In order to unify North China, Deputy Director Tao took the main elite of the Xuzhou army to fight bloody battles in Jiyou and Sanzhou, Deputy Director Tao's good relatives and old friends were not idle, and they were all doing all kinds of big or small things, among which the two who made the most trouble, that is, Deputy Director Tao's current de facto father-in-law, Cao Boss, and Uncle Liu Huang, who had the deepest friendship with Deputy Director Tao.

Deputy Director Tao is also in the blessing and does not know the blessing, it took more than three months to fight a Yecheng and complained, scolding himself for his bad luck, and met his brother-in-law Yuan Tan's desperate resistance and rare cold, but I don't know that after Boss Cao learned that the Xuzhou army took the important town of Yecheng in less than 100 days, he was lamenting that the heavens helped the Tao thief not to help Cao, the Xuzhou army was already so strong, and God also arranged such an easy opponent for the damned son-in-law, and his vitality was already injured and could not be injured anymore. Fighting a granary in Hanzhong has also encountered such a difficult enemy, and Cangtian is simply promoting evil and harming good! There is no distinction between right and wrong!

Cao Boss lamented the difficult enemy, of course, not the current de facto ruler of Hanzhong, Zhang Lu Zhang Sect Master, but the benevolent and righteous Uncle Liu Huang who lived in Zhang Lu's army, in the seventh year of Jian'an, Cao Boss took advantage of the opportunity of the damned son-in-law to crusade against Liu Biao, and took the opportunity to send troops to crusade against Zhang Lu to take the Hanzhong granary Dongshan to make a comeback, and Liu Huangshu, who was lurking in Shangyong, also took the opportunity to turn over, and took advantage of the opportunity of Cao's army to go south to Hanzhong to shake and bribe Zhang Lu's strategist Yang Song to recommend himself, from a precarious idle man in the field, he became a general in Hanzhong, also became the core figure of the defense of Hanzhong.

That year, the battle for the defense of Hanzhong was extremely fierce, and 40,000 Cao troops stormed Yangping Pass, the throat of Hanzhong, for more than four months. The advantage of using troops and combat effectiveness has basically been pressing the Hanzhong army to fight; The Hanzhong army listened to Uncle Liu's suggestion, aimed at the weakness of the Cao army's lack of grain and grass and the difficulty of transportation, and took advantage of the geographical advantage to resolutely adopt a defensive position.

It's not just Uncle Liu Huang who is angry with Boss Cao. Zhang Fei and Guan Ping's brave and good fighting. Yangping Pass is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and what makes Cao Boss angry the most are Liu Huangshu's two staff officers, Pang Tong and Xu Shu, these two resourceful accomplices, not only saw through all the tricks of Cao Jun's think tank. Frustrated Boss Cao's clever plan to break the enemy many times. also played a ghost trick that was no less than Cao Jun's think tank. What night raids, assaults, discord, ambushes, feints, outflanking, espionage, false reports, rumors, fire attacks, grain interception, incitement, and ...... are all used in stratagem, although the Cao Jun think tank is not afraid of this. Boss Cao, who is getting older, still has a lot of gray hair on his head because of this.

After being blocked by the Hanzhong army outside Yangping Pass for more than four months, the broken Cao army in the rear finally could not support the grain and grass, and was forced to retreat to Guanzhong to get food, but Liu Huangshu was regarded as a guest by Zhang Lu because of his great achievements in the defense of Hanzhong, and he was reused despite Yan Pu's resolute opposition, so that Liu Huangshu led an army of 5,000 to be stationed in Fuxian County, which became the outer barrier of Yangping Pass, and also allowed Liu Huangshu to regain control of an army as he wished. Poor Boss Cao ran out of grain in the Hanzhong War, and he struggled until the winter wheat harvest in Jian'an for eight years before he was relieved.

Finally, he finally had some grain and grass in his hands, Cao Boss began to lose his breath, and the wheat was just ripe and held a military meeting to discuss the plan to send troops to Hanzhong again, but this time Cao Boss's most trusted Xun Yu did not do it, and strongly advised Cao Boss not to do this kind of uncertain thing, pointing out that the grain in Hanzhong is dangerous, and the imperial uncle's army is not easy to deal with, and the southern expedition is not only uncertain, but also will only retreat again because of the exhaustion of food, and persuade Cao Boss to endure for a year, first do a good job in internal affairs, and then calmly march south.

