Chapter 30 Chapter Thirty

Cao Cao was woken up by a waiter in the early morning chill.It was just dawn. "What's up?" Cao Cao's majestic voice came from the tent. The waiter reported: "A general named Hou Cheng from the other party came out of the city to surrender. He is waiting outside the gate of the camp, begging to see the prime minister." Cao Cao knew that Hou Cheng was a general in Lu Bu's army, so he immediately ordered his attendants to lead Hou Cheng to Muying to meet him. Hou Cheng told Cao Cao how he decided to escape and surrender, and offered the red rabbit horse stolen from Lu Bu's stable.

Cao Cao was overjoyed.At this time, the war has reached the limit of a dilemma, and he is in a desperate situation. It never occurred to me that if you are poor, you will succeed.Hou Cheng's surrender was undoubtedly a blessing from heaven for Cao Cao.So he specially expressed his appreciation and condolences to Hou Cheng, and asked a lot about the situation in the city. Hou Cheng said again: "My two close colleagues, Wei Xu and Song Xian, are still staying in the city as internal support. We have discussed in advance that if the prime minister believes me and attacks the city in one fell swoop, the two of them will intervene in the city. White flag, and immediately open the east gate to welcome the prime minister's army."

Cao Cao was very happy to hear this, and immediately ordered someone to write a crusade, tied it to the arrow shaft, and shot the arrow into Xiapi City.The call to action said: I now follow the emperor's order to attack Lu Bu.Anyone who resists the army will be punished by the whole family.If the soldiers in the city or the people of the Li people can present Lv Bu's head, the official reward will be increased. General Cao (signature) The morning glow dyed the sky over the east of the city red.Dozens of calls to crusade against Lu Bu with the same content were all shot into the city by letter arrows.Taking this as a signal, Cao Jun's golden drums sounded in unison, shouting everywhere, and the huge sound was earth-shattering.Hundreds of thousands of Cao troops began to attack the city at the same time.

Lv Bu was shocked when he heard the news, and had to start from the morning to inspect the various passes of Cao Jun's attack. At this time, the little official in charge of the stable came to report that the red rabbit horse had suddenly disappeared last night. Lu Bu frowned and scolded: "It's all your fault of slack! My BMW may have sneaked off to graze on the hill behind the city's back gate, why don't you check it out quickly." For the defense of the front line, Lu Bu was so busy that he didn't even have time to curse.In addition, Cao Jun's attack reached an unprecedentedly tragic level that day.Cao Jun continued to cross the river on a self-made raft and charged.Even if they were scattered, even if they were repulsed, they still attacked the city without fear.Just after noon, the corpses of the two armies soaked in the water had covered the walls with mud and blood, and the moat was also filled with the corpses of soldiers.

After finally reaching the dusk when the sun was slanting to the west, perhaps Cao Jun also felt that the attack was weak, and finally withdrew the siege troops to a place farther away. Lu Bu has been busy with the battle since the morning, and has not touched the water so far.When he saw Cao Jun retreating, he couldn't help but heaved a long sigh of relief and said, "Ah, let's call it a day!" He walked into the room, just breathed a sigh of relief, his whole body leaned against the painting halberd like a pile of cotton, and sat on the couch and dozed off.After a while, he fell into a sleepy state.

A general quietly entered the room and approached Lu Bu's sleeping couch, carefully observing Lu Bu's sleeping posture. This person was Wei Xu. Wei Xu saw that the handle of the painted halberd that Lu Bu was leaning on was being supported under the couch, so he reached out and grabbed the painted halberd forcefully. Lu Bu, who was dozing off, suddenly lost his support, and couldn't help but let out a scream of "ah", and half of his body fell forward. "I got it!" Wei Xu threw the painting halberd back and shouted loudly. Song Xian rushed into the house immediately after hearing the signal, and kicked Lu Bu in the back.

