Chapter 62 is too cruel [Seeking follow-up reading]

"Fire arrows!"

Following Cao Cao's order, the elite soldiers of Xiyuan who appeared on the walls and above the buildings in the mansion fired bows and arrows.

The Xiyuan Army in the courtyard did not attack immediately because they wanted to stay on the periphery, making it easier for them to attack from the center and kill the Liangzhou Army.

And from some mansions outside Cao's residence, teams of Xiyuan troops also poured out.

Before Dong Lue came in, he had clearly investigated and found no ambush. Why were the Xiyuan Army able to break out from the nearby mansion and form a counter-encirclement?
The so-called best strategy is to attack the enemy's strategy.

Cao Cao's level of suspicion, his ability to command troops, and the defense of his home could not be simply achieved by increasing the number of troops.

Unbeknownst to others, the residences near Cao's mansion had already secretly formed a joint defense.

The method was not complicated. Cao Cao simply dug several troop transport routes underground without the consent of the owners of the surrounding houses.

That is, a short tunnel.

The distance from the edge of my own courtyard wall to the yard next door was only a few feet.

Normally, the other end of the tunnel is not opened, only the distance is measured, and thick wood is used to support the underground so as to avoid being stepped on.

Once the fight starts, remove the thick wood on the other side, the soil will sink, and the troops can go to the next door through the short tunnel, and then come out, thus forming a counter-encirclement.

With sufficient manpower, it is simple but efficient and practical.

So although the opponent seemed to have broken through the defense outside his house, it was actually equivalent to running into a pocket.

This is called "annihilating the enemy at the end" in military terms. It is a strategy of annihilating the enemy completely and a variation of the "sneak attack" strategy.

The Liangzhou army is skilled in archery and horse riding.

But Cao Cao's abilities in street fighting, deploying tactics within the city walls, and using tactics and strategies were enough to defeat Dong Zhuo.

At this time, the soldiers outside surrounded the Liangzhou troops who had rushed into the mansion as well as the troops in the alleys outside the mansion, occupied high places such as the wall, and shot crossbows at them rapidly.

There were more than 1,500 elite troops from Liangzhou, and the losses continued to increase, with the number of people shot and killed increasing rapidly.

Dong Lue was killed by Dian Wei's army, and the second-in-command general should have taken over the command.

But Dian Wei turned around and began to kill the surrounding Liangzhou officers and soldiers.

Puff puff!
Dian Wei's fist smashed the horse, and the dull sound of human bones continued.

“Lots of donkeys…”

Dian Wei's fist was like a ram, and he hit the head of a lieutenant next to him from top to bottom, breaking his cervical vertebra. The entire head was smashed into the abdominal cavity by the huge force, becoming a headless corpse, with the upper body strangely swollen, which was extremely creepy.

Some of the Liangzhou troops had already turned around and ran away, trying to break out and escape.

General Cui Lie watched the battle throughout, his emotions fluctuating.

Cao Cao's ability to maneuver his troops and Dian Wei's bravery were unprecedented to him: "It would be better to keep some of these Liangzhou soldiers as prisoners."

Cui Lie was worried about the situation in the court.

If Cao Cao slaughtered all of Dong Zhuo's troops, Dong Zhuo would get angry and would definitely take the emperor. The queen mother would counterattack and the situation would get completely out of control.

"The commander is wrong. Dong Zhuo is used to killing and looting in the northwest. He also regards Luoyang as a hunting ground and follows the cruel law of the strong. The wolf pack dares to hunt any prey, but will be afraid when it encounters a stronger tiger.

A tiger walks alone, and even a pack of wolves dare not surround it."

Cao Cao said: "Everyone in the world tends to bully the weak and fear the strong, and Dong Zhuo is no exception. The stronger he is, the more room he will have to make trade-offs.

If you don't hurt him, how can he behave himself?"

Cao Cao pointed at Dian Wei who was charging back and forth:
"He is the only person I have ever seen who doesn't bully the weak and fears the strong. Even if there are 500, 1,000 or 2,000 people in front of him, he still dares to rush forward alone and fight the enemy to the death!"

Cui Lie said sternly: "Your personal guard is not a bully, he is cruel, he kills people without blinking an eye!"

"He just wants to exchange for a few more donkeys."

Cui Lie was stunned: "What?"

Cao Cao did not explain further, and gave the command confidently:

"Send a message to Ding Yuan. I don't need him to send troops here."

"Have him prepare himself. If the troops in Dong Zhuo's palace dare to attack the Xiyuan Army at the east gate, have Ding Yuan lead his troops to attack the south gate of the imperial palace, making it look like he's attacking the palace and taking back His Majesty."

"Dong Zhuo dared to attack my Cao Mansion. If I don't kill him without leaving a single piece of his armor, he will think that I, Cao Cao, am easy to bully and there is no one in Luoyang!"

"Come on, let a few of the deserters go, and let them go back for help. Let's see if Dong Zhuo dares to send more people to die!"

So a personal soldier went to deliver the order.

The bloody battle in Cao's mansion was shocking, and the blood shook the sky.

