Overlord!

The sky hangs high, with misty cloud shadows. The flags of Sun and Cao's armies are fluttering, the war drums are beating, and their momentum is like a rainbow.

This was the first time that Sun Ce met Cao Cao, a legendary figure in the late Han Dynasty and a transcendent hero.

Cao Cao's horse neighs, wearing a dark brown brocade robe and a large wubian crown on his head. His eyes are bright and narrow, and his eyes are as sharp as an eagle.The bridge of his nose is high and his lips are tightly pursed. He has a sinister and decisive temperament.

His red Shu brocade cloak flutters behind his back, and he holds a long sword in his hand. Although his body is not tall, he is full of arrogance and confidence, and his demeanor is majestic. He is very incomparable. He is worthy of being the image of an overlord!

No wonder he thought he was too humble in history to be powerful enough to conquer a distant country. When he was about to meet with the Huns envoys, he sent Cui Yan to take his place, while he stood on the bedside with a sword in hand.

When the Xiongnu saw this, they commented: "The king of Wei is very elegant, but the person who catches the knife on the bedside is a hero."

Anyone who sees Cao Cao's magnanimity will have to admire his heroic spirit.

Cao Cao has an awe-inspiring temperament, like a ruthless emperor, standing on the battlefield.But Cao Cao was also shocked when he looked at Sun Ce at this moment. He saw Sun Ce's heroic appearance, extraordinary bearing, and majestic appearance, which was overwhelming.

His posture is upright, tall and mighty, like a majestic overlord.His face was handsome and resolute, and a sharp light shone between his brows, shining like a star.The bridge of his nose is straight and the corners of his mouth are slightly raised, showing a confident and determined smile.

Although both sides are heroes, it is obvious that when they meet in battle at this moment, their demeanor and mentality are very different.

Cao's army was in embarrassment, but Sun Ce's army was determined to win.In front of the battle where the two heroes met, Sun Ce was even more heroic. He had no worries that Cao Cao would rise up and assassinate him, so he said with a calm and confident smile: "General Cao invites me here, what do you say?"

As he spoke, Sun Ce glanced at Xu Chu, who was following Cao Cao with his sword pressed. He was tall and muscular, and his body was bent and tense like a tiger that chooses people to devour. He had a fierce tiger spirit.

It's just that he is obviously facing a formidable enemy at this moment. The opponent is composed of one master, one servant and two cavalry, all wearing black armor and carrying long swords at their waists. They are eight feet tall and impressive. At first glance, they are the bravest generals of the three armies.

If Xu Chu suddenly rebelled, it would be difficult to protect Cao Cao.

General Cao's romantic nature and risk-taking character really frightened his subordinates.

Compared with Sun Ce's calmness and confidence, Cao Cao was much more cautious, and said with reserve and dignity: "General Sun, your father and I were born in the same country. We broke up the family and established affairs, and we were determined to do our best to revive the Han Dynasty. Although the world is under heaven, In troubled times, we have gone through ups and downs, and there are many disputes. However, we still have heroes in each side, and heroes cherish each other."

Sun Ce sneered, he, Cao Mengde, really knew how to put gold in his face!Now he dares to discuss his seniority with his late father?

Sun Ce immediately spoke, interrupting Cao Cao and saying: "When my father encountered the Yellow Turban Rebellion, he recruited merchants and elite soldiers from Huai and Si. Together with thousands of people, he and Taiwei Zhu Jun fought together and moved forward in an indomitable manner. He even After seizing the battle and fighting to quell the chaos, the imperial court recognized him as Marquis of Wucheng. He is the esteemed Marquis of the County. How could you be associated with such an eunuch and an ugly figure like you? When my father was the Marquis of the County, you were unknown and white."

"My father, with the dignity of the princes, raised an army to attack Dong, and shocked the world. When he swept away the rebels, you were not even considered a prince in the town. You were defeated and fell, which reduced the power of our army. You are also worthy of cherishing the hero of my father. ?”

