At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 236: Rush to the aid of Xuzhou and see Yuan Shao again

Liu Bei's expression changed slightly when he heard Chen Deng's words.

If he retreated to Xiapi, it would be equivalent to giving up half of Xuzhou. Even if Yuan Shao withdrew his troops because he ran out of food, how could he easily spit out the territory he swallowed?

As for what Chen Deng said, taking advantage of Yuan Shao's depletion of food and withdrawing his troops to defeat him in one fell swoop, they were nothing more than words of comfort.

Yuan Shao has countless counselors and fierce generals under his command. If he really comes to the point of retreating when he runs out of food and grass, he will inevitably send good generals to lead the army to break up the rear.

How difficult it is to take advantage of the opportunity to defeat Yuan Shao.

However, Xuzhou soldiers and horses are now guarding Tan County, and the reinforcements have not been seen for a long time, making Liu Bei a little uneasy.

If you don't listen to Chen Deng's advice and withdraw your troops, it may be too late to leave when the city is broken.

"There is an emergency in the south of the city, send reinforcements quickly!"

Just when Liu Bei was still hesitating, the ordering soldiers came on horseback holding the order flag. When Liu Bei heard this, his heart sank.

He looked at the few personal guards around him, gritted his teeth suddenly and shouted: "Follow me and rush to the rescue of the south gate."

Tan County South Gate.

Taishi Ci fought hard, but Yuan's army was too numerous, and they had siege equipment with ultra-long range and countless archers.

With the fire support of long-range weapons, it became much easier for Yuan Jun to attack the city.

"Pfft!"

Even though the battle was very difficult, Taishi Ci stood at the front of the city wall without retreating even a step. The Yuan army who rushed to Taishi Ci's side had no enemy at all.

Even so, there are more and more Yuan soldiers on the city wall.

It turned out that Yuan Shao's main attack direction was the other three gates, leaving only the south gate unattended.

Liu Bei originally thought that this was Yuan Shao's plan to encircle three and one was missing, and the purpose was to force him to escape from the south gate, so he didn't pay too much attention to it, and transferred a lot of defenders from the south gate to rush to support the other gates.

Fortunately, Chen Deng was cautious by nature and was worried about Yuan Jun's sudden attack on the south gate, so he still persuaded Liu Bei to send his generals to guard the south gate.

Liu Bei has an advantage, that is, he can follow the good and follow the flow.

He knew that he was not as resourceful as Chen Deng, so he obeyed Chen Deng's advice and sent Taishi Ci to guard the south gate.

Taishi Ci originally thought that he would be more relaxed at the south gate.

Unexpectedly, today, when the remaining three sects were fighting fiercely and no reinforcements could be mobilized, a large number of Yuan's troops rushed out from the dense forest not far away, bringing with them many terrifying siege equipment.

There were few soldiers at the south gate. Even if Taishi Ci bravely defeated the three armies, it would still be difficult to prevent Yuan Jun from scaling the city wall.

"die!"

Just when Taishi Ci was fighting the enemy with his bravery, he suddenly heard a loud shout.

A strong sense of crisis hit his heart, and Tai Shici almost didn't hesitate at all, and directly put the gun in front of his chest.

"boom!"

Immediately afterwards, a powerful force came. Taishi Ci felt his arms go numb, his body suddenly took a few steps back, and blood rushed straight to his forehead.

"What a lot of strength!"

Taishi Ci's expression turned serious as he looked at the man carrying a sword who sneaked up on him.

"Who is coming, sign up to come!"

Although the opponent was wearing the clothes of an ordinary soldier, Taishi Ci could guess that the opponent was definitely a general under Yuan Shao's command.

"I am Wen Chou from Hebei Province. It's good that you can survive my sneak attack."

"Now that Liu Bei's situation is over, my lord is thirsty for talents, and he is serving the emperor to defeat his subordinates. Why don't you abandon the dark side and surrender to the bright side? Isn't it better to be buried with Liu Bei?"

The reason why Wen Chou hid his figure and changed the clothes of ordinary soldiers was because Taishi Ci issued a death order. General Yuan Jun who personally risked his life to climb the city must be shot dead in the process of climbing the city at any cost.

This will not only demoralize the enemy, but also ensure that the Yuan army who climbed the city wall is leaderless, making it easier to defeat them.

It was precisely because of Tai Shici's order that Wen Chou's generals who took the lead in charging into the battle lost an unknown number of lives, but they still could not climb the city wall.

Wen Chou followed Yuan Shao in his southern and northern campaigns for so many years, and he soon figured out the reason.

