Zhou Ping is now ready, just waiting for the enemy to come.
He did everything he had to do.
As for whether Lu Bu would come or when he would come, he didn't know.
a.
However, just like the calm before the storm, Zhou Ping also seemed quite calm at this moment.
He was sitting in the house, holding a wine gourd in his hand, with books on the table in front of him, and beside him sat Zhang Wu with a bow and arrows on his back.
"read."
Zhou Ping pointed to the words on the bamboo slips and said to Zhang Wu.
Zhang Wu scratched his head nervously and looked at Zhou Ping.
"Don't look at me, read the book, you should be able to recognize these words."
Zhang Wu quickly turned his head to look at the book on the case and slowly read aloud.
"King Wen said: 'What is benevolence and righteousness?' Taigong said: 'Respect the people and be in harmony with your relatives. Respecting the people will lead to harmony, and being in harmony with your relatives will lead to joy. This is the discipline of benevolence and righteousness. Don't let others take away your power, because it is clear.
Let things take their own course. Those who obey them, let them be virtuous...'"
Zhang Wu stopped abruptly and looked at Zhou Ping again, apparently encountering a word he didn't recognize.
"inverse."
"... Those who rebel will be eliminated with force. Respect them without doubt, and the world will be united." Zhang Wu continued to read.
"Well, very good, I will study more in the future." Zhou Ping said with a smile.
"Young Master, I already know a lot of words. I don't want to read any more. I just want to practice archery."
"Of course you need to practice archery, but you also need to read books. Although you know the words, can you understand their meaning?"
Zhou Ping wanted Zhang Wu to become a wise and brave general in the future, so he often forced him to study.
However, Zhang Wu only loved bow shooting, and every time he read, he felt as if he were facing a powerful enemy. Under Zhou Ping's supervision, although he knew some words, many of their meanings were not very clear.
Now, he shook his head without thinking.
Zhou Ping looked helpless and asked again: "What is benevolence and righteousness?"
Zhang Wu scratched his head again, thought for a moment, and replied: "Be kind to others and treat others righteously."
Zhou Ping smiled happily: "You are right, a benevolent person should respect the people, treat the people well, and worry about the people's worries. Not only do we treat the people, we also treat others the same way."
"What about the enemy soldiers?" Zhang Wu suddenly asked.
"If you are in a battle formation, you cannot be benevolent and kill when you must. But if we have won and the enemy soldiers ask for surrender or are injured and captured, then it is benevolent not to kill. A benevolent person must not lose his power and obey us.
To those who are against me, apply virtue to them, and use virtue to influence them. To those who are against me, apply force to them, and use force to subdue them." Zhou Ping explained patiently.
Zhang Wu seemed to understand and nodded.
"A righteous person never forgets the kindness of others and never abandons his relatives and friends..."
Zhou Ping was talking when the guard outside the door hurried in and reported: "Sima, the people guarding Lucheng are back."
"Let him in quickly."
Zhou Ping immediately stood up and hung the wine gourd on his waist. Zhang Wu also quickly stood up and went out to guard the door.
After the guards followed Zhang Wu out, a detective wearing common people's clothes came in and said: "Zhou Sima, Lu Bu has sent people out of the city. Now he is riding a carriage to Xiapi. The person who came is the same person who visited Cao Mansion last time.
man of."
Xu Bang is here again!
What on earth did he want to talk to Cao Bao about when he came here this time?
Zhou Ping said nothing and paced slowly in the room, thinking in his mind what Xu Si's intention was when he came to Xiapi now.
Did he not make an agreement with Cao Bao last time?
Or maybe he didn't come to see Cao Bao, but came to see me?
Will Lu Bu send troops?
Do you want to arrest Xu Si?
Zhou Ping was thinking about various questions and couldn't guess what Xu Bang's intention was in coming to Xiapi this time. Moreover, whether or not Xu Bang should be captured was also a question.
If he is caught now, will he be alerted? If he is not caught, and he is allowed to meet Cao Bao, will he be allowed to exchange information and ruin his plan?
After thinking for a long time, Zhou Ping made up his mind and ordered the detective: "You continue to monitor and be careful not to let him know. No matter where he goes, he must report to me immediately."
"No." The detective accepted with his hands raised and went out.
"Ziwei." Zhou Ping called out.
Zhang Wu immediately entered the house and waited for Zhou Ping to issue orders.
