Chapter 51 Cao Cao wants to adopt Liu Wu as his adopted son!
Chapter 051: Cao Cao wants to adopt Liu Wu as his adopted son!
There was silence in the lobby.

Everyone was still immersed in the shock of Liu Wu shooting down Cao Cao, and Lu Xun suddenly reacted: "My lord! After that thief Cao was captured, did you send anyone to look for his whereabouts outside the city?"

After Cao was captured, was he injured or dead?
As soon as Lu Xun finished speaking, everyone woke up in shock. Everyone's eyes suddenly focused on Liu Wu again. Wei Yan even swallowed his saliva. If Cao was shot and died, wouldn't that be...

Liu Wu shook his head: "At that time, I immediately ordered people to open the city gates and look for his whereabouts. There was no other trace except a few lines of horse hooves. I think Cao Cao was taken away by his confidants."

Didn’t find Cao Cao’s whereabouts?

Liu Wu's answer made everyone's heart half lifted. Wei Yan stroked his black beard irritably: "If this thief Cao is dead, or seriously injured, the dilemma of Xiling can be solved right now."

"But right now, we have no idea whether this thief Cao is alive or dead."

Wei Yan's words touched everyone's heart. As Cao's thieves attacked the city these days, the defenders in the city had been severely depleted. Seeing that Xiling might not be able to be defended, the morale of the army had begun to waver.

If it could be confirmed that Cao Cao was dead... even if it was confirmed that Cao Cao was seriously injured, it would at least greatly boost the morale of the soldiers in the city.

"My lord." Lu Xun said solemnly, "I think that since you shot down Cao thief with one arrow last night, even if Cao thief didn't die, he must have been injured!"

"The most important thing right now is to find out whether Cao is alive or dead. I have a plan. My lord, you can send someone to visit Cao's camp. If the person who visits comes back, it will be clear whether Cao is alive or dead."

"If Cao is dead, the situation in the north will change, and the army outside the city will be leaderless. They will not dare to stay outside the city for a moment. We just need to wait for Cao's army to withdraw."

"If the person who came to visit was detained by Cao's camp, it must be that Cao Cao had something wrong and Cao's camp did not dare to let him come back to inform us. In this case... my lord can lead the troops to raid the camp tonight and achieve extraordinary success."

Good job Lu Xun!
As expected of a powerful official who would serve as the Prime Minister of Eastern Wu for twenty years in the future, he came up with a brilliant plan that could reveal Cao Cao's true strength with just a few words.

Liu Wu nodded: "This strategy is feasible."

Lu Xun: "But the scout must have some weight. If the scout is not strong enough, let alone finding out Cao Cao's true strength, I'm afraid he won't even be able to enter Cao's camp."

The most important person in Xiling City now is naturally Liu Wu, but Liu Wu is the backbone of the entire Xiling City, so he will not act rashly. The only one left is...

Wei Yan took a deep breath and was about to recommend himself when suddenly...

"Lord!"

Gao Shun, who was usually taciturn, spoke before Wei Yan: "I am willing to go to Cao's camp on behalf of my lord to find out the truth."

Wei Yan was robbed of his job and was very dissatisfied: "I am Wei Wenchang, a famous general in Jingxiang after all. Am I not worthy enough to go to Cao's camp? General Gao, are you looking down on me?"

Gao Shun: "I am not looking down on General Wei. I have many acquaintances in Cao's camp. When I go to Cao's camp, my old friends may give me some face."

During the Battle of Xuzhou, Gao Shun defeated Cao's generals several times. Zhang Wenyuan, who was Zhang Liao's general at the time, even defected to Cao Cao. It was true that Gao Shun had many acquaintances in Cao's camp.

Gao Shun once again bowed to Liu Wu and said, "My lord, this matter requires Gao Shun."

Lu Xun also agreed: "General Gao should go to Cao's camp to investigate."

Looking at Gao Shun in the hall, Liu Wu knew that, besides himself, Gao Shun was the only one who was important enough to go to Cao's camp.

Liu Wu spoke slowly: "In that case, please ask General Gao to make this trip... Please be careful."

"I obey your command!" Gao Shun bowed to Liu Wu and turned to leave the hall.

Lu Xun looked at Gao Shun's back with a solemn expression. Whether the siege of Xiling could be lifted depended on the results brought back by the commander of the Xianzhen Camp.

……

Caoying, the central military tent.

At this moment, several military doctors were secretly brought into the tent.

Outside the tent, a group of counselors and generals paced back and forth with frowns on their faces.

