I saw a person standing in front of the gate of the village, with gray hair, a dark complexion, and although his stature was not high, he had his own might, it was Cao Cao, the king of Wei.

Cao Xiu was stunned for a moment, and then hurriedly stepped forward to salute: "Welcome to the Prime Minister." ”

Cao Cao looked into the distance, there was still black smoke floating faintly on the river, and sighed lightly: "The Jiangdong Navy has been operating for more than ten years, and the people of Wuhui are more accustomed to water, driving boats like the northern army riding horses, like arms and fingers, how can they be defeated in one day?" ”

Cao Xiu's face was full of shame, and he pleaded guilty: "In the end, there will be a great favor from the prime minister, and he is willing to accept the guilt." ”

"Victory and defeat are commonplace, get up!" Cao Cao still attached great importance to Cao Xiu, and said with a smile: "Wen Lie trained the navy, and he has achieved this achievement in three years, who can do it?" Jiangdong is originally a long water war, and this is not your fault! ”

He was about to return to the village to report the military situation, and suddenly saw a fleet returning in disarray, the ship was damaged, it was Niu Jin who returned to the village, and the fleet was ambushed halfway, and more than 1,000 people were lost.

Niu Jin led the troops ashore and knelt on the ground to plead guilty, Cao Cao looked at the remnants of the defeated soldiers on the shore, and suddenly looked up to the sky and laughed.

Cao Xiu was shocked: "Why is the prime minister laughing? ”

"The Jiangdong Navy won a big victory in this battle, thinking that it was invincible in the water war, and it would be arrogant, and it would not accept Liu Qi's control, wouldn't it be that the arrogant soldiers would be defeated?" Cao Cao smiled smugly and ordered Niu Jin to take the soldiers down to rest.

Cao Xiu took Cao Cao to the village and asked, "Why did the prime minister come to the water village in person?" ”

Cao Cao said: "I have another clever plan here, I just saw that the water war was unfavorable, and I first ordered the troops to be collected, Shouchun is about to change, and the water village must not be lost." ”

Cao Xiu's face was full of shame, and he bowed his head and said: "After three years of hard training, I lost the first battle, and I am ashamed to cultivate the prime minister." ”

"Defending the Huai River is meritorious, you have an appointment with Liu Qi to fight, how is the situation?!"

Cao Cao didn't expect to really rely on the navy to defeat the Wu soldiers, and if he wanted to go down to the south of the Yangtze River, he still had to break through the defense lines of Shouchun and Hefei, and use infantry and cavalry as the main force.

Cao Xiu told the truth about today's water battle, in fact, the two armies did not really fight, but the Wu army was skilled in boating, far from being comparable to the Wei army.

Cao Cao listened and said: "If the Wu army wins, it will definitely take the opportunity to attack the camp, and tonight we need to beware of the water village in the east, and we must use large ships to form a defensive line on the water." ”

Cao Xiu frowned and said: "Jiangdong warships come and go freely on the water, if they board the ships to fight, our army will not have an advantage, and it is better to defend along the river." ”

Cao Cao said: "At the end of the year, the weather is dry and dry, the northwest wind is tight, if the enemy army attacks with fire, the whole village will be lost." ”

Cao Xiu immediately bowed his head and was silent, and Xiahou Nan offered advice on the side: "Why not use a chain?" ”

"Huh?" Cao Cao Huo Ran turned his head and glared at Xiahou Nan angrily, a cold light flashed in his slender eyes, if it wasn't for his son-in-law, he would have ordered him to be beheaded.

The last time he was in the wet beard, he offered a series of schemes, and the navy army was wiped out, and it was not burned thoroughly enough?

"The prime minister is angry!" Xiahou Nan hurriedly said: "The last time I used the dead chain, this time I used the live chain, and I will be able to succeed." ”

Cao Cao's eyes narrowed slightly, and he asked lightly, "What is a living chain?" ”

Xiahou Nan truthfully told the matter of the iron chain of the military of Fangcai Wu, and said: "In peacetime, the ship can be connected, and in wartime, it can be untied and retracted freely, and it can be invincible." ”

"Zilinguo has grown!" Cao Cao suddenly realized, stroked his beard and laughed: "The two of you are alone to help each other, better than Liu Qi Sleeping Dragon and Phoenix Chick!" ”

Cao Xiu was embarrassed: "In the past three years to build a warship, the materials have run out, and I am afraid it will be difficult to gather them for a while......"

