"So what now?" Guan Yu's face was so gloomy that it could drip water, and there was a bit of chill in his voice. "The old thief Meng De sent people to persuade him to surrender, and I am afraid that he will attack immediately. Although there were many soldiers in the city, food was very limited, and it could only last for two months at most. Two months later......" Guan Yu said to the end, shook his head, and retreated a little uncertainly: "Or, let's break through, right?" ”

Sun Shao didn't speak, he could hear it, Guan Yu didn't want to just go back. He came over majestically, and if he just retreated like this, everything in front of him would become a joke, and the momentum would become a rash advance, and the breakthrough would become an embarrassment, and the taste would be completely different. As proud as Guan Yu, how could he accept such a result of winning first and then losing?

Although Guan Yu said this, it was just a sign that he had lost confidence in the future, and he didn't really want to retreat like this. If Sun Shao happily agreed to retreat now, then Guan Yu's impression of him would definitely be extremely bad.

Of course, Sun Shao didn't want to retreat, at least not yet.

"With the courage of my father-in-law, it is easy to break the siege of Xiahoudun, but it is just ...... What about the Son of Heaven, the hundred officials, and these tens of thousands of rebels? ”

Guan Yu hesitated, as Sun Shao said, he was indeed worried about this issue. If it was just him and Sun Shao's more than 20,000 people, he would have full confidence to break through, but the righteous army couldn't, they could resist in the city for a while, and when they got out of the city, they would not be Cao's opponents at all, not only that, but they would also become a burden to themselves. Giving them up is obviously the best way, but Guan Yu can't do it, these people are all admiring his reputation, if he throws them to Cao Ying, what will happen?

This is not with his convictions.

"Even if Cao Ying attacks the city, it won't be a problem to defend it for another month." Sun Shao stood up and sighed: "Send another envoy, you ask Liu Yuanjun for help, I will send someone to ask the general for help, please don't delay any longer no matter what, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable." ”

Guan Yu didn't say anything, since he couldn't break through, there was only this way.

It didn't take long for Guan Ping to take Guan Yu's handwritten letter, and Sun Huan took Sun Shao's handwritten letter out of Wancheng together. They knew that the situation was urgent, and they didn't dare to slack off, so they rushed to Xiangyang at night, and first met Sun Jiao and others who stayed in Xiangyang. Sun Jiao heard Sun Huan talk about the situation in Wancheng, beat his chest and sighed. Of course, he understood what the current situation meant, but there was nothing he could do, so he could only change the horses of Sun Guan and let them continue on their way.

Cao Ying was a little surprised when he looked at Jiang Gan with a happy face, could it be that Guan Yu or Sun Shao were willing to surrender? No, Guan Yu is arrogant, Sun Shao is cunning, no matter how you look at these two people, they don't look like people who can surrender casually.

"I've seen General Zhengnan." As soon as Jiang Gan opened his mouth, he broke Cao Ying's doubts. Cao Ying was startled and immediately stood up: "Zixiao is in Wancheng?" ”

"Yes." Jiang Gan said with a grin: "General Zhengnan was seriously injured and captured when he was in Fancheng, but now he has recovered. Chen felt that his complexion was very good, and it was even better than before. ”

Cao Ying's face sank, snorted unhappily, and turned around without speaking. When he didn't get the news of Cao Ren, he was very worried, Cao Ren was his younger brother, one of his most trusted generals, since the sixth year of Zhongping, Cao Ren was the sharpest knife in his hand, he let Cao Ren sit in Fancheng, guard Xu Du, but Cao Ren disappointed him this time. If it is said that not holding Fancheng is just a matter of ability, then being captured by Guan Yu and Sun Shao, and now living so comfortably, then it is a little too much to say.

What is the difference between him and Yu Ban? He smeared his face, which was much more serious than the ban.

"I didn't expect Zixiao to drop too." After a long time, Cao Ying sighed.

"Prime Minister, General Zhengnan did not surrender." Jiang Gan hurriedly said.

