The Thirty-Fourth Turn (2) The Third Watch

  "Retreat?!" Old Cao was a bit bitter, really bitter. Just as Xuzhou was about to fall, all that needed to happen was for Lü Bu to die in Xiapi City and everything would be over. Who could have known that Lü Bu would suddenly break out? Well, you should have been killed at Kaiyang, it would have been better if you had died at Kaiyang!

  Never thought that one unintentional move of his would push Chen Lao Tou to create the Chen Family Army, and now even more so with the arrival of an attacking force from Xia Pi.

  If we retreat now, then Lü Bu's old tiger will really be set free to return to the mountains, and everything he has done before will truly become bubbles. In the north, his childhood friend, Yuan Benchu, is about to pacify Liaodong. Once completed, his first stop will be his own Yanzhou.

  If he spares Lü Bu, this fierce tiger, he will be attacked from both sides.

  It's so unfair!

  "Cannot retreat!" Guo Jia shook his head "Chen Deng has surrounded Xiaopei, but it will still take some time to break through Xiaopei" Inside Xiaopei are stored 100,000 troops' grain and fodder, once broken through, haha, Cao the old man is ready to go back with his butt exposed!

  "Tomorrow, we must take Jiameng! Cao Cao calmed himself and was about to issue an order."

  Many people couldn't sleep tonight.

  Kaiyang is on top, Lü Bu's army has already made up its mind to fight a decisive battle tomorrow.

  Kaiyang fell, and Cao Cao would have killed Lü Bu even if he had to sacrifice his entire army. After that, he led his troops back to Xiapi and conquered Guangling.

  "Has Cao Jun's camp been pulled out?!" Zhang Liao looked at the large-scale movement of Cao Jun below and asked in doubt, he immediately told Lv Bu about Cao Jun's move.

  "Has Cao Jun's camp moved? Does it look like they're breaking up camp?" Lü Bu was also puzzled, what did Cao Cao want to do? Was he leaving or what?

  If Cao Jun didn't attack and open Yang, the remaining Lv Bu army would be very happy.

  "No! Only Chen Gong's face sank. Such a big move by Cao Jun must mean that there is a problem in the rear!" Chen Gong analyzed, "After Cao Jun took down Xiapi, it can be said that Xuzhou has been settled. What could bring danger to his rear? There are only two possibilities!"

  "Which two?!" Lü Bu asked in puzzlement.

  "The first is Yuan Shao of Hebei. If Yuan Shao of Hebei lands at Mengjin Port or attacks from the direction of Puyang, then Cao's army will definitely retreat! This shows that all of Hebei has been pacified by Yuan Benchu, and what remains is only the struggle for hegemony between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao. Perhaps we still have a chance to survive! However, before Luoyang was besieged, Yuan Shao had not yet swept through Hebei, otherwise Cao Cao would not have dared to send his main force to Xuzhou!" If at that time Yuan Shao had already pacified Hebei, I'm afraid now Lü Bu and Cao Cao would be allies.

  "Second is!" Chen Gong had not finished speaking, Lü Bu already knew "Grain and fodder!"

  "Right, it's grain and fodder! A large army moves on its stomach! An army of 100,000 must need a lot of food, so Cao Cao will definitely put the grain and fodder in the rear. Before attacking Xiaopei, he may be in Xiaopei, and after taking Xiaopei, that is Xiaopei!" Chen Gong said.

  "Who attacked Xia Pi?!" Gao Shun, Zhang Liao and Zang Ba were puzzled. In Xuzhou, apart from Lv Bu's army, who else would attack Xia Pi? Even if it was Lv Bu, he only had a few thousand men now.

  "There really is such a force!" Chen Gong said.

  "What did you just say?!" Lü Bu's eyes also lit up.

  "That's right, it's Guangling Chen Deng!" Chen Gong replied, "Master, your one sentence on the flat plain really became an opportunity to save us!"

  "Has Chen Deng avenged his father?! Lü Bu said with narrowed eyes, he let Chen Deng go on the battlefield not to rescue him, but because he didn't deign to kill Chen Deng. He wanted Chen Deng to see what kind of person Cao Mengde, whom they had chosen together as father and son, would bring them, and what kind of person he was!"

  "Tomorrow is the day of the final battle!" Lü Bu sighed, he knew that even if Cao's base was attacked, he would never give up the chance to kill him easily.

  "Let's go and inspect the city defenses!" Lü Bu said as he stood up.

  "Good!" Chen Gong watched Lü Bu leave, he knew that the current Kaiyang had no city defense, tomorrow Cao's army would definitely press on with all their might, and they wouldn't stop until they killed Lü Bu. Now that Lü Bu was out, besides getting some fresh air, he also seemed to be alone and quiet.

  Actually, Chen Gong often asked himself if it was worth following Lü Bu. He had been confused at one point, and Hao Meng's betrayal was part of Chen Gong's plan. At that time, Chen Gong thought Lü Bu would kill him because according to Lü Bu's ruthless and unscrupulous nature, he would not tolerate traitors. However, Lü Bu did not take action! Instead, he stared at Chen Gong with a gaze that had suspicion? Disbelief? More of it was a sense of desolation.

  He regards himself as a family member? Chen Gong had only seen this look in Lü Bu's eyes when he was facing his own family.

  It was this gaze that made Chen Gong determined to follow Lü Bu all the way until now.

  Lü Bu stepped out of the city gate, looking at the soldiers who had fallen to the ground. They were all good men, his good soldiers, his good brothers. The night in Kaiyang was still very cold. Lü Bu saw that many of the soldiers were asleep, they were too tired, their energy and spirit had been completely exhausted from the day's battle, even in their sleep they were shivering.

  "Alas!" Lü Bu took off his cloak and draped it over several children with tender faces. That was all he could do.

  "Hmm!" In the corner of the city wall, there was still a painful groan. Lü Bu walked over to take a look and found it was the man with the severed arm from daytime. The cold wind added to his wound made him unbearable pain, but he didn't cry out loud, fearing that it would affect the rest of his brothers.

  "What's wrong?!" Lü Bu asked, squatting down.

  "Ouch!" The man subconsciously replied, suddenly seeing that it was Lü Bu about to kneel down, but was stopped by Lü Bu.

  "It's me, Lü Bu, who owes you an apology!" Lü Bu's eyes were getting moist, he turned his head around, not letting the tears fall. "Go to the city tower to rest! Tomorrow is our final battle!

  "Let later generations tell whether I succeeded or failed! Tomorrow, let Cao Mengde see the most precious thing I, Lü Bu, have obtained in this life!" Lü Bu's eyes shone with a fierce determination.

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  "Whoosh!" In the midst of opening Yang City, the common people had already escaped for the most part. As night fell, it was desolate and devoid of any signs of life. Suddenly, a massive beam of light descended from the sky.

  "Boom!" A voice fell from the sky to the ground. "Cough, cough, cough, cough!" Liu Mang looked around with a bitter smile. "It's gone too far!"

  The sound of horseshoes clattering and neighing echoed through the desolate and uninhabited city.