Chapter 456 "Mr. Qiao, do you have two daughters?" (Four Thousand)

"By the way, why is the front army not moving? Could something have gone wrong?"

Qiao Rui, who was in the center of the army, always felt uneasy. The whole journey he had taken was indeed a bit strange.

During the march, he put in his utmost energy and was extremely careful and cautious.

However, the outcome of the incident played a big joke on him. Ambush? No! Trap? Even more nonsense!

The rest of the troops were so happy about the looting that even though he was very strict in military discipline, he could tolerate it, but his subordinates could not.

There was no other way, Qiao Rui had to follow Yuan Shu's orders and no longer control his soldiers.

Although they did not encounter any ambushes or traps, Qiao Rui's worries did not diminish in the slightest, and this worry continued until they reached the city of Guangling.

"Hahaha, Captain Qiao! Sun Lang is a young hero. Even if Chen Yuanlong refuses us to enter the city, how could Sun Lang put himself in danger?!" Zhang Xun was full of praise for Sun Ce. As the biological son of Sun Jian, he was tall and strong, little famous, and neither humble nor arrogant. How could there be any danger for him?
This statement was even recognized by Yuan Shu, who smiled and said, "I have never misjudged people. Sun Lang will become a great man in the future!"

"." Yan Xiang's eyes were full of helplessness, his face was slightly bitter. He wanted to say something, but when the words came to his lips, he couldn't squeeze them out no matter how hard he tried. In the end, he sighed, "Mr. Yuan, Mr. Yuan, where do you get your confidence from? You treated Sun Wentai like this, and you still want to recapture his son. Isn't this just a foolish dream?"
Yang Hong was stunned, and he obviously didn't think Yuan Shu could succeed. However, he was well versed in the ways of being an official, and smiled and flattered Yuan Shu, "Mingsir, you think so highly of Sun Lang, I believe Sun Lang also knows your good intentions, and Sun Lang will definitely serve you as his master in the future!"

"Hahaha! Well said, well said!" Yuan Shu laughed with his head raised. Yang Hong's words touched his heart.

In his opinion, not only did he not embarrass Sun Ce at the banquet, but he also did not care about Sun Ce's status. Isn't this respectful to the wise? Even if Yuan Benchu ​​came, he would not be as good as him? !
As for Sun Jian’s troops and official position?

Sun Wentai has become a useless person. This is called cutting losses in time!

Besides, didn’t he promise Sun Ce that he would return Sun Jian’s troops and official position to Sun Ce in the future?

Now he is just keeping it for safekeeping!

I guess after waiting for so long, the city gate should be open by now, right?

It seems that Bofu still needs to hone his eloquence!
At this moment, Yuan Shu completely put his worries behind him.

During this period of time, he felt that there was nothing to worry about, and when he felt sleepy, someone would bring him a pillow.

what?
Yan Xiang said Guangling is not that simple?
joke!

Who is Chen Yuanlong?

He's just an ordinary guy who has read some books!

In war, we only charge forward
In terms of strategy, you are not as good as me!

Yuan Shu was in a good mood, with the corners of his mouth curled up. He seemed to have already seen Yuan Shao walking towards him with the imperial seal in his hand!
However, this good mood was soon broken by the messenger who came riding on his horse, covered in dust and dirt.

"Report——"

"Mr. Yuan, something terrible has happened! Guangling Governor Chen Yuanlong suddenly launched an attack, causing heavy losses to our army."

Yuan Shu's smile froze immediately, and the generals were terrified and their eyelids were twitching wildly!
There was no need for the messenger to say more, they saw it, the crossbow arrow that was like a spear falling not far ahead, with such terrible power that it seemed as if the earth was shaking!
It's not over yet!
A rain of arrows followed closely behind!

An overwhelming rain of arrows!
Even the generals in the central army felt their scalps tingling. With so many arrows, did Chen Yuanlong have too much money and nowhere to spend it? !

