Even the local snake Tian Kai didn't know where Cao Jun found so many cannon fodder. In short, in front of Cao Jun's formation, there were piles in the east and west, and there were teams of hungry people in ragged clothes and sallow faces everywhere, including men, women, old and young.

Holding all kinds of broken farm tools and various weapons, they weakly shouted morale-boosting slogans, waiting for Cao Jun's order to launch an attack on the city, gambling their humble lives in exchange for the chance to get a mouthful of life-saving food.

Eat.

None of these cannon fodders are strong. Almost every one of them has thin hands and feet. Their abdomens are swollen due to hunger. They are bulging as if they were ten months pregnant. There are deep pits in their skin when pressed. Their hair and teeth are seriously lacking in nutrition.

Because of this, their hair has fallen out and their teeth have become loose. The dirty pieces of cloth hanging on their bodies are also full of the smell of putrid corpses. As soon as they smell it, they will know that they are tattered clothes taken from the dead bodies. They are dirty and smelly.

Humanoid monsters, walking zombies with hungry green eyes.

The war drums sounded, and the soldiers of Cao's army who were responsible for the cover rushed forward with their shields. They formed temporary fortifications beside the moat that had been completely filled with corpses of earth and stone. The archers and crossbowmen hid behind the shields and fired arrows to suppress the city.

The defenders, Yuan Shaojun's cannon fodder and Cao Jun's troops also urged their own cannon fodder to attack the city. Their words of encouragement could be heard clearly from far away, "Go! Go! Who is the first to attack?"

For the city wall, I will be rewarded with one bushel of grain! If I conquer the city, I will be rewarded with two bushels of grain for every harvest! I will be in charge of food for ten years! Anyone who wants to eat or not starve to death, please give it to me!"

With the desire to survive, Cao's army's cannon fodder team, all composed of local hungry people in Qingzhou, moved, carrying crude and rickety heavy flying ladders, holding wooden sticks, bamboo guns, hoes, wooden shovels and other crude weapons,

He screamed feebly and couldn't tell whether it was a slogan or a groan, and charged towards the county wall with frivolous steps. He launched a charge that was not much faster than normal walking, and launched a charge that was no different from a moth rushing into a flame.

The city wall of Zhuxian County, which is well prepared but hides life-saving rations, is a bright and warm fire that hides murderous intent. The hungry corpses of Qingzhou, which are like walking corpses, are moths. This group of moths that are so hungry that they can no longer fly are also a group of pitiful moths.

, years of disasters, local corruption, tyranny and lawlessness, warlords fighting, farm work abandoned, bones exposed in the wild, no roosters crowing for thousands of miles, these moths who were originally good people will certainly die as cannon fodder, but they will not escape death if they are not cannon fodder.

It would be better to risk their lives and die, so even though they knew there was fire ahead, these desperate moths still pounced on the flames without hesitation.

The outcome of Moths Flying in Fire was doomed from the beginning, because what they faced was the Qingzhou regular army that was armed to the teeth, or the regular army with solid fortifications, so even if they struggled to get close to the city wall, there was almost nothing they could do.

If they had the opportunity to touch the city wall, the arrows and flying stones on the city wall were as dense as a violent storm, and their team was so scattered. As soon as the arrow rain fell, their team had already begun to collapse.

There were also loud cries, and behind them, there were Cao Jun's war supervising soldiers with their bare chests exposed and carrying sharp swords... Of course Tian Kai on the city wall knew that he was wasting his strength.

There were not many arrows, and he knew that the enemies under the city wall were actually Qingzhou people, but Tian Kai had no choice, because last time Tian Kai relented a little, and wanted to save some precious arrows, so that these hungry people rushed to the city.

, as a result, Cao Jun's regular army immediately launched a charge, mixed in with the hungry people, rushed to the bottom of the city, and rushed up the city wall on a solid flying ladder. Tian Kai spent a lot of effort and sacrificed many soldiers to repel Cao Jun.

, so from that time on, Tian Kai never dared to be soft-hearted or frugal, and every time he treated the cannon fodder troops sent by Cao Jun as real enemies.

Because of the ruthlessness of the Qingzhou coalition forces, the first wave of attacks by Cao Jun's cannon fodder troops was quickly repelled, but it didn't matter to Cao Ren, Cheng Yu, Liu Huangshu and others, because Cao Jun had too many cannon fodders.

An empty promise of food after the city was breached deceived tens of thousands of hungry people from the surrounding areas, and some were cannon fodder for Cao's army to squander. But Cao's army didn't care. Sangong of Dayuan, who was responsible for the logistics supply of Cao and Yuan's coalition forces, did

I had to express my feelings. As soon as the first wave of cannon fodder attacks by Cao's army were dispersed, Sangong of Yuan Dynasty immediately sent in, called Cao Ren and Cheng Yu in front of them, and asked bluntly: "Why don't your troops attack the city?

