But what he said to Lao Cao cleared up Lao Zhong's doubts about the strategy and could have sent him away with peace of mind. However, in the end, he said something more and revealed his ambition a little, which shocked the old general to death.
Lao Cao stared at him for a moment. He couldn't help but feel guilty and secretly regretted: Hey, why do you think I need to talk so much? Even on his way to hell, he still had to worry about the Song family. If his eyes were so wide open, it would not look good to his brother...
He shook his head, stretched out his hand to touch it, and closed his eyes for Mr. Zhong, as if he was passing away peacefully.
Then he cleared his throat, took a breath of Dantian Qi, and cried loudly: "Old Zhong's strategy, Jin'ou is still in ruins, and the enemy chieftain has not been destroyed, why should Gongyuan leave so early!"
Everyone outside the door rushed in when they heard the cry. When they saw that the old man was gone, they couldn't help but sigh with sadness.
Souchong Jingluo's husband was filled with tears. He looked at Lao Cao and cried so much that snot came to his mouth. He couldn't help but be moved: This man has never known my brother. He is so sad. He must admire my brother's loyalty. It shows that he is truly a sincere gentleman in his heart. .
Holding back his tears, he used words to persuade Lao Cao: "Commander Wu, my brother lived to be seventy-two, and before he died, he saw that Xixia was about to be destroyed. This life has no regrets. Look at my brother's expression, how peaceful he is? Commander Wu, what's the matter? Broad embrace - the country is so powerful, so many major events still have to be decided by the military commander."
Cao Cao seemed to be moved by him, wiped his nose and tears, and said in a trembling voice: "The country has lost a handsome man, just like breaking a jade pillar. From now on, only we and others who work together can be able to reverse the difficult times."
Souchong nodded repeatedly.
At that time, Lao Cao sent an order to Gongsun Sheng to take charge of the mourning hall. In the hall, the high and low places were set up for Zhongshi Dao, Zhou Tong, and even Ma Jin, Huang You, Qu Ke, Ma Zhong and other generals who died in the battle. The soldiers also wrote their names and surnames, and taught them how to enjoy sacrifices.
Because of the hot weather, the mourning hall was only set up for one day. It was convenient to find a good hill about ten miles east of Taiyuan to hide the wind and gather energy, with the left supporting the right butt, and the front facing the back. Jun Jiang, Zhou Dong and Zhong Shidao were buried separately.
However, it was Li Huai who made the decision to burn Ma Jin into ashes and take it with him personally, intending to hand it over to his brother Ma Yi in the future.
According to Li Huai: "Most of the people buried here belong to the Western Army family. All of them are either famous generals or heroes. Ma Jin was a thief and bandit. How can we share it with him? It's better to burn it and let me take it away."
He also left Gongsun Sheng in the city and performed a seven-day ritual to ward off disasters and resolve difficulties and transcend the spirits of the dead.
During these seven days, although Lao Cao was sitting here, everyone else made arrangements to set off one after another.
First, he sent five generals, Lin Chong, Hu Yanzhuo, Yao Xing, Hua Rong, and Li Huai, and ordered 10,000 soldiers and horses in the city and 2,000 Jishan cavalry to go to Yanzhou to support Li Xiaozhong.
Jiao Ting was sent to lead fifty men to protect An Daoquan and Shi Bao as they went to Yanmen Pass to recover from their injuries. When Shi Bao's injuries were better, he went to Yunzhou to help Guan Sheng.
When the seven-day sacrificial period is over, the Zhongshi Zhong and Han Cunbao are invited to lead the remaining 5,000 Western troops to join Lin Chong and others, and gather the remaining Song troops from all directions in the northwest to attack Xixia.
Lao Cao sent out all the people, leaving only more than a hundred elites with him. He took Hu Sanniang, Shi Qian, Shi Wengong, Gongsun Sheng, Dai Zong, and Guiyi Hu'er Zhang Liang to find a big boat and sail down the Fen River, straight into the Yellow River, and follow the current. Arrive at Tongguan.
Wang Wende, who stayed behind in Tongguan, was shocked when he saw Lao Cao arriving in a boat. He thought that his entire army had been wiped out. Only when Lao Cao explained what happened did he become happy: "Wonderful, the military commander is so majestic. In this way, the Western thieves will be defeated." The end is near."
Cao Cao nodded and said: "Yes, the northwest has been initially determined. Guarding Tongguan is useless. Wang Jiedu will follow me to Luoyang and the Baoguan family will return to Bianjing."
