Chapter 37: Drown the big-eared thief in the river! ! ()
Chapter 37: Drown the big-eared thief in the river! !
Outside Jiangling City, on the north bank of the river.

On the top floor of the ship that had already docked, Liu Bei looked at the Jiangling City in front of him with a confused look on his face. He saw that the gates of Jiangling were wide open, and only civilians were seen coming and going at the gates, without a single soldier guarding the city.

Of course, the most eye-catching thing is...

Liu Bei looked up blankly, and on the top of the city wall, a large flag with the word "Liu" on it was fluttering in the wind!
Is this Jiangling City?

That's right, it must be Cao's Jiangling City! I have been in Gong'an City, looking across the river at Jiangling for countless days and nights, there is no way I would be wrong.

What's the matter with the character "Liu" on the top floor of Kecheng Building?

Liu Bei's mind was in a mess, and the more he thought about it, the more confused he became. He muttered to himself: "Empty City Strategy! This must be an Empty City Strategy!"

Empty city strategy?
Zhuge Liang, who was also in a daze, was suddenly awakened by these three words: "My lord, what is the empty city plan?"

I had studied under Mr. Shui Jing, and I had read all the military books and strategies, as well as all the brilliant plans of famous generals from ancient times to the present, but I had never heard of a plan like the Empty City Plan.

Liu Bei's eyes never left Jiangling City: "The so-called empty city strategy is to show the enemy weakness, lure the enemy deep into the city, and then capture them! Just like the Jiangling City in front of us..."

"Everyone knows that Jiangling City is guarded by Cao Ren, and there are 30,000 soldiers and horses in the city! But now the city gates are wide open and there are no soldiers in the city. It's clear that they are luring the enemy into the city."

"Cao Ren must have found out that I was coming across the river, so he used this [Empty City Strategy] to lure me into the city!"

The more Liu Bei spoke, the more confident he became, as if he had seen through Cao Ren's trick.

"But the lord came across the river in just a ship." Zhuge Liang frowned and waved his feather fan. "If Cao Ren really knew that the lord came with a light load, he could just send a large army out of the city. Why go through so much trouble?"

That's right, if Cao Renzhen knew that I had come to the riverside, he could have just sent troops to take me. Why would he go through so much trouble?
The Jiangling City in front of us...

Liu Bei was confused again and didn't know what to do.

Wow! ~
Zhuge Liang subconsciously shook the feather fan in his hand rapidly, his brows furrowed more and more, something was wrong, there was something really wrong with this Jiangling City.

The city gates are wide open.

There are no guards.

Even the flag with the word "Cao" on the city wall was changed into the flag with the word "Liu"!
Even though Zhuge Liang considered himself to be extremely intelligent, he could not guess what Cao Ren was trying to do.

Is it true, as my lord said, that Cao Ren is using some kind of empty city strategy?

Empty City Strategy...

Especially when he thought of these three words, the inexplicable feeling of weirdness in Zhuge Liang's heart became stronger and stronger.

He didn't want to guess any more: "My lord, waiting like this is not a good idea. There are still dozens of guards on the ship. Why not send them into the city to investigate first, and then make a decision."

"What Kong Ming said is very true." Liu Bei did not want to wait any longer, and immediately issued an order: "Order all the guards on the ship to disembark and enter the city to find out how many soldiers and horses are in the city, and report back immediately!"

……

call! ~
The river breeze in the cold winter was biting, but Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang would rather wait for the guards to come back in the bow of the ship in the breeze than go into the cabin to avoid the cold.

Finally, a servant reported: "My lord, the guards are back."

Liu Bei was greatly encouraged: "Hurry up and ask them to come aboard and report back."

As the guards boarded the ship, Liu Bei hurriedly asked, "How is the city?"

The head of the guards replied: "My lord, the people in Jiangling City are all the same, the officials are all there, except for this soldier..."

"We searched all over Jiangling City, but didn't find a single soldier or horse."

