Chapter 756: The adopted son of the Guan family
It is said that Guan Yu, his eldest brother, and his third brother reunited on the cliffs in the countryside on the south bank of the Yellow River. However, the eternal loyalty in Taoyuan could not be overcome. In addition, he was shocked to hear that the biggest enemy who killed his eldest brother was Chen Long, so he decided to leave the Qinglong Army and follow his eldest brother again.
However, Guan Yu was a hero and was unwilling to seize Juancheng in a secret coup. He only wanted to meet each other on the battlefield with open swords and guns. Liu Bei had no choice but to retreat and do the next best thing. After the three brothers reunited, they sought to return to the Xuzhou area. , using Mi Zhu’s territory to develop slowly.
Although Xuzhou was already in the hands of Cao Jun at that time, due to the difficulty of wresting it from Tao Qian and the frequent wars in the Battle of Hefei, many counties and towns in the suburbs of Xuzhou were almost autonomous areas.
Xiaopei, located a hundred miles away from Xuzhou, happened to be in the area between Juancheng and Xuzhou. When Liu Bei was lurking here in Mi Zhu, he had already led a team to conduct investigations. Although it is just a dilapidated small city, there are still some fixed aborigines. The most important thing is that the city wall is still intact. With a little repair, it can be used to station troops and food.
Therefore, when Liu, Guan, and Zhang parted, they agreed that after Guan Yu took over his family, he would bring all the private soldiers trained by the Guan family to Xiaopei to collect them as a foundation for his establishment. In Liu Bei's mind, he had long considered the ancient city of Shangqiu where Zhang Fei was located. If he could win over the powerful Qiao family, it would be another great help. The ancient city of Shangqiu and Xiaopei form a horn, and there are many fertile fields in between, which can grow the food and grass that people and horses urgently need. In Liu Bei's mind, he was already coveting the unstable Xuzhou. If he could take advantage of the chaos in the periphery, the battle between Cao's army and Yuan's army, and the opportunity for the three sons of the Cao family to send their troops north to conquer Xuzhou City in one fell swoop, then the important town along the Huaihe River would no longer be the Cao family's. Yes.
Now Guan Yu took over Du's family and meandered to the military camp. He was greeted by a young general riding a white horse with a machete in his hand. It was Guan Ping, the newly adopted son of Guan Yu during his stay in Juancheng. Guan Ping had a tiger body all his life, and he had practiced swordsmanship since he was a child. In addition, his face was delicate and full, and he had an aura of justice, which was what Guan Yu liked in his heart.
Guan Ping, whose courtesy name is Tanzhi, is the son of Guan Ding, the owner of Guanjiazhuang. When Guan Yu led his troops to guard Juancheng, during the peaceful period when there was no fighting, he often personally led his troops to drill on flat fields along the Yellow River. The Qinglong Yanyue Sword dances like a storm, and all the martial arts-loving young people around him enjoy watching Guan Gong's sword skills. Guanjiazhuang is nearby, so Guan Ping naturally sees the army's drills from time to time and talks about it with his father Guan Ding when he returns home.
Guan Ding is not an ordinary country squire. He was once a military attache of the imperial court. He was an upright gentleman. He retired from the world due to the chaos in the world. Hearing his son Guan Ping say that Guan Yu was like a god and that he was from the same clan as the Guan family, he began to want to make friends. Guan Yu heard that there was such a Guanjiazhuang nearby and was willing to make friends, so the two families often communicated and became more and more inseparable.
Guan Yu saw that Guan Ping's martial arts skills were inherited from his father, and he had some skills. He became a little interested in accepting a disciple. He often gave him some advice every day, and Guan Ping regarded him as his master. Suddenly one day, when Guan Ding and Guan Yu were drinking, they talked about accepting a disciple. Guan Ding laughed loudly and called Guan Ping in front of him and said: "Once a teacher, always a father. You are already eighteen years old today. If you are willing, there is no need to become a disciple, Yun Chang will be your adoptive father from now on."
Guan Ping was so smart. Hearing this, his face was filled with joy. He quickly turned over and knelt down and said, "My foster father is here, please accept Ping'er's worship!"
Guan Yu had no heirs at the time, so he was overjoyed when he heard this. He immediately helped Guan Ping up and said, "We should join the Qinglong Army!" He comforted him in every possible way. From then on, Guan Ping followed Guan Yu for daily training, and naturally became the leader of the Guan family's private army. With Guan Yu's teaching, Guan Ping became more and more advanced in martial arts.
At this moment, Guan Ping received the order from his father, but within a short time, the Guan family army had been assembled. Guan Yu ignored the looks of other troops and escorted Du's carriage out of the camp. Guan Ping waved his whip and commanded the troops to follow quickly, and the troops headed straight for Xiaopei.
