Chapter 220: Prime Minister Cao versus Prime Minister Zhuge! Everything has its consequences, and I am your retribution.

Chapter 220: Prime Minister Cao versus Prime Minister Zhuge! Everything has its consequences, and I am your retribution.

Cao Jun,

There was a lot of noise in the central army tent:
"Eighty miles a day?! By this calculation, Liu Zilie will reach Tongguan within two days!"

"Now that Tongguan has not been taken, Liu Zilie is coming to attack us again. This means we are attacked from both sides!"

"A few days ago, Liu Wu's army was still advancing thirty miles a day. Why are they advancing so fast now?"

"If Liu Zilie had come later, we might have already passed Tongguan. If we relied on Tongguan to defend it, why would we be afraid of him?"

"Han Wenyue is also weird. Now that Ma Chao is dead and the Xiliang army is in civil strife, he can't defend Tongguan anymore. What on earth is he planning if he doesn't surrender to the King of Wei at this time..."

All the counselors in Cao's camp gathered together, and they all twirled their beards and frowned.

Ever since the King of Wei marched west to Tongguan, he has been in a stalemate with the Western Liang army. The two sides have been fighting and winning and losing, and both sides have suffered heavy losses.

The King of Wei had used a trick to wipe out Han Sui's letter, causing Han Sui and Ma Chao to kill each other in the Western Liang tribes, greatly weakening their strength...

Although the news of the internal strife in the Xiliang army has not yet spread,
Although the Xiliang tribes in Tongguan concealed themselves well,

But Ma Chao has not appeared for many days, and today there is evidence from Han Sui's letter of confession, so there is no doubt that something happened in Tongguan.

Even though Han Sui is still holding on and refusing to surrender, he will surely collapse if the situation gets delayed for another two or three days.

However, Prime Minister Cao no longer has those two or three days, because Liu Wu will come to kill him within these two days!
Liu Wu's action was so sudden that all the counselors were caught off guard. After discussing for a long time, they could not come up with a countermeasure.

Cao Mengde, who was at the top, had a gloomy face that looked like water could drip out of it...

Liu Zilie!
From Xiling, to Xiangfan, to Xuchang, and now to Tongguan... Why does this guy always oppose me? !

At first I recommended him to attack Han Sui and Ma Chao, but he refused to come.

Now that I have fought to the death with the Xiliang soldiers and suffered heavy losses, he has come here quietly.

Seeing that Han Sui would surrender if they tried harder, Liu Zilie suddenly led his entire army to advance rapidly, and within two days they would reach Tongguan...

He was clearly here to pick fruits, how hateful! !

crunch~
Cao Mengde's back teeth creaked from gnashing his teeth, but he was unable to stop Liu Wu.

"Prime Minister!" a steady voice came.

The ministers who had been discussing endlessly suddenly became quiet.

Xun You slowly stood up and bowed to Cao Cao: "Liu Zilie's army did not advance aggressively earlier or later, but chose to advance aggressively at this time. I think that perhaps...

"Liu Zilie has some connection with Han Sui."

Is Liu Zilie involved with Han Sui?

Everyone in the tent was stunned. How could these two men, one in the north and the other in the south, be connected?

Cao Mengde's heart skipped a beat, as if he had grasped something vaguely.

"Gongda, please try to speak!"

Xun You stroked his grey beard gently: "Liu Zilie has great ambitions, and his strategies and tactics are always unexpected. Han Sui is also a cunning man..."

"Guanzhong is the foundation of the emperor. Liu Zilie must have wanted to obtain Guanzhong, and Han Sui was definitely unwilling to offer Guanzhong to the prime minister. Therefore, You privately believed that these two people may have secretly communicated with each other."

"Han Sui refused to surrender in order to wait for Liu Zilie to come to his aid!"

"The reason why Liu Wu is advancing so rapidly is precisely to join forces with Han Sui to attack the Prime Minister!!"

"If this is true, I'm afraid we have fallen into the trap of Liu and Han..."

boom! ~
Xun You's voice was like a thunderclap, dispelling all the doubts in Cao Cao's heart.

