Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1043 The direction of the knife

Wu Jing and Zhang Zhao have different positions. Zhang Zhao can run away, but he cannot.

Without him, Wu County is the ancestral land of the Wu family. Especially in Qu'a City, there are hundreds of tribesmen and many industries. How can they just leave?
When outsiders like Zhang Zhao saw that the situation was not going well, they could just pat their butts and run away, but local gentry landowners such as the Wu family could not. If they abandoned the city and left, they would be giving up their family's foundation. Who knows whether they can get it back in the future?
Therefore, for the local nobles in Jiangdong, the cheapest way is to defend the city to the death. Anyway, the price paid is just the lives of Jiangdong soldiers and the captured Sangetsu soldiers, which are relatively the least valuable things.

What's more, Wu Jing was ordered by Sun Quan to defend the city. If he couldn't hold the city, it would be broken. If he escaped early, he would be in trouble.

Therefore, Wu Jing could not give up Qu'a, both in public and private matters, so he had to tell Mrs. Wu the disadvantages of abandoning the city, and he was not afraid that Zhang Zhao would overpower him. After all, most of the nobles in the city were in this position. On the side of the Wu family.

Although Zhang Zhao had an unpleasant temper, many times his starting point was on Sun Quan's side, so he naturally insisted on his own opinion, and the two started arguing for a while.

Seeing that the two sides were arguing, Mrs. Wu had no choice but to say: "Let me think about it carefully and summon the subordinate officials tomorrow morning to discuss and decide together."

After hearing this, Zhang Zhao took his leave and left. When he went out, he sighed in his heart, knowing that this time his advice would most likely be useless.

He understood Wu Jing's thoughts, so he came to see Mrs. Wu alone. He also knew that the possibility of convincing Mrs. Wu to abandon the city was not high, but he had to give it a try no matter what.

However, it turned out that his efforts failed. If the incompetent officials in the city make a noise tomorrow, the city will not be able to abandon it. The final result will be continuous bloodletting from the opposite side.

"If we move to the south, close to the area where the Shanyue people are raging, it may not be safer than this city, let alone traveling a long distance. Who knows what will happen?"

So when the news of Sun Quan's defeat came, Zhang Zhao felt vaguely gloating for some reason.

Without him, Zhang Zhao's weakness was that he was not good at fighting, so he was not very convincing in military affairs. He went north to the Han River to attack Guangling, but was beaten before he reached the place and fled back. He became the laughing stock of other forces for a time.

Do you also know what Mrs. Wu is thinking?
Do we have any bargaining chips that we can use to negotiate with the other side?

Zhang Zhao had a different idea on this point. He believed that the right to justice was now in the hands of Cao Cao, who was holding the emperor hostage, and that was also the emperor, so he was not very resistant to joining forces with Cao Cao. The reason why he opposed Jiangdong sending troops was simple. I simply feel that Jiang Dong cannot beat Yuan Xi.

Zhang Zhao has his own set of ideas, which does not mean that he will run away and give up whenever something happens. In his opinion, the biggest problem in Jiangdong is that although Jiangdong officially regards Sun Quan as his lord, in fact he In essence, it is an alliance of major families, and it just elects the strongest Sun family as the alliance leader.

But this judgment, which seems to be extremely correct now, was something that Zhang Zhao did not dare to say when Sun Quan personally conquered it.

"Not to mention that the other side does not have the power to negotiate, but it seems that its offensive is not for peace talks, right?"

But this proposal was rejected before Sun Quan's personal expedition, because Sun Quan had a huge appetite. He not only wanted to swallow up Chaohu, but also wanted to conquer Shouchun and the entire Jianghuai region!
Zhang Zhao tried hard to dissuade Sun Quan, but instead made Sun Quan angry. After being scolded, Zhang Zhao gave up in anger and said in his heart, you can fight if you want, since the ones who died were not my soldiers anyway.

