Chapter 579 Wang Ping was humiliated
After rumors spread that Hefei City was destroyed and food supplies were in jeopardy, Cao Ren and Cao Hong's troops, who had been attacking Lujiang day and night, suddenly retreated. Just as Zhuge Liang expected on the tower, Cao Cao's order to counterattack Hefei City was about to come. According to Cao Cao's character, he could never bear the humiliation of Hefei city being destroyed and Cao Ang being captured, so the final order must be to counterattack Hefei as a whole.
Regardless of Zhuge Liang's success in showing off in front of Zhou Yu at the head of Lujiang City, Cao Ren commanded his army and retreated in two groups with Cao Hong to where Xu Huang's rear army was originally stationed. Cao Hong marched slightly back, and saw the dust rising behind him again. He suspected that Zhou Yu was leading the pursuit. When he hurriedly sent out detective horses to investigate, the report turned out to be Le Jin and Le Wenqian's troops. They also received Cao Cao's order to retreat and followed them. , Cao Hongfang was relieved.
It wasn't that Zhou Gongjin didn't want to attack, but he didn't have enough troops, and he was worried that there would be an ambush when Cao Ren and Cao Hong retreated. After thinking about it, he decided to play it safe and make plans based on the situation in Hefei after reorganizing the army. At this time, Cao's army moved its target, and although Lujiang was temporarily safe, if Hefei fell again and the grain road was unblocked, Lujiang would inevitably be encircled and suppressed by Cao's army again. So Zhuge Liang felt relieved and returned to the library to play chess with Lu Su, not afraid that Zhou Yu's Jiangdong Army would not move forward with all its strength.
It was getting late, and the three Cao armies were stationed in the east and west. The three generals, Cao Ren, Cao Hong, and Le Jin, finally gathered in front of Xu Huang's old stronghold. Wang Ping hurriedly approached the stronghold and ordered some food and wine to be served. When Cao Ren and others looked at it, they saw that what was served were all bran and coarse grains. He couldn't help but asked angrily: "Zijun, no matter how difficult it is, you won't give us bran and bran vegetables, right? Is it possible that you secretly ate the wine and meat?" "
Seeing that the clan was angry, Wang Ping hurriedly knelt down and said, "General Zixiao, how dare your subordinates hide the meat and wine? There is really no rice to cook with, and the remaining rations are evenly distributed among the sergeants."
Cao Ren said angrily: "You fart! I just passed by your tent and smelled the smell of meat, but why?"
Although Wang Ping was obedient by nature, he was by no means a coward. He couldn't help but stood up and said angrily: "General Cao, just now you asked for wine and meat, but it was the cook in our army who slaughtered an army horse without authorization and stewed the army horse in a pot. I scolded them severely and sent them to prison to serve as punishment! Zixiao, do you want to eat the meat of these military horses?"
It turned out that in Wang Ping's mind, these horses were no different from soldiers in battle. Eating the meat of the horses was like eating the meat of his comrades. He would never kill the horses to eat unless he had to. Le Jin hurriedly stood up and smoothed things over: "Zi Jun also feels sorry for those war horses. But since it has been stewed, it is better for everyone to come and have a full meal than to waste it in vain." Wang Ping then ordered someone to bring a few plates and gave orders to the remaining horses. The meat was distributed equally to each battalion.
Cao Ren looked bad. He always had a sense of superiority towards these generals with foreign surnames, and even Le Jin did not look down on them. As a general himself, he was quite angry that Xu Huang, his deputy, dared to contradict him. In order to ease the atmosphere, Cao Hong asked while gnawing meat: "Zijun, how much food is left? Are you really so nervous?"
Wang Ping immediately responded: "It has been two days since the last batch of grain and grass was transported from Hefei. Our army has a large number of people, and the average grain consumption of the entire army is only one day. Now it has lasted for two days. When I have the remaining If we continue to distribute this small amount of rations, the brothers will really be hungry by lunch tomorrow at most."
Cao Hong sighed and said: "There is no other way to kill horses for food. Without horses, the cavalry will lose its combat effectiveness. Should we let the tiger and leopard cavalry also fight in the siege? Tell me, how can the Qinglong Army attack by surprise? How can Hefei succeed? It’s really puzzling.”
Cao Ren snorted and said: "Xu Gongming's failure to provide food and grass is the main reason for this defeat. Now that we are in such a difficult situation, I will definitely ask the Prime Minister for help. The first person who should be killed when we go south this time is Xu Huang."
Wang Ping was furious when he heard this. He stood up and shouted: "Cao Zixiao! Don't bully others with your power! Xu Gongming heard the rumors that Hefei city was destroyed, so he took five thousand cavalry to personally deliver Hefei's supplies and inquire about Hefei news. It can be said that he ignored it. Life or death, go deep into the tiger's den! As for the lack of food and grass supplies, Hefei City does not have sufficient defense and was attacked by the enemy unexpectedly, does it mean that General Xu Huang has to shoulder the blame?"
