In June of the ninth year of Yanxing, Marshal Cao Cao of the Wei and Han Dynasties petitioned Liu He, King of Qinghe, to settle Tao. After the war, the four states in the country rested for a year. The three armies were conquered and their savings were sufficient. However, Guanxi was exhausted and the government and the public were discouraged. Just as the conquest continued, the emperor's foundation was conquered. All the generals in the court asked for orders by name, and King Qinghe agreed.
Then Cao Cao stationed his troops in Linzi and indeed raised troops in Xuzhou.
The Dang bandit general Cao Ren and the cavalry captain Cao Hong crossed Langya and besieged Tan County; the governors of Youzhou, Xia Houyuan and Zhang He, left the state of Lu and besieged Pengcheng; the general Anwu, the governor of Bingzhou, Shen Pei, and the prefect of Pingyuan, Yu Jin, led 20,000 people on foot and cavalry across Jishui. , go straight to Pi.
Since April, the imperial court has handed over all four counties of Xuzhou to Sun Ce in accordance with the imperial decree. Although Sun Ce was happy, he also knew that this was a move to divert disaster to the east, so when he handed over the affairs of Xuzhou to Zhou Yu, he also warned: "Cao Jun will definitely raise troops at this year, either Xuzhou or Yanzhou. After Gong Jin entered Xuzhou, Make preparations in the morning.”
So before Cao's army sent troops, Zhou Yu moved his county residents to Guangling and Jiujiang counties. He also accumulated more grain in key places such as Xiapi and Pengcheng, repaired the city, and widened the Sishui, Lingshui and other rivers. When Cao's army arrived, Zhou Yu immediately withdrew his troops to key areas along the Surabaya River, and then asked Zhang Ji's troops in Yuzhou for help. Such an arrangement was indeed very effective. Cao Cao's tens of thousands of troops only broke through one county in Donghai, and then stopped under the two cities of Pengcheng and Xiapi, unable to advance even an inch.
But this was only a temporary situation. Subsequent Cao troops were rushing to the battlefield. Fenwu General Jushou had led 30,000 cavalry to Pengcheng, and then built embankments in the lower reaches of Surabaya. It coincided with heavy rains and the rising autumn tide, and Pengcheng was very The country was about to be flooded, and the defenders in the city were in dire straits. If it weren't for Cao's army's lack of navy, the city would have been destroyed.
General Cao Cao of Jianwu was still mobilizing troops. According to the information obtained from Yanzhou, among the nine generals of Wuwu, except Xiahou Dun and Bao Xin who guarded Youzhou and Hanoi, Tian Feng, Yuan Shang, Chunyu Qiong, and Liu Ruo (the new ones who replaced Liu He) General Xingwu) and other high-level generals are gathering towards Linzi. It is expected that the scale of the Dongren's troops will eventually reach 200,000.
When the news reached Guanxi, Liu Bei immediately sent an order to Zhang Ji, asking him to cooperate with Zhou Yu to secure the two key strongholds of Xiapi and Pengcheng. He mobilized and rebuilt the armies and marched towards Hanoi and Luoyang one after another. Apparently he had made up his mind. , will use the main force to press forward again. Even if they fail to win, they must make Cao Jun retreat. As both sides continued to increase their troops, the war continued to escalate. Seeing that Duan Yan's troops had arrived at Linsui first, and Wei and Han were surrounded by heavy troops, the war was about to break out.
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At the same time, Chen Chong was also recruiting troops in Guanzhong. The main ones are Huangfuli's Longshang Liang Army, Dong Yue's Yulin Army, and Zhang Fei's Hongnong Tongguan Army, with a total of 50,000 soldiers. After the assembly was completed, General Chen Chong personally led the army eastward. In fact, it stands to reason that the Sanhe Army should also be brought along. However, considering that Guan Yu's Sanhe Army has not been newly established for a long time, has not been trained for a long time, and has not seen any vitality, Chen Chong did not plan to mobilize it, but asked Guan Yu to stay in Guanzhong, aiming to wait and see Shu. trends in the DPRK and maintain stability in the DPRK.
