Chapter 738 Crazy betrayal!
After Yuan Shao died, what was the most important thing for the officials of Zhao State?
Luo Yan looked at the ministers and said slowly: "The most important thing is to send a notice to all the princes in the world that the king has passed away and invite them to come and watch the ceremony."
An invitation to watch the ceremony is, of course, not a real invitation to watch the ceremony.
Unite the weak to attack the strong.
There is no strong one left!
Tell the princes that Zhao is no longer a threat and that your strategies should be changed.
Luo Yan led the Zhao army to abandon several counties south of the Zhang River and north of the Yellow River, including Liyang and Fanyang, and retreated to the Zhang River.
On the north bank of the Zhang River is Yecheng, and about a hundred miles away on the south bank is the former Anyang Marquisate, now Anyang County.
As soon as Yuan Shao died, the armies of the princes south of Yecheng rushed in, and the people of Zhao were in panic.
Even if Luo Yan and others followed the will and supported Yuan Tan as their leader, they could not suppress him.
In Yecheng.
Yuan Tan and Lu Qiling sat at the top, and Luo Yan cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, now that Yecheng is on the border, it can no longer be used as a capital.
I think that we should send an important official to garrison Yecheng. Shen Zhengnan is capable and can be appointed to garrison there, while Your Majesty can move north to Handan.
Now the State of Yan has seized the Changshan, Zhongshan and other counties of our Zhao State, and also seized the seven northern counties of our Julu County. The Hejian, Qinghe and other counties are isolated on the east side, with weak power and will definitely suffer losses.
Now, among the territories still in the hands of our State of Zhao, there are no more than three counties and dozens of counties, with Handan being the center.
Handan has long been the capital of a country, with high walls and deep moats, and is quite prosperous, making it the most suitable place to be the capital now."
From being the most powerful vassal state in the world, spanning three states and owning dozens of counties and kingdoms, he has fallen to his current state in the blink of an eye. Everyone in the hall is a little breathless, but they can only move on after accepting the reality.
Yuan Tan found it hard to accept and said in a hateful voice: "Yan State is a traitor. I will never live with them."
Luo Yan heard this and said, "Your Majesty, I know you hate Yan State, but now is not the time to fight with Yan State.
I have already sent envoys to the princes of the world, and the outcome will be known soon. I ask the king to move to Handan first."
Luo Yan insisted that Yuan Tan go to Handan first. Yuan Tan felt unsafe staying in Yecheng, so he went straight to Handan.
Luo Yan and other Zhao advisers and generals stayed in Yecheng.
As soon as Yuan Tan left, the atmosphere suddenly became solemn.
Luo Yan looked at everyone and said, "Everyone, our Zhao State has reached a critical moment of life and death, and has fallen into the same situation as the former Zhou and Han States.
The only hope now is that the princes are also harboring their own evil intentions, and perhaps there will be hope for survival."
What is the situation in South Korea?
The country was small and weak, and surrounded by enemies, so it had to be defeated.
Unless Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Yan Lin all make big mistakes, Zhao will never have another chance to compete for the world.
This is the result jointly calculated by this group of top strategists.
To look for a possible result in this impossibility is to do something knowing it is impossible.
…
Yuan Shao is dead!
When this news spread throughout the anti-Yuan coalition, everyone was a little stunned, everyone felt a little emotional, but also a little relieved.
It's like seeing through the fog!
It was like the mountain pressing down on one's head had disappeared.
Since the Factional Persecution Rebellion of Emperor Ling, the three people with the highest reputation were: Marquis Ying who supported the last glory of the Han Dynasty under Liu Bei, Marquis Wushuang died early, and only Yuan Shaozhen, as a local lord, had the potential to compete for supremacy in the world, and now he is dead too.
…
Lu Bu was naturally the first to receive the news.
He had already prepared to return to Bingzhou to prepare for war, but now that he was assisting Yuan Shao, he could no longer be a Han official.
But a letter from Luo Yan made him retreat to the east side of Hanoi County and wait for an opportunity.
The former governor of Henei led his troops to retreat westward and had no intention of conflicting with Lu Bu.
Of course, Lu Bu was able to retreat smoothly because Liu Bei deliberately indulged him.
