Chapter 683 Playing with you in the palm of your hand
The north gate of Luoyang opened wide, the suspension bridge creaked and lowered, and the horseman slowly entered Luoyang City.
Xiahou Dun rushed down to the city, pushed aside the onlookers, and rushed forward in a few steps.
Then, he saw his nephew with a broken mouth, a broken arm, a broken leg, and his whole body was covered with sharp arrows, like a cactus.
Xiahou Dun's eyes were wide open, his fists were clenched, and his steel teeth almost crushed him. The anger surging in his heaving chest almost burst his chest.
Recalling that Xia Houyuan entrusted his son to him at the beginning, he thought that arranging a casual position for his nephew would not only allow him to earn military qualifications, but also keep him safe.
But Xiahou Dun never expected that the place he thought was the safest would actually kill his beloved nephew.
Xiahou Dun really didn't know how he would explain to Xiahou Yuan.
In anger and pain, Xiahou Dun couldn't help but yelled: "Yan Liang, you dare to kill my nephew, you dare to kill my nephew, I, Xiahou Dun, will not be at odds with you. I will definitely cut off your head with my own hands to avenge the bloodshed of my nephew."
"
The officers and soldiers of Cao's army on the left and right were all furious. They all roared angrily and clamored to take revenge on Yan Liang.
In the midst of the generosity, a soldier at the top of the city screamed: "Oh no, the Chu army is coming to kill us!"
In front of the city gate, the seemingly overwhelming fire of revenge was instantly poured a bucket of cold water on by this shocking news.
All of Cao's troops were shocked, immediately dumbfounded, and then looked shocked.
Xiahou Dun had no choice but to suppress his anger temporarily and hurried to the top of the city.
Looking into the distance, I saw several miles away. The dust covered the sky, the flags blocked the sun, and countless Chu troops on foot and cavalry were rushing towards Luoyang City.
There is no need for scouts and reconnaissance. Just by looking at the incoming Chu army, one can judge that the enemy is at least tens of thousands in number.
In Xiahou Dun's heart, horror replaced the anger of revenge. In shock, he shouted anxiously: "The whole army must not panic. I will defend Luoyang to the death and do not take a step back without authorization."
The Cao army at the top of the city did not respond to their General Xiahou with a cry of death as he did just now.
The Chu army, which appeared in front of them like a divine soldier descending from heaven, was so menacing that it completely frightened them.
In the panic of Cao's army, Yan Liang led his army to the gates of Luoyang City.
It only took Yan Liang one day to attack Luoyang City on all sides and complete the siege of Luoyang City.
However, Yan Liang did not rush to attack the city. Instead, he divided his troops to attack the strongholds around Luoyang first, and then attacked the city with all his strength after clearing the periphery.
On the western front, Yan Liang ordered Zhu Huan to lead 10,000 elite troops to seize Gucheng and occupy Hangu Pass to prevent Cao Cao's reinforcements from passing eastward.
On the eastern front line, Yan Liang ordered Jiang Qin to lead 10,000 elite troops to seize Yanshi City to prevent Cao Xiu's troops from Gong County from returning to Luoyang.
In the south, Yan Liang ordered Pan Zhang to lead an army of five thousand to attack the side of Taigu Pass and open a passage into Luoyang for Xu Du's troops.
At the same time, Yan Liang ordered Gan Ning to return to his army, and together with Ling Tong, he led a navy patrol in the Yellow River to prevent Liu Bei from the north from assisting Luoyang from Hanoi County.
At the same time as the troops were deployed, Yan Liang issued an urgent order to Xu Shu and Wen Chou of Xudu, ordering them to lead 40,000 Yingchuan troops from Luyang to Taigu Pass and come to Luoyang to join his main army.
…
Guanzhong, Chang'an City.
In the Prime Minister's Mansion, Cao Cao was staring at the map hanging on the wall, stroking his beard, and imagining his new strategy.
At this moment, Yan Thief's army must be fighting Liu Bei's Yan army on the front line of Puyang.
According to the intelligence, Puyang's frontline garrison is Liu Bei's general Zhang Fei, and he has 10,000 elite soldiers. The city's defense is extremely strong.
Cao Cao expected that Yan Liang would definitely attack Ao Bing's city, but he could not attack it repeatedly.
Cao Cao secretly began to mobilize troops and horses. Once the preparation time was ripe, the army marched into Qinchuan and took advantage of Yan Liang's unconcerned time to capture Yizhou in one fell swoop.
In Cao Cao's view, the Central Plains area was in dilapidated state due to years of wars and Liu Bei's policy of clearing out the country and would be in dire straits if captured.
Moreover, Cao Cao's number of soldiers and horses was far less than that of Yan Liang. Even if he took the opportunity to capture some territory, he might not be able to hold it when Yan Liang withdrew his troops and returned south to counterattack with all his strength.
After careful consideration and Guo Jia's suggestion, Cao Cao decided to capture the populous Yizhou first. With Yizhou as his backing, Cao Cao believed that he would be able to achieve the hegemony of Qin.
"Hey, Thief Yan, you have defeated me so many times and lost so much face to me. This time, I will definitely stab you in the back and make you feel the pain of losing troops and territory."
The more Cao Cao thought about it, the more proud he became. He couldn't help stroking his beard and smiling slightly.
"I don't know what the prime minister thought of to make him so happy." Guo Jia, who was standing next to him, asked with a smile.
Cao Cao turned around, his face full of glory, and said: "In this world, apart from defeating the Yan thief, what else can make me happy?"
With that said, Cao Cao stepped forward and said happily: "Fengxiao, this time not only can I avenge my past shame, but you can also vent your anger."