Then Sun Ce looked at Xu Chu behind Cao Cao and said: "The Emperor of the Hui Dynasty broadcasted Yue, and the bandits were disordering the government. There were warnings of chaos and danger on the border, and the bandits were fleeing from the chaos in the Central Plains, so Cao Cao was allowed to do evil. He has no talent or virtue, and he is a virtuous man. To harm good people, Yan and Yu have the power of anger and resentment. Heroes and heroes, all with good bows and powerful crossbows, have been waiting for a long time! Why don't you, heroes and heroes, follow the people's will and do righteous deeds, but help Zhou to do evil? It can be said that if the three armies can kill Cao The thief will be rewarded with a thousand pieces of gold, and he will be granted the title of ten thousand nobles. This is the autumn when the loyal ministers are devastated, and the martyrs have made meritorious deeds. Eternal honors and honors can be fought for in an instant!"

Cao Cao looked at Sun Ce with a sinister look. Today, the princes are still considered colleagues of the Han Dynasty, and they will definitely not be so desperate against each other. After all, if they are defeated and weakened, they still have to consider whether their opponents will show their favor.

However, with such words, Sun Ce defeated his opponent in person. Cao Cao snorted coldly and asked, "You are indeed worthy of being Jiangdong's rogue, but you think you are already victorious?"

Xu Chu also looked angrily at Sun Ce and said: "My father-in-law is worried about the country's danger and the people's bitterness. I lead the righteous soldiers to kill the traitors for the world. My merits are in the common people, and the world relies on them. I obey the heaven and the people, and dominate the Central Plains." . You are a small prisoner, but there is no one east of the river, so you are the leader. When my army approaches, you flee, and you don't even dare to fight me. How dare you talk about victory or defeat?"

When Sun Ce heard this, the corners of his mouth raised slightly, and a hint of teasing flashed in his eyes.His voice was high and his momentum was as powerful as a rainbow, and he said: "I am leading the Northern Expedition alone. If I hold up the flames and boil the flying canopy, and cover the sea with fertile charcoal, I will punish you Cao and the thieves, and then bring peace to the world."

Cao Cao was furious and said: "Shuzi! Shuzi! I won't retreat if I don't defeat you now! After I defeat you, your mother, wife, daughter, and orphans will all be raised by you!"

After the conversation ended, the conversation broke up unhappily, and Cao Cao rode away directly. Xu Chu held his sword behind him, looked at Sun Ce and Zhao Yun warily, and then returned slowly.

Zhao Yun looked at the two people leaving, frowned slightly, and asked: "General, Cao Cao seems to have something to rely on and is completely confident. It doesn't look like he is defeated."

Sun Ce was also puzzled. This time Sun Ce was willing to meet Cao Cao. In addition to being curious about Cao Cao, the most important thing was to convey an attitude to Cao Cao.

There was no other way. Although Sun Ce said firmly, he was actually a little unable to fight.

When winter comes, the Jiangbei Expedition will be hindered by ice transportation.

At this time, Jiangdong had to recruit tens of thousands of corvees in order to maintain the food and grass for the [-] troops on the front line.

Maintaining an army of [-] in Huainan is still like this. For the northern expedition to the Central Plains, Jiangdong is really not ready for military strength and corvee service.

If Xuzhou can be captured in this battle, connecting with Yuan Shao is already the limit of the war.

It can be said that Sun Ce never thought that Cao Cao could be defeated in the battle of Huainan.

After all, Gongsun Zan was defeated so miserably in the Battle of Jieqiao and the Battle of Baoqiu. He was beheaded by tens of thousands several times and was attacked by 10 coalition forces. He still persisted for six or seven years.

The possibility of Cao Cao dying in a battle is extremely slim.

Therefore, Sun Ce's main purpose this time was to intimidate Cao Cao, intending to contain his troops so that he would not dare to use his full strength in the battle with Yuan Shao, and had to station a large number of troops in the south.

But what is the purpose of Cao Cao inviting him?
At first, Sun Ce thought he was trying to win over him. After all, Yuan Shao's advantage was too great.