After receiving the news of Yuan Shao's death, Liu Bei stopped attacking Lu Bu.
The reason is simple. Both Liu Ye and Luo Qi disagreed with defeating Lu Bu.
Liu Bei's sphere of influence is now in Xuzhou. After Yuan Shao's defeat, he can only take Qingzhou and Bohai County at most.
After taking Qingzhou and Bohai County, they still had to face the powerful Yan State.
With Liu Bei's current power, it is impossible for him to get his hands on Jizhou. If he defeats Lu Bu, it will only be a favor to Cao Cao.
Liu Bei briefly allied with Cao Cao, but he felt in his heart that Cao Cao was disloyal to the Han Dynasty, so he naturally would not strengthen his power.
Liu Bei has begun to organize his army and return to Taishan County. Using Taishan County as a fulcrum, he will take over the entire Qingzhou and then attack Bohai and get his hands on Jizhou.
…
Cao Camp.
When Cao Cao received the letter from Liu Bei about his return to Mount Tai, he immediately knew what Liu Bei was thinking, and he cursed him bitterly: "This Liu Da'er.
They stopped attacking as soon as Yuan Shao died, and now they are even going back to Mount Tai. How cunning he is.
He had received an order from Your Majesty to go to the war. Now that he is leaving, where will Your Majesty be left?
Where does this put our covenant between us?
I feel bad to let Liu Bei leave like this. Do you have any ideas to let Liu Bei stay and join our army to attack Jizhou?"
Guo Jia and Cheng Yu rolled their eyes and walked forward to whisper something, Cao Cao immediately smiled and waved his hand, saying: "Wen Ruo.
This time, the General of the Cavalry has made great contributions in the campaign against Yuan Shao. Your Majesty, please grant him an additional 2,000 households and give him additional food and fodder as a token of your favor."
Before leaving, Liu Bei received the imperial edict of reward, and he stroked it and smiled, "It seems that Cao Mengde also wants me to leave.
He couldn't wait to attack Jizhou, but unfortunately, it was not that easy to capture Jizhou."
In Liu Bei's eyes, Jizhou now looks weak on the surface, but in fact it is not that easy to attack.
At least if Cao Cao attacks Jizhou solely relying on his strength, he will end up in trouble.
Liu Bei led his army back from Henan County to Taishan County and had to pass through Yanzhou. He looked at the rippling mountains and rivers and the strange yet familiar scenery along the way.
Liu Bei could not help but let out a long roar, and said to everyone in high spirits: "How long has it been since we were forced to flee from Qingzhou?"
Luo Qi recalled with emotion: "It has been several years, but it still seems like yesterday.
I still remember that my father recommended the Lu family to you, but it's a pity that the Lu family is no longer in Qingzhou, and things have changed. "
Liu Bei sighed and said proudly: "We must take back everything we lost in the past. It is not to prove anything, but to tell everyone that I, Liu Xuande, will never admit defeat."
As soon as the words fell, a huge change occurred!
On both sides and the rear of Liu Bei's army, troops suddenly rushed out and arrows rained down!
ambush!
How could there be an ambush here?
Everyone was horrified and puzzled. Luo Qi and Liu Ye's minds raced as they shouted in horror, "Cao Cao!"
Liu Bei was shocked when he heard this: "How could Cao Cao ..."
How is it impossible that he suddenly stopped talking in the middle of his speech?
Liu Ye said bitterly: "Once Yuan Shao falls, the only one among the princes in the Central Plains who can compete with Cao Cao for supremacy is you.
The only one who can stop him from usurping the throne is his lord.
Moreover, the lord was unwilling to attack Zhao together with Cao Cao, which was obviously a precaution against him.
Cao Cao is a treacherous and immoral person. It is quite reasonable for him to directly send troops to attack our army! "
Zhang Fei was so angry that he shouted loudly: "Ah, ah, damn Cao Cao, I wish I could poke a few holes in him."
As they were talking, the army was already in chaos in the face of this sudden ambush. Liu Bei said urgently: "Don't fight to the death. Each of you should organize your troops for defense and leave Yanzhou as soon as possible."
Although Liu Bei wanted to kill the people who ambushed him, he knew that he should not fight on someone else's territory.
At this time, Liu Ye brought worse news, "My lord.
