Chapter 117 Zhuge Liang: Madam Mi, please respect yourself, you are trying to kill Kong Ming!

Chapter 117: Zhuge Liang: Madam Mi, please respect yourself, you are trying to kill Kong Ming!

Boom! ~
Inside and outside Jiangling City,
A cloud of dust was flying everywhere, and a dense army was moving back and forth, setting up camp.

Jiangdong has 10,000 soldiers.
Xiling has 15,000 soldiers.

Jiangling has 10,000 soldiers.
With a total of 35,000 soldiers and horses, all the military forces of Jiangdong and Liu Wu’s coalition forces that marched south have finally gathered in Jiangling!

As far as the eye can see,
There were crowds of people everywhere.

Heavily armored,

The weapons are cold and sharp,

The army is vast and endless, and the air is filled with an iron-blooded and murderous aura!

On top of the city,
Sun Shangxiang supported Liu Wu, and surrounded by Jiangdong generals, they watched the torrent of iron cavalry and golden swords before them...

Many people subconsciously looked at the vast river outside the city, and at the vague outline of Gong'an City on the other side of the river.

There,

This is the most important battlefield in this expedition to Jingnan!

Only by capturing Gong'an City and defeating Zhuge Liang can they safely hold the four counties of southern Jing in their hands.

"General Huang!"

A soldier from Jiangdong hurried to Huang Gai's side and whispered in his ear.

Huang Gai frowned and looked at Liu Wu: "Zi Lie, just now when our Jiangdong soldiers were camping outside the city, a scout discovered that there was a Cao army camp more than a hundred miles north of the city! There are about tens of thousands of soldiers!"

"Zi Lie, why is this happening?!"

Tens of thousands of Cao troops camped a hundred miles away from Xiling City? !

In a moment,

The Jiangdong generals were shocked.

Jiangling is now Liu Zilie's territory. Suddenly, there are 30,000 more Cao troops outside Jiangling City. How could Liu Zilie not know about it?
If he knew, why did Liu Zilie never mention it during the whole journey? !

Could it be that Liu Wu and Cao Mengde...

Many generals of Jiangdong looked at Liu Wu with surprise and doubt.

When Liu Wu released the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry prisoners in the parade ground, the Jiangdong generals did not follow him, so naturally they did not know what had happened in Jiangling City before.

Zhou Yu stepped forward and looked directly at Liu Wu: "Zi Lie, to prevent any misunderstanding between our two families, please explain this matter to us."

Liu Wu did not answer Huang Gai and Zhou Yu's questions, but looked at Pang Tong and Wei Yan and said, "Teacher and Wen Chang, please tell us what happened in Jiangling City in the past two days."

"Yes!" Wei Yan was refreshed and spoke directly: "Since that day when Cao Cao and Liu Bei received Zilie's letter inviting them to Jiangling, they each led their troops and went to Jiangling in person..."

Liu Bei and Cao Cao both came to Jiangling City?
Or was he invited by Liu Zilie?

As soon as Wei Yan opened his mouth, all the generals in Jiangdong were stunned and looked stunned.

Wei Yan: "Liu Xuande led 300 soldiers, and Guan Zhang, Mi Zhu and others entered the city first under the leadership of Mr. Fengchu. Cao Mengde led Xu Chu, Yu Jin, Xu Huang, Zhang Liao and 300 soldiers to enter the city the next day..."

"The two parties met in the city, and after a disagreement, they immediately started fighting..."

In Wei Yan's narration...

In Xiling City,

Cao and Liu fought against each other.

The scene where Prime Minister Cao and Uncle Liu were in danger several times, almost killing each other, and the other was repeatedly saved by their own reinforcements, seemed to reappear in front of everyone's eyes...

All the Jiangdong generals were dazzled and dumbfounded after hearing this.

