Overlord!

Unlike Yuan Shao's majestic momentum and Jiangdong's golden armies and iron horses, the territory of Xu County in Yingchuan has always been shrouded in a precarious feeling of the end of the dynasty.

From the officials and generals to the powerful families, from the civil servants and military generals to the guards in various places, everyone is panic-stricken, and there are many people who abandon the city and leave.

The soldiers in the field were fleeing battalion after battalion. The vanguards and rangers from Jiangdong had already reached the front line of Yingchuan territory. The war was about to sweep through the hinterland of Xu County. At this time, the unfavorable situation of the war could no longer be concealed.

All the soldiers knew that if they did not escape at this time, they would be forced to the battlefield and die tragically in the battle.Therefore, even if Xiahou Dun ordered to sit together and one person fled, the whole army would be killed, and the escape could not be suppressed.Many times a battalion of fifty soldiers would all escape at night.

In this case, even if Man Chong on the front line was determined to win, Xun Yu could not provide him with a steady stream of support at any cost.

From Cao Ren's defeat to the present, Xun Yu tried his best to send more than 2 garrison soldiers to the Pingyu front line, and mobilized all men and women in Yingchuan, a total of [-] people to garrison the border.

He really couldn't send all his troops to Pingyu. There were already heroes in Yingchuan who cooperated with Yuan Shao and Sun Ce to rebel.

In the direction of Yingshui in the southeast and Kunyang in the southwest, Jiangdong troops appeared and looted Xu Xia.

Yingchuan is a plain land with wind leakage from all sides. If we want to stabilize the situation, we can only guard it heavily.

The 3 men and women forced by Xun Yu were already the last [-] men and women that Yingchuan could mobilize.

Just by looking at this description, [-] men and women can tell that they are a mob in the absolute sense. They have no mobility and can only defend the city, defending against the enemy while reorganizing and training.

But even this kind of ragtag group can only be recruited in a defensive battle.

There was no need for long-distance expeditions and there was not much pressure on logistical supplies, so Xun Yu could quickly raise a barely useful army.

Xun Yu had almost no expectations for the combat effectiveness of this army. Not to mention that 3 of them were scattered in various places. Even if they were gathered in one place and the two armies formed a formation, they might be defeated by the Jiangdong Army's thousands of cavalry.

The Art of War says: Fighting without instruction is called killing.

But Xun Yu really had no better way.

Ever since Yuan Shao's southern campaign, he had been working hard and sleepless, and his energy was haggard. Compared with Yuan Shao's power, which had many soldiers and generals, Cao's army had no advantage. Now that Sun Ce has risen from the south again, the Central Plains is attacked from both sides, and it is a matter of life and death!
However, Xiahou Dun, the general of Cao Ying who guarded Xu County with him, was not known as a general and would only blindly ask Xun Yu for reinforcements.

Xun Yu worked so hard until midnight that his eyes were blurred and his head was dizzy under the candlelight, but Xiahou Dun still refused to give up.

“Mr. This is a battleground for military strategists, and there must be no room for loss, and reinforcements are urgently needed.”

Xiahou Dun's fighting ability is relatively average, but he still has some strategic vision.

As he said, Zheqiu City was the junction of Mishui River and Yingshui River, that is, on the line from Chuanhui District to Xihua in Zhoukou in later generations. You can know from the name Chuanhui District. It was named because of the geographical situation.

Here in Zheqiu City, the Wei River runs east to the west of the city and turns into Ying in the southwest. It can be said that it is the only place where the city is high and the pond is deep.This is not a county. During the Spring and Autumn Period, in order to defend the Central Plains, the princes built cities here to guard important military areas.

At the same time, this is also a rare hilly area in the Central Plains. The hills are not high, but compared to the surrounding Yimapingchuan, it is at least a highland, so it is called Xihua County.

Controlling Zheqiu City means holding Xihua and Ruyang counties, which is crucial to the Runan war and the Yingchuan defense line.

