The fishing boat was getting farther and farther away from the shore, and Cao Cao just breathed a sigh of relief. The pursuers had no boats. They could escape danger as long as they crossed the Huaihe River and there was a water village not far to the east.
The sky was dark, and he was listening to the sound of waves around him. Cao Cao leaned against the side of the ship, exhausted mentally and physically. He originally wanted to take advantage of Liu Qi's discord with Jiangdong generals to capture Huainan in one fell swoop, but now it seems that it must be a bitter trick.
Cao Cao was upset, like the water of the Huaihe River, which was turbulent. A few drops of water splashed on his face. Suddenly he was shocked and shouted: "No!"
In this battle, land and sea troops advanced, and Cao Xiu also received a letter of surrender from Zhou Tai. Zhou Tai was recommended by Huang Gai, and he was afraid that the water stronghold would not be protected at this time.
Thinking of this, Cao Cao's face changed drastically, his body stiffened and he leaned on the boat, his heart sank to the bottom. If Cao Xiu fell into the trap, Xuzhou might not be safe.
If Liu Qi marches north to Xuzhou and joins forces with Guan Yu, the entire Central Plains will also be lost.
"Hey, you discovered it?" In a daze, the fisherman turned his head and sneered.
Cao Cao was startled: "Why do you say this?"
The fisherman actually threw away the oar, stood up slowly, glanced at Cao Cao, shook his head and sighed: "People say that Cao Mengde is suspicious by nature, and it is true. I don't know where the flaw is."
"You... who are you?" Cao Cao was shocked and wanted to get up, but the boat was bumping in the wind and waves and he couldn't stand up at all. Suddenly he felt cold under his feet. He looked down and saw that the bottom of the boat had been covered with a layer of water. Feet, exclaiming: "The ship is sinking!"
"Hahaha, as I just said, this ship is famous for being very fast!" The man crossed his arms and laughed, and said slowly: "It sinks faster -"
Cao Cao said sternly: "Who are you?"
The fisherman laughed and said: "Cao Cao, listen carefully, I am Jiangdong Ma Zhong!"
"Ah? Go back quickly, row back!" Cao Cao was shocked, turned around and shouted: "Zhao Yun, Zhao Zilong——"
If they fall into the hands of these little soldiers, they will do whatever it takes to achieve meritorious service. It is better to temporarily surrender to Zhao Yun or have a chance of survival.
"Come on, it's no use even breaking your throat!" Ma Zhong sneered: "This has caused harm to us for thousands of years. General Liu was worried that you, the old thief, would live long and be rescued on land, so he went to great lengths to deceive you. Get on board.”
"It turns out it's Liu Qi's plan again!" Cao Cao fell into despair. He knelt in the boat and looked around. Under the dim moonlight, he saw at a glance that there were rolling waves. There was nowhere to go. The water was already up to his knees.
If he were on land, he could still think of a way to escape. Now he was trapped in the Huaihe River, with no way to the sky and no way to the earth. He was completely panicked.
Cao Cao clung to the side of the boat and said anxiously: "If you cross the river with me, I will make you the founding general of the country, reward you with thousands of gold, and make you a marquis. How about that?"
"Hahaha, do you think I, Ma Zhong, am a man who covets wealth?" Ma Zhong shouted: "If I let you go, how can those dead Shouchun soldiers and people let me go?"
Cao Cao was anxious, angry, and filled with sadness. He couldn't help looking up to the sky and laughing fiercely: "I think that I, Cao Mengde, was a hero and lost his life at the hands of a despicable villain."
Ma Zhong sneered: "Old thief, how dare you call yourself a hero?"
Cao Cao laughed in anger, slapped the water with his hand, and roared: "Cao is not afraid of swords and guns, and works tirelessly for the country. Who else will protect the emperor, and who will sweep away the smoke? Without me, Cao Cao, how many people would be kings? How many people can claim the title of emperor?"
Ma Zhong sneered and said: "Thief Cao, don't talk nonsense! Since you care about the country, why did you massacre Xuzhou and destroy Yecheng? You even used human flesh as military food, harmed the people of Nanyang, and flooded Shouchun soldiers and civilians for temporary gains and losses? Is this so? Even though Jie Zhou and Dong Zhuo were the most unconscionable, they still pretended to be heroes. I have never seen such shameless people!"
