Prancing Horse Xiliang

Chapter 424 Competing in the Central Plains ([-])
Zhao Yun fought Taishi Ci for more than a hundred rounds, and he fought Sun Ce for nearly two hundred rounds, but he still didn't see any weakness in his strength, but became more courageous as he fought.

Although Sun Ce was warlike, he was a hero after all. Seeing that he could not win, he immediately ordered Tai Shici to join forces with Zhao Yun.Tai Shici rested for a long time, and his strength had already recovered. Zhao Yun was a little bit overwhelmed by joining forces with Sun Ce.

Struggling to force Sun Ce and Tai Shici to retreat, they immediately waved their troops to cover up and kill them.

Sun Ce also ordered the army to hide and kill. The two armies fought in a scuffle with casualties. Seeing that they could not defeat each other, they did not want to fight to die together, so they retreated in various ways. Sun Ce retreated to Hefei, while Zhao Yun led the army northward to Anfengjin.

Hefei, Wu Jun Camp.

"Lord!"

Lu Su quickly stepped into the tent of the Chinese army, and bowed his hands to Sun Ce to salute.

"Zi Jing is exempt!"

Sun Ce waved his hand and asked, "What did Cao Jun's envoy say?"

Lu Su said: "Cao Cao wants to give up Xuzhou and live temporarily in Huainan and Lujiang counties."

"what?"

Sun Ce was taken aback, and said in a concentrated voice, "Cao Cao wants to give up Xuzhou?"

Lu Su's face was serious, he nodded and said, "Exactly!"

Sun Ce was speechless for a long time, and then sighed for a long time: "Cao Cao really has great courage. Abandoning Xuzhou, such a difficult decision is really not something ordinary people can make. Even if you are alone, you may not be able to make such a decision."

Lu Su said: "Cao Cao has no choice but to give up Xuzhou. Now Luo Zheng has all his troops to attack. Xuzhou has no danger to defend. It is not enough to resist Luo Zheng's more than [-] troops. Although it is a pity to abandon Xuzhou's foundation, it is the only one. Method. Instead of being defeated by Luo Zheng, Cao Cao's move is also extremely clever."

Sun Ce took a few steps under the tent and asked, "Cao Cao's words are nice. I'm afraid I'll borrow the two counties temporarily. I'm afraid I won't repay the loan. I don't believe that Cao Cao will take Huainan and Lujiang counties, and I can return them to Gu in the future." .”

Lu Su was silent, there was nothing to say about such a tacit matter.

Sun Ce paused, then asked again, "What do you think of Zijing?"

Lu Su said: "I think my lord should lend the second county to Cao Cao."

Sun Ce frowned and said, "I would like to hear the details."

Lu Su said: "Now Luo Zheng is powerful, and the Lord and Cao Cao are weak. As the saying goes, if you cooperate, you will benefit, and if you divide, you will lose. Moreover, Luo Zheng sent a large-scale army to the Central Plains this time. He will definitely not go to war for a mere Xuzhou. If the next As expected, Luo Zheng will definitely take advantage of the situation to attack the two counties of Huainan and Lujiang in order to lock the natural danger of the Yangtze River and plot Hebei with peace of mind. If Cao Cao dies, our army alone may not be able to resist Luo Zheng's army of more than [-] cavalry, Huainan The two counties of Lujiang and Lujiang cannot be defended, so it is better to temporarily lend it to Cao Cao to facilitate our army and Cao Cao to join forces to resist Luo Zheng's more than [-] troops."

Sun Ce frowned and walked up and down under the tent.

Huainan and Lujiang are rich lands, and it is undoubtedly a difficult decision to give it to others for nothing.

Lu Su continued: "Cao Cao also has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. If our army joins forces with Cao Cao, there will be nearly [-] land and water troops. Although it is not as large as Luo Zheng's army, the gap is not very big. Only in this way can we It can prevent Luo Zheng from going south. And there is another advantage in giving up the Huainan and Lujiang counties, we no longer have to bear the pressure of the Xigan army, we only need to assist from the side."

Sun Ce is also a man with mountains and rivers in his chest, so he immediately understood.

