In the lobby of the military mansion, Cao Cao sat high, holding a secret letter in his hand, pondering undecided.
That was a secret letter sent to him by Dong Cheng, the father-in-law and general of cavalry.
Dong Cheng stated in the secret letter that Zhang Yang secretly instigated Yang Feng and Han Siam to control the defense of Luoyang, with the intention of following Dong Zhuo's example and hijacking the emperor again.
Therefore, Dong Chengmi asked Cao Cao to send troops into the court in the name of paying tribute to the emperor to restrain the two generals Yang Feng and Han Siam.
"Lord, I think this is a great opportunity, we must not miss it." Xun Yu, the counselor under the command, added.
Cao Cao glanced at him, indicating that he should continue.
Xun Yu then said: "Now that we have been defeated by Yuan Fang, our strength has been damaged. If we can take the opportunity to welcome the emperor to Yingchuan, we can protect the emperor on the one hand, and on the other hand, we can use the emperor's righteousness to recruit talented people as soon as possible." To expand our strength, this is an excellent opportunity for us to make a comeback and rise rapidly.¡±
Cao Cao nodded slightly, already agreeing with Yu's analysis.
"Our army was newly defeated by the Yuan thieves. We only have more than 20,000 soldiers and horses. I heard that the two generals Yang and Han have tens of thousands. If our army goes north to Luoyang, I am afraid that they will be blocked by the two generals." Cao Ren said worriedly.
There was a sly smile on Cao Cao's lips: "Don't worry about that. Dong Cheng has already claimed in the letter that he has persuaded the emperor to issue an order for Yuan Fang to donate food and grass. Zhang Yang will definitely not let Yuan Fang enter Luoyang. Transfer Generals Yang and Han to the east to reinforce the defense at Hulao, and then our army can take the opportunity to advance north to Luoyang."
Only then did Cao Ren suddenly realize.
But Cheng Yu sneered: "Dong Cheng is quite a man of power, and wants to use Yuan Fang and our hands to balance the power of Luoyang, so that he can profit from it, control the court, and become invincible. "
"Dong Cheng, do you want to use me, Cao Mengde? Let's see how I use you to revive"
There was a sly smile on Cao Cao's lips.
Two days later, Cao Cao led 5,000 elite troops, departed from Xu County, and quietly headed north to Luoyang.
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East of Hulao Pass. Guangwu City.
Yuan Fang stationed his horse at the top of the city. Looking down at the trains of grain and grass leaving the city, along the westward road to Luoyang City.
Just a few days ago, he got a response from Yang Feng, the guard general of Hulao Gate. Claiming that he was willing to obey the emperor's will. The switch allowed Yuan Fang to enter Luoyang to offer food and grass.
Yang Feng listened to the emperor in this way. This surprised Yuan Fang.
Originally, he thought that Yang Feng would refuse to turn on the switch under Zhang Yang's instruction. In this case, Yuan Fang could directly use force to break through the barrier and eliminate Yang Feng's troops in the name of disobeying the imperial edict.
Now, Yang Feng is so obedient, which makes it difficult for him to use troops.
"Yang Feng, this kid, will never turn on and off so easily. There must be a conspiracy. No matter what, when my army arrives at Hulao Pass, let's see what other tricks you can come up with"
Yuan Fang had no fear and only ordered the grain truck to speed up. It must reach Hulao Pass before tomorrow.
Because Yuan Fang had a hunch that Cao Cao would never turn a blind eye to the emperor who was so close at hand, and he would definitely take action.
"Where is Yan Zizheng now?" Yuan Fang gathered his thoughts and asked.
In order not to give the impression that he wanted to kidnap the emperor, Yuan Fang did not lead a large army when he offered food, but only led 5,000 elite soldiers.
Among them, Yan Liang led 3,000 cavalry to open the way, while Yuan Fang led 2,000 pro-troops to escort the grain and fodder and follow them.
