The next day, despite the dissuasion of Chao Gai and others, Lao Cao left the camp without any armor, riding a white horse and only four followers, and headed for Cangzhou.
The four attendants were none other than Yuan Lang, Teng Kan, Teng Shun, and Niu Gao.
None of these four people wore armor, they were just dressed in green clothes, carrying a waist knife, and holding a large box in their hands.
Another joke was made when going out: Li Kui saw that he was not with him and was fighting for his life and death. Niu Gao persuaded him: "The four of us happen to be in pairs. Wouldn't it be degrading to have one more of you?"
Li Kui pulled Mu Hong and said, "Then add Brother Mu Hong, six people, usually an even number."
Niu Gao shook his head again: "There are only four boxes, and two of them are empty-handed. Isn't it degrading?"
Li Kui thought for a moment and suddenly discovered the key. He grabbed Niu Gao and said, "But it's not easy? Just take off your clothes and give them to me, and I'll do it for you."
Or Qiao Daoqing called out: "Tieniu, don't argue. Do you know that there are many brothers here, why did the elder brother order four of them?"
He pointed at them one by one and said: "The red-faced tiger, the mountain tiger, the elephant-eating tiger, and the black wind tiger! The king is half mad and half devil, and he is trying to frighten them with the power of these brothers."
All four of Yuan Lang raised their heads, puffing and puffing out their noses.
Li Kui bit his finger after hearing this and said, "Yuan Lang and the other two are enough. What kind of power does Niu Gao have? It's better to switch to a tiger with wings."
Lei Heng was overjoyed, clasped his fists and said, "Good brother, Lei has secretly hidden some jars of good wine. I will share it with you when I go back."
Cao Cao shook his head and said: "Although Lei Heng is mighty, he has no official status. Niu Gao and several others are all nominal generals in Shandong states - especially Yuan Lang and the other three, who are originally powerful in Huaixi. To a certain extent, they can also be regarded as The king reports his past victories.”
After Cao Cao spoke, Li Kui was helpless and watched eagerly as Niu Gao followed behind Lao Cao, wagging his head and wagging his tail.
After a while, they arrived at the city gate.
Lao Cao looked up and saw that the city walls of Cangzhou were mottled and the large banner with Song characters on the top of the city was tattered and dirty. It was swaying slightly in the wind, and his eyes were full of desolation.
Lao Cao sighed and called out: "An old friend is here to visit. Where is General Wang?"
The soldiers on the city heard this and did not dare to neglect, so they hurriedly reported the news. In a moment, Wang Zhen arrived, stood on the top of the city, and looked down from a high position. He stared at Lao Cao for a long time with a pair of red eyes like a devil, and said hesitantly: "You are 'Wu Mengde'" ?”
Cao Cao nodded, raised his face and clasped his fists, and said sincerely: "General, I have been separated from Xijing for several years, but unexpectedly we meet again today."
However, when Lao Cao joined Liu Yanqing's army and conquered Wang Qing from Tongguan, he had frequent dealings with Wang Zhen, and they had some friendship.
Later, they parted ways in Luoyang, and Cao Cao went to fight Tian Hu. From Wang Zhen's point of view, the two never met again.
It was just last year when he was campaigning against Fang La. Cao Cao took the name of Li Dunzi and served as a vanguard under Wu Song and Lu Junyi. When he attacked Suzhou, he used Song Jiang's name and rushed to help Fang La. During this period, he faced Wang Zhen several times. I don’t know how many weapons the king has cut off with his dragon sword.
However, he was wearing a mask at that time, and the divine white horse under his crotch was also ridden by Tang Bin to Liangshan to ask for help. Today, he deliberately did not bring a sword, so it was difficult for Wang Zhen to recognize him.
When Wang Zhen saw Lao Cao saluting, he didn't say anything. He just stared at him for a long time, then raised his head and looked at the Liangshan camp in the distance, and said slowly: "You and the Liangshan grass bandits formed a group?"
Cao Cao shook his head and said: "Wu, a court official, is willing to associate with the grass bandits? General Wang, how about opening the door and letting me in to discuss it in detail?"
The readers should note that when Wang Zhen was sent to Cangzhou by Tong Guan, he did not know that Cao Cao was going to conquer the Sixteenth Prefecture of Youyun. As for what happened after that, when he was trapped in the isolated city, he did not know anything about it.
