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Half an hour later, Zhao Yun received an emergency report. A Cao army of tens of thousands of people was found on the host more than 20 miles away. This news scared Zhao Yun into a cold sweat. He immediately ordered the entire army to fight and sent someone to invite Pang Tong.

It was only in the afternoon that Pang Tong followed a batch of grain back to the Han army camp outside the west city. When he bumped, he was already exhausted. As soon as he returned to the camp, he fell to bed.

Pang Tong had just been woken up by the soldiers. He heard that there was an emergency military situation. He followed the soldiers forward and walked quickly towards the camp regardless of his lack of worries.

At this time, Zhao Yun was not in the big tent, but was deploying crossbowmen defense with Zhang Ren. Thousands of bowmen and crossbowmen were deployed intensively on the periphery of the military camp, and twenty heavy catapults that did not play a role in the siege were also deployed at a high place.

Thousands of soldiers dug deep and widened the defense trenches in front of the camp. In the dark night, a pair of soldiers were running everywhere, carrying various combat supplies. The atmosphere in the entire military camp seemed extremely tense.

"General Zhao"

Pang Tong saw Zhao Yun and rushed up. He panted and asked, "What happened?"

Zhao Yun said with a serious expression: "Our scouts found a large number of Cao troops on the official road east of Xicheng, about 40,000 to 50,000 people, and it is more than twenty miles away from us. Now it should be almost here."

Pang Tong was shocked, "What's going on?"

Zhang Ren next to him added: "This should be a surprise soldier deployed by Cao Cao. He came from Guangwei County with the purpose of attacking us while the provincial governor led the main force to the north. If we were defeated, the provincial governor's main force would lose food and logistics supplies, and he would undoubtedly lose within the sky."

Pang Tong's thoughts gradually woke up from the chaos. He pondered for a long time and said, "Have you sent someone to report this to the provincial governor?"

“It has been sent”

Zhao Yun sighed softly and said, "Even if there are 40,000 people, plus the 10,000 troops in the west city, we will face 70,000 Cao's army, but we only have 20,000 people, and the situation is serious."

"But no matter how severe we are, we must face it. We must never withdraw our troops. If we withdraw our troops, the main force of the provincial governor will be threatened by enemies from both sides."

Zhao Yun nodded, "This is for sure. We must never retreat. However, the scout said that this army from the east was not strict in discipline. During a short rest, they even gathered to gamble. The main general seemed to be Xu Huang."

Pang Tong sneered: "Xu Huang has always been known for his strict military discipline. His army gathered to gamble while resting. Does this mean that the two generals don't think it's funny?"

Zhang Ren said disdainfully: "I heard that Cao Cao pacified Suyin, Hebei last year, and Tian Bo's rebellion, and wiped out 200,000 riots with 200,000 troops and captured more than 100,000 surrendered troops. It is estimated that these tens of thousands are the surrendered troops that were just captured a few months ago. They were temporarily reorganized and sent to Guanzhong. More than 100,000 were defeated by 20,000 Cao's army. It can be seen that it was a group of mobs, and it was reasonable for Xu Huang to not control them."

Zhao Yun was calmer than Zhang Ren. No matter whether the tens of thousands of Dongcao troops were chaotic or not, this was actually not important. What was important was how he should deal with this crisis. This not only involved 20,000 people under his command, but also the safety of the main force of the entire Northern Expedition.

Zhao Yun knew his strategy was insufficient and might not be able to deal with such a complicated situation. He placed his hope on Pang Tong, hoping that Pang Tong could propose a proper plan. Zhao Yun couldn't help but look at Pang Tong with anticipation.

At this time, Pang Tong had completely calmed down. He was tidying up all kinds of thoughts like an electric current in his mind. After a moment of thinking, he said to Zhao Yun: "I need to look at the sand table."

Zhao Yun immediately brought Pang Tong back to the tent. Pang Tong walked to the sand table and looked at the road between Xicheng and Jicheng. Although the road was relatively wide in total, the road more than twenty miles away seemed to be rugged and narrow.

