Because of the relationship between the road and traffic, Uncle Liu Huang, who once again failed to fish in troubled waters, led Guan Yu and Zhang Fei and other only a few lackeys and accomplices to Nanyang in frustration, when Cao Jun and Zhang Jijun's Wancheng battle was already settled, and Zhang Jijun, who was not as skilled as people and inferior in strength, suffered a crushing defeat. Zhang Ji and Wen Ping chose to abandon the city and retreat to Yuyang, dragging Cao Boss's team into the dense water network little by little.

Boss Cao originally wanted to continue to chase and kill to Yuyang, but this time the strategists under Boss Cao didn't do it, whether it was Guo Jia, Xun You, or Mao Jue, they were all resolutely opposed to chasing it further, because the further south the water network became, the denser it became, and the heavy rain in Jingzhou in midsummer continued, and the water level of the big rivers and small rivers was skyrocketing, which was extremely unfavorable to the Cao army's operations that were only good at land warfare - Guan Erye took advantage of this climate to kill Yu Ban and Pang De.

In addition, one more point is that Liu Biao has gone crazy, and sent a support army to Zhang Ji, not counting, and also sent his nephew Zhang Yun to lead a water division to rush to reinforcements from the Shuishui waterway, and frequently dispatched troops to deploy heavy troops in Xinye, Chaoyang and Hanshui, and put on a posture of fighting to the death with Cao Laoda. And Cao Jun was not ready for a full-scale war with Liu Biao before, and if he continued to fight, even if he didn't suffer a loss, he would have to fall into the mud, such a situation was undoubtedly a huge gamble for the Cao army team, which had two strong enemies behind him, Yuan Sangong and Deputy Director Tao.

Boss Cao is a good boss who can listen to persuasion, and he also realized that he was likely to be in a quagmire if he continued to fight, so he decisively chose to withdraw the troops when he saw it, leaving his brother Cao Hong to lead the army to sit in Wancheng to create a buffer zone to protect the heart of Xuchang, and the three brothers of Liu Huangshu, who had just rushed to Nanyang from Qingzhou, were at the forefront of Jianyang City, where Liu Biaojun and Zhang Jijun were facing each other, was of course the most ideal place for them to settle. Although Uncle Liu Huang under the fence understood Boss Cao's sinister intentions very well, he was helpless to take up this burden because he wanted to oppose it under the eaves.

Uncle Liu Huang was reluctant to be left behind by Boss Cao in Jianyang, but there were also people under Boss Cao who had doubts about this, for example, the whole family was killed by Li Guo's thief army, and Sima Lang Sima Boda, who was promoted to the head of the Prime Minister's Mansion because of his outstanding political achievements, found an opportunity to remind Boss Cao alone: "Prime Minister, Liu Bei is a relative of the Han family, and he has the friendship of the same clan with Liu Biao, leaving him to confront Liu Biao in Jianyang, if there is a change, the consequences are only unimaginable." ”

"Boda is worried." Cao Lao laughed and said: "Liu Biao is the most important, although Liu Bei is respected as the emperor's uncle by the Son of Heaven, in fact, he is still just a weaver and a peddler, don't say that Liu Biao doesn't look down on him, even if he takes the initiative to paste it, I'm afraid Liu Biao may not be able to take him in, but Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are two rare fierce generals, leaving them in Jianyang can also act as a barrier for Wancheng." ”

Sima Lang nodded, and said: "What the prime minister said is extremely true, but for the sake of prudence, the prime minister had better control Liu Bei's forces and strengthen the monitoring of Liu Bei, please don't forget that Mr. Wen Ruo and Mr. Zhong De have said in front of the prime minister that Liu Bei is also a hero, if he doesn't plan early, he will be in trouble later." ”

Listening to Sima Lang's repeated warnings before Xun Yu and Cheng Yu, Boss Cao hesitated, and after thinking about it again, Boss Cao finally let people pass on Cao Hong, and ordered Cao Hong to be careful about the monitoring of Uncle Liu's team, especially to beware of Uncle Liu and Liu Biao and Zhang Ji secretly contacting and communicating, in addition, Boss Cao also personally wrote down a warrant and handed it to Cao Hong, allowing Cao Hong to cut first and then play when the situation was wrong, and kill Uncle Liu with his own warrant! Cao Hong received the order to sing the promise, carefully put away Boss Cao's secret order, and Sima Lang, who had always been listening silently on the side, although he was silent on the surface, the corners of his mouth were slightly raised.