"According to the latest scout report, Yan Liang's army only has thirty miles left in Hulao Pass, and General Yan said he had detected that thousands of Yang Feng's troops were deployed on the road leading to Hulao Pass, seeming to want to block our army's westward advance. When General Yan returned from delivering the message, he was ready to attack the enemy blocking the road. "
Zhuge Liang told Yan Liang¡¯s latest return in detail.
Enemy troops blocking the road?
"Could it be that Yang Feng suddenly regretted it?" Yuan Fang was suddenly confused.
Zhuge Liang said: "Yang Fengnai was born in the Yellow Turban Army. He has always acted repeatedly. It is not surprising that he suddenly regrets it. This just gives us an excuse to use troops."
Zhuge Liang¡¯s words are not unreasonable, but Yuan Fang always feels that there is something wrong with it.
Logically speaking, Zhang Yang, Yang Feng and others should be afraid of him and simply refuse him to enter Luoyang. However, they happily agreed to the switch before, which is a bit suspicious in itself.
Now, his troops are on the road, and when they are about to stop at Hulao, the other side suddenly sends troops to block the road, which makes this move even more suspicious.
Yuan Fang is very thoughtful, how could he easily overlook the weirdness in this.
"Bring the map!" Yuan Fang shouted.
Zhuge Liang hurriedly called for his troops,?The army map was brought and spread out in front of Yuan Fang's eyes.
Yuan Fang's eagle eyes swept back and forth along the line of Hulao Pass. His brows became more and more concentrated, and the suspicion in his eyes became more intense.
After staring at the map for a long time, his thoughts were racing. Suddenly, a strange color flashed in Yuan Fang's eyes.
With his sword eyebrows condensed, Yuan Fang shouted: "Ah Liang, quickly send the order for the entire army to assemble. I will lead the army to set off within half an hour."
Zhuge Liang seemed to have noticed something unusual, and he did not dare to hesitate and hurriedly passed on Yuan Fang's order.
"Yan Zizheng, you have to hold on for me"
Yuan Fang took a deep breath, held Fang Tian's painted halberd, and hurriedly strode down to the city.
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Thirty miles east of Hulao Pass.
Black clouds are rolling in, the wind is freezing, and the remaining snow is dancing in the sky.
Yan Liang rides his horse like flying, his eyes are blazing, he is a Zang-level practitioner, his blood is steaming all over his body, and the snowflakes melt as soon as they fall.
Looking into the distance, Xiongmu could see the end of the avenue, and could vaguely see the khaki flag tumbling.
Soon, the enemies blocking the road came into view.
That was a military formation of nearly 5,000 people, blocking the road and blocking the way to Hulao Pass.
In the sky above the military formation, a large flag with the word "Guan" fluttered in the wind.
"The banner with the word Guan, could it be that guy from Guan Yu?" Yan Liang's thick eyebrows narrowed.
Based on the previous intelligence, he had memorized the names of all the generals in Luoyang. He counted them over and over again, but he could not remember any one with the surname Guan.
There was previous intelligence that Guan Yu might have led his troops to defect to Zhang Yang in Hanoi. If this was the case, Zhang Yang might have sent Guan Yu to help Yang Feng fight.
While he was thinking, the enemy formation opened up like a wave, and a general rode his horse straight to the front of the formation.
That long beard that stretches past the belly, that red face, that arrogant expression that makes everyone in the world look down upon them, who else could it be if it wasn¡¯t Guan Yu!
"As expected, it's Guan Yu who dares to go against my master even though Liu Bei is gone. He really is still there."
Yan Liang recognized Guan Yu. Not only did he not show any fear, but he was extremely jealous of his enemies.
His face suddenly turned as ferocious as a beast, and his body was ablaze with hunting aura. He raised his sword and shouted sternly: "Soldiers, in front of you is Guan Yu, the remnant of Liu Bei's eunuch. Follow me to kill that dog thief and offer it to the lord -"
Amidst the angry shouts, Yan Liang held the Green Dragon Sword in his hand and shot out like black lightning.