Therefore, Wen Chou changed his general's armor, dressed up like his subordinates, and sent other generals to the city to attract the attention of the defenders, and then he got through and climbed onto the city wall.

Otherwise, if Taishi Ci had discovered that it was General Yuan Jun who was ascending the city, he would have shot him on the way to the city at any cost.

After Wen Chou pretended to be an ordinary soldier and climbed into the city, he didn't talk about martial arts at all. He directly attacked from behind, hoping to kill Tai Shici with one blow, and finally captured the south gate.

He did not expect that this little-known guard of the south gate of Tan County would have such quick reactions and extraordinary skills, and he would actually save his life under his sneak attack.

Wen Chou also knew that attacking the city early could save Hebei a lot of money and food. Coupled with his love for talents, he recruited Taishi Ci in front of the battle.

However, Taishi Ci was also a loyal person. Since he joined Liu Bei, he has won the respect of Liu Bei.

Faced with Wen Chou's solicitation, Tai Shi Ci felt ashamed and immediately shouted: "You are a general in Hebei, and you actually carried out a sneak attack like this."

"The so-called raccoon dog of the same breed, with your character, how can your master Yuan Shao be such a good person?"

"If you want to fight, then fight, why bother just using words?"

Even though Taishi Ci felt a little tight in his chest, he still did not consider surrendering to Yuan Shao.

Lord humiliate to death!

Taishi Ciruo just scolded Wen Chou for his despicable sneak attack. Wen Chou knew he was wrong but he didn't say anything more.

But Tai Shi Ci actually humiliated Yuan Shao in front of him. Wen Chou immediately became furious and shouted: "Since you are seeking death, I will help you!"

After saying this, Wen Chou stepped forward with his sword and fought with Tai Shi Ci.

Taishi Ci's military strength was inferior to Wen Chou's, and because he was attacked by Wen Chou in a hurry, he received the opponent's sword in a hurry. Although he barely blocked it, he felt his heart was shaken, and he obviously suffered some internal injuries.

He fought with Wen Chou, and was gradually at a disadvantage. He also watched more and more soldiers of Yuan's army ascending the city. He was so depressed that he could not concentrate on fighting Wen Chou, and he was forced to retreat steadily.

However, Wen Chou was unyielding when he gained the upper hand. He opened and closed the long sword in his hand widely, each move becoming more fierce than the last.

Seeing that Tai Shici was already dying, his arms were numb from the shock. He couldn't hold on to the weapon and was struck to the ground by Wen Chou. He was suddenly left bare-handed.

When Wen Chou saw this, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and he slashed with the long sword in his hand, intending to cut Tai Shi Ci into two pieces.

"Don't hurt Ziyi!"

At the critical moment, Liu Bei finally led his troops to attack. After seeing the dangerous Taishi Ci, he immediately shouted loudly.

At the same time, Chen Dao, the commander of the personal guards beside Liu Bei, suddenly pulled out the sword from his waist and threw it directly at Wen Chou.

"clang!"

Wen Chou was about to kill Tai Shi Ci, but he felt his hair standing on end. He hurriedly stopped his moves and slashed in the direction of Po Kongsheng.

There was only the sound of the clash of golden swords, and the sword thrown by Chen Dao was knocked to the ground.

Taishi Ci narrowly escaped death and hurriedly retreated to pick up the fallen spear. He saw Liu Bei and Chen Dao leading their guards to kill him.

When Taishi Ci saw this, his heart sank.

He knew that Liu Bei's soldiers would not go into the battlefield unless absolutely necessary.

Now even Liu Bei has come with his own soldiers to help the south gate, which means that the war in Tan County is really tight, and Yuan Jun must have launched a fierce attack on the other three gates.

If this is really the case, then the situation in Tan County will not be optimistic.

"Ziyi, are you okay?"

Just when Taishi Ci was in shock and doubt, Liu Bei had already led his troops to attack and asked with concern on his face.

A warm current surged through Taishi Ci's heart, but there was no room for pretentiousness on the battlefield. He immediately said: "Thank you for your concern, Duke Ming. I'm fine!"

However, Liu Bei did not feel relieved because he had already seen the blood on the corner of Taishi Ci's mouth.

He knew that Taishi Ci's bravery, although not as good as Guan, Zhang and Zhao, was still the most brave among the three armies. Who could force him into such a situation?

Tai Shici took the opportunity and whispered: "This person is Wen Chou, the general under Yuan Shao's command. He is very brave and brave. Ming Gong needs to be careful!"

But he said that Wen Chou was about to kill Tai Shi Ci, but was saved by others at the critical moment, and he was immediately angry.

He was about to use his power to kill Tai Shici, but he saw that the opponent had already picked up the weapon and distanced himself.

