How dare Shi Huan block Lu Bu's attack? He almost subconsciously turned his horse's head and ran away to the side.
It was already too late. Although Lu Bu's Fang Tian painted halberd did not hit Shi Huan, it did hit the horse's back.
Lu Bu's attack was so powerful, just one blow knocked the horse down.
The war horse struggled violently and immediately threw Shi Huan far away.
Shi Huan fell to the ground, rolled forward a few times, and then managed to stabilize his body. Although he was dizzy and in severe pain from the fall, he also knew that this place was definitely not safe and he had to run. p>
Thinking of this, Shi Huan threw down his weapon and rushed into the chaotic crowd nearby with his hands and feet.
When Lu Bu saw Shi Huan running away, he was furious.
Since Shi Huan ran away, Xia Houyuan and Xu Chu must not be let go.
However, when Lu Bu turned around to look, he was suddenly stunned.
Xia Houyuan and Xu Chu were galloping past. According to the rules, they should turn their horses' heads and rush back.
However, the two of them did not rush back, but instead hit their horses and galloped away into the distance.
Four people came, but three of them ran away. Lu Bu was angry and looked at Han Hao who was still fighting fiercely with Cheng Lian in the distance. He sneered and took out the Dragon Tongue Bow.
Phew!
The arrow flew out like lightning and flew accurately towards Han Hao.
Han Hao and Cheng Lian were fighting fiercely. As soon as he blocked the spear in Cheng Lian's hand, he suddenly felt a sensation on his back, as if he had been hit by a giant hammer. The shock caused him to fall off the horse.
Cheng Lian, with quick hands and quick eyes, clapped his horse forward and stabbed Han Hao with a spear, killing him completely.
"Kill!"
"Ahhh!"
All the generals of Cao's army ran away, and the remaining soldiers had no intention of resisting. In just a moment, a large number of soldiers knelt down and surrendered. Only a small number of them got into the woods at night and managed to escape.
The soldiers of Lu Bu's army chased and killed the fleeing soldiers of Cao's army everywhere. The battle lasted until dawn, and then the shouts of killing disappeared.
Lu Bu was sitting in the remaining tent of Cao's army, listening to the report from Zhang Liao and others, but he was also a little scared.
This time when he sent troops, he took a detour to Fan County. He had already guessed that Cao Cao would send troops to intercept him, but he did not expect that he would send so many troops.
According to his original idea, Cao Mengde would send at most more than 10,000 people, maybe to intercept, or maybe go directly to Fan County. I know that no matter what, I never expected that 30,000 troops would come.
If Cao Jun does not divide his troops this time, it will not be easy to deal with these 30,000 troops.
However, even though they won this time, the troops led by Cao Hong should not be underestimated.
In this battle, Lu Bu's army was victorious. More than 4,000 soldiers and horses led by Xia Houyuan were killed, but most of them were trampled in the chaos or died due to their own reasons. Not many people were actually killed by Lu Bu's army. More than 5,000 people surrendered, and only more than 4,000 people escaped.
After hearing everyone's reports, Lu Bu asked about the casualties on his side, and felt even more satisfied.
In such a large-scale battle, it is impossible for no one to die. This is also unrealistic.
In this battle, the arson from the very beginning had already broken the courage of Cao's army. There were not many people who resisted. In addition, the charge of Bingzhou's cavalry made Cao's army retreat steadily and had no intention of resisting.
The key to this is that large-scale military operations cannot hide from the enemy's spies.
Therefore, in a large-scale war, it is actually quite difficult to win by relying on sneak attacks or designs.
No matter which army goes on an expedition, a large number of spies will be sent everywhere to find out information.
The larger the scale of the operation, the harder it is to avoid the detection of spies. Of course, if it is an action of a small group of troops, it is possible to avoid the detection of spies. However, a small group of troops cannot achieve the desired effect in a large-scale operation.
Too big an effect.
Especially when it comes to sneak attacks on the opponent's camp, the chance of success is even pitifully low.
Not to mention that the enemy's remote spies will discover your whereabouts, but there will be countless light and dark sentries hidden near the camp. It is almost impossible to approach unknowingly, let alone a sneak attack.
Therefore, in order to prevent Xia Houyuan from discovering his whereabouts, he had to find a way to hide from the spies.
When Lu Bu evacuated, he had already secretly hidden some troops and horses nearby and did not evacuate together. These troops and horses were used for starting fires.
The reason why Lu Bu came back with great fanfare was because he knew he couldn't hide from spies, so he pretended not to know and wanted to come and attack Xia Houyuan.
