The sun was already a little skewed, and the city walls were still quite hot. The guards quickly took over the shady guard posts and posts. Yu Jin climbed up the city wall: "Why is it so hot! Take my Luogai umbrella..." Everyone around Yu Jin knew that Yu Jin needed two things to go out, one is his reclining chair and the other is his Luogai umbrella. This time it seemed that the mission was quite urgent, so I didn't bring it. One of the guards hurriedly planned to run back to get it. Unexpectedly, Jin stopped immediately: "Forget it, no need, I'll just do it like this..." Then he pointed at the guard and said, "Be careful! Don't be lazy!"

Until dusk, nothing happened, the soldiers were a little impatient, what the hell, is it just to let us stand here for the afternoon? A holiday for those who are responsible for guarding the city gates? The soldiers took a peek at Yu Jin and found that he was also impatient and kept fanning with a small fan. Fortunately, it is now the beginning of autumn, and the heat in the morning and evening is not too great. It's still a little hot now at dusk, but it's much better than in the afternoon.

"A convoy is coming!" Suddenly a soldier shouted. When everyone saw it, it wasn't it, a convoy was the flag of Cao Jun, and the word "Xiahou" vaguely appeared on the flag.

Xiahou? Xiahou Dun? The relationship between Yu Jin and Xiahou Dun was not particularly good, as everyone in the army knew. Last time, Yu Jin severely beat a relative of Hou Dun in Xia 853. Then why did Yu Jin bring the guards and go to the gate of the city to meet him in person? When everyone saw it, Yu Jin's face was ashen, and he was extremely unhappy.

Not long after, the convoy had arrived at the gate of the city, and it was indeed General Xiahou Dun who was headed toward him. There are not many people in the convoy, about a thousand people, most of them are cavalry, and there are a few carriages in the middle. Could it be that Lavinchen came here?

Yu Jin went out of the city, his face was still ashen, he led someone to open the city gate, reluctantly gave Xiahou Dun a salute to each other, and then stepped aside, everyone found that his eyes were always looking at several cars.

The convoy drove all the way to Yu Jin's command hall. The surrounding outposts were filled with Yu Jin's guards and new guards. Some people only saw Yu Jin and Xiahou Dun on the left and right, guarding a person and walked in. Those who are familiar should recognize that this person... is Cao Cao. Of course, qualified guards know that if you talk nonsense, you will lose your head. The first quality of a qualified guard is absolute silence.

Cao Cao personally and secretly arrived at the front line of Fancheng. Indeed, as Zhang Zhao speculated, as long as Cao Cao reached the front line, the battle in the south could basically be announced. However, this time Cao Cao arrived in secret, and did not bring more troops - but not necessarily, after all, he could march quietly, or he could transport troops urgently after the war, which was too late.

In the Fancheng Council Hall, Xiahou Dun suggested to start the attack on Jingzhou immediately: "Now that the lord has reached the front line, we have nearly 300,000 troops in Nanyang and Fancheng, and we can start fighting... Yu Jin's 100,000 soldiers can hold Huang Zhong, Cao Hong and I formed a pincer attack on the left and right, and guaranteed to take Jingzhou within half a month."

"Huang Zhong's 100,000 cavalry is the Guanzhong iron cavalry... It's not like you haven't seen his power," Yu Jin said slowly, "My lord still send me more troops... Now the army in the north can still draw about 200,000. , I suggest Duke Cao move another 100,000 south to ensure the successful completion of the attack on Jingzhou..." Obviously, although Yu Jin felt that more troops should be used to deal with Huang Zhong, he still supported the attack on Jingzhou. Most of the counsellors advocated immediate war.

But Cao Cao still did not express his opinion on this, as if he was waiting for something.

Those who know Cao Cao will know that Cao Cao is still quite cautious in this matter. If the fallen army in the north gave up fighting the Xiongnu and went directly south, then his northern hinterland would easily be fatally hit, and his frontline main force would also be stabbed in the back.

Cao Cao is waiting.

Finally, a few days after Fazheng's first appearance in Xinye, Cao Cao's group of advisers also arrived in Fancheng and Nanyang one after another. Cheng Yu, who arrived in Fancheng, brought a piece of news: Luochen led about 150,000 cavalry to the Hexi Corridor and the desert, and the war between Xu Da and the Xiongnu in the north seemed to be just around the corner.

