"Lord, guess how many prisoners we have captured in this battle?" Hu Che'er rushed over and shouted excitedly, interrupting Su Zhe's thoughts.

Su Zhe patted him on the head, "You're still playing dumb with me, say it quickly." ”

Hu Che'er grinned and touched his head, raised four fingers, and shouted excitedly: "Four thousand, lord, we have captured more than four thousand people!" ”

Su Zhe's eyes lit up again.

That's more than 4,000 people, and it's really not easy for him to work hard, Gan Ning surrendered, and he cheated from Huang Shot, so he barely managed to raise 10,000 horses.

At this time, 4,000 soldiers and horses were captured, which is a windfall!

If he can reorganize all these 4,000 people into his own army, then his strength will rise to a new level.

"Well, yes, yes." Su Zhe nodded with satisfaction, "Escort these four thousand men and horses back to Wancheng, give them food when they should be eaten, don't abuse them, and let the second uncle give me a good reorganization of them." ”

"No!"

As soon as Hu Che'er finished reporting, Gan Ning rode his horse and galloped over.

"Lord, in this battle, we captured 4,000 enemies and killed 5,000 enemy troops, Cai Mao and the remaining 10,000 enemy soldiers were scattered in all directions, and they should have fled to the direction of Fancheng." Gan Ning excitedly reported.

Su Zhe nodded, raised his hand and waved: "Pass the order, the army will immediately chase south, and recapture Fancheng for me in one go." ”

As soon as this order was given, Hu Che'er was confused, and said puzzledly: "Lord, we just abandoned Fancheng, why do we want to take it back now, then we simply didn't give up earlier, isn't this taking off our pants and farting." ”

"Rude!" Su Zhe slapped him on the head again, and looked at Li Yan with a smile, "Zhengfang, tell him why." ”

Li Yan said: "Listen to the dwarf winter melon, we took the initiative to abandon Fancheng before, that is because we just stole Liu Biao's grain and grass, but his army was not damaged, now we have broken Cai Mao, and the vitality of the Jingzhou army has been greatly damaged, we will not take the opportunity to advance the border to the north bank of the Han River, and wait for when." ”

Su Zhe smiled and said nothing, nodding slightly approvingly, Li Yan's insight was really extraordinary, and what he said was exactly what he wanted.

If he was only satisfied with a big victory, Liu Biao would lose at most 10,000 soldiers and horses, and after recovering his vitality, he could calmly cross the river and use Fancheng as a base to enter the north, and the army would invade Xinye again in the north.

Now it's different, he can take advantage of the big victory over Yu Wei to recapture Fancheng, then he can block Liu Biao south of the Han River, and block Liu Biao's invasion with the Han River.

Fan Cheng will be a nail he placed under Liu Biao's nose, which can disgust Liu Biao and make it difficult for Liu Biao to sleep.

At the same time, Fancheng was the springboard for the future team to attack Xiangyang, seize Jingzhou, and destroy Liu Biao.

Su Zhe understands these truths, Li Yan naturally understands them, but Hu Che'er doesn't quite understand them.

He touched his brain, pondered for a long time and still looked confused, then shook his hand and said: "I still don't understand, no matter, what the lord tells us to do, we will do it." ”

Su Zhe laughed.

At that moment, he raised his victorious army and drove straight along the southbound avenue, pursuing Cai Mao and his defeated troops all the way.

Two days later, Su Zhe killed to the north of Fancheng.

Cai Mao had just stepped into Fancheng with one foot in front of him, and he didn't even have time to catch his breath, when he heard that Su Zhe's army was chasing, he was frightened and didn't dare to defend the city at all, so he hurriedly abandoned Fancheng and fled across the Han River to the south bank in a hurry.

After less than half a month, Su Zhe jumped into Fancheng again and planted the banner of his Su character on this gateway city that guarded Xiangyang.

……

North of Xiangyang City.

A large number of troops were driving out of the city gate and hurrying to the water camp on the bank of the Han River.

