Cao Ren and Li Dian fled back to Xuchang, entered to see Cao Cao, and pleaded guilty on the ground.

Cao Cao asked about the battle situation, Cao Ren told me truthfully, and said: "General Li has advised me many times, but I have turned a deaf ear, which led to the defeat of this army, please punish me for the crime of one person!"

Li Dian said: "This defeat is not the fault of General Cao Ren alone, I am also at fault, please punish both of us for the same crime!"

Cao Cao smiled, walked down to help them up, and said, "Victory or defeat is a common thing in soldiers, and Erqing doesn't have to blame himself, but I don't know who gave advice to Liu Bei?"

Cao Ren remembered what Guan Yu had said, and said, "I remember, the person who caused the fiasco of our army seems to be called Shan Fu, presumably Liu Bei's military advisor." ”

Cao Cao asked, "Who is Shan Fu?"

Cao Ren shook his head. Cao Cao asked the generals in the hall: "Do you know this person?"

Strategist Cheng Yu stood up and said: "I know a person with the same name, also named Shan Fu. ”

Cao Cao Xi said: "Zhongde (Cheng Yu's words), please speak." ”

Cheng Yu said: "This person's original name was Xu Shu, and he was entrusted with a single blessing. He used to live in Yingchuan, and I was a good friend of him when I was young. He learned swords since he was a child, and at the age of eighteen, in order to avenge his friend, he hacked to death a local bully and was imprisoned. When the jailer saw that he was young and was doing harm to the people, he felt compassion for a moment and let him go privately. He and his family escaped from Yingchuan and have been incognito ever since. Later, I heard that he went to Nanzhang in Jingzhou, where he took Sima Hui as his teacher and became his proud disciple. If I'm not mistaken, General Cao Ren should be talking about him. ”

Everyone had heard of Sima Hui's name and admired it.

Cao Cao asked, "How is Xu Shu's talent better than Zhongde?"

"His talent is ten times better than mine, and he is ashamed of himself. Cheng Yu told the truth.

There was an uproar. Cao Cao shook his head and sighed: "It's a pity that such a good talent fell into Liu Bei's hands!"

"It's not difficult for the prime minister to get him. Cheng Yu has a clever plan.

"The meaning of Zhongde is..."Cao Cao's eyes lit up.

"Xu Shu lost her father since she was a child, and her mother is 80 years old, and now lives in a small village not far from Xuchang City, I recognize her as my godmother. Originally, she was raised by her second son Xu Kang, but Xu Kang recently died of illness, and she was lonely and miserable, and she relied on cooking wild vegetables every day to satisfy her hunger. The prime minister can send someone to pick her up in Beijing, and then write a letter to Xu Shu. Xu Shu is a well-known filial son, if he knew that his mother was in the hands of the prime minister, he would definitely go to Beijing to find his mother immediately. ”

Cao Cao understood: "Zhongde wants the old man to threaten his son with his mother?"

"The prime minister is clever. ”

Cao Cao was overjoyed: "If this is the case, then a great thing will be done." Zhongde, you are her godson, so leave this matter to you. ”

"Yes, Prime Minister, I will do it as soon as possible. Cheng Yu immediately went home to prepare a gift and went to see Xu's mother that day.

Xu's mother's home is not far from Xuchang, and Cheng Yu will arrive soon. He greeted her when he entered the house.

Mother Xu said in surprise: "Zhongde, why are you? I heard that you are now an official of the imperial court, how can you come to visit me, a dying woman?"

"Where, the godmother is serious. Yuan Zhi (Xu Shu's character) also became an official, doesn't the godmother know?"

"Oh, what kind of officer?"

He took refuge in Liu Bei and became a military advisor in Xinye. ”

Xu Muxi said: "Really, that's great, he finally found a home." ”

Cheng Yu put the gift on the table and said, "This is a piece of my heart, please accept it." ”

Mother Xu was flattered: "This... No, I can't ask for your stuff. ”

"Godmother, you're welcome, you've taken care of me before, this is what I should do. ”

Mother Xu refused to accept it no matter what. Cheng Yu said: "If the godmother doesn't accept it, please follow me into the capital." I want to take my godmother into my mansion and enjoy my old age in peace. ”

"Going to your mansion? No, no, no, I don't deserve it. I'm living well here, no need to. "Mother Xu has been walking all the year round, and she is used to living a poor life, but she was suddenly invited by a rich and noble family, but she didn't dare to accept it.

"Godmother, please refuse. Yuan Shun just died, Yuan Zhi is not here, no one takes care of his godmother, I want to do some filial piety for them, I believe they will not object. Cheng Yu's reason sounds nothing wrong at first glance.

