"Sir." Cao Mian stood on a deserted beach not far outside Yingzhou City and looked at the sea. The sea was calm in the early morning, and the sea and sky in the distance formed a line.
Cao Mian turned back to look at the visitor and asked, "How is the situation?"
The young man stood behind Cao Mian and said in a deep voice: "Yingzhou City has fallen into Fang Yan's hands, and the port has also fallen into their hands. All large ships that can travel long distances are unable to leave the port."
Hearing this, Cao Mian frowned slightly and asked, "What did they do?"
The young man said: "They dragged many ships to block the waterway out of the port. They set up roadblocks under the waterway and sank several ships, and all the big ships had their sails removed and their oars removed."
Cao Mian was silent for a while, and then he laughed softly.
"Sir?" The young man looked at Cao Mian worriedly. Could it be that your Lord is angry?
Cao Mian raised his hand and rubbed his eyebrows, then sighed and said, "It seems that he has made up his mind not to let us take anyone away."
The young man nodded silently.
Cao Mian raised his head with cold eyes, "If that's the case, then I don't have to be polite."
"Please give me your instructions."
Cao Mian said coldly: "Send the order and attack Yingzhou City at all costs!"
"Yes, sir." The young man accepted, turned around and left quickly.
Cao Mian raised his hand to block the sunlight above his head, looked at the blue sky and murmured: "Yingzhou is not going well, I hope it won't be like this elsewhere. I don't believe in God. I don't believe that God only loves Mr. Xie."
When tens of thousands of troops suddenly emerged to besiege Yingzhou City, Cao Mian had already boarded a ship and quietly left Yingzhou Island.
Cao Mian stood at the stern of the boat, looking at the vast scene of sea and sky in front of him, silent.
The young man stood behind him silently. He knew that the adult was not in a good mood at this time.
The importance of Yingzhou and the 60,000 soldiers and horses on the island to them is self-evident, otherwise your Excellency would not have made this trip in person.
Now time was wasted, but no soldiers or horses were brought out, but they themselves lost many people.
How can you feel good?
Cao Mian supported the side of the ship and whispered: "Perhaps it was wrong to choose Yingzhou as the training location?"
The young man thought for a moment and said, "Sir, why should you belittle yourself? There are spies from the imperial court and the national army everywhere in the Central Plains. If it were not for Yingzhou, we would not have many usable soldiers and horses."
Cao Mian said: "Having said that, we have invested a lot of money in Yingzhou over the years. Now that we are forced to give up, it is really..."
The young man consoled him: "Sir, you don't have to think too much. After all, Yingzhou is isolated overseas, and the imperial court may not really be able to spend much effort to take care of it. This time we are in a hurry and were caught off guard. It is still unclear who will belong to us in the future."
"You're right." Cao Mian's depression was obviously only for a moment, but he recovered within a few words.
Cao Mian said in a deep voice: "The people of Southern Xinjiang and Gaoyu should have received our news, right?"
The young man nodded and said, "Yes."
"That's good." Cao Mian said: "Since Xie Yan sent Luo Jinyan to Huaizhou, let me see if the Luo family's Qilin'er can support the entire southern Xinjiang on his own."
"Sir, you didn't sleep last night. Why don't you go back to the cabin and rest for a while?" the young man said.
Cao Mian nodded, turned around and walked back to the cabin.
At this moment, two ships were heading in their direction in the distance. Those two ships were obviously much faster than them in terms of size and speed.
Other people on the boat also discovered the two boats and hurriedly came to report, "Sir, someone is chasing us."
Cao Mian said: "I know, speed up."
"yes!"
"That is the warship of Dongzhou Navy." The young man reminded, "I'm afraid it will catch up with us soon. Sir, what should we do?"
Cao Mian said calmly: "Be patient and don't be impatient."
Half an hour later, the two ships caught up with them.
The three ships were separated by a distance of seven to eight feet. Luo Junyao stood on the bow and looked at Cao Mian not far away. He smiled and said: "Master Cao, you run so fast. We haven't had a serious conversation yet."
Cao Mian looked at the girl with a bright smile on the boat opposite, and said in a deep voice: "I haven't asked you yet, how can this girl be so sacred? It seems that she is someone from the imperial court who can mobilize the Dongzhou Navy."
Luo Junyao cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Marquis Wen Ding is welcome, I am Luo Junyao."
"Luo Junyao?"
Luo Jun shook his head and said, "Well, Luo Yun's Luo, Luo Junyao's Junyao."
"It turns out she is the regent princess, disrespectful." Cao Mian said coldly.
The young man standing next to Cao Mian was shocked. It was obvious that Luo Junyao's identity shocked him.
Luo Jun shook his head and smiled: "Marquis Wen Ding is indeed much smarter than your master."
