A few days after Wei Cheng was preparing for the 'retreat', a big event happened in Xuzhou and Yanzhou.
When he arrested Chang Xi before, Huang Zhong conveniently seized a batch of grain and grass supplies.
Of course, Chang Xi originally planned to sell these supplies to Cao Ren, including not only grain and grass, but also more than a dozen cartloads of slaves.
The problem lies with these slaves. To be precise, they are some important people pretending to be slaves.
Yanzhou, Yecheng.
Cao Cao took action in anger and threw the bamboo tube in his hand towards the person in front of him, "No way, absolutely impossible."
The people below didn't dare to hide, they could only kneel on the ground and tremble.
"My lord, stay calm in times of trouble and don't be impatient."
Guo Jia, who was sitting on his knees and frowning, stood up and bowed his hands, then said: "The most important thing now is to determine whether Duke Cao's identity has been exposed, and whether the money has fallen into Tao Qian's hands. As long as Duke Cao's identity is not exposed, , then your life will be safe for the time being.”
Cao Cao looked at the man kneeling on the floor coldly, with mixed feelings in his heart. After all, the person arrested was his biological father. His old father was still working hard for him at this age, which was unfilial. Now he was reduced to a prisoner. What should he do? Are you calm?
But after looking at Guo Jia, Cao Cao didn't want his men to see such a miserable side of him, so he could only endure his impatience, suppress the anger and worry in his heart, and just hoped that his old father would be safe and sound.
Guo Jia looked at the man who delivered the letter and motioned for him to get up and talk.
The man looked at Cao Cao in fear.
Cao Cao snorted coldly and acquiesced.
The man bowed down as if he was being pardoned, and then stood up to reply.
Guo Jia asked dozens of questions in detail, and the man knew everything. He didn't even dare to add insult to injury. He also knew that the military advisor was very capable, and hoped that he could find a way to get rid of the old man so that he could make up for his mistakes.
When Guo Jia asked: "You just said that you had bribed Chang Xi and went to Yangguan disguised as a businessman, but in the end for some unknown reason, dozens of archers were killed on the way?"
When talking about the Archer, Guo Jia deliberately emphasized his tone.
The man recalled for a moment, nodded and replied: "Yes, they are all sharp archers, and the clothes they wear are also very strange, as if they blend in with the dense forest shrubs, making them hard to guard against."
Guo Jiajian's eyebrows wrinkled unconsciously, and a trace of fear appeared on his face.
Seeing this, Cao Cao frowned and asked, "Fengxiao, why are you worried?"
Guo Jia's face was not very pretty. He just looked up at Cao Cao who was looking up and said in a low voice: "Master, if what I expected is true, Duke Cao did not fall into the hands of Tao Qian, but... the Wei family."
Ping ping ping pong!
"...What?" Cao Cao stood up in surprise and overturned the eucalyptus in front of him. Wine bottles, bamboo slips, and pen and ink were scattered all over the floor.
Guo Jia hurriedly raised his hands and was about to speak when he saw Cao Cao walking down the steps.
"Come here, come here, Yuan Rang, the wonderful talent, where is it?"
Cao Cao pushed open the bead curtain at the door, and a thick curtain of rain came over, hitting his face, making him even more embarrassed.
The Xiahou Dun brothers, Cheng Yu and other soldiers who were not far away were alerted and gathered over.
After listening to Guo Jia's story, I learned that Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, was captured by the Wei family, and even the money originally used to expand the military was lost. Now it seems that there is a high probability that it has become Wei's trophies.
When they heard that Cao Song had been captured, everyone in the Cao family volunteered to rescue him.
Even the two brothers Xiahou Dun and Xia Houyuan looked at Guo Jia nervously. Their minds were not confused yet, and they knew that the only person who could rescue Duke Cao now was the military advisor in front of them.
Cao Cao also came out of his initial irritable mood. He also looked at Guo Jia expectantly, hoping to see a glimmer of hope in Guo Jia's eyes.
And Guo Jia did not disappoint him. He lowered his head and twirled his beard with a thoughtful look on his face. This was Guo Jia's habitual action when he was considering a problem. When everyone saw this, they closed their mouths in tacit agreement, and even the sound of his breathing became softer. Quietly and cautiously.
The group of people just stood in the rain, letting the drizzle wet their clothes, but no one dared to move to the eaves next to them, for fear that they would make too much noise and disturb the military advisor's thinking.
Until Guo Jia's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Yes!"
Everyone seemed to be an oasis in the desert. After a long drought, the rain came, and all the hostility in their bodies disappeared with Guo Jia's voice.
Entering the house again, Guo Jia seemed to be the protagonist in the city. Even Cao Cao respected him extremely.
