The straight-line distance between Pengyang County and Wangyuan County is not very far, but they are separated by Liupan Mountain, the watershed between the Weishui River and the Jingshui River. People and horses can only pass through the valleys and river valleys in detours.

Lu Bu was taking Li Sunatun with him on this trip, and there were only a hundred people in total. With such a small number of people, there was no need to hide their whereabouts. They just dressed up as horse bandits and passed through the mountains in an easy manner.

Some Qiang people noticed them along the way, but didn't think much about it.

Liangzhou is on the Silk Road. There are many business travelers traveling to and from the Western Regions, so there are naturally more bandits. When the weather is bad, many Qiang and Han people will pretend to be bandits and rob passing caravans. This time there were more than 100,000

The rebels Kou Sanfu and many counties in Liangzhou were either captured by the rebels. The ones that were not captured were afraid of being affected, so they closed their doors to avoid the war, and the bandits became even more rampant.

Lu Bu's team went all the way to the first sentry post set up by the Qiang people near Wangyuan County before someone stepped forward to stop them.

"There is a battle ahead, what are you doing here?" A small Qiang leader looked at Lu Bu and the others and asked with suspicion.

"Still fighting?"

Lu Bu pretended to be surprised, "I heard that all the imperial soldiers and horses were repulsed, so I wanted to find some work. All the young and old at home are waiting to eat!"

The little leader said, "It's almost the same. This is the only one left. Just take a detour!"

Lu Bu looked at the stretching mountains in the distance with a puzzled look on his face, "This detour will cost a lot of food. I don't know what's going on ahead. How many days will this battle be finished? If it's quick, I'll wait here.

Wait a minute."

As he spoke, he secretly observed the sentry post. There was a watchtower built in the open space, with three soldiers standing on top. There were also people watching from high places on the hilltop not far away. There were dozens of tents set up in front of this.

It was dusk, and judging from the smoke rising from the camp, there were at least seven to eight thousand enemy soldiers here, who should be guarding against the support of Anding County officers and soldiers.

The little boss said impatiently, "How do I know this? Leave quickly, otherwise don't blame me for waiting for you."

"Let's go, let's go." Lu Bu cupped his hands and turned around to leave.

After walking a few miles, it was already dark, and everyone found an open space to pitch tents and rest.

At this time, several waves of people sent out to inquire about the news also came back. The news they brought back was similar to what Lu Bu himself saw. The rebels set up heavy defenses on one side of the two mountains and a river. From the flat ground, they set up heavy defenses.

It's hard to get in.

"The mountain road is difficult to travel. People can barely go up it, but horses cannot. Moreover, this place is still dozens of miles away from where the general is trapped. It takes two or three days to walk around the mountain road. The rebels have cut off the food road. The general cannot hold on for a few days. We

I guess he may break out of the encirclement in the next few days, and then we will still be wandering around the mountain." Li Su said.

"Of course we can't take the mountain road, and it's useless for us to go there with so many people. Judging from the situation, the rebels have at least two heavy defenses inside, one to defend the generals, and one to defend the rear. What we want to tear apart is

This line of defense in the rear will prevent the general from being surrounded again when he breaks out."

But the problem is that Dong Zhuo had no intention of forcing a breakout from the beginning. According to Lu Bu's understanding of Dong Zhuo, if he wanted to come out, he would have broken out and come back when he was trapped. The reason why he stayed put for so long must be because he didn't want to lose too many troops.

Thinking of other countermeasures.

The Wei River crosses Wangyuan County. If you want to retreat safely, you can only cross the river and escape from the south. Cross the river by relying on bamboo rafts. If the enemy interferes again, more people will die in the river than if you break through directly. Lu Bu thought hard all night

, and I can’t think of any other solution Dong Zhuo would have.

At noon the next day, the man who had sneaked to the rear from the south bank of the Weishui River to inquire about the news came back.

The visitor took the water bag from Lu Bu and drank a few sips of water. "I looked on the other side for a while and didn't see anything interesting. I just saw from a distance that people were reinforcing and expanding the dams on the Wei River. The general seemed to want to arrest him."

Fish serve as military rations.”

"Fishing for military rations?"

