Chapter 85: Three-way advance into Xiapi City (thanks to [Kun] for his large sum
Cao's army divided into two groups.
One group was led by Cao Cao himself, aiming directly at Xiapi, Xuzhou; the other group, led by Xiahou Dun, marched towards Xiaopei, which was occupied by Ji Ling, with the intention of removing Yuan Shu's nails embedded in Xuzhou and eliminating Cao Cao's worries.
Cao Cao led his army in a semicircle and bypassed Xiaopei, which was occupied by Ji Ling. His goal was Tancheng, which was located in the north of Xuzhou.
In occupying Tancheng, Cao Cao had two main considerations: first, to prevent Lu Bu's forces from Qingzhou in the north from going south to disrupt the situation;
The second is to cut off Cao Bao's retreat to the north and form an encirclement with Liu Bei in the south and Xiahou Dun in the west.
Killing chickens to scare monkeys, to stabilize Xuzhou, Cao Bao must become the rooster that was killed.
Zang Ba still guarded Tancheng, but he now only had 10,000 troops. After hearing that Cao Cao had bypassed Xiaopei and headed straight for Tancheng, he finally made up his mind and decided to surrender to Qingzhou, which offered him favorable terms.
In fact, after Zang Ba helped Cao Bao capture Xuzhou, Chen Gong had been secretly wooing him.
Zang Ba, who had been wavering at first, decisively defected to Lu Bu after hearing that Cao Cao was sending troops.
However, Chen Gong did not occupy Tancheng. Instead, with the cooperation of Zang Ba, he moved all the people and gentry of Tancheng to Qingzhou!
Zang Ba never thought of holding on for dear life.
After the surrender, he cooperated very simply with the people sent by Qingzhou and evacuated almost all of Tan City.
So when Cao Cao's army arrived at Tan City, they found that Tan City had become an empty city.
Looking at the empty city, Cao Cao couldn't help but cursed angrily: "The damn Chen Palace didn't even leave a chicken for me!"
Cheng Yu also looked at the empty street and said with a wry smile: "Master, this Chen Gongtai is really difficult to deal with!"
At this time, Jia Xu, who was standing next to Cao Cao, suddenly said quietly: "Tancheng's population should have just left not long ago. If we pursue with light cavalry, we should be able to catch up within two days."
"After catching up, what happens next?" Cheng Yu turned his head, looked at Jia Xu, and asked.
"Whether to kill or to capture, it all depends on the master."
He is indeed a poisoner!
Cao Cao had two thousand tiger and leopard cavalry, and now they are all light cavalry.
They could pursue pursuit, but Cao Cao shook his head slightly and said:
"No! Our most important thing right now is to deal with Cao Bao, and then quickly occupy Xuzhou. We have a certain tacit understanding with Lu Bu. The population of Tancheng should be regarded as a gift from Cao Mengde to Lu Bu."
Cheng Yu looked at Cao Cao's face and saw that he didn't seem to be joking, so he stopped talking.
After hearing Cao Cao's words, Jia Xu narrowed his eyes, raised his eyelids slightly, and nodded secretly.
Cao Cao and Lu Bu have now reached a tacit agreement to form an alliance. If they fall out with Lu Bu because of the population of one place, Jia Xu will only think that Cao Cao's structure is not enough.
You must know that Yuan Shao has gradually become the dominant force in the north. Cao Cao or Lu Bu alone may not be able to face Yuan Shao.
What Jia Xu just said was just a small test of Cao Cao's heart.
Leaving Li Dian and 10,000 defenders behind, Cao Cao led the remaining 20,000 troops and rushed toward Xiapi City.
Liu Bei, who was far away in Guangling City, finally breathed a sigh of relief after learning that Cao Cao had sent troops.
Liu Bei ran more decisively before, and his soldiers were relatively well preserved.
Although he was later stationed in Guangling and was somewhat consumed by the entanglements with Cao Bao and Yuan Shu's troops, with the newly recruited soldiers, he still had 20,000 men.
"Brother, Cao Cao has already sent troops, should we also send troops to Xiapi?" Guan Yu asked Liu Bei.
