Cao Jun, who was stationed with more than ten thousand elite cavalry, welcomed Cao Pingxi, who was returning with a full load.
Cao Su brought cartloads of grain, and in addition, troops from the imperial court came upriver in warships to reward him, and they also arrived on the same day.
The morale of Cao's army, which had been somewhat low, suddenly surged again.
The soldiers cheered and roared loudly.
For several days in a row, there were bonfires and feasts outside Xiguan.
The defenders above Xiguan didn't know why Cao Jun was so happy. They were obviously locked out and couldn't get in, but why did they feel happier than they were inside the pass?
It wasn't until the caravan coming into the pass told about the banquet held by Cao Jun that they knew that Cao Jun had come to reward him from the court.
This is a bit appetizing.
Although it is said that Cao Jun conquered Xizhou and made great military exploits.
But none of the defenders above Xiguan were exposed to the wind and sun all day long. They had no merit but hard work.
It's really heartbreaking to be so kind to one and not to the other.
Sometimes it's like this, not worrying about scarcity but unevenness.
The guards thought that everyone was eating royal food, so it made no sense for you to eat meat and I couldn't even drink soup.
In addition, the food and salary for the past few months were still owed, and morale suddenly dropped sharply.
What's worse is that Cao Jun seemed to do it on purpose.
A few days later, Cao Jun suddenly shouted loudly and began to hold wrestling matches outside Xiguan.
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Cao Su has always been firmly in charge of the construction of spiritual civilization in the military.
The current conditions do not allow it, otherwise he would invent a "Cuju" for everyone to play with.
When conditions did not allow it, I had to use "wrestling matches" to enrich my entertainment life.
This "wrestling match" was pioneered by Cao Su.
The rule adopted is that as long as one party touches the ground on any part above the knee, it is a failure, and the winner is determined by a fall.
The soldiers had never played wrestling before, but now there is this entertainment activity, and the whole army participates. The winner may also be rewarded by General Pingxi, which immediately stimulates the enthusiasm to sign up.
In the end, Cao Su adopted the system of selecting a warrior from a hundred-man team to participate in the competition, and selected a total of two hundred Qi-blood warriors to participate in the competition.
Warriors above the level of strength should not participate.
On this day, Cao Su was sitting high in the army.
On both sides were Zhang Ke, Luo Yi, Li Li and other powerful generals in the army, followed by generals from Changshui and Hu Qi battalions.
Finally, there were Shi Yong and Ma Chao next to Cao Su. Many senior officials were sitting on the high platform, pointing towards the martial arts arena below.
Soon, the two hundred selected warriors all walked onto the martial arts field.
After the referee gave the order, all the warriors shook hands and saluted, and then assumed a tiger crouching posture. In an instant, they began to fight sumo, circling and stalemate, hitting each other with their legs and knees, and each used techniques such as throwing, pulling, throwing, and tripping to win.
"It turned out to be a melee. I thought it was a one-on-one match."
Next to Cao Su, Li Li lamented that the scene was spectacular.
Two hundred warriors were fighting in melee, and even the Qi-blood warriors were making a lot of noise.
Moreover, these two hundred warriors are all fierce men selected from the army, each of them is taller and more powerful than the other.
Cao Su smiled as he watched his warriors wrestling.
"Wrestling is better than performing martial arts, but performing martial arts also involves the risk of injury. Wrestling is a competitive sport after all, and the probability of injury is much lower than directly slashing with a knife."
"My lord is so powerful that you can think of this move in seconds. In this way, all the energy of the soldiers can be vented."
Next to Cao Su, Zhang Ke smiled softly and patted Cao Su's ass a little.
The atmosphere in the entire martial arts arena was very fiery.
Except for the soldiers who needed to be on alert, all the other soldiers gathered around to watch the game.
Cheers kept ringing out in Cao's camp.
It was only a few miles away from Xiguan, and Xiguan could clearly hear the deafening cheers.
"What's going on?"
"What happened?"
"Why is Cao Jun so happy? Do they have white steamed buns to eat every day?"
The defenders at Xiguan were in a state of confusion.
Being a soldier is a boring thing in the first place, but when everyone finds out that someone is better fed, warmer clothed, has more honors, and is happier than them, they suddenly feel a little mixed in their hearts.
Not long after, Zhu Ming, the general of Xiguan Guard, came in a hurry after receiving the news.
Zhu Ming is thirty-seven years old this year. He has a broad forehead and a powerful voice. He comes wearing Xuanming heavy armor and is followed closely by the Xiguan generals on both sides.
"General, this Cao Su seems to be holding some sort of 'wrestling competition'."
The general guarding the gate who had found out the news passed the news to Zhu Ming.