The rations Cao Cao sent to our army may have contained croton or something like that. Some of the horses and soldiers had severe diarrhea and were unable to walk. "
Liu Bei was so angry that he spat out two mouthfuls of blood, blood flowed from the corners of his mouth, and he shouted loudly: "Cao thief! Cao thief!
I, Liu Bei, cannot coexist with you!"
Despicable!
It's really too despicable!
But what makes people vomit blood is that this method is really useful. The moment Luo Qi heard it, he pulled Liu Bei and said, "My lord, leave here immediately, leave now!"
Liu Bei looked at Luo Qi with red eyes. Luo Qi's words meant that he would abandon those soldiers who could not escape. He saw that Luo Qi's eyes were also red. Luo Qi squeezed Liu Bei's arm and said, "My lord, the road ahead must be uneven.
The second and third generals will help you break the formation.
Qi and Zilong are here to cover the rear!"
Liu Bei gritted his teeth and immediately made arrangements loudly, then held Luo Qi's hand and said, "Zi Qi and Zi Long must return safely."
After that, he led Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and others to rush forward. Luo Qi and Zhao Yun walked side by side. "Zilong, we must fight to the death today."
Zhao Yun had an aura like that of a deep abyss, as if he had released the god in his body. His voice even had a sacred sound. "Don't worry, sir. Today, both of us will break through safely."
The Cao army generals who came to attack Zhao Yun had no idea what they were going to experience. When Dian Wei and Xu Chu were not present, Zhao Yun was almost invincible.
The only things to worry about were the catapults and the flying arrows.
…
The main forces of the Han princes attacking Yuan Shao were Cao Cao and Liu Bei, but the two of them turned against each other.
The other princes had their own ulterior motives.
Especially the princes who came from Guanxi, they attacked Yuan Shao because Yuan Shao had the potential to unify the Central Plains, but now Yuan Shao is gone.
What to do?
Fa Zheng's eyes flashed with extreme madness, he stared at Ma Chao closely, and then said in a deep voice: "Meng Qi.
Now we should attack Cao Cao's army directly before he can react.
As a result, Cao Cao was unable to march westward for several years, and no one could unify the Central Plains for several years.
We would have had time to unify Guanzhong and build the power of Western Qin. Emperor Gao also came out of Guanzhong back then.
This is the most important thing I told you about when I was in Guanzhong!"
Ma Chao was shocked. He didn't expect Fa Zheng to have this idea.
Ma Chao hesitated and asked, "Xiaozhi, if this is the case, Cao Cao controls the government and removes my father's title and official position, how can I, Ma, lead Guanzhong?"
Fa Zheng laughed loudly and said, "Mengqi, what are you thinking about? Once Yuan Shao dies, Cao and Liu will definitely turn against each other. The only two princes who can support the Han Dynasty have turned against each other. What is the use of the Han Dynasty?
Your father has no ambition, so let him stay in Xuchang. When you return to Guanzhong, you can directly become king.
Your current prestige is enough, and then you can recognize each other with King Zhao Yuan Tan and Emperor Yan.
You can even let Han Sui, Lu Bu and others become king together!
As long as you are ruthless enough, will Cao Cao still be able to attack you?
If he really dares to come, I will let him know what it means to die without a burial place."
Ma Chao had absolute confidence in Fa Zheng's intelligence. Fa Xiaozhi had never made a mistake before. After hearing this, he gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, let's do it. Xiaozhi, when do you think we should take action?"
Fa Zheng said in a deep voice: "Lü Bu did not retreat to Bingzhou but stayed in Henei, and there are Zhao troops stationed in Yecheng. This must be planning a counterattack.
When Cao Cao is ready to attack Jizhou, Mengqi, you will attack his camp from behind, and the three armies will attack him from both sides, and let Cao Cao die in the river!"
Ma Chao heard this and asked, "Why don't you contact other princes? Wouldn't more people mean more power?"
Fa Zheng stopped him and said, "No need. The more we contact each other, the more things will be leaked. The three of us are all hoping that Cao Cao will die. That's enough!"
Ma Chao suddenly understood and nodded, "Okay, I'll contact Lu Bu and Luo Yan right away."
…
After tens of thousands of people had crossed the river.
