Uncle Liu Huang not only invited the important ministers of the Cao army to go out of the city for the banquet just for the sake of the Cao army, but also wanted to take this opportunity to understand the specific situation of the ally Cao Jun in the Tongguan battlefield, as well as to understand the strength and weakness of the Xuzhou army in this westward expedition, and judge whether it is possible to block the Xuzhou army on the front line of Tongguan - Uncle Liu Huang is planning to swallow the remnants of the Cao army and the belt bones, but if he can't stop the attack of the Xuzhou army, if he swallows it badly, he will have to pull out the intestines and internal organs together.

In view of this situation, when Cheng Yu and Cao Pi came to the imperial uncle's military camp for a banquet on behalf of Cao Ang, Uncle Liu Huang also rarely played any tricks, did not take the opportunity to exchange confidential news with Cao Pi, nor did he take the opportunity to buy Cheng Yu, a heavy minister of the Cao army who was determined to avenge Boss Cao, but temporarily put aside his evil intentions and humbly asked Cheng Yu for advice, and also asked Cheng Yu for advice on how to break the pottery, Cheng Yu also knew that the Cao army team must now rely on the help of the imperial uncle's army to have the opportunity and possibility to hold Tongguan, so he did not hide it too much. Introduce as much as possible what can be told to Uncle Liu Huang.

Cao Ren led an army of about 11,000 to be stationed in Tongguan, and Zhang Liao and Zhang He led an army of about 15,000 to be stationed in Huayin and Linjin, with a total of more than 26,000 troops, but considering the problems of transporting grain and guarding against the Yellow River crossing, the strength of Cao's army that could be put into the battlefield was only about 20,000 at most. However, what reassures and secretly covets Uncle Liu Huang is that most of the more than 20,000 remnants of the Cao army are the last elite main force of the Cao army, including more than 350,000 cavalry, the remnants of the elite halberd soldiers of Yuan Shaojun brought by Zhang He from Jizhou, and the backbone core is also the remnant essence of the Cao army's team after the Xuchang War. The combat effectiveness is not at all under the main force of the Imperial Uncle Army, and it is a friendly army that can be reassured on the battlefield.

On the side of the Xuzhou army, Deputy Director Tao is still consistent with the supremacy of elite soldiers, and the main elite of the frontal battlefield has always remained at about 70,000, and the remaining army is used to protect the grain road and control the newly occupied city, compared to the Cao-Liu coalition army, which has a total of more than 56,000 troops, it actually does not occupy too much advantage in the number of troops on the frontal battlefield, and at the same time, the narrow Cuihan Ancient Road also limits the deployment of the Xu army's troops, so in addition to closely monitoring the Yellow River crossing, the Cao-Liu coalition army does not have to worry about Deputy Director Tao dispatching the rear army to oppress people. The Cao-Liu coalition army even had the hope of defeating the main forces of the Xuzhou army.

For Cao Jun's team, the biggest hidden danger is the problem of grain and grass. At present, the grain stocks of the Cao army in Tongguan and Chang'an are only enough to last for more than two months - this is still without considering the consumption of the imperial army, and because the grain-producing areas of Hongnong and Hedong have basically fallen, the autumn grain harvest of the Cao army is also pitiful, and it is difficult to maintain the long-term operation of the Cao-Liu coalition army. No, Cheng Yu pointed it out to Uncle Liu Huang again. Cao Jun's food and grass are difficult. The grain and grass of the Xuzhou army were even more difficult. The Xuzhou army's grain and grass savings were not abundant after years of war, and they had to transport grain by land for thousands of miles to reach the Tongguan front, and the loss of the road was very amazing. Therefore, as long as the Cao Liu coalition army survives until the beginning of spring next year, there is hope that Deputy Director Tao will be forced to retire from the army!