Lu Bu shook his head, "This is impossible. If the general is so short of food, he must have already tried his best to break out of the encirclement. How can he still have the thought and energy to block the water and build embankments? You didn't cross the river to ask about the situation?"

"I can't get through. The general has set up a sentry on the river bank. I'm afraid I'll be shot to death by random arrows before I can swim across. There are also rebel sentries not far from the camp. I can't shout, for fear of being noticed by the enemy. I just

He can hide in the reeds and spy secretly."

"The general has set up his camp by the river? Has he ever fought with rebels?"

The scout nodded, "It's not far from the river. The grass and trees on the ground in front of the village are messy. They must have been beaten before."

Li Su looked at the map and said, "Jiangjun Yingzhai and Wangyuan County are at odds with each other. The rebels couldn't take them, so they cut off their food routes and tried to trap people inside."

"How long has the dam been built? Where is its location?" Lu Bu asked again.

"We're almost on the other side, right next to the camp."

Lu Bu frowned in thought. If his guess was correct, Dong Zhuo probably wanted the army to retreat from under the embankment. If the enemy did not notice his intention, this would be a sure thing. However, if Dong Zhuo retreated safely, he would not have the chance to make a contribution.

Already?

Based on the strength of Dong Zhuo's Xiliang army, a frontal breakthrough would only result in the loss of more troops. After weighing the situation, Lu Bu decided to create an opportunity for himself.

Three days later, Dong Zhuo's military camp in Wangyuan County.

Dong Zhuo led a total of 30,000 people this time to pursue the rebels, of which 4,000 were stationed in Anding County for Liu Jing. He led 26,000 to pursue the enemy. Among the 26,000 men and horses, there were only 6,000 cavalry and the rest were infantry.

The infantry was slow to break out of the encirclement, and the terrain in this area was so narrow that the troops and horses who broke out from the front would inevitably suffer heavy casualties, so he would try to withdraw from the embankment.

In the big tent, Dong Zhuo was sitting at the top, and Niu Fu, Dong Yue, Hu Zhen, Duan Xuan, Hua Xiong and other generals were listed below.

"We have been trapped here for some time. The embankment will be repaired around noon today. We have decided to start withdrawing our troops tonight. However, the embankment is so narrow that more than 20,000 people will have to walk for about a day and a night. Nothing should happen during the withdrawal.

"

Dong Zhuo said, looking at Hua Xiong and Duan Yan, "Yingwei, Zhongming, tomorrow you two will lead two thousand troops to the enemy camp to call for battle. First clear the enemy sentries in this area. If they come out to fight, you will wait for everything."

Don't fight too much, keep the battle in a stalemate, delay as much time as possible, withdraw when it gets dark, and cross the river at night."

"No!" Hua Xiong and Duan Xuan accepted the order with clasped fists.

"Dong Yue, tonight you lead 18,000 infantry ahead, with three villages as one team. The first two teams are arranged to scout horses. Once you reach the other side, you will detect the enemy's situation in three directions: east, west, south, and at least find out the invincible soldiers within a radius of 20 miles.

Ambush, the rest of the people can cross the river. After you have passed, don't form a formation on the shore, first go to the mountain col in the distance to hide."

"No!" Dong Yue said, cupping his fists.

Dong Zhuo looked at Niu Fu and Hu Zhen again, "After the infantry have passed, there will be Zizuo's cavalry. Wencai, you take a thousand people to stay behind to support Yingwei and Zhongming, just in case."

"No!" The three of them clasped their fists together.

Niu Fu asked with some worry, "Lord, if the enemy discovers me halfway through, wouldn't it be very dangerous for those behind me?"

Dong Zhuo may have already considered this. He told Hua Xiong and Hu Zhen who were behind them, "If you are discovered while crossing the river, you two will break out of the encirclement directly from the front. Remember, your main purpose is to break out of the encirclement, not to kill."

Enemy, we will rush to the enemy's rear as soon as possible to respond."

Dong Zhuo stood up and looked at the generals, "The worst result of this retreat is that the enemy has already noticed our intentions. If an ambush is discovered on the other side, the embankment will be useless. Now the army is about to run out of food. You must be prepared for a frontal breakthrough."

, especially infantry.”
Chapter completed!