Three Kingdoms

I don’t know how many times the thundering war drum was beaten, and a new round of fighting began again.

Under the fluttering flag, Cao Cao poured the remaining water in the water bag into his mouth, moistening his sore throat from giving orders loudly for a long time, licked his chapped lips, and then threw the water bag away. On one side, he looked towards the Yuan Jun formation opposite.

Yuan Jun launched another attack, but this time the attack not only did not frighten Cao Cao, but also seemed to see a glimmer of hope to turn defeat into victory.

"It doesn't make sense..." Cao Cao muttered to himself, "It doesn't make sense... Why would you attack at this time? Yuan Benchu, what are you hiding from me? Could it be..."

Cao Cao looked at the changes on the battlefield and suddenly shouted in a hoarse voice: "Left wing! Let Zilian be careful of Yuan Jun's left wing troops!"

Cao Cao's prediction was correct. Amidst the rumbling drums, a moment later, Yuan Jun's left wing attacked an army in an attempt to open a breakthrough, but was blocked by the well-prepared Cao Jun formation. Although he was slightly oppressed, They retreated, but the entire front line still did not collapse. The two sides were fighting in one place, and the shouts of killing were earth-shattering.

Because Cao Cao's camp was heavily damaged after being attacked by Yuan Shao last time. This time, on the one hand, in order to show a tougher stance, on the other hand, the hastily repaired camp was not strong enough, so Cao Cao simply relied on the camp. Confront Yuan Jun.

Although the casualties of the soldiers fighting Yuan Jun on the front line would be greater, Yuan Jun also felt uncomfortable. The rain of arrows splashed down from Cao Jun's camp not only hindered the formation of the formation, but also caused the death of subsequent soldiers. Unable to follow up effectively...

Yuan Shao also looked at Cao Cao's military formation from a distance and had a headache.

If the two side attacks in Heluo had not failed, if Cao Cao had arrived a few hours late, if the Xianbei dogs in Youbei had not caused trouble, if the hussar generals had not provided support, if...

Suppose that I did not attack Shangdang Taiyuan, Suppose that the relationship with the Hussars General is still good, Suppose that I negotiated good terms with Xianbei in advance, Suppose that Liu Biao also obeys and cooperates, Suppose...

However, there are no ifs or assumptions, and everything has become a foregone conclusion.

Soldiers from both sides were surging in front of me. Some were wearing leather armor, some were wearing iron armor, some were waving swords, and some were holding spears. They were mixed together. Some people kept falling, but some people kept fighting in the same place again. Blood and death stretched along the front line, like a crack in the earth, spreading death continuously.

Yuan Shao raised his head and looked at the sky. He was silent for a long time. Finally he lowered his head and wanted to speak, but he couldn't help coughing. The guard on the side quickly stepped forward, but was pushed away by Yuan Shao. He gasped and said, "Cough cough." ...Withdraw, withdraw the troops!”

Ming Jin's voice spread throughout the battlefield. Yuan Jun seemed to have come to attack out of nowhere, and then retreated inexplicably...

"Father! Did we win?! We won again!"

Cao Pi was gradually getting used to the battlefield, following Cao Cao, and couldn't help but cheer when he saw this.

Unlike the excited Cao Pi, Cao Cao frowned deeply, his slender eyes staring closely at Yuan Jun, who was receding like a tide.

"Yuan Benchu, what do you want to do?"

...Here is the dividing line for squinting and looking around...

In the Yuan Jun camp.

The Chinese military tent.

Most of the items that were originally visited in the Chinese army's tent have been put away. The incense burners, screens, and desks have all been moved away. Only a bearskin mat was left, and the whole tent suddenly felt a little strange. It was empty only because I had been visiting for a long time. The marks on the wooden boards on the ground seemed to indicate that something had once been here...

Just like the current situation.

Yuan Shao stared at the mark on the table in front of him and remained silent for a long time.

Guo Tu curled his neck, lowered his eyebrows and lowered his eyes, but from time to time he would raise his eyelids and glance at Yuan Shao secretly, and then quickly return to his original state, as if he had not made any small movements at all.

"...Are you all ready?" Yuan Shao felt a dull pain in his chest, took a breath, and raised his head to ask Guo Tudao.

Guo Tu replied cautiously, like a dog with its tail between its legs, respectfully, "Reply to my lord, everything is ready..."

"Where's Shang'er?" Yuan Shao asked again.

Guo Tu replied again: "My lord, please rest assured... The third young master is escorted by a high school man, and Cao's cavalry has also retreated. He will definitely be safe..."

