Liu Qi gradually calmed down on the way back to the camp, recalling Cai Mao's words and deeds before, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that something was wrong. Why did Cai Mao use force uncharacteristically to threaten her? And why rush to drive yourself away? Is there a secret in the city? Has something happened to my father?

Thinking of this, Liu Qi only felt his heart sink, and involuntarily kicked off the horse's belly and sped up towards Fancheng. Fancheng and Xiangyang across the river, is currently the largest camp of Liu Biao's troops on the north bank of the Han River, in addition to Liu Qi's troops, the camp is also stationed Zhang Yun, Chen Sheng and other warlords who are dependent on Liu Biao. Although these generals do not have a fixed territory, they all have a small army in their hands. When Liu Biao was there, he could still deter the arrogant soldiers and fierce generals below, but now that Liu Biao is lying in Xiangyang City, "life and death are uncertain", Zhang Yun, Chen Sheng and other warlords have completely lost their scruples, and they can be said to have done all kinds of evil to burn, kill, plunder, and rob people's daughters. Although Liu Qi knew that the soldiers and horses of Zhang Yun, Chen Sheng and others often plagued the township, he suffered from lack of strength and no prestige, and he was even more afraid of forcing the generals under the tent, so he had to turn a blind eye and let Zhang Yun, Chen Sheng and others turn a blind eye to make the entire Fancheng camp into a miasma.

Not long after, Liu Qi and others arrived at the south gate of Fancheng, but the defenders of the city did not open the door early as usual to greet them, on the contrary, until Liu Qi and others came to the city, the south gate of Fancheng was still closed and refused to be thousands of miles away. Seeing this situation, Liu Qi's personal guards immediately stepped forward and shouted, "The eldest prince has returned to the camp, so don't you open the door quickly!" ”

As soon as the guard's words fell, he heard the defenders of the city float down a sentence, "The last general is here to guard the gate on the order of General Zhang, and idle people are not allowed to enter the city!" ”

Liu Qi had just eaten a closed door in Xiangyang, and at this time he was contemptuously called "idle miscellaneous people" by a small school who had never met a certain face, and he was furious, he immediately pulled the reins and shouted to the defenders at the head of the city, "I am Jiangxia guarding Liu Qi!" Quickly call Zhang Yun to see me! ”

Liu Qi thought that revealing his identity would scare the city guard school to roll down the city tower and open the door to accuse. But he never thought that the next moment there was a cold snort from the city. "It's Ru Liu Qi who is in the way!"

What's going on? Zhang Yun mutiny to Cao Hu? Or have they secretly colluded with the Cai siblings? Liu Qi, who realized that the other party's words were not good, had not yet reacted, when he suddenly heard a gust of wind in his ears, followed by a sharp pain in his heart. Liu Qi gritted his teeth and looked down, and saw that there was a blood-stained arrow on his chest.

"Protect Childe!"

In a panic, the guards hurriedly protected Liu Qi, who had been hit by an arrow, and wanted to evacuate Fancheng. The arrows on the other side of the city poured down like a storm. In the blink of an eye, several guards were shooting Liu Qi to the ground by arrows to cover him. This is the case, Liu Qi's personal guards still disregard personal life and death, and the seriously injured Liu Qi rushed all the way out.

However, just when everyone thought that they had escaped from the tiger's mouth, there was a sudden earth-shattering shout of killing behind them. In an instant, the claws of despair tore apart the last glimmer of hope for Liu Qi and the others.

In October of the seventh year of Jian'an, Liu Biao's general Zhang Yun mutinied and beheaded Liu Qi to Cao. The camp of Fancheng in Jiangbei changed hands overnight. As soon as the news reached Xiangyang, the city was terrified. Cai Mao, who was still planning to conceal the news of Liu Biao's death, heard that Liu Qi had died and Fancheng had fallen, and immediately messed up, where did he dare to make any more small calculations, and summoned Kuai Liang, Kuai Yue, Deng Xi, Han Song, Wang Cang, Liu Pan and other important ministers into the mansion overnight to confess the situation.