He felt a chill running through his bones, and in his hawk-like eyes, there was a storm: "No wonder...

"No wonder I used a strategy of sowing discord, causing Han Sui to eliminate Ma Chao, which led to internal strife among the tribes of Xiliang, leaving only a few forces left to guard Tongguan..."

"No wonder I exposed Han Sui's disguise in front of him and even offered him the throne of King of Liang to persuade him to surrender, but Han Wenyue remained indifferent..."

"It turns out he was waiting for Liu Wu's reinforcements!"

I see,

That's it!

I understand, I understand everything!

Cao Cao suddenly recalled the day in Xuchang when he recommended Liu Wu to conquer Guanzhong, but the other party refused without hesitation. At that time, he just thought that Liu Wu saw through his plan to consume each other with Xiliang.

Now look at it again,

At that time, Liu Zilie might have been planning to collude with Han Sui and secretly deal with him outside Tongguan...

Cao Cao's expression became increasingly grim: "This boy is so young, yet he is so cunning. He is truly a treacherous hero in troubled times!"

Cao Aman had completely believed Xun You's words, but all the counselors looked at each other in bewilderment...

Xun You was born into the Xun family of Yingchuan. He was known for his broad wisdom and deep plans. His words were rarely wrong and his plans were rarely unsuccessful. He was always respected by all the counselors in Cao's camp.

But if what happened today was really as Xun You said, then Liu Wu was planning too far ahead.

His Highness the King of Chu, who had never been to Guanzhong and had never met Han Sui, actually designed the King of Wei into a situation where he was attacked from both sides?

"This, Mr. Gongda said, does make sense."

"If we follow what Mr. Gongda said, the matter between Liu Wu and Han Sui can indeed be explained."

"This Liu Zilie is so young, only about twenty years old, but he is so cunning and shrewd?"

"Our army is now in danger. It is better to believe it than not to believe it!"

It is better to believe that it exists than to believe that it does not exist!
This is the current situation of Cao's army. Their opponent is Liu Zilie, the King of Chu who has repeatedly defeated Prime Minister Cao. They can only prepare for the worst.

Cao Cao stared at Xun You and said, "Since Gongda can see through Liu Zilie and Han Sui's scheme, he must have a plan to deal with it."

Xun You said without any nonsense: "The Prime Minister's dilemma right now is nothing more than Liu Wu's army and Tongguan..."

"Han Sui is unwilling to surrender. Even though the Xiliang army is weak now, they are defending the pass. Even if the Prime Minister attacks with all his might, he will not be able to take it within two days."

"In this case, the Prime Minister can only send the army back to drive Liu Wu's army away."

Drive away?

Cao Mengde was helpless: "Liu Zilie has always been rude and lawless. He even dared to attack his own father. How can I, his godfather, drive him away?"

"No, it's different now." Xun You said in a low voice, "In the past, Liu Zilie was just a traitor and a rebellious son. He had few soldiers and generals, so he would do anything to survive."

"Now he has entered the direct lineage of the emperor, is the son of Emperor Xiaoling, the brother of the current emperor, and the King of Chu of the Han Dynasty!"

"These things certainly make him more powerful, but aren't they also a kind of constraint? As long as he still recognizes these identities, he has to save face and act in accordance with etiquette and laws. He can't go too far."

Cao Cao smiled bitterly: "This man's behavior has always been unpredictable. What if he doesn't care about etiquette?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Jia Xu stood up and said, "Don't worry, my lord. Liu Wu has come from a long way, his troops are tired and exhausted, and according to spies, he has only 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers and horses. The Prime Minister has an army of more than 100,000, so he can be easily defeated."

Defeat Liu Wu easily?

Looking at Jia Xu in front of him, Cao Cao almost laughed out of anger: "Wenhe's idea is great. Aren't you afraid that Liu Zilie will charge into the battle formation and easily defeat me?"

Outside Xiling City, Prime Minister Cao had already been easily defeated by Liu Wu once.

