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Xu Huang opened the pigeon and looked at it quickly. His brows frowned and asked him to send 20,000 troops to save Tang Luodao and Baoxiedao. And Chen Cang must be guaranteed to be unscathed. What a joke, there are only ten thousand troops in his city. If he leaves 20,000, only ten thousand left. With 10,000 troops, he can defend Chen Cang.

"Search to see what absurd request is this."

He handed the pigeon letter to Mao Jie, and couldn't help but say a little hateful: "It's fine if you give up Chen Cang, but you still have to guarantee that Chen Cang will not lose it. How can I guarantee him?"

Mao Jie read the Gexin and couldn't help but sigh in his heart. This was Cao Ren's first clarification of the responsibility. He had asked Xu Huang to ensure that Chen Cang was not lost. If Chen Cang was lost because of division of troops, it would not be Cao Ren's responsibility.

But this sentence could not be said clearly, so I had to say tactfully: "I suggest that the general explain the truth to Governor Cao and let him consider it again."

"Will he not know it, he knows it better than anyone else."

Xu Huang sneered and stared at the direction of Chang'an. After a while, his tone slowly eased, "Maybe he needs to consider the overall situation. The loss of Tangluo Road and Baoxie Road is indeed a big problem. Alas, this is my responsibility. I lost Longxian, so there was such a serious consequence."

After saying that, Xu Huang's mood was a little low. He did think that if Guanzhong was lost, he would have to bear at least 70% of the responsibility. It would be a point for Cao Ren to ask him to take responsibility, not Chen Cang, but Jieting and Longxian.

Mao Jie hurriedly comforted him and said, "General, don't blame yourself. This battle is unfair to both sides. It's like a broken bucket full of water. As long as the Han army defeats any place, they will succeed. We must ensure that all places cannot be broken. However, the forces of both sides are equal, and we are actually at a disadvantage from the beginning."

Xu Huang nodded, "No matter what, Governor Cao is the chief general. Since he ordered me to send troops, I must obey his orders. At worst, I can transfer the 5,000 defenders of Chen Cangdao back, so that there will be 15,000 people in Chen Cang City, and I can barely defend the city."

"But Liu Jing may not let the general get what he wants."

"It depends on God's will"

Xu Huang sighed, walked down the city with great strides, and said loudly: "Let General Niu Jin come to see me quickly."

One hour later, the east gate of Chen Cang opened wide, and 20,000 troops, led by generals Niu Jin and Zang Ba, were out of the city, divided into two troops, and rushed to Tangluo Road and Baoxie Road.

The news that Cao's army had left the city was soon discovered by the scouts of the Han army, and a team of cavalry immediately rushed towards the Han army camp.

The Han army camp is located in a wilderness about ten miles west of Chencang. Sixty thousand troops have been stationed here for nearly half a month and have built a solid wall. Liu Jing was patiently waiting for Zhao Yun's news. Zhao Yun's news has not arrived yet, but Nanyang news came first. Cao's army sent 60,000 troops to take Nanyang County away again. The main force of the Han army has retreated to the south of the Han River.

This news was expected by Liu Jing. They seized Nanyang County in order to restrain Cao Cao's main force from entering Guanzhong and maintained a pressure on Cao Cao. He believed that even if Nanyang County was lost, Cao Cao would still be able to restrain Cao's army even if Nanyang County was lost.

In the big tent, Jia Xu couldn't help but smile and said, "We have the Han River and the Yangtze River, which is enough to resist Cao's army's going south, but Cao Cao did not have any favorable terrain to prevent us from moving north. So how could he send heavy troops to defend Nanyang County, so we can turn around to Anlu County and go north from Anlu County to Runan. Isn't Runan empty?"

"It's true. The territory is large and you must have enough troops to guard it. However, Cao Cao no longer has such a strong military power. He is like a dilapidated big family, which is still very glamorous on the surface, but he has already grasped his elbows everywhere and cannot hide his dilapidatedness. I am becoming more and more confident."

Speaking of this, Liu Jing smiled and said, "I think the key is that the Northern Expedition is successful in seizing Longxi, which has caused a sudden change in the strategic situation. It seems that it is still very rewarding to spend a year on the Northern Expedition."

"Of course, in the past, Cao's army could defend us as long as they stationed troops in Nanyang and Runan. Now the front line has expanded to Guanlong. How can he defend such a vast defense line? In addition, Longxi's defeat, the army in his hands is no longer able to do so. I still stick to the previous plan. It is best to defeat the troops without fighting."

Liu Jing nodded, "I agree, but we still have to seize Chen Cang first, gain strategic advantages, and then implement a strategy without fighting."

As the two were talking about this, the guards came from outside the tent, "I have reported to the governor of the state, and the scout has emergency information."

"Submitted"

The curtain was lifted, and the guards walked in quickly, bowed to Liu Jing, and presented an information. Liu Jing took the information and took a look, then laughed, and said to Jia Xu: "Chen Cang sent 20,000 troops out of the city and went east. It must be Zhao Yun and the others who created the conditions to force Xu Huang to divide his troops to rescue him."

Jia Xu pondered for a moment and said, "Will it be Xu Huang's plan to lure troops?"

