October twenty-second.
The day after Lao Cao's letter was sent, a strange-style boat slowly moved upstream on the Lu River in the east of Lu County, which later became known as the North Canal.
"Jade Flag Pole" Meng Kang was ordered to station in Lu County, but he never lived in the city and only lived on the boat.
After hearing the announcement, he hurriedly went to the deck to take a look. He saw that the captain was about ten feet long, broad and short, with bamboo sails hung on the front and rear masts, and dozens of long red oars protruding from both sides, like the claws of a centipede.
Meng Kang was surprised at first, and then showed a look of ecstasy: "Isn't this a ship sent to Tang Dynasty? It must be the return of my brothers!"
He is a master of shipbuilding. At first glance, you can tell that this ship is a ship sent by Fuso to the Tang Dynasty. It is also the only ship among various types of ships in the Fuso Kingdom that can cross deep seas. However, the risk is relatively high - the capsize rate is 50%.
Now he took a small boat, threw it into the river, and jumped on it.
A sailor on the big ship had already handed him a pennant. Meng Kang took it, and with just one click, the boat went away like an arrow.
Not long after, they arrived in front of the Tang ship. Several familiar faces appeared on the deck, all showing joyful smiles: "Haha, brother Meng Kang, I miss you so much after we have been apart for so many years!"
Meng Kang's fair face was also full of joy, and he said excitedly: "Brother Tingyu, brother Sun An, brother Shi Qian, I want to hurt my brothers!"
As he spoke, he jumped up, grabbed the side of the ship with both hands, turned over, stomped on the deck twice, and asked curiously: "This broken ship is very dangerous, how do you get back on it?"
Shi Qian smiled and said: "Wang Shangshu and Gao Shilang came with two good ships. Brother Guanzhong wanted to cross the sea to strike gold one day, so he stayed in Fusang and asked others to imitate him. The wind and waves have been limited recently, so he sailed in Fusang Kingdom. The boat is coming."
Meng Kang took a look and saw that Xu Guanzhong and Arich were not there. Instead, it was His Highness Fuso Naginata, Naiko, and Double Swordswoman Kleina, standing pretty on the boat. When Meng Kang looked at him, they all bowed and said with a smile: "Flower man, long time no see."
Meng Kang had not heard of this nickname given by the Fusang people for a long time. At this moment, his face turned red and he cupped his fists and said, "I have met my two sisters-in-law."
Sun An said with a simple and honest smile: "Guanzhong and Arich are staying in Fusang. I will tell you in detail when I meet my brother."
Meng Kang said: "In that case, I will take the helm and go to see my brother together."
Immediately, he ordered the navy troops under his command to perform their respective duties and personally took the helm. They drove the Tang boat up the river until they arrived at the dock outside Youzhou City. Everyone disembarked and entered the city.
Lao Cao was discussing with other generals what to do next when he heard the news that Sun An and others had returned. He was overjoyed and jumped up and hurried to the door to pick him up. When Lao Cao realized his foresight, he laughed and said: "Brothers, I want to be my brother. !”
When Sun An and the others saw Cao Cao, tears welled up in their eyes. They all rushed to him and bowed down and said: "After my brother passed away, the younger brothers missed me every day. The two former kings and ministers arrived and talked about the past events in detail. Only then did we know about my brother." He has also done earth-shattering things and won many heroes from the south of the Yangtze River. I just wish I had not participated in it."
Cao Cao quickly helped him up and said: "If I don't have you watching Fusang for me, how can I go south with peace of mind? This time for my brother to go north, the cause to be done is even greater, but the three of you came at the right time! Guanzhong and Arich Where’s the brother?”
While they were talking, Lin Chong and others arrived, and when they saw him, they also made love to each other. Lin Chong smiled and said, "Brother, this is not the place to talk. Why don't you sit down and talk in detail."
Cao Cao nodded repeatedly, immediately held his hand, and returned to the living room together. Lao Cao turned his eyes to Kleina, and he had already noticed that her figure had become a little plumper, and her expression was gentle. He couldn't help but smile and said: "Sister, you are the same as grandson." Are you getting married? As a congratulation to my brother, I will make it up to you later."
