Chapter 25: The Scheme of Mei Zhu (Part 1)

  "Damn it!" At the critical moment, a strong gust of wind saved Cao Bao's life, and even Cao Cao couldn't help but curse out loud. Xu State was really too lucky.

  At this time, the strong wind had not yet ended. This strong wind not only saved Cao Bao's life but also slowed down Xiahou Yuan who was pursuing Tao Qian on the other side, giving the soldiers inside the city time to rush out and rescue Tao Qian back into the city.

  Rumble...

  When the strong wind that could blow people and horses away stopped, the city gate of Pengcheng also closed at this moment. Cao Cao couldn't help but rub his eyes, looking at the scene in front of him with some disbelief.

  However, Cao Cao was stunned, but it didn't mean that Chen Deng on the city wall didn't react. Seeing that Tao Qian had already entered the city, Chen Deng's hanging heart also put down, and his eyes fell on the two Xiahou brothers who had deeply entered the range of the bow and arrow attack. Chen Deng did not hesitate for a moment, raised his right hand and shouted loudly: "Heavenly wind descends, bless my Xuzhou, archers prepare, target enemy general, release arrows!"

  When they heard Chen Deng speaking again on the city wall, Xiahou brothers' hearts skipped a beat. Just now, he was the one who reacted the fastest and decisively ordered the archers to shoot arrows to block them. The two secretly admired his commanding ability. Now, hearing him speak again, they didn't dare to slow down and immediately turned their horses around and left.

  Hiss... Hiss... Hiss...

  Beneficial arrows shot out from the city wall, falling near Xiahou brothers, but they were well-prepared. By listening to the sound and identifying the location, they controlled their war horses to dodge left and right while moving their long spears continuously. Most of the beneficial arrows fell on the dry ground, and a few were blocked by the two with their long spears. After a round of arrow rain, the two exited the attack range of Pengcheng unscathed, staring at the towering city in front of them.

  On this side, Cao Jun's formation, Cao Cao's eyes were fierce and staring at the high city wall of Pengcheng. Originally a surefire plan, unexpectedly ruined by this gust of wind. Clenching his fist, Cao Cao's right arm slowly rose.

  Just then, Xun Yu beside Cao Cao hastily said, "Your Excellency must not act on impulse!"

  "Hmm?" Cao Cao heard this and turned his head back with a displeased expression, glaring at Xun Yu.

  Xun Yu met Cao Cao's gaze with a calm and fearless expression, saying: "Today, we assisted Xuzhou, our army saw it from top to bottom, the morale is at its lowest. If the lord attacks the city now, I'm afraid it will only increase casualties. Yu thinks that we should set up camp and rest for a night, and attack the city again tomorrow." As soon as Xun Yu finished speaking, Guo Jia and Liu Ye on the side nodded in agreement.

  Cao Cao was indeed a great leader, although the murderer of his father was right in front of him, he took a few deep breaths, calmed down the anger in his heart, and then gritted his teeth and said word by word: "Retreat!"

  Dang dang dang......

  Cao Cao gave the order, and for a time the sound of gongs was loud outside the city. Tao Qian and Cao Bao, who had just returned to the top of the city wall, saw that the Cao army was retreating and let out a sigh of relief. Especially Cao Bao, who had just come back from a trip through the Ghost Gate Pass, could be said to have lost all his courage and did not dare to fight against the Cao army again. Now that the Cao army was withdrawing, he was overjoyed in his heart.

  When he saw Cao Jun withdraw his troops, Tao Qian also breathed a sigh of relief and said to Chen Deng: "Fortunately, Yuan Long commanded properly, so I was able to escape into the city."

  Chen Deng's face showed a hint of shame as he said, "It was all my miscalculation. I did not expect Cao Pi to take action on the spot, which nearly led to our lord's downfall. This is my fault."

  Cao Jiao heard Chen Deng's words and recalled that it was indeed Chen Deng who had suggested that Tao Qian surrender to Cao Cao, which nearly got him killed by the enemy general. Thinking of this, Cao Jiao glared at Chen Deng with a mixture of anger and sarcasm, saying: "Since Yuanlong knows he is in the wrong, go to the army to receive your punishment."

