Furthermore, Cao Cao received an envoy from Xia Houyuan to report that Qu Yi had withdrawn his troops alone and that Juyang had fallen. He then became furious and cursed in the tent: "I have no courage, and I will ignore him for his faults. Entering the account is already a blessing. He doesn't want to be grateful, but withdraws his troops privately! He comes when he wants and leaves when he wants. Does his surname in the world include Qi?!"
At this time, Xun You was standing aside. He raised his eyebrows when he heard the news, but he quickly calmed down, stood up calmly, and said to the envoy: "Go back and tell General Zhenbei to leave two thousand people behind." Sanyin Mountain, the rest of the people and Qu Junhou’s soldiers should not stay, and go directly to Pingcheng. The war is about to begin, and we need many people to make contributions!"
After saying that, he turned around and asked Cao Cao: "Ming Gong, do you think this is an appropriate reply?"
Cao Cao had also calmed down. When he saw Xun or came to persuade him, he also understood his intention: Ju Yang has been lost and it will be difficult to regain it. The only plan now is to fight head-on. So he squinted his eyes and replied slowly: "Wen Ruo is right, just reply like this!"
Then he held a military meeting and informed the generals of the new news that Juyang had been lost and that the entire Western Army was about to come to join the battle. The generals felt panic in their hearts when they saw that Pingcheng had not been captured and that they were going to join the battle with the Western Army in enemy territory. Someone suggested that since the fighter plane was lost, it would be risky to continue fighting in the field. It was better to withdraw the troops and return home and continue to wait for the fighter plane. This statement was actually recognized by most people.
However, Cao Zhen, the Central Protector, disagreed and came out to retort: "The country has devoted all its efforts to come here and spent tens of millions. How can it be returned without success? He also said that he was waiting for a fighter opportunity. Could there be such a good opportunity in the next ten years?"
Xiahou Shang, the commander of the army on the side, also said: "Besides, Kebi can garrison 100,000 troops on the side. If the two armies fight together, our army will always have the upper hand. But if our army retreats without fighting and shows weakness to the allies, we will be invited to attack in the west in the future. Kebi Neng will no longer respond, so what if there is a fighting chance?"
Seeing that everyone was speechless, Cao Cao slowly said: "Although it is risky for our troops to join forces, the Western bandits are also hasty in their attack. Neither the enemy nor we have a plan. All we have to do is courage and strategy. It is difficult to attack Pingcheng at the moment. No less, but our army is still a large number of soldiers. It is just that Liu Bei has the advantage and I have the people. "Mencius" says: 'The location is not as good as the people', so our army has a 60% chance of victory." These words stabilized the morale of the army. , so all the troops withdrew from the siege of Pingcheng and stationed themselves at Baishan Mountain and the east of Xiaodonghai to prepare for battle.
Cao Cao immediately informed Ke Bineng and went ten miles south to personally meet Qu Yi's troops. As soon as they met, he held the sleeve of Qu Yi, smiled at his entourage and said: "Liu Bei has Qu Junhou but can't use it. It can be said that God favors me!" The great ancestor gained Han Xin, the great ancestor gained Geng Yan!"
Qu Yi was quite uneasy at first, thinking that he would be punished by Cao Cao if he withdrew his troops privately. Unexpectedly, Cao Cao seemed not to care, and he couldn't help being greatly moved. He immediately praised Cao Cao: "Chen Chong is incompetent in governance, and Liu Bei is unclear about rewards and punishments. He is really not as good as Ming Gong." There is no trace of it. Now I am forced by him to return to the sect of Ming Gong. I will definitely be the vanguard. Liu Bei, the leader of the army, will serve as an offering to Ming Gong."
After saying this, Cao Cao laughed and immediately led Qu Yi to see his princes. Unexpectedly, as soon as he turned around, Qu Yizheng saw Ju Shou, Shen Pei and others standing aside. Both of them looked extremely embarrassed. He didn't know whether they were laughing or scolding. In the end, he could only hide all his emotions, nodded hastily, and pretended to be mutual. Saw it. As for the rest of the generals, they went up to greet him happily, and then everyone had a banquet in the tent, pushing glasses to each other and asking each other, how lively it was.
Late that night, Qu Yi returned to the camp. Seeing that he was drunk, Qu Guang asked someone to remove his armor and remove his stomach. He also ordered sobering soup and cold water. After Qu Yi changed into civilian clothes and washed up, Qu Guang asked if they would meet today. situation. Qu Yi thought for a moment and then quickly said: "Cao Mengde treated me quite considerately, but those people in Jushou looked at me and kept silent. They just kept drinking. Apparently they didn't forget the past. We want to base ourselves on the Eastern Dynasty, and I'm afraid It’s still difficult.”
This was what Qu Guang was worried about. He asked in a low voice: "Do you want to give some gifts to Ju Shijun and the others? After all, they are high in the Jiuwu and have a high position. If they don't make friends, they may cause trouble for you in the future. It’s hard to bear.”
Unexpectedly, Qu Yi didn't take it seriously at all. Even though he washed his face, he was still drunk. He shook his head and lay down on the couch, waving his hand for Qu Guang to go out, and said casually: "Is there anyone I can make friends with? A real man relies on his own bravery to establish himself in the world. I, Qu Yi, can control things, so I am still afraid of them?"
Just as Qu Guang was about to say more, he saw Qu Yi covered up his quilt and continued to murmur: "I will be the first to ascend in this battle. If I win, I will be the general of the front. If I don't win, I will die. If I die, I will die. Mother must talk too much... ..." In the end, the words in Qu Yi's mouth gradually became inaudible. Qu Yi turned over unconsciously, and his snoring started to rise and fall like thunder. He was obviously in a deep sleep.
