Xiaoqi

Most importantly, Chun Yuqiong felt that the handsome General Yuan who killed Zhang Miao looked very unfamiliar, as if he had never seen it before.This surprised him greatly, because he, Chunyu Qiong, was a veteran who had followed Yuan Shao for many years, and he knew the generals of Jizhou very well; he knew all the generals above the rank of village chief, and there were almost no ones he didn't know or hadn't seen.Chunyu Qiong still had this confidence, and he firmly believed in it.

Because of this, Chun Yuqiong couldn't help but believe Cao Cao's words, maybe this lawless Yuan army was not the generals of Jizhou, but the villains sent by Thief Li to set fire to the camp.It's just that Chun Yuqiong cared about his face, even though he had already noticed that this Yuan Jun was very suspicious, most likely it was the Xiliang bandit army, but he didn't want to admit it directly, and had to continue to put on a face.

"Even as Meng De said, there is no need for Meng De to act personally. I, Chunyu Qiong, will clean up the house for my lord without worrying about Meng De. For the time being, Meng De will lead the army back and wait for someone to personally capture the thief alive. You will know the whole story!"

Seeing that Chunyu Qiong was so defiant, Cao Ren raised his saber angrily, and sternly reprimanded: "It's unreasonable! Chunyu Qiong, how dare you despise us so much? Do you really think that a certain Cao Ren dare not kill you?"

"Shut up, Zixiao!" Before Cao Ren could get out of the battle, Cao Cao immediately grabbed Cao Ren and sternly stopped him.

Immediately, Cao Cao raised his hand to signal his soldiers to retreat, and said to Chunyu Qiong with a smile: "Since General Chunyu doesn't want Cao to intervene, then please capture this thief as soon as possible and find out what happened!"

After finishing speaking in a bad tone, Cao Cao turned his horse's head and pulled Cao Ren to lead the army to retreat: "Xiao Xiaoxiu, please talk too much. Since it is Jizhou's internal affairs, how can we intervene without authorization? All the soldiers obeyed the order and retreated three hundred Step, execute immediately, go!"

Seeing Cao Cao's cowardice, Chunyu Qiong pretended to nod, but his eyes were full of ridicule and contempt.

When Cao Cao led the army back dozens of steps, Chunyu Qiong waved his saber, beat the horse and shouted sharply: "Where did the thief come from, dare to infiltrate the hungry Jizhou army and act recklessly, watch Chunyu Qiong capture you alive! Look at the knife "

Amidst the shouts, Chunyu Qiong rode his horse and swung a knife straight at Yuan Jiang who was holding a long spear. The attack was fierce and menacing.However, when he slashed at the back of "Long Spear General Yuan", unexpectedly, "General Yuan" who was fighting fiercely suddenly swung his spear like a club, instantly knocking off four of Zhang Miao's soldiers, and then flew like a silver snake. The long spear pierced with a cold light, the second strike came first, and the point of the spear came straight to Chunyu Qiong's face.

Such a good Chunyu Qiong, one of the eight captains of Xiyuan in the past is by no means in vain.In a critical moment, he saw that the sword he was slashing suddenly changed direction, and the slash turned into a horizontal block. He volleyed to hold the spear that "General Yuan" stabbed in the air, and then gnashed his teeth, raised his arms to prop up the spear, and swung the knife to fight back.

"Clang, Clang, Clang!"

Chun Yuqiong, who was riding on a horse, and the "General Yuan with a Long Spear" who was fighting on foot suddenly clashed. The sword and the long spear collided violently in the air, sparks flew, and the fight was very fierce.In a blink of an eye, Chunyu Qiong actually fought ten rounds with "Long Spear General Yuan". Although he attacked less and defended more, he lasted for more than ten rounds without losing.

Just as Chunyu Qiong was fighting fiercely with "Long Spear General Yuan", Cao Jun, who retreated three hundred paces away, stood on the sidelines, and Cao Ren, who was protecting the pure left and right, sighed softly: "I didn't expect that Chunyu Qiong, an idiot, has good martial arts skills. After fighting for more than a dozen rounds, it seems that he is not a pure scumbag like the rumors, he really has some skills!"

