C186

Cao Cao Cao's left hand was holding onto the sword hilt, his right hand slowly stroking his beard, his gaze gloomy as he stared at the White Horse Camp's banner that was coming over from the north side of the city.

Xun Yu, Xun You, Xiahou Yuan and the others all looked at the White Horse Camp's banner that was flying over with an ugly expression.

Cao Cao said in a low voice, "Then go and rush them! This old man wants to know as soon as possible how the grain caught on fire! "

Xun Yu nodded his head, just as he was about to find someone to ask Dian Wei, Xu Huang suddenly called out from behind him, "General Dian Wei is back!"

When they got closer, they saw that the three of them were covered with black ash. Because they were sweating too much, their clothes were all wrinkled and stuck to their bodies, and the black ash on their faces had been washed away by the sweat, making them look extremely pathetic.

The three of them dismounted from their horses and quickly ran up the wall to stand in front of Cao Cao. They bowed and said, "Greetings, Lord!"

"Forget it!" Cao Cao waved his hand and asked urgently, "What exactly is going on with this fire? Why is it burning so quickly? "

The three of them looked at each other, and Dian Wei indicated for Gao Tie to speak first.

Gao Tie said in shame: "Reporting to Envoy Cao, Youzhou's spy took advantage of the moment the granary's guards were relaxed to sneak in and pour oil on the sacks to light a fire. That's why the fire quickly spread! But Hate was going too late to put it out before the fire spread! Please punish me! " As he spoke, he knelt down on one knee and lowered his head, waiting for Cao Cao's punishment.

Cao Cao Cao did not say anything, but looked at Dian Wei.

Dian Wei lightly nodded his head, indicating that what Gao Tie said was all true.

Cao Cao frowned, then extended his hand to help Gao Tie up, "Please get up Commander Gao! Since the Youzhou's spy is plotting to burn the granary, he must have prepared a lot of fire oil. It will be very difficult to extinguish the fire once it burns, you know! "

Gao Tie stood up, bowed and said: "Thank you Envoy Cao for your grace, I am extremely ashamed!"

"Commander Gao, no need to feel guilty!" Cao Cao waved his hand and asked, "The granary is usually heavily guarded, so why did it suddenly relax just now?"

"Reporting to Envoy Cao, yesterday." Gao Tie looked at Sima Yi and said angrily, "Yesterday, Sima Zhongda said that he wanted to recruit strong soldiers under the orders of Envoy Cao, and over a thousand county soldier were transferred away by him. And before that, during the defense of the city, Envoy Cao had already drawn out a few men.

Sima Yi's face was filled with guilt as he heard these words. He knelt on the ground and said to Cao Cao Cao, "This subordinate has overstepped his bounds. Master, please mete out punishment!"

"Forget it!" This matter has nothing to do with Zhong Da, you are only following this old man's orders! "Get up!" Cao Cao stretched out his hand to help him up. After Sima Yi stood up, he asked with a deep voice, "Where is the spy from the Youzhou who set the fire?"

"All dead!" Gao Tie said with a look of shame, "Reporting to Envoy Cao, when this general arrived, those Youzhou spies would rather die than surrender. This general had no choice but to kill three of them. "He will burn to death!"

"Not a single survivor?" Cao Cao's frown deepened as he turned to Sima Yi.

"No!" Sima Yi shook his head before sighing regretfully. He said softly, "When this subordinate arrived, I just happened to see the last spy pounce into the fire. It seems like those four spies were sent by Gongsun Xu to kill warriors.

When Gao Tie saw that Sima Yi was helping him speak up, a trace of gratitude appeared on his face.

However, he had already made up his mind to evacuate the Henei County as soon as possible, so he did not want to further investigate this matter. Instead, he was very interested in another question, so he looked at Dian Wei, Gao Tie and Sima Yi once more and asked, "The fire earlier was extremely huge, how did you manage to quickly control it?"

Gao Tie looked at Sima Yi and said in an admiring tone, "Reporting to Envoy Cao, this is all thanks to Sima Zhongda. He suggested moving some sacks to block the direction of the flame.

"Fire against fire?" Cao Cao was startled, then asked Dian Wei suspiciously: "Is it really okay?"

Dian Wei cupped his fists, and said with a muffled voice: "Reporting to my lord, this is what this empress has seen with her own eyes, it can't be wrong!"

Cao Cao Cao praised, "Zhong Da is really quick-witted. Later on, let me know why you are able to fight against fire with fire."

Sima Yi said humbly, "My lord, you're flattering me. This is just a small trick!"

Seeing that Gongsun Xu and his group were about to reach the city walls, Cao Cao Cao Cao Cao gave up the idea of asking any further. Looking at Gongsun Xu's face which was getting clearer and clearer, his mind started to churn.

At this time, Gongsun Xu stopped 200 steps away from Cao Cao Cao, he raised his head and looked at Cao Cao, and revealed a complicated smile.

After coming to this era, the enemy that Gongsun Xu valued the most was Cao Cao Cao. Right now, by coincidence, he was commanding the army to surround the other party, and there was going to be a coordinated attack on the inside and the outside to break through the city. At that time, Cao Cao would not be able to escape even if he had wings! However, Gongsun Xu was not feeling overjoyed at the moment. In his heart, he actually felt that victory was not wise, that the current Cao Cao Cao Cao's strength was much weaker than the previous time when they were fighting in the history of the officials, and he had even lost the most powerful tiger leopard riding from the very beginning due to carelessness. The difference in strength between the two sides was truly too great, not to mention that Cao Cao Cao was also fighting in a safe place, and amongst the three important factors, Cao was barely able to occupy the advantage of 'land' — — after a big gap appeared in the city wall, Cao Cao's' advantage 'advantage' had actually been reduced by a small half.

