Chapter 68 Heavy losses and chicken feathers

"Zhang Liao is here!"

"Eat me a knife!"

With these two shouts, Zhang Liao's silver gun and Gao Lan's knife cut at Xu Huang, who was the first horse. Unexpectedly, the latter didn't seem to care at all. He directly danced a circle with a big axe in his hand and rowed at Zhang Gao and the two of them, but ignored them handing over to their own blades. Zhang Liao and Gao Lan were shocked, but now is obviously not the time to accompany Xu Huang to die together. At present, he crossed the blade to block this move.

Xu Huang didn't bring many people, and there were only ten thousand people in general. After leaving immediately with Zhang Liao and Gao Lan, Xu Huang quickly led the people he brought directly across the battlefield and rushed to Zhangjiao by the Luoshui River. Zhang Liao and Gao Lan hurriedly stopped him, but his military array was very open in the north-south direction, but the east-west direction was a little weak. In this way, the two of them couldn't stop it.

"Yan Yi, the big thing is not good. General Cao has been defeated and returned to the tiger prison. If we don't meet him as soon as possible, I'm afraid we will be annihilated by Liu Bei!" As soon as he connected with Zhang Hao, Xu Huang told him the latest news. Zhang Hao was also surprised to hear it, but then he looked at Xu Huang and exclaimed, "Why do you have so many people left?"

"I'll mention this matter later. At present, I'd better try to withdraw to the tiger prison first!" Xu Huang gritted his teeth and said that while commanding the army to cross the river, they blocked Zhao Feng and Zhang Liao and others. At this time, Zhang Hao and Xu Huang joined forces, and there were more than 50,000 troops. Zhao Feng, Zhang Liao and others brought only about 80,000 people. Although I have a little advantage, it is also difficult to completely crush the opponent. However, they also seem to be not here, but strive to destroy the living force of Cao's army as much as possible. After Zhang Yi and Xu Huang crossed the river, Cao Jun's fighting spirit was obviously vented. More than 50,000 Cao troops, and only less than 20,000 crossed the river with them in the end.

"Why did Xu Huang come here?" After the battle, Gao Lan also asked in a hurry. After everyone looked at each other in front of each other, Zhao Feng speculated his surname and said, "I think it was probably Xu Huang who sent scouts to detect Cao Hong's fiasco, and then he pulled up from the village and withdrew to the tiger prison. Unfortunately, I stopped Cao Hong and didn't stop Xu Huang. Otherwise, neither of them can run away.

"Why should the general blame himself? The annihilation of Cao's army in this battle is nearly 30,000, which is a great victory." Zhang Liao comforted. What they don't know now is that Xu Huang also broke his wrist this time. After learning the news of Cao Hong's defeat, Xu Huang immediately understood that his situation was very dangerous, so he could only gather more than 18,000 soldiers who could still move normally, and then converge to the west and retreat to the Hulao Pass. And the remaining 20,000 dora's top-heavy soldiers were all left in Songshan Dazhai as abandoned children by him. Wang Ping didn't expect Xu Huang to be so decisive, and it was too late for him to order the pursuit. Xu Huang and Zhang Jaw withdrew from Luoshui, and then went all the way north until the Hulao Pass converged with Cao Hong. The three soldiers and horses add up, and there are about 100,000 left.

"Now nearly half of the casualties of the soldiers and horses are killed, and Liu Bei's army is under pressure. I think it's better to stick to the pass first and wait for the instructions of the king of Wei!" Seeing such a situation, Cao Hong was also speechless. At this time, Tanma had already explored clearly. Liu Bei basically dealt with the inside, so he concentrated on dealing with their team of people in Henan. Cao Hong had no choice but to ask Cao for instructions on what to do next. Fortunately, Liu Bei did not wave the army to attack. After the battle with Xu Huang, he had just escaped. After the battle with Xu Huang, he was also exhausted and was forced to retreat to Xu Chang for recuperation.

"There are only more than 100,000 troops left now, some of which are controlled by Liu Shuye and Pang Shiyuan and are located in Jingnan. It is expected that after calming down the two people's rebellion, the loss of this march will reach 200,000. Fortunately, Xu Huang abandoned more than 20,000 people in Songshan, and in the last two battles with Cao Hong and Zhang Yi, he also caught more than 30,000 prisoners, which can finally be added a little. In addition, at present, Hanzhong has been occupied by Guo Huai, a subordinate of Sima Yi, and the three counties of Longxi have also fallen. General Wen was in Qingzhou. Due to insufficient troops, he was captured by Cao's army in Linzi City, and now he has retreated to the North Sea. Pang Shiyuan and Liu Shuye supported 60,000 to 70,000 soldiers and were stationed in Jingnan and Ba County. There is no news from Shi Guangyuan, the assassin of Jiaozhou, for the time being.