Cao Cao's words played right into Guo Jia's mind. This superb counselor couldn't help but smile slightly, with a hint of pride on his lips.
He had no plans left, but since he faced Yan Liang, almost every plan was defeated. Guo Fengxiao's reputation was almost completely destroyed by Yan Liang.
Now, it was easy to see that Cao Cao was taking advantage of the war between Yan and Liu. He, Guo Jia, did not have to confront Yan Liang head-on, but could severely defeat Yan Liang to hold on to his past hatred.
This is enough.
The two masters and ministers had the same mind and looked at each other and laughed.
Just when he was smiling happily, Liu Ye hurried in, cupped his hands and said in a deep voice: "Prime Minister, something is not good. Something happened in Luoyang."
Luoyang?
"What can happen in Luoyang, why make such a fuss?" Cao Cao said disapprovingly.
"I have just received an urgent report from General Xiahou. Yan Liang's fleet did not attack Puyang. Instead, it went westward up the river. Suddenly it landed at Xiaopingjin and attacked Luoyang. General Xiahou sent Pegasus to report the news and request the Prime Minister.
Send troops to rescue."
Yan Liang, attack Luoyang!?
The pride on Cao Cao's face collapsed instantly, and infinite horror surged up.
Didn't Yan Liang want to attack Liu Bei? Why did he suddenly attack Luoyang?
A huge question mark flashed in Cao Cao's mind, his thoughts were tumbling, and suddenly, he understood everything.
It turned out that Yan Liang's so-called Northern Expedition to Hebei and his so-called waterway attack were all just pretexts.
Yan Liang raised this flag just to hide it from Cao Cao's eyes and ears. The fleet entered the Yellow River majesticly, crossed Liu Bei's defense zone in a swagger, and then unexpectedly landed at Xiaopingjin and captured Luoyang.
Yan Liang wants to destroy Cao, not Liu!
Cao Cao, who suddenly realized this, was so shocked that his soul was shaken for a moment, and he froze there unable to say a word.
Guo Jia, who was so shocked, woke up from his shock and anger first and said hurriedly: "The city of Luoyang is strong and guarded by General Xiahou. It will be safe for a while. The Prime Minister will quickly leave the customs and rush to Luoyang with his army."
It can thwart Yan Thief’s plot.”
Guo Jia's words woke Cao Cao out of his shock. At this moment, he realized the seriousness of the problem.
Luoyang fell into the hands of Liu Bei, but he could barely accept it. After all, he and Liu Bei were both weak. No matter how ambitious Liu Bei was, he would not dare to go to war with both families at the same time.
If Luoyang falls into the hands of Yan Liang, Yan Liang can directly threaten Guanzhong from the Eastern Avenue, supplemented by side attacks from Hanzhong and Nanyang. With Cao Cao's current strength, how will he deal with the three-sided attack of Yan Liang's hundreds of thousands of troops.
Luoyang is absolutely invulnerable!
Cao Cao forcibly woke himself up from his panic, and hurriedly ordered Liu Ye to reply to Xiahou Dun in Luoyang, ordering him to hold on to the city.
At the same time, Cao Cao immediately ordered the soldiers and horses near Chang'an to assemble immediately. He would leave Tongguan within three days and assist Luoyang City in the east.
"Yan Liang, how dare you play with the truth again. The truth will never let your conspiracy succeed this time!" Cao Cao gritted his teeth and made a vow to himself.
…
Thousands of miles away, Yecheng.
In the capital of the Yan Kingdom, the clouds of war are rapidly gathering.
Groups of soldiers were marching out of each camp in the city to assemble outside the city.
In the palace, Liu Beiyan was fully armed and neatly dressed, and was listening to the gathering of the various camps.
Information came back from Liyang that Yan Liang's fleet had crossed the waters of Puyang and had not launched an attack on Puyang City on the south bank.
Such intelligence shows that Yan Liang is very likely to capture Baima Crossing upstream. Then, after capturing Baima Crossing, Yan Liang is very likely to capture Liyang, an important town on the north coast, and his army will march straight in and capture Yecheng.
At this juncture, Liu Bei could no longer sit still. The situation forced him to mobilize all his troops from Yecheng and head south to the Yellow River to guard against Yan Liang's threat.
"If Yan is in danger, Cao Cao will not sit idly by and ignore it. Your Majesty, you might as well send people to Chang'an to ask Cao Cao for help urgently and ask him to send troops to contain Yan's troops." Zhuge Liang added.
Liu Bei frowned and said: "Cao Cao took advantage of the situation before, but now he will send troops to help?"
"Cao Cao will not be ignorant of the truth behind the death of lips and teeth, and I believe that he will not be indifferent to it." Zhuge Liang said confidently.
Liu Bei pondered for a long time and sighed: "The situation is like this, so it has to be like this."
Just when Liu Bei lowered his face and was about to ask for help from Cao Cao, suddenly, the troops outside the palace came to report that it was an urgent message from Zhang Fei from Puyang.
"What happened to Puyang? Has Yan returned to attack Yide again?" Liu Bei asked uneasily.
"Reporting to your Majesty, General Yide reported that the Chu army's fleet has now passed the waters of Yanjin and is heading upstream. General Yide said that we have all fallen into Yan's scheme, and Yan has no intention of attacking Dayan.
But we are going to attack Luoyang."
As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar in the hall.
Liu Bei's face was filled with astonishment, and his mind couldn't turn around for a moment.
Even Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi, who were secretly at odds with each other, couldn't help but look at each other at this moment. Both of their eyes showed the same shock.
After a while, Liu Bei recovered from his surprise, struck the case fiercely with his fist, and said bitterly: "I and Cao Cao were actually played by that handsome thief. It's hateful, hateful." (To be continued...