Now that Luo Zheng is in a great situation, no matter who faces Luo Zheng's soldiers, he will have trouble eating and sleeping and sleeping hard.

In order to prevent Luo Zheng's army from overwhelming the border, it is necessary to deploy considerable troops to guard the border.

If Huainan and Lujiang are given up, the pressure will be passed on to Cao Cao, and Sun Ce will not have to bear it.

In this way, if Soochow needed a large force to garrison the border, it would naturally be able to save money, food and soldiers with peace of mind.

Sun Ce suddenly became cheerful, and immediately said: "Be kind, just follow Zijing's opinion!"

Xuyi, Cao Jun camp.

In the big tent of the Chinese army, Cao Cao sat behind the chief case, with a look of worry on his brows.

Cheng Yu, Xun You, Cao Hong, Le Jin and others lined up on both sides, all with serious faces.

The situation of Cao Jun is very serious now, there is no way out, and there are pursuers. Cao Cao has never been forced to such a desperate situation since he started fighting against Dong in the first year of Chuping. Pass.

It has been three days since the army arrived in Xuyi, and there is still no news from Liu Ye, who was sent to Huainan.

If Sun Ce refuses to give up the two counties of Huainan and Lujiang, the tens of thousands of Cao's troops will really become rootless and have nowhere to stay.

What Cao Cao was most worried about was Xiahou Dun's life and death.

As early as when he decided to abandon Xuzhou, Cao Cao ordered his horse to go to Kaiyang to pass the order. Even if he lost [-] troops, Xiahou Dun would never lose. Now that the army has arrived in Xuyi, there is still no news of Xiahou Dun.

Xiahou Dun is Cao Jun's defender and also Cao Cao's arm. Once he dies in battle, it will definitely deal a fatal blow to the morale of the army.

Regardless of public or private, Cao Cao could not tolerate Xiahou Dun's three strengths and two weaknesses.

Just as Cao Cao was waiting anxiously, amidst the hurried footsteps, Cao Chun rushed in with a sad face.

"Lord!"

Cao Chun rushed forward, with a sad face on his face: "There is news from Kaiyang."

Cao Cao's heart skipped a beat, and he asked anxiously, "How about Kaiyang, do you have any news from Yuan Rang?"

Cao Chundao: "Luo Zheng's army besieged the city, and the messengers could not convey the Lord's military order into the city. General Yuan Rang did not retreat until Kaiyang City was broken. After being captured alive by Luo Zheng, he ordered the beheading and sent the head of General Yuan Rang to the army middle."

"what--"

Cao Cao yelled, staring straight at Cao Chun, unable to recover for a while.

The rest of the civil and military people were also shocked by the news, unable to move their bodies or speak.

"My lord..."

Cao Chun let out a soft sound and wiped the corners of his eyes.

"Yuan Rang"

Cao Cao finally came back to his senses, yelled fiercely, then spurted out a mouthful of old blood, and fell back.

"Lord!"

All the civil and military officers panicked immediately, and they all surrounded Cao Cao in shock.

The military attendant arrived soon, pinching his mouth and pressing his chest and abdomen. After a lot of tossing, Cao Cao finally woke up slowly, then turned his head away, wiped the corners of his eyes, and said sadly, "Yuan Rang, Yuan Rang, Why did you give up and leave?"

Everyone mourned, and then wiped away their tears. Thinking of the place where they were mourning, they were all filled with anger, wishing to go back and fight to the death with the Gan army, especially the generals of the Cao and Xiahou clans, all of them gritted their teeth and burst into anger.

Cheng Yu suppressed his grief, and comforted him: "The dead are gone, and my lord mourns. General Yuan Rang, as a general in charge of the army, died in the battle today, and he will never return to this life. I don't want to see my lord so sad. The great cause is not over, and I hope the lord will come back." treasure!"

Xun You, Le Jin, Cao Hong and others also comforted Cao Cao, finally making Cao Cao feel better.

At this moment, the sound of hurried footsteps sounded outside the tent again.

Everyone looked back, and saw Liu Ye walking in hurriedly.

(End of this chapter)