Chapter 642 Conditions for release
It is said that Cao Hong, the vanguard of Cao's army, found out in front of the two armies that the other side had actually taken more than fifty important hostages of the Cao family, including Cao Chong and Cao Yu. He was so angry that he almost fainted on the spot. After deputy general Chen Wen withdrew his troops, vanguard Le Jin personally returned to Runan to inform him of the bad news. He happened to meet Cao Cao at the gate of the city who was about to send his troops to follow up.
Cao Cao had just recovered from missing Cao Angli. He had headaches that came and went, and he had already suffered from head wind. At this moment, when he heard that Cao Chong was arrested, he fainted on the spot. Just after he recovered, misfortunes never come singly. The messenger sent by Cao De arrived and told the news that Cao Song had drowned.
Cao Cao could no longer calm down the blood in his chest, and he spat it out with a puff. The blood stained the thin golden armor on his chest. Cao Xiu called the military doctor repeatedly and came quickly to treat him. Everyone scrambled to move Cao Cao back to the city lord's palace. At this moment, the military doctor had arrived and hurriedly administered medicine, massage and treatment.
Le Jin jumped outside the door anxiously, but he had no choice. After all, the hostage problem on the front line involved descendants of the Cao family, and he could only wait for Cao Cao to wake up before asking for orders. After a whole afternoon, Cao Cao finally opened his tired eyes and saw that he was still in the Runan City Lord's Mansion. He also saw Xia Houmao and Cao Xiu standing at the door, and said angrily: "Why am I still here!"
Xia Houmao and Cao Xiu looked at each other. Cao Cao's body was definitely not suitable for traveling far, but Cao Cao's intention was to go to the front line immediately. Sure enough, Cao Cao turned over and sat up, pushed away the military doctor who tried to dissuade him, and directly ordered: "Prepare my horse! Why don't you two prepare it?"
Cao Xiu asked Xiahou Mao to quickly summon the tiger and leopard cavalry. He suddenly had the courage to ask Cao Cao: "My lord! If you have any orders, I can wait for General He Lejin to convey them. The prime minister should follow the doctor's instructions..."
Cao Cao heard this and said angrily: "Chong'er is suffering on the front line, and you want me, a man like me, to recuperate in the rear? Anyone who talks more will be killed immediately!"
Cao Xiu hurriedly stopped, but Cao Cao had already asked Le Jin to come in and said: "Wen Qian, please return to the front line to pass my order to the general. You must save Chong'er's life no matter what, and agree to any conditions the other party puts forward first!"
Le Jin quickly agreed: "The Prime Minister is wise! As the so-called gentleman takes revenge, it is never too late in ten years..."
Before he finished speaking, Cao Cao interrupted him and said: "Go quickly!" Le Jin quickly stopped and turned around to leave. He didn't even take a sip of water and went back to the front line to discuss with Cao Hong.
Early the next morning, Yang Feng reorganized by the waterside. Sure enough, a group of soldiers on the opposite side gathered around the Qingluo umbrella. A handsome gray horse broke away from the group and was outside the range of the feather arrows. A low and powerful voice sounded: "It's General Yang on the opposite side. ?I am Cao Mengde, the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, please come out and speak."
Yang Feng was excited. He was a local general with a low position. Now he was able to talk to Cao Cao on an equal footing, thanks to his successful adventure. The bold ones will be overpowered and the timid ones will be starved to death. Today we will have a good negotiation with Prime Minister Cao about the terms.
Yang Feng asked his men to untie Cao Chong and let him sit in front of his saddle. The two rode towards Cao Cao side by side. Cao Chong didn't have enough water and was frightened, so he didn't have the strength to cry, so he had to let Yang Feng control him. Cao Cao watched distressedly as the handsome Cao Chong was held in Yang Feng's arms. He listlessly called out "Dad" from a distance. Just as he was about to hit his horse, Yang Feng laid his sword across Cao Chong's body and shouted: "Prime Minister Cao, stop!"
Cao Cao quickly restrained Hui Ying. The two of them were still six or seven steps away. He asked angrily: "Yang Feng, Chong'er is still a child. Don't make things difficult for him. You have killed my eldest son Cao Ang. He only has himself to blame." He is greedy and stupid, but Cao Chong is not guilty. If you have any conditions, just ask for them."