In Xuchang City, Chen Qunyang, who had just arrived, finally described Liu Bei's current embarism in detail. Lao Liu is also a person who has experienced a lot of ups and downs. Now he can't speak for a long time when he sees such a serious loss. The loss of Hanzhong, Longxi and half of Qingzhou made Lao Liu a little slow. Not only him, but also Zhao Feng was extremely unhappy: as soon as I left Chengdu, you lost half of Yizhou for me. Zhuge Liang, Lu Xun, what do you eat? At least I still left them about 40,000 troops, plus the county soldiers, why did they make people do so badly so quickly?

"Since Jingnan and Ba County are still stranded by the anti-party, and it is still in the period of national mourning, I decided to collect troops as soon as possible, mourn for your majesty first, and eliminate the remaining party of the rebels!" Liu Bei was stunned for a long time and finally put forward such an opinion. Everyone was silent when they heard the words, and there was nothing they could do.

After several days, in Xuchang, Liu Bei held a grand memorial ceremony for Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty and repaired a tomb for Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty. To Zhao Feng's surprise, what was buried in this tomb was the blood edict of the bag brought to Liu Bei by the imperial doctor Ji Ping. In this way, the funeral is even more shocking. At the funeral, Liu Bei denounced Cao's arbitrary conspiracy to power and killing the emperor. Speaking of emotion, Liu Bei couldn't help bursting into tears, and the onlookers also heard the tears. At the same time, the rest of the news came one after another. After being convinced that Liu Bei had escaped, Pang Tong and Liu Pan took the young Liu Yong and his mother Zhuge Ying hostage, and led more than 40,000 of the remnants to escape from Jingnan to Ba County. Shi Guangyuan in Jiaozhou personally took a boat to the north to plead guilty. Liu Bei demoted him to the third level and demoted him to the governor of Xia Pi County. In addition, Wu Ju, the former governor of Cangwu, who was familiar with Jiaozhou, took over as the post of Jiaozhou herdsman. In addition, Liu Bei issued an order, claiming that in addition to the six first criminals, including Pang Tong and Liu Pan, the rest of the rebellious people would not be questioned as long as they surrendered immediately. Under such a multi-dimensional offensive, Liao Li, the governor of the South China Sea, who was still waiting, and Cui Zhouping, the governor of Huiji, also surrendered one after another. In this way, only Pang Tong, Liu Pan and Ma Liang were left in the rebel leaders.

"At present, Pang Shiyuan's army is stationed in Ba County. I'm afraid he wants to take advantage of the emptiness of Xichuan to seize Chengdu. Lord, it's not too late. I'm afraid I'm going to rush back to Xichuan as soon as possible!" After Zhao Feng figured out the situation, he immediately asked Liu Bei for instructions. Liu Bei also knew that the situation was urgent, so he asked Zhao Feng to lead 60,000 Sichuan troops to return to the army first without waiting for the end of the state funeral.

Due to the loss of Hanzhong, Zhao Yun's troops stayed in Xuchang to assist Li Yan in guarding Yanzhou. The 60,000 people taken away by Zhao Feng were all his direct troops in Xichuan. In addition to the war losses, the Sichuan troops on this expedition are already here. Before leaving, although it was still during the national mourning, Liu Bei personally led people to send 20 miles outside Xuchang City. Sixty thousand horses left Xuchang, first returned to Jingxiang, and then took the road from Fuling to Xichuan.

Liu Bei has stabilized his feet a little now, but Cao Wei's place is still a chicken feather. Originally, the situation was very good, and Liu Bei had been trapped to death in Xingyang, but unfortunately, at this time, the emperor was suddenly killed on the outskirts of Yecheng, taking a black pot on himself that could not be taken off. The riots and uprisings everywhere have never stopped for the past month. In the face of this situation, Cao Wei had to give grace and power. On the one hand, he severely cracked down, and on the other hand, he calmed people's hearts.

After holding a grand funeral for the emperor, Cao Yan sent Xiahou Dun generals to quell the rebellion in Hebei, and at the same time summoned the clan ministers to prepare to support the new king. At the insistence of Cao Shen, Liu Shu, the nine-year-old king of fear, was appointed as the new king, and he could ascend the throne after choosing a good luck. In addition, Cao Qian signaled to the general Xiahou Dun, and the chief priest Nong Xunyou successively opened the government, and successively recruited dozens of children of the big family in Hebei to serve as officials, and finally stabilized the position for the time being.

However, compared with the loss of Guanzhong and the death of Xia Houyuan, all of this is almost worth mentioning. Next, Cao Hong led the army back to Hebei and told him that Liu Bei had escaped from Xingyang. There was a blow, which made Cao Wei have no way to react, and finally fell ill.

After the treatment of the imperial doctor, Cao Wei only rested for only two days and summoned everyone to discuss the matter. When Cao Hong, Cao Xiu, Jia Xu and other Wen Wu saw Cao Jian, they couldn't help but be scared. Under the blow of these days of changes and defeats, Cao Yan suddenly became much older. Originally, it was just a little white hair, but now it's almost half white.

With a smile, Cao Jian signaled that there was no need to be nervous. After listening to Jia Xu explain the current situation, Cao also had a general understanding of the current situation. That is to say, Guanzhong has been occupied by the boy Sima Yi? After listening to the latest news, Cao Wei was not emotional.

