A slanting moon hung high in the sky, illuminating the bleak night sky. %

A large number of bonfires were lit in the camp outside Fengyang City, illuminating the sky red.

Some soldiers danced an ancient war dance around the campfire, showing a different kind of savage atmosphere.

Covering that some of them had skipped once, Lu Yan felt very good, and because there was always a lack of entertainment in the army, he promoted this.

Lu Yan sat next to a bonfire with Meng Kuo, Cao Wenzhao and others, and there were several fat sheep roasted to a golden color.

From time to time, some soldiers took down the roasted fat sheep, cut it and brought it up for everyone to use.

Lu Yan, Meng Kuo, and Cao Wenzhao sat cross-legged on some warm leather mattresses, enjoying the fat mutton in front of them, and talking about what had happened recently with rice wine.

Of course, ordinary people who dare to drink alcohol in the army will be beheaded.

However, who dared to cut off Lu Yan's head, due to today's special situation, Lu Yan made an exception and opened a few bottles of wine.

Perhaps because of his depressed mood, Cao Wenzhao has the meaning of using wine to eliminate his sorrows, and he always drinks the rice wine in front of him when he drinks it.

It wasn't until a brocade guard repeatedly reminded him that Cao Wenzhao stopped drinking heavily.

With a slight drunkenness, his emotions became a little excited.

talked about the suffering of the people in Liaodong, the exclusion of his colleagues against him, and the lack of military salaries.

Lu Yan responded from time to time and smiled.

Although a little more than a year has passed, they both feel like a long time has passed, and they can no longer drink together as much as they used to.

There is already a huge chasm between them, a chasm that cannot be bridged.

Lu Yan knows this, and Cao Wenzhao also knows this.

Those brocade guards looked at Cao Wenzhao very nervously, for fear that he would accidentally say something that should not be said.

But now if you want to keep Lu Yan, it is estimated that only Cao Wenzhao has the ability, so he can only let him play.

After seeing a bottle of wine being eaten, they hurriedly reminded Cao Wenzhao that it was time to go back to rest.

Cao Wenzhao also nodded gloomily, he knew what those brocade guards were, and there were some things he had to listen to them.

Seeing this, Lu Yan hurriedly called some soldiers to send Cao Wenzhao and the three brocade guards down to rest.

After seeing Cao Wenzhao leave, Lu Yan looked at the moon in the sky, and the flickering fire shone on his face, making his face a little gloomy.

"My lord, I feel that something is wrong today."

Jia Xu thought for a while and said.

Lu Yan nodded, he originally thought that he would be reprimanded by Mao Wenlong and Cao Wenzhao after meeting them, but he didn't expect this to be the case.

He still knows Mao Wenlong and Cao Wenzhao very well, especially Cao Wenzhao, who is simply a diehard loyalist of the Ming Dynasty.

Now that he has created the rebellion of the Ming Dynasty, not only did he not reprimand him, but felt guilty, if he had no ghost in his heart, it would be strange.

"We have received news that the imperial court has sent 50,000 border troops south, and I suspect that this is their delaying tactic."

Jia Xu said.

At this point in the war, more and more people have taken refuge in Lu Yan, including some people in the court, who are also secretly in tune with Lu Yan.

Although Lu Yan touched the interests of some people, not everyone's interests were violated.

Some people weighed the pros and cons and quietly took refuge in Lu Yan.

Regarding some major movements in the imperial court, Lu Yan is still very clear.

"You're saying they want to eat the dumplings we made here."

Lu Yan said.

His expression was gloomy, and it was the first time Jia Xu had found Lu Yan so sad.

"Whether this is the case or not, just pay attention to the movements of that border army. If they are still rushing to this side without stopping, then this is very likely. ”

Jia Xu said.

Lu Yan suddenly felt a burst of heartache, although he had a vague premonition, but when he really learned of this possibility, he still felt extremely heartache.

He doesn't have many friends, and Cao Wenzhao is one of his rare friends.

And as his status continues to rise, it is almost impossible for him to have any friends anymore.

