In September of the second year of Jian'an, Cao Cao attacked Yuan Shu.
It was originally supposed to be an extremely easy battle, but due to weather conditions, the battle situation changed unexpectedly.
Since late autumn, it has been raining continuously in the Huaihe River.
The food road was completely paralyzed, leaving Cao's army facing a crisis of food shortage.
As a last resort, Cao Cao had to order people to replace the large dendrobium with small dendrobium to alleviate the food shortage. However, this made the sergeants dissatisfied and almost roared in the camp. Fortunately, Cao Cao made timely adjustments and killed the grain officer Wang Jie, which stabilized the situation.
At the same time, Cao Cao ordered his people to borrow food from Sun Ce to tide over this crisis... Because of this, Cao Cao made up his mind to win a quick victory. So he ordered his troops to step up the offensive and launched a fierce attack on Yuan Shu.
.At the same time, Sun Ce, Lu Bu, and Liu Bei also took action to conquer Yuan Shu!
It was early winter, and the east side of Haixi County was surrounded by mountains.
Four carriages were traveling through the mountains and ridges, meandering towards the city.
On the first bus, Deng Ji leaned against a bookcase and sat on a bed roll. Cao Peng leaned on a bundle of cloth and took a nap with his eyes half closed.
It’s a long way from Chenliu to Haixi.
In addition, since the beginning of winter, it has been raining heavily in the Huaihe River and Huaihe River, making the road even more difficult.
The pain of this bumpy road was engraved in Cao Peng's heart. After walking for several days, everyone began to feel unspeakable fatigue. If we say that in Yuzhou, or even Yanzhou, there are still pavilions where you can rest.
After entering Xuzhou, you will not see a pavilion for hundreds of miles, and many places appear desolate. Sometimes, you may not be able to see a village even if you walk for a long time...
lifeless!
This is how Cao Peng felt about Xuzhou.
No wonder, people often say that Xuzhou is a prosperous place with abundant money and food.
If you are in troubled times, this is indeed a good place. But in troubled times, Xuzhou is not a safe place. It sits on the two Huaihe Rivers, connects the north and south, and connects all directions. It is a battleground for military strategists. It is precisely because Xuzhou is rich that it is easy to cause trouble
Other people's prying eyes. Since the first year of Zhongping, Xuzhou has been in constant war. When the bandits pass, the officers and soldiers come, the officers and soldiers leave, the bandits return, you fight for it, and we fight to the death.
After Tao Qian took charge of Xuzhou, the situation improved to some extent.
But because of Cao Song's incident, Xuzhou suffered another military disaster. Cao Cao avenged his father and vowed to bloodbath Xuzhou, leaving no trace of chickens or dogs behind. Cao Cao's killings were so heavy that the people of Xuzhou had to leave their homes and flee elsewhere.
Then Liu Bei captured Xuzhou, and Lü Bu came to surrender. Yuan Shu defeated Liu Bei, and Lü Bu captured Xuzhou... This happened over and over again, and in a few years, a prosperous place became dilapidated.
Since both Lu Bu and Liu Bei were assisting Cao Cao in his crusade against Yuan Shu, the guards under Xuzhou were not very tight.
Deng Ji and his party walked through Xiapi easily and entered the territory of Guangling County.
But a sudden bump made everyone look exhausted...
If others don't talk about it, they just talk about Dianman Xu Yi. If it were in normal times, how lively and vigorous it would be? But now, it's all wilted!
Fortunately, Cao Peng ordered three more carriages to be bought before entering Xuzhou.
Including the original four cars, there are seven cars in total. If someone is tired, they can also board the car to take a nap and have a rest.
Although the effect is not very great, it can relieve some fatigue. At least for Cao Peng, that is the case. He still has some physical problems, so he cannot be too tired. There is a carriage following him, no matter what, it is not too tired.
It’s a bonus…
It's just that he can't get into his covered carriage at this time.
Dian Man, Xu Yi, and Wang Mai were lying in the car with their pillows spread out, covering themselves with quilts, closing their eyelids, snoring like thunder, and sleeping soundly.
Behind Cao Peng's carriage was a BMW horse with white hair.
The horse is more than ten feet long, has fat tendons, and is very majestic. It has big hooves and strong limbs. However, the mane on the horse's neck is slightly yellow. But it is not a sickly yellow color, but natural.
In this way, when running, the horse's mane is flying, which is extremely spectacular.
This horse was originally Xia Houyuan's beloved mount.
But I don’t know why I gave it to Cao Peng.
The horse’s name is ‘Zhao Yebai’, and it belongs to the same breed as Xu Yi’s black dragon. But if we look purely at bloodline, it is still better than the black dragon.
