Chapter 201 Liu Bei sees through the secret: Cao Mengde, you have been schemed against by Liu Wu!

Chapter 201: Liu Bei sees through the secret: Cao Mengde, you have been schemed against by Liu Wu!

Liu Wu's army marched north, had already left Nanyang, and was heading straight for Tongguan!

boom! ~
The words of the black-faced cavalry general were like thunder and lightning, exploding in the ears of all the civil and military officials in the tent.

"The imperial court has never issued any document to mobilize troops, so how dare he mobilize the army without authorization?"

"What on earth does Liu Zilie want to do?"

"Liu Zilie has always been ambitious and has always opposed the Prime Minister. He must have seen that the Prime Minister and Ma Chao were in a stalemate and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to attack the Prime Minister!"

"No wonder he refused with excuses when the Prime Minister asked him to lead the army to attack Ma Chao in Xuchang. He must have been preparing for today."

There was a lot of noise in the big tent.

All the civil and military officials had gloomy faces. It was a good opportunity for Liu Zilie to rush to Tongguan while Prime Minister Cao and Ma Chao were in a stalemate.

The veins on Cao Mengde's forehead twitched slightly. It would be fine if Liu Zilie was just coming for him, but he was afraid that his intention was not for him, but for... Guanzhong!
"Report!"

A soldier broke into the tent and said, "Scouts have an urgent report: Liu Wu's army has made unusual movements and has left Nanyang and is heading northwest."

Liu Wu is really here!

Tongguan is located in the northwest of Nanyang, and Liu Zilie was indeed heading for Tongguan!

The scouts' report matched what the cavalry general said, and the last glimmer of hope in Cao Cao's heart completely disappeared.

"Prime Minister!"

Before Cao Cao could discuss countermeasures with his fellow civil and military officials, another lieutenant from the camp came into the tent and said, "King of Chu Liu Zilie sent someone to deliver a handwritten letter, asking the Prime Minister to read it."

Liu Wu's troops heading to Tongguan have not arrived yet, but his handwritten letter has arrived first?
What conspiracy is Liu Zilie planning?
All eyes in the tent were directed towards the bamboo slips in the captain's hand.

Cao Cao: "Zhongde!"

Cheng Yu stood up: "Prime Minister."

Cao Cao said coldly: "Read this letter to the others. I want to see if it is a letter from Liu Zilie or a declaration of war!"

The chill in the words of the King of Wei of the Han Dynasty made Cheng Yu tremble.

He could only bite the bullet and take the bamboo slips, unfold them and read: "[The King of Chu of the Han Dynasty, writes to the King of Wei of the Han Dynasty, Meng Degong...]"

"【Since the King of Wei went west to attack Guanzhong, I have been worried about the situation in Guanzhong day and night. I have heard that the Liang soldiers are brave and Ma Chao is rampant. The King of Wei suffered heavy losses in the battle with the Liang soldiers, and I am very worried.】"

"【We are all ministers of the state, loyal to the Han Dynasty. Now the King of Wei is fighting to the death with the enemy. How can I sit back and enjoy the benefits?"

"【I have discussed with the King of Wu and decided to send troops to Guanzhong to relieve the Prime Minister's worries. However, the chaos in Jiangdong has not been quelled, and the culprit Liu Xuande is on the run. The King of Wu is busy suppressing the rebellion and has no time to look west.】"

"【However, in order to show his loyalty to the Han Dynasty, the King of Wu sent out 20,000 Danyang soldiers and a group of Jiangdong generals to form the Nine Armies of Wu and Chu with me and march towards Tongguan..."

"【This time I am heading west only to serve the court and relieve the worries of the King of Wei. I have no other intentions. Please do not worry, King of Wei.】"

Twenty thousand Danyang soldiers!
The Nine Armies of Wu and Chu!

The tent was filled with civil and military officials, but there was total silence.

Cao Cao sneered: "You are so good at serving the court and helping me solve my problems. I have no other intentions!"

The Danyang soldiers were well-known strong soldiers. Sun Quan sent out 20,000 strong soldiers in one go, just to "be loyal to the Han Dynasty"?
Liu Zilie and Sun Quan united the nine armies of Wu and Chu, and their momentum was huge. Is this called sharing one's worries?

Is he trying to trick me like a child?
Cao Cao looked at Cheng Yu again: "Zhongde, what do you think of what Liu Wu said?"

"This is a trick!" Cheng Yu said without hesitation, "Liu Zilie has great ambitions. If he really has a heart of loyalty to the Han Dynasty, why would he refuse when the Prime Minister recommended him to go to Guanzhong to resist Ma Chao when he was in Xuchang last time?"

"Besides, from Cheng Yu's perspective..."

"Liu Zilie's army is dispatched not only for the Prime Minister, but also for Guanzhong..."

Cheng Yu's inference coincides with Cao Mengde's.

Cao Cao remained silent, but just clenched his hands on his knees tighter and tighter.

Cheng Yu's voice became deeper and deeper: "Guanzhong is the foundation of the emperor!"

"In the past, Qin State relied on the fertile land of Guanzhong to annex the six kingdoms and unify the world..."

"Emperor Gaozu of Han also relied on these 120 Qin passes to finally establish his empire, which led to the establishment of the Han Dynasty..."