Unexpectedly, Cao Wenzhao betrayed him as well, and when he thought of this, Lu Yan felt a pang in his heart.

"Do we need to bring some troops over to deal with those border troops?"

Jia Xu said.

Due to the enemy's policy of retreating to defense, coupled with the large number of siege casualties, Lu Yan's army grew quite slowly.

Now Lu Yan's army is about 80,000 (not including the navy), but the territory he occupies is too large.

He was already close to possessing four provinces, with an average of only more than 20,000 people per province, many of which needed to be defended, and some places had rebellions one after another, which led to a very small number of troops.

And now he is attacking south of the Yangtze River, north of the Yangtze River, and Guangdong at the same time, which has led to the further weakening of his forces, so the troops around him are only more than 14,000 people and some people.

In his words, he is a little overwhelmed now, and his forces can't digest so much territory, which is one of the reasons why Lu Yan deliberately stopped the peace talks.

"No, let them step up their attacks and try to occupy more territory. Don't stop attacking, even during negotiations. Also, try to occupy Hainan Island as much as possible. ”

Lu Yan thought for a while and said.

Even if you have to eat it, you have to find a way to occupy more territory, if you really negotiate peace, then you will have no chance to occupy territory, as for Hainan Island, which is now part of Guangdong, Lu Yan of Hainan Island still attaches great importance to it.

If you attack Vietnam and other places in the future, Hainan Island is a good springboard.

Jia Xu nodded.

"I heard that Cao Wenzhao is a fierce general, the lord should stay away from him in the future, so as not to assassinate him suddenly, and the lord, you had better find a military general who can defeat him to protect your safety."

Jia Xu said again.

"I understand."

Lu Yan said with a smile.

Jia Xu looked at Lu Yan with some surprise, he originally thought that Lu Yan might refuse.

"What do you think of me, Cao Wenzhao is the unparalleled general of the Ming Dynasty, he will only be loyal to the Ming Dynasty in this life, if the court asks him to assassinate me, maybe he will really follow orders. I know that better than any of you. ”

Lu Yan sighed at the night sky, "It's a pity...... Maybe I will inevitably meet him in the future in the battle. ”

Jia Xu nodded, as long as the lord understood.

It's just who should I choose?

In Lu Yanxin, there are about four people who can win against Cao Wenzhao.

They are Xiang Yu, Lu Bu, Yang Zaixing, and Xue Rengui.

The others may be able to win against Cao Wenzhao, but they may be only limited.

Lu Yan thought about it, and it seemed that he had to summon Lu Bu out.

Xiang Yu, Xue Rengui, Yang Zaixing and others all have their own tasks, and they are not here at all.

"In addition, the defense of the camp was strengthened, and all kinds of trenches to resist horses must be prepared. If the enemy is going to attack us, we need to be prepared. ”

Lu Yan thought for a while and said.

Jia Xu nodded, he saw that Lu Yan seemed to be in a bad mood, so he retreated, leaving Lu Yan empty against the lonely moonlight.

*****

*****

The next day, there was an extra fierce general in Lu Yan's camp who was holding Fang Tian's painting halberd.

Lu Yan remembered that the real Lu Bu used a spear, and the use of Fang Tian's halberd was a matter in the romance.

I don't know why this Lu Bu also uses the Fang Tian Painting Halberd, but Lu Yan doesn't want to delve into this, as long as he is still the Lu Bu who is strong in martial arts.

Lu Bu found an opportunity, so he went to Cao Wenzhao to challenge.

"You said you wanted to compete with me?"

Cao Wenzhao looked at Lu Bu and said with some surprise.

"That's right, a certain family is Lu Wenhou, the first fierce general under the command of the prince, I heard that the prince is full of praise for your martial arts, so he specially came to you to check it."

Lu Bu said proudly.

Regarding the question of who is the number one fierce general under Lu Yan, he thinks that this needs to be compared to know.

Although many people believe that Xiang Yu is the first fierce general in Chinese history, Lu Bu expressed strong dissatisfaction.