Behind him, three thousand soldiers of Yuan's army came out with a loud killing sound.
The elite warriors of iron blood, like a huge iron spear, rolled up dust souls all over the sky and attacked Guan Yu who was blocking the road.
Facing such a fierce momentum, all the Hanoi soldiers behind Guan Yu who had never seen the "worldly face" changed their colors.
In front of the formation, Guan Yu stands proudly with his sword drawn horizontally, but his red face is still extremely arrogant, with a look of contempt for the world.
Looking at Yuan Jun who was approaching fiercely, Guan Yu even had a disdainful sneer on his arrogant face.
"Young thief Yuan Fang, you didn't dare to come in person. You are lucky. Today I will kill your general and take back my Qinglong Sword, which will severely weaken your spirit!"
When my thoughts were rolling, three thousand Yuan troops commanded by Yan Liang were facing me, and they had already rushed within a hundred steps.
Guan Yu sneered, raised his sword and shouted: "The whole army listens to the order and retreats!"
Before the order was given, Guan Yu had already moved his horse to go ahead, looking towards the direction of Hulao Pass to withdraw.
Immediately afterwards, the flag was waved, and the four thousand Hanoi troops in formation suddenly lost their morale and dispersed, following Guan Yu in the direction of Hulao.
The enemy army was defeated and retreated, and Yuan's army's morale was greatly boosted.
"Guan Yu, please leave. If you have the guts to fight me!"
Yan Liang's fighting spirit became more and more intense. He shouted at his soldiers to kill Zhentian, and followed the retreating enemy troops in hot pursuit.
The dust and mist were billowing, and the situation was endless. When the pursuit was less than a few miles away, Yan Liang's three hundred cavalrymen had already chased the defeated enemy behind.
The iron hoofs passed by, and the blades were like crazy, mercilessly killing the defeated Hanoi soldiers. In just a moment, more than a hundred enemies were crushed by the iron hoofs.
Yan Liang's murderous intent was like a tiger and a wolf eyeing its prey, and he pursued it wildly. Unknowingly, he had chased him for more than ten miles. The wilderness gradually receded, and a dense forest appeared on the left and right.
At this moment, Guan Yu, who had been retreating, turned his horse's hoof, raised his sword horizontally, and faced his pursuers proudly.
As soon as Guan Yu turned around, the fleeing Hanoi soldiers were gradually restrained and forced to regroup.
Seeing Guan Yu suddenlyYan Liang couldn't help but be surprised that he stopped escaping and even dared to form a formation, as if he was ready for a decisive battle.
The general's instinct made him calm down and start looking around.
It was then that Yan Liang realized that he was chasing too fast and had unknowingly pursued him into a dense forest and valley. Such terrain was perfect for an ambush.
"Oh no, Guan Yu is so arrogant. I wonder why he retreated without fighting. It turns out he lured me into an ambush!"
Yan Liang woke up suddenly and hurriedly reined in his horse, yelling at the soldiers to stop pursuing and retreat to the east.
At this moment, the thunderous sound of war drums soared into the sky, and in an instant, it was like thunder, shaking the earth and the mountains.
The sound of killing suddenly started, and suddenly, countless enemy troops sprang out from the dense forest on the left and right, and surrounded and killed them from all directions.
Ambushes are everywhere!
Guan Yu has more than 4,000 troops in front, and nearly 5,000 to 6,000 troops in ambush on both wings. The morale of his own army has been damaged. Even the elite men cannot fight.
"Retreat, all the troops, retreat for me." Shocked, Yan Liang didn't think much and calmly ordered the withdrawal.
Guan Yu's red face was as cold as iron, and he gritted his teeth and said: "Yan Liang, I will kill you today and take back my Qinglong Sword. You will be shamed by your blood. Come and accept your life!"
Amidst the roar, Guan Yu slapped his horse and wielded his sword, and came towards Yan Liang to kill him. (To be continued)