Chapter 990 Crisis in Huainan

"What? General Xiahou was beheaded?"

"Then what are we fighting for? Run!"

"You're just running away, you idiot. Wouldn't it be over if you just surrender? If you run away and are caught up by the enemy, will you still survive?"

After seeing Zhang Fei kill the general and seize the flag, the remaining Cao army basically gave up resistance and either surrendered or fled, and no longer dared to be enemies with the Yuzhou army.

"Second brother, third brother, well done!"

Liu Bei praised him, and then turned his attention to the east.

"I wonder if Zilong can capture Xiahou Dun? If so, the matter in Huainan will be settled."

"Chase! Whoever catches Xiahou Dun will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins and be made a marquis!"

Tap tap tap!

After hearing such a huge reward, everyone on the Xiliang Iron Cavalry was naturally very excited, with greedy eyes. They accelerated their horses and chased Xiahoudun and his party.

"The one-eyed one is Xiahou Dun. We must catch Xiahou Dun!"

Cao's cavalry ran in front, while Xiliang's cavalry chased from behind. The Xiliang's cavalry in the back row would also perform mounted shooting from time to time, and Cao's cavalry would fall off their horses.

"Uncle, I ordered the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to launch a suicidal charge against the Xiliang Cavalry. Let's get rid of the enemy quickly, rush to Hefei City first, and then rely on Hefei City to hold on and stop the enemy!"

"What? But these Tiger and Leopard Cavalry are all the hard work of your years of training." Xiahou Dun frowned.

"A worthy death. If we don't sacrifice them, Huainan will not be saved!"

Cao Zhen said fiercely: "The tiger and leopard cavalry turn around and charge me!"

The loyal Tiger and Leopard Cavalry immediately turned around and launched a suicidal charge against the Xiliang Cavalry.

"Kill!"

Zhao Yun frowned: "First song, let go of arrows."

Whoosh whoosh!

More than a thousand arrows rushed towards the face. The tiger riders in heavy armor were better off, but the leopard riders without heavy armor were unlucky. They were lucky enough to escape the dense rain of arrows, but not so lucky. The good one was directly shot through the body by the oncoming arrow and fell off the horse.

However, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry seemed to have no emotions and continued to charge towards the Xiliang Cavalry, each of them indifferent to life and death.

"kill!"

Finally, the two armies collided head-on. The Tiger Cavalry thrust into the Xiliang Cavalry Army like a sharp knife. With its sophisticated equipment and superb martial arts, it blocked the Xiliang Cavalry offensive.

"The second and third songs will surround the enemy and fight. Don't stop with the first song. Continue to pursue the enemy. Quick!"

Zhao Yun was naturally not willing to let go of the big fish Xiahou Dun. If he could capture Xiahou Dun, the entire Huainan could be pacified. Therefore, Zhao Yun ordered thousands of men from the second and third songs to surround the tiger and leopard cavalry, while he personally led the first song who could ride and shoot to charge out, following closely behind Xiahou Dun, Cao Zhen and others. Give up and refuse to let go.

Zhao Yun and his men were chasing after them. Under the threat, Xiahou Dun, Cao Zhen and others naturally burst out at 120% speed. And because there were no heavily armored tiger cavalry, the speed of Cao's cavalry was naturally improved and they ran forward quickly.

After a whole day and night of chasing, Xiahou Dun and others were lucky enough to rush into Hefei City at the critical moment, causing Zhao Yun to fall short.

"Alas! It's a pity that we couldn't catch Xiahou Dun."

When Zhang Fei heard Zhao Yun's narration, he couldn't help but sigh, which was quite a pity.

"It doesn't matter. Now that the main force of Cao's army has been defeated, the troops left behind in each city are quite limited. Our army can take our time to attack the counties and gradually pacify Huainan." Liu Bei comforted Zhao Yun with a smile.

"Yun Chang."

"Here, brother, what are your orders?" Guan Yu said, cupping his fists.

"You lead an army of ten thousand to besiege Shouchun. You must capture Shouchun." Liu Bei ordered.

Xiahou Dun led nearly 40,000 Cao troops to attack Liu Bei, but he still left thousands of Cao troops to guard Shouchun just in case. This was a nail in the coffin for Cao troops in Shouchun. Han Hao was the commander, and Shouchun was the leader of Huainan. In one city, if Shouchun is captured, the impact on Huainan will definitely be subversive.

"Zilong, please leave a thousand cavalry to help Yun Chang, and the rest of the cavalry will fight with the main force of our army?" Liu Bei asked Zhao Yun.

"Since Liu Shijun said so, I will naturally agree." Zhao Yun nodded.

"Okay, my third brother, Zilong, and I will lead the remaining 20,000 troops and horses, and attack all the counties in Yangzhou in one go, and sweep through Huainan!"

Liu Bei's Yuzhou army was divided into two groups that day. Guan Yu led 10,000 troops and 1,000 cavalry to besiege Shouchun City. They attacked continuously day after day, giving no breathing room to the enemy forces in the city, and put great pressure on Cao's army.

Originally, the military strength left by Xiahou Dun to Han Hao was very weak, and it was only enough to defend the city. The only good news was that because there were less than 3,000 men and horses left in the city, it was only enough to feed the 40,000-strong army for ten days. , which is enough for Han Haojun’s military use in March and April.

However, Han Hao's military strength was too weak. It suffered more and more losses under Guan Yu's attacks, and finally could not support it. Especially since the defenders in the city had witnessed Xiahou Dun's main force being defeated by the Yuzhou Army, they had already lost their fighting spirit. After holding on for several days with Han Hao's encouragement, they finally could no longer hold on.

One night, the defenders in the city couldn't stand it anymore and simply opened the city gate at night and went out to surrender. However, before Han Hao could react, he was tied up by the rebels and sent to Guan Yu.

"Are you willing to surrender?" Guan Yu gently stroked his long beard and said in a cold and arrogant tone.

Han Hao sighed and lowered his head: "Hao is willing to surrender."

Guan Yu nodded with satisfaction: "Untie."

Han Hao's surrender caused Shouchun City to fall into the hands of the Yuzhou Army, which was a major blow to Cao's army.

After Xiahou Dun, Cao Zhen and others fled to the city of Hefei, they immediately recruited young men to defend the city. At the same time, they ordered Cao's troops from the counties around Hefei to move closer to Hefei, assuming a posture of intending to defend Hefei to the death.

However, Liu Bei did not attack Hefei City immediately. Instead, he divided his troops and pacified Lujiang, Jiujiang, Lu'an and other counties and cities, and finally gathered troops and horses to surround Hefei City.

Hefei City is very strong, connected to Chaohu Lake, and has convenient transportation. It is the hub of Jiujiang County. Shouchun, the administrative seat, is actually in the northwest of Jiujiang County. On the contrary, Hefei is an easy city to defend but difficult to attack.

"Liu Shijun, when the Marquis of Huaiyin made a surprise attack on Chencang and pacified the Three Qin Dynasties, he besieged King Yong Zhang Han in Feiqiu for eight months, but did not attack. He waited until Zhang Han ran out of ammunition and food before sending troops to attack."

Zhao Yun suggested: "Our army might as well follow the strategy of the Marquis of Huaiyin and besiege the city of Hefei without attacking. Huainan has been pacified. Our army only needs to wait for the success of other groups of troops and there is no need to injure the soldiers."

To attack a city is to sacrifice the lives of soldiers. Liu Bei also praised this very much: "Zilong said it very well. It is of course the best to be able to save the lives of soldiers in this way."