Han Xiang

Chapter 373 Cao Mengde kills two birds with one stone

Zhou Yu waited until midnight to see the enemy, guessing that Cao Cao was far away and unwilling to take risks, so he left an empty camp and set up a suspicious formation, and led the team to retreat to Chaohu Lake overnight.

This time, he took advantage of the information gap to plot against Cao Cao. Although he didn't take advantage of it enough, he finally regained some face for Jiangdong and made Cao Cao dare not look down on Jiangdong.

Zhou Yu abandoned the empty battalion at night, and returned to Chaohu without the attention of Cao Jun, so as to avoid a decisive battle with Cao Cao on land. During this period of time, he fought against Cao Jun, and was under the strength of Cao Jun's land, and he had almost no chance of winning with the same force.

Cao Cao led his army north the next day, passing Zhou Yu's camp on the way, couldn't help but praise his opponent for a while, and then went straight to Chaohu Lake to find Zhou Yu for a decisive battle, but unfortunately all Jiangdong soldiers had boarded the ship.

Hundreds of warships stand on the lake, like an island lying in the water.

The main ships had sailed into the center of the lake, but the main ship of the fleet deliberately stayed behind, a few feet away from the shore, Sun Quan and Zhou Yu wanted to meet the famous Cao Cao for a while.

Cao Cao was surrounded by a group of generals and walked towards the lake. On the way, he saw Zhou Yu, who was in a white robe and silver armor at the bow of the boat, and was full of spirits. He couldn't help admiring to the left and right:
"Zhou Langguo is as handsome as the rumors, but it's a pity that he stooped to serve the rebels of the Sun family. It would be great if he could submit to the court."

Guo Jia laughed and said, "Duke Ming can try to persuade him to surrender. If he doesn't know the current affairs today, he will conquer Jiangdong in the future, and it won't be too late to requisition him."

"Hmph, when I pacify the north and recover the east of the river, how many thieves will be left in the world? It may not be useful then."

Cao Cao snorted coldly and led the horse to the lake.

Zhou Yu stood proudly on the bow of the boat, and Cao Cao was admired by all the stars. Although the two sides did not introduce themselves, they both guessed each other's identity and looked at each other immediately.

Compared with the upright and elegant Zhou Yu, Cao Cao was a little ashamed for a while, thinking that he was lucky to be sitting on the horse, otherwise he would be ridiculed by Zhou Yu's children.

Cao Cao teased unceremoniously: "Is Zhou Lang afraid of Cao? Why did he flee to the boat before meeting him? Cao also only has two eyes and one nose."

"Your Excellency looks ordinary, somewhat similar to my groom, why are you so confident?"

After Zhou Yu responded sharply, he added: "As for why we got on the boat? Isn't it because the summer is hot and there is a cool breeze blowing on the water. I see that you are sweating profusely. Why don't you go down to the lake to cool off?"

Cao Cao was angry in his heart, but his expression was quite restrained, and he immediately confronted him.

"People say that Zhou Lang is elegant, but I didn't expect Xi to say that he speaks quickly. I am really disappointed. Is your master, Sun Zhongmou, on board? Quickly call out and meet him. I used to be an alliance with Sun Wentai to discuss Dong, and I count him as his elder."

Sun Quan was indeed on board at this time, but he was hiding on the second floor and peeping secretly. At this time, Cao Cao called his name, and he couldn't come out again even if he wanted to.

Zhou Yu thought of this joint early on, so he replied without hesitation: "My lord has led a fleet to the center of the lake. If Cao Sikong really wants to see him, I can give you a boat. I just don't know if you have the guts."

Seeing Zhou Yu's constant provocation, Cao Cao immediately put away his smile, and said in a deep voice, "My courage needs to be tested by a child? You may not have been weaned when you offered a knife to assassinate Dong Zhuo, so quickly call Sun Quan. There are some things you can't do." live."

"It's not necessary." Zhou Yu raised his hand and said coldly, "As the governor of Jiangdong, I can represent the lord with full authority."

Cao Cao was taken aback, and asked, "Can you do anything?"

"Anything!"

Following Zhou Yu's sonorous answer, Cao Cao Gu Pan smiled left and right: "Heh, Zhou Lang speaks so loudly. If outsiders don't know, they will think that Jiangdong's surname is Zhou and not Sun."

