Three Kingdoms: I help Liu Bei grow thousands of miles

Page 137

"The fog has cleared, can I still play ambushes? If my men cut off the way back, Jiangdong has something to do with you?" Cao Cao laughed.

"Isn't the Prime Minister thinking about the sailors trained by Cai Mao?" Although Sun Quan was stubborn, there was also a trace of worry in his heart.

Cao Cao didn't seem to want to persuade him anymore. He waved someone to carry out a dead body, and then retreated to the island. Before leaving, Cao Cao finally said: "Is this man Jiangdong general? If you stay here, you may be eaten by wild animals. Zhongmou Or take it back to your hometown for burial, as for whether you can withdraw or not, it's all up to you..."

"My lord, it's the Yuan Dynasty..." Jiang Qin said excitedly.

Sun Quan nodded lightly, "When Cao Jun has gone far, you can pick him up on the boat..."

"Wei." Jiang Qin instantly became sad.

Cao Cao had just walked a few steps when he suddenly turned around and reminded Sun Quan, "Your father and I were comrades-in-law. Here is a word to say goodbye. There are no permanent enemies in this world, let alone permanent allies. If you were defeated in Wulin in the past, Liu Xuande is willing to work harder, Gu may not be able to return to Xudu, let's think about the reason..."

Cao Cao left without looking back after finishing speaking, and Sun Quan was even more suspicious at this time. Could it be that Liu Bei let Cao Cao go on purpose?

After Cao Jun left, Jiang Qin disembarked and retrieved Dong Xi's body.

Sun Quan and the others mourned in silence for Dong Xi, and many people on board cried out.

"Zijing, if Cai Mao from the Chaohu Water Village sends out his troops with all his strength, can our hundred warships stop it?" Sun Quan asked suspiciously.

Lu Su frowned, "It's a pity that thousands of soldiers were lost just now, but we should be able to deal with it for a long time. Cheng Gong sees that we will not return to Ruxuwu for a long time, so he will definitely lead his army to meet us. On the contrary, Cai Mao's warships should not be many... ..."

"No, let's withdraw. It's meaningless to spend here. Cheng Gong knows to come to meet him so far away, and those people in Cao Ying are more eager to be a savior..." Sun Quan sighed.

Lu Su hurriedly advised: "My lord, don't come when the opportunity is too late, if you give up rashly..."

"It's not that I don't want to capture the Cao thief, but the fighting power of the Cao soldiers is astonishing. The strong attack just now defeated the Yuan Dynasty..." Sun Quan shook his head.

"How about we trap them for a few more days?" Lu Su really didn't want to give up.

"Governor, have you seen the tall and long-bearded old man next to Cao thief? With this person around, Cao Bing would not starve to death..." Lu Meng reminded.

"What does Ziming mean?" Lu Su was puzzled.

Lu Meng sighed and said, "That person is Cheng Yu, fortunately they brought back Yuan Dai's body, otherwise..."

Lu Su understood immediately after hearing this, Cheng Yu is a ruthless man, when Cao Cao fought against Lu Bu in Yanzhou, and when Xuzhou begged Tao Qian, because of natural disasters and man-made disasters, there was a shortage of food everywhere, so they either mixed human flesh into the army rations, or even put human flesh banquets directly , the thousands of Jiangdong disciples on the island are likely to offer sacrifices to Cao Jun's Wu Zang Temple.

Cao Cao didn't have to worry about running out of food, and it was meaningless for them to wait here, not to mention that there were no coaches in the camps on both sides, so there might be some troubles, thinking of this, Lu Su didn't try to persuade him anymore.

"Leave the anchor." Sun Quan said lightly.

"Wei." Lu Meng cupped his fists to accept the order, and waved the flag to set off the boat.

Sun Quan seemed to be on a roller coaster. He experienced ups and downs during the day. Although he was helpless, he could only go back in despair. The warm sunshine in the sky was warm, but there was no smile on Sun Quan's face.

Because he was worried about encountering Cai Mao on the return journey, Lu Su asked the fleet to go north and then east, trying to return to Ruxuwu as close as possible to the north of Chaohu Lake.

"My lord, don't be discouraged. We have seized dozens of warships, and this trip is not empty-handed." Lu Su comforted.

Sun Quan shook his head and smiled wryly: "These are nothing compared to the capture of Cao thief. Look at Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan, Tao Qian and other princes who were directly captured? Even the reckless Lu Bu surrendered and was killed. We were almost killed. can write history..."

"After several confrontations, more than half of Cao Cao's naval forces have been lost. Ruxuwu's defense will be easier. My lord should be happy..." Lu Su meant that it would be good to be able to defend, after all, the disparity in strength between the enemy and us is too great , Today's encounter is purely due to luck.

Sun Quan sighed: "I have no choice but to think so, but what Cao thief said is not unreasonable..."

