"Report, my lord, Beihai Governor Qin Qi has gathered 25,000 county soldiers and is marching towards Ju County. According to their footsteps, they will arrive in three days."
August 15th was supposed to be the Mid-Autumn Festival, but with the war approaching, no one in the army wanted to celebrate the festival. The army meandered all the way towards Linzi City. On the way, a horse suddenly galloped from the east. , first arrived at the central army where Gongsun Ming was, and after he rolled off his horse, the reporting horse reported the change in general's situation out of breath, regardless of his breathing.
"Explore again."
Hearing that Qin Qi was coming in a big way, Gongsun Ming's eyes couldn't help but light up, but he didn't say anything. He just waved his hands and gave an order with a calm expression, and then sent the horseman away.
"My lord, Prime Minister Cao is giving you a big gift. If you don't accept it, I'm afraid you won't be able to express your kindness."
Although Gongsun Ming said nothing, Xu Shu obviously guessed what Gongsun Ming was thinking and joked with a smile.
"Oh, it's ominous not to take a gift from heaven. Send an order: The entire army must speed up immediately and must arrive at Xi'an County (today's Hengtai County) before sunset!"
Seeing that Xu Shu had figured out his thoughts, Gongsun Ming was also happy, but he didn't say much. He just nodded with a smile, then looked solemn and issued the order. Immediately after hearing the sound of the horn of the Chinese Army, the army of more than 60,000 people who had been marching in a meandering way began to accelerate, and the smoke and dust billowed towards Xi'an County, which was more than fifty miles away...
"Report to General, the bandit army has arrived outside the city of Xi'an. General Zhang Tai was too late to withdraw. Now he is besieged by the bandit army in the city. A special villain has been sent to ask for help."
It was getting dark, and in the Linzi City Guards' Mansion, the Xiahou Dun brothers and Cheng Yu were having final discussions on defense matters. However, they heard a burst of hurried footsteps, and a horseman stumbled into the lobby and rushed to Xiahou Dun. He kneeled on the ground and reported with a look of panic on his face.
"You came so quickly, Zhongde, what should I do now?"
The originally planned strategy was to fortify the walls, clear the country, and hold on to the end, but now Gongsun Ming's troops suddenly accelerated and the soldiers and civilians of Xi'an County had no time to evacuate. The large amount of grain collected from Bali, Xixiang, and most of the people gathered in the county were still there. In the city, if Gongsun Ming broke through the city, wouldn't the previous efforts to clear the country become a matter of collecting food for the Youzhou army? This was obviously not a situation that Xiahou Dun wanted to see.
"Let General Zhang defend the city. If something goes wrong, he would rather set fire to the city than feed the enemy!"
Cheng Yu was obviously also puzzled by the sudden increase in speed of the Youzhou Army. For no other reason, the Youzhou Army's marching speed in the past few days was not very fast. It only traveled about thirty miles at most every day. It seemed to be extremely cautious, but He ran more than sixty miles in one breath today, and there was obviously something fishy about it. However, Cheng Yu couldn't guess the intention behind Gongsun Ming's move for a while. In desperation, he could only do the worst first. preparation.
"Zhongde's words are wrong. If we don't save him at the sight of death, how can we expect the soldiers of all departments to use their lives? I am willing to lead my troops to rescue the siege!"
Upon hearing that Cheng Yu planned to abandon the army and people of Xi'an, Xia Houyuan's eyes immediately widened, and he spoke out in protest in dissatisfaction.
"Don't be reckless. Gongsun Xiao'er has always been very cunning in using troops. He is good at using ambush tactics. If he deliberately uses Xi'an as a bait, it will actually be an ambush halfway. Our army will fall into his trap when we go to rescue. Once there is a mistake, Linzi will not be safe."
Since the rise of Gongsun Ming in Youzhou, Cheng Yu has been collecting details of Gongsun Ming's previous battles. He obviously has a deep understanding of Gongsun Ming's strategic thinking. He can't help but suspect that Gongsun Ming is playing a trick of encirclement and reinforcements. , how dare you let Xia Houyuan lead his troops to rescue.
"Well... what Zhongde said is not unreasonable. Let's wait for a few days and see what happens."
Xiahou Dun originally wanted to send troops to rescue Xi'an County, but after hearing what Cheng Yu said, he couldn't help but hesitate. After hesitating again and again, he finally decided to stay put...
"You bastard, order all the troops to cross the river immediately and get to Ju County before dark. Anyone who dares to disobey the command will be killed without mercy!"
Although the Mid-Autumn Festival has passed, the weather is still very hot. Especially at noon, the sun is extremely hot. It is undoubtedly a difficult task to travel in such weather. Suddenly, when we encounter a clear stream like Yao River, How could the soldiers and soldiers of Beihai County who had been recruited temporarily be able to withstand the temptation of the coolness? They all scattered to the riverside, scrambling to grab water and drink endlessly. The originally relatively orderly marching team suddenly became chaotic. As soon as this situation happened, Qin Qi, the governor of Beihai, became angry. He waved his horsewhip hatefully. He was so angry that he issued a death order.
Military orders are military orders and must not be violated. Even though the officers and soldiers were full of resentment towards Qin Qi's orders, under the pressure of generals at all levels, no one dared to raise any objections. They could only quickly return to their respective headquarters and step out one after another. We entered the Yao River, which was not very deep, and waded to the other side. Of course, during the journey, many soldiers were still drinking water from water bladders, broken bowls and other objects in the river. Come on, the speed of crossing the river is naturally not much faster. After struggling for most of an hour, we only passed a little more than half of the soldiers and horses.
"Blow the trumpet and order all the troops to speed up the crossing of the river. Anyone who dares to delay will be killed!"
Seeing that the crossing speed was so slow, it was impossible to reach Juxian County before dark. Qin Qi felt impatient for a while, and issued another general order with a straight face. However, what happened to the group of soldiers under his command? Most of them were stragglers who were temporarily recruited. Despite the shrill sound of the horns, a bunch of lazy guys never reacted much. The speed of crossing the river was not much faster. Qin Qi was so angry that she wanted to curse her mother.
"Woo, woo, woo..."
Not long after the horns of the Chinese Army where Qin Qi was located stopped, a burst of horns suddenly sounded in a forest outside Xili, and soon a large number of Youzhou cavalry were seen rushing from the woods. Rushing out, like a whirlwind, they pounced on Cao's army that was densely packed by the river.
"Enemy attack, enemy attack..."
The Youzhou Army's attack was so powerful that even though they were many miles away, it was impossible for Cao's soldiers to miss it. In an instant, the entire river bank became a mess.
"Stay steady, don't mess up, get in formation, get in formation quickly!"
Seeing that something was wrong, Qin Qi's face suddenly turned pale, but she was unwilling to admit defeat and screamed desperately, trying to stabilize her soldiers. Unfortunately, it was just a useless effort. Even a mob like the Beihai Navy, even if they didn't In the event of an attack, it is impossible to set up a defensive formation in a short period of time, let alone in such a situation where Qin Qi was attacked halfway, even though Qin Qi shouted loudly, it was impossible to prevent the collapse of his troops. The momentum...
