Chapter 386 As long as Cao Chun launches an attack...
Chapter 386 As long as Cao Chun launches an attack...
Author: Playing with Basilisk
Chapter 386 As long as Cao Chun launches an attack
In August of the 25th year of Jian'an, Hanoi County and Chaoge County.
After Shen Chen shocked China last year, the capital of Chen was shaken. Cao Cao was afraid that Nanyang's army would march north to attack Henan, so he moved the capital again.
This is the third time Cao Cao has moved his capital. The first time he moved the capital from Luoyang to Xuchang, the second time he moved the capital from Xuchang to Chenliu, and the third time he moved the capital from Chenliu to Chaoge. The imperial court was displaced.
The first time Cao Cao moved the capital was to consolidate his power and also to cater to the Yingchuan family who supported him. The next two times were all because of Shen Chen.
It can be said that Shen Chen defeated Cao Cao twice and moved the capital, which not only greatly reduced Cao Cao's prestige, but also greatly increased the Han court's expectations for him.
Many people who cherished the Han Dynasty hoped that Shen Chen could break into Henan and welcome the emperor.
But it is a pity that the success failed several times.
It's not that Shen Chen didn't do it, it's that he really couldn't do it.
Although Cao Cao was in trouble several times, he occupied the most fertile north after all.
The combined population of Henan and Hebei is nearly 20 million, and the country's foundation is too strong to rely solely on southern troops to completely defeat him.
Therefore, Shen Chen could only weaken Cao Cao's strength step by step. He first annexed Jiangdong according to his original plan, and then went north to attack Cao Cao.
This disappointed many people.
In Chaoge County, the Han Emperor Liu Xie looked ashen and his mood was extremely low.
After he was controlled by Cao Cao, the number of Han officials around him became less and less day by day. When he first went to Xuchang, he was still able to control the palace guards, which scared Cao Cao so that he did not dare to come to see him for several years.
As a result, Cao Cao became more and more powerful, and the palace guards were replaced by Cao's army. His Han ministers either defected and became Wei ministers, or were killed by Cao Cao with excuses. Now the entire dynasty is Cao's family. , there is no one around him to speak for him anymore.
In the backyard of the Chaoge County Government Office, Liu Xie's temporary palace was moved last year and the new palace has not yet been built. At this moment, the Wei army outside, led by Hua Xin, broke into the backyard house and surrounded Liu Xie.
Liu Xie was sitting cross-legged on the main seat in the house. There was no one on his left or right, no loyal ministers of the Han Dynasty came to celebrate the occasion, no palace guards came to escort him, not even a chamberlain or a maid.
"Your Majesty, hand over the seal!"
Hua Xin stepped forward and said, "Although Liu Bei won this time, it was a tragic victory. He has no ability to come north to rescue you. After Your Majesty cedes the country to King Wei, King Wei will not treat Your Majesty badly."
Liu Xie sadly said: "Hua Gong, how can such a thing happen in this world? Cao Cao was born in Han Dynasty and was supposed to serve the country, but he wanted to usurp the throne. You are also a Han official. You were a filial and honest official in your early years. You are my father. The emperor has granted you the title of doctor, how could you?"
Hua Xin looked unbearable and said: "Your Majesty, this is the general trend of the world. When the ancestors replaced Qin and Wang Mang replaced Han, they were all in their places, and they could not be taken away from them; where their destiny was, people could not make it strong. In this world, , it is already difficult for an Emperor Guangwu to emerge and revitalize the Yanhan. Your Majesty, accept your fate!"
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu”
Liu Xie cried and said: "Is this great Han Dynasty about to be taken away by the Cao family? The Han has been raising scholars for four hundred years, and you have all eaten the salary of the Han. Now you want to destroy your country. Isn't it a beast?"
Hua Xin's face didn't look good.
He actually knows that his reputation will probably be ruined in the future.
He was born as a Han official, but he defected to Cao Wei, coerced the emperor to give in, and snatched the jade seal.
