"No! We've fallen into a trap!" Lu Bu said secretly, and turned around and shouted: "Quickly retreat! Get out of the camp!" Before he could finish his words, gongs and drums were blaring all around, and Cao's army, which had been in ambush for a long time, came out from all sides to kill tens of thousands of generals. People screamed and killed, and the sound shook the sky. Lu Bu was surrounded by enemies on all sides and was surrounded by Cao's army. Xiahou Dun and Gao Lan led their troops to block the front and back doors. Archers fired arrows from all sides, and arrows rained down. Lu Bu rushed from left to right, but was unable to break through for a while. Soon, Cao Jun used rockets to ignite the military tent and the piled firewood, and the fire broke out. Xiahou Dun laughed loudly and said, "L¨¹ Bu! Even if you have extraordinary abilities, you will never escape the trap set by my master. You must die!" After that, he led his army to charge. Although Lu Bu had two thousand cavalry, it was difficult to use them in the narrow place of the military camp. They were also surrounded and killed by Cao's army on all sides, causing heavy losses. At that moment, he led the three generals Hao Meng, Song Xian, and Sun Guan to rush through the back door, and happened to encounter Gao Lan and Cao Chun. The second general did not dare to fight Lu Bu. He only sent archers to snipe him from a distance. At the same time, spearmen set up countless spears at the door. If they rush forward rashly, they will only be stabbed like hedgehogs. Cao Cao's appetite was not just for people like Lu Bu. He expected that Lu Bu would come in full force, and at the same time sent three generals, Xia Houyuan, Cao Hong, and Li Dian, with 10,000 troops to attack Dongping City. Fortunately, Chen Gong still has three thousand elite soldiers, which is enough to protect himself in terms of defense. And Cao Jun did not have large-scale siege tools, so he could not capture Dongping City in a hurry. But Chen Gong was extremely anxious at the moment. He saw Cao's camp blazing with fire all the way away, and he couldn't help but worry about the situation on Lu Bu's side. Cao's army had obviously been prepared. If a dragnet was laid in advance, Lu Bu would be unable to fly. He, Zhang Miao and other officials welcomed Lu Bu into Yanzhou. This move had already greatly offended Cao Cao. If Lu Bu was killed by Cao Cao, they would definitely not get good results. After pondering for a while, Chen Gong ordered the city's grain, grass and baggage to be burned, and sent county soldiers in the city to resist Cao's siege. Chen Gong led 3,000 elite troops to quietly break out from the north gate, and actually abandoned Dongping City and rushed to Cao's camp. Go away. Without these three thousand elite soldiers, how could the remaining miscellaneous troops hold back tens of thousands of Cao's troops? Xiahou Yuan occupied an empty city in less than half an hour. But he said that Chen Gong's purpose in abandoning Dongping City was to rescue Lu Bu. Three thousand people marched all the way and arrived near Cao Ying in a short time. I saw that the entire Cao camp was ablaze with fire. Lu Bu led hundreds of knights to rush inside, but they could not get out of the encirclement. Cao Jun's camp was surrounded by fences, and there were deep pits and horses outside. The archers and spearmen hid outside the fences and fired cold arrows. Once anyone came close, they would stab them with their spears. There was a raging fire in the camp, and the heat wave hit our faces. Most of the 5,000 soldiers brought by Lu Bu were killed or injured, leaving only more than 400 cavalry and 700 to 800 infantry, and they were in a miserable state. All the soldiers, including Lu Bu, were already in despair. If this continued before dawn, they would be completely wiped out, without even a chance to escape. Chen Gong saw the situation clearly and immediately led his troops to attack the front door. Xiahou Dun was caught off guard when he was killed, and since his troops were not superior, he was quickly dispersed. Lu Bu and others were overjoyed when they saw Chen Gong leading troops to rescue him, and immediately led troops to attack the front door. The two armies were gathered together, with more than four thousand people in total, and they were all in a state of panic. Lu Bu's face was charred and