"Wen Ruo advised me to recuperate, and then send troops to Hanzhong, this strategy is indeed correct." Boss Cao nodded, frowned again and said: "But my army may not have so much time, the pottery thief broke Yuan Tan in March, and now he has sent troops to attack Yuan Shang in Nanpi, if Yuan Shang is destroyed by the pottery thief in Nanpi, then Jiyou and Sanzhou will soon fall into the hands of the pottery thief, and then the pottery thief will turn around and attack Hanzhong, how can our army resist?" How can you have a chance to win Hanzhong? ”

"Lord, please relax, the pottery thief will not be able to pacify the three northern states so quickly." Xun Yu pointed out: "Don't forget, the lord of the pottery thief has killed thousands of Hu people under the city of Handan, or the Hu people who voluntarily surrendered, it can be seen that after the pottery thief arrives in Youzhou, he will not get along with Wuhuan Xianbei friendly, and he will inevitably use force to pacify the border troubles, and then try to Huaxia." ”

"Moreover, the trial is also quite resourceful, and Yuan Shang's gathering of troops in Nanpi must also be a plan for the trial, and its purpose is twofold, one is to use Nanpi Minzhong to compete with the pottery thief, and the other is to facilitate the retreat to Youzhou at any time. Once the situation is not right, the trial must persuade Yuan Shang to flee to Youzhou, there are many old Yuan Shao troops in Youzhou, and Wuhuan Xianbei, who feels threatened, will inevitably support Yuan Shang to confront the pottery thief, plus the Liaodong Gongsun Du and Montenegro Zhang Yan, who are also threatened, are also unclear at present, so Yu dares to boldly estimate that at least within two years, the pottery thief will not be able to attack Guanzhong! ”

After listening to Xun Yu's persuasion, Cao Boss, who was really short of grain and grass, thought about it again and again, and finally gritted his teeth and decided to wait for a period of time, so that the army could rest assured that the grain would not move, and the situation was also completely expected by Xun Yu, and in late August, good news came from Jizhou, first he sent troops to rescue Yuan Shang, and then Yuan Shang retreated successfully, and successfully escaped the pursuit of the Xuzhou army and fled to Youzhou. The war in the north has clearly developed towards a protracted trend.

After getting these news, Boss Cao, who hated his son-in-law to the bone, of course laughed so much that he couldn't even close his mouth, and even said that evil will be rewarded, and Tao Ying traitor should not think about quickly fixing the north. And Guo Jia, who had been worried about Boss Cao for a long time, breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly said to Boss Cao: "Lord, since Tao Ying is destined to pacify Hebei in a short period of time, our army can also rest assured that we will send troops to Hanzhong after the wheat is ripe next year, but from now on, we must start one thing to eliminate the stumbling blocks that prevent our army from capturing Hanzhong." ”

"Isn't Fengxiao a big-eared thief?" Boss Cao asked in a deep voice.

"It's Liu Bei." Guo Jia nodded. Said solemnly: "Liu Bei is a traitor, by no means under Tao Ying, and has the help of Xu Shu, Pang Tong, Zhang Fei and Guan Ping, I heard that he also recently promoted a powerful general named Wang Ping, quite popular with the people of Longzhong, if not removed first, when our army marches south to Hanzhong again, it will inevitably encounter many difficulties, not only to take Hanzhong is not absolutely sure, even if Hanzhong is finally taken. There will definitely be a heavy price to pay. ”

Boss Cao nodded. admitting that Guo Jia's analysis was reasonable, he asked, "Feng Xiao proposed to get rid of the big-eared thief first?" Is that a use of force, or is it a trick? ”

"Of course, it's a trick." Guo Jia replied: "Liu Bei tried to help Zhang Lu repel our army's first attack, what is his purpose. The lord must have known it very well in his heart. Last time, Tao Ying expelled Liu Bei from Jingzhou. It is also taking advantage of this matter to make a big fuss, and in this case, our army might as well follow Tao Ying's example. also used Liu Bei's ambition to make a big fuss, drove Liu Bei out of Hanzhong, and even used Zhang Lu's hand to get rid of Liu Bei! ”

"How does this article work?" Boss Cao hurriedly asked.

"There are two right-hand men under Zhang Lu's command, one surnamed Yan Mingpu and the other surnamed Yang Mingsong." Guo Jia replied: "As far as Jia knows, Zhang Lu's use was recommended by Yang Song, and Yan Pu objected, but Zhang Lu saw that he was in a hurry and did not adopt Yan Pu's admonition, and insisted on using Liu Bei, Yan Pu was very dissatisfied with this, even after Liu Bei forced our army to retreat, Yan Pu also repeatedly advised Liu Bei in front of Zhang Lu not to reuse Liu Bei, although Zhang Lu did not listen, but later Zhang Lu made Liu Beitun stationed in the small town of Fuxian outside Yangping Pass, and it was also related to Yan Pu's repeated advice and warnings! ”

"Mr. Bonghyo wants to start with Yan Pu?" Xun Yu next to him interjected and reminded: "Mr. Fengxiao, don't blame me for pouring cold water on you, although Yan Pu is not famous, but as far as I know, he can be regarded as quite wise, and he is loyal to Zhang Lu, so it is impossible for us to use it." ”

