Facts have proved that Zhou Yu's prediction of Cao Cao is quite accurate. Cao Cao, who learned that Cai Ji had been freed, was indeed worried about whether to launch an eastward invasion. From the perspective of competing for the world, Cao Cao was of course inclined to unify the Central Plains and the four states of Hebei first, and then move south to pacify Jing, Yang, Yi, Jiao and other states. Otherwise, he would not have made up his mind to fight Yuan Shao to the death in Guandu. However, Cao Cao's devastating attempt did not make him achieve his long-cherished wish of unifying the Central Plains, but allowed Cai Ji, who had been inconspicuous before, to occupy most of the northern counties in one fell swoop.

As a hero, Cao Cao naturally would not be willing to share a large area of land north of the Yangtze River with others. But the previous fierce battle with Yuan Shao really hurt the vitality of the Cao army, so that he was unable to launch another battle of Guandu. As a result, Cao Cao had to pinch his nose and sing the alliance of in-laws with Cai Ji on the one hand, and on the other hand, he went south to pinch the weaker Jingyang princes. Fortunately, Liu Biao was indeed just a talker as rumored by the outside world, Cao Cao only took two or three months to defeat Liu Biao and Liu Bei's coalition army successively, and in the subsequent decisive battle, he scared Liu Biao to death with "thunder fire", thus taking the important town of Xiangyang in Jingzhou without blood. And the wealth, grain and grass that Liu Biao has accumulated over the years have naturally all been pocketed by Cao Cao.

At this time, the news that Cai Ji was trapped in western Liaoning came from the north, and Cao Cao, whose strength had greatly increased, would give up such a God-given opportunity. Therefore, even if Shang Shu ordered Xun Yu to repeatedly dissuade Cao Cao from taking advantage of the danger of others to rashly send troops to attack Cai Ji's subordinate counties, Cao Cao still insisted on secretly allowing Hou Cheng and Zang Ba to invade Xuzhou, and actively mobilized troops, horses, grain and grass to the north, only waiting for Cai Anzhen's life to attack in groups.

But who would have thought that before Cao Cao finished arranging, Cai Ji, who was far away in western Liaoxi, would escape intact. Cao Cao, who felt the jealousy of throwing rats, summoned a group of henchmen and advisers into the mansion that night to discuss countermeasures.

Like Cao Cao, Cao Ying's strategists who heard that Cai Ji was out of trouble at first glance also regretted it. And Yang Xiu, the youngest of the aged, gritted his teeth directly and said, "The 40,000 army can't help just 10,000 lone soldiers, Gongsun Kang is really a guinea dog!" ”

"Could it be that there is really a ghost god Cai Anzhenhu!" Deng Xi, who had just surrendered to Cao Ying, also muttered in a low voice. Although it is said that "Zi is silent and strange and confused", it can be associated with various rumors of Cai Ji among the people. There really is no one who will laugh at Deng Xi's nonsense. Even Cao Cao himself was a little skeptical that Cai Ji was really a demon girl with mana as rumored.

Seeing that the topic was about to deviate in the direction of ghosts and gods, Xun You, who was Cao Cao's mastermind, immediately coughed heavily and said, "Those who help Cai Anzhen are not ghosts and gods!" ”

Cao Cao was reminded by Xun You like this, and immediately restrained the cranky thoughts in his heart, and turned respectfully and said, "Please also ask Gongda to teach you." ”

Xun You bowed slightly and said "don't dare", and then looked around at the colleagues present and analyzed in a deep voice, "Cai Anzhen's subordinates have Taishi Ziyi, Zhang Junyi, Zhang Wenyuan, and Zhao Zilong are loyal and brave and good at fighting, and there are Guo Fengxiao, Jia Wenhe, Tian Yuanhao, and Pang Shiyuan to win the battle. Civil and military concentric. Under the soldiers' lives, I would like to ask the Cai family why they are worried about the family business. ”

If Xun You praised Cai Ji's civil and military affairs like this three months ago, Cao Cao would definitely feel that Xun You was growing up and destroying his own prestige, and it was still unknown if he even brushed his sleeves away. However, Cao Cao nodded again and again at this time, because in the past three months, Qi Yingwen and Wu had proved that Xun You's words were true with their loyalty, bravery, and resourcefulness.

I think about when I first learned that Cai Ji was trapped. Many Cao Ying's civil and military forces, including Cao Cao, believed that Qi Ying would collapse and split in a short time. After all, none of the military generals under Cai Ji's command are related to the Cai family, let alone Cai Ji is still a childless woman. However, what Cao Cao and others never expected was that the Qi generals led by Tai Shici and Zhang He not only did not betray Cai Ji. also dotted the states and counties under Cai Ji's rule properly. Cao Cao was both jealous and remorseful. is jealous that such loyal people with both ability and integrity are all charmed by the Cai family and cannot be used by him Cao Mengde. I regret that I knew that Qi Ying's civil and military forces were so united. In the first place, Hou Cheng and Zang Ba should not have acquiesced to invading Xuzhou, thus acting as a villain in vain, and making the civil and military forces of Qi Ying more and more resentful of the enemy.