Cao Peng was also very happy!
If you were born in the Three Kingdoms without a good horse, wouldn't your life be in vain?
In this day and age, a good BMW horse is a symbol of status, just like the Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari of later generations.
Cao Peng also liked this horse very much, and stayed with Xia Houyuan without being polite. Along the way, Dianman and others were extremely greedy.
However, such a magnificent horse, Zhao Yebai, is also a little listless at the moment.
"Hu Ban, how long does it take to reach Haixi?"
Deng Ji suddenly put down the book in his hand, picked up a bamboo stick, picked up the carriage curtain and shouted.
The young man driving the carriage turned out to be the horse thief from Gaoyang Pavilion, Hu Ban. After Lei Xu's incident was over, Deng Ji did not report the incident involving Hu Ban, Xiaowu and the others. Logically speaking, the matter should be settled.
Hu Ban was now at ease! But he had the idea of following Deng Ji. If he continued to stay in Gaoyang Pavilion, it would be difficult for him to get ahead. It would be better to follow Deng Ji and go out to make a living.
Hu Hua also agreed with his idea, but was also worried that Hu Ban would cause trouble if he continued to stay in Gaoyangting.
This time he was lucky and Deng Ji didn't pursue the matter.
But what about next time?
Hu Ban cannot be lucky all his life.
When his luck runs out, something will happen... Following Deng Ji out, although he is far away from his hometown, he can still have a future.
Therefore, when Hu Ban raised this matter, Hu Hua also begged Deng Ji hard before Deng Ji nodded in agreement.
Although Hu Ban is a prodigal, he is not without merit.
He was good at driving cars and was also very clever. Deng Ji thought that when he arrived in Haixi County, he would also need help.
Cao Peng...Deng Ji will not let him take risks again.
People like Zhou Cang, Xia Houlan and others can do things easily, but there are some things that are not convenient for them to come forward.
As for Dian Man Xu Yi, Deng Ji could not direct it; Wang Mai and Deng Fan could, but it was always a good thing to have Hu Ban to run errands.
At this time, the sun was getting thinner and the dusk was sinking.
"Master, go over the mountain ridge in front of us, then cross a river bend, and you'll reach Haixi."
Huban drove the car and turned around to answer.
"If the wheel hadn't been broken on the road, we might have been in Haixi County right now!"
"How long will it take?"
Cao Peng opened his eyes and yawned.
"An hour?"
Hu Ban hesitated, "If everything goes well, we can arrive in less than an hour."
Go ahead, it will take another hour!
Cao Peng felt a little anxious. He straightened up, raised the car curtain, and got out.
"Afu, what are you doing?"
"Release the water!"
Cao Peng jumped off the carriage without looking back.
Deng Ji also noticed that Cao Peng was really tired!
When this person is very tired, his temper becomes irritable easily. In fact, isn't Deng Ji like this?
"Hu Ban, stop the car and let everyone rest for a while."
"Here!"
Hu Ban agreed and shouted quickly.
The knights in front of the chariot reined in their horses one by one.
Zhou Cang urged his horse over and whispered: "Master, aren't we leaving?"
"Let's take a rest first. Let's eat some dry food and drink some water... It will probably take more than an hour. Let's get to the county town and have a good rest."
Zhou Cang frowned, feeling a little reluctant.
But it can be seen that everyone is really tired. Even Xia Houlan is exhausted, not to mention the others? Moreover, he has not eaten anything from noon to now. It is normal to take a rest. But after looking around, Zhou
Cang Zao was a little nervous.
The roadside is covered with lush hazelnut trees, desolate and filthy.
There were shadows of pines and cypresses overhead, and the sky was whirling. The road that was already difficult to walk became even darker.
What is Zhou Cang's origin?
In this kind of environment, things can easily go wrong.
He scratched his head, turned around and shouted: "Xiahou, hold the lamp!"
Xia Houlan agreed and ran with Deng Fan to prepare torches.
Zhou Cang also wanted to persuade Deng Ji to try not to stay in such a place. At this moment, he saw Dian Man getting out of the car in a daze, rubbing his eyes.
"Young Master Man, what are you doing?"
Noriman replied feebly: "Why don't you take a rest? I'll put some water in, wash your face, and eat something."
At the same time, he walked towards the forest next to him. As he walked, he muttered: "Damn, what kind of bullshit road is this..."
This is the first time Noriman has suffered such bumps in his life.
It’s so miserable!
Dianman muttered and walked to Cao Peng.
Standing side by side with Cao Peng, he unfastened his belt, took out his weapon, and opened the gate to release water into the grass.
It feels so weird...
