Bai Luo ran from night to night, gradually realizing something was wrong, and his expression became gloomy.
"Qushuai, are the officers and soldiers forcing us to find Liu Qushuai?" the guard next to Bai Luo gasped.
The officers and soldiers were obviously controlling their escape routes, blocking a certain road from time to time, forcing them to change direction. At the same time, the pursuit speed of the officers and soldiers was sometimes fast and sometimes slow, which was to consume their energy and physical strength!
And the direction they are escaping from now is obviously Heiqishan, the territory of Liu Shi, one of the thirty-six canal commanders!
Bai Yao looked back and could vaguely see the shadows of the officers and soldiers. His eyes were filled with hatred and he said, "You want to kill me, but you are not qualified enough!"
The guard was surprised and overjoyed, and said: "Shuai Qu, do you have a solution?"
Bai Rao looked in the direction of Heiqi Mountain and said, "Before I returned to the army, I sent letters to all the commanders. A mere thirty thousand officers and soldiers want to destroy us. What a fantasy!"
The guards who had been running away all night were excited when they heard this. They came over and said, "Qu Shuai, what can you do?"
Bai Rao took a deep breath and said with a stern face: "Rush over and go to Jizhou Changshan! Zhang Shuai is already summoning all the ministries. As long as we pass, our million-strong army is still afraid of a mere 30,000 officers and soldiers!"
The guards looked at each other. Now that the officers and soldiers were chasing and intercepting them, they were exhausted. How could they rush forward?
But Bai Rao suddenly straightened his chest and shouted: "Command everyone to charge at me. Those who can't keep up will die in the hands of the army! Tell them again that Cao Cao killed hundreds of thousands of people in Qingzhou, but he won't Surrender us and give us food to eat!"
Before the guards could react, Bai Rao had already taken the lead in striking the horse.
The guards and the soldiers behind them didn't have time to think too much, so they could only pass the order while riding their horses, and followed Bai Luo closely.
They were riding horses, and most of the people behind them were "infantry". Naturally, they couldn't keep up, but under intimidation, they could only grit their teeth and follow.
Bai Rao's sudden movement was naturally immediately detected by Cao Ren and Le Jin behind him. Without hesitation, the two men raised their troops to pursue him.
But soon, they ran into trouble.
Bai Luo led the cavalry and "infantry" at full speed, leaving behind all the old, weak, women and children, blocking the road.
Le Jin had a fiery temperament, but he was not stupid. He looked at Cao Ren and said, "Sima, what should I do?"
Cao Ren was always taciturn and most calm. He looked at the direction in which Bai Rao was running and said, "They are going north, take a detour and stop them!"
Le Jin raised his hand to answer the order, turned around with five thousand people, went around a mountain, and continued the pursuit.
Cao Ren ordered the soldiers to surrender these old, weak, women and children and clear the road.
Soon after, when the news reached Cao Cao's army, Cao Cao was chatting and laughing with Guo Jia, Xi Zhicai and others.
Cao Cao rode his horse very slowly and said with a smile: "Zhicai, if we talk about the world's heroes, then Yuan Benchu was originally one of them, but this man is bold and small-minded, and he will definitely retaliate. He is not the only one who can achieve great things." People. Besides, Yuan Gongli is greedy for life and afraid of death. He seems to be brave and strategic, but in fact he does not understand the overall situation and is reckless and ignorant... Only half of the people who can get into Cao's eyes now are Wucheng Hou Sunjian!"
Xi Zhicai listened to Cao Cao's comments on the world's "heroes" and was secretly surprised.
This Cao Cao is very keen on people and things, especially open-minded and fearless. This kind of person will definitely achieve great things!
Knowing that Cao Cao was deliberately recruiting Cao Cao, Xi Zhicai pretended to cough a few times and said with a smile: "The general has a sharp eye, and he must be the pillar of the Han Dynasty. Unfortunately, Xi Zhicai has been sick since he was a child, and I am afraid he will never see that day again." .”
"Didn't Zhicai already see him?" Guo Jia said with a smile. He also admires Xi Zhicai very much. This person is not showy, but he is transparent and stubborn in his actions. He is definitely a good person!
Xi Zhicai was startled, and then he understood that Guo Jia was talking about following Cao Cao's army.
