Overlord!

The territorial confrontation between Yuan and Cao lasted for more than half a year, but after the key to victory emerged, the situation changed extremely quickly.

As Cao's army was divided into two parts, Yuan's army had not had time to encircle the right. The situation on the right was a massive defeat, and tens of thousands of troops surrendered to Yuan Shao.

Although the left wing closer to Sun Ce did not collapse, the situation turned critical and could no longer maintain the grandeur of the confrontation with the Yuan and Sun coalition forces.On the contrary, in just a few days, they retreated in a very embarrassing way. The lack of food and the enemy's pursuit caused Cao's army to suffer heavy losses.

In particular, the Hu cavalry from Hebei continued to harass Cao's army, causing Cao's soldiers to retreat with many wounds.

Sun Ce sent Shiyi to greet Cao Cao overnight with chariots, horses, and honor guards, but Shiyi returned soon.

Seeing his regretful expression and slightly hasty demeanor, Sun Ce had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, as soon as Yi opened his mouth, bad news came.

"General, I have met Cao Mengde, and I have urged General Cao Mengde to recruit him as a general, and divide prefectures and counties to provide him with troops and horses. However, Cao Mengde became furious and said that the general had a hatred of genocide and he would rather die than succumb to the general! Wait for me! When he returned, Cao Cao had already advanced westward to the Zhongmou line, and now he should have reached the Xingyang-Aocang area."

Here is the granary prepared by the imperial court to accommodate Cao Cao.

If Cao Cao captured this area, whether it was to stabilize the situation or surrender to the emperor, the situation would be more calm.

The battlefield where Yuan and Cao faced off was too close to Henan, almost a step away. Cao's army only needed to turn a few dozen miles west to enter the emperor's rule.

This is actually very disadvantageous for both Yuan Shao and Sun Ce. Princes like Sun Ce will naturally not rely on an illusory possibility.

Originally, the possibility of Cao Cao's southern attachment was extremely low, so while sending Shi Yi to meet Cao Cao, Sun Ce also had his men march towards Chenliu at night and night, and assembled five thousand elite cavalry under the command of Zhou Yu, Lu Meng, Zhang Liao and others. Prepare to attack and kill Cao Cao.

If Cao Cao refuses to surrender, then eradicate him in one fell swoop and have a repeat of the Battle of Dangyang.

This is also the opinion of a large number of civil and military personnel under his command. Of course, such a large force cannot have only one voice.

There are factions like Zhang Hong and Jia Xu who advocate peace with the feudal vassals, and naturally there are hard-line factions like Zhou Yu and Lu Meng who advocate war.

If Cao Cao becomes a vassal town in Jiangdong, it will of course greatly affect the interests of Jiangdong generals.

Is Cao Cao the only general in the world who is good at fighting?
Zhou Yu, Lu Meng, Zhang Liao, Zhang Fei and others all strongly advocated taking advantage of his defeat and attacking him quickly to eliminate this serious danger.

The cavalry can travel three hundred miles a day and a night, so it is never too late to send troops.

At this time, Zhou Yu and other generals were already preparing their troops in Kaifeng City, ready to leave at any time.

Kaifeng is the county in the southeastern corner of Henan Province. It is only more than three hundred miles away from Xu County, and less than a hundred miles away from Chenliu County, the county seat of Chenliu.

The army's food, fodder and logistics were all ready, and they only waited for Sun Ce's order to immediately attack and kill Cao Cao.

With the cavalry moving three hundred miles a day and a night, the main force of the army led by Cao Cao may not have moved a few dozen miles, and the position has not yet been stabilized.

Now it's time for Yi to send a reply back to Cao Cao, and it's time for the cavalry to attack.

The only worry and constraint now is that Cao Cao has retreated to the rule of the Emperor. No matter what era the local princes and powerful vassals, leading troops to attack the vicinity of the Emperor's Kyoto with open fire, this is a move that disappoints the world.

