Han Xiang

Chapter 626 Exonerate Lu Ziming for the Lord
Guan Yu's retreat this time surprised Cao Cao again.

Although the Cao family's navy was almost completely wiped out, most of the land in Nanyang fell into Cao Cao's hands.

Guan Yu has only a handful of places left to move, so the most reasonable option is to take Liu Ye and retreat to Nanxiang, and then join forces with Xu Shu for the final struggle.

But Liu Ye went against Guan Yu, and his fleet entered the upper reaches of Han River instead of diverting to Dan River to Nanxiang.

As for Guan Yu's whereabouts are clear, Xiangyang is the only place to go downstream of the Han River. Perhaps he is reluctant to leave the newly victorious navy and the new warships captured from Mao Jie.

Guan Yu divided his troops to defend three places, which was a multiple-choice question for Cao Cao.

Xu Shu and Liu Ye both had retreat options, and Xiangyang was isolated and helpless. Cao Cao did not hesitate to choose Guan Yu.

Cao Cao was wealthy at this time, so he could spend time rebuilding his warships when they were gone. The dockyard where Guan Yu had left in Fancheng was still there, so this move could be regarded as indirect aid to the enemy.

As for the death of Cai Mao, the deputy general of the navy, Cao Cao still had Zhang Yun, a naval warfare talent available, but if it was not enough, he could use Lu Meng.

Cao Cao thought that it would take the whole country to destroy a city, but the truth is that he only has one hand to control it?It's just that Lu Su's participation in the war is surprising.

Is it a personal behavior or Long Xiang's instruction?It must be clarified.

Lu Su led his troops to Xiangyang. What was Sun Quan doing at this time?There was no ventilation at all beforehand?

At the same time that Guan Yu withdrew to Xiangyang, Cao Cao left Xia Houyuan and Zhang He to guard Yin and Wei counties to guard against Xu Shu and Liu Ye's harassment from the west of Nanyang, while the main force of Cao's army moved to Fancheng.

The reason why Lu Su participated in the war was unknown, which disrupted Cao Cao's offensive rhythm. He imagined countless possibilities in his mind, but still could not think of a perfect answer.

On the way to Fancheng, Cao Cao sent people to Wancheng to summon Lu Meng. He wanted to find out Sun Quan's position and intentions.

Fancheng was originally a subsidiary of Xiangyang, and the city was only the size of an ordinary county town and could not accommodate more than [-] Cao troops.

Cao Cao then divided half of the troops into several groups and ordered them to be stationed in Chaoyang, Rangxian, Anzhong, Niyang and other places.

Without the naval escort, Cao Cao not only could not use the Jiao River to transport food, but his land supply line was also exposed. Guan Yu could use warships to bypass it, so he had to deploy defenses for the supply line in advance.

As Cao Cao expected, Gan Ning sailed a warship to Feishui for activities as soon as he arrived in Fancheng and before he had a good night's sleep. Fortunately, he had made predictions in advance, otherwise the land route would be affected.

At the end of April, Lu Meng was ordered to rush to Fancheng.

Cao Cao mentioned Lu Su's participation in the war with a dark face. Lu Meng then invited several embarrassed soldiers to the palace. They were messengers who had arrived in Jingzhou from the Central Plains. Among them were Xiahou Dun's troops and some of the dead soldiers sent by Cheng Yu.

These people rushed to tell Long Xiang's evil deeds, and all the civil and military officials under Cao Cao were shocked.

"What? General Xiahou was seriously injured? Xu Du was surrounded by Long Xiang?"

"Cheng Zhongde was also defeated? How could Long Xiang be so good at fighting?"

"Not only Xudu is besieged? Yanling, Changshe, Yingyin, Linying and many other places are besieged. How many soldiers and horses does Longxiang have to lose?"

Everyone was whispering and commenting, obviously doubting the intelligence, but falsely spreading military information was a serious crime in the military. The content described by these people was similar, and it didn't seem like they were deliberately entertaining everyone.

Cao Cao is the ultimate hero. Although he has a bad premonition in his heart, he can still remain calm and calm.

After observing for a moment, he frowned and looked at Lu Meng, and asked playfully: "Did Ziming bring them here on purpose to inform Cao about Longxiang?"

"Prime Minister Mingjian!"

