Chapter 152: Envoy Liu, we are all your soldiers!!
Chapter 152: Envoy Liu, we are all your soldiers!!
Fancheng.

It has become an isolated island in the vast ocean.

The whole city is now submerged in water...

There was an endless flood outside the city, and the city had been flooded long ago. Even the roofs of the tall mansions were only visible above the water.

The only high ground is not somewhere else, but the city wall that tightly surrounds the city of Fancheng.

The top of the city wall, which was originally guarded by soldiers, was now crowded with people, mostly soldiers, but also some wealthy people in the city.

Because the water inflow into Fancheng was slow, the people in the city had enough time to escape to the top of the city.

Besides, Cao Ren was not Cao Mengde after all. Although he was a veteran on the battlefield, he was not as powerful as Cao Cao. So he let these ordinary people go to the top of the city wall as a way to give them a chance to survive.

Fortunately, Fancheng was the seat of Liu Biao's government at that time, so the city wall was large and deep, and was five miles wide.

The four walls in the east, west, south and north were so large that nearly 25,000 soldiers and civilians could stay on the city walls.

Of course, you have to squeeze in some.

Cao Ren, who had not taken off his armor for several days, walked forward solemnly and was personally inspecting the city walls. Wherever he passed, both the military and civilians gave way.

The generals who followed him kept reporting to Cao Ren:

"General Zixiao, this is not a solution."

"So many people are crowded on the top of the city..."

"The worst thing is not the crowding. The worst thing is that we have been out of food for several days..."

"Yes, we have been out of food for several days."

……

It is no exaggeration to say that these 25,000 soldiers and civilians on the city wall are 25,000 evil spirits.

That day a flood flooded into the city. Even though Cao Ren ordered everyone to transport food to the top of the city as quickly as possible, it was all eaten up in one day.

Not to mention that it was impossible to make a fire on the city wall, so they had to eat almost nothing.

The water level in the city was as high as two people. The large amount of grain stored in the granary was soaked in water and could not be fished out at all.

More than 25,000 people, people eat and horses chew...

Cao Ren stopped and looked at the vast ocean in the city, feeling his scalp tingling.

After waiting for another three to five days, the water level should recede a lot, and then we can take people down to wade through the water and salvage food.

Can you just wait until three or five days?

Many people have not eaten for two or three days. How many people will be alive after three or five days?
I'm afraid that before Liu Wu can attack, the 25,000 people on the city wall will starve to death...

"General, they are coming!"

Cao Ren suddenly heard a general shouting in his ear and turned around quickly.

outside the city,

A dark mass of huge ships and warships were approaching Fancheng like a black cloud.

The huge banner was waving in the wind and the flags covered the sky.

The huge oars splashed the water, and the sonorous and powerful horns echoed to the top of Fancheng City.

Fancheng has now become a swamp, and Cao's army is trapped on the city wall, but the navy of Jingzhou can move freely. The moat and tall city walls are all gone.

The water surface was only one person's height away from the top of the city wall. The nimble soldiers in the Jingzhou navy could even jump from the deck directly onto the top of the city wall.

"Prepare for war!"

Cao Ren quickly gave the order.

The hungry soldiers got up from the ground, weakly holding their swords, spears, and halberds...

Woohoo! ~
Accompanied by a long whistle, the warship in the front began to move to both sides.

The command ship with the large flag with the word "Liu" on it stood out from the Jingzhou navy fleet and continued to move forward.

It finally stopped when it was only ten steps away from the city wall.

Cao Zixiao only saw a figure coming out of the cabin and walking slowly onto the deck. It was only about ten steps away from him, very close.

"Liu Zilie!"

Even if this person was burned to ashes, Cao Ren would be able to recognize him.

However, there was no deep hatred or condescension on the other side, and there was no threat or intimidation. There was only a faint sentence: "Zixiao, how many days have you been hungry?"

