Outside Bohai Commandery's Nanpi City, Cao Cao's hundreds of thousands of troops besieged the city. They were like ants advancing wave after wave. The corpses in front of them had almost filled the moat. However, Nanpi City was still standing strong. Waves of enemies had been repelled on the city wall.
The losses on both sides were terrible. The smell of blood attracted the vultures in the sky.
"My lord, we can't fight like this anymore!" Le Jin finally couldn't take it anymore and begged Cao Cao. This was simply a meat grinder. A five thousand man army was gone in less than four to six hours. Le Jin had more than a hundred thousand men under him, but now there were less than a hundred thousand men left. Many of them were injured. If this continues, this army would be crippled.
"En!" Cao Cao's eyes narrowed. His eyes were full of killing intent. Although Le Jin was terrified, he still forced himself to look at Cao Cao. "My lord, if this continues, our troops will be finished before Nanpi City is breached!"
The attacking side always had more casualties than the defending side. This was a law because the city wall was a solid defense. It allowed the defending side to attack the enemy below the city wall.
Le Jin's personal guard of five hundred people was now less than fifty. They all died on the city wall. Even a general like Le Jin suffered such a great loss. It was obvious how the others were faring.
"Ai!" Cao Cao also sighed. He didn't expect his brother, Yuan Shao, to be so good at fighting. "Le Jin, let's not attack the city today. Let the soldiers retreat and rest for a day!" Cao Cao also couldn't bear it because half of these hundreds of thousands of troops were disciples of Guanzhong. The disciples of Guanzhong followed Cao Cao to Hebei because they thought highly of him. Cao Cao wanted to lead them to make a name for themselves. In the end, they couldn't just go back with ashes.
"Thank you, my lord. Thank you, my lord!" Le Jin quickly knelt down and kowtowed to Cao Cao.
"Hu!" Cao Cao shook his head and entered the camp. Outside the city, both sides were cleaning up each other's corpses. The corpses were no longer carried. Instead, they were carried by horse carriages. The large pit over there was dug by thousands of people overnight. Even so, the corpses were still not enough to fit in. They could only burn them. It was still fine now that the weather was cold. If the weather were to become hot, it might bring about a plague.
"Men, send a letter to Miao Cai. Tell him to immediately break camp and bring the army to Bohai County!" Cao Cao said to his subordinates, Le Jin, Xu Huang, and the rest.
"Hmm?" Everyone was stunned. To have Xiahou Yuan's army leave Fanyang County and come to Bohai County? Wasn't this neglecting the essentials? Everyone didn't understand what Cao Cao was thinking. It wasn't easy to surround the Yuan family in Fanyang County. As long as they took Fanyang County, the Yuan family brothers would be finished. However, this Cao Cao seemed to be neglecting the essentials. If Xiahou Yuan's army came, then the siege of Fanyang County would be broken. Moreover, the Yuan family brothers might even rob them on the way.
"Fanyang County can be lost, but Bohai County must not be lost!" Cao Cao said with a cold gaze. To be honest, Cao Cao didn't even put the Yuan family brothers in his eyes. They weren't even on the same level as him. If it wasn't for Yangzhou, who sent a steady stream of weapons and food to the Yuan family brothers, Fanyang County might have been broken through long ago.
However, now that Yuan Shao had appeared, things were different. Cao Cao had always regarded Yuan Shao as his greatest enemy. Even after defeating Yuan Shao, Cao Cao didn't relax at all.
This was because if Yuan Shao was easy to deal with, then he wouldn't have become Cao Cao's boss. One must know that Yuan Benchu wasn't the eldest son of the Yuan family. However, he was able to stand out in the Yuan family. This showed how powerful he was.
Cao Cao was an exception. However, none of the 300,000 soldiers could return. Cao Cao wanted to kill Yuan Shao.
"Yes!" Everyone received the order and left. However, Xu Huang soon returned.
"Gongming, have you sent someone to deliver the letter to Miaocai?" Cao Cao looked at Xu Huang and asked.
Xu Huang's expression was very strange. He looked at Cao Cao and said, "My lord, it's possible that General Xiahou Yuan won't be able to come!"