"What are you going to do?" Lu Bu let out a loud shout.Although he fell to the floor, he was still like a ferocious tiger, kicking away the attacks of the two with both feet.At this moment, the soldiers under Wei Xu and Song Xian swarmed in and filled the whole room at once. They threw the screaming Lv Bu to the ground. After a while, Lv Bu was tied up by those soldiers like a Cuju. It was tied so tightly that it could not move. "Caught it!" "Lu Bu has been tied up!" All kinds of voices spread like wildfire. Just as the soldiers of the rebel army cheered loudly, one of them raised a white flag on the tower.

With the order of "open the east gate", he sent a signal agreed in advance to Cao Jun who was besieging the city. So Cao Cao's army rushed into the city from the east gate. The scheming Xia Houyuan was suspicious, he thought: "Could it be the enemy's trick?" So he did not easily lead the army into the city. Seeing this scene, Song Xian shouted: "Don't be suspicious, general!" At the same time, he threw a big halberd from the city wall to Xia Houyuan's position. Xia Houyuan took a closer look and found that this halberd was Fang Tian's painted halberd that Lu Bu had used on the battlefield for many years.So he reassuredly said: "There has been civil strife in the city, we don't have to doubt it."

With that said, he led his army into the city pass, and the rest of the generals followed suit. At this time, the city has become a mess. After hearing the news that "Lu Bu was arrested", the soldiers guarding the city were immediately in a panic.Some troops were confused and wiped out in a dilemma, some troops immediately threw away their weapons and surrendered to Cao Jun, and some troops were sent to hell at once while hesitating whether to go left or right. After hearing the news of the incident, the two generals Gao Shun and Zhang Liao immediately assembled their troops and tried to break out from the west gate.Unexpectedly, the mud flow of the flood there was very deep, and it was extremely difficult to advance and retreat. In the end, they were all captured by Cao Jun.

Chen Gongchu, who was guarding the south gate, remained calm. He said: "The south gate is where I become benevolent." Although he continued to defend hard, he became another prisoner captured alive when he fought Xu Huang, a brave general under Cao Cao's command. As a result, Xiapi City, which was the main target of the war, had completely fallen into Cao Cao's hands at sunset.Early the next morning, Cao Jun's banners were planted on the east and west sides of the city tower, fluttering in the wind in the twilight of the morning light.Cao Cao stood on the platform of Baimen Tower, the main city building, issued military and political orders to appease the people, and asked Liu Xuande to sit beside him.