"South of Guanzhong is the strategic location of Hanzhong, which is the gateway to the north of Yizhou! If Liu Zilie can obtain Guanzhong, both Hanzhong and Yizhou will be in his pocket. Now he has obtained Jingzhou and has formed an alliance with Jiangdong..."

"If we allow him to occupy Guanzhong, he will surely seize the throne of the world! At that time, how will the Prime Minister deal with Liu Wu?"

Many of the civil and military officials in the tent had wet foreheads...

In their minds, they seemed to have seen the scene of Liu Wu's army galloping, spreading its power, and engulfing Guanzhong, Hanzhong, and Yizhou. They seemed to have seen the whole Central Plains being surrounded and swept by Liu Wu's forces.

Cheng Yu looked solemn: "Not only that, Guanzhong is connected to Liangzhou, which produces horses. With Liu Wu's ambition, he will definitely lead his troops to attack Liangzhou to obtain horses, and then summon the people of Yongliang to form a cavalry."

"At present, Liu Wu only has two armies, the navy and the infantry. Most of his infantry are from the southern army, which is not as brave as our northern army. Although the navy is strong, it can only show its power on the rivers and lakes. It is no more than a mustard in the Central Plains..."

"If we really let him go to Guanzhong and form a cavalry, Liu Zilie will have three divisions of infantry, cavalry, and boats. How can he safely defend the south?"

"I'm afraid that the Prime Minister's Central Plains will never have a chance to breathe again."

After Cheng Yu finished speaking, Prime Minister Cao's face became gloomy.

Guanzhong cannot be occupied by Ma Chao and Han Sui, let alone by Liu Wu.

Just as Cheng Yu said, Liu Wu has already obtained Jingzhou. If he can obtain Guanzhong again, then Hanzhong and Yizhou will both be lost. At that time, Jing and Yi will be in his hands. This is the foundation of the great cause of Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Gaozu!
His monopoly of Jingzhou had already given him a lot of headaches.

If Liu Wu were allowed to take over Guanzhong, Hanzhong and Yizhou and gain the advantage of cavalry, I am afraid that Cao Mengde would be trapped to death in the Central Plains by this kid.

Cao Cao stood up suddenly: "Yu Jin..."

Yu Jin: "I am here!"

Cao Cao: "I want you to quickly send two thousand cavalry to where Liu Wu's army is and tell him..."

"I appreciate the King of Chu's kindness, but I can easily defeat the Xiliang rebels, so there is no need for them to worry about it!"

Yu Jin: "I will obey your orders."

Looking at Yu Jin turning and leaving, Cao Cao felt heavy in his heart. Just because he asked Liu Wu not to come, did that mean Liu Wu would not come?

Impossible, how could he give up such a great opportunity to occupy Guanzhong?
Cao Cao was very clear-headed. He knew that the best outcome of Yu Jin's visit would be to stop Liu Wu's army for a day or two.

I can't just sit there and wait for death...

Cao Aman took a deep breath and said, "From today on, the entire army will attack the Xiliang army fiercely!"

"We must capture Tongguan before Liu Wu's army arrives!"

……

"drive!"

In the wilderness of Hanzhong, a convoy was speeding southward.

The speeding wooden wheel rolled over the rushing weeds at a high speed, stirring up billowing yellow dust.

In the leading carriage, Fa Zheng breathed a sigh of relief: "Now that we have entered Hanzhong, it is not far from Shu. It is too late for Xuchang to send people to chase us."

The Xuchang cavalrymen who were chasing them before were only a hundred or so, and Liu Wu's army of tens of thousands were blocking their way, so that short period of time was enough for them to escape.

Fa Zheng looked at the stunned Uncle Liu, and suddenly he felt strange...

Liu Huangshu was forced by Liu Zilie to ask for reinforcements from Xuchang, which led to him being imprisoned by Cao Cao's men and his life and death being in danger.

But now, he escaped the disaster because of Liu Zilie.

It can be said that Liu Wu was the cause of both his failure and success. The grievances and entanglements between the father and son are really hard to describe in words.

"Xiaozhi..." Liu Bei, who was in a daze, suddenly looked up: "Earlier, the follower who went to investigate Liu Wu's army reported that Liu Wu's army was heading to Guanzhong... Tongguan?"

Fa Zheng nodded: "That's what the follower said. This man is my servant and he would not dare to deceive us."

Liu Bei's face was filled with more doubt: "That's strange."

"What does your uncle mean?" Fa Zheng didn't understand what Liu Bei wanted to say and his face was confused.

Liu Bei recalled the direction in which the army was heading: "The information obtained by my followers was that they were heading to Tongguan, but I could see clearly that the army was definitely not heading in the direction of Tongguan..."

Didn’t Liu Wu’s army go to Tongguan?

Fa Zheng was also stunned. It was no secret that Cao Cao and Ma Chao were fighting fiercely in Tongguan. Since Liu Wu claimed that he wanted to help Cao Cao out of trouble, he could only go to Tongguan.

But if he is not going to Tongguan now, where is he going?

"Cao Cao wants to enter Guanzhong, but he is blocked by Ma Chao and Han Sui at Tongguan. Besides Tongguan, there is also..."

Fa Zheng's pupils suddenly contracted, and he broke out in a cold sweat: "Could it be?!"

Liu Bei finally reacted, and he couldn't help sighing: "Cao Mengde was really tricked!"

……

……

(End of this chapter)