"Of course it wasn't from Yan Pu." Guo Jia smiled and said, "The most ideal target for our army is, of course, Yang Song, who is more trusted by Zhang Lu than Yan Pu. ”

"Janson?" Boss Cao was taken aback and said with a smile: "Feng Xiao is joking, right?" The big-eared thief was recommended to Zhang Lu by Yang Song, how could he help us get rid of the big-eared thief? ”

"Don't worry, Yang Song's personality, Jia has already inquired clearly." Guo Jia smiled and said: "Yang Song is famous for being greedy for money and bribery, and he is despicable and shameless, and he has a fight with Yang Hong under Tao Ying, maybe it is not as good." Jia Dare concluded that he instigated Zhang Lu to use Liu Bei, it must be because of Liu Bei's bribery, even so, as long as our army offered a higher price, it would definitely make Yang Song confuse Liu Bei from Zhang Lu, and make Zhang Lu believe that Liu Bei was plotting against him in Hanzhong, and kill him! ”

"Wonderful!" Xun Yu applauded and said: "As long as Yang Song is bribed and he comes forward to separate Zhang Lu and Liu Bei, Yan Pu will definitely stand on Yang Song's side and help our army get rid of Liu Bei!" ”

"That's it!" Boss Cao immediately made a decision and immediately arranged: "But Mao Xiao is the first to take more treasures and sneak to Nanzheng to contact Yang Song, as long as Yang Song can come forward to frame the big-eared thief, you can spend as much gold as you want!" ”

After finalizing this idea, Cao Boss first personally repaired a letter with Yang Song, and then ordered Mao Jue to bring more treasures, pretending to be a salt merchant to sneak to Hanzhong through the Meridian Valley, and Zhang Lu because of Liu Zhang's enmity against his mother, the salt road from Sichuan had long been broken, and there has been a shortage of salt in the territory, of course, it is extremely welcome to the salt sellers, so Mao Jue's caravan passed through the Meridian Valley very smoothly, and boarded the ship in Chenggu, all the way to Nanzheng mixed into the city, and it didn't take much effort to come to Yang Song's mansion to ask for a meeting.

This day is destined to be the day when our Yang Song and Yang adults make a windfall, before meeting Mao Jue, Yang Song just sent away Sun Qian, the envoy of Uncle Liu Huang, and also accepted a jade belt and fifty gold beads of one or two weights brought by Sun Gan, and promised to say more good things for Uncle Liu Huang in front of Zhang Lu, and increase the number of the garrison of Fuxian County to 8,000 as soon as possible. There are also ten pairs of jade walls, 100 pearls, and 20 catties of gold and silver that Boss Cao dug up from the ancient tomb of Chang'an—the value is far higher than Uncle Liu's bribe.

It is conceivable that Yang Song's wonderful expression when he saw Boss Cao's rich gifts, a fat face was so smiling that even the fat was trembling, holding the jade wall as white as mutton fat tightly in his hand, but he said in a fake mouth: "Song and Cao Gongsu don't know each other, how dare you accept his gift?" It's too much, Cao Gong is too much. ”

"Yang Gong doesn't have to be modest." Mao Jue said very politely: "My lord Cao Gong has heard of Yang Gong Shengde for a long time. I have admired it for a long time, I only hate not to see each other, the previous soldiers entered Hanzhong, and offended Yang Gong, and my lord was really guilty in his heart, so he sent a villain to give a thin gift and apologize slightly. In addition, my father-in-law has a small matter to ask for, and Wan Wangyang promised that after the matter was completed. My lord will have a gift of thanksgiving. ”

Let's talk about it. Mao Jue took out Boss Cao's handwritten letter, under the pretext that Uncle Liu Huang had betrayed Boss Cao unthankfully, and he was capricious and unbelievable, and asked Yang Song to come forward to clean up Uncle Liu Huang to avenge Boss Cao's anger. Yang Song laughed when he saw the letter. Ignoring his brother Yang Bai on the side, he wiped his neck. immediately patted his chest and said: "Mr. Lao Xiaoxian reports to Cao Gong, please rest assured that Cao Gong will wait for Jiayin quietly, in a few days." A good plan of its own is reported. ”

Because he had already inquired clearly that Yang Song would do things after receiving the money, and he never had a good reputation, Mao Jue was also very happy to hear Yang Song's answer, and hurriedly thanked him again and again, and then proposed to leave, and Yang Song personally sent Mao Jue out of the door without mentioning it. After getting out, Mao Jue, who was still in a hostile relationship with the Hanzhong Army, did not dare to stay on the street, and hurriedly led the servants back to the inn, but when he was about to walk out of the street where Yang Songfu was located, Mao Jue suddenly stopped, turned his head and turned around to look at the luxury carriage that passed by him.

"My lord, what's wrong?" The attendant next to him asked in a low voice.

