Chapter 913: Suspicious Soldiers

Wang Xiang was so happy that he carried the carp back and made fish soup for his mother.

The other one is the famous "Meng Zong Weeping for Bamboo", which tells the story of Meng Zong, an official of Wu State. His old mother was ill in bed and wanted to eat fresh and tender bamboo shoots, but it was not the season for bamboo shoots at that time.

Meng Zong had no choice but to hold the bamboo and cry loudly. As a result, the world was moved by his filial piety. The ground cracked and fresh bamboo shoots sprouted. Meng Zong was overjoyed and went home with the bamboo shoots in his arms.

In addition to the twenty-four filial piety, many civil servants and generals during the Three Kingdoms period were very filial. For example, Taishi Ci, the general of Soochow, was ordered to come to help Kong Rong because Kong Rong, the prefect of Beihai, had helped his mother. He was happy to face tens of thousands of Yellow Turban troops. Not afraid.

Xu Shu was also a filial son. He originally worked for Liu Bei and was like a fish in water. However, because his mother was controlled by Cao Cao, Xu Shu had no choice but to defect to Cao Cao.

At this moment, Xu Shu was naturally deeply moved when he heard that Liu Ye had given such a generous reward to his mother, and he had a feeling of dying for Liu Ye.

"Yuan Zhi, don't delay, attack quickly!"

Yu Jin and Xu Shu were the leading generals, leading tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. As the vanguard of tens of thousands of Xiliang troops, they pursued Cao Cao with all their might.

"Prime Minister, why did our army go directly to Xuzhou?"

Xia Houyuan on the side said puzzledly: "Isn't Yuan Rang besieged by Liu Xuande in Shouchun? Don't our troops go south to rescue Yuan Rang?"

The reason why Cao Cao withdrew his troops that day was that in addition to the failure of his surprise attack on Hulao Pass, another important reason was that he received intelligence that Xiahou Dun was besieged in Shouchun by Liu Bei's army.

The relationship between Xiahou Dun and Cao Cao was very strong, and the geographical location of Huainan was very important, as it was the link between Jiangdong and Xuzhou. If Huainan is lost, Cao's army's territory will be divided into two parts, and the Xiliang army can defeat them one by one. Therefore, no matter from which aspect, Huainan cannot be lost.

But Cao Jun just retreated towards Xuzhou, why didn't he increase his troops towards Huainan? Xia Houyuan felt very puzzled.

"Don't worry, Miaocai. The Prime Minister has sent Zi Dan to lead three thousand troops to Huainan, which is enough to relieve the siege." Cao Cao explained.

"What? Three thousand people? Prime Minister, it is said that Liu Bei's Yuzhou Army has 30,000 people!" Xia Houyuan was surprised: "Besides, Zidan is so young. Liu Xuande, Guan Yunchang and Zhang Yide are all veteran generals who have experienced battles for a long time. Isn't his three thousand people not enough?"

Cao Cao shook his head slightly: "Miaocai, do you really think that Yuan Rang has no power to fight back in Shouchun?"

"Our army has heavy troops in the south of Huaihe River, but Yuan Rang was defeated in the Huai River. The strength of his army is still close to that of Liu Bei's army. Therefore, the prime minister sent Zi Dan to display the banner of our army, so he created a suspicious formation. The defenders in Shouchun City learned about it. The prime minister's arrival in person with his troops will surely boost morale, and Liu Bei will definitely withdraw his troops."

"Although Zidan is young, he is familiar with the art of war. This time he will not fight Liu Bei head-on. It is just a bluff. I believe he can do the job." Cao Cao said.

Xia Houyuan suddenly realized: "So that's it. The Prime Minister is really clever and clever, and I can't match it."

Cao Cao nodded and said, "Well, the whole army is ordered to retreat towards Xuzhou and prepare to snipe the Xiliang army in Xue County!"

Huainan, twenty miles north of Dangtu County.

I saw three thousand steps riding on the official road, and the banner with the word "Cao" was displayed with great fanfare. The flag formation was obviously Cao Cao's personal patrol, and the momentum was huge.

"Is Dangtu County ahead?" Cao Zhen said.

"That's right, Captain." The military commander on the side said respectfully.

"You take my general order and go to see the Dangtu County Magistrate!" Cao Zhen shouted: "Order him to send five thousand people to the city, put on clothes and armor, hurry up!"

"Here!" Army Sima took the order and rode away.

Cao Zhen thought: Later, we will send another 5,000 people to Quyang County, which will make 13,000 people. If we order more people to build golden drums and flags, it will not be difficult to build a 20,000-strong army. Liu Bei should Are you going to give up now?

"Brother, brother!"

Zhang Fei broke into the camp yelling, and Liu Bei couldn't help but frown and scolded: "Third brother, don't be so arrogant, just say what you have to say."

"Hehe." Zhang Fei scratched his hair and said, "Brother, there is a large group of Cao's troops coming from the direction of Quyang. The number is between 10,000 and 20,000, and it seems that Cao Cao is leading the army himself."

"What? Cao Cao personally leads the army?"

Liu Bei couldn't help but be shocked when he heard this. He was not afraid of any general in Cao Cao's army coming to lead an army alone, but if Cao Cao came to lead an army in person, he couldn't help but be wary.

Guan Yu gently stroked his long beard and could not help but frown and said: "Brother, if Cao Cao personally leads the troops, it will be difficult to win this battle. Cao Cao alone has nearly 20,000 people, and there are more than 20,000 people inside and outside Shouchun. In total, there are more than 40,000 people. If we are attacked from inside and outside, our army's previous achievements may be wasted and the Battle of Huai River will be in vain."

Now Xiahou Dun is besieged in Shouchun City, but there are still nearly 10,000 people. Outside the city, there are more than 10,000 soldiers and horses of the four groups including Zhu Ling, Lu Zhao, Zao Da, and Ren Jun stationed. Originally, it was difficult to deal with the two armies, one inside and one outside. If they were to attack Shouchun City, Zhu Ling, Lu Zhao and others would definitely not sit idly by; if they were to attack the troops outside the city, Xiahou Dun would definitely be too. Seize the opportunity and respond accordingly.

But now, there is another Cao Mengde and 20,000 Cao troops. No matter in terms of strength or situation, the Yuzhou army has fallen into a disadvantage.

After thinking in detail for a while, Liu Bei sighed and said: "Forget it, let's retreat for now. We defeated Xiahou Dun in this battle and killed more than 10,000 Cao soldiers. This is already a rare victory. If we continue to fight fiercely with Cao's army, if we fail, all our previous achievements will be in vain."

Liu Bei also lost many battles in the first half of his life, so he had a good mentality and knew how to give up when things are good. These 30,000 Yuzhou troops were the assets that the three brothers had accumulated through hard work in Yuzhou for several years. If they were really defeated, the consequences would be needless to say.

"I support your elder brother's decision. When the general launches an offensive in the future, if our army retains its strength now, we can lead the army out in full force and attack Huainan in the future." Guan Yu agreed: "Xiahou Dun was defeated by our army in this battle, and he was like a frightened bird. , if there is another battle in the future, victory will still belong to our army."

"Oh, I don't care. Since the two brothers want to retreat, then let's retreat."

Zhang Fei said: "My two brothers will lead the army and leave first. I will lead five thousand soldiers and horses to cut off the rear. If Cao Jun comes to pursue me, I will give them a taste of their power!"

"Well, although our army retreats, it is impossible to gain nothing." Liu Bei said solemnly: "Our army can take advantage of the situation and move the people west of Shouchun to Runan County, which will weaken Cao's army."

Guan Yu nodded: "Brother is right."