Sima Yi's Three Kingdoms Collection Collection

Chapter 142 Sima Hui tricks the sailors (5)
As for the fact that Cao Cao still seems to be so polite to him on the surface, it is only because he is the commander of the Jingzhou Navy who has been familiar with water warfare for many years, and Cao Cao was unable to find a suitable candidate from the old Central Plains under his command. to replace myself.After all, he still needs himself, the commander of the Jingzhou navy, to command the [-] navy to deal with Sun Quan and Zhou Yu in Jiangdong!As for what will happen after helping Cao Cao level Jiangdong in the future, Cai Mao simply doesn't want to think about it.Will I repeat Kuai Yue's old path, and be transferred to Xudu by Cao Cao with a fluffy "edict" to be a "nominal" senior idler?
However, the complaints in his heart belonged to complaints, but Cai Mao did not dare to show it in the slightest.This Cao Cao is not as easy to serve as the generous Liu Biao and the inexperienced Liu Cong!His upright determination, Ming Su, and many ways to control people, I don't know how many times stronger than Liu Biao and Liu Cong!How dare I play any "wrist" under his hands!Only by working hard and making some achievements can we please Cao Cao and keep our current status and real power from being diminished.In other words, I played the "Jingzhou Navy" card for Cao Cao in front of Jiangdong Sun's. Maybe Cao Cao can use merit as the basis, rewards and punishments are clearly defined, and give himself a well-deserved honor?Now, as the saying goes: "A man under the roof has to bow his head." He could only think so.

However, all this is not the biggest headache for Cai Mao right now.It is impossible for him to have the most headaches from these depressed emotions, but the most realistic problems.As soon as the [-] Cao Jun sailors passed Yunmengze and Dongting Lake, many of them began to get sick for no reason.At first it was the usual sneezing, coughing, runny nose.Because of the pressing schedule, the army did not dare to delay, and everyone bravely endured the pain and drove forward.As a result, the more they went forward, the more something went wrong. The number of sick soldiers increased day by day, and the symptoms became more serious day by day—diarrhea, vomiting, convulsions, weakness, etc. followed one after another!Cai Mao was puzzled by this.But after all, he has led the navy in the Jingxiang area for so many years, and he still has a basic common sense. The peak period of this kind of "schistosomiasis" epidemic is usually between March and August when the temperature is relatively high. How can I hear it? After the cold winter in October, this kind of disease still occurs?Moreover, these sailors of mine are all natives of Jingzhou, and they have long been accustomed to the water, soil and climate here, so how could they suffer from this disease out of thin air?
There is no way, in order to control the spread of the epidemic, Cai Mao had no choice but to use past experience and lessons, and strictly ordered all the ships and sailors under his command to boil the river water before drinking it, always keeping in mind the warning of "disease enters the mouth" Irreversible.At the same time, he also sent a warning notice to Cao Jun's [-]-step cavalry marching simultaneously on the river bank, reminding them to pay attention to epidemic prevention and treatment, and also asked Cao Cao to quickly dispatch the "army physician team" for medical treatment.

In such stumbling, at the end of the morning of October 21st, under the shroud of misty white mist, Cao Jun's [-] navy with [-] warships finally arrived at Puqi County, the westernmost end of Jiangxia County. at the ferry.Driving four or five hundred miles further along the waterway is Xiakou City.However, Cai Mao and the others may not have expected that just near the Puqi Ferry, which appears to be calm on the surface, there has long been a net of heaven and earth already densely covered with dark cloth, and it is opening its "bloody mouth", waiting for them to die in a daze. Get into the net!
Zhou Yu's warship

Thirty miles in front of Puqi ferry is Huilong Bay, which is the confluence of Lingzhi River and Yangtze River.This time, Longwan is surrounded by green mountains on both sides of the strait, which is very hidden and hard to find.Deep in the belly of the bay, there are warships, fighting ships and walkers waiting in square formations.

But on a huge five-story warship in the middle, the four-character battle flag of "Left General Liu" fluttering on the mast was hunting under the gusts of river wind, like a black leopard unwilling to lie dormant. General tumbling.The ship building of this warship is divided into four floors, each with its own use.Either as a watchtower, or as a meeting place, or as a residence for eating and drinking, or as a storehouse for arrows, it has complete functions and nothing is missing.And the most powerful combat weapon of this giant ship is the thirteen tall poles and sixteen crossbow arrow towers. They are distributed on the four sides of the ship on the important positions, soaring into the sky, condescending, and powerful when attacking. .

On the command platform on the top floor of the building, Zhuge Liang and Lu Su stood, and another young general sat.The young general was very tall and straight, his face was like a full moon, his eyebrows were like two swords, his eyes were like cold pools, his lips were like vermilion, and he was dressed in silver scale armor, which made him look more heroic and elegant.At this moment, he is slightly leaning over to caress a piece of brocade silk on the incense table, where the fingertips move, music sounds pour out.Sometimes it looks like a clear brook, sometimes it looks like a magpie singing and chirping, sometimes it looks like a willow silk wrapped in the wind, sometimes it looks like a pile of pines and waves.