Cao Peng had a very familiar feeling. He subconsciously glanced sideways, curled his lips, then lifted up his pants and tied his belt!
"Third brother, I told you a long time ago that I won't let you come. If you insist on joining in the fun, you know what to do."
"Bah!" Noriman turned around and said, "I care about my little brother."
His 'little brother' refers to Cao Peng. However, for Cao Peng, who came from time-to-time, the word 'little brother' has too many hidden meanings. Cao Peng's face twitched and he was about to retort.
, a soft 'click' sound suddenly came from my ears.
The sound was very weak, and if Cao Peng hadn't had a sharp ear, he probably wouldn't have been able to hear it.
Speaking of which, Dianman's kung fu was deeper than that of Cao Peng, but he had just woken up at this moment and was still confused. In addition, the water was in full swing, so he didn't notice this almost unnoticed sound. Mao
Seriously, Cao Peng suddenly felt a warning sign.
Out of the corner of his eye, he seemed to catch a flicker of stars in the forest.
"Third brother, be careful!"
Cao Peng immediately jumped out and knocked Dianman to the ground.
A sharp arrow flew past his back and hit the shaft of the carriage.
"Enemy attack!"
After Cao Peng knocked Dianman over, he shouted loudly.
Before he finished shouting, he saw two figures emerging from the forest, holding spears in their hands, and without saying a word, they stabbed towards Cao Peng and Dianman.
Cao Peng hugged Dianman and rolled on the spot.
The two spears fell into the air and stuck on the ground...
"Third brother, protect my brother-in-law!"
Cao Peng shouted, turned around suddenly, and rolled back. Before the two men who rushed out of the forest had time to pull out their spears, Cao Peng rolled over. They crushed the spears with a click and followed the force.
, a carp jumped up. At the same time, dozens of people rushed out of the woods on both sides of the road. All of them were wearing black masks and holding weapons in their hands.
A Xu family member was riding on a horse. Before he could react, two men rushed out, grabbed his legs, and flipped the horse over. Immediately, two thieves with spears rushed up and stabbed him with their spears.
The subordinate was unable to dodge and was pierced through the thigh with a spear.
"ah……"
The screams echoed in the air.
People shouted and horses neighed, causing chaos on the mountain road in an instant.
"Line up, line up to meet the enemy!"
Xia Houlan shouted loudly.
At this time, each of Deng Ji's followers also reacted.
Some jumped off their horses immediately, and some jumped out of the car. Cao Peng broke the opponent's spear. As soon as he stood up, the two thieves waved the broken spear and rushed towards him. However, Cao Peng could see it at a glance.
It turned out that these two people didn't have much kung fu. They were just fighting randomly. So he was not nervous. He stepped on the yin and yang and ducked between the two broken spears. He arrived in front of the two thieves and said something in his mouth.
A heart-shaking low roar made the two thieves tremble, and their movements naturally became sluggish.
It was too late, but it was too late. Cao Peng struck with both fists, hitting the two thieves hard on the chests.
Just when he was about to step forward and take action again, he suddenly heard the sound of a bowstring. Cao Peng was so frightened that he quickly dodged, and a sharp arrow passed by his ear.
"Fuck, where did this thief come from?"
Noriman roared angrily.
Holding the wet pants with both hands, he quickly tied the belt.
There was a look of rage on his face, and he kept roaring. He was knocked down by Cao Peng just now when he was pouring water, so that his pants were dripping wet. He has never encountered such an ugly thing in his life... Norimitsu
Picking up a broken spear from the ground, he rushed into the enemy group like the wind. The broken spear was swung and whirring, making the thieves run away. At the same time, the retinues also calmed down, quickly set up their positions, and moved the carriage
Form a circle.
Deng Ji poked his head out and said, "Ah Fu, where is the thief?"
"Brother-in-law, go back!"
Cao Peng shouted, and Deng Ji quickly shrank his head.
Just when he shrank his head, a sharp arrow whizzed out and hit the wooden pole beside the hood of the car.
"There are archers in the woods!"
Xu Yi and Wang Mai also got off the carriage. When they heard Cao Peng's shouts, they rushed into the woods without saying a word.
Deng Ji was so frightened that he broke into a cold sweat.
But he also knew that going out at this time would not be able to help.
So he lay down on the car and shouted through the car window: "Afu, be careful."
Cao Peng didn't care much, and said to Xiahou Lan and Zhou Cang: "Uncle Zhou, Xiahou, don't kill people, keep alive, keep alive!"
"Sir, don't worry."
Zhou Cang and Xia Houlan rushed into the crowd like two fierce tigers.