After listening to Cheng Yu's introduction, closing his slender and beautiful eyes and thinking for a long time, Uncle Liu Huang finally opened his eyes, smiled at Cheng Yu and said: "Please Mr. Zhongde tell Zi Xiuxian's nephew that this time our army sent troops to Tongguan to help your army meet the enemy, and the grain and grass are supplied by themselves, so you don't have to worry about your army, just ask your army to help organize the people to transport grain." In addition, our army will also provide your army with another 200,000 tons of grain aid to help your army tide over the spring famine in the coming year. ”

"Is the big-eared thief really converted?" Cheng Yu opened his mouth wide, and it took a while to come back to his senses, and hurriedly thanked Uncle Liu Huang, and said repeatedly: "Thank you Xuande Gong, thank you Xuande Gong, Xuande Gong is so kind, our army will never forget, if there is a chance in the future, our army will definitely form a grass rank ring to repay Xuande Gong's great kindness." ”

"Mr. Zhongmou doesn't have to be so polite, they are all allies, as a matter of course." Uncle Liu Huang smiled and waved his hand, then picked up his wine glass and invited: "Mr. Zhongmou, in order to wish our army and your army success in forming an alliance against Taoma, drink another glass." ”

Cheng Yu hurriedly raised his glass to drink with Uncle Liu Huang, and Cao Pi next to him quietly glanced at Uncle Liu, but Uncle Liu Huang ignored it, just drank happily with Cheng Yu, and broke up happily, and did not know that Cao Pi's son, who had actually lost his use value, never had the slightest chance to talk to Uncle Liu Huang alone, and it was not until he personally sent Cao Pi and Cheng Yu out of the camp that Uncle Liu Huang held Cao Pi's hand in front of the camp gate, and said with a pun: "Second son, please rest assured, everything is under control, pottery thief team, Absolutely can't enter Tongguan. ”

Cao Pigongzi, who had a bitter word, left suspiciously, and left with Cheng Yu, who was bittersweet, and when they walked away, Meng Da, the general of the imperial uncle's army, who fled to Hanzhong with Fa Zheng to defect to Uncle Liu, came over and whispered in Uncle Liu's ear: "Lord, you promised too generously just now, right?" Our army solves the problem of grain and grass on its own, and we have to help them with another 200,000 pieces of grain and grass, plus the loss of the road, we have paid too much. ”

"I can't bear to let the child catch the wolf, as long as we can win the elite soldiers left by Cao Mengde, it will be easy for our army to take Yizhou, and this effort is worth it." Uncle Liu Huang, who had almost received all of Zhang Lu's grain, replied with confidence, and then Uncle Liu Huang sneered in his heart and added: "Besides, what you promise may not necessarily need to be fulfilled, as long as the remnants of Cao Thief's team and territory are returned to me, even if I don't fulfill the promise of 200,000 Hu military rations, it won't be considered a repentance, right?" ”

………………

Cheng Yu brought Uncle Liu's generous promise back to Chang'an City, Xun Yu and Guo Jia and other old ministers of the Cao army were also surprised, and they were suspicious and full of expectations, hoping that Uncle Liu Huang would be able to keep his word and let the Cao army team that was plagued by food shortage get the hope of making a comeback. However, the kind-hearted Cao Ang was full of suspicion about this, and asked Cheng Yu in person: "How is this possible?" If Liu Xuande really gives us another 200,000 Hu military rations, then we can ensure that we can support the wheat harvest next winter, and we don't have to whisper to Liu Xuande anymore, and we don't have to worry about being controlled by him using grain manipulation, can he be so kind? ”

"Returning to the lord, Yu also felt unbelievable at first." Cheng Yu replied as respectfully as possible: "But after thinking about it carefully, I feel that Liu Bei's move is not impossible. After repelling the Tao thief, he may try his best to annex our army, but he must be afraid of Tao Ying's traitor's comeback, and take the opportunity of him to deceive the hearts of the people in Guanzhong and attack the key to the attack. In this way, instead of taking the risk of annexing our army, Liu Bei should help our army tide over the difficulties and let our army continue to resist the threat of pottery thieves for him, so that he can take the opportunity to attack Liu Zhang and annex the land of Dongchuan, which is richer than Hanzhong. ”

Xun Yu and Guo Jia nodded together, agreeing with Cheng Yu's analysis. felt that Uncle Liu Huang was either ready to be untrustworthy. Or, as Cheng Yu analyzed, he was ready to help Cao Jun overcome the food shortage, borrow Cao Jun's hand to block the Xuzhou army, and then Huang Shujun took the opportunity to go south to annex Liu Zhang. Cao Ang was silent. After a while, he said expressionlessly: "I hope Xuande Gong can have such a kind heart." ”