"Hmm?" Cao Cao frowned. Could it be that the brothers of the Yuan family seized this opportunity and caught Miaocai unprepared? Impossible. The troops in Miaocai's hands weren't any less than Cao Cao's. In order to prevent the second son of the Yuan family from launching a counterattack, Cao Cao left behind more than a hundred thousand soldiers in Fanyang City. Moreover, the general stationed there was Xiahou Yuan. This was because Xiahou Yuan was calm and steady.
"Give it to me!" Cao Cao took the letter from Xu Huang's hands and was stunned when he read it.
His eyes widened in disbelief. "Miaocai broke through Fanyang City?" Cao Cao looked at Xu Huang as he read the letter.
"This general also doesn't know!" Xu Huang shook his head. He only received this information from Fanyang City.
"Quick, quick, send a letter to Miaocai. Have someone whip the horses as fast as possible. I want to confirm this news!" Cao Cao immediately ordered his subordinates. He was a little excited but also a little worried. He was excited because if this matter was true, then it would be very interesting. If they took down Fanyang City, then the situation in Youzhou would be set. If they didn't take down Fanyang City, then this letter might be a letter sent by the enemy to deceive Cao Cao. If that happened, then Xiahou Yuan's army would be in danger.
"Yes!" Xu Huang nodded and left. However, he soon returned.
"So fast?" Cao Cao felt that Xu Huang was a little abnormal today. His efficiency was too high. Cao Cao had just issued an order and Xu Huang had already completed it.
Cao Cao saw that Xu Huang didn't come in empty-handed this time. He also had a letter and a rack in his hands.
"My Lord, there is no need to send people to General Xiahou Yuan's place!" Xu Huang said as he handed over the letter. Cao Cao took the letter. Although there were only a few words on the letter, Cao Cao believed that it was true because it had Xiahou Yuan's seal on it.
Even if Xiahou Yuan's army was defeated, he wouldn't abandon this thing.
"How can this be?!" Cao Cao immediately stood up. He didn't dare to believe it. His three-hundred-thousand-strong army couldn't even break through Fanyang City. Now, Cao Cao had taken away the elite troops, Ma Tiger-Leopard Cavalry, and others, and broke through Fanyang City. Wasn't this a slap to Cao Cao's face?!
"My Lord, I heard that there is an internal strife between the Yuan family brothers in Fanyang City!" Xu Huang said to Cao Cao.
"Internal strife? Impossible! Isn't there still Yuan Xi? "Cao Cao didn't believe that the Yuan family brothers would have internal strife.
"Yuan Xi?" Xu Huang shook his head and smiled bitterly. The reason he smiled bitterly was because it seemed that the great merit of breaking through Fanyang City would fall on the Xiahou brothers. Xiahou Yuan was still fine, but if Xiahou Chun also obtained this merit, he would probably show off in front of them again.
"My Lord, the second young master of the Yuan family is here!" As he spoke, Xu Huang handed over a small box in his hand.
Cao Cao took the box and opened it to take a look. His eyes widened. It was a huge human head. It was sealed with lime, but one could still see that it died with grievances.
"Yuan Xi?" Cao Cao thought for a moment. Although he hadn't seen Yuan Xi, he could roughly make out his appearance. This was because the head's appearance was very similar to Yuan Shao's.
Cao Cao finally understood why the Yuan family brothers had internal strife. It turned out that Yuan Xi had died. According to the news sent by Xiahou Yuan's people, Fanyang City was opened by this young master Yuan Xi.
"What a pity, such a talent!" Cao Cao shook his head and sighed bitterly. With Yuan Xi's ability, he was more than qualified to be an official or a general. It could even be said that he was more insightful than any of the generals under his command. Most importantly, Yuan Xi was young. It was a pity that such a young and promising person didn't die in the hands of his enemy, Cao Cao, but in the hands of his own brothers.
Yuan Xi's head wasn't taken by Xiahou Yuan, but by Xiahou Chun, who was abandoned by Yuan Tan's army when he was chasing after Yuan Tan.