It was night, the third watch was coming, when the waiter Cao Lao Xiang Tao Deputy Director finally finished acting with the mountains of official documents and military affairs, Sima Lang carefully served Cao Lao Da to sleep, and then reminded Cao Lao Da's personal guard Prime Minister Cheng is good at killing people in his dreams, and he must not approach the bed at will after Cao Lao Da falls asleep, so he returned to his room to rest exhausted. Seeing his brother return to the room, Ah Yi, the second brother who went out with Sima Lang, hurriedly called hot water, and while waiting for his brother to take a bath, he lowered his voice and asked, "Brother, is it done?" ”

"It's finished." Sima Lang replied in a low voice, and said loudly: "Ah Yi, the water is a little hot, add some cold water." ”

"No." Ah Yi agreed loudly and added water to his brother as instructed, but a smile appeared on his face.

"Okay, that's enough." Sima Lang said loudly, and asked in a low voice, "Ah Yi, is this enough?" Liu Bei is very human and very patient, Cao Hong is secretly vigilant against him, even if he detects it, I'm afraid he will not be easy to oppose, right? ”

"Brother, it's time to wash your feet." Ah Yi said loudly, and replied in a low voice, "Brother, please rest assured, the big-eared thief is ambitious, and he has long been unwilling to succumb to the Cao thief, and found that Cao Hong is secretly wary of him, even if he is patient for the time being, as soon as he has the opportunity, he will inevitably fight against the Cao thief, and fight to the death with the Cao thief!" ”

Speaking of this, Ah Yi washed his brother's feet again, and laughed in a low voice: "Besides, with Tao Envoy Jun's wisdom and wisdom, once he knows that Liu Thief's soldiers are in Thorn Yang, he immediately knows that there is an opportunity, and he will definitely not let go of this great opportunity to divide Cao and Liu's two thieves, and use the hand of Liu Thief to balance the rear of Cao Thief, so that Cao and Liu Thief will become enemies of each other!" ”

Sima Lang nodded, attached it to his brother's ear again, and whispered: "Second brother, Cao Thief listened to Guo Jia's suggestion today, and made a decision, that is, to send two envoys to Jizhou and Xuzhou respectively to explain to Tao Envoy Jun and Yuan Shao that they sent troops to attack Zhang Ji, under the pretext that the edict of the Son of Heaven must not be violated to deceive themselves, try to resolve the crisis on the north and south lines without blood, and test the hostility of Tao Envoy Jun and Yuan Shao towards him, looking for an opportunity to join Tao to resist Yuan or Lian Yuan to destroy Tao, and to win the envoy to Xuzhou for his brother. took the opportunity to get in touch with Tao Yuanjun, I don't know what the second brother thinks? ”

"Never!" Ah Yi hurriedly shook his head, and whispered in Sima Lang's ear: "Brother, don't do this, my brother, as the head of the Prime Minister's Mansion, asked to send an envoy to Xuzhou for no reason, and with Cao Thief's deception, he will definitely be suspicious, and at that time, my brother will not only not be able to go to Xuzhou, but he will also lose the important position of taking charge of confidential documents for Cao Thief, so my brother must not do this!" Master Zhong Ming often tells his younger brother that he can endure what ordinary people can't endure, so he is a great hero, and our brother must not miss the revenge plan for the trivial matter of contacting Tao Yuanjun! If you want to contact Tao Yuanjun, we will have opportunities in the future. ”

Sima Lang nodded slowly, agreeing with his brother's judgment, and Ah Yi whispered in Sima Lang's ear: "And brother, in the future, by the side of Cao Thief, whenever there is anything related to Tao Envoy, it is best for the elder brother to try to show his hostility towards Tao Envoy Jun and offer as much as possible to embarrass Tao Envoy Jun's strategy, only in this way, when it comes to the critical moment of life and death, Cao Thief will rest assured that his brother will contact and negotiate with Tao Envoy Jun, which is also the method of life taught by Master Zhong Ming to the younger brother, using Cao Thief's deceit and suspicion, never credulous to others. ”

Sima Lang smiled, nodded, and said in a low voice: "Second brother, don't worry, foolish brother can save it." ”

…………………… When Cao Laoda's self-deceptive envoys were still rushing to Jizhou and Xuzhou respectively, the team of filial piety and son-in-law Deputy Director Tao, under the order of his father-in-law Yuan Sangong, had already launched a retaliatory action against Cao Laoda's team.