Although it is not yet certain whether Uncle Liu's promise can be fulfilled. However, Xun Yu and Guo Jia and other old ministers of the Cao army still greatly reduced their hostility towards the imperial uncle's army. basically believed that Uncle Liu would at least wait until the battle at Tongguan was over before it was possible to turn his face with the army, in addition to letting Cao Hong continue to strictly defend the city and prevent the sneak attack of the emperor's army, he immediately began to discuss how to join forces with the emperor's army to resist the enemy. It was also decided that Xun Yu would continue to stay in Chang'an, and Guo Jia and Cheng Yu, who were familiar with the situation of the Xuzhou army, would go to the front line to assist Cao Ren to resist the enemy, and then finalize the location of the Huangshu army's garrison on the Tongguan battlefield.

The next morning, which is also the morning of the first day of September in the eleventh year of Jian'an, Xun Yu, the first minister of the two generations of Cao Jun, got up early as usual, combed and dressed up and prepared to rush to the Assassin's Mansion to act on official business, and when Xun Yu was eating a simple breakfast, Menzi suddenly came to report, saying that it was Cao Zhi's visit, Xun Yu was a little angry when he heard it, and scolded: "Go and tell him that there is something official in the Assassin's Mansion to say, what do you say about running to my house all day long?" Remind him of his identity for me. ”

Menzi took the order and left, but when Xun Yu had just put the last bite of sorghum rice and coarse sauce into his mouth, Menzi returned to the room again, and said very embarrassed and timidly: "Master, Gongzi Zhi refused to leave, and said that he had 100,000 urgent affairs that he needed to ask the master to meet, and he also said that he ......." ”

"What else to say? Don't spit out, just say it! Xun Yu asked impatiently.

"Gongzi Zhi also said that this matter is also about the life of the master, and he also risked his life to deliver a letter to you." Menzi replied timidly - by the way, if it weren't for Cao Zhi's identity, someone else ran to the door of Xunyu's Mansion early in the morning and said such an unlucky thing, Xunfu Menzi would have already started beating people.

"What is at stake for my life?" Xun Yu's heart jumped, and after a little groaning, Xun Yu still nodded and replied, "Please let him in." ”

Menzi took the order and left, and after a while, Cao Zhigongzi, whose clothes and scarves were a little messy, hurriedly rushed into the room where Xun Yu was, and shouted in a hurry as soon as he entered the door, "Mr. Wen Ruo, Mr. Wen Ruo, run, you run, it may be too late if you are late!" ”

"What?!" Rao is Wang Zuoxunyu is resourceful, and after listening to Cao Zhi's words like a thunderbolt on a sunny day, he was inevitably taken aback, and quickly stood up and asked, "Gongzi Zhi, what happened?" Why should I run away? ”

Cao Zhi gasped and didn't dare to answer, just peeked left and right, Xun Yu hurriedly waved his hand to drive away everyone in the room, Cao Zhi closed the door with his own hands, and then knelt down to Xun Yu, took out an envelope from his arms, raised his hands above his head, and whispered nervously: "Mr. Wenruo, you will understand when you see it." ”

Xun Yu hurriedly took the envelope, opened the envelope and took out the letterhead in the meantime to open it to watch, only to look at Xun Yu and found that this letter was from Cao Ang's own handwriting, and then carefully looked at the content of the letter, Xun Yu's hands and whole body began to tremble slightly, it turned out that this letter was actually written by Cao Ang to Cao Ren, the chief general of the Cao Army, and his cousin Cao Ren Cao Zixiao's complaint letter, Cao Ang counted Xun Yu and other auxiliary ministers in the letter for the crime of bullying the master, and asked his uncle Cao Ren to uphold justice for himself and regain power, and at the same time Cao Ang was in his words, also revealed the intention of killing Xun Yu and others!