"My Lord, should we give this young master Yuan Xi a proper burial?" Xu Huang asked Cao Cao from the side. After all, the south gate of Fanyang City was opened by this young master Yuan Xi. Although this young master Yuan Xi had the idea of letting Cao Cao's army mess up the situation, he was still a benefactor.
"En!" Cao Cao nodded his head. Just as Xu Huang was about to take the corpse away for a grand burial, Cao Cao stopped him. "Not now!"
Xu Huang didn't understand Cao Cao's meaning.
"Yuan Xi ah Yuan Xi, if we really count, I, Cao Cao, am your uncle. Since you helped your uncle open the gate of Fanyang City, you should also open the gate of Nanpi City!" Cao Cao said and then shouted to his subordinates, "Men, pass down the order of our army, the whole army is in mourning!"
"Ah ah ah!" Xu Huang and the others were completely dumbfounded. What the hell is this mourning? Although the war was very cruel these few days, none of their generals died in battle.
"Just do as I say!" Cao Cao waved his hand and said to Xu Huang and the others.
Soon, the entire camp of Cao Cao's army began to hang white flags and white strips of cloth.
"My Lord, my Lord, quickly look, quickly look!" Yuan Shao had just returned to the city to rest when he was called out by Wen Chou. This was because Cao Cao's army was acting very strangely.
Wen Chou was an expert in war, but he wasn't a match for Cao Cao when it came to scheming. Therefore, when he discovered that Cao Cao's army was acting strangely, Wen Chou's first thought was to wake Yuan Shao up and let Yuan Shao take the initiative to make a judgment.
Yuan Shao's eyes were bloodshot and his body was also covered in blood. From this, one could see the cruelty of the battle in the past few days. When it was intense, even Yuan Shao, as the lord, had to personally go to the battlefield.
Yuan Shao was woken up by Wen Chou. Yuan Shao originally had a trace of dissatisfaction, but after seeing the situation outside the city, his dissatisfaction completely disappeared.
"Hang the white cloth and raise the white flags!" Yuan Shao looked at the appearance of Cao Cao's army below. Could it be that someone in Cao Cao's army had died in battle?
This was because the entire army was wearing mourning clothes. If the entire army was wearing mourning clothes, it meant that a general in the army had died in battle.
"Did any Cao Cao's general die in battle these few days?" Yuan Shao asked Wen Chou who was beside him.
"My Lord, I don't know what happened in the city. I only know that after I left the city, I didn't kill any enemy generals!" Wen Chou shook his head. Although he had the great halberd warriors and two elite heavy cavalry, the enemy also had the Ferocious Cavalry. At the same time, those heavy armored infantry were also not to be trifled with.
"My Lord, let's go!" Wen Chou advised his Lord. Although Nanpi City was strong, it was not a long-term solution. Sooner or later, it would be breached. Right now, Wen Chou was thinking about his lord giving up Nanpi City and relying on the Great Halberd Warriors and the First Ascension Camp to break out of the encirclement. After that, he could return to Jizhou and Bingzhou. The nobles there were all looking forward to Yuan Shao's arrival. If Yuan Shao arrived, he would certainly receive their support. By opening the city gates to welcome Yuan Shao, they would have the capital to fight against Cao Cao.
"Go?" Yuan Shao was also a little shaken. After all, he had too few troops in his hands. If he stayed in Nanpi City and didn't rely on the common people, he was afraid that Cao Cao would have already breached the city.
However, after thinking for a while, Yuan Shao shook his head. "No, I can't go. At least, I can't go now!" Yuan Shao was also a person who cared about face. He, Yuan Shao, lost, but Yuan Shao was not willing to admit defeat. He wanted to teach Cao Cao a lesson in Nanpi City. He wanted to tell him that although he had not been the boss for many years, the boss was still the boss. Only by defeating Cao Cao and regaining his lost face, Yuan Shao would leave Nanpi City.
"Did you send scouts to Fanyang City to ask for reinforcements?" Yuan Shao asked Wen Chou beside him.
Yuan Shao was waiting for the reinforcements from Fanyang City. As long as the reinforcements from Fanyang City arrived, Yuan Shao was confident that he could fight against Cao Cao.
