Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3576: Palace Horse

Seven days later, the city of Fangling finally appeared in the distant valley.

The city wall was built against the mountain, and the battlements were interlaced like wolf teeth.

Such a city would certainly be difficult to break through, but now...

Zhuge Liang narrowed his eyes on the mountain, his gaze swept across the outline of Fangling in the distance and slid towards the Cao army camp in the East Mountain.

According to Cai An's intelligence, Cai Mao is over there.

Although Zhuge Liang was 70% to 80% sure that Cai Mao really wanted to surrender, Zhuge Liang could not rely on Cai Mao alone for the safety of all his soldiers.

What if even if Cai Mao truly surrendered, his actions had already been discovered by other Cao troops?

Moreover, even if Cai Mao could control Cao’s army camp in Dongshan, what about Fangling?

Shamoke came over and asked, "Aren't you going to send someone over?"

Zhuge Liang shook his head, "Let's take a look first."

On the way from Zigui, about fifty or sixty people were killed.

Some of them died accidentally from falling, while others were killed by poisonous snakes or infected by poisonous insects...

The simplest one is like a green caterpillar or a black caterpillar. Some people may cry for two days after being pricked, but some others will immediately become red and swollen all over and have difficulty breathing if they are pricked.

Zhuge Liang didn't know much about allergies in medicine, but even if he knew, he would be powerless to do anything about it.

Because China entered agricultural civilization early and was relatively developed, its population has long been at a relatively large level in the world. Therefore, food shortage crises are likely to occur periodically, which has also led to the Chinese people's genetic "evolution", or "adaptation", to an extremely strong degree.

Chinese people just endure general allergies, and they don't think it's a big deal. For example, the joke that five-nut mooncakes can kill one-fifth of the population of the United States does not exist in China. However, in later generations, due to various additives of many ethnic entrepreneurs, the propaganda of public intellectuals and the salt of experts, the number of people with allergies seems to be increasing.

Regardless of the past or present, in China or abroad, when interests are high, someone will always think about it...

This time, Zhuge Liang did not explain much to Shamoke.

If it were before, Zhuge Liang would give a direct answer as soon as Shamoke asked.

Not anymore.

It’s not that the relationship between Zhuge Liang and Shamoke has deteriorated. On the contrary, this is when Zhuge Liang is truly considering Shamoke himself.

Shamoke originally planned to go to Chang'an to study...

Zhuge Liang told him that if he wanted to learn, he needed to think more, and only what he gained through his own thinking would belong to Shamoke himself.

Shamoke was standing nearby. Seeing that Zhuge Liang did not explain much, he seemed to be pondering something and scratching his head. It was unclear whether his brain or scalp was itchy.

……

……

Fangling East Mountain.

Cai Mao sat in the central army tent, watching the swaying figures of Cao's soldiers outside the tent, with fatigue and worry on his face.

He had been preparing for this major event for a long time, and always thought that he had anticipated all the troubles. However, when the time came, he found that he was still far from prepared.

First of all, he didn't expect that the Di general in Fangling was not like a stupid mountain barbarian at all, but was almost like a cunning fox. Or he could be as timid as a mouse. Anyway, no matter how Cai Mao invited him, the Di general would not leave Fangling City, let alone come to the Dongshan camp. So unless Cai Mao wanted to take the risk and personally go to Fangling City to kill the Di general, he would not be able to control Fangling City smoothly.

Secondly, Cai Mao could not have guessed that the elders of the Cai family did not follow his advice and sent people to take the Jingbei route, but instead went around Jiangling. This resulted in the time that Cai Mao originally estimated to be able to contact the Hussars being greatly extended...

It was impossible for Cai Mao to raise the banner of rebellion without contacting the Hussars, nor was it possible for him to make any major moves. However, this endless waiting did consume a lot of Cai Mao's energy and made him haggard.

Generally speaking, in an era when communication was inconvenient, a delay of three to five days was normal. However, after ten days or half a month, there was still no news. It was impossible for Cai Mao to send people back to Xiangyang one after another to inquire about the situation, so one can imagine the pressure and confusion in Cai Mao's heart.

