow-haired horse and ran towards that direction." Then he pointed with his finger and fled in that direction. . "Huh, that's weird..." Lu Bu came back to his senses as he watched Cao Cao's back.But at this time Cao Cao's figure had disappeared into the smoke that filled the street. "Ah, it's so dangerous!" Cao Cao escaped desperately, reined in his horse, took a breath, and murmured.He thought, this is the so-called escape from the tiger's mouth. But where exactly is this place?Is it Dong?is west?What is going on ahead is still in the fog. While he was hesitating, it was easy to meet evil spirits who came to look for him.Then, under the protection of Elai, he cut a bloody road and fled to the gate on the east street leading to the outside of the city. "Ah, I can't get out here!" Cao Cao couldn't help sighing.Even the war horses kept beating the ground with their hooves and stopped moving. No wonder.The city gate at the end of the street is now on fire.The long city wall turned into a burning fire dragon, and the scorching heat of the fire would scorch the world. "Hoo-hoo--" The hot wind rushed, and the horses were frightened, frightened, and mad.Sparks clattered on the saddle and helmet. Cao Cao looked back and said in a desperate voice: "It's evil. I can only go back the same way." Elai's face was redder than fire, his eyes were wide open, and he said: "There is no way out! This gate is the gate of life and death. I will pass through first, and please come later, my lord." The gatehouse was enveloped in flames.There are a lot of firewood piled on the city wall.It's like a gate to hell.Passing under this door is a narrow escape. However, there is only one way to survive. With a "snap", Elai violently slammed the mount's buttocks.His figure and the horse rushed out of the flame gate together. When it was too late, Cao Cao also used his halberd to block the fire dust and plunged into the flames.Breathing stopped for a moment.Eyebrows, even the hairs in the ears and eyes were scorched.At this time, Cao Cao's chest was about to pass through the city gate in one step. Just at this very moment.A corner of the gatehouse burned and fell off.How miserable!The beam wrapped in flames fell from above, like lightning, and happened to hit the hip of Cao Cao's mount.The horse sprained its leg and fell to the ground, throwing Cao Cao out.The big beam rolled towards Cao Cao's body. "what……" He turned his back to the sky and put his hands against the fire beam.Of course, the palms and elbows were severely burned, and smoke was coming out of the whole body, which was full of burnt smell. "Woo... um..." He stretched his limbs and passed out under the flames. Someone kept calling him... I don't know how long it took, he regained some consciousness and was carried on the horse. "Is it evil? Is it evil?" "It's me. Don't worry. I'm finally far away from the enemy's territory." "Am I saved?" "You can see the stars in the sky." "visible……" "I'm still alive. The injury, which is a little burn, will definitely heal." "Ah... the starry sky is flying backwards quickly." "My own Xiahouyuan is following behind, don't worry!" "yes……" Cao Cao nodded, suddenly feeling severe pain.One heart was let go, and severe pain also hit the severely burned half of the body at the same time. It was bright.Generals and soldiers returned to their camps sparsely.Every face, every figure is filled with the blood and ashes of a fiasco.Moreover, less than half of the army came back alive. Cao Cao was rescued by Elai and Xiahouyuan, and was carried back on the saddle.The morale of the entire army was as low as a cemetery, and the camp was deeply disgraced. Even the flags were covered with morning dew, drooping low, heavy and powerless. "What!? The general is injured?" "Is it a serious injury?" "How's it going?" The generals who heard the rumor gathered in groups and gathered towards the big tent where Cao Cao was carried.