Cao Cao's pale and depressed face looked increasingly miserable. He has always been an optimist, has great endurance and never gives up. No matter what happens, you have to swallow the pain yourself and always have full fighting spirit.
But the current situation made him a little confused.
Ju County was defeated and Cao Ren was killed.
Yangpingguan fell and Xia Houyuan was killed.
However, the Nanzheng he attacked was impregnable. From the beginning of the war to the present, he has invested all his troops and killed more than 10,000 people. He has made no progress despite repeated fierce attacks and cannot break the solid Nanzheng.
Cao Cao looked at Guo Jia and said in a deep voice: "Fengxiao, the hidden stakes you planted in the city these days are still active. In particular, Zhang Lu's younger brother Zhang Wei has been contacted. Is there no news about Zhang Wei yet?"
"No!"
Guo Jia shook his head.
He looked helpless and said: "Although I arranged for people to instigate rebellion, there was no movement. It stands to reason that if Zhang Lu surrenders to Lu Xuan and Zhang Wei does not receive any arrangements, resentment will arise. We have the opportunity to instigate rebellion."
"I also made a promise to Zhang Wei that as long as he submits, he can be appointed as the prefect of Hanzhong. If he does not want to be an official, he will be allowed to preach in the Qin State, and the court will officially confer him as the Heavenly Master of Five Pecks of Rice."
"Either way, whatever, I've said it all."
"The conditions are in place, but Zhang Wei said he would consider it, but he still hasn't answered."
Guo Jia said sternly: "Things that I thought could be accomplished despite my humble position, Zhang Wei just kept putting off doing it."
Cao Cao said: "Zhang Wei was not even willing to give him a formal imperial title. Doesn't he have any intention of competing with Zhang Lu for supremacy?"
Guo Jia sighed: "It stands to reason that there is."
Having said this, Guo Jia said: "Now Zhang Wei doesn't give a reply, and Lu Xuan is on his way to Nanzheng again. Once Lu Xuan's army arrives, we will be in a situation of being attacked from both front and back, and it will be very troublesome. Please think again, your Majesty." .”
Cao Cao held the bloody sword, his slumped expression showed hesitation and coldness.
Reason told him that he must withdraw.
If he doesn't retreat, when Lu Xuan's army arrives, he will be in trouble without a strong city to defend and delay, and it will be difficult to evacuate.
However, Cao Cao's inner reluctance turned into coldness and murderous intent. He didn't want to just retreat. It was a great shame and humiliation that Nan Zheng could not be broken after spending so many elites and killing so many people.
"Kill for another hour."
Cao Cao gritted his teeth and gave the order.
He clenched his sword and said in a deep voice: "Fengxiao, it's just dawn today, it's still early. If we still can't capture Nanzheng after another hour of fighting, and there's no news from Zhang Wei, we will evacuate directly. How can Lu Xuan break Yang Ping? It’s closed, we don’t care about anything else, just focus on Nanzheng, and give it a try in the end.”
Guo Jia looked at Cao Cao's determined expression, swallowed back his words of persuasion, and nodded.
Cao Cao put his long sword into its sheath, walked to the war drum not far away, and beat the war drum himself.
Boom! Boom! !
The drums sounded like thunder.
The soldiers who were beating the drums on the side noticed that Cao Cao was playing the drums himself, and they also beat the drums quickly with all their strength.
The drums beat rapidly and became louder and louder.
Although the attacking soldiers of Cao's army were tired, they attacked with all their strength when they heard the sound from behind.
The shouts of killing came and went.
The fighting is still going on.
While the fighting on the city tower continued, Zhang Wei's residence was inside the city.
Zhang Wei did not participate in commanding the war from beginning to end, because the command of the army was in the hands of Zhao Yun. Zhang Wei went to the tower to take a look, but he had no chance to intervene, so he returned home.
While Zhang Wei was reading, a thoughtful look appeared in his mind, thinking about Cao Cao's promise.
Zhang Wei was not very interested in the position of prefect of Hanzhong promised by Cao Cao. Starting from Zhang Daoling, the grandfather of brothers Zhang Lu and Zhang Wei, the Zhang family had no greed for power. Instead, they only wanted to spread the Five Pecks of Rice.
Therefore, Zhang Wei was a little moved when Cao Cao promised to appoint him as the Heavenly Master of Five Dou Rice in the name of the imperial court.
The imperial edict is official recognition, and the Five Pecks of Rice Road is a further step. The key is that he became the Celestial Master of the Five Pecks of Rice, surpassing his elder brother Zhang Lu, and became the orthodox of the Five Pecks of Rice.
The reason why Zhang Wei hesitated was because Lu Xuan was very strong. If he defected to Cao Cao, what if Cao Cao lost?
This is the reason for the hesitation.
When Zhang Wei hesitated, he had no intention of reading, so he got up and went to the backyard to chat with his wife to kill time. When they talked about the future of Nanzheng and Hanzhong, his wife said that wealth can be found in danger, and Zhang Wei suddenly made a decision.
He who hesitates will never get anything done.
Lu Xuan didn't give him any benefits. Even if Lu Xuan defeated Cao Cao, it was all benefits to his elder brother Zhang Lu. He was just a vassal.
Zhang Wei made up his mind, and asked someone to invite Cao Cao's secret stake, and said: "Go and tell King Qin that at three quarters this morning, that is, half an hour later, I will lead my men to open the city gate at the east gate to greet him. King Qin’s army enters the city.”
"Here!"
The hidden stake answered quickly, turned and left.
The news continued to be passed on and soon reached outside the city. After Guo Jia received the secret report, he looked a little excited and even a little surprised.
At the last moment, Zhang Wei made a decision.
Guo Jia looked at Cao Cao and said loudly: "Your Majesty, Zhang Wei said that at three o'clock, he will open the east gate and welcome us into the city. As long as we enter the city, our army can directly kill Zhang Lu and kill Zhao Yun and Fazheng." , to solve the crisis in Nanzheng."
"good!"
Cao Cao suddenly spoke loudly.
At this moment, Cao Cao had a bright smile on his face, and his eyes became brighter, sweeping away the decline.
He waited for his chance.
Cao Cao was high-spirited and said loudly: "Fa Zheng used Zhang Lu's identity as the Heavenly Master of Five Dou Rice to unite the hearts of the believers in the city. I surrendered Zhang Wei and killed Zhang Lu, and I can also use Zhang Wei to unite the hearts of the believers."
"The key is that if we capture Nanzheng, we can use Nanzheng's strong city to fight against Lu Xuan to the end."
"Lu Xuan's ability to break the Yangping Pass was definitely a conspiracy. I have never believed in the theory that he went to the altar to summon the golden-armored god who descended from the sky. There is no such magic."
"After I take Nanzheng, I want to see how Lu Xuan can break the defense line on the city tower in Nanzheng County."
Cao Cao's face became more hopeful.
Although Cao Ren is dead and Xia Houyuan is dead, everything still has to look forward.
A hint of worry flashed deep in Guo Jia's eyes, but he didn't say much and agreed: "Your Majesty is right."
Cao Cao ordered: "For this battle to enter the east gate, we must mobilize all the elites and not delay any longer. Take Dian Wei as the vanguard and rush to the front. Xu Huang, Li Dian and Zhang Fei will follow to attack. During this time, Zhang Fei Liu Bei's troops have not moved, and I have not forced Liu Bei to attack. Now, it is his men's turn to move."
"Here!"
Guo Jia nodded in agreement.
He quickly arranged the next tasks, and Liu Bei had no objection. So Dian Wei, Xu Huang, Li Dian and Zhang Fei all prepared for war and quietly led the army towards the east gate.
