Three Kingdoms

The rumors in Yuzhou are slightly exaggerated.

Cao Chun did not die as the rumors spread, but decisively abandoned his baggage and ran all the way.

Human beings' talent in retreat may have been fully developed in ancient times. There are few other races that have such balanced abilities as humans. Those who can't run as fast as humans can't run as long, and those who can't run as long as humans can't run as fast as humans. It's not just the elites of Cao's army who are turning into Rufeng, many ordinary soldiers can also keep up with gritted teeth.

But throughout the entire process of escaping, Cao Chun's entire queue was indeed shrinking. In addition to the soldiers who fell behind halfway, there were also some Hu cavalry who were originally attached to Cao Chun, and they basically fell behind inexplicably. Gone, gone.

Disappearing together with these barbarian cavalry were the weapons and armor given to them by Cao Chun...

From the perspective of God, or from the perspective of a certain Zhuge, or the reincarnation of Zhou Yu, Cao Chun should not have fought such a battle.

For Cao Chun, his only idea is to strive for a glimmer of possibility and a glimmer of hope belonging to the Cao family among the impossible, even if this glimmer of possibility and glimmer of hope seems so slim.

Although Cao Chun's soldiers who stayed to block the attack bought Cao Chun some time and allowed Cao Chun to escape from the most dangerous area, the morale of Cao Chun's army was weakened at this time and they were unable to turn around and ambush Zhao Yun. And many times once the army starts to flee, it is difficult to control it. This is still the case even in the era of hot weapons in later generations.

After Zhao Yun joined Zhang He, he also began to pursue Cao Jun.

Suli Mohuba and others bowed down before Zhao Yun's horse as a matter of course, expressing their submission.

Zhao Yun reversed the situation in the Northern Desert that Cao Chun had painstakingly created with little effort, and rebuilt the defense layout to ensure the control of the Northern Territory Protectorate in the Northern Desert.

Of course it's just a temporary verbal surrender and agreement...

Zhao Yun's army was full of momentum, and many of the Hu cavalry who had taken refuge in Zhao Yun also followed Cao Chun and started to bite him.

Cao Chun had no choice but to take the core elite of Cao's army and go into battle in person, kill the horsemen, and defeat the Hu cavalry who were pursuing the most fiercely. Only then could he more or less restore the morale of Cao's army, but it was still difficult to compete with Zhao Yun.

Until now, Cao Chun still has not given up his "hope"...

Because part of Cao Chun's plan is a defeat strategy, a chain strategy... Well, of course, these thirty-six strategies obviously appeared after the Han Dynasty, but it does not prevent Cao Chun from having similar ideas. .

Compared to Mobei, Youbei is Cao Chun's home field.

With Jizhou at its back and ample supplies, the roles of the two sides could be reversed. Cao Jun became the defender, while Zhao Yun became the attacker.

Yanshan will become the most obvious and least obvious trap.

Cao Chun hoped to set up an ambush in the Yanshan area, use the power of Yuyang and surrounding cities to invade part of Zhao Yun's troops, and rekindle the morale and fighting spirit of Cao's army. On the one hand, Zhao Yun's army, which came from afar, had to be careful about the problem of food routes that stretched the front line. On the other hand, it also had to be careful about Cao's army dividing its troops and taking the Taihang Mountains to attack Changshan New City. Cao Chun would not engage in a decisive battle with Zhao Yun. Instead, he would rely on the strong city to compete with Zhao Yun, constantly strengthening defenses to consume Zhao Yun's troops, and then continue to attack with cavalry, eventually forcing Zhao Yun to retreat.

Especially in the current climate, no one can guarantee when a heavy snowfall will suddenly occur. However, with the shelter of Yuyang City, Cao Jun obviously has an advantage in terms of time and location...

But what Cao Chun never expected was that when he was about to contact Yuyang, he received news that nearly broke him. Yu Zhutan led his men to attack Yuyang!

How can this be? !

How dare this guy? !

Yu Zhudan and those guys were looting wildly in Yanshan, which exposed the fortification defense originally prepared for Zhao Yun...

This sentence is really stuck in the throat.

Cao Chun did not dare to delay, so he could only immediately give up the plan to defend the north of Yanshan and retreat quickly.