Under Jiangdong's rule, there were many civil servants and generals who had the ideal of supporting the Han Dynasty, such as Zhao Yun, Wei Teng and others.

If Sun Ce proclaims himself emperor and starts a war with the Han Dynasty, there may be less resistance.

Without proclaiming himself emperor, many people thought that Sun Ce was following the example of Huan and Wen, respecting the king and resisting the barbarians.At this time, boldly attacking the emperor's rule will always make people wonder whether they want to imitate Dong Zhuo, Guo Si and others, shake the country and endanger the world.

Sun Ce was hesitating, but Liu Ye, a member of the royal family, was loyal and generous. He spoke sternly and said: "General, Cao Cao is a thief who is causing harm to the world. He is poisoning the imperial court and counties. He is plundering all the way to the west. We are chasing and killing the defeated and rebellious troops. , to eliminate great harm for the imperial court!"

Even though he, a member of the royal family, was resolute, Sun Ce immediately stopped hesitating and did not stick to trivial matters when doing great things.

As long as we are doing it in the name of eliminating harm for the emperor, even if we go over the limit a little, it will not affect the overall situation.The key is to get rid of Cao Cao!
After Cao Cao was eliminated, even if there was a slight discussion in the world, it would not hinder the general trend.

So Sun Ce immediately issued an order, saying: "Let Zhou Yu, Lu Meng, Zhang Liao, Zhang Fei and others immediately lead five thousand cavalry to pursue Cao Cao with all their strength!"

Liu Ye continued: "I'm afraid the emperor will send troops to meet Cao's army."

If the emperor dispatched [-] imperial troops to support Xingyang, even if the [-] cavalry defeated Cao Cao's army, it would be difficult to kill Cao Cao.

Sun Ce looked at Shiyi and asked, "Where is Yuan Jun chasing now?"

Shi Yi immediately replied: "Probably along the line between Yuanwu and Bianshui, that is, in the northern part of Yin, Henan, along the line of the Yellow River."

Then this coincides with the Jiangdong army chasing Cao Cao in two directions, one south and one north.

The cavalry set out from Kaifeng and headed south of Honggou toward Aocang.

In the future, the armies of Yuan and Sun are likely to use the chasm as a boundary to divide the world between north and south.

Sun Ce was still thinking about whether the pursuit of the cavalry would lead to a fight with the emperor. Shi Yi then said: "General, Yuan Shao's attitude towards the pursuit is extremely determined. Not only are the Hu cavalry chasing him, but there are also rumors that tens of thousands of troops are marching westward. .”

Hearing this, everyone in the tent was shocked. Is Yuan Shao not satisfied with defeating Cao Cao, and wants to continue to defeat the emperor in the Sanhe area with a sweeping force?
Luoyang is not an important place suitable for defense.

He has no danger in Guanzhong, and there are large plains from north to east that can be attacked.

If Yuan Jun took advantage of the great victory and continued to advance westward, he could easily capture Henan and Hanoi.

The emperor's [-] troops would never be able to stop Yuan Shao's troops.

And this is undoubtedly beneficial to Sun Ce.

The more turbulent the authority of the imperial court became, the easier it was for Sun Ce to proclaim himself king and emperor.

At this time, there are not many princes in the world. Even if Sun Ce keeps a low profile, he can't hide his huge size.

Now his territory has exceeded the area of ​​most of the Southern Dynasties. Even if he doesn't want to enter, countless people under his command will push him forward.

Such a huge force was no longer the legacy of Sun Ce alone.

This is also a group that many heroes and many wealthy families have benefited from. Could it be that after Lu Meng became a general, others would not have the ambition to become generals?He, Sun Ce, was only a former general. How could he appoint others to continue to serve as generals?

Therefore, this pursuit is also to win over the hearts and minds of the hard-liners and emperor-proclaiming faction under his command.

Sun Ce said to Liu Ye: "Then I will take you as the military governor and personally pass the order to Zhou Yu, giving him full authority to decide the war. If there are those who disobey the general's orders in the army, you can enforce the prohibitions and maintain the authority of the army!"

