While everyone was discussing, suddenly, there were rapid footsteps outside the door, and a middle-aged man staggered in from the door.
When Chen Gong saw this man, his expression suddenly changed and he hurriedly asked, "Han Xu, what's wrong with you? Why are you so panicked?"
Han Xu's face was full of shame, he took a few breaths quickly, raised his hands and said, "Mr. Gongtai, it's too bad, the food we bought was stolen."
"What?"
Hearing Han Xu's answer, Chen Gong's expression changed, he stepped forward and grabbed his arm, and asked hastily, "What did you say, the food was lost?"
Han Xu nodded, "Our food was taken away by Cao Jun."
After hearing what the two said, Lu Bu's heart suddenly lifted and he asked hurriedly, "Mr. Gongtai, what is going on?"
Chen Gong turned to Lu Bu, cupped his hands, and said with a wry smile, "Marquis Wen, the one we sent out to buy food is Han Xu."
Upon hearing this, Lu Bu immediately understood, his face changed, and he asked anxiously, "Han Xu, has all the food been taken away?"
Han Xu fell to his knees with a plop and said with a choked voice, "Marquis Wen was all taken away by them, and there is nothing left."
Snap!
Lu Bu slammed the table and shouted, "Han Xu, where did you meet Cao Jun?"
"Just 70 miles northwest of Puyang, I was almost back, but who would have thought that Cao Jun suddenly came out, killed the soldiers and horses protecting the grain team, and then took away the grain."
Chen Gong suddenly said loudly, "Marquis Wen, even if they robbed so much food, they would never take it away so quickly. Let's send people to chase it quickly. Maybe we can get it back?"
Lu Bu snorted coldly and shouted loudly, "Zhang Liao listens to the order and orders you to lead 500 cavalry to trace the whereabouts of the grain."
At this point, Lu Bu paused for a moment, looked over at Han Xu, and said slowly, "Han Xu, you go too, and you must get the food back for me."
Han Xu hurriedly handed over his hands and stood up, "Marquis Wen, I am willing to go, but if I can't find the food, I won't come back."
Lu Bu was stunned for a moment, then waved his hand, "Han Xu, it's not your fault. Try your best to find the best one. If you can't find it, come back."
Hearing this, Han Xu felt warm in his heart. He hurriedly raised his hands and gritted his teeth and said, "Marquis Wen, please don't worry. Even if we go through fire and water, we will get the food back."
Zhang Liao cupped his hands and said, "Marquis Wen, if you don't have any other orders, I will prepare your troops right now."
Lu Bu nodded, "Wenyuan, this batch of grain is very important, I'm leaving it to you."
Zhang Liao was stunned. He didn't expect Lu Bu to say such words, and he felt a strange feeling in his heart.
In his impression, Lu Bu had always been unruly and had never spoken in a low voice. It was really strange that he spoke in such a tone this time.
What Zhang Liao didn't know was that Lu Bu had already heard Lonely Xianyu talk about the future events, and he naturally knew that except for a few few of the brothers in front of him, all of them were truly good brothers. p>
Naturally, you should not treat your good brothers badly.
When Zhang Liao and Han Xu left, Chen Gong looked ashamed and said, "Marquis Wen, the loss of food this time is all due to carelessness. Please punish Marquis Wen."
Lu Bu waved his hand, "Mr. Gongtai, there is no need to blame yourself. Who would have known that Cao Mengde would do such a thing? You should think about what to do next?"
Wang Kai stepped forward and said, "Marquis Wen, I don't know if the lost food can be recovered. We have to find a way to get the local nobles to donate more food. That's the business."
Lu Bu nodded and was about to speak when hurried footsteps came from outside the door again.
Not long after, a well-traveled spy hurried in.
Seeing the panic on this man's face, Lu Bu's heart sank and he hurriedly asked, "What's the matter, so panicked?"
The spy knelt down on one knee and said loudly, "Marquis Wen, something bad has happened. Dingtao has been occupied by Cao's army."
Hearing what the spy said, Lu Bu almost didn't believe his ears and shouted sharply, "What are you talking about? How is this possible?"
Lu Bu remembered clearly that the lonely Xianyu once said that after several battles between himself and Cao Mengde, he was defeated and retreated to Dingtao. Finally, he heard that Yuan Shao was sending troops, so he set off from Dingtao to Xuzhou.<
/p>
However, Lu Bu remembered clearly that Lonely Xianyu never said that Dingtao was occupied by Cao Mengde.
In this way, even if you fail, you may have no way out.
There is no way to go, so we can only retreat to Chang'an and other directions.
