"General, calm down, I was careless!" Cao Xiu apologized repeatedly with shame on his face, and glared at Xia Houmao: "It's all Zilin's fault."
Xia Houmao was stunned and couldn't tell the truth to his face, so he had to sit aside in silence.
Zhou Tai then threw away the dagger and snorted coldly: "I risked my life to come here. My loyalty can only be shown by God. I don't want to listen to the villain's words."
Cao Xiu no longer had any doubts about Zhou Tai, so he personally took him to the table and promised: "If we get the land of Huainan, I will be the first to record my merits as a general, and I am willing to give up this naval commander."
Zhou Tai was overjoyed that the two had cleared up their old feud. Cao Xiu ordered people to drink wine and discuss the matter of surrender.
Xia Houmao looked extremely ugly on the side. He offered advice with good intentions, but unexpectedly he made a fuss inside and outside. He deliberately walked away, but he was afraid of refuting Cao Xiu's face and making Zhou Tai suspicious, so he drank the wine and drank it.
The banquet ended at midnight. Zhou Tai returned to the stronghold first to instigate rebellion against other Jiangdong naval forces. He made a date to surrender. He was first granted the title of General Li Hai, and after Liu Qi was eliminated, he was recommended as the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy.
After sending Zhou Tai off, Cao Xiu saluted Xiahou Mao and said, "I just did it to win back Zhou Tai's heart. I had no choice but to do it. Don't blame Zi Lin."
Xia Houmao responded with a few words and returned to the camp dejectedly. He suddenly found that the affairs in the army were more complicated than making money in business. People's hearts were deceitful, and there were constraints everywhere, which could easily lead to death. Unconsciously, he felt a little discouraged.
The next day Wen Qin led 3,000 cavalry to the water stronghold. Cao Xiu wondered: "Why do we need cavalry to assist in a battle on the water?"
Wen Qin's face was full of joy and he took out Cao Cao's secret letter: "The Prime Minister has a secret order here. The Governor will know after reading it."
After seeing this, Cao Xiu laughed and said, "It turns out that when Zhou Tai came to surrender, the prime minister had already made arrangements. Zi Lin, you were so smart that you almost missed the important event."
Xiahou Mao said in astonishment: "Is it none of my business?"
Cao Xiuping withdrew and handed the letter to Xia Houmao. It turned out that Cao Cao had secretly instructed Huang Gai to surrender and was planning to rebel against the Jiangdong generals. If anyone came to submit, he should plan as soon as possible. He planned to launch an attack on the third day of March to attack Huainan in one fell swoop.
Wen Qin also told how Cao Cao set up an ambush at Bagong Mountain, defeated the Wu army, killed over ten thousand enemies, and almost captured Liu Qi.
Xia Houmao heard this and said with emotion: "The Prime Minister is brave and wise, I can't wait for you!"
However, Cao Xiu was not convinced and said proudly: "I had expected that Zhou Taicheng would surrender, but Zi Lin insisted on testing him, which almost made it self-defeating."
Wen Qin was shocked and said: "Kan Ze first said that he wanted to persuade Zhou Tailai to surrender, and now there is news?"
"I have already seen this person!" Cao Xiu then informed Zhou Tai that he came to the camp in person last night to determine his will.
Wen Qin said happily: "Zhou Tai's eagerness to surrender shows that Liu Qi has become unpopular in Jiangdong. There must be others who will respond!"
Cao Xiu said with a smile: "Now Zhou Taijie has sworn that the Jiangdong navy is not a worry. I and the Prime Minister will send troops at the same time. If they attack from both sides, the thieves can be defeated!"
Xia Houmao was ridiculed, his blood surged, his face flushed and he said loudly: "You guys underestimate Liu Qi too much, be careful this is his trick."
Cao Xiu's face suddenly darkened and he said displeasedly: "I am about to march into the army under the secret order of the Prime Minister. Why did Zilin say this to slow down the morale of our army?"
Wen Qin also always looked down on Xia Houmao as a person, and sneered from the side: "If I can strategize after just reading military books for a few days, with what I have learned so far, wouldn't I be better than Sun Wu and Han Xin?"
The two sat together and discussed contacting Zhou Tai. On the third day of March, he also raised troops to coordinate Cao Cao's attack on Huainan. The navy took advantage of the situation to cross the river and invade the east of the river.
