Huainan, Shouchun, noon
A worker in the Cao family compound, wearing coarse linen clothes, was led by the housekeeper to a side room in the inner courtyard. At this time, Cao Heng, the second master of the Cao family, was waiting quietly... ····················
As soon as the worker entered the room, Cao Heng said impatiently:
"Zhang Ren, what's the matter with you? Do we have to meet at this time?"
Zhang Ren, who entered the Cao Mansion disguised as a worker, heard this and said seriously:
"Just an hour ago, Xu Zhaojie came to the south camp to kill Zhao Yue. At this time, he was holding the butcher knife high in the south camp and killing!"
Cao Huan was immediately shocked when these words came out, but he quickly retorted:
"This is impossible! We have placed spies around Xu Zhaojie, and we just sent me the news yesterday. Xu Zhaojie is still seriously ill in bed in the Governor's Mansion, and even vomited blood at one point. How could he appear in the camp in the south of the city to seize power?"
After hearing what Cao Huan said, Zhang Ren once again preached very seriously:
"Er Master Cao! I don't know what news your informant sent you, but I tell you that my news is absolutely accurate!"
"Perhaps your informant was deceived by Xu Zhaojie, or perhaps you have simply been bribed by Xu Zhaojie. In short, Xu Zhaojie is now seizing power in the camp in the south of the city!"
"Xu Zhaojie had already bribed Sun Dashan, Zhao Yue's deputy general. With the cooperation of Sun Dashan, Xu Zhaojie immediately killed Zhao Yue after he appeared in the south camp. At this moment, he is clearing out Zhao Yue's cronies in the south camp. , his next step will definitely be to fight back to Shouchun to suppress..."
Although it was still a bit unbelievable, Cao Huan was a little doubtful when he saw Zhang Ren's determined posture. Just when he was hesitant and didn't know what to do, Zhang Ren was very disappointed when he saw him like this. Even if he took the initiative said:
"Second Master, since you can't make the decision, then please ask Mr. Cao to come out! We don't have much time left for you and me now!"
Hearing what Zhang Ren said, Cao Huan hesitated but still said:
"You wait here!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Cao Huan left in a hurry. After about a tea break, a housekeeper came over and took Zhang Ren to an antique room.
At this time, Mr. Cao, who was holding the crutches, was sitting on the edge of the bed, and Cao Heng was waiting aside. Although the old man's eyes were still sharp, his slightly messy hair and clothes showed that he had been woken up from his nap. .
When he saw Zhang Ren, an old man who had been in power for decades, he said directly:
"Where did your news come from?"
Facing Mr. Cao’s culture, Zhang Ren hesitated and said:
"Hu Ben Camp! Xu Zhaojie's operation was very confidential. He only informed Huben Camp of the target a quarter of an hour before the operation. Although my men sent the news to me as quickly as possible, it was still a beat late. Now Xu Zhaojie is probably already The cleaning is completed in the south camp of the city, and I would like to ask Mr. Cao to make an early decision..."
If he had doubts about Zhang Ren's news just now, after hearing that Zhang Ren's news came from Huben Camp, Mr. Cao already believed 90% of what Zhang Ren said!
After confirming the authenticity of the news, Mr. Cao couldn't help but close his eyes in pain. The reason why he dared to compete with Xu Zhaojie during this period was not only that the Zhennan Army suffered a disastrous defeat in Hebei and Henan and was seriously injured, but also that Xu Zhaojie himself was sick. Sorry, apart from the sharp decline in control over Huainan, the biggest wish is that he has the support of Zhao Yue!
Zhao Yue was one of the generals of the original Huainan Army. Because he took the initiative to join Xu Zhaojie and was from a wealthy Huainan family, after Xu Zhaojie took over Shouchun, Zhao Yue not only was not purged, but because he could help Zhennan The army recruits troops and its power increases!
In the previous battle between Xu Zhaojie and Hebei Province, Zhao Yue was ordered to guard Huainan, which not only allowed Zhao Yue to escape, but also allowed Zhao Yue, who controlled 20,000 troops and horses, to become the leader of Zhennan after the defeat of Hebei and Henan. The general who controls the most troops!
Because he was Xu Zhaojie who sought advantages and avoided disadvantages and surrendered, Zhao Yue could not be said to be very loyal to Xu Zhaojie. In addition, after seeing Xu Zhaojie's merciless purge with his own eyes, Zhao Yue was also heartbroken, fearing that one day he would be the same. Being treated like this by Xu Zhaojie.