The best result, of course, would be to contact the Cavalry Army, and then successfully use the arrival of the Cavalry Army to unexpectedly kill the Di general in Fangling, and then directly lead the army to raid the flank of Xiangyang, breaking Xiangyang before Cao Ren and Cao Zhen could react!

In this way, Cai would naturally have accomplished a great feat and would not have to worry about how to deal with the subsequent arrival of the cavalry.

The next situation is that after the cavalry received the news, they had to report to Fei Qian, and then the time was extended. This period would take at least a month, and during this month, he had to stay in Fangling, otherwise when the cavalry arrived, he would be transferred again, wouldn't it be a waste?

The worst case scenario is that Elder Cai is discovered...

Although Cai Mao was confident that even if the Cai family elders were discovered, the Cai family would still have a certain ability to fight back, but if so, the Cai family would inevitably suffer heavy losses!

By then, it is hard to say whether half of the people in the Cai family and Caizhou will survive.

And now, Cai Mao discovered another major problem, that is, Li Dian did not seem to be opposite Fangling!

In the past few days, in order to prevent other Cao's soldiers from discovering anything wrong and to be able to better contact the Hussars west of Fangling, Cai Mao continued to send scouts to intentionally or unintentionally cross the center line of Fangling to investigate the Hussars camp to the west. However, as more and more information was collected, Cai Mao discovered that the Hussars camp to the west of Fangling was most likely empty.

Or in other words, most of the Hussars had already left, leaving only a small number of Hussars there...

So did Li Dian leave after receiving the news from Cai, or did he leave before receiving the news?

Li Dian left. Where did he go?

Should I go back to Hanzhong, or go north to Wuguan Danjiang?

These questions made Cai Mao extremely confused and even gave rise to some despair.

Has the luck of the Cai family in Jingxiang really come to an end?

Now, everything seems to be in the fog. I can't see the road ahead, nor can I see the way back. Everything is unknown...

Cai Mao sighed secretly.

If he were Fei Qian, he might also have some concerns about the Cai family.

After all, the relationship between Liu Biao and the Cai family was almost like that of a family. However, when Liu Biao died, the Cai family sold the Liu family for a good price. Now they are willing to sell them to Cao Cao again...

Within a few years, it can be said that he first rebelled against the Liu family and then against the Cao family. Cai Mao also didn't know whether Fei Qian and the generals under Fei Qian would believe him?

But he just wanted to preserve the Cai family, protect Caizhou, and let the Cai family live in Jingxiang for generations to come. Is there anything wrong with that?

From the anxiety of waiting, the lurking despair, and the vague resentment beneath the despair, the fickleness of human nature is perhaps most clearly demonstrated in Cai Mao.

Cai Mao didn't know how long he could hold on, but he knew that he had to stay here. The Cai family couldn't all stay in Caizhou, because if something happened, they would be caught in one fell swoop, so it was safer for some to stay outside and some to stay inside...

But it is only safe temporarily.

If the Cavalry Army does not arrive in time, Cai Mao will have to go back sooner or later, and once he goes back, it means that the Cai family must make the final decision!

Just when Cai Mao was frowning in the tent, his confidant came in from outside the tent and said, "Master! There is news!"

……

……

Cai Mao walked into Fangling City.

He had to enter the city. The reason was simple: Zhuge Liang required that he must see that Fangling City was under the control of Cai Mao, or at least one of the city gates was under the control of Cai Mao, before Zhuge Liang would show up.

In other words, Zhuge Liang asked Cai Mao to take care of the city gate first, instead of Cai Mao waiting in the Dongshan camp to take advantage...

Of course, this can also be regarded as Cai Mao's "letter of allegiance".

Cai Mao was not sure why Zhuge Liang appeared in the south of Fangling. After all, there were many mountains and dangerous roads in the south of Fangling, which were rugged and difficult to travel on. Therefore, Cao's army did not make any defenses in the south.

But even though he didn't understand, the Cai family token that appeared in front of Cai Mao forced him to take the risk.