Cao Mian said: "The dog made the princess laugh."
Luo Junyao said: "If you don't smile, Master Ling is quite interesting."
Cao Mian was not angry, he just smiled and said: "Princess, do you want to kill me?"
Luo Junyao said: "You can also ask me not to kill you."
Cao Mian shook his head and said, "It's useless."
"What's useless?" Luo Junyao was startled and asked in confusion.
Cao Mian said: "No matter whether the princess kills me or not, whether I can go back or not, what should happen will definitely happen."
Luo Junyao looked at him, and after a while he asked with some confusion: "Do you have a grudge against the Xie family?"
"No." Cao Mian said.
Luo Junyao nodded, "I've also heard that both Gaozu and the late Emperor treated you well, and there shouldn't be any deep hatred. So, why do you have to cause trouble? If you want to be a leader, you should find a way to persuade
I don't want to kill you. After all, when a person dies, there is nothing."
Cao Mian smiled and said, "Princess, you might as well take a guess."
Luo Junyao said: "Like Xue Ya, are you a member of some organization that wants to resist the court?"
Cao Mian smiled and said nothing, obviously her guess was wrong.
Luo Jun raised his eyebrows and said, "Do you know Bai Jingrong?"
Qu Fang, who was standing next to Luo Junyao, glanced at her coldly. Cao Mian was also startled, but he quickly came back to his senses and said with a smile: "I did see the grace of Dongling Shuangshu back then, but we didn't have any friendship."
Luo Junyao sighed: "Then I don't know why you are here."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Cao Mian's eyes were distant and he said lightly: "Maybe there is no reason at all, it's just that I want to do this."
"..." So, they met a psycho?
Cao Mian met her straightforward gaze and said calmly without hesitation: "Back then, your father and I followed Gaozu at about the same time."
"You want to tell a story?" Luo Junyao smiled and said, "Can I come over and listen?"
Cao Mian smiled and said, "If you dare to come over, you might as well give it a try."
As soon as he finished speaking, Luo Junyao jumped up from the boat.
The girl's figure was light, her toes touched the sea, and she landed on the boat on her side in a moment.
The next moment, Qu Fang also fell behind Luo Junyao.
He was obviously much better at Qinggong than Luo Junyao. He didn't need to rely on strength at all for such a long distance. He arrived almost at the same time even though he was obviously later than Luo Junyao.
Cao Mian's eyes lingered on Qu Fang for a moment, and after thinking for a moment he said: "This should be Mobei Divine Sword Qu Fang, Mr. Qu?"
Luo Jun said: "Master Cao is really powerful."
Cao Mian sighed and said, "If I were really powerful, I wouldn't have fallen into the hands of the princess."
Luo Jun waved his hands and said modestly: "Master Cao has spoken harshly. The main reason is that your son is relatively simple. Surprise is not a big skill."
"..." The people following Cao Mian looked at Luo Junyao with a strange expression. This was the first time they heard someone say that the eldest son was honest.
"So, there is no such thing as a young master from the East." Cao Mian said with some regret: "Compared with the princess, Jie'er is indeed a bit dull. It's a pity that the children under my knees are not even half as good as the princess. General Luo is so lucky."
Luo Junyao smiled sweetly and said, "Thank you Marquis Wen Ding for the compliment."
"Then Fang Shuo was not killed by Master Dongfang." Cao Mian said.
Luo Jun said: "Master Cao is wise."
The atmosphere on the deck was a bit solemn, and everyone on Cao Mian's side stared at Luo Junyao with unkind expressions, as if they would swarm and capture Luo Junyao as soon as Cao Mian gave the order.
Luo Junyao seemed to have no feeling at all, and said with a smile: "My lord, you can continue the story just now."
Cao Mian looked at her coldly and said, "Princess, do you think I am telling you a story?"
Luo Junyao said: "Since you don't love power, you are not lustful, and you have no grudge against the Xie family. After more than ten years of painstaking and lonely planning, I can only think that you are too idle. Usually this kind of person speaks out.
Most of the reasons are made up by myself to deceive others and myself. It doesn’t matter if you listen to it, it doesn’t matter if you don’t.”
Cao Mian snorted and said, "What can a little girl like you know?"
"Please enlighten me." Luo Junyao said.
Cao Mian said: "Everyone says that Luo Yun was the first to achieve the founding of Emperor Gaozu, followed by Marquis Shang, Duke Cheng again, and then Su Qin. What does the princess think?"
Luo Junyao blinked his eyes and looked at Cao Mian with a strange expression, "You don't want to rebel because you think the world's merit rankings are unfair, right?"
This kind of ranking has existed in all dynasties, such as the ranking of heroes in the early Han Dynasty, such as the twenty-four heroes of Lingyan Pavilion and so on.