"The voice of Dudu Zhou is fluent and smooth, extremely melodious, and it makes people feel like spring breeze." Zhuge Liang seemed to understand it, gently shaking the goose feather fan in his hand, and said with a smile, "Thousands of troops are in front, and Dudu Zhou can actually With a clear mind and a calm mind, as calm as a still pond, the zither under his hands is caressing without any disturbance, and without missing a single rhyme—this kind of calm and unhurried state of mind is far beyond that of Liang et al.

It turned out that this young general in silver armor was Zhou Yu, the governor of Jiangdong.Hearing Zhuge Liang's words, he smiled deeply, stood up, looked at the mouth of Huilong Bay with his hands behind his back, and said slowly: "Kong Ming is too famous. In the past, Ximen Leopard Pei Wei used to slow himself down, Dong An Peixian used his own Anxiety ①, is similar to Yu’s caressing selves today to restrain oneself. They are all fake foreign objects to alert the inner ears. Trying to change one’s own habits is not as good as Kong Ming’s usual practice of self-cultivation and light cultivation of desires. .”

Zhuge Liang didn't say anything, just flicked the goose feather fan in his hand outwards, and after a while, he said slowly: "The governor of Zhou followed the example of the sages and sages in the past, and he was still able to 'pretend the external things to guard the heart', but now Cao Mengde Relying on the high position and power, the influence of the government and the people, one is not false, and the other is not vigilant, I am afraid that I will come here this time, and I will eventually fall into Zhou Dudu's ingenious plan!"

"Oh! How did Kong Ming see that he has signs of defeat?" Zhou Yu asked curiously.

Zhuge Liang flicked the goose feather fan slowly, and said to Zhou Yu, "Liang recently sent people to investigate secretly, and found that Cao Cao is no longer as strong as when he was fighting for the hegemony of the Central Plains. The problems that existed under Yuan Shao in Jizhou, Cao Cao's army There should be some now, but the degree is not so serious. Cao Cao’s subordinates are already full of factions and vortexes. As Cao Cao’s status rises step by step from General Chaqi, Sikong to Prime Minister, the power and glory of the generals around him also Then they rose together. However, there are high and low positions and different powers. How can those Cao family members and generals be willing to fall behind? Therefore, in order to invite favors and win merits, the generals of various ministries have already started fighting openly and secretly.

"Moreover, it's not just the military generals who are involved in the internal struggle. I'm afraid that the counselors and civil servants are no exception. The battle between counselors and civil servants is quite different. As the saying goes: "Since ancient times, famous scholars have come from wealthy families, but Confucian officials have never been in aristocratic families." Behind every wise scholar and civil servant, there are tangible or intangible connections with many interests of a powerful family. In order to win greater benefits for the family behind them, they will also intrigue and chase after each other. It's just that they know better than military generals the art of concealment, the skill of speculation, and the way of concealment, so The battles are not as obvious as those of the generals, but they are much more insidious, intense, and cruel. They are all secretly spying on each other, they are all concentrating on observing Cao Cao's likes and dislikes, and they are all secretly expecting others to have some kind of action. All the mistakes are waiting for the opportunity to "kick" their opponents, and they are all trying to make themselves behave better than others to win Cao Cao's favor.

"Because of this, selfish desires are rampant, and Cao's army is not as powerful as it seems on the surface. Sometimes, in order to compete for merit, they even don't hesitate to benefit themselves at the expense of others. This is what gave us the Liu-Sun Allied Army All kinds of opportunities to take advantage of the gap."

Zhou Yu nodded frequently when he heard this, and sighed softly: "Although Kong Ming is young, his insight into the state of the world and people's heart is so nuanced, sharp and sophisticated, Yu is very impressed."

At this moment, a soldier rushed up from the stairs, knelt down to Zhou Yu and said, "Report to Commander Zhou, the scouts ahead are here to report that the vanguard of Cao Jun's navy has arrived at Puqi Ferry!"

Hearing the news, Zhou Yu's eyes lit up immediately, and he said, "Very good. I didn't expect Cao Jun's navy to come here to die by himself in such a hurry—" As he spoke, he suddenly turned his head and looked at Zhuge Liang, As if asking very politely, "Zhuge joins the army, do you have any tricks to help Zhou?"

Zhuge Liang arched his hands, and the smile on his face was still as light as autumn water: "The governor of Zhou has already had a plan in his chest, and his wisdom is in his hands. How dare Liang show his ugliness?"

"Why is Zhuge so self-effacing when he joins the army?" Zhou Yu laughed loudly, and as soon as the laughter stopped, he ordered directly to the soldiers, "Generals Huang Gai and Gan Ning each lead their own fleets to attack first!"

"Report to Governor Cai: A fleet is found ten miles ahead!" Cao Jun's scouts reported to Cai Mao.

"Fleet? What is the banner they are playing?" Cai Mao's heart tightened suddenly after hearing this!

"The flag on their boat is 'Lord Liu'."

It turned out to be Liu Bei's sailors!Cai Mao felt relieved secretly, and fell into deep thought.There are indeed [-] sailors under Liu Bei, but he is still a little unclear about their combat effectiveness.Could it be that Zhang Liao, Xu Huang and other northern troops who went to contain and encircle Xiakou City from the direction of Hanshui didn't block his navy?At this juncture of being attacked on both sides, Liu Bei actually still has the strength to send this navy to the Yangtze River to intercept his mighty Jingzhou navy. He is indeed impatient!
(End of this chapter)