"Didn't fall?" Cao Ying was startled, turned around, stepped in front of Jiang Gan in two steps, and looked into Jiang Gan's eyes: "Didn't you say that he looked good?" ”

"He is still a prisoner, but General Sun respects him very much and does not treat him as a prisoner." Jiang Gan hurriedly explained. He knew Cao Ren's status in Cao Ying's mind, and at this time, he would deliver news to Cao Ren and eliminate the misunderstanding between them, not only Cao Ren would be grateful to him, but Cao Ying would also be grateful to him. So he told the situation he saw in Wancheng in detail, not only Cao Ren, but also Manzhong and Pang De.

Cao Ying was relieved, but at the same time puzzled. He turned his head to look at Liu Ye and Xin Bi: "What the hell is that shaft doing?" ”

Liu Ye touched his beard and smiled thoughtfully: "Prime Minister, according to the minister's opinion, I am afraid that Sun Shao has already expected today's result, so he has left a way back for himself." ”

"With his cunning, it is not surprising that he could have expected today's result." Cao Ying nodded, a slight smile on his face. After he and Sun Shao met in the beard, they had a very good impression of Sun Shao, he felt that this young man looked rough and straight, but the city government was very deep, and his knowledge was far from his age and surname, and he often acted unexpectedly.

"Since he had long expected that Sun Quan and Liu Bei would not come to the rescue, then why didn't he surrender."

"He probably didn't think about surrendering." Liu Ye shook his head: "According to the minister, he is probably going to negotiate with the prime minister." ”

"Negotiations?" Cao Ying scoffed: "What does he use to negotiate with me?" Just 20,000 people in the city? ”

"And the Son of Heaven."

Cao Ying was stunned, twisted his beard and stopped talking. The Son of Heaven is a sword hanging in his heart, although he is ready for this sword to fall, and he is ready that many courtiers will leave him because he has lost this title, but he does not want to go to that step, not to mention that this will have a great impact on his strength, more importantly, he is Hanchen after all, although he has embarked on the road of no return, but he still has some inseparable emotions for the Han. He told others that if the destiny of heaven was in Cao, he would rather be the king of Zhou Wen, which was not entirely a lie, although the Cao family was already irreparable, but he still hoped that he would not tear the last bit of face.

Could it be that after enduring so many years, in the end he would become a rebel minister of the Han Dynasty, even if it was nominal?

The Son of Heaven did not issue an edict for a long time, and the silence was a little incomprehensible, and the longer this time dragged on, the more uneasy Cao Ying became. Sometimes it is not difficult to make a decision, but often after the fact, I will think about it repeatedly, and the more I think about it, the more I feel that it is inappropriate, if it has become a fact, then it can only be so, but before it becomes a fact, except for saints and fools, everyone will suffer to varying degrees.

Of course, Cao Ying is not a fool, but he is not a saint either, so he is suffering now. He is not afraid of being a rebel, but he also does not want to be a rebel. There are a lot of villains in this world, but there are not many people who take being a villain as the joy of life after all.

What the hell is Sun Shao doing? Cao Ying was confused by Sun Shao's move.

"Will Sun Shao surrender?" Cao Ying turned his head and asked Jiang Gan, who was still standing there, in a hesitant tone.

"No, it won't." Jiang Gan shook his head: "Sun Shao is the calmest person he has seen in Wancheng, even Guan Yu is a little breathless, but Sun Shao can't see a nervous look on his face." ”

"What is the aftermath of this shaft?" Cao Ying waved his hand, signaling Jiang Gan to go out first, and then paced back and forth in the big tent, guessing that Sun Shao might have buried his back hand. But after thinking about it, he felt that Sun Shao didn't seem to have any good way. Breakthrough? His strength will inevitably be greatly damaged, and returning to Jiangdong is also a dish in Sun Quan's bowl. Adhere? He can't hold it at all, and after a while, if they don't have to fight, they will be in chaos because of lack of food, and the tens of thousands of righteous soldiers are deliberately rushed into the city by Cao Ying in order to consume their food. Surrender? He had no intention of surrendering. Is it really as Liu Ye said, he wants to negotiate? Negotiation requires capital, where is his capital?

"Ziyang, George (Simbi), I really can't guess what he's thinking." Cao Ying smiled bitterly and looked at Liu Xin and the others helplessly.

