The eighth year of Jian'an, 203 AD, June.
Cao Cao officially proclaimed himself king and established the country in Jizhou, Weijun, and Yecheng, appointed hundreds of officials, and granted numerous ministers numerous awards!
The soldiers and civilians of Hebei rejoiced for joy, and the morale of the three armies of Cao and Wei was greatly boosted!
From this moment on, most of the important officials in the Han Dynasty had dual official positions.
One is in Han and the other is in Wei.
Even many key personnel have undergone substantial adjustments.
It can be said that this time Cao Cao became king, which greatly consolidated his rule over the Central Plains and Hebei.
But there is one exception!
Xun Yu, the Shangshu Ling, did not accept Cao Cao's reward for his position in Wei, and still had the status of Han Shangshu Ling.
Since the Zhong family headed by Zhong Yao of Yingchuan and the Chen family headed by Chen Qun defected to Cao Cao, the energy that Xun Yu could exert was greatly reduced.
It is impossible to stop all this.
Before Cao Cao became king, all major families in Yingchuan, including the Han family, expressed their submission.
At present, throughout Yingchuan, the Xun clan headed by Xun Yu has become the polished commander.
And the Xun family began to criticize Xun Yu's actions internally.
The great changes in the entire Yingchuan family did not happen out of nowhere, but were due to one person.
The current representative of Hanoi's top family, Sima Lang!
It was Sima Lang who took the lead in calling for the Yingchuan clique to completely defect, turning Xun Yu into a loner.
After learning everything, Xun Yu made no resistance and quietly handled his government affairs.
But anyone can know that Xun Yu has changed!
From the moment Cao Cao became king, he became taciturn and his eyes lost their light.
At the same time, Xiahou Dun took an oath in Xuchang and led an army of 50,000 people southward.
When passing through Xinye, they immediately took command of the army.
In order to maintain the command of the army, all the former chief generals of the Jingzhou faction resigned from their posts.
The 10,000 Jingzhou infantry were replaced by Xiahou Dun's direct generals.
As for Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue, they were also left in Xinye by Xiahou Dun.
The euphemistic name is to prepare to meet the army of King Wei.
In fact, Xiahou Dun was afraid of accidents and wanted to completely control this army.
Fortunately, the 10,000 Jiangxia navy led by Huang Zu were not exploited by Xiahou Dun.
The main reason was that Xiahou Dun did not have any generals who were good at naval warfare.
Xiahou Dun would not make stupid decisions like a layman commanding an expert.
After arranging several lieutenants, Huang Zu was still the chief general of the 10,000 Jiangxia navy.
After reorganizing his armaments, Xiahou Dun did not hesitate and led his army southward again, leading directly to Xiangyang, the important town of Nanjun.
With the help of Huang Zu's navy, the rough Han River could not stop the army.
However, crossing the Han River this time still gave Xiahou Dun some insights.
Especially how disgusting it was to stand on that swaying warship was still fresh in his memory.
Fortunately, everything went very smoothly. The 60,000-strong army successfully crossed the Han River and set foot on the land of Nanjun.
After a brief rest, Xiahou Dun left Huang Zu stationed along the Han River while he personally led the army to Xiangyang.
But just after walking a short distance, I saw a big flag with a Liu character blocking the road!
Isn't the leader the very familiar Liu Bei?
Xiahou Dun was immediately overjoyed and pointed his sword at Liu Bei.
"Hahaha, big-eared thief, when you see this general, you won't get off your horse and be bound!"
With an angry look on his face, Liu Bei drew out the two swords from his waist.
"Xiahou Dun, you have such a loud tone!"
"The thief Cao has usurped the throne and proclaimed himself king. I was just about to send troops to conquer him, but I didn't expect you to show up!"
"Today I will kill you first, and then send troops north to capture the Cao thief and rescue the emperor!"
After saying this, Liu Bei actually clapped his horse and stepped forward.
How could Xiahou Dun let go of this opportunity to determine the outcome in a single battle? He immediately shouted loudly.