Kleina's face turned red and she was as blessed as a daughter of the Han family. She smiled and said, "My younger sister is not as polite as my elder brother. In my heart, my younger sister really wants a good horse!"
Hu Sanniang had never seen a red-haired and blue-eyed woman before. Her eyes had not left her eyes for a moment since she came in. She also saw that her pronunciation and pronunciation were just like those of a Han Chinese. She couldn't help but come closer and said, "It's not easy to get a horse. This Youzhou horse is so good." It’s quite a lot, I’ll accompany you to pick out a good one later.”
Cao Cao pointed and said: "Two girls, this is my brother Zhuo Jing, whose surname is Hu and his maiden name is Sanniang. Sanniang, these are Kleina and Chouzi, the wives of Sun An and Tingyu respectively."
Kleina and Suozi hurriedly bowed to see each other, and Suozi said sweetly: "Brother and sister-in-law can't favor one over the other. She wants a good horse, and my little sister wants it too."
The Fuso horse is as big as a dog. When Tuozi captured Luan Tingyu, he was very happy when he snatched his horse. Later, the two got married. Luan Tingyu was bigger, so he naturally gave him a ride. Now that I heard that there are many good horses here, I couldn't help it. Take the opportunity to ask for it.
Sanniang saw that her skin was like snow, her eyes were narrow and her nose was narrow, her waist was long and her legs were long, especially the rabbit ears she wore. She was very cute and she liked her. She held her hand and smiled and said, "They are all my girls, so treat her like a natural." .”
She couldn't help but look at Kleina's long and narrow swords: "My sister also uses double swords, but this knife is uniquely tight..."
The three of them are all very beautiful, and they find each other very pleasing to the eye, and they can't help but fall in love with each other. They are also good at martial arts, and have bold temperaments. They have become familiar with each other after just a few words, and they chatted together.
The women held hands and went to the side to talk. Cao Cao and others took their seats. Sun An said: "Brother Haojiao learned that Wang and Gao brought letters from my brother earlier. I was waiting for Ben to return, but I was worried that they were new here. , the takeover was not smooth for a while, so we discussed returning in batches - Guanzhong and Arich stayed there for the time being, just in time to supervise the Fusang people to build ships according to my Dengzhou style, in preparation for crossing the sea to strike gold in the future. The three of me know that my brother is here When it’s time to employ people, come and listen to them first.”
Cao Cao nodded after hearing this: "You are right. After all, Fusang's customs and system are different from those of China. Guanzhong is in charge, which is more secure."
Sun An also detailed the events of conquering the nations and training troops in Fusang. Most of these events were led by Xu Guanzhong and were naturally organized.
When he had finished speaking, Shi Qian's eyes were gurgling. He looked around and saw Hu Sanniang chatting happily with the two girls. He didn't pay attention to this. He quickly took out a thick letter, covered it with his body, and quietly handed it to Cao Cao. .
When Cao Cao saw that he was being cunning, he immediately knew that the letter was not worth mentioning. He coughed, took it calmly, hid it in his sleeve, pretended to go to the toilet, and got out.
I found a place where no one was and read the letter, but it was written by Fujiwara Akiko, the Queen Mother of Fuso.
The letter stated that she had safely given birth to a son a few months ago. He was very strong and named Takemu. When he was only one year old, he would succeed his brother and be crowned "Emperor Chumu".
Among them is a portrait of Wu Mu painted by Zhangzi himself. This empress dowager was good at calligraphy and painting, and the images she painted were lifelike. I saw that the baby was very naive, and her eyebrows and eyes indeed looked a bit like Lao Cao.
Lao Cao looked at it carefully and couldn't help laughing. Looking down, he saw that the paper was full of longing. Between the lines, there was the Fusang woman's tactful and eager mood.
Sentences such as "Your Zhangzi looks at the moon every night, and can't help but think that the moon in Song Dynasty should be just as beautiful tonight." There are many sentences.
After reading it, Lao Cao couldn't help but feel nostalgic when he thought of the time the two had spent together. He thought to himself: This woman is very knowledgeable and has made great contributions. If she has time in the future, she might as well invite her to her side to comfort her. I missed her a lot.