Not a single soldier or horse was found?
Liu Bei was incredulous: "How could Cao Ren have 30,000 troops stationed in Jiangling without even a single soldier or horse?"

The head of the imperial guards said: "We sneaked into the military camp in the city and found that it was empty. We did not find any soldiers."

There are no Cao Ren's troops in Jiangling City?

Doesn’t that mean that Jiangling is truly an empty city at this moment?
Liu Bei was in a trance...

You know, Jiangling is connected to Bashu in the west, Wuyue in the east, and Xianghan in the north. It is indeed an important place that military strategists must fight for. In the strategy of dividing the world into three parts that Kong Ming planned for himself in Longzhong, the most important part was to take Bashu.

If Kong Ming wanted to realize his plan of taking control of Jing and Yi and sending the army of Jingzhou to attack Wan and Luo, he had to take Jiangling.

Liu Bei looked up at the big banner with the Chinese character "Liu" on it...

His heart suddenly became hot.

"Hurry back to Gong'an and pass on my military order!" Liu Bei immediately made up his mind and said without hesitation: "Order the two generals Guan and Zhang to lead their troops across the river immediately and take Jiangling!"

The leader of the guards: "Yes, sir!"

Having said this, he hurriedly got off the boat and left.

"My lord, Jiangling is strange, we can't..."

"Kong Ming! If you don't take what God gives you, you will suffer the consequences!"

Zhuge Liang wanted to persuade Liu Bei again, but Liu Bei interrupted him directly: "Has Kong Ming forgotten the discussion in Longzhong [spanning Jing and Yi, ordering a general to lead the army of Jingzhou to attack Wan and Luo]? "

"If we can capture Jiangling, we will have Jingyi in sight! Now the gates of Jiangling are wide open. This is heaven's help. Why should we hesitate to move forward?"

Before Liu Bei finished speaking, he hurriedly disembarked from the boat with more than a dozen guards and headed straight for Jiangling Chengmen.

"My lord..." Zhuge Liang wanted to persuade him again, but Liu Bei had already gone far away.

On the tower ship, Zhuge Liang looked at Liu Bei's back, feeling uneasy. Jiangling City was such an important place, but Cao Ren just threw it away as if it was useless?
What on earth does Cao Ren want to do?
……

At the gate of Jiangling city, there was an endless stream of peddlers and hawkers, and the city was bustling with people coming and going.

Liu Bei walked through the city gate step by step, mixed in the crowd, as if in a dream.

In Jiangling City, Liu Bei turned around and looked at the city gate he had passed through, his eyes filled with confusion...

Zhou Gongjin led a large army to attack fiercely, fought several battles, suffered heavy casualties, and failed to capture Jiangling City, but he just came in like this?
Liu Bei raised his head again and looked at the big banner with the Chinese character "Liu" still visible in the city. Suddenly, his eyes turned red and he cried bitterly, "Wuwuwu... Elders of Jiangling City, I am too late!"

"All the elders are struggling to survive under the rule of Cao, and yet there are still righteous men who, regardless of life and death, plant the big flag of Liu on the city wall to show their willingness to welcome Liu Bei. I feel so ashamed! I feel so ashamed! Woo woo woo woo..."

Liu Bei cried louder and louder, and the people inside and outside the city gate were stunned.

"Who is this person?"

"Hey, crying and wailing in the street, I think he must be hysterical. He is a pitiful person."

"What is this person saying? I don't understand."

"What water or fire? Jiangling City is next to the river and there is no shortage of water, so where does the fire come from?"

At the city gate, more and more people gathered around Liu Bei to watch the fun.

Boom! ~
At this moment, there was a roar coming from outside the city gate. When the people looked, they saw a cloud of yellow dust rising and rushing towards Jiangling City.

The yellow dust continued to approach Jiangling City.

The river wind swept past, dispersing large tracts of yellow dust and revealing dense and cold rays of light...

That is the tip of the spear.

That's the armor blade!

"This is the army!"

"It's bad! Jiangling City is going to be in trouble!"

"Run! Run!"

