As soon as Cai Yang died, Cao's army collapsed instantly.
Shen Chen and Gan Ning dispersed Cao's army and withdrew their troops back to Yingyin City.
After resting for a day, they did not stay any longer, but evacuated from Yingyang and Xiangcheng to Kunyang.
At this moment, the defenders from Xiangcheng and Linying all went south to Jianqiang County to deal with Liu Bei's main force, and the journey was very safe.
On July 12, Cao Cao finally received news of Shen Chen's invasion, but it was after Shen Chen's retreat on the night of July 11, and the information was already lagging behind.
Due to the critical situation on the Guandu front line, Yuan Shao was already confronting him, so Cao Cao could not personally lead his troops south, but ordered Cao Hong to rescue him.
Historically, Cao Cao sent Cao Ren. Cao Ren could be regarded as a pillar in Cao Wei in the early or middle and late periods. In the Battle of Guandu, he attacked Han Meng from the north and Liu Bei from the south, guarding the rear for Cao Cao.
Now that Cao Ren died in Nanyang, Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Dun had other battlefields to deal with, so among Cao Cao's four most trusted generals, only Cao Hong was still able to act.
So Cao Hong, who was originally stationed in the Jiluo Mountain area of Mi County to prevent Yuan's army from detouring south from Luoyang to attack Xudu, was transferred to Yingchuan to come back and defend.
However, it was already two days later when he came back. By that time, Shen Chen had already returned to Kunyang City to rest and recuperate.
So Cao Hong immediately went south to Jianqiang to rescue him.
At this moment, Jianqiang County.
Liu Bei still besieged the city. Three days ago, the scouts observed Cai Yang leaving to the north. Liu Bei immediately guessed that Shen Chen was attacking Xudu. Cai Yang came back to help, so in order to help Shen Chen relieve the pressure, he continued to attack Jian. powerful.
It is a pity that his soldiers and horses were just a mob. Historically, after he defeated Cai Yang, he was quickly defeated by Cao Ren. It can be seen that the combat effectiveness of the army he gathered was actually very poor.
After two days of siege, not only the city was not shaken, but the morale of the army also dropped a lot, and a large number of deserters appeared in the team. Li Tong's army was not a loyal army that served Liu Bei's army. Not only did they not help, but they added to the chaos. I ran half of it in a few days.
On July 14, Cao Hong arrived in Xudu, which was only more than thirty kilometers away from Jianqiang. At the same time, Liu Bei's camp also received a letter from Shen Chen.
All the soldiers gathered together.
Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Tai Shi Ci, Jian Yong, Sun Qian, Mi Zhu, Mi Fang, Shi Ren, Liu Yan, Yuan Wei, Xia Hou Zuan and other generals and counselors gathered together.
Liu Bei put down the letter he had just received from the messenger sent by Shen Chen, and said with a worried look on his face: "I have let down the little gentleman. Originally, I wanted to attack in two directions, capture Jianqiang County as soon as possible, and meet with the little gentleman in Xudu. In the end, He has already reached the western city of Xudu, and was finally retreated by the reinforcements, but I am still here."
"I just said that boy is not good. He has been beaten to the outside of Xudu City and still can't break in."
Zhang Fei shouted.
He was very unhappy with Shen Chen's attitude towards him.
The main reason is that Shen Chen is not a son of a noble family, but comes from a lower-class commoner.
Zhang Fei has always respected scholars and despised villains, so it is normal for him to look down on Shen Chen. On the contrary, Guan Yu respected Shen Chen very much.
So after hearing Zhang Fei's words, before Liu Bei scolded him, Guan Yu said: "This young gentleman is brave and resourceful and has defeated Cao's army many times. My third brother must not be rude to him!"
"Second brother."
Zhang Fei was about to say something.
Liu Bei then scolded: "Third brother, shut up. This little gentleman has been extremely intelligent since he was a child. When he grows up, he is even more clever in planning, loyal, courageous and hard-working. There is no hero like him in the world. From now on, you must treat him like you treat me."
"I even saved his life. It was obviously him who was rude to me first."
Zhang Fei muttered something quietly and stopped talking.
Jian Yong said at this time: "My lord, there is no need to blame yourself for not defeating Jianqiang. After all, Shen Chen is a small army with light armor and simple attack on Xudu. We are dealing with the main force of the enemy, and we are also attacking the city. We cannot defeat it in a short time." It’s normal. The most critical issue now is the morale of the military.”
"yes."
Liu Bei nodded and said: "The young gentleman said in the letter that attacking Xudu is not going to be successful. Cao Cao will definitely send reinforcements. We must make plans as soon as possible. He invited us to go to Kunyang and garrison Wuyang Ye County and other places to wait for the opportunity."
"withdraw troops?"
Everyone looked at each other, with a hint of sadness in their eyes.
Why don't they know the situation of the soldiers and horses under their command in the army these days?
After Liu Bei was defeated by Cao Cao, he fled to Hebei alone. Zhao Yun happened to come to surrender at that time, so he asked Zhao Yun to recruit five hundred warriors.
In addition to these five hundred men, Yuan Shao also gave him two to three thousand elite soldiers. This is probably Liu Bei's best wealth.