"Hate the sky and thunder and don't kill the Yuhong thieves? Hate the sky and thunder and don't kill the Yuhong thieves? Hate, if the thunder does not kill, the thieves of Yuhong will ....... ”

Repeating this sentence silently, Xun Yu's heart can only be described with his heart like a knife, and the corners of his eyes, which were already covered with dense crow's feet, slowly oozing two cloudy tears, Cao Zhi observed his words, and hurriedly whispered again: "Uncle Xun, the little nephew has heard that the king is suspicious for a long time, and the minister will die." Brother, he refused to understand your loyalty to him, and he took revenge on you to kill you, uncle, you better leave as soon as possible, otherwise, brother, he suddenly started to kill, uncle, you just want to run and have no chance to run! ”

Xun Yu lowered his head, remembered something again, quickly wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, raised the letter and asked Cao Zhi quickly: "Gongzi Zhi, this letter." Where did you get it from? ”

"The little nephew picked it up above his father's mourning hall." Cao Zhi quickly replied: "The little nephew went to his father's spirit to offer incense during the fifth watch. Burning Shifu asked his father to check his homework, and found this letter in the mourning hall, and when he opened it, he found that the situation was wrong, so he hurriedly sent it to his uncle! ”

"Picked up at the old lord's funeral hall?" Xun Yuhu looked Cao Zhi up and down suspiciously. Suddenly asked, "Zhi Gongzi." Someone wouldn't have asked you to send this letter to me, would they? ”

"Ahh Cao Zhi opened his mouth and stammered. It took a while to come to his senses, jumped up and shouted, "Mr. Wenruo, the little nephew respects you as an elder." I also respect you as the first important minister under your father's command, so you risked your life to send you a letter, and you even suspect that your little nephew was instructed by someone?! ”

"If you weren't instructed by someone, how could there be such a coincidence in the world?" Xun Yu said with a cold expression: "You went to offer incense to the old lord and asked the old lord to check his homework, and you happened to find this letter, why didn't others find it?" Why didn't the guards guarding the mourning hall see it? ”

"The envelope was dropped next to the cushion, it was only five watches at the time, and the guards couldn't see anything strange?!" Cao Zhi was furious, turned around and left, and said loudly: "If the uncle thinks that the little nephew is sowing discord, you can not believe it, or you can take it to ask your brother for credit, and the little nephew will go home and wash his neck and wait for death!" ”

Saying that, Cao Zhi really opened the door of the room, and walked back without looking back, leaving Xun Yu in the room with the letter hesitating, looking at Cao Zhi who was leaving angrily, and then looking down at the letter in his hand, hesitating in his heart, and secretly said: "Is it true or false?" Eldest Prince, is he really dissatisfied with us to this point?! ”

Thinking about it, Xun Yu arranged for people to secretly follow Cao Zhi, and asked his subordinates to pay attention to Cao Zhi's contact with those people, and then rushed to the office of the Assassin Mansion with the official document. - After all, Xun Yu has long found out that Cao Ang is dissatisfied with the dictatorship of his own people these days.

Before Xun Yu sent a subordinate who followed Cao Zhi to meet him, he reported in a low voice that Cao Zhi went back to the Assassin's Mansion directly, and did not contact anyone along the way, Xun Yu's heart was inevitably trembling, because Cao Zhi dared to directly return to the Assassin Mansion after separating with letters, there are only two possibilities, one is that Cao Zhi has a future, and he is not afraid that Xun Yu will expose it to Cao Ang, and the other is that Cao Zhi is not lying, and he is angry with himself when he is young! So after Xun Yu thought about it, he instructed the next person: "Go and contact General Dian Wei, just say I want to know what Gongzi Zhi was doing yesterday?" Have you had contact with outsiders, have you quietly left the house and out of the city? Ask him to find out and report to me as soon as possible. ”

After the order, Xun Yu entered the Assassin's Mansion and went to his own signing room to handle official business, during which although Xun Yu tried to calm down and work hard, he was still inevitably a little absent-minded, wrote the wrong words several times, painted and changed several pieces of bamboo slips, and finally Xun Yu himself was a little impatient, so he simply threw the brush on the desk, holding his chest with both hands and thinking and analyzing with a calm face, and his heart was like numbness.

"Could it be him?!"

Thinking about it, Xun Yu's body suddenly shook, and Cao Pi's shadow suddenly appeared in his mind, and he quickly sat up straight and pondered carefully, Xun Yu was basically sure that Jiang Gan's disappearance was Cao Pi's ghost, and he was also very suspicious that the almost seamless imitation of the warrant was from Cao Pi's hand, and thinking that Cao Pi could imitate the first warrant and imitate the second, and at the same time, Cao Pi could freely enter and exit Cao Laoda's spiritual hall, Xun Yu's body began to tremble, and he quickly took out the letter hidden in his arms and looked at it carefully.