The Hu cavalry who followed Zhao Yun are now very brave. They are almost equal to unarmored light cavalry. In addition, the Northern Desert war horses are hardworking and have extremely strong endurance. They can follow Cao Jun's ass almost without sleep. They are just afraid. Cao Jun, in turn, dealt with them just like Po Shihe, so the barbarians were often like a swarm of flies. As long as they were sure that the fly swatter could not hit them, they would pounce on them and carve up anything they liked, no matter it was A piece of cloth or a bag of salt.

Cao Chun was well aware of the seriousness of the situation and did not dare to hand over the postponed task to others. He personally led the rearguard and controlled the marching speed of the entire army to prevent the rearguard from being bitten off piece by piece. Even so, Cao Chun was still under the continuous attack of the pursuers. With constant losses, they gave up more and more baggage, and the few remaining baggage cars were abandoned again. When they finally persisted through Yanshan, Cao Jun had less than five days of rations left.

Yu Zhutan's troops left at Gubeikou dispersed when they saw Cao Jun approaching.

Cao Chun retook Gubeikou, but he did not flee to Yuyang immediately. Instead, he set up at Gubeikou...

In the early morning of the next day, when the sky was dimming, Jiankun Po Shihe and his men and horses were the first to catch up. However, when Po Shihe arrived at Gubeikou to gather and prepare for the attack, they encountered some trouble.

It was foggy at the mountain pass.

A large white fog shrouded around the Gubeikou of Yanshan Mountain, with visibility less than one foot.

Po Shihe was ready to attack, but the heavy fog disrupted his rhythm.

Everyone knows that the retreating army is the richest meat, but this fog came at the wrong time.

"Sir, the fog is too heavy. Cao's soldiers will not be able to march in this weather... Why don't we wait?" Po Shihe's men said that the fog was too heavy and they could not see Cao's army when they entered the mountain, so they might as well wait.

"No...can't wait!" ”Jian Kunpo Shihe Lujiao sullenly rejected his subordinate’s suggestion, “When you are running for your life, how can you care about whether there is fog or not? 』

But attacking in such weather is a severe test for any army. Even a small accident may cause the entire army to collapse.

When the scout reported that he saw Cao Jun escaping, Po Shihe couldn't help it. He didn't want to miss the opportunity to pursue him. His greed made him exert a strong sense of luck on himself. Maybe the heavy fog would be beneficial to him. After all, he couldn't see it. Cao Jun couldn't see where he appeared from, either, right? ?

The horn sounded in the fog, doing its best to stir up the dull white fog.

The lack of vision made the men and horses entering the mountains of Po Shihe become cautious involuntarily. They all tried to walk as lightly as possible, and the friction sound from their armor seemed to be amplified in the thick fog.

Jiankun's soldiers nervously held the weapons in their hands, and in the heavy fog, the bodies of the men and horses were soon covered with frost, and their hands and feet became a little stiff.

Upon seeing this, Po Shihe was about to let his men rest for a while, but saw something shaking in the thick fog. He was startled and shouted loudly, which also made the surrounding Jiankun soldiers nervous. It turned out that it was just Several pine trees are swaying...

Everyone couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, but before they could fully breathe out, they heard Cao Jun shouting and launching an attack from both sides!

The soldiers of Cao's army screamed strangely in the thick fog, and rushed forward to fight without fear. Various weapons stirred up the thick white fog, and then quickly dyed the white fog into pink or bright red.

Fighting in heavy fog, no one knew the number of opponents, and a small-scale ambush began.

Po Shihe and others had some psychological advantages at first. After all, they were the pursuers, while Cao Jun was the escapee. However, in the thick fog, the two sides turned into a melee. The meeting place was chaotic, and there was no formation. shape.

Soldiers on both sides relied on instinct to attack the enemies around them. Under such circumstances, the psychological advantage of Jiankun's soldiers was not obvious, and Cao's army's training and equipment in hand-to-hand combat slowly gained the upper hand.

Although Po Shihe also obtained some armor equipment from Changshan Army, compared with Cao Army, it was still far behind. The shooting that the nomadic cavalry was good at was almost completely useless under the thick fog. Even if the Jiankun soldiers in the rear wanted to support them, they could not find the target and it was not clear who was the enemy and who was the friendly force.

Wearing heavy armor, Cao Chun personally led his men to snipe Po Shihe in the Gubeikou Mountain Road.

This time the blockade was very resolute, and Cao Chun sent out his own elite troops. These elite soldiers of Cao Chun had stronger wills and better equipment than ordinary soldiers of Cao Chun. Cao Chun himself, in particular, was extremely ferocious, as if he wanted to vent all the depression of the previous defeat on the Jiankun people.

