Said marching a hundred miles per day was not the limit of marching speed in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. It is clearly recorded in the "Book of Jin" that when Sima Yi attacked Mengda, he still walked the rugged mountain roads in the eastern section of the Daba Mountains, creating an eight-day march of 1,200 miles. March record! The Chang'an area to the north of the Qinling Mountains is an open terrain with vast plains. The Emperor's Army had no difficulty covering a hundred miles in one day. Therefore, before sunset on August 29, the main force of 30,000 Emperor's Army arrived successfully. At the foot of Chang'an City, they finally reunited with the troops of Cao Jun, the anti-Tao ally. .
Cao Ang, Xun Yu and other Cao Jun decision-makers had no choice but to solemnly welcome the arrival of the emperor's uncle's army. Although Cao Ang and Cao Jun veterans knew very well that Liu Huangshu, who had a halo of trouble, would first consider taking over the master as a guest wherever he went. The first time I personally led an army to reinforce Cao Jun, I also showed my uneasiness and good intentions, but there is no way. The critical situation is here. Cao Ang wants to surrender the Xuzhou Army and no one supports it. Cao Ang¡¯s veterans want to avenge Cao Boss but they have no soldiers or food. They must rely on them to capture Hanzhong Uncle Liu Huang from the granary supported and helped, so even though they knew it was a glass of poisonous wine, Cao Jun's veterans could only drink it bravely, and even forced Cao Ang to drink it too.
He respectfully invited Uncle Liu and his entourage to Chang'an City with nice words. Cao carefully asked Uncle Huang's troops to station outside the city, and did not dare to let Uncle Liu, who was known for his backlash, enter the city. Fortunately, Uncle Liu didn't want to just come to Chang'an. Not only did he agree to station the army on the school field outside the south gate of Chang'an, he also told Cao Ang, Xun Yu and others that he only planned to rest for two days and would lead the army on the second day of September. The army continued to advance eastward and rushed to Tongguan and the Yellow River line to help Cao Jun meet the enemy. Cao Ang, Xun Yu and others were somewhat relieved after hearing the news, and hurriedly invited Liu Huangshu to the city for a banquet.
Uncle Liu, who knew Cao Ang's kind character, readily accepted the invitation. He first ordered Pang Tong, Wang Ping, Meng Da and others to lead troops to station outside the city. Then he, Zhang Fei and Fazheng led 300 elite troops into the city. Cao Ang, Xun Yu and others who despised Liu Huangshu could not help but secretly admire him - of course, if Liu Huangshu was not accompanied by the heavily armed general Zhang Fei at all times, Cao Ang, Xun Yu and others would definitely admire him even more.
The Cao army's garrison in Chang'an City actually only has more than 10,000 people, and most of them are second-line troops drawn from various places in Guanzhong. Even if the elite troops include the Huben battalion brought back by Dian Wei from Hangu Pass, they are less than 4,000, and their combat effectiveness is Far less elite than Tongguan, the main Hanzhong force brought by Liu Huangshu was 30,000 strong. The overall strength far exceeded Chang'an Cao's army. In addition, the Xuzhou army was overwhelming, Cao Ang, Xun Yu and others did not dare to invite Liu Huangshu into the city this time. What a trick, so overall, the Chang'an gathering of the Cao and Liu families was quite enjoyable. Cao Zhi, who had booked Uncle Liu's daughter as his wife, finally met his future father-in-law. He had a very happy conversation with Uncle Liu and was very fond of Emperor Liu. The uncle was extremely respectful, and the father-in-law and father-in-law held hands and talked alone for a long time.
Naturally, the important matter of resisting Tao could not be discussed during the dinner. Uncle Liu first cried bitterly and enumerated the various crimes of Deputy Director Tao, especially the great rebellious crime of Deputy Director Tao's recent murder of his son-in-law, and vowed to fight to the end with Deputy Director Tao. He avenged his long-time friend Cao Boss, and then patted his chest and said: "Nephew Zixiu, Mr. Wen Ruo, and all the Dukes of Cao's army, you can rest assured and prepare to be the enemy of Tao Yingji for more than ten years. You know full well that With his various tactics and tactics, if Zi Xiuxian and his nephew, Zi Xiuxian, order Bei to station troops west of Tongguan to support General Cao Ren, he can guarantee that Tongguan will be as stable as Mount Tai!"