At present, only one partial general and five hundred soldiers were left to guard Tongguan. The remaining two thousand people and Wang Wende went straight to Luoyang.
On August 1, Lao Cao led the army back to Luoyang.
When Liu Yanqing learned about it, he hurriedly opened the city gate and brought Qiao Daoqing, Ling Zhen, and Zhang Jun to meet him happily: "Brother Wu, foolish brother looks at you like a stone every day, and today I finally see you return!"
The veteran winked and was about to talk to Lao Cao about something close to his heart. Suddenly, two princes, Su Wang Zhao Shu and Jing Wang Zhao Qi, came together. He immediately clasped his fists and said, "Brother is finally back. My royal brother is looking forward to you every day. Please hurry up, brother." Enter the palace to talk."
Liu Yanqing was embarrassed to speak, so he tugged on his clothes: "Brother, when you get out of the palace, I will take care of you in the house tonight."
Lao Cao nodded and smiled, and followed the two young princes away. On the way, he asked him: "In the past, when there were things to deal with in the palace, it was mostly Prince Yun who was busy running around. How did it trouble you two today?"
Those two young princes, you look at me, I look at you, with a wry smile. Zhao Shu looked around and whispered: "Father, your father ordered Kui Xiangyang to come to Xijing quietly, and privately led the third brother and his family to Zhenjiang."
Lao Cao's heart was moved, and he remembered that Qiao Daoqing had told him that among the children of the old official Zhao Ji, he actually did not like his eldest son Zhao Huan, and his favorite was his third son Zhao Kai. He often praised him: "I love you dearly."
Especially after Zhao Kai got the top prize in the examination, he was even more proud, and even disregarded his dignity and order and was granted the title of Taifu.
Lao Cao was also a very popular minister back then. Of course he knew that the emperor was still young and the prince was already strong. This has been a taboo for fathers and sons in the Tian family since ancient times.
Moreover, when Mr. Zhao abdicated the throne last time, he was frightened and confused, and wanted to push the prince to take the blame.
In fact, he was only forty years old, how could he be willing to retire so early? After staying in Zhenjiang for a while, I was pampered, and the fear that was so frightened in my throat slowly returned to my stomach, and I had some thoughts, which was really normal.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but lower his head to cover the light in his eyes.
Not long after, he entered the palace in Xijing and saw Zhao Huan, a minor official. There was no eunuch or maid around him. He was standing alone at the entrance of the hall, scratching his ears and cheeks like a monkey, jumping to look at him.
When Lao Cao saw it, he smiled secretly in his heart: The Zhao family father and son are like no one.
But with a respectful expression on his face, he smiled and clasped his fists and said: "Your Majesty, Wu's trip has fulfilled his mission. He conquered Xingqing Mansion on a thousand-mile expedition, defeated more than 100,000 coalition troops under Taiyuan City, Marshal Lou Shi of Jin Kingdom, and Fourth Prince Wu Shu After all the formations were executed, more than a thousand people led by the Xia leader fled in panic. Mr. Xiaozhong has already led his troops to pursue them. The destruction of the Xixia country is just around the corner."
There was a hint of surprise on Zhao Huan's face, but then he waved his hand and said hurriedly: "These are just trivial matters! My good brother, now the catastrophe of the collapse of the sky is right in front of us, my life is only hanging by a thread, everything depends on it." Brother, please help me."
Lao Cao looked surprised and concerned: "Oh? Your Majesty, I wonder where the trouble came from? Could it be that the Liao soldiers came to kill us?"
He banged his chest and made a gesture of indignation: "Don't worry, Your Majesty. With me here, even if the Liao dogs kill thousands of troops, Your Majesty will be safe."
"Oh! Brother!" Zhao Huan showed an excited look, took Lao Cao's hand and said: "You are truly a loyal man, full of loyalty! It's just that it's not the Liao people who are coming, but the Supreme Emperor..."
Cao Cao pretended to be surprised, widened his eyes and said, "Could it be that the emperor is driving the guests?"
Zhao Huan was interrupted several times, and he couldn't help but feel impatient, so he blurted out: "It would be better if it were like that!"
Then he saw the surprised look in Lao Cao's eyes and realized that he was losing his composure, so he quickly covered it up: "I, I didn't mean that, I meant... that's right! What I meant was that we will be emperors and receive support from the world, so we should be regarded as the emperor by the world. Safety is the first priority, even if one's own body dies, the world cannot be in chaos and the people are displaced. This is the way to be an emperor, do you think so, brother?"
