ebookland Chapter 140: Lustful Person
Chapter 140: Lustful Person
Chapter 140: Lustful Person
Cao Cao stopped his army in Xiancheng, where he rested and waited for replies from Ying Shao and Ding Yuan.
His army was too exhausted to ambush Qiao Mao's returning army, but they managed to deliver all the more than 30 letters one after another.
One day later, Dingtao.
Seeing that the rebels had disappeared, Ding Yuan's nervous mood eased.
Looking at the letter sent by Cao Cao, Ding Yuan and Lu Bu laughed and said, "Fengxian, do you believe this letter?"
Lu Bu hesitated and said, "Foster father, if we march lightly, it is possible."
Ding Yuan shook his head and said, "My father was once an official in the General's Mansion and was familiar with Cao Cao. He is brave but not wise and is used to bragging. Throughout his ten years as an official, he has no achievements to speak of! If Qiao Mao and others had impersonated someone else, my father might have been fooled into leading the troops out of the city. But it was Cao Cao, which is really ridiculous!"
Lu Bu immediately agreed and said, "Father, you are wise! No matter whether the rebels are retreating or not, as long as we hold Dingtao, the rebels will not be able to move westward. Once the imperial reinforcements arrive, we will join forces and move eastward to wipe out the rebels. It will be just a matter of time!"
Ding Yuan thought so and said, "Send some more troops out to investigate and see what other tricks these traitors have!"
"Yes." Lu Bu said nothing and turned around with his spear in hand.
Ding Yuan looked at Cao Cao's letter again, sneered, and threw it directly into the trash can.
At this time in Xiancheng, Cao Cao was full of confidence and ambition.
He stood on the top of Xiancheng, looking towards Puyang, and said loudly to Guo Jia beside him: "Fengxiao, wait for General Ding to come north to join forces with me. When General Ying arrives at the north of Puyang, I will capture Puyang within ten days!"
Seeing Cao Cao's awe-inspiring spirit and high spirits, Guo Jia drank some wine and said with a smile, "General, with all your achievements, I'm afraid you will soon be made a marquis."
"A title of nobility?"
Cao Cao narrowed his eyes and became uncontrollably excited.
Think about Cao Cao, he has been fighting wars for so many years, and this time is the first time he is so close to being granted a title of nobility!
Cao Cao quickly restrained his expression and said solemnly to Guo Jia: "It's all thanks to Feng Xiao's help!"
He was speaking from the heart. The previous times he led troops into battle, he always ended up being defeated and fleeing. Only this time, it went more smoothly than he had imagined!
Guo Jia drank more wine and said, "Should my salary be increased?"
Upon hearing this, Cao Cao burst into laughter.
After so many days, he had already realized that Guo Jia was a man with great ambitions. Apart from his love of wine, Guo Jia didn't care about money or other material things at all!
"General!" At this time, a sergeant came running over and handed over two letters, saying, "A letter from the military commander, and another from Jizhou."
Cao Cao took it quickly, tore open the first letter, glanced at it, and said excitedly to Guo Jia: "Fengxiao, Miaocai has raised money and food, and recruited 3,000 men. He has brought 17,000 men from Feng County, a total of 20,000 soldiers, and is about to reach Changyi."
Guo Jia was a little surprised and said, "It seems that the general's achievements are already in sight!"
Cao Cao nodded heavily, his narrow eyes flashing with a sharp light, and he looked straight towards Puyang.
With Xiahou Yuan's 20,000 men behind him, he not only had enough troops, but most importantly, he was no longer alone in the deep enemy territory, but could attack when advancing and defend when retreating!
After a while, Cao Cao seemed to suddenly remember that he had another letter in his hand. He opened it and frowned. After thinking for a moment, he handed it to Guo Jia.
Seeing Cao Cao's expression, Guo Jia took it and looked at it. His eyes moved slightly and he said, "The Black Mountain Army invaded Jizhou? That's not surprising. Qiao Mao and others were plotting a rebellion and sent letters to various places. The Black Mountain Army took the opportunity to plunder the counties of Jizhou... Ying Shijun has been in Jizhou for a short time and his foundation is not stable yet. It is reasonable for him to return to suppress the bandits."
Cao Cao remained calm and said loudly, "Even without Envoy Ying, with Envoy Ding and I's troops, it would be easy to pacify Puyang!"