Sending these people who are about to starve to death to attack the city will serve no purpose other than wasting food and time."

"Then why didn't your Jizhou army launch an siege?" Cao Ren was angry in his heart and replied firmly: "Our army will launch an siege on its own, but not now. We must wait for the hungry people of Qingzhou to create ants for our army."

With opportunity.”

"Don't be anxious, Mr. Yuan. Let me explain." Cheng Yu was afraid of another conflict between Cao Ren and Mr. Yuan, so he hurriedly nodded and bowed his head and explained: "According to the confessions of the prisoners captured by our army, Tian Kai's army came from the Yellow River ferry.

We gave up a lot of non-essential baggage during the retreat, and there were not many feathered arrows in the county. The Tian Kai thieves were already collecting feather fans from house to house to make arrowheads. Therefore, as long as the hungry people consume all the arrowheads of the rebel army, our two armies will be able to fight again.

It will be much easier when the ants attack the city. Please rest assured, Mr. Yuan, when the arrowheads of Tian Kai's rebel army are exhausted, our army will definitely launch the ant attack and capture the county town in one fell swoop."

"How long will it take to wait?" Sangong Dayuan asked angrily: "Do you know how much food and grass my 60,000-strong army and your more than 20,000-strong army will consume in one day?"

"Yu knows that Mr. Yuan is under a lot of logistical pressure, but please rest assured Mr. Yuan, it won't be too long." Cheng Yu nodded and continued to perfunctory, and then comforted: "Actually, Mr. Yuan doesn't need to be so anxious. He has been in the county for the past few days.

There were constant desertions, and Duke Yuan must have learned from the prisoners that in fact the food and grass in the county was not as sufficient as we expected, and a plague broke out. Countless soldiers and civilians fell ill, and the soldiers had no fighting spirit and no fighting spirit.

The Tian Kai traitors have long had the idea of ​​abandoning the city and breaking out of the siege, but they are worried about the heavy siege between your and our armies, so they dare not act rashly if they are not sure. Mr. Yuan does not even need to attack the city, as long as he persists in the siege for a period of time, the small county town can be defeated without attacking."

"Where did the food and grass supplies for the siege come from?" Sangong Dayuan yelled angrily: "With more than 80,000 troops, plus the horses, not counting the consumption on the road, the food and grass consumed in one day is more than 6,000 dendrobium! You guys!

My lord Bai Shao also made excuses about the drought in northern Henan and the locust plague in Yanzhou, and asked me to pay for your food, grass and military supplies. How can you use such words to deal with me?!"

Cheng Yu closed his mouth with shame on his face. Yuan Tan next to him saw that the situation was not good and quickly opened his mouth to divert his father's attention. He said sinisterly: "Father, the most hateful person is actually the little thief Tao Ying from Xuzhou. If not,

He helped the thief Tian Kai break into Uncle Cao's Thunderbolt Chariot, and the small town in the county had long been captured by Uncle Cao's team. The thief Tian Kai is the mortal enemy of our army, but the little thief Tao Ying..."

"Shut up!" Sangong Da Yuan angrily interrupted his eldest son's instigation, and yelled at Yuan Tan with a livid face: "Are you my son, or the son of Cao Ahao?! You called your brother-in-law a thief,

He also insisted on behalf of Cao Ah Man that Tian Kai’s method of cracking Cao Ah Man’s Thunderbolt car was taught by your brother-in-law. Then your mother asked you Na Yao, where is your evidence? Why can’t you say a word?!”

"I'm going to leave my words here today. If you dare to slander your brother-in-law in front of me again and sow discord between me and your brother-in-law, then you don't have to be my son! Go to Xuchang and be Cao Aman's son!"

"

Seeing that Lord Yuan Sangong was so angry that he even said such words, Yuan Tan suddenly sweated profusely and his face turned pale. Cao Ren and Cheng Yu gritted their teeth when they heard Lord Yuan Sangong insulting Boss Cao.

He secretly resented that if Cheng Yu hadn't pulled him away, Cao Ren would have jumped out again and fought tooth and nail with Sangong Da Yuan who insulted his clan brother.

Fortunately, at this moment, the rescuers appeared and insisted on going out with the army to meet their daughter and son-in-law. The Liu family, the third wife of Yuan Sangong, who was hated to the bone by Cao Jun Wenwu and Yuan Tan, was suddenly surrounded by the soldiers of Yuan Shaojun's brigade.

He arrived in front of the battle in a carriage and brought a middle-aged man with a strange appearance to Sangong Da Yuan. Before he even got out of the car, he couldn't wait to smile at Sangong Da Yuan and said: "Husband, good news, it's good to be young.

information."