At this point, Emperor Liu's uncle waved his hands with tears in his eyes and said in a surprising way: "If your nephew Zixiuxian lets Bei lead his army to station in Tongguan City, and use your army as backup to help Bei hold on to Tongguan, then Bei will not only ensure that Tongguan is not lost, but also We will wait for the opportunity to attack and destroy the Tao thieves and their arrogant troops outside Tongguan!"
"What?!"
After listening to Liu Huangshu's loud and generous words, Cao Ang, Xun Yu, Guo Jia and others, who knew that Liu Huangshu had always been a noble man, were inevitably speechless. In surprise, Cao Ang quickly asked: "Xuan De Gong, what did you mean just now? Could it be that you want to station troops in Tongguan City to defend our army from Tao Ying's sword?!"
"That's right!" Uncle Liu nodded vigorously and said without blushing and without a beating heart: "Bei has long wanted to compete head-on with Tao Ying's thief, but before, Bei had always been a weak man with few generals and weak strength. He often couldn't True to his wish, after Jin Bei eradicated the rice thief Zhang Lu, he was lucky enough to win the support of soldiers and civilians from all over Hanzhong and Langzhong, and he had some capital to compete head-on with Tao Ying's annihilation of thieves. Therefore, this time Bei wanted to ask General Zi Xiuxian to lead his troops. Withdraw to the second line, and Yu Bei will sit in Tongguan and confront Tao Ying head-on, in order to fulfill his lifelong wish!"
Xun Yu, Guo Jia, Cheng Yu and other old foxes of Cao Jun looked at each other. They all suspected that Uncle Liu Huang had taken the wrong medicine or was drunk today. He could actually say something that would put him at a disadvantage and allow Cao Jun to take advantage? In great surprise, Xun, Guo, and Cheng could not help but have doubts in their hearts, and they secretly said together: "How can the big-eared thief have such good intentions? Could he be planning something else?"
Cao Ang did not have as many twists and turns as Xun Yu and Guo Jia in his stomach. After hearing Liu Huangshu's volunteering, Cao Ang was surprised and could not help but be extremely tempted, and said to himself: "If we really follow this plan, it will be a good thing for our army. One thing, let the big-eared thief's team be at the front. The big-eared thief carried it until Tao Shijun retreated and was seriously injured. He was left at the mercy of our army. After losing, his vitality was seriously injured. Our army then stationed in Tongguan for reinforcements. Facing the already defeated troops, Mr. Tao Shijun, who is a big-eared thief, our army should be under less pressure no matter what."
After thinking about this, Cao Ang quickly nodded vigorously and said loudly: "Since Mr. Xuande is so confident, my nephew will be disrespectful and invite Mr. Xuande to come in"
"My lord!" Xun Yu, Guo Jia and Cheng Yu were shocked and interrupted. Then Xun Yu quietly winked at Cao Ang and said quickly: "My lord, although Xuande Gong's proposal is good, the enemy is now, the army of Tao thieves. They will arrive at Tongguan in a few days, and Xuande has little understanding of the mountains and geography of Tongguan. Changing defenses before the battle will definitely lead to disaster. In Yu's opinion, this matter needs to be discussed slowly. Fortunately, Xuande is stationed in Chang'an to rest and recuperate. Two days, we still have time."
Seeing Xun Yu hinting that he should not agree, and seeing Guo Jia and Cheng Yu objecting with winks as if they were killing chickens and wiping their necks, none of the generals such as Dian Wei and Cao Hong supported him. Cao Ang, who was not in charge of the family, had no choice but to follow Xun Yu's words. As he continued speaking, he had no choice but to reject Liu Huangshu's kindness and decided to shelve the matter for the time being. Liu Huangshu did not refuse, but sneered in his heart: "Shi Yuan's clever plan, Cao Ang is indeed tempted, Xun Yu and Guo Jia's gang The old fox really doesn't dare to rest assured. No matter if he is tempted or refuses, the next move will be easy."
In fact, this was the only nutritious speech that was said in the entire banquet. The rest of the speech was either nonsense or empty talk. After finishing these nonsense, the banquet was considered to be over. Uncle Liu Huang said goodbye, and Cao Ang and others pretended to stay a few words. , and then personally sent Uncle Liu Huang, who was tired from afar, out of the south gate of Chang'an. It was only after Uncle Liu Huang and his party had gone far away that Cao Ang asked Xun Yu and others: "Uncles, Liu Xuande volunteered to take over Tongguan and confront Tao Ying's army. It will be of great benefit to our army without any harm. My nephew, I will take over Tongguan." I agreed because of the situation, but why did my uncles stop me?"
