Zhang Xun opened his eyes in surprise. He really didn't believe that Qiao Rui was so bold. He thought to himself that he couldn't explain clearly last night? Do you take my general's words as farts?

"Lost? Are you crazy?"

Qiao Rui replied calmly: "I just came here to report that Cao Cao's main force is only half a day's journey away. I would be too conservative to leave half of it behind. What's the situation here?"

"Cao Ren led two thousand cavalry to block the way, and his general Li Feng was killed..." Zhang Xun looked solemn.

Qiao Rui frowned and said to himself: "The only option is to rush over..."

"Yeah." Zhang Xun nodded lightly.

Zhang Xun then formed a formation and moved forward, but Cao Ren relied on the mobility advantage of his cavalry and only harassed Huainan's flanks, allowing the Huainan army to move less than ten miles in half a day.

When they set up camp again at night, Zhang Xun was not as happy as yesterday. He also saw that Cao Ren was deliberately delaying.

From the moment Yuan Shu took the lead in running away, the whole army did not want to fight with Cao Cao. After all, everyone was a soldier just to eat food, and they had no ideals and beliefs to support them in fighting for their lives.

Zhang Xun and Qiao Rui sat in front of the bonfire, using branches to fiddle with the center of the flame.

He seemed to say casually: "General Qiao's analysis is correct. Cao Cao's main force is now only twenty miles away from us. It is no longer realistic to bring the grain back to Shouchun. Let the soldiers have a full meal tonight and leave all the grain trucks where they are tomorrow morning."

, and then each person will bring five days of rations and go on the road..."

"It won't be possible to return to Shouchun in five days. If Cao Ren continues to harass tomorrow, it may not be possible in fifteen days..." Qiao Rui was very pessimistic.

Zhang Xun frowned when he heard this. He picked the branch twice and threw it into the fire. He said seriously: "The reason why we were harassed today is because we have some scruples. Tomorrow everyone will go into battle lightly. Let's see if Cao Ren can stop him."

.”

Qiao Rui nodded in agreement: "If we can march quickly in five days, we may be able to reach Ruyin County downstream, where there are Huainan garrison, and it will be safe..."

"Well, I will order to advance at full speed tomorrow. Although I cannot bring back food to Your Majesty, these 50,000 soldiers must be brought back safely..."

Zhang Xun looked at the stars and secretly accepted his mediocrity.

Qiao Rui showed a hint of bitterness on her face, thinking that General Zhang's current thinking seemed to coincide with Long Yunqi's style.

Because there were Cao troops in front and behind, Zhang Xun arranged a large number of sentries on guard at night, but the opponent had no intention of making a sneak attack at all.

Before dawn the next day, Zhang Xun sent out scouts. He wanted to monitor Cao's army at all times and had people bury pots and make rice. He planned to set off after eating enough.

Because Cao Ren's cavalry was too strong, the scouts going south did not dare to get too close. When they discovered the location of Cao Ren's cavalry, they decisively returned to the camp to report. However, the scouts going north waited until the meal was ready before returning, and the news they brought back was even more shocking.

Qiao Rui's abandoned grain truck yesterday was still where it was, but Cao Cao's main force was not in the north, as if it had disappeared out of thin air.

"Is Cao Cao really bluffing? No... Even if he wants to leave, he should take the grain cart with him. What on earth does he want to do?"

Zhang Xun kept patting his helmet at this time, because he couldn't figure it out and it gave him a headache.

Qiao Rui: "Cao Cao is suspicious by nature, maybe he is afraid that the grain truck may be deceived?"

"The thief Cao uses his troops deceitfully. We are no match for him. It's normal that we don't understand..."

Zhang Xun sighed, suddenly turned around and asked again: "By the way, I heard that there is a Quhou named Long under General Qiao, who is quite knowledgeable. Why don't you ask him?"

"Huh? No, no, this kid is a little smart. How can he see through Cao Cao's plan? Why waste time? Let everyone get fed and go on the road."

"That's right." Zhang Xun smiled leisurely.

Because all the grain trucks had to be abandoned, Zhang Xun asked everyone to make a sufficient breakfast and asked everyone to eat as much as possible so that they would have enough energy to go on the journey.

Orders were passed down from level to level, but when it came to Longxiang's Qubu, he was only allowed to eat eight cents full.

The veterans under Tang Hui's command immediately carried out the plan unconditionally without asking the reason. However, the soldiers brought by Cao Xing were puzzled, so Cao Xing took the initiative to ask the reason.