Guo Jia raised his eyelids, looked at Cao Cao's profile, then looked at the letter in his hand without responding.
Ying Shao's letter had arrived, but Ding Yuan, who was closer, had not made any movement.
……
In the evening, Cao Cao finally came to his senses. He looked towards Dingtao, his face gloomy, and said hatefully: "Ding Yuan missed the opportunity to fight, he should be executed!"
Ding Yuan has not taken any action until now. Every day of delay will give the rebels one more day to prepare!
Guo Jia sat next to him and asked thoughtfully, "General, do you have any old grudges with Envoy Ding?"
Cao Cao looked unhappy and said, "Both Ding Yuan and I were once guests at General He Jin's mansion, but we were not close friends. I don't know why he didn't even reply to my letter!"
Guo Jia was also puzzled and said, "Logically speaking, Envoy Ding was primarily responsible for the defeat in Yanzhou. He does not want to make amends but instead keeps his troops in place. Could it be that he has other intentions?"
Cao Cao's expression changed slightly, and he asked, "What do you mean by Feng Xiao?"
When Guo Jia saw this, he quickly shook his head and said, "I don't suspect that Envoy Ding was involved in the rebellion, but I think that Envoy Ding's behavior is very abnormal."
Cao Cao seemed to realize something when he heard this. He looked out the door with cold eyes and said, "Feng Xiao's words reminded me that Ding Yuan has always been weak, hesitant, and irresponsible. He is keeping his troops in place because he wants to preserve his strength and is afraid of another failure!"
If there is another failure, Ding Yuan will have no way out.
Guo Jia sat up straight and said solemnly, "General, we must ask Envoy Ding to lead his troops here and unite our forces!"
Cao Cao understood that it would be too difficult to capture Puyang with the more than 20,000 men under his command.
Cao Cao's expression changed for a while, and he said, "I'll write to him again. Xiaozhi is amazing!"
Guo Jia leaned forward and said, "It's not enough. Isn't Yuan Rang almost in Jiyin? Ask him to persuade Envoy Ding in person and then send a letter to the court."
Cao Cao looked at him and said doubtfully, "It may take too long for the court to come back and forth, and it will be useless."
Guo Jia said, "You have to write it. It's for your majesty and the officials in the court to read. Don't mention that General Ding did not move his troops, just mention the general's strategy."
Cao Cao suddenly understood and said, "I'll write it right away!"
When Guo Jia saw him pick up the pen, he frowned secretly.
It would take at least two or three days to wait for Ding Yuan to send troops again. These two or three days would be enough time for Qiao Mao and others to make adequate preparations.
By the time Cao Cao and Ding Yuan joined forces, their advantage had already been lost. The favorable situation instantly turned into a stalemate siege battle!
This is extremely unfavorable for Cao Cao or the imperial court.
Cao Cao and the imperial court both wanted a quick victory. Delaying the battle would not only waste money and food, but would also damage the prestige of the imperial court and encourage the ambitions of those who were disloyal!
As an aide, Guo Jia thought more and further than Cao Cao.
"How can we break the city as quickly as possible?" Guo Jia pondered.
……
Cao Cao occupied Xiancheng and sent troops to wipe out the bandits nearby, gather young and strong people, accumulate money and food, and wait for Xiahou Yuan to arrive.
A day later, Xiahou Dun entered Dingtao with two thousand men.
After Xiahou Dun finished speaking, Ding Yuan stared at him in disbelief and asked, "Are you saying that Cao Mengde really bypassed Chenliu and attacked Shanyang County?"
Xiahou Dun had already received Cao Cao's letter. He was very angry at Ding Yuan for not taking action. He had a blank expression on his face, suppressed his anger, and raised his hand to say, "Yes. Please send troops to join forces with the Wuwei army to attack Puyang together!"
Lu Bu stood aside, staring at Xiahou Dun's face, then turned to look at Ding Yuan.
Ding Yuan's face was full of surprise, and suddenly he said in a deep voice: "How can I believe you based on your one-sided words? Even if 20,000 troops are fast, they can't do it!"
Xiahou Dun raised his hand and said, "Envoy Ding, it's not 20,000, but 3,000 men. We can do it with light equipment and a small group."
Ding Yuan snorted coldly and said, "Three thousand men, from Fengxian to Changyi, do you know how many rebels are blocking us? Changyi has 10,000 soldiers and horses, Cao Cao easily broke through with 3,000 men and fought all the way to Xiancheng. Do you think I am so easy to fool?"