Cao Ren was easily defeated twice. How many other generals, such as Xu Huang, Yu Jin, and Man Chong, were captured alive by Liu Wu?
Jia Xu's forehead was sweating, and he saluted awkwardly: "It is your humble servant who has not thought about it. If there is a real battle, the Prime Minister will not be on the battlefield, just not on the battlefield..."

Cao Cao no longer thought about driving Liu Wu away, but he was afraid that it would not work without a battle.

After all, I have an army of more than 100,000. Should I really retreat to a mere two or three men? As Jia Wenhe said, as long as I don't go to the battlefield, what do I have to fear?
"Pass on the order of the lone army!"

Boom~
Cao Cao suddenly stood up, and everyone in the tent bowed and stood up.

The pair of falcon eyes scanned the tent: "Liu Wu led his army on a long expedition, and his soldiers are exhausted. He only has 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers..."

"I will send 30,000 soldiers to block Tongguan!"

"One hundred thousand troops turned around to meet Liu Wu..."

"I will first use courtesy and then use force to persuade him to withdraw his troops. If Liu Wu does not follow the rules, my army will take advantage of the fact that Liu Wu's 30,000 troops are not yet firmly established and attack them all to defeat him in one battle!"

……

……

The sun rises in the east, and the bright golden light pierces the pale sky.

The blazing light,
It sprinkled on the land in the northwest and on the army that was marching quickly towards Tongguan.

Boom! ~
The 30,000-strong army marched westward like a galloping wave.

The weapons are numerous and the armor is like clouds.

The flags faced the rising sun, rustled loudly in the autumn wind, and moved forward rapidly.

No matter there is sand or mountains ahead.

They had no choice but to step over it.
Step forward without hesitation!

The army cut a path through the mountains and built bridges over the water. The troops on a rapid march had no reason or excuse to stop.

Wei Yan looked ahead and turned to ask his deputy general: "Where is ahead? How far is it to Tongguan?"

Deputy General: "The army has reached the border of Weinan, and is only a stone's throw away from Tongguan."

Wei Yan nodded, turned his horse around, and rode to a carriage.

"Sir, the army is advancing rapidly and the men are too exhausted. Now we are only a few steps away from Tongguan. Can we stop and rest for a while before continuing the march?"

A faint voice came from the carriage: "No need."

Wei Yan opened his mouth and continued to work hard: "If we don't rest, I'm afraid some soldiers will die of exhaustion on the road!"

The voice in the carriage said, without any change in tone: "I said, no need."

"Sir!" Wei Yan's face flushed, and his tone became higher: "At Tongguan, Cao Cao still has more than 100,000 troops. With such old and tired soldiers, our army will suffer heavy losses if the two sides go to war!

"The 30,000 soldiers Zilie entrusted to me are the elite core of the Jingbei Army. If they are killed, how can I explain to Zilie?"

"Wen Chang..." The voice in the carriage was still so unhurried: "Otherwise, you can chop off my head first."

Wei Yan was so choked up that he couldn't say anything for a long time: "Okay, okay, you are the commander-in-chief, I will listen to you! Go~"

Xilulu! ~
Wei Yan could only feel angry alone and rode away on his horse, whipping it.

An hour later,
The Jingbei army is getting closer and closer to Tongguan... Boom! ~
In the direction of Tongguan, a shadow appeared, like an endless wave, rushing towards the Jingbei Army.

It has the power to sweep across the world!
At the forefront of the huge wave, a cloud of dust rose up, like a yellow dragon rushing towards the Jingbei Army.

It's as powerful as thunder, like a storm lashing the earth!

"It's Cao's army!"

"It's the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry!"

"Meet the enemy!"

It was like two dark clouds, each occupying half of the sky, spreading and rushing towards each other.

Boom! ~
The distance between the two sides is getting closer and closer...

Finally, both sides slowed down.

Boom~
The two sides were several miles apart when the two armies suddenly stopped. Endless smoke and dust rose into the sky, covering the sky and the sun.

Xilulu~
Cao Ren, Zhang Liao, Zhang He, Xu Huang... several generals of Cao's army, wearing helmets and armor, rode out on horseback.

Zhang Liao stood in front of the two armies and shouted, "Enemy generals, come out and answer me!"