"Qu Hou, it is said that we will not rest on the way today and will have to wait until dark before we can have anything to eat. Why don't you let your brothers eat more?"

"Didn't you have a full meal last night? Don't you remember that before arriving in Chen State, there was no food of this size on the road? Eighty-point full is more than before..."

"But now the rice has been cooked. I can't finish it and can't take it away..."

Long Xiang glanced at Cao Xing, shook his head and said with a smile: "Eating more is not necessarily a good thing. If you walk a little faster later, it may cause abdominal pain. Cao Cao's main force has disappeared, you know? I'm worried that today's return journey will not be smooth. You

The cavalry under your command are jolting on their horses, and it is not advisable to overeat..."

"Don't worry, general..." Cao Xing nodded lightly.

"You won't suffer any loss if you listen to Yunqi. You see, I won't even ask..."

When Tang Hui saw this, he couldn't help but joke. After hearing this, Cao Xing smiled awkwardly, and then went to tell the soldiers to eat less.

The Huainan army set off immediately after breakfast. Seeing that Cao Cao was unmoved by yesterday's grain carts, Zhang Xun had the remaining grain carts thrown into Yingshui, saying that he could not take them away and would not leave them to Cao Cao.

The army marched about two miles south, but was blocked by Cao Ren's cavalry.

Zhang Xun was preparing to form an attack formation when he suddenly saw the flags waving behind Cao Ren's cavalry.

It is roughly estimated that the number of people is more than 10,000. You don't need to guess to know that they are Cao Cao's main force.

Qiao Rui swallowed and said: "No wonder Cao Cao is not in the north. It turns out that he went back to the south overnight. It seems that he doesn't want to let us pass. Is there a fight or something like that?"

"The soldiers have just eaten, and Cao Cao's army is waiting for work. It would be unfavorable for the army to start a war. However, I don't think Cao Cao has any plans to attack. There is Yingshui blocking the road to the west. The only choice is to stay on guard and turn east, and wait and see.

..." Zhang Xun looked sad.

Qiao Rui nodded and agreed: "This is the only way."

Zhang Xun immediately ordered to turn eastward, and Cao Cao also led his army eastward.

Cao Jun was very surprised. They were just monitoring the situation and had no intention of attacking.

Cao Cao's strategy at this time was similar to the contest between Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang. He just followed and monitored but did not fight. However, there was an essential difference between the two. Sima Yi did it because he could not beat him head-on, while Cao Cao did it deliberately.

Although the officers and men of Cao's army were strong in combat, they still had to pay a high price to annihilate Yuan Shu's 50,000 men, so they deliberately drove Zhang Xun into the encirclement.

After following for half a day, Zhang Xun and Qiao Rui finally realized something was wrong.

The soldiers were trembling and confused, and their marching direction was directed to the northeast.

Long Xiang guessed that Cao Cao was deliberately attrition and wanted to use psychological warfare to reduce the morale of the Huainan soldiers, so he proposed a plan to Zhang Xun through the bridge, suggesting that the fifty thousand people be divided into dozens of teams, and then end at a destination, so that everyone could look like

When Zhongli gathered together, they each thought of ways to gather together.

General meaning: Eight Immortals cross the sea, each showing his magical powers.

There was a huge disparity in combat power between the soldiers on both sides. Zhang Xun was worried that Cao Cao would defeat them one by one, so he did not agree to the proposal.

After walking for two days and unable to get rid of Cao's army, Zhang Xun tentatively organized a strong attack. As a result, he lost 3,000 troops and killed Liang Gang and Cao's general Yue Jin.

Forced by the helplessness of the situation, Zhang Xun had no choice but to implement a strategy of dividing his troops.

He chose the control area in Huainan and Peiguoqi County as the gathering place for the army. Soon the 50,000-strong army was divided into thirty detachments, each marching in different directions.

Long Xiang's suggestion was to beat the master to death with random sticks, and the overall idea was borrowed from Sparrow War.

He believed that no matter how strong Cao's troops were, they were still small, and if they were divided into more troops, some of them would always be able to escape. Long Xiang could not guarantee that he would be the lucky one, so there was an element of gambling in him.

Cao Cao had been fighting in the north and south for many years, but he had never seen such a chaotic formation. For a moment, he didn't know which team to pursue.

Looking at the Huainan soldiers scattered across the field like birds and animals.
Chapter completed!