Chapter 23 Cao Mengde's troops march to Xiling City! (Subscribe!)

Chapter 023: Cao Mengde's army marches south! They set out from Xiling City!
"My lord, I think there is no possibility that the eldest son will defect to the thief Cao." Just when Liu Bei was getting irritable and panicked, a clear voice sounded in the hall.

Liu Bei turned around and saw it was his military advisor Zhuge Kongming.

In the past, the Emperor Liu, who was respectful, friendly and kind to Zhuge Liang, could not help but speak coldly at this moment: "Kong Ming, at this point, this rebellious son has shown his rebelliousness. Are you still going to make excuses for him?"

Zhuge Liang waved his feather fan and said, "I am not trying to shirk responsibility for the eldest son. Please think about it, my lord. The eldest son has been missing for several days. If he really went north to join Cao Cao, Cao Cao must have received the news from the generals and cavalry along the way a few days ago."

"Given Cao Cao's deep hatred for the lord, he will surely spread this news to the world to humiliate the lord..."

"But until today, not to mention the news that the eldest son has surrendered to Cao, even his name has not been spread throughout the world, which shows that the eldest son did not go north to surrender to Cao."

Zhuge Kongming's voice was as gentle as water, slowly extinguishing the impatient anger in Liu Bei's heart.

He finally calmed down.

What Kong Ming said was not wrong. Given Cao Cao's hatred for him, how could he have remained silent until now if he had known that his eldest son had defected to him?
Moreover, Liu Wu has almost always been his own shadow over the years and rarely appears in public. Except for his own people, all the forces in the world don't even know that he has this eldest son.

But until this moment, he had not received any news related to the words "Liu Wu" from the outside world... Perhaps, Liu Wu really did not go north to surrender to Cao?

Kong Ming continued: "Besides, the eldest son is a smart man. Cao Cao is suspicious by nature, how could he not know?"

"During the Battle of Red Cliff, Kan Ze sent a letter. Cao Cao first believed Huang Gai's self-torture trick, and then fell for Pang Shiyuan's plan of connecting ships with iron chains, which resulted in the demise of 800,000 troops in one day, severely damaging the vitality."

"Cao Mengde is a frightened bird right now. If the eldest son goes to him now, how good will the outcome be?"

Cao Cao was suspicious by nature. During the Battle of Red Cliffs, he finally trusted Huang Gai and Pang Tong, but he almost lost his life as a result. If Liu Wu really dared to join him at this time, given the old villain's temper, it is possible that he would execute the rebellious son on the spot.

Liu Bei's anger finally subsided, but his frown remained on his face: "Military Advisor, this rebellious son never surrendered to Cao Cao, and there is no news of him in Jingzhou. Where did he go?"

Liu Bei now wants Liu Wu to come back more and more, not only because he is not used to not having Liu Wu serving him at his side.

More importantly, Liu Bei just realized that too many of his secrets were in Liu Wu's hands. As long as Liu Wu didn't come back, he would be more likely to be ruined.

Zhuge Liang smiled bitterly and said, "I don't know where the eldest son is. He always behaves in unexpected ways, which is hard to figure out. But I think he has absolutely no reason to join Cao."

"Report! Urgent news from Jiangbei!"

Liu Bei was about to say something when a scout rushed into the hall.

"According to the spies in Jiangbei, Xiling City was attacked, and the generals defending the city of Cao fled north. Now Xiling City has changed its owner!"

Cao's army lost Xiling?!
wow~
Liu Bei suddenly stood up from the main seat and walked quickly to the scout: "Do you know which faction is attacking Xiling City?"

"The army that attacked the city did not raise any flags, but within a day, they had already taken Xiling."

Liu Bei's expression changed and he said nothing.

Xiling controls the gateway to Jiangdong. Whoever captures Xiling can go down the river and head straight to Jiangdong. When Cao Cao was fleeing for his life, he did not forget to instruct his general Wen Pin to garrison Xiling.

I never thought that the Xiling City would eventually change hands.

