Cao Cao's eyesight has always been extraordinary, and he can best appreciate people from the subtleties.

For example, this Zhang Jue, although he has not met each other, but just by looking at what Zhang Shun said in his letters, he knows that he is a general.

It is a necessary condition for those who are talented to be able to convince the public, have courage, and know how to advance and retreat.

Zhang Jue is a person who can recruit 50,000 soldiers in the bitter cold land of Pingying Erzhou, and raise them without worry, which shows that the army and herdsmen are capable and can serve the hearts of the people, otherwise the small Pingying camp is afraid that it has already been in flames.

In addition, Yeluchun and Xiao Gan, all Khitan have several powerful ministers, and heroes such as Guo Yaoshi are still afraid of Xiao Gan, but Zhang Jue openly put on a semi-independent posture, forcing the two to be helpless, and their courage can be seen.

This person has a strong soldier in his hand, and he is very courageous, but in the case of a big victory over Zhang Shun, as soon as he heard the name of Lao Cao and knew his own situation, he immediately surrendered decisively, without a trace of luck, and without the slightest attitude, it can be said that he knows how to advance and retreat.

Because of this, Lao Cao did not hesitate to put down the affairs at hand and went to Pingzhou to surrender in person to show his sincerity.

On the twenty-eighth day of October, 500 leopard riders surrounded Lao Cao and arrived in Pingzhou.

Pingzhou has already seen the horses, galloping back, the road is a biao soldiers and horses into the country, the flag is a big book west wind two words.

At this time, Zou Yuan and Zou Run's uncle and nephew had returned to Luanzhou to help Duan Sanniang lead the army, leaving only Zhang Shun and Li Ying here. ”

Zhang Jue said: "In this case, I should welcome it in person." ”

He invited Zhang Shun and Li Ying, who only led more than ten guards, out of Guo Wuli, and waited on the side of the road.

When Cao Cao's soldiers arrived, Zhang Shun saw it at a glance and said happily: "Ah, my brother is here in person!" ”

Zhang Jue was overjoyed, and he was about to run out of the horse, but his subordinate general grabbed his bridle and said: "General, he has hundreds of people there, and the general is going alone, if he has an accident, what should he do?" It's better to transfer some soldiers and horses to protect yourself. ”

Zhang Jue's face turned cold, and he whipped his relatives with a backhand, pointed and shouted: "Zhang Mou's sincerity surrendered, 'Wu Mengde' is the hero of the world, how can he harm me?" ”

Abandon the whip to the ground, gallop on the horse, and in front of Cao Cao's army, fly off the horse, bow down to the side of the road, and say in a loud voice: "Ignorant young general, mistakenly committed the tiger's might, and knows that he is guilty of a great crime, and now he is willing to surrender." Pingying two states, 50,000 soldiers and horses, all under the command of Wujiedu! ”

Cao Cao grabbed the reins, jumped off the horse, smiled all over his face, and strode forward to help him up: "Hahahaha, although 50,000 soldiers and horses are good, they are not as good as the virtuous brothers." I have a virtuous brother, like a dragon with water, like a tiger with wings! Why worry about big things? ”

Zhang Jue glanced at it, and saw that although this person was short, he had the might of a dragon and tiger in his actions.

Hearing him call himself a virtuous brother, his heart couldn't help but be hot, and he hugged his fists and said: "The younger brother prides himself on being a hero, and he refuses to convince others in his life. ”

Cao Cao took his hand and laughed loudly: "Only heroes can recognize heroes, listen to the praise of the virtuous brother, and I believe that the ancients will not deceive me!" ”

Two laughed.

Zhang Shun and Li Ying also stepped forward to meet them, Cao Cao smiled and supported them, and praised Zhang Shun first: "Brother Zhang Shun entered the city on horseback, and his heart and gallbladder were outstanding, so that I could be a good general in the world, which can be described as a miracle!" ”

Zhang Shunle's face bloomed, and he said continuously: "The little brother has a lot of credit, and it is all due to the elder brother Huwei." ”

Cao Cao grabbed Li Ying's hands again, shook them and said: "I have been separated from the big officials for a few years, and now I finally have to fight side by side, which is really happy!" ”

Li Ying was moved, but couldn't help but be ashamed: "I only hate that my little brother has eyes and no beads, if I follow my brother early, how can I be humiliated in Jizhou?" ”

Cao Cao shook his head and smiled: "Since ancient times, heroes have suffered hardships, and virtuous brothers have been born rich and noble, and they have withstood a little torture, which is not a bad thing." ”

He also introduced Qin Ming, Huang Xin and Zhang Jue, and Zhang Jue invited Lao Cao into the city.

