Only half an hour after Xiahou Dun issued the order, a scout reported: "General, there is a camp three miles ahead. There is a diversion outside the camp, and there should be a Zhangshui sluice inside it!"
Narrowing his eyes and nodding, Xiahou Dun asked: "Do you know how many soldiers and horses there are in the camp? And who is guarding it?" If the governor of a county is not incompetent in water conservancy, he will naturally send soldiers and horses to garrison him. Now that there is a war, he will It is appropriate to station heavy troops. However, after resisting a few moves, a group of Ye city soldiers disarmed him and escorted him to Minchun.
"This is a gift from the prefect to your lord, are you satisfied?" Min Chun stood in front of Xiahou Dun, pointed to the Zhangshui reservoir behind him, and said: "There are three sluices here, the side gate Just to entertain you!¡±
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? of Xiahou Dun¡¯s whole army was annihilated, and even he himself was captured. The news was spread back to the Cao family camp, and it can be said that it stirred up waves. Not only were many generals led by Xiahou Dun in disbelief, but Cao Cao himself was also in a daze.
"How could this be so!" Cao Cao couldn't believe that his generals were defeated so tragically, but after hearing the soldiers who luckily escaped death and reported the entire battle in detail, he had no choice but to believe it.
"The governor of Yecheng is very resourceful, Yu, he is not as good as him!" Cheng Yu followed Cao Cao and listened to the defeated soldiers' complaints, shaking his head and sighing rather bitterly. He wanted to flood his lord with water and take Yecheng for his lord, but the other party had already calculated that he would do this, and planned it in Zhangshui to wipe out all Xiahou's troops.
Knowing that the other party had arrangements at the Zhangshui Reservoir, Cao Cao never mentioned the matter. After sealing the news from the upper-level civil and military officials, he concentrated on leading his troops to charge into the city. At present, to seize Ye City, the only way left is to attack by force. To this end, Cao Cao pressed almost all his troops.
"My lord, you have to arrive early!" It was not easy for Li Li to make such arrangements, and the next battle situation was beyond his control. Relying on thousands of soldiers in the city, they could barely resist the Cao family's attack on the city from all sides. Li Li felt that the city could not be defended for three days. If Zhen Yao hadn't arrived in three days, there would be nothing he could do.
Fortunately, Zhen Yao has never let his subordinates down. In just three days, when Cao Cao began his mad attack on the city in the middle of the night, his general Yan Rou had already rushed to the outside of Ye City with 10,000 light cavalry and his advance troops.
Although it was ten minutes in the middle of the night, there were still shouts of killing Zhentian outside Yecheng. When Yan Rou arrived, Xu Chu, the general of the Cao family, was commanding the night battle. With no energy at all, he led 10,000 light cavalry from the northeast of Ye City. He first crushed Cao's soldiers outside the east gate, then turned to the south gate, directly forcing Xu Chu to withdraw his troops, and then set up a stronghold to rest outside the city.
"My lord, we can't do anything. We should find a way out as soon as possible." If Yan Rou hadn't come, Cao Cao might still have a chance to capture Ye City, but Yan Rou's thousands of troops and light cavalry had already arrived, which meant that Zhen Yao's army was not far from here. The Cao family's soldiers and horses have lost the chance to seize the city, and everyone in the camp is favoring Cao Cao and advising him.
Cao Cao looked uncertain. The battle situation was like this. He had lost half of his plans and retreated. I am afraid that he will never be able to compete with Zhen Yao again in his life. But what can we do if we don't retreat? If we can't capture Ye City, we will always be at a disadvantage, and we can't get any benefits if we fight again.
Because of his impatience, Cao Cao also suffered from headaches. He kept rubbing his head with his hands and had to force himself to think about where to go. Daylight came in the blink of an eye, because Cao Cao neither said to withdraw his troops nor to continue to attack the city, the soldiers in the camp could only practice on their own and quietly wait for the master's order.