Da Da Da~
A man and a horse leapt out from the Jingbei army!

The men were like tigers, the horses were like dragons, galloping towards Cao's army...

Xilulu~
The warhorse stood up, and roared towards the sky under the bright sun.

The general drew his sword and mounted his horse, his voice as loud as a bell: "The Han general Wei Yan, the general of the Southern Frontier, is here!"

The words have not yet finished...

Rumble, rumble~
A sound of carriages and horses came from the opposite side, and the Cao generals on the opposite side dispersed from both sides.

Four horses pulled the huge carriage slowly, moving towards Wei Yan step by step.

A huge banner with the word Cao on it was inserted into the carriage and fluttered freely in the autumn wind.

King Wei of the Han Dynasty,

The current Prime Minister,

Cao Cao, Cao Mengde, who held the emperor hostage and controlled the princes, was sitting high on the chariot. He just sat quietly in the carriage.

It seemed that even the sun in the sky could not cover his brilliance.

Cao Cao closed his eyes slightly, without even looking at Wei Yan: "Let the King of Chu come to see me."

wow~
The soldiers in the front row of the Jingbei Army made way for an empty path as if cutting through the waves, and Wei Yan also quietly retreated to one side.

A four-wheeled vehicle slowly drove in front of the two armies.

The man was holding a feather fan and a long scarf. The autumn wind blew past him and he stopped the fan. He said calmly, "The war is dangerous and fierce. The king cannot see the king..."

The war is dangerous and fierce,

The king cannot see the king.

Zhuge Liang's faint voice floated in front of the two armies.

On the carriage, Cao Mengde narrowed his eyes slightly, revealing a sharp gleam. He had never seen this young man before, but with such demeanor, he must be no ordinary person.

I vaguely felt that this outfit seemed familiar, as if I had heard of it before, but I couldn't remember it for a moment, so I asked, "Who are you?"

Kong Ming gently waved his feather fan and said, "I am a carefree person in Wolonggang."

next moment,
Someone in Cao's camp immediately spoke up: "Prime Minister!"

"It's the Prime Minister! Not..."

"Prime Minister, he is Zhuge Liang!!"

"Prime Minister, he is the Zhuge Kongming that Liu Xuande invited after three visits to his thatched cottage!"

Upon hearing this, Cao Mengde immediately became excited: "Do you dare to come forward and take a look?!"

Cao Cao was extremely curious about Zhuge Liang.

After all, it was after Liu Xuande got this person that he started to become confused.

Later, he almost died at Red Cliff...

Regardless of whether Zhuge Liang agreed or not, Cao Mengde's carriage slowly moved forward.

brush~
The feather fan fluttered slightly, and the four-wheeled cart was pushed forward.

The two cars got closer and closer until they were only inches apart and then they stopped.

Now,

Cao Mengde and Zhuge Liang looked at each other, after all, they had never met each other.

Cao Mengde was quite curious about Zhuge Liang, and Zhuge Liang was naturally well-known to Cao Cao...

There was silence for a long time, and neither of them said a word.

[In the fourth year of Chuping, Cao Cao attacked Tao Qian and captured Pengcheng and Fuyang.]

[Tao Qian retreated to Tan, Cao attacked but failed to conquer it, so he returned.]

[They passed through Quliu, Juling, and Xiaqiu and slaughtered them all. They killed hundreds of thousands of men and women, leaving no chickens or dogs behind. The Si River stopped flowing...]

Kong Ming looked at Cao Cao, who was already over fifty years old and looked old but still majestic, and thought to himself: "This is the brutal Cao Mengde who massacred the city."

"If it weren't for this man, how could the Xuzhou Langya Zhuge clan escape to Jingzhou, wandering all the way, with uncles dying and brothers scattered..."

[In the 13th year of Jian'an, at Chibi, the southeast wind was strong! ! ! ]

[Huang Gai led ten ships in the front, raising the sails in the middle of the river, and the rest of the ships followed in succession...]

[The fire was fierce and the wind was strong, burning all the northern ships! It also spread to the camps on the shore...]

[Soon, smoke filled the sky! Many people and horses were burned or drowned...]

