Sun Ce spent two days to clean up the battlefield. He captured and loaded the trophy. He was about to return to Xiangyang when he suddenly received a news report from the scout. Cao Cao led a large army to arrive, with a number of about six to seven thousand people, and he has arrived near Xinye.

Sun Ce was very surprised. What Cao Cao wanted to do? He went deep alone and wanted to be unexpected. Now that Xiahou Yuan's entire army was destroyed, it was impossible to attack. It was a fool to use his six or seven thousand people to break the siege of Xiangyang. What does it mean to continue moving forward? I hope that Kuai Yue in Xiangyang City will attack him inside and outside? Is he not afraid that Yuan Shu will cut off his retreat and cut off his food route?

Sun Ce asked himself that he had more thoughts than himself, and his understanding of Cao Cao was even more clear than many people in the world, but at this moment, he did not dare to determine what Cao Cao wanted to do. As the saying goes, people's hearts are separated from their stomachs, and they don't know what they do. No one has the ability to read the mind, so it is impossible to know what the other party is thinking.

However, he could decide what to do. Before he could figure out Cao Cao's intentions, he decided to retreat as he advanced and be invincible first. In order to attack Xiahou Yuan, he chose a position forty or fifty miles away from Xiangyang City as a position, and launched an attack when Xiahou Yuan was about to reach his destination and was most tired. Now, in order to ensure that the main force led by his father can respond in time, he must retreat the position.

While sending scouts to inquire about Cao Cao's movements, Sun Ce sent someone to inform Sun Jian that Cao Cao did not give up and forced him up. Although his troops were similar to Cao Cao, he did not think that he must be Cao Cao's opponent and was prepared for any trouble. If he couldn't beat Cao Cao, he would have to shout at his parents. There was nothing to be ashamed of this. Even Sun Ce did not have the experience of defeating Cao Cao, and he really didn't dare to be a big deal, a fake guy.

Sun Ce asked Huang Gai to lead the troops to retreat first, and after Huang Zhong was cut off, he led the central army himself. Huang Zhong had just killed Xiahou Yuan, and his troops were in a strong morale. Even if they encountered a strong enemy, they would have the power to fight. The central army he led was the strongest, with the least losses, and could complete attack tasks. Huang Gai had rich combat experience and asked him to be a reserve team. He should be able to seize the opportunity. If he could win, he would rush forward to take Cao Cao's life. If he couldn't win, he would take over the main force to retreat.

Generally speaking, the reserve team is usually in the hands of the main general, and Huang Gai said the same thing, but Sun Ce felt that he had just led the troops to fight, and the timing may not be accurate than Huang Gai. It is better for Huang Gai to bear this task.

Huang Gai was very grateful for Sun Ce's trust and respect, and he worked harder to assist Sun Ce, hoping to tell Sun Ce everything he knew. He took every step of the way, perfectly fulfilling his responsibilities as a pioneer, and making Sun Ce less worried as much as possible.

Sun Ce controlled the speed of the march and was ready to fight at any time. He and Cao Cao were seventy miles apart. If Cao Cao was anxious to catch up with him, he would have gained some advantage in physical strength. Even if Cao Cao sent cavalry first, he would not be in a hurry.

After walking for a day, he crossed the Qingshui River and set up a camp on the south bank of the Qingshui River. Choosing this place to set up a formation can minimize Cao Cao's possible cavalry advantage. Once Cao Cao attacks, he can still attack halfway. In case the situation is tense, his father Sun Jian's reinforcements can arrive in at most an hour. With the naval warship led by Huang Zhong, his advantage is very obvious and he can cross the river and launch a counterattack at any time.

This is not a clever plan, but victory is to be safe and has no flaws. He had also thought about frowning before and had such a great thing as a plan. However, after learning to use military service with Sun Jian, he realized that these are all imaginations. He had no plans to be careful in war. First of all, he could not make mistakes and could not give the other party a chance. The military strategy said, "First be invincible, then be invincible. Invincible is in me, and victory is in the enemy." This is what it means.

After setting up a camp, Sun Ce did not dare to be idle, so he took Dian Wei and others out to patrol and check the terrain. It was not that he did not believe in Huang Gai's ability, but as a general, he had to be as familiar with the surrounding terrain as possible. Once a battle occurred, he knew where there might be danger and where to carry out a surprise attack. If he wanted to retreat, he should also know where to run conveniently.

His previous war horse was slapped to death by Dian Wei Yiji, and it was stewed that night. When Han Dang left, he left two captured horses for him, one of which was Xiahou Yuan's mount. Although it was not a thousand-mile horse, it was better than an ordinary horse. His maroon fur was very smooth and his horse harness was luxurious, and he was very conspicuous under the crowd of infantrymen.

After walking around the camp, Sun Ce held his mount by the Qingshui River. There were about ten riders opposite the Qingshui River, and he was watching here. Although there were a Qingshui River, Sun Ce could also feel that those people were different, especially those knights and war horses. He knew at a glance that he was good at riding skills and was an elite knight.

Who is this? While filtering the Cao army generals he knew in his mind, Sun Ce ordered Dian Wei and others to be careful. It is winter now, and the water is not too deep, and some places can wader by riding a horse. If someone is familiar with the terrain and suddenly launches a charge, it will be a big problem.

"Zi Gu, who is the man in the middle? Do you know him?" Sun Ce bent down and asked Dian Wei. Dian Wei had no words, but Sun Ce was unwilling to call him the name directly, so he simply made a decision to give him a word. Wei means leather rope, which means leather rope is to tie things, and tie things must be stable. In addition, Zi Gu also hopes that this powerful person can protect himself and not be attacked by people in close proximity.

Dian Wei did not mean very grateful, but just accepted the word calmly. This made Sun Ce a little disappointed.

"These cavalry are the personal guards around General Cao, led by his clan brother Cao Chun, the man in the middle..." Dian Wei widened his eyes and carefully argued, but it was too late and the distance was far away, so he couldn't see clearly. "It seems that it's not Cao Chun. Cao Chun is very young, doesn't have so many beards, and he is taller. It looks..."

Sun Ce suddenly felt aroused in his heart. "You don't want to say that person may be Cao Cao, are you?"

Dian Wei hesitated. "From the figure, it does look a bit like it, but this horse is not the famous horse he often rides, so I'm not sure."

Sun Ce was moved all of a sudden. No matter whether it was, he would always have to mess with him. Since Xiahou Yuan could die so easily, who would guarantee that Cao Cao would not be able to do so. If Cao Cao could be killed, his strongest opponent would be killed in the cradle. Cao Cao has always been a big trouble for him, and he was even more worried than the Yuan brothers.

Unfortunately, there are too many cavalrymen on the other side, and they are all infantrymen. If they really fight, they will definitely suffer losses. Even if they don’t fight, they will not catch up with them, and they can only eat dirt.

Sun Ce quickly thought about it, called a personal guard, and whispered a few words in his ear. The personal guard understood and quietly ran away with the cover of everyone. After leaving the other party's sight, he spread his legs and ran towards the camp.

Sun Ce signaled Lin Feng and others to stay on the shore, kicked the war horses lightly and got off the river bank. In winter, the water was shallow, and a large area of ​​the river bank was exposed, with many pebbles on it. The war horses had to be careful to avoid slipping. Sun Ce held the reins of the horse, clamped the horse's belly with both legs, and went down to the edge of the water. He tied his mount, straightened his body, looked at the blurry figure opposite, and shouted loudly.

"On the opposite side is Cao Gong, the prefect of Dongjun? Sun Ce from Jiangdong is here. Will Cao Gong meet?"

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Chapter completed!