"I sent them out. This is already the fourth batch, but there is no news!" Wen Chou shook his head.
"Hmph!" Yuan Shao thought of his unfilial sons and couldn't help but coldly snort.
"Now that Cao Cao's army is wearing mourning clothes, they must have lost a general. Their morale must have fallen. This may be our chance!" Yuan Shao said to Wen Chou. "I will go down and rest for a while. Wake me up later!" Yuan Shao couldn't hold on anymore. His eyes were already bloodshot.
Yuan Shao rested for less than an hour before Wen Chou woke him up again. However, this time, Yuan Shao didn't blame Wen Chou. This was because Cao Cao's army had come to call for reinforcements.
They saw Cao Cao wearing mourning clothes and white cloth hanging from his horse. Hundreds of cavalry under his command arrived at Nanpi City.
"Milord, do you want us?" "On Wen Chou's side, he has already prepared his army's godly archers to see if they can kill Cao Cao in one shot. If Cao Cao is killed, then Cao Cao's army will be leaderless.
"No need!" Yuan Shao shook his head. He knew that Fatty Cao was very afraid of death. Before he took action, Fatty Cao had already prepared a backup plan. If he could kill Cao Cao in one shot, how could Yuan Shao not be willing? But if he couldn't kill Cao Cao, then the one who would be embarrassed would be him. The enemy came out to call for reinforcements, but you secretly shot arrows. Wouldn't that be a joke?
"Brother Benchu, let's call a truce!" "This is what Cao Cao said the moment he arrived.
"Call a truce? Why should we call a truce?" Yuan Shao looked at Cao Cao with a smile. "Mende, are you saying that you want to surrender?"
"Brother Benchu, we can't fight anymore. If we continue, so many people will die. Alas, alas, alas, alas, a general of my army, a talent of the Han Dynasty, you died so miserably. You are so young, but you are going to die in this chaotic world. You should have entered the palace, you should have shown your talent in the imperial court, but you died on the battlefield. Brother Benchu, how can you bear to do this? We should end the war as soon as possible and return peace to the world!" Cao Cao cried miserably. If Xu Huang and the others didn't know anything, they would have thought that Cao Cao's father had died.
"Return peace to the world? Cao Mengde, what a big hat you are trying to put on my head. If you didn't lead your army here, if your ambition didn't swell, my Hebei wouldn't be like this, and the people of Bohai County wouldn't be like this! "Yuan Shao wasn't a godly lamp. He started to argue with Cao Cao.
What unification of the world? What peace? The people of Hebei didn't understand. However, they knew that when Yuan Shao was here, they lived and worked in peace. It was the arrival of Cao Cao's army that brought war to them.
"Scram! Scram! Scram!"
"Scram! Scram!" The people on the city wall didn't have a good impression of Cao Cao. In addition, there were countless casualties in the past few days. These were all caused by Cao Cao's army. How could they have a good impression of Cao Cao's army?
"Sigh! The heroes of my Great Han Dynasty aren't serving the country at the border. They aren't guarding the country's gates. Instead, they are fighting the internal strife. Alas! Alas! "Cao Cao shouted again.
"Cao Mengde, don't be a hypocrite. The death of your generals is because you let them enter the battlefield. If you don't want your generals to die, you just need to withdraw your army!" Yuan Shao shouted at Cao Cao from the city wall.
"Brother Benchu, those are the heroes of my Great Han Dynasty. Are you so inhumane?" Cao Cao looked at Yuan Shao and asked.
Yuan Shao couldn't help but find it funny. Your generals are dead. Do you think I, Yuan Shao, should cry? Cao Cao's general wanted to take my, Yuan Shao's, little life. Now that he is dead, it is already good that Yuan Shao did not let him go and laugh.
"Today, I, Cao Cao, Cao Mengde, am here to worship Youzhou, Hebei, the world, and the Great Han Dynasty! The hero of my Great Han Dynasty, the Youzhou Provincial Governor, the descendant of the Fourth Generation's Three Dukes … "Cao Cao suddenly knelt down in front of Tianji.