Sure enough, after Xia Houyuan learned the news, he prepared to use his plan and hid in the woods nearby.
And all of this was guessed in advance.
Lu Bu came with his troops and horses with great fanfare. When they were not far away, a fire broke out and Cao's army was in chaos. Lu Bu's army who rushed over could also take advantage of this opportunity to launch an attack.
Although this plan sounds simple, it is also quite complicated to implement. As long as one link goes wrong, the entire plan will fail.
After an investigation, it was found that Lu Bu's army had more than 300 killed and more than 400 injured, which was almost insignificant in comparison.
With such a great victory, everyone's morale was even higher and they asked for battle one after another.
"Marquis Wen, taking advantage of this great victory, why not go directly to Juancheng and catch them by surprise."
"No, it's better to go to Fan County. It's closer and more reliable."
Lu Bu just smiled when he heard everyone's suggestions. After everyone calmed down, he spoke slowly.
"We are not going to Juancheng, we are going to Fan County!"
……
Hao Meng sat in the Chinese army tent, frowning, and kept looking along the open door, watching what was going on outside.
I don't know how long it took, Hao Meng's deputy general Cao hurried in from outside the door, "General Hao, the spies have returned the news. Cao's army is divided into two groups. Cao's army, led by General Cao Hong, has already rushed here.
."
Hearing the news brought back by Cao, Hao Meng's eyes froze, "So many people?"
Cao couldn't help but smile bitterly, "It's indeed quite a lot. It seems we are in danger this time."
Hao Meng nodded, "How far away are we?"
Cao sighed, "There are only sixty or seventy miles left."
Hao Meng waved his hand, "General Cao, you don't have to worry. We are not really going to fight. What should we be afraid of if there are fewer people?"
Cao's eyes lit up and he said with a smile, "General Hao, why don't we leave now?"
Hao Meng shook his head, "Although we are running, we can't just run away. We must contain Cao Jun, so that we can complete the mission."
Having said this, Hao Meng stood up, patted Cao on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "If you can't contain the enemy and just run away like this, then you are scaring him away. When you go back, Marquis Wen will definitely not be able to spare you."
."
Cao scratched his head and said sheepishly, "General Hao, I didn't mean to run away, I just asked. Isn't this also okay?"
Hao Meng gave Cao a nudge, "Hurry up and ask for information. Don't miss anything. If the enemy gets too close, you won't be able to escape in time. Do you understand?"
Cao hurriedly handed over his hand and said, "General, I will go and find out the news."
Hao Meng looked at Cao's leaving figure and frowned again.
Although what he said just now was easy, he knew very well that it was not that simple.
If you want to pin down the enemy, if you are too far away, the enemy will not be fooled. If you are too close, the enemy will easily catch up.
Hao Meng only brought 6,000 troops this time. If the enemy really catches up, he will definitely be defeated.
Just when the news came back from the surname Cao, Hao Meng finally decided to quit.
"Send the order and our troops will retreat immediately."
Following the order, the soldiers of Lu Bu's army immediately changed direction and evacuated quickly.
……
On the official road, Cao Hong's soldiers marched quickly. Although the soldiers were exhausted, no one dared to complain, because just now, the soldiers who kept complaining were either whipped or dragged out and chopped.
.
With these clear examples, who dares to complain? Even if you complain in your heart, you should look up and see if anyone around you can hear you.
Cao Hong and Yu Jin rode in the middle of the team, listening to the news from the spies and urging the soldiers to hurry up.
"General Qi, the enemy has retreated."
Upon hearing the news, Cao Hong was surprised, "What did you say, they retreated?"
"They may have discovered our whereabouts. Now they have left the camp and evacuated quickly."
Cao Hong's eyes narrowed, and after pondering for a long time, he suddenly roared, "Send the order, the whole army should speed up, and we must catch up with them."
Yu Jin was a cautious person, so after hearing Cao Hong's order, he hurriedly said, "General Cao, even though the enemy has withdrawn, we must be careful of their ambush."
Cao Hong snorted coldly and was about to say something when he suddenly heard the rapid sound of horse hoofbeats from behind. He frowned and turned around to look.
On the wasteland of the road, several horses were rushing towards this direction, bringing with them billowing smoke.
Not long after, the horse came not far from Cao Hong. Several knights jumped off their horses and ran towards this side.
Before he got close, he said loudly, "General Cao, it's bad, General Xiahou has been defeated and has now retreated to Fan County."
