Han Hao clasped his fists and replied: "Some people from the navy came to discuss the matter in the evening. Governor Cai arrived at the predetermined location two days ago. Now he has set up a water fortress by Chao Lake on the north side of Qibao Mountain. He is currently waiting for the Lord's order."
Cao Cao said happily: "When Gu Chu went to Jingzhou, he only had 20,000 naval troops in Xiangyang and only a few hundred warships. So he was forced to fight Zhou Yu in Wulin. In addition, he was defeated due to the rampant epidemic. Now he is ready to After several years, I can finally avenge my shame, hahaha..."
Dong Zhao, the chief historian, complimented: "My lord defeated Sun Quan in this battle, and then took advantage of the situation to capture Jiangdong. Not to mention becoming the Duke of Wei, you can even be called the King of Wei. If you hadn't conquered the north and south, Han Zuo would have been finished long ago." ..."
"Wei Gong is well-deserved." Jiang Ji agreed.
"Well deserved..." the ministers shouted in unison.
Cao Cao waved his hand: "After the war, I will ask the emperor to tell you that you will be rewarded for your hard work."
"Thank you Mr. Wei..."
"However, the emperor has not yet issued an edict. No more arrogant words are allowed. How many enemies are harassing tonight? Who is the general?" Cao Cao asked doubtfully.
Zhang Liao went out and clasped his fists and said: "There are probably hundreds of cavalry who have been monitoring the front army of Wenbo in the past few days. Their leader will be Lu Meng, a famous general from Jiangdong..."
"Lu Meng? A famous general from Jiangdong? Hahaha, why did Wen Yuan make me laugh?" Cao Cao laughed.
Zhang Liao had been stationed in Hefei for the past two years and did not know the military situation in Yangtze River and Jiaozhou. So when he heard Cao Cao say this, he was as confused as Monk Zhang Er. Did I say something wrong?
Upon seeing this, Cheng Yu explained: "Lü Meng wanted to capture Jiaozhou last year and brought 20,000 Jiangdong elite troops. However, Lai Gong blocked it with thousands of troops for half a year. In the end, he withdrew because of the lack of food and grass. This man can't even hold his head up in the Jiangdong court now." , it is inappropriate for General Zhang to call him a famous general..."
"Is that so..." Zhang Liao didn't know how to reply.
The smiling faces of everyone in the big tent were reddened by the heat of the brazier. They all seemed to be waiting for Lu Meng's joke. Forward Zhu Ling was a famous general under Cao Cao. He should have won a great victory against such a fool.
While everyone was enjoying themselves, Xu Chu brought the messengers from the front barracks from outside.
The man looked nervous and covered in dust. When he saw Cao Cao bowing his head, he bowed and said, "Tell the Prime Minister that our troops fell into an ambush during the pursuit tonight. Two thousand horsemen strayed into the swamp. General Zhu asked me to come and report to you." .”
As soon as the messenger finished speaking, there was sudden silence in the tent.
Just now Lu Meng was demoted to be worthless, but now there was a sudden reversal.
"Where is Zhu Ling now?" Cao Cao looked serious.
Cao Cao's body tensed upright, and the quilt wrapped around him collapsed. He didn't feel cold at this moment.
The messenger replied: "General Zhu is leading five thousand elite troops to rescue."
"A common man." Cao Cao threw out two words, and he didn't know whether he was scolding Lu Meng or Zhu Ling.
Although Cheng Yu looked down on Sun Quan, he made a very accurate suggestion: "My lord, our army is not familiar with the environment here. It is easy to be ambushed if we pursue rashly at night. Why is Wenbo so unwise after being on the battlefield for a long time?"
Cao Cao knew that Zhu Ling was not a reckless person. There must be a reason for him to lose his mind. Cao Cao made a quick decision: "Lü Meng's hundreds of people should be the bait. Wen Yuan and Xuan Gao, take all your troops and horses to go to the rescue. Remember to light more torches." With great prestige.”
"Wei." Zhang Liao cupped his fists and accepted the order.
After experiencing such a small episode, no one in the big tent was sleepy at all. This was Sun Quan's warning. He really looked like a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers.
Cao Cao once again took out the newspaper in his arms and read it. The look in his eyes became more complicated. He said to himself: "Is this really Sun Liu's plan? To destabilize the morale of our army?"
Jia Xu consoled him: "Prime Minister, don't worry. Even if Lu Meng cheats a little, it won't help. In the face of absolute military superiority, these small tricks will not play a decisive role."