When Xia Houmao saw that the two of them ignored him, he felt annoyed. He rolled up his sleeves and looked up to the sky and sighed: "Cao Gong oppressed me, Cao Hong bullied me, and now even Cao Xiu has slandered me. This matter of the Cao family is really difficult to handle, very difficult to handle." Na——"
By this time, his fighting spirit was gone. He returned to camp and lay down on the bed, no longer asking about the serial affairs. Once he was free, he felt that the army was boring and boring. The tent was damp and the bed was too hard. Everywhere he felt annoyed.
He also remembered that Xuchang's property had been lost and the land in Qiao County had also been mortgaged, and he became even more angry with the Cao family. This time the city was captured by Guan Yu, and Mrs. Cao died. However, it was a pity for the concubines who had been raised. I don't know who they were. Take advantage.
With a long sigh, he turned over and murmured: "Black Pearl..."
…
The war in Huainan was turbulent, but Cao Hong embarked on the road to Luoyang. He boarded the ship from Xunyang. The river scenery was broad, the mountains on both sides of the bank were stretching, and the spring was endless.
Wang Wei, who was in charge of the escort, asked: "I don't know how the boating on the river compares to the Weijun Tongque Terrace?"
Cao Hong turned his head and glanced at the graceful figure in the cabin, facing the river breeze, and laughed and said: "I am happy here, don't miss Wei!"
Although he was trapped in the city for the past half month, he secretly sent his confidants out of the city to send a secret message to Cao Cao, informing them of the changes in Lujiang and asking them to take precautions. Seeing that the soldiers in the city were safe and sound, Cao Hong knew that he could not escape, so he simply Enjoyment.
In the Wancheng government office, Pang Tong was holding a gourd, drinking wine, and writing letters. There was a row of letter paper on the table in front of him, and the handwriting he wrote was exactly the same as that on the letter paper.
Zhang Fei smacked his lips, touched his beard and said dissatisfiedly: "This Cao Hong's handwriting is not as good as my old Zhang."
Pang Tong put away his pen and laughed and said: "General Yide's calligraphy is vigorous and vigorous. His rules are not as good as Zhong Yao's, but his boldness is comparable to Zhang Zhi's. It is difficult for anyone to compare with him."
"If the world were peaceful, I would rather eat wine, ride horses, and write and paint than fight and kill."
Since the battle in Longxi, Zhang Fei was almost unable to fight on the battlefield due to poisoning. He suddenly became enlightened and his temperament was much gentler than before.
Pang Tong compared the handwriting again, flicked the letter paper and said with a smile: "The thief Cao almost deceived Yuan Zhi when he wrote imitating letters. Today, he will suffer the consequences."
Zhang Fei nodded and said: "This is retribution. During those years when I was a butcher, I always said that the pigs and dogs on the chopping board were all people who had done many evil things in their previous lives. The Cao thief is cunning by nature, killing at every turn, and trying to tamper with others. He is especially better than Dong Zhuo and comparable to Dong Zhuo. The reckless thief is destined, and if these retributions do not fall on him, he will also harm his descendants."
Pang Tong put the pile of secret letters in the brazier and burned them. They were all collected from the confidants sent by Cao Hong. Now Wancheng is only allowed in but not out. With Wenpin guarding it, not even a mouse can escape. go out.
Pang Tong ordered people to send the letter to Cao Ying. Pang Tong said: "My lord, the plan of bitter flesh has been completed. I predict that Cao Cao's thieves will order Cao Hong to leave Chaohu from Lujiang River, pretend to attack Ruxu, and actually capture Hefei to join the army. Yide can be selected from the army. Someone who looks similar to Cao Hong marched eastward along the Yangtze River with great fanfare to hide the Wei army's ears and eyes, and led his elite troops to pass through the rocks and go directly to Pengcheng. I stationed troops in Shiting to coordinate and move when I saw the opportunity, then Xuzhou can be conquered!"
Zhang Fei stood up and looked to the north, and said with emotion: "I remember when I, my eldest brother and my second brother were asking for the Yellow Turban, guarding Xuzhou, and supporting the Han Dynasty together. Unexpectedly, we were disrupted by Lu Fengxian. Now that we are back to our hometown, this must be the protection of my eldest brother in heaven." !”
Pang Tong smiled and said: "Xuzhou City has Mi Zi Zhong's retainer as an internal support, and Yide will definitely win the victory after leaving here."
