Zhencang was defeated all the way, gathered the remaining soldiers and retreated to Jizhou Prefecture.
When we originally went on the expedition, the soldiers were like a forest, and they were so high-spirited. They never thought that they would be defeated and returned after fighting Cao Su for a month. The people who went out to the expedition were called "one hundred thousand people", but now I am afraid that only a few thousand people have escaped with their lives.
It was too tragic, the casualties were too tragic.
He looked around, feeling sad and filled with infinite sadness.
"Father, father!"
A young general behind the side channel, with a group of soldiers with crooked helmets and slanted armor, chased after him in disgrace.
Zhen Cang took a look and saw that it was still his most outstanding son Zhen Meng. Zhen Meng was covered in paint and there was blood at the corner of his mouth, obviously he was seriously injured.
"Father, the second brother and the fourth brother were all killed in the battle."
Zhen Meng was crying, and the news came that shocked Zhen Cang with a look of disbelief.
He grabbed Zhen Meng: "What?"
Zhen Meng was considered a warrior on the battlefield, and he was crying loudly at this moment.
After the First World War, the Zhen family was severely reduced in number, and the old Zhencang even lost his white-haired man to his black-haired man. He couldn't help but feel heartbroken. He only felt that the world was spinning and his chest was extremely tight.
Looking at the defeated soldiers around him again, he couldn't help but feel sad. After a long time, he let out a long sigh.
"I didn't expect that Jiuling Mountain would also step into secular battles. In these troubled times, ascetics and warriors began to wander into the mortal world. I underestimated the Zhenbei Army, thinking that the Zhenbei Army only had martial arts. I didn't expect that Cao Su could move
So many reinforcements are coming.”
Zhencang felt regretful in his heart. If he had known this, he still shouldn't have attacked with the whole army so easily. If he had left a few hands to deal with it at this time, he would not have reached this miserable situation.
"My father was so daring that he wanted to defeat the Zhenbei Army immediately, so he lost the opportunity on the battlefield." Zhen Meng, who was standing beside him, endured his grief and consoled his father in a loud voice.
Zhen Cang shook his head sadly after hearing this, finally feeling better.
"Now that our army is down to ten and its combat power has been damaged, it is no longer realistic to compete with the Zhenbei Army in the boundary river area. For the current move, we can only retreat to Jizhou Prefecture first and then plan for it slowly."
Although Jizhou was defeated, the Zhenbei Army wanted to conquer Jizhou in one battle. Zhencang thought it would not be that simple.
Jizhou Lienjia is hundreds of miles away. The land is fertile and the food and grass are abundant. Over the past many years, a lot of information has been accumulated. Although it is not enough to form an army that can directly compete with the Zhenbei Army in the short term, the continuous change will
As a precaution, relying on the cities to form a cornering force should also be able to slow down some of the Zhenbei Army.
When Guangzhou and Bingzhou responded, they were not afraid that the Zhenbei Army would not retreat.
Thinking of this, Zhencang ordered the remaining defeated generals to leave this place as soon as possible and return to the boundary of Jizhou Prefecture first.
When the soldiers heard about the retreat, they finally felt relieved.
This one was killed too badly. The Zhenbei Army was assisted by monks, and it showed its fangs like a war machine, ruthlessly harvesting the lives of the Jizhou Army. Although the Jizhou Army was well-trained, it was not as good as
Compared with the brave army like the Zhenbei Army, which fought all the way from south to north, and then from north to south, it was still slightly weaker. Both the individual combat strength and the overall combat strength were significantly weaker than the Zhenbei Army.
Just like when the Jizhou army attacked the rogue bandits, there was a gap between the two sides.
Just retreat, it's better than losing your life to the north.
Many soldiers breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to protect Zhen and his son from leaving.
But at this moment, a proud laugh suddenly came from the official roads on both sides: "Old thief Zhencang, I've been waiting for you for a long time!"
I saw countless arrows suddenly flying out of the jungle on both sides of the official road.
Zhencang's expression suddenly changed. He didn't expect that he had escaped dozens of miles in one breath, and that there was still an ambush from the Zhenbei Army?
At this time, he had just ordered a retreat, and the whole army was completely demoralized and had no intention of fighting anymore.
Not to mention that the other party is waiting for work, even if the other party only has a hundred people, they can only escape.
This is why sometimes the battlefield will form a situation where fewer people are chasing more people to fight. The gap in morale forms the basic battlefield game rules in the cold weapon era.
"withdraw!"
Zhencang didn't see how many Zhenbei troops were ambushed in the jungle.
All I know is that the arrows fired by the Zhenbei Army are continuous, one after another.
The soldiers who followed him all the way here fell down one after another like wheat.
"Rumble--"
At this time, there was a shaking sound on the ground.
There was obviously a large cavalry force approaching from the rear.
He is also the Zhenbei Army!
