Chapter 50 Cao Zixiao's death in the tiger prison Xiahou Yuan's army defeated the Xiegu

"Cao Ren is here to work hard!"

It was Liu Bei who said this. At this time, he was personally leading Cao Ren in the field to besiege the thousands of last soldiers at the core. However, seeing that Cao Ren was like a crazy tiger, he led these thousands of people to fight almost to the death against tens of thousands of people surrounding Zhang Fei and Zhang Liao. He, whose arm had been injured, relied on a single knife to kill the enemy at this time. There were more than a dozen large and small wounds all over his body, but he didn't realize it and continued to fight hard. What's more terrible is that he is not the only one. Almost all of these thousands of Cao troops are so desperate for their lives.

"Lord, this should be Cao's Qingzhou soldier!" Chen Gong, who drove the horse, looked at the fierce fight on the field and sighed softly. Liu Bei nodded. He knew that Qingzhou soldiers were absolutely loyal to Cao Qian. When they were desperate, it was Cao Qian who took in the remnants of their desperate yellow scarf. Since Chuping defected to Cao Hen for three years, they have only agreed with Cao Hen as the lord. Historically, even if it was Cao Pi, Cao's heir, they did not buy it at all. If you want them to surrender, don't think about it.

"The 300,000 Qingzhou army, if they are so tenacious, how can I compete with Cao Mengde?" Liu Bei valued the thousands of people who died and did not surrender in the field, and also muttered to himself. Hearing the words, Chen Gong, who was beside him, quickly opened his mouth to comfort him: "Although the Qingzhou soldiers are loyal to Cao Qian, there will not be more than 300,000. Cao Mengde has always exaggerated. In those years, he did have a million people to join the Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army, but except for the rebel family members, there were only 70,000 to 80,000 people at most. The rest are either used as Tuntian guests or incorporated into the rest of the army horses. If there were 300,000 troops and horses, everyone would have fought to the death like this. Why was Cao Mengde so embarrassed in Guandu in those years? He would have defeated Yuan Benchu in one fell swoop.

"That's true!" Liu Bei reacted and was also a little embarrassed by his talented vegetation. Looking at Chen Gong, Liu Bei knew that as a former good friend of Cao Wei, he should know all these things. At this time, although the Qingzhou soldiers on the scene fought hard, after all, Liu Jun was not a piece of paper. In addition, the number of people had an absolute advantage, and gradually controlled the situation.

Cao Ren didn't know how long he had killed, how many knives he had been hit, and he was not in the mood to care about the subordinates around him who had just fallen. All he knew was that he was about to have no strength. Finally, after cutting down another enemy, Cao Ren felt a numbness in his hand, and the single knife in his hand almost flew away. In his busy schedule, he looked down and saw that the knife in his hand had been chipped in many places and could no longer be used.

With such a lack of mind, Cao Ren suddenly felt that the situation around him was a little wrong. Quiet, too quiet, it doesn't look like a fierce battle at all. Cao Ren looked up blankly, but found that there was a large area around him, and only he was still standing here. The large area that fell around was full of his own people and Liu Bei's people. After seeing this scene, Cao Ren knew that the general trend had really gone. As soon as he breathed, Cao Ren suddenly had no strength to continue to fight. The knife in his hand fell to the ground with a "squeal", and his whole body squatted down and gasped for breath.

"Cao Zixiao, be safe and sound!" Although he knew that Cao Ren could not surrender, Liu Bei still said hello. Hearing this, Cao Ren cheered up and raised his head. Looking at Liu Bei in the distance, Zhang Fei and others around him, Cao Renchang breathed and said, "Uncle Liu has been gone for a long time. Now Cao Ren's soldiers are defeated here, and he only complains that his skills are not as good as others. Now, there is only one thing to ask for.

"What's the matter?" Liu Bei didn't know what Cao Ren would ask him for, so he couldn't help but wonder. But Cao Ren laughed and said, "I just ask my uncle to bury me back to the Cao's ancestral grave in Qiao County. I'm very grateful!" After saying that, Cao Ren crossed the single knife in his hand and pulled it hard at his neck.

In the blood splash, Cao Ren's burly figure fell to the ground. Looking at Cao Ren's body, Liu Bei seemed to recover for a long time, and finally sighed, "Go down the order, prepare a good coffin, and send Cao Zixiao back to Qiao County for burial, as he wishes!"

"Lord, after all, Cao Ren is Cao's cousin. I think it's better to leave this matter to Cao Shen to do it by himself. After all, I'm an outsider!" Pang Tong, who was on the side, said. Liu Bei didn't feel anything wrong when he heard the words. He also nodded and left it to Pang Tong to handle this matter. Hearing this, Chen Gong and Xu Shu frowned slightly, but they didn't say anything after all.