The ministers who were already worried about Liu Qi's death and the change of hands in Fancheng. At first glance, when he heard that his lord had left his home two days ago, he immediately fell into a deathly silence. It wasn't until after a long time that Deng Xifang muttered with a crying voice, "How can this be good if the monarch falls and the son dies!" How to be good! ”

"This is the end of it. It is imperative to establish a new Lord as soon as possible to reassure the people! Liu Pantie interrupted the crying Deng Xi with a blushing face. In his opinion, the reason why Fancheng fell was entirely Liu Qi's responsibility. If Liu Qi hadn't gone to Xiangyang City every now and then to pretend to be a filial son. Instead, he stayed in the Fancheng camp to rectify the soldiers and horses, and recruit the strong. It will not be exploited by Zhang Yun. In these troubled times, compared with the so-called position of the head of the family, military power is the real foundation of a warlord's life. Liu Pan saw through this very early, so he has always only grasped military power and did not participate in the succession struggle of his uncle's family. Even if my uncle is dead at this moment. Liu Pan didn't mind letting Liu Cong inherit the position of head of the family. After all, once Liu Cong succeeds to the throne, Cai Mao will definitely fight against Cao Cao in order to keep his nephew. In this way, Liu Pan could take the opportunity to cross the river and go north to occupy Shangyong County and become a soil emperor.

At this moment, Liu Pan's mention was echoed by Wang Cang. General Liu has a point. Since Gongzi Qi has died in battle, Gongzi Cong should inherit the family business. ”

Cai Mao couldn't help but be happy when she heard that Wang Cang nominated Liu Cong. Although Xiangyang is in danger at the moment, it is gratifying to see his nephew become the lord of Jingzhou after all. It's just that before Cai Mao was happy, he heard Zhonglang Han Song sigh. "How does the young lord Xinli resist Qiang Cao's southward movement?"

Han Song's long sigh was like a basin of cold water splashing Cai Mao awake. Indeed, Fancheng changed hands, and Cao Cao would wave his army to the city with his troops in Xiangyang. And Liu Cong was too young to rule Xiangyang or even the whole of Jingzhou, so the heavy responsibility of fighting Cao Cao would inevitably fall to Cai Mao in the end. Thinking of Cao Cao's proud record of punishing Lu Bu and destroying Yuan Shao, and thinking of the landslide and ground cracking technique that Cao Jun laid in Xinye not long ago, Cai Mao couldn't help but shudder, only to feel like falling into an ice vault.

In fact, not only Cai Mao, but every civil and military officer present could not answer Han Song's question head-on. It's easy to say big words, but it's quite another thing to actually do. What's more, the current situation is clear that whoever is the main force to resist Cao will lead the troops to the battle. As a result, the large council hall once again fell into an awkward silence.

After a long time, seeing that Cai Mao and Liu Pan had no intention of asking for battle, Kuai Liang couldn't help coughing lightly, breaking the silence and saying, "Once Fancheng is lost, Xiangyang is no longer in danger to defend." For today's plan, the only way to abandon Xiangyang is to cross to the south and take advantage of the Yangtze River to prevent Cao's army from going south. ”

Hearing Kuailiangti abandon Xiangyang Nandu, everyone present fell into deep thought. It is undeniable that Kuailiang's mention is indeed a feasible way out. However, the problem is that Xiangyang is the foundation of Liu Biao in Jingzhou, and it is more accurate to say that the actual control area of Liu Biao's department in Jingzhou is limited to Nanyang, Nanjun, and Jiangxia counties. Except for these three counties and Changsha occupied by Liu Bei, the other counties and counties in Jingzhou are all poor mountains and bad waters, and if everyone really protects Liu Cong to abandon Xiangyang and go south as Kuai Liang said, it will be like being exiled. No wonder. When Deng Xi, Han Song, and Wang Cang heard that they were going south, their faces were more ugly than the other.