On the White Gate Tower, Cao, Liu Liangxiong and the generals began to judge Lu Bu and his subordinates here. "Bring up the prisoner!" Following an order, Lu Bu was the first to bring up. Lu Bu was a burly man with a height of more than seven feet, and he was now tied up with ropes in all directions, like a huge Cuju.There was a miserable expression on his face. Lu Bu was forced to kneel and sit on the stone floor under the White Gate Building. He looked up at Cao Cao on the stone steps and said, "I have fallen to this point, please don't insult me. Cao Cao, please order your subordinates to put me on my body." Loosen the rope a little." Cao Cao smiled wryly and said, "For the sake of tying the tiger, of course we can't talk about favors. But now, we can accommodate you a bit. Let me make it clear to you first, I have to explain here. Alright! Warrior below, loosen the rope around his neck." Some." The chief secretary must have heard this, and hastily stepped forward to stop him, saying, "This is absolutely not allowed. Lu Bu's bravery is extraordinary, and we cannot show mercy to him indiscriminately." Lu Bu glared at Wang Bi, gritted his teeth and said, "You bastard, who wants you to meddle in your own business?" Then, he turned his attention to the generals present.Among them are Wei Xu, Hou Cheng, Song Xian and others.Until yesterday, these people still regarded themselves as masters, but now they are willing to live under Cao Cao's family.Lu Bu glanced at the faces of those people angrily, and scolded: "What face do you have to meet me, Lu Bu? What's the reason? Have I forgotten all the kindness I owe you?" Hou Cheng laughed sarcastically and said: "You idiot! You only know how to tease your favorite wives and concubines in the backyard every day, but our generals have to be punished with a hundred rods and harshly restrained. The kindness of a wife and children." Lu Bu remained silent, bowing his head in shame. Fate is really ironic.Unpredictable results with the passage of time, even the actors involved do not know how to interpret it, life is the stage. The matter between Chen Gong and Cao Cao can also illustrate this point. Speaking of which, Chen Gong's fate today also started from a chance.At that time, he guarded Chengguan as the county magistrate of Zhongmu County.Once, he rescued Cao Cao who had been arrested, and since then, his ill-fated fate began.At that time, Cao Cao was still a white-faced scholar, just a small official under the central government of Luoyang.He failed to assassinate Dong Zhuo, so he had to escape from the capital and became a wanted criminal across the country, leaving the world with nowhere to go. However, today is not what it used to be. Cao Cao's current power has long surpassed that of Dong Zhuo back then, and he is respected as the great general Prime Minister Cao. At this time, Cao Cao was looking at the defeated general Chen Gong who was brought to the lower ranks with cold eyes. Chen Gong stood proudly, watching Cao Cao. He thought to himself: "If I hadn't rescued Cao Cao at Zhongmu's city gate, I wouldn't have such a fate today." Thinking of this, his eyes were filled with regret for the past. "Quickly kneel down!" The warrior holding the end of the rope kicked him in the waist, and Chen Gong fell down as if his waist was bent. Cao Cao watched coldly on the stone steps. "Is it Chen Gong? It's been a long time since I saw you face to face. Are you all right?" "As you can see, I am not sick. Your question is just to satisfy your own sense of superiority, let me accept your mocking words. You are still a cruel villain, and what you do is unbearable Stop laughing." "The so-called villain is a person like you. You only observe all people with small, rational eyes, so you look down on a big person like me. It is because of this that you have come to where you are today. This Isn't it the strongest evidence?" "No, even if I am insulted by you today, I am much better than you, a wicked guy. It was the foresight I have always boasted that I was able to abandon you, the treacherous Cao Cao. I don't regret it at all." "You say that I am an unrighteous person. If that is the case, then why do you assist a rebellious minister like Lu Bu? Why do you dare to eat his salary? So I think you are just an extremely hypocritical verbal justice, yes You are a hypocrite who deceives himself and others with such a banner. You are just a righteous man in words, and as for food and clothing, you are a complete pragmatist, which is really ridiculous!" "Shut up!" Chen Gong puffed up his chest and retorted righteously: "It is true that Lu Bu is a stupid and rough general. But he is far more kind and upright than you. At least he is never mean to others like you, who is always telling lies, and who is arrogant because of small tricks." Arrogant, and eventually become a traitor who commits rebellion." "Haha, you can make up the truth as you like. But what do you think about today's facts? You have become a defeated general bound by ropes. I want to hear your thoughts." "Victory or defeat is due to luck. Today's failure is just the result of that person not adopting my strategy." Chen