Cao Cao's army retreated all the way to Yingchuan and then stopped. After Cao Cao learned that Xia Houyuan was captured and Cao Hong was assassinated, he spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted on the spot. Everyone was rushing around and pouring water.
, thumping on the back, thumping on the back, pinching the person in the middle. After a lot of tossing, Cao Cao let out a long breath, and then he faintly woke up.
"Brother Gongren! What should we do now?"
Gongren is the name of Dong Zhao. Dong Zhao's courtesy name was Gongren, and he was from Dingtao in Jiyin. He was originally a counselor under Yuan Shao's account. He played the greatest role in Yuan Shao's campaign against Han Fu to capture Jizhou and to contact the various aristocratic families in Jizhou. Therefore,
He was regarded as a thorn in Yuan Shao's side by other advisers, and they all slandered Yuan Shao. Yuan Shaoer was so weak that he despised Dong Zhao. Dong Zhao left angrily and switched to Cao Cao's account. He was Cao Cao's third most powerful man after Xi Zhicai and Cheng Yu.
Advisor, deeply trusted by Cao Cao.
Dong Zhao is already in his forties, but he has a handsome face, as if he were a teenager. The few strands of mustache under his chin are very funny, and the fact that he is as skinny as a stick makes it even more ridiculous. Dong Zhao twirled his beard and pondered.
Bansheng: "Our army suffered heavy losses in this battle. General Xia Houyuan's 20,000 troops and horses were wiped out. Yesterday's battle at Lushan, another half of our main army was lost. Our strength has been greatly damaged. We cannot fight Long Fei again. However, Xuzhou Liu Bei,
Yuan Shu from Yangzhou has long been interested in spying on our Yanzhou, and needs to be more careful. My subordinates believe that they should return to the army as soon as possible to avoid another trouble in Dongjun."
Xiahou Dun snorted coldly: "Huh! A rotten Confucian is not enough to fight against such a humiliation. How can he return to the army and vow to seize Wancheng to avenge this!"
"Yes! Yes! Revenge!" Many people raised their arms and shouted along with Xiahou Dun.
Cao Cao waved his hand: "You don't have to say any more, let me finish what I have to say!"
Dong Zhao cleared his throat: "Our army is already exhausted. If we continue to fight, we may be defeated by Long Fei. By then, Long Fei, Liu Bei, and Yuan Shu will inevitably attack from three sides, and Yanzhou will be in danger!"
"What if Long Fei comes after us when we return to the army?" Liu Ye asked.
Everyone nodded repeatedly. Returning to the army at this time gave Long Fei a chance. If Long Fei led the army to kill him, not to mention Yingchuan, Chen Liu might not be able to save it. Dong Zhao glanced at Cao Cao, then glanced at everyone, and sighed.
He said: "Long Fei is really a serious danger. However, the princes in the world only care about themselves and are not aware of the crisis. My lord may as well put off the war with Long Fei temporarily. The two families are in-laws. We can use this relationship to form an alliance to fight against Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu's brothers, and raise their spirits."
Gather your strength and try to conquer the mountains again!"
"Form an alliance!" After hearing this word, everyone immediately started talking, and even Cao Cao's expression changed. Last night, the two families were fighting to the death. Today, the words of alliance are not enough to make people laugh. Even if the alliance is successful, Long Fei is
Who is this person? The most treacherous and shameless person in the world. He now has the moral and military superiority. Trying to tie him down with just a piece of paper is undoubtedly nonsense.
Xiahou Dun burst out laughing: "Hahaha... Sir, are you joking! Form an alliance with Long Fei? Even if we are willing, will Long Fei be willing?"
Dong Zhaodao: "Although Long Fei won this battle, he still suffered a lot of losses. What's more, Liu Biao to the south, Yuan Shu to the east, Li Jue to the west, and Guo Si were all eyeing his Wancheng. Long Fei was the one who cared about interests the most.
He definitely doesn’t want to get entangled with us at this time. If we propose an alliance, he probably won’t refuse, but..."
Cao Cao frowned: "Brother Gongren has something to say, but there's no harm in saying it!"
