Chapter 31 Stretched

The development of the war was as expected by Xu You. From April to August, the two armies of Yuan and Cao were in a stalemate.Yuan Shao wanted to provoke a large-scale battle again, but Cao Cao closed the gate of the camp and ignored him, and only fought a few small tentative battles.With these 40,000 soldiers blocked in front of them, it was impossible for Yuan Jun to bypass and advance as if there was nothing, so the 100,000 troops were firmly stuck in the north of Guandu. In desperation, Yuan Shao could only adopt Jushou's previous suggestion, and led his troops to the vicinity of Cao Ying step by step.However, Cao Cao had been planning the decisive battle at Guandu for a long time, and he had already built the company battalion properly. Yuan Shao couldn't even get a needle in, so he piled up sand for a mountain by relying on his superiority in numbers, and set up camps tens of miles from east to west, gradually forming a war against Cao Ying. The situation of encirclement.On the other hand, he adopted Zhang Xi's proposal and began to plan tactics for dividing troops behind the enemy.

Yuan Shao suddenly changed his strategy, but Cao Cao was too busy.He couldn't sit back and watch Yuan Shao trap himself to death, so he had to disperse his troops and expand the camp to the east and west to prevent Yuan Jun from encircling him with camps.But the enemy is outnumbered, and this kind of military confrontation is very dangerous. The larger the company and battalion, the weaker and weaker the defense force.At the end of the development, Cao Cao's soldiers and horses were scattered everywhere, and the main force of the Chinese army was less than 10,000, and two to three out of ten were wounded. It was not easy to fight Yuan Shao even if he wanted to go out.

But when Cao Cao was at a loss, emergency documents from all over the country also flew in like snowflakes.Yuan Shao no longer cared about his reputation, and sent Liu Bei to Runan to incite Liu Pi, Gong Du and others who were defeated by Cao Cao in the Yellow Turbans to revolt again; Occupied the county town and started a war with Li Tong; Yuan Shao conferred the post of general and school on Taishan anti-people Guo Zu, Gongsun Du and others, and supported them to continue fighting guerrillas with Lu Qian; Changes, and once again raised troops to rebel against Cao. Xu He, the leader of the Yellow Turban of Jinan Kingdom, also led his troops to invade the south. He wanted to take the opportunity to get a piece of the action, which made Zang Ba and others busy at both ends, besieging Chang Ba while fighting against Qingzhou... At the most critical moment, Sun Ce also blatantly turned his back and led his troops into Guangling County!

Guangling Gong Cao Chen Jiao was ordered by Chen Deng to travel thousands of miles to the front line of Guandu to meet Cao Cao: "Although the county is small, it is a dangerous place. If the rescue envoy acts as a barrier, Sun Ce's plan will definitely be defeated. The eastern counties will be defeated." Security and peace. Duke Cao’s martial arts are far and wide, benevolence and love flow, and the country that has never been seen is surrounded by scenery. The people respect and support their prestige. This is the king’s karma! Please, Duke Cao, send troops to rescue quickly..."

Chen Jiao was talking about interests and good things, but Cao Cao didn't listen to him at all, so he instructed Lu Cui to write a letter: 〖Chenzu Teng has the utensils bestowed by Emperor Shun. Today, there are four four-stone copper gongs, one five-stone copper cymbal, one sterling silver powder choke ②, and one medicinal pestle and mortar...〗 Chen Jiao got a little impatient, stepped forward, knelt down on the ground, and grabbed Cao Cao's shirt: "Mr. Cao, think of a way, Guangling County is in danger, not only Sun Ce's army is coming, Yuan Shao also incited Haixi, The two counties of Huaipu turned against the people, the captain Wei Mi and the county magistrate Liang Xi lost the city one after another, if this continues, my family Chen Jun will not be able to defend."

Cao Cao saw that his face was full of anxiety and earnest words, he slowly opened his robe and said in a low voice, "Do you think I don't want to save Guangling? Go out and see if you can find any troops! The day before yesterday when Liu Bei and Liu Pi in Runan rebelled, we Gritting your teeth, you moved here and there to send Cai Yang to lead two thousand soldiers to rescue the emergency. I really can't help you with the Guangling matter, so you can go to Zang Ba and the others to borrow troops." Chen Jiao's tears were about to come down: "From the east of Mount Tai to the coast of Qingzhou, the enemy is among us and we are among the enemies. Zang Ba and the others are fighting in the dark, so how can they care about us? If Cao Gong does not send rescue troops, Guangling County is in danger! "

"Send troops, send troops, everyone tells me to send troops, Yuan Shao is almost at the gate of my camp, where are there any soldiers to send!" Cao Cao groaned angrily and raised his hand, "Isn't Chen Deng determined to fight Sun Ce? Then It depends on his own ability, I can't help with this." Chen Jiao kowtowed anxiously: "Guangling's soldiers are only a few thousand, and Sun Ce's are tens of thousands. How can Chen Jun's immense ability resist? Besides, Huaixi rebelled against the people, and internal and external troubles abounded. This battle is really impossible. Hit!"