No wonder when they entered the city, they saw many broken walls and ruins, as if there had just been a battle. Who would have thought it was a fight between Cao and Liu?!
Think about these two heroes of the time, each with only 300 men fighting in the city, it's really a bit like the city vagrants, calling friends to kill each other...

A strange look flashed across many people's faces.

"That day, we used Cao Mengde to defeat Liu Xuande, which led to the establishment of Cao's army camp more than a hundred miles north of Jiangling City. The Battle of Jingnan still needs Prime Minister Cao to support us..." Pang Shiyuan took over Wei Yan's words and took a sip of wine comfortably.

"As for Liu Xuande and others, we sent people to disguise them as public security soldiers at their critical moment, and falsely spread Zhuge Kongming's words to abduct them into Shu..."

Wei Yan and Pang Tong explained in detail the whole story of what had happened in Jiangling City in the past few days.

For a time,

On the top of the city wall, there was silence except for the sound of the whistling river wind.

Good job Liu Zilie,
What a deep plan and great courage!
With just two letters, Cao and Liu were played around in the palm of his hands!
Snapped! ~
Zhou Tai suddenly slapped his thigh and shouted, "What a pity! What a pity! If I were in Jiangdong, I would definitely be able to capture Cao and Liu as one..."

"That's right!" Veteran General Cheng Pu also became excited: "If we can take down Cao Cao and Liu Bei at the same time, we will be able to take over the entire Jingzhou, and then go north from Jingzhou to conquer the Central Plains, and our great cause will be accomplished!"

Capture Cao Liu!

Gain the entire territory of Jingzhou!
Go north to conquer the Central Plains!!
Although all of this was just Zhou Tai and Cheng Pu's imagination, it had already made the Jiangdong generals excited...

unfortunately,

Such an opportunity once existed in front of Liu Wu, but he failed to seize it.

If Jiangdong could have such an opportunity...

There was a sound of beating chests and stamping feet on the city walls, all of them expressing great sorrow that Jiangling had let Cao Cao and Liu Bei go.

Wei Yan on the side smiled and said, "Generals, please don't feel sorry for this..."

"Uncle Liu and my master are father and son, and Cao Mengde wants to recruit my master. With these two connections, my master was able to invite these two people with just one letter..."

"If Jiangdong sends a letter to invite Cao and Liu to meet in the city, I'm afraid Cao Cao is suspicious and Liu Bei is timid. They don't trust Jiangdong and may not dare to come..."

Wei Yan said it in a tactful way.

But the generals of Jiangdong understood the meaning of these words. After all, both Liu Bei and Cao Cao wanted to recruit Liu Zilie and both had something to ask of him.

That's why I came to this meeting in Jiangling willingly...

If it were Jiangdong,
Apart from the six counties in the south of the Yangtze River, there is probably nothing else in Jiangdong that can attract Boss Cao to come in person. Liu Bei was stabbed in the back by his own lord, and he might not even have time to hide. How could he possibly risk coming here?

"Unfortunately, Cao and Liu don't trust Jiangdong!"

"If I can trick these two people into coming to Jiangdong, my Jiangdong cause will be accomplished!"

"Let alone two people, even if we can trick one person here, that would be good."

"What a pity! What a pity..."

Liu Wu, supported by Sun Shangxiang, listened to the Jiangdong generals' comments about how they regretted not being able to trick Cao Cao and Liu Bei into Jiangdong...

Liu Wu once again recalled the scene in the Jiangdong Palace when Sun Quan took advantage of the confrontation between him and Zhou Tai to attack him with his scabbard and table...

What a Jiangdong rat!

"I remember that when Zilie was still in Xiakou, he said that he had already made arrangements in Jiangling, which might have miraculous effects..." Zhou Gongjin, who had been silent, slowly said, "It seems that Zilie is indeed a big shot."

"Now, Guan Yu has been captured by Cao Cao, and Liu Bei, Zhang Yide, Mi Fang, Chen Dao and others have all been taken hostage to Bashu!"

"Even Zhao Zilong was trapped in Xiling..."