Fancheng on the other side has been captured by the rebels again, and there is an uproar inside and outside Xiangyang City, rumors are spreading, and it is rumored everywhere that Su Zhe has crossed the Han River and is going to attack Xiangyang at any time, and people are panicked for a while.

Cai Mao walked on the way to the state capital, looking at the panicked crowd along the way, her face was gloomy, and her eyebrows showed a little shame.

In front of the gate of the mansion, Cai Mao looked at the heavily guarded, panicked gate, with a solemn expression, and did not enter for a long time.

He didn't know how to face Liu Biao.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally let out a long breath, hardened his head, and decided to walk in.

Just as he was taking a step, a person behind him suddenly said: "Cai Beijia, the last general was offended for Cai Beijia's safety, and I asked Cai Beijia to forgive the crime." ”

Cai Mao looked back, and the person who spoke was Wei Yan.

On that day, it was Wei Yan who did not hesitate to commit the following crimes and forcibly took him away, so as to prevent him from dying in the chaos.

The corners of Cai Mao's mouth swept up with a hint of sarcasm, of course he could hear the intention of Wei Yan's words.

This Wei Yan just wanted to remind him that he had a life-saving contribution, and wanted him to recommend himself in front of Liu Mian so that he could be promoted.

"You did a good job at that time, your official was useful, how could you die in that kind of place, you have made meritorious contributions." Cai Mao still approving.

Wei Yan showed a hint of joy on his face, and hurriedly said: "This is what the last general should do, and it is a matter of duty." ”

Cai Mao flicked her hands and said impatiently: "Okay, don't come with me, I will make a contribution to you in front of the lord, and you will wait for the promotion." ”

"Thank you, don't drive." Wei Yan was overjoyed, and he was busy thanking him.

Cai Mao didn't bother to say anything more to him, lazily brushed her hands, took a deep breath, and walked into the gate of the state capital with heavy steps.

……

Among the state pastors, it has long been a mess.

Rumors were circulating throughout the palace that the rebels crossed the river and killed Xiangyang, and some people even rumored that Liu Biao was afraid of Su Zhe and had planned to abandon Xiangyang and retreat to Jiangling.

In the main hall of the state capital, Liu Biaogao sat on it, his face gloomy as iron.

The civil and military ministers under the stairs were also discussing, and the emotions of shock and anxiety filled the entire hall.

Everyone couldn't believe that Cai Mao's tens of thousands of troops were defeated by Su Zhe in a few days, not only losing more than 10,000 soldiers, but also losing Fancheng.

Xiangyang shook, Jingzhou shook, and the entire Jingzhou people were all shocked by this fiasco.

They couldn't figure out how that traitor did it, how he defeated the Jingzhou soldiers several times with thousands of soldiers and horses.

For a while, Su Zhe's prestige reached its peak in Xiangyang City, and even when Xiao'er heard his name, he didn't dare to cry at night.

"My lord, Cai Beijia has come back and is asking to see him outside." A personal soldier entered and shouted a report.

In the lobby, there was no sound for a while, and everyone's eyes were all focused on Liu Biao.

"Cai Mao, you still have the face to come back!"

Liu Biao secretly gritted his teeth and slammed his fist on the desk.

He hated Cai Mao.

Not only because of Cai Mao's defeat, but also because Cai Mao dared to disobey his order to withdraw his troops and forcibly led his army north, and finally suffered such a fiasco, causing people's hearts to fluctuate and disappointing his army's prestige.

What Liu Biao hated even more was a secret that he couldn't tell.

That is, Cai Mao's damn niece, the daughter-in-law she identifies herself, dared to stab his beloved eldest son before eloping with Su Zhe.

That knife also stabbed Liu Qi to the point of cutting off his children and grandchildren, and became a wasted person! .

Seeing that Liu Biao didn't speak for a long time, Kuai Yue cautiously persuaded: "Lord, everyone has already returned, let's see it." ”

Liu Biao came to his senses from his anger, flicked his hand, and said reluctantly: "Pass the general of the defeated army in." ”

The soldiers hurried back, and a moment later, heavy footsteps rang out.