"My lord, don't underestimate Liu Xuande. Since this thief dares to offer to suffer such a big loss, he must have ulterior motives. We cannot take it lightly until we find out his true intention." Xun Yu replied in a low voice. : "Besides, for our army, Tongguan is the key to life and death. With such an important place, it's better to hold it in your own hands and feel more at ease."
Cao Ang was silent, and Xun Yu said again: "My lord, let's go summon Sima Yi and see what happened on the way when he accompanied the second young master to meet Liu Xuande a hundred miles away." Cao Ang nodded weakly and continued He was left at the mercy of the veteran assistant ministers left behind by his father.
Returning to Cao Jun's self-proclaimed governor's office in Liangzhou, Cao Ang immediately summoned Sima Yi to inquire about the situation. Sima Yi replied: "My lord, on the way east today, the big-eared thief did have a secret conversation with the Wei minister alone. He I ask my subordinates to continue to lurk beside you, my lord, and inform him of the internal situation of our army at any time. I also ask my subordinates to be calm and not to act impulsively. Everything will wait until Tao Ying's army is repulsed. Other than that, Outside, besides"
"What else is there? But it doesn't matter." Xun Yu asked quickly.
"In addition, Big Ear Thief also hinted to me that there are important ministers in our army who are secretly communicating with him." Sima Yi answered truthfully: "So Big Ear Thief wants me to rest assured. At the critical moment, among our troops, , naturally there are unexpected important ministers of our army who came forward to help me, and they are also important ministers who stick to their word among our army."
Cao Ang was not too surprised, and quietly glanced at Xun Yu and others - these are the most loyal leaders in Cao's army. However, Xun Yu, Guo Jia and other old foxes cursed together. Guo Jia coughed and said angrily: "This annihilator! Obviously I don't fully believe you, so I deliberately fabricated a non-existent internal intelligence officer of our army to let you know this." In this way, if you really surrender, you can be emboldened. If you pretend to surrender, you can use your hands to disrupt our army's sight and even cause civil strife in our army, so that he can take advantage of it. !¡±
Sima Yi lowered his head and said nothing, but coldly snorted in his heart: "You still need to point out this joint? When the big-eared thief just fabricated an important minister's internal response, I knew that he didn't really believe me yet! But I just want to say it out , let Thief Cao¡¯s son have some grudge against you no matter what!¡±
"Of what the big-eared thief said to Zhongda, only one sentence is probably true. I will wait until the Tao thief is defeated before saying this." Cheng Yu analyzed: "Right now, Tao Ying is annihilating the thieves and is pressing down heavily on the territory, and Tongguan is under our army again." In your hands, if the big-eared bandits annex our army at this time, they might force our Tongguan garrison to the side of the Tao bandits. When the time comes, the Tao bandit troops will enter the pass, and the big-eared bandits who have not yet established a stable foothold in the pass will But it¡¯s the general trendGo. Therefore, I think it is best for us to pretend not to know the big-eared thief's ambitions and be wary of him secretly, until we have repelled the Tao thief's attack. "
With Deputy Director Tao watching as a wolf, Xun Yu and Guo Jia did not dare to provoke internal strife among the Allies to gain advantage of Deputy Director Tao, so they could only agree with Cheng Yu's suggestion and ask Cao Ang to remain calm for the time being. , first work together with Huang Shujun's army to kill Deputy Director Tao, and then consider how to drive away Liu Huangshu, the white-eyed wolf. Cao Ang, who had been almost silent, finally spoke, and said with some resentment: "My uncles make the decision, my nephew just does what he wants."
Hearing Cao Ang's words, Guo Jia and Cheng Yu's hearts inevitably pounded. They understood that Cao Ang was already resentful, but Guo Jia and Cheng Yu had a clear conscience and believed that they acted like this for the sake of Boss Cao's career, so they Pretending not to hear anything, Xun Yu didn't notice it at all. He was just concerned about another more important matter. After seeing Cao Ang nodding in agreement, Xun Yu immediately asked Sima Yi again: "Zhongda, are you going to follow me this time?" When the second young master greets the big-eared thief, are there any signs of private contact between the second young master and the big-eared thief?"