Gong glanced at Lu Bu, who was kneeling beside him, and replied angrily, "If it wasn't like this, I, Chen Gong How could it be defeated by someone like you?" Chen Gong was still arrogant, and his words were loud. Cao Cao smiled wryly and said, "Then how do you think about your own affairs now?" Chen Gong is worthy of being a hero, he immediately said righteously: "The only thing we can do now is death, end it quickly!" "As expected, you are so happy. As a subject, you are disloyal, as a son, you are not filial, and there is no other way but death. But, have you thought about it, you have an old mother, what do you plan to do in the future?" After Cao Cao asked such a question, Chen Gong suddenly bowed his head and fell silent, and the two lines burst into tears. After a while, Chen Gong raised his head, as if he wanted to impress Cao Cao's compassion by speaking. "I have heard of the way of being a man since I was a child, and I must have learned it with one step. 'Those who rule the world with filial piety will not harm their relatives.' The survival of my mother is just a thought in my mind. How to deal with it is up to you." "In addition to your mother, you also have a wife and children. After you die, what will happen to your wife and children, have you thought about it?" "It's useless to think about it, so I don't think about anything. I heard, 'Those who govern the world with benevolence will never cease to be sacrificed.'" "..." Cao Cao always wanted to help Chen Gong, so he couldn't bear to kill him.In his heart, the two thoughts of private emotion and jurisprudence are fighting fiercely. Chen Gong seemed to have sensed Cao Cao's ambivalence from the change in his face, so he shouted loudly: "Don't ask these useless questions anymore, I just hope to follow the military law as soon as possible and behead me. My wish No more than that, to let me live is to insult me." After Chen Gong dropped these words, he stood up resolutely, cast a cold glance at the captive Lu Bu who was bending over the steps, walked down the long stone steps of the White Gate Tower by himself, and sat down on the beheaded man. On the execution ground. Cao Cao stood in the corridor on the stone steps, looking at the back of Chen Gong going down, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh of "Ah--", and then, tears welled up in his eyes. execution ground. Chen Gong sat on the straw mat for execution, stretching out his neck silently. At this time, he suddenly raised his head and looked at the two or three swan geese flying past in the slightly cloudy sky, and then looked at the executioner's knife and halberd, and urged in turn, "Are you ready?" The executioner raised the execution knife and flashed it down. Chen Gong's neck bone made a "click", and the human head flew four feet away, and blood gushed out of his body cavity. Cao Cao ordered as if waking up from drunkenness: "Next, bring Lu Bu! Judge Lu Bu!" Lu Bu heard this, and suddenly shouted: "Prime Minister, Prime Minister, Lu Bu, who used to be your confidant, has surrendered to you in this way, can you not get rid of me? If you spare me, treat me as a cavalry general." The prime minister is fighting the world, and I will definitely do my best for the prime minister to calm down the four directions. Ah, why do you want to kill me so senselessly? Help me! Lu Bu, I have completely surrendered!" Cao Cao asked in a low voice to Liu Xuande who was sitting beside him: "Have you heard Lu Bu's complaint just now? How should he be punished?" Liu Xuande didn't directly talk about right and wrong, but just replied like this: "Well, what should we do with this matter? Now, I can't help but think of his past murder of adoptive father Ding Yuan and surrender to Dong Zhuo. It became a chaos in Luoyang..." Lu Bu overheard Liu Xuande's words by chance, his face paled with fright.He yelled at him: "Shut up! You bastard with rabbit ears! Have you forgotten the life-saving grace of me shooting a halberd at the gate?" Cao Cao shouted: "Punishers, hang this thief quickly!" Hearing Cao Cao's order, the criminal officials immediately took Lu Bu to the side with the rope.At this time, Lu Bu was furious and struggling desperately.It was difficult for the criminals to subdue him, and in the end they continued to increase their manpower, and finally hanged Lu Bu alive on the spot. Then, it was Zhang Liao's turn to play.He thought he would definitely kill this time.Unexpectedly, Liu Xuande got up suddenly and paid homage to Cao Cao to intercede for him: "Zhang Liao is the only pure-minded person in Xiapi City, please forgive him, Prime Minister." Cao Cao agreed to Liu Xuande's request and spared Zhang Liao's life.But Zhang Liao felt that he had been insulted. He took the sword from the executioner and prepared to commit suicide.He yelled: "As an upright man, how can I die like a puppy or a cat in such a dirty place?" Guan Yu, who had known him before, hastily snatched away the sword he was about to commit suicide. After pacifying Lu Bu's forces, Cao Cao sent people to find Chen Gong's mother, wife and children, brought them into the army, and then the whole army returned to Xu Du's class.