The Jiankun cavalry tried to resist, but they were quickly put into eighteen postures by Cao Chun.

So the Jiankun cavalry couldn't bear the humiliation and left Gubeikou cursing.

Cao Jun successfully repelled the Jiankun cavalry that followed all the way. Both sides suffered casualties, but overall, Jiankun Po Shihe's soldiers suffered greater losses.

The Jiankun cavalry had to stop and helplessly watched Cao Chun's bleeding butt getting further and further away, but did not dare to continue the pursuit. It was not until Zhao Yun's large troops came up that they found Zhao Yun crying and complaining, but Cao Chun had already been Got some breathing room…

Cao Jun, who marched into the Northern Desert with great momentum a month ago, now returned to Youbei in disgrace. The two sides seem to have returned to the situation before the war, but the balance of strength has changed greatly.

Cao's army has almost shrunk by half, especially the control over the Northern Desert has almost completely been lost. As Su Li and others completely fell to Zhao Yun's side, Cao's army's influence in Liaodong and its reputation in more remote areas have almost dropped to a minimum. point.

Although Zhao Yun also suffered losses in this aspect, they were basically within an acceptable range. The one with the highest loss rate was not Zhao Yunchangshan's army who fought against Cao Chun, but Zhang He, who was a partial army...

Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the fighting strength of the nomadic people in Mobei has been basically in a state of being crushed. Even if he occasionally gets an erection, it will soon die away. Originally, Xianbei had a chance to inherit the throne of the Xiongnu, but bad luck, or the wars during the Xiongnu period also hollowed out the weak foundation of the desert, making most desert nomads unwilling to fall into a trap that lasted for decades or even hundreds of years. in the war.

The Xiongnu were a large nomadic alliance maintained by barbarism and violence. They were an unstable country. They lost their foundation in the confrontation with the Han Dynasty, and the economic environment of the desert was once again severely degraded. This may be because after the Xiongnu, Xianbei never became strong. It was not until the Five Husties that the nomadic people once again obtained the technology and craftsmen of the northern Han people, and got the opportunity to thrive and develop again, and once again became a threat to northern China. .

Now, these remnants of the former Xiongnu and the post-Xianbei branches are trying their best to behave well in front of Zhao Yun...

Zhao Yun glanced at Su Li and others.

Su Li quickly wrinkled her face into a chrysanthemum shape.

Mo Huba followed with an apologetic smile, and after Zhao Yun glanced at him, he secretly squeezed Po Shihe beside him, and then he and Po Shihe glared at each other and grinded their teeth.

After Zhao Yun unified most of the nomadic tribes, he undoubtedly had an absolute power advantage, but it also brought a large population burden. These nomads are more or less friendly forces, so they naturally need to distribute some food and grass supplies, which suddenly increases the logistical pressure on Zhao Yun's side.

Of course, it’s okay not to give it at all.

Then you're back to the old ways. After all, you don't give anything, and you have to pay for others. In addition to trying to spread the pie, it's violent coercion.

The effect of drawing a pie will get worse every time.

Cao Jun had already drawn one for Su Li before, and now he asked Zhao Yun to draw a bigger one?

Is it violent, killing Su Li and other leaders, and then supporting the leaders of the next class to come up?

Obviously, these methods are not very good, at least with Zhao Yun's intelligence, he cannot make such a retarded decision.

Any decision must be based on the local situation at that time, rather than saying that someone has succeeded before, so I can succeed in imitating this time...

The question now is whether to continue fighting or to suspend the war temporarily.

Continuing to fight has the benefits of continuing to fight, and there are also reasons for a temporary truce, which makes Zhao Yun hesitate. Therefore, Zhao Yun decided to conduct a tentative attack on Cao Jun's defense line in Yanshan first.

Tentatively, not fully.

Zhao Yun asked Su Li and others to lead their own troops to attack Cao Jun's Yanshan defense line. Zhao Yun and Zhang He were stationed in the north of Yanshan, using the military stronghold left by Cao Jun to build a temporary camp.

The meeting Zhao Yun convened with Su Li and others was very brief. In line with Zhao Yun's usual style, he did not dwell on anything or talk nonsense, but quickly issued instructions to these nomadic leaders.

