The Jagged Cavalry of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 162 Chapter 162
162 Retreat as Advance
Sun Ce looked at the raging fire that was burning under Moling City. Although he was unwilling, he only had these soldiers and horses in his hands. If he lost too much, it would be extremely unfavorable to him.

Therefore, Sun Ce reluctantly ordered the withdrawal of troops, temporarily withdrawing troops, and fighting again at another day.

Following Sun Ce's order, the army retreated slowly. Liu Yao and Chen Deng on the moling tower were also relieved to see Sun Ce's retreat.

When Sun Ce's army was far away, Liu Yao ordered his soldiers to go out of the city to clean up the battlefield, bury the dead bodies, and bury Fan Neng and Yu Mi generously.

As soon as Sun Ce retreated here, Zhang Yan led his army over there and saw the mess outside Moling city. He had just suffered a bloody battle, and he was also happy that Liu Yao was able to defend Moling.

Seeing Zhang Yan's arrival, Liu Yao came to greet him in person. Chen Deng, Xue Li, Zhang Hong and others introduced each other among them.

Sun Ce withdrew his troops and went down to the stronghold ten miles away. He was still a little depressed about today's siege.

In the evening, scouts came to report that Xuzhou Mu Zhang Yan had led an army of [-] troops to Moling.

Sun Ce was quite surprised by Zhang Yan's arrival, but he didn't expect that Zhang Yan would still make a mess here.So Sun Ce called Zhou Yu and told Zhou Yu about Zhang Yan's reinforcements.

After Zhou Yu listened to it, he thought for a while, and then said to Sun Ce: "Zhang Yan suddenly led his troops to reinforce, and Liu Yao's strength has greatly increased. If we stick to the city, if our army takes a strong attack, we will definitely lose our troops. Although our army has tens of thousands There are a lot of people, but most of them are newly recruited brave soldiers, and they can’t really go to the battlefield. It’s better for our army to retreat and temporarily retreat back to Danyang. Mu, I will definitely not stay here for a long time. After Zhang Yan leads the army to retreat, we will lead the army to attack Liu Yao. At that time, our army will be strong, and the soldiers will be united, and we will be able to defeat Liu Yao in one fell swoop."

After listening to it, Sun Ce felt that it made sense, and said, "In that case, let's do what Gong Jin said. Tomorrow morning, we will immediately withdraw our troops and return to Danyang."

Zhou Yu said: "No, if you want to leave, you can leave tonight. You also need to send someone to send a letter to Zhang Yan, telling Zhang Yan that the Lord is only following orders and has no intention of becoming an enemy of Zhang Yan. The more humble the wording, the better! "

Sun Ce said: "I only know how to wield guns and clubs. After all, this matter of wrestling with writing and ink is not as good as Gongjin. Gongjin should write it for me."

"Here!"

Afterwards, Sun Ce issued an order to retreat, ordering the soldiers to pull out the stronghold overnight and return to Danyang quickly.But Zhou Yu wrote a euphemistic and humble letter, calling Chen Wu, and asked Chen Wu to shoot the letter into Moling City.

After Chen Wu received the order and took the letter with him, he left the camp.As soon as he left here, Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Han Dang, Sun Ben and others came straight to the big tent. As soon as they entered the big tent, they clasped their fists and asked in unison: "My lord sent an order to retreat overnight and return to Danyang." ,Not sure whether it is true?"

Sun Ce said: "How can my order be misrepresented? Of course it is true!"

Cheng Pu said: "My lord, our army is already approaching the city. How can we just give up because of a small setback during the day? Tomorrow, my lord will just give me three thousand soldiers and horses. I will take these three thousand soldiers and horses and rush into Moling City, The head of old Liu Yao is presented to the lord!"

Cheng Pu, courtesy name Demou, was a native of Youbeiping Tuyin in Youzhou. He wielded an iron-ridged snake spear, was brave and unstoppable in battle, and was one of the first fierce generals to follow Sun Jian.

He followed Sun Jianping through the Yellow Turban, conquered the Western Qiang, and even defeated Dong Zhuo. In every battle, he took the lead and led the way.Even his age is the oldest in the army, and Sun Jian used to be called his elder brother, so Sun Ce treated him with great respect.

"My lord, we are also willing to lead the troops to go together!" Huang Gai and Han Dang also echoed.

Han Dang, styled Yigong, was born in Lingzhi, Liaoxi, Youzhou.Because he accidentally killed a bully in his hometown, he was wanted by the government and was forced to flee to the Huaisi area. Just in time for the Yellow Turban Uprising, the world was in chaos. It happened that Sun Jian, who was the commander of the army at the time, was recruiting soldiers and horses in the Huaisi area. Han Dang went to apply. Only then did he become a soldier under Sun Jian.

In the battle to pacify the Yellow Turban, Han Dang made many military exploits, so he was favored by Sun Jian, and he was promoted to Qu Junhou. Since then, he has become Sun Jian's right-hand man together with Cheng Pu.

Huang Gai, courtesy name Gongfu, was born in Quanling, Lingling, and was good at using a pair of iron whips. When Sun Jian was the prefect of Changsha, he raised an army to attack Dong Zhuo and recruited brave soldiers. At this time, he joined Sun Jian's army.

Both Han Dang and Huang Gai were brave men, their martial arts were no less than Cheng Pu's, and all three were from Sun Jian's former army. After Sun Jian's death, they followed Sun Ce and were always loyal to the Sun family.

Cheng Pu, Han Dang, and Huang Gai were in the army discussing how to attack Moling the next day, when they suddenly received an order from Sun Ce to retreat. The three of them didn't know why, so they came to find Sun Ce.On the way, the three of them happened to meet Sun Ben who was also puzzled, so they came to Sun Ce's military tent together, wanting to ask for clarification.

