Chapter 19: Unifying the Army (Part 1)

  A loud "Hong" sound came from all directions.

  Cao Xin leaped onto the chariot, his left hand holding a severed head aloft, and shouted loudly: "Zhao Chong is dead!"

  "Gulp...gulp...gulp..." The sound grew louder and louder.

  As the sound of golden armor and earth-shaking collisions filled the air, for a moment, all the soldiers on the battlefield stopped attacking, gazing at the majestic young tiger general standing in front of the central army formation, their eyes revealing reverence.

  "We wish to hear your orders, sir!!!"

  With a rustling sound, looking at the former, more than 1,000 soldiers suddenly knelt down and shouted in unison, while the sharp blades in their hands had already been thrown to the ground.

  After all, the commander-in-chief is already dead. Let's not talk about resistance for now. Even if we say it out loud, the commander-in-chief of 2,000 people was easily taken down by just two people, which is simply absurd. Moreover, even if we go back, these soldiers will not have a good outcome. Should they continue to attack Puyang? But there is no commander-in-chief, and under the situation where the dragons are without a leader, surrendering is the only viable option.

  At this time, Dianwei saw that all the soldiers had given up fighting and knew that continuing to fight was not an option. He also struck back at Zhouyu, then hastily retreated several steps on horseback, thrusting his long spear into the ground and abandoning resistance.

  However, it seemed that there was some depression in his heart. After dismounting from the horse, he looked coldly at Cao Xin in the distance and shouted loudly: "I don't admit it, I don't admit it!"

  "Bang!" Cao Xin ruthlessly swung the human head in his hand, and with a cold glance, he saw Dian Wei not far away. He immediately got off the carriage and walked over with an expressionless face.

  "Don't you dare?"

  But then he heard these words, Dianwei suddenly looked at Cao Xin walking in front of him and angrily said: "If someone hadn't been careless for a moment earlier! How could you have killed him? I don't accept this!"

  At this moment, Cao Xin regained his composure and couldn't help but feel secretly delighted, also bursting into laughter.

  However, Cao Xin did not immediately respond to the other party's words. Instead, he turned around and shouted at the crowd of surrendered soldiers: "You! Surrender to me?"

  The soldiers seemed to hesitate for a moment, but just after that, a soldier who appeared to be the squad leader spoke up: "General, you dare to kill Zhao Chong with just two men and two horses in this army of 2,000. In fact, we have long been dissatisfied with that scoundrel Zhao Chong. Now that we see your bravery, how can we not surrender?"

  Suddenly, shouts came from all directions, three loud cries.

  "Coat! Coat! Coat!"

  With a faint smile, Cao Xin turned around and looked at Dian Wei. Seeing that the latter was also hesitant, he suddenly put away his smile and said seriously: "I am the Sima of Cao Gong's account in Yanzhou, and I have no military power. However, Zhang Miao is now rebelling and joining forces with Lü Bu to harass Yanzhou. This is indeed a critical moment for the survival of Yanzhou... Whether you obey me or not, I don't care. But if we can let these soldiers not be swayed by the rebels and work together to hold off the enemy before our lord returns to Yanzhou, that's what I want. As for your disobedience, we can settle it after the war is over."

  When Cao Xin said this, Dian Wei's depressed heart suddenly opened up, but his face still had a hint of hesitation. He cupped his hands and said: "Well...alright, it's settled then. I, Dian Wei, will temporarily serve under General for now, however..." As he spoke, Dian Wei's tone turned sharp, and he loudly declared: "However, if you lead the troops poorly and recklessly throw away the lives of my brothers, don't blame me when I kill you!"

  "Damn it! You're just a low-ranking soldier, how dare you speak to me like that!"

  He slightly waved his hand, and Cao Xin stared intently at Dian Wei, indicating to Zhou Yu not to speak too much. Then, a sudden smile appeared on his serious face, and he grasped the other's hands, bursting into laughter: "Haha... it's settled! I temporarily appoint you as a captain, are you willing to help me with all your might?"