Su Li and Mo Huba led their troops to attack Gubeikou, while the people of Poshihe and Rouran who had originally failed at Gubeikou took other mountain roads and detoured to Yuyang.

When the two groups of men and horses separated, they still bared their teeth at each other, just like several dogs fighting each other trying to please Zhao Yun.

"Jun Yi, how loyal do you think these leaders are?" 』

Zhao Yun said slowly.

Zhang He glanced at Zhao Yun.

“It’s okay to just say it. ” Zhao Yun added.

Zhang He responded, but still hesitated a little. After a moment, he said: "Maybe five or five." 』

Zhao Yun smiled.

Zhao Yun understood what Zhang He meant.

Zhang He said it was half and half, but in fact it was not even 50%.

People like Suli only obey temporarily.

Because Zhao Yun is stronger at this stage.

Zhao Yun thought, as the Hussar General said, it is actually very easy and simple to rule these nomadic tribes with violence, but similarly, when the power of the central dynasty declines, these nomadic tribes will come back again Come back with violence again...

"Changshan is now expanding its market," Zhao Yun said, "the market... My lord has said that this thing is a sharp weapon to control the desert... What do Jun Yi think it will do for?" 』

Zhao Yun said and stretched out his hand to explore in the air.

As the Protector of the Northern Territory, Zhao Yun had many things to consider.

The cold wind howled by, and the exposed skin clearly felt the discomfort of the cold.

Although the Hussars were specially equipped with a lot of cold-proof equipment for the Northern Territory, the time window to stay was running out.

Zhao Yun looked in the direction of Yuyang.

"If you drive them with profit, you will be more obedient. If you use force..." Zhang He was stuck for a moment, and then changed the word "force" to the word "bing". "If you use soldiers to intimidate you, you will have more resentment..."

Zhao Yun nodded, "What the Lord wants is a method that can last for a hundred years, and it is definitely not a temporary solution." I ordered all the ministries to go south, first to relieve their strength, and secondly to frustrate their intentions, so that they can be accepted by me. 』

Zhang He frowned and said, "As a protector, this Cao army in Yuyang... is there still an ambush?" Or was the defeat in Black Stone Forest also a plan by Cao Jun? 』

Zhao Yun sighed slightly, "The defeat of Cao's army is a lesson for us." The foreigners are newly attached and have an impetuous mind, which should be tempered and weakened... However, due to the forces of heaven and earth... I have no choice but to adopt this strategy of borrowing a sword..."

"The time of day..." Zhang He looked up at the sky.

After Zhao Yun took charge of the Northern Territory Protectorate, he registered climate change every year, and found from these registration documents that the temperature gradually dropped every year.

In fact, Zhao Yun didn't know that the Little Ice Age in Han Dynasty was not the most outrageous. It was the Little Ice Age in the late Ming Dynasty that was.

In the Little Glacier in the late Ming Dynasty, it snowed in Guangdong and Fujian in the south. People in Yunnan froze to death in June, and the snow in Hainan Island was even more than a foot thick...

This drastic climate change has brought unparalleled damage to agricultural farming. Coupled with Dameng's internal troubles, the Donglin Party is messing around, and the squire lord is like a cancer...

Of course, the current Xiao Binghe cannot be underestimated either.

"Those who are optimistic in the army will report it... In ten days at most, there may be heavy snowfall..." Zhao Yun said in a deep voice, "There are people in our army who are good at observing the weather, and naturally there are also among Cao's army..."

Zhang He couldn't help being surprised, and then frowned.

The heavy snowfall in the twelfth lunar month is terrible, and the heavy snowfall in the first lunar month is equally powerful.

There were only a few moderate and light snowfalls in December before. If the predictions of the military hopefuls were accurate...

Encountering heavy snow or blizzard in the Northern Desert is no joke.

"It is unwise to contend with the timing of heaven." Being lucky will often harm the army. So for the sake of safety, in three days..." Zhao Yun raised three fingers, "Within three days, the barbarians will roll into Yuyang, and after five days, the army will return to Changshan! 』

Zhao Yun's expression was very complicated.

Generally speaking, Zhao Yun rarely showed his emotions, but now, Zhao Yun obviously couldn't control his emotions. He looked in the direction of Yuyang and let out a long sigh.

Zhao Yun sighed, "Jun Yi...perhaps, by doing this...he will become a sinner of the Han Dynasty..."

Zhang He bowed and said, "The Protector has good intentions..."