However, it was this sentence that made Cao Ren's blood boil and he became dizzy with anger.

This sentence is full of ridicule and mockery!
"Liu Zilie, stop humiliating me!"

"If you want to fight, then come and fight. I, Cao Zixiao, am not a coward!"

Facing Cao Ren's shouting, Liu Wu just said: "Zixiao, don't resist..."

He pointed to the soldiers behind Cao Ren and said, "If I had come a day or two later, you and your fellow soldiers would have starved to death on the walls of Fancheng."

"I'm not here to fight you, I'm here to save you."

Although Liu Wu spoke calmly, his inner strength enabled his voice to travel far away.

As soon as these words were spoken, the morale of the soldiers on the city wall was shaken a little bit...

Cao Ren was confused.

I was at a loss at the moment.

He thought of many possibilities, but he never expected Liu Wu to do this.

"Well, since Zixiao doesn't welcome it."

"Then let's go."

As soon as the words fell, the handsome ship began to turn slowly...

Liu Wu is leaving.

Countless soldiers and civilians on the city walls began to get restless.

If Liu Wu left, wouldn't they have to continue to starve on the city wall...

Liu Wu finally came here, and now he's leaving...

that,
that,
Will he come again in a few days?

The key point is, in a few days, when Liu Wu comes, can they still hold on until then?

They must have all starved to death.

Cao Ren sensed the commotion behind him and had a bad feeling in his heart.

"Wait a minute!"

"Envoy Liu, wait a minute!!"

Someone was shouting from the top of the city wall. It was an old man who was staggering.

Liu Wu raised his hand.

The commander's ship stopped.

Liu Wu bowed to the old man on the top of the city wall and said, "Is there anything you want to teach me?"

The old man crouched on the top of the city wall and said, "I heard that when Envoy Liu played chess with Envoy Liu in Gong'an,

"That Jian Xianhe, he once said on the city wall that there was a shortage of food and grass in Gong'an City."

"So, the next day, Envoy Liu sent people to throw food into the city with catapults..."

"Now that Fancheng is in dire straits, can Envoy Liu continue to tell stories about the public security..."

Before the old man could finish, a big man shouted, "What's that, Little Liu Envoy, Little Liu Envoy! How can Liu Bei be compared with the Lord of Jingzhou?!" "This is the Lord of Jingzhou!"

"This is the Lord Governor of Jingzhou appointed by the Emperor!"

"Among the nine provinces of China, Xiangfan is also in Jingzhou. What is a shepherd? Shepherding the people on behalf of the gods!"

As he said that, the big man knelt down in front of Liu Wu: "Sir! We are all your people! You can't just ignore us!"

"I hope to save the people from their misery!"

The next moment, the crowd was excited:
"Sir, help me!"

"My Lord, I am so hungry..."

"Liu Jingzhou, we are also people of Jingzhou!"

"Drag them away! Drag them all away!" Cao Ren had never expected something like this to happen, and he was unable to react for a while. He quickly ordered people to drag these people away.

Otherwise, the military and civilians will soon be united.

However, at this moment, one after another was brought out from the cabin...

Yu Jin, Man Chong, and Lu Chang.

Three people have appeared behind Liu Wu.

Cao Ren looked at this scene and felt like he was struck by lightning. How could this be possible?

Yu Jin and Man Chong were captured, and it went without saying that the 30,000 troops outside the city were doomed.

Lu Chang, who was stationed in Xiangyang, also appeared behind Liu Wu, which means that Xiangyang had also fallen!
Only Cao Ren was left, occupying the flooded Fancheng City, still holding out despite being hungry.

Because they were too close, Lü Chang looked at Cao Ren's shabby appearance and perhaps couldn't bear it: "Zixiao, come on board and have a hot meal."

"Lü Chang! You deserve to die!" Cao Ren was furious.