Cao Cao responded calmly and followed Zhang Jue into the state city.

Zhang Jue was very excited, and introduced the local customs along the way.

Lao Cao took a closer look along the way, and saw that the residents here, although most of them also had vegetables, they were still full of spirits, and their clothes were inevitably shabby, and they were all clean.

What is especially rare is that these people are not afraid of Zhang Jue, seeing him coming, they all salute with a smile, Lao Cao nodded secretly, stroked Zhang Jue's back, and exclaimed: "I read Zhang Shun's letter before, I know that the virtuous brother is extraordinary in the use of soldiers, and now I see the love of the people, only to know the ability of the virtuous brother to herdsmen, not to lose the ancient famous ministers." ”

Zhang Jue heard the heartfelt meaning in his tone, and couldn't help but be moved, and said with emotion: "My brother has a good reputation, how can my younger brother have any herdsman skills, only a little sincerity, like these common people, his livelihood is good or bad, one looks at the sky, the other looks at the official, the will of heaven has been difficult to ask since ancient times, only the official eunuch can be conscious, why does the younger brother have a bad relationship with Xiao Gan and others?" It is the Zhizhou he wants to send, it is a corrupt official, and the place where he camps is my hometown, although the younger brother is not very capable, how can he see his hometown father and old being bullied by that corrupt official? ”

Cao Cao nodded again and again: "The most valuable thing about the way of herdsmen is your sincerity." ”

While talking, when he arrived at Zhang Jue's mansion, he entered the mansion and had already prepared a banquet, Lao Cao and he were speculative, and unconsciously, they were a little drunk.

Zhang Jue was in high spirits, gradually forgot his form, clenched his fists and sleeves, and was about to express the heroic spirit in his heart, when suddenly a burst of footsteps came.

Everyone looked at it, but it was a Zhang Jue general, full of anxiety: "General Zhang, my lord, it's not a good thing!" Yuguan was attacked by people, and hundreds of people died, and it was only discovered that they had to send grain and grass yesterday. ”

Zhang Jue was shocked, his face changed instantly, and he got up and shouted, "Jin Bing came in?" ”

When Qin Ming and the others heard this, their color changed at the same time.

Yuguan, the easternmost pass of the Great Wall, was built during the Kaihuang period of the Sui Dynasty, according to the Yan Mountain, near the Bohai Sea, controlling the Chongqing water, and the momentum is superb——

The original time and space, to the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, the general Xu Da was ordered to build the city, the situation is slightly observed, because the water in Chongqing is far less than the turbulence in ancient times, the ancient Yuguan is not controlled again, so please abolish it, take its bricks and stones, choose its east sixty miles to move to build a new pass, is the world's first Xiongguan Shanhaiguan also.

The water of Chongqing is also the stone river of later generations.

Zhang Jue stands in Ping, Yingerzhou, the north is the Great Wall, if you want to come, you must pass through Yuguan, so when you hear that Yuguan was slaughtered, you immediately believe that the Jin soldiers have entered.

The general was dazed, shook his head and said: "Guannei counties and towns, there are no warnings, could it be that after the Jin soldiers killed someone, they retreated?" ”

"No way!" Cao Cao shook his head and said categorically: "Virtuous brother, the nature of the golden man and the tiger and wolf, if he succeeds, he will drive straight in, how can there be any reason to quit?" ”

Zhang Jue knew that Lao Cao had a lot of dealings with the Jin people, and he believed it, and wondered: "Isn't it the Jin people?" But who is it? ”

Zhang Shun suddenly showed a weak expression and glanced at Lao Cao.

