Chapter 48 Cao Cao is furious! I treat you as a brother, but you want to be my heir?
Chapter 048: Cao Cao is furious! I treat you as a brother, but you want to be my heir?
The sky is getting brighter.

Xiling City was still silent, and the attacking and defending sides had not yet started fighting again.

Inside the city, at the county governor's residence, the envoy who had just returned last night stood in the lobby with a bamboo scroll in his hand, looking unhappy. "This is a letter from Prime Minister Cao. Please have a look, General."

In the central army tent last night, Prime Minister Cao roared with anger and was furious, needless to say. But even after being angry, the prime minister of the Han Dynasty still decided to give this young and brave general one last chance.

Hence, this letter came into being.

The soldier in the hall took the bamboo slips and held them in front of Liu Wu's desk with both hands.

This Prime Minister Cao really refuses to give up.

Liu Wu vaguely guessed Cao Mengde's thoughts, and he flipped open the bamboo slips:

"[Cao Cao, the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, wrote a letter to General Zilie of Xiling...]"

"【Previously, Cao wanted to bring General Zilie back to the Han Dynasty to serve the emperor, but General Zilie said that if Cao was not given the position of Crown Prince, it would not be enough to repay his contribution to the Han Dynasty.】"

"[However, the general is a brave and valiant man in the world, and his ambition is very small! I think that the position of the crown prince and Cao Cao's foundation are not enough to repay the general's contribution to the Han Dynasty?]"

"[If the general is willing to abandon the dark and join the light, and follow Cao to Xuchang in the north, Cao will appear before the emperor of the Han Dynasty and recommend General Zilie to be the general, give him the title of the Three Dukes, and command the troops of the whole country. Cao and the general will serve in the same court and become brothers. Isn't that wonderful...]"

It has to be said that the conditions in Cao Cao's letter were indeed generous.

The general is one of the three highest officials in the country and commands all the troops in the world!
Each title is enough to shock an ordinary person and make him excited and happy.

But the problem is that Prime Minister Cao has already given these titles to many people. He once recommended Yuan Shao to be the general.

Later, under the city of Xuzhou, Cao Cao promised Lu Bu that as long as he surrendered, he would make him a general, and all his troops would be handed over to Lu Bu. He even wanted to become brothers with Lu Bu.

The final outcome of Yuan Shao and Lu Bu is naturally known to everyone in the world.

More importantly, although Cao Mengde agreed to let him take charge of the world's military, he did not say whether the local princes who controlled the world's military were willing to let him take charge of their troops?
Cao Mengde is still the same Cao Mengde, but unfortunately he is not the Yuan Benchu ​​and Lu Fengxian of the past.

Liu Wu finished reading the letter and put down the bamboo slips in his hand.

"General, now that you have finished reading the letter, do you have anything to tell the Prime Minister?" The messenger spoke only after seeing Liu Wu had finished reading the letter.

Liu Wu nodded: "No need for you to tell me, I will write a reply letter to the Prime Minister myself."

After that, Liu Wu took a blank bamboo slip from the table, spread it out and picked up the pen: "Liu Zilie of Xiling writes to Prime Minister Cao. You said that Zilie's ambitions were small, but you didn't know that Zilie's ambitions are very big now..."

"The world's troops are gathered in the hands of the princes, and among the princes, Prime Minister Cao has the largest number of troops."

"If the Prime Minister makes Zilie the crown prince, Zilie will be able to be the leader of all the princes in the world in the future. In this case, is Zilie's ambition still too small?"

"Zi Lie is now only in the small land of Xiling, but he can confront the Prime Minister. If he can inherit the Prime Minister's foundation in the future, he will surely conquer Jiangdong, take over Jing and pacify Chu, eliminate Liu Bei's threat, and help the Prime Minister achieve great things. Isn't this a happy thing? But the Prime Minister doesn't allow it..."

"Zi Lie is worried about the Prime Minister. Now you and I are deadlocked in Xiling, and the Sun-Liu coalition forces are watching covetously. Once the Prime Minister is defeated, they will take advantage of the situation to attack you..."

Cao Mengde wanted to be his brother, but how many people who were on friendly terms with Cao Cao had a good ending?