It happened that the Cao family, who had strange thoughts at this time, needed soldiers and horses to rely on, so Zhao Yue and Mr. Cao also hit it off and joined forces to fight against Xu Zhaojie. Therefore, Zhao Yue also brought the soldiers and horses to the camp in the south of the city. Support the Cao family····························
Faced with the alliance between the Huainan family headed by the Cao family and Zhao Yue, Xu Zhaojie, who had always had a strong attitude, uncharacteristically chose to tolerate it.
Xu Zhaojie's tolerance caused divisions within the challengers.
One group believes that Xu Zhaojie should be beaten to death completely. Huainan is the Huainan of Huainan people!
However, there is another group that believes that although Xu Zhaojie's strength was greatly damaged after the Battle of Hebei and Yu, he still has tens of thousands of people under his command. If there is a real fight, it is hard to say who will win, not to mention that even if Xu Zhaojie is defeated, there will be more battles later. There is a more ferocious Ye Mingsheng watching covetously.
Therefore, they advocated quitting when things got better, forming a new balance of power with Xu Zhaojie, and using Xu Zhaojie to fight against Ye Mingsheng.
The two factions have been arguing for more than a month, but they still have not decided to pay attention. No one thought that Xu Zhaojie would secretly ambush Chen Cang at this time.
Now Zhao Yue has been killed by Xu Zhaojie, and more than 20,000 soldiers and horses under his command have also been taken away by Xu Zhaojie. At this moment, without the support of soldiers and horses, their family is basically defeated!
Although he already knew that the situation was very unfavorable to his side, Mr. Cao inevitably still had the last illusion at this time. He looked at Zhang Ren and said sincerely:
"Zhang Baihu, I know that there are many secret agents in the Zhennan Army under your command. Now, although Zhao Yue has been killed, I still have some plans. If the two parties join forces at this time, they may not be able to turn things around... ······················”
When Mr. Cao said this, Zhang Ren immediately sneered in his heart. He knew that Mr. Cao probably didn't want to turn things around, but wanted to pull a backer and encourage his men to resist, so that he could take the opportunity to retreat!
Although he was very disdainful of Mr. Cao's thoughts, Zhang Ren still said seriously:
"The old man is joking. It's okay for my group of people to take down the sneaky things. How can they resist Xu Zhaojie's army?"
Seeing that Zhang Ren didn't take the bait, Mr. Cao was a little disappointed. He originally wanted to give some advice, but when he felt the determination in Zhang Ren's eyes, he stopped doing useless things and immediately gave instructions to his son. road:
"Get ready to leave with your family!"
Hearing what his father said, Cao Huan was a little reluctant, but he nodded and said:
"yes!"
After Cao Huan left, Mr. Cao took a deep breath and said to Zhang Ren:
"Zhang Baihu, from now on our Cao family will ask you to serve as the military force!"
After saying that, Mr. Cao stood up with crutches, as if he wanted to salute Zhang Ren. Seeing this, Zhang Ren was immediately shocked and stopped Mr. Cao's move.
"The old man can't do it! He can't do it! You are trying to kill me!"
In response to Zhang Ren's dissuasion, Mr. Cao continued to preach:
"From now on, our Cao family will be loyal to the Fengwu Army from generation to generation and respect Marshal Ye! All the money and food of the Cao family are willing to dedicate to Marshal Ye... ··········”
Hearing what Mr. Cao said, Zhang Ren also understood what the old fox meant. He hesitated and said:
"Mr. Cao, since you have said so, I guarantee that your Cao family will successfully evacuate Shouchun!"
After receiving Zhang Ren's promise, Mr. Cao relaxed a little, and immediately confessed again:
"Jinghai Commander-in-Chief Zhang Kai is my student and son-in-law. He is loyal to our Cao family. In order to prevent unexpected events, I quietly transferred 50,000 taels of silver and 100,000 stones of grain to him. In addition, our Cao family also Jinghai secretly trains three thousand dead soldiers, so I ask Zhang Baihu for your help to send Cao Huan and others to Jinghai!"
As soon as these words came out, Zhang Ren couldn't help but sigh:
"Mr. Cao, you are really a cunning rabbit!"
After listening to Zhang Ren's words, Mr. Cao also said with a wry smile:
"It's just a precautionary measure. I never thought that I would actually use this back-up plan!"