He looked up at the sky and thought to himself, whoever wants to worry about it can do it. I will not be involved in military affairs in the future. Zhou Yu wanted to save face so much, but he ended up being frustrated again and again. He didn't have Zhou Yu's ability, so why worry about it? ?
Over there, Wu Jing did not follow Zhang Zhao out, but stayed and talked about the family affairs in the city. Finally, he said: "Sister, our Wu family has been fighting for the Sun family for many years, and many people have died. Now, although the children of the family are not There are few, but not many can bear it.”

Wu Jing looked ugly, "The enemy's attack is very fierce and it is really difficult to stop."

"My lord has not returned for a long time, the generals and soldiers in the city are second-rate, and even a clever woman cannot make a meal without rice."

Thinking of this, she could only say: "Let me think about it carefully before talking."

With the help of the Wu family, the Sun family can indeed subdue a large number of families, but that's all.

Wu Jing sighed: "I have no choice but to delay it for some time."

"So I suggest that sending people privately to negotiate with the other side is also an option."

Mrs. Wu was startled, "Peace talks?"

Compared with Cao Cao and Fierce Tiger, the Sun family lacks the righteousness and goal of fighting for the world. This is what Zhang Zhao denounced the most. Therefore, Zhang Zhao was not optimistic about Sun Quan from the beginning, especially when he was eager to conquer Jianghuai. Zhang Zhao even thought that this was a plot. Faint move.

Zhang Zhao is not good at fighting, but it does not mean that he does not understand what fighting is about. The attack on Xuzhou was defeated. That is because Fierce Tiger had already prepared for Jiangdong. Since he has learned from the past, why should he stand up for Cao Cao? Woolen cloth?
Wouldn't it be better to let Cao Cao fight the fierce tiger first, and then Jiangdong would take advantage of the opportunity?

At first, Zhou Yu did not support the war between Sun Quan and Yuan Xi, but after weighing the threats that Jiangdong needed to face most, Zhou Yu believed that if Yuan Xi was not driven out of Jianghuai, Jiangdong would never be able to make a difference, so Zhou Yu was opposed to joining forces with Cao Cao. Just admit it

Mrs. Wu said: "Then you want to continue to hold on, but I heard that the situation at the top of the city is not good?"

When Wu Jing saw him, he had to stand up and say goodbye. Mrs. Wu sent him to the atrium and said, "Brother, Quan'er is not around now, so the Wu family needs to do something to avoid being criticized."

"So every move involves all parties, and I am also very embarrassed."

Wu Jing couldn't help but sigh after hearing this: "What a pity. Sun Hou died early. I have been fighting with him for several years. How have I ever fought such a frustrating battle?"

"Jiangdong has become what it is now, all of them"

Mrs. Wu's expression changed slightly and she said, "Go back quickly." Wu Jing also knew that he had made a mistake, so he said goodbye and left in a hurry.

Mrs. Wu looked around and saw no one nearby, so she returned to the house and saw Sun Quan's first wife, Mrs. Xie, waiting.

When Mrs. Xie saw Mrs. Wu coming back, she quickly stood up and said, "Auntie Weng, I'm here to deliver dinner."

After hearing this, Mrs. Wu said: "I have a bad appetite recently. I don't mean to tell you not to do anything on weekdays, but to have a good rest."

Mrs. Xie said anxiously: "I actually want to come and see Aunt Weng. I heard that my husband was defeated in the battle and his whereabouts are still unknown. I feel frightened every time I close my eyes."

After hearing this, Mrs. Wu said, "Don't think so wildly. Isn't there news that Quan'er escaped unharmed and returned to Yuzhang?"

She then consoled her: "We women are powerless over this kind of thing, so just do your part and don't worry about things you have no power to decide, otherwise you won't be able to live a good life every day."

Mrs. Xie quickly agreed, but she still couldn't help complaining: "Weng Gu, you said that you are fighting for life and death all day long. If you are not careful, you will die. What are you doing?"

"Our territory in Jiangdong is already big enough, wouldn't it be good to just live an honest life?"

Mrs. Wu was amused by Mr. Xie, "There are a few men who don't have lofty ambitions. It is their dream to make contributions and bring peace to the world."

"The Sun family has been doing this for generations. Let men do men's things."

