In the Palace of Wei, Cao Cao sat high on the throne, sitting upright with a serious look on his face.
Cao Cao was not tall, but he was full of majesty and posture.
In the main hall, Cao Cao's civil servants and generals were lined up on both sides. Everyone was holding their breath and being humble and respectful, making the hall filled with a solemn atmosphere.
At this time, Liu Biao's envoy had not yet entered the palace, and everyone was waiting.
Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit depressing, Cao Cao wanted to relax, so he smiled and said, "Tell me, if Liu Biao's envoys come, will you be frightened to pieces?"
Xun Yu said: "My lord, Liu Biao sent someone to ask for help. Let's do this..."
He looked back at the situation outside the hall and sighed in his heart.
Cao Cao flicked his sleeves, pointed at Xun Yu, and said: "Wen Ruo, you are a humble gentleman and so honest. Although Liu Biao is here to ask for help, we have to make demands and achieve our goals. Of course, we must put aside the
We must first frighten Liu Biao's envoys, otherwise it will be difficult to get things done."
Man Chong said loudly: "My lord is right. If you don't do this, we can't gain the upper hand."
Immediately afterwards, the other civil servants and generals spoke one after another.
Cao Cao and a group of civil and military ministers were talking and laughing in the hall, and the atmosphere was very lively.
In fact, in order to frighten the Chu envoys, Cao Cao placed a large cauldron on the steps outside the palace, filled with boiling water, and crackling firewood below the cauldron.
"Gudong! Gudong!"
After the water boils, it keeps bubbling and steaming steam comes out.
This is a very common tactic to scare people, but it seems a bit inappropriate to display it at this time, because Liu Biao's envoys came to ask for help, not to declare war. At the same time, there were strong and strong warriors standing outside the hall,
They held steel knives, held their heads high and held their chests high, exuding a fierce killing aura.
Under the sunlight, the shiny steel knife looked very cold in the air, sending chills down one's spine.
This shows that Cao Cao is determined to gain profits.
When the envoys sent by Liu Biao saw the big cauldron filled with boiling water and the fierce and powerful warriors, they were completely dumbfounded and could not understand what was going on. Liu Biao's envoy was named Liu Xin, who was said to be a distant relative of Liu Biao and was appointed by Liu Biao to go to Wei.
Liu Xin thought it would be easy since he was going out to ask for reinforcements.
Liu Biao made the conditions, Cao Cao agreed, and that was it.
But when he passed by the steaming cauldron and met the fierce warriors outside the palace, sweat began to form on his forehead.
Is this still asking for help?
Liu Xin felt uneasy and cautious even when he walked into the hall. However, the more cautious he was, the more likely he was to make mistakes. Just as he stepped into the hall, his foot tripped on the threshold of the hall. Liu Xin's center of gravity was unstable and his body
He stumbled forward and fell into the hall like a dog eating shit. He was very embarrassed.
"Hahaha……"
Suddenly, there was a burst of laughter in the hall.
Everyone was laughing loudly.
When Xun Yu saw this, he couldn't help but sigh. This alone had already brought the Chu State into disrepute.
Cao Cao couldn't help but laugh. He coughed twice, his expression became extremely serious, and he said righteously: "Masters, is this funny? I'm here to tell you that the envoy of Chu didn't fall, but
When I heard Gu's name, I admired him in my heart and eagerly wanted to see Gu. So when I entered the door, I fell excitedly and fell to the ground to worship. I'm not allowed to laugh! I told you not to laugh."
He was not allowed to smile, but Cao Cao himself smiled.
"My lord, you said it well, well!"
The one-armed general Xiahou Dun patted the desk, a cheerful smile on his rough cheeks.
Xu Chu sat next to him, stroking his hands and laughing.
For a moment, the laughter that had just subsided in the hall became louder again, and the waves were getting higher and higher, which made Liu Xin feel ashamed and wanted to find a gap to get in right away.
After listening to Cao Cao's words, he knew that Cao Cao was making fun of him.
Liu Xin calmed down the expression on his face, stood up, shook his robe, straightened the long crown on his head, then shamelessly walked to the center of the hall, bowed his head and said, "Liu Xin, the envoy of Chu, has met the King of Wei."
Your Highness."
"Bold Liu Xin, do you know your guilt?"
Suddenly, Cao Cao shouted loudly, with a stern expression and cold eyes.
Boundless coldness suddenly enveloped Liu Xin.