He arranged personnel and had his confidants watch over other Cao's soldiers in the Dongshan camp to prevent them from causing trouble. He also took some good fighters, who were also the more elite among Cai's private soldiers, and prepared to enter Fangling City under the pretext of inspecting the granaries in Fangling City.

In name, the Di people in Fangling City would be under the jurisdiction of Cao's army, so no matter how dissatisfied the Di people were, they had to welcome them at the city gate.

Anyone who says they want to check the accounts will hardly be welcomed wholeheartedly. This is true throughout history, both in China and abroad. Even within a small family, if a husband and wife or a father and son say they want to check each other's accounts, they are bound to fall out.

The Di general of Fangling was naturally very unhappy. When "welcoming" Cai Mao, he deliberately lined up more than a hundred armored soldiers, all dressed in neat armor, waiting in formation at the city gate.

This kind of posture is somewhat similar to the later American Empire's mobilization of militia and self-defense forces to parade on the streets when the federal government comes to audit, or to show the officials who are auditing the traffic warnings of dump truck accidents...

It's just that other soldiers besides these armored warriors led by the Di people were more or less unnatural, and had different expressions.

The defenders in Fangling City were basically cobbled together.

The Di people combined the foundation of their own tribal village with that of some ordinary mountain people in the surrounding area, as well as the local people of Fangling.

There were only about five or six hundred people who were truly loyal to the Di general, plus their families and extensions. The rest were temporarily put together. The Di general obviously did not know how to integrate this army. After all, the Di general was not good at this.

However, things like withholding military pay and embezzling money do not require teaching or special learning; they will learn them naturally. So when Cai Mao suddenly said he wanted to check the accounts and the granaries, it immediately scared the Di generals, and then they were somewhat angry and ashamed, with a hint of "I've worked so hard for so many years."

If they really wanted to turn hostile, the Di generals would not dare to do so. After all, they still had to rely on Cao's army, and the Cao's soldiers in the Dongshan camp were no pushovers...

The problem is, the Di people will not know what Cai Mao is going to do? !

After receiving the report from Cai Mao, the Di people informed their subordinates to reassure them, and asked them to prepare some accounts, at least to make them passable on paper. As for whether there were any genuine goods in the granary...

Damn it!

I just don’t believe that Cai Mao dares to really turn against me!

In short, the Di people felt that Cai Mao might be dissatisfied with the fact that they had not visited him before, but that he did not have much hostility, and as long as they handled it properly, it would not be a big deal.

All kinds of thoughts kept turning over in his mind, causing the Di people waiting at the city gate to show all kinds of emotions on their faces.

Seeing the commander depressed, the Di general stepped forward and whispered: "My king, we have someone here! If he dares to turn hostile, we can just..."

"Shut up!" The Di general glared at his confidant, "It's not time yet! Checking the accounts? It's not like they haven't checked before. Didn't they say so and so the last time they checked the accounts? It's not like nothing will happen after they took the money? No matter what he wants, let's see if he takes the money first!"

When the Di people were about to discuss, Cai Mao arrived with his men.

Cai Mao and his entourage had more than ten war horses, while the rest of the soldiers were on foot.

The flags fluttered in the wind. The two huge black flags with flame borders, "Changshui Cavalry Captain" and "Hanyang Ting Hou", were quite eye-catching.

Under the flag, Cai's private soldiers were all broad-skinned and neatly dressed in armor. Nearly a hundred armored soldiers gathered together. Although their number was not as large as the soldiers sent out to greet the Di general, the quality of these Cai's private soldiers was obviously much better than that of the Di general's men.

The Di general looked at it, and for some reason, he suddenly became a little irritable and uneasy, and felt confused, as if he was about to encounter some danger. He wanted to return to the city right then and there, lock the city gates, and pull up the drawbridge...

But on second thought, the Di generals gave up this idea. After all, they relied on Cao's army and took Cao's money, food, and weapons. If they were to turn against them for no reason, not to mention what the Cao army would do, even if they offended the local tyrant Cai family in Jingzhou, they might not end up well.

Time seems extremely short, yet extremely long.

When Cai Mao and his men approached, the Di general still did not dare to make any move.

