The eighth captain of the Xiyuan Army who was waiting outside came in one after another, and the senior captain Jian Shuo was already in the hall.

Yuan Shao, Bao Hong, and Cao Cao were in front, and the other four assistant captains and left and right captains followed behind.

Jian Shuo took two steps forward and joined the seven others.

Liu Hong glanced at the faces of the four people in front of him and said: "The Black Mountain Army blocked my return, and I have ordered the Xiyuan Army to defeat them. Jian Shuo is the chief general and will go out on my behalf. Who will be the vanguard?"

The vanguard generals were basically chosen from Cao Cao and Bao Hong. Yuan Shao had no experience in leading troops, and the following few were less qualified.

Cao Cao thought about it. This battle was the first battle of the Xiyuan Army. Although it was a new army and lacked training, it was well equipped. For this army, Liu Hongke spent a lot of money to deal with the Black Mountain Army, which was like the remnants of the Yellow Turbans.

It should be more than enough.

Cao Cao glanced at Bao Hong calmly. This former You Fufeng was steady and ruthless, and never fought with others. Judging from his appearance, he didn't seem to have any interest in the vanguard.

But his younger brother, Yuan Shao, hesitated to move forward. He held the sword in one hand, his fingers clenched tightly and turned slightly white, but he never dared to take a step forward.

Since you have no intention, I, Cao Mengde, will not be polite!

Thinking in his mind, Cao Cao took a step forward and replied: "Cao Cao is willing to be the vanguard of the Xiyuan Army!"

"Okay! The captain of the Dian Army is commendable for your bravery, so I will take you as the vanguard and lead the headquarters of the Dian Army to march into Anping! Jian Shuo will lead the entire army and must annihilate the Black Mountain Army!" Liu Hong ordered, which was no longer what Wang Fen said, rushing to the aid of Jizhou.

County.

Since you have chosen to fight, let's fight to a draw and deal with the Black Mountain Army once and for all, so as to show the power of the supreme general, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty!

Cao Cao immediately led his army into Anping. Liu Hong was also very curious about the war, so he changed his decision to set off tomorrow and chose to march with the Xiyuan Army.

In this way, it can be regarded as Liu Hongyu's personal expedition.

But this made Wang Fen very anxious. Liu Hong's move was equivalent to him being with the Xiyuan Army all the time. With Zhi Jinwu and his two to three thousand righteous soldiers, it would be difficult for him to launch an attack.

Soon, the news of Cao Cao's invasion of Anping reached the ears of Zhang Niujiao, who was already stationed around Anping. Zhang Niujiao was resourceful, but not stupid. The Black Mountain Army was by no means the refugee army during the Yellow Turban Uprising, even if its combat strength was weak.

, he still has the numerical advantage to make up for it.

Under the layout of the Montenegrin strategist, Zhang Niujiao built a pocket formation and placed some low-combat team units in front of the pocket to lure the enemy.

When the vanguard of the Xiyuan Army defeated them, relaxed their vigilance, and got into the pocket formation, the Black Mountain Army formed a double-team and was able to give full play to its strength advantage.

Zhang Niujiao was very satisfied with the military advisor's plan.

It would still take several days for Cao Cao to march into Anping and meet the Black Mountain Army, but the fast-horse sentries had already sent the movements of Cao Cao and Jian Shuo's Wang division to Guangping.

Guo Jia looked at the map and said to himself: Liu Hong still has some courage. He actually ordered the Xiyuan Army to fight the Black Mountain Army, and actually used Cao Cao as the vanguard. This is quite interesting.

Guo Jia stared at the map and made no arrangements, but continued to wait for the second sentry report.

However, the news of the second whistleblower made his expression serious.

Liu Hong actually followed the Xiyuan Army and set off!

As a result, not only was Zhi Jinwu led by Ding Yuan always with him, but the main force of the Xiyuan Army was also too close, making it difficult for Wang Fen to succeed.

Although Wang Fen was upright and brave, he was not stupid. He might have given up on the assassination of Liu Hong and pretended that nothing had happened. He had just fought with the Montenegrin army. In the end, he might have been successful in protecting him.

, continued to be his governor of Jizhou.

Even if the Black Mountain Army is large in number, it may be able to cause some losses to the Xiyuan Army, but it cannot threaten Liu Hong. If Liu Hong is safe and sound, this is obviously contrary to the goal expected by the lord.

How can I disappoint my lord!

"Come here, prepare your horses!"

…

Cao Cao has been marching for several days and has approached Xindu. There have been battles in the past two days, but they are all encountered by small groups of the Montenegrin Army. They should be the Montenegrin Army's reconnaissance troops. Cao Cao's cavalry can annihilate them with just one strike.

Seeing that Xindu was getting closer and closer, Cao Cao had a bad intuition. The enemy army was said to be powerful, but the opponents he encountered had almost no fighting power. If things went wrong, there must be monsters. Cao Cao felt that this vanguard would...

It's going so well!

"Stop the troops!"

Cao Cao looked at the setting sun setting over the western mountains, and the setting sun was like fire, and immediately ordered: "Camp here tonight!"

The military officer reminded: "General, it's still bright, so it's safer to camp outside Xindu City!"

Of course Cao Cao knew this, but he still had doubts in his mind and couldn't say it directly for fear of affecting morale, so he deliberately smiled and said: "Hahaha, having said that, the soldiers have been traveling for a day and should take more rest.