Lu Meng heard that Cao Cao's tone was wrong, and quickly clasped his fists and explained: "The general did not bring them here intentionally, but happened to meet them halfway. Since Long Xiang sent troops to Xudu, it means that he has long been a traitor, so it makes sense for Lu Su to join the war. pass."

"make sense?"

Cao Cao frowned without comment. He turned to Man Chong and said, "Bo Ning, these soldiers have been tired all the way and they can't speak clearly. Please take them down and ask them in detail." "Wei."

Man Chong went out to take orders with fists clasped in his hands. He was a former cruel official and was best at interrogating. Cao Cao's intention of ordering the general was very obvious.

Seeing the sergeants being led away by Man Chong, Cao Cao brought the topic back to Lu Meng.

"Lu Su joined the war to help Guan Yu, and Long Xiang led his army to sneak attack Xudu. It is an established fact that there is no need to go into details. I want to know what Sun Zhongmou is doing?"

"what?"

Lu Meng looked surprised after hearing this, not knowing what Cao Cao meant by his question.

Seeing Lu Meng pretending to be stupid, Cao Cao snorted coldly and continued to ask: "Since Sun Zhongmou surrendered sincerely, why did Long Xiang and Lu Su attack at the same time? If he had carefully restrained himself, there would be no reason for this result."

"Forehead"

Lu Meng didn't know Sun Quan's situation, but he had the Sun family's brand on him, so he had to help Sun Quan find an excuse, so he used his brain crazily.

"Lu Su captured all our warships through several water battles. Wu Hou was afraid that he was powerless at this time. He couldn't stop Lu Su even if he wanted to. In addition, there was a dock built at the mouth of Ruxushui. Long Xiangruo came from Huainan The Marquis of Wu also sent troops to make a sneak attack."

"Ziming deserves to be the governor, and his eloquence skills are outstanding."

Cao Cao finished the compliment with a slight smile, then his expression suddenly changed, and he said in a deep voice: "Long Xiang is attacking Xudu now, and Lu Su's navy is in Xiangyang. How can Sun Zhongmou just sit back and watch? You can quickly prepare a letter and send it to Nanchang to let me know. He immediately sent troops to attack Jiangdong and took back the territory he lost. Now Jiangdong is empty."

"But it takes time to deliver the letter. Can you make it in time?"

Lu Meng heard Cao Cao's intention. He wanted to use Sun Quan to surround Wei and rescue Zhao. He thought to himself, wouldn't it be faster to send troops yourself?
Cao Cao didn't know the specific situation in the rear. His focus at this time was to capture Xiangyang, and sending more reinforcements would not conflict with encircling Wei and rescuing Zhao. So he replied: "The truth is that the prime minister wants to build ships in Fancheng, and he deliberately gives Sun Zhong an opportunity. You let him take advantage of it." "

"The end will be saved."

Lu Meng saw that Cao Cao was so insistent, and everyone under the eaves could only agree.

Then there was a deathly silence in the hall, Cao Cao's navy was completely wiped out, and the Central Plains experienced drastic changes again, leaving everyone with mixed feelings.

Seeing this, Cao Cao comforted everyone: "Don't worry, gentlemen. How many troops and horses does Long Xiang have? Wen Ruo has already made it clear before that he cannot make such a big storm. It may be a bluff. Although the attack has not gone smoothly recently, the situation has gradually changed." It is advantageous, now Guan Yu is trapped in Xiangyang, it is only a matter of time before he is captured, it is still worth a drink."

"The prime minister is wise."

"Goodbye my lord!"

There were echoes in the hall, and then the soldiers prepared wine and food, and Cao Cao drank and had fun with the officials.

After three rounds of drinking, Man Chong stepped through the door with a heavy look on his face.

Cao Cao's heart skipped a beat when he saw this. Could it be that something really happened?

Man Chong's report could not be false. After hearing this, Cao Cao held the wine glass and his face turned livid. He was so angry that he smashed the wine glass to the ground.

"Very good, very good. Long Xiang can block the city gate with just a few stones? And what does Cheng Zhongde mean? If you can't beat Long Xiang, just say that he has a clairvoyance? It's simply ridiculous."

"Prime Minister."

"Say something."

Seeing Zhang Liao hesitate to speak, Cao Cao waved his hand impatiently.

"Hey, Mo Jiang was in Hefei in the past. I heard that there is a magical thing called cement, which can bond earth and stone very firmly. Long Xiang may have used this thing."

(End of this chapter)