Yuan Shu's face looked extremely ugly. He never expected that Chen Deng would have such sinister intentions!

He gritted his teeth and wished he could cut Chen Deng into pieces!

Fortunately, at the critical moment, he resisted the impulse and issued military orders to the three armies.

"withdraw!"

Standing on the city wall of Guangling, Chen Deng let out a breath and smiled as he looked at the mess outside the city.

happy!

All these years of preparation have paid off!
But when he turned around and looked into the city, he saw the soldiers in the city cheering like thunder and thunder. Yuan Shu, who was causing chaos in Xuzhou, had been defeated. Even if it was only temporary, it was enough to boost people's morale!

very good!

Chen Deng clenched his fists. Nothing was beyond his expectations. This battle boosted morale. No matter how many times Yuan Shu came, he was confident that he could defeat him!
It's a pity that Sun Ce couldn't be killed.
Chen Deng was not disappointed about this. Although he did not kill Sun Ce, the waves of arrows just now injured the young generals beside Sun Ce. If he guessed correctly,
That person is Zhou Yu?

Maybe it's a good thing?

Chen Deng smiled with relief and stopped investigating. He took a step forward and began to prepare for Yuan Shu's next wave of attacks.

"Bo Fu."

Qiao Rui looked at the arrows piercing Zhou Yu, feeling full of guilt. If he had not mentioned Sun Ce in front of Zhang Xun and Ji Ling, then Sun Ce would most likely not have become the vanguard, and if he had not become the vanguard, Zhou Yu would not have been hit by several arrows.

"Captain Qiao, I'm fine."

Sun Ce's face was frighteningly gloomy, and even a fool could see that Sun Ce was not being sincere.

Qiao Rui wanted to say something, but when he saw Sun Ce's face and the unconscious Zhou Yu, he stopped talking. He said goodbye and left in a hurry.

Sun Ce carefully placed Zhou Yu on the makeshift bed, a trace of regret emerging in his heart.

It was all his fault for not hearing Zhou Yu’s advice. If Zhou Yu hadn’t stood in front of him, he would have been the one hit by the arrow.

He clenched the sword at his waist. He really wanted to lead his troops to attack Guangling, but when he thought of Zhou Yu's instructions when he grabbed his arm before he fell unconscious, his hand that was tightly gripping the hilt of the sword loosened.

"Bofu, why not take this opportunity to break away from Yuan Shu? Yuan Shu... Yuan Shu is unlikely to achieve great things. The six counties of Jiangdong are the most important."

"Someone come here." Sun Ce closed his eyes and whispered, "Go tell Lord Yuan that our brothers are seriously injured and cannot continue to move forward. We...we need to return home to rest."

"promise!"

"what?"

"Sun Bofu is going back home too?!"

Yuan Shu, who was already upset, became even more upset. However, when he heard that Sun Ce wanted to return home for Zhou Yu and for the soldiers under his command,
Considering that Sun Ce did suffer heavy casualties this time, he no longer cared, "Go! Let him go!"

Although Yuan Shu let Sun Ce go, he could not swallow the humiliation of the Battle of Guangling.

He paced back and forth, still trying to think of a good solution, and could only look at Yang Hong who was standing beside him, "Yang Changshi, Guangling is blocking our way now, do you have any good plan?"

"Defeat the enemy." Yang Hong felt his ears buzzing. No, why are you asking me, sir? Why not ask Yan Xiang?

However, Yang Hong still gave the answer that Yuan Shu wanted to hear, "Gather the army and make siege equipment. Since Guangling won't let me wait, then we'll attack!"

"Good!" Yuan Shu nodded heavily.

"Gathering the army" and "making siege equipment" were two tasks that were being carried out in a hurry under the arrangement of Yuan Shu and his generals.

As all the trees around Guangling had been cut down, Yuan's army was forced to go to more distant places to cut down trees. The time spent on the round trip was beyond Yuan Shu's imagination.