Therefore, there is absolutely no room for failure here. Jiangdong Rangers have already arrived here. After exploring the geographical situation, it won't be long before Jiangdong's army attacks Zheqiu City.

Xun Yu put down the pen and ink in his hand, put his hand on his dizzy forehead, and said: "Tomorrow, General Xiahou will lead his troops into the two cities and drive out all the people in the city. He will get about [-] soldiers. The general will lead them personally to rush to Zheqiu. There is no room for error here.”

As the seat of Cao Cao, Xu County is one of the few cities with prosperous industry and commerce. There are two cities in the city, the east and west. In the past, caravans came and go, and it was still densely populated.

But as war broke out around Xu County, powerful heroes rebelled one after another.

The city has become increasingly depressed, and the city can no longer provide much help to Cao's army.So Xun Yu finally decided to attack everyone in the store today.

But Xiahou Dun was shocked and asked: "How can we win by driving the city people to fight against Jiangdong Houlu's soldiers? The old and weak dismiss the people, how can we defeat the elites and train their talents? If the system is separated, how can the younger brother's journey be neat? ?”

What Xiahou Dun said is not about the art of war, but comes from "Lu Shi Chun Qiu": "By driving the city people to fight, they can defeat the enemy's well-paid warriors and trained soldiers; relying on the old, weak and tired common people can defeat the enemy's strong and skilled soldiers. Warriors; relying on undisciplined prisoners can defeat the enemy's well-organized army; relying on hoes and sticks can defeat the enemy's spears and sharp blades." Those who say this do not know the art of using war at all.

This is also related to Xiahou Dun's status in Cao Ying. He was not the general in charge of war in Cao Ying, but an important minister responsible for farming and guarding the rear. He even personally carried the soil and led his soldiers to encourage rice planting to build water conservancy and develop production.

Therefore, he often read "Lu Shi Chun Qiu" instead of "Sun Tzu's Art of War".

The first sentence of Lu's Spring and Autumn Period also fits the current situation of Cao and Sun's armies.

If Xiahou Dun drives out the people in the city and fights against Jiangdong's well-ranked and well-trained elite soldiers, there is no chance of winning!
Xun Yu opened his tired and blood-red eyes, stared at Xiahou Dun and said: "Although the current situation is dangerous, it is not like that between Chu and Han between Xingyang and Chenggao. At that time, Liu and Xiang were not willing to retreat first, thinking that retreating first would be a defeat. . Now Cao Cao has used the main force of his elite troops to draw the ground and defend it. Yuan Shao has been choked by his throat and unable to advance for half a year. Seeing that the situation is exhausted, something will change. This is the time to use your life, and you must not lose it."

"General Xiahou has a fortified city as a wall. Is it difficult for Mr. Cao? What else can we do except use our lives? No matter what, there is no room for loss in Zheqiu City!"

Xiahou Dun's domineering momentum suddenly stagnated, and he looked at Xun Yu in disbelief!
The always gentle and gentle mastermind of Cao Ying's cruelty at this moment made Xiahou Dun feel weak and shudder.

Zheqiu City cannot tolerate any loss, and you must die for it!
Even if you die in the city, you must hold on to the end.

But Xun Yu's words could not be rejected, and Xiahou Dun also knew that he had no way to retreat. No matter whether Hebei or Jiangdong invaded Yingchuan, even if Xun Yu could survive, Xiahou Dun would definitely die!

Therefore, Xiahou Dun had no choice but to personally lead his army to conquer all the merchants, son-in-laws, knights and prisoners in Xu County, a total of more than [-] people, and quickly set off towards Zheqiu City.

Some people in Cao's camp vowed to stick to it, and naturally some people were shaken.

In fact, the entire Yuzhou is now in a state of instability. Heroes in the area have taken advantage of the situation and have rebelled against Cao Cao.The most prestigious hero in Runan is naturally the prince Li Tong of Langling County.