"What good news? Can you, my husband, come to the battle in person to report the news?"

The tense face of Mr. Yuan Sangong, who was in a rage, finally relaxed a little. Mr. Yuan Tan, who was trembling with fear, also found for the first time that his stepmother Jingran still had some tenderness. Cheng Yu over there also breathed a sigh of relief quietly, but Mr. Liu

The next words made Mr. Yuan Tan and Cheng Yu's hearts suddenly rise to their throats again, "Of course it's the good news about our daughter and son-in-law. Our filial son-in-law has received a letter. The content in the letter will definitely satisfy you, husband."

Be happy to know how filial our son-in-law is."

Smiling, Ms. Liu quickly walked up to Sangong Dayuan, and couldn't wait to deliver a letter bag to Sangong Dayuan. Sangong Dayuan, who had suffered a loss, first checked that the seal was correct, and then opened the envelope and took out the letter to read.

The result was just as Liu said, when he saw his son-in-law first reported to him the date and route of dispatching troops, Sangong Yuan's face, which had been extremely livid just now, suddenly showed a relaxed smile.

After giving him 100,000 hu of dendrobium as military rations to help him reduce his logistical burden, Sangong Dayuan was even more overjoyed. He smiled happily and said, "Yes, Ying'er is very filial, and I didn't recruit this son-in-law in vain."

"Yes, husband, do you think our son-in-law is more considerate and considers your difficulties?" Ms. Liu took the opportunity to say with a pun: "Compared with your young friend, husband, our son-in-law is

Isn’t it much stronger?”

"Yes, a son-in-law is half a son. After all, he is our half son, and he is still a reliable member of his own family." Da Yuan Sangong agreed with his wife's words, and glared at Cao Ren and Cheng Yu fiercely, wanting to think more and more.

Boss Cao's two lackeys were cut to pieces and executed in Ling Chi! Cao Ren and Cheng Yu didn't know the reason, but they could not help but feel even more worried when they saw Mr. Yuan Sangong's expression was not kind.

"Lord, what's the good news?" Xun Chen came up and asked.

"I'll tell you later, I haven't finished reading it yet." Sangong Dayuan shook his head and quickly read the rest of the content. Then Sangong Dayuan's face suddenly became weird, and he looked at Cao Ren and Cheng Yu in front of him.

, making Cao Ren and Cheng Yu even more frightened, and their bad premonitions became stronger.

"Lord, what's the matter?" Guo Tu, who was standing behind Yuan Tan, also noticed that something was wrong and hurriedly came up to inquire about the situation.

"It's nothing." Considering that Cao Ren and Cheng Yu were right in front of him, Sangong Dayuan shook his head decisively and denied it. He first put away the son-in-law's letter, then turned to the middle-aged man brought by his wife and asked: "You are my son-in-law.

A messenger sent?"

"The young envoy Song Kai pays homage to Duke Yuan." Song Kai quickly saluted and took out a letter from his arms, explaining: "The young envoy was sent to Tian Kai's rebel army on the order of his lord, and submitted a letter of war to Tian Kai's rebel army face to face.

, to inform our army of the date and route of dispatching troops, in order to repay Tian Kai's kindness in rescuing Xuzhou. This letter is here for Mr. Yuan to read."

Mr. Yuan Sangong, who was broad on the outside and narrow on the inside, was not polite. He took the letter from Deputy Director Tao to Tian Kai and opened it. Then he handed the letter to Xun Chen, Guo Tu and other close advisers and asked them to read it.

Yuan Tan also came up to watch together, but after only a quick glance, Yuan Tan immediately shouted, "Absurd! Absolutely ridiculous! Since ancient times, there has always been a way to determine the strength, time and route of troops.

Did you tell the enemy in advance? Tao Yingxiao..., your brother-in-law is simply ridiculous!"

"Is this ridiculous?" Sangong Da Yuan said angrily: "My son-in-law has received great favor from Tian Kai, and he was ordered to send troops to Qingzhou to attack Tian Kai. He met the soldiers who were enraged in the past. I informed Tian Kai first of the time and route.

, it is an upright gentleman's style, where is the absurdity?"

Yuan Tan retreated with shame on his face, but Cheng Yu panicked and hurriedly persuaded him: "Mr. Yuan, we can't let the Xuzhou messenger deliver the letter to the city! Mr. Yuan, please think twice. Although Tao Shijun is doing this, he is a gentleman."

Feng, but if Tian Kai and Kong Rong are allowed to know Tao Shijun's troop dispatch route and march route in advance and make arrangements and preparations in advance, it will be very detrimental to the next war between your two armies!"

"Is it detrimental to your Cao army's war?"

It can also let the Tian Kai traitors know that a fire is about to break out in their rear, prompting the Tian Kai traitors to abandon the county and break out into the hinterland, which will facilitate our army to launch field operations. It can also greatly shorten the time required for our army to attack the city and save our army's food and grass expenditure.