"No."
Xun Yu was asking the wrong person. Sima Yi, who hated the old Cao family so much, knew that just last night, Cao Pi had left the tent while he was pretending to be asleep, and came back after a while. But Sima Yi still concealed it for Cao Pi: "Wei Chen has always been with the Second Young Master. Occasionally leaving for a moment has allowed others to keep an eye on the Second Young Master. It can be confirmed that the Second Young Master did not meet alone with the big-eared thief."
"What happened?" Cao Ang, Guo Jia and Cheng Yu all looked up quickly and asked Xun Yu in confusion: "Mr. Wen Ruo, why do you care about this matter?"
??
Seeing that Xun Yu refused to answer, Guo Jia and Cheng Yu kept their mouths shut and stopped asking questions. They only waited for the opportunity to ask Xun Yu again in the future. Cao Ang was angry and understood that Xun Yu deliberately arranged for Sima Yi to accompany Cao Pi to meet Uncle Liu Huang. It must be because He secretly suspected that he had fallen in love with his second brother Cao Pi, who was very respectful and obedient to him. Dissatisfied, Cao Ang yawned and said: "It's late at night. Several uncles are elderly. Go and have a rest. My nephew is also tired. I want to go." rest."
"My lord, please wait a moment, there is one more thing." Cheng Yu said quickly: "Now that Liu Bei's reinforcements have arrived in Chang'an, it is urgent to determine the candidate for the coach of Tongguan"
"Let's talk about it tomorrow, my nephew is going to rest first."
Cao Ang, who was already extremely angry, stood up and left. He didn't want to argue with the veterans of the auxiliary government over matters that had not been decided for many days. He also silently expressed his dissatisfaction with Xun Yu and others' arbitrary power. Looking at Cao Ang's hurried away figure, Sima Yi secretly sneered in his heart, knowing that his private provocations these days have had an effect. The conflict between Cao Ang and Cao Jun's veterans has gradually intensified. However, Xun Yu, Guo Jia and Cheng Yu looked helpless. I don¡¯t understand why Cao Ang can¡¯t understand his painstaking efforts? Isn't it for the sake of Cao Ang's stable status and the legacy left by Boss Cao that a few of our own people are in power?
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The night passed quickly. In the morning of the next day, Uncle Liu sent Fazheng into the city and invited Cao Ang, Xun Yu, Guo Jia and Cheng Yu to leave the city and have a feast and drink in the camp of the Emperor's army. Cao Ang wanted to obey, but Xun Yu, Guo Jia and others, who were well aware of Liu Huangshu's character, were afraid that Cao Jun's decision-makers would be wiped out, so they quickly refused, saying that Cao Ang was busy with official duties and could not obey the order. Cheng Yu then volunteered to go out of the city with Cao Pi to have a banquet on Cao Ang's behalf.
Xun Yu and others did this, of course, out of their sincere loyalty to Cao Lao and his son. The kind-hearted Cao Ang also understood that Xun Yu and others were thinking about their own safety, although he was somewhat dissatisfied with Xun Yu and others' direct refusal to overstep their bounds. , but he also accepted their kindness, and on the pretext that he was preparing to join forces with the Emperor's uncle's army to fight against the Tao thieves, he declined Uncle Liu's invitation and sent Cao Pi and Cheng Yu out of the city to attend the banquet on his behalf. He also ordered Cheng Yu and others to attend the banquet. Bring a gift as an apology.
The emperor's uncle's hot face was pressed against the cold face, and the emperor's uncle's envoy Fazheng didn't mind. He just raised his hand to Cao Ang and said: "Cao is busy with official duties and has no time to attend the banquet. Zhengding should report the truth to the lord. I convey my apologies to the envoy Cao, but my lord still has an important question. He forgot to ask the envoy yesterday, so I would like to ask the envoy. I hope you can clarify it clearly."
"Mr. Xiaozhi, please speak frankly." Cao Ang replied.
"I dare to ask Mr. Cao, who is the commander-in-chief of your army in Tongguan and Huayin?" Fazheng said with some confusion: "Almost all the main forces of your army are stationed in Tongguan, but our army still doesn't know who is the commander-in-chief? This is called How can our army join hands with your army to fight Tao?"