His best plan for Cao Cao's confrontation with Yuan Shao was to win over Jiangdong and unite with Guanxi to jointly attack Yuan Shao.

So as soon as he started talking about relationships, Sun Ce interrupted him directly.

But now it seems that he has ulterior motives.

Sun Ce could not attach too much importance to this outstanding man. After returning to the city, he immediately sent out his cavalry to closely monitor the movements of Cao's army.

But as Cao Cao said, he seemed completely unafraid of the current crisis and was determined to defeat Sun Ce in Huainan.

Although it was under siege, it had been gathering troops in an orderly manner, stationed troops on the banks of the Huai River, set up forts along the line, and set up camps for more than ten miles, and ordered the soldiers to set up boats and nets for fishing.

For several days, Cao's army was like this, as if there was no sense of crisis that their food and grass were about to be cut off.By mid-October, Cao Cao's army was still stable, and Sun Ce could not help but be surprised. He asked his most trusted adviser Jia Xu: "What is Cao Cao planning? How come there is no sign of defeat? Even though there is food and grass in his camp, , it has been more than ten days since Gongjin cut off the food route, and the supply should have been cut off. How can everything be calm and calm?"

After thinking about it, Sun Ce suddenly thought of a possibility and asked, "Cao Jun is not eating people again, is he?"

The two heroes, Cao Cao and Liu Bei, both had experience in this regard. When food and grass were cut off, the officers and men in the camp were at odds with each other.

However, no prince is willing to do such a thing unless it is absolutely necessary.

Soldiers are also human beings, and eating human flesh will greatly damage their morale and morale.

Without anyone to guide them, many soldiers immediately collapsed psychologically.

That's why it's common for an army to be defeated by the enemy in a battle when food and grass are cut off.

If Cao Cao hoped to win the Battle of Huainan by cannibalism, it would be too fanciful.

With Cao Cao's grand strategy, he would never make such an unwise move.

Moreover, Cao Cao's army is gathered in Huainan. Isn't he afraid that Yuan Shao from the north will come out of Henan and attack behind him?
You know, during the Northeast Expedition in Jiangxi, the administrative center was thousands of miles away from the front line.But if Yuan Shao were to march south, Yecheng, where he was based, would be only a hundred miles away from the front line.It is much closer than Xu County, the seat of Cao Cao's rule.

Therefore, if Yuan Shao were to conquer the south, the scale and threat would be greater than the northern expedition across the Yangtze River.

When Jia Xu heard Sun Ce's words, he shook his head slightly and said: "Cao Cao's wisdom and planning are second to none, and his use of troops is just like that of Sun Ce and Wu. If he has no intention of winning, he has no intention of defending. I think this is the case If you dare to persevere, you will definitely have a way to solve the crisis in the food road."

Sun Ce frowned and said, "If it is as you said, there is only one possibility: Gong Jin has changed!"

It was obvious that Jia Xu had already guessed this situation. Due to his character, he only wanted to protect himself. If Sun Ce had not taken the initiative to ask for advice, he would have hardly said anything.

What's more, this is also related to Sun Ce's best friend Zhou Yu. It may be inappropriate and inappropriate to speak directly about him.

But Sun Ce had not had time to think about his doubts. The next day, the official of the general's office hurriedly found Sun Ce and reported: "General, Yuan Shao is not in a good position to fight. He has been rejected by General Cheng Yu, and the troops have stopped along the Yellow River."

Yuan Shao's ally finally made a move!

Sun Ce immediately asked with concern: "What's the situation in Hebei?"

Shiyi said: "According to the merchant spies who returned from Hebei, when Cao Cao invaded the south, Jizhou Biejia was engaged. Tian Fengnai said to Yuan Shao, Cao Cao is the one who fights with the public for the world. Cao Cao has invaded Huainan now, and the soldiers cannot be killed. Understand, now we raise the army to attack the rear. It can be decided in one move. The army can move a few times, which is the time."

