Sima Yi's Three Kingdoms Collection Collection

Chapter 113 Snatching Xiakou (1)
Liu Bei is gone!

A large silk map of Xingsheng fortresses throughout Jingzhou is spread on the black lacquer table. On it, icons of Fancheng, Xiangyang, Dangyang, Jiangling, Changsha, Baling, Mianyang, Xiakou and other counties and counties are displayed one by one. Painted with cinnabar pen and ink, it is as bright red as solidified blood clots.

Cao Cao, wearing a gold helmet and silver armor, stood awe-inspiringly in front of the black lacquered table. The ruler tapped lightly on the icon of Jiangling City, and his brows slowly frowned: "You mean Liu Bei has fled towards Jiangling City?"

Hearing Cao Cao's question, the Cao Jun scout ① who was waiting respectfully at the threshold of the Xiangyang Mufu Mansion's meeting hall had to obediently repeat the answer just now: "Yes, tell the Prime Minister that Liu Bei brought 10,000+ Jingzhou scholars Heading south all the way to Jiangling City!"

"The one who fled to Jiangling City with 10,000+ Jingzhou soldiers?" Cao Cao couldn't help being a little stunned when he heard this, "Then he shouldn't be running very fast?—Where are they running now?" He asked, At the same time, he turned his eyes to the map of Xingsheng Fortress in the whole area of ​​Jingzhou, wandering back and forth on the marks of Maicheng, Bianxian, Dangyang and other cities between Xiangyang and Jiangling.

"According to the news received from the front three hours ago, they should have passed through Zian County now, and they are still [-] to [-] miles away from Dangyang County." The Cao Jun scout replied in a very affirmative tone. road.

Cao Cao's sharp eyes swept over and immediately fixed on the city mark of Dangyang County.He murmured to himself: "So, Liu Bei has only escaped three or four hundred miles in the past ten days of running wildly - the tiger and leopard cavalry under the prime minister's command can catch up in less than 36 hours. He..."

When he reached here, he raised his left hand and silently flicked outward, and the Cao Jun scout immediately retreated knowingly.

Cao Cao turned around slowly, walked back to the couch behind the black lacquer desk and sat down, without any delay, he held his first military deployment meeting against the enemy since he was stationed in Xiangyang Mufu.

On his right hand, on a row of long seats, according to the custom of respecting guests, sat Han Song, Kuai Yue, Wang Can, Cai Mao, Wen Pin and other famous Jingzhou officials who had surrendered the city; on his left On the long seat on the other side sat the staff he brought from Xudu, the generals Xun You, the right army commander, Jia Xu, the left army commander, Mao Jie, the west Cao, Yang Xiu, the deputy director, Sima Yi, the Zhonglang who was in charge of Zhengnan, and general Zhengnan. Cao Ren, Commander Xia Houyuan of the Dian Army, General Xu Huang of Hengye, General Zhang Liao of Dangkou, General Zhang He of Pingdi, Commander of the Tiger Cavalry Battalion Cao Chun, Commander of the Leopard Cavalry Battalion Cao Zhen, etc.

It turned out that on July 30 this year, Cao Cao personally led an army of [-] from Xudu, and went south to conquer Jingzhou.They had just passed Wancheng when they received the news that Liu Biao, the shepherd of Jingzhou, had passed away suddenly.Then, Liu Biao's Sima Cai Mao of the Mufu, Shi Kuaiyue, the head of the Mufu, Wang Can, the secretary of the Mufu and others secretly joined forces to force Liu Cong, who succeeded Liu Biao, to immediately release him who had been detained for advocating pro-Cao and voting for Cao. Han Song, who was imprisoned, persuaded Liu Cong to send Han Song as a special envoy for festivals to bypass Fancheng, where Liu Bei was stationed, and secretly rushed to Xinye County to submit a letter to Cao Cao to express his intention to surrender the city.

Therefore, Cao Cao drove in without bloodshed, and took Xiangyang, the capital of Jingzhou, in one fell swoop. The only regret was that he ran away from his lifelong enemy-Liu Bei.

Although Xiangyang City was easily obtained, Cao Cao did not have much joy on his face.Sitting on the couch, his brows were slightly frowned, and he seemed to be a little puzzled and said to himself: "This Liu Xuande (Liu Bei's word Xuande) is really mysterious and unpredictable - he fled to Jiangling City with his troops. That's all, why did he take so many Jingzhou scholars and people to escape together? Isn't this conceited? How could he do such a stupid thing?"

Anyone who is familiar with Cao Cao's temperament knows that when Cao Cao was talking to himself just now, he might actually have an opinion in his chest, and he just needs other people's suggestions and opinions to confirm and supplement it.Therefore, sitting on the long table to the left of Cao Cao, the officials of the Prime Minister's Mansion and the generals of Xu Du who came together with the expedition were all silent - if Cao Cao didn't ask by name, none of them would be able to speak first.

I saw Cao Cao raised his eyes slowly, and slowly looked at the Jingzhou surrenders sitting on the long bench on his right.Seeing him looking towards him, Han Song coughed lightly, bowed out of the queue, and said, "My lord, according to Han, Liu Bei fled Jiangling City with more than [-] Jingzhou scholars and people in a hurry. It is his trick to win people's hearts with ulterior motives, not to be underestimated!"

"Oh? A trick to win people's hearts with ulterior motives?" Cao Cao had a slight sneer on his face. He's really good at nothing."

