Chapter 219 Cao Cao felt something was wrong, as if he had fallen into Liu Wu’s trap again.

Chapter 219: Cao Cao felt something was wrong, as if he had fallen into Liu Wu’s trap again.

Cao’s army, at the main camp gate.

"No movement in Tongguan yet?"

"In reply to King Wei, Tongguan City is peaceful and tranquil, and is not much different from before."

After listening to the scout's report, Cao Cao waved his hand impatiently and asked the other party to go down.

It shouldn't be...

Looking at the Tongguan City in the distance, Cao Mengde frowned: "What on earth is Han Sui doing? Ma Chao is dead, Ma Mengqi's subordinates are in turmoil, and the Xiliang army must have been flooded with blood..."

"He can still remain calm and composed. Does he really want to live and die with Tongguan?"

"Impossible. If he had such intentions, why would he surrender and rebel repeatedly?"

Cao Cao's mind was full of thoughts, but he was interrupted by a loud shout: "Prime Minister..."

Cao Cao turned his head.

Xu Chu was seen riding his horse and galloping towards Cao Cao, holding a bamboo slip.

He dismounted and handed over the bamboo slips in his hand: "Prime Minister, I have intercepted the messenger at Tongguan."

The messenger of the Xiliang Army?

Cao Cao's heart skipped a beat. He was extremely sensitive to any news from Tongguan. He immediately took the bamboo slips and unfolded them to read...

But the more I looked at him, the weirder his face looked.

wow~
"Ha, ha..." Cao Mengde rolled up the bamboo slips and sneered, "Although Han Wenyue has been involved with the Qiang barbarians for many years, he is still not confused and knows how to use strategies to deal with the enemy."

Xu Chu hesitated slightly: "Prime Minister, there are indeed many suspicious points in this letter, but if..."

"Huh? This isn't a letter from Liu Zilie to Wei Yan. This is clearly a letter from Han Sui to me!" Cao Cao's mouth was full of disdain:
"I'm afraid that cavalryman was also captured by Han Wenyue on purpose. If it were an ordinary person, he would have been terrified and at a loss. But how can I be an ordinary person?"

"Occupy Chang'an? Defeat Ma Chao? Han Sui offers Tongguan? Let Wei Yan attack me from both sides?"

"Liu Wu's army is still several days away from us. Even if he wants to secretly send troops into Tongguan, how can he bypass our army of more than 100,000?"

"It's even more ridiculous that Liu Wu took Chang'an... If he wants to take Chang'an, the enemy army behind me will have to attack with all their forces and take Tongguan before me, and then they can march west to Guanzhong and take Chang'an!"

"But where is Liu Wu's army in Tongguan now?"

The more Cao Cao spoke, the more contempt he showed on his face: "At first glance, Han Wenyue's letter seems quite intimidating, but in fact it is confusing and I don't know what it means. I am not an ignorant villager, how could I be fooled by him?"

"Come on, gather your men and horses, I will personally return this letter to Han Wenyue!"

Da Da Da~
Outside Tongguan, hundreds of cavalrymen rushed towards the city of Tongguan.

Xilulu~
Cao Mengde reined in his horse and shouted from the foot of the city: "The Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, the King of Wei, Cao Cao, invites Brother Wen Yue to see you!"

Calling several times,

Han Sui frowned and appeared on the top of the city wall: "Prime Minister Cao, what is your purpose in coming here?"

Cao Cao smiled complacently, raised the bamboo slips high in his hand and shook them: "I have received the letter you wrote to me, and I have come to return it to you."

not good!

The letter from the King of Chu to Wei Wenchang was intercepted by Cao thief! !
Han Sui's face changed drastically, but he said, "Han has never written a letter to the Prime Minister. This letter has nothing to do with me."

Cao Cao saw Han Sui's expression change, and he became more certain of his guess: "Haha, Brother Wen Yue, you may be able to deceive others with this plan, but you can't deceive me."

"What is the letter written by Liu Zilie to Wei Yan? It is obvious that you deliberately wrote this letter to me in order to make me panic and withdraw my troops. However, this strategy is not very smart..."

"I already knew about your fight with Ma Chao and the internal strife in the Xiliang army, and I will not hide it from you..."

Cao Mengde talked about his proudest things, and the curve of his mouth could not be suppressed at all: "I deliberately erased the letter before, and I also intended to let Ma Mengqi know."

"He must have seen that the important parts of this letter were all blacked out, so he suspected that you and I were working together to plot against him secretly. No matter how many excuses you make, it will be useless..."