his body was covered in blood. After seeing Chen Gong, he felt ashamed and grateful at the same time. He turned over and dismounted, then knelt down and saluted, saying: "I regret that I didn't listen to Gongtai's words, and fell into Cao's treacherous plot! If Gongtai rescued us, we might all be trapped here! Please accept the notice and bow!" Sun Guan, Hao Meng and others also bowed down. Chen Gong quickly helped Lu Bu up and said anxiously: "General, why do you need to give such a gift? The situation is critical now, Dongping City has also fallen into the hands of Cao's thieves. We'd better escape first, then learn a lesson, and take a long-term plan!" Lu Bu stood up and said: " "What do you think Gongtai should do now?" Chen Gong thought for a while and said: "Although the Cao thieves have captured Dongping City, we still have an absolute advantage. The best way now is to retreat to Dongjun to rest and wait for the future. Fight!" Lu Bu nodded. Now they have no choice but to retreat. Dongping has been lost, all the food and grass in their hands have been burned, and most of their troops have been lost. They can only wait for death if they stay. After the agreement was completed, the four thousand remaining soldiers retreated to Dongping at night. After this battle, the 10,000 elite soldiers brought by Lu Bu lost more than 6,000 people. Hou Cheng died in the battle and lost a city. In comparison, Cao Cao suffered heavy losses. In addition to Cao Ren's losses, the 80,000 troops lost nearly 30,000 people, and most of them were elites. Although Dongping was captured, it was only an empty city. Ma Chao was overjoyed when he heard the news in Beihai. In his opinion, the best outcome would be for both sides to suffer losses. After Lu Bu was defeated and returned to Dongjun, he sent people to ask Ma Chao for horses, trying to gradually destroy Cao with cavalry. Ma Chao thought about it, but did not agree to this request. Now Qingzhou has been captured by him, and all the ferries in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River are under his control. With this advantage, he can control the war horses from the north to flow into the south. The good horses of the Han Dynasty came from Bingzhou, Youzhou and Liangzhou. Although there are horses in the south, they are only used for farming and pulling carts. They are not used for war horses.?Not enough. These princes will be enemies sooner or later, and it is impossible for Ma Supernatural to let good horses flow into the south in large numbers to aid the enemy. And Lu Bu is a capricious person. For him, having breasts is a mother. It is extremely dangerous to cooperate with such a person. If Lu Bu kills Cao Cao and then expands himself, it will be self-defeating and he will have to work hard to do so. Having initially taken control of Qingzhou, Ma Chao¡¯s next target is Xuzhou. Now that Liu Bei has stationed in Xiaopei, and Tao Qian is about to die soon, Liu Bei must not be allowed to gain a foothold in Xuzhou, and he must find a way to deal with Liu Bei. Having made up his mind, Ma Chao left Xun Yu and Zhang He in Qingzhou, and personally led Huang Zhong, Dian Wei, Cao Xing, and Chen Dao to lead 30,000 troops to Xuzhou, using the excuse to attack Cao's thieves. Tao Qian knew that Ma Chao had plans for Xuzhou, but he did not dare to disobey him, so he had to order them to pass through the passes along the way. Ma Chao traveled for seven or eight days and finally arrived at Xiapi City, which was less than a hundred miles away from Pengcheng. Tao Qian led civil and military officials to Xiapi to welcome him, and held a banquet in the city to welcome Ma Chao. After the greetings, Ma Chao clasped his fists and said, "We haven't seen each other for three years. I'm very happy to see that Tao Shijun is still the same." , I am deeply sorry. Xuzhou was in trouble today. If the general had not appointed Lu Bu as the shepherd of Yanzhou, Cao Cao would not have been able to retreat so easily. " Ma Chao said: "Cao Cao is a traitor! In the name of avenging his father, he is here. Xuzhou massacred people and plundered supplies, which caused resentment among the people. The purpose of this mission was to completely wipe out the Cao thieves and bring justice to the people of Xuzhou!" Tao Qian and other Xuzhou officials were overjoyed when they heard this. If this thorn in their hearts