I saw a person standing in front of the gate of the village. He had gray beard and hair, a deep complexion, and although he was not tall, he had a powerful presence. It was Cao Cao, King of Wei.
Cao Xiu was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly stepped forward and saluted: "We sincerely welcome the Prime Minister."
Cao Cao looked into the distance and saw faint black smoke floating on the river. He sighed: "Jiangdong Navy has been operating for more than ten years. The people of Wuhui are accustomed to water. They can ride a boat like the Northern Army rides a horse and use their fingers like an arm. How can we do this?" Defeated in one day?"
Cao Xiu's face was full of shame and he begged for punishment: "I will eventually be the one who has failed the prime minister's great kindness. I am willing to accept the punishment."
"Victory and defeat are common things for soldiers, get up!" Cao Cao still thought highly of Cao Xiu and said with a smile: "Wen Lie trained the navy for three years and achieved this achievement. Who among the generals can do it? Jiangdong is good at water warfare. This is It’s not your fault!”
Just as he was preparing to return to the stronghold to report the military situation, he suddenly saw a fleet of ships returning in embarrassment with badly damaged ships. It was Niu Jin who was returning to the stronghold. The fleet was ambushed midway, and more than a thousand people were killed.
Niu Jin led his troops ashore and knelt down to plead guilty. Cao Cao looked at the defeated soldiers on the shore and suddenly looked up to the sky and laughed.
Cao Xiu was shocked and said, "Why is the Prime Minister laughing?"
"The Jiangdong navy has won a great victory in this battle. If you think you are invincible in water warfare, you will be arrogant, and you will not obey Liu Qi's control. Don't you think that arrogant soldiers will be defeated?" Cao Cao smiled proudly and ordered Niu Jin to take the soldiers down to rest.
Cao Xiu took Cao Cao to the stronghold and asked, "Why did the Prime Minister come to the stronghold in person?"
Cao Cao said: "I came here with a clever plan. Just now I saw that the water battle was unfavorable, so I sent an order to withdraw the troops. There is going to be a change in Shouchun, and the water stronghold must not be missed."
Cao Xiu's face was full of shame, he lowered his head and said: "Three years of hard training, but the first battle failed, I feel ashamed to be cultivated by the prime minister."
"Guarding the Huaihe River is a meritorious service. You and Liu Qi made a battle, how did it go?!"
Cao Cao did not expect to really rely on the navy to defeat the Wu soldiers. If he wanted to go to the south of the Yangtze River, he still had to break through the Shouchun and Hefei defense lines and use infantry and cavalry as the main force.
Cao Xiu reported today's water battle truthfully. In fact, the two armies did not really fight, but the Wu army was skilled in sailing, far beyond the Wei army.
After hearing this, Cao Cao said: "If the Wu army wins, they will definitely take the opportunity to attack the camp. Tonight, we need to be careful of the water stronghold in the east and use large ships to form a defense line on the water."
Cao Xiu frowned and said: "The warships from Jiangdong can come and go freely on the water. If we board the ships and fight, our army will not have the advantage. It is better to defend along the river."
Cao Cao said: "At the end of the year, the weather is dry and the northwest wind is strong. If the enemy attacks with fire, the entire stronghold will be lost."
Cao Xiu immediately lowered his head and said nothing. Xia Houmao offered advice at the side: "Why not use a chain link?"
"Huh?" Cao Cao suddenly turned his head and glared at Xia Houmao, his slender eyes flashing with cold light. If he was not his son-in-law, he would order him to be beheaded.
The last time he used a series of tricks in Ruxu, the navy army was wiped out. Is it still not enough?
"Prime Minister, calm down!" Xiahou Mao said hurriedly: "I used a dead ring last time, this time I use a living ring, and I will definitely succeed."
Cao Cao narrowed his eyes slightly and asked calmly: "What is a living chain?"
Xiahou Mao reported the truth about the iron chains used by Wu Jun just now, saying: "You can connect the ships in peacetime, untie them in war, and retract and release them freely, and you will be in an invincible position."
"Zilin has indeed made great progress!" Cao Cao suddenly realized, stroking his beard and laughing: "With you two helping each other, it's better than Liu Qi sleeping with a dragon and a phoenix!"
Cao Xiu was confused: "It took three years to build the warship, but the materials have been exhausted. I may not be able to get it together for a while..."
Cao Cao waved his hand and said with a smile: "Zilin has a lot of connections and wealth, so leave this matter to him without fail."