Yuan Shao was happy at first. However, the more he listened, the more he felt that something was wrong.
"Youzhou Provincial Governor? The Fourth Generation's Three Dukes? " Yuan Shao's eyes widened. If he didn't hear wrong, then that person was him!
Yuan Xi, Yuan Xianyi!
"Cao Aman, what nonsense are you talking about? Xianyi is in Fanyang City. He is alive and well. Why are you worshipping him? " Yuan Shao was anxious. He shouted at Cao Cao. One must know that a person's true feelings are revealed in times of adversity.
That was what Yuan Shao was thinking right now. Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang, one was his favorite son, while the other was his eldest son. Yuan Shao didn't think that he had mistreated them, but what did the two of them bring to him in the end?
One usurped the throne while the other seized power. They almost killed Yuan Shao by killing his father. However, Yuan Xi, who was unknown and didn't care much about, had always been fighting for the Yuan family. He wasn't like his two brothers who only knew how to seize power.
During those days when he was under house arrest, Yuan Shao was filled with regret. He recalled bits and pieces of Yuan Xi's past.
When Yuan Xi was young, Yuan Shao didn't like him. He had to respect his elder brother and give way to his younger brother. However, Yuan Xi didn't complain.
Yuan Shao already had a plan. He would wait for this time to break out of the encirclement and make a comeback. Then, he would pass the throne to his second son, Yuan Xi. As for those two unfilial sons, Yuan Shao couldn't bear to be ruthless. At most, he would let one of them stay idle.
However, Cao Cao actually said that Yuan Xi was dead. Wasn't this just a rumor?
"Brother Benchu, Fanyang City … Fanyang City has been accidentally taken by Miaocai!" Cao Cao explained to Yuan Shao, who was on the city wall. "It was all thanks to Young Master Yuan Xi that we were able to take Fanyang City!" Cao Cao told Yuan Shao that it was Yuan Xi who sent people to help Cao Cao open the south gate of Fanyang City, allowing Cao Cao's army to enter the city.
"Impossible, impossible!" Yuan Shao didn't believe it at all. Yuan Xi had always been a person who prioritized the overall situation. How could he open the south gate of Fanyang City?
"Brother Benchu, you can't blame Young Master Yuan Xi. He is a good child. He gave his two brothers Youzhou as a safe haven. However, in the end, he was schemed against by his two brothers. They were afraid that Brother Benchu would come back and kill them. Therefore, they used underhanded means to deal with Yuan Xi!" Cao Cao cried as if he was seeking justice for Yuan Xi.
"No. No, no! " Yuan Shao had changed from impossible to impossible. This meant that he believed Cao Cao's words. With the nature of his two unfilial sons, it was indeed possible for them to kill their father and brothers.
Yuan Shao's appearance had already frightened them. Under this fear, they wanted to kill Yuan Xi. This way, Yuan Shao would only have two sons left, Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan. As long as Yuan Shao didn't want to die without descendants, he would have to leave one or two sons alive. This was their plan.
"Haha, haha!" Yuan Shao smiled bitterly. What did he do to deserve this punishment from the heavens?
"Brother Benchu, it's all my fault. I wasn't able to stop them in time. I wasn't able to save Yuan Xi!" Cao Cao blamed himself. He even slapped himself in front of everyone. "Lord!"
Cao Cao didn't manage to slap himself because Xu Huang and the others tried to stop him.
"Fuck, I'm incompetent. I couldn't save that child Yuan Xi. I could only bring this back for you, Brother Benchu!" As he spoke, Cao Cao took out a black box. That black box was brought back by Xu Huang.
Cao Cao's subordinates brought the black box to the city walls. Naturally, there was a hanging basket on top of the city walls to pull the black box back.
"Lord!" Wen Chou handed the black box over to Yuan Shao.
When Yuan Shao opened the black box, his whole body turned pale. His eyes were bloodshot. "Xi 'er, Xi' er!" Yuan Shao shouted. Blood rushed to his head. "Pu!" Yuan Shao couldn't help but vomit a mouthful of blood. His vision turned black and he fainted.
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