Chapter 39: Stay or stay

Jiang Gan nodded slightly, looked at the Jiangdong army who could almost hear the shouts of killing hundreds of steps away, turned his horse's head and smiled, "Young master rushed from Jiangling. As soon as he passed the Zhangshui, he saw Zhou Yu's navy coming from the Yangtze River. Seeing the direction of your running, I guess you were going to cross the river from here to the north, and see that this forest is suitable for ambushing, and you are waiting for you here. Please follow me, General."

When Man Chong heard Cao Chong ambushing in the woods, he was overjoyed and breathed a sigh of relief. Even the guards beside him were happy and suddenly felt like they had a life of birth. Man Chong urged the horse to follow Jiang Gan forward, while walking, and holding the crooked helmet. He looked back at the smiling guards, and felt even more ashamed. This is a shame today.

Cao Chong respectfully bowed his hands and stood in front of Cao Ren with a slightly bent waist. Cao Ren was ashamed and sat on a big rock, fiddling with the horse whip in his hand, but he didn't say a word, turning his head to look at the several lush old trees on the green hillside.

"Uncle, victory or defeat is common in military affairs. As long as my uncle is safe, I will feel at ease." Cao Chong smiled and advised: "It is not a big deal to lose only more than 2,000 people. With only two or three thousand people in his uncle, he not only defended Jiangling, but also recovered Yiling under the pressure of Zhou Gongjin. Gan Xingba retreated and retreated three times. Needless to say, his uncle's contribution was made. Zhou Gongjin besieged more than 20,000 people besieged the city for several months, but he still had to flee in the panic. After careful calculation, he did not take advantage. Why should he worry about his uncle?"

"Cang Shu..." Cao Ren's old face turned red and he wanted to speak but stopped. He didn't know how to face Cao Chong. When he heard Man Chong's footsteps, he quickly came up and pulled Man Chong and asked with concern: "Boning, are you okay?"

Man Chong laughed: "It's okay, thanks to the general who saw the opportunity, he reminded me to pay attention to Lu Ziming. Otherwise, he would have been almost blocked by that gangster."

Cao Ren breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that this is good, but it's a pity that Wenda died in the battlefield because of my reasons."

Man Chong advised: "The general is so bad, and those who are generals will inevitably die in the battlefield. Li Wen killed Gan Xingyuan before the touchdown to win the time for our army to break through. His contribution is great, and he will still be honored even if he dies. The general does not have to be too sad, but he should return to Jiangling as soon as possible and report Li Wenda's military achievements to the Prime Minister, so that he can get the due sorrow and be buried in the glory as soon as possible."

"No need to say much about this. Ren should do it quickly, and it won't make Wenda regret it." Cao Ren nodded sadly and said.

Although Man Chong also blamed Cao Ren for being arrogant and giving Li Tong a waste of time. But now that things have come to this point, it is useless to say more, so it is better to leniently untie Cao Ren's heart. He advised Cao Ren a few words, turned his head and said to Cao Chong, "How many people have you brought here, and how do you plan to deal with it?"

Cao Chong smiled bitterly in a little embarrassedly: "I'm running for a long distance. The war horses can't stand it anymore. Many people fell out of the team. There were less than a thousand people here, so they were exhausted." He turned to Cao Ren and said: "As for how to make an appointment, please ask my uncle to order."

Cao Ren shook his hand repeatedly and said hurriedly: "Cang Shu, you said this to embarrass me. I am just a defeated general. How can I..." Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Cao Chong. Cao Chong shook his head and said: "Where will my uncle put my nephew in this? My nephew is just a general of Pingnan, but his uncle is the general of Zhennan. Naturally, the uncle is still the uncle in the military affairs of Jingzhou. Even if my uncle makes some mistakes, he should not shirk his responsibility before the emperor issued an edict to dismiss his uncle."

Cao Ren was speechless. He thought for a while and said, "Cang Shu, since that's the case, I'll just sit in the corpse for a while. You, a thousand people, came from Xiling, and went on a long journey for more than a hundred miles a day to save me. The continuous march was already an exhausted army. There were less than a thousand remaining soldiers here. We were unable to fight. Zhou Gongjin still had nearly five or six thousand people. He won another battle and his morale was strong. Our army had no advantage. I think it would be better to retreat to Jiangling first, look..."