Li Tong's status was somewhat similar to that of Zang Ba. He was famous in Jiang Ru as a knight errant in his early years. After he and Chen Gong, a fellow county man, raised an army in Langling, many people joined him.

When the war broke out in Runan and the counties were left without owners, he and Chen Gong planned to ambush and kill the hero Zhou Zhi who had a crowd of [-] households at that time, and annexed them.

Later, Chen Gong's brother-in-law, Chen He, killed Chen Gong and conquered his people.Li Tong defeated He's army and beheaded Chen He to commemorate Chen Gong's tomb.Wu Ba, the commander-in-chief of Yellow Turban, surrendered his subordinates.When there was a severe famine, Li Tong spent all his money to support the people and divided the chaff with the soldiers, all of whom fought for their own use. Therefore, thieves did not dare to commit crimes.

If Zang Ba dominates Langya, then Li Tong dominates Runan.

However, since Cao Cao was strong, he surrendered to Cao Cao and replenished most of his troops to Cao Cao's army. Cao Cao was overjoyed and made him General Pi and Marquis of Merit, and he still used him to garrison the western border of Runan.

Langling County is to the west of Pingyu. He led thousands of troops to garrison here. When the Jiangdong army came up the Ru River, they would have to worry about its rear.

After all, the elite soldiers can ignore the risks and cross this area, but the civilians transporting food behind them cannot do so unimpeded.

If the army does not break through this place, when the army invades Yingchuan, Li Tong will lead his army in the rear to attack the people of Jiangdong, which will greatly disturb the grain road.

Therefore, when Jiangdong's army attacked the Pingyu line, Langling County became a focus of the attack. Jiangdong's army intended to break through the left wing of the Pingyu line first and contact Zhou Yu's troops.

This place is on the western border of Runan, so Zhou Yu also sent more than a thousand people to help in the battle. General Lu Meng led an army of nearly [-] people to completely surround the place.

At this time, Li Tong, who was surrounded in the city, looked at the orderly appearance of Jiangdong's army under the city. Zhu Qi Jiangtian couldn't help but hesitate, and had to arrange for Jiangdong's envoys to persuade him to surrender and find Zhao Yan, the chief of Langling.

In fact, before Jiangdong, when Yuan Shao and Cao Cao were confronting each other in Guandu, Yuan Shao sent people to his camp to contact him and commend Li Tong to him as the general for the southern expedition!

This generous reward has nothing to do with Sun Ce. It is a reward given by Yuan Shao for instigating Li Tong's rebellion.

It has to be said that Yuan Shao is still very outstanding in terms of generosity, far better than his ambitious and talented younger brother Yuan Shu.

It was just that Li Tong thought at the beginning that "Cao Gong is wise and wise, and he will definitely rule the world. Although Shao is strong, but he has no way of entrusting him, he will eventually be captured. I will die." Then he killed Yuan Shao's envoy and gave the seal and ribbon to the general who conquered the south. Cao Cao, to prove his loyalty.

However, as Jiangdong's army besieged the city, Li Tong's relatives all cried to him and admonished him: "Now I am alone in danger. If I lose big help, I can stand still and wait for death. It is better to follow Wuhou urgently."

The rebel bandits Qu Gong, Jiang Gong, Shen Cheng, etc. in Runan, all supported five or six thousand people, surrendered to Jiangdong, and were granted the title of marquis within the pass.

Li Tong was the only one who was guarding the isolated city and would be defeated. Li Tong was naturally worried.

He found Zhao Yan, the chief of Langling, who had always advised him, and asked: "Today we have not gathered together, Yuan Shao and Cao Gong are having a serious quarrel, and the counties and counties are rebelling. We are alone and alone. Today, we are alone." Where are you going, where are you going?"

Zhao Yan put away the letter in his hand and raised his head to look at the general of Cao Ying Fan Town, who was known for his bravery and held a long sword in his hand. When he said where to go, it was obvious what his attitude was.