When Cao Ren heard this, he stood up and smashed the remaining meat and bones in his hands at Wang Ping and said: "If he doesn't carry it, who will carry it? Do you want the prime minister to carry it on his own? This shameless junior dares to contradict the commander-in-chief of the entire army! Here comes someone. , arrest Wang Ping and engage in military law enforcement!"
Immediately, several Cao Ren guards broke in from outside the tent, pushed Wang Ping's shoulders and back to the ground, and took off Wang Ping's belt to tie him up. Le Jin and Le Wenqian hurriedly stopped him and said, "General Zixiao! The war is about to begin. Although Wang Ping's words are unbridled, his actions are clearly not wrong. It's better to keep him alive and make meritorious deeds!"
It is not easy for generals with foreign surnames in Cao's camp to survive. If they are not united, they will fall apart more easily. Therefore, Le Jin steps forward at the critical moment to save Wang Ping from Cao Ren's sword. Upon seeing this, Cao Hong also stood up and smoothed things over: "Zixiao, although Wang Ping's words are reckless, his crime will not lead to death. You can first remove the rank of deputy general and demote him to an ordinary soldier. It will not be too late to convict him when he sees General Xu Gongming."
Cao Hong, Cao Zilian and Cao Ren were both Cao Cao's disciples, so Cao Ren reluctantly nodded in agreement. Cao Hong shouted: "Kick Wang Ping out with a stick! Don't disturb your mood here."
Wang Ping was beaten with sticks and returned to his tent to feel angry. He wanted to defect to Zhou Yu, but he remembered the kindness of General Xu Huang in the past, and felt reluctant to give up. In the dark night, he simply changed into the uniform of an ordinary soldier and meandered towards the Feishui tributary, hoping to meet Xu Huang and express his grievances.
After walking for dozens of miles overnight, I saw a wooden bridge in front of me. The torches on the wooden bridge were as bright as day. The men in uniform were the men of General Xu Huang. Wang Ping stepped forward on his horse and saw that the defenders at the bridge recognized each other. He quickly dismounted and said, "Where is General Gongming?"
When the soldiers looked with torches, it turned out to be Deputy General Wang Ping. They were all surprised and said, "Where is General Wang coming from? Why is he wearing the uniform of an ordinary soldier?"
Wang Ping said cheerfully: "It's hard to explain in words. Take me to see General Gongming quickly."
One of the soldiers led Wang Ping across the wooden bridge and saw a large camp set up in the middle of the road, which was meant to block the road. Xu Gongming had just fallen asleep when he suddenly heard the noise outside the tent. He stood up and said, "What's the commotion again?"
Wang Ping's three steps turned into two steps, and he hurriedly opened the tent door, saying: "General Gongming, save me!" After saying that, he knelt down in front of Xu Huang, already in tears and speechless.
Xu Huang took a closer look and recognized Wang Ping. He was shocked and said, "You came here late at night. Did something happen in the rear?"
Wang Ping finally calmed down, shook his head and said: "Gong Ming, although the army is safe, I'm afraid the owner has changed. I, Wang Ping, was humiliated, and my official title was wiped out by Cao Ren. I didn't expect Cao Zixiao to be such a person, as the saying goes When beating a dog, it depends on the owner. They want to eat wine and meat. I don't want to kill the horse for food, so I was humiliated by Cao Ren for no reason, so I had to run away at night, otherwise I am afraid that the guy will harm me!" Then he described the process in detail! Once again, he finally said: "Please give me justice, Gongming!"
Xu Huang was shocked. The competition between the clan generals surnamed Cao and the generals with foreign surnames has been going on for a long time. He did not expect it to break out at this critical moment. If Xu Huang stood up for Wang Ping, would he take Wang Ping to fight with Cao Ren? The Cao family's troops can only survive this crisis by uniting as one, and must not be divided!
Xu Huang thought deeply for a long time, shook his head and said slowly: "Zijun, you and I have been partners for a long time, and I know you better. It's a pity that you came here late at night and have become a deserter from the army. On this point, no matter how reasonable you are, I will I can’t save you. You should know that deserters on the battlefield should be executed immediately!"
Wang Ping didn't expect Xu Huang to say such words, and instantly understood Xu Huang's state of mind. He couldn't help but sigh and said: "In that case, it's okay, it's better to die in the hands of Gongming than to be humiliated by the Cao family." After that, he said He took out his sword and offered it, saying: "General, please take my head as a warning to others."
Xu Huang grabbed Wang Ping's saber, but he couldn't make the cut. After enduring it for a while, he finally threw the knife to the ground and said, "I'll just pretend you've never been here. There's a war horse outside the tent. It's up to you to take it. Don't look back."
Wang Ping bowed again with tears in his eyes and left. When he left the tent, he couldn't help but turn around and knelt down to kowtow to Xu Huang. Hot tears flashed across Xu Huang's eyes, and he said with hatred: "Zijun! Go!"
If you want to know what happens next, listen to the explanation next time.