"Don't leave Zhencang. Anyone who kills Zhencang will lose a thousand taels of silver and be promoted to the third level!"
"kill!!"
Cao Su's voice carried far away, and with his inner strength, even the soldiers of the Jizhou Army heard it clearly.
Zhencang was even more panicked. Fortunately, the sky was getting dark at this time, so he only had to wait until dark!
He quickly called on everyone to retreat, and the Jizhou army ran towards the south without looking back.
Rumble——
Not long after, a large group of cavalry arrived. Cao Su, who smelled the smell of blood on the ground, reined in his horse and hovered. In the jungle on both sides, a small group of archers led by Zhang Ke ambush here.
"General, Zhencang has escaped."
Zhang Ke strictly followed General Cao Su's orders and only fired arrows secretly.
Cao Su was also worried that once Zhang Ke was exposed, he would only have fourth-level combat power. If Zhencang captured the thieves and captured the king first and killed him, he would suffer a big loss.
Therefore, this is the safest way. Cao Su will then pursue and kill him personally to ensure that nothing goes wrong.
Cao Su nodded and ordered: "Zhang Ke, collect the corpses here and return to Jiehe Camp!"
After Cao Su finished speaking, before Zhang Ke could react, he led his cavalry to pursue him with a rumble, aiming directly at Jizhou Mansion.
Zhencang has been in Jizhou for many years and can be regarded as a famous general.
But he has never fought against the top generals in the world.
Cao Su is this "famous general in the world" and is known as the most outstanding commander of the young generation of the empire. Since he led the army alone, he has never been defeated. He is not comparable to "famous generals" like Zhencang who suppressed bandits and defeated thousands of soldiers.
At this time, he only knew that Cao Su was chasing him like a mad dog all the way to the borders of Jizhou Prefecture.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Is Cao Su crazy? Don't worry about supplies at all?"
Although it is relatively close from the boundary river to Jizhou Prefecture, there is still a distance of three to four hundred miles. With such a long distance, there is no need to worry about supplies? No baggage, food, grass, etc.? Just to kill Zhencang?
Zhencang is going crazy, how can he fight like this?
Two days later, news about the defeat of Zhencang on the Jizhou front began to spread in northern Jizhou.
The first people to spread the news were the Jianghu people.
Jianghu is always at the forefront of all kinds of news. The battle between General Zhenbei and Jizhou is a major event that affects the country and the country. Many Jianghu people regard themselves as "great heroes", so it is their duty to pay more attention and spread the news.
As the news spread, a large number of Zhenbei troops stationed in the northern city of Jizhou.
There was not much resistance in the many cities in northern Jizhou. The generals of the Zhenbei Army walked around with General Zhenbei's orders and successfully changed the flags of these cities. A large flag with the word "Cao" was placed on the head of each city.
.
On the other hand, the so-called "Zhenbei" word is extremely rare.
"Cao Jun" and "Zhenbei Army" are two titles. People in Jianghu prefer to use "Cao Jun" to describe the army coming from the north.
Everything was fine. They just changed the flag. Cao Jun made no other unnecessary moves. The original city was still the same.
Even the positions of many city lords are still stable. Cao Su is currently at war with the Jizhou Prefecture and has no intention of meeting these local chief executives.
Those city lords themselves felt a little scared.
Cao's army is powerful. If Pu Chengye is really defeated, Cao Su will have the final say in Jizhou in the future.
Since Cao Su has the final say, shouldn't they express their attitude to Cao Su earlier?
These thoughts lingered in the minds of many city lords until news came from the south that Cao Su had led his army to the city of Jizhou Prefecture and had a face-to-face dialogue with Pu Chengye.
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Cao Su drove all the way to Jizhou Prefecture.
Outside Jizhou Prefecture, Cao Su set up camp and looked like he was going to capture Jizhou Prefecture.
The Jizhou Prefecture never thought that one day troops would attack the city.
The troops approaching the city brought great pressure, and everyone in the city was terrified from top to bottom.
When Pu Chengye, the head of Jizhou Prefecture, came to the city, he saw the disgraced and scarred father and son of the Zhen family.
"Lord Pu!"
Zhencang faced Pu Chengye shamelessly and burst into tears.
Pu Chengye was a literati, and literati behaved decently. Although Zhencang was the defeated general, the only one he could rely on in the Jizhou government was Zhencang.
So Pu Chengye quickly supported Zhencang: "Old General."
Pu Chengye said with emotion: "This battle is not the fault of the general. Moreover, the walls of our Jizhou capital are high and thick, and there are tens of thousands of elite soldiers guarding the city. The general lured Cao Su to go deep alone. This is our opportunity, and it is Jizhou's opportunity. The old general must
Cheer up and fight Cao Cao again!"
Pu Chengye didn't understand the military formation strategy, but he still had the vision of a scholar. His analysis in a few sentences was powerful and made some sense.