Just as he was about to speak, he saw a scout riding towards Cao Cao. He knelt down on one knee and said loudly: "Report to the general, Bai Rao has abandoned tens of thousands of old, weak and corrupt people, blocking the official road. Now go to Cao Cao." Bei Ji fled, as if he was going to Jizhou. Lieutenant Le Du had already taken a detour to pursue, Cao Sima asked the general for instructions."
Cao Cao suddenly frowned, but he didn't expect Bai Rao to be so decisive, so he couldn't help but think.
He came out of Beijing this time with an order to wipe out all the Black Mountain Army. There are two main Black Mountain Army in Yanzhou, one is Bai Rao from Luyang Mountain, and the other is Liu Shi from Heiqi Mountain.
Now Bai Rao did not join Liu Shi, and turned north to join Zhang Yan, but Cao Cao continued to attack Heiqishan.
Cao Cao was silent. Guo Jia drank wine and said with a smile: "Bai Lao is smart enough to cut off his tail to survive. This is a good opportunity for the general."
Cao Cao was startled, turned his head and said, "What does filial piety mean?"
Guo Jia took another sip of wine and smiled without saying anything.
But Xi Zhicai opened his mouth and said: "What the military advisor means is that although Bai Rao and Liu Shi cannot be annihilated in one fell swoop, Bai Rao's defection to Zhang Yan gave the general the opportunity to annihilate all the Black Mountain troops in one fell swoop!"
Fleeing north in vain will definitely stimulate the Montenegrin Army even more, and the Montenegrin Army will be more concentrated, which will give Cao Cao an excellent opportunity to win in one battle!
Cao Cao's narrow eyes narrowed, flashing with scorching light, and then he laughed loudly and said: "Zhicai, I entrust you with the food and grass. I will personally lead the army and attack Heiqi Mountain!"
Xi Zhicai was a little surprised. He had no friendship with Cao Cao, but he was sent by the imperial court to monitor him. Can Cao Cao really hand over food and grass to him?
Xi Zhicai glanced at Guo Jia out of the corner of his eye, smiled calmly and said, "General, don't worry as the military advisor and I are here."
Cao Cao raised his hand and said: "I can't leave my duty of filial piety for even a moment, so I will entrust Zhicai with all the power of food and grass!"
Xi Zhicai looked deeply at Cao Cao, this man is so courageous!
Cao Cao didn't react when he saw Xi Zhicai. Without saying a word, he turned around and struck his horse, shouting: "Xiahou Dun, follow me to the battle!"
"Take the order!" Xiahou Dun responded loudly.
Behind Xiahou Dun, there were a group of nephews from the Cao and Xiahou families, following Cao Cao and slapping his horse.
The sound of horse hoofbeats was rolling, and the dust was like mist. Xi Zhicai watched quietly and remembered the words of He Yong, Xun You and others.
'Cao Cao's people are the ones who achieve great things! '
'The rise and fall of the Han Dynasty may be the key person! '
'Looks like a loyal person, but is actually treacherous. If he is not a pillar, he must be a traitor! '
Xi Zhicai let out a long breath, looked back at the grain security team of less than 2,000 people, and had a very complicated mentality towards Cao Cao.
On the other side, Bai Rao put aside his "burden" and not only easily blocked the pursuit of the officers and soldiers, but also escaped from the pursuit of the officers and soldiers with ease and went straight to Jizhou.
When Le Jin received Cao Cao's order, he was not in a hurry. He just hung from a distance and followed Bai Rao's whereabouts.
Bai Rao rushed from Yanzhou to Jizhou and was attacked by officers and soldiers from various places. Most of these officers and soldiers were county and county captains. They ignored Cao Cao's letters and Cao Cao had no authority to order them. Therefore, Bai Rao was always on the move. He ran away in a panic, not daring to stop even half a step.
But Cao Cao didn't care, and the army went straight to Heiqishan.
Heiqi Mountain is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the terrain is very dangerous, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Cao Cao's strong attack for two consecutive days failed to achieve any results, and he couldn't help but look a little unhappy.
When Xiahou Dun retreated again, he couldn't help but said to Guo Jiaqi: "Fengxiao, the Black Mountain Army is gathering in Changshan Kingdom. I should make you, Zhang Wenyuan and others write to me one after another. I can't delay it any longer!"
