The Nameless of the Common Clans

"By the way..." Cao Cao walked a few steps after leaving the tent and looked at Xu Chu: "How many people have come into contact with these defeated troops?"

"There are quite a few." Xu Chu thought. This group of people had been clamoring about Li Yang being breached as soon as they came back. I'm afraid it has spread by now.

"Tsk~ Alas~ That's all, let's put these people in peace." Cao Cao sighed, it seems that the news can't be stopped.

"Here!" Xu Chu nodded and turned around to arrange for the defeated troops. Cao Cao took Cheng Yu back to the tent. He felt that his head was swelling and the pain was getting worse. The military doctor boiled some medicine and drank it. , this is a little better.

"How much food and grass are there in the army?" Cao Cao covered his head and looked at Cheng Yu and asked.

"Back to my lord." Cheng Yu thought for a while and said, "The food and grass in the army can last for up to five days. If the supply is reduced for each meal, it can last for two more days."

"No, we can't reduce it." Cao Cao shook his head: "Now is the time for the decisive battle with the Guanzhong Army. If the soldiers' food is reduced, their morale will definitely drop."

Even if the commander of this battle is not Chen Mo, it will not be that easy to fight. What's more, now that Liyang has been breached, Chen Mo may have a back-up plan. At this time, destroying the morale of the soldiers by himself is a recipe for death.

"Can you ask Xu Ziyuan if he can still raise a batch of food and grass?" Guo Jia said suddenly.

"Even if they are willing, the three armies need a lot of food and grass, and they won't be able to raise it for a while." Cao Cao shook his head. Although the final result of Li Yang's matter has not yet come out, he has to plan for the worst outcome.

When Cheng Yu heard this, a ruthless look flashed in his eyes: "My lord, let Yu handle this matter. Please give me five thousand troops, my lord."

Cao Cao looked at Cheng Yu and nodded silently: "Be careful."

"Here!" Cheng Yu nodded, saluted Cao Cao, took the command arrow and turned around to leave.

"Fengxiao..." Cao Cao and Guo Jia were the only ones left in the tent. Cao Cao's head was still aching, and Guo Jia was drinking wine without a sip. Cao Cao hesitated, looked at Guo Jia and said, "Do you have any good ideas?"

Guo Jia swallowed the drink in his mouth, looked at Cao Cao, sighed, shook his head and said, "My lord, do you remember what we said when we deceived Xu You?"

Cao Cao nodded.

"Now it seems that we should act according to this plan." Guo Jia sighed. On this battlefield, the most ruthless strategy is to rob food. Chen Mo's move has cut off Cao Cao's retreat. Guo Jia is very curious, Chen Mo is How do you know that Liyang is where Cao Jun hoarded food and grass? Even if there is Chen Mo in the army who is working carefully, with the current state of both sides, it is impossible to send the news in. Just like the news they got from Chen Mo, it was probably Chen Mo who deliberately released it. In fact, it is impossible to find out what is going on inside Yecheng.

It's just that now, there is no need to worry about these anymore. This battle can't be fought. If Liyang's food and grass are really gone, no matter how much food Cheng Yu can get, it will only be a drop in the bucket. It is better to think of a way out now.

"Is there no other strategy?" Cao Cao was a little unwilling to give up. He had already fought here, and he was really unwilling to admit defeat at this time.

Guo Jia shook his head and said nothing more. At this time, unless Chen Mo died suddenly and they could defeat the Guanzhong Army and occupy Yecheng within three days, there would be no hope. But even if Chen Mo died suddenly, given the current situation in Yecheng , capturing Yecheng in three days is just a joke, Yuan Shang is still watching.

"Our army must hold Pingyuan, Dongjun, Qinghe and Bohai in our hands. If something cannot be done, my lord must make plans early." Guo Jia looked at Cao Cao's hesitant expression and said seriously.

"Yes." Cao Cao nodded, looked at Guo Jiada and said, "I'm going to take a rest."

"Jia, please leave!" Guo Jia stood up, bowed to Cao Cao, and turned to leave.

Cao Cao closed his eyes, feeling unwilling, disappointed, and somewhat angry. In the past, he and Chen Mo had won and lost, but this time in the battle for Jizhou, it was related to the fate of the world, but Chen Mo robbed him of food. Alas~

The night wind blew, and the chill between heaven and earth became much heavier. Most of the soldiers had fallen asleep, but Cao Cao was the only one who tossed and turned in the tent and stayed awake all night.

Early the next morning, Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun came back to resume their duties.

"How!?" Cao Cao was a little surprised. These two people came back too quickly. He had a bad feeling in his heart, but he still couldn't help but ask with a bit of expectation.

"The city of Liyang has been broken. The enemy troops and our troops who attacked Liyang have already left by then." Cao Ren shook his head.

"Where's the food and grass?" Cao Cao's voice grew uncontrollably.

"The eight granaries were burned down. When we arrived, there was only ashes left." Xiahou Dun said uncomfortably.

Poof~

Cao Cao fell down on the straw mat and looked at the two of them blankly, without speaking for a long time.

"Lord?" Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun were startled and looked at Cao Cao worriedly.

"Withdraw the troops!" Cao Cao finally let out a long sigh, with endless desolation. This battle no longer needs to be fought. Chen Mo has cut off his retreat.

"Evacuate to where?" Cao Ren frowned.

"Pingyuan, Puyang, Zixiao and Yuanrang, you two guard one place and let the army withdraw." Cao Cao had a smile on his face, but the bitterness and helplessness in that smile made people feel sad.