Lü Chang was so ashamed that he lowered his head and dared not look at Cao Ren. However, Liu Wu spoke up: "But at least he saved the lives of the soldiers and civilians in Xiangyang."

"Cao Zixiao!"

"There is a severe flood in Xiangfan now, and the Han River has burst its banks. This is an unprovoked disaster. We are all citizens of the Han Dynasty and subjects of the emperor. Now is the time to work together to overcome this disaster!"

"But you! Cao Ren Cao Zixiao!!"

"But because of your sectarian prejudice, you forced the soldiers and civilians of the entire city to starve to death, Cao Zixiao! Are you still a human being?!!"

Cao Ren was furious and felt extremely wronged, but he didn't know how to refute: "Perhaps, the Han River was breached by you..."

Liu Wu: "I broke the dam?"

"Then is it me, Liu Zilie, who caused these days of heavy rain?!"

"Maybe it was me who broke the dam..."

"What a possible answer! Are you, Cao Ren, going to use this possible answer to convict me, Liu Zilie?!"

Cao Ren: "When did I convict you, Liu Wu? Stop slandering me!"

"Forget it, forget it..." Liu Wu seemed very lonely: "You and I are old friends. Back then, you broke your oath in Xiling..."

At the beginning, Cao Ren proposed a bet that each side would send out 800 people to fight, and if the loser, Cao Ren would withdraw his troops.

As a result, Cao Ren refused to pay the debt...

Cao Ren blurted out: "Liu Zilie, that's enough! All is fair in war!!"

Liu Wu: "Later, I captured you alive and didn't hurt you at all..."

"Now that you are trapped in Fancheng, I will send all the navy from Jingzhou, loaded with food..."

Cao Ren was about to cry, he just said: "Ridiculous!!"

The days in Liu Wu's hands were like purgatory...

However, before Cao Ren could continue speaking, he suddenly heard

Boom~
There was a muffled sound,
It turned out that someone in the city had swam into the tunnel and opened the gate of Fancheng. The man emerged from the water and said, "People from Jingzhou are naturally the subjects of Lord Jingzhou Mu. Lord, please hurry into the city!"

Liu Wu stopped arguing with Cao Zixiao and waved his hand, and the boats behind him, fully loaded with wheat cakes, entered the city.

When the boatloads of wheat cakes appeared before their eyes, there was a complete uproar on the city walls.

"My Lord! We are all your people!"

"grown ups!!"

"Sir, we are all your people!"

"Give me a wheat cake!"

Looking at the scene before him, Cao Ren was in despair.

As time went by, more and more people ate wheat cakes, and their families left the city by boat. The soldiers finally...

"Lord Jingzhou Mu, we are stationed in Fancheng, Jingzhou, and they are all your soldiers!"

"Give me a wheat cake."

"We are all your soldiers!"

"Me too, I'm your soldier too!!"

"I also want……"

"I am your soldier too!"

……

……

As the sun sets,

The city walls of Fancheng are empty.

More than 5,000 civilians and nearly 20,000 soldiers, all eating wheat cakes, boarded the ships of the Jingzhou navy and left the place where they no longer wanted to stay.

only one person,

Only one person was still standing on the top of the city wall, Cao Ren was filled with grief...

Da

Da

da~
Footsteps were heard and a figure slowly walked over. It was Liu Wu.

Snapped! ~
Liu Wu patted Cao Ren on the shoulder and said, "Zixiao, it's been more than half a year since we last saw each other in Xiling."

"You don't even want to eat the wheat cakes..."

"You don't even take the boat..."

"Well, you can just guard the empty city alone."

"I will write to Prime Minister Cao and tell him that General Zixiao defended Fancheng alone."

After saying that, Liu Wu turned around and left.

In a moment,

Already on deck,

This time, Liu Wu's flagship turned around completely, and the big flag slowly faded away in the sunset.

Cao Ren looked expressionless.

There was an ocean in front of him, an ocean behind him, and an ocean in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)