Guan Hai in Hanoi also led his troops slowly towards Lu Bu's army. Cao Cao got the news that Liu Bei was defeated and fled all the way back to Taishan County.
At this moment, Cao Cao was really in high spirits. He held his spear across the river and composed poems, showing off his superb literary talent. He recited those popular poems, and all the counselors and generals praised him loudly.
Cao Cao laughed loudly and said, “This time we attack the Yuan family and kill all of them.
Their prestige among the people in Hebei is too high. If we cannot kill them all, there will definitely be recurrence in the future.
The State of Zhao was established.
If we don’t strike hard, other princes will learn from them, so after we capture Yecheng this time, all three clans of Yuan Shao will be annihilated!”
After saying this, he sighed and said, "If possible, I really don't want to do it. After all, Yuan Benchu and I still have a friendship."
Having said that, he will not show mercy when it comes to killing.
When Cao Cao crossed the river, he looked at the rolling waves behind him and heard that the Zhao army had already formed a battle array. He laughed out loud again and said, "Zhao, with its back to the water, is there such a coincidence in the world?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a sudden commotion on the other side of the river. Cao Cao's laughter stopped abruptly, and he asked with a somewhat grim expression, "What happened?"
Cao Cao sent people to scout, while Ma Chao led the Western Liang cavalry to directly attack Cao Cao's rear army.
These rear troops were a motley crowd, and faced with the attack of the most elite army in the world, they naturally had no ability to resist.
Almost without surprise, Cao Cao's rear army broke up. Since the agreement made in Zhaocheng, basically no one wanted to take prisoners if they could.
The Western Liang cavalry drove Cao Cao's army into the river. All the generals in Cao's camp were taken to the other side of the river by Cao Cao. Only Cao Chun and two or three others were left here. They were no match for Ma Chao at all. Even if Dian Wei came, Ma Zhan would not be Ma Chao's opponent and could only fight and retreat.
For a moment, no one knew how many people had died in this chaos. Ma Chao led tens of thousands of Xiliang cavalry, charging and killing while setting fire to Cao Cao's logistics. In a short period of time, even the river was blocked by the corpses jumping into the river.
Ma Chaoyue rushed forward more and more fiercely, and seeing the other princes staring in amazement, he shouted loudly: "Why don't you take action now? When will you take action?
Do you want to wait until the Central Plains is unified, and then defeat us one by one?"
Most of the princes who did not have top strategists to advise them had no idea what they should do. When they heard what Ma Chao said, they thought it was right and then joined Ma Chao's camp.
Once the coalition forces of the princes joined, Cao Cao's army, which was still on the south bank of the river, was completely finished.
From morning to night, there was constant sound of killing. Tens of thousands of soldiers and auxiliary troops died in the river and on the south bank, and no one knew how many escaped.
After Ma Chao burned all the river boats docked on the south bank, the situation had become irreversible.
Cao Cao watched helplessly but did not dare to come over. Crossing the river in this situation would be seeking death. Ma Chao was not a fool who would not attack while the enemy was halfway across the river.
Most importantly, Luo Yan and Lu Bu's armies attacked.
Cao Cao was so angry that he almost went crazy. The sword in his hand was shaking. "Ma Chao, I, Cao Cao, will kill you!"
For a moment, Cao Cao felt that he was in danger of destruction!
In this extremely urgent situation, Xun Yu and others were all panicked, but they could panic but they could not let Cao Cao panic. Xun Yu once again used his comforting ability and said, "Prime Minister, this is only a superficial crisis.
Ma Chao is in my Yanzhou, General Cao Chun and others are on the south bank, General Xiahou and Gongtai are also on the south bank. The two of them can organize a resistance in Yanzhou, and Ma Chao will surely be defeated and flee.
As long as our army can stop the Yuan family, that will be enough."
Cao Cao knew this, and he said bitterly: "Now it has really become a fight to the death. If we can't win, we will jump into the river and become food for those big fish."
Xun Yu smiled slightly, as if he was never worried, and said gently: "Prime Minister, don't worry, victory will definitely be ours.
At that time, Yuan Shu was number one in the world, but he was defeated by our army.
Hero Yuan Shao, we have conquered Hebei.
Isn't it easy to defeat Luo Yan and Lu Bu?"