When the time comes, he will be remembered as a piece of history, and from now on, the literati will not let him off the hook with their words and writings.
But now there is nothing he can do.
Since he chose to be loyal to Cao Wei and Cao Pi asked him to force Liu Xie, he could only do this.
Otherwise, not only he will die, but also the family behind him.
So he could only grit his teeth, wave his hands to the guards on the left and right and say: "Your Majesty, I'm sorry."
The guards rushed into the room, but quickly retreated.
A young woman in her twenties walked out with a delicate jade seal in one hand and a dagger in her other hand.
The attendants around her knew her identity and were afraid of accidentally injuring her. They did not dare to act rashly and had to retreat step by step.
"Why bother with Jiao Fang?"
Seeing this situation, Hua Xin quickly advised: "The King of Wei is also Shufang's elder brother. It is destiny for Wei to replace the Han Dynasty. Doesn't Jiaofang not want to see his brother conquer the world?"
The woman called "Jiaofang" was Cao Jie, Liu Xie's queen. The queen of the Western Han Dynasty lived in Jiaofang Palace, so the queen was often called Jiaofang in the Han Dynasty.
Although Cao Jie was Cao Pi's biological sister, she had her own sense of integrity and scolded: "We are destined by fate. I, the Cao family, have been living in Han Dynasty for generations, and we should serve the country. But my father and brother bully the emperor and seek to usurp the throne. How can we be human beings?"
Sir?"
Hua Xin said: "Zhou was a minister of merchants, but he attacked the merchants to conquer the world. If the state did not do anything, the ministers should take their place. The two emperors of the Han Dynasty, Huan and Ling, were so stupid that the world was in a state of terminal illness. The king of Wei replaced the Han Dynasty.
How can Shuntian and his people be seeking to usurp the throne?"
Cao Jie argued with reason: "Even if the late emperor did something wrong, what will happen to today's emperor? Is he also stupid? Since my father has repeatedly said that he was a minister of the Han Dynasty, power should be transferred to the superior. How can he condone his brother to take it on behalf of the Han Dynasty?
?Isn’t this usurping the throne?”
"Forehead"
Hua Xin was speechless for a moment, so he had to say: "This is what King Wei meant."
Cao Jie continued to sneer.
A soldier next to her saw the opportunity and suddenly attacked, knocking the dagger out of her hand.
Hua Xin immediately stepped forward and kicked the dagger away, and then threatened: "Jiao Fang, hand over the jade seal. Since the Han Dynasty is dead, the King of Wei has the will of God and the people, so he should have replaced him!"
"Bang!"
Cao Jie was furious and threw the seal and shouted: "God will not protect you. Just wait. Sooner or later, the Wei Kingdom will be destroyed!"
Hua Xin no longer cares what Cao Jie is scolding.
Anyway, her own surname is Cao, why is she scolding her father and brother for having anything to do with an outsider like her?
At this moment, Hua Xin was concerned about the jade seal. He hurriedly ran over and picked up the jade seal on the ground. He took a closer look and found that it was not broken, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Chuan Guo Jade Seal has been plagued by many disasters.
It has been thousands of years since Bian He discovered the He's Bi in the Spring and Autumn Period, to Zhang Yi who was humiliated and went to the Qin Dynasty to worship the Prime Minister, and then there was the legend of returning the Bi to Zhao after the Spring and Autumn Period, the Warring States, the Qin and Han Dynasties, and now, for thousands of years.
At the end of the Han Dynasty, Wang Mang usurped the throne and asked the Queen Mother for a jade seal, but the Queen Mother Xiaoyuan smashed a corner of it and replaced it with gold. Its legend has seen countless emperors and generals in history and witnessed too many splendid histories.
Hua Xin carefully held up this traditional jade seal carved by He's jade, and then looked down at the eight characters below, "Ordered by heaven, you will live forever", and then he breathed a sigh of relief and said to Liu Xieleng
He said coldly: "Your Majesty, King Wei will come to Chaoge soon to hold the abdication ceremony. Please prepare."