And just when the cadres were struggling with whether to go south, they heard a sharp voice from outside the house, "Wu'er won't go south!" ”

Everyone looked back and saw Mrs. Cai standing at the door in a plain body, with a pair of phoenix eyes flashing with resolute light. Deng Xi and the others saw that Mrs. Cai was directly involved in politics as a female dependent, and they all secretly frowned. Cai Mao hurriedly got up and said in surprise, "Why is Madam here?" ”

Madame Cai didn't pay any attention to everyone's reactions. At this time, she had already learned of Liu Qi's death. Although Liu Qi's death cleared the way for Liu Cong to inherit the position of head of the family, Liu Qi's death also made Mrs. Cai even more suspicious. Imagine that Liu Qi could be assassinated by his subordinates in Fancheng, and once the young Liu Cong left the protection of Xiangyang City, he would not be a lamb to be slaughtered. What's more, Cai's roots are in Nanyang. Leaving Nanyang, how can anyone take her mother and son in their eyes. The death of Liu Biao once made Mrs. Cai in a trance, but once it came to the life and death of her son, she immediately returned to her former strength. I saw that Mrs. Cai ignored Cai Mao, who came up to dissuade her, and walked straight to the center of the hall, announcing again in an unquestionable tone. "Wu'er will not leave Xiangyang, let alone go south!"

Kuai Liang listened to what Mrs. Cai said. Turning his head, he glanced meaningfully at Kuai Yue. Kuai Yue seemed to have expected Mrs. Cai to rebel early on. Seeing that he said nonchalantly, "If Madame doesn't want to go south, it's okay." The more there is a plan, the more you can solve the current siege. ”

"What's the plan?" Mrs. Cai blurted out.

Kuai Yue looked around at Cai Mao, Liu Pan, Deng Xi, Han Song, and Wang Cang, who also stretched their necks and waited for him to make a plan, and slowly spit out two words, "Tou Cao." ”

"Cast Cao!" "Tou Cao?"

Everyone didn't expect Kuai Yue to dare to surrender to Cao Cao bluntly at this stall, and they were all on the spot. On the contrary, Kuai Liang, who had to start with Nandu, smiled on the side. However, even Kuai Yue pierced through the last layer of window paper. The people present still didn't dare to respond to Kuai Yue.

Compared with the twists and pinching of the men, Mrs. Cai only thought about it slightly, and then nodded categorically, "Then I will vote for Cao." ”

"Madame!"

Mrs. Cai raised her hand to stop Cai Mao, who wanted to step forward. Immediately, he glanced at the important ministers present and said, "Cao Gong and the Cai family have an alliance of in-laws, if we vote for Cao Xianjingzhou, Cao Gongduan will not treat my son and the monarchs badly." ”

"There is a general situation in adversity, there is a fixed trend in strength and weakness, and Mrs. understands the righteousness, which is really the blessing of Jingzhou." Kuai Yue and Kuai Liang both bowed their hands to Mrs. Cai and praised.

As the two most important military advisors during Liu Biao's lifetime, Kuai Yue and Kuai Liang had seen through Cai Mao, Liu Pan, Deng Xi and others from the very beginning that they had no courage and determination to resist Cao. In this case, if he blindly confronts Cao Cao, then Liu Cong's final fate is very likely to be sent to Cao Cao by his subordinates like Liu Qi. Since it is destined to not be able to hold Jingzhou, it is better to surrender to Cao Cao earlier. After all, at the moment, everyone still has conditions in their hands to bargain with Cao Cao. If you really want to leave Xiangyang and Nanyang, then the treatment of surrender will be much worse. Therefore, Kuai Liang's previous abandonment of the city and Nandu was actually taking retreat as advance, and using Nandu to force Deng Xi and others to show their true colors. At this time, Mrs. Cai appeared to oppose Nandu, and Kuai Yue pushed the boat to surrender to Cao. In Kuai Yue's view, Mrs. Cai is a distant relative of Donglai Cai Anzhen, and Cai Anzhen has an in-law alliance with Cao Cao, and with Mrs. Cai's temperament, she will definitely agree to vote for Cao for the safety of her son. In the end, Mrs. Cai also agreed to surrender to Cao Cao based on Cao Cai's marriage alone.

