The reason why Zhang Xiu decided to defect to Cao Cao was because the benefits provided by Cao Cao were too great.
Originally he thought that Yuan Shao was more powerful, and perhaps Yuan Shao had a greater chance of winning, but he couldn't resist Jia Xu's constant persuasion, telling him that Cao Cao was wiser and more powerful than Yuan Shao, and that Cao Cao would win the final victory.
Therefore, Zhang Xiu has been wavering, neither daring to surrender to Cao Cao nor responding to Yuan Shao's attack on Xudu.
Now Cao Cao has spent so much money that he can even give up the grudge against his eldest son and let his second son marry his daughter and his eldest daughter marry his son.
Zhang Xiu thought about it, if he helped Cao Cao, Cao Cao would have a greater chance of winning. In addition, his daughter was married to Cao Cao's legitimate son. If Cao Shuo came to power in the future, with this kind of brother-sister relationship, what would happen?
There is no need to settle accounts later.
At that time, if Cao Cao really wins the Battle of Guandu with his help, and the Cao family gains power, as the in-laws of their direct children, the Zhang family will naturally rise in the wind, and their chickens and dogs will ascend to the sky.
In contrast, if you go to Yuan Shao, he is at best an ordinary general. He may not have much power and has little benefit to the family.
Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, Zhang Xiu believed that it would be better to seek refuge with Cao Cao.
But what he didn't know was that after Cao Ang's death, Cao Shuo was indeed the legitimate second son, but he was historically weak and sickly. He died of illness two years after the Battle of Guandu. Since then, all of Cao Cao's eldest sons and second sons have died, leaving Cao Pi
This third son became emperor.
As for Princess Qinghe, this woman dared to murder her husband. She had a very bad temper and was not a good person.
Therefore, the so-called legitimate son and legitimate daughter are actually false.
Except for Cao Pi, Cao Zhang, Cao Zhi and others born to Lady Bian, Cao Cao's favorite sons were Cao Ang and Cao Chong. Unfortunately, these two died too early, and Cao Pi was allowed to pick the peaches of Emperor Wen of Wei.
If Zhang Xiu really chooses to marry, it will be a mistake. In the future, Cao Pi will still have to kill his whole family when he comes to power.
certainly.
Zhang Xiu definitely doesn't know this now.
He felt that Cao Cao was very sincere in marrying his legitimate son and daughter. In addition, Jia Xu repeatedly persuaded Cao Cao that he was more capable than Yuan Shao and would definitely win the battle of Guandu, so he happily planned to lead his troops north to Kunyang according to the plan.
But mobilizing troops and horses also takes time, so in the next few days, while preparing food and fodder, he and Wang Bi planned the specific method of how to marry the children of both parties.
To put it simply, Wang Bi first took Zhang Xiu's daughter to Xudu, and then brought Cao Cao's daughter to Nanyang.
In this way, there is no need to worry about Cao Cao holding his son as a hostage.
At that time, the status of women was not high. For example, Yuan Shu sent someone to go to Lu Bu to propose marriage, and Lu Bu gave his daughter to Yuan Shu's envoy. Chen Deng broke up the marriage, and then he went to chase his daughter back.
So this kind of thing is very common, as long as the son does not go to Xudu.
Don't worry about how to send it there.
Because the entrance to Nanyang at that time was besides Ye County, there were many places in the Dabie Mountains to the east where you could come directly from Runan.
It's just that those places all go through the mountains, and are not roads but small roads, which are not conducive to large-scale marches. There is still no problem in small groups of people traveling through Kunyang, Ye County.
So in the early morning of August 1, while everyone in the city was still sleeping soundly, Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu sent Wang Bi to the outside of the city, less than a hundred feet away from the pavilion.
At this time, a young man was stretching in the pavilion. He looked around and saw that his friend was not there, so he got up and put on his clogs, took a robe from the hanger next to him and put it on, shouting: "Boyan, uncle
Yan?"
"Uncle Ji, are you awake?"
There was a sound in the yard, and the man who worked as a calligrapher went out and saw his friend Zhang Ying in the yard standing on the pavilion looking out.
"What are you looking at?"
Yi Ji walked over curiously.
