At noon on the second day, it was a rare sunny day. In Liu Bei's camp under Tongguan City, countless soldiers were constantly gathering.

Above Tongguan, Cao Jun's soldiers, who had been paying close attention to the situation of Liu Bei's army, quickly informed the guard Cao Xiu of the situation.

"Deng Deng Deng!"

A rapid stampede sounded, and after hearing the news, Cao Xiu quickly put on his armor and rushed to the city wall. He, who had always been uneasy about Liu Bei's unusual movements, was now frightened.

"What's going on?" Cao Xiu quickly rushed to the city wall and stood next to the deputy general who was frowning at the movement of Liu Bei's camp in the distance. Cao Xiu looked up and asked hurriedly.

Seeing the flags flying in Liu Bei's camp in the distance and countless soldiers forming a formation and heading towards the city, Cao Xiu's heart skipped a beat. Damn it, the person coming is not good.

"General, Liu Bei's army is almost out in force, but it doesn't look like he is raising his troops to attack the city. It's like a military training exercise." The lieutenant general had some calculations in his mind and said calmly and solemnly.

"Military training?" Cao Xiu frowned and looked at the flag covering the sky in the distance: "This cold weather military training?"

The deputy general smiled bitterly: "I'm not sure, general. But if Liu Bei wanted to attack the city, he should have done it long ago. And general, you see, his army is not equipped with wells or ladders. It doesn't look like he wants to attack the city."

, seems to be just showing off its own combat power and bluffing."

Cao Xiu looked back, looked at the elite soldiers who were waiting in formation around him, and sneered: "He only has 40,000 infantry, how can he bluff? Even if they don't even reach the top of the city, they may not be able to charge forward."

The lieutenant general said cautiously: "General, I am afraid that Liu Bei has other plots. Just in case, we should be more cautious and let the soldiers patrol more in the past two days."

Hearing this, Cao Xiu nodded gently: "That's right, I'll do it as you want. When our army captured Tongguan, we relied on attacking it unprepared and cooperating inside and outside. Just in case, the other side of the city wall must also be strictly guarded. Any

People must be strictly interrogated when entering the customs, and we must not repeat the same mistakes."

"No!" the deputy general responded.

Cao Xiu saw Liu Bei's army stopped in the distance, far away from the city wall, and showed no intention of attacking. He was slightly reassured. The opponent was definitely not trying to attack the city by force, but he was still uneasy about Liu Bei's strange behavior.

, constantly urging the deputy general to be more vigilant.

"By the way, has the information reported to Yanzhou been responded to?" Cao Xiu asked.

"No, but it should be soon. General, Liu Bei obviously has bad intentions. If his Yuzhou army comes from Nanyang and attacks from both sides, we may not be able to defend Tongguan. How about we ask for help from the rear?" the deputy general said out of caution.

"No." Cao Xiu refused decisively: "This time the opponent just made some changes and lacks troops. If we ask for help now, wouldn't it seem that we are too timid? Moreover, the lord's army has just left Qingzhou, and the troops stationed in Yanzhou are not strong enough.

Not much. If you make a slight move and Liu Bei's army from Yuzhou attacks Xuchang, how will you and I deal with it?"

Seeing that the deputy general was still worried, Cao Xiu said softly: "In this case, you can send more spies to investigate carefully along the Nanyang area. If Liu Bei's army in Yuzhou really does something strange, it won't be too late for us to call for help."

The deputy general nodded slightly when he heard this, and quickly went down the city wall to arrange the arrangements. But Cao Xiu was still standing on the city wall, staring at the neatly arrayed Liu Bei's army in the distance, frowning.

...

Half an hour later, Liu Bei's army, which was arrayed on the same spot, still made no move at all. Cao Xiu, who had been watching closely on the city wall, felt more and more worried. After the three brothers Liu, Guan, and Zhang finished reorganizing their army, they were not facing him. Instead, he and the entire army stood facing the west. Cao Xiu vaguely thought of an extremely terrifying possibility, but he immediately comforted himself: Impossible, how could Liu Bei possibly... Despite constantly comforting himself, Liu Bei's army never looked at him. As he moved, Cao Xiu became increasingly uneasy.

Soon, the scene that Cao Xiu feared most appeared. A black spot appeared on the horizon in the distance, and it continued to enlarge.

How is this possible! Cao Xiu roared in his heart. Looking at Yuan Shu's army gradually emerging in the distance, Cao Xiu felt a panic in his heart.

"General!" the captain guarding the city said anxiously.

"Quickly, ask Yanzhou for help. Liu Bei and Yuan Shu jointly attack Tongguan, let them come to help quickly!" Cao Xiu shouted.

"yes!"

Cao Xiu looked at the other captain again and said urgently: "Go and inform Lieutenant General Shen quickly, and dispatch five thousand soldiers who are resting in the city to defend the city. Also, order Captain Xu to prepare enough rolling logs and arrows. Wait, be prepared and go quickly!"

"promise!"

In the blink of an eye, the silhouette of Yuan Shu's army in the distance became clearer again. There were forests of spears and halberds, densely covered with banners, strong figures and high morale.

Elite soldiers!

This thought came to Cao Xiu's mind immediately.

Jiangdong has elite soldiers, which is recognized by the world. Because Yuan Shu is rich and powerful, he does not need to recruit cannon fodder like Cao Liu. He has enough money and food to train elite soldiers. Cao Xiu has always heard about this, but he was still shocked when he saw it with his own eyes.

Yuan Shu's soldiers are all majestic and have red faces. In comparison, most of the troops under his command are thin and pale. They are quite different in terms of body shape. But there is nothing that can be done. Yuan Shu's army was fed with fish, meat, and chicken every day, and there was no shortage of meat and fish. Naturally, everyone was fat and strong. However, his own army was in short supply of food and grass. He didn't even see meat and fish once a month. How could it be compared with this?

But fighting is about force, not just about who is strong. For example, the honor guards around the emperor in the past were all strong and strong, but when it comes to fighting, they are a bunch of cowards. Most of the armies that big men can fight best are The Xiliang soldiers in Western Xinjiang, such as the army under Sanming in Liangzhou.

However, looking at the numerous heavy infantry at the front of the distant team wearing heavy armor and holding huge shields, followed by the elite soldiers wearing fine armor and holding spears and halberds, and then behind them wearing light armor and carrying bows with quivers. Crossbowmen, and the last civilians' baggage. Cao Xiu really couldn't treat such an army with all its internal organs, complete offense and defense as a guard of honor.

The visitor is not good!

All the Wei soldiers on the city wall became nervous, and their hands holding swords and guns in the winter were slightly sweaty.

A large army marched towards Tongguan in an orderly manner. The black armor looked so dazzling in the white snow. The orderly army made Cao Xiu calculate the approximate number.

An army of nearly 100,000 people.

After getting this amount, Cao Xiu felt a little collapsed.

Is it so scary? It was my first time to lead an army. I thought I was just a jobber with mixed seniority. Who knows, I encountered hell mode at the beginning.
Chapter completed!