With Kuai Yue and Kuai Liang starting and Mrs. Cai's tough statement, the other civil and military ministers present naturally did not say a word, and expressed their approval of Tou Cao. So, the next morning, the young Liu Cong inherited the position of head of the family with the support of the civil and military forces in Xiangyang. After Liu Cong ascended the throne, he immediately issued two instructions, one was to organize the funeral for his father, and the other was to send Deng Xi as an envoy to Fancheng to surrender to Cao Cao.

At this time, Cao Cao had moved his line to Fancheng. In the face of Liu Cong's surrender, Cao Cao breathed a long sigh of relief. Although he had previously relied on the battle of Xinye to defeat Liu Biao's tens of thousands of troops, and sent Cao Ren to take the important town of Shouchun in Yangzhou, the speed of the march was not fast. But Cai Ji in the north had already ended the battle of Youhe, and if it weren't for Zhong Xuan's clever capture of Taiyuan, the entire state would have almost fallen into the hands of Cai. For Cao Cao, the sooner he ended the battle of Jingzhou, the sooner he could draw his hand against Cai Ji. Therefore, while he was proud, he even recruited his staff into the big tent to discuss the surrender.

When all the staff saw Liu Biao die, Liu Cong asked to surrender, and they all shouted God to bless Cao Gong. However, Cao Cao's mastermind Xun You shook his head slightly with a lowering table in his hand and said, "Collect Xiangyang Yi and settle Liu Cong." ”

Cao Cao stood with his hands behind his back, turned his head and asked, "Gongda, how do you say this?" ”

"Although Liu Cong is young, his mother Cai is a generation of Ji Si Chen. What's more, the Cai family has a deep foundation in Nanyang, and if it is allowed to continue to entrench in Jingzhou, the lord will inevitably be subject to it like Liu Jingsheng in the future. Xun Yu twisted and analyzed.

Cao Cao had heard of the rumors about Liu Biao's fear, and he also knew that Liu Biao's Mrs. Cai dared to be so arrogant that she had the support of her mother's family. So after listening to Xun You's words, Cao Cao's face suddenly flashed with murderous intent, "This matter is alone. ”

Seeing this, Liu Ye on the side knew that Cao Cao had killed the Nanyang Cai family. However, Liu Ye has another opinion about Nanyang Cai. But seeing that he secretly cleared his throat, he cautiously stepped forward and said to Cao Cao, "My lord, as far as Ye knows, the Nanyang Cai family is a distant relative of Cai Anzhen. Therefore, Ye thought that the main public university could send Liu Cong's mother and son to Donglai to prevent future troubles. ”

In fact, it is not a secret that Cai Ji was born in Nanyang Cai, but because she started in Qingzhou, few people will notice this. At this time, after Liu Ye's thoughts, the minds of everyone present suddenly became active. Seeing Xun You reminding Cao Cao meaningfully, "My lord, Cai Anzhen has not performed the courtesy of Zhou Gong with the second son so far, and there are no heirs around him. If Nanyang Cai's goes north......"

Cao Pi's failure to marry Cai Ji and give birth to an heir can be regarded as Cao Cao's heart disease all along. Although he also knew that Cai Ji only used Cao Pi as a proton. However, if Cai Ji was forced to perform the Zhou Gong ceremony with Cao Pi due to some threat, then the situation would be another matter. Thinking of this, Cao Cao immediately stroked his palms and laughed, "Wonderful, just act according to the plans of the kings." (To be continued......)