In an instant, there was panic at the city gate, and the originally densely packed people fled in all directions, leaving only Liu Bei standing there, covering his face and crying.

Thousands of soldiers stopped outside the city gate, and the two leading generals rode their horses directly into the city.

It was Zhang Fei and Guan Yu who led their troops to attack!
"Brother! Is it true that there are no soldiers left in Jiangling City?" Zhang Fei dismounted from his horse and walked quickly to Liu Bei, his face full of disbelief.

After receiving Liu Bei's order, the two men thought that it was the guard leader who had falsely transmitted the military order and almost killed him. It was not until the other party explained it again and again that the two men led their troops across the river half-believingly.

I never thought that there was not a single soldier in Jiangling City.

Guan Yu, who was standing by, frowned slightly: "Brother, how could 30,000 soldiers in Jiangling City suddenly disappear? Could it be a trick set up by Cao Ren?" Liu Bei had already wiped away his tears and smiled: "Second brother, third brother, I have sent people to search the training ground and the camp in the city, and there is indeed no soldier."

"From today on, Jiangling City will be under the rule of Liu Bei. With Jiangling, it won't be long before my brothers and I march into Bashu!"

Liu Bei was very excited, but Zhang Fei was even more excited than Liu Bei: "That kid Zhou Yu is always conceited, but he fought hard in Jiangling, but got nothing except heavy losses. But my brother took Jiangling without losing a single soldier."

"When I see that Zhou Yu kid in the future, I will definitely make fun of him!"

"It's a pity that Cao Ren escaped, otherwise I would have chopped off the head of this thief Cao's cousin!"

Guan Yu knew better than Zhang Fei what Jiangling meant to Liu Bei. He relaxed his brows, smiled, and bowed to Liu Bei: "Brother, now that you have Jiangling, your great cause will not be far away!"

Liu Bei felt even more happy: "The Han Dynasty's destiny will not end! God will help Liu and not Cao!"

On the boat on the shore, Zhuge Liang saw the three brothers' joy and happiness, but he was even more worried. There must be something strange in Jiangling City.

He gently waved his feather fan and whispered to himself, "Strange, really strange... But where is this strangeness?"

……

……

Xiangyang City!
This is an extremely important strategic location in the history of China.

Once upon a time, Liu Jingsheng, who rode alone into Jingzhou and conquered nine counties, ruled the nine counties of Jingxiang here.

Wei Yan also opened the gate of this city in order to welcome Liu Bei to Xiangyang, but he was almost killed by Wen Pin...

"You, what did you say?!"

Cao Mengde looked confused. He couldn't believe the news he had just heard.

The current owner of Xiangyang City, Prime Minister Cao of the Han Dynasty, he simply couldn't believe it!
Not only Cao Mengde, but also the ministers and generals around him were dumbfounded. They couldn't believe it at all and couldn't understand it at all! !

This time, the 80,000-strong army marched south with the intention of showing off their power in Jiangbei to boost morale and also to dampen the arrogance of the Sun and Liu families.

Otherwise, why would a small Xiling city mobilize such a large force?

Cao Ren's 30,000 troops were the vanguard, and then when Cao Cao's 80,000 troops arrived, they broke through Xiling with the force of a mountain pressing down on one's head!
By then, I will be able to show off my power in Jiangbei and make a second expedition to Jiangnan...

"I dare not lie in the slightest!"

"30,000 troops were defeated by the coalition forces of Sun and Liu outside Xiling City. General Zixiao was captured and his life or death is unknown!"

boom! ~
Cao Mengde felt dizzy and fell backwards.

"Prime Minister!"

"Prime Minister!!"

The palace was filled with civil officials and counselors, and all his subordinates came forward to support him.

Cao Cao stretched out his hand and pressed hard on his head, his eyes were about to burst, and in a hurry, his migraine recurred: "What happened to Zixiao? Say it again?!"

The soldier knelt on the ground and trembled, "General Zixiao was captured in the chaos, and we don't know whether he is alive or dead..."

finished,

boom!
The soldier bowed his head hard to the ground and dared not look up again.

