When he heard that Duan Wu had been captured, Cao Cao immediately smiled, cupped his hands and congratulated: "Congratulations to your grace, congratulations to your grace!"
Tong Guan waved his hand and said with a smile: "Duan Wu is not good at writing or martial arts, just because he is Wang Qing's brother-in-law. He has a reputation as a thief chieftain, but in fact he is just a straw bag. He is like a quail. What's the point? gratifying?"
Cao Cao's smile did not diminish, and he said happily: "Young general, I heard that there are those who have great luck in the world. They are in line with the will of heaven and the hearts of the people. They are the ones loved by heaven and earth. People of this generation will succeed in everything they do. Whatever they want to achieve, they will achieve nothing. It cannot be reached. Now that Prime Minister En is about to return to Xijing, a key comes from heaven. Isn’t it a sign of unparalleled luck?"
Tong Guan was overjoyed after hearing this, thinking that all his dreams have come true in these years. Even if there are some twists and turns, everyone is happy in the end. He nodded repeatedly: "I know that destiny is in Song Dynasty after all. Take pity on me, Tong Guan Gu Zhong. Therefore, I bless a certain family!"
After a moment of joy, he asked curiously: "Xiao Wu, why do you think Duan Wu's idiot is the key to Xijing?"
Cao Cao smiled and talked eloquently: "Why was Duan Wu captured in a fortified city? From the general's point of view, it must have been the day formation that killed the Huaixi thieves Xi Sheng and Xie Ning. The thieves were so brave that they were so brave There is no one under Duan Wu to support him. This person is afraid of being captured by the army and being controlled by Tian Hu, so he simply escapes from Xijing and hopes to escape far away."
Tong Guan listened to what he said clearly and nodded secretly, and then heard Cao Cao laugh and say: "Duan Wu is not someone who can convince people and win people's hearts. When his subordinates see his defeat, they will naturally turn against him. It is also appropriate to kidnap him to ask for rewards." There are some. However, he knows about this and I know about it, but how do I know about the thieves and soldiers in the city?"
Tong Guan clapped his hands and sighed: "Wonderful! Do you want to win his heart first and then let him lead the army into the city? If so, you have to act as soon as possible, otherwise the thieves will know that Duan Wu has escaped. It’s useless.”
Cao Cao smiled and said: "Thank you for your kindness!"
Tong Guan nodded, with a solemn expression and his eyes widened: "Come here, bring those two people up."
Not long after, several junior high school students pushed the two men into the commander's tent. They first pointed at a large five-flowered bun, and after entering the tent, they said exhaustedly: "This is Duan Wu."
Then he pointed to another man with a wretched face who had his hands tied behind his back and said: "This man claimed to be Duan Wu's confidant, and he captured Duan Wu and offered him as a sacrifice. We didn't know the truth of his words, so we tied his hands with one shot."
The man knelt down quickly, not recognizing who was who, and just kowtowed: "Little man Niu Si, I have seen two generals."
Tong Guan looked at Cao Cao, meaning go ahead, collect his heart first, and break his city quickly!
Cao Cao nodded slightly and shouted: "That's it, Niu Si, raise your head and speak, and tell me how you captured Duan Wu?"
Niu Si raised his head tremblingly and forced a smile on his face: "General Rong, this villain is a close friend of Duan Wu, the dog thief. The dog thief was afraid of the generals' power, so he took a few of us to escape. Go out of the city, and then do this, do this, and so on..."
After he told what happened, Cao Cao's face turned cold and he shouted: "Since he is one of his own, but he captured his master in exchange for reward, it shows that he is also an unfaithful and unjust person!"
"You are wronged, General!" Niu Si was shocked and burst into tears: "The villain is originally from the Song Dynasty, so he is naturally loyal to the Song Dynasty. When the villain is beside the rebel, he seems to be his confidant, but in fact, he is just like the villain who is in Cao's camp. Guan Yunchang, who had his heart in the Han Dynasty, although he was trapped in a den of thieves, he still looked at the bright moon and never forgot the Han Dynasty, ah no, never forgot the Song Dynasty! Now that he knew that the heavenly soldiers had arrived, he specially captured the damn Cao Cao, ah no, Duan Five! Capture the damned Duan Wu and present it to the general."
Cao Cao nodded when he heard this and said calmly: "In this case, I have wronged you."
"He, he's wronged!" Duan Wu was scared to death, but when he heard that Cao Cao didn't seem to like Niu Si very much, he immediately cheered up:
You are such a rebellious boy, even if I die, I will drag you into the streets with me!