Guo Jia drank wine, his expression calm and unchanged, and said: "General, I have been observing for two days and I have a solution."
Xiahou Dun was overjoyed and said, "Military advisor, what can we do?"
Guo Jia seemed to be influenced by Cao Cao. He subconsciously touched his beard, then put it down and said with a smile: "There are tens of thousands of people gathered in Heiqishan. Although the food and grass should be able to last for several months, the water may not be able to last."
Cao Cao opened his eyes and said anxiously: "Yes, Yuan Rang! You cut off the water source on the mountain immediately..."
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly stopped, paused for a moment, pulled Xiahou Dun over, and whispered a few words.
Xiahou Dun seemed to hesitate, but still said: "Yes!"
Guo Jia didn't pay attention to what Cao Cao said. When Cao Cao turned around, he said: "General, it's time to send a letter to the envoy, General Zhang Zhonglang, Youzhou and Bingzhou."
Cao Cao thought for a while and said, "Should we go through the Grand Sima Mansion?"
Before Lu Zhi passed away the year before last, he greatly promoted Cao Cao and clearly regarded Cao Cao as his successor. However, in the final analysis, Cao Cao was still just the "Chief of the Grand Sima Prefecture". In terms of prestige, he was far behind.
Therefore, if Cao Cao writes a letter to a state pastor like Ying Shao as an "imperial envoy", Ying Shao may not pay much attention to it.
Guo Jia shook his head, looked a little more serious, and said: "It must be a personal letter from the general. Even if it doesn't work, the general can't pass through the Grand Sima Mansion!"
Cao Cao's expression changed. He was very thoughtful, but he still didn't understand. He pondered for a while and said, "Okay!"
After Cao Cao pacified Qingzhou the year before last, he became famous. However, due to issues such as his handling of the Yellow Turban Army in Qingzhou, he attracted the impeachment of Qingzhou Mu Zhujun and Beihai Prime Minister Kong Rong. In addition, the court was wary of his large number of troops. During the suppression, Cao Cao was not awarded a title based on his merits like others in the past, but was even dismissed from office.
If it weren't for Lu Zhi, Cao Cao would still have to do odd jobs in Da Sima's mansion.
Therefore, the battle to pacify the Black Mountain Army was very critical for Cao Cao.
If it can be a great success, Cao Cao's prestige will be established, and no one can underestimate him. It will not be easy to suppress him. Speaking of the past, it is not a problem to be granted a title of marquis.
But if we continue to rely on Da Sima's Mansion and Shangshu Taiwan, the credit will be sharply reduced and greatly reduced.
While Cao Cao was writing letters to important figures in Yan, Ji, Bing, and Qing, Xiahou Dun was not idle. He led his soldiers to the water source on the mountain, dropped paper bags one by one, and watched them gradually scatter in the water.
Two days later, Heiqishan Village.
The tall and mighty Liu Shi was inspecting the village when he suddenly felt dizzy and was about to collapse.
"He's handsome! He's handsome!"
The soldiers around him were startled and all wanted to come over to help him.
"ah……"
Suddenly someone screamed, holding his head and rolling on the ground.
After a while, more and more people fell to the ground and screamed in great pain.
Liu Shi was holding a knife, struggling and half-kneeling. Seeing more and more people falling, he suddenly shouted loudly: "Cao Cao, you are despicable!"
"kill!"
As if in response to Liu Shi, violent shouts of killing erupted from the foot of the mountain.
I don't know if it was an illusion, but Liu Shi felt that the ground was shaking, his stomach was like a knife, and he had a splitting headache. He struggled to stand up and roared: "Let's go! Take the back mountain path!"
The few soldiers who could barely stand up helped Liu Shi escape up the mountain.
The entire village was in chaos, and Xiahou Dun led his soldiers and horses to kill them easily.
Seeing countless people falling to the ground, Xiahou Dun pulled the military lord aside and shouted in a low voice: "Don't leak any information!"
"The villain understands!"
The military lord knew the same thing, so he immediately rushed in with his men and killed those who could still stand up.
Xiahou Dun told him to lead his men and pursue Liu Shi.
When they caught up with him on the back mountain path, Liu Shi had already fallen to the ground, sweating profusely and panting.