Zhou Ping ordered: "First take ten people out to hide outside the city and wait for my order."
"promise."
Zhang Wu accepted the promise and went out with ten people, riding horses and rushing out of the city.
Zhou Ping was thinking that if Xu Si came to see Cao Bao, then after he leaves the city, he can be arrested and interrogated to see what conspiracy they have.
In fact, Zhou Ping was afraid that Cao Bao already knew that he was leaving the city with civilian husbands instead of soldiers, and then told Xu Si that if he let him go back and then told Lu Bu to prevent Lu Bu from coming, then all his previous efforts would be wasted.
Zhou Ping sat back in front of the case to read, while waiting for news from various sources.
…………
Xu Bang asked the coachman to drive all the way, and finally arrived at Xiapi before noon.
After entering Xiapi City, we went directly to Cao Bao's Prime Minister's Mansion.
"Will General Lu send troops tonight?"
Cao Bao is the one who is really suffering in the waiting. In the past few days, he has been as anxious as an ant on a hot pot. He can't rest for a moment. He finally waited for the troops to leave Xiapi, and now he has to wait for Lu Bu to lead his troops.
.
Therefore, when he saw Xu Si, he hurriedly asked before Xu Si could explain his purpose.
Xu Bang did not answer directly. Whether Lu Bu wanted to send troops would depend on what news he got in Xiapi. He would have to wait until he returned before he could decide whether to send troops.
"Master Mingfu, the soldiers and horses from Xiapi are leaving. I wonder if you are going to see me off?" Xu Si asked with a smile.
Cao Bao shook his head: "No, Zhou Wen'an did not ask me to participate in this matter, but they did leave the city."
"I know they have left, but I heard that their march was chaotic when they left. I wonder if Mr. Mingfu knew about it?"
Cao Bao remembered that when the soldiers came back to report that day, they said that some soldiers could not march and walked very chaotically.
"Yes, this is the case. They are newly recruited soldiers. It is not unusual for them to not march in order. Is there anything wrong with this?"
Xu Bang carefully observed the changes in Cao Bao's expression, trying to tell whether he was telling the truth or a lie.
However, Cao Bao looked puzzled at this time, as if he didn't know what Xu Bang meant by asking.
"Could it be that those who left the city were hypocrites?" Xu Si asked again after a moment of silence.
"Fake soldiers?" Cao Bao was secretly surprised, "You mean they left by pretending to be civilians as soldiers?"
Xu Bang nodded.
"Why do they do this?"
Cao Bao thought carefully and remembered that Zhou Ping first asked Sun Kang to urgently recruit civilians, and then asked the soldiers and horses to leave in a hurry, and then there was chaos in the march.
Moreover, Xu Sheng, the soldier responsible for commanding two thousand soldiers, did not seem to leave with his troops, but he did not seem to be in the city. Where did he go?
Cao Bao was suspicious at this time, but he couldn't think of Zhou Ping's motive for doing this.
"Master Mingfu is in Xiapi, can you tell me whether this is possible?"
"It's possible." Cao Bao answered firmly.
Xu Bang now felt that Chen Gong's guess was correct.
"Zhou Wen'an must have known that the Ming government had an agreement with General Lu, so he deliberately disguised the common people as soldiers to leave, while his soldiers were hidden in the city. He must have done this to lure General Lu to lead his troops here. But he had soldiers in the city.
It’s not that much, but I can’t figure out why it’s done like this.”
"Master Mingfu, are you...conspired with Zhou Wen'an to kill General Lu Fengxian?"
Although Xu Bang felt that Cao Bao was sincerely cooperating with Lu Bu, he asked directly to see how Cao Bao would react.
When Cao Bao heard this, his face showed anger, and he was quite excited: "I am honest with you, how can you doubt me? If I conspired with Zhou Wen'an, why would I need to do so much? Zhou Wen'an deliberately kept it from me and left as a fake.
It's obviously to seduce me. It seems that maybe he really knows that I want to welcome General Lu to capture Pi."
Xu Si couldn't help but be shocked at this time. He had already determined that Cao Bao was sincerely cooperating with Lu Bu, and he was also certain that Zhou Ping deliberately lured Lu Bu to lead his troops here.
"In that case, I...I must rush back to Lucheng and tell General Lu not to lead his troops here, otherwise he will fall into Zhou Wen'an's scheme."