Cao Cao was impolite: "He can't fight anymore, so can I fight here? Now that you can't fight now, you have to fight me!" Chen Jiao got up slowly, wiped away his tears and said, "I am Guangling..." He saluted hastily, and staggered out.Seeing his behavior, Cao Cao was quite moved, and felt that Chen Jiao was a righteous man, so he said in a low voice, "Ji Bi, it's dangerous to go this time, so stay with me." Chen Jiao stopped and said without turning his head: "My hometown is suffering upside down, and I am rushing for help. Even if there is no effect of applying for Baoxu, dare to forget the meaning of Hongyan?" After the army was conquered, Shen Baoxu rushed to the state of Qin to ask for help. After crying for seven days and nights, he finally moved the king of Qin and sent rescue troops to re-establish the state of Chu. Dismembering the body, the doctor Hong performed the mission to bring Chen Guo back. Seeing that the monarch had been doppelganged by the chaotic blade, there was no body left, only one liver was intact, so he cut open his abdomen and stuffed Wei Yigong's liver into his belly, using his body as a coffin for burial. monarch.When Chen Jiao mentioned these two things, he meant that he would die with Chen Deng if he could not move back to rescue the soldiers.

Seeing how determined he was, Cao Cao couldn't help sighing: "Alas... You, Shen Baoxu crying for Qin Ting, really made sense. Stop for a moment, and I will send troops for your sake." "Really?!" Chen Jiao hurriedly turned around. "Of course it is true, but at most two thousand people will be sent to you." "Two thousand is fine too! Thank you Mr. Cao... Thank you Mr. Cao..." Chen Jiao cried again with snot and tears coming down from his nose. "Don't cry." Cao Cao smiled wryly, and drew out a command arrow, "This old man is willing to suffer and not lose his heart. You go to the last village and ask the school captain Hu Zhi to lead 2,000 troops to follow you. Xianping If we help Chen Deng fight against Sun Ce during the Haixi County Rebellion, that's all I have, and it depends on the destiny."

Chen Jiao wept and received the arrow: "I dare not ask too much, I will definitely..." Before he finished speaking, he heard a scream, and several soldiers guarding the door fell to the ground - with bows and arrows stuck in their bodies!Before he could react, he heard a series of popping sounds. It was the sound of bows and arrows shooting on the tent.Xu Chu hurriedly took the shield to protect Cao Cao behind him, while Lu Cui and Chen Jiao retreated behind Shuai case.Hearing another commotion outside, a few soldiers ran in holding their shields to cover Guo Jia: "Oh, that's not good! Yuan Shao built tall oars on the earthy hill, and shot arrows into our camp from above!"