  At this time, he didn't understand why Cao Xin was so happy, but Dian Wei still knelt down on one knee and bowed his head, saying: "Dian Wei is willing to surrender!"

  But seeing this scene, the surrounding soldiers didn't show a hint of surprise. They knew that these two men were not easy to deal with. Dian Wei was over 9 feet tall and had a sturdy build like a mountain, already having some reputation in the army. This time, he clashed head-on with Cao Xin again, but didn't fall behind. Would anyone dare oppose him now that Cao Xin appointed his opponent as a captain?

  At least it's much stronger than Zhao Chong, the military counselor of Jin Dynasty...

  "I don't know, General... what should we do?" Getting up from the ground, Dianwei immediately looked at Caoxin and asked.

  Looking around the desolate battlefield, Cao Xin's heart was also somewhat unbearable. He turned to Zhou Yu beside him and said: "Take stock of the number of people...and weapons, dig some shallow pits, and simply bury these dead soldiers."

  As he spoke, seeing the other side take orders and leave, Cao Xin suddenly looked at Dian Wei, smiled and said: "This time the garrison of Puyang City is only 5,000, I think that Lü Bu is leading a large army to come, I suggest we should create some trouble for them..."

  "What about us? How can we resist the cavalry?"

  At this moment, Cao Xin looked at Dian Wei beside him and immediately seemed to be somewhat delighted and pleased, saying: "I have a wonderful plan."

  It was actually a surprise for Cao Xin to get Dian Wei, he never thought that his first target 'army' would have someone like Dian Wei in it, this can be said to be an unexpected gain.

  Dian Wei had not thoroughly surrendered yet, but at least this time he could get assistance from the other side, so he was considered to have made a profit, and even more than a hundred times what he got from these new soldiers.

  Dian Wei, who was called by Cao Cao as a fierce general of the ancient times, may have been overly suspicious due to Cao's trust in him. Nevertheless, he always had a feeling that his fate was intertwined with Dian Wei's, as if they were destined to be together.

  It's probably because in the Battle of Wan City in history, Cao Anmin and Dian Wei died together. Anyway, it's really strange that the two people actually met in reality.

  However, what's different is that Dian Wei is still the same Dian Wei, but Cao Xin at this moment is no longer the Cao Anmin in history.

  Yangyi County, Han Dynasty General Lü Bu's large camp, central army tent.

  "Haha, what the public platform said is indeed true, and with a light and easy effort, the Yangyi County Guardian General opened the city gate and surrendered, haha."

  At this moment, Lü Bu sat upright in his high helmet and iron armor at the main seat in the army, looking at a white-clad middle-aged scholar on his left side with great laughter.

  This man was none other than his advisor Chen Gong.

  At this time, looking at Lü Bu's extremely arrogant appearance, Chen Gong was wearing a large cloak as usual, without even revealing his face, but he could still see the other's sigh.

  "Be careful... must not be careless, Yangyi County is under Chenliu Commandery, the defender of this city is also a trusted aide of Zhang Miao, surrendering is reasonable, later we will attack Dong Commandery, it's actually the start of the war, at that time we need to boost our morale, fight quickly and decisively, take down Yan Province before Cao Cao realizes..."

  He immediately let out a scornful snort, and a hint of disdain flashed across Lü Bu's cold face, disappearing as quickly as it appeared. He burst into laughter and said, "There is no need for the public platform to worry about this. I am well aware of it. However, the defender of Yangyi County will ultimately not be our man... In my opinion, we should send Wei Xu with 3,000 iron-clad men to garrison this county. What does the public platform think?"

  He nodded slightly in satisfaction, and Chen Gong said: "This method is very good. Yangyi County is the throat of Dongjun and Chenliu Jun, although they are all counties under Yan State, but this time when the war starts, Yangyi County will be very critical!"

  Lü Bu burst out laughing: "Haha... Alright! This time we'll head straight to Runan and besiege Xuchang!"

  A fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and Lü Bu suddenly shouted: "Let Cao Cao also taste my ferocity..."

  PS: The new book has entered the top 10 in history... quite comforting...