Zhang Ying said: "When I was boiling water, I saw a lot of people outside the courtyard, so I looked to see what was going on. It turned out that General Zhang and Doctor Jia from Rangcheng were seeing off guests."
"What guest is worthy of both of them sending off together?"
Yi Ji climbed up the stairs to the pavilion, stood on the pavilion and looked into the distance, and saw dozens of cavalry escorting several cars and horses on the east road of the city.
Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu were riding on horseback, saying goodbye to someone.
The carriages of the Han Dynasty did not have carriages, so Yi Ji could vaguely see a woman on one of the carriages, and a young general beside the carriage.
"Those seem to be General Zhang's son and daughter."
Zhang Ying said casually.
He was from a local noble family, and because he was a branch of the family, he only got the position of pavilion chief. Even when Zhang Xiu arrived in Nanyang, he did not have so many talents to help him manage it.
Therefore, in addition to the county magistrate, all the officials in Rangcheng and the surrounding cities he controlled were held by local wealthy families.
Yi Ji is now the chief registrar in Chaoyang County in the south. Previously, Liu Biao sent some of his lower-level nobles who were attached to him to Nanyang to serve as grass-roots managers, such as Li Yan, Han Ran, etc., perhaps in order to control the grass-roots level in Nanyang to prevent himself from attacking Nanyang.
Weak control.
Zhang Ying and Yi Ji were good friends. There was nothing going on in the county recently, so Yi Ji came to Zhang Ying to play for a few days. Unexpectedly, at dawn this morning, he saw Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu bidding farewell to a group of strangers outside the city.
Surprising.
"These people are really strange."
Yi Ji was very puzzled. It seemed that Zhang Xiu wanted to send his daughter somewhere.
Zhang Ying climbed down from the pavilion and said lazily as he climbed: "We don't have to worry about General Zhang."
"I'm afraid there's something hidden here."
Yi Ji continued to wait and see.
After a while, Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu said goodbye to Wang Bi, and he asked his son Zhang Quan to lead hundreds of cavalry to protect Wang Bi and head east.
Seeing this situation, Yi Ji felt more and more wrong, because he felt that the man who said goodbye to Jia Xu and Zhang Xiu looked very familiar, and he seemed to have seen him somewhere.
But he couldn't think of it for a while, so Yiji simply put this problem behind him and considered another problem.
General Zhang sent his daughter east?
Where is the east?
Exiting the Dabie Mountains is Runan.
Could it be that Zhang Xiu wants to marry Yuan Shao or Cao Cao?
This is a big deal.
Yiji didn't even think about it. After seeing Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu returning to the city from afar, he planned to take his horse from the stable in the backyard of the pavilion and go south to Xiangyang to report to Liu Biao.
Zhang Ying was still preparing to make a fire for cooking. Seeing that he was about to leave, Zhang Ying was surprised and said: "Uncle Ji, where are you going? Are you going back to Chaoyang so soon?"
Yi Ji shook his head and said: "Zhang Xiu sent his daughter away, and she went east. It is very likely that she entered Runan through Wuyin. She must have gone north to marry. I don't know whether it was with Cao Cao or Yuan Shao. I must immediately
Report to Ming Gong."
"Then I'll go with you."
Zhang Ying said.
Yi Ji thought for a while and said, "No, you are the head of the pavilion. If there is no one in the pavilion, I will report to Zhang Xiu. If he notices, it will be bad, so I should go."
"good."
Zhang Ying nodded. This matter was indeed a big one. Although he didn't know the underlying reasons, there was nothing wrong with reporting it.
Immediately, Yi Ji rode south alone.
Halfway through, when he was about to reach Chaoyang County, he suddenly slapped his forehead.
"I remembered."
He exclaimed: "That man is Wang Bi!"
The king must be from Yanzhou.
In his early years, when Cao Cao was the shepherd of Yanzhou, Wang Bi followed him around.
At that time, Yi Ji was still young, and the Yi family was a wealthy family in Yanzhou. Cao Cao's killing of Bian Zang caused the Yanzhou family to rebel. At that time, Yi Ji moved south to Xiangyang with his family and defected to his fellow villager Liu Biao.
Before Cao Cao killed Bian Zang, the teenage Yi Ji had met Wang Bi at a banquet with his parents, but it was only in the past seven or eight years that he never remembered it.