She sighed in her heart, lofty ambitions also require ability to match, otherwise the blow when they fail will be even more painful.

In more than a hundred places south of Xudu, fighting continued.

This was the third day that Cao Ren came out of Xudu's defense line before the ban and fought against Guan Yu.

Guan Yu's army was unstoppable along the way. On the one hand, it was due to its rapid movement and insufficient troops stationed in the cities along the way that it was unable to cope with Guan Yu's attack. On the other hand, it was also because Cao Ren saw that the situation was unstoppable, so he simply adopted the strategy of cutting off the strong men's wrists and luring the enemy deeper.

His method is very simple. If Guan Yu captures the city, it is impossible for him to leave no troops to garrison him. If he divides his troops to guard the city, his troops will inevitably be gradually weakened.

Cao Ren was not worried about Guan Yu's support for war. The cities along the way from Xudu to Jingzhou had already been mobilized in advance because of Cao Cao's personal conquest. There were not many young men left in the city.

It is impossible for the surrendered Cao soldiers to be of the same mind as Guan Yu. It would be good if there is no trouble. Using these people to supplement the troops without training is really overthinking.

The facts turned out to be as Cao Ren expected. At the beginning, Guan Yu had to leave at least hundreds of people to guard each city. After capturing several cities, the speed of his advance slowed down greatly.

Just when Cao Ren thought he had a plan, he received news that Guan Yu's march was speeding up again and he was attacking him.

Caught off guard, the two armies fought several times, and Cao Ren suffered a lot. He fought and retreated, deployed defenses towards Xudu and retreated. However, during a battle, he captured a middle-level general under Guan Yu. After interrogation, he understood Guan Yu's approach.

Guan Yu was indeed delayed at first by dividing his troops, but the soldiers he left behind did not just wait in the city. Instead, they found people who were dissatisfied with Cao Cao's rule and provided them with weapons to defend the city. Cao's troops who surrendered were all He was escorted to the rear to meet Zhang Feijun who was following behind.

After doing all this, these hundreds of Guan Yu soldiers went to catch up with Guan Yu's main force in front. In this way, Guan Yu could penetrate into Xudu while maintaining normal troop strength and marching speed.

After Cao Ren heard this, he knew that Guan Yu's method was difficult to deal with, so he immediately returned to Xudu and prepared to discuss with Yu Jin, the defender, to defend the city.

But at this time, Cheng Yu died and Chen Qun seized Ma Teng's military talisman. Cao Ren and the generals of the Cao family thought that it was not a problem to put the Xiliang soldiers outside Xudu. It would be even worse if they defected in battle. Okay, so he and Yu Jin simply took the initiative to lead their troops south to attack Guan Yu, and at the same time handed over the Xiliang soldiers to the leadership of General Cao.

With such a Xiliang army far away from Xudu, even if they cause rebellion, the threat will be much smaller.

The result of the battle was beyond their expectations. Guan Yu's army failed to break through Cao's defensive formation. Only then did Cao Ren Yujin realize that Guan Yu's army had already reached the end of its battle after a series of battles!
Night fell on the battlefield, but the two armies were still fighting fiercely. Soldiers from both sides continued to fall, and no one refused to retreat.

Guan Yu was covered in blood. He returned to the formation to rest for a while before mounting his horse and charging into the formation again. Zhou Cang beside him handed the newly sharpened Yanyue Sword to Guan Yu and whispered: "General, why are you fighting so fiercely? Is it necessary?" "

Guan Yu gasped for a few breaths, then gave a fierce shout, got on his horse, raised his Yanyue Sword, and pointed in the direction of Xu Du, "Zhou Cang, do you know what's over there?"

Zhou Cang couldn't help but said: "This is where the emperor is."

Guan Yu laughed: "This is what we three brothers vowed to do when we became sworn brothers!"

"Yu, you can't retreat!"

Looking at Guan Yu's back as he charged into the enemy formation again, Zhou Cang saw the exhausted and barely holding on to his own soldiers around him. He felt a sense of unwillingness in his heart. He roared and rushed into the formation with his sword in hand.

(End of this chapter)