"Lord, why don't you fight hard?" Cao Ren said loudly.

"Since we know we will lose, why bother ourselves?" Cao Cao shook his head: "Leave some manpower for us to make a comeback in the future."

"Here!" Everyone looked at Cao Cao's expression and did not dare to say anything more. They quickly went back and prepared to retreat.

After another night, Cao's army began to retreat. Cao Cao stood on a high platform, looking at the Guanzhong Army camp in the distance, and refused to leave for a long time.

"My lord, the army has withdrawn from the camp, and we should leave too!" Xu Chu came to Cao Cao and bowed.

"I don't know when I will come next time?" Cao Cao looked at the direction of Yecheng, sighed, got on the warhorse, and left with Xu Chu and the army.

On the other side, the Guanzhong Army camp.

"Sir!" Gao Shun found Xun You, and after a salute, he said: "The scouts sent news that the Cao army retreated."

"Retreat?" Xun You was thinking about how to fight today's battle, and suddenly heard this news and was a little stunned. Why did they suddenly retreat when they were fighting well?

"Yes." Gao Shun nodded and said: "They retreated early in the morning, and they retreated very cleanly. Should we pursue them?"

"No need." Xun You didn't understand why Cao Cao suddenly retreated, but he knew that since Cao Cao chose to retreat, he would definitely be on guard against pursuit, and there must be ambushes along the way.

"It's a good thing that Cao Cao has withdrawn his troops. We will deal with the Yuan family first. Now it is most important to wipe out Jizhou." Xun You looked at Gao Shun and smiled.

"Yes!" Gao Shun agreed and stood up to leave.

"Wait a minute, General." Xun You stopped Gao Shun.

"What else do you want, sir?" Gao Shun looked at Xun You in confusion.

"General, lead the Xianzhen Camp into the city and inform the lord of this news while protecting the lord from danger." Xun You said solemnly. Now that the Cao army has withdrawn, he knows that the gates of Yecheng have been wide open for the past two days. Although he knows that this is Chen Mo deceiving Yuan Shang, Xun You still broke out in a cold sweat, fearing that Chen Mo might make a mistake.

"Yes!" Gao Shun nodded and turned to leave.

Why did the Cao army suddenly withdraw? After Gao Shun left, Xun You frowned and thought about this question. Is there a change in the rear? Or is Yuan Tan rebelling?

Although Cao Jun seized the initiative when entering Jizhou, there are also hidden dangers. Yuan Tan is an unstable factor after all. If Yuan Tan turns against them at this time, Xun You will not be surprised at all.

"What is Gongda thinking about?" While thinking, the tent door suddenly opened, and Chen Mo's voice came, which made Xun You subconsciously look up and see Chen Mo and Gao Shun who just left come in.

"Lord?" Xun You hurriedly stood up to greet him and welcomed Chen Mo to the main seat, and asked curiously: "Lord is not in Yecheng?"

"Yes, he left three days ago." Chen Mo smiled.

"My lord..." Xun You saw Chen Mo's face, which was covered with dust, and his heart moved. He looked at Chen Mo and said, "Is the sudden retreat of Cao's army related to my lord?"

"Yes." Chen Mo took the bowl of water handed by the personal guard, took a big sip and said with a smile, "Originally, I wanted to use a trick to deceive Yuan Shang and lead the army to go behind the enemy to make it difficult for Cao Cao to take care of both. Who knew that after breaking through Liyang, I found that Cao's army had stored food and grass in Liyang, which was burned by me. Now Cao's army has no choice but to retreat."

"How can my lord take risks personally?" Xun You sighed when he heard this. Although this was a great victory and completely solved Cao Cao's powerful enemies along the way, if Chen Mo had any mistakes, it would be over.

"There are some things I can do, but others can't." Chen Mo shook his head and smiled. He could judge the value of a city or a stronghold by the changes in luck, but others didn't have this ability. If other people were to go, they would probably just fight randomly, which would at most cause Cao Cao some trouble, but they couldn't cut off Cao Cao's food supply in one fell swoop.

Xun You smiled bitterly and shook his head, sat down again and looked at Chen Mo and said, "I wonder what the lord is planning?"

"Cao Cao has retreated, but his main force has not been damaged. We should gather troops as soon as possible and completely destroy Yuan Shang before he reacts. Otherwise, there may be changes later." Chen Mo said, "Notify all the generals to gather and prepare to attack Yuan Shang."

He came back so anxiously in order to send troops as soon as possible. Even if Yuan Shang had some preparations, now that Cao Cao was no longer a constraint, Yuan Shang's current strength was far from being the enemy of either Chen Mo or Cao Cao. He must completely occupy Jizhou before Cao Cao recovers, and then attack Youzhou.

"Yes!" Xun You nodded and agreed, and immediately arranged for people to gather all the generals.

Soon, Xu Huang, Zhang Ji, Zhang Xiu, Ma Chao, Pang De, Cui Geng, and Bao Geng stared at all the generals under Chen Mo to gather.

"Cao Cao has withdrawn his troops. Today, I call all the generals to come here to completely destroy the Yuan family and occupy Jizhou. All generals, listen to my order and lead the troops to attack. Ma Chao, Pang De, and Zhang Xiu, you three lead the cavalry and attack Handan directly. Cui Geng, immediately capture Pingyang. The rest of the generals, follow me to defeat Yuan Shang!"

"Yes!"