"There is no one in charge of the four vast counties of southern Jing. Only Zhuge Kongming is left in Gong'an trying to support it. Zilie's plan is truly amazing and I admire him very much!"

Yes,

All the people in charge of Jingnan had been transferred away from Jingnan by Liu Zilie, and the four counties of Jingnan had long been leaderless.

No wonder Zhuge Liang gathered all the troops in southern Jing at Gong'an. Liu Bei and the others had all disappeared. If these troops had not gathered in Gong'an, I'm afraid the four counties in southern Jing would have surrendered to the coalition forces with their own troops!

Many generals looked at Liu Wu with awe and awe in their eyes.

Liu Zilie was almost not personally involved in the situation in the four counties of southern Jing from beginning to end. Apart from rescuing Sun and Liu, he did not mobilize a single soldier.

But whether it was Prime Minister Cao, who was known as a traitor to the Han Dynasty, or Emperor Liu, who was praised as a hero of the world, they were all controlled like puppets by Liu Zilie without any movement.

These two people, almost without realizing it, became Liu Wu's tools to disrupt the situation in the four counties of southern Jing...

One thought comes to this,
All the generals were shocked. Liu Zilie's method of manipulating people's hearts was probably even better than that of Cao Mengde!

Zhou Gongjin's thoughts were churning. He thought more deeply than the other generals: "Before Liu Zilie attacked Jingnan, he first won over Jiangdong, and then asked Cao Cao to come to the rear..."

"The Cao army camp is said to be a defensive formation, but it also has the effect of intimidating Jiangdong and making us afraid to have any other thoughts... Who can guarantee that there is no deal between Liu Zilie and Cao Mengde?"

"Has Liu Zilie already calculated all the variables in this battle of Jingnan?"

call! ~
On top of the city wall,

The wind howled,

The big banner with the word "Liu" fluttering in the wind.

The generals of Jiangdong seemed shocked by Liu Wu's plan. Each of them had their own thoughts and remained silent.

I don't know when,

Silence returned to the city wall.

"Generals..." Liu Wu's calm voice once again broke the silence: "The soldiers are tired and have already left the camp. Accommodation has been arranged for you generals in the city..."

"The army will rest today, and we will cross the river tomorrow and take Gong'an directly!"

……

……

A hundred miles north of Jiangling City is the Cao army camp.

In the central army tent,
Prime Minister Cao frowned and asked, "No news about Zihe yet?"

Xu Chu, who was standing below, shook his head and said, "We send out scouts every day to investigate near Jiangling, but there is no news about General Zihe, and we haven't even found any trace of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry."

Since the day Cao Chun personally covered Cao Cao's retreat, there has been no news of Cao Chun since then, and even the remnants of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry have not returned.

Thinking of this, Prime Minister Cao couldn't help but feel a sharp pain in his heart...

Cao Chun is his cousin.

Over the years, he has been in charge of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry for Cao Mengde, and has followed him in battles across the country, making great contributions.

Nanpi beheaded Yuan Tan!
White Wolf captured Tadun!
Liu Bei was defeated at Changban!
Cao Chun had made great military achievements, but now...

Cao Chun is gone, and even Cao Chun’s Tiger and Leopard Cavalry are gone!
"Look! Look again!" Cao Cao clenched his fists, veins bulging: "Even if I have to dig Jiangling three feet deep, I will still find Zihe..."

At this moment,

Suddenly there was a noise outside the tent.

A soldier rushed into the tent and said, "Prime Minister! General Cao Chun has returned with the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry!"

Cao Chun and the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry are back?!

Prime Minister Cao was stunned behind the main seat. Before he could react, a naked upper body figure rushed into the tent in a panic.

"Prime Minister! I, Cao Chun, pay my respects to you, Prime Minister!" Cao Chun knelt on the ground with a face full of shame.
It’s Zihe indeed!
Cao Cao reacted with surprise and joy. He quickly stood up and helped Cao Chun up himself: "It really is Zihe, get up quickly!"