Seeing this, Pang Tong said to Zhao Yun: "The key to the entire battle situation is not us, but to the provincial governor. If I was not wrong, some of the Cao army in Xicheng will go north and attack the provincial governor's army from behind, causing an attack from both sides. We must intercept this northern army."

Zhao Yun nodded, "The military advisor thinks, how many troops should I send north?"

Pang Tong pondered for a moment and said: "The army is not about many, but about the essence. Thousands of people are enough, but it must be the most elite army. You must have enough courage for the general."

Zhao Yun changed his mind and immediately said to Zhang Ren: "I personally went to intercept the troops heading north in Xicheng. I only took a thousand troops north, and the camp entrusted General Zhang and Military Advisor Pang."

Zhang Ren nodded silently and blocked Cao's army with thousands of people to the north. This kind of courage is indeed Zhao Yun. "General Zhao is relieved. With Zhang Ren here, he can ensure that the camp is safe."

At this time, Pang Tong pointed to a long valley and said, "This valley is called Chenyuan Valley. It is about ten miles long and is only a few feet long at the narrowest point. The mountains are high and the forests are dense, and it is easy to hide. General Zhao can hide here and catch Cao's army off guard."

Zhao Yun nodded and turned around and said, "Order the gun and crossbow army to assemble immediately."

At the end of the city of Xicheng, Xiahou Yuan stared at the east with time. It was almost two o'clock in the morning. The agreed time had passed, but Xu Huang's army had not yet appeared for a long time. This made Xiahou Yuan feel a little angry. He snorted heavily and turned to Chen Qun and said, "Xu Gongming actually missed the military opportunity and wanted to ruin the Prime Minister's affairs."

Chen Qun was also very confused. With Xu Huang's prudence and ability to lead troops, such mistakes should not have occurred. Besides, Zhang He was also a capable general, and he actually missed the agreed time. There must be a reason. He thought for a while and said, "I guess it was because of the 40,000 troops under his command that were of varying quality and difficult to control, which led to delays. The general waited for a moment."

"I can't wait. If I wait any longer, I will delay the military plane. How can I explain to the Prime Minister?"

Xiahou Yuan immediately said to Hao Zhao: "General Hao must guard the city strictly and cannot fight until the critical moment."

Hao Zhao bowed and bowed, "Abide by the orders of humble duties"

Xiahou Yuan strode into the city and ordered: "Let's start"

In the west city, 15,000 Cao army soldiers were lined up, with bright armor, swords and guns in a forest, and murderous intent. They would follow Xiahou Yuan's army north and attack the back of the main force of the Han army. At this time, the north city gate slowly opened. In the night, 15,000 Cao army soldiers lined up to fight. Under the leadership of the general Xiahou Yuan, they walked along the north road of Qishan.

Xu Huang was indeed in trouble when urging the army to set off. He originally ordered the soldiers to rest on the spot for half an hour and recover their physical strength, but he did not expect that most of the soldiers were exhausted. Despite the short time, they wrapped themselves in a blanket and went to bed. When he ordered the departure, nearly half of the sleeping soldiers could not wake up, or they woke up very slowly and could not get into the state for a long time.

Seeing that time passed little by little, the army was still in chaos, and tens of thousands of soldiers were still sleeping and did not obey military orders. Xu Huang was furious and drew his sword to kill more than a dozen quarrel soldiers. He also ordered the soldiers to beat them with military sticks. Those who did not get up would be killed by the staff.

With Xu Huang's iron-blooded methods, the army was shocked. The soldiers stood up and lined up. No one dared to resist and cause trouble. After half an hour, tens of thousands of troops were rectified. Xu Huang immediately ordered the entire army to set off. At this time, the agreed first update had passed, but they were still twenty miles away from the west city. Xu Huang couldn't help but be anxious and ordered the soldiers to speed up the march. However, the rugged mountain road made it very difficult to march at high speed.

When Xu Huang led his army to Xicheng, it was already two o'clock in the evening, and Xiahou Yuan had already led his army north.

It was very quiet outside the west city. Xu Huang immediately looked at the Han army camp in the distance from a high place. The lights of the Han army camp could be faintly seen. The Han army was stationed on a low hillside. The camp was undulating with the mountains, with the highest point of about twenty feet and the lowest point on the flat ground.