"My lord, that arrow didn't hit a vital spot, so I think it should be fine."

"That being said, the Prime Minister is old after all. If this arrow causes him to suffer an accident, then..."

"The Prime Minister returned home injured last night, and many people saw him. I am worried that the army's morale will be shaken!"

"How strange! Now that Xiling City is about to be breached, why would the Prime Minister risk his life to explore the city?"

Everyone was talking about it, with worried looks on their faces. Last night, Prime Minister Cao went to explore Xiling City in person, but he was shot by an arrow and returned! This made all the counselors and generals feel heartbroken.

If anything happens to the Prime Minister, not only will the tens of thousands of troops be disintegrated, but the newly unified northern states will also be in chaos again.

Thinking of this, many people looked strange...

The Xiling bandit first cut off Wen Pin's arm, and then captured Cao Ren alive. Now even Prime Minister Cao was hit by his arrow. Could it be that this guy really came here specifically to harm the Cao family?
"Report!"

At this moment, a soldier came hurriedly to report: "Generals, there is a general outside the camp, claiming to be Gao Shun from the Xianzhen Camp, and he is here to visit the Prime Minister on the orders of Liu Zilie of Xiling!"

……

Outside Cao's camp, Gao Shun reined in his horse and stood without any weapon in his hand.

Soon, a soldier came out of the camp and said, "General Gao, the Prime Minister has ordered us to enter the camp."

"Thank you." Gao Shun immediately dismounted and followed the soldier into Cao's camp.

He looked around and saw that everything in the camp was normal, and there seemed to be no sign of the soldiers' morale being shaken. Could it be that Cao Mengde was still safe and sound?

Gao Shun's emotions were surging and his brows were slightly furrowed.

"General Gao, how are you?" Suddenly, a general strode towards Gao Shun. It was Cao Hong.

When Cao Cao conquered Xuzhou, Cao Hong was also among them. He once faced the Xianzhen Camp head-on, and his soldiers were almost beaten by Gao Shun's Xianzhen Camp and had no power to fight back.

I thought Gao Shun had already gone to hell after he died at Baimen Tower, but I didn't expect he was still alive.

Gao Shun returned the greeting to Cao Ren: "General Zilian, how have you been?"

Cao Hong looked at Gao Shun with a complicated expression: "Of course I am fine, but I see that General Gao doesn't look well! Since you are not destined to die, you should recognize the current situation and know your destiny. Why do you continue to go against my prime minister?" The trauma left by the Xianzhen Camp on Cao Hong was truly unforgettable. He also really admired Gao Shun's ability to train troops, and these words were indeed from the heart.

Gao Shun looked calm: "We each serve our own master... I am here to visit Prime Minister Cao on the orders of my master. Is Prime Minister Cao well?"

Cao Hong's expression turned cold: "The Prime Minister is calling you. You will know when you see him."

As soon as he finished speaking, Cao Hong had already walked away.

Gao Shun followed the soldier and continued to move forward, but in his heart he was still thinking about Cao Hong's expression just now. The other party did not show any sadness, so it seemed that the arrow shot by the lord did not kill Cao Mengde...

At this moment, two generals came towards them from the front, they were Li Dian and Xu Chu.

"General Gao, you shouldn't come at this time." Li Dian looked at Gao Shun and sighed.

In the Battle of Xuzhou, Li Dian was also defeated by Gao Shun's Xianzhen Camp. When he saw Gao Shun's death on the White Gate Tower, he felt sorry for him. Unexpectedly, now that his old friend has resurrected, they are still enemies.

Gao Shun looked at Li Dian and said, "I came here to visit the Prime Minister. How can you say I shouldn't have come?"

Li Dian did not answer his question. Instead, he said sincerely, "My prime minister has always been eager to recruit talented people. Now that Lu Bu is dead, Xuzhou is also under the jurisdiction of the prime minister. If you serve the prime minister again this time, the prime minister will definitely use you."

"Mancheng, why are you talking nonsense to this guy?" Xu Chu interrupted Li Dian and sneered at Gao Shun: "What do you think you are up to? I don't know. The Prime Minister doesn't know?"

"In the battle of Puyang, you took advantage of me. Now that you have joined my army camp, it is a good opportunity for me to avenge my defeat in Puyang!"

When Cao Cao conquered Puyang, he faced off against Lu Bu's army, and suffered many defeats, especially when facing the Xianzhen Camp. If Xu Chu had not protected him to the death, Cao Cao would probably not have survived to this day.