Moreover, when he originally wanted to stop Wu Song from beating Tong Guan, he was also afraid that Wu Song would implicate Lao Cao, which shows that the friendship between them was not bad in the first place.
When Wang Zhen heard that he was going to the city, he was silent.
Cao Cao smiled and said: "Brother Wang, you have been guarding Cangzhou for more than a year, and you are as stable as a rock, which shows that you are very capable! Now there are only five people here in Wu, are you still worried? Besides, there are four of them, and they are also your acquaintances."
He pointed at it and said: "Look carefully, Yuan Lang, Teng Kan, Teng Shu! Do you remember? When you and I conquered Wang Qing, the three of them were among the Five Tigers of Jishan. How ferocious! Finally, because of you and me, they abandoned the dark side and turned to the bright side. , willingly surrendered to the Song Dynasty, and made many contributions. Now Yuan Lang has become the training envoy of the Mizhou regiment, Teng Kan has become the military commander of Weizhou, and Tengxu has become the training envoy of the Zizhou regiment. All of them are promising. Haha, come to think of it. You, General Wang, are also a part of this kindness."
A smile appeared on Wang Zhen's face: "I don't dare, I don't dare. It's clear that several generals are working hard to make progress, how can Wang dare to take credit?"
Cao Cao then pointed at Niu Gao and said, "This is my fierce general from Qingzhou. He accompanied my brother to conquer Fangla in the past. You should have seen him while you were waiting in the army."
Wang Zhen suddenly shouted: "That brother of yours is lawless and dares to beat Tong Shuai!"
Cao Cao laughed and said: "General Wang, between you and me, we are not telling lies. Just ask yourself, shouldn't that boy's gun be beaten?"
Wang Zhen said angrily: "Of course not, it shouldn't be! Commander Tong is the general, and there are differences between superiors and subordinates in the army. If the following offends the superiors, how can the military's power be preserved?"
Cao Cao looked solemn and shouted: "General Wang, if you say so, Wu has now wiped out the Liao and Xia countries and made great contributions. Your Majesty has made me the general marshal of the world's soldiers and horses. You stop me, the marshal, from Outside the city, aren’t the following criminals going up?”
Wang Zhen was startled, his red eyes flashed, and he looked at Lao Cao in confusion: "Destroy Liao Xia? Are you serious?"
Cao Cao smiled proudly and said: "General, if you and I are just showing off, don't you see what I am capable of? If you don't believe me, let me in and show you the evidence."
Wang Xun gritted his teeth and struggled to think. After all, he couldn't restrain his curiosity and slapped the city wall: "Open the door!"
In the distant Liangshan military camp, all the brothers stood at the door and looked into the distance. Lei Heng pointed with sharp eyes and exclaimed: "The door is open, the door is open!"
Chao Gai sighed in admiration: "As expected of Brother Wu! Even though Wang Zhen is crazy, he is still willing to listen to him."
Cao Cao entered the city, walked more than ten steps, got out of the city gate hole, and took a look, alas! But you can see——
The grass beside the stone road is green, and the sight is full of devastation and white bones.
The prosperity of the past has turned into purgatory, and the streets of the world have turned into darkness.
Who has thought about Zheng Hus life and death? Hundreds of wars and wars have not stopped yet.
The sky couldn't bear to hear the sudden rain, which sounded like a ghost crying.
You must know that in the past, Lao Cao had friends with Chai Jin and traveled to Cangzhou. It was a famous and prosperous place in the north. However, now, ruins are everywhere and corpses are piled up. At a glance, it looks like hell.
As if sensing Lao Cao's mood, drizzle suddenly fell. The rain fell to the ground, raising a layer of rain and mist, making the desolate scene in the city even more desolate.
Lao Cao sighed and turned around to see Wang Zhen leading hundreds of soldiers, wandering down from the city: "Where are the evidences."
Lao Cao waved his hand, and Yuan Lang and four others came forward holding the big boxes in their hands and opened them one by one.
Wang Xun looked around and couldn't help but be startled: Those boxes were filled with human heads pickled in lime!
