After chatting for a while, the soldiers began to arrange a banquet and served plates of delicious food.
Since Cao Cao's defeat yesterday, he had not eaten enough food and was already hungry. He was not polite at the moment. He bowed his hand to Liu Bei and started gobbling it up.
Liu Bei also waved his hand, gesturing for others to follow him and eat.
After three rounds of wine, the five flavors of the food come into play.
Zhang Heng put down his chopsticks and asked, "May I ask General Cao, where are you going next?"
The reason why I asked this was because Zhang Heng discovered a bright spot.
Originally, in Zhang Heng's imagination, Yang Ding was defeated and fled, and he would definitely report to Dong Zhuo when he returned. Mr. Dong's reaction was absolutely furious, and then he sent elite soldiers and generals to attack Juan County.
This time, it will take at least ten days. And on my side, I can also have ten more days to prepare for the war.
But now that Cao Cao has interfered with it, Yang Ding is dead, and Xingyang is left with only Xu Rong's troops.
So how will he respond?
Zhang Heng has always attached great importance to intelligence, and he learned about the current situation in Xingyang from Zhang Liao early in the morning.
Yang Ding, a direct general of Dong Zhuo, was killed in battle, and Xu Rong, an outsider, was in a difficult situation. If you want to avoid taking the blame, there is only one way - break Juan County, attack Liu Bei, and avenge Yang Ding!
Only in this way can we make up for our mistakes.
Therefore, Zhang Heng's original prediction of ten days was no longer accurate, and Xu Rong was very likely to attack Juan County in the next two days.
Although the 6,000 men under Xu Rong's command were all elite, they were not scary at first. Even Zhang Heng planned to use this to let the new soldiers practice their skills. What makes him embarrassed is that the newly recruited young men cannot be called soldiers yet.
Without more than ten days of training, a civilian is just a civilian and not a recruit at all.
Furthermore, as a veteran on the battlefield, Xu Rong will not be as stupid as Yang Ding, so he must be prepared for a protracted war. As a result, food becomes a problem again.
Although the jujube princes had given a lot of food before, it could only last for a few months. Today, Liu Bei lent some to the people, and there was not much left.
So Zhang Heng wondered if he could do something about Cao Cao.
After hearing Zhang Heng's question, Cao Cao, who was drinking, put down his wine bottle, shook his head and sighed.
"Why, doesn't General Cao plan to return to Jujube and ask for credit from all the princes?" Zhang Heng said with a smile, "After all, Yang Ding is Dong's confidant and the captain of the Xiliang Army. This contribution is not small."
Cao Cao had a trace of embarrassment on his face, which was soon replaced by anger.
"This thief Yang Ding was defeated by Brother Xuande, but he only got an advantage, so how dare he take credit for it. Furthermore, Suanzao and all the other princes are cowardly and weak, and they are incapable of making plans!"
"Then where does General Cao plan to go?" Zhang Heng returned to the original topic.
"this……"
Cao Cao hesitated for a long time, but finally bowed his hand to Liu Bei with some embarrassment.
"Brother Xuande has elite soldiers under his command, and he has won every battle this time. One day he will be able to enter Luoyang and kill the Dong thief. Although Cao is not talented, he is willing to devote himself to serving the country. I wonder if Brother Xuande is willing to take him in? "
Liu Bei was overjoyed when he heard this. He immediately slapped the table and laughed and said: "Brother Meng De and Bei are both loyal ministers of the Han family. They should help each other. They are both passionate about serving the country, so why should we take them in? If Brother Meng De wants to, he can stay here. Fight the bandits together with me!"
"Thank you, Brother Xuande!" Cao Cao was also overjoyed and hurriedly said.
He returned defeated and begged to be taken in with a shy face. There were only less than a thousand soldiers left under his command, but Liu Bei gave him such a high courtesy, which moved him very much.
Xuande is indeed a sincere gentleman!
Looking at Liu Bei and Cao Cao, who were smiling hand in hand and in perfect harmony, Zhang Heng's eyes were full of surprises, and he even had an illusion.
I'm afraid I've traveled to a fake late Han Dynasty.
Cao Cao and Liu Bei, the bitter rivals in history, are so close to each other?