Cao Chong nodded. He had just seen the high morale of the Jiangdong Army. He knew that his people were at the end of their strength and could not fight any more. It was a great achievement to save Cao Ren back to Jiangling City. There was no need to find any unhappiness. He nodded and said, "My uncle is right, let's retreat slowly. Zhou Yu and Gan Ning had nearly 7,000 troops in the same place, and the navy was full of food and grass. Our army only brought two or three days of dry food, which was not conducive to long-term battles. Returning to Jiangling was the best strategy."

Seeing that Cao Ren and Man Chong nodded, he smiled and said, "I'll cut off the rear, two generals, please take a step forward."

Cao Ren shook his head: "Cang Shu, this is not possible. Although you have a thousand people, you are exhausted. How can I leave you behind and run away on your own?" He saw Cao Chong's words and asked to explain, and immediately raised his hand to stop him: "Since you said that it is up to me to decide here, then just do what I said. Everyone joins the army and retreat slowly. When Zhou Yu sees it, he will feel a little afraid and will not come to chase him."

Cao Chong smiled and said, "It's good, so let's wait for a while, and then retreat after scaring Zhou Gongjin." Cao Ren looked at Lu Meng and Zhou Tai who were running in the distance, rolled his beard and nodded: "Okay, if you scare them, we will leave more peacefully."

Lu Meng circled around the mountain, but Man Chong fled, and felt very depressed. He fought with Niu Jin in the mountain, losing hundreds of people, but did not break Niu Jin's defense line. Instead, Zhou Tai and Han Dang, who rushed up later, took advantage of it, and felt very uncomfortable. After leaving the mountain, he led his soldiers to chase him all the way, just to catch Man Chong and make great contributions, so as not to come to Jiangling for nothing. Seeing Man Chong bringing dozens of people into the forest in a mess, he forgot that Zhou Yu had pursued the military order of the Zhang River, looked at the forest and was about to rush in.

At this moment, Zhou Yu's messenger arrived: "Don't come in every forest!"

Lu Meng was furious. It was common sense for me to know about the military. How could I not know about it? But the woods in front of me were so small, how many people could be hidden? Even if reinforcements came, what would happen? Cao Ren and Man Chong had become frightened birds and had long lost their combat power. When we set off from Jiangling, Cao Chong was still in Haosou. Even if he learned the news and brought the cavalry here, it was a tired army. The strong momentum was OK. If he really wanted to fight, he was afraid that he would send me a few more war horses. What's there to be afraid of?

Zhou Yu looked at Lu Meng with anger and smiled silently. He immediately stepped on a slope, looked into the distance, looked at the woods carefully, and asked someone to call the scout to ask about the nearby terrain in detail. Then he smiled.

"Zi Ming, do you want to fight another battle?"

"Think!" Lu Meng suddenly responded.

"Okay, I'll send your local people to form a defensive formation immediately." Zhou Yu smiled and waved his hand, then ordered people to call several scouts over and give orders. The scouts responded and scattered.

"Defensive formation?" Lu Meng was puzzled and rushed forward if he wanted to fight. If he wanted to retreat, he turned around immediately and set up a defensive formation here. He was about to ask again, but he saw Zhou Yu ordering troops to invite Lu Su and others. Soon, Lu Su, Zhou Tai, Han Dang and others came in a hurry.

"It's getting late, so I set up a camp here, rest for one night, and go back to Jiangdong tomorrow. I have someone notify Xingba and transport the food and grass here in a small boat." Zhou Yu ordered. When he looked up, he saw Lu Meng still standing foolishly, and said unavoidably: "Zi Ming, can't even understand the military order?"

"Governor..." Lu Meng was about to ask, but was stopped by Zhou Yu. "If you want to fight another war, just do as I say."

Lu Meng choked, and was about to talk about it, Zhou Yu had already strode. He had no choice but to stamp his feet. Returning to his army, he ordered people to set up a blocking formation outside the woods.

Cao Chong and others in the forest were as puzzled as Lu Meng. Why did Zhou Yu camp here? His navy was ten miles away. It was still early now. Wouldn't it be safer for him to retreat to the ship and rest? If he was not desperate and wanted to chase him, he should also set up a formation to enter the woods. What is the purpose of this, who did not advance or retreat, and Zhou Tai and Han retreated to the back, but what is the purpose?