"Despicable!" Liu Shi turned pale and glared at Xiahou Dun.
Xiahou Dun looked down at him from a high position, glanced at the soldiers around him, and said calmly: "It's just some intoxicating drugs. Liu Shi, you gathered a crowd to rebel and plundered the people. Your crime will not be pardoned!"
He didn't give Liu Shi a chance to speak again, and just slashed at him with a knife!
Liu Shi's neck was bleeding, his eyes were wide open, his body twitched again and again, and he still fell down.
Daqushuai, who once traveled across Yanzhou as if he were in an uninhabited land, went deep into Sili, and approached Luoyang, died like this.
Xiahou Dun killed Liu Shi, cut off his head, completely pacified Heiqishan, and meandered down the mountain with the captured money, grain, and prisoners.
Cao Cao, Guo Jia and others inspected the situation, turned their horses around and headed straight for Jizhou without saying a word.
When it got dark on the third day and Cao Cao's army was resting, Xi Zhi rushed up with food and grass.
Cao Cao, Guo Jia, Xiahou Dun, Cao Ren, Le Jin and Xi Zhicai were all warming up to the fire, eating mutton, drinking wine, talking and laughing.
After drinking for three rounds, Xi Zhi coughed and said with a slightly drunken look: "General Cao, there is a letter from Yushitai."
As soon as this was said, everyone was very quiet.
Everyone knows that Xi Zhi is the "upstart" of Yushitai, he is a member of the "Yingchuan Party", and he is also the "Supervisory Army". None of these three identities should be underestimated, let alone the three. Oneness.
Cao Cao remained calm, poured a glass of wine for Xi Zhicai, and laughed loudly: "Then someone must be impeaching Cao again. Zhicai can say it bluntly, I, Cao Cao, have nothing else. Regarding the impeachment memorial, I am the best person in the world at that time. First!"
Seeing this, Guo Jia smiled and took a sip of wine.
Xi Zhicai didn't seem to hear it. He was half lying on the haystack and said with some emotion: "Someone wrote a letter, accusing General Cao of avoiding the important and neglecting the important, leaving the main force of the Black Mountain Army alone and allowing them to gather and become powerful. Now that Changshan Kingdom has fallen, Jizhou's Ying Shijun also complained a lot, and the Grand Sima Mansion was besieged for almost half an hour during the court meeting."
Cao Cao's smile disappeared.
You can hit me, scold me, and frame me, but you can't use me to attack others!
Cao Cao's expression gradually became cold, his narrow eyes were half-closed, and he was stroking his beard unconsciously.
Xiahou Dun, Cao Ren, Le Jin and others stopped talking. Little people like them couldn't understand such matters between big people, and they couldn't get a word in.
Xi Zhicai seemed drunk, his eyes seemed to be closed, and he was shaking his head towards Cao Cao.
"Does your Majesty have any wishes?" In the silence, Guo Jia suddenly asked Xi Zhicai with a smile.
Xi Zhicai seemed to be drunk and did not hear Guo Jia's question. He added: "I also heard that King Bohai has arrived in Taiyuan County. He is planning to return to Changshan Kingdom. Now he can only detour to Shangdang County and go from Sili. Let’s go to Yanzhou again.”
Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren looked at each other. Even if they didn't understand the affairs of the big shots, they understood this detour very well - it was extremely embarrassing!
Originally we went from Sili to Bingzhou, then from Bingzhou to Jizhou, and then to Yanzhou.
Now it’s time to return to Sili from Bingzhou and go to Yanzhou!
This is not a simple waste of time, it is like a slap in the face of King Bohai, the court and His Majesty in the palace!
Cao Cao didn't move, but for a moment he smiled and said: "Cao Cao acted with no regrets. Although Zhicai wrote to the Yushitai based on what he saw, no matter what Zhicai wrote, Cao Cao will never complain!"
Xi Zhicai looked at Cao Cao calmly. He was silent for a while, then suddenly smiled and said: "I'm drunk, I'm drunk, I won't drink anymore..."
As he spoke, he stood up with some difficulty and walked towards the camp in a daze. After taking a few steps, he said: "Your Majesty scolded the courtiers who besieged Da Sima..."
(End of chapter)
