,,,,,,,,,,,,

It was finally dawn, and Xu Huang's army also entered Shangbi County. Although the food and supplies were burned, it would be even more dangerous to stay outside the city. We can only make a decision after judging the situation.

On the top of the city, Xu Huang sighed and said to the forbidden: "Then, I should obey your advice and should not be tempted by the empty city of Shangji County, nor should I be so passive."

Although Yu Jin was quite proud, he did not dare to show his face and comforted Xu Huang: "Gongming does not need to blame himself. Although he lost his supplies and food, his troops were not greatly damaged, and only more than 1,000 people were killed or injured. This is a blessing. More importantly, we took back Shangbi County, which is also an explanation for the military advisor. The key is that we cannot be disturbed by the enemy. We should boost our morale and consider our next actions."

Xu Huang nodded, "You are right. We cannot be depressed because of this, nor can we be led by the Han army. If we can fight, I will never avoid it."

Xu Huang has considered it clearly. The best countermeasure now is to fight to the death with the Han army. The troops of both sides are almost the same, but Cao's army has stronger individual combat capabilities. In the end, they may not fail. Even if they win miserably, it is worth it.

At this time, the military COFCO official hurried forward and reported: "Report to the general, the food has been counted."

"How much food is left?" Xu Huang asked anxiously. Although the rear army's supplies were burned out, the Cao army soldiers also brought some food with them, and Xu Huang held great hope for this.

"Report to the general, on average, each soldier has liters of grain and two kilograms of meat, and there is no food or grass for the rest."

Xu Huang was stunned for a moment. The food could only last for two days at most. He stood there for a while. He waved his hand to let the grain officer retreat. At this time, Yu Jin said: "I guess the Han army will not go anywhere else. We must have stationed troops in the mountain road to the south, and there are civilians in a county. It is better for us to concentrate our troops south and fight fiercely with the Han army. There may be a glimmer of hope."

Xu Huang stared outside the city. After a long time, he shook his head and said, "So, although I regret not listening to your persuasion before, I still don't agree with your ideas this time. The Han army is on a high place and we are on a low place. How can the Han army have no defense? If they refuse to fight, we will be out of food and collapse at most two days, which is when our entire army is wiped out. So I decided to retreat east and two days, I should be able to reach Guangwei County. Of course, if the Han army wants to pursue us, I am not afraid to fight with them."

Yu Jin had to persuade him again, and Xu Huang waved his hand to stop him, "There is no need to persuade him anymore. As you said just now, preserving troops is our top priority. Although I also want to protect Shangqiu County, I do not have that ability. If I support myself, the army will lose both cities and cities. It is better to protect me. I believe the Prime Minister will agree with my decision."

Yu Jin had no choice but to smile bitterly: "Since Gongming has made a decision, I am the deputy general, so I will naturally support it with all my strength."

"Okay, please order your brothers to assemble immediately and set out in a quarter of an hour to head north."

"I suggest burning a fire in Shangji County into white land," Yu Jin suggested.

Xu Huang shook his head, "Shangbi County is short and cannot stop the army's attack. It is meaningless to burn it. What is lost is the houses. We cannot protect the people, so why destroy their homes? Don't worry, withdraw the troops."

Yu Jin had no choice but to rush to gather the soldiers. A quarter of an hour later, nearly 20,000 Cao troops left Shangbi County and drove towards the northeast.

Not long after Cao's army withdrew, Zhao Yun led the main force of the Han army back to Shangqiu County. Zhao Yun was a cautious person and would not be able to fight the Cao army for a moment. Moreover, he was in the north for a long time and knew that the Cao army had strong combat effectiveness. When the troops were equal, the Han army was not necessarily an opponent of the Cao army, let alone the Cao army's chief generals were Xu Huang and Yu Jin, who were both capable of fighting.

If he attacked recklessly and fought a decisive battle with the enemy, he would have to retreat back to the wooden gate once he was defeated. However, in that case, it would seriously affect the strategic layout of the provincial governor. Therefore, Zhao Yun's strategy was to force Cao's army away and cutting off their food was undoubtedly the best way.

The Han army entered the city, and the soldiers separated and set up tents in the open space. At this time, Fa Zheng found Zhao Yun and smiled and said, "Are you looking for me?"

Zhao Yun nodded, "Military advisor, please come with me."

Zhao Yun took Fa Zheng to the top of the city for a walk. Zhao Yun pointed to the city wall and said, "The county town is small and cannot station 20,000 troops. Moreover, the city wall is thin and low, which is not conducive to defense. I plan to build a city and build a wide and high city. What does the military advisor think?"

Fa Zheng smiled and said, "Building a city takes time, at least months to half a year. I'm afraid it's too late. Once Cao Cao arrives in Longxi, he will definitely gather a large army to attack the city. So I suggest not to build a city, but build a circle of walls along the city wall outside the city, just like Mumen Village. Once Cao's army captures the outer wall, the soldiers can retreat to the inner city to continue to resist."

Zhao Yun pondered for a moment and said, "The military advisor is right. If we build another wall on the periphery, we have 20,000 troops, which is enough to defend ourselves. However, I still want to build the city wall high. There are many rocks around me, so I can quarre directly. It is simpler. It can be completed in just over a month. And even if the Cao army attacks in large quantities, the impact will not be great."

Fa Zheng saw that Zhao Yun was determined to build a city, so he no longer objected and said with a smile: "It would be fine if it was simple. In fact, I don't think there is any need to trap Shangji County. Just like this time, when Cao's army attacks, we retreat, and we will occupy it when Cao's army leaves. As long as there is no food in the city and the food route of Cao's army can be cut off in time, Cao's army will not be able to station a large army in Shangji County. We can take it back at any time, but the general must build a city, and I don't object, but I hope the general will not be trapped by the city wall."