Wen Chou knew that the battle was fleeting and did not want to kill Taishi Ci. Instead, he focused on the Xuzhou army who came to rescue him.

When he saw Liu Bei's face clearly, he couldn't help but be overjoyed and said to himself: "Liu Bei was protected by Guan Yu and Zhang Fei before. Even though there are so many powerful generals in Hebei, they can't do anything to him."

When Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan fought for Qingzhou, Liu Bei could be regarded as the main force resisting Yuan Shao. The courage of his subordinates Guan Yu and Zhang Fei also caused many generals of Yuan's army to suffer.

Therefore, even Hebei warriors like Wen Chou were very afraid of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

"Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are not around today. If we can kill them here, wouldn't Xuzhou become the king's trophy?"

Thinking of this, Wen Chou immediately shouted loudly, then held a long knife and killed Liu Bei directly.

At this time, Liu Bei's soldiers were already fighting with more and more Yuan Jun who climbed onto the city wall. Only Chen Dao and a dozen people were guarding him.

Liu Bei was also shocked when he learned that the man who defeated Tai Shici was Wen Chou.

He had fought with Yuan Shao for so many years and was familiar with his generals, among whom Yan Liang and Wen Chou were the bravest among them.

Seeing Wen Chou coming towards him, Liu Bei did not dare to neglect him and hurriedly faced him with his sword.

Liu Bei was not a weakling, but he could also be regarded as an emperor on horseback. He had already started fighting in the north and south in his early twenties. He had been wandering for half his life. Even though he was defeated repeatedly in battles, he was able to break through the encirclement and turn danger into safety every time.

In addition to luck and the support of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, it is also inseparable from Liu Bei's own bravery.

When the personal guard commander Chen Dao saw this, he did not dare to neglect him. He took a gun and killed Wen Chou, guarding Liu Bei's side.

When Taishi Ci saw this, he came over with a gun and killed Wen Chou regardless of the blood in his chest. The three of them joined forces to fight Wen Chou.

The reason for this is because Tai Shici believed that Wen Chou, as one of the most powerful generals under Yuan Shao's command and the commander in chief of the attack on the south gate of Tan County, could be killed here, no matter how many Yuan's troops climbed onto the city wall, he would not be able to defeat him. It will also become leaderless and collapse without a fight.

What's more, if Wen Chou can be killed, it will have a huge impact on Yuan Jun's morale.

Liu Bei and Chen Dao also had the same idea, so they rushed forward regardless, wanting to kill Wen Chou on the city wall.

Even if Wen Chou fights three people alone, he is not afraid at all.

Both sides wanted to kill each other and perform miraculous feats, and they were fighting hard to separate each other on the city wall.Liu Bei had many powerful generals under his command, but Chen Dao was able to serve as the commander of his bodyguard, and his own bravery was naturally extraordinary.

Even though Taishi Ci was injured, he should not be underestimated.

Coupled with Liu Bei's prowess in military force, even though Wen Chou was the bravest of the three armies, he was gradually losing ground.

Fortunately, Wen Chou was indeed very brave. With his back on the battlements, he could avoid being attacked from both sides. Therefore, Liu Bei and the other three were unable to capture him in a short period of time.

As time went by, more and more Yuan troops rushed to the city wall. Even if Liu Bei's personal guards joined the battle group, they still could not change the situation of defeat.

If this continues, the Xuzhou soldiers and horses on the city wall may have been defeated before the three of them killed Wen Chou.

"Crench!"

"Crench!"

At this moment, Yuan Jun had already fought his way from the top of the city wall to the bottom. After dispersing the Xuzhou soldiers guarding the gate, he actually opened the south gate of Tan County.

"Kill!"

"Charge into Tan County!"

"Capture Liu Bei alive!"

Hearing the shouts from his subordinates, Wen Chou couldn't help but smile a little.

At first, he did plan to kill Liu Bei and decide the outcome in a battle, but later found that the attempt was not possible, but he stopped General Yuan Jun who wanted to come forward to help him.

He used himself as bait to hold back Liu Bei, Taishi Ci, and Chen Dao with one person, leaving the Xuzhou army without a command.

The generals under Wen Chou took the opportunity to rush into the city and seize the south gate.

Seeing the city gates wide open and Yuan's troops swarming into the city, Wen Chou immediately shouted excitedly: "Big-eared thief, if you don't surrender now, how long will it take?"

Liu Bei also knew that the situation was over, and his face turned earthy.

"Do we really want to evacuate Tan County?"