Liu Wu wrote a letter and handed it to the messenger: "My words are all in this letter. Please pass it to Prime Minister Cao."

……

In Cao's army camp, inside the central tent, civil officials and military generals gathered together.

The envoy who had just returned from Xiling was sweating as he read Liu Wu's reply: "[Among all the princes in the world, Prime Minister Cao has the most troops under his command...]"

"[…If the Prime Minister makes Zilie the crown prince, Zilie will be able to be the leader of all the princes in the world in the future. In this case, is Zilie's ambition still too small?"

[“Zi Lie is now only in the small land of Xiling, but he can confront the Prime Minister. If he can inherit the Prime Minister’s foundation in the future, he will surely conquer Jiangdong, take over Jing and pacify Chu, eliminate Liu Bei’s threat, and help the Prime Minister achieve great things. Isn’t this a happy thing…]

"【Zi Lie is worried about the Prime Minister. Now you and I are deadlocked in Xiling, and the allied forces of Sun and Liu are watching covetously from the side...】"

After the waiter finished reading Liu Wu's reply, he tremblingly handed the bamboo slips to Cao Cao.

Snapped! ~
The bamboo slips were thrown on the table, making a crisp sound.

Cao Cao's face was gloomy. "Liu Zilie is so arrogant! I want to be his brother, but he wants to be my heir?"

Prime Minister Cao cursed, but couldn't help but admire in his heart...

Liu Zilie was quite clear-headed and saw at a glance that there was a trap in the conditions he offered him.

In charge of all the troops in the world?

Cao Mengde still wanted to take charge of the world's military? What should he do? Isn't it necessary to wipe out these princes who have established themselves as rebellious princes?
At the beginning, Yuan Benchu ​​and Lu Fengxian were both very interested in the titles of general and in charge of the world's military. They did not expect that Liu Zilie, at such a young age, would directly refuse these two titles.

Cao Cao sighed in his heart. Although the things he promised to the Xiling garrison commander were somewhat illusory, his intention to recruit him was genuine. Unfortunately...

This Liu Zilie really doesn't know what's good for him.

At this time, Cao Jun's generals were also furious:
"This Xiling thief is so rampant!"

"Even though he is brave and invincible, the Prime Minister has tens of thousands of troops besieging the city. Can he fight against ten thousand alone?"

"The reason Cao Zixiao was defeated before was simply because his soldiers were not elite enough and he had no generals to use. Now that Prime Minister Cao has gathered all his generals and tens of thousands of elite soldiers, what can Liu Zilie do to stop him?"

"The Prime Minister invited him to surrender because he felt sorry for his bravery, but he is so ungrateful?"

"In the battle of Xiling City, he only blocked our attack for a day and a night, but he actually treated the Prime Minister like a nobody!"

All the generals kept cursing. Xu Chu on the side curled his lips secretly. These guys were enjoying cursing Liu Zilie so much that they probably forgot how they ran for their lives when they fought against Liu Zilie that day.

"Although I love your general, Liu Zilie doesn't appreciate my kindness." Cao Cao's low voice rang out, and the entire tent fell silent in an instant.

"Send me military orders..."

wow~
All the generals of Cao's army in the big tent stood up suddenly.

Cao Cao's eyes were like those of a falcon as he glanced at the generals: "Attack the city immediately!"

"My lord!" Xiahou Dun reported with gritted teeth: "The defenders of Xiling City are very tenacious. If our army continues to attack..."

"Then continue the assault!" Cao Cao interrupted Xiahou Dun impatiently, "Attack the four gates at the same time."

After all, Cao Cao had been conquering for many years, so he soon came up with a plan to deal with Liu Wu: "The enemy's main force is at the west gate, and our army's main attack is also at the west gate. If we attack the other three gates, we will inevitably disperse his forces at the west gate."

"In this case, the West Gate's military strength will definitely be weak. That will be the time for me to capture Xiling!"

Cao Cao's strategy was simple and practical. As long as he dispersed the troops at the west gate, no matter how tenacious the Xiling defenders on the city wall were, they would not be able to hold out for long.

Cao Cao's gaze turned outside the military tent, towards Xiling City.