"Where is my lord now?" At three o'clock in the morning, Yan Rou entered the city with a few Qingqi followers. After meeting with Li Li, she said: "The general came in time last night. It is really difficult for Li Li to resist the Cao family's army!"
"My lord is worried about Zhangshui and asked Rou to come to help. The army is still at the source in the north." Yan Rou said truthfully: "The prefect is too modest. If Yecheng had no prefect, it would have been captured by Cao Cao long ago. How could it be delayed until today. "
Hearing Yan Rou say that his lord rushed to the source of Zhangshui, Li Li's eyebrows twinkled. It seemed that his lord was also worried about flooding. At the same time, he secretly praised in his heart that his lord had only stayed in Yecheng for a short period of time, but he could still manage to do so. I remember that the terrain of Yecheng is low-lying and easy to be tricked. This resourcefulness is probably three points better than my own.
Of course, Zhen Yao's resourcefulness will definitely not be higher than that of Li Li and other powerful plotters. He has only one purpose in rushing to the source of Zhangshui. That is, in the history known in previous lives, when Cao and Yuan fought, Yecheng was captured by a water attack.
Zhen Yao never thought of this matter before. It was not until he led his troops to Wei County that he remembered such an important thing. When he first recalled this incident, Zhen Yao was so frightened that he broke into a cold sweat, fearing that Cao Cao would do the same to him at this moment. Because of this, Zhen Yao suddenly changed his route and went to Zhangshui to have a look in person, and sent Yan Rou to help Yecheng first.
"Xiahou Miaocai, you and I meet again!" Zhen Yao worriedly took a detour to Zhangshui. He didn't see any changes at the source. He followed the source of Zhangshui where the canal was opened from the Yellow River and went westward. Finally, he reached the river channel.?At the end we saw Zhangshui Reservoir. In the reservoir camp, when he saw the captured Xiahou Dun, his expression was somewhat surprised.
Xiahou Dun has had countless interactions with Zhen Yao. Now that he is a prisoner, his face naturally does not look good. He snorted and turned his head away, not prepared to talk to Zhen Yao. Zhen Yao didn't take it seriously, smiled, and said to himself: "General Xiahou is a general of the Cao family. If I trade you with Meng De, what will he have to pay to satisfy Yao?"
"Hmph!" When Xiahou Dun heard this, he remembered the deal between Zhen Yao and Jiang Dong. He had also laughed at Sun Ce and Huang Gai, but he didn't expect that it would be his turn today. But he would not answer the call casually. Who knew whether Zhen Yao was setting a trap for him.
"It's okay if you don't say anything. I'll take you to see Meng De tomorrow and let Meng De make an offer." Zhen Yao looked like a philistine businessman at the moment, looking like he was ready to sell for a price, which made Xiahou Dun want to rush in and chop him down. he.
Zhen Yao thought so and did the same. When Zhen and Cao met at the foot of Ye City two days later, they exchanged greetings for a while. Zhen Yao asked his troops to bring Xia Houyuan forward and said: "Brother Meng De, do you still know your brother?"
"Wonderful talent!" Cao Cao couldn't help but exclaimed when he saw Xiahou Dun. These days, he is also worried about Xiahou Dun's life and death, and has not withdrawn his troops yet. Part of the reason is that he has not yet been able to confirm what Xiahou Dun's condition is now.
"I am ashamed, I have failed my lord's high hopes!" After being defeated and captured, and soon becoming Zhen Yao's tool to blackmail Cao Cao, Xiahou Dun lowered his head and did not dare to look at his eldest brother who was a hundred steps away.
"Xiahou Miaocai is very loyal, but Yao refused to surrender despite all kinds of persuasion." Zhen Yao looked regretful, glanced at the corner of his mouth and said: "Mengde has such a general, which is very enviable. Now people have also brought it, Is Mengde willing to redeem him?"