Yang Feng rolled his eyes. He had already thought about the conditions, but now he wanted to go even harder. After all, looking at Cao Cao's movements, he really cared about Cao Chong. If he didn't speak loudly at this moment, he might regret it for the rest of his life. Yang Feng laughed a few times and said, "If I didn't have Cao Chong on hand, I might have been wiped out by Prime Minister Cao at this moment."
Cao Cao was not in the mood to argue with him, and simply said: "To tell you the truth, I used to think you were just an ant. I looked down on you too much, and that's why you successfully attacked me. It's also my fault that I failed to restrain my generals and relatives around me. It's a certain family's fault. Today I am willing to exchange my body for Chong'er and become your hostage. Is this condition good?"
Yang Feng was shocked when he heard this. Cao Cao was in a high position and his importance was self-evident. He didn't expect that he would be willing to trade himself for Cao Chong's life. If Cao Cao had it in his hands, he would probably be much more important than this Cao Chong. But Yang Feng then thought about it, Cao Cao was not a plaything that he could control casually. If Cao Cao died in his hands, his wolf-like men would definitely hunt him to the ends of the earth.
Thinking of this, Yang Fengqian laughed a few times and said: "The Prime Minister is joking, how come the Emperor of Han Dynasty doesn't have a Prime Minister around him? But for a mere kid named Cao Chong, the Prime Minister actually said such words. I couldn't help but think about my original condition. It’s not that it’s too low-level.”
Cao Cao was eager to protect his son, but he didn't expect that a robber like Yang Feng had no moral integrity at all, so he had to wait for him to open his mouth. Cao Cao immediately said: "In that case, don't be nagging anymore, just raise any conditions you have."
Yang Feng played with Cao Chong's small bun with his sword hand. When Cao Cao was frightened, Yang Feng, who had been silent for a long time, finally said: "Prime Minister, my first request is of course that Cao Cao's army withdraws from Chen County immediately."
Cao Cao immediately nodded and said: "This is no problem."
"Second, after retreating, heavy troops are not allowed to be deployed in Chen County and Qiao County for at least three months."
Cao Cao immediately replied: "That's no problem. I promise you that within a year, I will not use heavy troops to deal with you, General Yang."
Yang Feng nodded and said: "After three months, I will naturally release the hostages." Cao Cao shook his head and said: "That won't work! Cao Chong is still a child, how can he leave his mother for three months? Today, now, I will accept the conditions you proposed They all agreed, but Chong'er must be returned to me now."
Yang Feng thought for a while and continued: "Third, return Runan occupied by the prime minister to me, and return to me ten times the financial resources that Cao's army looted in Runan."
Cao Cao glanced at Yang Feng impatiently and said, "You can finish it all at once!"
"Fourth, cede the three cities of Shangcai, Xiangcheng, and Zhoukou to my jurisdiction in Runan. The garrison will be withdrawn, but the population and food will be retained."
Cao Cao snorted and said, "Is there more?"
"Fifth, the Prime Minister goes back to ask for an edict. I want an edict signed by the Emperor himself, and a personal promise from the Prime Minister, promising never to hunt me down and never take the initiative to attack Runan. It can also be called my order to avoid death. ,hehe."
"Sixth, if you agree to the previous conditions, I will release your Chong'er today, and I will keep the other hostages for at least one year."
When Cao Cao heard that Yang Fengken would let Cao Chong go now without caring about the other hostages, he was overjoyed and said, "All of them agree! All of them agree! But I have a little question..."
Yang Feng asked doubtfully: "What doubts?" Cao Cao blinked his narrow eyes and asked: "If I am fully prepared within a year, can I go and defeat Yuan Shu in Luoyang City? If I capture Luoyang, can I use Luoyang to exchange for the rest of my Cao clan? hostages?"
This sentence made Yang Feng bite his lower lip. Cao Cao was indeed a traitor. This was a test of Yang Feng's sincerity towards Yuan Shu. Luoyang's temptation was too great. Yang Feng suddenly raised his hand and threw Cao Chong to Cao Cao through the air. While Cao Cao was in a hurry to pick up Cao Chong, he laughed and said: "Meng De is indeed generous, then it's settled!"
If you want to know what happens next, listen to the explanation next time.