Cao Cao calmed down a little, but the pressure was still great, and he commanded his troops to meet the enemy.
…
When Lü Bu and Luo Yan heard the commotion on the south bank, they looked at each other and laughed out loud at the same time: "Ma Mengqi is a real trustworthy man. This is God's help!"
Lu Bu was eager to try and said, "Sir, can we kill Cao Cao directly on the north bank of the river this time?
Can we directly attack Yanzhou and completely turn defeat into victory?"
Luo Yan's eyes lit up for a moment, then dimmed and said, "It's impossible, just like it took Cao Cao many years to occupy Jizhou because the Yuan family had a deep favor here.
Yanzhou and Yuzhou are both Cao Cao's bases, and are not accessible to outsiders like us. I'm afraid Ma Chao can only win for a while, and will soon face a counterattack from the Yanzhou gentry.
After we have dealt a blow to Cao Cao and weakened his strength, we will seek peace talks with him.
It would be best if Cao Cao could be forced into internal consumption and not be able to look north. I still need to think about this."
Lü Bu was shocked when he heard this and said, "Sir, if we negotiate peace with Cao Cao, then Ma Chao and the other princes will..."
Luo Yan knew what Lu Bu wanted to say, so she shook her head and smiled: "Ma Chao sent us a letter, inviting us to attack Cao Cao together. Now the three of us have kept our word and attacked. At this point, our alliance is over. I can even guess what Ma Chao will do now."
After hearing Luo Yan's next words, Lu Bu felt a chill in his heart. It turned out that this was possible.
After Luo Yan and Lu Bu finished their conversation, they each led their troops to attack Cao Cao. When they arrived in front of the battle line, they saw that Cao Cao had already lined up to face them.
Cao's army did not let the chaos on the south bank of the river affect the army on the north bank, and they were truly the elite army that crossed the north bank first.
Luo Yan rode his horse to the front of the battle formation. Facing the fierce swords and spears of Cao's army, he shouted, "Meng Degong, are you all right?"
Cao Cao stepped forward under the protection of Xu Chu and Dian Wei and said loudly: "Master Yan, what do you think?"
Luo Yan smiled and said, "Meng Degong, your retreat is cut off. Why don't you surrender quickly? As long as we have the agreement in Zhaocheng, Yan will definitely spare your life."
Cao Cao heard this and said coldly: "Master Yan, you are joking. With the current Hebei and the soldiers under your command, can they defeat my army?
The reason why Ma Chao caused chaos in the South Bank was simply because they were just a mob.
The elite troops of the Han Dynasty are all under the command of this Prime Minister, so it will be easy to defeat the Hebei Army."
Cao Cao's heart bleeds at these words. There are 10,000 to 20,000 elite troops on the south bank distributed among that mob, and he doesn't know how many will be lost.
Now I'm just holding on.
Luo Yan didn't care. People would only talk tough unless they were in desperate situations.
Cao Cao is so tough now, I hope he won’t give in when he is under extreme pressure.
What Luo Yan was thinking about was what conditions he could propose to Cao Cao that would cause him great harm but would not make him so heartbroken that he would refuse.
He needs time, and the entire Zhao State needs time.
Although he didn't know what the use of this time was.
The future of Zhao State seems to have no future.
Lu Bu rode forward, pointed his Fang Tian Hua Ji forward, and shouted, "Who dares to fight me?"
He still looked as majestic as ever, and no matter how many wars there were, they would not harm him in the slightest.
Dian Wei came out and shouted, "Lü Bu, do you dare to dismount and fight me?"
Dian Wei rarely appeared on the battlefield because he was not very good at commanding troops and his riding skills were also average.
Upon hearing this, Lu Bu shouted, "As a general, you have to fight with your horse and your men, but you can only fight on foot. How ridiculous!"
Lu Bu would not be provoked. He was not worried that he could not beat Dian Wei on horseback. He was invincible both on horseback and on foot. But without a horse, if something unexpected happened, he would not have time to escape.
…
Ma Chao's killing on the south bank was so smooth that it can be said that he completely met Fa Zheng's requirements, and Cao Cao suffered heavy losses.
Xiahou Dun and Chen Gong began to organize a counterattack, especially Chen Gong. After Ma Chao killed him, the fleeing soldiers and bandits attacked Yanzhou.