Cao Cao stared at Zhen Yao, knowing that Zhen Yao never did business at a loss, but his brother could not ignore it. After a moment, he still asked: "If Bo Gao has anything to say, just say it!"
"Nanyang in Jingzhou was originally under the rule of Liu Jingsheng." Zhen Yao raised his eyebrows: "After it was ceded to Zhang Xiu, it was occupied by Meng De. Yao was not talented, and he was ordered by the emperor to ask for Nanyang for Liu Jingzhou, but he didn't know that Meng De was willing to give up. no?"
"Nanyang!" When Cao Cao heard this, his anger inevitably surged up. He pointed his right hand at Zhen Yao and wanted to scold him for his banditry. Down.
"Withdraw troops, the front army will cut off the rear!" Cao Cao fainted in front of the formation. Cheng Yu immediately shouted beside him and signaled the soldiers to lead Cao Cao to retreat first. He, Cao Hong and Lu Qian, stabilized the front army's position and retreated slowly.
Zhen Yao had no intention of attacking by force. He watched the Cao family's soldiers and horses disappear from his eyes with a half-smile, and then turned to ask Xiahou Dun, who was kneeling beside him: "General Xiahou, do you think Mengde will return Nanyang to me?"
"Nanyang is the land of Jingzhou, even if it is returned to Jizhou, it won't be Jizhou's turn!"
"This is a big fallacy. Nanyang is the Nanyang of my Han Dynasty. When will it become his homeland, Liu Jingsheng!" Zhen Yao waved his sleeves heavily, turned his horse's head and walked towards the gate of Yecheng behind him. As for Xiahou Dun, his own soldiers escorted him back to where the prisoners should stay.
"Li, see my lord!" Li Li has not seen Zhen Yao for many years. Since Zhen Yao personally conquered Chang'an and welcomed Emperor Xian back, he has almost never been to Wuji. Meeting each other now is naturally a touching scene.
After supporting Li Li, Zhen Yao was extremely satisfied with the hero of this battle in the Central Plains: "Bo Zhi doesn't need to be like this, there is no need to be like this. This time Sili was protected and Ye City was not lost, all because Bo Zhi had predicted the enemy before him." . Yao was very pleased that Bo Zhi was so alert!"
"My lord has over-honored me, and I don't deserve this merit." Li Li hurriedly bowed down and returned the gift, showing that he was not proud of his merits, which made Zhen Yao secretly praise him.
On Zhen Yao's side, the main ministers were celebrating, but in Cao Cao's camp, the first thing he said when he woke up leisurely was to order the withdrawal of troops, and then whispered to Cheng Yu: "I told Zhen Yao about Nanyang, and I agreed. !" After saying this, Cao Mengde looked like he was in a big battle, and his whole person looked very depressed.
When Zhen Yao mentioned Nanyang, he did not mean that Xiahou Dun alone could match Nanyang County, but that Cao Cao had miscalculated his plan, lost his troops, and Cao Ren was surrounded from three sides. It was impossible for him to return to defend Nanyang, and he might even be detained forever. In Luoyang.
" In this way, Xiahou Dun plus Cao Ren's headquarters officers and soldiers, replaced by Nanyang County, could not tolerate Cao Cao's disapproval. Because even if he didn't agree, Zhen Yao would only be able to trap Cao Ren in Luoyang by spending more food, grass and soldiers, and send troops and horses to capture Wancheng first. At that time, Cao Ren's retreat would be blocked and it would be more difficult for him to escape. This was Zhen Yao's conspiracy.
Old man Cheng Yu had obviously thought about this issue when he withdrew his troops. He just nodded and said nothing. He persuaded Cao Cao to take care of his health and retreat to Changyi temporarily, and not to return to Changyi in the future.??No chance.
Zhen Yao led his troops southward, but did not fight a single battle. He could barely be called a soldier who conquered the enemy without fighting. Three days later, Cao Cao's troops retreated to Yanzhou. At the same time, Cao Ren also received the battle report and ordered him to retreat and abandon Wancheng, and detour to Xuanyuan Mountain to garrison in Yingchuan.