Xin Bi laughed: "No matter what he is thinking, since he can predict today's situation, it shows that he has long been suspicious of Sun Quan, which is not a bad thing for the prime minister." In the opinion of the minister, the delay of the Son of Heaven may have something to do with this, and he probably wants to leave a way back for himself. ”

Cao Ying bowed slightly, which he could also imagine.

Liu Ye suddenly remembered something, he said with a smile: "Prime Minister, the minister remembers that the Prime Minister seemed to be preparing to marry Sun Shao, right?" ”

Cao Ying glanced at Liu Ye, blinked, and thought for a long time before he remembered, he patted his head and laughed: "Ziyang, if you hadn't reminded me, I would have really forgotten." There is such a thing, but my daughters are dedicated to the Son of Heaven, and there is no national color, he can say that he wants the national color. ”

Liu Ye smiled slightly: "There is no suitable one among the prime minister's daughters, but General Li Feng (Cao Hong) has a national daughter." ”

Xin Bi's eyelids jumped, and he suddenly felt a little strange, raised his head in surprise and looked at Cao Ying and Liu Ye, and then lowered his head weakly, but his heart couldn't help beating. He knew that Cao Hong had been very close to Cao Zhi recently, and he also knew that Cao Hong and Cao Pi did not deal with each other, and he was one of the few people who opposed Cao Pi among the Xiahou and Cao. He does have a very beautiful daughter, and the age is indeed appropriate, but I heard that the Xun family once proposed to him, it was Xun Yu's son Xun Cang Xun Fengqian.

The Xun family and the Cao family have a deep relationship, Xun Yu's eldest son Xun Yun married Cao Qiu, Cao Ying's daughter, and Xun Yu has always been the premier minister in Cao Ying's camp and has a wide range of contacts. At the beginning, in order to win over the Xun family, Cao Pi specially asked Chen Qun to marry Xun Yu's daughter Xun Wenqian. Although the Chen family and the Xun family have a deep friendship, Chen Qun has always disliked Xun Yu - because although the Xun family is a big family in Yingchuan, before associating with the Chen family, they were only local heroes and had no academic background. Psychologically, Chen Qun is different from others, he has a psychological advantage over the Xun family, and another reason is that Xun Yu's wife is the daughter of the notorious eunuch Tang Heng, and Chen Qun does not want to be the son-in-law of the eunuch's descendants. But under Cao Pi's strong initiative, Chen Qun finally married Xun Wenqian, because he also knew how important it was for Cao Pi to win over the Xun family.

Now Liu Ye suggested that Cao Ying marry Sun Shao with Cao Hong's daughter, which is quite interesting. Thinking of Cao Zhi's recent ups and downs, it was not difficult for Xin Bi to guess something, and Liu Ye's attitude surprised him even more. Liu Ye is a very smart person, and he is also a person who knows how to figure out Cao Ying's thoughts, he said this to his face, it can only explain one problem, Cao Ye has already shown him some meaning, and Liu Ye accepted it.

Xin Bi was inclined to Cao Pi, although he was not as close to Cao Pi as Sima Yi and Chen Qun, but he was also one of Cao Pi's trusted people. Because of the change in Yecheng, Cao Pi's status plummeted, Chen Qun came to report the news, and was blamed by Cao Ying in person, and Xin Bi was present twice. At that time, he thought that Cao Ying was just dissatisfied with the Yecheng Incident, but now it seems that he has no accurate understanding of what Cao Ying said.

This sudden change caught Simbi off guard.

Cao Ying glanced at Xin Bi quietly, nodded, and agreed with Liu Ye's suggestion: "This is indeed a suitable candidate, you can talk about it, if you can really win over Sun Shao, Guan Yu will be equivalent to a broken arm, and there is nothing to be afraid of." ”

Liu Ye smiled silently.

"George, are you going to take a trip to the city?" Cao Ying looked at Xin Bi with a smile, but there was a little fierceness in his eyes.