"Zixiao, Zixiao..." Cao Cao broke free from the support of his ministers, and staggered as if he was in a trance.

"My cousin Cao Zixiao!" Cao Mengde beat his chest and stamped his feet, and actually burst into tears.

Cao Ren followed Cao Cao for many years and made many contributions.

Defeat Yuan Shu, attack Tao Qian, capture Lu Bu, defeat Liu Bei, and even participate in the Battle of Guandu!

After the Battle of Red Cliff, Cao Ren guarded Jiangling again and resisted Zhou Yu's attack, which was considered to be a relief for Cao Cao...

Cao Ren was not only Cao Cao's cousin, but also one of the most important generals under Cao Cao!
The officials in the field were silent.

No one said that Cao Ren was not dead yet.

Because Cao Ren is dead...

Everyone knew that among the many civil officials and counselors under Cao Cao, someone like Cao Ren would never surrender. Since he was captured, there was only one possibility:
dead.

Who is the rival among the heroes in the world? Cao and Liu. Most of the time, Cao Cao acts like Liu Bei, and Cao Mengde’s acting skills are not necessarily worse than Liu Bei’s.

But this time, everyone knew that they were really crying because of the loss of Cao Ren and Cao Mengde, which was more painful than the loss of 30,000 troops!
At this time, another scout entered the city: "Report!"

"Urgent news!~"

Xun You, the chief strategist of Cao's camp, stretched out his hand and said, "What urgent news? Tell me now!"

Scout: "Jiangling City has been lost!"

Xun You: "Jiangling City was lost?!"

Jiangling City was lost? ! !

The civil and military officials on the scene looked at each other in bewilderment.

Not long after Xiling City was lost, Cao Ren was defeated and captured, and now Jiangling City is lost again? !

In just a short period of time, they lost their troops and cities one after another. The one who was lost was Cao Cao's cousin, and they also lost Jiangling and Xiling, the two most important towns in northern Jiangnan! !
Cao Mengde, who was crying bitterly, turned around suddenly. His eyes were red and his whole body was shaking uncontrollably: "How did Jiangling fall?!!"

At this time, Cao Mengde was like a lion who had lost his cubs.

The scout reported truthfully: "Your Excellency, it was Liu Bei stationed in Gong'an City who took advantage of the opportunity..."

Cao Mengde suddenly stepped forward and said, "Even if Zixiao went to attack Xiling, Jiangling has its own garrison. How could it be easily taken away by Liu Bei?!"

His chest was heaving violently.

"When Zixiao and Zhou Yu fought fiercely in Jiangling, Liu Bei hid in hiding and didn't even dare to fart. How can he have the guts to take Jiangling city now?!"

The scout had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "But now, Jiangling City has indeed raised the Liu flag."

"Bastard!"

"Shameless big-eared thief!!"

"This guy should have been killed back then!!"

Cao Mengde was furious.

"Lord..."

As the strategist Xun You was about to step forward, he heard

Canglanglang! ~
The sharp sword was unsheathed, and Cao Cao, with red eyes, drew the sword from his waist: "Xiahou Yuan!"

Immediately, a tiger general stepped out and said, "My lord!"

Cao Mengde calmed down a little and said calmly: "I order you to be the commander-in-chief and send troops to Jiangling to fight against the big-eared thief!"

Xiahou Yuan bowed and said proudly: "I obey your orders!"

Is that all?
Do not!
The next moment, Cao Mengde called out his generals: "Zhang Liao! Le Jin! Yu Jin! Zhang He! Xu Huang!"

At that moment, five generals came out together.

"Each of you will send 10,000 troops from Xiangyang and follow Xiahou Yuan to attack Liu Bei."

Five outstanding generals came out together...

There were only 80,000 troops in Xiangyang, and 50,000 were sent to fight Liu Bei...

At this time, Cao Mengde was still gritting his teeth and said, "Since the big-eared thief has the guts to cross the river and go to the north bank, I will drown him in the river!"

(End of this chapter)