In the early morning, a thin mist rose, and bursts of rapid horse hooves and footsteps came from the mist.
Xun Chen stood on the top of the city of Juan County and looked eastward. He saw Chen Dao walking through the mist. Behind Chen Dao, there was a long dragon carrying grain on its shoulders, coming from the desolate land.
Come slowly.
"Open the city gate quickly!" After seeing this scene, Xun Chen lifted the guard on the city wall and said to the soldiers standing behind him.
Last night, he received a flying pigeon message from Zhang He from Yuanyong City, saying that Cao Cao's army was besieging Yuanyong City, and asked him to prepare for battle in time. Therefore, he summoned all civil and military forces, set up defense lines overnight, and strengthened patrols.
Xun Chen got down from the city tower, and as soon as he opened the city gate, Wen Rui came galloping over on horseback from the city.
Wen Rui turned over and dismounted. Her strong posture showed her skill. Her face looked very panicked. She clasped her fists and said: "Informing the military advisor, a large number of Wei troops have been found in the Duxiang area and are currently heading towards Beixiang."
After hearing this, Xun Chen frowned and hurriedly called Chen Dao to him and asked, "Where are Uncle Zhi, Jun Yi, Wen Chang and the others?"
Chen Dao replied: "I will be responsible for intercepting the Wei army's pursuers from behind. With General Zhang's bravery and military advisor Xu's intelligence, there shouldn't be any problems."
Xun Chen said: "How is your health now? If you are asked to lead troops to fight again, will you be able to bear it?"
When Chen Dao saw Xun Chen frowning and Wen Rui behind Xun Chen looking panicked, he asked, "Military advisor, what happened?"
Xun Chen said: "We have found traces of the Wei army in Duxiang, and they are moving towards Beixiang where they store grain. I would like to ask General Chen to lead troops to intercept it. Beixiang is close to the bank of the Yellow River, and the grain and grass brought by our army are temporarily unavailable due to inconvenience in transportation.
If they are all stored there, if they are discovered by the enemy, the consequences will be disastrous."
Chen Dao immediately clasped his fists and said: "Don't worry, military advisor, Chen Dao will lead his troops to intercept the enemy army. This Wei army can run so fast, it must be the main force of Xia Houyuan's divine marching army. Chen Dao asked the military advisor to allocate five thousand cavalry to me to go to the north."
Township."
Xun Chen said: "Thank you for your hard work, General Chen. Currently, Sima Lang leads 10,000 soldiers to garrison Beixiang, and there are still 2,000 women's troops. If General Chen leads the cavalry again, he will definitely be able to defend Beixiang."
Chen Dao nodded and said: "Commander, please arrange these people. Yuanyong City has been lost, and the Wei army will definitely rush here with a large army. Please prepare for battle at any time, and try to delay the Wei army here."
"Well, news has also come from my lord's side. The Qin army was defeated and their vitality was severely damaged. Gongda, Fengxiao and the generals are leading the prisoners towards here, while my lord is leading fifteen thousand elite cavalry to attack the Wei army.
The camp has been established, General Chen can go without worries and leave the county seat to me."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xun Chen turned to Wen Rui and said, "Go to Beixiang with General Chen and tell the Detachment of Women to obey General Chen's command."
Wen Rui cupped her fists and said, "No!"
Xun Chen had already prepared the five thousand cavalry and gave them directly to Chen Dao. Chen Dao took the five thousand cavalry together with Wen Rui and quickly galloped towards Beixiang.
As for Xun Chen, while letting the soldiers who had retreated from Yuanyong bring food into the city, he strengthened the city's defenses, dug pits for trapping horses, placed deer antlers to keep the horses away, and added several serial crossbow carts and transponders to the top of the city.
, even the arrows needed for the crossbows were moved from the weapons depot to the north and south city gates to prepare for the upcoming fierce battle.
Not long after, Zhang He, Wei Yan, Chu Yan, Xu You and others came back with eight or nine hundred people. At this time, the mist dispersed, and Xun Chen stood on the top of the city, looking into the distance with a telescope, and saw Zhang He.
After waiting for the others, he immediately ordered the city gate to be opened and sent a soldier to lead the way, because he had already set traps in the open space in front of the city gate, and he was worried that Zhang He and others would accidentally fall into the trap.
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Since the telescope was invented by Gao Fei, it has undergone several technical improvements and was manufactured by skilled craftsmen in the Hanlin Academy, and gradually began mass production. First, the telescope was tried on a sea ship. After the trial was successful, Gao Fei began to have people produce it.
.Although Gao Fei wants each commander to have one in his hands, the craftsmen are not good at making this thing, and the required materials need to be selected, so mass production has not been completed so far, and it is only concentrated in the hands of some senior commanders.
That’s all.
After Xun Chen welcomed Zhang He back to the city, he first inquired about the situation, and then arranged for Zhang He and others to rest. After all, Zhang He and others had not slept all night, and they had fought for a long time and traveled long distances, so they were very tired.
However, with the enemy at hand, Zhang He, Wei Yan, Chu Yan, and Xu You did not dare to rest. They only let the soldiers rest. They climbed to the top of the city and stood with Xun Chen, guarding the county seat and waiting quietly.
With the appearance of Wei Jun.
Not long after, Xun Chen looked through his telescope and saw a few cavalrymen coming from the official road. He immediately became energetic and said: "The enemy has appeared."