"The two families became suspicious of each other and killed each other. Brother Wen Yue is the most powerful force in Liang Province. Even though Ma Chao is brave, how could he be your opponent? He was eventually killed by you. With this killing, how many people will be left in the Western Liang coalition?"

Thinking that he had destroyed the Liangzhou army that was wreaking havoc in Guanzhong with just one letter, Cao Cao felt more and more relieved: "By the time Wen Yue understood my brilliant plan, it was already too late..."

"You wanted to take revenge on me, so you imitated me and wrote a letter to me. What a pity... In my life, what conspiracy have I not seen through?"

"The plan of Wen Yue is over!"

snap,

Cao Cao casually threw the bamboo slips under his horse, leaving it to be trampled by the horse's hooves.

He raised his head and looked towards the city: "Now that things have come to this, why should Wen Yue hold on? Why not surrender early? As long as you don't surrender, I will stay outside Tongguan City and won't leave!"

What a thief Cao is, so cunning!
Han Sui broke out in a cold sweat. If Cao Cao had not revealed his plan today, Han Sui might not have known about it...

No wonder Cao Mengde's letter was scribbled with such vicious intentions. If Mengqi had really seen the letter that day, it is possible that the tribes of Xiliang would have been plotted against by him and killed each other!

fortunately,

Fortunately, when he received this letter, Ma Chao had already gone to Chang'an.

This thief Cao didn't know that his plan had failed...

Han Sui looked at him strangely, and asked tentatively, "Prime Minister Cao, are you really not leaving?"

Cao Cao smiled faintly: "No! Don't use Liu Zilie to threaten me. I am Zilie's adoptive father. Although I am not biological father and son, we are better than biological father and son!"

"Don't even mention that he is not in Tongguan. Even if he is really in Tongguan, he will never attack me."

"Wen Yue, surrender now! Do you know about the three kings of Xuchang? On that day in Xuchang, I, Zilie, and Sun Quan recommended each other to the emperor to be kings..."

"If you are willing to surrender to me, I will certainly ask the emperor to guarantee you the title of king! The King of Guanzhong is a little too much, but I will definitely guarantee you the title of King of Liang."

King Liang!

Han Sui was distracted for a moment, and his throat moved subconsciously.

He had rebelled and surrendered repeatedly, just like drinking water and eating food. This time he surrendered to Liu Wu, not only because of the situation, but also because he wanted to be a dragon. But whether Liu Wu was the dragon or not, that was a matter for the future.

The King of Liang promised by Cao Mengde is right before his eyes.

Be crowned king...

Han Sui was really moved.

But soon, this excitement turned into a long sigh.

Now that Liu Wu's army has stationed in Tongguan, it is too late for him to change ships. The title of King of Liang is right in front of him, but he dare not reach out for it.

Han Sui shook his head in dismay: "Prime Minister Cao, I am a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty and have not made any achievements. Don't mention the King of Liang's words again. Since you don't want to leave, just stay here."

After he finished speaking, Han Sui turned around and left in front of Cao Cao's astonished gaze.

step, step,
Han Sui hurriedly went down the city wall, mounted his horse, and rushed towards the residence of the commander of the Tongguan garrison.

"Gee! Gee~"

Xilulu~
Han Sui galloped on his horse, reined in his horse at the commander's residence, and took two steps at a time to reach a study in the residence.

Liu Wu was sitting behind a large desk, holding a teacup and taking a sip.

"Your Highness the Prince of Chu..."

"General Han has been named the King of Liang, but I have yet to congratulate His Royal Highness the King of Liang."

Liu Wu's cold voice instantly froze Han Sui, and he immediately said righteously, "What kind of person does the King of Chu think I am?"

"When I, Han Sui, first entered the government, I was an official of the Han Dynasty and received a salary from the Han Dynasty. Although I have been trapped in Liangzhou by the barbarians for these years, the Han Dynasty court has repeatedly conferred titles on me!"

"Han has received great favors from the Han Dynasty and is a loyal and good man of the Han Dynasty. Now I am working for the King of Chu to restore the Han Dynasty. How can I accept the title of king from the Han thief Cao Cao?"

If Han Sui had not been so well-known for his repeated betrayal and surrender, based on his righteous look, some people might actually believe that he was a loyal Han Dynasty figure.

How did you get so many promotions? Don’t you know it yourself?
If you, Han Wenyue, had not repeatedly stopped the rebellion, how could the Han court have promoted you in order to appease you?
Liu Wu did not comment, but just took another sip of hot tea.