He also made up his mind that in the next two days, he would take advantage of Hu Sanniang's unpreparedness, write a detailed letter of reply, and then select a boatful of Youzhou's treasures and native products, and send them to Fusang with the boat to comfort her.
After all, although there have been many women since I awakened in this world, this woman is the only one who truly has such "unique charm". How can I forget it so easily?
With that "unique charm" in my mind, I walked back to the hall and couldn't help but glance at Du Bo, feeling a little regretful in my heart——
He originally intended to take a look at Princess Wei's appearance, but met Hu Sanniang by chance on the way, but did not succeed. Unexpectedly, when Du Chu learned that Princess Tianshou had fallen in love with Lin Chong, he immediately ran to find Hu Sanniang to kill her.
Hu Sanniang consciously broke her promise, so she used what Lao Cao said to prevaricate: "Your brother said that you are just greedy for other people's beauty. Just find someone with better beauty for you. For example, the princess of Yelu Chun is both beautiful and virtuous. , and he is a descendant of Khitan, and he is just the right age..."
After hearing this, Du Bo believed her and took a chance to sneak out and take a peek at Xiao Pu's appearance. He was so shocked that he didn't know who he had listened to. The next day, he grabbed a handful of wild flowers and openly went to woo her.
The wise woman Xiao Pu did not reject her fiercely, but she only said: "You are already a wife, how can you match your beloved? You are a warrior, so why worry about not getting a good wife?"
However, how could Du Bo see such a good person card? Wu Mi San Dao fell in love with her even more. Within a few days, everyone in the city knew that Du Bo, the general of the West Wind Army, wanted to seize Yelu Chun's wife.
Lao Cao is a good man after all. Although he likes the charm of young women, if he wants a woman, where can he not have Wan Qian? No matter what, I wouldn't get involved with what my brother is interested in. I just occasionally dream about it at midnight, and I can't help but feel a little regretful.
Just as he was daydreaming, he suddenly heard Luan Tingyu shout: "I have been in Fusang for more than a year, and my bones have become weak. Now I am fighting with the Liao dog!"
But after listening to Lin Chong introduce everyone's achievements since the landing across the sea, I yearned for it and couldn't help but shout.
Cao Cao came back to his senses and chuckled: "I don't have to worry about fighting without you. Before you come, we will discuss the next steps. Now that you three are here, I will have greater control."
Lin Chong said happily: "Could it be that my brother has a plan?"
Lao Cao nodded and said: "It's nothing more than the words 'War between the South and the West'. If Yelu Chun, Xiao Qian and others had not defeated Tong Guan, they would have naturally returned to the army to fight to the death with me. Now he has occupied Hebei On the ground, there is no confidence to defend You Yan in front of the Jin people, I am afraid they are using my West Wind Army as a buffer."
When all the generals heard him talk about military affairs, they all listened attentively.
As Lao Cao unfolded the map, he smiled and said: "Now that he wants to deal with me, I will deal with him! My reply letter has hinted to him that we were originally killed by the Song Dynasty. Let him guess me. Is it Tian Hu’s remnant party or Sheng Gong’s old party?”
Shi Bao smiled and said: "If you put it this way, in the future fight, Li Shuai and I will go into battle, tell our names, and give him many things to think about."
Cao Cao said: "That's what I asked Niu Wenzhong to support Wang Yuan and others. If you show up again later, he may speculate that Tian Hu and the remnants of Sheng Gong have joined forces."
He added: "In short, if he is willing to exchange hostages, then exchange them with him and return his wives and families. According to Yang Weizhong and Wang Yuan, the Song generals captured by the Liao people were probably Dong Ping and Zhang Qing, these two are old friends with me, so it would be good if they could save their lives."
When Du Bo heard this, his expression changed drastically, and he couldn't help shouting "ah".
Lao Cao glanced at him and said angrily: "The worthy daughter Xiao Pu will not be included in the exchange list. She will be treated like Princess Tianshou."
Lin Chong and Du Bo looked at each other. Lin Chong blushed, but Du Bo smiled evilly.
