Overlord!

Chapter 263 Zhou Yu’s victory and siege of Cao Cao

Two days later, Sun Ce in Huaiyin received information about Zhuge Liang's victory.

Huang Zhong bravely led the three armies, and he urged his soldiers to advance forward. Even though Xia Houyuan had [-] soldiers around him, they were extremely skilled soldiers. He climbed to the death first, not afraid of arrows and stones, and beheaded Xia Houyuan in one battle.The Yuan army was defeated and more than [-] soldiers were beheaded. The whole army was defeated and fled.

Jiangdong's army took advantage of the situation and advanced greatly, thus breaking the siege of Dongshan.

After reading the battle report, Sun Ce laughed excitedly: "Haha, good! Good! Zhuge Liang really lived up to Gu's high expectations. With [-] sharp soldiers, he defeated more than [-] Cao's troops in one battle, beheaded thousands, and solved the siege of Dongshan. From then on, Huainan's war Fight, attack and defend with different forces!"

Even if Zhuge Liang's 5000 men were all the most elite cavalrymen in Jiangdong, it was still an extremely remarkable achievement to be able to defeat the tens of thousands of Cao's troops who were encircling them in one battle and behead Cao's general Xia Houyuan!
After all, in the battle of Dingjun Mountain, Liu Bei's Shu army was several times larger than Xia Houyuan in order to achieve the same result.

This is Xia Houyuan, who is on the right side of the tiger!One of Cao Jun's most capable clans is Guan Yu and Zhang Fei from Cao Wei's camp.

It is not difficult to defeat Cao Jun. After all, Cao Jun's army's farming system led to low military morale and fighting spirit, and he suffered a series of defeats.But after defeating Cao Jun, he beheaded the most senior general of Cao Jun. This is so commendable!
Sun Ce immediately said: "Move Zhuge Liang to the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Military Division, and grant him the title of Marquis of Guan Nei! Give him a hundred pieces of brocade and a hundred pieces of gold! And reward his entire army with 5000 pieces of silk and [-] million yuan!"

The money is 5000 million, which is [-] yuan. This is definitely a generous reward!
Even if Jiangdong's treasury has always been rich and he is the best in the world, if he spends [-] min in one go, it will be more than [-]% of Jiangdong's treasury.

If these [-] yuan are divided equally, each soldier in the army can get ten yuan, which is comparable to his annual salary!
There is no doubt that this is Sun Ce's attempt to strengthen Zhuge Liang and let the soldiers know that following Zhuge Liang can win the battle and get richer rewards.

It had only been two or three months since Zhuge Liang went to war, and he had been promoted from captain to military advisor, lieutenant general. Obviously, this speed was unusual. On the third day of March, Jane was in the heart of the emperor.

But in today's troubled times, military merit is the most important resume.If the others can lead an army to kill a general who is comparable to Xia Houyuan in Cao's army, they will definitely be promoted.

After all, ever since Huo Qubing repeatedly defeated the Xiongnu, no one in the world has ever questioned whether his title as champion is worthy of his title.

At this moment, Zhuge Liang is afraid that he will become a powerful Wuhou in the Jiangdong Army soon!
After the champion, there will be a new one who is good at fighting and conquers the entire army.

Zhang Hong in the military tent was also extremely shocked. When the Marquis of Wu advocated the use of Zhuge Liang and a boy to lead the army, the whole army was confused and thought that the Marquis of Wu was nepotistic.After all, Zhuge Liang has always been just talking about military affairs on paper. He has neither the qualifications to lead an army in combat nor the reputation to make a name for himself in the world.As a result, Wu Hou abandoned so many veteran generals who had great military achievements and were good at conquering and fighting, but used a boy as the general to lead the army to attack Cao Jun's brave and good fighting general Xiahou Yuan.

Everyone in the army thought that the Battle of Huainan would follow the Battle of Changping.

But unexpectedly, as soon as the good news came out, the three armies were shocked!

Wu Hou turned out to be truly discerning about talents, and his arrogance in selecting talents and appointing them was unparalleled in the world.