Guo Jia enjoyed this feeling very much, but he knew that if his strategy could not help Cao Cao or save Duke Cao, the image he had created would suddenly fall back to the bottom, or even worse.
···
Two days later.
Langya, Taikang County, Xuzhou.
Zang Ba led a force of 20,000 troops and stopped and stopped along the way, and finally arrived at his destination.
The biggest drawback of ancient marching and fighting was that the timeliness was too low. An army marching fifty miles a day was considered a hasty march.
Unlike the elite soldiers of the Wei clan, who did not need civilians to carry food and grass at all, the Wei clan used compressed military rations, combined with hunting and certain knowledge of herbal medicine, to ensure that even if they had no food, they could survive in the wilderness with weapons and not starve to death.
Therefore, Wei's people were able to arrive seven or eight days earlier than Zang Ba and others, and they did not join Xuzhou's army until today.
Taikang County is not a big city. The urban area is a square city surrounded by rammed earth. The city can accommodate about 30,000 to 50,000 people.
Because Cao Ren had sacked it once, when Xun You led his men to capture it, there were less than 20,000 residents left in the city.
In this way, Zang Ba took his people directly into the city and avoided the risk of stationing outside.
Even if there were 20,000 more people, the city would not be at all crowded.
At the gate of the city, a group of women and children attracted the attention of the city guards, especially a few old women among them. They held plain white flags in their hands, with a big "Injustice" written on them in red liquid, and "Injustice" written on them. Words such as "Eliminating Harm for the People".
Before the city guards could check, the women and children started shouting.
"Please let your Majesty make the decision for us."
"Please ask Lord Jun to let my man go."
"Let my son go. He was arrested innocently, not a rebel."
"Chang Xi is a bandit, and his crime deserves death. I beg you to help your Majesty eliminate the harm to the people..."
The city guards on the city gate tower looked at each other in confusion. Those who knew the situation immediately remembered something when they heard [Chang Xi]'s name.
Some people couldn't bear to see the women and children kneeling on the ground, kowtowing and crying, so they hurriedly asked people to open the city gate and let the people in first.
It's raining heavily today. During the spring and summer socializing, such rain is auspicious, but I didn't expect that today it would ruin the mood because of these women and children.
Looking at the women and children kneeling in front of the guardhouse, Xunor frowned.
"Have you checked it out?"
"After checking it out, they are all local farmers and mountain people in Xuzhou. To find out more details, we have to go to the prefectures and counties to find out the details."
Xun or looked thoughtfully at the women and children kneeling in front of the guardhouse, crying out for grievances. He always felt that something was fishy. The most important thing was, how did these people know that their husbands, sons, and brothers were being imprisoned in the Taipei? From Kang County?
You must know that when Huang Zhong seized the trophies that day, there were only Longxiwei's men and dozens of dead Chang Xi's men around. The remaining civilian husbands and slaves were all brought back to the city without leaking the news.
Since the news has not been leaked, how did these women and children find themselves here? Xun You squinted his eyes.
"Go, call Zang Ba." Xun Or suddenly thought of something, turned around and ordered the Longshan team member who was responsible for protecting him.
After a pause, Xun You's expression suddenly changed and he said hurriedly: "No, don't alert the Xuzhou Army."
The two members of the Longshan Army looked at each other. This was the first time they had seen the military advisor look like this, as if they had found a treasure.
Xun You raised the corner of his mouth, half-smiling, and said, "Let's go and meet the slaves for a while. I thought it was strange before that these slaves were treated so well that they were specially carried in a carriage."
Xun You laughed and said, "I just suddenly remembered the young master's words, which made me wake up from a dream."
The two men from the Longshan Army were very happy, "I wonder what the young master said that made the military advisor so happy?"
Xun You walked down the wooden stairs with his hands behind his back. He paused for a moment, raised his head and said, "Young master once said that the emperor's crime is the same as that of the common people. His original intention was to call for equality for everyone."
The two Longshan soldiers nodded slightly. This was written into Anyi's laws, so they were naturally familiar with it.
Xun Or then went down the stairs, laughing as he walked, as if sharing interesting things with friends.
"Do you still remember the scene when Uncle Han brought back those slaves? One of them was sitting upright on the shaft of the cart, with someone protecting him in the middle. That day I just thought he must be an old man with high morals, but now I see Those women and children are showing off, haha.”
The man behind him suddenly realized, "Yes, if he is really a highly respected person, someone must intercede for him, but those women and children just didn't say a word about such a person."
"So this man must have a big problem!" another man exclaimed.
Xun You laughed and nodded, "Yes, that old man has a big problem, and those women and children outside the city gate are probably coming for him. Of course, they are indeed the family members of those slaves, but it is so true Between the fake and fake, it is difficult for people to distinguish their true purpose."
It’s just that things are unpredictable.