At that moment, he rolled around and cursed, revealing his old secrets one by one: "General, we did not force this guy to rebel. Not long after Wang Qing and I had just gone to Fangshan Luocao, we heard that Fangzhou officers and soldiers were killing each other. After becoming an official, his family rebelled, so he listened to Li Zhu's plan and went to lay the foundation for Fangzhou. Niu Si was originally a gangster in Fangzhou. He took advantage of the chaos and robbed houses and killed people on the street just because he opened the door to welcome Wang Qing. With meritorious service, he was allowed to join the gang. He is still in the Cao camp and his heart is in the Han Dynasty. Bah! He is also worthy of Guan Yunchang!"
Niu Si was shocked when he heard that, regardless of being in the commander's tent, he rushed forward and kicked Duan Wu - he only tied his hands, but Duan Wu was tied up, and immediately won a great victory, kicking Duan Wu and making him cry like a wolf.
The two junior high schools hurriedly stepped forward and pulled Niu Si away. Cao Cao sneered and said, "It turns out he is a thief who bites his comrades and wants to be a good person? Come on, pull him down and kill him for me."
Niu Si was shocked: "General, please spare your life, how about I dedicate all the rewards to you? Master, ah, you dog officer, but I am stupid, you still have to squeeze the oil out of the stone, how can you be willing to give me a large reward?" I’m wronged…”
The sound faded away for a moment.
Duan Wu sat up and laughed loudly: "Okay! What a good death! You are a heartless and unjust thief! That's all. Although Duan could not avoid being chopped into pieces, seeing him die before he died, he was willing... …”
Although the words were spoken harshly, when I thought of the pain of those 3,600 cuts, I couldn't help but tremble all over and burst into tears. Suddenly I turned over and knelt down, kowtowed and said, "Master, you are merciful. You are so merciful. Please give me a happy life with one knife." , Duan Wu has become a ghost, and he still appreciates the kindness of the two masters."
Cao Cao chuckled and said, "Who said I want to chop you up?"
These five words floated into Duan Wu's ears, and it was like listening to fairy music, and his ears were suddenly bright. Suddenly, his face was full of surprise and he looked at Cao Cao eagerly: "General, what did you say? My short-lived brother Section 2, the spies reported back, 3,600 swords, not a single sword less."
Cao Cao shook his head and said: "When it comes to punishment, since ancient times, I have only asked about the chief criminal. Although you are also a thieves chief, you are not like Wang Qing. The reason why your brother is severely punished is because he was mad and rude and insulted my commander! If If we don't deal with him severely, who among the Song Dynasty soldiers will be willing to do so? If you are so cowardly, have you insulted my commander-in-chief?"
"No! Unjustly accused! Impossible!" Duan Wu shook his head and almost shook it off: "The villain has worshiped Marshal Tong since he was a child. When he was a good citizen in the countryside, he would get angry every time he drank. He wished he could Marshal Tong serves as a pawn and goes with him to kill those summer dogs. My brother is a very brave dog, so Duan Er and I have turned against each other and punched him several times."
"So you actually have the heart to serve the commander!" Cao Cao pretended to be amazed, then shook his head and sighed: "What a pity! Duan Wu, if you hadn't abandoned the army and fled privately, you would still be the leader of the rebels. Climb up and say , if you sacrifice Xijing City, your merits will be redeemed. Not to mention Ling Chi, you may be exempted from the death penalty. I wonder, you can really serve as a general under the commander-in-chief."
Duan Wu looked in disbelief: "How is it possible? Rebellion is the crime of punishing the Nine Clan..."
Cao Cao smiled sympathetically: "Hey, the main culprit is Wang Qing, and it's not you Duan Wu. You should know him, right? This man sacrificed Nanfeng. Not only did he not be held responsible for participating in the rebellion, the commander-in-chief even sealed him personally. He became the commander of the Yellow River Navy. Besides, among the ten military envoys of this dynasty, which one did not rebel first by seizing the mountain? After recruiting peace, he received a large salary and great salary."
Duan Wu was stunned, with a look of remorse on his face. He suddenly raised his head, his eyes urgent and determined: "General! General, let me go. I will lead my own troops and open the city to surrender!"
Cao Cao shook his head and said: "Now in the city, the Jin thieves have more soldiers and horses than you. Niu Wen's loyal soldiers have many generals. You are just a lonely man. Whether you have strong generals under you or not, don't let him kill you before the city is opened."
Duan Wu felt right after hearing this, and immediately became stunned. He was not a wise man to begin with, but at this moment of life and death, he suddenly felt blessed. He rolled up and landed at Cao Cao's feet, crawling and saying: "General, please come with me." My troops and horses will enter Xijing with me, and the south city of Xijing will be all mine. There is not a single Jin traitor. With Duan Wu’s face, it will be easy to get in and out."