Cao Chun: "I am incompetent. Of the three thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, only one thousand are left."

Of the three thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, only one thousand are left!

Cao Mengde felt even more distressed. Damn Liu Da'er, he would settle this account with him sooner or later!

But fortunately, his cousin was fine: "It's okay. With these 1,000 cavalry as a base, we can add more cavalry soldiers in the future..." "Where have you been these days? The army can't find any trace of you."

Cao Chun: "Since the day when the Prime Minister left the city, the Jiangling defenders have closed the city gates. We were no longer able to fight, so they took advantage of the situation and attacked. I and Liu Bei's remaining soldiers were captured by Jiangling and have been trapped until today..."

No wonder,
No wonder so many scouts of the Heavenly Army could not find Cao Chun, because he was not outside Jiangling City at all!
Cao Chun's voice continued: "...In the past few days, I have been trapped in the Jiangling parade ground. Until today, Liu Zilie drove to the parade ground and confiscated our armor, staffs and horses, and then let us out of Jiangling."

Liu Zilie has arrived in Jiangling!
Cao Mengde's hand, which was stroking his long beard, suddenly stopped.

“Prime Minister!” Although Cao Chun looked embarrassed, he looked solemn at the moment: “When I left Jiangling, I saw a large number of Jiangdong soldiers gathered in Jiangling, and the Jiangdong navy was docked on the shore, and even…”

"We even saw the figures of Jiangdong Grand Commander Zhou Gongjin, veteran generals Huang Gai, Cheng Pu and others! I heard that Liu Zilie has already formed an alliance with Jiangdong, and Sun Zhongmou has even lent him 10,000 soldiers and 14 generals! He is going to conquer the four counties in southern Jing!"

Liu Wu wants to attack Liu Bei? !
Jiang Dong actually stood with Liu Zilie? !

in an instant,
Cao Cao was greatly shocked.

The hand twisting his long beard trembled violently.
He actually brought down two whiskers!

Cao Cao was not surprised that Liu Wu wanted to take action against Liu Bei. Previously in Jiangling City, Liu Zilie wanted to use him to "get rid of" Liu Bei, which explained everything.

But what Prime Minister Cao could never have imagined was that
That blue-eyed kid from Sun Quan not only lent Liu Zilie 10,000 soldiers, he even lent Zhou Yu, Huang Gai and 14 other Jiangdong generals to Liu Zilie? ! !

"Liu Zilie is really a man of his own accord." Cao Cao spoke in a low voice, his eyes full of solemnity: "Jiangdong has always been indecisive. Not long ago, I heard that Jiangdong wanted to form an alliance with Liu Bei."

"I never thought that Liu Zilie could make Jiangdong stab Liu Bei in the back and stand on my side in a blink of an eye. He is really capable!"

It would be fine if Jiangdong and Liu Wu formed an alliance.
The key point is that Liu Wu actually asked this kid Sun Quan to send out 10,000 soldiers!
Even generals like Zhou Yu and Huang Gai who could stand alone were released...

That’s Zhou Gongjin!

Cao Mengde paced back and forth in the big tent, with doubts everywhere...

These rats in Jiangdong have always been unwilling to release their eagles until they see the rabbit. What kind of magic potion did Liu Wu use to feed Sun Quan?

"Before I leave Jiangling City, Liu Zilie asked me to convey something to the Prime Minister..." Cao Chun's voice interrupted Cao Mengde's thoughts.

Cao Cao: "What did he say?"

Cao Chun: "He said..."

"【I know Prime Minister Cao is very sorry about the incident in Jiangling. These 1,000 people are my greetings to Prime Minister Cao...】"

"【Now the war is about to start, I will attack Liu Bei soon, Jiangdong is eyeing him covetously, please ask Prime Minister Cao to support Liu Zilie...】"

Cao Chun's words fell.
There was total silence in the tent.