After speaking, Mr. Cao continued:
"When Cao Huan and the others arrive at Jinghai, they can use Jinghai as their base to call on our relatives and friends of the Cao family to fight against Xu Zhaojie. This will be enough to make Xu Zhaojie drink a pot of wine. By then, the Fengwu army stationed in Anqing and Hebei will invade in large numbers. Xu Zhaojie is bound to lose due to internal and external troubles!"
Hearing the scene described by Mr. Cao, Zhang Ren couldn't help but feel very moved, then nodded and said:
"I understand, old man, I will make arrangements right away..."
Shortly after Zhang Ren left, Cao Huan returned to the room and reported to his father:
"Father, everything is ready! Do you think we should notify other families?"
Upon hearing this, Mr. Cao shook his head and said:
"There are too many people leaving. Xu Zhaojie will react immediately. No one will be able to leave by then. Cao Huan will notify them after you withdraw from Shouchun for an hour!"
Cao Huan nodded and said:
"Dad, I understand!"
"You should follow suit, I've arranged a carriage for you!"
Upon hearing this, Mr. Cao smiled and said:
"Huan'er! I won't go with you. My old bones can't bear to deal with you!"
As soon as these words came out, Cao Huan was stunned for a moment and then said:
"Father, what are you doing? I have arranged everything. We can all evacuate..."
Cao Huan wanted to say something more, but Mr. Cao waved his hand and interrupted him:
"If I were still alive, even if I evacuated, Xu Zhaojie would be afraid of my influence in Huainan and would definitely pursue me all the way. He will feel at ease only if this old guy like me dies. Only after you evacuate to Jinghai can you have some breathing space. Opportunity!"
"father!"
Seeing that the excited Cao Huan wanted to say something, Mr. Cao smiled and said:
"Idiot! At my father's age, I should have gone to see my ancestors a long time ago. There is no regrets! Even if I don't die today, it will be difficult for my body and bones to survive this winter!"
After finishing his words, Mr. Cao realized that time was running out, and instead of comforting his son, he explained seriously;
"Although Zhang Kai seems to be a loyal person, he is also a messy person secretly. I have only seen his true face clearly in the past two years. If I am alive, I can naturally suppress him, but if he knows that I am dead, There’s no way he’s going to be treacherous!”
"So Huan'er, the first thing you do when you evacuate Jinghai is to capture Zhang Kai for me. I have planted a trap around him, which is Liu Quan, the steward next to him. As long as you find him, he will help you. Get rid of Zhang Kai!"
"Your uncle Cao Zhen is also in Jinghai. After getting rid of Zhang Kai, you can control Zhang Kai's five thousand soldiers and horses with his help, plus the three thousand dead soldiers who were secretly trained. You There are only about 10,000 soldiers and horses in Jinghai. The money and food I left there will be enough for you to support you for a while... "
"If my prediction is correct, the Fengwu Army will immediately launch an attack on Huainan, trying to take advantage of the chaos. The Fengwu Army's troops will involve most of Xu Zhaojie's troops. In order to win, the Fengwu Army will definitely let you attack Xu Zhaojie's Way back!"
"Huan'er, please remember that you must obey the Fengwu Army's request, but you cannot completely obey it! You want to harass Xu Zhaojie's retreat on a small scale, but you can't use all your belongings. Xu Zhaojie must have some feelings for you. Beware of this man, he is a master of military skills. If you attack with the whole army, it is very likely that the whole army will be annihilated!"
"I met Lu Jianchao, the governor of Jiangnan, and we have a certain friendship. When you arrive in Jinghai, remember to write him a letter and tell him that you are willing to stop Xu Zhaojie for Jiangnan in Jinghai!"
"Lu Jianchao has been worried that Xu Zhaojie will do something to him, so he is most likely willing to help you. He has a factory built by Fengwu Army, and the firearms are also very sharp. You can get firearms, money and food from him. With these things You can figure it out slowly!"
After hearing his father's arrangement, Cao Huan felt extremely sad. He knelt on the ground and said:
"Dad, just come with us. If you don't come with me, my son will feel uneasy!"
Seeing this, Mr. Cao preached seriously:
"As a father, I can't stay with you forever! From now on, the Cao family will depend on you. Remember not to disgrace the lintel of the Cao family!"
"And on the day of Xu Zhaojie's death, you have to come and pay homage to my father's grave, so that I can smile... ·······”
(I don’t know if today’s chapter will be a little abrupt, but the Yunbin battle situation and internal affairs are coming to an end, so I use this chapter to lead into the story of the next month!)