As Guan Yu was walking, he heard someone yelling behind him. When he looked back with a knife, he saw a figure like a black iron tower galloping towards him on horseback, holding a long iron spear in his hand. Guan Yu's heart felt hot. In his haste to come out, he actually forgot to inform him who was guarding the flank position.
Guan Ping rode up on his white horse and rushed forward quickly. Unfortunately, he didn't greet him with a smile. Instead, he raised his machete high and slashed at the top door of the black iron tower. The man was taken aback. He quickly turned around on his horse to avoid the machete and shouted, "Why did Ping'er kill me?"
Guan Ping was young and energetic, frowning and glaring: "Zhou Cang, are you here to capture my father and son so that you can pay your dues in front of Chen Long?"
The person who came was none other than Zhou Cang, who had followed Guan Yu for many days. He and Guan Yu joined the Qinglong Army that day. Zhou Buyi deliberately appointed Zhou Cang to serve alone and became colleagues with Guan Yu. Although Zhou Cang served in other units of the Qinglong Army, he always missed Guan Yu in his heart. He often visited Guan Mansion every day and was very familiar with Guan Ping. Today Guan Ping drew his sword and killed him. Guan Ping loudly cried out for injustice.
Guan Yu drew his sword and rode his horse, came in front of the two men and stopped the arrogant Guan Ping. He opened his red phoenix eyes and asked: "Zhou Cang, let me ask you, today my father and son went south, not to betray the Lord of Qinglong, but because they had no choice but to go south. If you don't let me go today, General Zhou will just take my Go away. Guan will never resist, he just wants to let my son Guan Ping go."
Hearing this, Zhou Cang threw down his iron spear, rolled his saddle and dismounted his horse, already lying on the ground, crying: "Although Zhou Cang is stupid and stubborn, General Guan teaches him that the most important thing in life is the righteousness of the Spring and Autumn Period. General Guan is leaving today, why don't you send someone?" Are you notified? Even if you go to the ends of the world, as long as Zhou Cang can follow General Guan, it will be enough for him to fulfill his lifelong wish!"
Only then did Guan Ping realize that Zhou Cang had come to seek refuge, and finally put down the machete in his hand. Guan Yu was moved when he heard this. He narrowed his eyes and stroked his beard. He shook his head slightly and said, "The Qinglong Army can be regarded as a righteous army. Why did General Zhou give up his great future for me?"
Zhou Cang thought that Guan Gong would not take him with him, so he kowtowed several times and cried to the ground again. Guan Yu was silent, remembering Zhou Cang's past, so he inserted the Yanyue Sword on the ground and said warmly: "If you don't dislike it, Zhou Cang, you will be my sword-wielding general from now on."
Zhou Cang was overjoyed when he heard this. He cheered and pulled out the Qinglong Yanyue Sword, jumped onto his horse, and shouted: "If you are with the sword, you will be killed with the sword!"
Guan Yu and his party went straight to Xiaopei without any further obstruction. Zhou Buyi had also arrived at the military camp. Hearing that Guan Yu had mobilized private soldiers and left the camp without knowing where to go. He did not mutiny and betrayed on the spot. He couldn't help but secretly screamed that he was lucky and ordered the camp to be burned down. All officers and soldiers returned to Juancheng. The city defense was once again strengthened. No one was allowed to leave the city to fight Cao Zhang, and they waited for the arrival of General Yan Liang before making plans.
Cao Zhang was very surprised when he saw that the Qinglong Army suddenly withdrew its camp. He inquired and found out that there seemed to be some major change in the Qinglong Army. He quickly prepared to launch a large-scale attack. Suddenly he heard that Zhang Fei and Xia Houjuan were also leading their troops away. He was also frightened and panicked. He thought Zhang Fei was persuaded by Guan Yu to surrender and surrendered to the Qinglong Army. Cao Zhang withdrew the attack order he had just issued, and first held on to the camp, taking care of the losses caused by Zhang Fei's departure to prevent Zhang Fei from stealing the camp and robbing the camp. It was like this for several days, without any fighting between the two sides.
It took several days for the chaos caused by Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to leave with their troops to settle down. Neither Zhou Buyi nor Cao Zhang had time to study the reasons and whereabouts of Guan and Zhang's departure. Especially when Cao Zhang remembered the bet with his brothers, he had to organize an siege as soon as possible, and the war finally broke out.
On the second day after Cao Zhang's siege began, Yan Liang, the general of the Qinglong Army who had surrendered to Yuan Shao, finally arrived with an ignorant man who was two feet tall. He also brought more shocking news. Cao Zhi's army and horses had crossed the Yellow River at Lishui Ferry. The Pingyuan garrison surrendered without a fight, and Cao Zhi's army did not stop. The peak of the troops pointed directly at Puyang, the important town of Qinglong Army on the north bank of the Yellow River.
If you want to know what happens next, listen to the explanation next time.