After that, he took the imperial seal and left, leaving only the couple Liu Xie and Cao Jie crying over their tragic fate.
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August 10th, Hefei, Huainan.
Chaohu Lake is magnificent, like a vast ocean, providing a land of fish and rice.
But it is a pity that the population of Huainan was withering at this time, and Cao Cao moved all the people from Huainan to Huaibei, Henan, making the place less populated and more desolate.
In Hefei City, after Cao Pi succeeded, Zhang Liao, who had been promoted to former general, and Xue Ti, the commander of the Central Guard Army, continued to be in charge.
Xue Ti was Zhang Liao's superior in the last battle of Hefei. As a result, Zhang Liao was promoted because he shocked Xiaoyaojin and defeated Sun Quan. Especially after the original Zuo General Yu Jin was captured, he became the number one general with a foreign surname.
For this reason, Cao Pi specially appointed him as a former general, replacing the post of Xiahou Dun who had died in the battle, and made his brother Zhang Xun a prince. He also gave his mother many silk and valley chariots to show his favor.
However, no matter how polite Zhang Liao was, it could not change the fact that his surname was not Cao.
So when Cao Chun entered Hefei City, he quickly took his place and became the current coach of Hefei City.
Although Cao Chun was the Protector General and was not as good as Zhang Liao in terms of his position, when he came this time, Cao Pi gave him the post of holding a festival, a false ax and the military governorship of Huainan.
Therefore, even Zhang Liao had to obey his orders.
At this moment, Cao Chun was sitting on the main seat, accompanied by Zhang Liao and Xue Ti. He looked around them and said: "Now the King of Wei wants to take advantage of Liu Bei's attack on Wu to proclaim himself emperor on behalf of the Han Dynasty. He hopes that Sun Quan can hold on for a longer time."
, just sent me to support Jiangdong, what is the situation in the south now?"
Zhang Liao sighed, shook his head and said: "I'm afraid it's not that good. Guan Yu is attacking their camp fiercely. Sun Quan is losing troops and generals every day. Ruxukou is just struggling to hold on. Maybe it won't be long before Sun Quan will be defeated."
Cao Chun frowned and said: "There are still thousands of people in Hefei City, why can't you send troops to help? Even if he goes to the front line, Liu Bei will be suspicious of us sending people to help."
Xue Ti said: "The governor has been away from the south for a long time and does not know the situation in the south. Guan Yu's navy has occupied the Yangtze River and attacked Sun Quan's army from the camps west of Ruxushui and north of Ruxukou. Sun Quan's navy was lost in the Battle of Jingzhou
Seventy-seven, eighty-eight, we dare not compete with Jiangxia Navy for supremacy. If we send troops, we will be harmed by them."
"good."
Zhang Liao also said: "We don't have a naval force, so we can only go south by land around Chaohu Lake. Let's not talk about the difficulty of supplying food and grass. If Guan Yu takes advantage of Hefei's emptiness and sends his navy along the Ruxu River northward to Chaohu Lake to attack Hefei, Hefei may be in trouble.
.”
"I see."
Cao Chun didn't expect the situation in the south to be so bad, so he thought for a while and said: "The King of Wei ordered me to bring 3,000 tiger and leopard cavalry and 5,000 infantry to make noise for Sun Quan. How can I help Sun Quan?"
Xue Ti thought for a while and said: "Guan Yu sent Zhao Yun to garrison thousands of troops at Dongxing Embankment. Scouts came to report that they only had one camp and not many tents. They should only have four to five thousand troops. If the governor could defeat Zhao Yun,
, will definitely make Guan Yu doubt the arrival of our reinforcements."
"I remember this Dongxing Causeway is the entrance from Chaohu Lake to Ruxushui."
Cao Chun thought for a while.