After a long while, Prime Minister Cao's laughter suddenly rang out in the tent: "Haha, hahahaha..."

"What a great Liu Zilie, he is worthy of being my adopted son. Liu Bei and Sun Quan were originally going to join forces to attack Liu Zilie, but Liu Zilie turned around and won over Sun Quan. Now he wants me to support him in Jiangdong?"

"The originally deadlocked game was resolved by him in a flash."

"With such a skill that can turn clouds into rain with a flip of the hand, he truly has the demeanor of a tyrant!"

Xu Chu at the side spoke in a muffled voice: "Liu Zilie is still so arrogant. He is not afraid that the Prime Minister will cross the river directly and take the four counties of Jingnan before him."

Cao Cao sighed: "Zhongkang thinks too simply of Liu Zilie. If I am like this, do you think he dare not really surrender to Liu Bei or Jiangdong?"

"He now controls the land north of the Yangtze River. He also controls the three important places of Jiangling, Xiling and Hefei. Moreover, he is also extremely brave..."

"If he really voted for Sun and Liu, even if these two families had huge grudges against him, they would put them aside without hesitation."

"If it really comes to that, I'm afraid I won't be able to set foot on either side of this river again..."

At this time,

A servant hurriedly entered the account, knelt down in front of Cao Cao, and stammered: "My lord, General Guan, he, he..."

Cao Cao frowned: "What? Yunchang still refuses to eat?"

Servant: "Prime Minister, please understand."

After Guan Yu was captured and entered Cao's camp again, he spread the word that he would not eat any water or food from Cao's camp.

These past few days,

Cao Cao asked his personal servant to bring meals to Guan Yu every day, but unexpectedly, Guan Yu actually went on a hunger strike.

"How can this be possible?" Cao Cao was anxious. What he wanted was a living Guan Yu who could serve him, not a starving Guan Yu.

"Come!" Cao Cao ordered immediately: "Go and get the six-month-old venison, and bring it with the stove, before it gets cold! You can't eat meat without wine, and get some mellow and clear wine..."

"I will personally go and persuade Yunchang to eat!"

……

……

The residence of the Gong'an County Magistrate.

"I have already sent out dozens of scouts to cross the river and search everywhere. However, there is still no news about our lord, nor any trace of other generals..." A deputy general was standing in the hall with his head bowed, reporting the results of the investigation to Zhuge Kongming.

Zhuge Liang in the hall,

With eyes slightly closed,

Looking tired.

During these days, he sent out a large number of scouts every day.

But in the end there is only one result...

Not found!
There was no news about Uncle Liu, Chen Dao and others. It was as if these people had disappeared out of thin air from the vicinity of Jiangling.

The deputy general hesitated for a moment and spoke again: "It's just that the scouts sent the latest news..."

Any news?

Zhuge Liang perked up: "What news? Tell me quickly!"

Deputy General: "Someone saw General Yunchang in Cao's camp."

Yunchang is in Cao’s camp?
How can this be? !
Zhuge Liang stayed in his seat.

After a long while, he uttered a helpless sigh: "Alas, what can I do?"

This news was simply adding insult to injury. Kong Ming would rather not have heard it just now...

The people in Gong'an City are already in a panic. If the news that Yunchang is in Cao's camp spreads, I'm afraid the morale of the entire Gong'an City will be dispersed.

Zhuge Liang waved his sleeves and said, "You go first. This matter cannot be spread to others."

In a moment,

The deputy general withdrew, and the generals from the public security camps and officials of all ranks who had been waiting outside for a long time entered the hall one after another.

Zhuge Liang dispatched the troops and gave instructions one by one:

"From now on, the navy of Jingzhou will not leave the water, and the soldiers will not leave the ships. They are not allowed to go ashore and must be ready to meet the enemy at any time!"

"All the public security camps and troops should prepare more city defense equipment. It is better to have too much than too little! Increase the number of soldiers patrolling the city, and they should rotate day and night without stopping."