When he heard the news from the spies, Cao Hong's expression changed and he was suddenly surprised, "What are you talking about? General Xiahou was defeated. How is it possible?"
The spy took a few quick breaths and told what happened, "General Xiahou was ambushed by Lu Bu, so he returned in defeat."
After hearing the spy's story, Cao Hong turned livid with anger and roared, "Young man, Lu Bu, you dare to use such methods. It's really hateful."
Yu Jin grabbed the spy and asked hastily, "Tell me, how many troops did General Xiahou lose this time?"
"When General Xiahou retreated to Fan County, there were only more than 1,000 people left."
This time, even Yu Jin, who was always calm, couldn't help but take a breath of cold air.
"There are only more than 1,000 soldiers and horses left?"
The expression on Cao Hong's face was changing, and his teeth were clenching. After a long time, he slowly said, "General Yu, let's retreat. General Xiahou will join his troops to eliminate Lu Bu's son."
Yu Jin frowned tightly, constantly thinking about the pros and cons of this.
Can Lu Bu be defeated by going back?
Xia Houyuan led many troops, but they were still defeated by Lu Bu.
Now that his troops are almost completely wiped out, even if his troops rush over, can they really defeat Lu Bu?
When Cao Hong saw that Yu Jin was silent, he couldn't help but frowned, "General Yu, is there something wrong with you?"
Yu Jin raised his head and looked at Cao Hong, and said with a wry smile, "General Cao, we are here because we are worried that the Lu Bu army we are chasing now will be harmful to Dong'a. If we retreat now, if they rush to Dong'a, now Dong'a
We don't have many troops, how can we withstand Lu Bu's army's attack?
Once something happens to Dong'a, Fan County will be in danger. If it loses again, Juancheng will become an isolated city. It is already impossible to persist."
After hearing these words, Cao Hong couldn't help but froze, raised his head and looked ahead, the anger on his face gradually dissipated, replaced by a wry smile.
"General Yu, do you mean that we should continue to pursue Lu Bu's army?"
Yu Jin sighed, "General Xiahou retreated to Fan County, and together with the defenders of Fan County, even if Lu Bu rushed to Fan County, it would be impossible to break the city in a short time.
I think General Xiahou will definitely inform the lord of this matter, and the lord will naturally send troops to rescue him.
And we only need to drive away the soldiers and horses of Lu Bu's army in order to save Dong'a."
After hearing Yu Jin's analysis, Cao Hong was silent for a long time and nodded, "General Yu, you are right. No matter how brave Lu Bu's army is, it may not be that easy to break through Fan County."
Having said this, Cao Hong yelled at the soldiers beside him, "Send the order, the whole army should speed up and must catch up with this Lu Bu army."
……
Jin Yun, the magistrate of Fan County, was handling government affairs. When his subordinates reported that Xia Houyuan and others were coming, he was startled and hurried out of the city to greet them.
Jin Yun stood at the gate of the city. He didn't wait long before he heard the sound of horse hoofbeats in the distance. Knowing that Xia Houyuan was coming, he hurriedly ordered his people to prepare a formation to welcome him and stood by the roadside to wait.
When the person in front of him got closer, Jin Yun was suddenly startled and confused.
The soldiers and horses led by Xia Houyuan were like a defeated army. Everyone was in a miserable state, and some soldiers were even injured.
Not only the soldiers were like this, but also Xia Houyuan and the others were as disgraced as eggplants beaten by frost.
Xia Houyuan and others came to the city gate. When they saw Jin Yun at the door, they did not dare to neglect and hurriedly dismounted from their horses and saluted.
Jin Yun asked hurriedly, "General Xiahou, what are you doing?"
Xia Houyuan sighed and said, "Magistrate Jin, our army was defeated by Lu Bu. Now let's enter the city quickly. I'm afraid Lu Bu will come after us. We must be careful to take precautions."
Hearing these words, Jin Yun was immediately startled and his face turned ugly.
When Lu Bu first entered Yanzhou, he sent General Fan Yi to Fan County to persuade him to surrender, but he was killed by him.
If Lu Bu really comes and breaks Fan County, will he be held accountable?
Thinking of this, Jin Yun's face became even more ugly, and cold sweat gradually broke out on his forehead.
Xia Houyuan didn't notice this. He just waved his hand and said hastily, "Magistrate Jin, let's go back to the city quickly and close the city gate. In addition, the materials for the city defense must be transported to the city as soon as possible. There must be no delay.