The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 273 Lure the snake out of its hole
Huang Zhong looked at the Guandu Port in front of him with a trace of regret on his face.

The port, which was once well-defended, has now become a mess, and it was caused by ourselves. How can we seek justice?

"Let's go, General."

Seeing this, the deputy general Le Jue consoled him, "Don't worry, General. Didn't the lord say that we will be back soon?"

"Hey! If we build a floating bridge here, we can quickly reach the other side."

Huang Zhong felt very sorry.

The Cavalry Army has always been invincible, and it is rare for them to withdraw voluntarily at this time.

"My lord, you are going to fight the enemy quickly and decisively. To preserve your own vitality as much as possible, you can only use your sword to attack from an unconventional angle."

Lu Su's voice came, and he smiled and said, "General, this time the lord has sent all of us out."

In preparation for this battle, Qin Shou had already pulled out Jia Xu, Xun You, Lu Su and Sima Yi.

The eight battalions of Huben, Xiliu, Pojun, Chixue, Huangsha, Tiankui, Baili and Juxie were all dispatched to eliminate Zhang Liao's Tanlang Battalion stationed in Huainan, Gan Ning's Hengbo Battalion stationed in Wancheng, Xu Huang's Xuanjia Battalion guarding Hedong, and Lantian General Xu Rong stationed in Guanzhong.

The main force of the Cavalry Army gathered in Yanzhou, with a total of 150,000 troops, half of Yuan Shao's.

But their level of eliteness was far superior to that of Yuan Shao.

"Military Advisor, rest assured. I will fight wherever you tell me to. I, Huang Hansheng, will definitely not be a burden."

Huang Zhong patted his chest and said.

His son has been cured by Hua Tuo and Zhang Zhongjing and is now recovering. Huang Zhong believes that he has a successor, so he is in high spirits and full of fighting spirit.

"Military Advisor, will the senior officials come?"

Le asked.

"He will definitely come. He has a good relationship with Yuan Tan. Intelligence shows that Yuan Shao originally only asked Qian Zhao to lead the army here, but he personally led the army here because he cared about Yuan Tan. He was blocked in Hebei by General Huang for many days. Today he finally has a chance, and he will definitely come out."

Lu Su explained.

"Humph, Yuan Shao must be regretting this now. If he hadn't coveted the land of Yanzhou, he would never have let his son be trapped in Puyang."

Le said disdainfully.

"The bait is too big. It's so big that Yuan Shao is reluctant to give it up."

Lu Su shook his head.

Half of Yanzhou is something that everyone wants, so Yuan Shao’s decision is not surprising.

Unfortunately, the opponent encountered an unreliable teammate and was sold out by Cao Cao. The 30,000 troops and his son were trapped in Puyang without even a chance to react.

In fact, Yuan Tan did have the opportunity to break out. When Wei Yan's army was approaching, he could have lost some soldiers and retreated to Hebei.

However, Yuan Tan did not want to lose his troops and thought that he could defend the city and, relying on the solidity of Puyang, resist the attack of the cavalry.

But he could never have imagined that the entire Cavalry Army would be dispatched this time, with 150,000 troops gathering in Yanzhou. It was too late for Yuan Tan to evacuate. He could only rely on external forces to break through.

At the order, the army withdrew from Guandu Port and headed towards Puyang.

The news quickly reached the other side, but Gao Gan was somewhat hesitant.

There was a trap right in front of him, which anyone could see, but Gao Gan had to enter it because Puyang's 30,000 troops were still waiting for him.

“I really can’t bear it!”

Gao Gan smiled bitterly.

"General, even if you are unwilling, you have to charge forward. We have 30,000 troops and the eldest son, so we have to save them."

Xin Ping persuaded.

"General, we have 30,000 troops, plus the 30,000 in Puyang City, that's 60,000 elite troops. As long as we can join forces with the eldest son's troops in a short period of time, the other side won't be able to do anything to us. Puyang City has plenty of food and grass, plus our own food and grass, we can sustain for a long time."

Xin Ping suggested. Gao Gan nodded.

"We now have 30,000 enemies. It won't be easy for them to encircle and annihilate us."

Gao Gan thought that once the two sides joined forces, they would have an army of 60,000, and with the strong city of Puyang, they would be able to resist the enemy's army of more than 100,000.

"Cross the river."

When Gao Gan thought of this, the joy on his face became even more intense, and he immediately ordered the army to cross the river.

An army of 30,000 is different from an army of 60,000 on the opposite side.

An army of 30,000 can barely protect itself, while an army of 60,000 can achieve a two-pronged attack.

What Gao Gan was worried about was that the enemy would attack him halfway across the river. However, after waiting for a long time, the enemy did not launch any attack, as if they really wanted to let him enter Puyang.

"Could it be that something happened to the Cavalry Army that no troops were sent to stop them?"

After the 30,000 troops crossed the Yellow River, they still did not see any large army coming, which made him curious.

"Huang Zhong actually gave up. What's going on? Is he just going to watch us go to Puyang?" After waiting for a long time, no one stopped him, which confused him.

"They destroyed Guandu Port. It's clear that they don't want us to stay here."

"The camp was in chaos, and the retreat was rather hasty, as if it was a temporary retreat. It seems that something happened within the Cavalry Army. Could it be that Cao Cao attacked from behind?"

Gao Gan looked at the camp in front of him and a smile appeared on his face.

Although he occupied Guandu Port, he was still worried that all this was an enemy conspiracy, so he was very cautious. But now looking at the camp, it seemed different, and he was very curious for a moment.

"Perhaps it is true. General, you can send troops to investigate within a fifty-mile radius, order people to build Guandu Port, and send someone to inform the general to send reinforcements to take over Guandu Port as soon as possible. And we can march towards Puyang."

Xin Ping suggested.

"So good."

Gao Gan nodded repeatedly and immediately sent people to look for the traces of the Cavalry Army, while repairing Guandu Port and waiting for the arrival of Yuan Shao's army.

The next morning, Gao Gan left three thousand troops to guard Guandu Port and then led the army towards Puyang.

The journey was smooth and there was no obstruction at all. Just when he was feeling extremely happy, the bad news came.

Some enemies sneaked into Guandu Port and burned all the food and fodder stored in the port.

"We were fooled."

It was only at this time that Gao Gan realized that the enemy was not leaving, nor did they want to deal with him, but were after his food and supplies.

These food and fodder not only belong to him, but also to Puyang City. Now the food and fodder he has with the army is only three days' worth.

"Huang Zhong has reoccupied Guandu Port."

Xin Ping smiled bitterly.

Gao Gan felt desperate.

Now I am being pursued from behind and blocked from the front. I cannot move forward or backward. What should I do?
"Sir, what should we do now?"

Gao Gan asked quickly.

"General, we have 30,000 soldiers and three days' worth of food and fodder. If we can capture Guandu Port within three days, everything will be fine. If you are not sure, you can go to Puyang and meet up with the eldest son to deal with the Cavalry together."

Xin Ping gave him two choices.

The senior official's expression was uncertain.

"Huang Zhong is probably waiting for us right now, waiting to return to attack Guandu. We can't go back, so we can only go to Puyang."

(End of this chapter)