At this time, the Cai clan in Jingzhou officially established the young son Liu Cong as the head of Jingzhou. Naturally, Liu Qi in Jiangxia would not admit it. However, Jiangxia was far from the political center of Jingzhou and was unable to compete with Cai. Of course—Jiang Xia was remote, and objectively saved Liu Qi's life, otherwise he would likely be directly under house arrest or killed.

A few days later, news came from the messenger soldiers that Xu Da's army met the main force of the northern Xiongnu head-on, and all the army was involved in the battle with the Xiongnu.

Cao Cao immediately stood up and summoned Xiahou Dun and Cao Hong who were in Fancheng: "You should be dispatched immediately, Xiahou Dun will go to Xinye, Cao Hong will go to Xiangyang, and Yu Jin will lead the troops to prepare for Huang Zhong's intervention! If the troops are insufficient, they must start immediately, and the follow-up troops will be from Nanyang transferred to make up for it! How many days can the Huns live? We must take Jingzhou before Xu Da defeats the Huns!"

"Yes!" Except for Yu Jin's 100,000 cavalry troops, none of the troops in Xiangyang City were left, and they all left the city. At the same time, the troops of Nanyang and Xuchang also began to move south rapidly.

In the summer and autumn of this year, Cao Cao finally launched an expansionary attack on Jingzhou.

Xiahou Dun led a hundred thousand cavalry and went straight to Xinye. Liu Bei resisted reluctantly in Xinye, and then began to retreat to the south with his troops and civilians. At the same time, Cao Hong led fifty thousand cavalry to attack Xiangyang. The Xiangyang defenders, plus the surrounding army, exceeded 100,000, but the organization and command were extremely bad.

Wenpin, who had not appeared for a long time, finally appeared under Xiangyang City, saying that he would assist in defending the city. After all, Wenpin was a famous general in Jingzhou, and the defenders still let him go. Unexpectedly, Wenpin roughly controlled the military and political affairs of Xiangyang, and Kaesong surrendered to Cao Cao. A large number of Jingzhou soldiers in Xiangyang surrendered, and some began to flee to the south.

Cao Cao finally pursued Liu Bei at Changbanpo, Liu Bei was defeated, and Zhao Yun became famous in Changbanpo. In this battle, Liu Bei's army was almost wiped out. Fortunately, Guan Yu took the navy to the north and met Liu Bei's remnants. Liu Bei and his poor remnants of troops went down the Xiangjiang River and temporarily retreated to Jiangxia.

Cao's army of 200,000 horses, divided into left and right, arrived at the foot of Jingzhou City, and the speed was so fast that reinforcements from Nanyang and Xuchang did not have time to arrive.

The Cai Group and Liu Cong surrendered, and Jingzhou officially changed its flag. .

Chapter 149: Under the Jingling City

Among those who fled with Liu Bei, besides Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Mi Zhu Mi Fang, Sun Qian Jian Yong and others, there was also Fa Zheng. Fazheng went south to Xinye, and all parties were strongly concerned. After Liu Bei arrived in Xinye, Fazheng passed Luochen's letter to him: Uncle Liu, the Luoliu family had formed an alliance, and had instructed Fazheng, his advisor, to arrive at Xinye to assist the uncle. This person is capable and decisive, known as a strategy, the uncle can be used as a staff, and can order him to do things. dust.

Although he had already heard that Fa Zheng was coming and was a little mentally prepared, Liu Bei was still slightly surprised. This method of cooperation seems to be too close... Naturally, the level of cooperation between contemporary allies is much higher than that of ancient times... Fa Zheng was calm, and said to Liu Bei, "If Uncle Huang has any needs, you can order me to go. Uncle Huang The secrets of the military will never be inquired about or disseminated at will."

To be honest, Liu Bei didn't particularly like this way. Because this basically declares that his military and political affairs are under the eyes of Luochen... Fazheng has become a staff officer, and naturally many military and political affairs must be known. In this case, isn't he basically a vassal of Luochen... The only way is to find a resourceful person. However, Sun Gan and Jian Yong around him were both scholars, and Yi Ji was not very strategic, and he didn't know where he was now. More importantly, in the current situation, the strength of any party has surpassed him, and he must rely on the protection of the Fallen Dust Group to survive. Therefore, although Liu Bei was reluctant, he put it aside with a smile and agreed.