Due to the urgent military situation and numerous personnel changes, the Sili Mansion was a busy scene. Many officials were so busy that they were so busy that when Kong Ming and his family arrived in Chang'an, they were blocked at the door for half an hour. Around lunch time, there were fewer people and they had time to meet.
When Chen Chong saw Kong Ming coming in, he couldn't help being very surprised and jokingly said: "Ah, Kong Ming, you came at the wrong time! I'm newly married and you're coming to join the army with me. When the world knows about it, they're afraid they'll say I'm unkind." Kong Ming replied with a smile. Said: "Does the teacher still have any favors? I thought he was a sage long ago."
The two chatted for a while and shared some anecdotes from Jingzhou. Kong Ming was not famous at first, but after his marriage, his father-in-law Huang Chengyan publicized it quite a bit, saying that he had become a disciple of Long Shou and obtained his true heritage. After hearing this, famous people from Jiang and Han Dynasties came to seek an audience. However, during the conversation, they mostly cast stones to ask for directions. First, they asked Chen Chong to wait for Chu. How is the scholar? What is Kong Ming's position? Zhuge Liang didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he had to hang a wooden sign at the door and write "Dragon Gate, please find another place", and he was relieved.
He said to Chen Chong: "Although there are many celebrities and hermits in Jingzhou, there are only a few who are really indifferent to fame and fortune. They are too disturbed and have to return early."
Chen Chong smiled when he heard this and was about to arrange some chores for him, but Zhuge Liang said again: "But the student came back this time and brought one more person with him. This person said he wanted to see the teacher. I can't refuse, and I hope the teacher will forgive me."
Chen Chong was quite curious after hearing this and asked, "Who is this strange person?"
Kong Ming replied: "You should know that the person you want to see is the moral master of Yangdi."
Only then did Chen Chong realize that it was Shui Jing who came from afar!
Sima Decao, named Sima Hui and courtesy name Decao, originally lived in Yangzhai, Yingchuan. This man was well-known since he was young. He was knowledgeable about the past and present, but had no intention of pursuing an official career. He was called upon several times by the local county government, but he failed to respond. After Dong Zhuo usurped power, the Central Plains was in chaos, so he moved to Xiangyang to live in seclusion. Because he was a noble man and knowledgeable, Liu Gong from Nanyang, Xiang Lang from Xiangyang, Yin Mo and Li Ren from Fu, Yizhou all came to study under him. People have always thought that he was as famous as Song Zhong, a great scholar in Nanyang, and Pang Degong, a hermit in Xiangyang, also praised him as a "mirror of water".
Later, when Liu Biao heard about his reputation, he came to visit him in person and discussed the general situation of the world with him. Unexpectedly, his moral character was just arrogant. This made Liu Biao very disappointed. When he returned, he said: "People in the world tell lies. This He is just a little scholar, and his intelligence is no different from that of ordinary people." As a result, rumors soon spread that Sima Decao knew that Liu Biao was narrow-minded and would definitely murder his admonishers, so even if Liu Biao came in person, he would just pretend to be a fool. Stunned. Only then did Liu Biao realize that he had made a mistake, and from then on he did not dare to visit again.
Since then, Sima Decao has become even more famous in Jianghan and as far away as Hebei. He is said to be a strange man in the world who aspires to Yi Jian and is indifferent to glory and profit. Nowadays, he no longer even recruits students. Instead, he and Pang Degong live in seclusion in Lumen Mountain, picking mulberries and herding pigs, almost like farmers.
Speaking of which, Chen Chong had also met Sima Decao before. When he was just studying abroad, Chen Shi had an old friendship with Sima Decao, so he recommended Chen Chong to visit his family first. When he arrived, Sima Decao was drinking with a few friends. They were all hermits who did not serve as officials. They just wore their buns and clothes, sat on the banquet with open arms, and drank heavily. When they saw Chen Chong, they did not move and only held their hands.
Chen Chong took off his shoes and sat down at the foot. The first person sitting on the table was Sima Decao. While he was teasing the chickens and ducks walking around, he talked to his friends about the hermit ways of Xu You, Chao Fu, Boyi, and Shu Qi in ancient times. From time to time, he criticized Duan Jiong. The idea of the others is to preach the classics, but they only talk about the embarrassing situation of Confucius wandering between Chen and Cai.