Han Song calmed down secretly, arched his hands, and was about to speak, but saw Shi Kuaiyue, the emaciated head of the Jingzhou Shepherd's Mansion, twisting a goatee under his chin, and interjected first: "Your Excellency is indeed Seeing thousands of miles away! This Liu Xuande usually likes to win people's hearts with hypocritical benevolence and small favors. The more than [-] people who fled south with him are actually foreigners living in Jingzhou. They are not natives of Jingzhou Mr. Kuai heard the report from his servants that Liu Xuande used a lot of false words to smear the heavenly army of the imperial court, saying that "once the heavenly army arrives, they will slaughter the city and burn jade and stone together", scaring these stupid and ignorant Jingzhou overseas Chinese and following them. He ran away with hogs and dogs."

When Cao Cao heard Kuai Yue's words, he couldn't help but feel warm in his ears.He naturally understood the meaning behind Liu Bei's saying "once the heavenly army arrives, they will slaughter the city wantonly and burn all jade and stones."He pretended to be nonchalant, stroked his beard and smiled slightly: "This Liu Xuande... other abilities are not bad, but he likes to tell stories and confuse the public! I am a majestic king teacher and imperial army. How can there be such atrocities as "massacre the city and burn all jade and stones"? Those Jingzhou overseas Chinese were so easily deceived by Liu Xuande, it is really lamentable..."

When Cai Mao heard this, he hurriedly opened his mouth to greet him: "My lord, what is that guy Liu Xuande? He is just a weaver of mats and shoes! He only wants to gather some mobs and make trouble! How dare he compete with the Prime Minister? Master Wang resisting with heavenly soldiers? Thinking about it, there is only a chance to escape..."

The Prime Minister's Mansion Xi Cao Yu Mao Jie has always been upright and upright, and he can't understand the filthy behavior of flattery and tact.At this moment, when he heard Cai Mao and other people who are in power belittle Liu Bei so much, he couldn't help but secretly moved his heart, and then he gritted his teeth, without even a smile on his face, and said coldly: "General Cai's words are a bit biased. Yes! Although Liu Xuande's family status is low, he has been "running like a wolf" in the Central Plains for so many years as a lowly man who weaves mats and sells shoes. When the capital came to the south, he sent letters many times to tell the kings to stop his return and capture his head. Unexpectedly, with the ability of Han Shizhong, the wisdom of Kuai Changshi, the courage of General Cai, and the sharpness of Jingzhou's 20 strong troops , actually let Liu Xuande run away! May I ask why you should be responsible for this matter?"

"This..." Cai Mao's face turned red, he didn't expect this skinny old man to speak so "tough", and seeing how he was blowing his beard and staring, how could he dare to talk back?He smiled dryly, but avoided answering.

Seeing this, Kuai Yue twirled his goatee with his fingers and thought to himself: This Mao Jie is an old and trusted minister of Cao Cao's subordinates!He challenged us in this way, could it be that he was hinted by Cao Cao to give us a blow? --snort!Want to kill donkeys, cross rivers and bridges so quickly?He gritted his teeth secretly, pretended to sigh leisurely, turned his head to Cao Cao and said slowly: "Your Excellency, you don't know, Kuai, Han Shizhong, and General Cai can support the eight counties of Jingzhou this time." Surrendering to Wang Hua is really a risk of destroying his family! Not to mention that Liu Xuande is a hero all his life, and he is very good at using soldiers. He is Liu Qi, the eldest son of Jiangxia County, and Liu Pan, the nephew of Liu Mujun who occupies Changsha County. These two people are by no means good-natured! I have worked hard and finally managed to force Liu Bei to abandon Fancheng and escape to the south, and return Xiangyang City, the capital of Jingzhou, to the prime minister. I'm so entrusted."

"The illustrious meritorious deeds of the kings of Jingzhou, the truth is always in mind. The truth has been submitted to the imperial court to ask for the rewards they deserve, and the imperial court will come back with an order soon." Cao Cao also knew that Liu Bei had run away. A huge future trouble, and I also understand that Mao Jie was very annoyed by the mediocrity and incompetence of these Jingzhou generals and celebrities, but now that things have come to this, can Kuai Yue and Cai Mao really be held accountable?He secretly sighed, waved his hand to stop Mao Jie's retort, put on a smiley face and said to Kuai Yue, Han Song and the others, "That's all! Let Liu Xuande be as cunning as a fox, even if he escapes to the ends of the earth, I can't even fly out of the palm of my true face! But I don't know what the kings of Jingzhou think about him fleeing south like a mouse?"

"This... Please forgive Kuai for speaking bluntly. Liu Bei must have gone to Jiangling City for the good use of Jiangling City." Hearing Cao Cao's reassurance, Kuai Yue slowly calmed down and tidied up. After thinking for a while, he said, "Master Prime Minister, Jiangling City is the place where grain and equipment are stored in Jingzhou, and the naval garrison is an important place. It is by no means comparable to other ordinary counties and counties. There is an inscription in Jingzhou that has been passed down since ancient times: 'Do not Without Jiangling, there is no way to defend Xiangyang; without Jiangling, there is no way to map Bashu; without Jiangling, there is no way to protect Jiangxia; It must be investigated.’ If Liu Bei flees south to Jiangling, and then joins forces with Liu Pan of Changsha County to rebel, the situation in Jingzhou may become a little difficult.”

"Hmm! Mr. Kuai is worthy of being a master planner of a generation. After Kuai Tong, his judgment is as clear as a mirror! I admire the truth." Cao Cao couldn't help nodding his head and praised deeply, "Although the truth is not expensive to win the eight counties of Jingzhou, but it can It would be a great joy to accept Kuai Jun for use!"

Kuai Yue was secretly overjoyed when he heard that, although he thanked him again and again, his eyes were already narrowed into slits from a smile, he only squinted towards Mao Jie, and thought: It seems that Cao Cheng still knows each other Talented people, great generosity!Mao Jie, an old man, dares to deliberately belittle the achievements of Jingzhou people like us.

(End of this chapter)