Looking at Wen Chou who was still unable to take him down even though he was blocking with left and right, and listening to the shouts of killing coming from the city gate, Liu Bei thought of Chen Deng's words today, and couldn't help but feel a little helpless.

"Tap Tap!"

At this moment, the rapid sound of horse hooves suddenly came from outside the city, and a cavalry of 3000 people roared in.

Immediately afterwards, Yuan's soldiers who were attacking the city were suddenly attacked by the cavalry without Wen Chou's command, and they suddenly became confused.

Wen Chou took the time to look down the city, but he saw a large banner with the word "Zhang" and a cavalry, breaking up his formation from behind. He couldn't help being shocked and angry.

"Where did this cavalry come from?"

It is said that Zhou Qi led [-] troops to help Xuzhou, but he was worried that Liu Bei would be defeated too quickly, so he asked Zhang Liao and Hao Meng to lead [-] cavalry as the vanguard, and at the same time sent people to Ruyang to ask Yuan Shu to send troops to help Liu Bei.

While Zhou Qi was still on the way, he received news from the envoy that Yuan Shu was unwilling to send troops to rescue Xuzhou because Cao Cao's troops invaded Yingchuan.

When Zhou Qi heard this, he immediately flew into a rage and cursed: "Yuan Shu is an ordinary man, he is not worthy of his plan!"

In fact.

Zhou Qi had already heard clearly that Cao Cao's attack on Nanyang County and Yingchuan County was just a bluff to delay Zhou Qi and Yuan Shu, without any intention of fighting with them.

Zhou Qi had previously wondered where Cao Cao would have the food, grass and energy to invade Nanyang and Yingchuan counties just after he moved the people of Yanzhou into Guanzhong.

Now it is clear that Cao Cao only sent a few thousand people to rob people in Nanyang and Yingchuan. He also put up many flags and used the people to pretend to be an army.

Because Cao Cao did a very good job of keeping secrets, all the people who were kidnapped had their personal freedom restricted, and all those who dared to escape were killed in succession, so the news was not heard by Zhou Qi.

However, when Huang Zhong and Jia Xu led the army to Wancheng, Cao Cao's little trick was ineffective.

Zhou Qi has already discovered this and doesn't believe Yuan Shu hasn't figured it out yet.

The reason why Yuan Shu was unwilling to rush to Xuzhou's aid was that he was still afraid of Yuan Shao's military force, and he had no intention of reaping the benefits.

If Zhou Qi is really defeated by Yuan Shao in Xuzhou, Yuan Shu may take advantage of him.

It was precisely with this in mind that even though Zhou Qi had learned that Cao Cao had not sent an army to Nanyang, he did not let Huang Zhong lead his troops to Xuzhou.

He thought for a long time, but instead wrote a letter to Huang Zhong and Jia Xu, asking them to pay more attention to Yuan Shu's movements while guarding against Cao Cao's continued harassment of Nanyang.

But Zhang Liao led [-] vanguard cavalry to attack and broke up Yuan's army's formation.

Wen Chou saw that Liu Bei's reinforcements had arrived, and his army was in chaos again. He knew that he could not capture the south gate of Tan County today, so he had to leave Liu Bei and others in a hurry, and led the soldiers and horses who had finally entered the city to withdraw again.

After Wen Chou left the city, he quickly led his troops to intercept Zhang Liao.

After seeing Wen Chou's appearance, Yuan Jun, who was originally in chaos, slowly began to gather together under the leadership of many generals.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Liao knew that his soldiers and horses were exhausted after having traveled a long distance.

In addition, Yuan's army had many soldiers, and the general's command already lacked cavalry. If too many were lost, the gain would outweigh the loss.

In the final analysis, this time we are just rushing to help Liu Bei. We only need to force Yuan Shao to retreat. There is no need to fight to the death with the opponent.

Thinking of this, Zhang Liao immediately stopped fighting and called his troops into the city.

When Liu Bei learned that Yuan Jun had arrived, he did not close the city gates. It was not until Zhang Liao led his troops into the city that he ordered people to close the city gates.

When Liu Bei saw Zhang Liao coming from afar, he hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "May I ask the general's name?"

Zhang Liao dismounted and saluted, saying: "This is Zhang Liao, the general's lieutenant."

Liu Bei's expression moved slightly and he lost his voice: "Could it be that your Excellency is Zhang Wenyuan of Yanmen who defeated tens of thousands of Yuan Shu's troops with 300 men?"

When others mentioned his most proud achievement, Zhang Liao was naturally happy, but on the surface he remained calm and said: "That time was all a matter of luck, not worth mentioning at all."

However, Liu Bei stepped forward to hold Zhang Liao and said gratefully: "If the general hadn't led the troops to kill him in time, I'm afraid Tan County would have been unable to defend it."