Mother Xu shook her head blindly. Seeing that she was worried, Cheng Yu continued: "Godmother, don't worry too much, I have been friends with Yuan Zhi for many years, and I just want to do something for him, after all, he has helped me before." Don't worry, godmother, I will take good care of you, you just treat that side as your own home. ”

"I ......" Xu Mu always felt weird, and she couldn't say what she felt.

"Godmother don't have to worry too much, just follow me, in fact, I had plans to take my godmother into Beijing early in the morning, but it was inconvenient to speak. Now that Yuan Shun is gone, it is just a chance to give me a chance to take care of my godmother for the rest of my life. The conditions over there are much better than here, and I guarantee that my godmother will not want to go back if she goes. "Cheng Yu's inducement is in place.

After some of his rhetoric, Mother Xu was finally moved. She simply packed her luggage and walked with him step by step, to be honest, she was really a little reluctant to this dilapidated house. Since Xu Shu went out to learn art, Xu Kang has always taken care of her, and the two of them have not eaten every day. Today, she suddenly had to rise from the predicament of poverty to the good state of not worrying about food and clothing, she had mixed feelings, and thought that the spirit of the second son in the sky would definitely be very gratifying.

Cheng Yu took her into the mansion, walked through the atrium, and went straight to the backyard. Mother Xu looked around along the way, and felt that she had come to a paradise - spacious space, gorgeous decorations, and air full of golden smell...... She looked up at the ceiling, which was full of flower carvings, in various forms, dazzling and dizzying.

Cheng Yu took her into the bedroom and said, "Godmother, you will live here in the future, and the bed has been arranged." You take a break, someone will bring you the food later, I have instructed the chef to make your favorite braised pork, and after eating, someone will come and give you a full body massage. ”

Mother Xu sat on the bed, touching the soft quilt, and couldn't believe the facts in front of her. She couldn't understand what medicine was sold in Cheng Yu's gourd, and she didn't know that ugliness was often hidden behind beauty.

After Cheng Yu settled her, he went to the Prime Minister's Mansion to report to Cao Cao: "Prime Minister, the matter is done." ”

Cao Cao said happily: "Where is she? The old man went to see her." ”

"Prime Minister don't worry. The godmother had just arrived in our mansion and had settled her down, but if she went to her now, it would make her suspicious. During this time, I will ask someone to serve her well, and I will make my own arrangements for the future. ”

Cao Cao thought about it and agreed.

Since then, Xu's mother has lived a paradise-like life, with no worries about food and clothing, accompanied by family members in and out, and even changing clothes and bathing with special staff. Her face was ruddy, her wrinkles were less, her fat had grown, and she looked much younger. The service here is really thoughtful, and she has to admit that life inside and outside the palace is indeed very different.

............

It's been half a month in the blink of an eye, and Mother Xu is living a carefree life in Cheng Mansion.

On this day, Cao Cao suddenly came to greet him with a gift. Mother Xu was very surprised, and said: "The prime minister has a lot of opportunities, why did he come here in person?

Cao Cao said with a smile on his face: "A few days ago, I overheard Zhongde say that he took his godmother back to the mansion to serve him. The old man came to visit you today, and by the way, I want to discuss something with the old lady. ”

"Oh, Zhongde actually told the prime minister about his private affairs. Dare to ask the prime minister why he came here today?" Xu Mu felt that as far as Cao Cao's identity was concerned, he should not appear here, unless there was something important.

"I think, the old lady should know about Ling Lang's engagement with Liu Bei in Xinye, right?"

"Yes, Zhongde told me. Could it be that the prime minister knows the dog?"

"Does the old lady know that Liu Bei is a rebel?" Cao Cao didn't answer her directly.

"Oh, how can you see it?" Xu Mu frowned.

"He falsely called the emperor's uncle, but refused to submit to the court, what is it if he is not a rebel?"

"Prime Minister, you are wrong. Although I am a poor woman, I also know that Liu Bei is the great-great-grandson of His Excellency Emperor Xiaojing after King Jing of Zhongshan. Why did the prime minister say that he was a rebel?" Mother Xu felt a little unhappy when she saw him belittled Liu Bei like this.

Cao Cao was speechless for a moment. Xu Mu asked, "The prime minister is not here just to say this, right?"

Cao Cao immediately smiled again and said, "Of course not, the old man wants to ask you for something." ”

"Oh, the prime minister is powerful in the Central Plains, do you still want to beg me, an old woman?" Mother Xu didn't have a good impression of him at the beginning, and now she spoke even more unceremoniously.