"Oh, yes!" Xia Houmao was a little surprised, but seeing that Cao Cao trusted him so much, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue.
Cao Cao also ordered Cao Xiu to hide the warships on the north bank and at the mouth of the lake. Once the Wu army came to rob the stronghold, he would leave them behind and regain the city.
After the discussion was over, he discussed with Cao Xiu privately that there were only craftsmen in the army and the iron tools had been used up long ago. They could only collect some broken weapons and armor first, but to connect these big ships, an advance fee of 200,000 yuan was required.
"Don't say 200,000, not even 20,000!" Cao Xiu said helplessly: "Did you know that a large ship is worth thirty war horses? Since the capital was moved, the prince has already deducted most of the navy's military expenses. I am unable to make ends meet here. .”
"What can I do if I don't have money?" Xia Houmao stared and sighed bitterly: "I had a few coppers before, but when Ye County was in trouble, I lost all my money. Little did the Prime Minister know that making money is not easy!"
Cao Xiu looked unbelieving: "I heard that Maolin Hall is making money every day. At this time of crisis, we should do our best to help. Zi Lin, don't cry for poverty."
"All the money from Maolin Hall was taken away by the prince to build the palace of the Wei Palace. Otherwise..." Xia Houmao looked around and whispered: "Otherwise, Guanzhong fell, what a sin. How could I escape this disaster?"
"But military orders cannot be violated!" Cao Xiu sighed helplessly, wrote down a military order and gave it to Xia Houmao, patting him on the shoulder: "Artisans in the army, you can use the discarded weapons at your disposal. I can only help you so far."
Xia Houmao looked at the note in his hand, froze for a moment and cursed angrily: "Okay, okay, both father and son are trying to trick me, right? I'm just the son-in-law of the Cao family, but I'm not the son of the Cao family..."
…
The waves of the Huaihe River were rolling, and in less than half an hour, all traces of the fight had disappeared.
The light of the sword, the shadow of the sword, the blood and bones of human beings, between the mountains and rivers, are just a layer of turbid waves, a season of yellow leaves, fleeting.
The Jiangdong navy returned to the stronghold after a great victory. The Wei army came down from the ship with their heads down and shivering. Their warship capsized and they had nowhere to escape. They had no choice but to surrender. They were like fish caught in a net being fished out, and they were soaked to the skin.
There were cheers and laughter along the coast. Several battles with Cao's army ended in defeat, which made people laugh that there was no one in Jiangdong. Today's battle was finally proud and the morale of the whole army was high.
In the water village, all the generals looked at Liu Qi and Lu Xun, and they were all convinced. Whether Liu Qi hired people or Lu Xun dispatched them, they were just right.
Jiang Qin had not gone into battle today, and some of his thoughts were still unfinished. He cupped his fists and said, "The Wei army has been training hard for three years, but suffered such a defeat. Their morale must be low. Why not attack the camp at night, burn his water stronghold, and then go north to kill Xiapi?" .”
"This is a great plan. The general is willing to go with General Jiang." Dong Xi and others asked for orders one after another.
Liu Qi said: "Cao Xiu is the leader of the younger generation of the Cao family. There may be defenses in the camp. What does Bo Yan mean?"
Lu Xun frowned and said: "Although Cao Xiu has military strategy, he is young and energetic, and his temperament is not calm enough. If we lose this battle, the defense in the camp must be lax. It is not a bad idea to rob the camp. We can send rear troops to support us just in case." "
Liu Qi was also a little tempted. If he could take advantage of the victory to attack and destroy Cao Wei's navy in one battle, he could break through the Huaihe River defense line and divide his troops into several routes to go north. Even if Cao Cao had three heads and six arms, he would still be concerned about one thing and not the other.
He ordered Lu Xun to arrange the robbery of the camp. When he returned to the hotel, he saw Zhang Chengzheng sorting out official documents and asked, "Is there any news from the Grand Governor?"
During this Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, Zhang Zhao recommended his eldest son Zhang Cheng to follow Zhuge Jin and assist Liu Qi, not only to show his determination to resist Cao Cao, but also to train Zhang Cheng, and of course to show his goodwill to Liu Qi.
Zhang Cheng replied: "The Governor has arrived at the border of Xuzhou. A secret message was sent half a month ago. Cao Cao sent his classmate Jiang Gan to accompany him to help. He must be under surveillance. He is trying to take advantage of this person, but he may not have the opportunity yet."
Liu Qi raised his eyebrows and chuckled: "Could he let Jiang Qian steal another letter?"