Liu Xin had just been shocked by the cauldron filled with boiling water and the fierce warriors outside the palace. When he entered the palace, he fell to the ground again and suffered humiliation and loss of face.
His heart was already in chaos.
At this moment, Cao Cao shouted loudly, which was like thunder from the sky.
In front of him was Cao Cao's cold and fierce face.
Cao Cao's loud shout echoed in his ears.
Liu Xin was caught off guard and lost his mind. He was so frightened that his legs softened and he collapsed on the ground with a plop. He felt that his body was out of control. Liu Xin felt that today was really a bad year and everything was not going well for him.
He took a deep breath, quickly stood up, stretched out his hand to straighten his clothes, and asked respectfully: "May I ask King Wei, what crime did Xin commit?"
Cao Cao quickly waved his hand, shook his head and said with a smile: "You are not guilty, you just want to see the courage of the Chu envoy."
After Liu Xin heard this, he felt like crying without tears.
This, this, why is this?
Damn, Cao Cao is so hateful.
Liu Xin was ashamed and angry, but felt unable to fight back. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the guards outside the palace, and thought of the big cauldron filled with boiling water outside the palace. If Cao Cao had thrown him into the cauldron and cooked him, Liu Biao would not have dared to say a word.
Liu Xin immediately returned to the topic and said: "King Wei, the documents from Chu were delivered three days ago. I wonder if King Wei is willing to send troops to rescue him?"
Cao Cao's prank was over and had a deterrent effect.
He looked kind and asked: "Where is King Chu's sincerity?"
Liu Xin didn't even think about it and said directly: "My lord provides the King of Wei with 300,000 stones of food and grass, and asks the King of Wei to send troops."
In fact, this is the bottom line given by Liu Biao.
Similarly, Du Xi's bottom line was also 300,000 shi of grain. But Du Xi was smarter and good at adapting. He made a small modification and said that the grain for Cao Cao was only 100,000 shi, and that for Sun Jian was also 100,000 shi, thus only
The matter was settled with two hundred thousand shi of grain. Based on this alone, the gap between Du Xi and Liu Xin can be seen.
Compared to Du Xi, Liu Xin is simply an idiot.
After hearing what Liu Xin said, Cao Cao shook his head and said: "Three hundred thousand shi of grain is not enough to stuff the teeth of our Wei soldiers. Let's do this. If you don't agree to 400,000 shi of grain, return to Xiangyang immediately and let Liu Biao think about it carefully."
Send someone to ask for help again.”
The tone was tough and Liu Xin was not allowed to refute.
Liu Xin was filled with fear and hatred when facing Cao Cao, and wanted to leave immediately.
Now I heard Cao Cao talking about 400,000 shi of grain. He hesitated for a moment and said, "Okay, just 400,000 shi of grain. Please ask the King of Wei to send troops to rescue Jingzhou. The grain will be sent in batches."
At this time, Cao Cao was really happy.
How shameful that Liu Biao sent such an envoy!
Not only did Liu Xin lose face, but Liu Biao's face was also lost. But Cao Cao liked it very much and hoped that all the people Liu Biao sent to contact him would be such people. Immediately, Cao Cao said with a smile: "Okay, you have worked hard too. Morning
Go back and recover. When you go back, remember to walk steadily and don't fall to the ground again. If it doesn't work, I will personally send someone to take you away."
Liu Xin blushed with shame and left the hall dejectedly.
After Liu Xin left, Liu Ye smiled and said, "My lord, have you ever heard of the false Taoist attack on Guo (guo)?"
When Cao Cao heard this, he immediately understood and said: "Zi Yang, do you mean to wait until we defeat the Shu army and lead the army back to Yanzhou, and take advantage of the situation to occupy the territory north of Jingzhou?"
Liu Ye nodded and said, "That's exactly it!"
Chen Qun continued: "Zi Yang's words are reasonable, and I agree with you!"
Below, the civil and military generals all agreed.
Cao Cao rubbed it and nodded in agreement, with a happy expression on his face. He was very happy thinking that after receiving the 400,000 stones of food and grass provided by Liu Biao, he would also get part of Jingzhou's territory in the future.
Liu Xin, who was riding back to Jingzhou, sneezed and felt cold all over.
This time, he was really embarrassed.
Liu Xin turned back and glanced at Wei Palace, feeling that this was the sad place in his life and he would never come again. Even though Liu Biao ordered him to come, he would not come.