But this is fine. Although Cao Cao was defeated in the previous battle, all of his brothers are useful talents, which can be regarded as increasing his own strength.
"I admire you for your loyalty to serve your country, Mr. Cao!"
Zhang Heng stood up at the right time, and at the same time changed his name to Cao Cao with a slightly closer name.
"I'm sorry, Ziyi. This is just the duty of a minister." Cao Cao waved his hand and said with a smile.
"But I think Mr. Cao still wants to go back to the jujube."
Cao Cao frowned and asked, "Why is this?"
"Firstly, although the jujube princes are not easy to work with, they are ultimately responsible for the great righteousness. We must report our meritorious service to them so that we can gain some material support.
Between the two, Juan County is already out of food at this moment. "
After listening to Zhang Heng's words, Cao Cao fell into deep thought.
Zhang Heng's meaning was made very clear. Although the jujube princes were not a thing, they still had value after all. For now, they had to make a fuss with them.
It just so happened that his troops had also been defeated. Now with Yang Ding's head and his reputation among the princes, he could get something more in exchange.
Even if they fight together, he must have some strength. He doesn't want to be underestimated by Liu Bei.
After thinking for a while, Cao Caodian made up his mind, nodded and said: "Okay, as Ziyi said, I will go back to Jujube and I will definitely bring what I need."
"In that case, I will have to trouble Duke Cao." Zhang Heng said with a smile, "But we have to hurry up. Yang Ding is dead, and Xu Rong of Xingyang will raise troops to attack the city in the next two days. If Duke Xuande comes too late, , but we won’t be able to make it in time for the next war.”
Cao Cao nodded, "In that case, I will set off after dinner. This place is only more than a hundred miles away from Jujube. I will return in two days at most, and I will never miss the war."
"Brother Meng De, why are you in such a hurry? Your injury has not healed yet. Why don't you rest for two days? There is no rush for it anyway."
Before Liu Bei finished speaking, he was interrupted by Cao Cao waving his sleeves.
"Brother Xuande's kindness is taken care of. Now that the war is taking priority, how can we miss the important event just because of a minor injury!" Cao Cao said firmly.
Liu Bei couldn't persuade him anymore. He immediately raised the wine bottle and said seriously: "In that case, I would like to wish Brother Meng De a smooth trip!"
"Thank you!"
Cao Cao raised his wine bottle and drank it all in one gulp. After taking a few more mouthfuls, he stood up and said goodbye to Liu Bei. He took his troops and horses out of the city at night and rushed to Jujube.
"Mengde must be a little anxious too."
Liu Bei took Zhang Heng to see him off at the city gate in person. Watching Cao Cao's back quickly disappear into the night, Liu Bei shook his head and smiled.
"General Cao is eager to serve the country, isn't it a good thing?" Zhang Heng replied with a smile.
It's no wonder that Cao Cao is so anxious. It's really not easy to find like-minded allies.
It's like playing in a high-end game, when the opponent has six gods and kills himself N times, but his teammates are still AFKing each other. After finally finding a teammate who was willing to join the team with him, Cao Cao of course wanted to go home as quickly as possible to resupply, and then come back to join the team.
"That's true."
Liu Bei nodded, and suddenly thought of the princes who were still drinking and having fun with jujube, and exchanging business blows, and he couldn't help but sigh.
"If all the princes are as eager to serve the country as Cao Mengde, why worry about Dong's thief being immortal?"
Zhang Heng shrugged, "If everyone in the world had such a desire to serve the country, I wouldn't be reduced to this."
"Ziyi, can't you think of the good things?" Liu Bei said with a helpless smile.
"It's not that I don't think about the good things. It's just that the world is decaying and people's hearts are in chaos, so I have to do this."
Liu Bei remained silent, acquiescing to Zhang Heng's statement.
"Mr. Xuande, now that Cao Mengde has left and the bandit army is approaching, we should make some preparations."
"We've been preparing, but it's a pity that the time is too short. The city wall can only be repaired briefly. The newly recruited soldiers are not fully trained. It is still unclear how much combat power they can exert."
"What I'm talking about below is not preparation for defense."
"What preparation is that?" Liu Bei asked confused.
Zhang Heng smiled faintly and spit out four words.
“Take the initiative.”