After being shocked, Zhang Hong said: "General, Zhuge Liang's troops took advantage of the advance. If Cao Jun does not want to be attacked from inside and outside, he will definitely break the siege of Dongshan. Now that the offensive and defensive forces are different, it is time for us to station in Linhuai and surround Cao Jun. Cao Cao is the world's leader. He is a hero, if he can be eliminated, the general's hegemony will flourish!"

Sun Ce nodded in approval. When it was time to kill, he would never be ambiguous.

The biggest enemy of Jiangdong Hegemony is Cao Cao, if he can be eliminated.This can save several years of fighting for hegemony and reduce a large number of casualties among soldiers and civilians.

So Sun Ce said: "Order reinforcements from all over the country to garrison Dongshan immediately, and lead the three armies alone to surround Cao Cao!"

Now there is only one step away from encircling Cao Cao, that is, Zhou Yu's troops defeat Cao Ren and cut off Cao Cao's grain road to the west of Huaihe.

And the good news came faster than Sun Ce expected!

Almost as soon as Sun Ce arrived at Dongshan and set up camp outside the city, the good news from Shouchun followed.

Zhou Yu's troops actually launched the offensive earlier than Zhuge Liang. Previously, there were more than [-] troops from Lu Su's troops along the Shouchun line.

Cao Ren besieged Xia Cai while resisting reinforcements from Huainan.

At first, all the generals of Cao's army thought they were outnumbered and wanted to set up formations along the water to resist the Jiangdong army.

But Cao Ren refused vigorously, saying: "This is a sign of weakness, but it is not enough to defeat the enemy. It is not a calculation. It is better to lead it to the river far away, and then attack halfway, then Lu Su can defeat it."

So they formed a formation north of the Huai River, but Lu Su was suspicious and refused to cross.Cao Ren then stood firm, showing that he had no intention of fighting back, and stationed himself in Huaibei to consolidate Cao's army's left line.

But after Zhou Yu took office, he quickly clarified the situation and told the generals that since Cao Ren invited others to cross the river and fight, he was relying on his strength, and his arrogance could break it!

Then all three armies were mobilized, the boat divisions were densely packed, and they advanced with great fanfare.He sent an envoy to Cao Ren and said, "Please retreat three miles to allow us to cross the river and fight. We can fight on the battlefield."

Cao Ren was overjoyed when he got the letter. He was afraid that Zhou Yu would not land, so he immediately ordered the three armies to retreat.

But I never thought that when it was about to retreat, Jiangdong Army suddenly beat the golden drum and the sound of killing was loud. Tens of thousands of troops and more than [-] ships marched in from more than ten miles away.

The surface of the river was full of flags from Jiangdong's ships, and the shore was endless. As far as the eye could see, they were all Jiangdong's horsemen in red robes and black armor.Amidst the majestic and exciting Jiangdong drums, it seemed that within more than ten miles, the Jiangdong Army was fiercely attacking!

Cao's army, which was retreating, was suddenly frightened by this, and had no idea what was happening, especially the soldiers in the rear. They saw their comrades in front of them retreating continuously. They thought that their own side was already at a disadvantage in the battle, so they were defeated and returned, and they all rushed away.

Cao Ren knew at this moment that he had fallen into Zhou Yu's trick, and immediately ordered the war drums in the army to be fired, and the whole army to fight back!

He, Cao Ren, is not a mediocre person who knows nothing about military affairs. Especially since he has followed Cao Cao for a long time, he is proficient in all kinds of changes and can advance with both feet and cavalry.

In order to defeat Zhou Yu's army, he ambushed an elite force not far away, not arrayed with the main force. He intended to ambush Zhou Yu after the army joined forces with the enemy, and attack both internally and externally, thus defeating Zhou Yu.

Although the main force was now in panic, the more than a thousand elite soldiers were still intact. Under the command of the fierce general Niu Jin, they immediately rushed out.

This is the absolute direct descendant of Cao Ren's subordinates. Their soldiers are extremely elite, comparable to Jiangdong's Jiefan Army, but the armor and staff may be slightly inferior.

More than a thousand of his elite troops came to cover up the enemy, and they were sure to severely inflict heavy damage on the Jiangdong Army that took advantage of the advance.

However, Zhou Yu is an absolute famous general of the battle faction. He is majestic, heroic, and extremely talented. He is unique in decisive battles and facing enemies on the battlefield, far better than Cao Ren.