What's going on?
What's more, Dingtao City has high walls and thick walls, and is defended by 3,000 soldiers and horses. How can it be so easy to break through the city?
The most important thing is that even if Dingtao is attacked, with these 3,000 soldiers and horses defending it, even if it cannot hold it, people will be sent to report it. As long as you send reinforcements, Dingtao will definitely be fine.
It is precisely for this reason that Lu Bu never thought that Dingtao would be lost?
Thinking of this, Lu Bu's heart moved and he asked loudly, "What's going on? Dingtao has 3,000 soldiers and horses defending it. How could it be lost so easily?
Could it be that all Cao Mengde's troops rushed to Dingtao?"
The spy shook his head, raised his hands and said, "Marquis Wen, it was not Cao Mengde who led the troops there, but the Li family of the Cheng family, with more than 2,000 servants, secretly went to Dingtao, and then concentrated on attacking the county government and killing the king.
Although there were 3,000 soldiers and horses in the city, they were forced to take precautions and it was of no avail.
And among these 3,000 troops, many are locals.
The Li family is very famous in Yanzhou. These people were instigated by the Li family and chose to join the Li family.
It is precisely for these reasons that Dingtao was lost so quickly."
"Cheng's Li family?"
A cold light flashed in Lu Bu's eyes, and he gritted his teeth and asked, "Why did the Chengshi Li family do this?"
This time, before the spies could answer, Yanzhou officer Li Feng suddenly said, "Marquis Wen, do I know why?"
Lu Bu turned to look at Li Feng and asked slowly, "Why?"
Li Feng said with a wry smile, "Marquis Wen, do you still remember Cao Mengde's general Li Dian?"
Lu Bu nodded, and suddenly his heart moved, "Li Zhizhi, are you talking about them?"
Li Feng nodded, raised his hands and said, "Marquis Wen, the Chengshi Li family is very famous and powerful in the local area, and the general Li Dian of Cao Mengde who died in the battle was a member of the Chengshi Li family."
Xue Lan, who did not drive in Yanzhou, also nodded, "The head of the Li family of the Cheng family is Li Dian's uncle Li Qian. I guess the reason why they did this was because they wanted to take revenge on Marquis Wen because of Li Dian's affairs, so they took action Seize the Ding Tao."
After hearing what the two said, Lu Bu understood the reason.
Cao Mengde's general Li Dian was trampled to death by a horse. Although he was not killed by himself, he died because of himself, so the Li family of Chengshi put this debt on their own heads.
Chen Gong frowned and said, "The capture of Dingtao is very detrimental to our army. We must find a way to take it back."
Hou Cheng stepped forward and said, "Marquis Wen, I am willing to lead a group of soldiers and horses to Dingtao. I must take back Dingtao. I ask Marquis Wen to agree."
Song Xian also hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Marquis Wen, the last general is also willing to go!"
Looking at the generals who came forward to ask for a battle, Lu Bu frowned and turned to look at Chen Gong, "Mr. Gongtai, what do you suggest?"
Chen Gong said slowly, "Dingtao must be recaptured. However, Dingtao is well-defended and guarded by the Chengshi Li family. It may not be that easy for our army to recapture it."
At this point, Chen Gong paused and frowned, "If too many troops and horses are sent, Puyang's defense will be relaxed. If Cao Mengde takes the opportunity to attack, once Puyang is lost, our army will again There is no place to stand."
Hearing these words, Lu Bu frowned even more tightly.
What Chen Gong said was also his biggest concern.
Now that we don't have many troops, if we divide our troops to attack Dingtao, Puyang's defense will be even weaker.
"Mr. Gongtai, in this case, should I take the fixed investment?"
Chen Gong's brows were also furrowed and he was undecided.
Puyang has a total of 20,000 troops. If you want to recapture Dingtao, you must send at least 10,000 troops.
However, if 10,000 soldiers and horses are sent away, Puyang will only have 10,000 soldiers and horses left. Can it withstand Cao Mengde's attack of tens of thousands of soldiers and horses?
But if you can't stop it, why don't you give up Dingtao?
No!
If you give up Dingtao, you will only lose a city, but the impact will not be that simple.
The reason why Lu Bu came to Yanzhou is because of the support of the Yanzhou nobles. However, if Dingtao is lost, these nobles will feel that Lu Bu is not strong enough and give up on Lu Bu. This is the worst thing.
However, if troops are sent to rescue, it will form a situation where the troops are divided into two groups, which will give Cao Mengde the opportunity to defeat them separately.