But as the coach, Cao Cao did not rest at this moment. After drinking, his head was very dizzy, but his consciousness was still very clear. This made him not fall asleep immediately. Instead, he opened his tent and meditated on the arrangements for this battle while blowing the mountain breeze from the south. Although he was determined to fight a decisive battle with the Western Army, he was not as confident as he said in the military meeting.
If it were an ordinary war, if he and Liu Bei and Chen Chong each led 20,000 people against each other, Cao Cao would be confident that he would win. But when the scale of the war reaches this point: the same battlefield is about to be crowded with more than 500,000 soldiers and 300,000 horses; there are hundreds of generals responsible for commanding the battle; the length of the battle line is more than 30 miles. , it would take nearly half an hour for the commander's battle orders to be conveyed to the entire army on horseback. Thinking of this, Cao Cao felt a kind of fear in his heart. He had a feeling that the outcome of the battlefield might not depend on him.
This thought made Cao Cao unable to sleep, and he meditated in the drunken night. He read the map alone with a candle, tapped the table with the lottery, and thought about what kind of arrangement he should use to win.
It was only at midnight that he had a rough idea of this idea, but it was too late at this time. Concubine Ji who was serving in the tent came over to persuade him to rest. After all, Cao Cao had an old ailment and often stayed up late for a long time. There is a seizure.
Cao Cao did feel a little tired, but before his plan was completed, he told this concubine: "I will sleep for two hours. When you get to Yin, wake me up. Don't delay." After that, he got dressed and sunk. Go to sleep.
At this time, he had a dream. In the dream, he was walking in a vast white fog. He was walking aimlessly in the fog. After what seemed like a long period of time, he vaguely heard someone chanting sutras and took a few steps closer in that direction. He felt that the tone was too frustrating, more like a Taoist priest summoning spirits.
But he still walked forward, and gradually came to a piece of red light. The sound of chanting suddenly stopped. A voice came from the other side of the red light and asked him: "Why did you stop?"
Cao Cao didn't know what he meant, so he had to move forward. He looked around across the red light, only to find that there was nothing in the red light, only a faint smell of gunpowder smoke floating around. Cao Cao felt a little uncomfortable, but he couldn't explain why. When he was sitting on the ground to rest, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from the distance, approaching from far away.
Cao Cao first saw the outline of the horse, and then the figure of the knight on its back. He stood up and greeted him, but the knight did not make any move in return, and the horse stopped in front of him. Cao Cao felt surprised and looked closer. He was shocked to find that the knight on his back was his eldest son, Cao Ang.
"Zixiu!" Cao Cao exclaimed, trying to grab his hand, but surprisingly found that he missed his hand. The eldest son looked at him with sad eyes and remained silent.
"Zixiu!" Cao Cao shouted. When he opened his eyes, he woke up from his dream and realized that he was in front of a dark military tent. Concubine Ji looked at him from the side and handed him a bowl of hot soup with great concern.
Cao Cao took the hot soup and took a sip, feeling a little more awake. Looking at the sky outside the tent again, he found that the sky was already a bit white, which made him frown slightly. He put down the bowl and asked Concubine Ji, "What time is it now?"
Concubine Ji raised her eyebrows and glanced at him, then cautiously replied: "It's already a quarter of an hour."
Cao Cao immediately stood up from the bed and scolded her: "I didn't ask you to wake me up in Yinshi, why did it take so long?!"
Concubine Ji felt aggrieved, and she fell on the ground and replied softly: "Marshal, I called the marshal when I was in Yin. But the marshal was sleeping soundly and did not wake up. I asked the guards if there was anything urgent, and they said that the marshal today Nothing happened, so I thought that the marshal usually slept very lightly and didn't get any rest. It would be better to take a rest today, so I didn't call him again."
Unexpectedly, Cao Cao's face became extremely gloomy, and he said, "Are you supposed to speculate on whether I am in trouble or not? You just follow my orders, and you dare to make the decision for me?"
After saying that, he waved his hand to call Man Chong, pointed to the trembling concubine Ji on the ground, and said to Man Chong: "This woman violated military law. You drag her to the camp gate, kill her with a stick in front of everyone, and then hang her from the building to show the public, and also Pass the message to all the ministries and let them take a warning."
Man Chong responded in a deep voice, and then called two soldiers to pull Concubine Ji out of the tent. Even though Concubine Ji cried like rain and begged for mercy on the ground, Cao Cao and Man Chong turned a blind eye. Within two quarters of an hour, Man Chong came forward. He came to report back to Cao Cao and said: "The arrangements have been made. Does the marshal want to arrange a new concubine?"
Cao Cao was looking at the map at this time, and quickly waved his hand and said: "Do as you like, the main thing is that I won't do stupid things."
After Man Chong bowed and left, Cao Cao wanted to continue his plan from last night, but he couldn't concentrate and unconsciously recalled the dream he had just had. He thought, could it be that Zixiu came to give me a warning in my dream? Or is he protecting me under the Nine Springs? Is it a good omen or a bad omen? Cao Cao was not sure.
Just as his thoughts were spinning, a message came from the soldiers outside the door, saying that the Western Army's forward had crossed the Kouquan River and appeared forty miles south of Pingcheng. It would arrive at Pingcheng this afternoon, and the main force would also arrive in two days. Arrive at a later date.
Cao Cao's nerves suddenly became tense. He placed some black chess pieces on the east side of the map to represent the Eastern Army, and some white chess pieces on the west side of the map to represent the Western Army. The distance between the two sides was no more than a palm's length.
He thought with some relief that this unprecedented battle was finally about to begin.