"

After finishing speaking, Xun Chen turned to Cheng Yu and said with a smile: "Mr. Zhongde, if Tian Kai's traitors abandon the city and break out, although your army camp will definitely bear the brunt, sir, please rest assured that your army and ours are allies.

Even if the war is tense, my lord will definitely not sit idly by - lord, do you think so?"

"Oh! Oh, yes, yes." Da Yuan Sangong was stunned for a moment before he reacted, and then said with a smile: "You Ruo is right, Meng De is my brother, his team is in a tight war, I will definitely pay tribute to Yanzhou back then.

Same thing, troops will be dispatched immediately for rescue, so Mr. Zhongde doesn’t have to worry.”

Having said that, Sangong Da Yuan did not give Cheng Yu and Cao Ren a chance to speak. He immediately turned to Song Kai and ordered: "Go ahead, carry a white flag to the county seat, and present the letter to the traitor Tian Kai in person. , prepare a white flag for Mr. Song." Song Kai bowed to thank him, took the letter, and went to the county seat with a small white flag, leaving Cao Ren and Cheng Yu gnashing their teeth and furious.

Before the matter was over, after ordering Cao Ren and Cheng Yu to return to Cao's army and continue to lead troops to prepare for the attack, Sangong Yuan took out the letter from his son-in-law to himself, handed it to Xun Chen and Guo Tu, and said: "Read them all, I My son-in-law wrote a letter to introduce Zhang Ji to Wancheng, begging me to look at his face, accept Zhang Ji's uncle and nephew's affiliation, and come forward to protect Zhang Ji's uncle and nephew who have established themselves in Wancheng. What do you think?"

"Wancheng Zhang Ji?" Guo Tu, who belonged to the Grand Young Master's Party, changed his face on the spot, and suddenly understood Deputy Director Tao's disgusting and vicious intentions of Boss Cao, and quickly said to stop him: "Lord, this matter is absolutely impossible. No, Zhang Ji is a remnant of Dong Zhuo and has committed crimes against the country. If the lord accepts Zhang Ji as his ally, it will be greatly detrimental to the lord's reputation!"

"Father, Mr. Gongze is right. You must not accept Zhang Ji's surrender." Although Yuan Tan did not understand Deputy Director Tao's intentions, since it was Deputy Director Tao who supported him, Mr. Yuan Tan naturally stood up and opposed it. , said quickly: "Father, I, the fourth and third prince of the Yuan family, have a great reputation. If I accept the affiliation of a rebellious minister and traitor like Zhang Ji's uncle and nephew, it will greatly damage the reputation of my father and my Yuan family!"

"Really?" Da Yuan Sangong was a little hesitant. Da Yuan Sangong was a little worried that accepting Zhang Ji's uncle and nephew would damage his reputation and worsen his relationship with Boss Cao. However, considering that this was an introduction to his filial son-in-law, if To refuse flatly would be too damaging to the son-in-law's face.

"I think you are the rebellious ministers and traitors, right?" Seeing Guo Tu winking at him as if he were killing a chicken and wiping his neck, and begging him to help him speak, Xun Chen, a neutral faction who was quite loyal to the Great Yuan Sangong, could not help but feel angry and secretly said: " For your private affairs of fighting for power and profit, you completely disregard the interests of the lord and my Jizhou, and you still want me to help, leading the lord astray and dreaming!"

After muttering to himself, Xun Chen stood up without hesitation, raised his hands to the Third Duke of Yuan Dynasty and said: "My lord, in my opinion, accepting Zhang Ji's uncle and nephew to join me will actually be of great benefit to my lord and our army. A disaster! Uncle and nephew Zhang Ji is stationed in Wancheng, which is only five hundred miles away from Xuchang. There is no danger to defend on the way. It is like a sharp knife stabbing into Xuchang's back! If the lord accepts uncle and nephew Zhang Ji's submission, uncle and nephew Zhang Ji's subordinates will be quite powerful. The elite Xiliang soldiers are at the lord's disposal, so when the critical moment comes... when the lord gives the order, wouldn't it be a surprise force that goes straight into Xuchang and gets twice the result with half the effort?!"

"Mr. Youruo, Uncle Cao is my father's best friend and an ally of our army. How can you say such a thing?" Yuan Tan asked angrily.

"My lord, my lord does regard Cao Mengde as a close friend and Cao Jun as an ally, but Cao Mengde regards my lord as a close friend? Does he regard our army as an ally?" Xun Chen asked back without fear, and then Pointing to the Cao army in the distance, he said: "Master, please take a look. Those Qingzhou people who are about to die of hunger are Cao Mengde's reward for his lord!"
To be continued...