On the road of Hulu, Chen Zhi, the general of Xuzhou, adopted prudent tactics and refused to take risks, concentrated superior forces to attack the small city of Hulu head-on, and forced Cao Chun, the defender of Changyi, who was weak, to take the initiative to withdraw from the Hulu garrison, and gathered his troops on the front line of Changyi to contend with the Xuzhou army.

Fei Guo this way, because he dreamed that Deputy Director Tao would attack the remote and impoverished Taishan County, the direction of the shot was still Fei Guo, a remote city in the south of Yimeng, Cao Boss appointed Taishan Taishou Lu Qian was killed by surprise, only more than 1,000 villagers of Fei Guocheng surrendered without a fight, Lu Qian was also forced to rush to the south of Wuyang to increase troops, prepare for a counterattack, to prevent the land and cities south of Wushui from being taken away by the Xuzhou army, but also to prevent a chain reaction, As a result, there were many bandits and bandits in Taishan County, and they cooperated with the Xuzhou army, which had already attracted a large number of Taishan soldiers, and turned the twelve counties of Taishan upside down, and the erosion was out of control.

However, the Xuzhou army basically ended here, whether it was Deputy Director Tao or Cao Boss was not stupid, and he would not really go all out in the case of the strength of the Great Yuan Sangong, and the Great Yuan Sangong, who was already strong enough, was cheap in vain, so when Cao Boss's envoy Fengjun Duwei Wang arrived at the Changyi battlefield, he was not only troubled by the Xuzhou army, but also sent by Chen Zhi to escort him south, and sent him to Pengcheng to meet with Deputy Director Tao.

Boss Cao's excuse for self-deception is detailed here, that is, Boss Cao explained to Yuan Sangong and Deputy Director Tao in a letter the reason why he sent troops to attack Zhang Ji, saying that he beat Zhang Ji, the younger brother who had been attached to Yuan Sangong, definitely not to take the chief boss of Yuan Sangong in his eyes, nor to take the Xuzhou Demolition and Relocation Office, a dynamic social organization that exchanged alliance cups, in his eyes, it was really because Emperor Han Xian, the boss of the Han political axe, opened his mouth and must teach Zhang Ji a lesson, so he had to send troops. There is absolutely no contempt for friendly gangs, and now he has stopped after beating Zhang Ji, and he has not killed and done things in a desperate way, so he also asks Da Yuan Sangong to understand his difficulties, continue the previous covenant, and also ask Deputy Director Tao to withdraw from the army and not go to Yanzhou to carry out demolition again.

"Well, of course I can understand Meng Degong's difficulties." Although I knew that Boss Cao was, I couldn't stand our Deputy Director Tao's kindness and willingness to plan, so after reading Boss Cao's letter, Deputy Director Tao immediately patted his chest and said: "Please Wang Duwei return to Meng Degong, I understand his difficulties very well, please rest assured, as long as our alliance leader is also my father-in-law, Benchugong, agrees to reconcile with Meng Degong and continue the previous covenant, then I will definitely follow the father-in-law and reconcile with Meng Degong and continue the covenant." And before that, I will also order the army to stop attacking and no longer take the initiative to offend your army, as a proof of my sincerity in reconciliation. ”

"Thank you, thank you." Seeing that the task was carried out so smoothly, Wang Ze also breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly thanked Deputy Director Tao again and again, and took the initiative to say: "Envoy, in addition, Prime Minister Cao Cheng also has a message for the little envoy to bring to the envoy - in order to show goodwill to the envoy, Prime Minister Cao Cheng, the lord of my family, categorically rejected Liu Bei's request to order him to go south to Changyi to resist the envoy's army, and placed Liu Bei in Jianyang City in Nanyang County to station. The prime minister also said that the envoy would understand his intentions. ”

"Uncle Liu Huang was placed in Jianyang by Meng Degong?" Deputy Director Tao paused for a moment, and then quickly regained his cordial smile, and said: "Prime Minister Cao Cheng is kind, of course he understands, please ask Wang Duwei to also bring a message to Prime Minister Cao Cheng, and say that I thank you." Okay, your envoy should go down and rest first, there should be some official business to do, and in the evening, you should set up a banquet for your envoy to wash the dust, and by the way, you should also hand over the reply to your envoy in person. ”