At this moment, recalling that Xun Yu had persuaded himself not to take advantage of others' danger before, Cao Cao couldn't help but sigh with deep feelings, "I regret not listening to Wen Ruo's advice, I am lonely and underestimate Cai Anzhen." ”

Seeing that Cao Cao already had remorse. Xun You turned the conversation around and said, "Don't worry about the lord, how can the friendship between the master and the servant be as good as the righteousness of the monarch and the minister." ”

Cao Cao's eyes lit up, and he leaned over to ask. "What do you mean by Gongda?"

Xun Yu said with a smile, "Nanpi is too shou Shi Ziyi, Langya is too shou Zhang Junyi are all loyal and brave and good at fighting, Qingzhou don't drive Guo Feng filial piety and worship generosity, please ask the lord to ask for the seal for these three people, in order to show the wisdom of the imperial court." ”

Xun You's strategy was actually very simple, that is, to let Cao Cao canonize the local ministers and generals in the name of the Son of Heaven, so as to divide the relationship between the princes and their subordinates. Although everyone knows that the so-called canonization of the Son of Heaven originated from Cao Cao's secret instructions, few people dare not take the canonization of the Son of Heaven seriously because of the century-old prestige of the Han Dynasty.

Far away, let's take the recent entry of Ma Teng into Beijing as an example. It is said that soon after Cao Cao destroyed Liu Biao, he sent Zhang Ji, a councilor, to persuade Ma Teng to give up military power and take up an official position in the imperial court. Ma Teng was afraid of Cao Cao's obscenity and took into account the criticism of the world, so he had to reluctantly agree. Seeing Ma Teng's hesitation, Zhang ordered all counties along the way to prepare grain, grass and other materials for Ma Teng's needs, and ordered all county guards to go to the suburbs to meet and see him off. Cao Cao took the opportunity to recommend Ma Teng as a guard lieutenant, appointed his son Ma Chao as a partial general, continued to lead Ma Teng's troops, and moved all Ma Teng's family to Xudu.

Imagine that even the princes of one side like Ma Teng would be coerced in this way, not to mention other civil and military bureaucrats. Taking a step back, even if Tai Shici, Zhang He, and Guo Jia themselves don't care about the court's reward. Won't their ministry care? Wouldn't their colleagues be indifferent? Will Cai Ji not care?

As the so-called soft knife kills without blood. Cao Cao, who had already mastered this trick, immediately stroked his palms and laughed in understanding, "Wonderful! Just do what you do! ”

Seeing that Cao Cao accepted Xun You's divisive plan, Yang Xiu, who was bent on making merit from the battlefield, was willing to give up. Since it is not possible to start a war with the Cai clan for the time being, let's change the conquest, otherwise the previous more than a month of troop dispatch will not be in vain. I saw Yang Xiu's eyes roll, and he arched his hand to Cao Cao and said. "Lord Mingjian, at this time, the truce may damage morale, it is better to plan and go south to Changsha with a false shot, and Liu Xuande will be caught off guard."

"Go south to Changsha..."Cao Cao lowered his head and reminisced about Yang Xiu's mentions. Today, there are more than a dozen large and small princes on one side of the lower division, but there are only two people who are really regarded by Cao Cao as a big trouble, one is Cai Anzhen and the other is Liu Xuande. Compared with Cai Ji, who has already occupied the land of the five states, Liu Bei, who has been defeated repeatedly, seems to be a bit exaggerated. However, Cao Cao always believed that Liu Bei was definitely not a thing in the pool, so if he didn't get rid of it as soon as possible. Once Liu Bei is allowed to sit on the throne, I am afraid that it will be even more difficult to deal with than Cai Ji in the future. Fortunately, Liu Bei's foothold in Changsha is not stable, and he also has a gap with Sun Ce of Eastern Wu. Thinking of this, Cao Cao's eyes couldn't help but flash a trace of murder.

And when Cao Cao was sharpening his sword in the south, Huo Huo was about to come with a blow to the east and west, Cai Ji, who was far away in Liaodong, had already taken Changli City, the capital of Liaodong's vassal state, with lightning speed. Although the cronies and family members of Bang Dun in Changli City immediately packed up and fled to the northern grasslands after learning of the defeat of Bang Dun's army, it was a pity that they ran into Zhang Liaobu who was killing head-on before they could run far. After a fight, the leaders of the Wuhuan nobles, who were unable to break through, had to abandon their chariots, horses, and belongings, and fled back to Changli City in a panic, in a vain attempt to block the attack of the Qi army with the walled city. If it is replaced by other princes of the Central Plains. This trick may really keep them alive for months. However, this time, the Wuhuan people encountered the "Technique of Landslide and Earth Cracking", and the result was naturally very different.