Liu Zilie, ah Liu Zilie, since you are unwilling to surrender, I can only beat you hard, until your head is broken and bloody, maybe it can make you wake up!

……

……

Boom, boom, boom! ~
Outside Xiling City, war drums rumbled and shouts of killing echoed everywhere.

The overwhelming Cao army rushed towards Jiangling City.

On the top of Xiling City, Lu Xun suddenly discovered something was wrong: "Cao's army has split up!"

Sure enough, Cao's army always swarmed towards the west gate before, but today they split into four groups. One group went straight to the west, and the remaining three groups bypassed the west gate. It was like they were surrounding the entire Xiling City. Was Cao's army trying to...

"Cao's army is going to attack four gates at the same time!" Wei Yan on the side said coldly.

Before he finished speaking, soldiers came rushing to report.

"General Wei! A large number of Cao's troops are attacking the north gate!"

"General, there is a siege of more than 10,000 troops outside the east gate, and there are not enough soldiers to defend the city!"

"South Gate, Cao's army is flooding outside the South Gate. I'm afraid the soldiers can't resist them. Please transfer troops!"

All three gates were in danger at the same time. If we wanted to keep them all, we had to divide the soldiers at the west gate and send them to the other three gates.

At this point, Lu Xun and others knew the intention of Cao's army. It was obvious that they wanted to weaken the military strength of the west gate. If they did not divide the troops, the other three gates would be lost. If they divided the troops, the west gate might not be able to withstand the attack of Cao's army.

This was an open conspiracy. No matter what choice Xiling City made, Cao Cao would ultimately have the upper hand.

"The thief Cao is so treacherous!" Lu Xun said with gritted teeth.

Wei Yan looked anxious: "Cao Cao is indeed treacherous, but how should we deal with the current situation?"

As the two were talking, they couldn't help but look at Liu Wu in front of them.

Even though he saw Cao's army dividing into groups to attack the four gates.

Even though he knew about Cao Cao's plan to weaken the military strength of the West Gate.

Liu Wu still showed no sign of impatience. He nodded gently and said, "Then let's do as Cao Mengde wishes and divide the troops into four gates."

……

Boom! ~
More than a hundred catapults besieged the four gates and hurled huge rocks into the city frantically. The entire Xiling City shook, with smoke and dust billowing into the sky!

Cao's soldiers at the four city gates were like the rising tide of a river or sea, constantly attacking the gates. The numerous Cao's soldiers clamored to attack the city, set up ladders, and swarmed up like ants.

In the city of Jiangling, arrows rained down like locusts from the towers everywhere, knocking down wave after wave of Cao's soldiers, but more of them still rushed forward regardless of their lives.

Boom, boom, boom! ~
The Cao army's war drums beat more and more urgently, urging them to fight. As soon as the Cao army soldiers in the front fell, the Cao army behind them rushed up again. The feet of every Cao army soldier were stained with blood and flesh.

That was the blood of Cao’s comrades.

That is the flesh of Cao’s comrades!

But at this time they were already blood-thirsty, and the military order had been issued to attack the four gates!
Even if there are mountains of corpses and seas of blood ahead, they will rush forward.

For a while, the battle was so brutal that the small city of Xiling almost became a meat grinder!
In the distance, under the canopy chariot, Cao Cao was watching the battle. Listening to the shouts of killing from the four gates, Cao Mengde nodded with satisfaction. Cao's army would attack the four gates, but it would depend on how many soldiers Liu Zilie had left to consume.

"Prime Minister!" Cheng Yu bowed to Cao Cao with a worried look on his face. "I think what the Xiling bandit said may have some truth. Our army suffered heavy losses in this battle. After all, Sun and Liu are waiting on both sides of the Yangtze River."

"Especially in Jiangdong. Xiling City is the gateway to Jiangdong. If they want to take advantage of the situation and sneak attack our army across the river, Liu Bei can send troops to support them..."

Cao Mengde did not comment: "What do you think, Zhongde?"

Cheng Yu: "I think that our army can be divided into two parts. One part will stay here to besiege Xiling City, and the other part will be led by the Prime Minister himself and move to Jiangling to take Jiangling first!"

"This place is very close to Jiangling. It only takes one day and one night to march quickly. It will take at most several days for our army to reach Jiangling..."