Lao Cao smiled bitterly: "Li Jun? ”

Zhang Shunna nodded: "At the beginning, the division of troops said that I would attack the four states of Jidong and take Yuguan to reject the Jin soldiers, Brother Li Jun attacked Danzhou and took Huangya Pass, could it be that he took Huangya Pass, followed the Great Wall, and took Yuguan directly?" ”

Cao Cao pondered for a moment, shook his head and said: "No, Li Jun has his own strategy, unless you tell him that you can't take it, if you haven't said it, he shouldn't act like this." ”

Zhang Shun whispered: "That...... What if? ”

Lao Cao couldn't help but have a headache when he heard this, although Li Jun acted steadily, in the end, it was the first time to lead the troops, maybe he would fight smoothly, and maybe he would take it...... But there's no reason to slip away after killing someone.

got up and said: "Random speculation is useless, brother Xian, I will go with you, seeing is believing." ”

Zhang Jue nodded again and again: "Okay!" This pass is my northern gateway, if I don't take a look at it myself, I really can't rest assured, how many people do I bring? ”

Cao Cao pondered and said: "I have five hundred elite cavalry, and if I have cavalry, I just take them." ”

Under Zhang Jue's command, there were more than 3,000 cavalry, and when they heard the words, they brought it with them, and the two sides combined about 4,000 troops and went straight to Yuguan.

Lulong County is more than 100 miles away from Nayu Pass, and it has arrived the next day.

Those soldiers and horses who carried grain were willing to do their duty, and they still guarded the pass and did not dare to leave without permission.

Cao Cao waited for the dismount to enter the customs, and the corpses had been piled up in one place by the grain transporters, Cao Cao personally looked at it and sighed: "Look at this appearance, it has been less than three days since he died, that is to say, not long after the murder, the grain transporter arrived." ”

Then he called the general who escorted the grain and grass and asked him carefully, and the general said something, but there was nothing suspicious.

Cao Cao pondered for a moment, and then asked him if there was anything unusual when he came along the road.

The general thought for a moment, and suddenly slapped his leg and said, "Yes!" When I came, I saw dozens of big boats in Chongqing, and I was surprised at the time, these big boats can enter the sea, and somehow they sailed into the river. ”

Cao Cao summoned Zhang Jue: "Needless to say, the murderer must be the one who took the boat." ”

When Zhang Shun heard this, he asked the general about the number of ships.

Zhang Jueqi said: "I occasionally have sea bandits robbing here, no more than one or two boats, could it be that the sailors of Goryeo came to ask for wildfires?" ”

"It's not!" Zhang Shun said, looking at Lao Cao: "Brother, according to the style that this person said, those boats should come from Jiangnan." ”

"Jiangnan?" Lao Cao frowned, surprised.

Everyone looked at each other, and they couldn't figure out why the ships in the south of the Yangtze River would come to Yingzhou thousands of miles away to kill the soldiers guarding the pass.

Cao Cao pondered for a moment and said slowly: "This matter is strange, and it must be investigated." I'll wait and follow the water, or some clues. ”

Zhang Jue had no objection, and left 500 people to guard the pass, and the rest of the soldiers and horses were brought with him, and walked along the Yushui, the water meandered back in the mountains, and everyone walked along for dozens of miles, near the mouth of the sea, and suddenly saw a cliff behind it, hiding more than 20 big ships.

Zhang Jue said angrily: "What a gut! The person who killed me dares to stay, isn't it eating the heart of a bear and the gall of a leopard! ”

Cao Cao sneered: "These people have come here to make a big plan!" Zhang Shun, you are an expert in water affairs, I will listen to your command today, so I will manipulate him and see what his intentions are. ”

Zhang Shun nodded, jumped off the war horse, found a mountain peak to climb and take a closer look, and came down and said with a smile: "Brother, we are all cavalry, if we rush to kill, he saw that our army was strong, and he ran away, how can I help him?" Therefore, the younger brother had a humble opinion, and looked for a narrow place, built a dam to hold back the water, and when the tide receded, he would run aground, and he could be captured in one fell swoop. ”

Lao Cao Xi said: "Sure enough! And so it goes! ”

Zhang Shun took a look, five or six miles upstream, selected a place, more than 3,000 cavalry, dismounted, cut down trees and moved stones, and threw all of them into the water, sure enough, the flow of water gradually slowed down, with the construction of the embankment, the downstream water level gradually lowered.