"Long Fei is a greedy person. If we propose an alliance, he will naturally blackmail us. My lord, we must think clearly how much we can give to Long Fei!"
Long Fei never went back, and the army continued to stay in Lushan. He sent Guan Hai, Zhou Cang, and Pei Yuanshao to lead an army of 10,000 to Xiangcheng. They released Cao Cao and then fought back. Although they won this battle, they suffered a lot of losses. Originally, they
There were only 60,000 soldiers and horses, 20,000 were lost in Lushan, and about 10,000 soldiers could no longer go to the battlefield for other reasons. Therefore, this battle had a heavy blow to Wancheng. Cao Cao is still in Yingchuan, will he fight again?
He was completely unsure.
The bodies of the martyrs were sent back to Wancheng for burial one by one. A meeting was held in Longfei, the subordinate office of Lushan, to discuss the next plan. Starting from Zhao Yun and Wenpin, all the generals believed that they would spend all their money to fight Cao Cao to the death.
To avenge the dead soldiers. However, Li Ru, Xu Shu and others repeatedly opposed it. What they said was reasonable. Now that Wancheng has lost nearly half, if there is not enough troops to fight again, not to mention the news has come from Jingzhou and Yangzhou that Liu Biao and Yuan Shu
Soldiers and horses have been gathered one after another, with unknown targets. It is not a good time to attack at this time.
Li Rudao: "We have enmity with Liu Biao and Yuan Shu. If we send out troops at this time, these two men will definitely attack us. We will not be able to deal with it. Wancheng, which we have worked hard for many years, may be destroyed in one day. Only by standing still can they have no intention of wrongdoing.
Throw all the problems to Cao Cao. If he attacks again, we will definitely accompany him, but whether Yanzhou can continue to exist is uncertain. If he does not attack, we can just go with the flow and let him compensate for our losses! This is the business that the lord is talking about.
"
Hua Xiong said angrily: "Business, business! What benefits can we gain by losing tens of thousands of lives for this little business? It would be better to send an army directly to Dongjun and completely eliminate Cao Cao!"
Xu Shu shook his head repeatedly: "Although Cao's army was defeated, there are still 30,000 troops. If we attack Yingchuan, our army may not be able to win. It is better to do this business to make it more cost-effective!"
There was a debate from early morning until midnight. Long Fei was so hungry that he was a little flustered and really didn't want to listen to the quarrel. He slapped his palm on several cases and said: "Our army can no longer fight. This matter will be handled according to what Mr. Li and Yuan Zhi said.
! Also call for Jiang Gan. If Cao Cao’s envoy arrives, let him take charge. I don’t want to see the face of Cao Cao’s envoy.”
Three days later, Jiang Ji, the envoy of Cao Cao's army, arrived. Jiang Ji was originally from Chu and served as a farewell driver in Yangzhou. Later, when Yuan Shu captured Yangzhou, Jiang Ji hid in the world. He recommended himself to Cao Cao's sect and was appreciated by Cao Cao, ranking second to Dong Zhao.
This time, after careful consideration, Cao Cao sent Jiang Ji to discuss the alliance with Long Fei. Jiang Ji had served as a county official in Jiujiang and had met Long Fei's subordinate Jiang Qian several times. One of the two men was unique in Jianghuai and had eloquence, and the other was famous.
Chu was known as a talented man who helped the world, and the two of them burst out laughing when they met.
"I didn't expect Brother Ziyi to be so successful now. I have to look at Brother Ziyi's face to act!" Jiang Ji said half-jokingly and half-truthfully.
Jiang Qian hurriedly handed over his hand: "Brother Zitong is joking. How dare I, a low-level official, pretend to be big in front of Brother Zitong? I think back in Jiujiang, thanks to Brother Zitong's care, Jiang Qian is what he is today!"
"Brother Ziyi, you're welcome!"
The two of them entered the hall while talking politely. There were two desks on the left and right of the hall, with the writing and ink on them already prepared. Two boys were packing the bamboo slips. After they sat down, a waiter served tea.
When people look at each other, they can't help but feel a little worried. Just because they are so familiar, even a small movement of oneself will give a hint to the other person, and they will not be so arbitrary when talking about terms.