Pang Tong touched his beard and thought for a while: "Young Master, will Zhou Gongjin be a slow-tracking plan this time? He put on such a stance that he would not advance or retreat and first drag us down, then arrange for people to touch us, and even cut off our retreat?"

Cao Chong frowned when he heard this. He glanced at Cao Ren and Man Chong, who were also frowning and thinking. Then he looked at Pang Tong with some hesitation: "Shi Yuan. Are you saying that he might have guessed that our army was just bluffing, but in fact he could no longer fight?"

Pang Tong nodded and said, "It's not difficult to calculate this. Just calculate the time and distance we set out from Xiling and you can guess it. Zhou Gongjin has been in military service for many years and has fought in Jiangxia for several years. The terrain is very familiar, so this is easy for him."

Cao Ren smiled disdainfully. He felt a little uncomfortable with Pang Tong's view of Zhou Yu so high, and of course he was even more uncomfortable with Pang Tong. Pang Tong was his Gongcao at the time. He had been with him several times when he was in Jiangling. He disliked Pang Tong, so he took his position as Gongcao on the pretext that Pang Tong was untrue and drove him back to Xiangyang. Unexpectedly, this ugly guy returned to Xiangyang and became the chief minister of Cao Chong when he returned to him. Moreover, from various signs, Cao Chong was very respectful to him and almost obeyed his will, which made Cao Ren feel a little unhappy. Now that Pang Tong praised Zhou Yu, who had just defeated his enemy, and he felt even more unhappy, and he couldn't help but want to sarcastically.

"Since that's the case, we retreat. Although we can't gain any advantage in combat, we can still retreat. I don't believe that they know that the people on the legs can still keep up with the four-legged war horses. Most of us are cavalry."

Pang Tong laughed and nodded, "General said yes, but did the general think that once we retreated rapidly, what kind of terrain would be like here to the north? If we retreat at this time, where will we camp and rest, or will we rush to the road overnight?"

Cao Ren was speechless, and he remembered the key to the problem. This place is not far north, but the dangerous forests are in the mountains and forests, which are dozens of miles long. The horses cannot run at all. Many places have to get off the horse and walk, but I am afraid it is a little slower than the infantry. Moreover, although the sun has not yet set, it is not too early. Due to their current situation, they have no time to walk out of the forest and find a place to rest. It is not enough to walk the mountain road overnight. Now it is the end of the month, and there is no moonlight, so walking in the dark is a dead end.

This doggy-good Zhou Yu saw at a glance that my situation was so embarrassing? This ugly ghost also saw the problem at once. Cao Ren couldn't help but be shocked and angry. Cao Chong seemed to have not seen him. After thinking for a moment, he knew the reason. He was shocked and smiled bitterly.

"What do Shi Yuan thinks should we do?" Cao Chong asked while thinking about the countermeasures.

"Please order all scouts to be dispatched immediately to prevent the scouts from approaching in Jiangdong, and to see the facts of our army. Once Zhou Yu learns the actual situation of our army, he is afraid that he will not wait any longer and will launch a strong attack immediately. In this way, our army will inevitably be defeated again."

"It's reasonable." Cao Chong nodded: "What else?"

"We wait for a moment here. Then we quietly retreat. Although camping in the forest is more difficult, it is better than here. The forest is not convenient for us to march, nor are they convenient for them to march. At least we can be in the same situation. If they don't keep up, then we can get a relatively safe distance and have enough time to deal with them to prevent them from sneak attacking at night. We only rest for one night, and early tomorrow morning, we have recovered our strength. He can't help but say whether to fight or retreat."

Cao Chong laughed as soon as he heard this, and he said to Cao Ren: "What's the uncle?"

Cao Ren calmed down and thought, it seemed that this was the only way to do it. If he was resting in the woods, Zhou Yu's camp was two or three miles away. He would pounce on him at any time, and he probably didn't dare to close his eyes all night. Instead of doing this, it would be better to retreat to the mountains and forests. Although he could only sleep in the open, it was better than not sleeping. However, he felt a little embarrassed to directly follow Pang Tong's opinion. He turned his head and looked at Man Chong and said, "What are the great ideas of Boning?"

Man Chong smiled and said, "Pang Changshi's plan is also a clever plan, and Chong thought it was feasible." Since Man Chong had said it was OK, Cao Ren stopped talking and stayed quietly in the forest for a while. They quietly retreated out of the woods and slowly headed north.