Cao Cao suppressed his anger and said, "I want to ask you to write to Ling Lang and ask him to come to Xuchang, and I will arrange for the two of you to live together, so that you can be reunited with mother and son, okay?"

Xu Mu immediately saw through his intentions, and said angrily: "Hmph, you came to me for this matter! You want the dog to abandon the light and the darkness and work for you!"

Cao Cao didn't expect her to refuse, and said angrily: "Old thing, don't be ignorant! I came to beg you with good intentions, but you talked to me in such a tone and ate the gall of a leopard?!"

Mother Xu was so angry that her face was flushed, and she said: "I understand, you have premeditated and deliberately deceived me into Xuchang, the purpose is to try your best to get the dog!

"You..." Cao Cao was so angry that he didn't know what to do for a while, "Don't forget, you are in my hands now, I can kill you at any time!"

"Kill me! I'm an old man, it's not a pity to die, but you don't want to get him!" The more Xu Mu spoke, the more angry she became, "You are a Han thief, disrupting the government and trying to establish yourself as a king! Brute, I am inseparable from you!"

With that, she picked up a stone inkstone on the table and smashed it. Cao Cao avoided the stone inkstone, but was splashed with ink.

Xu Mu laughed and said, "You deserve it! Let me smear you again, hahahaha!"

Cao Cao was so angry that his lungs were about to explode, but he still suppressed the anger in his heart and said, "The old man asked one last time, are you willing to help me with this? The old man can guarantee that your mother and son will be carefree and enjoy glory and wealth for the rest of your life!"

In the face of its combination of soft and hard techniques, Mother Xu said angrily: "Cao Apu (Cao Cao's nickname), anyway, I won't live long in this old life, I don't care about this." The dog has taken refuge in Uncle Liu Huang, and I am too late to be happy, so how can I ask him to come to you! You shameless dog mongrel, get out of here!"

Cao Cao didn't expect her to dare to call her nickname, her patience had reached the limit, and she gritted her teeth and said: "You shrew with no one in your eyes, I'm going to kill you!"

Two samurai came in outside the door, one on the left and one on the right, carrying Xu Mu outside.

"Cao Apu, if you kill me, the dog will definitely not let you go! I will not let you go if I am a ghost! I will become a powerful ghost and harass you every day!"

The samurai tied his limbs tightly, hung upside down, and was about to whip it with a whip, when suddenly a person shouted "stop", and it turned out to be Cheng Yu coming.

"Put her down!" Cheng Yu ordered the warrior, and then glanced at Cao Cao.

The warrior looked at Cao Cao. Cao Cao hesitated for a moment and motioned for release.

After Mother Xu was relieved, Cheng Yu drank the samurai and said, "Godmother is frightened." With me, they don't dare to touch a single hair of you. ”

Xu Mu was shocked and said, "You actually tricked me into coming to such a place, you... You're no longer the Cheng Yu I knew back then......"

Cheng Yu didn't explain, helped her into the bedroom, pretended not to know, and asked, "Godmother, what's going on?"

Xu Mu was stunned for a moment, and asked rhetorically: "Didn't you have secretly discussed, how to earn Xu Shu here?"

Cheng Yu was also stunned, pretended to think for a moment, and said, "I completely understand, godmother." You're mistaken, actually, I shouldn't have told the prime minister about your stay here. He said that he was going to visit you in the house, but I just thought it was a joke, but I didn't expect him to really come and use you to do things for him. No, I'll go talk to him. ”

Mother Xu was confused by him, and her brain couldn't turn around all of a sudden, so she had to believe him.

After settling Xu's mother, Cheng Yu came outside the house and said to Cao Cao: "Prime Minister, you can't kill it!"

Cao Cao's embers were not extinguished, and said: "What is the use of keeping this arrogant woman!"

"Prime Minister, please calm your anger. Although the first plan failed, I still have a second plan. Cheng Yu whispered in his ear.

After Cao Cao heard this, he turned his anger into joy: "Or Zhongde has a way, everything will be left to you!"

Cheng Yu returned to the bedroom and said to Mother Xu: "Godmother, I have persuaded the prime minister, he will not come to harass you again, you can live in peace." ”

Mother Xu believed it and breathed a sigh of relief.

Since then, Cheng Yu has given her a gift every day, with a note with some blessings written on it, and Xu's mother also writes a reply every day to express her gratitude.

A week later, Cheng Yu had seven handwritten letters. He has a natural ability to imitate, imitate his tone and handwriting, and write a book, which contains the meaning of summoning Xu Shu into Beijing, and asked his henchmen to send him to Xinye on the same day, and told him to hand over to Xu Shu himself.