Jiang Gan waved his hand and sent everyone down, hehehe smiled: "A few days ago, you and I were enemies. Just here, your lord Cao Cao and my lord had a big battle. Tens of thousands of lives were buried outside the city. I didn't expect you and me today."
Sitting across from each other is quite awkward!"
Jiang Ji also laughed and said: "What's so embarrassing about this? I'm here today for the sake of the alliance between the two families. I believe Brother Ziyi won't offend me!"
"Hahaha..." Jiang Qian waved his hands repeatedly: "That's natural. Since the two families are in alliance, I wonder if Mr. Cao has prepared a gift for my lord?"
Jiang Ji shook his head and said: "The purpose of the two alliances is to dethrone the swordsmen and share the same hatred of the enemy, which is naturally mutually beneficial. Brother Ziyi is a little out of touch when he says this!"
The two of them were going back and forth in the room, quarreling with each other, and neither one wanted to give in. Although their words were tit-for-tat, their expressions were like old friends they hadn't seen for many years, smiling and chatting happily. Hiding behind the screen, Long Fei and Li
Ru, Xu Shu, and Zhao Yun listened all morning, and were stunned when they came out one by one. Xu Shu sighed: "This is Mr. Ziyi. If it were anyone else, he might not be Jiang Ji's opponent!"
"Isn't it? Cao Cao's men are really full of talents. Crouching tiger, hidden dragon will definitely become a big trouble in the future!" Li Ru also shook his head and sighed.
Long Fei smiled: "Do you have no confidence in yourself or are you too optimistic about Cao Cao? Only when you are under pressure can you be motivated!"
Xu Shu and Li Ru knew they had said something wrong and quickly shut up. Zhao Yun pondered for a while and then said: "Brother, what if the negotiation fails?"
Long Fei shook his head: "I have told Ziyi that we must make it happen. Even if Ziyi is biting hard now, he will know what to do when the matter really becomes serious."
The two of them barely stepped out of the room except for eating and sleeping. They talked about all kinds of truths and classics almost repeatedly. If outsiders didn't know the inside story, they might think that the two of them were debating. In fact, both of them knew very well that as long as they kept their words
If you try to defeat the other party, you can gain the greatest benefits for your side. However, don’t forget that Jiang Qian is the best eloquent person in the Jianghuai area, and no one dares to compete with him. Although Jiang Ji is not bad, he still lacks a little bit. When it comes to the third
At noon of three days, Jiang Ji was finally speechless by Jiang Gan and could only smile slightly while sitting there.
Jiang Gan let out a long breath: "It seems that we have come to a conclusion. We can withdraw the troops from Xiangcheng, but Mr. Cao will compensate us for the losses in this battle. According to the calculations of my Mr.
Ten thousand gold, one hundred thousand dan of grain and grass, plus five thousand gold for the repairs of Lushan and the people, brother Zitong has no objection to this, right?"
Jiang Ji shook his head and smiled bitterly. He had lost this battle again. Long Fei had Dian Wei and Xu Chu who were good at fighting, Wenpin and Gao Shun who were good at guarding, Jia Xu and Guo Jia who were good at planning, Xun Yu and Zhong Yao who were good at governing, and good at arguing.
Jiang Qian, as well as Zhao Yun, Zhang Liao, Xu Shu, and Li Ru were all geniuses in the world, and they were superior to Cao Cao in every aspect. He had nothing to say after being defeated, so he could only nod in agreement.
Although Cao Cao was a little dissatisfied with this result, the current situation could only be like this. In order to stabilize Long Fei as soon as possible, Cao Cao mobilized gold, silver, grain and grass from Chenliu and Dongjun and sent them to Lushan. Long Fei also released Xia Houyuan and the prisoners
The more than 10,000 soldiers of Cao's army were regarded as sincerity. Both parties sent Zhao Yun and Xiahou Dun to complete the delivery procedures in Xiangcheng, and returned with the written alliance letter to deliver the goods.
The war that lasted for more than a month has finally come to an end. As for how long this thin alliance will last, no one can say. Maybe tomorrow, maybe this afternoon.