If you choose a general from the main war faction as the main general, it will be obvious what Sun Ce's attitude will be.

Liu Ye immediately held up his hands and said: "I will announce the order of the king to all the generals."

As Sun Ce's military order was issued, Zhou Yu, Lu Meng and others immediately led their troops to gallop through the starry night and marched out of Kaifeng.

Their cavalry almost crossed Zhongmou and arrived along the chasm.

This speed is really unmatched by Cao Cao. You must know that Cao Cao's army retreated westward after being defeated. It took several days to cross Zhongmou in embarrassment. However, Jiangdong's five thousand cavalry crossed Zhongmou in just a few hours regardless of horse power and cost. county.

It would only take one day at most to catch up with the main force of Cao's army in Xingyang.

But as soon as Zhou Yu's army crossed the chasm and arrived along the Bian Canal, they saw broken troops all over the mountains and fields retreating from the front line and rushing eastward.

Lu Meng, who was in the cavalry formation, immediately frowned and ordered to his general Gan Ning: "Go catch a few defeated soldiers and ask what's going on!"

Soon Gan Ning led his cavalry to capture a few fleeing rebels, and said to Lu Meng: "General, these are deserters from the Yuan army. It is said that they were defeated in the front."

Bianqu used to be the most important grain-producing area near Gyeonggi Province, but now it is a little desolate. The few li and ju areas were looted by the rebels. These defeated soldiers could not win the war, but they could rob the people of their money and food. It's within reach.

Needless to say, Zhou Yu and Lu Meng could also see the current state of corruption in their military discipline.

The two of them just looked at each other, a little hard to understand. Didn't Yuan Jun advance westward with the power of victory?Why did it fail again?

Zhou Yu personally stepped forward and asked one of Yuan's soldiers, who was carrying a gujin. "Whose subordinates are you and what position do you hold? How could you return in defeat?"

This man didn't have any armor, which proved that he was either an insignificant pawn, or a general who had armor, but he threw away his armor.

Seeing the majestic cavalry behind Zhou Yu, all of them well-armored, the other party did not dare to neglect, and quickly replied: "A certain person is the cavalry commander of the Qu camp, Jiang Yiqu, a general under the command of Duke Yuan. He was ordered to hunt down the Cao thieves, but he fell into the Cao thieves' treacherous plan and was ambushed by him. defeat."

After hearing this, all the generals and commanders in Jiangdong Army's eyes lit up and their spirits were lifted!

Zhang Feice immediately stepped forward and asked, "Did you just say that Cao Cao personally ambushed the army behind?"

The other party quickly replied: "I can see clearly, it is indeed Cao Cao's flag."

Lu Meng immediately asserted: "If we advance at this time, we will definitely win a complete victory. Cao Cao's army has recently retreated and his pursuers are on the side, so Cao Cao will cut off his rear. Although Yuan's army is elite, it will not be defeated by the generals and the soldiers are also sharp, so it will be defeated. . At this time, the road ahead is unpredictable, and the light army will advance quickly. Even if the generals are left behind, the morale of the army will be confused. Our cavalry will attack Cao's defeated army and win the battle."

"If the troops advance quickly, there may even be a traitor to Cao Cao!"

In fact, the situation of Cao Cao's army was much more serious than what Lu Meng said. After Cao Cao's army collapsed in the middle, Cao Cao only led thousands of exhausted soldiers back south to the south bank of Jishui River. They entered the camp of General Shi Huan and went to his tent to speak with his hands. : "It's up to the leader to deal with him alone."

Shi Huan was shocked when he heard this and hurriedly avoided the tent to deal with it, causing Cao Cao to issue an order in the camp.

Cao's army heard that Cao Cao was in the camp on the left, so they regrouped and their morale was slightly at ease.