Cao Cao nodded slightly when he heard the words, and said in a low voice: "Zixiao's words are correct. Everyone knows that Chunyu Qiong is an out-and-out snob, who seeks good fortune and avoids disaster, and has no moral integrity. However, this guy's martial arts are indeed very good. Bufan, the reason why Emperor Ling ordered him to be one of the eight captains of Xiyuan was that he was brave and good at fighting. His martial arts skills should not be underestimated. Only then was he selected by Emperor Ling to enrich the troops of the Eighth School of Xiyuan, and his bravery can be seen from this."

"Well, what my lord said is true." Cao Ren nodded slightly, then asked curiously: "Oh, by the way, how does my lord know that this group of villains is under Li Lei's thief?"

"It's very simple." Cao Cao smiled lightly, staring at the bearded man behind "Long Spear General Yuan" with burning eyes, and said in a deep voice, "Don't Zixiao feel familiar when he sees this person? This thief has waited with me several times Fighting and entangled with the Jizhou Army for many years, I can't believe that he actually defected to Li Bandit. To help the tiger! This person is Sui Gu, one of the "Heishan Army leaders"!"

Chapter 700

"Don't Zixiao feel familiar when he sees this person? This thief has fought with us several times, and has been entangled with the Jizhou army for many years. I can't believe that he has defected to Li thief. He is a minion! This person is the "leader of the Black Mountain Army" One of the Suigu!"

Cao Ren was stunned when he heard the words: "Sui Gu? Is it Sui Gu, the leader of the Black Mountain bandits who joined hands with Yuan Shu, Jin Shang and others to attack Yanzhou last year?"

"Exactly." Cao Cao nodded lightly, fixed his eyes on Suigu, the bearded man who was fighting, and said in a deep voice, "This bearded man is Suigu, he can't be wrong. Last year, Jin Shang tried to get the post of governor of Yanzhou. , secretly colluded with Yuan Shu, Yu Fuluo, Baibo bandit and Heishan bandit Suigu to attack me, but I drove them out of Yanzhou within three months, killing them and fleeing.

I had seen this Sui Gu at that time, he was quite brave and his soldiers were not weak, so he had a chance to kill him in Yanzhou, but he escaped in the end.When the allied forces of the feudal lords attacked Dongyuan City last time, I heard that Sui Gu had joined Li Thief's command. Two months ago, when the two armies at Hangu Pass faced off, I saw him with my own eyes.It's just that Sui Gu, one of the former leaders of the Black Mountain bandits, is nothing under Li Bandit's command. His position is very low, and he should be a lieutenant-level general, not conspicuous. "

Speaking of this, Cao Cao's tone paused, and he said sinisterly: "Just now, I thought this person was very familiar, but I couldn't remember where I saw him. Until Zhang Miao was shot and fell off the horse by the "handsome general" , I finally remembered that the bearded general behind this person is Sui Gu, so the identity of the people pretending to be Yuan Jun is ready to be revealed, and they must be soldiers under Li Thief's command!"

"Ah!" Cao Ren was shocked when he heard this.He said urgently: "Since the lord has confirmed the identity of the thief, why did you hide it from Chunyu Qiong just now? Doing so will be of great benefit to us. Could it be that the lord intends to cover up the robbers under Li's command?"

"Zixiao be careful." Cao Cao muttered in displeasure, looking at the "handsome general" in Yuan Jun's armor who was fighting fiercely with Chunyuqiong, and said in a low voice: "Suigu is just a grassroots bandit. It's nothing to worry about, the person I care about is this extraordinary-looking general who is fighting Chunyu Qiong at the moment. So far, I have seen most of the generals under Li Thief's command, but this person looks very unfamiliar. It seems I haven't shown up before. From the perspective of Zixiao, how is the martial arts of this Li thief's general?"

Cao Ren was astonished when he heard the sound: "Uh! It's exactly as what the lord said. During the several confrontations before this, the general had already remembered Li Thief's generals in his heart. But he had never met this person, and he had no impression at all. As for martial arts Well, this person has superb spear skills, and his skills are amazing. Martial arts are not inferior to mine. He should not be an unknown person."

"Is it just not under Zixiao? I don't think so?" Cao Cao turned his head to look at Cao Ren with displeasure, and said in a deep voice.