In addition, there are the remaining old tribes of the Yuan family in Runan. These people, including the more than 2,000 people who stayed in Dingying with Man Chong, are all the remaining old tribes of the Yuan family. Liu Bei is only the leader in name. In fact, they are all the followers of the Yuan family. , so the officials control it.
At present, these people are the main force in the army. If you choose to withdraw your troops, Liu Bei's order may not be effective. Those former disciples of the Yuan family will most likely not agree, and it will not be good to part ways with him at that time.
Then there are Li Tong's surrendered soldiers. After a few days, nearly half of these surrendered soldiers have fled. Although they have been strictly guarded, these people have no loyalty at all and will not follow Liu Bei to Nanyang.
And even the soldiers given by Yuan Shao may not be reliable.
They are all from Hebei. They are only on a temporary business trip with Liu Bei. Their families are all in Hebei. It would be okay if they stay in Nanyang for a short time. If they stay in Nanyang for a long time, their military morale is likely to be unstable.
Therefore, based on this analysis, even if we withdraw our troops towards Nanyang, it is still unknown how many troops we can bring with us in the end.
"We still need to discuss it with those powerful families."
Liu Yan said.
Although he is from Lu, he knows the situation in Runan well.
Most of Yuan Shao's disciples and former officials were powerful officials from local counties, and they were all based in Runan. It would not be easy for them to leave Runan.
Liu Bei nodded and said: "Xianhe, Gongyou, could you please go to each camp to lobby."
"only."
The two stood up and took orders.
It is indeed a strange thing for the dignified leader to lead the soldiers to evacuate and lobby the generals of each battalion.
But there is no way.
To put it simply, most of the Yingchuan family supported Cao Cao at that time, so Cao Cao placed his foundation in Yingchuan.
Yuan Shao was born in the Yuan family in Runan, and the Yuan family was deeply rooted in Runan. Most of the aristocratic families in various counties had deep entanglements with the Yuan family, so as soon as Yuan Shao went south, they responded immediately.
The Runan family supported Yuan Shao, and Liu Bei came over and used Yuan Shao's orders to unify them and briefly gathered them under Liu Bei's command.
But their roots and clan soldiers are all in Runan, so it is okay to let them fight in Runan, but if they leave Runan, they may not go there, so they can only let Jian Yong and Sun Qian work as lobbyists, hoping that they can follow Go to Nanyang by yourself.
The words are also simple.
When Cao Cao's reinforcements arrived, they first stationed themselves in the Wuyang area of Kunyang, and then waited until the decisive battle between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao in Guandu to attack Xudu.
But things still weren't going well.
The wealthy families heard that Liu Bei wanted to withdraw his army to Nanyang. Although it was only in the Ye County area at the entrance to Nanyang, these wealthy families were still very resistant.
It's not that they don't want to continue serving Yuan Shao, but once they leave, what will happen if Cao's army attacks their clans and fields in various counties?
Everyone has their own concerns.
The foundation of aristocratic families in a county is in that county. The land they own and the population are also in that county. If they leave Runan, they will leave their roots. It is normal to have concerns in this regard.
For this reason, Jian Yong, Sun Qian and others tried hard to persuade them to leave, and told them that this was only a short-term transfer. Once good news came from the Guandu front line, Cao Jun's front line was tight and the rear defense was empty, they could immediately attack Xu Du. If If you can really capture Xudu, it must be a great achievement.
It's a pity that most people still don't have such awareness and foresight, and they won't listen no matter how much they are persuaded.
In the end, Liu Bei had no choice but to wait for another day. With the two to three thousand soldiers given by Yuan Shao, plus a small number of people who obeyed the persuasion and were willing to leave, a total of more than 6,000 people were ready to evacuate.
However, due to this extra day of delay, Cao Hong had already reached Jianqiang.
When he defeated Han Meng in the Jiluo Mountain area in the north, he had 5,000 men. In addition, he collected Cai Yang's defeated soldiers and Han Hao's soldiers, a total of more than 10,000 men, and marched south to Jianqiang County.
Originally, Liu Bei's total military strength was only 17,000 or 8,000, but more than 1,000 people escaped and some died in battle. Now it is only about 15,000.
But Xia Houyuan and Li Dian still had four to five thousand troops in the city.
In this way, the two sides are almost the same in terms of military strength, but there is a huge difference in the quality and eliteness of the troops.
As a result, before Liu Bei could set out, Cao Hong launched a fierce attack on his camp.
The next day.
At three o'clock in the morning, after breakfast, Liu Bei planned to head west to Dingling with more than 6,000 men and horses who were willing to follow him.
But at this moment, Cao Hong had also crossed the Lishui River and was only a stone's throw away from Jianqiang.
Cao Hong is no stranger to this city.
Last year, when the powerful local Zhu Fu rebelled in Jianqiang, Cao Hong and Xu Huang came to put it down and killed all the Zhu family members.
The army crossed the Tishui River in great strength, and Cao Hong sent his cavalry to Jianqiang County to inform Xiahou Yuan and Li Dian of his arrival and prepare them for battle.