Cao Cao led his army to abandon the base and retreat overnight. While marching westward, he sent envoys to the court to ask Luoyang to be included.

But at this time, the imperial court once again showed its decadence and conservative attitude.

The imperial court actually sent an envoy to Cao Cao's army, ordering him to station his troops east of Chenggao and not to advance westward!
The messenger's reply directly made Cao Cao faint. He already had a headache. Hearing the court's foolish words, his blood surged and he was unconscious for two days. Only then did Yuan Jun's cavalry chase him all the way. Cao Cao's army was in a state of embarrassment.

After he woke up, he held on to his illness and commanded thousands of elites to lay in wait before repelling Yuan Jun's pursuit.

However, the imperial court's seclusion and refusal made all Cao Cao's plans come to nothing!He only felt that his body was cold and the sun was setting.

The imperial court is so dim and slow, but the young prince from Jiangdong is brave and decisive. He will never miss such a good opportunity. I am afraid that Cao Cao is doomed!

The imperial court refused to accept Cao Cao, something that even the civil servants and generals of Yuan, Cao, and Sun could not have imagined!
However, this is really not the fault of the imperial court. The imperial army's forbidden troops are all in Hanoi and it is difficult to withdraw in a hurry. If Cao Cao's tens of thousands of troops entered the court and controlled Luoyang and the emperor.

Wouldn't it be like repeating the mistakes of martial men who brought chaos to the country?

Therefore, the imperial court would rather not accept this army, but also wanted Cao Cao to lead his troops to the east of Chenggao, outside the Xuanmen Pass of Luoyang Eight Passes.

At the same time, the imperial court urgently sent envoys to Yuan Shao and Sun Ce's army to mediate the war and asked Yuan and Sun to stop the fighting.

On the second day after Zhou Yu and others entered the army at starry night, Sun Ce welcomed his old acquaintance and angel Zhao Yan.

After Zhao Yan conveyed the emperor's edict, Sun Ce was even more delighted. He unceremoniously ordered the angel to be sent to sleep in the army, and then directly tore up the edict and ordered that the front line must attack Cao Cao's headquarters at all costs, and Cao Cao must be captured. The first level!
It can be said that at the same moment when Sun Ce gave the order, on the frontline battlefield, generals such as Zhou Yu, Lu Meng, Zhang Liao, etc. had also led their troops to catch up with Cao's rear team.

A strong general who dominates the three armies, has a weak ambition to conquer the frontiers, is timid in small battles, and brave in big enemies. This is called a fierce general.

Climbing high and taking risks, galloping and shooting like flying, advancing first and retreating, this is called a cavalry general.

Although the five thousand cavalry of the Jiangdong Army are not large in number, they are all elites composed of capable generals and soldiers!

Zhang Liao, the forward, was as brave as a ghost. When he saw Cao Jun's subordinates at the rear, he immediately stood up and shouted: "Soldiers, follow me to attack the front and defeat the enemy in one battle."

Hundreds of elite black-armored cavalry immediately roared into fierce battle, and the formation spread out, sweeping everything like a frenzy.

Cao Jun, whose elite troops had already left, suddenly saw the scene of the earth shaking. The morale of the troops was shaken, and countless people collapsed.

This is the most exciting charge of Jiangdong Cavalry!
Hundreds of cavalry directly penetrated the back line of Cao Jun's thousands of soldiers. Cao Jun's army collapsed without any firm resistance at all.

The defeated soldiers fled in all directions, off the road and into the fields.

These people had already seen that Cao Cao's defeat was certain. They wanted to flee before, but they didn't get the opportunity. Now the enemy's cavalry suddenly arrived, and the generals and elites who were loyal to Cao Cao were not around. It can be said that these people were taking advantage of the opportunity and scattered. flee.

In particular, many of them were from Yuzhou and did not want to leave their homeland and fled to Guanxi. When they saw Jiangdong's flag, they knew that Yuzhou was already under Jiangdong's rule, so they simply surrendered on their knees. (End of chapter)