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On the official road about forty miles west of Wancheng, an army of more than 10,000 people were marching quickly towards Wancheng. This was the 10,000 troops led by Pang De. They were originally stationed in Nanxiang County and were preparing to enter Wuguan west. However, news of Cao's army's large-scale counterattack came, so Pang De ordered him to give up Nanxiang and return to Wancheng immediately.

Pang De also realized the serious problem and hurriedly led his army to the east to Wancheng. But for some reason, Pang De always had an ominous premonition in his heart. He would not go smoothly when he returned to Wancheng this time, and he felt that Cao's army would not let him return to Wancheng easily.

Pang De walked in the middle of the team and kept looking north. There were continuous rolling and gentle hills and large wheat fields in the north. The woods made him look short of his eyes. He saw that he was still forty miles away from Wancheng, but his uneasiness was getting stronger and stronger.

At this moment, a soldier pointed to the north and shouted: "General, the scout is back."

A few cavalry rushed towards this side quickly and stepped across the large wheat field in panic. Pang De's heart suddenly sank. The Han army's military discipline was severe, and the person who stepped on the wheat died. These scouts ignored the military discipline so much, and there must be something big about it.

"General" scout shouted from afar: "Cao's cavalry are coming."

The Han soldiers suddenly became a little panicked, but Pang De calmed down. As expected, he urged the horse to meet him and asked, "How many cavalry are there?"

"About five thousand cavalry, there are still several miles away from us. We are about to arrive. Please make a decision as soon as possible."

Pang De nodded and scolded the scout, "I will settle the score with you after I'm trampling on the wheat. No matter how anxious I'm not going to violate military discipline."

He then turned around and ordered: "The whole army turned around and evacuate westward."

Pang De knew very well that their strength comparison with the Cao army's cavalry. Their 10,000 infantry was by no means the opponent of the 5,000 cavalry, not to mention that the Cao army's most elite tiger and leopard cavalry, unless they were heavy armor infantry. In this case, only by evacuating quickly and getting rid of the Cao army's cavalry was the way to survive.

Pang De's mind was changing. The Cao army did not allow them to go to Wancheng. They would inevitably come around from the east, and to the south was the plain. They could not escape from Cao's army and could only evacuate westward. Twenty miles away was Fangshan. Going up the mountain could avoid Cao's cavalry.

The Han army turned around and ran westward. At this moment, dust was flying in the northeast direction, the earth shook, and a muffled thunder sounded. With the rich experience of Pang De's cavalry, he immediately judged that the Cao army was still far away from them.

At this time, Deputy General Yang Qing urged him to come forward and said to Pang De: "Cao's horse speed is very fast, I'm afraid we can't escape the enemy. I am willing to lead thousands of troops to block the Cao's cavalry."

This is a strategy to survive by cutting off your arms. Pang De nodded silently and patted Yang Qing on the shoulder, "Living is your great achievement."

Yang Qing turned his horse's head and shouted: "The army behind me will come."

Pang De led a large army to retreat quickly, while Deputy General Yang Qing led the Thousand Han soldiers to quickly line up on the back of the official road, Zhang crossbow and arrowed at the Cao cavalry coming from afar. Looking at the fierce Cao cavalry, many Han soldiers were shocked and changed their colors.

The recruitment of Wancheng has received news that Cao's army has launched a large-scale transfer of troops to Ye County. This news is expected to be recruited. Nanyang County is not like Anlu County. When the Han army seized Anlu County, Cao's army agreed and has not counterattacked for many years.

Nanyang is different. Nanyang can reach Luoyang to the north, Chang'an to the northwest, and Xuchang to the northeast. The strategic position is extremely important. When Cao Cao conquered Zhang Xiu, he captured Nanyang. The Cao army could not tolerate the Han army capturing Nanyang. However, the time point of Cao's counterattack caught Pin off guard.

The Cao army counterattacked Nanyang just as the Han army was building momentum to capture Guanzhong. In order to cooperate with the momentum, Pang De hired to lead 10,000 troops to Nanxiang County to prepare to attack Wuguan. Cao army counterattacked Nanyang at this time. It has to be said that this is related to the situation in Guanzhong.

What worries Pin now is that Wancheng only has 10,000 defenders, with a small force, and it is difficult to resist the large-scale attack of Cao's army. He has ordered Pang De's army to rush back to Wancheng quickly, hoping to complete the deployment before Cao's army heads south.

On the top of the city, Pin was looking to the west. In terms of time, Pang De's army should have arrived, but there is no news for now, and even the team of scouts he sent was missing, which made Pin worry.

At this moment, a team of cavalry rushed from afar. It was the scout he sent, but he only sent twenty people. Now he has returned more than ten people, with more than a dozen people. Pin knew something must have happened, so he hurriedly shouted: "Open the city gate quickly and let them in."

The suspension bridge was lowered, the city gate slowly opened, and the cavalry rushed into the city quickly. Soon, a soldier led a few blood-covered Han soldiers to the top of the city. When he saw Pin, he knelt down and cried loudly. Pin shouted in an anxious voice, "Don't cry, tell me what happened."

An officer wiped his tears and said, "We met five thousand Cao army cavalry halfway through. General Pang led his army to retreat westward. General Yang Qing led a thousand people to block the enemy. But we were no match for Cao army cavalry at all. Thousands of brothers were wiped out. Even General Yang Qing was killed in battle. Only a dozen of us escaped by luck."