After Zhang He heard this, he quickly picked up the telescope. Through the telescope, he saw a familiar face. The first person was Xia Houli, who had dealt with him outside Yuanyong City. However, Xia Houli had already put on a new set of clothes at this time.
The clothes no longer cover the body.
Behind Xia Houli were two equally young men, dressed exactly the same as Xia Houli. Cao Zhen was on the left, and Xia Houen was on the right. The three men and three horses were galloping forward quickly, but there were no soldiers behind them.
"It's the Tiger Guards." Zhang He said slowly while looking at Xia Houli, who was disguised as a man.
"Tiger Guards? Is this the mysterious army Bian Xi mentioned?" Xun Chen asked.
"Yes." Zhang He nodded and said, "According to Bian Xi, the Tiger Guards have always protected Cao Mengde personally and have never been sent out. Since they appear here, it means that Cao Mengde is here too."
"Cao Mengde came just in time. As soon as our army retreated, the Wei army rushed over. It should be that the Wei army selected elite soldiers to pursue them. In this case, the number of the Wei army should not be large. There are now a total of 20,000 soldiers in the city.
, enough to defend the city." Xun Chen said.
While they were talking, suddenly Xia Houli, Cao Zhen, and Xia Houen began to disperse. After running far around the city, they returned to the starting point. Finally, they turned their horses' heads and returned to where they came from.
Soon he disappeared from everyone's eyes.
"Strange? What do they want to do?" Chu Yan asked in confusion.
"No matter what they are doing, there are definitely more than a few of them. If I guessed correctly, the person leading the army must be Cao Mengde, and there are only a lot more people coming. It's just that we don't know why they don't attack at the moment, but, please
Everyone, please be vigilant and be ready for battle at any time." Zhang He said.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
In a forest three miles away from the county seat of Lijuan County, Cao Mengde was riding a Jueying horse and stood at the forefront of the team. Dian Wei, Cao Hong, and Cao Xiu were surrounding him, and behind him were soldiers in full formation, who were waiting there quietly.
When Xia Houli, Cao Zhen, and Xia Houen returned from riding their horses, the three of them got off their horses and walked straight to Cao Mengde. They knelt down and kowtowed: "See you, Your Majesty."
Cao Mengde said: "Get up and talk. How is the situation ahead?"
Cao Zhen replied: "Your Majesty, there are only two city gates in the north and south of Juan County. Both gates are now very heavily guarded. There are obvious signs of stirring in the soil around the city wall. A pit for trapping horses must have been dug. In addition to
In addition, deer antlers and horses circled the city. There were also instruments used to defend the city on top of the city, making it appear very strong."
"Well, it's pretty much what I expected. Our army only has 10,000 people. We were ambushed by Zhang He on the way and lost eight or nine hundred people. Facing such a heavily defended city, it will definitely take a lot of effort to attack. Where is Xia Houyuan?" Mr. Cao Mengde asked himself
He muttered to himself and then asked again.
"According to the news we received last time, General Xiahou is rushing from Duxiang to Beixiang, saying that Beixiang is most likely the place where the Yan army stores grain. According to the time, General Xiahou should have arrived in Beixiang by now.
" Xia Houen replied.
After Cao Mengde heard this, he immediately shouted: "Cao Hong!"
Cao Hong said: "The end is here!"
"I will take two thousand cavalry to Beixiang, and leave the rest to you. You must try your best to hold back the Yan army in Juan County. Follow-up troops will arrive one after another. When the time comes, you will command them together.
The Yan army in the county cannot be allowed to rescue Beixiang."
Cao Hong said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, my subordinates will definitely complete the mission."
Cao Mengde turned around and said to his subordinates: "Tiger Guards, Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, all follow me!"
As soon as the words fell, they immediately divided into two sides. Cao Mengde led 500 tiger guards and 1,500 tiger and leopard riders, bypassed the woods, took the path, and headed toward Beixiang in a mighty manner.
Cao Hong, on the other hand, led his army and approached the county seat of Juan County.
Zhang He, Xun Chen, Wei Yan, Chu Yan, Xu You and others stood on the city wall of Juan County, looking through telescopes, but there was no trace of Wei Jun. Just when they were about to give up, they saw someone on their left arm.
Cao Hong, who was wrapped in bandages, rushed out first, followed by the army of Wei army, which all poured out.
"Strange? Why doesn't Cao Mengde show up?" Zhang He said in confusion.
Xu You thought for a while and said hurriedly: "No, Cao Ah Man must have divided his troops and gone to Beixiang. Cao Hong was left here to attract our attention."
Xun Chen said: "Junyi, my uncle has gone to Beixiang. I'm worried that he can't support him alone. Please lead all the cavalry in the city to support Beixiang. Be sure to defend Beixiang. If Beixiang is lost, our army will
If there is no food, one hundred thousand people in the Central Plains will starve to death, and they will inevitably lose the opportunity to compete in the Central Plains."
"Then everything here is entrusted to you, Wen Chang and Chu Yan. You have to shoulder the heavy burden and guard a city gate alone. Since Cao Hong's purpose is to hold us back, he will not attack with all his strength. You just need to hold on and not go out to fight.
." Zhang He said.
"promise!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang He quickly descended from the city tower, mobilized the remaining three thousand cavalry in the city, and galloped towards Beixiang from the north gate. A battle related to whether the Yan army could gain a foothold in the Central Plains was about to begin.
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(ps: Sorry, I've been busy with personal matters recently, so the updates may not be stable this week. I'm really sorry for everyone.)