  Chen Deng listened, but only slightly furrowed his brow and didn't speak. On the other hand, Mi Zhu secretly called out that it wasn't good. He then stepped forward to mediate: "Cao Pi is cunning, and Yuan Long was somewhat negligent, which is also unavoidable. General Cao, please don't blame him." As he spoke, Mi Zhu also glanced at Tao Qian, who was the only one who could suppress both of them.

  Tao Qian, being a clever person, understood the meaning of Mi Zhu's words and nodded his head. He waved his hand and said: "Alright, now that our great enemy is before us, we must join forces to defeat Cao's army. Yuan Long, arrange for some people to keep an eye on Cao's army. If there are no major incidents within half a time period, go to the Pengcheng Governor's mansion to discuss the matter of retreating from the enemy."

  Tao Qian dissuaded him, and Cao Jue no longer complained. He joined the others in responding in unison: "Yes!"

  ……

  Half an hour later, in the Peng City State Minister's residence.

  Tao Qian sat in the main seat with a worried look on his face, constantly sighing. At this time, Cao Jiao, Chen Deng and Mi Zhu had all arrived.

  The current situation is quite unfavorable to Tao Qian. Although the two armies did not engage in battle today, Tao Qian is no ordinary old man. A few years ago, when Bei Gongyu rebelled in Western Liang, Tao Qian was among those who went to quell the rebellion and can be said to be both civil and martial. Previously, when the Yellow Turbans were rampant in Qingzhou, no one could stop them, but when they wanted to enter Xuzhou, it was Tao Qian himself who led the troops to defeat them, after which the Yellow Turbans never dared to wreak havoc in Xuzhou again.

  It can be seen that Tao Qian's ability to lead troops is not bad. Just now, seeing the military appearance of Cao Jun on the city wall, Tao Qian already knew that this was absolutely a hard battle. The Qingzhou soldiers who relied on Cao Cao were originally the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans. For these old enemies, Tao Qian was also familiar with them. If it were just a scattered yellow turban, Tao Qian would not be afraid at all. However, these Qingzhou Yellow Turbans had undergone training by Cao Cao and were no longer what they used to be. Moreover, just now, Cao Bao had exchanged blows with the great generals of Cao Jun, and in just one round, he could not withstand it. The great generals of Cao Jun, such as Xiahou Dun, played a huge role on the battlefield, which was also one of Tao Qian's concerns.

  Tao Qian sighed on his seat, and after a long while, he said: "The Cao army is too powerful to be defeated. Moreover, Cao Mengde treats the people of Xuzhou deeply. Once the war starts, I'm afraid the people of Xuzhou will suffer. My decades of hard work will be destroyed in an instant. I should follow Cao Mengde's words, take the seal of the governor and surrender myself to his camp, and let him decide my fate. This way, the war in Xuzhou can be stopped."

  When Tao Qian finished speaking, everyone in the hall was shocked. At this moment, a man stood up and said loudly: "The governor has been stationed in Xuzhou for a long time, and the people are grateful. Although Cao's army is numerous, it cannot be broken immediately. The governor and the people will firmly defend and not go out; although I am not talented, I am willing to implement a small strategy, teaching Cao Cao to die without a burial place!"

  Who would dare to utter such arrogant words? The crowd was shocked and looked around, only to find that the speaker was none other than Mo Ziyuan, the master of the East Sea Mo family, who had just escorted Tao Qian back!

  Upon hearing Mo Zhi's words, everyone in the hall showed surprise and delight on their faces. However, only Chen Deng sat there with a slightly furrowed brow.

  Tao Qian's words were actually a plan to retreat and advance, not really wanting to surrender. Now seeing Mi Zhu put down his arrogant words, he hurriedly asked: "I don't know if Zi Zhong has any wonderful plans?"

  Zi Zhan smiled and said: "Now the main army is stationed in Pengcheng, and Cao's army cannot be easily broken. The two armies are stuck here, and it's a good opportunity for me to go north to Kong Wenju's place in Beihai to borrow troops. And since our lord and General Gongsun of Youzhou are allies, our lord can send another person to Tian Kai's place in Qingzhou under General Gongsun to borrow troops. With two routes of troops coming together, we can cooperate with each other inside and outside, and we should be able to defeat Cao's army here!"

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