Pin was stunned and there were five thousand cavalrymen. After a while, he asked again: "How is General Pang's army now?"

The scout beside him bowed and said, "General Pang's main force retreated to Fangshan, just twenty miles west, and General Yang Qing's team blocked the Cao's cavalry for about half an hour. From the time perspective, General Pang's main force should have gone up the mountain, and Cao's cavalry was still one step later."

Pin Moran was speechless, this was just a calculation, but the real situation was whether Pang De's army could escape the pursuit of Cao's cavalry. He was full of worries.

At this moment, a soldier stepped forward to report: "General, Deng Zhizhong said that there is something urgent to see the general."

Pin was stunned. Deng Yi was inconvenient to his legs and feet. Why did he come? He quickly walked to the female wall. Deng Yi sat in a bamboo carriage and waved to him under the city. Pin hurriedly walked down the city and bowed, "Why is Mr. Deng coming?"

"I heard some news, let me tell the general."

Pin Yi pointed to the house next to him and said, "Please go to the house to talk."

The two followers carried the bamboo chariot into the house and retreated. Deng Yi then said to Pin: "I heard the rumors that many big families in the city were already in secret contact and were preparing to respond to Cao's army. Although it was a rumor, I believe this is true."

"How did they know that Cao's army was going to counterattack Nanyang?" Pin asked in surprise.

"I don't know the specifics. Maybe Cao Jun had sent an envoy to contact him in advance."

Pin frowned slightly, and he felt that Deng Yi was a little insincere. As the first family in Nanyang, how could he not know the specific situation of the wealthy family in Wancheng? It was just that he didn't want to tell him.

However, it is understandable that as the leader of the Nanyang family, the Deng family will never betray the village party. Deng Yi is the greatest sincerity to tell him this news.

I didn't want to make things difficult for Deng Yi, but he didn't understand why this happened? The wealthy people in Wancheng actually kissed Cao. This is unrealistic. Nanyang should be a traditional sphere of influence in Jingzhou. How can a gentry kiss Cao?

"Can Mr. Deng tell me what's the reason? I really can't figure it out."

Deng Yi smiled bitterly and said, "Actually, this is related to Jingsheng back then. More than 50 gentry families in Nanyang wrote to Jingsheng to oppose the transfer of Nanyang to Zhang Xiu. However, Jingsheng still ignored the opposition of the gentry and gave Nanyang to Zhang Xiu, which attracted Zhang Xiu's revenge and led to the destruction of many families. This incident caused the hearts of the gentry in Nanyang. In addition, Cao Cao was good to Nanyang. He exempted Nanyang from taxes for several years before and after the Battle of Red Cliff, which was deeply loved by the people of Nanyang. Cao Hong was incompetent and did not defend Nanyang, but could not change the relatives of Nanyang. He heard that the Cao army was going to counterattack Nanyang, and I guess all counties in Nanyang would open cities to welcome Cao's army. It would be inevitable that the Wancheng gentry would have abnormal movements."

After a while of recruitment, he said angrily: "But now is no longer the era of Liu Jingsheng. Now we are supporting the Han Dynasty, don't they understand?"

Deng Yi shook his head, "This will take time to change slowly. After all, Duke Jing is Jingsheng's nephew, and the people of Nanyang will not accept it for a while. What I mean is to tell the general that he must not mobilize civilians to defend the city, as it will give them a chance, leading to a mutiny in the war and accelerating the fall of Wancheng."

Pin felt really embarrassed. He was considering whether to mobilize the people of Wancheng to participate in the defense of the city. Deng Yi poured a basin of cold water on him. After all, the Han army did not occupy Nanyang for a long time, and he did not know the true thoughts of the gentry in Wancheng. If it was true as Deng Yi said, things would be in trouble.

Recruiting the gift, "Thank you, Mr. Deng, for prompt notification, I understand what to do."

When he was hired to send Deng Yi away, he immediately found several confidant guards and whispered to them: "You can find a way to find out if there are any big families in the city gathering strong men in secret. Be more secretive and not be discovered."

The soldiers took the order and left, and sent several scouts to investigate the whereabouts of Pang De's army and the situation of the main force of Cao's army.

As time gradually approached, the wind began to get tense. The shops and taverns in Wancheng were closed one after another. Several personal soldiers who were hired to investigate the situation also brought bad news. There were indeed some wealthy families gathering to strengthen the men, ranging from most to as many as a dozen. They used the excuse to protect their property, but their specific motives were unknown.

At the same time, there was also news about the whereabouts of Pang De's army. Pang De's seven thousand troops had retreated south from Fangshan to Yin County, and could cross the Han River to Fangling County at any time. The five thousand Cao's cavalry rushed to Jingyang County. The five thousand garrisons of Jingyang County who were preparing to come to Wancheng were forced to return to Jingyang.

The various disadvantages made Pin feel very upset. Their intelligence in the Central Plains was not strong and they could not know in advance that Cao's army would increase troops in Ye County and counterattack Nanyang, which led to his misjudgment and failure to concentrate his troops in time, which eventually led to the passive situation of dispersed troops today.

If he had known one day earlier that Cao's army had increased its troops in Ye County, Pang De's army would have rushed back to Wancheng.
Chapter completed!