"Nothing." Mao Jue shook his head and said, "In the carriage just now, a young man came out to see me, I felt a little familiar, as if I had seen it there, but if I thought about it carefully, I was sure that I had never seen it, but it was just a little similar to a person I knew." ”

After that, Mao Jue quickly put this matter behind him and hurried back to the inn with his entourage, but what Mao Jie probably never dreamed of was that the young man who was somewhat familiar with his acquaintance poked his head out of the carriage and asked the entourage next to the carriage: "Uncle Li, are you sure that he is Cao Thief's lackey Mao Jie Mao Xiaoxian?" ”

"Definitely." The fifty-year-old entourage nodded and replied, "The villain follows the young master and your father, and has met him many times, so he will never admit his mistake!" Fortunately, the villain saw him first and hid in time, otherwise he would definitely recognize me! ”

"It's really him." The thin young man smiled, and after a little calculation, he ordered: "Uncle Li, immediately send someone to follow him, find out his whereabouts, and when we finish our work and find a safe place to stay, we will immediately stab Zhang Lu with his identity and location!" ”

"No." The entourage nodded, and immediately arranged for a servant to follow Mao Jue, and then said with a smile: "Eldest prince, you are much more ruthless than your father, no wonder your father will strongly recommend you in front of the lord, and ask the lord to send you to do this." ”

The thin young man smiled proudly, and the attendant muttered in his heart: "In terms of corruption, he is also more ruthless than your father, your father is only greedy for forty percent at most, and you are simply greedy for half." ”

At this time, the carriage of this thin young man had also come to the door of Lord Yang Song's mansion, and the thin young man got off the carriage with the support of the entourage he called Uncle Li, first carefully adjusted his exquisite clothes, and then walked to the door of Yang's mansion, first saluted the door with a fist, and said: "The annoying door official entered the house to report to Yang Gong, and said that there were distant relatives and juniors who came to visit thousands of miles away, and asked Uncle Yang to meet him. ”

As he spoke, the thin young man stuffed the prayer post and a jade pendant into Menzi's hand, and the skill of his movements was extremely incommensurate with his early twenties, and on that worship post was neatly written such a line of words - Yang Zheng, the nephew of the Huainan Sect, and Yang Gong, the uncle of the same sect, worshipped the same sect!

………………

At almost the same time in the lobby of Yang Song's Mansion, Yang Bai was also complaining about his brother Yang Song's indiscriminate bribery, and stomped his feet and said, "Brother, now you know the trouble, right?" You just received a gift from Uncle Liu Huang and promised to give him more troops, and immediately accepted a gift from Meng Degong, promising to put Liu Bei to death for him, so contradictory, how do you ask our brothers to behave? If you don't do anything after receiving the money, see who will dare to send you gold in the future! ”

Yang Song's expression was also a little sad, and he said with a depressed fat face: "I didn't expect so much just now, but I agreed when I saw Cao Gong's rich gift, and I didn't think that these two things contradict each other at all." Now that it's troublesome, do you want to persuade the lord to increase the troops for Uncle Liu Huang, and then kill Uncle Liu Huang for Meng Degong? ”

"Brother, if you do this, the Lord Guild will blame you for not knowing what happened, and investigate your fault in persuading him to increase the army for Uncle Liu!" Yang Bai hurriedly warned.

Lord Yang Song's expression was even more ugly, and at this moment, Menzi presented the thin young man's prayer post to Yang Song, saying that Yang Song's distant relatives had come to visit, and Yang Song, who was in a bad mood, was immediately furious when he saw the worship post, and roared: "Nonsense! This Lord is the Yang family of Hanzhong, he is the Yang family of Huainan, Hanzhong and Huainan are separated by thousands of miles, how can they be related to each other? Tell him to get out! ”

"yes, tell him to get out!" Yang Bai also said angrily: "Brother has already ordered that anyone who claims to be a relative of our Yang family is here to visit, he must have come to borrow money and grain, and he is not allowed to bring it into the mansion!" Have you forgotten this order?! ”

"Your Excellency, General." Menzi, who had accepted the bribe, said timidly: "He doesn't seem to have come to borrow money and food, he is dressed more decently and richly than you, and he also carries a large box, which can only be carried by four strong men." Oh, by the way, the horses on his carriage are still Dawan good horses, golden silk saddles. ”

"Huh?" Yang Song's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly patted his forehead and said: "Thinking of it, our Yang family ancestor seems to have a side line in Huainan, could it be that the descendants of that side line came to recognize the relatives?" Come in, come in, come in. ”

Menzi happily sang the promise and left, and Yang Bai asked Yang Song with a suspicious face: "Brother, when did our ancestors have a side relationship in Huainan?" ”

"him! Let's talk about it first, such a rich virtuous nephew may really be related to our Yang family! (To be continued......)