Zhao Yun then suddenly realized that he bowed and said, "Thanks to the military advisor's reminder, Zhao Yun was almost trapped in the city."

Fa Zheng smiled again and said, "I also want to remind the general that the order of the governor of the prefecture is not just to occupy Shangqiu County. We must support the attack of Shangfanggu. Taking advantage of the fact that Xu Huang withdraws his troops to Linwei County, this is our opportunity. If Xu Huang replenishes his food and fights back, the opportunity will be gone."

Zhao Yun nodded, "The military advisor is right to remind you. I will hand it over to General Zhang in Shangbi County, and I will lead the army west tonight."

Zhao Yun then handed over Shangbi County to Zhang Ren, and he led 10,000 troops to leave Shangbi County and marched northwest.

Zhang Ren took over the defense of Shangji County. He immediately ordered the division of troops to be stationed. Only a thousand troops were stationed in the city. There were not much food in the city. The remaining 17,000 people were to build camps on the mountain road several miles away, protecting Shangji Road, and placing grains in the military camps. In this way, even if Shangji County is temporarily abandoned, it will not change the overall situation of the Han army entering the Weishui Valley.

Just as Zhao Yun used a trick to force Xu Huang to retreat, the situation in the upper valley also took a turn for the arrival of Ma Jun. Ma Jun brought a new catapult to the Han army. Although the power of this catapult was not strong and not enough to destroy the camp wall, its ultra-long shooting range still gave the Han army an opportunity to defeat Cao army.

In the Cao army camp, there were more than a dozen giant trenchers. This was the thunder chariot used by Cao army when he defeated Yuan Shao. It was tall and was driven by a soldier. It could throw a kilogram of huge stones up to four steps away. More than a dozen giant trenchers completely blocked the valley entrance.

If the Han army wanted to forcibly attack the Cao army's camp, it would suffer heavy losses under the heavy blow of the giant catapult. This was another loss that Liu Jing was unwilling to bear. If small-scale soldiers were used to attack, thousands of crossbowmen in the Cao army would annihilate them from a close distance.

It was because of the sharp defensive weapons of Cao's army that Liu Jing was reluctant to launch an attack. However, the small catapult brought by Ma Jun can reach five steps in the range, which is longer than the four-step range of Cao's army's catapult, which can prevent the heavy attack of Cao's defensive weapons.

That night, when the night fell, the Wan Han army entered the upper valley and slowly advanced forward. This was actually to cover the attack of the catapult. In front of the team were a thousand manipulators led by Wang Ping. They pushed two catapults forward, followed by the Thousand Crossbow Army, which was the first round of impact after Cao's army broke out of the Dazhai.

Behind the Bow and Crossbow Army are five thousand heavy armored infantry, which is a powerful weapon for the Han army to deal with cavalry. Behind the heavy armored army are twenty thousand spear infantry, which are the main force to attack the enemy's camp.

When about five steps away from Cao's camp, the Han army stopped advancing. The valley here was about one mile wide, which was the best position for the attack. With Wang Ping's order, a thousand soldiers began to assemble quickly, and two new trenchers gradually appeared in the spacious valley.

Just as the Han army entered Shangfang Valley, Cao's army immediately received news that Xun You and Xiahou Dun appeared on the wall of the village. At this time, Xun You was more concerned about the situation in Shangqiu County. From the time perspective, Xu Huang's army should have arrived in Shangqiu County. According to the agreement, Xu Huang should send him a pigeon letter immediately, but there is no news yet, which makes Xun You worried. Could something happen in Shangqiu County?

In fact, when Xun You learned about the loss of Mumen Village, he knew that Shangbi County could not be saved. Shangbi County had only a thousand defenders, and the city was low and narrow, and could not stop the attack of 20,000 Han troops. However, Shangbi County's strategic position was important. Once it was lost, it would tear a hole into the defensive net he had carefully built.

This made Xun You very worried. He could only expect Xu Huang to arrive in time and regain Shangqian County. There is no news in Shangqian County yet, but the Han army began to attack Shangfanggu. Is there any connection between the two?

Xun You was worried, but Xiahou Dun didn't think so far. His attention was all on the Han army ahead. After observing for a long time, he turned to Xun You and said, "The enemy only had tens of thousands of people attacking. Now it's night. Does the military advisor think Liu Jing has any tricks?"

Xun You sighed softly, "Frankly speaking, I don't know that Mumen Village has actually lost its territory. Now I have no confidence. This is the first attack of the Han army. I think Liu Jing has always been planning and then acting. If he is not sure, he should not attack at night. He must have something to rely on. We must not be careless."

"Is it a small car promoted by the Han army?"

Xiahou Dun suddenly remembered the scout's report. At the front of the Han army were a thousand small cars. I don't know what it was, and he suddenly became a little nervous. "Military advisor, could the Han army invented some new weapon?"

Not only Xiahou Dun, but almost all Cao's army were very important to the various new weapons that emerged in the Han army. Many generals asked to learn from the Han army and also set up craftsmen to develop new weapons. Jiangdong failed to start craftsmen, but Cao Cao opened craftsmen in Wuchang at the beginning of this year.

Thinking of this, Xiahou Dun didn't care about any new weapons. He gritted his teeth and said fiercely: "No matter what they have to rely on, everything turned into powder in front of our Thunderbolt Cart."

Xiahou Dun shouted, "The rock is ready"

The ten giant catapults creaked away, and Cao's soldiers put the huge stone weighing more than jin into the iron bag. At this time, Xiahou Dun's eyes turned to the viewing tower next to the big village. If the fire lights on the four-meter-high viewing tower, it means that the enemy has entered the range, and Xiahou Dun is waiting for this moment.
Chapter completed!