Cao Cao pointed and said: "This is the head of Yelu Chun, the head of Xiao Qian, the head of Wu Yanguang, the man of Yelu Dashi has a great life, if he can escape for a while, he will be captured and killed after a long time."
Wang Zhen opened his mouth in shock. Although these heads were covered with white gray, he could vaguely tell that they were indeed Yelu Chun and others.
Cao Cao pointed to the last one and said: "This is the leader of Xixia Li Yuchang."
Wang Zhen was stunned for a long time and said in surprise: "The Prime Minister of Xixia?"
Lao Cao nodded, and immediately told Xixia to collude with the Jin Kingdom, annex the northwest, and besiege Taiyuan. He explained in detail how he had defeated the Xixia princes and princesses: "Now the prince and princess of Xixia are imprisoned in Bianliang. If you don't believe it, just ask in the past and you will know."
Wang Zhen also fought in the Western Army. After listening to Lao Cao's clear explanation of the battle, he knew that most of it was true. He couldn't help but exclaimed: "It turns out that you have accomplished such a great cause. No wonder His Majesty made you the Grand Marshal of the Army!"
Cao Cao sighed: "Hey, these achievements may seem extravagant, but in fact they are nothing. The Liao Kingdom was originally defeated by the Jin Kingdom, and many of its elite soldiers and generals were lost in the north. Otherwise, how could it be so good? Deal with it? Then there is Xixia, which has fought a bloody battle with me, the Song Dynasty, for hundreds of years. In fact, it has already reached a desperate situation. If it were not for the Jin Kingdom, it would have perished sooner or later. The real big trouble is the Jin Kingdom, Wang Zhen!"
Wang Zhen straightened his skeleton-like body: "The general is here!"
Cao Cao said: "The former Tongguan Hebei was defeated, and the elite of the Western Army was wiped out. The Xixia then wreaked havoc in the northwest, and even the roots were injured. However, the Jin State's soldiers and horses are strong, and they are more terrifying than the dogs and dogs of Liao and summer combined, so I I have requested an imperial edict to recruit everyone in Liangshan, but I have to do it as a last resort. I hope you understand."
Wang Zhen smiled bitterly and said: "You are the commander-in-chief. Who can control your actions except His Majesty? I don't understand, but so what."
Cao Cao waved his hand and said sternly: "This is not the case! Nowadays, many of the fierce generals in the court have been destroyed, and some are left. Although their martial arts are high, no one is as loyal and brave as you! I don't understand you, but you have a knot in your heart. How can I So you can kill enemies for the country?"
Wang Xun looked back at the soldiers on the left and right, with an expression that seemed to be crying and smiling: "I am a sinner, how can I continue to contribute to the country? Commander, let me tell you the truth, Cangzhou has been without food for more than half a year, we will wait..."
"Wang!" Seeing that he was getting excited and speaking faster and faster, Lao Cao suddenly shouted!
Wang Zhen was stunned, and Lao Cao looked at him for a moment and said slowly: "In the Han Dynasty, Geng Gong was guarding Shule, and in the Tang Dynasty Zhang was patrolling Suiyang. How are their feelings different from yours now? However, history books are like swords, each word is , can we say that Geng Gong and Zhang Xun are wrong?"
When Wang Zhen heard this, his body trembled and tears fell like rain. The officers and soldiers behind him all shook their bodies and cried.
These officers and soldiers were all from the Shengjie Army. It was when Tong Guan was in charge of the northwest military affairs that he specially selected those with tall figures and superb martial arts from all the armies to form his own soldiers.
His army originally had 5,000 men, of which 3,000 boys were at his side. Later, it was this army that protected Zhao Ji to Zhenjiang Prefecture. Another two thousand were transferred to Cangzhou with Wang Zhen. Wang Zhen was able to fight hard to this point mainly because of the strength of this army.
But now, there are only five or six hundred people left.
Cao Cao stepped forward, held Wang Zhen's hands, and his own eyes were red, looking at the scrawny remnants of the victory army, and said loudly: "Brothers, to tell you the truth, not long ago, I, the commander, killed Fang in Yingtian Mansion. I visited General Wu Yanguang of the Liao Kingdom and then paid homage to Zhang Xun in the ancestral hall. However, I saw that there were no cigarette smoke. I asked about the temple blessings and found out that when those Liao people occupied this place, they also offered incense for him every day! It can be seen that brothers like you are doing this We all admire loyal ministers and martyrs at all times and in all countries! General Wang said he was a sinner? What a fart! You are all our heroes in China!"