Thinking of this, Chen Gong's heart suddenly moved. He raised his head and looked at Lu Bu and said slowly, "Marquis Wen, although we lost Dingtao this time, this is still an opportunity for us."
Hearing this, Li Feng suddenly clapped his hands and said with a smile, "Mr. Gongtai, do you want to take advantage of the situation?"
Chen Gong nodded, "One thing I am sure of is that even if the Li family of the Cheng family is very powerful, they would never dare to attack Dingtao without Cao Mengde's instructions, so this matter must have been set up by Cao Mengde."
Strategy.
The Chengshi Li family's sneak attack on Dingtao is definitely not Cao Mengde's ultimate goal, but one of his series of strategies."
Hearing this, Li Feng asked tentatively, "Mr. Gongtai, in your opinion, if Dingtao is the first link of Cao Mengde's strategy, what should be the second link?"
Wei Xu suddenly sneered, "I know, this must be a plan to divert the tiger away from the mountain. Cao Mengde wants our army to attack Dingtao, but his real purpose must be Puyang. He wants to take advantage of Puyang's relief to come
Attack, absolutely yes, it must be like this."
Li Feng looked at Chen Gong and asked tentatively, "Mr. Gongtai, is it true what General Wei said? Cao Mengde's goal is Puyang?"
Chen Gong frowned, turned to look at Wei Xu, and asked slowly, "General Wei, if you were Cao Mengde, and I asked you to lead troops to attack Puyang, even if the troops are insufficient, are you sure you can capture Puyang?"<
/p>
Wei Xu was stunned for a moment, then shook his head with a wry smile, "It's hard to say, Puyang City has complete defensive materials and the city is strong. If you want to break the city, even if Cao Mengde comes, it will not be an easy task. "
Chen Gong nodded, "Cao Mengde is cunning, how could he do something he is not sure about?
So I guess that his target is definitely not Puyang City."
Having said this, Chen Gong sneered, "If my guess is correct, his real target should be our troops heading to Dingtao."
Hearing this, Li Feng suddenly exclaimed, "Mr. Gongtai, do you mean to say that Cao Mengde has set up an ambush on the road. As long as we send troops to attack Dingtao, he will ambush us and kill us."
The troops who went to attack Dingtao were wiped out?"
Chen Gong nodded, "This should be Cao Mengde's true intention."
Wei Xu suddenly sneered, "Mr. Gongtai, if that's the case, then we won't send troops to Dingtao. Naturally, he can't do anything to us?"
After hearing this, Chen Gong sighed, "But if we don't send troops to Dingtao, then over time, Dingtao may really be lost."
Li Feng stood there and pondered for a long time, then suddenly clapped his hands and said with a smile, "Since Cao Mengde wants to ambush us, why not we use our plan to plot against them and take the opportunity to eliminate their ambushed soldiers and horses. Mr. Gongtai, what do you think?"
”
Chen Gong nodded, "As long as we know their plan, everything will be easy to explain."
At this point, Chen Gong paused and sighed, "But we don't know where they set up the ambush. I'm afraid it's not that easy to set them up."
Li Feng frowned, "Mr. Gongtai, why don't we send people to search along the road, maybe we can find their traces."
Chen Gong shook his head, "But if they discover that we are looking for their traces, they will know that the plan they have set has been known to us. In this way, what kind of variables will happen to us?
It’s hard to master.”
Li Feng asked with a wry smile, "Mr. Gongtai, in this case, what do you think should be the safest way to act?"
Chen Gong waved his hand and said slowly, "Since we can't find any trace of their ambush, it's better not to look for it."
Hearing this, Li Feng was stunned and asked doubtfully, "I'm not looking for you anymore. How can I do this?"
Chen Gong smiled slightly, "The reason why Cao Mengde did this is to let us divide our troops and then eliminate them separately.
Then we will do the opposite. They want us to divide our forces to weaken our strength and achieve the goal of annihilating us.
But he never thought that as a result, they were actually dividing their troops and their strength was weakened.
Now that their strength has been weakened, we can also target them and kill them. Wouldn't this be safer?"
Hearing this, Li Feng's eyes lit up and he asked with a smile, "Mr. Gongtai, please stop showing off and tell me how to separate and punish them."
Chen Gong nodded, "Since Cao Mengde has sent troops to Dingtao, Juancheng's defense will definitely be relaxed. We can take advantage of this opportunity to capture Juancheng in one fell swoop, leaving Cao Mengde with no way to retreat."
Hearing these words, everyone in the hall suddenly exclaimed, "Are we going to attack Juancheng?"