Lu Su was stunned when he heard this, "This is Cao thief's plan to alienate. I know the situation of Chibi best at that time. Duke Xuande only has a few soldiers and horses. It is not easy to be able to support Gongjin to attack Xiangyang..."

"But Liu Xuande won Jingzhou for nothing, and we Jiangdong have put in so much effort, we hardly see any benefits. Now he is plotting Yizhou again, the Sun Liu alliance can't always be my disadvantage." Sun Quan frowned.

"Mr. Xuande was invited in by Liu Zhang. Now that Liu Zhang suddenly has an evil heart, it is understandable for Jingzhou to rescue him." Lu Su explained for Liu Bei that he would do his best to protect the alliance between Sun and Liu.

"Liu Zhang has evil intentions out of thin air? Zijing, do you believe it yourself? Even Gongjin wants to take Yizhou, so Liu Xuande will help for nothing?" The warship sailed in Chaohu Lake, and the lake surface was sparkling like the ripples in Sun Quan's heart.

Seeing that Sun Quan's thoughts were getting more dangerous, Lu Su hurriedly advised: "Fang Cao Cao is strong today, and Sun Liu is weak. Even if Xuan Degong is not so upright, let's not fall into the enemy's tricks. I will go to him personally to negotiate and fight for Sun Quan. I want to go back to one or two counties in Jingzhou..."

"Zijing is wishful thinking, who will give up the land to the people?" Sun Quan shook his head.

"The so-called matter is human-made, but we should be united to the outside world, otherwise our lips will be dead and our teeth will be cold..." Lu Su continued to reason.

"I see, the rest will be discussed after Cao Jun has retired..." Although Sun Quan was temporarily persuaded by Lu Su, the thorn in his heart was hard to remove.

When the weather cleared and Cao Cao did not return, Cai Mao led the navy to search and finally rescued Cao Cao in the evening.

After Cao Cao escaped from danger and returned to the camp, he did not feel depressed when he was in Chibi. Instead, he smiled and called a group of ministers to have a banquet, because Cao's soldiers were hardly injured, which proved that the land battle of the Jiangdong soldiers was really weak.

Cao Cao rewarded Xu Chu for his loyalty and bravery at the banquet, and also praised Cai Mao and others who rescued him in time, and encouraged the soldiers to fight again in the future.

At night, the starlight shone on Cao Ying. After the surprise banquet, Cao Cao stood outside the tent and laughed.

Cheng Yu and Jia Xu followed, wondering what the prime minister was up to?

"Prime Minister, the night is as cold as water at this time, and you were shocked again today, please rest early." Cheng Yu said with a bow.

"Ah? It's Zhongde and Wenhe. Do you see the stars in the sky?" Cao Cao turned around and asked with a smile.

Cheng Yu and Jia Xu looked bewildered, and saw Cao Cao asking and answering: "It's been raining a lot these days, we haven't seen the starry sky in a long time, tomorrow must be a good weather."

"The Prime Minister said..." Jia Xu seemed to have guessed something.

"Hahaha, the sky is clear and the rain has stopped, so it's time to act alone." Cao Cao laughed again.

Chapter 277 The Conspiracy of Sun Lu

In the early morning of the next day, Cao Cao left Cao Hong to guard the camp, and then mobilized [-] troops to bypass Qibao Mountain and directly surrounded Sun Quan's Xijiang camp.

There is a lookout post at Dongguan on Ruxu Mountain, and when they find the enemy's situation, they urgently report to Sun Quan in Ruxuwu.

Qibao Mountain and Ruxu Mountain face each other across the river. If Cao Cao built an imitation pass on Qibao Mountain, the lookout post on Ruxu Mountain would lose its advantage, and half of Chaohu Lake would be exposed to Cao Jun.

Sun Quan was shocked when he heard this. The purpose of setting up the Xijiang camp was to control the Qibao Mountain on the opposite side. Originally, the side with fewer troops was most afraid of dividing troops, but Jiangdong had no choice but to give up the strategic location to Cao Cao.

Originally thinking that if the Xijiang camp was attacked, Ruxuwu could send troops to help at any time, and he could withdraw the troops at any time, but he was dumbfounded when this situation really happened.

Cao Jun set off before dawn, and had completed the encirclement when the Dongguan outpost found out, but did not send troops to intercept the reinforcements on the west bank of Ruxushui.

"My lord, the Xijiang camp is at stake. If we don't rescue the tens of thousands of children, we won't be able to return it..." Cheng Pu said worriedly.

Sun Quan frowned and asked, "How many people did Cao Cao send to besiege the Xijiang camp?"

"The mountains and plains are everywhere, and the sky is covered by flags. There should be tens of thousands..." Cheng Pu replied.

Sun Quan's scalp tingled when he heard that, how many soldiers would it take to save Cao's army with tens of thousands of strength?