He remembered that when he followed the late king south to attack Sun Quan six years ago, he was stationed at Dongxingdi, and he also broke through Sun Quan's camp at Ruxuwu on the other side, and captured the enemy general Gongsun Yang alive.
"Yes."
Xue Ti nodded and said: "Dongxing Dike guards the road going south. Even if we have ships, troops and grain, it will be difficult to attack Guan Yu's headquarters in Xiang'an through Dongxing Dike."
"oh?"
Cao Chun said with a smile: "If that's the case, it would be easy. I didn't expect Guan Yu to be so stupid. He only sent five thousand people to guard an important place like Dongxingdi. Is this deceiving me, the Wei Dynasty?"
Zhang Liao hurriedly said: "The governor must not underestimate him. Zhao Yun was the most brave among the three armies. He once led 2,000 men to defeat Sun Quan and beheaded his general Zhou Tai!"
Cao Chun laughed and said: "Didn't the former general defeat Sun Quan with 800 men and kill his general Chen Wu? Jiangdong only relied on the navy, how could the army compete with the northern army? I think Zhao Yun wants two
It takes a thousand men to win, but he is not as brave as the former general. Tomorrow I will lead the tiger and leopard cavalry south and see if I can capture him alive."
Zhang Liao thought for a while and said, "Then I will go with the governor."
"No problem!"
Cao Chun waved his hand: "Hefei still needs to be guarded. It would be bad if Guan Yu heard that Dongxing Dike was breached and thought Hefei was empty, so he sent a fleet to attack. There must be a general in the city and a guard to escort the grain and grass for me. When I break Zhao Yun
, after containing Guan Yu, return to Fei."
"Hmm"
Zhang Liao thought for a while and realized that what Cao Chun said was true.
If Cao Chun were to mobilize, the trip from Hefei to Dongxingdi, which is more than 200 miles away, would definitely not take a day or two. Someone would have to transport grain and grass from the rear.
This work was either done by him or by Xue Ti, and there were only five to six thousand people in Hefei, so someone still needed to be stationed in the city.
Therefore, among the three of them, one could only lead the troops, one could transport food, and one could defend the city. There was really no way for two generals to go together.
Moreover, with the three thousand tiger and leopard cavalry and the five thousand elite soldiers of Cao Cao's army, they are probably foolproof.
Even if he cannot defeat Zhao Yun, as long as Cao Chun's army appears south of Chaohu Lake, Cao Chun's mission will be completed. At that time, he will have to retreat at worst.
Thinking of this, Zhang Liao felt that there was no problem, so he said: "Okay, then we will do it according to the governor's wishes."
"Um."
Cao Chun nodded and said: "Then General Lao will be stationed in Hefei and the army will help transport food. After I defeat Zhao Yun, I will go to Ruxukou to build up momentum for Sun Quan. In this way, King Wei can successfully ascend the throne.
Buy time."
"only!"
The two of them should hold hands.
Cao Chun immediately began to prepare for sending troops.
At the same time, he immediately sent someone to report to Sun Quan, telling him that Cao Wei's former army led by Cao Chun had arrived in Hefei and was preparing to rush to the south for reinforcements, so that Sun Quan could continue to hold on.
At this time, the battle at Ruxukou had already entered a fever pitch. After the catapults broke down the fortress the day before, Liu Bei's army stormed boldly.
Under the leadership of Ma Chao, thousands of Jingzhou troops almost entered the gap and captured the northern camp.
If He Qi from the southern camp had not arrived in time with reinforcements, taking advantage of the terrain to continuously shoot arrows, and finally repelled the enemy under the rain of arrows, the camp might have been breached.
The news reached Sun Quan, which made Sun Quan frightened and uneasy. He stood on Zheqi City with dull eyes, looking at the north in the distance, muttering to himself: "Zhang Liao said that Cao Chun has arrived, as long as Cao Chun
Launch an attack and everything will be fine, just hold on for a few more days, hold on for a few more days."