When Cao's army began to attack Xinye, Huang Zhong still had the advice that Fazheng had given him at the beginning: send troops to attack Cai's group immediately; do not confront Cao's army head-on; you can occupy key towns near Yizhou, but not too many; when Cao's army has not arrived Support Liu Bei and stop assisting Liu Bei after Cao's army arrives.

He almost complied with the previous ones. When Cao Cao did not send troops, he did not hesitate to send iron cavalry to slaughter the cavalry in Jingzhou, completely solving the dilemma of Xinye. Cao Cao is now sending troops to implement Fazheng's suggestion. He naturally has to keep silent, just push his troops forward to Fangling and build fortifications.

Cao Cao brazenly launched an attack on Jingzhou. To be honest, the entire Luochen Group has no time to take care of it and is powerless. The timing of Cao Cao's selection was indeed precise. Xu Da's army faced off against the main force of the Huns on the front line, and the northern grasslands instantly became the most intense battlefield in the country. And he is far away in Hexi, so naturally he can't take care of it. So Luochen just sent a brief protest to Zhuge Jianguo, but the wording was quite fierce: Cao Jun boldly attacked Xinye and Xiangyang yesterday, launched an all-out attack on Jingzhou, and broke the stability of the situation in the south. Quite irresponsible, and blatantly violated the reconciliation agreement reached between Prime Minister Luo Chen and Cao Cao. For Cao Cao's actions, he must bear the corresponding responsibility and pay the price for his actions. Zhuge Liang.

Cao Cao's army group responded with silence and iron shoes.

Fazheng also paid the price for his advice. Fazheng experienced for the first time what it was like to be chased and run in the chaos of the army. If it wasn't for Liu Bei's righteousness, and he specially sent a guard to protect him, Fazheng might have been killed by Cao Jun's soldiers... Wouldn't it be a pity that the fame of the first generation would be ruined. However, Liu Bei's generals were really powerful, and Fazheng instantly understood why Luo Chen was desperately trying to pull Liu Bei into the team.

In the end, Yu Jin still failed to win more troops. Cao Cao strictly ordered him to hold Huang Zhong and not allow Huang Zhong's Guanzhong iron cavalry to take half a step towards Jingzhou. But after Yu Jin waited for a long time, Huang Zhong did not come out of the city at all. Not only did he not come out, but he also widened and reinforced the city, as if to defend. But I was afraid that Huang Zhong was an old fox, so I was very careful and did not dare to slack off... In fact, Huang Zhong did not lie to him this time, Huang Zhong really did not want to fight...

Liu Bei slipped into Jiangxia, and Cao Cao's iron cavalry also arrived at Jingzhou City, and soon Cao Cao went south to Jingzhou City. The people of Jingzhou watched in silence as Cao Jun's iron cavalry marched into the city, while Liu Cong, Cai Mao, Zhang Yun, Mengyue and others waited at the gate of the city.

Cao Cao rode on horseback, with the guards behind him holding Qingluogai, surrounded by a group of guards and the new generals heading south. Dian Wei, Xu Zhu, Xu Huang, Li Dian, Le Jin and many other generals went south with an army of about 100,000 people from the north, entered the border of Jingzhou, and joined Cao Cao. It was also the first time that Liu Cong and the others met Cao Cao—although they had heard of it before, they saw a medium-sized man with slightly dark skin, ugly, and his beard reached his chest. It gives people the feeling of looking down on the world and scheming. Dressed in a purple-red robe, he walked slowly, surrounded by guards and generals. Cai Mao pulled Liu Cong's shirt, Liu Cong immediately fell to the ground, and Cai Mao and others immediately fell to the ground: "See Duke Cao."

·0 Flowers

Cao Cao nodded slightly: "Please get up." His eyes stopped on Liu Cong's body for a while: "This son, but Liu Cong, the master of Jingzhou?" Liu Cong was a little scared in his heart, and said tremblingly: "Yes." Cao Cao He nodded without saying a word.