When he thought about how he was able to force the famous Cao Mengde, the great scoundrel into such a situation, Gongsun Xu felt that it wasn't real. Was he too strong or was Cao Cao Cao too weak? The Cao Cao Cao in the history books was proficient in military strategy and strategy, but ever since he came into contact with the tiger leopard riding, perhaps it was because the difference in strength was too great, Gongsun Xu did not notice that Cao Cao had made any extraordinary moves to turn the tide of the battle.

Seeing Gongsun Xu's smile, Cao Cao Cao coldly snorted. To him, Gongsun Xu was looking down on him!

Gongsun Xu stopped smiling and shouted: "Cao Mengde, have you thought about it yet?"

Cao Cao Cao shouted coldly: "Gongsun Xu, are you really willing to retreat 30 miles, and open up a path for us to leave?"

"Envoy Cao!" After Gao Tie heard Cao Cao Cao's words, he revealed an anxious look and shouted.

Cao Cao Cao said softly: "Commander Gao, don't doubt me, I am only dealing with Gongsun Xu!"

Gao Tie seemed to have suddenly realized something, and said embarrassedly: "This general deserves to die a thousand times for his crimes, to the point where I suspect that the Envoy Cao really wants to abandon the city and leave!"

Cao Cao said indifferently: "It is normal for Commander Gao to have such guesses. After all, the current situation is very dangerous! But since this old man has promised Ben Chu, I will not easily give up halfway, I must fight Gongsun Xu to the death! "

Gao Tie cupped his fists and said respectfully: "Envoy Cao is a righteous man, the citizens in the city will definitely not be able to thank you enough!"

Cao Cao Cao gestured for Gao Tie to stop talking, staring at Gongsun Xu and waiting for his reply.

Gongsun Xu laughed, and said in a clear voice: "Don't worry, as long as you, Cao Mengde, swear to the Alliance in front of everyone, this general will definitely retreat fifteen kilometers and remove the encirclement!"

Cao Cao Cao immediately hesitated, if he swore an oath in public, it might cause the discontent of Gao Gang and the civilians and soldiers inside the city, what if they suddenly hated him and suddenly turned against him? If he did not agree to it, how could Gongsun Xu easily give way?

Xun Yu looked at Xun You, who smiled to comfort him, and then quietly said to Cao Cao Cao Cao: "This is a temporary measure, please do not take it to heart! Yesterday, we lost a lot of soldiers, so it would be inappropriate to continue fighting. Furthermore, a piece of the city wall had collapsed, and the enemy troops were ready to attack them with bows and arrows at any time, so there was no chance for them to repair the wall in time. If Gongsun Xu really wants to retreat, we can make use of this opportunity to quickly repair the wall, and at the same time, let the soldiers take a good rest. We can find our flaws, and then we can better handle Gongsun Xu's next attack! "

Gao Tie said: "Envoy Cao, just as Mr. Gong Da had said, this is only a temporary measure to delay the Thief Gongsun's attack, we will definitely not doubt the righteousness of the envoy! envoy will do as Thief Gongsun says and swear an oath in front of everyone. As for my brother and the civilians and soldiers, this one guarantees that I will explain everything clearly! "

Xiahou Yuan also advised, "Master has temporarily given up on his own reputation, but is still able to save the lives of millions of soldiers. Please do not hesitate too long, so as to not raise suspicion in Gongsun Xu's heart! "

Cao Cao nodded his head and sighed, "Forget it. For the big picture, this old man's reputation is nothing."

Everyone cupped their hands and said in unison, "Our Lord is unparalleled in righteousness and righteousness, we all admire him greatly!"

Cao Cao let out a long sigh, looking extremely depressed.

Sima Yi suddenly said to Gao Tie, "Commander Gao, in a while, you must let the entire city know of your righteous and benevolent actions!"

Gao Tie cupped his fists, and said with a sonorous voice: "This is a matter of course, this lowly general will definitely make the people and soldiers of the city forever remember the benevolence of the Envoy Cao!"

"This is my duty. You two don't have to boast about it!" Cao Cao's face eased up a little, after instructing him, he raised his hand and shouted towards Gongsun Xu: "Gongsun Xu, this old man vows to the Alliance, that as long as you step aside, this old man will bring his men back to Yanzhou, and not go back on his words!"

"Hahaha …" Gongsun Xu laughed out loud, clapped his hands, and shouted, "Good! "As the saying goes, a wise man knows his place. General Cao has made a wise decision!"

"Cut the crap!" Cao Cao shouted, "This old man has already sworn in public that when will you retreat 30 miles?"

Gongsun Xu pondered for a moment, then loudly replied, "When this general returns, he will discuss with his subordinates that he will retreat thirty kilometers at the latest tomorrow at dusk!"

Xun Yu went close to Cao Cao's ear and used Cao Cao Cao's voice to persuade him: "Master, Sima Zhongda still needs some time to recruit elite soldiers, and the granary is on fire again, Gao Gang will need more time to gather the money, why not agree to Gongsun Xu's suggestion!"

Cao Cao slightly nodded his head and shouted towards the city: "Gongsun Xu, I agree with your suggestion! Before dusk tomorrow, I hope that you will retreat by 30 miles as promised! "

"Then it's settled! "Haha" Gongsun Xu laughed, turned his horse and flew away.