495, Fishing in troubled waters(1/2)
Cao Jie was in a pretty good mood these two days. He had clues about his father's whereabouts, and the Yanzhou Army and Heruomuti came to surrender respectively. The Cao family's troops in Yanzhou numbered nearly 200,000.
He didn't care that Heruomuti was just forced to temporarily surrender to him. This was at least better than them going north to compete with the Gaoyu people for territory.
Of course, on the other hand, Gao Yuren was defeated by the imperial court, which means that he may have to face Xie Yan in the next step.
This made him feel heavy pressure and at the same time, he also felt a bit excited.
That was the powerful regent, a world-famous general, but now he was standing opposite him to play against him.
Cao Jie had been in Shangyong for many years before and had not interacted with Xie Yan, but had only seen him from a distance.
I just thought he was a very handsome man who also gave people a lot of pressure.
But what Cao Jie really cares about is not Xie Yan, but the regent Princess Luo Junyao.
Although his father unfortunately fell into the hands of the court and many things were messed up, Cao Jie still pieced together some of the truth through the people who escaped from the Cao family.
It turns out that the young master Dongfang he met in Shangyong before was actually the regent princess in disguise!
The eldest son of the Cao family is young and vigorous, so naturally he is quite arrogant.
How can I bear such teasing?
If it weren't for Luo Junyao's unpredictable whereabouts and the Cao family's many affairs now, he might have found someone to arrest Luo Junyao.
"Young Master, the spies ahead have sent a secret message." The guard outside the big tent reported respectfully.
Cao Jie frowned and said in a deep voice: "Come in."
The guard opened the curtain and came in, presenting a secret letter.
Cao Jie opened it and took a look, his face changed slightly and his brows furrowed tighter.
"Go and ask General Wu to come over."
After a while, Wu Yi came in from outside and said respectfully: "Master, what are your orders?"
Cao Jie said: "Just now the spies from the front received news that there is something strange going on over there with the Gaoyu people."
Wu Yi looked at him with some doubts. Gao Yu was defeated and trapped in the pass. Now besides temporarily seeking refuge with the Cao family, what else can he do?
Cao Jie handed the letter over and said, "General Wu, please take a look."
Wu Yi took the letter and frowned after reading it.
"The iron soldiers under He Ruomuti are moving rapidly towards our garrison? What do they want to do?" Cao Jie and He Ruomuti did not fully reach a consensus, let alone let He Ruomuti lead the troops.
Qingzhou rebel camp.
It is indeed a bit strange for He Ruomudi to act without permission.
Cao Jie said in a deep voice: "Let someone ask what He Ruomudi wants to do!"
Wu Yi nodded, thought for a while and said: "Young Master, it is better to be more cautious and be more prepared."
"What do you mean, General Wu?" Cao Jie's face looked gloomy.
Wu Yidao: "It is essential to be on guard against others."
Cao Jie soon became unhappy because the people he sent to see He Ruomuti were chopped off by the Gaoyu people, and only their heads were thrown out. Even the bodies were unknown where they went.
The Gaoyu people seemed to have no intention of stopping at all, and the 20,000 soldiers and horses continued to attack the rebel camp fiercely.
Cao Jie didn't think much about it and could only immediately send out 40,000 troops under his command to fight. At the same time, he sent an order to Sun Liang, who was still stationed in Piao County, to lead his troops to attack the Gaoyu people from the rear.
However, "Sun Liang" who was stationed in Piao County at this time was naturally procrastinating and was of no use.
The battle between the two sides was inexplicable. The Gaoyu people seemed to be crazy. They faced off against the soldiers and horses sent by Cao Jie to intercept them and opened them regardless.
Although the Gaoyu people failed to seize Jianling, and were blocked in the pass by the Zhenguo army and unable to return home, their combat effectiveness was real.
Twenty thousand iron soldiers and 40,000 Qingzhou troops faced each other, and they actually defeated the Qingzhou army and returned home.
After receiving the news from the front, Cao Jie was furious and scolded the generals who led the army.
But it would be of no use to him no matter how angry he was. He could only summon his officers and soldiers to raise the tent to discuss matters.
The atmosphere in the big tent was not very good. The Cao family's 40,000 soldiers and horses were beaten to a pulp by 20,000 others. Everyone looked bad.
Cao Jie glanced at the people sitting below and said in a deep voice: "He Ruomuti personally promised to lead troops to surrender, but he went back on his word. Who among you is willing to lead troops to conquer?"
There was silence in the big tent, and no one spoke for a while.
Jamuka was a famous general in Gaoyu, and Heruomuti once led Gaoyu soldiers and horses to cooperate with Dasheng to defeat the Qi people, but they were not fuel-efficient.
Although they had just been defeated by Jianling, just looking at the situation of the confrontation between the two armies, you can see how powerful it was.