"Cao Cao didn't set up a garrison on the west bank of the Ruxu River. In fact, he could send troops to rescue him. If he was really no match, he could easily withdraw." Lu Su analyzed with his beard.

Sun Quan couldn't make a decision, he turned his head and asked Lu Meng, "What do you think of Ziming? Xijiang rescue or not?"

Lu Meng sat on the wax immediately after hearing this. He had seen the power of Cao Jun with his own eyes. How many people could save Gongsunyang?How do you think of yourself if you don't save the colleagues next to you?

"Uh... Could this be Cao thief's conspiracy?" Lu Meng changed the subject, not daring to answer directly.

"What conspiracy?" Cheng Pu asked.

Lu Meng rolled his eyes and said, "Could it be that Cao Cao wanted to surround the area for reinforcements? Our troops are far inferior to theirs..."

Cheng Pu shook his head quickly: "I don't think Cao Cao is that stupid. He really wants to attract us to save him, so he shouldn't have sent so many troops..."

"Cao thief likes to use falsehoods when he uses troops, maybe he did it on purpose..." Lu Meng argued.

There was endless debate in Ruxuwu, but in the end it was not decided whether to save or not, but the Dongguan Watchtower was asked to step up observation.

How can the Xijiang camp of Gongsun Yang, the governor of Gongsunyang, beat the tiger-like Cao army?After being besieged, even a sparrow could not fly out, these Jiangdong children had to wait for the 'trial'.

At this time, Cao Jun surrounded but did not attack, just like a lion playing with its prey.

Seeing that there was no movement in Ruxuwu after half a day, Cao Cao smiled and said to Cheng Yu beside him, "Zhongde's guess was really accurate. Sun Quan really didn't send out a single soldier. It seems that the encirclement and reinforcements will not work."

Cheng Yu had to answer: "If there is no experience on Chaohu Island, maybe the lord can send a small group of troops to lure, but it is basically impossible now. No matter how stupid Sun Quan is, he will not send troops to die, so it is better for us to occupy the Xijiang camp as soon as possible. .”

"It's a pity." Cao Cao sighed.

Jia Xu followed up with suggestions: "If you want to confront each other for a long time, you can build a pass on Qibao Mountain, so that the enemy's reality can be fully seen, and then use the waterway army to force them to the front of the dock, and send troops to fight against each other in turn, so that they are exhausted and exposed. Our army is many and the enemy is few, and this cycle goes on and on to wear out the enemy."

Cao Cao nodded, "For the present plan, it has to be like this."

"On our way to the south, many refugees fled to Jiangdong through Ruxu. Now we can only wait for changes in Sun Quan's rear..." Jia Xu analyzed.

"It seems that we will fight a protracted battle like Guandu, but Gu is very patient. It depends on whether Sun Quan can hold his breath." Cao Cao sneered.

Cheng Yu reminded: "Our army's strength is several times that of Sun Quan's, and the consumption of food and grass is also several times that of Sun Quan. The prime minister has to investigate."

Cao Cao didn't take it seriously, "It's different from the past. Not only is there sufficient military rations in the rear, but also the Huaisi waterway to transport rations. The problem of food and grass is really not a concern. However, Zhong De's reminder is very reasonable. I will arrange for nearby counties to garrison on the spot. I don't think Sun Quan's children are panicking."

"Prime Minister is very considerate, so when will the Xijiang camp..." Cheng Yu asked.

Cao Cao called Han Hao and ordered, "Let Wen Yuan (Zhang Liao), Xuan Gao (Zang Ba), Wen Lie (Cao Xiu) and others attack immediately, and Sun Quan will not send anyone to rescue him."

"Wei." Han Hao cupped his fists and accepted the order.

After receiving Cao Cao's order, all the soldiers and horses marched together. The Xijiang camp could not resist at all. It was captured in less than two hours. Sun Quan's governor, Sun Yang, was captured alive.

The next day Cao Cao ordered people to climb Qibao Mountain to build the West Pass. Sun Quan was in a bad mood when he got the news, but there was nothing he could do to stop it.

At the same time as the Xiguan was being built, the warships of Cao Jun’s water village in Chaohu Lake drove out of the gorge, and cooperated with the land troops of the Xijiang Daying Camp to go south to challenge and challenge Ruxuwu.

Back then, when Lu Meng and others scolded them so harshly, Cai Mao and Zhang Yun scolded them back so harshly.

One evening, Sun Quan hadn't eaten all day because of his bad mood. Zhang Zhao couldn't persuade himself, so he went straight to Lu Su.

When Sun Quan was in a bad mood, his temper was also very bad. Now Cheng Pu was sent back to Jianye by Sun Quan to urge food and bury Dong Xi by the way because Cheng Pu nagged a few more words.