And inside the city, there was war everywhere.

Tufu's Mansion.

Yuan Kui's face was gloomy as he kept receiving battle reports from various places: "Dong Zhuo let his troops run wild and rushed into various places in the city to plunder supplies."

"On his way to the palace, Weiwei Yang was attacked and his entourage suffered heavy losses."

"…General Cui's carriage encountered Cao Shangjun. The man is missing and may be with Cao Shangjun."

After receiving news from various places, Yuan Wei glanced at Guan Ziqi.

The two exchanged glances. Guan Ziqi was good at reversing yin and yang, and deceiving and tampering with destiny.

It seemed that Cao Cao met Cui Lie and was accidentally involved in the war, but in fact it was a joint plan of Yuan Wei and Guan Ziqi.

Whether Cao Cao comes or not, he has to be involved in this fight to share the pressure on Yuan's mansion.

"There is chaos in the city..."

Yuan Wei asked: "How is the situation in the palace? Is there any sign of Dong Zhuo's troops being mobilized?"

"Yes, the soldiers of the Liangzhou Army in the palace are moving towards the east gate and pressing against the Xiyuan Army. Not long ago, another group of soldiers took heavy weapons such as crossbows from the Imperial Army's arsenal and headed straight for Cao's mansion."

"Dong Zhuo wants to attack Cao Cao."

"It seems that Dong Zhuo is facing off against the Xiyuan Army."

Yuan Wei was not far away. When Zhen Yan heard that Cao’s mansion was attacked, her heart began to beat fast and she became anxious.

The pattern on the bamboo slip that Chen Ying threw to Cao Cao was drawn by Chen Ying at the request of Zhen Yan.

On that pattern, a wisp of green smoke divided yin and yang.

Zhen Yan practiced the Yin-Yang school, and there is a "Yan" in her name.

She had met Cao Cao several times and felt that Cao Cao was extremely wise and should be able to understand her reminder.

Yuan Wei wanted to drag Cao Cao into the game to contain Dong Zhuo. Zhen Yan wanted to remind Cao Cao that tonight was dangerous.

But Cao Cao was still dragged into it and confronted Dong Zhuo.

Could it be that he didn't understand the mark, Zhen Yan wondered.

"If there is unrest in the palace and Dong Zhuo mobilizes his troops to start a full-scale war with the Xiyuan Army, Ziqi, are you sure you can reverse the fate of the palace and cooperate with my arrangements to rescue His Majesty and the Queen Mother, or take advantage of the chaos to attack Dong Zhuo again?"

Yuan Wei added: "I can promote the fortune of my Yuan family, and add a little bit of national fortune to help you."

Guan Ziqi: "It depends on whether Dong Zhuo will really fight with the Xiyuan Army and how many troops he will mobilize to participate in the battle!"

Yuan Wei smiled and said, "I hope Cao Cao can hold out for a while longer and not be defeated by Dong Zhuo, otherwise tonight's good game will be wasted."

"If Cao Cao loses, who will command the Xiyuan Army? If we really lose the East Gate, it will be a loss!"

"Don't worry, I have other plans."

----

The market town on the west side of Luoyang is where merchants and wealthy families gather.

Li Jue led the troops to loot and rob military supplies.

This is a tactic they are accustomed to using in the Northwest.

It is also a way to reward subordinates and boost morale.

Whoever grabs something has priority in distribution.

In the market town, the soldiers from Liangzhou all had red faces from excitement.

The people in the entire market town were alarmed and pulled out to gather in the open space.

There were women screaming and children crying in the mansion.

Many Liangzhou soldiers were raping and looting. Pretty women might be favored by multiple soldiers at the same time, and the misery they experienced was too tragic to describe.

Li Jue yelled, "Hurry up and get down to business."

Some soldiers were in charge of interrogating the wealthy families who were dragged out. All the money and property in their homes had to be taken out to be used as conscription.

Anyone who resisted was immediately dragged aside and became a target.

Shoot in public to deter others.

The heads of those who were shot would also be chopped off and placed on the carriage nearby.

This was the method they used to suppress rebellion when they plundered tribes in the northwest.

The Liangzhou army collected a large amount of property, food, women, silk and gold from various mansions.

Li Jue licked his lips excitedly: "Keep searching, we can't lose."

He said that if they lost, they must not lose to the other army led by Dong Min.

Dong Min and Li Jue were responsible for looting military supplies.

Guo Si led his troops to attack and intimidate officials and the homes of the gentry.

Dong Zhuo and Li Ru were in charge of command and coordination.

"My Lord, I feel like tonight is not the right time to attack Cao's residence."

Li Ru said: "If Cao Cao is prepared, even if he wins, it will be a miserable victory. If he is not careful..."

Dong Zhuo interrupted, "I'm afraid you are worrying too much this time. We have all the brave men in Liang Province. Can't we take down Cao Mansion with just 1,500 elite soldiers?"

"If you still lose with superior forces, wait and see how I deal with Dong Lue."

A little further away, a scout was about to climb up the city wall to report the battle situation.

(End of this chapter)