Wang Ze was even more overjoyed, hurriedly thanked him, and went down to rest with the guards, and Wang Ze just left with his front foot, and Deputy Director Tao shouted with his back foot: "Bring the map of Nanyang, immediately." ”

"Thorn Yang is located in the middle of the hinterland, adjacent to Shushui and Yuyang," when the guard was still going to pick up the letter, Liu Ye had already recited the information he knew about Thorn Yang, "It is about five hundred and fifty miles away from Xuchang in the north and about fifty miles away from Wancheng; It is 480 miles away from Xiangyang in the south, and 150 miles away from Xinye, the gateway to the north of Xiangyang. If nothing else, Cao Ying placed Liu Bei in Jianyang, the purpose of which was to provide a buffer protection for the important town of Wancheng, and it was not ruled out that Cao Thief wanted to borrow Liu Biao's knife to get rid of Liu Bei, a meritorious man who was unwilling to be used for himself. ”

"Cao Mengde is afraid that this time he will only take a step to faint." Jia Lao Poison also said: "Although Liu Bei robbed the Son of Heaven and sacrificed Cao Yingli to make great contributions, the best way for Cao Ying to kill him is to use the hands of others, but Liu Biao may not have this ability to get rid of Liu Bei, and the situation in Nanyang is complicated, Liu Biao, Zhang Ji, Cao Ying and the local wealthy clans are lined up on the hills, fighting endlessly, Liu Bei has arrived in Nanyang, I am afraid that he will be like a fish in water." If Cao Ying wants to really control Liu Bei, it is getting more and more difficult. ”

"It doesn't matter if he is a big-eared thief, what does it have to do with us?" Yang Changshi, who is more and more reused by Deputy Director Tao, yawned and said: "Nanyang is thousands of miles away from our Xuzhou, and it is close to Xuchang, the nest of the Cao thief. ”

"Mr. Zhongming's words are reasonable, if Liu Bei can really show his strength in Nanyang, it will be a good thing for our army." Yang Changshi's words were rarely approved by Liu Ye, and after nodding, Liu Ye suddenly had an idea again, and hurriedly said: "Lord, this may be a great opportunity to effectively contain the Cao thief!" The big-eared thief is ambitious, and he is by no means a long-term subordinate, Cao Mengde has always suppressed him and did not give him any chance to stretch, and the big-eared thief must hate Cao Mengde in his heart! ”

"In this case, why didn't the lord take advantage of the friendly relationship between our army and Liu Biao's alliance to come forward and instigate Liu Biao to recruit the big-eared thief? Liu Biao has already tasted the sweetness of appeasing Zhang Ji's uncle and nephew before, and now it is the north and south lines at the same time, it is the time to employ people, and he will inevitably be tempted to try, if Liu Biao succeeds in appeasing Liu Bei, the threat of the big-eared thief to Xuchang is ten times better than that of Zhang Ji's uncle and nephew? ! ”

"Mr. Ziyang's plan is feasible!" Jia Lao Poison also came back to his senses, and said in agreement: "Liu Biao and Liu Bei have the friendship of the same clan, and when they are in urgent need of employment, Liu Bei's capriciousness is far ten times better than Lu Bu, and he has been suppressed by Cao Thief for many years, if the lord comes forward to instigate Liu Biao to surrender Liu Bei, there is a great hope of success!" ”

"Lord, let Weichen go." Yang Changshi rarely volunteered once, "Your Majesty asked for an order to go to Jingzhou again, and he will definitely promote the success of Liu Biao to appease the big-eared thief for the lord, cut off one of the arms of the lord's sworn enemy Cao thief, and also build another strong enemy for Cao thief to repay the lord's great kindness." ”

"Lord, you should give it a try." Chen Deng also agreed: "Now Yuan Benchu's attitude of wanting to promote our army and Cao Thief to fight to the death is very obvious, if this plan is successful, then Cao Thief's previous adventure to conquer Nanyang will be in vain, and our army can only continue to tolerate the snake, which can win a lot of development time for our army!" ”