Pang Tong's words, although they sound more humane and even very kind. But the real intention is to use Cao Ren's death to stimulate Cao Yan. After all, Cao Ren is Cao Yan's cousin. He has been with him for many years since he started the army, and his friendship is not small. No matter how calm Cao Yan is, he will be extremely angry and even lose his mind in the face of Cao Ren's body. In this way, it is easier to lose calmness, which will make Liu Bei more opportunity to take advantage of it. Although this method is effective, they really disdain to use this kind of dirty method. But now that Pang Tong has used it, even if they oppose it, it's hard to say it clearly.

Because the city gate was opened in time, the battle of Hulaoguan finally turned into a street battle. More than 30,000 of Cao's troops, who guarded the gate, died in the battle and more than 30,000 were captured, of which 5,000 Qingzhou soldiers were all killed in the battle, and thousands of others fled at the back door of the city. Correspondingly, Liu Bei also lost more than 20,000 people. The first battle of the Northern Expedition was so tragic that Liu Bei sighed.

What Liu Bei didn't expect was that it was not just in the tiger prison. At this time, there was also a scuffle in Hanzhong. On a remote path in the Qinling Mountains, Xiahou En was leading the 5,000 elite soldiers. Under the leadership of several local hunters, he was ready to cross the Sichuan army's camp at the intersection, and then went straight to the rear of the other side. He was caught off guard to kill Zhao Feng inside and outside.

"Go on the order and take a break for the time being!" Xia Houen looked at the hot sun and ordered the whole army to rest for the time being. This is the fifth day for them to enter the Qinling Mountains. According to the hunter, who is the guide, it will take another three days to completely bypass the enemy camp.

"If you take the valley road directly, you can save more than 200 miles of mountain roads, at least a few days. It takes so much time to bypass this path. How difficult is it to walk the path in this river? Xia Houen, who was in the shade of the tree, also complained to himself. Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, a proud voice came from above his head: "Since it's difficult to leave, don't go!"

"Who?" Xia Hoen was shocked when he heard the words and quickly looked up. But the next scene simply scattered Xiahou's soul: countless strange pedons, like evil spirits falling from the sky, came out of the grass on both sides of the mountain road, on the trees, and even behind the stones. These people are all vigorous and extremely flexible. Without armor on his body, he only wore a strange rattan coat, his face was painted with oil paint, and he waved a sword in his hand, shouting at the thousands of helpless soldiers to kill them.

"Quickly fight!" After Xia Hoon reacted, he was in a hurry and quickly ordered to fight. But as soon as they fought, these Cao Jun were immediately shocked. It's not only because the other party's skills are extremely vigorous, but also because they are really strange. When their swords are cut up, the fragile rattan armor is actually motionless, and their weapons are thrown away. This group of enemies are simply invulnerable.

These Cao soldiers are all elites under the command of Xiahou Yuan, and they are also healthy in the army. Generally, they have seen good opponents, and they won't panic in any case. But now this group of enemies is really horrible. Their faces are colorful and invulnerable. With their skills, they are simply devilish. As soon as this idea came up, these brave soldiers also lost their fighting spirit, and more and more people began to retreat and find their way to escape.

"Damn it, how can't you kill it!" Xia Houen had no success with several knives in a row, and he was suddenly anxious. As soon as he gritted his teeth, Xia Houen threw away the steel knife in his hand and pulled out the long sword behind him to fight again.

"Sneer" several swords, the rattan armor of several enemy troops was also cut off, and then the people were also cut to death. However, this kind of magic weapon is not available to everyone. Xia Houen's little efforts really can't turn the waves. Before long, the rest of the soldiers were either killed, captured or surrendered, leaving Xia Houen still leading hundreds of people to resist. Wang Ping and Zhu Ran, who led the team, looked at each other and attacked Xia Houen together.

Xia Houen's martial arts are not as good as the two of them. Although there is an extra sword, it is still not an opponent. If the two hadn't been afraid of cutting the iron like mud with the sword in his hand and didn't dare to take it with his own blade, Xia Houen would have been knocked down without ten moves. Even so, after dozens of moves, Xia Houen was still put on his stomach by Wang Ping, and his whole body was kicked to the ground. Before he could get up, he had already put several blades on his neck.

"Good boy!" Looking at the sword of Xia Houen that had just been captured in his hand, Wang Ping was also full of praise. Looking at the two ancient seal characters on the scabbard, Wang Ping was illiterate and naturally didn't know what it was written. Zhu Ran leaned forward and looked at it a few times, and also said softly, "Green Sword?"

"How can I be a righteous general? Do you know this sword?" Wang Pingqi said. Zhu Ran nodded, and then said, "I heard that Cao Jian has two swords, one is leaning on the sky, the other is green, and the end is cutting iron like mud. Cao Jian, the Yitian sword, matched it himself, and the Qinggang sword was worn by his nephew Xia Houen. It seems that this is Xia Houen!"

"Yifeng is really knowledgeable, and Wang Ping admires it!" Wang Ping knew that Zhu Ran was from a large family in Wuzhong, and his knowledge was much better than his own. I didn't want Zhu Ran to smile and said, "I don't know this. It's just that I heard General Zhao talk about it by chance!"