"It's so cold to be in a high position, how can other ordinary people know it?" Cao Cao shook his head in despair. He also had a lot of helplessness, but it was not enough to talk to Ma Zhong and others. At this time, half of his body was immersed in the water. He smiled miserably and sighed: "Han Zuo is declining. If Cao is born, how can Qi be born—"
"Hey, it's rare that you are still thinking about General Liu at this time!" Ma Zhong chuckled and said to Cao Cao: "By the way, General Liu asked me to bring you a message. Just go and relax. Your wife and children, he will Good life and raising..."
"Bold!" Cao Cao was holding the side of the boat with his eyes closed and waiting for death. Hearing this, he shouted in shock and started struggling in the water: "Liu Qi, you and I are at odds with each other!"
"Old thief, stop struggling!" Ma Zhong slowly raised his arm and pointed it at Cao Cao: "General Liu is benevolent and trustworthy. Don't worry about your family's funeral!"
Cao Cao struggled hard, but the boat sank faster, and his whole body sank into the water. He gritted his teeth and roared: "Liu Qi, I'm a ghost... Gudu..."
A wave hit him, and he took a sip of water, choking him and being speechless. At the same time, Ma Zhong also fired an arrow from his sleeve, which hit Cao Cao on the neck and was involved in the torrent.
Crash--
Another man jumped out of the water like a fish, holding an iron chisel in his hand. It was Pan Zhang. He shook the water droplets on his head and asked, "Why don't you take the old thief's head?"
Ma Zhong sighed: "Although Cao Cao is not a hero, he is still a tyrant, a very human minister, and he can be regarded as a decent man. Let's leave his body intact!"
Pan Zhang turned around and got into the water again. He soon found Cao Cao's body, cut off his head and took it back. He said to Ma Zhong: "General Liu said that this old thief is half-destined. He has been brought back to life so many times. I won’t rest assured if I don’t take someone else’s head.”
Ma Zhong said in shock: "The old thief doesn't know how to swim, and he was hit by a poisonous arrow. This is cruel."
"What a woman's kindness!" Pan Zhang cursed angrily: "If General Liu hadn't used clever tactics in this battle, and if Cao's thieves had captured Jiangdong, would our heads have been saved?"
Ma Zhong looked at the wet head and remembered that Cao Cao was cruel by nature, so he stopped arguing with him. The two swam back to the south bank and handed the head to Zhao Yun, who had been waiting for a long time.
Under the firelight, Zhao Yun saw that Cao Cao's beard and hair were missing, his face was ferocious, his eyes were wide-eyed, and he didn't close his eyes. For some reason, he remembered the scene when Liu Bei died, and he couldn't be happy at all.
Everyone rushed back to Shouchun overnight to deliver orders. Ling Tong had already escorted the captured Xu Yi back to the city. Only Cao Chun broke through and escaped with the tiger and leopard cavalry. In this battle, Cao Chun's army was wiped out.
When Liu Qi saw Cao Cao's head, he also had mixed feelings in his heart. This careful planning was finally not in vain. From then on, the three heroes of the Three Kingdoms, two dead and one imprisoned, all the troubles in their hearts were gone, and only Cao Pi was left with nothing to worry about.
The next day, good news came from Xuzhou. Zhang Fei's troops arrived at Pengcheng. The defenders were shocked, thinking that Huainan was lost. Mi Zhu's generals secretly encouraged people to abandon the city and captured the city without bloodshed.
At the celebration banquet, Lu Su said: "Now that Cao Cao is killed, Cao Pi will definitely raise troops to take revenge, and the general must make preparations in advance."
Liu Qi smiled and said: "If Cao Pi can't bear the danger of crossing the river, it will take a lot of trouble to fight with troops from Hebei. If he is eager to take revenge, it is just what I want."
Ma Liang offered advice: "Zhou Gongjin no longer needs to go south. If Cao Pi raises an army and mobilizes a large number of troops, Zhou Lang can be ordered to attack the plains, take the Bohai Sea, and attack behind it."
"This is a great plan!" Liu Qi was overjoyed and immediately ordered someone to send a letter to Zhou Yu, asking him to return to Beihai first and wait for the opportunity.