Cao Cao praised: "Your Majesty's remarks show that the people of the country are in your heart, and you are the symbol of a truly wise king."
Zhao Huan couldn't help but feel proud when he heard his approval. Then he showed anger and said fiercely: "But the Supreme Emperor, he doesn't think so! Brother, you and I are worthy of brothers. In my private heart, I regard you as my elder brother. In business, I regard you as my elder brother." , I regard you as my butt, we brothers don’t talk in secret——”
Speaking of this, he suddenly looked at Zhao Shu and Zhao Qi suspiciously, and the two of them were frightened and said quickly: "Brother, we are of the same mind as you!"
Zhao Qi, the sixth child, even shouted: "The Emperor only loves the third brother in his heart. The last time I learned his calligraphy, I couldn't do it well. He said that I was 'painting tigers like dogs and walls made of dung and mud'. It was the emperor who interceded for me." , my heart is naturally with Brother Huang."
Zhao Huan was delighted when he heard this and said, "You are so old! You really know what is good and what is bad."
He did not avoid them: "Our brothers have something to say clearly. If Zhu Meng had not made people angry and provoked Fang La to rebel, how would the country's financial resources be scarce? But who is the one who reuses Zhu Meng and his son? As soon as Fang La was leveled, he immediately Who is it that sent someone to restart Hua Shi Gang?"
As he spoke, he raised his hand high and pointed his finger in the southeast direction - where Zhenjiang Mansion is located.
"Who else could trust Tong Guan's old dog and have an army of 200,000, and actually kill the remnants of Liao's army?"
"Who is it that actually came up with a stupid plan to let the Jin soldiers enter the border! By the way, who is the one who couldn't understand the alliance and credentials signed with the Jin Kingdom? He still has the nerve to boast of his outstanding literary talent. Do you think it's ridiculous? "
What should be said here is that the original intention of the Song-Jin covenant was that the sixteen states of Yanyun would be returned to the Song Dynasty, and the rest of the Liao lands would be returned to the Jin Dynasty. However, the old official showed off his literary talent and wrote the letter of credence himself. Seize the handle and insist that Youzhou will return to the Song Dynasty, and who else will return to whom, this is indeed the fault of the old official himself.
Ma Zheng, Hu Yanqing and others were all dumbfounded at the time, but with the official handwriting, who would dare to catch bugs for him? There are no ducks to eat when catching insects!
He had to pretend to be confused and make mistakes, hoping that the Jin people would not be able to tell because they were uneducated, and ended up being blamed by the boss. This was exactly what Lou Shi relied on when he entered the tiger's mouth and figured out how to be a farmer.
Zhao Huan became more and more enthusiastic as he spoke, and shouted: "Who is it? As an emperor, he abandoned the capital and abandoned the city without caring about the soldiers and people, and abdicated the throne?"
"Who is it? Just when he was in danger, he acted like a bully, and wanted to destroy the country and family before his eyes. He actually built a palace in Zhenjiang and wasted countless money!"
"Who is it that holds King Qin's soldiers, horses, money and food in his arms, so that I, the Queen Mother, the concubines, the emperor's brothers and sisters sit guarding the dangerous city, and we are shocked three times a day!"
When he talked about the three surprises in one day, he couldn't help but burst into tears, and his voice was also crying: "This person is called a king, but he is actually a traitor to the country! Now that the situation is so corrupt, he doesn't talk about cultivating his mind and character, thinking about his mistakes and repenting." , actually had the intention of restoration, and asked Kui Xiangyang, the old dog, to come and force me to write a self-incriminating edict on the grounds that I lost Bianliang, asking me to abdicate and return power to the Supreme Emperor! He, he, he thought I didn't read history books? If he recovers, who will I be? Should I become the Supreme Emperor? Or become the Crown Prince again? Haha, the Crown Prince who has been the Emperor?"
Zhao Huan lost control of his emotions and jumped to his feet and shouted: "Brother, Lao Wu Lao Liu, he doesn't want my throne, he wants my life!"
Lao Cao was ecstatic when he saw him jumping around and crying.
I knew it was so! What an old official, he has acted with integrity throughout his life and has never disappointed anyone!
As expected, I was in Taiyuan. When I heard about his actions in Zhenjiang, I put aside the war to destroy the country in Xixia and returned to Luoyang in a hurry!