Chen Chong listened to them talking about these innocuous words, but he couldn't get a word in for a long time. He still had to look attentive on his face, but he couldn't help but feel a little bored in his heart. After a while, no one talked to Chen Chong, and Chen Chong couldn't find a common topic with them. Finally, he couldn't help it, and asked while raising a glass of wine: "Northern Xinjiang is in chaos, Xianbei is rampant, and the imperial court is harassed. , I wonder what you guys have to say?”
As a result, De Cao slowly finished drinking, put down the wine cup, and then slowly replied to Chen Chong: "Ting Jian asked about world affairs, but I am a countryman. What does it mean to say that I am not in my position and do not seek political affairs?" What can I say?" De Cao was talking about country people, but at that time he was sitting at the top, looking down at Chen Chong, which made Chen Chong feel ironic. After that, Chen Chong became famous and returned to his hometown several times, but never saw Sima Decao again. Unexpectedly, the other party actually asked for a meeting today, which Chen Chong never expected.
After nearly twenty years, Chen Chong saw Sima Decao again and was surprised to find that Sima Decao was already over sixty years old at this time, but except for a few more wrinkles, he had almost no changes. As for Chen Chong himself, his temples had melted, and he looked quite vicissitudes of life. When Sima Decao met him, he laughed and said, "The dragon's head is working hard. You can tell at a glance!"
Chen Chong has long lost his arrogance and no longer cares about what happened in the past. He pulled out a white hair and said with a smile: "White hair is also garlic hair. Garlic hair counts. This shows that I am very resourceful, so If you fight with talent, you will win.”
Sima Decao laughed, and then he heard Chen Chong ask: "Master Decao is here, do you have anything to teach me?"
Sima Decao shook his head slowly, clapped his hands and took a long lacquer box from the servant, and said to Chen Chong: "I am here to deliver something to Longshou."
After handing the lacquer box to Chen Chong, he said slowly: "This was entrusted to me by my ancestor, Duke Taiqiu, when he was still alive. He asked me to return it to the dragon head at the right time."
Hearing that it was a relic left by Chen Shi, Chen Chong was surprised. After opening the lacquer box, he found that the things inside were still wrapped in long cloth. When he unwrapped it carefully, he discovered that it turned out to be a jet-black straight stick that was more than three feet long. The scabbard of the knife is simple, but there are small vermilion seals written on both sides, which read "its blade is indestructible" and "its heart is not easy to break".
Pulling out the blade again, the pitch-black body of the blade reflected the snow-white cold air on the blade. People around him couldn't help but exclaimed in surprise when they saw it.
Chen Chong's hands were cold, and when he looked at the word Taiqiu on the back of the knife, his mind became particularly peaceful. He asked Sima Decao: "When did my ancestor give it to you? And why did you give it to me?"
Sima Decao said: "Taiqiu Gong often told me that the dragon's head is very easy to break, and it often forgets about others, fearing that it will easily fall into pieces after a disaster in the future, so he gave me this knife, saying that once the dragon's head is in trouble, I hope it can be broken." Use this knife to reflect on yourself and inspire your soul.”
Chen Chong sheathed his sword. He had mixed feelings for a while and didn't know how to express it. He could only change the topic and said: "I don't think a hermit like De Cao Gong is still concerned about the changes in the current situation."
Mr. Shui Jing laughed when he heard this, and then sighed again and again. He said: "Longshou should remember that I said that he would not seek political advice if he was not in his position, but people's hearts are still clear-minded. Whatever Longshou has done over the years, I have Looking at it, how can we not know who is the right way? The unification of the world is what everyone wants to see."
Chen Chong was very moved and wanted to keep him to teach in Taixue, but Sima Decao refused. He said: "An old man feels tired even if he travels all the way. How can he set an example? I only hope that the dragon's head will live up to Duke Taiqiu." As entrusted to him." Chen Chong sent people to fetch him carriages and horses again, intending to escort him back, but he was rejected. He only had a bamboo stick and mango shoes, one stick for each person, and returned home simply.
As a result, Chen Chong changed his view of Sima Decao greatly. He said to Kong Ming: "Probably, this is a born hermit."