Now he suddenly remembered that the man was Wang Bi, and Yi Ji immediately guessed that the person Zhang Xiu was marrying was Cao Cao!
Thinking of this, Yi Ji looked to the north in shock.
If Zhang Xiu marries Cao Cao, Shen Chen and Liu Shijun stationed in Kunyang will be in danger.
I must go and report the news.
But Ming Gong must also go there.
Newfield!
Yi Ji made a decision immediately.
Kunyang must go to report the news, and Liu Biao must also go.
But he is too weak to divide the world on his own and cannot retaliate from both ends.
However, Deng Mao, the magistrate of Xinye County, was Shen Chen's maternal grandfather. It happened that he could pass Xinye on his way south from Rangcheng to Xiangyang, so Yiji immediately planned to inform Deng Mao about this matter.
He soon changed his direction. He originally planned to go south from Rangcheng and pass through Chaoyang, then go from Chaoyang to Fancheng and cross the river back to Xiangyang.
Now we are heading east. Xinye is on the other side of Chaoyang County, only twenty or thirty miles away, very close.
At the same time, Shen Chen was also in Xinye County at this time.
Xinye has now become his territory, with more than 200,000 people under his rule. Adding Huyang and Huangmenting, the population under his control is more than 300,000, nearly one-third of the entire Nanyang. He can Guarantee for dispatching troops.
So after Shen Chen returned to Xinye, he immediately went to find his grandfather Deng Mao and asked him to help transport last year's old grain to Xiangyang and find a grain merchant to sell it in exchange for some meat products to send to Kunyang.
The food on the front line was actually sufficient. After all, Shen Chen had saved up for four or five years and did not fight everywhere like Cao Cao, so he had a lot of old food saved.
But meat is now in short supply.
The Huangmenting soldiers were able to march fifty or sixty kilometers every day, which had a lot to do with the fact that they could always eat meat to supplement their protein.
At first the budget was sufficient, but then Shen Chen consolidated Gan Ning's military power. Now that the two armies were united, they had to treat everyone equally, so there was a shortage of meat products. Some soldiers in the army had foot diseases, which was probably due to the lack of meat.
Therefore, when I came back this time, in addition to discussing the dispatch of troops with Zhang Xiu, I was also preparing to supervise supplies from the rear, as well as newly made weapons, blades, equipment and armor, which were also to be transported to the front.
And just the second day after Shen Chen returned to Xinye County, he was discussing matters with his grandfather when a servant suddenly came from outside the hall to report: "The county magistrate, young man, Mr. Chaoyang wants to see you."
"Israeli?"
Shen Chen was surprised and said: "Let him come in."
Liu Biao sent some nobles to Nanyang to help manage things at the grassroots level. Shen Chen knew exactly what he had planned.
However, these people are indeed very talented, such as Li Yan, Yi Ji, Han Ran, etc., who are all outstanding, so Shen Chen has always maintained a friendly relationship with them.
Now I suddenly ask for a meeting, maybe there is something important.
Sure enough, when Yi Ji came in and saw Shen Chen there, he immediately said overjoyed: "Mr. Shen, you are actually here, that's great."
"Brother Ji Bo."
Shen Chen stood up and cupped his hands and said, "What's the matter?"
Yi Ji quickly returned the greeting and said: "I have been meeting friends in Rangcheng these days. This morning I was staying at a friend's pavilion. Outside the city, I saw Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu seeing off someone, and they also sent Zhang Xiu's daughter away with them. I The man looked familiar, so after thinking for a long time, I remembered that he is Wang Bi, Cao Cao's chief secretary, and I met him once when I was in Yanzhou!"
"What? Wang Bi!"
Shen Chen was shocked.
What benefits did Cao Cao promise to Zhang Xiu?
As soon as he left, Zhang Xiu sent his daughter to Xudu to marry Cao Cao. He said so much in vain.
"Exactly."
Yi Ji said: "When I saw that the situation was different, I immediately went south to report the news to Ambassador Liu. Suddenly I remembered that if Zhang Xiu colluded with Cao Cao, I was afraid that Xiaolang and Liu Yuzhou would be in danger, so I came to Xinye to inform the county magistrate. thing."