It is also Cao Boss who is self-inflicted, and the sons who taught him are either literary masters or calligraphers, although the letter imitated by Cao Pi is not seamless, but it is also so vivid that people can't judge the truth or falsehood, Xun Yu turned over and looked at it for a long time, and he couldn't see whether it was true or false. After hesitating again and again, Xun Yu could only immediately send someone to invite Guo Jia and Cheng Yu, and let them help him ponder it in detail, and the fateful letter that Pang Tong asked Cao Pi to imitate was finally seen by Guo Jia and Cheng Yu together - there is no way for Xun Yu, the matter is related to Guo Jia and Cheng Yu and others, Xun Yu will have to let them see this letter sooner or later.

Like Xun Yu, when they first saw this letter, Cheng Yu and Guo Jia were also angry and heartbroken, and they couldn't understand why Cao Ang, who was loyal to them, hated them so much? Fortunately, Xun Yu calmed down, and quickly explained the origin and suspiciousness of the letter to Cheng Yu, Guo Jia and others, asked Cheng Yu and Guo Jia to calm down, and helped him analyze and judge the authenticity of the letter, and finally let Guo Jia and Cheng Yu return to normal emotions.

At this time, Cao Ang and Sima Yi suddenly appeared in front of the door of Xun Yu's detention room, heard the footsteps and looked up to see the person who came, Xun Yu and Guo Jia and others, who had not yet distinguished the authenticity of the letter, were taken aback, Xun Yu hurriedly hid the letter in his arms, and then got up and saluted, and said with a forced smile: "I don't know if the lord is coming, I am not welcome, please forgive the lord." ”

Cao Ang didn't be hypocritical and polite with Xun Yu, but looked at Xun Yu, who was collecting letters, suspiciously, and then looked at Guo Jia and Cheng Yu, who had strange faces next to him, and his expression was about to speak. Xun Yu, who had a ghost in his heart, showed an unprecedented expression, and some did not dare to look at Cao Ang, while Guo Jia and Cheng Yu were in a complicated mood, peeking at Cao Ang several times, and the atmosphere in the signing room became extremely strange.

I don't know how long it has been, Cao Ang, who couldn't stand this oppressive atmosphere, gritted his teeth and asked, "Uncle Xun, I heard that the third brother went out before dawn today, and hurriedly went directly to your house, but is there such a thing?" ”

"Huh?" Xun Yu was shocked, and when he peeked at Sima Yi, who was bowing his head and not speaking, Xun Yu suddenly realized that Sima Yi, who was in charge of confidential affairs for Cao Ang, had found out about the matter and reported it to Cao Ang. It was expected that Cao Ang and Sima Yi must have witnesses, but Xun Yu didn't dare to hide it, nodded and replied, "Back to the lord, there is indeed such a thing." ”

"For what?" Cao Ang asked.

Xun Yu was sweating a little on his forehead, and he didn't know how to answer this question for a while, Guo Jia and Cheng Yu were also silent, a little overwhelmed for a while, and they complained together in their hearts, "Oh no, if you let the eldest prince know about this matter, no matter whether the letter is true or not, there is no way to end this matter." ”

After a long time, Xun Yu was never seen answering his question, not only did Cao Ang become more and more suspicious in his heart, but Sima Yi next to him also began to be surprised and confused, and said secretly: "Is there really something unsightly?" I instigated Cao Ang to come over and question Xun Yu in person, just to make their contradictions expand a little more, why did Xun Yu become like this? Also, how can Guo Jia and Cheng Yu be the same? What did they just say here? ”

"Uncle, my little nephew is asking you questions. Third brother, why did he visit your house early this morning? Cao Ang raised his voice a little, and then simply asked directly: "Also, my uncle was so anxious to collect the white silk just now, what was written on the silk?" ”

Xun Yu still couldn't answer, peeking at Guo Jia and Cheng Yu's faces, and found that they were all at a loss like himself, Cao Ang was not stupid, he looked at the words for a while, and then said: "Uncle, take it out, even if it is a scrap of the text, it doesn't matter, the little nephew has already prepared in his heart." (To be continued......)