"The Prime Minister's army will join forces with General Xiahou Yuan to capture Jiangling and destroy Liu Bei, then lead the army back here. By then, Jiangdong will never dare to make any rash moves again. In this way, Xiling will surely be destroyed!"

Cheng Yu's strategy was sound, but Cao Cao laughed: "Zhongde's intention is to let me be careful of those rats from Jiangdong?"

"My lord, I..." Cheng Yu was about to speak, but suddenly he felt a tremor coming from the ground beneath his feet.

Cao Mengde turned his head and looked north, and his subordinates subconsciously followed the Prime Minister's gaze...

Suddenly, yellow dust rolled up in the north, fluttering in the air, as if a yellow tide was heading straight for Xiling City!

The vast expanse of yellow dust was galloping wildly, and in the blink of an eye the distance to Xiling City was reduced by half.

Xilulu! ~
The sound of horses neighing came from the yellow dust.

A large number of cavalrymen rushed out of the yellow dust, and the sound of their iron hooves hitting the ground was louder than thunder!
"Tiger and Leopard Cavalry! It's the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry!"

Suddenly, a general exclaimed.

Kill Yuan Tan,

Capture Tadun,
Liu Bei was defeated at Changbanpo. He was as fierce as a tiger or leopard, and his army was full of the bravest soldiers in the world!

The ones coming were none other than the most elite cavalry in Cao's army, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry!
"It turns out that the Prime Minister had already made a plan, which Yu was unable to catch up with." Cheng Yu looked at the rising smoke and dust in the north with a wry smile on his face.

Cao Mengde turned his head and looked towards the other side of the river: "I have five thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry here, let's see if that Sun Quan brat dares to send the Jiangdong rats across the river!"

……

On the top of Xiling City, Liu Wu personally supervised the battle.

Although Cao's army attacked the city from all sides, Liu Wu was stationed on the city wall, and Wei Yan and Gao Shun personally commanded the Shanyue to resist the enemy and coordinated the situation in the center, which stabilized the situation in Xiling for a while.

At this moment, Wei Yan's expression suddenly changed. He seemed to have heard some strange noise. Wei Yan quickly walked towards the city wall and looked towards the north.

"My Lord!" Wei Yan suddenly shouted, "There is movement in the north. It seems to be... it seems to be cavalry?!"

cavalry?

Gao Shun and Lu Xun were suddenly shocked and looked towards the north almost at the same time...

I saw a large cloud of smoke and dust rushing towards Xiling City like a yellow tide.

In almost an instant, the yellow tide was very close to Xilingcheng.

They finally saw the situation in the yellow tide clearly. Thousands of knights were galloping on their horses, and the iron hooves of thousands of war horses were dense and orderly, like a violent storm, making it hard to breathe.

Sprint,

Sprint again!
They gallop like the wind and they are as fast as lightning!
They are like sharp arrows darting across the land! !

They gave people an illusion in a trance that even if there were mountains of swords and seas of fire ahead, they could flatten them into ground!
On the top of Xiling City, Wei Yan struggled to move his throat: "The strongest army in the world, this is the real strongest army in the world,

Wei Yan has always been arrogant in his heart. Whether he was under Liu Biao or Han Xuan, he always looked down on the soldiers under the command of these two lords.

He believed that the soldiers in Changsha and Xiangyang were all weak, and in terms of elite fighting ability, they were far inferior to the 2,000 elite troops he had trained.

It was not until he met Gao Shun's Xianzhen Camp that he put away his arrogance.

But now this cavalry...

Wei Yan felt his mouth dry. He looked at Gao Shun beside him and said, "General Gao, I'm afraid this cavalry is not inferior to your 800-man formation."

Gao Shun did not speak, but he looked at the cavalry approaching from the front, and the shock in his eyes could not be concealed at all: "If I were on horseback, my 800 soldiers might not be a match for this cavalry!"

"The Central Plains cavalry can be considered elite. As far as I know, there is only one cavalry. Could this cavalry be..."

"Yes." For the first time, a solemn expression flashed across Liu Wu's face: "These are the real elite of Cao's army, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry!"

(End of this chapter)