Zhou Yu said seriously: "My lord is as broad-minded as a lake, how can you be the one who can separate us with a few words? If you want Jiangdong to surrender, you can go into the water to fight, but it's just that you don't have the ability."

Cao Cao looked solemn, and reprimanded: "How dare you dare to speak out here when you invaded the southeast and betrayed the imperial court? There are only a few hundred warships in the area, do you really think I don't have one? People say that those who know current affairs are heroes, it is better to surrender to the country as soon as possible. You will not lose your official position in the state and county, besides, you are also a descendant of a famous family, why do you want to humiliate your ancestor's reputation from being a thief?"

Zhou Yu sneered coldly: "Forget the clothes belt edict? Which of us is a national thief, and you don't have any idea?"

"Stubborn."

Cao Cao was slightly angry, and then began to threaten: "It seems that talking is useless. I wanted to give you a chance, but you are so self-willed, don't think that you can do whatever you want with a boat, and you will never go ashore? I just need to seal the mouth of Ruxu. Can you stay in Chaohu for a lifetime?"

"Hahaha." Zhou Yu suddenly laughed loudly: "Cao Sikong go to the blockade as soon as possible, whoever withdraws first will be the loser, this should be what Yuan Benchu ​​is happy to see, I should be able to boldly guess, I am afraid your food and grass are running out Bar?"

The general Cao Jun in the front row was stunned at the same time, and directly sat down to the fact that Chen Wuhuo burned the grain ship, thinking that otherwise Zhou Yu would be so sure when he opened his mouth?

At this time, Cao Cao's food and grass had bottomed out, and Wan County was also lost due to the lack of food and grass, so Cao Cao personally led the army to attack, defeating Zhou Yu along the way, and prepared to return north to the Central Plains.

Cao Cao's attack this time was actually considered a retreat.

Because while dispatching troops to Chaohu Lake, Shi Huan and Zhang Xiu drove the people of Wan County to move north, while Han Hao was responsible for the relocation of people in Shu County and other places, and the counties in the south of Lujiang River had been evacuated.

Seeing that Zhou Yu hit the point, Cao Cao didn't want to waste time. He smiled contemptuously and responded coldly: "Zhou Yu, remember what you said today, and I will be back."

After Cao Cao finished speaking and urged everyone to leave, Zhou Yu immediately turned to look in the direction of the second floor.

He knew that Sun Quan was hiding on it right now, and he said to himself, my lord, did you hear that?The crisis in Jiangdong was resolved immediately.

As soon as Cao Cao left, he stopped his horse and turned back: "By the way, Zhou Lang, Sun He has been escorted to Shouchun. From today, there is a time limit of two months, and he will redeem 20 hu of military rations. Otherwise, I will be punished as a prefect. You can’t represent Sun Quan, can you? After all, he’s not your elder brother.”

"What is pretending to be the prefect? ​​You want to negotiate again?"

Zhou Yu talked about him from left to right, because this matter involved the Sun family, he really couldn't make the decision for Sun Quan. .

"It's not a negotiation, it's just a unilateral notification."

Cao Cao smiled sinisterly: "As for what prefect Sun He pretends to be? The prefect of Lujiang appointed by the imperial court is Long Xiang, and he was also the one who asked the imperial court to send troops to wipe out the rebels. Now you understand Sun He's crime? But you can really cover the sky and not tell Sun Quan , then you will go to Hefei to lead the leader."

"You..." Zhou Yu was at a loss for words.

The moment Cao Cao turned around, Guo Jia rushed up to compliment him: "Young Master Ming is really powerful. Not only did he put Sun Quan and Zhou Yu in a dilemma, but he also dragged Long Xiang into the water in the end. It's really a clever plan to kill two birds with one stone."

"I often hear you conspiring, and I can learn more or less. If I can provoke a battle between Hefei and Jiangdong, I can spend less time in Huainan. I was supposed to fight Yuan Shao this year, but I was bound by these rats. What a waste of time. .”

Hearing Cao Cao's sigh, Guo Jia took advantage of the situation and said, "It can't be said that there is no gain. This time, a lot of troops in Jiangdong have been wiped out. As long as a good general is selected to guard Shouchun, Sun Quan has little possibility of going north. In addition, going north is just on the way now. Don't try to intimidate Longxiang?"

(End of this chapter)