Zhou Yu, who was analyzing the situation of Cao's army in the forest in the tent, heard the scouts' return that Cao's army had less than 1,000 reinforcements, and they were extremely tired. They were all shaking when they sat on the horse. They were overjoyed. They heard that they had withdrawn from the woods and retreated to the north, not only with regret. He sighed softly and said, "Cao Cangshu's two evils are the least of the two evils. It would rather sleep in the mountains and forests than camp here. This is a bit difficult."

Lu Su thought for a while and persuaded: "Gongjin, we have won a battle, killed and captured nearly 3,000 people, which is a great achievement. It's better to take it away as soon as possible and return to Chaisang."

Zhou Yu looked at him thoughtfully. He also had this plan. Although he did not take Jiangling and did not capture Cao Ren, this battle would have achieved such results. He should be able to explain to Sun Quan. Lu Su rushed to Chaisang a few days ago to meet Sun Quan, and later rushed to Changsha to see Liu Bei, where he had just fled from Hanyang. After talking about the situation of asking for Jiangxia, he didn't spend much effort to get half of Jiangxia from Liu Bei, which was also worthy of Jiangdong. In addition, this battle made Cao Ren, and Man Chong fled in a panic. Li Tong died in battle, which was enough to make Liu Bei look sideways. Just stop when he saw that Cao Ren was right. If he really wanted to catch Cao Ren, Sun Quan would have a difficult face.

"Zi Ming, Youping (Zhou Taidi), what do you think?" Zhou Yu looked at several generals in the account.

Han Dang was much more steady. He agreed with Lu Su's meaning. It was undoubtedly the safest and most reliable to go back to Chaisang at this time. As long as they got on the boat, they could sleep peacefully without being worried here. But he felt that Cao Ren and Cao Chong were both in front, and there were only two thousand people around him, and they were very tired. He couldn't help but feel moved. He wanted to rush forward and catch these two people, and there were those thousand war horses, which was really tempting. Zhou Tai's thoughts were similar to Han Dang, so hesitated for a moment.

Before he could think about how to speak, Lu Meng pondered: "We have been chasing for many days, and finally blocked Cao Zixiao here. God wants to send the governor a great contribution, and Cao Cangshu fell into the trap. They are less than 2,000 people, although there are cavalry but no suitable battlefield, and the cavalry is useless. We added that there are 7,000 troops in Xingba, and we have just added a lot of Cao's army's weapons. The morale is strong and it is useful. It is a pity to withdraw at this time."

Lu Su saw Lu Meng's thoughts. He wanted to catch Cao Ren or Cao Chong and make a great contribution, but he put the topic on Zhou Yu, and he couldn't help but feel a little unhappy. He said in a deep voice: "Zi Ming, although the terrain here is not suitable for the Cao cavalry to gallop, don't forget that he will rest for a night tonight and recover his physical strength tomorrow. Although his troops do not have the advantage of the army, he can escape. After leaving the forest and reaching a flat place, our seven thousand people may not be the opponent of his 1,000 cavalry. What's the use of even a tragic victory?"

He paused and said in a stronger tone, "Besides, they are now ten miles away from us. It is said that Cao Chong has a thousand miles of eyes in his hands. Whenever we move, they will know that they can't even attack. The waterway to the north is too shallow, and the navy can't keep up at all. He also has to send people to see the prisoners. It would be nice if we can have five thousand of us available, so there is no advantage."

Lu Meng curled his lips and turned his ears to Zhou Tai and others, saying, "What can Cao Chong look far? The road still needs to be taken. He will fly there when he sees it, let alone the sky is dark. Whether he can see it is still a question. We have a large number of people, so why not divide a thousand people to form a team to harass him so that they can't sleep peacefully. When we wait until tomorrow, we rest and stop, but they are exhausted. How can we walk? I don't believe that in this mountain forest, we four or five thousand people can't deal with their remaining soldiers for a night."

He stood up and bowed with his fists: "Governor, counting the time, Cao Cangshu has never rested since the raid of He Gongmiao. Although he had two thousand cavalry, after more than ten days of hard fighting, he could not exceed one thousand people at most. With Cao Zixiao's remaining soldiers, he would have fought for two thousand people. We are waiting for the effort. Can we win this battle again twice the strength of the land? If we are lucky enough to capture and kill Cao Zixiao or Cao Cangshu, how happy it would be."
Chapter completed!