In Shangyong City, Cao Chun looked at the contents on the bamboo slips with a look of astonishment. Shangyong was a wedge placed inside Jingzhou, and it should be extremely important to Cao Cao. Why would Cao Cao order
Are they withdrawing from Shangyong?
Could it be that they have no confidence in their ability to maintain Shangyong? Cao Chun looked puzzled and looked at Cao Ren at a loss for a long time without saying a word.
Looking at the confused Cao Chun, Cao Ren looked helpless. He could understand Cao Chun's mood at this time. Just now, several people were discussing how to defeat the Liangzhou soldiers and horses, but this bamboo slip was equivalent to letting them
All previous efforts were in vain.
"Long article, do you read it?" Cao Ren frowned and turned to look at Chen Qun. He really did not understand what Cao Cao meant. In his opinion, this mediocrity was far from what Cao Cao said.
Chen Qun also frowned at this time. The first moment he saw the bamboo slips, he even thought that the bamboo slips were imitated by Ma Chao. Last time, Jingzhou imitated Zhou Yu's bamboo slips and asked Jiangdong general Huang Gai to do so.
Did you suffer a big loss?
But after careful inspection, Chen Qun confirmed that the bamboo slips were not copied by others, and were even written by Guo Jia alone. In other words, the orders on the bamboo slips were personally issued by Cao Cao, and were written by Guo Jia.
Chia drafted it himself.
To say that the fierce battle between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao was going on at this time, it was at the most critical moment. Even if Jingzhou captured Hanzhong, it was impossible for Cao Cao, Guo Jia and others to personally handle Shangyong matters. Compared with Yuan Shao, other matters must be put aside.
The attitude of Cao Cao and Guo Jia was extremely clear, which was to order Cao Ren to withdraw from Shangyong in the shortest possible time without stopping at all. Such an urgent order made Chen Qun feel that Shangyong would be taken over in an instant.
The feeling of the fall of Jingzhou.
This feeling made Chen Qun feel horrified. What kind of situation could make Cao Cao and others thousands of miles away so anxious.
Seeing the questioning looks from Cao Ren and the two men, Chen Qun smiled bitterly and said: "Don't worry, general, this is indeed the order of the lord, and it was drafted by Fengxiao himself. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it."
Cao Ren was startled at first, and then he took a hard breath and said, "Does Chang Wen know the Lord's intention?"
Chen Qun smiled bitterly and shook his head: "I don't know. Maybe the lord knows something that we don't know. Otherwise, he would definitely not order the general to withdraw from Shangyong even though he is thousands of miles away."
Although this sentence is taboo to all emperors, any monarch who has the throne will definitely follow this sentence and directly issue an order to retreat from such a distance. This is the first time Cao Cao has done this.
, Cao Cao may not know the key.
"Brother, now Liangzhou troops are approaching Shangyong, and the war has not started yet. If we withdraw from Shangyong, wouldn't the world say that we are afraid of Liangzhou?" Cao Chun said with a blushing face, this time there was no trace of it.
He was so pretentious, and the anger in his eyes was undisguised, but he was really angry.
Although Liangzhou's troops and horses have been at Shangyong for a few days, the two sides have not fought since the last time Cao Ren took the initiative to fight and Ma Chao avoided fighting. If Cao Cao's troops suddenly withdraw, it will not only affect the stability of Cao Cao's rear, but also
It also affects his and Cao Ren's prestige.
"General, please be patient. Although I don't know why my lord did this, I certainly don't doubt the talents of the two generals. The current situation is far from incurable. If my lord no longer trusts the two generals,
You can call in another general to replace the two generals. But now the lord does not have one, which proves that the lord ordered the two generals to withdraw from Shangyong not because he did not trust the talents of the two generals, but for other reasons. Although I don’t
I know what happened, but the order that Fengxiao can personally draft must be the most important order, so important that Fengxiao doesn't dare to waste time on it."
Chen Qun had a condensed look on his face and his voice was not loud but sonorous and powerful.
After hearing Chen Qun's words, Cao Chun's expression softened slightly. Although he was a little worried about damaging his brother's prestige, he was more worried about whether the incident in Hanzhong would displease Cao Cao and implicate the two of them. This is why he felt
Angry. Although Cao Ren said at the time that he would take full responsibility for the Hanzhong affairs, Cao Ren did this to prevent the rise of Jingzhou. Although it was not successful now, it also caused a lot of trouble to Jingzhou. There was no credit but hard work. He
It was because I didn't understand it for a while that I was so angry.
Cao Ren on the side also nodded slightly. Although there was no clear evidence for what Chen Qun said, Cao Cao would never let the army withdraw from Shangyong because of the Hanzhong incident.
"The long article makes sense. No matter what the reason is, since the lord has given the order, withdrawing from Shangyong is the most urgent task. Tonight, the army abandons all the baggage and leaves the city overnight, leaving Shangyong." Cao Ren pondered for a moment.
road.
After hearing Cao Ren's words, Cao Chun hesitated for a moment but did not speak. Chen Qun on the side also looked depressed.