Cai Ji obviously didn't have the time or interest to entangle with the Wuhuan nobles in Changli City. She must conquer Changli City at the lowest cost and in the most decisive time, so as to pacify the vassal state of Liaodong. So after the soldiers came to the city. Without saying a word, Cai Ji ordered three artillery pieces to be pushed in front of the battle and bombarded the weakest point of the walled city. Soon, the deafening artillery fire collapsed, and the city walls, which were too strong, also shattered the last vestiges of courage of the Wuhuan people in the city. As the Qi army poured into the gap like a tide, the battle flag of the Qi army was also planted on the head of Changli City under the light of the sunset.

However, this smooth victory did not make Cai Ji forget his previous verdict about the Nine Clans of Zhu Dun and the transfer of his cronies to the Three Clans. Three days later, the Qi army circled an execution ground on the Yushui River beach outside Changli City, and erected a five- or six-foot-high earthen platform on the north side of the execution ground. Since it is a public execution, there must always be spectators, otherwise how can it achieve the effect of setting an example. As a result, before dawn, the peasants, herdsmen, and slaves near the city of Changli were driven one after another to the vicinity of the execution ground by the river beach to watch the execution. Among the vast crowd were both Hu and Han Chinese. But every spectator held their breath and did not dare to make a sound. So much so that the huge execution ground was only a little resounding from the flying battle flags of the hunt and the whistling wild wind.

When the time came, a group of black-clad and black-armored cavalry escorted a richly decorated chariot into the execution ground. The crowd on both sides saw a young woman dressed in gorgeous clothes sitting in the car, and knew that this was the arrival of Qi Hou, so they knelt down to greet each other. Cai Ji sat in the car and watched the crowd around him crawl on the ground in panic. There is no trace of the pleasure of a conqueror in my heart. In her view, fear does not mean conquest, she wants surrender from the heart.

With this idea in mind, Cai Ji ascended to the north viewing platform surrounded by everyone. In addition to Zhang Liao, Zhao Yun, Xin Bi, Tian Chou and other Qi camp civil and military forces, there were also Cao Pi, Sun Quan and Yan Rou, the captain of Wuhuan who had just arrived from Jinxi. As a perennial intermediary between Hu and Han, Yan Rou knows that the contradictions between Hu and Han cannot be solved simply by the word "kill". So when he learned that Cai Ji planned to kill in Changli, Yan Rou immediately said goodbye to Lin Fei and rushed to Changli all the way day and night, just to dissuade the young Qi Hou Mo from committing cruel acts.

However, before Yan Rou could think of a way to persuade Cai Ji, Zhang Liao, who was sitting opposite him, had already reminded Cai Ji, "Lord, noon is approaching. ”

Cai Ji looked up at the scorching sun hanging above the top, and then nodded and said, "Take someone to commit a crime." ”

"No!" Zhang Liao, who received the order, raised the arrow and shouted, "Take someone to commit a crime!" ”

With Zhang Liao's order, the two wrestlers escorted the drooping head to the front of the execution platform. At the same time, Simbi picked up a scroll and read aloud the charges against him and the decision to dismember him. Although the verdict in Xin Bi's hand was written in Chinese, it did not cause much reaction on the river beach. So after Xin Bi finished reading the verdict, he smiled and handed the scroll to Yan Rou, "I'm tired of Captain Yan reading it again in nonsense." ”

Yan Rou took the scroll and sighed, then read the verdict again in Wuhuan dialect. This time, not only was the audience completely paralyzed on the ground, but even the crowd was in an uproar. The executioners on the execution ground, regardless of the reaction, saw them swiftly handcuff their limbs and necks, and the chains at the other end of the shackles were tied to five strong horses.

When the hands of the sundial moved to noon, Cai Ji turned his head and nodded silently at Zhang Liao. Zhang Liao immediately threw an arrow and shouted, "Execution!" ”

As the arrows fell to the dust, the riders on the five horses each spurred their horses in five different directions. Before he could even snort, he was torn into six pieces in an instant, and the gushing blood and scattered internal organs left five red blood marks on the river beach. The stench of blood rushed straight to the execution platform.

If you think that's the end of it, you're wrong. The corpses on this side were still steaming, and the Qi army armor soldiers escorted men and women, old and young, to the execution ground. It is different from the people who were rushed to watch the execution before. These people were all close associates and family members of Bunton, and they were tied together with thick hemp ropes. At first glance, when he saw that the corpse had been slaughtered in the execution ground, and then when he thought of the killing order issued by Qi Hou, the men, women and children immediately cried, which made people feel sorry for it.

Considering that Cai Ji was a woman, and the next execution would make her uncomfortable, Xin Bi couldn't help but say to Cai Ji intimately, "The first evil has been punished, and please go back to the city to rest, and the ministers can be beheaded here." ”

However, Cai Ji, who was sitting on the execution platform, didn't have the slightest intention of getting up and leaving, so he saw her take a deep breath and wave her hand, "The killing order was issued by Gu himself, how can Gu leave the table halfway." (To be continued......)