Throughout the ages, people have always been willing to rank based on seniority.
She vaguely remembered that there was indeed such a ranking in Shangyong. Cao Mian, the Marquis of Wen Ding, seemed to be in the twelfth place, separated by the entire list from her father Luo Yun.
"Isn't it possible?" Cao Mian asked.
Luo Junyao was speechless for a moment. It wasn't that he was incompetent, he just felt that planning for more than ten years to stir up trouble for such a reason was a bit of a fool's errand.
Is this also considered to a certain extent that a man remains a boy until he dies?
Cao Mian said calmly: "I ask myself that my martial arts skills are as good as anyone's. Why is your father so famous all over the world as the first hero of the founding of the country? Why can a man named Shang be revered as a saint? How can he allow his son to destroy everyone in his family?
Duke Cheng and Duke Lu are nothing more than two warriors, brave but not wise. Su Qin is a traitor to the country. How can he claim to be the leader of the world?"
Luo Junyao coughed slightly and said: "My father, Duke Cheng and Duke Lu made great achievements in helping Gaozu pacify the world. Marquis Shang... Although he made some mistakes, as Gaozu's mastermind, his achievements back then were admired by the world, and he was not the only one.
The people of Qinan are grateful to him. As for Taifu Su... I don't have much comment. I haven't asked you yet, what are the achievements of Mr. Cao?"
Cao Mian stared at her in silence, and the atmosphere became tense for a moment.
The fact that Cao Mian was canonized as Wen Dinghou proves that he is indeed the founding hero of the country and his reputation is not in vain.
But if compared with the previous ones, his achievements are indeed inferior.
Although he was about the same age as Luo Yun, and the time he spent under Emperor Gaozu was about the same. But troubled times create heroes, and times create heroes, and Luo Yun was an unparalleled natural-born general.
To put it bluntly, as long as a person like Luo Yun does not die in an accident or is killed by others, he is destined to become famous in troubled times.
However, Cao Mian was a scholar. Emperor Gaozu himself came from a famous family, and he was always surrounded by famous scholars and wise people.
Compared with Luo Yun who became famous all over the world when he was born, Cao Mian slightly lacked the opportunity to become famous in one fell swoop.
Therefore, Luo Yun soared into the sky, but Cao Mian had to move up step by step under Gaozu's command.
Perhaps when Cao Mian refused Emperor Gaozu's canonization and invited him to serve in a local government, it was not all because of his high moral integrity as people thought, but because he felt unfair and dissatisfied with his situation.
Just from Cao Mian's comments about other people, we can see that he is an extremely proud person.
What such people pursue may not be fame and fortune, at least not in the eyes of the world.
He knew that by working for the newly established Da Sheng, he might not be able to surpass people like Luo Yun who he looked down upon in his lifetime, so he chose to start over again and re-establish his own unparalleled fame.
This reason is really nonsense, but it may not be false.
Luo Junyao sighed and said: "Master Cao, everything has not reached the point of irreversibility yet. Do you really think you can't turn back?"
Cao Mian looked at Luo Junyao with a smile and said, "Princess, do you think there is still room for turning back?"
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Luo Junyao said: "What if I say that as long as Mr. Cao stops all this, the court can not pursue your family?"
Cao Mian looked at her with a smile, as if he were looking at an innocent child.
"Princess, what I just told you is true." Cao Mian said: "Whether I go back or not, life or death, things cannot be changed. Some things...even I can't control."
Luo Junyao frowned and said, "Why? You are a smart man. I don't believe that people like you will let things get out of your control."
Cao Mian said: "Probably because the biggest shortcoming of my life is that I am too demanding and complete, so that I am a little indecisive. Since I have been preparing for so many years, I naturally cannot give up halfway. So I tell myself that I must do it absolutely and never do it.
Leave yourself room for regret."
"What did you do?" Luo Junyao asked.
Cao Mian smiled and shook his head without answering.
Luo Junyao sighed and said, "That's all. Anyway, I've done what I can do. Shang Yong has received the news a long time ago. I just need to ensure that Mr. Cao you won't appear where you shouldn't."
Cao Mian said: "Princess, do you think your two ships can stop me?"
Luo Jun said: "How will you know if you don't try?"
Cao Mian raised his hand and pointed forward, saying: "Look there."
Luo Jun shook his head and looked over. There seemed to be something where the sea and the sky met.
Qu Fang's eyesight was better than hers. He raised his eyes and looked into the distance and turned his head to Luo Jun and said, "There is a boat."
"How many?"
Qu Fang said: "There are many, at least twenty or more, they are not big ships."
Luo Junyao looked at Cao Mian and said: "The pirates along the East China Sea."
Qu Fang sighed and retreated into the crowd behind him, "The princess is not my daughter. It's such a pity."