Before the army attacked, he sent General Zhu Huan to lead [-] strong crossbowmen to prevent the enemy from counterattack.

Niu Jin suddenly attacked, and although Jiangdong's army was defeated, they immediately encountered the elite troops led by General Zhu Huan.

Zhu Huan's troops fired strong crossbows and covered the ground with arrows and rocks. Cao's army's offensive was curbed and the rout could no longer be stopped.Zhou Yu took advantage of the situation to cover up the killing and chased for more than [-] miles. Cao's army was defeated and his weapons, armor and staff were abandoned all over the countryside.Jiangdong's army captured more than [-] troops, more than [-] oxen, horses, mules and donkeys, and carts, and their military supplies and equipment were almost exhausted.

Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang both achieved complete victories in these two battles, but the focus of their gains was slightly different. Under the Dongshan City, due to the proximity to the main force of Cao's army and the dense fortresses, Zhuge Liang's pursuit was limited, so he killed the general and captured the flag as his great achievement. Even Cao's army Many troops withdrew from the defensive line camps in an orderly manner, and with the support of Cao Jun, they withdrew to the main camp.

Zhou Yu, on the other hand, was vigorously pursuing death and chasing north, severely defeating Cao Ren's troops, inflicting heavy casualties and capturing all his army's supplies.Cao Ren had to abandon the camp and retreat for dozens of miles before re-engaging the camp, stabilizing his position, and gathering his defeated troops.

By the time Sun Ce marched to Dongshan in October, Cao's army had been effectively cut off from its logistical supplies, and due to the freezing weather, more than [-] troops were trapped in Linhuai.

As long as the war drags on until November, or even late October, an unprecedented victory will be ushered in!
If Sun Ce wiped out the main force of Cao's army of 3 to [-] in one battle, it would be a natural thing to shock the Central Plains. Cao Cao would not dare to think about the southern expedition for several years, and could only take the defensive for a long time.

Sun Ce thought that Cao Cao would panic no matter what, but he never expected that Cao Cao's army remained calm and calmly gathered the troops. The next day, Cao Cao even personally led the army to Dongshan City to attack Sun Ce.

Hearing that Cao Cao dared to come to attack the army again, the generals in Sun Ce's camp immediately became furious and asked Sun Ce for a battle.

After all, there are not many others in Jiangdong, and there are countless generals like Qin Qiong who are brave enough to win the three armies.

Zhang Liao, Zhang Fei, Huang Zhong, Gan Ning and even Zhao Yun, Han Dang and others all have the title of brave champion of the three armies.

Han Dang, in particular, had the physical strength to use his bow and horse, and he was involved in many conquests. He was in danger many times and was captured by the enemy.This evaluation of "having physical strength and being able to use bows and horses" is exactly the same as Lu Bu's.

Whenever the enemy has brave generals who come in and out to impress the crowd, Han Dang will jump on his horse and advance with a spear, and he will stab the crowd. The men and horses can make a difference, and no one can be inferior to his ambition.Every battle is fought in the vanguard and there is no strong opponent.

His reputation as a man who repeatedly committed crimes and was captured by the enemy was achieved with his own bravery. Even if it cannot be compared with Guan Yu's thorny face who stood out among all the troops, it is not far behind.

And similar to Han Dang, a fierce general, there are probably nearly ten people in Jiangdong's army.

Cao Cao shouted for his troops, and the fierce generals and soldiers in Jiangdong wanted to lead their cavalry out and capture Cao Cao.

But Cao Cao really underestimated Sun Ce's magnanimity. Although Sun Ce was known as the overlord, he was good at using troops and was not reckless.

It was impossible for him to give up his great advantage and join forces with Cao Cao.

After Zhou Yafu cut off the Wu army's logistics, he ignored King Liang's impeachment and waited until the Wu army was exhausted before taking the initiative to fight.

At this time, Cao Jun's army was in ruins and was at its peak of vigor. Combining with them to fight was in line with Cao Jun's wishes.

Therefore, Sun Ce directly ordered that anyone in the army who dared to reply and lead his army into battle would be killed!

Sun Ce's prestige is not like Sun Quan's. His prestige is based on his invincibility and fighting every battle. No one in the army dares to question Sun Ce's decision.