"So that's it!" Wang Ping nodded and looked at the sword in his hand. Wang Ping thought for a moment and said, "Wang Ping is not repaid by General Zhao for his kindness. Now I want to send this sword to the general to express my feelings. I don't know what General Zhu means.

Although Wang Ping comes from a humble background, he also knows the world. Xia Hou'en was captured by himself and Zhu Ran, and he still needs to discuss with Zhu Ran how to deal with the booty. Zhu Ran thought for a moment and remembered that he was a child of Sun Quan. Over the years, since Sun Quan was exterminated, Zhao Feng placed himself in Hanzhong to avoid being excluded with Sun's old ministers, which was also a kindness to himself. Now you might as well follow Wang Ping to be a smooth favor, and now you also agree.

"Zijun, Yifeng, you are so angry. Zhao is worthy of it!" Looking at the blue sword in his hand, Zhao Feng couldn't put it down. What about those who practice martial arts who don't love these divine weapons? Zhao Yun is not here now, so he is taking advantage of himself.

"The general's words are heavy. By the way, General, Xia Houen has been captured. I don't know what the general is going to do with it?" Wang Ping asked quickly after being modest. Zhao Feng smiled when he heard the words, and then waved his hand and said, "Bind him up and hang him in front of the army with his flag. Xia Houyuan looked at it, and he naturally knew what to do!"

"General, Xiahou En is the nephew of Xiahou Yuan. If you humiliate him, won't Xia Houyuan fight with us?" Wang Ping couldn't help but wonder when he heard the words.

"Ha ha, Xiahou Yuan marched into the Xiegu Road, and the food and fodder will not be good sooner or later. The reason why he refused to retreat is to count on Xiahou'en's raid. After seeing his nephew, Xia Houyuan naturally had a clear priority. Unless he wants to bury all 100,000 troops here, he will definitely retreat!" Zhao Feng said confidently.

"Or so!" Zhu Ran nodded and ordered someone to tie Xia Hoo'en, push it to the front of the army and tie it to a wooden stake, and hang up his chess together. After Cao Jun's patrolman saw it, he hurried to report to Xia Houyuan.

"What?" Xia Houyuan was also shocked to learn that his nephew had been captured alive. After a long period of desolute, Xia Houyuan suddenly ordered, "Scarry my general order, and the whole army will withdraw to Chang'an as soon as possible!"

"General, don't you care about the major general?" Xia Houlan couldn't help but wonder when she heard this order. Xia Houyuan said with a wry smile when he heard the words, "The reason why Zhao Botao tied up En'er to the public was to tell me not to expect him anymore. If I stay here again, once the food and fodder are exhausted, it will be dead. It's better to withdraw as soon as possible. Having said that, Xia Houyuan did feel aggrieved enough to be eaten to death like this.

"So that's it!" Xia Houlan nodded and arranged for the withdrawal of the military. After counting, Cao's army withdrew from the Xiegu Road, and Zhao Feng also released Xia Houen as Xiahou Yuan wished. In this battle between Hanzhong, Zhao Feng finally relied on the advantage of geographical advantages and made Xia Houyuan return in vain. But the two of them felt very aggrieved. Xia Houyuan was like this, and so was Zhao Feng. The latter advocated attack all his life, but when he met Xia Houyuan several times, he was forced to defend because of the lack of troops, which was really aggrieved.

"Xiahou Miaocai, I really hope to have the opportunity to compete with you!" Zhao Feng muttered to himself. Xia Houyuan has always fought bravely, and it is definitely worth looking forward to fighting with him. However, what Zhao Feng didn't expect was that he had never had such an opportunity.

It was only Zhao Feng and Xia Houyuan who were aggrieved. At this time, Cao Qian, the king of Wei and prime minister of the dynasty, was vigorously attaching importance to the vast river crossing team by the Yellow River. He personally led 200,000 troops south to deal with Liu Bei. At present, he has crossed half of the river.

"King of Wei, King of Wei!" Just when Cao Yan was in high spirits, he saw that the old man came quickly in the distance, but the man on the horse was Cheng Yu, a counselor, and shouted as he came.

"Zhong De, why are you so panicked? You can't calm down. Didn't you learn from Xu Ziyuan?" Cao Shen, who was in a good mood, also made a joke. As soon as he said this, even Xu Chu, who had always been serious beside him, couldn't help grinning. Since Xu You defected to Cao Qian, he has been arrogant and did not know how to be polite. A few years ago, Cao Qian couldn't stand it anymore. Finally, he looked for a fault and sent him to the Bohai Sea to be a small county magistrate, just looking for nothing.

"King Wei!" Cheng Yu's tone was panicked, and he didn't mean to joke at all. Looking at Cao Qian's smile, Cheng Yu gritted his teeth and said truthfully, "According to the Detective Malaysia, Liu Bei said that he had led the army to break through the tiger prison, and General Cao Ren died in the battlefield!"

"What?" After suddenly hearing the bad news, Cao Wei only felt a whirlwind in his mind, and he fell down in the dark in front of him.

(to be continued)