He suddenly regretted this decision. He wanted to sound out Yang Hong and see if he had any other good ideas.

The result was either "Mr. Yuan, of course we should attack the city!" or "Mr. Yuan, do you want to ask Yan Xiang?"

Yuan Shu knew Yan Xiang's talent, but he couldn't bring himself to ask Yan Xiang right now.

He was torn between his conscience and his desires, but he finally gritted his teeth and made up his mind, "Attack the city!"

As time passed, the siege equipment was finally built and everything was ready. Yuan Shu learned from his mistakes and decided to let Qiao Rui be the chief general to command the siege.

The equipment was ready, the commander had selected the right people, and his advisers racked their brains to think of various ways to defeat the enemy. However, the siege was still not smooth. Facing the dense rain of arrows from the Guangling guards, the Yuan army's advancement was difficult. Even though he generously used money and cloth to encourage the Yuan army in an attempt to boost morale, the effect was not very good.

What’s worse is that the crossbows in Guangling City seem to have eyes, and their accuracy is so accurate that it makes people’s scalps numb.

As soon as they pushed out the siege equipment, they were hit by the enemy's crossbows, and their efforts were turned to ashes in an instant.

Yuan Shu's heart bled as he listened to the battle report.

Not until the last bit of afterglow completely died out in the sky did Yuan Shu reluctantly order the siege to end today.

On the city wall of Guangling, the soldiers who had repelled Yuan Shu time and time again cheered when they saw Yuan Shu temporarily retreat.

Only Chen Deng was thinking. Since the first battle, he had not seen anyone who looked like Sun Ce and Zhou Yu. Maybe they were retreating to rest? Maybe they were disguised as soldiers? Or maybe they were retreating back to Wujun?
Chen Deng didn't know, but what surprised Chen Deng was that Yuan Shu's soldiers were too weak, right? No, to be more precise, their morale was too low.

He calculated carefully and found that the food stored in the city would be enough for him to survive for three to four months.
It doesn't seem like it will take four months. Judging from the performance of Yuan Shu's soldiers today, they will retreat on their own in less than one or two months.

One or two months seemed to be enough. Chen Deng's goal was to relieve the pressure on Zhang Fei and Huang Zhong.

only.
Chen Deng frowned. It was not a problem for his troops to besiege a city for several months. The question was, would Yuan Shu really fight to the death in Guangling?

Based on his understanding of Yuan Shu's inner thoughts, Chen Deng felt that Yuan Shu would most likely withdraw his troops in the near future.

Of course, during this process, Yuan Shu was very likely to adopt the strategy of his advisers.

Unable to take it from the front, the enemy used pressure from the rear to force Tao Qian to take action.

It's called the strategy of sowing discord.

Fortunately, Chen Deng had anticipated this and had made preparations for both scenarios early on. Now Tao Qian is extremely busy, trying to find ways to cover up for his good fellow countryman!
In that case
or
A bold idea came to Chen Deng's mind. Since Yuan Shu might retreat, should he take the initiative to attack?
After thinking for a moment, Chen Deng made up his mind.

Dry!
The weather is dry right now, with occasional southerly winds. I would be doing myself a disservice if I didn't start a fire attack.

Chen Deng waved to the two guards, who were still immersed in the joy of defeating Yuan in the south. However, when they saw Chen Deng calling them, they immediately walked to Chen Deng without saying a word and said respectfully, "Lord Chen."

"You two, go find a few dozen experts who are familiar with the surrounding terrain."

The two men clasped their fists and agreed.

Chen Deng also hurried towards his mansion. To deal with Yuan Shu's tens of thousands of people, even if it was to set fire, just dozens of people would not be enough.

Fortunately, many of the death squads he trained were familiar with the surrounding terrain.

"You, you, and you, prepare the flint and oil, and then follow me!"

In the backyard, Chen Deng ordered hundreds of assassins dressed as servants at once.