Deng Mao was also shocked and said: "This Xiu is really a jackal. The people of Xiliang are all capricious people. If it weren't for Liu Shijun, he would have been destroyed long ago, and he would rebel again."
Shen Chen muttered: "This matter is not trivial. Zhang Xiu has more than 6,000 men on foot and on horseback. He is not an ordinary person. Even if we are prepared, we may be attacked from both sides and must destroy their marriage. Brother Ji, can you do it?" Do you know where the king is going?"
"If we go east, we may have to cross the Dabie Mountains from Wuyin."
Yi Ji replied.
Shen Chen said: "Uncle, please immediately send someone to inform Liu Shijun and ask him to help dispatch troops and horses to go north to surround Rangcheng. Brother Ji Bo, the two of us will pursue Wang Bi immediately and will definitely kill him."
"ah?"
Yi Ji was startled and said, "But they are guarded by hundreds of cavalry."
Shen Chen said coldly: "Ban Dingyuan once said that if you don't enter the tiger's den, you won't catch the tiger's cubs. We ambush them halfway, and they will never expect it."
"this"
Yi Ji hesitated for a moment, but seeing Shen Chen's arrogance, he was somewhat infected. He nodded and said, "Okay, I will risk my life to accompany Xiao Lang! I will take you there."
"Thank you!"
Shen Chen immediately said to Deng Mao: "Uncle, please send someone immediately and ask your envoy to send troops quickly, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous."
"I see."
Deng Mao immediately arranged manpower.
Shen Chen went out of the county office, summoned many knights, and ordered them to bring all their bows and crossbows to chase Wang Bi with him.
Soon the knights got into formation, marched out of Xinye and headed north.
It was actually around eight o'clock in the morning at this time, and it was only over thirty kilometers from Rangcheng to Xinye. Yiji discovered the situation just after dawn in the morning, around five o'clock, and then spent another hour coming to Xinye.
According to the footpath, Wang Bi's convoy was traveling slowly by horse-drawn carriages, and at most it had reached Anzhong County, so Shen Chen immediately went north and set up an ambush east of Anzhong along the rushing water.
It is also a coincidence that the ambush point was actually the place where Shen Chen set up an ambush on the left bank of the rushing water east of Anzhong when Cao Cao conquered Nanyang.
The mountain forest was still there. Shen Chen sent someone to ask the village elders nearby and found out that the convoy had not passed by, so he still lurked in the same place, on the mountains where Cao Cao was ambushed.
But I didn’t expect that I couldn’t come if I waited for the left, and I couldn’t come if I waited for the right.
Shen Chen sent people north to ask in the direction of Niyang, because there was a bridge to the north, which was where Cao Cao sent Yu Jin to detour and was ambushed by Gan Ning. It could also lead to the east bank of Turbulent River.
Sure enough, Wang Bi's convoy went north. Villagers working in the fields confirmed that the convoy had just passed by not long ago.
So Shen Chen chased after him again.
It can be known from their direction that they planned to go from Rangcheng to Niyang, then cross the Huishui River from the south, pass by Wuyin, and then take the small road from Zhongyang Mountain through the Dabie Mountains to Wufang County in Runan. .
This road is considered very safe. The area in the middle is not under Shen Chen's jurisdiction. Even the Wancheng area is still barely in Zhang Xiu's hands, with a certain number of soldiers and horses stationed there.
Zhang Xiu sent his son Zhang Quan to escort him, apparently because he wanted the convoy to carry out defense changes for Wancheng in his name.
This will not easily arouse suspicion.
As for why you don’t stay up all day and go out at night, choosing to travel at night is also very simple.
Firstly, the visibility is not good at night, and it would be too conspicuous if they use torches. Secondly, they are escorted by hundreds of cavalry, and they go out through the pavilion to cross the countryside at night. They make too much noise. If the local pavilion chiefs and villagers report it, it may arouse the suspicion of the local magistrates. .
After all, there are very few areas that Zhang Xiu can control now, namely the counties northwest of Rangcheng and close to Wuguan. The cities to the east are currently under the jurisdiction of officials sent by Liu Biao.