We will encounter Montenegro at any time..."

"kill!"

"kill!"

Cries of killing suddenly arose from all directions. Cao Cao swallowed back his unsaid words and looked forward.

After the front breakthrough, many flags were raised high, and then people and horses came out in an uproar, probably thousands of them.

The same was true on the flank slopes. Soldiers, horses and flags surged towards him like a tide. Their number was several times that of Cao Cao.

"How could this be? Why didn't the sentry report?" Cao Cao said depressedly.

He clearly sent a sentry to explore the road, why did he encounter an ambush?

"Retreat! Retreat quickly!" Cao Cao ordered.

The battle has not yet begun, and it is still too late to escape at this time. Even if the Montenegrin army pursues them, the casualties will be much less. After all, they lack war horses and bows and arrows.

If we fight to the death and are surrounded by the Montenegrin army, we may be completely wiped out.

Cao Cao made a decisive decision and chose to retreat, knowing that he was not far from the Chinese army and could arrive before dark, and the Black Mountain Army would not dare to pursue him by then.

Zhang Niujiao was riding on his horse, watching the "well-trained" Xiyuan Army led by Cao Cao retreat in an orderly manner, and cursed: "You are a piece of shit, you don't even have the courage to fight!"

The military advisor was behind him and said with a smile: "He must make a decisive decision immediately. This person must be good at using troops. If he is delayed even a moment, he will be trapped in a tight siege."

There was also a hint of regret in the tone of the military advisor's voice. It was just a little bit closer. If we advance a little bit more or delay a little bit longer, we would be able to encircle and annihilate these thousands of officers and soldiers.

"Military, what should we do if the fish walks away?" Zhang Niujiao asked.

"Then set up another net, maybe other fish will come." The military advisor said without thinking.

"Or this?"

"That's it!"

…

Cao Cao led his army to retreat. The Black Mountain Army pursued them for a while and then gave up. The Black Mountain Army's physical strength was generally not as good as that of the official army, so it was normal for them to be unable to catch up.

As soon as Cao Cao ran away, he almost ran back to the Chinese army camp where they were setting up camp.

However, he did not go to see Jian Shuo, and he did not feel that he had suffered a defeat. Victory and defeat were common sense among military strategists, and being outnumbered was normal. If he could bring his soldiers back safely, Cao Cao considered it a victory in retreat.

The Montenegrin Army avoided the ambush with sentry posts, which made him puzzled. Didn't Wang Fen say that they were attacking the county town?

At the same time, I reflected: I was negligent today. If it hadn’t been for that uneasy intuition, I might have really fallen into a tight siege.

We also have countermeasures: if we go this way again tomorrow, the Montenegrin Army will definitely not think of repeating the same old tricks.

The next day, Cao Cao set off early and embarked on his journey.

"General, this road is dangerous, and there may be an ambush!" the assistant reminded.

"Yesterday the thief failed to succeed in his treacherous plan. He will definitely return in despair and will not set up another ambush. I just went in the opposite direction. If I go this way again, the thief can predict it! Haha!"

"Best greetings, General!" The sergeant took the opportunity to flatter him.

After marching for more than an hour, Cao Cao reached the area again. Cao Cao raised his hand to signal the troops to stop.

He looked at the slopes in front of him and forgot about the surrounding slopes. These gentle slopes did not block the road, but only blocked the line of sight. Jizhou was a flat river, and apart from the woods, there were few places where soldiers and horses could be ambushed.

"You guys, go up the slope and take a look!" Cao Cao ordered.

Several cavalrymen trotted over and started to go uphill.

Cao Cao smiled and said: "Haha~ I said there will be no more ambushes here. If my troops were replaced, I would set up an ambush here, and then order an army to intercept my retreat. Those who think they are right will be captured without any help! Hahaha!

"

Before the laughter faded, a shout of death came, and it turned out to be from the rear!

Cao Cao suddenly turned around and saw a troop of thousands of soldiers and horses, directly blocking his retreat. When he looked forward again, he saw that several mounted sentries who had gone uphill to conduct reconnaissance had only their horses left, and their bodies were

It had rolled down, with several arrows stuck in its body.

"No! I've fallen into the trap again!"

"General, our army is surrounded!"

Cao Cao looked at the soldiers surrounding him, drew his sword and shouted: "Soldiers, follow me and fight out!"

Cao Cao shouted, reined in his horse, turned around, and retreated.

What he meant was to kill from the rear, because the troops there were the weakest, and with the equipment of the Xiyuan Army, it would be easy to kill them. As long as they were not surrounded and surrounded by enemies on all sides, Cao Cao still had confidence.

He rode his horse into the intercepting formation, swung his sword and shouted to kill several people. The hand holding the sword was splashed with red blood. Cao Cao's heart felt hot and he immediately shouted: "Kill with me!"

The cavalry followed Cao Cao in, and the difference in armament was immediately reflected. The Montenegrin Army had too few long weapons and could hardly cause effective damage to the cavalry. However, the cavalry formation rushing in would undoubtedly be a disaster for the Montenegrin Army, which had insufficient protection.

Although the morale of the Montenegrin army was high and they charged fearlessly to close the encirclement, Cao Cao had already led his army to break through the encirclement.
To be continued...