At the end of the meal time, Liu Beijun had just finished breakfast and was ready to assemble, abandon the camp outside the city and head for Dingling.
At this time, the scouts came to report that a large number of Cao's troops appeared in the north of Jianqiang.
"What?"
In Liu Bei's camp, he was packing his things and preparing to leave. When he heard about this, he secretly screamed that something was wrong and said, "Cao's army is coming so fast."
Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yuntai, Shi Ci and others are not in the camp now, but are leading their troops and preparing to evacuate.
There were only Jian Yong, Sun Qian, Mi Zhu and others in the tent. Sun Qian said: "Lord, the enemy is coming, and we must respond."
"Damn it."
Liu Bei patted the table and said inwardly, "If it weren't for those powerful people from the Runan family looking forward and backward, we would have arrived at Dingying a long time ago, and why would we be here today?"
Mi Zhu said: "My lord, we can't withdraw now, we can only defend where we are."
"Um."
Liu Bei agreed with Mi Zhu's point of view and said: "Quickly inform the battalions and ask them to defend carefully. We will wait strictly and act according to the opportunity."
"only."
Everyone immediately went out to convey orders to each battalion.
Soon the entire Liu Bei army was in chaos, and every battalion was boiling with excitement.
No one expected the sudden arrival of the main force of Cao's army, which caused chaos in the unprepared battalions.
Because Liu Bei had already planned to retreat westward to Kunyang, the aristocratic families also planned to withdraw with their clan troops and return to Runan County to defend themselves.
As a result, no one was fully prepared for a sudden war.
As a result, when Cao Hong's main force crossed Yingshui and reached the north of Jianqiang City, less than four or five miles away from Liu Bei's camp, there was still no formation of troops here.
There were even those who retreated from the battle. Many people from aristocratic clans and their clan soldiers did not come out to meet the enemy, but fled in panic, causing chaos in the camp.
Soon, Cao Hong arrived at Jianqiang City.
From a distance, he saw soldiers running around in chaos everywhere inside and outside Liu Bei's military camp, like a scene of chaos. He did not hesitate at all and immediately ordered: "The whole army attacks and kill Liu Bei!"
"woo woo woo woo!"
The high-pitched horns blared, the drums rang, and the shouts of killing shook the heaven and the earth.
Cao Hong's army of more than 10,000 men was divided into several formations, led by Han Hao, Cao Xiu and others, and launched a fierce attack on Liu Bei's camps.
Liu Bei's main camp was attacked by Cao Hong himself, and then Xia Houyuan, Li Dian and others led people to help.
For a moment, the whole battlefield was filled with the sounds of fighting, the banging of weapons, the grunting and hissing of people as swords and guns penetrated flesh.
Originally, even Liu Bei's army was a temporary ragtag group, and it was relatively reluctant to bully the small number of Xia Houyuan and Li Dian. Now they met the main elite of Cao's army, which was still about the same number in number, and was defeated head-on almost instantly.
The camps were completely undefended for a long time, and were quickly disrupted. Liu Bei personally led his troops to defend his general's camp.
However, his teammates didn't do their best. When it was just after noon, the soldiers and horses of the surrounding wealthy families were dying, some fled, some surrendered, and Li Tong's surrendered soldiers immediately counterattacked. In less than an hour, the frontal troops were facing the enemy.
Liu Bei's lone army was the only one left on the battlefield.
Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Tai Shici, Zhao Yun and others tried their best to kill them, but they were outnumbered and struggled to support them.
Guan Yu was leading an army at that time, and his camp was broken. He had no choice but to break through and wanted to go to the general's camp to find Liu Bei. However, there were too many enemies in the general's camp, and he couldn't kill him. He had to fight and retreat, and fled eastward.
The same was true for Taishi Ci. His position was further south and he was beaten and ran south.
Zhang Fei led about two to three hundred cavalry and rushed to the general's camp. However, in the evening, the general's camp was finally breached. Zhang Fei was almost overwhelmed by Cao's army. He rushed from left to right and barely broke through. Liu Bei was never found.
.
Liu Bei led his elite troops of two to three thousand men, fighting and retreating. With the help of Zhao Yun, Chen Dao and others, he escorted his wife and children and broke out to the west with difficulty. Everyone was broken up and separated on the battlefield.
The poor emperor's uncle was either being beaten or on the way to being beaten. It was miserable.
Some people say that the protagonist surprises his subordinates and is tired enough to rebel. Note that the protagonist spent two days walking more than 70 kilometers and did not reach Xudu. He walked more than 40 kilometers on the first day and more than 30 kilometers on the second day.
Kilometers. Both Sima Yi and Xia Houyuan are faster than the protagonist. This is because the Gan Ning army is dragged down. Otherwise, if the protagonist only leads the Huangmenting soldiers, the speed will be faster. The most important thing is that our army attacks more than 100 kilometers a day.
It is common for the protagonist to walk 30-40 kilometers every day. Excluding the time for eating and sleeping, it takes 12 hours to travel. The average speed is actually only about 3-4 kilometers per hour. It is impossible for his subordinates to rebel because they are tired.