"Yuan Shao refused because his young son was sick. Tian Feng struck the ground with his staff and said angrily, I have encountered a rare opportunity in the ages, and I missed it because the baby was sick. How can I not hesitate?"

"Although Yuan Shao was angry when he heard about it, he finally accepted his words and attacked Cao Cao's camp along the Yellow River with his powerful general Jushou, Chun Yuqiong, Han Meng and more than ten troops. However, Cao Cao's general Cheng Yu was loyal and strong, and bravely defeated Ben Yu and resisted with all his strength. Yuan's army failed in repeated battles, and it was freezing cold in Hebei, so he was forced to withdraw."

After hearing this, Sun Ce didn't have much resentment. In fact, he somewhat understood why Yuan Shao resigned from Tian Feng's advice.

He fought hard and leveled Hebei. He did not take advantage of the situation to control the Central Plains, but because of his illness, he only used Ju to send the governor's army south. This was not due to lack of wisdom and lack of strength. I am afraid that he had other considerations.

After all, the war in Hebei continues, the troops have been out for many years, the people are exhausted, and the warehouses are empty.Therefore, Yuan Shao had previously decided on the strategy of farming and saving people, accumulating grain and training troops.

At this time, Hebei as a whole had no preparations for a southward invasion. A sudden southward invasion would be both hasty and difficult to reassure people.

Abandoning the chance of victory in the temple and fighting a decisive battle is what a wise man would not do.

It can only be said that Xun Yu and Guo Jia's evaluation of Yuan Shao's scheming and decisiveness is still very accurate.

Yuan Shao may indeed be unable to judge whose advice is the best plan for the country.

So he listened to everyone a little, but refused to listen to everything.

Jushou asked him to recuperate, so he went to recuperate, but at the same time he reorganized the army and consumed a lot of weight.

Tian Feng asked him to take advantage of the situation to attack, but he was thinking about recuperating and recuperating. He only listened to part of Tian Feng's advice and did not assemble the army himself. Instead, he only sent more than ten thousand Jushou governor southward.

But in a fight with a hero like Cao Cao, how can we win without using all our strength?
Sun Ce immediately asserted: "If Hebei retreats, the Central Plains army will definitely go south, fearing that Gong Jin will be forced to face a powerful enemy!"

There must be a lag in the news coming from Hebei. After all, the messenger could not cross the Central Plains directly. He had to cross the sea and make a circuit to deliver the news to Huainan.

During this time, Cao Jun might have gathered a large army to support Huainan.

Cao Jun definitely did not use all of his main force when he went south this time. He always had spare power to guard against Yuan Shao.

Now that Yuan Shao has withdrawn his troops, Zhou Yu's more than [-] men in Huaibei will face an attack from Cao's reinforcements.

Sure enough, Zhou Yu's messenger soon arrived at Sun Ce's camp and reported the situation on the north bank of the Huaihe River. Cao Jun was constantly adding troops to Cao Ren's camp.Zhou Yuneng's threat to Cao Jun's food road was greatly reduced.

Sun Ce immediately became very solemn, and the time to defeat Cao Cao had to be postponed again.

He thought seriously about whether to send more troops to Zhou Yu and wait for Zhou Yu to defeat Cao Ren.Do you even want to mobilize the three armies in Jiangdong and massively increase troops along the Huainan route?

But before he could make a decision, Zhuge Liang, who was responsible for detecting the enemy's situation, hurriedly entered Sun Ce's tent and reported: "General, the situation has changed. Cao's army seems to have left empty camp!"

Sun Ce was shocked for a moment. Didn't Cao Cao want to increase his troops massively?He immediately asked: "Cao's army has always wanted to fight decisively, why did he suddenly withdraw?"

Zhuge Liang said: "Cao's army has been unhurried. It seems that he is not worried about the supply shortage. He has made plans to station himself on the banks of the Huaihe River and fight against us in Huainan. He even sets up boats and nets and claims to be fishing. In fact, he has been waiting for the Huaihe River to close. The ice was so thick that the entire army retreated overnight." (End of this chapter)