Zhu Ming walked to the highest point of the city tower and looked towards Cao Ying.
In Cao's camp, cheers came one after another, which was really exciting.
Zhu Ming also didn't expect that Cao Su had such rich means.
First it was a reward, and then it was to arouse the atmosphere. Before anyone could see him, the soldiers in Xiguan were made popular by Cao Su.
He had previously been forced to open a warehouse and release a wave of grain to stabilize the morale of the army.
Before this matter could be settled, another disaster happened.
What a toss up.
"General, Cao Su has run out of tricks. The more he causes trouble outside the pass, the more it proves that he has no solution." Some generals in Zhu Ming's camp mocked that Cao Su only knew how to play tricks.
This doesn't sound like much of a problem.
But the current problem must be solved, and victory cannot be declared just because of mental suppression.
Therefore, Zhu Ming also smiled and glanced at the generals from the corner of his narrow eyes: "Brothers, do you have any good ideas to solve this matter?"
A general immediately said: "In that case, how about our army also holding a 'wrestling competition'? I think Cao Jun's wrestling competition is very simple, and it shouldn't be too difficult to hold."
Zhu Ming glanced at the general and said nothing.
This is obviously not good advice. I have already learned a wave of rewards before, now I want to learn another wave?
He, Zhu Ming, was born in the Yulin Army, but he had no shame in doing such a scandalous thing that he could only imitate.
Another general said: "Why don't we let the soldiers rest for two days? Now that Cao Su is guarding the outside of Xiguan, why should we work so hard to check back and forth all day?"
I said this because I wanted to tease Cao Su.
However, although it is true that Cao Jun was stationed outside Xiguan, he spent the whole day practicing martial arts, running circles, and training. He had no other functions. Even if those who passed the border came to the gate of the camp, no one would pay attention to him.
Another person said: "Why don't we invite Cao Su to the pass for a banquet, and let's sit down and have a good talk."
Zhu Ming became even more angry after hearing this.
There is no one reliable among the civil and military officials in the hall. The bureaucratic characteristics in Xiguan are too obvious. These generals are all well fed and drunk, and they are completely useless.
What are you talking about? What nonsense are you talking about? Didn’t you see that Zhu Ming was just trying to prevent Cao Su from entering?
Zhu Ming didn't know how long he could be stuck, but he had no other choice now.
The late emperor sent him to Xiguan, which proved that he no longer trusted the Yang brothers.
Zhu Ming doesn't care who becomes the emperor in the future, but what Yang Ming and Yang Rui are doing at this moment is definitely not what the late emperor wanted to see.
As for falling to the chamberlain group, there is no such theory. It is just that Zhu Ming is not willing to join the group of generals.
I heard that Cao Su was led by the right general Qin Hu. Among the four generals at the front, left and right, Qin Hu and Yang Ming were in the same spirit.
That is equivalent to Cao Su, who belongs to the line of generals.
"You can't let it go. No one can get in."
Zhu Ming's eyes flashed, and he no longer cared about the cheering Cao Jun camp, turned around and left the tower.
Seeing Zhu Ming's ugly face, everyone thought that Zhu Ming was still worried about matters in the army, so they all fell silent and followed Zhu Ming back to the pass.
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Cao Su didn't expect Zhu Ming to be so calm.
For several days, he was blocked by Zhu Ming at Xiguan, and was in a dilemma.
At the same time, someone in the divine capital finally established stable contact with him.
After the emperor entered the palace in mourning, he entered the final process of burial.
As the emperor's body was buried in the ground, the entire city was in turmoil.
The official group headed by General Yang Ming gained more voice and support in the court, and there were also voices in the palace that supported Yang Ming.
A few days ago, two hundred-man squadrons from the Forbidden Army had an armed fight.
The scale of the armed fighting was not large, but the Forbidden Army always had strict jurisdiction, and the sergeants rarely experienced civil strife.
This time the two centurions were fighting, it was obvious that they were in different groups and there was a deviation in their positions.
If the stance is different, it is easy to regard the other party as a stranger.
So under some unexpected instigation, different people will become angry and fight.
The armed fight triggered a small-scale commotion among the Forbidden Army, and finally it was the right general Qin Hu who personally took action, a second-grade martial artist with outstanding combat power, who frightened the entire army.
Although this matter has been suppressed, the struggle between the two sides has become increasingly fierce.
Yang Ming and Qin Hu also had stronger desires to urge Cao Su to enter the pass as soon as possible.
In late February, Qin Hu sent Wang Meng, Wei Kai and others to arrive at Xiguan with hundreds of elite soldiers.
Specifically dealing with the entry of Cao Su's army into the pass.