Xin Bi was taken aback, and hurriedly bowed down and responded: "The minister is honored." ”

"Hahaha......" Cao Ying waved his hand and said with a hearty smile: "You also go to meet Sun Shao and see what tricks this shaft is doing, I am really confused by him now, and I can't touch his bottom at all." ”

"It's just ......" Xin Bi hesitated a little and said: "Prime Minister, Sun Shao's wife is Guan Yu's daughter, now go to marry Sun Shao, can Guan Yu agree?" ”

"It doesn't matter." Cao Ying waved his hand disapprovingly: "If he wants, I can also marry him, I heard that his second son Guan Xing has not yet married, and it is also very good for me to be a family with him." ”

Xin Bi smiled bitterly, he could hear it, Cao Ying not only wanted to win over Sun Shao and Guan Yu through this marriage, but also wanted to add a little help to Cao Zhi. If Sun Shao really became Cao Hong's son-in-law, the strength gap between Cao Zhi and Cao Pi would be further narrowed, and it might even be reversed.

Although Xin Bi saw through it, but he didn't dare to say it, he made a little preparation, and immediately entered the city to propose his relatives, but before entering the city, he sent a cronie to Yecheng, such an important news, he couldn't help but remind Cao Pi, but he also knew that Cao Ying couldn't not pay attention to him at this time, so he didn't dare to contact Cao Pi directly, but wrote a letter to his family, and then mentioned his current errand in the family letter.

He believed that this was enough, because his daughter was a heroine who was resourceful and did not let her eyebrows go.

"Propose?" Guan Yu was inexplicable and nameless at the same time, my daughter is Sun Shao's wife, and now she is in Wancheng, you came to propose marriage to Sun Shao?

Xin Bi was not in a hurry: "This is what I agreed with General Sun in the wet mustache at the beginning, but it is just that the military is busy, and it has been delayed until now." ”

Guan Yu was very unhappy, Sun Shao had just married Guan Feng when he was wet, why did he still talk about marriage with Cao Ying? He sank his face and ordered Zhao Lei to call Sun Shao. Sun Shao was training his soldiers in the camp, and as soon as he heard that Guan Yu "called" him over, he knew that Guan Taishan was on fire again.

"Do you know what's going on?"

"I don't know." Zhao Lei and Sun Shao are very familiar, but they don't hide it: "Cao Ying sent a messenger named Xin Bi, and General Guan became angry without saying a few words." General, be careful. ”

"Hahaha......" Sun Shao laughed, wiped his sweat, and followed the visitor to Guan Yu's hall. ”

Xin Bi also politely returned the salute, and as soon as he said what he meant, Sun Shao suddenly understood why Guan Yu's red face was a little blue.

"Propose?" Sun Shao sat down calmly, "Whose daughter?" ”

"The daughter of General Li Feng, Cao Hong." Xin Bi laughed and said casually: "This daughter of General Li Feng is famous in Yecheng, and there are really a lot of young talents who want to hold the beauty." ”

Sun Shao glanced at Xin Bi and smiled. Xin Bi said this as if he was praising Cao Hong's daughter, but in fact, he was saying that she did not abide by women's morals, and an unmarried woman actually made a name for herself, what is this? He was a little strange, this messenger seemed to be a little unethical, how could he talk like this. He stroked his chin and looked at Guan Yu, Guan Yu was glaring at him in annoyance, he didn't understand the meaning in his eyes at all, seeing him look at him, he snorted unhappily, turned his head, and stroked his beautiful hair and posed.

"Xin Jun, I haven't heard of General Li Feng's famous daughter, I know that there are two other strange women."

Xin Bi was also a little curious: "Who does General Sun know?" ”

"One of them is related to Xin Jun." Sun Shao said with a smile with some ridicule: "I heard that Xin Jun has a daughter, named Xianying, who is resourceful, although she is a woman, it is enough to make many people with eyebrows bow down." I wonder if the rumors are true? ”

Simbi was both a little proud and a little embarrassed. He just said that Cao Hong's daughter is famous, and now Sun Shao said that his daughter Xin Xianying is not famous, although smart seems to have some connotation compared to beauty, but a woman is famous outside the territory, after all, it is not something to be proud of. He smiled unnaturally: "Although the little girl is a little resourceful, where can she be so praised, the general should not listen to these gossip." I wonder who the other woman the general is talking about? ”

"I heard that the Xiahou clan has a daughter named Xiahou Hui, who is also as smart as Ling Ai, but is there such a thing?"