The followers spread out quickly, forming a fan shape, and quickly surrounded the opponent. These thieves who cut the path did not have much combat effectiveness. They only relied on surprise attacks and large numbers of people, so they appeared ferocious. Without the cover of the archers, the thieves
The people were immediately in chaos. Noriman and others beat more than a dozen people, while the rest were restrained by the retinue and tied to the ground with ropes, wailing from time to time.
Seeing that the situation was stable, Cao Peng let out a sigh of relief.
In the forest, there were two sounds of weapons clashing, and then there was silence.
"Brother-in-law, Mr. Puyang, you can come out now!"
Deng Ji and Pu Yangkai slowly stepped out of the carriage, while Deng Fan directed the people and lit torches for lighting.
"Afu, this place should be under the rule of Haixi."
Deng Ji frowned and asked in a deep voice.
"Well, it should be considered under Haixi's rule."
"Tell me, could it be..."
Cao Peng knew what Deng Ji wanted to say, so he waved his hand quickly, "Brother-in-law, these people have no rules, they are just a bunch of rabble."
"This place is really messy!"
After Deng Ji finished speaking, he turned to look at Puyang Kai.
"Mr. Puyang, I'm really sorry for getting you involved in this kind of trouble and being frightened."
Pu Yangkai smiled and shook his head.
"Uncle and grandson, since you and I are traveling together, why do we need to say such polite words? Haha, I have seen things more terrible than this. What do these thieves mean?"
Puyang Kai’s words are not bragging!
Thinking back to the beginning, during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, he was forced to become a thief.
I have seen the tragic scenes of thieves slaughtering villages and towns, and I have also experienced the cruelty of the officers and soldiers who kill people.
Speaking of which, Puyang Kai also crawled out of the pile of dead people. He really didn't notice such a small scene.
Deng Ji couldn't help but laugh, and after a few words with Pu Yangkai, he stepped forward and pulled out the sharp arrow from the frame. He glanced at it in the light of the torch and handed it to Pu Yangkai.
"Is it a government-made wild goose feather?"
Cao Peng heard this and walked over quickly.
The arrows of the Han Dynasty were divided into two types: official-made and privately-made. As the name suggests, one is legal and the other is illegal... The official-made arrows are all red stems and white feathers. The arrow in Puyang Kai's hand is a typical official-made arrow.
Cao Peng took it, weighed it in his hand, and gave it back to Deng Ji.
"Uncle Zhou, how are the casualties?"
"Six people were injured, one of them seriously."
Zhou Cang inspected the battlefield and came over. He was holding a Gan-head sword in his hand and handed it to Cao Peng.
"Guan-made sword?"
Cao Peng took it and took a look, his face became even more gloomy.
It weighs eight kilograms and is a typical official style. There is also an inscription on the spine: Made in Xutai Lu in March of the year Guiyou.
Xutai, see Xutai again!
Cao Peng took a deep breath and was about to speak.
Xu Yi and Wang Mai dragged a person out of the forest.
"Afu, this guy is really difficult to deal with!"
Xu Yi said loudly: "It's as slippery as a ghost. If it weren't for Hu Tou's help, this guy would have almost escaped."
With a bow and arrow in his hand, he walked up to Cao Peng and threw it on the carriage board. Wang Mai threw the man on the ground, waved two of his subordinates to come forward and tied the man up. Soon
Obviously, the thief was knocked unconscious and motionless.
Cao Peng picked up the bow and arrow, drew the bow, and said softly: "Four-stone bow, this guy's shooting skills are not bad."
"Well, when we first entered the forest, I almost got hurt by this guy."
As Wang Mai spoke, he also showed the hole in his clothes. It was obvious that it was torn by an arrow.
Deng Ji couldn't help but feel worried, and said softly: "Ah Fu, it seems that the situation in Haixi is worse than we imagined!"
Cao Peng nodded and said nothing.
"Uncle and grandson, this is not a place to stay for a long time. In my opinion, we should hurry up and talk about it in the city."
"Then these people..."
"Tie them up and throw them into the car."
After this incident, everyone's sleepiness was completely gone.
Deng Ji thought for a while, then followed Pu Yangkai's instructions and took the thief into custody. Then they all mounted their horses and continued walking along the mountain road.
Looking at the misty mountains, Cao Peng's heart became a little heavy.
This happened before we even arrived in Haixi. It seems that there is really an undercurrent in this small Haixi county!
"Sir, mount your horse."
Hu Ban led Zhao Yebai and walked to Cao Peng.
Cao Peng didn't say anything, turned over and sat on his horse, "Hu Ban, hurry up and follow!"
The convoy climbed over the mountain ridge and crossed the river bend.
For a moment, the battlements of the archery tower of the North Sea Gate were vaguely visible in the night sky.