"Sun Zhongmou has very quick hands and feet." Liu Bei said in a low voice.

Although the army that attacked Xiling did not raise a flag, now on both sides of the Yangtze River, there are only Sun and Liu, excluding Cao's army, who have the strength to capture Xiling.

He did not send out any troops, and apart from Sun Quan, Liu Bei really could not think of anyone else who had the ability to capture Xiling.

Liu Bei's brows, which had just relaxed a little, frowned again: "Now that Jiangdong has taken Xiling, there is no need to worry anymore. I'm afraid that the next Marquis Wu will be even bolder."

The Sun-Liu alliance was originally led by Liu Bei, who was on the weak side. Once Sun Quan became bolder, the pressure on Liu Bei would inevitably intensify, intentionally or unintentionally. This was definitely not a good thing for Liu Bei.

"Even though Jiangdong has taken Xiling, the current situation is still that Cao Cao is more powerful..." Zhuge Liang seemed to see his master's worries. He calmly comforted him: "Sun Zhongmou is not a short-sighted person. He hopes that the Sun-Liu alliance can survive more than we do."

"What Liang is puzzled about is that the walls of Xiling are high and strong, and Wen Pin is stationed there with 5,000 soldiers. Even if Jiangdong sent out tens of thousands of troops, it would be impossible to take Xiling in one day. I'm afraid there is something strange going on."

Liu Bei was stunned and nodded slowly.

Wen Pin was not a mediocre person. Even if the Jiangdong army was powerful, it was too incredible that he did not reach Xiling within one day.

"Report! Urgent news from Xuchang!"

A burst of urgent voices once again echoed through the county hall.

Xuchang!

The thief Cao is making a move!

Liu Bei turned around suddenly and stared at the new scout.

The feather fan in Kong Ming's hand suddenly stopped.

"A spy from Xuchang reported that Cao Cao sent 80,000 troops straight to Jingxiang!!"

……

Xuchang, parade ground outside the city.

woohoo~
dong dong dong~
The sounds of war drums and trumpets echoed between heaven and earth.

The wind is blowing hard and the flags are flying like a tide!
The spears are like a forest, and the swords and halberds are like a mountain.

The razor-sharp edge of the gun blade was filled with murderous aura.

Xilulu! ~
Thousands of Tiger and Leopard Cavalrymen kicked the ground impatiently on their war horses, as if they couldn't wait to gallop across the land.

The stacked chariots are like ferocious beasts gathered together, capable of devouring countless lives on the battlefield at any time.

Looking around, the eighty thousand black masses of soldiers were like rolling dark clouds, covering the entire area!

On the platform, there was a large banner with a huge character "Cao" written on it.

Under the big banner, there was a man wearing a helmet and armor, with a long sword at his waist, standing facing the wind.

It was the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty who held the emperor hostage to control the princes, Cao Cao Cao Mengde!

Xu Chu stood aside holding a sword, and counselors and generals stood on both sides.

Zhang Liao, Zhang He, Xu Huang, Yu Jin... These famous and powerful generals were all clad in armor and exuded a murderous aura.

Cao Cao's gaze slowly swept across the endless number of soldiers below him.

In the Battle of Red Cliff, he fell into the trap of the big-eared thief and Sun Quan's son, and his army of 800,000 was defeated in the Red Cliff River. It was really tragic!
But so what?
Now the world's situation is in his hands. He, Cao Mengde, can lose once, twice, or three times, but the traitors Sun and Liu only need to lose once to be doomed!

Did Sun Quan think that after his defeat at Chibi, he would no longer have the energy to march south?
Did he think that after the Battle of Chibi, he could do whatever he wanted in the nine counties of Jingxiang?
I would use my sword to tell little Sun Quan how ridiculous his idea was.

bass! ~
Cao Mengde suddenly drew his sword, his voice echoing in the strong wind: "Jiangdong rebelled, seized my Xiling, invaded my territory, and is guilty of unforgivable crimes!"

"Pass my order, attack Jiangnan again and take back Xiling!!"

(End of this chapter)