Cao Ren's expression changed when he heard his voice, and his face turned red instantly. He lowered his head and replied softly, "My lord's gaze is like a torch. The general is ashamed. What he said just now is not true. In terms of martial arts alone, the general is not the enemy of this person. Even among the generals of our allies There are very few people who can defeat this person, perhaps only Lu Bu himself can beat this person by half."

It was very difficult for Cao Ren to say these words.A look of self-ashamed, extremely bitter.

Once upon a time, he once thought that he was tolerant of both literature and martial arts, and was well versed in the art of war. He could be called one of the few top generals in the world today.However, since he followed the Allied Army to the Xiliang Army this time, he has been hit hard. He has met many Xiliang generals with high martial arts skills and both civil and military skills. Lu Bu, known as the "Undefeated God of War", was very afraid.Especially Xiliang Li Li's stunning sword in front of the formation of the two armies, it is definitely a superb skill that can only be found by the top powerhouses in the world.

Li Li's strength was indeed far beyond the expectations of the princes of the towns and many allied generals.

May I ask, who is Li Li?He himself is the Hussar General who ranks above the Sangong, and is also the most powerful prince and overlord in the world. He holds hundreds of thousands of Xiliang soldiers and is in charge of the world; match.How can the princes of the towns and the generals of the allied army feel so embarrassed and how to deal with such a hero who can Anbang and Dingguo?

Cao Ren, who was once full of confidence, was deeply shocked by what he saw and heard. His fighting spirit was on the verge of collapse and he was very depressed.In fact, not only Cao Ren lost his self-confidence, but even the princes of the towns felt the same and felt the pressure; Cao Cao was among them.

"You don't need to be filial, don't give up on yourself." Glancing at Cao Ren's expression, Cao Cao secretly sighed in his heart, and then softly comforted: "The struggle for supremacy in troubled times does not depend entirely on martial arts to conquer the world. The former king of Chu, Xiang Yu, was so tyrannical that Liu Bang, the great ancestor, could not." Compete with it, but the one who finally ruled the world is Gaozu, not Xiang Yu. The situation we are facing now is quite similar to the battle between Chu and Han in the past. Li Thief is tyrannical, he is the number one prince in the world, and he deserves to be the overlord of the princes. The family dominates; but who belongs to the country is still unknown. No matter how high the martial arts are, it is a small way, and one person is not to be afraid of being strong. The real hegemony of the world depends on strategy and strategy, not martial arts. Therefore, there is no need for Zixiao to lose heart. Temporary success or failure does not determine everything, and we still have many opportunities. Right now, we have an excellent opportunity, and if we use it properly, we will be able to recover our strength as soon as possible, and then rise rapidly after the end of the Sili War!"

"Opportunity? My lord, why did you say that? Where is the opportunity now?" Cao Ren asked in surprise.

Cao Cao smiled strangely, squinted his eyes and muttered: "The death of Zhang Miao will definitely break the existing alliance structure. The princes in all towns will inevitably feel sad when the rabbit dies. Burning, even though the loss is not large, has a great impact and a wide range of influence, far exceeding the burning of the grain and grass itself. The looting of the grain and grass camp means that the Li thief has turned from defense to offense, and has officially started a large-scale counterattack against the princes and allies. This is undoubtedly the news that the princes of the towns don't want to hear the most, and it is also a fact that they have been deliberately avoiding. Once Thief Li decides to counterattack the Allied forces, the Allied forces will have to fight desperately, because they have no choice but to bite the bullet and die. Fight. There is no way out."

The more Cao Ren listened, the more confused he became, and he said puzzledly: "Since this is the case, then we are also in danger among the allied forces. We cannot protect ourselves. If this is the case, then we are in a catastrophe. How can there be any opportunity to rise up? What opportunity is there? "

As soon as the words fell, Cheng Yu who came later said: "General Zixiao is a fan of the authorities! My lord's implication is that the Allied forces have no hope of winning. Instead of being defeated with the Allied forces, we should find another way and find our own way out."

Speaking of this, Cheng Yu sat on the horse and bowed to Cao Cao, saying respectfully: "Time is not waiting for me. The sooner you take the initiative, the sooner the better. It's time to make a decision. My lord, don't hesitate."