Seeing that Cheng Pu, Han Dang, and Huang Gai had volunteered to fight, Sun Ce admired their courage, and immediately said, "The courage of the three is commendable, but today's siege of our army has lost many soldiers, and even the siege equipment has been destroyed. The enemy army is burned, what will our army use to attack the city tomorrow? Besides, old Liu Yao has invited reinforcements and has already moved into Moling. Even if our army does not attack Moling tomorrow, Liu Yao will send troops to attack our army. Our army Although there are more than ten thousand soldiers and horses, there are only a few of them who are used to fighting in the army. Most of them are new recruits. They don't know how to fight and don't know how to fight. Even if they go to the battlefield with courage, they will die in the end. And The person Liu Yao invited was Xuzhou Mu Zhang Yan. I fought with Yuan Shu when he conquered Xuzhou. There are many brave generals under this man, and he is also very brave and knows how to use troops. This is extremely difficult to deal with. For this reason, Gong Jin came up with a strategy of retreating and advancing. He returned to Danyang for the time being and continued to recruit soldiers while training soldiers and horses. After Zhang Yan left, our army would attack Liu Yao again. Late!"

After hearing Sun Ce's explanation, Cheng Pu, Han Dang, and Huang Gai realized that all of this was Zhou Yu's idea.

Sun Ben, who was at the side, hadn't spoken for a long time. After hearing Sun Ce's words, he cupped his hands and said, "It turns out that there are other reasons for all of this. I'm still wondering why my lord retreated for no reason. Since it is Zhou Gong Jin's idea, it must not be wrong, I will order the withdrawal of the troops later."

After finishing speaking, Sun Ben bowed his hands to Sun Ce, and went straight out of the tent.

Cheng Pu wanted to say something, but was stopped by Han Dang and Huang Gai, and the three left one after another.

After leaving the big tent, Cheng Pu said to Han Dang and Huang Gai, "Why did you hold me back just now? I still have something to say to my lord!"

Han Dangdao: "What you want to say is nothing more than wanting to lead troops to attack the city. The lord obeys Zhou Yu's words, even if you ask, the lord may not agree. It's better not to say it, so as not to waste your tongue."

Cheng Pu was dissatisfied, and said loudly: "Zhou Yu is just a child with a yellow mouth, why does the lord trust him so much? I have been following the old lord for a long time, but now the lord doesn't care about me, and doesn't even listen to my opinions. Now, if the old lord is still alive, why is he waiting for me like this?"

Huang Gai said: "Emperor and courtier, Brother Demou doesn't have to be so fussy. Besides, along the way, it is precisely because the lord listened to Zhou Yu's advice that our army was able to win consecutive battles. It can be seen that Zhou Yu is quite resourceful this time. .”

Cheng Pu said unhappily: "What kind of resourcefulness! In my opinion, it is nothing more than that he is timid and afraid to fight Liu Yao's army head-on. He is just doing some stealthy things, sneak attacking here today and there tomorrow. With this conspiracy, I can do it too!"

"Okay, brother Demou, calm down, everything is for the sake of the lord, and the overall situation is the most important thing!" Han Dang and Huang Gai persuaded together.

Cheng Pu also complained in his heart. He only felt that a veteran like himself was gradually alienated by Sun Ce because of Zhou Yu's appearance.

However, Sun Ce's orders were still to be carried out. Cheng Pu, Han Dang, and Huang Gai returned to their respective camps and began to set up camps.

……

In Moling City, Liu Yao warmly received Zhang Yan, and everyone was happy for today's small victory.

Suddenly, a soldier came in from the outside, and brought a letter, which he handed directly to Zhang Yan.

Zhang Yan took the letter, but saw the beautiful words "Xuzhou Mu Zhang envoy personally acknowledges" written on it, so he opened the letter immediately, read it quickly, and then burst out laughing!

"Mr. Zhang, why are you so happy?" Seeing Zhang Yan laughing, Liu Yao asked.

Zhang Yan then handed the letter to Liu Yao and said, "Mr. Liu, you will know it at a glance!"

Liu Yao took the letter, read it hastily, and then burst out laughing.

"Zhang Shijun's reputation spread far and wide. Unexpectedly, even Sun Ce was very afraid. When he learned that Zhang Shijun led troops to help, he even left a letter and withdrew the army overnight!" Liu Yao said loudly in front of everyone, holding the letter in his hand. .

Xue Li, Zhang Ying, and Liu Yao's subordinates who were accompanying in the hall all cheered and jumped for joy when they heard the news.

Tai Shici, Zhou Tai, Jiang Qin and others were also happy, but Zhang Hong and Chen Deng didn't have much joy on their faces, instead they looked sad.

Zhang Yan noticed the sadness on the faces of Zhang Hong and Chen Deng, so he didn't ask in front of everyone.He kept drinking with Liu Yao until very late, and then withdrew from the banquet.

After the banquet was over, Zhang Yan invited Zhang Hong and Chen Deng to his room, and asked, "At the banquet today, what do you think of the letter Sun Ce sent?"

Zhang Hong said: "When I was in Jiangdu, Sun Ce once visited him. Counting, I have met him several times, and I know Sun Ce somewhat. It's not as simple as being afraid of the lord. I think this may be Sun Ce's strategy of retreating to avoid fighting with the lord. Once the lord leaves, Sun Ce is bound to attack again."

Chen Deng echoed, "I feel the same way."

After Zhang Yan heard this, he said: "What you said is very reasonable. I led the army to help, but it is only temporary, and I will definitely not be here permanently. Sun Ce may have seen this point before he suddenly withdrew. What do you have to do?" What's the countermeasure?"

(End of this chapter)