Han Sui felt a little guilty and took the initiative to talk about what happened on the top of the city: "That Cao Mengde took the letter from Your Highness..."

Liu Wu: "No need to say more, I know everything that happened on the city wall."

When there were important military letters, more than one scout was sent to deliver them, so Wei Yan and Kong Ming must have also received the news.

Han Sui was shocked at this moment...

Does he know everything?
He got off the tower, rode his horse and rushed straight to the commander's residence without any hesitation...

He, the King of Chu, actually knew everything that happened on the city wall before he even met him?
The sweat on Han Sui's forehead turned cold in an instant, and the coldness almost penetrated into his bones...

The King of Chu, who was firmly in his palace, already knew everything that he had said on the top of the city wall. What else in Tongguan City did he not know?
I think the entire Tongguan is now under the control of Liu Wu!

When Cao Cao said he wanted to make me the King of Liang, I was really moved. If I had agreed to him at that time, I am afraid I might not be able to stand here steadily now...

Han Sui shuddered subconsciously.

Liu Wu glanced at him and asked, "Why, General Han, are you cold?"

"Not cold, not cold..." Han Sui smiled dryly and quickly changed the subject: "Your Highness, the letter instructing General Wenchang to attack Cao Mengde has been obtained by Cao Cao. He even went to the city to show off his power. What can we do?"

Liu Wu looked calm: "It's okay, just bear with it for now. Since he thinks he has seen through General Han's plan, let's just take advantage of his own strategy and let him wait for General Han to surrender in peace."

"Wait until the army outside the city arrives, and then we'll have a detailed entanglement with him."

……

it's getting dark.

Torches have been lit in Cao's army camp.

"How strange!" Cao Cao sat behind his desk, frowning, "I have even promised to give away the throne, but Han Sui is not tempted?"

This person has always been indecisive and always puts profit first.

Originally Han Sui was an official appointed by the imperial court in Liang Province. When the Qiang people rebelled, he saw that there was profit to be made and joined the rebellion without hesitation, thus gaining his first wave of power.

Afterwards, he even deposed and enthroned rebel leaders repeatedly, while he himself benefited from it behind the scenes.

As for jumping back and forth between the imperial court and the rebels, it was nothing out of the ordinary. In short, as long as it was profitable, betrayal or surrender was of no psychological burden to him.

So he successively surrendered to Dong Zhuo, Li Que and himself.
So when he just revealed his intention to recover Guanzhong and threatened Han Sui's interests, he betrayed him without hesitation...

Judging from this man's character, if I offer him the title of King of Liang, I will surely be able to induce Han Sui to open the city gates and surrender.

But now, with such huge interests at stake, Han Sui remained unshakable and still wanted to defend Tongguan to the death. Could it be that he really has something to rely on?

A sense of uneasiness suddenly crossed Cao Cao's heart.

He slowly stood up and paced back and forth in the tent, thinking about the current situation...

Ma Chao must be "dead". The letter Han Sui wrote today is the biggest proof. If it weren't for his letter that caused internal strife and fighting among the Xiliang army, why would Han Sui specially write a letter in an attempt to scare himself away?

If the Western Liang Army was still strong and powerful, given the character of those Liangzhou barbarians, they would have already rushed out of Tongguan to show off their strength. Why would they have to use such a strategy?
But since the Xiliang coalition forces are already so weak, what are they holding on to if they don't surrender now?
Han Sui has no integrity to begin with. Now that I am strong and he is weak, according to his past practices, he should have surrendered long ago even if I had not offered the Prince of Liang as bait.

What exactly is Han Sui planning?
"Prime Minister!"

Xu Chu rushed into the tent, breathing rapidly: "Scouts report urgently, Liu Wu's army is behind us..."

Cao Cao waved his sleeves nonchalantly and said, "It's OK. They can travel 30 miles a day. By the time they reach Tongguan, the situation will have been settled. They won't be able to cause any trouble."

"Prime Minister, how can they march 30 miles a day?" Xu Chu stamped his feet anxiously. "They suddenly started to advance rapidly, marching 80 miles a day. They will reach Tongguan tomorrow!"

Travel eighty miles a day!
Are we going to attack Tongguan tomorrow?
But Han Sui hasn't surrendered yet!
not good

Not good...

wow~
Cao Mengde stood up suddenly, his scalp tingling, his face extremely ugly: "Liu Zilie, what does he want to do again?!"

(End of this chapter)