Cao Xiu turned defeat into victory at Fuling Lake and was greatly confident. However, he also realized that there was still a gap between the Jiangdong Navy and the Jiangdong Navy. He strengthened military training all day long and urged Xiahou Mao to build a chain boat.
Xia Houmao borrowed money from various places and barely scraped together the first batch of materials. He was looking forward to a loan. Unexpectedly, Zhang Wei returned empty-handed and was informed that the borrowed money had been seized by Cao Hong in Lujiang and turned into military expenses.
Xia Houmao suddenly became furious and cursed: "The person named Cao is bullying people too much. When I set up Maolin Hall, I borrowed nothing from him, but now he has detained my money for no reason. I am at odds with him."
Zhang Wei advised: "General Cao arrived in Lujiang for the first time and urgently needed to manage the army to appease the people. Anyway, it is all military expenses. No matter where it is spent, it will be for the prime minister. The general does not need to..."
"Fart——" Xia Houmao blushed, rolled up his sleeves and walked out: "I want to settle the score with him. If he doesn't pay back the money, I will kill him!"
"General, stay!" Zhang Wei said hurriedly: "General Cao Hong is a tiger general with tens of thousands of troops..."
"Oh..." Xia Houmao stopped and kicked on the threshold: "I'll go find the Prime Minister to argue."
Zhang Weila came to Xia Houmao and said: "The prime minister knew that the army was short of money and food, but he still asked the general to handle this matter. It is because he values the general's ability to make money. Now that the deadline is over half, if he makes another trip to Shouchun for this matter, it will take a long time to get back and forth. After all, he violated military orders, and the prime minister is disappointed in the general, so he may not be able to show any mercy."
"This..." Xia Houmao's face changed drastically, and he sat slumped on the threshold. He gritted his teeth and cursed Cao Hong a few times, then turned around and asked, "Sir, do you have any countermeasures?"
Zhang Wei shook his head and sighed: "The deadline is approaching, even if you have a plan, it will be in vain. I wonder how many supplies the general has collected?"
Xia Houmao said in frustration: "At most, we can only connect twenty-three out of ten."
Zhang Wei signaled Xia Houmao to come indoors and whispered: "For the current plan, we have to use an expedient method: no longer cast with pig iron, but can be mixed with weed ash, sand and gravel, etc. After General Cao inspects it, the remaining ships may be two or three Connected, or three or four connected, it will probably be enough.”
"This..." Xia Houmao said worriedly: "If you cut corners and use inferior materials as good ones, you may miss a big deal."
Zhang Wei laughed and said: "General, what you said is wrong! Now the two armies are facing each other. General Cao does not dare to go out lightly, and the troops from Jiangdong do not dare to go north easily. All we need to do is connect the ships and deliver the order within a time limit! I heard that Liu Qi was beaten in Shouchun Huang Gai, the Jiangdong generals have long been dissatisfied, I predict there will be a big change soon, when the prime minister will send his troops south and the navy will be dispatched, where will the serial boats be needed?"
“What you said is absolutely true!”
While the two were making plans, Cao Xiu sent someone to invite him to discuss important military matters. Xia Houmao then entrusted Zhang Wei with full authority to build the chain and came to see Cao Xiu in his tent.
In the Chinese army tent, Cao Xiu was discussing matters with Niu Jin and handed a letter on the table to Xia Houmao: "Now Wu general Zhou Tai sent a secret letter. Because Liu Qi punished Huang Gai, he also appointed Lu Xun as a naval officer. The general is dissatisfied and intends to surrender, Zi Lin, what do you think?"
Xia Houmao read the letter and frowned: "Liu Qi has always been known for knowing and employing people, but this time he appointed a scholar to take charge of the navy, deliberately making the generals dissatisfied. Is there some fraud involved?"
Cao Xiu nodded and said: "I am also worried about this matter. Don't say whether Liu Qi has ulterior motives. Even the people in Jiangdong are like Sun Quan, capricious and inconsistent with their words and deeds. I don't dare to believe what Zhou Tai said."
Niu Jin said: "Liu Qi has really done something public since he arrived in Huainan. In my humble opinion, he must have thought he had conquered all of Jiangnan and was arrogant. Now he is appointing nepotism and suppressing the meritorious veterans. It is natural for General Wu to be dissatisfied. If If Zhou Tai really wants to surrender, wouldn't he miss a good opportunity?"