In addition to setting the fire, he had another purpose, which was to try to catch Sun Ce or Zhou Yu.
Yuan Shu's camp.

Yuan Shu sat on the bed with his brows twisted into a "川" shape.

Even Yuan Shu would think about the recent war issues.

Do you want to continue fighting?

He couldn't help but back off, his original purpose was to get the imperial seal. Now not only did he not even see the shadow of the imperial seal, but the loss was actually before his eyes.

Do you want to ask Yan Xiang?
Yuan Shu was somewhat resistant before, but the siege during this period forced him to admit that what Yan Xiang said was indeed right.
As for his face
Just as Yuan Shu was hesitating, there was suddenly a commotion outside the tent, and the dense footsteps sounded like drifting drizzle beating on drums.

Yuan Shu's brows furrowed even deeper. He pushed open the tent and shouted, "Why are you panicking?!"

As soon as he stepped out of the tent, hysterical shouts came over him.

"No! It's on fire!"

"Put out the fire! Put out the fire!"

"Oh no! Ambush! I saw many ambushes!"

Yuan Shu's eyes widened as if he had been struck by lightning. Fire! He saw fire! The flames shot up into the sky, as if they were right in front of him!

No, being popular is secondary.

The soldiers fled in panic, covering their heads and many were trampled to death!
After a moment, Yuan Shu came back to his senses. His mood sank to the bottom. What was worse than the fire was the roar in the camp!
Damn!

Yuan Shu cursed inwardly. Being from a prominent family, he naturally knew the horror of camp roars. If he couldn't control it, everything would be destroyed.

He tried to speak out to control it, but in the end he was powerless. He could only grab the guards beside him and shouted angrily: "Where is Captain Qiao? Where is Chief Secretary Yan?!"

In the current critical situation, only Qiao Rui and Yan Xiang can deal with it!

"My lord, my lord, I will go look for Captain Qiao and Chief Secretary Yan right now!"

The pale-faced guard responded tremblingly. Fortunately, Yuan Shu released him soon. He did not disappoint Yuan Shu's expectations and soon took Yuan Shu to find Yan Xiang.

The moment Yuan Shu saw Yan Xiang, he burst into tears and said, "Please, sir, save us!"

However, Yan Xiang’s next words made Yuan Shu’s heart tremble.

"My lord, Captain Qiao is missing." Yan Xiang said bitterly.

"what!!!"

"Are you sure this person is Zhou Gongjin?"

Chen Deng looked at the tightly tied up big man and felt dizzy. If there hadn't been a chair behind him, he would have stumbled and fallen to the ground.

How could the middle-aged man in front of him resemble Zhou Gongjin? They were simply not the same person!

The assassins lowered their heads in shame, "Master, we heard this person reciting Bo Fu and mistook him for Zhou Gongjin."

"."Chen Deng fell silent.

After a moment, he seemed to accept his fate and waved at the dead men, indicating that there was nothing to blame.

He squatted down, looked at the big man, and said, "I will take off the cloth that is blocking your mouth later. But I have a question. I hope you can answer me after I take off the cloth. Who are you?"

After saying this, Chen Deng quickly took the cloth ball out of the big man's mouth.

The big man shouted angrily at almost the same time, "You bastard! I am Qiao Rui, a general under the command of Governor Yuan!"

The assassins were extremely unhappy to see how Qiao Rui treated Chen Deng. They were about to draw their swords but were stopped by Chen Deng.

"Qiao Rui."

Chen Deng was mumbling something, as if he remembered something. He opened his mouth, and the words that came out of his mouth made Qiao Rui, who was cursing, tremble.

"Mr. Qiao, do you have two daughters?"

“Is it called Big Bridge and Small Bridge?”

Qiao Rui felt as if he had been splashed with a basin of cold water. His anger instantly dissipated. He stared blankly at Chen Deng, "How did you know?!"

(End of this chapter)