Since the Di general did not move, the soldiers behind him naturally did not move either.

Cai Mao walked forward slowly with a gloomy face. After a few steps, he grabbed the reins of his warhorse, dismounted, and laughed loudly, "You Di general, are you trying to show off your power to me? Do you think I, the Cai family, have never offended you? Why do you look so angry when you see me? I have been in this camp in the mountains for so long that I can't even smell any meat... Don't you think there is not even any leftover wine or bacon in your city?!"

The Di general was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Ah! Captain Changshui! You put on such a big display, it's really scary... Oh, I'm in a poor and remote place, I can't say I have good wine, if Captain Changshui doesn't mind, I still have some rice wine to help me relieve my fatigue!"

Cai Mao stepped forward, laughing, and suddenly hit the Di general with his horsewhip.

Because the whip hit the armor on the Di general's body, it didn't hurt at all. It just scared the Di general again. His face changed immediately and his eyebrows stood up. "What are you going to do? !"

Cai Mao swung his whip, "I'm hitting you to wake you up! Do you see the flag behind me? Do you recognize the characters? Who am I? The Changshui Commander! The Marquis of Hanyang Pavilion! Who are you? You didn't come here, but you insisted that I come here. You didn't go out of the city to greet me, but stood outside the city waiting! Who are you? Do you still want to be an official of the Han Dynasty? Huh? You don't know any rules at all!"

The Di people's expression changed, and after a moment they nodded and bowed, "Yes, yes, yes... It's my fault... I am used to being unrestrained in the mountains, so I am so rude, so rude... Captain, please don't blame me, please don't blame me!"

Cai Mao nodded and said slowly, "If I really blamed you, I wouldn't have used this whip to whip you..."

The Di people rolled their eyes twice, and a smile reappeared on their face. "That's right, that's right... Captain, please come, please come! If there is anything I did not do well, please give me some advice!"

"Okay, okay!" Cai Mao raised his head and walked forward, "Let me make it clear first, I'm not here to eat and drink for free, we have to pay for food and drinks!"

"Oh, Captain, what you said... It's my honor that you can come to my place! I can't even invite you normally, and if you take your money now, wouldn't it be a slap in my face?" The Di general laughed and said, "What's the big deal about eating and drinking? If you pay me, you're really looking down on me and slapping me in the face with money!"

Cai Mao glanced at the Di general and said, "Then... you will treat me?"

"It's my treat! It's definitely my treat!" The Di general patted his chest.

"That's fine too..." Cai Mao took a few steps and was about to enter the city, but stopped, "Then these men of mine... you won't let them all stay outside the city, right?"

The Di general had originally thought so. After all, Fangling City was not that big. Cai Mao brought a dozen guards with him, so it was fine. But if these more than a hundred people entered the city...

"Our city is small, and we can't vacate many houses at once..." The Di people hesitated and tried to think of some excuses.

"No need to vacate any house for them! Look, just build a shed on the street and spread some mats!" Cai Mao patted the Di general on the shoulder, "We are all family, why should we be so polite! There is really no need to vacate a house, just put it on the street! A shed and a mat will do!"

The Di general wanted to scratch his head. Instinctively, he did not want to let these Cai family's private soldiers into the city. However, with Cai Mao's words in the way, he could not say that they would not even provide tents and mats. Then he thought again that the view on the street was wide and these people were under surveillance, so they would not be able to cause any trouble. Why should he fall out with the Cai family over such a thing?

"No... no problem!" The Di general patted his chest out of habit, "They are all the lieutenant's men, how can we not treat them well? We can't have delicacies from land and sea, but we can still have big bowls of wine and big chunks of meat! As long as you don't mind the poor quality of the wine and meat, it's fine!"

"Why would I dislike it?" Cai Mao laughed, "You don't know... You should also know that in this mountain, you can't even get a decent bowl of soup noodles! I even think that the cook in the army has a grudge against me... Hahahaha..."

Cai Mao smiled and gave a look to his confidant behind him.

Cai Mao's confidant nodded slightly to show that he understood.

As the sun set, the group slowly entered Fangling City.