Chen Gong was so anxious that he vomited blood.
Feeling the fear of the princes, Ma Chao felt that he had reached the peak of his life. At this moment, Fa Zheng stopped him and prevented him from continuing to attack Cao Cao's army.
Ma Chao asked in surprise, "Xiaozhi, if we don't pursue the victory now, are we going to let Cao Cao go?"
Fa Zheng explained: "Now the Cao army has been defeated, with more than 100,000 casualties. Yanzhou is not our territory, and we can't fight a siege here.
The most urgent task now is to plunder the strong men and property from the Central Plains and bring them back to Guanzhong. While your prestige, Mengqi, has reached its peak after this battle, you must immediately leave your father and Han Sui behind and become the King.
Then he closed the Guanzhong Passage and quickly unified Guanzhong. He had no time to waste with these princes in the Central Plains.
Besides, if Cao Cao was defeated too badly, wouldn't that be an easy win for Liu Bei?
Liu Bei is a relative of the Han Dynasty who wants to follow the path of Emperor Guangwu. We would rather let Cao Cao prosper than let Liu Bei prosper! "
Fa Zheng and Ma Chao did not know that Liu Bei was ambushed by Cao Cao and fled to Taishan County with heavy losses, so they still thought that Liu Bei's strength was intact.
Ma Chao still felt that Fa Zheng was right after hearing this, and only asked at the end: "Xiaozhi, if we leave like this, should we notify Gongzi Yan and Lu Bu on the north bank?"
Fa Zheng disagreed and said, "Mengqi, it is enough that we have crippled Cao Cao on the south bank. The casualties of Zhao State have nothing to do with us.
Besides, Cao Cao is probably now thinking about returning to the south bank to attack us, which is enough for Gongzi Yan and others.
It would be a good thing if both of them were defeated, but it's a pity that Liu Bei left too quickly, otherwise it would be a wise plan to trap Liu Bei's army in this surging river."
As Fa Zheng said this, he shook his head with some regret, and looked at Ma Chao with a feeling of being neither amused nor helpless, and even a little scared.
He used to think that only the strategists in Guanxi were like Fa Xiaozhi. He didn't expect that since he entered the Central Plains, almost all the strategists he had met were insidious and vicious, and it seemed that all the strategists were like that.
These people who play with their brains are terrible.
…
The border between Yanzhou and Taishan County.
Liu Bei, who had fled here exhausted, was organizing and counting his troops. The more he counted, the more embarrassed he became. The level of casualties was comparable to that of the previous war. Who could have thought that after winning the war, he would suffer such a great defeat.
However, the intercepting Cao army also suffered some damage, especially the loss of several generals, who were directly killed by Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, two fierce men who were good at taking things from a bag in the midst of thousands of troops.
But Liu Bei was a little absent-minded when counting, and looked towards the road to the west from time to time. He was waiting for Luo Qi and Zhao Yun to appear.
It was not until almost evening that a group of bloody remnants of the army appeared on the horizon.
The leader saw that the divine horse was Zhao Yun, but at this moment Zhao Yun's white robe and armor were stained red with blood.
He looked as if he had been fished out of blood. Liu Bei rushed forward with a look of fear on his face, because he saw that the person on the horse next to Zhao Yun seemed to be -
Lozzie!
Liu Bei asked anxiously, "What happened to Ziqi?"
Luo Qi slowly stood up from his horse and said, "My lord, don't worry too much. Qi only suffered some minor injuries. We can let the doctor check it out later."
However, Liu Bei saw that there was a slight dent in Luo Qi's chest, which was very dangerous. He might have internal injuries, which was more dangerous than wounds caused by knives or guns.
Thinking of this, Liu Bei hurriedly said: "Zi Qi, quickly go to Taishan County and find a doctor to treat you."
As Luo Qi walked, he said, "My Lord, important matters cannot be delayed. Now Qingzhou is in urgent need. If we miss this opportunity, we don't know when we will have another chance."
Liu Bei wanted to say something else, but Luo Qi's tone was very serious. Liu Bei looked at Luo Qi again, sighed and said, "Okay, let's recapture Qingzhou first, and then talk about other things!"
(End of this chapter)
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