Who is higher or lower in martial arts is not judged, but compared.

Cao Wenzhao thought about it and agreed, as a fierce general, he also has his own arrogance.

Someone came to challenge but should not fight, that is definitely not his Cao Wenzhao's style.

So the two decided to compete in three places, horsemanship, foot combat, and archery.

After the agreement, they chose a venue to compete with martial arts, and Lu Yan also appeared at the right time, and then personally presided over the competition.

The result of the matter was not unexpected, whether it was a cavalry battle or an infantry battle, Lu Bu was a big defeat to Cao Wenzhao.

Especially in the cavalry battle, with the help of the red rabbit horse, his speed is simply unpredictable.

As for archery, not to mention, he directly placed the target at one or fifty paces away, asking to test archery at this distance.

Seeing this, Cao Wenzhao knew that something was wrong.

He estimated that this time it was going to be planted, and it would be very miserable.

He had the intention of keeping the arrow target closer, but he was embarrassed to say such a weak word.

So Lu Bu exploded Cao Wenzhao with three arrows, causing Cao Wenzhao to almost be ashamed to see people.

Lu Bu's strong force and archery skills made the people around him stunned, and of course Lu Yan's subordinates applauded and praised Lu Bu one after another.

Those brocade guards were pale, they didn't expect that there were such brave people in this world, but this person was still under the command of the anti-king Lu Yan.

After seeing Lu Bu's victory, Lu Yan was also relieved.

So during this time, Lu Bu was asked to protect himself closely, so as not to prevent Cao Wenzhao from suddenly wanting to stab himself.

Not long after the end of the competition, Fengyang sent Lu Zhaoxiong, the envoy of the peace talks, and Lu Yan also sent Jia Xu to negotiate with him.

He took a team of cavalry and Cao Wenzhao out hunting, which was a very high-level activity in ancient times.

Lu Yan also likes it quite a lot, this time everyone went out and gained a lot, and even Lu Yan shot two roe deer.

After returning, everyone peeled and cleaned the prey, and then barbecued the food.

In the evening, Lu Yan called Jia Xu to ask about today's negotiations.

"The conditions of the Ming Dynasty were much more lenient than we thought, and they even agreed to make you the king, but asked our army to stop the attack immediately, so as not to spoil the harmony between the two families."

Jia Xu said.

"Don't stop attacking, tell Li Jing that if those fortified cities are difficult to attack, you can give up for the time being, and then attack Jiangxi and Huguang. Now that Jiangxi and Huguang are empty, it is a good time for us to attack. ”

Lu Yan said, "Do you think they are playing a delaying tactic?" ”

"I can't see it yet, it's just that there is such a possibility, and it is recommended that we should be wary."

Jia Xu thought for a while and said.

Lu Yan nodded, "That's it." ”

So in the next few days, Lu Yan and Cao Wenzhao either played or hunted together.

Mao Wenlong would occasionally come to see them, but there was no sign of anyone else in Dongjiang Town.

Mao Wenlong told him that they were detained when they arrived in Tianjin, and he was the only one who came to Fengyang alone.

Hearing this, Lu Yan was silent for a while.

During this time, a large amount of news continued to come here.

For example, the 50,000 border troops are accelerating southward, and they may be able to reach Fengyang within a month, and Lu Yan's face is becoming more and more gloomy, but it has never been revealed in front of Cao Wenzhao.

Just one day, when Lu Yan returned to the camp, a personal soldier quietly told him a piece of news.

"You mean that a man who claims to be a messenger of the Jurchens wants to ask to see me."

Hearing this, Lu Yan couldn't help but feel surprised.

"Yes, he said that he brought the edict of **Hachi, and he wants to form an alliance with you."

Lu Yan was dumbfounded for a while, but soon burst into laughter.

"This is really a Three Kingdoms killing. Let's go, take me to meet him. ”

Lu Yan walked a few steps, suddenly stopped, and then said to a guard, "Go and call ...... Cao Wenzhao. ”