Three Kingdoms: I, Liu Feng, do not want to die

Chapter 127: The War is Over, Cao Cao's Destiny in Luoyang
outside the city.

Cao Ren, Man Chong, Yu Jin and Lu Chang all arrived.

Upon learning that Xu Huang was blocked by Liu Feng in Maicheng, Cao Ren's face became gloomy.

If Xu Huang had not lifted the siege of Fancheng, Cao Ren would have suspected that Xu Huang had put personal interests above public interest.

How could a small Liu Feng actually stop Xu Huang and the five battalions of elite soldiers led by Xu Shang, Lu Jian, Yin Shu and Zhu Gai?

In the big tent.

The four generals, Xu Shang, Lu Jian, Yin Shu and Zhu Gai, all lowered their heads and dared not breathe.

Before coming, he was very aggressive and threatened to make Guan Yu taste the humiliation of being besieged.

After coming here, let alone besieging Jiangling, we couldn’t even get through Maicheng.

Xu Huang directly apologized: "I am the vanguard commander. I failed to capture Maicheng and destroyed the food and grass. I should be blamed. I hope the General Zhengnan will decide the punishment."

Cao Ren actually wanted to impose a punishment, because without a punishment, military discipline could not be rectified.

However, Xu Huang had made great contributions in lifting the siege of Fancheng, and punishing him at this time would easily discourage the generals.

Seeing that the atmosphere was tense, Man Chong secretly kicked Cao Ren's heel and signaled with his eyes.

Cao Ren then softened his gloomy face and said, "Victory and defeat are common in the military. I could not have predicted this battle, so General Xu should not worry too much. Liu Bei has such a son, which is a great threat to the country. You should remember this man in your heart and never underestimate him again."

Seeing that Cao Ren had no intention of blaming them, the four generals Xu Shang breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at Xu Huang.

Upon hearing this, Xu Huang thanked him and said, "I will keep your teachings in mind, General Zhengnan."

The four generals of Xu Shang also expressed their gratitude.

Man Chong secretly breathed a sigh of relief, fearing that Cao Ren would really punish Xu Huang in his anger.

After comforting the five people.

Cao Ren then led his generals and officers to Maicheng.

Upon hearing the news, Guan Yu and Liu Feng also climbed up to the city wall.

Looking at the big flag with the Chinese character "Cao" flying high under the city, Guan Yu couldn't help but stroke his beard and sneered: "Cao Zixiao's hatred for Guan is not shallow."

Liu Feng chuckled: "I was beaten by you and almost had to flee the city. My reputation was ruined in an instant. How could Cao Zixiao not hate you?"

Guan Yu also laughed.

The siege of Fancheng was the most beautiful battle fought by Guan Yu in recent years.

The timing, location and people were almost all favorable. No matter how good the record of General Cao Ren was in the past, he could only be crushed by Guan Yu in Fancheng.

Under the city.

Cao Ren also saw the "Guan" flag hanging high on the top of the city wall, and knew that Guan Yu was there, so he rode his horse forward and shouted to the city: "Guan Yu, do you dare to come out of the city to fight?"

Guan Yu traveled lightly and hurriedly for more than a hundred miles, and both he and his horse were exhausted.

It would be extremely disadvantageous to fight Cao Ren at this time.

In order to prevent Cao Ren from noticing the clues, Guan Yu still chose to leave the city, and Liu Feng followed Guan Yu with the soldiers of Maicheng.

"Cao Ren, Guan has left the city. Do you want to fight Guan in a duel or a battle of formations?"

Guan Yu, as always, squinted at people with great contempt.

Seeing this expression, Cao Ren became furious.

A duel with Guan Yu?
Although Guan Yu is old, Cao Ren is not young either.

The bravery of Guan Yu in the Battle of Baimazin, where he killed Yan Liang in battle, is still deeply rooted in Cao Ren's heart.

Send a deputy general to fight?
Liu Feng and Xu Huang fought on equal terms, and Cao Ren did not want to send his deputy general to the battlefield to bring credit to Liu Feng.

Think of this.

Cao Ren felt angry again.

He shouted, "Who wants to fight you? I have 50,000 troops here. We only need to charge and we can conquer your Maicheng. Guan Yu, why don't you surrender quickly!"

Guan Yu laughed loudly, "Cao Ren, you are going backwards as you grow older. When you were guarding Jiangling, you led dozens of cavalrymen to kill thousands of Wu soldiers. People at that time called you a heavenly general. Why are you so cowardly now?
Not only did he not dare to fight Guan, he even had to bluff in the battle formation, which really proved that 'old people are no longer strong in muscles and bones'. Cao Ren, since you are old, you might as well return to Qiao County to retire."