Sun Shao knew Xin Xianying and Xiahou Hui because these two were known for their intelligence in the history of the Three Kingdoms, and their reputation was not below the famous women of the Three Kingdoms such as Xiaoqiao, Zhen, and Cai Yan, but he didn't want to come to Xiahou Hui which Xiahou family belonged to, so he could only vaguely say that it was Xiahou's.

Xin Bi was stunned for a moment: "Xiahou Hui? Whose daughter is it? How I don't know. ”

Sun Shao was also a little surprised, Xiahou Hui had such a famous reputation, but Xin Bi didn't know, could it be that she hadn't been born yet, or hadn't become famous yet?

But he didn't care about talking about it now, Guan Yu's face was about to drip water. He stood up and pretended to be disdainful and said, "Although my Sun Shao is not talented, he married a good lady who is both civil and military. If you want to be my concubine, even if you can't be as civil and military as my wife, at least you can't be an embroidered pillow with a good skin, please Xin Jun to repay Cao Gong, I am very grateful for his kindness, but if he is sincere, I hope he will carefully consider my request. ”

After saying that, he waved his sleeves and brushed them away. Although Xin Bi was a little unexpected, Guan Yu was also a little surprised. The two of them thought about it, and suddenly they both laughed. Xin Bi heard that Sun Shao had the meaning of marriage, but Guan Yu felt that Sun Shao valued his daughter and felt that he had a lot of face, and the two took what they needed, but the result was the same.

Taking advantage of the relief of Guan Yu's mood, Xin Bi timely expressed Cao Ying's intention to marry him. Guan Yu was disdainful: "If he wants to marry me, it's okay, immediately go into the city to ask the Son of Heaven for his sins, the Son of Heaven forgives his sins, and after we are ministers in the same palace, it's not too late to talk about this matter." After speaking, he also said seriously: "I am also old friends with Meng Degong, which can be regarded as a piece of advice to him, I hope he will not be obsessed, and he will be ruined and regretted too late." ”

Xin Bi almost didn't laugh out loud, he and Guan Yu had no contact, he only knew that Guan Yu was arrogant, and there was no one in his eyes, but now that he looked at it, it was not only that no one in his eyes could summarize, he was simply a little ignorant of the sky, to this point, he actually talked big and blew the atmosphere, and he didn't know if he was born with a red face, so he couldn't see it.

Xin Bilang smiled: "General Guan, there are more than 60,000 troops outside the city, dare to ask how many soldiers there are in the city?" ”

Guan Yu squinted his eyes and snorted coldly: "Your 60,000 army is only like a chicken in the eyes of my Guan Mou, what can you boast about, I also have 50,000 elite soldiers in the city, can you still capture Wancheng?" ”

Xin Bi ignored him at all, and asked bluntly: "Dare to ask General Guan, how much grain is there in the city?" How many months can the grain transported from Xiangcheng last? ”

Guan Yu choked, this time he was really a little blushing, he originally wanted to cheat Xin Bi, but he didn't expect people to see through his bottom line. But think about it, there is a number of how much grain Xiangcheng lost, and his soldiers can roughly estimate it, this calculation does not make his details clear.

Everyone is a smart person, and treating others as fools actually shows that they are fools.

"Don't forget, Liu Yizhou and Sun Cheqi's army is in Nanjun." Guan Yu stiffened.

"Them?" Xin Bi looked up and laughed: "General Guan, you still don't know your situation." Nanjun and Wancheng are only thousands of miles apart, if they really want to rush to rescue the general, not to mention Xinye now, at least they have to go to Xiangyang, but where are they? ”

Guan Yu was speechless, his face was red.

"General Guan, you are renewing your promises, keeping your promises, and having the style of an ancient righteous man, but not everyone can be like you." After Xin Bi gave Guan Yu a slap in the head, he gave a sweet date at the right time, otherwise it would not be a good thing to provoke Guan Yu into anger.

(To be continued)