Cao Cao tried his best to keep calm: "Order the battalions to protect the tents with shields." "Promise!" Xu Chu responded, holding up his shield and running out. Guo Jia wiped off his cold sweat and said, "There is bad news, Cai Yang died in the battle in Runan." "Ah?!" Cao Cao was astonished. "Liu Bei and Liu Pi assembled the Wuheti Division to go northward, looting the people and destroying the farmland along the way. My lord, send the troops to the rescue!" Cao Cao sat paralyzed on the commander-in-chief: "Where are there any extra soldiers and horses... No way! It seems that I have to take a risk, so I wrote to Yang Zhai to ask Cao Ren to send troops to deal with Liu Bei." "As soon as Yang Di's soldiers came out, the gates of Xudu were opened, what should Yuan Shao do if he took advantage of the gap?" "I can't take care of so much, let's solve the urgent need first." When Cao Cao turned his head, he saw that Chen Jiao was still standing beside him, as if he was forced to get out by the flying arrow.Cao Cao stretched out his hand and drew out his Qingzhi sword, he slashed at the back of the tent repeatedly, cutting a big hole, he closed the sword and said, "Let's go through the back door!" "Hey hey," Guo Jia could really laugh, "How can there be a back door in the Chinese military camp?" Cao Cao shook his head and said, "It's hard to say whether you can save your life or not. How can you care about the tent?" Seeing that Chen Jiao had hurriedly dispatched troops, he walked back to the shore and continued to guide Lu Cui to repair his watch: 〖The income from the imperial sundries is filial to the emperor's gift, there is a copper bath plate with five stones; five ivory plates with silver paintings...〗 Guo Jia looked at it in a daze: "When is this, you still have the heart to offer these useless things to the emperor!" "The more it is at this time, the more we have to coax the emperor well, so as not to change the elbow and armpit. These things were given by my grandfather for his filial piety to the emperor, and now I dedicate them to the emperor to show my loyalty." He said before Liu Feng is the king of Nanyang, but he didn't know that the child was terminally ill and died within a few days of being sealed, so he had to think of another way to stabilize Liu Xie.When the form was finished, Cao Cao said again: "Write another letter to Lord Xun Ling, asking him to order Jiuqing and the county guards of each county to select a filial son and recommend it to the court." "What's the meaning of this?" Guo Jia didn't understand why he was busy with these useless things at this moment. Cao Cao twisted his beard with his hands: "The situation is unstable now. I am afraid that many places have secretly communicated with Yuan Shao. From the number of people recommended, I can know how many counties are still obeying the imperial court. I hope... I hope... ..." I hope that there will not be too many people who betray you! Guo Jia disagreed: "What's the use of knowing it? The problem now is to fight the war. As long as the war is won, all those who are on two boats will come back." "Winning is easier said than done..." Even though Cao Cao was fully prepared, he was still passive in the face of Yuan Shao's army. "Sun Ce also raised his troops. If he breaks through Guangling, he will be able to push to the land of Qingxu, and the Eastern Front will be over. But I We can only send two thousand soldiers and horses to help Chen Deng, the situation is very critical!" Guo Jia said: "Sun Ce's young son merged with Jiangdong, and he was punished by all heroes. And he is brave, ruthless and well-armed. Even if such a person has millions of people, he is no different from walking alone in the Central Plains. If an assassin ambushes , but the ear of the enemy. I think maybe one day Sun Ce will be assassinated by the enemy." Cao Cao understood very well that Guo Jia's words were intended to relieve him, expecting an assassin to descend from the sky to kill Sun Ce, isn't that just talking in a dream?He smiled wryly for a while: "I hope it can be as Feng Xiao said!" At this time, there was a commotion at the entrance of the tent again, Zhang Liao ran in holding the shield, and knelt down in front of the handsome desk without saying a word. "Wen Yuan, what's the matter?" Zhang Liao kowtowed heavily: "I have lost my lord's trust, I'm sorry!" "Where did you start?" Cao Cao was confused, and hurried to help, but he did not move after three times, "Why are you doing this with me again? If you have something to say, stand up and talk." "I'm sorry you..." "What happened?" Zhang Liao raised his head slowly, and there were still tears in the eyes of the majestic man, he groaned, "Yun Chang... Yun Chang is leaving..." "Go?!" Cao Cao was anxious, "Where is he going!" "When Tushan persuaded him to surrender, Guan Yu once said that once he heard of Liu Bei's whereabouts, he would go and follow him. If he didn't agree, he would rather die in battle than surrender." Zhang Liao said in fear, "Yun Chang is kind to me, I'm afraid my lord will not agree. ,At once……" "Yue Zu promised on my behalf, didn't you?" Cao Cao rolled his eyes at him. "I thought Guan Yu would be grateful to Dade, but he still misses Liu Bei. I heard that he is in Runan and wants to say goodbye." Zhang Liao no longer had the bravery he had on the battlefield, and said with a bitter face, "My lord is like a father. Yun Chang is like a brother. I really can't lie to you, I hope the lord can fulfill my promise and let Yun Chang go. The next one will bear the responsibility for any crimes!" "Can you afford it?" Guo Jia lost his composure, "Wolf! Guan Yu, like Liu Bei, is a white-eyed wolf who is not familiar with feeding. How dare a captured general make a condition? My lord, return his soldiers and horses." He didn't appreciate it, let him be a partial general, and he was named Han Shouting Marquis. Why do you keep such a person, just kill him!" Cao Cao had actually planned to kill earlier, but seeing Zhang Liao looking at him with tears in his eyes, he felt very uncomfortable.Zhang Liao and Guan Yu are the two brave generals he dreamed of. Recalling Zhang Liao's spear in Luoyang and Guan Yu's breakthrough in Tancheng, Cao Cao was deeply impressed.But he couldn't have his cake and eat it at the same time. Although killing Guan Yu would never cause any trouble, it also killed Zhang Liao's love for him.What's the use of embarrassing Zhang Liao at this time?If one goes away, at least one can be kept. It really killed Guan Yu and made Zhang Liao disheartened. The two members who were so hard won will be lost!Thinking of this, Cao Cao forced a smile: "Wen Yuan, don't be sad, I can't embarrass him even if I am so sincere to you. Besides, the king never forgets his roots, and Yun Chang can be called a righteous man in the world." Guo Jiawu said unrelentingly: "Even so, Guan Yu is really..." Cao Cao waved his hand not to allow him to say any more, and helped Zhang Liao again: "Go and persuade Yun Chang, and it would be best to convince him to stay. If he insists on going..." He gritted his teeth and made up his mind, " Just tell him, the old man reads about 'Yugong Si chasing his son and washing his son', let him go!" "Yugong Si is chasing after his son to wash the children?" Zhang Liao didn't understand. Cao Cao said with a sad smile: "This is an allusion from "Spring and Autumn". If you don't understand it, Yun Chang will understand it."