Cao Xiu was also unable to make a decision for a while and asked Xiahou Mao: "Zilin studied the art of war and strategy very hard and was highly praised by the prime minister. Does he have any high opinions?"
"How dare you!" Hearing this, Xia Houmao puffed up his chest, coughed and thought hard for a good plan. After a moment, he suddenly clapped his hands and said, "I have a plan to test Zhou Tai's intention to surrender."
Cao Xiu asked hurriedly: "What's the plan?"
Xiahou Mao said: "Why don't you write back to Zhou Tai and ask him to come to the water stronghold in the dark to discuss important matters? If he dares to come, he can test his sincerity. If he dares not to come, it is a fraud."
"This is a good plan!" Cao Xiu was overjoyed and immediately sent someone to contact Zhou Tai and agreed to meet at the northwest water village in three days.
Three days later, as the sun set in the west, the rays shone on Fuling Lake, golden light rippled, birds returned to their nests, and the reeds in the distance were green and full of life.
Cao Xiu and Xia Houmao personally guarded the shore, turning a blind eye to the charming spring scenery. They looked eagerly at the lake. Suddenly a water bird flew up and stretched its neck, anxious.
It wasn't until night fell and the lake fell into darkness that I was feeling disappointed. Only then did I see a fishing lantern light up on the lake from a distance, coming quickly along with the spring breeze.
A small boat with a waist as thick as a fish came close to him in a blink of an eye. Before the boat could reach the shore, the man jumped lightly, stood firmly on the shore, and smoothly set the oars across the board. The small boat took advantage of the momentum and moved forward. With a crash, it ran aground on the shore, and the whole movement was clean and neat.
Cao Xiu secretly cheered when he saw it. Not to mention that this man was very familiar with the water. Even with a small boat like this, none of his men dared to sail out on a windy day. If a big wave came, they might have to feed the fish.
Holding back the excitement in his heart, Cao Xiu walked out of the reed swamp, clasped his fists and said, "May I ask if this person is General Zhou?"
"Exactly!" The man packed up the oars, raised his head, and saw scars all over his face under the dim firelight, giving him a fierce aura. He saluted, "Zhou Tai pays homage to General Cao."
"No need to be polite." Cao Xiu hurriedly stepped forward to return the courtesy and welcomed Zhou Tai into the tent.
Looking closely, we can see that Zhou Taikong is powerful and powerful, especially his arms are like ancient trees and his muscles are knotted. He is indeed a strong general.
After bowing and sitting down, Zhou Tai clasped his fists and said, "There are many sentinels on the water, and we have an appointment with the unknown governor. What important matters can we discuss?"
Cao Xiu said: "I was very happy to get the general's letter. I was expecting to mobilize all the troops to respond, but I didn't get the prime minister's order. Moreover, Xia Hou joined the army and said that the general had a good strategy. I was afraid that there was fraud in the letter, so I came to have a face-to-face meeting."
"Ah me?" Xiahou Mao was stunned, pointing at his nose and speechless. Isn't this betraying me to my face?
"The governor actually doubts my sincerity?" Zhou Tai was furious. He stood up and pulled out the short sword from his waist. He looked up to the sky and laughed angrily: "I never thought that I, Zhou Tai, had such a bad life. I couldn't meet the Ming Lord in my life. Is it God's will?"
"General, no!" Cao Xiu stood up and explained, "This is what the counselor said. I know that the general will not deceive me, so I met in person."
Zhou Tai smiled sadly: "A certain person was born in a humble background and lived in the Jianghuai River. Fortunately, he was appreciated by the Marquis of Wu and was able to make great achievements. Seeing that his achievements were about to be completed, who would have thought that in the end he would be bullied by Liu Qi's child. How can a man be depressed and bullied by a foreigner? A certain person abandoned the secret and turned to the bright side. , but the general became suspicious. In the whole world, Tai no longer has a place to stand, and he can only die."
Cao Xiu saw that Zhou Tai was about to kill himself again, so he hugged his arm regardless of the danger, and said with a smile, "This is just a joke, general, don't take it seriously."
Zhou Tai raised his hand vigorously, cut off a strand of hair, and said sternly: "I treat the governor with loyalty, even risking his own life to see him, but he makes fun of me. I am cutting off the hair left by my parents to show my sincerity."