Seven days later, the battle report of Yizhou came back. Zhen Yao, who was still in Yecheng, couldn't help but be overjoyed after reading it. Although he had long known that Yizhou could be decided in one battle, it was difficult to be confident without being sure. Now that the good news came, Liu Zhang and others were marching eastward under the escort of the army, and Zhang Ren, Huang Quan, Dong and a group of Yizhou's capable ministers surrendered one after another. Zhen Yao could finally feel relieved about Shuzhong.
In late autumn, not only did Zhao Yun lead the army back to Yecheng, but Xu Huang's army also followed. Zhen Yao held a grand celebration banquet in Yecheng, during which he praised all the civil and military personnel present. Two days later, Xuzhou battle reports also came one after another.
When Zhou Yu sent out troops, he did make a good move to attack the east and west and encircle the points for reinforcements. However, when Taishi Ci and Zang Ba's troops joined Tancheng, the shortcomings of insufficient troops in Jiangdong were quickly exposed, and they had to send troops to garrison the captured Xiapi and Guangling. They had to march into the East China Sea, but the Jiangdong soldiers were outnumbered, and there was nothing they could do about Xuzhou's troops.
And when Guan Yu led his troops to detour to Mount Tai, and blitzed Xiapi from Pengcheng, and recaptured the two counties controlled by Jiangdong, they were cut off from their retreat. They also lost half of Jiangdong's troops and horses along with their food and fodder, so they had to retreat again with hatred. Maybe Jiangdong could outwit a weak opponent with a clever strategy, but with the joint offensive of the three armies of Qing and Xu, he realized what it means to defeat ten with one force.
The wars in Yizhou, Sili, and Qingxu ended one after another, which also meant that Zhen Yao no longer needed to stay in Yecheng. Now that winter was approaching, it was indeed not the time to start a war. Zhen Yao stayed in Yecheng for two more days and transferred Chen Deng to Nanyang to serve as the prefect. He also transferred Zhang Liao to lead the troops to garrison Nanyang to prevent Jing and Yanzhou. After that, he led the expedition army and returned to Wuji.
When I returned to Wuji in early winter, I naturally had no choice but to give officials to some civil and military officials. For example, Zhang Fei has been promoted to Sizheng, his official position remains unchanged, and his title is Tinghou and he is promoted to Xianghou. And for those like Guo Jia who did not seek high-ranking positions, Zhen Yao also gave them substantial rewards, such as money and fine wine, which was a lot of determination.
Zhen Yao also summoned several civil and military officials who had followed Xu Huang and surrendered. For example, Zhao Yun's two senior brothers, Zhang Xiu and Zhang Ren, one was sent to Nanyang by Zhen Yao to help Zhang Liao, and the other was dispatched to Chang'an to help Zhang Fei.
In addition to these two people, Zhen Yao also met Meng Da, the famous second-fifth son of the late Three Kingdoms in history. He had to admit that after a conversation, Zhen Yao found that this second-fifth son's strategic vision and talent for battle were truly speechless. But his character is a bit arrogant, and he is very similar to his brother Fazheng. No wonder the two of them can get close.
This kind of person is not easy to be sent abroad. Zhen Yao can only keep him by his side temporarily and slowly beat him to round off his edges. He may be of great use in the future. As for the scribes, except for Zhang Song from Yizhou, others such as Huang Quan and others had no intention of leaving Shuzhong.
Wu rewarded him generously, and Liu Zhang also arranged for him a casual position that was enough for him to squander his salary. Originally, Zhen Yao was preparing to celebrate the New Year in peace, but unexpectedly something happened again in Wuji, and the cause was Zhen Yao himself.
What's the matter? Naturally, Zhen Yao has occupied enough territory now. Seeing that the big man is tending to unify, Xu You, Guo Jia and others are thinking about it, and are ready to persuade Zhen Yao to claim the throne!