When Zhang Zhao looked for Lu Su, Lu Su was not there. The guards on patrol told Lu Su that he had gone to Dongguan for inspection but had not returned. Zhang Zhao explained his purpose and turned to look for Lu Meng.

It was already dark when Lu Su came down the mountain from Dongguan. He was very anxious when he learned that Sun Quan refused to eat.

Lu Su strode out of Sun Quan's house, because Sun Quan was in a bad mood and even the guards withdrew.

Lu Su saw two shadows on the window, and it seemed that someone had "snapped first". He walked over slowly and was about to knock on the door, when there was a conversation between the two inside.

Lu Meng: "My lord, don't be depressed. We have to wait patiently at Ruxukou. Jiangdong's supply is much easier than that of Cao Bandit. How much food does his 20 soldiers have to eat every day? We earn a day for every day we consume."

Sun Quan: "I knew it was going to be a fight in Chaohu, but I just couldn't bear to hurt my Jiangdong children too much. Now I am being scolded by Cai Mao and Zhang Yun every day, and I can't let it go."

Lu Meng: "There is really no good strategy right now, unless you can defeat Cao Cao's land army, as you know..."

The room was silent for a moment, Lu Su was about to open the door and go in to comfort the boss, when Sun Quan's incredible words suddenly came out.

Sun Quan: "Ziming, what do you think of Gan Ning? This fellow has some combat prowess, and may be able to fight Cao Cao."

Lu Meng: "...the general heard some rumors, but Gan Ning only has [-] soldiers, and all of them are Jiangxia's navy..."

Sun Quan: "It's better to let him try than to lose our troops. We can't let Jiang Xia's soldiers idle until the war is over, right? He should do something after drinking our wine. Besides, this person has revenge for killing his father with Gongji. Died at the hands of Cao Cao, Liu Xuande can't blame us..."

Lu Su stopped raising his hand, never expecting the lord to say such words.

Chapter 278 Counting Birds With One Stone

While Lu Su was shocked, Lu Meng in the house still had doubts: "I personally went to Dongguan to observe yesterday. Cao's army on the west bank of Ruxushui may have [-] people. Even if Gan Ning is brave, he will die ten times. If you don’t die for a long time, you will die, but Guan Ping is Guan Yu’s eldest son, if he was killed here, how can he explain to him?”

Then came Sun Quan's laughter: "Zi Ming, you are so confused. If Guan Ping dies in the hands of the Cao bandits, Guan Yunchang will definitely give his life to attack the Central Plains. Will Cao bandits care about us?"

Lv Meng said worriedly: "Gan Ning and the others are not stupid. You must know that with such a large number of Cao troops, they will never join the battle..."

Sun Quan explained meaningfully: "How can Jiang Xia face Cao Cao alone? It is possible to form a coalition army to coordinate a landing operation, and arrange Jiang Xia's army in the forward position. If even they are no match for Cao Cao, it would be wise for us to retreat in time. , I will write a letter to Liu Xuande to explain it myself."

Lu Meng complimented: "Use Gan Ning to test the reality of Cao's army, eliminate the impact of the recent avoidance of war on our army's morale, remove a general Liu Xuande, avenge Gongji, and make Guan Yu hate Cao Cao. My lord, you are killing birds with one stone." Anyway, this is too good..."

Sun Quan sneered: "Hehe, Ziming, don't forget that my name is Zhongmou..."

Lu Meng continued to ask: "But how can we get Gan Ning to join the battle? We can't order him directly."

Sun Quan replied: "I already have a candidate for the messenger in my mind. As long as he has enough fame, behaves harmlessly to humans and animals, and even has a little humility, Gan Ning will definitely fall into the trap."

Lu Meng suddenly realized: "You mean..."

Sun Quan: "I'll call him tomorrow morning."

Lu Meng: "But he is committed to the Sun-Liu alliance, so he will definitely not agree to do this..."

Sun Quan: "As long as you and I don't tell the truth, just wait for Gan Ning to get into the trap and then tell the whole story."

Lu Meng: "My lord is wise, will you still eat this dinner?"

Sun Quan: "Eat, I have a good appetite now."

Lu Su outside the door felt his scalp tingle, and while he was chatting about other things in the house, he tiptoed out of Sun Quan's house. It seems that the conversation with Cao Cao affected the lord, and maybe he couldn't forget the shame of Baiqi robbing the camp, but no matter what Harming Gan Ning or Guan Ping will have a bad impact on the Sun-Liu Alliance.

How much Lu Su wished that the person Sun Quan was talking about was not himself, but unfortunately, when he woke up the next day, a waiter knocked on his door.

Sun Quan welcomes you.

Sun Quan summoned his ministers to discuss strategies at Ruxuwu. Lu Su found that Lu Meng, Ling Tong, Jiang Qin, and Zhang Zhao had arrived, as well as Chen Wu who had replaced Cheng Pu from Jianye.