Several accomplices and lackeys took turns to speak, agreeing to seize the opportunity to separate Boss Cao and Uncle Liu Huang, prompting this pair of good friends who have been cheating Xuzhou for many years to turn against each other, but our decisive Deputy Director Tao was unusual, and he was always silent in his heart, and did not immediately finalize this good idea that was obvious to the interests of Xuzhou. It wasn't until Jia Lao Poison, Chen Deng and the others began to be surprised that our Deputy Director Tao finally spoke, and he commanded very decisively: "Yuan Fang, write a reply to Cao Thief for me." ”

"Write a letter back to the thief?" Chen Ying, Jia Lao Poison and the others were all in the same place, but after a while, Chen Ying still agreed to pick up the brush and dip it in ink, and asked, "Lord, what is the approximate content?" ”

"I don't have to polish this time, just write my original words." Deputy Director Tao didn't even blink his eyelids, and said directly: "I heard that Cao Gong often regrets sparing me from dying under Xuzhou City, and now Cao Gong repeats the same mistakes in Jianyang, aren't you afraid that you will regret it in the future?" ”

"What?!" The lackeys of Deputy Director Tao who were present all screamed in surprise, and Chen Ying was even more shocked that the brush was arrested, and he immediately destroyed the good silk.

"Just write this sentence, you don't need to write a word else!" Deputy Director Tao said categorically: "The territory of the Han Dynasty is too small to accommodate the third hero and annihilation of the male in addition to me and Cao Thief!" ”

……—……………… Sometimes things are so wonderful, just when Deputy Director Tao's unprecedented conscience discovered and reminded his nemesis Cao Boss not to repeat the mistakes of the past, it was almost the same time in Xiangyang City............ "Surrender Liu Bei?" Liu Biao was very surprised and asked Zhuge Xuan, who made this suggestion: "Mr. Zhuge , aren't you joking?" That Liu Bei is a confidant of Cao Thief, and he is also listed by Cao Thief as a rear general and a Marquis of Yicheng Pavilion, and he is deeply trusted by Cao Thief, how can I recruit him to come over and use him for my own use? ”

"Rest assured, my lord, Xuan is not joking." Zhuge Xuan replied: "The lord only knows one thing, but I don't know the other, although Liu Xuande was listed as a general by Cao Ying, and was named the Marquis of Yicheng Pavilion, but Cao Xuan is just to repay Liu Xuande's contribution to the north of Runan, in fact, he has no trust in Liu Xuande, and he has repeatedly suppressed and restrained, not giving Liu Xuande the opportunity to show his strengths, Liu Xuande's hero, even if he doesn't say anything, he will definitely be unwilling in his heart. And the lord is not only the same clan as Liu Xuande, but also corporal Lixian cares for talents, if he comes forward to appease, Liu Xuande will inevitably abandon Cao and return, and become a big help before the lord drives. ”

"So, I might as well give it a try?" Liu Biao, who had already tasted the sweetness of Zhang Ji's uncle and nephew, began to be tempted.

"My lord, Xuan thinks you should have to give it a try." Zhuge Xuan agitated again: "Liu Xuande is a hero of the world, brave and strategic, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei all have the courage to be unstoppable, the Tiger Prison Pass Three Ying fought against Lu Bu, and the princes of the Eighteen Roads were all frightened and silent, if the lord can get such three fierce generals for his own use, why not be afraid of the threat of Cao Ying in the north?" Why worry that Zhang Xian's rebel thief in the south will not be destroyed? ”

"Sir is right, whether it is successful or not, I can't help but give it a try." Liu Shoumen was finally moved, and after nodding, Liu Shoumen asked again: "According to Mr. Wang's opinion, how should I recruit Liu Xuande?" ”

"Liu Xuande is stationed in Jianyang, close to Wancheng, if the lord directly sends an envoy to surrender, he may not be able to escape the surveillance of Cao thieves, and it will be self-defeating and harm Liu Xuande." Zhuge Xuan suggested: "I want to recommend a person for the lord to do this, this person did not hold an official position in Jingzhou, but is a cloth body, hidden in the chest, resourceful, the lord can send this person to go to Jianyang with a secret book, pretending to serve Liu Xuande is actually to deliver a secret letter to the lord, which can not only hide the eyes and ears of the thief, but also persuade Liu Xuande to abandon the secret and lead the crowd to vote." ”

"Oh, what's this man's name?" Liu Shoumen asked curiously.

"The surname is single, and the single name is a blessing word." Zhuge Xuan replied: "He is the Ying Shangren clan, and he is a friend of his subordinates who met Mr. Shuijing. ”

(To be continued)