Zhang Liao replied: "The general knew that Yuan Shao was powerful and was worried that it would be difficult for him to resist, so he ordered me to lead [-] elite cavalry to come to Xuzhou's aid day and night."

"The general has gathered all the elites from Jing and Yang states and personally led [-] troops. They will arrive in the hall soon."

Liu Bei was overjoyed when he heard this, and he completely let go of his uneasy heart, and sighed: "As the saying goes, a friend in need is a friend indeed, the general has no relationship with Bei, but because of a piece of alliance, he is willing to do his best to come to Xuzhou's aid."

"Liu Bei will never forget such kindness!"

Zhang Liao just smiled and did not answer.

But it was said that after Zhang Liao led his troops to defeat Wen Chou and secure the south gate of Tan County, even though the reinforcements he brought were not many, they boosted the sagging morale in the city.

The people who were still in fear and were hiding at home, after learning that the general was about to arrive with 20 reinforcements, they all came out one after another and took the initiative to help Liu Bei defend the city.

Some people even demolished their own houses and transported the materials to the city wall to use as defense materials.

Why did it become 20 reinforcements? It was naturally to appease everyone.

Otherwise, even if the people knew that Zhou Qi would lead [-] reinforcements to Xuzhou, they would still feel desperate after comparing the strength of the enemy and our forces.

This is why.

Liu Bei was obviously very popular in Xuzhou, but when Yuan Shao led his troops to besiege Tan County, few people were willing to take the initiative to climb the city wall and help defend the city.

The reason for this is that the people of Xuzhou were afraid of being killed by Cao Cao before.

They were worried that Liu Bei would not be able to defend Tan County. After Yuan Shao attacked the city, he would liquidate the people who helped defend the city like Cao Cao did.

Now that they knew that 20 reinforcements were coming, the people in the city believed that Tan County would be able to defend it, so they were naturally happy and took the initiative to help Liu Bei defend the city.

If everyone is united and united, the city will be difficult to defeat.

With the active help of the people, Liu Bei felt that guarding Tan County became much easier.

A few days later, when Yuan Shao was besieging Tan County, Zhou Qi had already led [-] troops to fight. He first fought with Yuan's army at the south gate, and then led his troops into the city.

Zhou Qi and Liu Bei met for the first time. After the ceremony, they had no time to tell the military situation, but a scout came to report that Yuan Shao wanted to see the general by name in front of the formation.

After Liu Bei learned the news, he advised: "This must be Yuan Benchu's invitation to fight."

"When the general arrived in Tan County for the first time, his soldiers were exhausted from the long journey and were not suitable for fighting Yuan Benchu."

"How about turning a blind eye first, waiting for the cultivation to be completed, and recharging your energy before paying attention to it again."

After Zhou Qi heard this, he pondered for a long time, but finally shook his head and sighed: "Yuan Benchu ​​and I have a friendship after all. How can I ignore his invitation in front of the battle?"

When Liu Bei saw that Zhou Qi had made up his mind, he immediately refused to persuade him and just asked Zhou Qi to be cautious.

Zhou Qi immediately led his generals out of the north gate and met Yuan Shao in front of the formation.

In the formation of Yuan's army, Xun You said: "Zhou Ziyi has traveled a long distance to attack, and his soldiers are tired. Faced with the king's invitation, they may not dare to come and see him."

Jushou and others almost all thought so, and felt that it was impossible for Zhou Qi to leave the city now.

However, Yuan Shao's eyes were focused and he said with a complicated expression: "You all don't know Zhou Ziyi, so I can be sure that he will definitely come to meet you."

Seeing everyone's faces full of disbelief, Yuan Shao said: "Let's wait and see."

Everyone didn't wait long when they saw a sudden surge of soldiers on the city wall, most of them holding bows and crossbows.

"Crench!"

"Crench!"

After the crossbowmen arranged their formation, they saw the north gate of Tan County slowly opening and a group of people rushing out.

The leader was wearing fine armor, and the helmet on his head could even cover most of his face. It was obviously specially made.

He holds a spear, a sword hanging from his waist, wears a red cloak, and rides a flaming red rabbit horse.

Even though he couldn't see his face clearly, he gave people a feeling of calmness and authority. This person was Zhou Ziyi, the general who had been in a high position for a long time.

"law!"

Not far after the soldiers and horses left the city, Zhou Qi immediately raised his left hand high, and the cavalry behind him immediately tightened their reins.

"Brother Benchu, long time no see!"

Zhou Qi spoke, and a clear voice came into Yuan Jun's formation.

(End of this chapter)