In this way, wouldn't it be easy to get the right to justice?
For a moment, his face was distorted, and he shouted: "Ah, bah! How can this be unreasonable! Your Majesty, this is an act that will bring disaster to the country and the people, and will never be undone. Who among the loyal and righteous people in the world is willing to sit back and ignore it? Your Majesty, please rest assured. In Wu's heart, he has always only recognized An emperor!"
When Zhao Huan heard this, he was so determined that he did not bother to ask who the emperor he knew was in Lao Cao's heart, so he held his hand and said, "Brother, if he really restores power, I, I will definitely send troops to attack him. Brother, will you do it for me?" Is the Great Song Dynasty Zhengyuan Qingyuan?"
Cao Cao widened his eyes, wishing that the words "loyalty, liver, righteousness, and courage" were written on his face, and said with emotion: "It is my duty to do so!"
Zhao Huan was overjoyed and said quickly: "My brother has the merit of conquering Youyan. Emperor Shenzong's legacy says: 'Those who can restore the state of Yan can be crowned kings even if they have different surnames!' I will issue an edict today and make my brother the king of Zhongyi County." !”
After saying that, he suddenly shook his head: "No, no, brother, did you just say that Xixia was defeated?"
Cao Cao didn't mind the trouble, smiled slightly, and told all about the various military uses he had made since arriving at Tongguan.
Zhao Huan felt happy when he heard this. He knew that Cao Cao could fight, but he didn't expect that he could fight like this. He said happily: "You said I lost Bianliang? Humph, I am about to destroy Xixia now! How can he compete with me for such great martial arts?" Comparing? No, no, my brother has contributed to the destruction of the country, and the two-character king is not enough to reward his merits, so why not call him King Zhong?"
Cao Cao bowed and saluted, and said in a good voice: "Your Majesty, my dear brother, this word 'loyalty' is the highest virtue in the world. If you really help your Majesty to rule the world, it will be worthy of you. If your Majesty wants to reward you now, brother Fool will do it." I remember that when I moved to fight in the nine states behind the mountain, I recruited troops in the name of the King of Wei. The King of Wei is the old lord of Yelv Chun. Brother Yu’s meritorious service this time was also from Youzhou. Why don’t you, Your Majesty, give Brother Yu the title of King of Wei?"
Zhao Huan hesitated slightly, probably because the King of Wei was a prince in the Song Dynasty. In the past, Taizu's younger brother Zhao Tingmei was named King of Wei. Later, because of a plot to usurp the throne, Emperor Taizong deprived him of the royal title and demoted him to the Duke of Fuling County.
But now he has no other capable ministers. Liu Yanqing's ability is far inferior to that of Old Cao, and he is still in Tong Guan's old department for many years. In the future, when the Supreme Emperor is restored, this guy might turn against him——
So he gritted his teeth and nodded, saying, "Okay! As my brother wished, I will tell the world today that I will make my brother the King of Wei!"
Zhao Laowu and Zhao Laoliu quickly smiled and saluted: "Haha, my two brothers, congratulations to King Wei!"
Cao Cao returned the favor with a smile, thanked Zhao Huan again, and then asked: "The Supreme Emperor wants to carry out such a ridiculous move as restoration, does he really want to abandon Bianjing?"
Zhao Huan gritted his teeth and said bitterly: "Humph, he negotiated peace with Yelu Chun and ceded all the east and west roads of Hebei, the east and west roads of Jingdong, and the Jingji Road to the Liao Kingdom!"
At this point, he was so angry that he trembled and said: "The old emperor of the Liao Kingdom heard about this and sent people to ask for the land. This guy, this guy is really shameless. He actually ceded the northwest road of Beijing to Yelu Yanxi and the east of the river. The road was cut off to the Kingdom of Jin, brother, are you ridiculous? According to Kui Xiangyang, this move turned out to be a wise move, which is called - cutting off the flesh to act like a pack of wolves, to lure them to attack each other!"
Hebei East Road and Hebei West Road are roughly the area in Hebei, Jingdong East Road and Jingxi East Road are roughly the area east of Bianliang, northern Jiangsu, and Shandong, and Jingji Road is around Kaifeng Prefecture in Tokyo.
As for the Beijing North Road, it goes up to Luoyang and Zhengzhou, down to Caizhou, Henan and Huaibei.
Cao Cao couldn't help but be dumbfounded after hearing this.
(End of chapter)