Zhang Shun calculated the time and said with a smile: "Cheng Ye, at this moment, he is just stranded." ”

Sure enough, when I returned to the original place, I saw that the sea water had just receded, and there was no water upstream, and all the big ships were stranded.

At this time, it was getting late, and the boats were lit with lanterns, and the lights were bright.

Cao Cao waited in the dark, only to see many people running on the deck shouting: "Why is the water here so strange, it was fine a few days ago, why did it suddenly stop today?" ”

Zhang Shun looked at the position of the moon and said in a low voice: "The water upstream can't stop for long, I will wait for at most half an hour, and then I will occupy his boat, otherwise the water will rush and trap my own house." ”

Lao Cao smiled cruelly: "One hour, more than enough!" If he hadn't brought a rocket, a stick of incense would have taught him to turn into ashes. ”

Then he ordered the army to disperse, and tread on the knee-deep waters, and under the cover of darkness, they surrounded and smote them on all sides.

Although it is close to the mouth of the sea, there is a screen that also blocks the sea like a cliff, and the boat has to go around this cliff before entering the sea.

Therefore, the mooring place is like a natural bathtub, and there are black and oppressive mountains and forests on several sides, if in normal times, there are no waves and no wind, it is a rare place, but at this moment it has become a place of murder.

To know that the mountains are high and the forests are dense, the most is to absorb the light, at this moment the moon has not reached the middle of the sky, the light is difficult to shine into, the lights on the ship, can not go far, Lao Cao and others have been hidden within the three zhang, only to be discovered: "Ah, what a person! ”

Cao Cao roared: "Kill!" ”

The army shouted in unison, and fought hard to kill the general.

He is in the forefront, are all leopard cavalry warriors, Liangshan has been training hard for several years, although he is stepping down, he can also be called elite, at this moment he has put a short weapon, or along the rope, or shoulder to shoulder hand support, and in an instant he will go to the deck and let go of the kill.

Among these ships, one ship is particularly large, Zhang Shun pointed and said: "This ship must be the flagship, brothers, help me catch him thief chieftain!" ”

After saying that, he straightened his body, his fingers picked at the ship's board, and climbed up like a gecko, a few screams sounded on the deck, and several cables were immediately thrown down, Zhang Jue, Qin Ming, Li Ying, and Huang Xin scrambled to grab it first, and suddenly the sound of killing became more and more boiling.

Lao Cao also pulled a rope, climbed up one by one, turned over the deck, and pulled out the dragon knife, only to see Zhang Shun and the five people side by side, each holding a short weapon to kill fiercely, blood flowed on the deck, and there were sailor corpses everywhere, slippery and greasy to stand on.

At this time, someone in the cabin shouted: "Who are you waiting for, what kind of grievances, leave no room for this!" ”

Zhang Jue roared: "If you dare to come to my camp to kill people, I can't kill you!" ”

The man shouted: "It turned out to be a Liao dog, since this is the case, I will fight with you!" ”

As he spoke, the hatch suddenly opened, and dozens of men inside were fierce and vicious, led by a strong man in his thirties, with a steel fork in his hand, shouting: "Grandpa is 'Dongting Jiao' Zhong Xiang, Liao Dog is coming to fight with me!" ”

Qin Ming bore the brunt of the attack, swinging his sword and slashing, the man danced to meet him, Qin Ming fought with him a few times, this man's fork was long and high, and a steel fork turned around, killing Qin Ming step by step, and roared: "If I have a mace in my hand, I will kill you with a stick!" ”

When Huang Xin saw it, he hurriedly helped, and the master and apprentice joined forces to block this person.

Zhang Shun and the others killed more than a dozen sailors and were about to besiege them, when a man in his twenties suddenly rushed out of the cabin and shouted: "Wu Na Liao dog, can you know the 'chanting Bodhisattva' Wang Zongshi!" "An iron rod in his hand, headless and brainless.

Cao Cao first heard the name of Zhong Xiang, but he didn't remember who it was for a while, and when he heard the name of Wang Zongshi, he suddenly remembered the origin, and secretly exclaimed: Ah! How did the people of Mingjiao come to the Northland?

There are teachings: the blood-stained Dongting turns into the sunset, and the corpse is crying crows in Yanshan. Where is the treasure trove of Dragon City now? But he returned to the martial arts family in Yuguan!

(End of chapter)