Zhao Yan had to ask: "General, is it possible to defeat Jiangdong's army outside the city?"

Li Tong glanced at the Jiangdong army outside the city who was preparing to fill in the moat. If he had any confidence, he would have rushed out long ago.

But there are only about [-] people in his city, but outside the city, with flags fluttering and a towering phalanx, the crowd is probably no less than [-].

Lü Meng used this to intimidate the city's defenders, and sent envoys into the city to persuade them to surrender.

Li Tong once thought about whether he could fake a surrender to delay time and wait for the changes in the situation. However, Lü Meng did not give him a chance to delay. While trying to persuade him to surrender, he continued to besiege the city.

Therefore, Li Tong had to sigh: "The enemy's army is besieging the city with ten times the number of people. I use the weak to attack the strong, and it is difficult to do anything."

Zhao Yannai said: "This is an opportunity for the safety of one side. The people of Langling are poor, and the neighboring cities are rebelling. It is easy to destabilize. Since Xu and the south of Cai, people have different intentions. If the general cannot pacify Huai and Ru, he will not be able to save the time." also."

Without Sun Ce, Li Tong had to pacify the bandits in the army, including Qu Gong, Jiang Gong, and Shen Cheng, so that Cao Cao would have no worries and Xu County would be as stable as Mount Tai.

However, with Jiangdong's army here, there is no way to calm down the relationship between Huai and Ru. Then Cao's army will eventually be in danger of being attacked from both sides.

Li Tong's eyes widened in an instant and he looked at Zhao Yan in surprise. This famous scholar who had always advised him to be loyal to Cao Cao was trying to persuade him to surrender?
Zhao Yan sighed, gave the letter in his hand to Li Tong, and said: "This is a letter from my old friend Chen Qun. As expected, Wu Hou will be able to help China. His army has defeated Wancheng, and General Cao is gone."

Li Tong hurriedly looked at the letter, and sure enough, it said in the letter that Zhou Yu's troops from the Jiangdong Left Route Army attacked Wancheng day and night. Nanyang Taigong Cao Baixiao Changyin passed outside the city and opened the city gate at night. He and Nanyang Hao who were determined to go to Jiangdong should cooperate with each other inside and outside to break the defense. military.

Cao Hong, the general of Cao's army, had already been conferred. Chen Qun couldn't bear that his friend also died innocently, so he wrote a letter and sent it to the city, urging him to surrender as soon as possible.

After Li Tong read it, he quickly asked: "Does the county prince think this statement is a trick to shake the morale of our army?"

Zhao Yan sighed: "This is what makes people feel sad. No matter who reads this letter, it is difficult to say that it is false. It seems that the strong and rebellious, and the surrender to Jiangdong is already a great trend."

Li Tong was also at a loss. He drew his sword and looked around. All the people in the world were carrying Cao Jiangsun, and the states and counties in Yan and Henan were all attached to the south one after another.

Could it be that all the heroes in the world are fools, but he is the only one who is awake enough to see the victory of General Cao?
However, what made him hesitate was precisely this. He could not see how General Cao could turn defeat into victory.

Thinking of this, Li Tong suddenly understood why Zhao Yan persuaded him to surrender.If you don't stop, you will be inferior to the mediocre people in the world!
In fact, Chen Qun did not deceive Zhao Yan. As Li Tong and Zhao Yan surrendered to the city, he soon learned that Cao Hong had sent a message to Jiankang, and the army on the left road in Jiangdong had joined the middle road, and the troops marched to Kunyang, Wuyang and Xiping line.

With the surrender of Langling, the Northern Expedition has reached the decisive moment. The Jiangdong army and [-] volunteers have gathered at the western border of Runan.

At this time, the army no longer has any worries. It can bypass the Pingyu area at any time and attack the southwest of Yingchuan from the west of the county and Nanyang! (End of chapter)