Yuan Shao nodded, coughed twice more, sighed, and said slowly: "That's it...withdraw the troops overnight..."

"Only..." Guo Tu buried his head deeply, "I will obey the Lord's order..."

...Here is the dividing line between the tails...

In Cao Cao's camp, it was completely different from the dull main camp of Yuan's army. Cao Cao's generals who had successfully defended were sitting on both sides. Although they were still stained with blood and dust, no one cared. They were all smiling. As he spoke, bursts of laughter broke out from time to time.

"The big Han Sikong is here!"

"Sit, sit, no need to be polite..."

Under the protection of Dian Wei, Cao Cao greeted the generals with a smile, walked to the middle position and sat down. Cao Pi followed obediently, and then sat next to Cao Cao, his little face tightened, trying to look like a calm little adult.

"In today's battle, you all worked hard and have made meritorious deeds. They have been recorded in the files. After a complete victory, I will definitely give you a reward..." Cao Cao first set a tone and praised the generals who fought today, and then waited for the generals. After the excitement calmed down a little, he said, "...However, Yuan Jun retreated a little strangely today... What do you think?"

The generals in the tent couldn't help but put away their smiles and looked at each other. The atmosphere became a little solemn for a while...

Cao Hong cupped his hands and said, "My lord, what do you mean... is there a deceit in it?"

Cao Cao stopped the smile that had been on his face before, his expression became serious, and he said slowly: "How long did it take before Yuan's army attacked the camp, and how much damage was done? Today, when Yuan's army came again, how long did it take to fight, and how much damage was done? "

"This..." Cao Cao said this, and the generals in the Chinese army's tent suddenly became serious.

"Could it be that... Yuan Jun wants to despise our military morale and come to rob the camp at night?"

"No, no, Yuan's army suffered a defeat before and retreated in a hurry today. The army has lost most of its momentum. How can there be any courage to rob the camp?"

"What if Yuan Jun didn't retreat deliberately to lure us out of the camp and attack?"

"Then we are here, won't Yuan Jun's plan fail? I'm afraid it's not that simple, right?"

Xu You was silent for a moment, and suddenly showed a clear smile. He shook his head, squinted his eyes, stroked his triangular beard with his orchid fingers, glanced at Cao Cao from time to time, and then glanced again...

As expected, Cao Cao received the aura emanating from Xu You and asked with a smile: "Did Ziyuan achieve what he thought?"

"None of your arguments make sense..." Xu You bowed his hand and said proudly, regardless of the change in the expression of the Cao family general, "I know all about this!"

"Oh?" Cao Cao said, cupping his hands towards Xu Yougong, "Brother Ziyuan, please give me some advice..."

"Easy to say, easy to say..." Xu You shook his head. He was still waiting to get some benefits out of the habit, but when he saw Cao Hong on the side had already darkened his face and glared angrily, his heart jumped and he said quickly, "This is because Yuan Benchu ​​ran out of food and grass and had to retreat!"

"Running out of food and grass?" Cao Cao repeated, frowning and thinking.

"Exactly! This is a great joy!" Xu You couldn't help but started to shake his head again, and said: "The Art of War says that it can't be adjusted three times, but Yuan Benchu ​​sent Jizhou's grain and grass more than three times! Now Jizhou's warehouses are empty, and there is no food left. Tiao, Mengde came up with a good strategy to cut off the food and grass... Haha, haha, Yuan Benchu ​​must have been cut off from military rations now and has to retreat!"

"Really?" Cao Cao opened his eyes wide and stared at Xu You.

Xu You replied proudly: "That must be the case! If someone's prediction is correct, Yuan Benzhu's attack on the camp today is to test our reality. Seeing that our troops are in good order and the formation is strong, he knows that there is no chance of victory, so he hastily withdraws his troops... "

"Well... so to speak..." Cao Cao nodded slowly.

Xu You smiled, then stood up, raised his hands towards Cao Cao and said: "Yuan Benchu ​​will definitely withdraw his troops soon! Meng De can look for opportunities to cover up and kill him! For this reason, I wish Meng De a great victory in this battle!"

"Hahaha... I'm borrowing your good words!" Cao Cao laughed and said to Xu You, "If this is really the case, remember Ziyuan for his great contribution! Double the reward!"

"Thank you so much Meng De!" Xu You also followed Cao Cao and raised his head and laughed, but did not notice the indifferent gaze cast by Cao Hong on the side...

…Here is a careful dividing line…

Although Cao Cao said that he agreed with Xu You's concept and Yuan Shao had already shown his defeat, in fact he still sent a large number of rangers at night to guard against Yuan's army's surprise attack on the camp.

