Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 716: Borrowing Cao to Conquer the State
In a suburban area somewhere along the banks of the Si Shui River, several stream tributaries crisscross to form a swamp where reeds are swaying, birds are nesting, and fish jump out of the water from time to time.

At this time, a large army came and startled countless water birds, which flew away.

The leader was a military general, about 30 years old, who looked very similar to Cao Cao, but was half a centimeter shorter than Cao Cao. He looked very out of place while riding on a horse. It was Cao De.

At this moment, he had no intention of appreciating the scenery around him. He rode his horse as fast as he could, covering his forehead with his hands and looking forward.

"Where is this place?"

The deputy general beside him hurriedly replied: "General, on the other side of this large body of water is the county seat of Lu County. If we march forward for about thirty miles, we will reach Pengcheng."

Cao De's expression relaxed a little: "Well, we are finally almost there."

Seeing that he was a little anxious, the deputy general comforted him: "General, don't be anxious. The lord is well prepared this time. With the ability of old man Tao Qian, it will be easy for our army to capture Xuzhou."

Cao De was delighted when he heard this: "Well said. By the way, take out the mourning clothes. Since we are here for revenge, we must wear mourning clothes when attacking the city."

The deputy general took the order, took a package, opened it, took out a set of white cloth robes from it, and helped Cao De put them on.

The deputy general said, "We have traveled day and night to get here. I see that the soldiers are exhausted. It is a cool breeze here. Why don't we rest here for a while? Let the soldiers drink some water and eat some dry food. After they have rested up, it won't be too late to rush to Pengcheng."

Cao De looked at the army behind him and saw that many soldiers looked tired.

"Well, that's good. There will be a big battle later, so I should get enough energy."

At this time, a noisy sound of footsteps was heard in the distance ahead. Cao De raised his eyes and looked into the distance. He vaguely saw a pair of cavalrymen who seemed to be rushing towards this side.

"Hmm? Whose troops are they?"

The deputy general looked in the direction he pointed for a long time and said, "I can't see clearly. But according to the Lord's arrangement, Pengcheng must have been surrounded on all sides at this time, and the Xuzhou troops will definitely not be able to escape. Therefore, I think that perhaps the Lord sent troops to welcome the general."

Cao De smiled slightly, with a look of satisfaction on his face: "Brother is really thoughtful. Let's go and meet him and take a look."

The troops of both sides were getting closer and closer. Cao De was suddenly delighted: "It's Xiahou's flag. Haha, Meng De actually sent Miaocai to meet me. This is too much trouble."

He was so excited that he whipped the horse hard. The warhorse neighed and rushed out with all four hooves.

"General, slow down..." the deputy general shouted, then hurriedly turned back and ordered the army to speed up and catch up.

"Haha, wonderful talent..."

Cao De galloped forward, but when the distance between them was shortened to a few hundred steps, he sensed something was wrong.

"Hmm? The general in charge doesn't seem like a talented person..."

He thought he was dazzled, so he shook his head and looked carefully again. At this time, the distance between the two sides was dozens of steps closer. He could already see the general on the opposite side. He had a leopard head, round eyes, a face full of steel beard, and held a 10-foot-long snake spear in his hand, glaring at him.

"Zhang... Zhang Zhang Zhang... Zhang Fei..."

Cao De was so frightened that his face turned pale and he began to stutter as he tried to stop his horse.

However, a general beside Zhang Fei shot an arrow at him.

The arrow hit Cao De's shoulder blade, and he screamed in pain and fell off his horse.

"General..." The deputy general led the army and came quickly.

"Hahaha... Cao Cao is so cunning, I didn't expect my brother to be such a fool. Ziyi, you catch Cao De, and leave the rest to me. You can't fight with me."

Without saying a word, Zhang Fei brandished his Zhangba Snake Spear and charged towards Cao's army. The deputy general was naturally very anxious when he saw Cao De covering his wound, bleeding profusely, and being tied up tightly by Taishi Ci.

"Let my general go..."

Before he could utter the word "jun", Zhang Fei stepped forward and stabbed him through with his spear.

"Haha, so cool! Second brother really understands my intention and gave me this good job. Kill, kill, kill, haha..."

Taishi Ci watched Zhang Fei rushing around, as if those Cao troops were not soldiers but scarecrows, allowing Zhang Fei to stab them to death one after another.

"Haha, I'm afraid Yide is the only one in the world who can treat war as a game."

Taishi Ci smiled and shook his head, then handed Cao De to the soldiers behind him.

"You guys take good care of this man and apply some medicine to him. My arrow deliberately avoided his vital points, so he won't die. You guys should take good care of him. If you let him die, the lord will definitely blame you."

“Wuwu… Wuwuwu…” Cao De was extremely angry and struggled hard, but his mouth was blocked by a cloth and he couldn’t utter anything.

Taishi Ci looked at him coldly, then raised his long spear and charged into Cao's army.

As dusk approaches, the afterglow of the setting sun falls on the tall city walls.

Although Pengcheng was still under siege by Cao's army, Cao Cao was more anxious than Liu Bei and others in the city.

"Report..."

As soon as these words came, Cao Cao's eyes suddenly widened: "Hurry and report!"

"Zhang Fei and Taishi Ci led 5,000 cavalrymen to attack General Cao De. The general was shot in the shoulder and was captured by Taishi Ci. Most of the soldiers he led were killed by Zhang and Taishi, and the rest fled in all directions..."

"My brother..." Cao Cao felt dizzy and almost fell down, but fortunately Cheng Yu and others supported him.

"My lord, please do not be sad. I heard from General Xiahou Yuan that Taishi Ci was an extraordinary archer, even better than General Xiahou Yuan, and could shoot an arrow through a target from a hundred paces away. However, he only shot General Cao De in the shoulder with one arrow, and then tied him up and took him away without harming him. This shows that Liu Bei did not want to make a mortal enemy with Yanzhou."

Cheng Yu's words made Cao Cao react quickly.

"Zhongde's intention is..."

Cheng Yu said: "From what I have seen, Liu Bei is definitely trying to threaten you with General Cao De's life to withdraw his troops. In this way, he can avoid a deadly battle with our army and gain great merit."

Guo Jia also said: "Tao Qian is old and may not have much time left. Liu Bei is sending troops to rescue him now. If he really helps him to save Xuzhou, I am afraid that the land of Xuzhou will belong to him."

"Hmm?" Upon hearing this, a fierce look suddenly flashed in Cao Cao's eyes.

"Liu Bei, a mere weaver and shoe seller, dared to use Cao Cao's hand to help him seize Xuzhou. This is simply hateful and annoying. I will kill him sooner or later!"

But although he was angry, he did not lose his mind.

He looked at Cheng Yu and the others with a gloomy expression: "What should we do now?"

Xi Zhong said, "Liu Bei has turned the tables on you. Forgive me for saying this, but if Liu Bei kills General Cao De, you can justify your actions and immediately order General Xiahou Dun to march north from Chengyang County. Within two days, he can attack Donglai County and force Liu Bei to return to rescue. In this way, Pengcheng can be taken in no time. Moreover, we can attack Qingzhou right after that. It can be said that a blessing in disguise is a curse. Now he has kidnapped your brother and is threatening you. If you withdraw, all your efforts will be wasted. If you do not withdraw, your reputation will be ruined."

Cao Cao showed his impatience: "I know this myself, so there is no need to say more. In the face of Liu Bei's plan, do you have any good ideas?"

Several counselors looked at each other, and finally, Guo Jia cupped his hands and said, "Jia has a method, maybe you can try it."

(End of this chapter)