Guan Sheng frowned and said, "Brother, what if the Liao people pretend to be with me and come back to attack?"
Hu Yanzhuo said: "Aren't there Wang Yuan and Yang Weizhong in Fan Yang? Although these two soldiers are not many, they are capable of fighting. Without Tong Guan's random command, they can still defend a county seat, not to mention the iron The dragonfly has horns with him."
Cao Cao smiled and said: "Just like this, the Liao soldiers dare to go back. If they resist for a while, they will have their own reinforcements. I will leave four, Lin Chong, Hu Yanzhuo, Shan Shiqi, and Tang Bin, with five hundred tiger cavalry and You You." Ten thousand soldiers from the state will guard Youshun for me, and I have Li Jun as my backup, so I will be safe."
"As for the others!" Cao Cao took a breath and placed a little more emphasis on the northwest of Youzhou on the map: "Follow me to attack Changping County, then capture Juyong Pass, divide the troops into two groups, and take Gui and Ruzhou first!"
After hearing that they wanted to attack Jiuzhou behind the mountain, everyone was very excited and accepted the order in unison.
The next day, Lao Cao led his army out of Youzhou, with 3,800 elite veterans and more than 10,000 newly recruited Youzhou troops under his command, and headed straight for Changping County.
Changping County is located northwest of Youzhou City, fifty miles away. When it was established in the Western Han Dynasty, it was known as the "Mir royal family, the most important place in the world". To this day, I have heard that Youzhou, Shunzhou and Tanzhou have all been lost. The two forces of Xifeng and Juhua are overwhelming, and the soldiers and civilians in the city are in panic all day long.
In the evening, Cao Cao's troops arrived, but instead of attacking the city, they set up camp five miles outside the city - Youzhou Daku has a lot of weapons and weapons. Cao Cao deliberately brought many extra camp flags and set up the big camp, which made the guard jump with fear. , thinking that the enemy would be at least fifty thousand in number.
At that moment, the city gate was tightly closed, and Pegasus was sent to Juyong Pass to report the news, asking the guards to come for reinforcements.
Except for the southeast, the other sides of his county are surrounded by high mountains and ridges. To the west, more than ten miles away, is the Great Wall Jundu Pass. After passing this pass, you will reach the land of Jiuzhou behind the mountains.
Juyong Pass began in the Qin Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, it was also known as Jimen Pass and Jundu Pass. It controlled Jundu Pass, one of the "Eight Passes of Taihang". The so-called "Eight Passes" were the eight chokepoints that crossed the Taihang Mountains. Cao Cao If you want to enter the Kyushu behind the mountains, this is the closest way.
In the commander's tent, the brothers were discussing matters. Hua Rong asked curiously: "Brother, I think the walls in this county are short and the soldiers are sparse. Why not break them down with a drum and rest in the city? Wouldn't it be convenient?"
Guan Sheng nodded and said: "Guan has the same intention. We are not in a hurry to take this county. We will wait for him to invite reinforcements from Juyongguan. Isn't it a waste of effort?"
Cao Cao smiled and said: "Brothers, I have only seen one but not the other. Is it easy to get along with me when I pass the world's most powerful pass? We are going on an expedition alone, with limited elites. If we cannot create a situation where the autumn wind sweeps away the fallen leaves, we will inevitably be controlled by others. Are you afraid? He asked for help, but my brother was asking him to ask for help!"
Everyone listened and thought thoughtfully. Cao Cao did not give in and directly ordered: "Xiang Chong, Li Gun, Bao Xu, Cao Zheng, the four of you are like this, like this, like this, Guan Sheng, Shi Bao, Xuanzan, Hao Siwen, you four are like this, like this! Sun An, Tingyu, you two are like this, like this..."
His voice was loud, and he issued orders one after another like a stream of water. After hearing this, everyone cheered up and said in unison: "Little brother, take orders!"
They each led their troops, quietly set up their own camp, then went out and sneaked into the surrounding mountains.
This is exactly what it is: The waves are rolling and the brothers are returning, the mountain wind is roaring and the heroes are flying. Don't say that the sky is dangerous and majestic. The more dangerous it is, the more famous and powerful it becomes.
(End of chapter)