That night, the army in Shangyong City quietly left Shangyong under the cover of darkness, and almost at the same time, the soldiers and horses in Fancheng also quietly left Fancheng.
……………………………………………………………………………………..
"Are you saying that Cao's troops in Shangyong City have moved?" In the big tent, Ma Chao, who was only wearing his middle coat, said with a solemn expression.
"Yes, Cao's soldiers who were in Shangyong City came out in full force just now, but they did not come towards us, but went all the way north." Pang De frowned and said, although he had not yet engaged Cao's soldiers head-on, but
The competition between the two sides has never stopped these days, so Pang De did not dare to be careless in the surveillance of Shangyong City.
"Oh, then what is Cao Ren's goal?" Ma Chao asked doubtfully.
"I don't know, general. If the general is Cao Ren, he will either defend the city at this time, or attack the army when it is unprepared. Otherwise, the general is wondering what else Cao Ren should do?" Pound handed over his hand.
road.
"To the north?" Ma Chao walked up to the map, frowning and saying nothing. His eyes kept wandering around the map, trying to find the purpose of Cao's soldiers heading north.
"Could it be that Cao Ren used a trick to deliberately lure us to attack the city, and then turn back halfway to kill us and catch us by surprise?" Pang De asked doubtfully.
"Then based on where Cao's soldiers are now, can they rush back to Shangyong before the army attacks Shangyong City?" Ma Chao said with a chuckle.
"Impossible." Pang De immediately shook his head and said. As far as he knew, Cao Bing had been heading north since he left Shangyong City. To be cautious, he sent more than ten waves of scouts to secretly investigate. Cao Bing's soldiers were on the way.
The number of horses did not decrease, which shows that Cao's soldiers did not secretly set up an ambush.
"No problem, closely monitor the whereabouts of Cao's soldiers. If Cao's soldiers show no signs of turning back within two hours, then attack Shangyong City directly." Ma Chao shook his head.
"No." Pound bowed.
Two hours later, a rapid trumpet sound suddenly sounded in the Liangzhou camp, and five thousand Liangzhou soldiers and horses quickly gathered and rushed towards Shangyong City. Cao Ren did not lead the army back, and in two hours the army broke through Shangyong City.
The city is more than enough. Even if Cao Ren leads his troops back, there will be nothing he can do.
"Huh?" Outside Shangyong City, Ma Chao looked at the city not far away in a daze. At this time, it was dark above the city tower and there was no sound at all. However, Ma Chao could feel a sense of loneliness. It seemed that there were not many people here.
"Go and have a look." Ma Chao said to the soldiers behind him.
"Drive!" "Drive!" "Drive!"
More than a dozen soldiers rushed towards Shangyong City quickly, and returned to Ma Chao in just a moment.
"General Qi, there is no one on the tower. Several brothers have already boarded the tower in advance to open the gate for the army."
Ma Chao nodded in surprise. There was no one here. In other words, Cao Ren actually evacuated all the soldiers and horses in Shangyong City. Could it be that his reputation could really scare away Cao Cao's generals? He secretly felt ridiculous in his heart.
Originally he was thinking about how to capture Shangyong, but now he has the entire Shangyong at his fingertips, but why does it feel so unreal?
"Drive!" "Drive!" "Drive"...
At this moment, more than ten soldiers rode over on fast horses. Before they could get close to Ma Chao, they raised their hands and said, "General, Cao's soldiers in Fancheng evacuated overnight. There is not a single soldier left in Fancheng."
"Huh?" Ma Chao looked startled. Not only the mediocre Cao soldiers withdrew, but also the Cao soldiers from Fancheng. What on earth did Cao Ren want to do? Could it be that he was trying to show his favor to his father?
Rumble…
Just as Ma Chao was thinking, the gate of Shangyong City suddenly opened.
"General?" Pang De looked at Ma Chao.
"Enter the city." Ma Chao waved his hand and headed towards the city gate first. Pang De, who was behind him, was nervous and arranged his soldiers to be on guard everywhere. He followed Ma Chao closely and vaguely protected Ma Chao at his side.
"It is indeed an empty city." Walking into the city, Ma Chao could even see the traces left by Cao's soldiers when they evacuated. The armor and baggage scattered on the ground showed that Cao's soldiers evacuated in an embarrassing manner.
"General, there are no Cao soldiers in the city." Not long after, Pang De quickly came to Ma Chao and said.
"Well, look." Ma Chao pointed to a barracks not far away.
"Huh?" Pang De looked at the barracks with some confusion. There was nothing unusual about this barracks except that it was built near the city gate.
"You see, these grain, grass and baggage were all left behind by Cao's soldiers when they withdrew. From this point alone, you can see that Cao's soldiers withdrew very quickly, as if they had received some order and had to evacuate Shangyong overnight.
Ma Chao frowned and said.
Looking at the somewhat messy barracks, Pound nodded. Cao's soldiers were indeed evacuated in a hurry. Not a single soldier was left in Shangyong City, and not even all the food, grass and baggage were taken away.