After daybreak, Cao Cao breathed a sigh of relief, and felt more and more that the period of great victory that Xu You mentioned seemed to be approaching him...

As a result, Cao Cao once again sent out scouts, approaching Yuan Shao's camp for detection. The news brought by the scouts later made Cao Cao unable to sit still.

They were supposed to come out to intercept Yuan Jun's scouts halfway through their reconnaissance, but they didn't show up at all!

At first, the scouts on Cao Cao's side thought there was some kind of ambush and approached cautiously. However, when they were within three to five miles of Yuan Jun's camp, they still didn't see any Yuan Jun scouts coming out to drive them away or fight!

After Cao Cao learned about it, he walked in circles in the Chinese army's tent for a while, then resolutely ordered, summoned soldiers and horses, and rushed towards the Yuan army's camp.

Until Cao Cao's troops were in position, Yuan Shao's camp seemed to be invisible and lifeless...

Cao Cao frowned and waved his hand, signaling Cao Hong to come up and invite a fight.

There was still no movement in Yuan Jun's camp.

"Could it be that there is no one in Yuan Jun's camp?" Cao Cao frowned, "That's not right. There are also figures shaking on the walls of Yuan Jun's camp. They don't look like some straw dummies..."

"Drum roll! Attack!"

Cao Cao finally gave the order, but what Cao Cao didn't expect was that an originally planned feint attack led by Cao Hong unexpectedly captured the gate of Yuan Jun's camp, and then stormed in!

Cao Cao watched from behind, his mouth wide open and his jaw almost dropped. Called in now? Does this count as a win? Cao Cao suddenly thought of something again, and couldn't help but straighten his head on the horse, squinting, looking at the edge of the battlefield, looking left and right, for fear of the smoke and dust rising up over there...

Could it be that Yuan Benchu ​​ambushed some troops, planning to take advantage of the chaos in the army when I entered the camp, and then kill him?

Black smoke was billowing in the Yuan Army's camp. Cao Hong had been fighting in for about a stick of incense. The surrounding areas were still quiet, and there was no smoke or dust in the distance.

A soldier of Cao's army excitedly carried a blood-stained sword with stains of blood on it. He held a human head high and patted the horse back, shouting: "The guard general of Yuan's camp has been crowned! Our army has won a great victory! A great victory!" "

"call……"

For some reason, Cao Cao suddenly felt relieved, as if a stone weighing on his heart suddenly disappeared. His whole body became relaxed. He couldn't help but look up at the sky and exhaled a long breath.

Over the years, speaking of it, Cao Cao has always lived in the shadow of Yuan Shao.

After the Jujube War, Cao Cao was unwilling to disband the alliance, and joined forces with Bao Xin to pursue Dong Zhuo, but was defeated by Dong Zhuo's ambush. After finally arriving in Yangzhou to recruit soldiers again, there was another inexplicable camp roar, and another one overnight. Money and people are empty...

In desperation, Cao Cao defected to Yuan Shao and took over the seal ribbon of the East Commandery Governor from Yuan Shao. From then on, the brothers in their youth officially became superiors and subordinates...

During the Yanzhou concession, Lu Bu and Zhang Miao joined forces, and Yuan Shao borrowed an army of troops to stabilize the turbulent situation in Yanzhou, and gave Cao Cao the opportunity to reorganize and clean up the mess...

Yuan Shao has become the biggest hidden danger in Cao Cao's heart, like a thorn on his back. No matter how well he manages his business in Yanzhou and Yuzhou, it may all come to naught overnight...

Even after defeating Yuan Shu and ushering in Han Emperor Liu Xie, Cao Cao still felt that he was still living in the shadow of Yuan Shao and felt the threat of Yuan Shao. To this day...

On the battlefield, the breeze blows, and the flags are stretched,

The sun was shining brightly and the sky was blue. Everything seemed to be in its most beautiful state, and all the burdens and heaviness were gone.

Yes, finally, I won.

Moreover, he won a head-on battle with Yuan Shao! This means that from now on, the Cao family can truly bathe under the sun and moon of the Han Dynasty, and can truly be regarded as a powerful person who can lead one side!

Cao Cao laughed, leapt on his horse and marched forward with his whip raised.

However, Cao Cao's good mood did not last long...

When Cao Cao entered Yuan Jun's camp, he discovered that most of the soldiers and civilians who stayed behind in Yuan Jun's camp, or who were abandoned by Yuan Shao, were actually infected with the disease!