Cao Ren was so emboldened by Guan Yu's words that he waved his spear and shouted, "Guan Yu, do you really think I'm afraid of you? Come! Come! Come! Fight me for three hundred rounds!"

Guan Yu had intended to provoke Cao Ren, so he laughed and responded, "I have never fought more than three rounds with anyone. Even a strong man like Yan Liang was killed with one stab of his spear. Today I am in a rare mood, so I will fight you for a few rounds."

Seeing Cao Ren was about to fight Guan Yu, Man Chong's face changed drastically, and he hurriedly advised: "General, don't do that! Guan Yu is fierce and hard to defeat. You are the most important person in the army, how can you go into battle easily?"

Xu Huang also stepped forward to ask for battle, intending to fight in place of Cao Ren.

Cao Ren ignored Man Chong and Xu Huang's advice and shouted, "I am the commander-in-chief, and so is Guan Yu. If I don't go into battle, won't Guan Yu be a laughing stock? Beat the drum, General Xu, lead the charge for me!"

Seeing Cao Ren go out into the battle line, Guan Yu also laughed and went out into the battle line.

Liu Feng held a bow and a spear and marched on the side.

It is actually very rare on the battlefield for the main general to fight against other generals in front of the battle line.

This kind of thing is usually done by brave generals in the army.

For example, Er Feng was known as the General of Tian Ce, and he hated to see anyone showing off his power in front of him, so he just let Qin Qiong ride his horse and carry a spear to stab the enemy general among the crowd.

Cao Ren has been fighting for many years and is not a fool who only knows how to fight mindlessly.

What’s more, the opponent is Guan Yu!

Liu Feng had already guessed Cao Ren's intention of fighting with the generals.

It's nothing more than finding a way out for yourself.

He came to Jiangling with great momentum and wanted to take advantage of the situation, but Guan Yu had already led his troops to Maicheng.

Back off, it's a loss of face.

If we don't retreat, we won't be able to capture Maicheng.

When Guan Yu appeared in Maicheng, Cao Ren was already in a dilemma.

And this time.

Fighting with Guan Yu can open up the situation.

After all, Guan Yu's bravery was recognized by Cao's camp as he was able to defeat ten thousand enemies.

Cao Ren knew that Guan Yu was brave enough to fight against ten thousand enemies, but he still took the initiative to fight. Not only would he not be ridiculed, but he would be regarded as courageous and brave enough to move forward despite the difficulties.

This way.

Even if Cao Ren lost his men, he would not lose his formation.

same.

Guan Yu also understood this principle.

Therefore, he chose to fight with Cao Ren, which was actually to give Cao Ren face.

Just fight.

After the battle, find a reason to withdraw your troops and don't waste your energy fighting.

"In this war, sometimes it's all about human relationships and social etiquette."

Looking at Guan Yu and Cao Ren who had been fighting for more than a dozen rounds, Liu Feng couldn't help but mutter in a low voice.

The ordinary soldiers could not see the clues, they just thought their commander was so powerful, and they shouted loudly to cheer him on. But Liu Feng saw it clearly.

Although Guan Yu and Cao Ren both had their eyes wide open and looked extremely powerful, in fact, they were all just feints.

In short: apart from the collision of weapons, there was no stabbing at vital points.

After about twenty rounds.

Guan Yu and Cao Ren simultaneously distanced themselves from each other.

Cao Ren shouted, "Guan Yu, you are nothing more than this. I will spare your life today, but I will take your head tomorrow!"

Guan Yu also shouted: "Cao Ren, there is no need to wait until tomorrow. Tonight, I will surprise attack your camp and take your head back."

After the verbal attack, Cao Ren laughed, turned around and led his men back to the camp.

Just as Liu Feng expected.

After Cao Ren returned to the camp, he pretended to be angry: "Guan Yu is still as brave as he was in the past, how hateful! Yan Liang's death was not unjust."

Man Chong also saw the clues at this time and said, "Now that Guan Yu has come to Maicheng in person, Lu Xun in Yidu should have surrendered. Sun Quan is insidious and cunning. I'm afraid he is using the general's power to let Lu Xun return to Jiangdong safely.

Or maybe he wanted to use the general's power to force Guan Yu to stop asking for Xiakou; if the general and Guan Yu continued to fight in Maicheng, Sun Quan would be the one who benefited in Xiakou.

Guan Yu has defeated Sun Quan and his army is at its peak. It would be better to temporarily avoid the attack and retreat to Xiangfan to make other plans."

Cao Ren glared at him and shouted, "Man Boning, how can you boost others' ambitions and destroy your own prestige? Am I afraid of Guan Yu? Do I avoid his edge?"

Man Chong was speechless.