So the three armies were in a state of silence, and they were all ready, waiting for the time to take the initiative to fight.

A more critical problem that prevented Sun Ce from sending troops to a decisive battle with Cao Cao was the lack of military strength. Although Cao Cao's army lost troops and generals, Cao Cao still had the advantage in the middle.

Zhuge Liang broke the siege and entered, beheading Xia Houyuan, but he only beheaded more than 4 people. Cao's army still had [-] to [-] people.

Yu Jin's 5000 men on the east road were destroyed, and Cao Ren's 3000 men on the west road were killed. In total, Cao's army lost more than [-] people.

Zhou Yu estimated that Cao Jun's southern invasion was between 4 and [-], and he lost more than [-] people. There should be [-] to [-] people in the middle.

The total army of Jiangdong Army in this Huainan battle was only 4 people. There were more than 2 people at Zhou Yu's side on the left, and more than [-] people at Wei Yan's side on the right. In addition to the troops guarding various important places, Sun Ce's total army here in Dongshan was There were only about [-] men, minus the losses incurred in defending Dongshan and attacking Xiahou Yuan's troops.

Therefore, Sun Ce did not have much advantage in the Chinese Army.

The total size of the armies of both sides was almost the same. The main reason why Sun Ce was at a disadvantage in the middle was because Sun Cao adopted different tactics.

Cao Cao wanted to force Sun Ce to fight decisively in Linhuai, so he gathered a large number of troops here.

Sun Ce's counterattack was targeted and deployed to avoid the enemy's front. He used Xu Kun's troops to block the enemy's front on Dongshan, and then attacked with heavy troops on both wings, winning by force.

In fact, from the moment Yu Jin was on the flat land of Xuzhou, he was shocked by Jiangdong's cavalry, caught off guard, and forced to surrender with his troops. The entire Eastern Route Army was wiped out, and Cao Cao's southern invasion had actually failed.

Cao Cao's remaining persistence was just out of unwillingness.

It was precisely because of this that he suffered the tragic loss of an additional two thousand troops and the death of Xia Houyuan in battle!

At this moment, he, Cao Cao, personally led the main force to ask for his troops. Naturally, Sun Ce would not give up his advantage and gathered his troops to fight him recklessly.

Let’s not talk about the outcome, just the losses caused by the battle between the two armies is completely unnecessary.

So Sun Ce took only Zhao Yun and a dozen other riders out of Dongshan and met Cao Cao at the city gate.

What Sun Ce strictly prohibited was to attack with a large army. Sun Ce was very interested in Cao Cao's request to send troops, and shouted to Cao Cao: "General Cao wants to send troops, so please retreat, but how about you and I deciding the outcome? I heard General Cao He is also extremely talented and powerful. He can shoot birds with his hands and hunt wild beasts with his hands. He tried to assassinate Zhang Rang. He dances with his halberd in the court. His talents and martial arts are so outstanding that he cannot be harmed by a group of thieves, so he climbs out of the wall. You and I can fight by ourselves. Win or lose, to prevent the two armies from being destroyed!"

Hearing Sun Ce's shouting, Cao Cao's eyes were sinister, but he laughed and said: "Sun Ce's son is a little bit as shrewd as his father. He is more than brave, but not rough. How can he fight selfishly as a general?"

It is obvious that although Cao Cao is slightly brave, he cannot win against Sun Ce!
After all, there is a huge height gap between the two sides. Cao Cao is seven feet tall, just over 1.6 meters tall, and Sun Ce is eight feet three inches tall, already 1.9 meters six!
How to overcome this gap?
So Cao Cao ordered Xu Chu to step forward and shout: "General Cao wants to talk to the Marquis of Wu, and both of them have to withdraw their troops. What will happen if we only meet with the cavalry?"

Sun Ce smiled. Of course he knew that Cao Cao could not become a disciple with him, so he just called it that way to tease him.

However, Cao Cao dared to move forward to talk with only one of his servants. This courage is very worthy of praise.

Sun Ce agreed and took Zhao Yun alone, without holding a long sword and only carrying a sword forward.

When Cao Cao saw this, he also put down his long troops, and under the protection of the tiger fool Xu Chu, rode his horse to the front of Sun Ce.

(End of this chapter)