Seeing everyone like this, Cao Jie's eyes darkened slightly and he glanced at everyone lightly.
One of the people in the seat stood up and cupped his hands and said: "Sir, it's not that we are afraid of fighting, but our most important enemy now is the Zhenguo Army. If we entangle with the Gaoyu people here, wouldn't we be chasing the weak at the expense of our roots? What if the imperial troops arrive?
, but we both lose, and others take advantage in vain.”
Cao Jie's expression softened a little, and he looked at the general who was speaking and said, "That's true, but in your opinion, what should I do? Is this the end of it?"
The general said: "Young Master said earlier that He Ruomuti came in person to express his willingness to submit, but he went back on his words in less than two days. It is a bit strange. Furthermore, He Ruomuti is now blocked in the pass, and he is at odds with the court.
What’s the point of him suddenly attacking us?”
Cao Jie nodded slightly.
"The general feels that there must be something fishy in this, so I would like to ask you to send someone to investigate carefully," the general continued.
"That makes sense." Cao Jie looked at the crowd and said, "Do you have any other opinions?"
Everyone shook their heads, and Cao Jie said: "Then send someone to Gaoyu's army to ask, what exactly does He Ruomu mean?"
Wu Yi, who was sitting on the side, said nothing, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Cao Jie appointed an eloquent staff member as an envoy to negotiate with the Gaoyu people, and he raised his hand and waved away the generals.
Looking at Wu Yi who was left behind at the end and did not leave, Cao Jie asked: "Father, how sure is the general?"
Wu Yi said: "Master, please don't worry. Xie Yan is in Yanzhou now. As long as the Marquis is well prepared, nothing will happen."
Cao Jie sighed and said, "I hope my father can come back safely soon."
He had never thought about taking over the power of the Cao family in the past, but now that he had the courage to do so, he realized how heavy it was.
During this period, Cao Jie was sometimes excited, and sometimes felt that his mind was empty. He didn't know what he was thinking at all, he was just pushed forward by the situation.
Wu Yi nodded and said: "Don't worry, young master, I will set off to Bingzhou to rescue Lord Marquis tomorrow morning."
Cao Jie said: "Then I'll have to trouble General Wu."
Yesterday's battle with the Qingzhou Army, although Gao Yu won, was not without losses.
Nowadays, the life of the people of Gaoyu is not easy. After this battle, the remaining troops and horses are only about fifteen thousand.
Jamukha became the temporary commander-in-chief of the army and stationed the army on a hilltop that was easy to defend but difficult to attack.
"General, I am reporting that our army is short of food and fodder. Please make a decision, General."
Jamuka frowned and asked, "How long can it last?"
"Less than ten days."
Jamuka sighed silently and waved his hand to signal his subordinates to leave first.
When he was the only one left in the tent, he couldn't help but curse in a low voice, "Despicable Central Plains man!"
The eldest prince went to the Qingzhou Army camp to negotiate, but never returned.
The Qingzhou Army not only detained the eldest prince, but also ordered the eldest prince to write a letter in his own hand, asking them to surrender and obey the orders of the Qingzhou Army. The lion opened his mouth, not only asking them to help him fight, but also to write a document guaranteeing that they would never covet the land of Yanzhou in the future.
, only then was he willing to let the eldest prince go.
How could Jamuka agree?
If he really agreed to this condition, not to mention how he would see Gao Yu's relatives and friends again, even the soldiers under his command would probably not agree.
It is one thing for them to temporarily attach themselves to the Cao family. If they surrender and obey their orders, does the Cao family treat them as prisoners?
So the kid from the Cao family thinks that he has more than 100,000 soldiers and horses in his hands, so that's a big deal? Don't you know that in his eyes, these Qingzhou troops are just a bunch of chickens and dogs?
The Jammu merger is not reckless. They only have less than 20,000 soldiers and horses. There is no need to talk about taking Yanzhou now.
But as the rebellious Cao family, they are only more anxious than him now.
Therefore, after yesterday's great victory in the battle, Jamukha simply stationed his troops here and held his troops for the time being.
He wants to wait for the Cao family to come and beg him to stop and let them take the initiative to release the eldest prince!
"The general, the envoy of the Cao family in Qingzhou, is asking for an audience outside the camp."
In the county office of Piao County, He Ruomuti and Luo Junyao were sitting in the study playing chess.
He Ruomudi pinched the chess piece in his hand. Although he boasted that he was full of intelligence, he really didn't understand the elegant things of the Central Plains.
Fortunately, Luo Junyao is not a famous national player, he is just pretending to waste time.
Rather than playing chess, it is better to say that Luo Junyao played with some chess records in his memory.
Heruomuti looked at it carefully and saw a bit of interest, so he followed the next two.
To be continued...