Cao Cao waved his hand and said with a smile: "Zilin has a wide range of contacts and is quite wealthy, so it is foolproof to hand over this matter to him." ”

"Oh, yes, yes!" Xiahou Nan was a little surprised, but seeing that Cao Cao trusted him so much, he had to bite the bullet and go ahead.

Cao Cao also instructed Cao Xiu to arrange for the warship to be hidden on the north shore and at the mouth of the lake, and once the Wu army came to rob the village, he would leave it behind and take back a city.

At the end of the discussion, he discussed with Cao Xiu in private, there were only craftsmen in the army, and the iron tools had long been used up, so he could only make up some broken weapons and armor first, but to connect these big ships, he needed to advance the cost of 200,000 yuan.

"Don't say 200,000, 20,000 is not!" Cao Xiu said helplessly: "Do you know that a building ship is worth thirty war horses, since the relocation of the capital, the prince has already deducted most of the military expenses of the navy, and I am struggling to make ends meet here." ”

"What if you don't have money?" Xiahou Nan glared and sighed bitterly: "I had a few coppers before, but Ye County was on fire, and there was no return, so how do you know that it is not easy to make money!" ”

Cao Xiu looked incredulous: "I heard that Maolin Hall is making money every day, and when it is in danger, you should do your best to help, Zilin, don't cry poor." ”

"The money of Maolin Hall has been taken away by the prince to build the palace of King Wei, otherwise it will ......" Xiahou Nan looked around and said in a low voice: "Otherwise, Guanzhong will be lost, what a sin, how can I escape this catastrophe?" ”

"But the military order must not be violated!" Cao Xiu sighed helplessly, wrote down a military order and handed it to Xiahou Nan, and patted him on the shoulder: "Craftsmen in the army, you can call on the discarded weapons, I can only help you get here." ”

Xiahou Nan looked at the note in his hand, and was stunned for a moment and scolded: "Okay, okay, this father and son are both here to pit me, right?" I'm just the son-in-law of the Cao family, but I'm not the son of the Cao family......"

……

The Huai River was rolling, and in less than half an hour, all traces of the battle had long since disappeared.

The sword light and sword shadow, human life and blood bones, between the mountains and rivers, but a turbid wave, a season of yellow leaves, fleeting.

The Jiangdong naval army returned to the village with a great victory, and the Wei army who walked down in frustration and trembling on the ship, their warship capsized, and there was nowhere to escape, but to surrender, like a fish caught in the net, soaking wet.

There was a sound of cheers and laughter along the coast, and Cao Jun clashed several times, all of which ended in a big defeat, making people laugh that there was no one in Jiangdong, and today's battle finally raised their eyebrows, and the morale of the whole army was high.

In the water village, the generals looked at Liu Qi and Lu Xun again, and they were all convinced, whether Liu Qi employed people or Lu Xun's scheduling, they were all just right.

Jiang Qin had never been in battle today, and he was a little unsatisfied, so he hugged his fists and said: "The Wei army has been training hard for three years, but it has suffered such a big defeat, and its morale must be low. ”

"This plan is wonderful, and the last general is willing to go with General Chiang." Dong Xi and others have asked for orders.

Liu Qi said: "Cao Xiu is the leader of the younger generation of the Cao family, and there are probably precautions in the camp, what does Bo Yan mean?" ”

Lu Xun frowned and said: "Although Cao Xiu has a martial strategy, he is young and vigorous, and his heart is not calm enough, if he loses this battle, the defense in the camp must be lax, if he goes to rob the village, it is not impossible, he can send the rear army to respond, just in case." ”

Liu Qi was also a little moved, if he could take advantage of the victory to attack and destroy Cao Wei's naval army in a battle, he could break through the Huai River defense line and divide his troops to the north.

He ordered Lu Xun to arrange the robbery of the camp, returned to the hotel, saw Zhang Chengzheng sorting out the official documents and letters, and asked, "Is there any news from the governor?" ”

During this Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, Zhang Zhao recommended his eldest son Zhang Cheng to follow Zhuge Jin to assist Liu Qi, not only to show his determination to resist Cao, but also to train Zhang Cheng, and of course to show favor to Liu Qi.

Zhang Cheng replied: "The governor of Dadu has arrived at the border of Xuzhou, and a secret letter arrived half a month ago, Cao Cao sent his classmate Jiang Gan to accompany him to help, and he must have the intention of surveillance, and he is trying to use this person, and he probably hasn't had the time yet." ”

Liu Qi raised his eyebrows and chuckled, "Could it be that Jiang Gan is going to steal a letter again?" ”