General Zhengnan, just pretend for a while, don't keep pretending.

We have fought and gained face. Staying here any longer will only waste food and supplies.

Man Chong gave another look to Yu Jin, Xu Huang and Lu Chang.

At first the three of them didn't understand why Cao Ren was so stubborn in challenging Guan Yu in a duel, but now they understood and began to analyze the pros and cons.

Such as "The army is outside, and we are afraid that Sun Quan will launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang", "After months of fighting, the troops are exhausted and it is not appropriate to confront them", "Since Guan Yu is prepared, there is no point in fighting again, it is better to return." and so on.

It seems that they are analyzing the pros and cons, but in fact they are all looking for a reasonable reason for Cao Ren to withdraw his troops.

"We'll discuss this later!"

Although he was secretly happy, Cao Ren still pretended to fight to the death with Guan Yu.

The next few days.

Cao Ren held military meetings every day and asked the generals to come up with plans for attacking Maicheng.

They organized several ineffective attacks, but they were basically defeated after only a few attempts.

Guan Yu is similar.

Military meetings will continue as usual, and the fighting will stop when the time is right.

The confrontation lasted for several days.

Something unexpected happened.

Cao Ren was so frightened by Zhao Yan's urgent letter that his hands trembled, and he immediately ordered the entire army to withdraw to Xiangyang.

It was learned that Cao Ren had retreated in a hurry and even burned down his own camp.

Among the officers and soldiers in Maicheng, some were surprised and some were excited.

Zhao Lei even directly requested: "Sir, Cao Ren burned his camp and fled. There must be a big commotion in the rear. Why not drive the troops to chase him!"

Liu Feng objected bluntly: "Burning the camp may not be an escape, it may also be an ambush. Regardless of the reason, Cao Ren's withdrawal is a foregone conclusion. The most urgent task is to capture Xiakou first, and don't let Sun Quan or Wen Pin get the upper hand!"

Guan Yu agreed with Liu Feng's judgment.

It would be impossible to take Xiangyang if we chased Cao Ren now. The most important thing is to recapture Xiakou.

After sending everyone away.

Guan Yu then asked Liu Feng separately: "My dear nephew, maybe you can guess why Cao Ren was so anxious to withdraw his troops?"

Liu Feng pondered for a moment and said, "Cao Cao was already seriously ill when he was in Hanzhong. Perhaps Cao Cao is dead."

Guan Yu was shocked: "My nephew's guess is really surprising."

Guan Yu also speculated about the reason why Cao Ren withdrew his troops, but he never thought about the possibility that Cao Cao was dead.

After all, such speculation is no different from cursing.

Liu Feng didn't explain much.

Liu Feng speculated that Cao Cao was dead based on the approximate time of Cao Cao's death recorded in history and the current situation, and he was unable to explain it clearly to Guan Yu.

And in fact.

Liu Feng’s guess was not wrong.

The content of Zhao Yan's urgent letter was that Cao Cao had died of illness in Luoyang.

This hero who had dominated the north for many years ultimately succumbed to illness and died.

the difference is.

According to historical records, Cao Cao was relieved when he heard the news that Guan Yu was captured and killed by Sun Quan.

But now Cao Cao only knew that Guan Yu and Sun Quan were fighting in Jingzhou. Before his death, he was still worried about the south and left behind a plan to deal with the south.

To avoid accidents.

After confirming that Cao Ren was indeed heading towards Xiangyang, Guan Yu withdrew most of his troops back to Jiangling City, and then sent Zhao Lei to lead a troop to Mianyangkou to assist, determined to recapture Xiakou.

Drive Sun Quan out of Jingzhou completely!

Months of fighting.

Defeat Sun Quan first, then repel Cao Ren.

Jingzhou’s military strength had actually already reached its limit and was in urgent need of a major overhaul.

As long as Sun Quan withdraws from Xiakou, Guan Yu can truly breathe a sigh of relief.

Since Meng Da and Fa Zheng went to Fangling, Liu Feng was not in a hurry to go to Fangling, but followed Guan Yu back to Jiangling City.

What is coming will always come.

Liu Feng has done everything he should and could do to the utmost.

Liu Feng also wanted to know how Liu Bei would arrange him.

Outside Jiangling.

Two hundred armored soldiers with white furs inserted into their helmets landed at Jiangjinkou.

Then an old general came ashore with a sword in hand, walking like a dragon and a tiger, and looking intimidating without even getting angry. It was Liu Bei who came from Yidu County.

Since the Xiang River was used to draw the boundary, Liu Bei had not set foot in Jiangling for nearly five years.

Returning to his old place, Liu Bei couldn't help but feel emotional.

"Jiang Ling, I'm back again."

(End of this chapter)