When Xun or the three of them rushed to the prison in the east of the city, they found that the place had been emptied.
"Where are the people?" Xun Youjian frowned.
A middle-aged man ran over in fear and said, "Sir, everyone in the prison has been taken away to mine."
"Mining?"
Xun You's expression changed greatly. He had the impression that this man was the jailor of this prison.
The jailer nodded and said: "General Zhang came here in person this morning and took out the document written by the envoy. Seeing that there was no problem, he let everyone go. In the past, there were not a few criminals who were called to serve, so they didn't care."
Xun You's expression changed again and again, and he murmured: "General Zhang, Shijun's handwriting."
The Longshan Army on the side suggested: "Military advisor, would you like me to go and bring this person back?"
Xun You looked at the empty prison, his expression became a little gloomy, and he sneered and said, "Don't worry, I just want to see what Tao Gongzu is playing. He obviously also knows that there are some abnormal status among those slaves. man of."
In fact, after Chang Xi was killed, Chen Deng sent someone to send the news back. Tao Qian was dissatisfied with Chang Xi. After some in-depth investigation, he discovered that he almost missed 100 million.
The person who secretly colluded with Chang Xi turned out to be Cao Cao's biological father, Cao Song.
Cao Song also brought a large amount of money, food and supplies with him when he crossed the border this time. The amount was huge enough to form a powerful army in just a few months.
This made Tao Qian so scared that he couldn't help but feel greedy.
He immediately sent his capable general Zhang Kai to follow the army northward and secretly brought Cao Song back.
Taikang County, in the woods ten miles outside.
Zhang Kai slapped the man in front of him away and blew a breath to calm down his mind.
Looking at the man who was losing his breath, Zhang Kai tilted his head, looked at Cao Song who had his eyes closed and said nothing, and threatened in a cold voice: "Old guy, if you know your position, tell me where you are, otherwise the next one will not be a slap. Changed the knife."
Cao Song didn't open his eyes, but responded in a cold voice: "I don't know what you mean, what kind of treasure you are talking about, I don't know anything about it."
Zhang Kai's eyelids twitched a few times, and his big yellow teeth sizzled, making a grinding sound that made people get goosebumps.
"Okay, don't say yes, I want to see if it's your mouth that's tougher or my knife that's tougher..."
As he spoke, he was about to draw his sword, but was stopped by the scribe on the side.
"General, don't mess around. It's better to take the person back. The lord has his own way to make him speak."
Zhang Kai looked at the hand held down by the scribe, a hint of evil flashed in his eyes, and murmured in a cold and terrifying voice: "Idiot, I have so much money, I can get it by myself, wouldn't it be better to go to Hedong County and hide my name from now on? "
"Zhang Kai, what did you say?" The scribe was shocked.
Zhang Kai threw his hand away, pulled out his sword and slashed at the scribe's neck. Blood flowed out for a moment, and even Cao Song, who was kneeling on the ground, was stunned by this sudden scene.
Zhang Kai laughed, shook the blood on the knife, looked at Cao Song, and said playfully: "I heard that your old Cao family specializes in digging up people's ancestral graves. I must have obtained a lot of treasures over the years, haha Haha, I don’t want much, just give me 30%, I only want 30%, and the rest is yours, how about it?”
Cao Song looked at the scribes on the ground in fear. He felt that the Zhang Kai in front of him had been blinded by profit. This kind of person was the most terrifying. He couldn't explain it to him. If he didn't follow him, he would only continue to do so. humiliated.
Cao Song nodded hurriedly, "Okay, I'll give you 30%, I'll give..."
stop!
"Uh, uh, I..."
Cao Song happened to tell the location of the treasure, but suddenly he covered his throat, and blood mixed with saliva kept pouring out of his mouth.
Zhang Kai's face changed greatly, and he hurriedly grabbed Cao Song and shook it, "Tell me, tell me quickly, where is the treasure? Where is it?"
In Cao Song's throat, a short, crystal-clear needle slowly melted into the blood and finally disappeared.
Zhang Kai thought that Cao Song had committed suicide by taking poison, and he was unwilling to reveal the location of the treasure even if he died.
"General, it's hopeless. I'm completely out of breath. What should I do?" After investigating, his subordinates told Zhang Kai this helpless fact.
Zhang Kai's face was gloomy. He looked at the dead Cao Song and the scribes he had killed, and finally said feebly: "Cao Song resisted arrest and committed suicide by taking poison. Master Sun was brutally killed. That's it."
"What about the others?" The subordinate looked at the other slaves brought out.
A stern look flashed in Zhang Kai's eyes, and he waved his hand casually, "No one can be left alive."
···
A few hundred meters away, Tai Shici yawned, looked at the fire in the distance, and said with sincere admiration: "The military advisor really knows what's going on."