is not removed, the people of Xuzhou will live in fear for fear that Cao Cao will make a comeback in the future. "General Gao Yi, we can't thank you enough. Xuzhou has just experienced war, and countless people have been robbed by Cao's thieves. Their vitality has been damaged. If we have the help of General, we will no longer be afraid of the threat of Cao's thieves!" Ma Chao nodded and said: " Xuzhou is the territory of the Han Dynasty, and the people of Xuzhou are also the people of the Han Dynasty. How can I ignore it? Tao Shijun can implement the "three-point grain" system and the collective farming system formulated by the general in Xuzhou, and he must take good care of those people. If the common people who have had their homes robbed by Cao's thieves are short of food and supplies, they can report it to the court in time, and the general can transfer food and supplies from other states and counties to support Xuzhou!" Tao Qian was hesitant after hearing this. Implementing the three-point grain system and accepting Ma Chao's support was equivalent to announcing to the outside world that Xuzhou had submitted to Ma Chao's court, and he joined Ma Chao's camp from then on. Now that the major events in the world are gradually becoming clear, the princes from all sides are faintly divided into three camps. The first camp is the Ma Chao Group, which occupies the four prefectures of Bing, Ji, Qing, and Sili. Its followers include Liangzhou Mu Han Sui, and its overall strength is the highest in the world. The second camp is the Yuan Shao Group, which occupies Yuzhou and Yangzhou. Its followers include Cao **, Sun Jian, Liu Xun and others, ranking second in strength. The third camp is Liu Yan of Shu. Since Liu Yan took control of Yizhou, he has cut off all contact with the imperial court and even has no contact with various princes. It is purely a self-proclaimed existence, and it relies on the dangers in Shu to claim to be emperor. Even if the princes from all walks of life have the intention to attack, they are unable to do so. In addition, there are Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, Liu Yu, the governor of Youzhou, Tao Qian, the governor of Xuzhou, and Tu Bian, the governor of Jiaozhou. These four people are located between the three major groups. They are internally unstable and the weakest. They are in a state of duplicity and intend to have both sides. But how can they really stay out with just one state? After Cao Cao's incident, Tao Qian was deeply aware of Xuzhou's potential threat. Let alone Cao Cao, Ma Chao, Yuan Shao and other great princes, even a small county magistrate Liu Bei dared to covet Xuzhou. In the final analysis, it was because of Xuzhou There is no strong military strength and no strong backing. ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Out of the fittest, survival of the fittest, or rising, or choosing a force to join, it is impossible to stay out of the matter, especially in a capital-heavy place like Xuzhou. After pondering for a long time, Tao Qian was still hesitant in his heart, clasping his fists and saying: "The general is dedicated to the people, and I admire him for his humility. However, Xuzhou has always implemented a tax-free system for worshiping Buddha. Nowadays, most of the people believe in Buddhism. If the decree is changed rashly, it may be difficult for the people to adapt! Ma Chao secretly sneered in his heart. To deal with Tao Qian, an old fox, he had to use kindness and power at the same time. He immediately said: "In that case, I won't force you. If you need it in the future, you can always send someone to ask for help from me!" I had seen Tao Shijun's eldest son, Tao Shang, in Yecheng, but why didn't he see him today? "Tao Qian didn't know what Ma Chao's purpose was, so he frowned and said, "Quuzi stayed in Pengcheng and has not come. If anything happens to the general, Qian will immediately order someone to call him. Come on!" Ma Chao waved his hand and said: "That's no big deal. I heard that Tao Shijun has two sons, one of whom is a pottery merchant. I have seen him in the past and he is a talented person.?, being humble, courteous, and generous is the style of my father. There is also a son named Tao Ying. I heard that this son is also extraordinary and has a reputation for bravery. I wonder if we can meet him today? "(To be continued.)