The entire Han army camp was distributed in a long strip along the north and south direction, which was about the width of the camp in Xicheng. However, two of the miles were built on the hillside, and only one miles was distributed on the flat ground. For them, the best attack point was the Yili camp distributed on the flat ground.

At this time, Deputy General Zhang He urged him to step forward and said, "Gongming, General Xiahou led his army north before we arrived. There were only 12,000 soldiers in the west city, commanded by Hao Zhao."

Xu Huang nodded and asked again: "What's the state of Hao Zhao?"

"He said that General Xiahou's order was to stick to the city. He said that he could not send troops to help us, and at most he could only provide material and food support."

Xu Huang didn't say anything for a long time. The Prime Minister's order was to fight together with the two armies to capture the Han army's big village. Unexpectedly, Xiahou Yuan refused to send troops at a critical moment. Xu Huang knew that there was a question of who was the main and who was the deputy. It was obvious that Xiahou Yuan did not want his army to assist.

Helplessly, Xu Huang had to say to Zhang He: "Start deploy the army and launch an attack after half an hour."

......

In the Han army camp, Zhang Ren urged his horse to inspect everywhere and command the army to deploy defense. He was very abide by and meticulous. This was also the first opportunity he had obtained to command operations since he surrendered to Liu Jing. This opportunity was his dream, and he also knew that Zhao Yun gave this opportunity to him, which made Zhang Ren full of gratitude to Zhao Yun.

Zhang Ren stopped in front of a huge catapult and stared at the Cao army in the distance. The moonlight was clear tonight, and the silver light shone on the earth, making people see the vast view. You can clearly see the dark Cao army in the distance being deployed. Tens of thousands of people holding torches in their hands formed a sea of ​​fire. They made their final preparations before the attack.

At this time, Pang Tong hurriedly found him, "General Zhang"

Zhang Ren bowed his fists immediately, "Is there anything wrong with the military advisor?"

Pang Tong pointed to a forest east and suggested: "We should deploy a flexible army on the periphery. Two thousand people are enough. Having harassed Cao's army on the periphery may have unexpected results."

Zhang Ren pondered for a moment and smiled: "The military advisor is right. It is indeed necessary to deploy such an army on the periphery."

Lei Tong, who was standing beside him, clasped his fists and said, "General, I am willing to lead the peripheral army."

Zhang Ren patted his shoulder and smiled and said, "If the enemy breaks through the camp, how can we do without a powerful general like General Lei? The periphery is just harassment. There is no need for many brave generals, ordinary generals can do it."

Lei Tong was satisfied with Zhang Ren's praise and smiled, "I obey the general's arrangements."

Zhang Ren nodded and then ordered: "Come Wang Ping for me."

After a moment, Wang Ping rushed over and said with his fist: "See General."

Zhang Ren smiled and said, "I want to send an army to harass and attack Cao's army on the periphery, but there will be no more troops, only one thousand people. General Wang is willing to receive the order."

Since Wang Ping surrendered to Liu Jing, he has never had a chance to go into battle. Of course, this is because he just surrendered and it takes some time to adapt. But at this time, the Han army encountered a serious crisis, and Wang Ping could not sit still. Zhang Ren gave him a task. Wang Ping bowed without hesitation and said, "Abide by the orders of humble duties."

Zhang Ren quickly glanced at Lei Tong who was standing not far away and whispered to Wang Ping: "Your mission is important, and all actions are up to you to decide. I hope you don't disappoint me."

"Please rest assured, the general will never disappoint the general."

Wang Ping hurried away with a polite look. He led a thousand elite soldiers out of the back door of the camp to go around the mountain ridge and penetrated directly to the side of Cao's army.

At this moment, the sound of the attack drums of Cao's army rumbling, and the shouts of killing were shocking. The 20,000 Cao's army launched the first wave of attacks on the Han army camp. Zhang Ren rushed up the hill and waved his sword and shouted loudly: "The crossbowman is in his position, and the catapult is ready to launch."

With a squeaking sound, twenty heavy throws were pulled back, and huge fireballs were loaded into the iron pockets, and the launch was about to break out.
Chapter completed!