His eyes immediately shifted to another place, and Cai Mao felt that the gaze swept over him coldly, and he couldn't help but feel a little hairy. Cao Cao's eyes stopped on Mengyue for a while: "Mr. Meng, I have long heard that Mr. Mengyue from Jingzhou is a talented person.

"Don't dare." Meng Yue raised her head and said calmly.

"Why did you surrender?" Cao Cao smiled and asked abruptly.

"My lord Liu Cong, as well as Mrs. Cai's wife, General Cai Mao, General Zhang Yun, etc. who were assisting in the administration of the government, surrendered collegially. I obey the decision of the administration meeting." Mengyue was neither humble nor arrogant.

..........

"You are also a member of the Minister of Administration, what is your attitude?" Cao Cao asked with a smile.

"I would like to serve Duke Cao." Meng Yue said quite calmly.

Cao Cao didn't ask any more questions, and slapped his horse into the city. Then Cheng Yu found Cai Mao, Zhang Yun and others, and told them to go to the council hall for a meeting.

"How much is the money and food for the army and horses in Jingzhou?" Cao Cao asked coldly while flipping through the Jingzhou military and civilian household register.

Cai Mao hurriedly stepped forward and said: "50,000 horse troops, 150,000 infantry troops, 100,000 navy troops, a total of 300,000. Most of the money and food are in Jiangling, and Jiangxia has a lot, and the rest are enough for a year. "Then Cao Cao's civil and military side were all happy. The conditions of Jingzhou are indeed rich, but they did not do any decent resistance at all, and they handed it over to others.

"It's just that Ma Jun was beaten by Huang Zhong before and suffered heavy losses, and his organization was also crippled." Cai Mao bowed his head and said. The generals next to Cao Cao all sneered.

"You two were named marquis respectively. Cai Mao was called Zhennan Marquis, Zhang Yun was Yongshun Marquis, Cai Mao was called the Navy Governor, and Zhang Yun was the Deputy Governor." Hou. Cai Mao and Zhang Yun were overjoyed and thanked them repeatedly.

"Mr. Meng, I ordered you to be a councilor." Cao Cao glanced at Mengyue, and it seemed that he wanted to assign Mengyue to the staff. .

Chapter 150: Liu Lin Becomes Minister

Liu Lin, the prefect of Jingling, finally lived to see Cao Jun's arrival. Cao Hong's iron cavalry was so mighty that it drove directly to the foot of Jingling City, without even sending a messenger in advance. You must know that Liu Lin and Cao Cao had close ties before, and Cao Cao was also the main foreign force supporting Liu Lin.

Next to Cao Hong was Wen Ping, a naval general who surrendered in Kaicheng, Xiangyang, and followed Cao Hong all the time.

The city gate opened a crack, and a Cao Junya general rushed in and went directly to Liu Lin's discussion hall. Liu Lin summoned all the civil and military forces and greeted him with the understanding of treating Cao Jun's official messengers. Sure enough, the style, the gongs and drums, and the guards line by line. But the messenger he welcomed was not a well-known general or an important advisor under Cao Cao's command. He was just an ordinary general, sent by Cao Hong temporarily. This "two sixty" general was covered in dust and walked into the magnificent hall with a look of surprise. With a distinct northern accent, he said, "General Cao Hong asked you to open the door... The army in the city is to be reorganized."

All the civil and military people felt embarrassed... Then Liu Lin felt even more embarrassed. My good fellow, I spent a lot of effort to greet the envoy, but as a result, I welcomed a low-level officer, and he was shouting on behalf of Cao Hong, not what Cao Cao meant at all. Furthermore...how could this rumor be the same as persuading to surrender? He also accepted the reorganization... He Liu Lin originally planned to exercise substantial autonomy in Jingling, so he would naturally be the prefect of Jingling, and then he would be appointed an official and a half-post in the central Cao Cao, and he would be conferred a title. I didn't expect to move my own army as soon as I came up.

Liu Lindun felt dissatisfied, and said with a sullen face: "I want to see Duke Cao's messenger. We have always been in contact with Duke Cao. Or... Please ask General Cao Hong to take a detour for the time being. We Jinglingcheng resolutely swear to obey Duke Cao's orders, and we will meet him. Immediately send messengers to contact Duke Cao."