Although Liu Biao's main force is currently in Jingnan to quell the rebellion, his current strength is much stronger than in history. He still has 20,000 to 30,000 troops deployed in Xiangyang. Zhang Xiu does not want to arouse Liu Biao's suspicion and be destroyed by his troops.
At this time, the team had indeed passed through Niyang and headed towards Nanjiuxiang. As long as they passed through Nanjiuxiang, went to Wuyin, and entered the Dabie Mountains, they could reach Runan safely.
The west bank of the Feishui River, the Wolong District of Nanyang City in later generations, was like a wild jungle in the Han Dynasty. The left bank of the Feishui River was densely forested, and the trees blocked the sky. On the other side of the river, there were large areas of farmland, villages, and ponds and mulberry forests. That was where the south was. Township.
Wang Bi's convoy arrived here in the afternoon. It was about thirty kilometers away from Rangcheng. However, they were riding horses, so they had no idea that Shen Chen had arrived on horseback and set up an ambush early.
"Master's book."
When they arrived at the left bank of Nanji Township, Zhang Quan said to Wang Bi by the Linxia River: "After here, we will go to Jiyang. My father said that the large group should not be too ostentatious. We will part here. We will go north to Wancheng. You guys Just dress up like an ordinary aristocratic family and dance in the dark."
Among the hundreds of cavalry, Zhang Quan's Xiliang soldiers were all regular troops, wearing armor and carrying blades, while Wang Bi's convoy knights mostly wore ordinary clothes.
After passing through Nanjiangxiang, we arrived at Jiyang, which was no longer Zhang Xiu's territory. The county magistrate and other officials, large and small, were all Liu Biao's people. If the regular army went there, it would arouse suspicion.
So the two parties agreed to send it here. Anyway, it is very close to Wuyin after passing Jiyang, and you can reach Zhongyang Mountain before dark.
Wang Bi thanked him and said, "Thank you very much, General, and I'll say goodbye."
"Just say goodbye!"
Zhang Quan looked at his sister again and said softly: "My sister, be obedient."
"Um."
Zhang Quan's sister lowered her head and remained silent.
After all, when you are only fifteen or sixteen years old, and you are suddenly married off like a gift, no one will be happy.
It's just that in this era, children can't make the decision. Parents order a matchmaker. Regardless of male or female, as long as the parents agree, it's a marriage. There is no such thing as free love.
Now the king must set out again.
Dozens of riders, disguised as protecting young ladies from a wealthy family who were out for fun, headed south to visit their hometown.
Zhang Quan stood on the road behind and watched. His sister was getting married. As an elder brother, he would not be happy. However, he had no choice but to watch her farewell from a distance.
At this moment, loud shouting suddenly came from the forest.
"kill!"
In an instant, dozens of men emerged from the vegetation and fired crossbows at the knights in front and behind.
Only the carriage in the middle of the team was left to protect Zhang Xiu's daughter.
Everyone was caught off guard, and more than ten people were shot to death in an instant. Then the men in the forest abandoned their bows and crossbows and drew their knives and rushed into the convoy.
It was too late for Cao Jun to gather his troops to fight back. The horses were scurrying about, and the soldiers were fighting on their own and in chaos.
Shen Chen took the lead and rushed to the front, keeping his eyes fixed on Wang Bi. He first cut down an enemy horseman, then pounced forward and got behind another horseman, killing him with a knife from behind.
Suddenly there was a jingling sound coming from his body, but he was safe under the protection of his armor, so he turned around and struck hard.
Wang Bi shouted: "General Zhang!"
"Chen Chen!"
Zhang Quan opened his eyes wide, and then roared: "Kill!"
"kill!"
The Xiliang cavalry launched a charge.
The distance between the two sides is actually not that far, only about a hundred meters, and it can be reached in just a few seconds.
At this time, Shen Chen had already chopped down the Cao soldier who attacked him. He approached Wang Bi, jumped up suddenly, and slashed with his sword.
Poof!
In Wang Bi's panicked eyes, white light flashed, and the head fell to the ground.
"Zhang Quan, do you want your sister to die?"
Shen Chen hacked Wang Bi to death and arrived in front of Zhang Xiu's daughter's car. He grabbed Wang Bi's head and stood on the roof of the car and roared: "You dare to try?"
The still bleeding human head frightened the girl on the carriage and she let out a terrifying scream.