Of course Liu Bei didn't want to miss this opportunity, so he said to Guan Yu: "Chang Yun, send the order, the army will move forward, and we will cooperate with Cao Cao to intimidate Pi City!"
"Here!" Guan Yu agreed without hesitation. They had been waiting for this day for too long.
Along the way, Cao Jun and Xiahou Dun stopped at a place thirty miles outside Xiaopei City to set up camp.
Their target and opponent is not Xuzhou Cao Bao, but Yuan Shu who also covets Xuzhou.
After Liu Bei withdrew his troops from Xuyi, Ji Ling's army was no longer able to stop him.
After joining the two armies sent by Yuan Shu for reinforcements, Ji Ling, Chen Ji, and Lei Bo marched in and captured almost half of Xuzhou.
Now, nearly 30,000 Ji Ling's troops have entered Xiaopei City and are standing in front of Xiahou Dun.
Xiaopei City, which used to be a small city with short walls, has become a medium-sized city after Liu Bei's management and expansion in the past two years. But I didn't expect that I haven't used it yet, so now I have taken advantage of Ji Ling.
Not only that, another general of Yuan Shu, Chen Ji, led an army of 10,000 men and was stationed on an important road not far from Xiaopei City, forming a rivalry with Xiaopei City.
If Xiahou Dun wants to attack Xiaopei, he must be careful of Chen Ji's flank or even rear sneak attacks; if Xiahou Dun wants to clear out Chen Ji's military camp first, the defenders in Xiaopei City will definitely not sit idly by.
With Xiahou Dun's 20,000 soldiers, it would be quite difficult to defeat Ji Ling and Chen Ji.
Yuan Shujun's arrangement was obviously to block Cao Jun's eastward advance. Although it could not completely block it, it at least divided up part of it.
Moreover, Yuan Shu also has General Qiao Rui under his command. He is currently leading an army of 50,000 and Lei Bo's 10,000 soldiers, advancing towards Xiapi City.
Poor Cao Bao probably never dreamed that he just replaced Liu Bei as the lord of Xuzhou, but he suddenly attracted two hungry wolves.
Cao Bao knew that he could not survive Cao Cao and Yuan Shu on his own, so he urged Wang Xiu to contact Qingzhou to send troops to help.
But Wang Xiu has recently been contacting wealthy gentry from aristocratic families who are willing to move away, and he doesn't bother to talk to Cao Bao at all.
Cao Bao has been used completely, and he has only the last bit of value left to scare monkeys.
...
The battle for Xuzhou in the east has begun nervously. After Lu Yan said goodbye to Lu Bu's family, he hurried back to Chenliu day and night.
Because, Xi Zhicai's condition worsened.
In the house that Cao Cao bought for Xi Zhicai, Xi Zhicai was lying on the bed with a bloodless face, and next to him were two servants who were invited to take care of him.
Guo Jia pushed open the door and entered without dissatisfying the smell of herbs that filled the whole room.
Arriving next to Xi Zhicai's bed, Guo Jia asked softly: "Zhicai, are you feeling better?"
Xi Zhicai turned his head, smiled with difficulty and said: "Don't worry, I can still hold on."
"Changsheng will be back tomorrow at most. He must still have some kind of Peiyuan Dan. You must hold on!" Guo Jia said, his eyes suddenly turned red.
The speed at which Xi Zhicai's condition progressed this time exceeded everyone's expectations.
At first, Xi Zhicai just felt dizzy and out of breath.
After being ordered by Cao Cao to go home to recuperate, the next day his body became weak and he couldn't even get out of bed.
In order not to distract Cao Cao and Lu Yan, Guo Jia told them that Xi Zhicai's problem was just a minor problem, but now only three days have passed, Xi Zhicai's condition has deteriorated to the point where he can't hold on any longer!
Guo Jia was really frightened now. He quickly used the shadow guards to pass the news to Lu Yan.
When Lu Yan received the news, his heart tightened. After hurriedly bidding farewell to Lu Lingqi and others, he rushed back to Xuchang overnight without stopping.