Zhencang was run over like a dog by Cao Su all the way to Jizhou Prefecture, but in Pu Chengye's words, it became an "intentional temptation".
It not only gave the soldiers confidence, but also saved Pu Chengye's face.
Zhencang suddenly became energetic, his face glowed again, and even the pain of losing his son seemed to be a little lighter.
"I didn't expect Master Pu to see my intention."
"Yes, this Cao Su is too arrogant."
"If I want to destroy someone, I must first swell it. At this moment, he has completely become a lone army. I estimate that he will not be able to carry more than two days of dry food."
Zhencang snorted coldly: "Although Cao's army is brave, they only have tens of thousands of cavalry and no siege equipment. How can they capture our Jizhou Prefecture?"
"As long as we in Jizhou Prefecture work together, we can defeat Cao Su in just a day!"
Zhencang analyzed it and came to the conclusion that Cao Su was careless and rushed over rashly, which was obviously a death blow.
"Having said that, Cao Cao's thieves have many tricks, so we must guard against them."
Pu Chengye frowned, and the scholar looked outside the wall. The Zhenbei army was well-trained, and the cavalry was good at field combat. The remaining elite soldiers in Jizhou were able to defend the city, but if they rushed out, they would be dead.
He reminded Zhencang: "Old General, Cao Su won the previous battle at the Boundary River by relying on trickery. Don't be careless again."
Cao Su won for a while, but in the battle of Jiehe, almost the entire Jizhou army was wiped out. One hundred thousand troops were wiped out, and Jizhou could not recover for three to five years.
Zhencang's expression changed slightly after being reminded by Pu Chengye, but Pu Chengye had just given him the opportunity to step down, and now he couldn't say anything more.
He said in a muffled voice: "Don't worry, Master Pu. I have many Taoist friends in the Three Mountains and Five Mountains. I was tricked by Cao Su for a while, and my formation was broken by the Taoism of Jiuling Mountain. Tomorrow I will go around the Three Mountains and Five Mountains to find some Taoists."
If you help us with your fists, Cao Su will definitely return without success!"
Now the Jizhou army no longer expects to defeat Cao Su. It only needs to hold Cao Su back to win.
However, Zhencang's ideas coincided with Cao Su's before, and he was also preparing to fight with others tomorrow.
At this time, in Cao's camps dotted outside the city, Cao's army, who was "deeply alone", quickly adjusted to rest, and the soldiers took the time to restore their physical strength.
Cao Su raised the tent and all the generals on the left and right came in.
"General, Zhencang has entered the city, what should we do next?"
In the cavalry, Ma Chao and Shi Yong are the left and right generals respectively, and can also be regarded as the left and right vanguards. In addition, there is the Chinese tiger general Gong Wu who is inseparable from Cao Su.
"Jizhou Prefecture was aggressive before, but we beat them to the point of running away."
"Forcing them all to Jizhou Prefecture is to get rid of them once and for all."
Ma Chao and Shi Yong now each lead an army. Among them, Ma Chao has reached the peak of the fourth level and may break through to the top level "at any time".
However, this "at any time" is easy to say, as if it can be done in an instant. However, Ma Chao has been stuck in this bottleneck for several years, and he is now in his twenties.
Now that the two of them were leading the team alone, and as they got older, they began to think more independently.
Also consider how to resolve the Jizhou War once and for all.
"We only have two days of food rations. If Jizhou avoids fighting, how can such a high wall be broken down?"
Ma Chao felt that his mind was already racing, but faced with such a situation, he still felt helpless, but he knew in his heart that General Zhenbei must have already had the answer, otherwise he would not be sitting in the tent so calmly.
Cao Su laughed dumbly. Ma Chao and Shi Yong were the two young generals he valued most, and their personalities were completely different.
Ma Chao is more reckless and brave, with a strong personality, while Shi Yong seems to be rude but has rough edges, and his behavior is more cautious.
On the battlefield, it is not just about being strong or being cautious. The right way is to combine the odd and the right.
Cao Su deliberately questioned the two of them, but both of them looked confused and didn't even have an answer in their minds.
This made Cao Su somewhat disappointed, but he noticed that Gong Wu on the side looked like he was hesitant to speak.
Gongwu is Cao Su's current general who protects the Chinese army. Although he is a grassland man, he is also good at martial arts. He has followed Cao Su for a long time and gradually learned some strategies.
Cao Su looked at Gongwu and said calmly: "If you have anything to say, just say it."
Gong Wu suddenly became ashamed, cupped his hands and said: "If you want to capture Jizhou Prefecture, you don't need to break the high wall."
As soon as these words came out, Ma Chao and Shi Yong immediately frowned. They thought to themselves, what kind of birdman is this Gong Wu? How can a normal person say such a thing? How can one break the city without breaking the wall?