"How can Lu Meng care if Lu Meng scratches his itch?" Cao Cao snorted coldly.
"Now that the main force of our army is too far away from the navy, it is better to move to the northern foot of Qibao Mountain to camp, so that it can be integrated with Governor Cai's water camp, so that we can coordinate easily whether it is offensive or defensive." Jia Xu suggested.
Cao Cao nodded, then looked at the central leader Han Hao and said: "Yuan Si, order all battalions to march to the northern foot of Qibao Mountain tomorrow morning."
"Wei." Han Hao cupped his fists and accepted the order.
After dawn, each camp buried pots to make rice, and then moved to the northern foot of Qibao Mountain.
Last night, Zhu Ling's troops were lured to the swamp by Lu Meng, and then joined forces with Gong Sunyang and others from the Xijiang Camp to prepare for reinforcements and eat up all of Zhu Ling's troops. However, due to the timely rescue of Zhang Liao and Zang Ba, Lu Meng only gained a small victory. After the victory, they retreated at night.
In Sun Cao's first battle at Ruxukou, Lu Meng's troops beheaded 4,000 people and captured more than 500 horses, which was a good start.
Lü Meng returned to Ruxuwu to report his victory and presented the five hundred captured war horses. Lü Meng swept away the gloom when he returned from Jiaozhou. Sun Quan was overjoyed when he learned about it. Not only did he boast in front of everyone, but he also rewarded him with two thousand pieces of silk.
Jiangdong did not produce war horses, and horses were particularly valuable there. He kept 300 of them for his own use, and gave the remaining 200 to Lu Meng and Pan Zhang.
Lu Meng made a great show in his first battle, and all Jiangdong generals from Ruxuwu came to congratulate him. Even Han Dang, the veteran general who had lamented him, was not surprised.
After everyone left, Sun Quan left Lu Meng alone to encourage him: "You have felt it deeply these days, right? This is how the world is, and the world is so cold. No one will respect the weak, so you must always be strong."
"I am willing to die to repay my lord." Lu Meng knelt down and bowed down.
Sun Quan helped him up and said, "Wen Gui has told me the story of the war. I can no longer take the risk of charging forward. What I lack is a general capable of commanding thousands of troops, not generals like Ling Gongji and Jiang Yuandai. ..”
"Thank you, Lord, for your kindness..." Lu Meng burst into tears of gratitude.
"Do you have the confidence to help me defeat Cao Cao?" Sun Quan asked.
Lu Meng said seriously: "Although the general had a small victory last night, he also lost more than a thousand troops. Cao's army is indeed powerful on land. To defeat him, we have to rely on our Jiangdong navy."
Sun Quan nodded in agreement, and he immediately felt confident when talking about the navy.
Cao Cao lost thousands of troops as soon as he arrived, and his morale was greatly reduced because he was unable to fight Lu Meng. After setting up camp at the northern foot of Qibao Mountain, he prepared to take the initiative to attack Ruxukou.
Sun Quan's main force was at the foot of the mountain east of Ruxu River. It would be difficult to attack Ruxuwu head-on. After discussion with several advisers, Cao Cao asked the navy to leave the gorge between the two mountains and land at night on the north side of the east pass of Ruxu Mountain. .
It is planned to follow Xu Huang's method of crossing Pubanjin, and after landing in the north, gradually advance to the south. At that time, Sun Quan's Ruxuwu will not be of much use. After all, Cao's army has a strong combat effectiveness on land.
A few days later, just after nightfall, Cai Mao led the warship to sneak out of the water village and prepared to cross the river twenty miles north of Ruxukou.
The east pass of Ruxu Mountain is a windy point. From the top of the mountain, you can have a bird's-eye view of the entire Ruxu Waterway. You can have a clear view of Cao Jun's ships entering and exiting the two mountain gorges. Not long after Cai Mao's warships sailed out of the water stronghold, Sun Quan received the news at Ruxuwu. The firelight was very conspicuous.
That night, Sun Quan hurriedly sent Lu Su, the commander-in-chief, to take a warship to defend the enemy. Lü Meng, Ling Tong, Han Dang, Jiang Qin and others accompanied the army. He and veteran Cheng Pu took command of Ruxuwu.
At the same time, Sun Quan sent Zhang Zhao to work for Gan Ning. Ruxuwu was relatively empty due to the large number of troops sent. Sun Quan was afraid that this man who could rob a camp with hundreds of horses would be too dangerous to backstab him.