Under the gaze of everyone, Cai Mao, who had a gloomy face, slowly walked into the lobby with heavy steps.

"My subordinates were defeated and lost, so I ask the lord for his guilt." Cai Mao said, and fell to her knees in front of the hall.

Liu Biao forcibly suppressed his anger, did not mention his disobedience, and asked in a deep voice: "Cai Mao, aren't you full of confidence, claiming that you can easily destroy the Su thief, how can you hold several times the soldiers and horses of the thief army, but fall into such a miserable situation!" ”

Cai Mao raised his head and said with a bitter face: "The lord is angry, his subordinates are very sure of breaking through Xinye, who knows that before the battle, that Yi actually defected to the Su thief, leaked all our truth to the Su thief, and induced the Su thief to attack my camp at night, so that I suffered this defeat." ”

Iraqi defection!

Liu Biao's face changed, and in the lobby, everyone's spirits shook again.

You must know that Yi is a person who is the eldest prince Liu Qi, and now he has openly betrayed and surrendered to the thief, and such a bad deed, if it is spread, it will inevitably cause a great shock.

This is definitely a very bad example.

"Qi'er is really, this kind of person can also be trusted......" Liu Biao secretly complained about Liu Qi.

His anger was suppressed a little, and he said in a deep voice: "Even if the Yi defected, how dare you disobey the order of the government to let you be a teacher, and insist on leading the army north to attack Xinye, if you don't disobey the order, how can you suffer such a fiasco?" ”

"The lord's anger is calm, and the minister's disobedience to the lord's order is indeed the minister's sin."

Cai Mao first apologized, and then defended: "It's just that the subordinates thought that the Su thief kidnapped the niece of the subordinate, the daughter-in-law of the lord, and caused the eldest prince to be injured like that, and the subordinates were eager to avenge the blood hatred of the eldest prince, and they were blinded by anger for a while, so they did such an undeserved act, and asked the lord to forgive him." ”

Liu Biao's brows became deeper and deeper, and he was angry in his heart, but he couldn't attack.

He clearly knew that Cai Mao was guilty because of his guilt, so he was in a hurry to destroy Su Zhe's meritorious service, so that he could atone for his crimes, so he did not hesitate to disobey his orders and insisted on attacking Xinye.

But he kept claiming that it was to avenge Liu Qi, which showed his loyalty.

It's just that Liu Biao is ashamed to tell the truth about Liu Qi's injury, and he can't tell the bitterness, and he can't debunk Cai Mao's excuse.

At this time, Na Kuai Yue hurriedly stood up and arched his hand: "Lord, although Cai Deqi is at fault, he is bent on avenging the eldest prince, and he also asks the lord to be lenient." ”

As soon as Kuai Yue stood up, in the hall, the officials from the Jingzhou clan stood up one after another to intercede for Cai Mao.

Looking at the people who pleaded for mercy and looked at Cai Mao in front of the hall, Liu Biao felt a burst of disgust in his heart, and he couldn't wait to sentence Cai Mao to death on the spot.

When the words came to his lips, he held back.

Such a famous man of the clan interceded for Cai Mao, which shows the depth of the influence of the Cai family in Jingzhou, if he insisted on severely punishing Cai Mao, wouldn't he offend the vast majority of the clan.

Chilling the hearts of these people is tantamount to shaking the foundation of his Liu family's rule in Jingzhou, even if he is angry, he still maintains this little sobriety.

What's more, Cai Mao's sister is still his stepwife.

Killing his brother-in-law is not something that a person like him Liu Biao can do.

The clenched fist gradually loosened, Liu Biao let out a long breath, forcibly suppressed his anger, and raised his hand slightly, intending to let Cai Mao get up first.

At this moment, a personal soldier rushed in and exclaimed: "Lord Yu, Jingnan Urgent, Wuling, Lingling and Guiyang have rebelled!" ”