"Give orders to the officials at all levels in the four counties of Jingnan, ordering them to transport more food and military equipment to Gong'an. Except for the food for the people, all other food will be requisitioned!"

"..."

"Commanders of each camp, you must double the number of scouts sent across the river every day! Report to me twice a day. We must find the whereabouts of our lord and the generals!"

One order after another came out from Zhuge Kongming's mouth.

In the lobby,
The atmosphere was heavy.

All the generals and officials were divided into two groups, civil and military, and stood in awe.

Zhuge Kongming stood up slowly and said, "Gentlemen, there are powerful enemies outside of Gong'an, and the whereabouts of the lord are unknown. This is truly a critical moment for survival..."

"The safety of Jingnan depends entirely on you!"

The whole room of civil and military officials bowed their hands in a resounding voice: "We must work together to uphold public security!"

The echoes of the crowd were still echoing in the hall, and the military officers and civil servants dispersed one after another...

In the empty hall, Zhuge Liang was the only one left once again.

He frowned and waved his feather fan...

Not long ago,
Scouts have reported that the eldest son has led a large army to the outskirts of Jiangling City.

I’m afraid the day when he crosses the river is not far away!
The public security situation is at this point.

At this moment, the only thing we can do is to maintain public security while sending out more scouts to find the lord and others.

My Lord, my Lord,
The eldest son is coming with great force. If you don't come back, I'm afraid that Liang may not be able to maintain the public security situation...

"Mr. Kong Ming..."

A gentle voice interrupted Zhuge Liang's thoughts.

Mrs. Mi walked into the lobby with a food box in one hand.

Zhuge Liang was startled: "Madam?"

This Madam Mi has been staying in the back house all this time. Why is she coming to the lobby of the county magistrate's mansion today?
pat~
Madam Mi opened the food box and took out a bowl of steaming chicken soup: "Sir, now that Liu Wu's rebellious son's army is approaching, and the whereabouts of the emperor's uncle are unknown, the safety of Gong'an City depends on you alone."

"Sir, you have worked hard for the Emperor's uncle's foundation. I am deeply grateful for your kindness. I can only offer you this hot soup to relieve your fatigue."

Mrs. Mi handed the soup to Zhuge Liang and tugged at Adou's little hand subtly.

Ah Dou immediately understood: "Please have some soup, sir."

Looking at the fragrant chicken soup in front of me,
Zhuge Liang's brows furrowed even more.
Although Mrs. Mi is a woman, she has always been quite shrewd.

Bringing this chicken soup to see me today, I'm afraid it's not just for the sake of giving me this bowl of soup...

Kong Ming raised his hand but did not take the soup: "Thank you, Madam. Since I am planning for Uncle Liu, I will do my best until my death."

Mrs. Mi's hand holding the soup froze in mid-air.

Then, she calmly placed the chicken soup on the table, with a sad look on her face:
"Although I am a woman, I have always known the great ambition of the emperor's uncle to revive the Han Dynasty. It was extremely difficult for him to establish the foundation of the four counties in southern Jing..."

"But now the emperor's uncle's life and death is unknown, and Liu Wu, the rebellious son, has gathered troops on the other side of the river. The people in the city are in a panic..."

"I really can't bear to see my uncle's foundation destroyed..."

At this point, Mrs. Mi was already crying...

She had already grabbed Zhuge Liang's sleeves and said, "Now, my wife and I, an orphan and a widow, all rely on you, sir!"

In the hall,

A lonely man and a widow.

Kong Ming was no more than thirty years old, and he was handsome and dashing.

Mrs. Mi was young and very beautiful.

Kong Ming was in a difficult situation and hid his face to avoid it: "How can you pull and tug like this? Madam, please respect yourself..."

"Madam, you are trying to kill me, Kong Ming!"

　This chapter has 6,000 words, and there is still one chapter left. I am rushing to finish it, so it may be a little late.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)