When Wang Xun and the hundreds of officers and soldiers heard this, their emotions could no longer be suppressed, and they all burst into tears. Their tears were mixed with the rain, and it was difficult to tell whether they were tears or rain.
Lao Cao couldn't bear it and gritted his teeth and said: "I came here just to ask you, brothers, the siege of Cangzhou has been lifted. If you are tired, go to Qingzhou and relieve the people. Lands, mansions, gold and silver, there is plenty of everything, so I will discipline you all to become rich!"
"No!" A young man behind Wang Zhen suddenly shouted like a lone wolf: "I don't want to be a rich man. All my brothers are on me. I have endless strength in my body. I want to kill thieves! Commander! After killing the Liao and Xi bandits, take us to kill the Jurchen bandits!"
"Yes, yes! We will kill the thief! We will not disarm!" Hundreds of other people shouted in unison.
Lao Cao looked at the young man. Although he was emaciated, his features were like a king's. He asked in a low voice: "What a generous young man! Who is he?"
Wang Xun wiped a handful of rainwater, and finally a heartfelt smile appeared on his ghostly face, grinning and saying: "This is my son Wang Xun!"
Then he hooked Lao Cao's hand with his backhand and looked at him with piercing eyes: "Commander! Give me our clothes, armor, food, grass, and ordnance! Our army is willing to be the vanguard!"
Cao Cao paused for a moment and nodded deeply: "Okay! This army of yours will be called the Cangzhou Army from now on!"
Not long after, Lao Cao and others left the city, and immediately, countless military supplies, food and grass were sent to the city at running price.
Lao Cao wanted to let Wang Zhen lead his men to recuperate for a while and then go north to rendezvous. Unexpectedly, Wang Zhen and others refused to obey, and when they saw Lao Cao about to set off the next day, they immediately left the city with all their troops. A group of skinny soldiers and horses, forcibly Drive to the front and serve as the vanguard.
However, after Yan Xieye was defeated and retreated to Yutian, he immediately sent out detective horses to Shangjing to inform Wu Qimai of the war and ask for support.
At the same time, spending several days resting and reorganizing the troops will build up morale.
On September 15th, a troop of soldiers and horses was sent to Beijing. There were only three thousand in number. They were elites trained by the Jin people at no expense. They were all wearing heavy armor and standing on the ground, they looked as amazing as an iron tower. They were known as "Iron Soldiers". Buddha"! It was led by two generals, Wanmutuochi and Wanmutuoze.
Wan Yanxie also saw it and said happily: "Ah, Iron Buddha Tu is coming soon, how can the Nanman resist my attack?"
Another young general came with the army. He was none other than the son of the eldest prince, Wanyan Nianhan, and it was Wanyan's golden marble!
When this son was in the old capital of the Jin people, he heard that his father had died in battle, and he cried loudly, so he begged his master Pu Feng to let him go south to take revenge. A few days after arriving in Shangjing, Xie Ye asked for help, so he went with Tiefu Tu Sent together.
The Jin soldiers received strong reinforcements and their morale was greatly boosted. Wanyan Xie immediately led the army and attacked Jizhou again.
When Yue Fei learned that the Jin soldiers had arrived again, he quickly gathered his generals: "He has gathered his army so quickly to fight, so he must have something to rely on. We must not leave lightly, and we must guard the city to see whether it is true or not!"
Not long after, the Jin soldiers came to the city, and Wan Yanxie also set up his formation and shouted: "Xiao Nanman Yue Fei sneak attacked our army last time. If you are brave, you might as well go out of the city for a decisive battle!"
Yue Fei heard this on the city and sneered: "It seems that he doesn't want to attack the city. In that case, I will go out of the city to meet him for a while. If I take the opportunity to kill some of his generals, it will also boost the morale of our army!"
After that, he got on his horse, picked up his gun, and opened the city gate and went out: "Xie Ye, I didn't kill you in the previous fight, but today I'm here to die. Come on, come on, you and I will be in front of the two armies, and we will tell you who is high and who is low!"
(End of chapter)