Xun Yu, Guo Jia and Cheng Yu, the three old foxes of Cao Jun, suddenly became gloomy and began to suspect that Uncle Liu Huang had already discovered the inside of his army.There was a conflict, and Fazheng was deliberately sent to sow discord, but Cao Ang was filled with anger and gritted his teeth and replied: "Mr. Xiaozhi, you should ask some of my uncles about this issue, they have the final say."
"What?!"
Hearing Cao Ang's answer, the expressions of Xun Yu and others suddenly changed even more. Fazheng screamed in surprise. After looking at Cao Ang, Xun Yu and others, whose faces were even more ugly, Fazheng seemed to be surprised. When he came to his senses, he quickly cupped his fists and raised his hands to Cao Ang, and apologized repeatedly: "I made a mistake, I made a mistake, I was presumptuous! Please don't blame me if I offend you."
Cao Ang kept a straight face and refused to say anything, while Xun Yu gritted his teeth, stood up and said, "Mr. Xiaozhi, please report back to Duke Xuande. The commander-in-chief of our army at Tongguan is General Cao Ren and Cao Zixiao! If your army has something to do, please contact General Zixiao directly for negotiation." !¡±
Cao Ang's face was so gloomy that it was about to drip with water, but Fazheng's face was full of horror. He quickly handed over his hands to Cao Ang, Xun Yu and others and apologized. Then he said that he should go back and wait for the second young master and Mr. Cheng Yu before he fled immediately. After Fazheng left, Xun Yu immediately strode up to Cao Ang, knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, and said tremblingly: "I am good at specializing in my work, please punish my lord, but I am loyal to my lord, and I hope that your lord will be punished." Be sure to investigate clearly and don't fall into Liu Bei's plan to destroy thieves!"
After finishing speaking, Xun Yu quickly put his forehead to the ground again, waiting with bated breath for Cao Ang's thunderous wrath. However, after a long time, Xun Yu never heard a word from Cao Ang. Just when he was secretly surprised, his hands suddenly Guo Jia reached out to support Xun Yu. Guo Jia, who supported Xun Yu together with Cheng Yu, coughed and said feebly: "Mr. Wen Ruo, the eldest son has left. Get up."
Looking up at the empty position of Cao Ang, Xun Yu burst into tears and choked with sobs: "My lord, why did you choose him? Why did you choose him?"
"Hey." Guo Jia and Cheng Yu sighed and shook their heads together. Unconsciously, their eyes filled with tears, lamenting that fate had caused people to be in such a situation after Cao Boss died.
Xun Yu, Guo Jia and others were crying in the lobby. Little did they know that at the same time in the mourning hall of Cao Cao, Cao Ang knelt in front of Cao Cao¡¯s tomb and cried loudly. He kowtowed and choked, "Father, why did you appoint me as your father?" Heir? Why do you put this huge burden on my shoulders? Why do you want me to avenge you? You clearly know that the child is incompetent and cannot do it, why do you still make me your heir?!"
The breeze blows into the mourning hall, and the soul-calling flag in front of Cao's coffin flutters slightly. The horn of the flag gently sweeps over Cao Ang's head, as if Cao has someone under the spring, caressing and comforting his beloved son Cao Ang.
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Cao Ang and the veterans of Cao's army were crying bitterly. After Fazheng brought the news back to the emperor's uncle's camp, Liu Huangshu laughed loudly and praised repeatedly: "Shi Yuan's wonderful plan, filial piety and uprightness are wonderful. I didn't expect that I just asked Mr. Ang in Tongguan face to face." The coach¡¯s question can have such a magical effect! Such a clever plan can simply surpass all the poisonous tricks Tao Ying used to destroy the thieves!"
"If Cao Ah had known anything about the serious consequences of making Cao Ang his heir, I'm afraid he would have regretted why he didn't choose another son." Pang Tong smiled equally happily and urged: "My lord, it's not too late. It¡¯s time to move on to the next step.¡±
"Don't worry." Uncle Liu Huang replied with a smile: "We will take the next step tomorrow during the day, and then Mr. Ang will write to me tomorrow night to help him eradicate Quan Ji. Wouldn't it be more logical?"
"Lord, Shengming." Fazheng nodded, and suggested: "Lord, it is best to send the letter to the city today. Please do it tomorrow, so as not to cause unnecessary problems and the letter cannot be sent to the city in time. "
"No need." Uncle Liu Huang smiled gently and said, "I personally handed the letter to Mr. Zhi last night. I also told the future son-in-law in person when it was time to do it." (To be continued.)