Cao Cao turned to look at Tong Guan. Tong Guan's face was full of joy and he nodded repeatedly.
At this time, it was the fourth watch. Cao Cao ordered his troops and divided them into three groups: Yuan Lang, Teng Si, and Teng Kan led one group, which went around to garrison outside the north gate; Du Bo, Zhu Jing, and Liu Yuan led one group, which went around to the west gate. garrisoned outside; Cao Cao personally led 10,000 troops with Xu Guanzhong, Xiao Jiasui, Lu Junyi, and Sun An, and took Duan Wu to the south gate to enter the city.
As for the east gate, Tong Guan led the army to garrison it.
Just talking about Cao Cao's journey, his men were dressed in soft war, and his horses picked up luan bells. Taking advantage of the moonlight like frost and snow on the ground, he bypassed the city wall far away, came to the south city, and rushed to the city gate.
When the defenders on the city saw the large group of soldiers coming, they immediately beat gongs and drums and shouted. Duan Wu was shocked. He rode a horse alone and galloped to the bottom of the city. He shouted: "Why are you making such a fuss? Duan Wu has lost his mind and gone crazy?" Where are the dogs and birds? You can't fucking recognize me?"
A general in the city heard what he heard and hurriedly gathered many lanterns to look down. After a closer look, it turned out to be Duan Wu!
When the general saw Duan Wu, he was surprised and happy, and said in surprise: "Ah, the fifth master is back. Fifth master, didn't you abandon us and go alone?"
After Duan Wu heard this, he remembered that he had asked this person to open the city gate for him before. His face instantly turned red, and he gritted his teeth and said: "Don't talk nonsense and disturb the morale of our army. The commander went out of the city to personally receive the leader." Reinforcements, now that the reinforcements have arrived, why don’t you open the city quickly?”
Coincidentally, Duan Gou'er, the side general, was originally a member of the Duan family. He was the one who followed Luo Cao to Fangshan to kill him. Although he was old, he was not popular, so he only served as a side general in the army. This is why Duan Wu is called the fifth master, but it is different from the second master Duan Er.
The next time the dog happily opened the city gate, Cao Cao led his army to rush in. Just as he was waiting for the order to seize the city gate, he heard the dog laugh and say: "Fifth Master, where are the reinforcements coming now? It must be you. After surrendering the Song army, is it right to lead the Song army to capture Xijing?"
Duan Wu's surprise was no small matter, but Cao Cao asked curiously: "You know that we are Song soldiers, and we still open the city gate?"
Duan Gouer smiled and said: "What about the Song army? Isn't it better than the Jin army? But you don't know about this general. Those old Xiers know that the King of Chu has been defeated. They all have very tricky faces. They will ridicule and humiliate them when they meet. We Huaixi people, if we retaliate even slightly, we will fight with our fists. Damn it, we are all rebels. They seem to be a head above us. General, do you think that to be a rebel, you have to be a low-level rebel? Are you not wronged? The Fifth Master is unwilling to make the decision for the brothers. Instead of being bullied by them for nothing, it would be better for everyone to follow the Fifth Master and surrender to the Song army. After all, we are also from the Song Dynasty."
Cao Cao laughed when he heard this: "Brother, I understand. Since you have such thoughts, go and gather your own soldiers and horses, hand over their weapons, and wait in the camp to be punished."
Duan Gou'er shook his head after hearing this and said: "General, it's better to let us be the vanguard. Let's go to fight Lao Xi'er together. At least we can give some credit to the brothers, offset the merits, clear the name of the thieves, and go home to be good citizens. .”
Cao Cao became more and more surprised after hearing this, nodded and said: "That's all, if you have such ability, not only will you be punished for your merits, but I will also ask for rewards for your merits."
Duan Gou'er shook his head again and said: "If there is really merit, then it will all be attributed to the Fifth Master. His sins are serious, so he must have more merit."
After Duan Wu heard this, he couldn't help but be moved and choked up: "Oh, dog, you are so loyal. I, Fifth Master, have always been slow to treat you."
Duan Gou'er said with a naive smile: "What are you talking about? When I was five years old, there was a severe drought and my parents died of hunger. If it hadn't been for the third lady asking me to go to Duan's house to make her a horse, and forcing you and the second master to eat steamed buns. You fed me as fodder, but the bones have been chewed by wild dogs long ago. Don’t you want to repay this kindness?"