[Zhou Yu and others led the light elite to follow behind, thunder drums roared, the northern army was in great trouble, Cao Cao fled from Huarong Road...]

Cao Mengde's eyes were gloomy at this time, revealing a cold look. He carefully looked at the young man in front of him and thought to himself: "This is the demon who set up an altar in Chibi and borrowed the southeast wind..."

"If it weren't for this man, I, Cao Mengde, would have conquered Jiangdong and unified the world long ago! How could I have been bullied by that little Liu Wu to such an extent..."

a long time,

a long time,

a long time,

at last!

It was Cao Cao who broke the silence first. He said sarcastically, "You have also joined Liu Wu?"

Kong Ming was stunned.

Cao Mengde's few words had completely broken Zhuge Liang's defense...

Sure enough, the prime minister is still experienced.

Cao Cao was still saying: "Ha, ha, I thought you were very loyal to Liu Da'er..."

"I heard that when Liu Wu conquered Jingnan, the whole city surrendered to him, but you were still holding on in Gong'an. In the end, you couldn't wait for Liu Da'er, so you caused a scene. Yes, it seemed like you wanted to draw your sword and commit suicide..."

"No!" Zhuge Liang interrupted Cao Cao's verbal attacks and insults, and heard him tightly grasping the feather fan and gritting his teeth and said: "Kong Ming did not surrender to the King of Chu, but to Prime Minister Cao!"

Cao Mengde was stunned...

What did Zhuge Liang just say?
Zhuge Liang went north to Tongguan to join me?
What about the liar? !

Then I heard Kong Ming say: "The King of Chu said that Prime Minister Cao is already old, and since he has been crowned a king, his position is noble, so the position of Prime Minister should be vacant..."

Hearing this, Cao Cao's face suddenly darkened.

However, Zhuge Kongming, whom Cao Mengde hated deeply, was still there, barking and talking wildly: "Kongming is only thirty years old. I am grateful to the King of Chu for his high regard and recommendation. I am willing to share the worries of Prime Minister Cao!"

"Kong Ming is heading north this time to seek refuge with Prime Minister Cao, to the Xudu court, and to serve the emperor..."

As he was talking, Zhuge Liang reached into his sleeves.

After a while,
Zhuge Liang didn't care what Cao Cao looked like, or that Cao Cao was trembling all over, and he held the thing towards Cao Cao: "This is a recommendation letter jointly written by the King of Chu and the King of Wu for Kong Ming. I hope Prime Minister Cao will take a look..."

Liu Wu was putting the recommendation letter in Cao Cao's face.

At this time, Kong Ming raised the recommendation letter with both hands and raised it to Cao Cao's face...

Cao Mengde suppressed his anger and did not even look at the recommendation form. He just sneered at Zhuge Kongming and said, "Then, don't I have to call you Prime Minister Zhuge from now on?"

As soon as these words came out,
Kong Ming was really flattered.
Then he was "extremely terrified": "Prime Minister Cao really embarrasses Kong Ming..."

Then he raised his head and sighed, as if he was filled with great pain: "King of Chu, King of Wu, you have really made me suffer!"

next moment,
Han Prime Minister Cao Mengde went completely berserk: "Zhuge villager!!!"

"I, Cao Mengde, am a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty. I have made countless contributions to the court. I have spent half my life fighting in the north and south, slapping the four directions, and escaping death nine times. Only then did I become the prime minister!"

"Since I received the order, I have been worried day and night, fearing that I will not be able to fulfill the trust!!!"

"Kong Ming! Look at yourself. You can't even support Liu Da'er, and Liu Wu took away your foundation. How can you support the Han Dynasty?"

"Are you worthy enough to support the Han Dynasty?!"

"You are a shameless villain, an incompetent villain, and a demon who brings disaster to the country..."

"Kong Ming!"

"You are worthy of being the Prime Minister?!"

"I have never seen such a shameless person!!!!!"

…………

PS: It’s gone today. Also, I feel so empty. I have used up all the memes I saved... I have to go watch Douyin again... Alas.

　It’s over today, this chapter is five thousand four.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)