Xiahou Dun opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Cao Cao's letter was very simple and did not describe the whole incident in detail.
Seeing this, Lu Bu immediately felt that what his adoptive father said made sense. He swung his spear, pointed at Xiahou Dun and shouted, "Could it be that you have also joined the rebels and want to lure us out of the city?"
Xiahou Dun was furious. He took out the seal from his bosom and shouted, "Bullshit! Here is the seal of General Wuwei. Disobeying orders is like disobeying an imperial decree!"
Ding Yuan hurried over and saw that it was indeed the seal of General Wuwei. His expression turned ugly.
This means that his previous judgment was wrong and he wasted several days. Now Xiahou Dun actually has Cao Cao's seal, which shows that Cao Cao is very angry with him!
If Cao Cao impeached him, the court would never let him go!
Lu Bu retracted his spear, came to Ding Yuan's side, and whispered, "Adoptive father?"
Ding Yuan was angry with Cao Cao, so he thought about it and said, "Send the troops."
He actually had a crazy idea in his mind, which was to kill Xiahou Dun to silence him and pretend that he knew nothing about it, so that he would have room for rebuttal when he went to the court later.
But this approach is too dangerous. If you are not careful, you will die without a burial place.
"Yes, sir!" Lu Bu still respected Ding Yuan very much. He turned around and mobilized troops without saying a word.
Seeing this, Xiahou Dun took back the seal and raised his hand, saying, "Thank you, General Ding. General Wuwei said that he would first recommend General Ding for the credit for suppressing the rebellion."
Ding Yuan didn't believe it at all, and was thinking about which ministers in the court to write to, asking them to explain to the court on his behalf.
Xiahou Dun, Ding Yuan and Lu Bu joined forces with 15,000 people and rushed to Xiancheng to meet Cao Cao.
Not long after Ding Yuan sent out his troops, Liu Bian in the palace also received a letter from Cao Cao.
At this moment, the court recess was about to end, and Liu Bian, Yang Biao, Wang Yun, Xun You and others were discussing in the prime minister's duty room a series of major and minor matters after the change of the reign title.
After reading Cao Cao's letter, Liu Bian felt relieved and said to the people in front of him with a smile on his face: "Cao Cao sent a surprise attack, bypassing Chenliu and Jiyin, and raiding Shanyang County. Now he has captured Changyi and is heading straight for Dongjun and Puyang, the old nest of Qiao Mao and others."
Yang Biao and others were shocked and looked at each other.
No one expected that Cao Cao, who had been hesitating and afraid to move forward, would actually do this!
Wang Yun frowned, thought carefully, and said, "Your Majesty, judging from the time, it seems that something is wrong."
Liu Bian smiled and said, "He is advancing lightly, with only 3,000 men. Now, he is waiting to join forces with Ding Yuan to attack Puyang together."
Wang Yun still had many doubts in his mind, but it was difficult to say more at this moment. He said indifferently, "Your Majesty, the Black Mountain Army suddenly attacked Jizhou. I'm afraid they are in collusion with Qiao Mao and others. They should be severely punished!"
Liu Bian nodded, his eyes cold, and said: "When Cao Cao has pacified Yanzhou and Ying Shao has taken control of Jizhou, I will merge the troops of the three states of Yanzhou, Jizhou and Youzhou and completely wipe out the Black Mountain Army!"
Just as Xun You was about to open his mouth, Zhong Yao quietly poked him.
Xun You looked over and immediately understood, without saying anything more.
Liu Bian saw everything the two men did and instantly understood what they meant, in two words: money and food.
"Speed up the transfer of money and grain and salt administration!"
Liu Bian looked at the crowd and said, "We must see results before the summer harvest!"
Yang Biao, Wang Yun and the other three raised their hands and said, "We obey your orders!"
Liu Bian smiled again and said, "Generally speaking, the situation is still improving. The affairs of Yanzhou will be handed over to the Grand Marshal's Mansion, and the nobles should concentrate on promoting the new policy!"
"We obey your orders!" The four people raised their hands again.
Liu Bian nodded, stood up first and left the Secretariat.
As soon as Liu Bian left, the others left Yang Biao's duty room one after another. Wang Yun walked a few steps, grabbed Zhong Yao, and whispered, "Zhong Tingwei, do you have any doubts in your heart?"