Cao Cao secretly blushed, frowned and said: "Duan Wu, you have such loyal subordinates, so why did you take four wolf-hearted people to escape with you?"
Duan Wu was so ashamed that he lowered his head and murmured: "It's just because Duan Gou'er's words are often unpleasant to listen to, so my brother and I don't like him."
Cao Cao smiled and said: "I guess your sister likes him."
Duan Gou'er sighed and said, "The young lady treated me very well at first, but later she was going to marry the King of Chu. I said that guy looked like a pretty boy and was not reliable, so the young lady didn't want to pay attention to me."
Xiao Jiasui shook his head and sighed: "Good words are bitter, but loyal words are harsh to the ears. Since ancient times, if a king has dissatisfied ministers, his country will not be destroyed; if a father has dissatisfied sons, his family will not be destroyed. He has such loyal servants but does not know how to treat them well. This shows that the Duan family has ended up in this situation." also."
Xu Guanzhong, Lu Junyi and others also sighed.
Cao Cao said: "That's all, since Duan Gou'er has such a loyal heart, I will help you! You lead the troops forward to fight, and my people will cover you later."
Duan Gou'er nodded happily. At this time, many Huaixi thieves heard the gongs and rushed around. When they saw the Song army, they exclaimed in unison and came to fight. Duan Gou'er ran up the city wall, raised his arms and shouted: " Brothers, please wait a moment. Listen to what my younger brother said. We all rebelled with the King of Chu. Some of them were sincere and some were false. But now that the King of Chu has been killed by the army, we will bear the name of rebels and have a hard time returning home. At present, There are only two ways, so before you take action, let’s choose one first.”
Some people shouted: "Is it Duan Gou'er? Are you asking us to surrender to the army? You have forgotten that the government has caused us so much suffering."
Duan Gouer sighed: "Back then, my parents were starved to death, and the government robbed the family of the only grain they had to pay for land tax. The government is hateful, don't I know? But in the whole world, where is the way for the poor to survive? I I don’t ask you to surrender, I just ask you to choose the first way. King Chu is gone and he continues to rebel with King Jin. We are not from his hometown. You know how Lao Xier bullies us these days. Therefore, If it is a difficult battle to fight to the death, we must go first. If we choose this path, it is inevitable, but we will be bullied on weekdays and die in battle. Please don't regret it."
After saying this, all the Huaixi thieves fell silent.
Xu Guanzhong whispered in Lao Cao's ear: "This dog is a rare talent. It's a pity that Wang Qing and others have no eyesight and don't know how to reuse him."
Xiao Jiasui also made no secret of his admiration, nodded and said: "This boy is extremely talented, he is not an ordinary person."
Cao Cao nodded and said, "Let's wait and see what he does."
But I heard Duan Gou'er say again: "The second way is to surrender the officers and soldiers, and everyone goes to kill the Jin thieves, clear their name as thieves with meritorious service, and return home to become good citizens."
After hearing this, someone shouted: "Aren't you being oppressed by the government again?"
The dog sighed and said: "Fish eat shrimps, and shrimps eat mud. If you don't want to serve the people, then you become a soldier and earn fame with one sword and one gun. Besides, the court may not want to see the chaos caused by King Chu. I'll watch it." At least in the next few years, I, the people of Huaixi, will be treated kindly. As for the future, can you think so far ahead?"
The man laughed and said, "What the hell, I'm so hungry. I just want to eat soup cakes tomorrow."
When the thieves in Huaixi heard this, they all laughed.
Lao Cao suddenly burst into tears and said loudly: "Huaixi men, follow me to kill the thieves today. If you don't die, I will discipline you tomorrow to eat enough soup cakes and meat in every bowl!"
The group of thieves in Huaixi were stunned at first, then cheered loudly, and countless men shouted: "I said I had meat and soup cakes earlier, and I went to kill the Jin thieves earlier, why are you talking so much nonsense!"
All the thieves jumped up one after another, waving their swords and guns and shouting in unison: "Kill the Jin thieves, kill the Jin thieves and eat soup cakes!"
The tide generally surged towards the ground of Jinzhong Army.
Cao Cao couldn't help himself for a moment. He pulled Xu Guanzhong and said in tears: "Guanzhong, you don't need to fight this battle. You go to Tong Guan immediately and ask him to order the Huotou Army to prepare enough soup cakes, and every bowl must have meat." Three taels!"
The real saying goes: Don’t laugh at Mr. Cao’s tears. Passion has broken people’s hearts since ancient times. If you get two meals of soup and cakes, whoever lifts the sword will die.
I'm late going home, sorry. Two chapters combined into one are published today.
(End of chapter)