Cao Cao nodded calmly.Feeling lost, he murmured: "What Zhongde said is very true. It wasn't food and grass that was burned in Feiyundu. It was the restless hearts of the princes. Since then, the hearts of the princes in all towns have been completely confused, and they are not enough to plan big things. The time left for me, Cao Cao, is running out, I can no longer hesitate, even if I don’t want it in every possible way, I have to do it, everything is just for survival!”

"Yes, living in troubled times is difficult. You must be extremely careful with every step, and you must not make mistakes. Some things are even more unavoidable." Cheng Yu sighed softly, and said with a gloomy face: "This time the food and grass The fire in the camp was really powerful, and it would be a fatal blow to the entire army of princes. This will be the turning point of the entire battle of Hangu. Dare to attack easily, but cannot retreat without hesitation. The situation is pressing. If we want to continue to survive, we must judge the situation and make changes in accordance with the changing situation, otherwise we will be annihilated under the rolling iron hoof."

Hearing this, Cao Cao frowned and thought about it, then nodded lightly, turned sideways to Cheng Yu and said in a low voice: "Zhongde has a long-term vision and considerate considerations, it is indeed a blessing in Cao's life to have Mr. Zhong De will go there in person, I don't know what would you like, sir?"

"This is my lord's trust. Cheng Yu is bound to live up to my lord's trust!" Cheng Yu responded with a bow.

Cao Cao felt sad when he heard the sound, reached out and grabbed Cheng Yu's right arm, and said emotionally: "Li thief is treacherous, vicious, moody, Zhong De's trip is really a near-death situation, so much luck!"

"My lord, you don't have to worry. You have put your own life and death aside as early as when your subordinate proposed to the lord. If you can achieve this, you will not hesitate to take this lowly life of your subordinate!" Cheng Yu respectfully expressed his expression. Replied.

Cao Cao nodded his head heavily, with tears shining in his eyes, holding Cheng Yu's arms reluctantly to let go, he opened his mouth to say something but was speechless.

"What are you talking about? Why do I become more and more confused the more I listen?" Seeing Cao Cao and Cheng Yu sitting on horseback, looking farewell, Cao Ren's eyes were blank and he didn't know what to say.At this moment, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Chun Yuqiong being defeated by the "handsome general Yuan", who was shot in the left shoulder by General Yuan, and turned over and fell off the horse screaming.

"No, the thief wants to run away!"

Cao Cao and Cheng Yu looked over after hearing the reputation, and they saw that the extremely brave "General Yuan" knocked Chunyu Qiong off his horse, but instead of taking advantage of the situation to kill Chun Yuqiong, he jumped on the horse's back and snatched him away. Chunyuqiong's war horse then jumped up and raised his gun to charge, while yelling sharply: "Don't get entangled, all the soldiers, the enemy army has arrived, you follow me to kill! Drive, kill!"

Seeing this, Cao Cao grabbed Cao Ren who was about to hit the horse, and said in a low voice: "Just save Chunyu Qiong, don't chase him down, and don't kill anyone in vain, remember!"

"Why? Did we just watch the arsonists flee?" Cao Ren asked in surprise.

"Xiaoxiu, please ask more questions, just follow the order, and make no mistakes!" Cao Cao ordered in a low voice without any doubt.

"No!" Seeing Cao Cao's serious expression and cold tone, Cao Ren didn't dare to ask more questions, so he immediately rode up and went straight to Chunyu Qiong who was rolling and crawling.

"My lord, the situation is chaotic tonight. It's a good time to leave the camp. The subordinates have prepared everything, so let's leave now." Cao Ren had just left, when Cheng Yu rode his horse and approached Cao Cao, whispering.

"Well, I have Lao Zhongde, be careful all the way." Cao Cao nodded lightly, recruited four soldiers at random, and after explaining in a low voice, he watched Cheng Yu and his party disappear into the night.Just at this time, a group of thieves suspected of arson and robbing the camp also rushed out of the official road, and fled straight to the mountains and forests to the south. In a moment, their figures melted into the night, and thousands of allied troops followed closely behind to catch up.

Chapter 701

The cold night is silent and the stars are few.

A round of crescent moon is looming, like a young girl who is just like cardamom, answering shyly, wanting to welcome but rejecting.

The sky over Hangu Pass.

Thick smoke curled up, filled the night sky, covered the stars and the moon, and lingered.