When Xu Chu saw Gao Shun, and thought of Cao Cao returning injured last night, he could hardly suppress his anger for a moment: "When you meet the Prime Minister, we will definitely..."

"Zhongkang!" A general came out from the central army tent not far away. It was the one-eyed Xiahou Dun. "The prime minister has ordered that Gao Shun be brought here immediately. Don't waste time."

After that, Xiahou Dun stared at the only eye and looked at Gao Shun: "Since General Gao is here to visit the Prime Minister, please don't talk about the past."

Gao Shun looked at the large central army tent behind Xiahou Dun. The answer to whether Xiling could escape this tough battle lay in that tent.

He took a deep breath and said, "Please let General Yuan Rang lead the way."

……

In the central army tent,
Xiahou Dun lifted the curtain and said, "Prime Minister, Gao Shun is here."

Gao Shun followed Xiahou Dun into the tent, only to see Cao Cao sitting on the couch, his face pale and his body wrapped in bandages. The pungent smell of healing medicine filled the tent.

Cao Cao is still alive!

Gao Shun was greatly disappointed, but he still stepped forward to greet him: "Gao Shun is here to visit the Prime Minister on the orders of my master."

On the couch, Cao Cao saw with his own eyes the old friend from Baimen Tower, and was shocked. This person was indeed Gao Shun, and he was actually still alive!

But this shock was quickly overwhelmed by the anger from being shot by an arrow last night.

He smiled coldly: "Gao Shun, I know why you are here. You are just here to find out whether I am dead or alive on behalf of your master. Haha... It's hard to guard against a hidden arrow!"

"I thought Liu Zilie was a real man, but I never thought he was a sneak attack. If he wants to kill me with a hidden arrow, it's wishful thinking!"

"I might as well tell you clearly that if I cut off your head right now, Liu Zilie will definitely think that something has happened in my camp and will definitely raid it tonight."

What a great Cao Mengde, he is indeed a treacherous hero!
Gao Shun's heart sank gradually. Although Cao Cao was not there, he saw through Lu Xun's intention at a glance about the strategy he discussed in Xiling.

Although Lu Xun would become the Prime Minister of Eastern Wu in the future, he was still not as capable as the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty in front of him.

"Prime Minister Cao, I..."

Gao Shun was about to speak to explain, but was interrupted by Cao Mengde's increasingly stern voice: "You are a man who deserves to die. Today I will send you to meet Lu Fengxian!"

"Come on, catch it for me!"

Cao Cao shouted loudly, and Xiahou Dun immediately led the guards around him to pin Gao Shun to the ground without hesitation.

bass! ~
Xiahou Dun drew out the ring-handled sword from his waist...

Gao Shun felt a chill in his heart. It didn't matter if he died, but what about Xiling City?
If the lord really comes to raid the camp tonight, Cao Cao will definitely set up a heavy ambush in the camp. By then, everything will be over, and the lord's cause will be over too!
I have delayed my lord's important matter!

hum! ~
The sound of a sharp blade breaking through the air was heard, and Gao Shun closed his eyes helplessly.

"slow!"

Cao Cao's voice suddenly sounded again. Xiahou Dun's ring-handled sword suddenly stopped when it was still an inch away from Gao Shun's neck. The coldness brought by the falling blade caused goose bumps to appear on Gao Shun's neck.

"Prime Minister?" Xiahou Dun looked at Cao Cao tentatively.

Cao Cao looked indifferent: "Liu Zilie didn't kill Xu Chu, so why don't I spare Gao Shun's life? Let him go."

The guards let Gao Shun go. Gao Shun had escaped death and breathed a sigh of relief. He stood up and was about to leave. He wanted to quickly report the situation in Cao's camp to Liu Wu.

"Tell Liu Zilie for me..." Cao Cao's voice came again: "Don't struggle fearlessly anymore. His situation is hopeless now. If he doesn't surrender, Xiling will be destroyed within three days!"

"Let him think clearly. On both sides of the Yangtze River, Liu Bei and Sun Quan do not have the courage and generosity to use him, nor can they feed him. He can only be fed the most by being my Cao Mengde's hawk dog."

Gao Shun: "I will definitely convey the Prime Minister's words."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

"return!"

Cao Cao called out to Gao Shun, who turned around again and asked, "What else do you want, Prime Minister?"

The Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty had a joking expression on his face: "Tell Liu Zilie again for me that he is not my bloodline, so he cannot be my heir..."

"But he is good at dancing with the Tian Hua Ji. After he surrenders to me, I can adopt him as my adopted son..."

(End of this chapter)