Liu Jing walked a few steps behind his hands and shook his head, "It cannot be a trick to lure troops. Cao's army is at a disadvantage and depends entirely on a city to defend. He has 20,000 troops out of the city, and he will be eaten by me if he is not careful. This trick to lure troops is very risky and it is not worth the loss. I believe that even if someone suggests it, Xu Huang will not adopt it."

Jia Xu also laughed, "It seems that I am too worried. Since 20,000 troops are heading east, the city will inevitably be empty. I think Xu Huang will definitely dispatch the 5,000 troops from the pass to Chencang to increase defense. Why don't the provincial governor take the lead and intercept these 5,000 troops?"

Liu Jing smiled slightly, "I'm just thinking this way."

He immediately ordered: "Please come to the big tent quickly with the old general Huang and General Wei."

Soon, Huang Zhong hurried to the big tent and clasped his fists and said, "Please give orders from the provincial governor."

At this time, Wei Yan also came. He bowed and waited silently for Liu Jing's order. Liu Jing briefly told them the situation and slowly said: "Now Chen Cang's troops are empty, the Cao army will inevitably abandon Sanguan. The army will reinforce Chen Cang. I hope the old general can intercept this Cao army for me."

Huang Zhong smiled with his fists and said, "Please rest assured that the governor of the state. Only 5,000 people can be taken down by his subordinates."

Liu Jing nodded and said to Wei Yan again: "You can assist the old general, defeat the enemy, and seize the San Pass."

"The last one will obey the order"

Huang Zhong and Wei Yan received the order and left the tent. One hour later, the two of them led their troops to leave the camp and quickly crossed the Wei River. The 20,000 troops marched quickly towards Chencang Road.

...........

Chencang Road is located in the southwest of Chencang County. It is also a mountain road that travels through Zhongnan Mountain and reaches Hanzhong. The mountain road is winding and twists, but it is much easier to walk compared to the other passages. At that time, Liu Bang, the Emperor of Han Dynasty, used the plan to build a plank road openly and secretly Chencang's plan to enter Guanzhong from Hanzhong, and took the first step to fight for dominance in the world.

The Sanguan north of Chencang Road is a transportation hub between Hanzhong and Guanzhong. Because it strangled the throat of north and south transportation, it has been the "throat of Sichuan and Shaanxi" since ancient times. It is a place that military strategists must fight for and is known as one of the four gates of Guanzhong.

Therefore, Chen Cang Road was important among the various roads northward in Hanzhong. Cao's army surrendered to defend heavily and deployed 5,000 troops at Sanguan, the northernmost side of Chen Cang Road.

At this time, the commander of Sanguan Hao Zhao had already received Xu Huang's order, which made him give up Sanguan and immediately retreat to Chen Cang. This order made Hao Zhao breathe a little relieved. He knew that there was already Hanzhong army heading north in the south, and the main force of the Han army in the north also came to Chen Cang. Once Liu Jing pays attention to Chen Cang Road, he will inevitably encounter an unfavorable situation of being attacked from both sides.

Since Xu Huang ordered him to retreat north, Hao Zhao no longer hesitated. He packed up his army overnight and set off to the north along the Qingshui River. If it went well, he could arrive in Chencang at noon the next day. However, Hao Zhao was also worried that he would encounter an ambush from the Han army. He sent Yu scouts to investigate the enemy situation, but he did not encounter any unexpected situations.

After the army had been walking for more than an hour, time gradually came to the fifth hour. At this time, the sky was already bright. Through the thin fog, you could see the mountains, trees and five thousand Cao troops in the distance. A few miles away was the estuary of the river, which was the estuary of the Qingshui River pouring into the Wei River. They needed to cross the river to the north bank of the Wei River.

Hao Zhao ordered the soldiers to rest on the spot, and at the same time sent people to find boats crossing the river. The soldiers gathered together to rest and drink water. At this moment, a scout rushed from the rear. "General" ran to Hao Zhao to report, "I discovered the enemy's situation"

Hao Zhao was shocked and asked quickly: "What's the situation?"

"I discovered a Han army with about 5,000 people. It seemed that the general Wei Yan led him to come out of Longwei Valley and headed south along the Qingshui River. It should be to go to Sanguan."

Hao Zhao was stunned. What was going on? He had clearly left Sanguan, why did the Han army rush to Sanguan again? Didn’t they find out that their army had been discovered after Hao Zhao thought for a moment and immediately understood that it was the Han army that would not allow him to retreat to Sanguan after he cut off his own.

If this is the case, then there should be an army ready to attack him. Hao Zhao suddenly became nervous. The person behind him was Wei Yan, with five thousand troops. Then the number of troops attacking him would be more, the level of generals would be higher. Who would be Huang Zhong or Zhao Yun?

He immediately stood up and ordered, "Get up and set off immediately, go to the ferry to get on the boat."

The soldiers of Cao's army stood up one after another, packed up and followed Hao Zhao northward. Soon, the team arrived at the banks of the Weishui River. The Weishui River was about a meter wide and the turbid waves were surging, but there was no ship on the dock. The soldiers who had come to look for the ship came forward to report: "I just found several boatmen, and they were also looking for the ship, saying that there were still many boats at the ferry last night, but in the middle of the night, a single boat disappeared, and they didn't know where the ship was going."

Hao Zhao was nervous and looked around. He knew where the problem was. It must be the Han army that arrived first and took the ship away.
Chapter completed!