"Exactly, just because General Miaocai was killed in battle, Zhong Yao surrendered to the enemy, Sima Yi rose up in Guanzhong, and now Guan Long's heroes responded one after another. Not only that, because Zhao Botao was not in Xichuan, and the defense of Hanzhong was empty, Sima Yi took the opportunity to calm Hanzhong in one fell swoop. At present, this man gathered the soldiers and horses of Guanzhong and the Black Mountain Army, and also had more than 100,000 soldiers, just like a prince!" Jia Xu said lightly. Listening carefully, there seemed to be a trace of disdain in his tone.

"Sima Yi, I still underestimated him. I didn't expect him to use His Majesty's death to make an article." Xun You also sighed. With Xun You's wisdom and Sima Yi's reaction before and after the matter, he naturally figured out the key to this. Cao Liu fought a decisive battle with more than 600,000 troops. In the end, they each suffered heavy losses, but let Sima Yi take the opportunity to pacifier Guan Long and Hanzhong. It is no exaggeration to say that these two powerful people were used as guns by Sima Yi.

I didn't expect Cao Yan to hear the words, but he smiled and said, "With Sima Zhongda's little wisdom, it's okay to engage in a conspiracy. But if he wants to sit on one side and choose talents, he is far worse than Liu Bei and me!"

"The lord's words are true. Sima Yi just took advantage of General Xiahou's army in Hanzhong, the lord and Liu Bei fought fiercely in Henan, and even Zhao Botao was not there, so he took advantage of it. Now that Zhao Botao's soldiers have returned to Xichuan, I'm afraid he can't do anything anymore!" Jia Xu also praised it. Cao Wei nodded and then began to discuss a series of matters such as the succession of the new king.

In the following days, Cao Wei burst out with amazing energy. The new king succeeded to the throne, rectified the armaments, and benefited the people's livelihood. Everything has been implemented in an orderly manner. Although there is a slight drought in Hebei this year, it has nothing to do with the overall situation, so there is plenty of food and fodder. It's just that in the Battle of Henan, more than 100,000 soldiers were lost. I intend to recruit 40,000 new soldiers for the time being to supplement the bravery.

"In the newly obtained land of Qingzhou, the land is not fertile, and it is adjacent to the front line, so it can order Yuan to launch a military garrison to supplement the military!" Pointing to the part of Qingzhou on the map, Cao Wei continued.

"Sili was originally the foundation of the Sima family. At present, although Sima Yi is in the middle of the customs, the foundation is still shallow. I have ordered Wen Lie to march into Hedong County and clear the foundation of the Sima family!" Cao's thinking is so emptical, pointing to one place after another on the map to announce his decisions. Jia Xu and others who were listening just nodded and agreed. If there was anything they didn't understand, they would ask Cao.

"It's just the lord. In the previous war, he had consumed a lot of grain and fodder accumulated in Hebei. Now Guan Long has lost it again. It is said that there is no shortage of food and fodder. What can I do? After Cao Qian finished speaking, Da Si Nong Xun You asked. The problem of food and fodder has now become a new problem.

"Since the year before last, Yuan Rang has launched a military camp in Liaodong, which must be enough to solve part of the problem of grain and fodder. In addition, at the end of last year, Fuyu and Sanhan repeatedly violated our border. I intend to send people to attack these two places next year to solve the problem of food and fodder. Cao Wei said without thinking. When the people who obeyed the command heard the words, they also nodded hurriedly.

"In this Henan war, Liu Bei will only lose more than me. But I lost the Guanzhong, and Liu Bei lost the land of Hanzhong. If there is a long-term confrontation, Liu Bei can still restore people's livelihood, but I can't help it. Therefore, we need to find another way. To sum up with such a passage, Cao Wei also suspended his plan. At this time, the update outside the door had already been knocked to the first update, and Cao Wei also asked everyone to go back to rest.

"Husband, the night is deep. It's the new king's accession ceremony. It's better to rest early!" After seeing everyone leave, Cao Yan was still checking the latest military newspapers, and Cai Wenji was also a little distressed.

"It doesn't matter, Wenji. At present, the situation is a little unstable. I still need to make all the preparations. You take a rest first. I'll come right away. Cao said with a smile. At this time, although Cao Yan's hair was much whiter, his face was very ruddy and energetic, and he didn't look like a half-hundred old man at all. Cao Hong and others were also very surprised by Cao's good physical strength, but then they were sincerely excited. In their opinion, a healthy Cao is enough to lead them to solve any problem. Even, does the reappearance of Cao's vitality mean that God will take care of them again? If this is the case, then everything should be hopeful.

After sending Cai Wenji away, Cao Yan finished all the recent things, and then drank a bowl of Anshen soup and went to bed. After a while, the sleeping Cao Qian snored. What he didn't know was that after he fell asleep, Cai Wenji beside him opened her eyes and looked at his old face, and her eyes were full of heartache and worry.

(to be continued)