"Big-eared thief, suffer death!"
The two of them clashed with each other, and immediately got close to each other, and then started a duel with swords and long knives.
Liu Bei's arms were above his knees, and he had the advantage of long hands. Coupled with his youthful martial arts practice, Liu Bei's strength was quite impressive.
For a time, the fight with Xiahou Dun was inseparable.
However, after more than ten rounds of stalemate, the balance of victory and defeat began to tilt seriously.
After all, Xiahou Dun, who has the foundation of a fierce general, is better!
A fierce blow shook open Liu Bei's double swords, and slashed towards his face.
"Big-eared thief, you're done!"
Xiahou Dun shouted loudly and prepared to kill Liu Bei with a knife.
It's a pity that Liu Bei's reaction ability was still underestimated.
In his life, Liu Bei has been unable to defeat too many people, too many to count!
But when it comes to escape, no one can get enough of it!
I saw Liu Bei leaning back and hiding, and easily deflected the fatal blow.
Then he jerked the reins, turned the horse's head and fled towards the main formation.
"One-eyed dragon, I will go back first, and I will take care of you the next day!"
Even when you're running away, you can't forget to show off your skills!
Liu Bei ran and talked nonsense, which directly made Xiahou Dun furious.
"Big-eared thief, you can't escape from my hands today!"
Xiahou Dun issued a military order!
Although it was not written that Liu Bei would be beheaded in five days, he expressed his position in public in the court.
This time is undoubtedly a great opportunity!
With a wave of his sword, he immediately issued a military order.
"Soldiers, follow me and charge! Kill the big-eared thief and worship the general as a marquis!"
The 50,000-strong army that Cao Cao asked Xiahou Dun to lead were all elites from the Northern Expedition against Yuan Shao, and their soldiers were of excellent quality.
As soon as Xiahou Dun's general order came out, the troops in the front row instantly rose up and rushed over with roars.
"Hahaha, wherever the big-eared thief can escape, Ben will never escape!"
When Xiahou Dun saw this, he was overjoyed and rushed forward without thinking about his own safety.
He looks like he will not give up until Liu Bei is killed today!
The armies that were originally facing each other suddenly turned into a chase.
It's just that Liu Bei's escape skills are really amazing, and his soldiers are also very good at running.
Xiahou Dun pursued desperately, but he seemed to be unable to catch him!
Despite this, Xiahou Dun had no intention of giving up and could only urge the soldiers to speed up.
During the constant pursuit, a tall city gradually appeared in Xiahou Dun's eyes.
He was instantly overjoyed.
Xiangyang City must have arrived!
There are only a handful of cities of this size in the entire Nan County, and the one on the bank of the Han River is undoubtedly Xiangyang!
Xiahou Dun's primary goal for this expedition was to capture Xiangyang and open the door to Nanjun for Cao Cao's follow-up army.
Now Liu Bei is fleeing in panic, and he must be fleeing to Xiangyang!
Xiangyang City will definitely not leave Liu Bei alone, which means that Xiahou Dun can take advantage of the situation and attack the city!
If all 60,000 troops poured in, even an iron barrel in Xiangyang City would be useless!
"Hahaha, soldiers, follow me to take Xiangyang, charge!"
Everything went as Xiahou Dun expected. After seeing Liu Bei rushing to the city, the defenders began to lower the drawbridge and open the city gate to greet him.
But it's still a step too late!
Just when the Xiangyang defenders confirmed Liu Bei's identity, they gave Xiahou Dun and his army time to catch up.
When the gates of Xiangyang were opened and Liu Bei led his army into the city, Xiahou Dun happened to lead his army to attack.
"Kill! Rush in!"
Xiahou Dun was brave and invincible. His horse leaped forward and quickly cut the ropes of the suspension bridge on both sides.
Then he rushed into the city gate alone, slashing at the soldiers who were preparing to close the city gate.
Thanks to Xiahou Dun's personal courage, Cao's army swarmed in and all entered Xiangyang!
