Chapter 42 Chapter 42: Lottery

As soon as Cao Cao returned to Xudu, he immediately summoned relevant personnel in the prime minister's mansion to listen to the report on the battle situation in Xuzhou. An official said: "The battle situation seems to have not changed since August, that is, according to the prime minister's will, the prime minister's flag was set up on the way to the army, trying to make the enemy see it and mistake it for the prime minister's personal conquest. The army set up a position a hundred miles away from Xuzhou, and specially ordered the whole army not to act rashly, so no attack has been launched so far."

Cao Cao was shocked when he heard this, and he said, "Oh, there's nothing I can do about such idiots. They don't know what it means to be adaptable. According to this clumsy way of fighting, are they going to stay still for ten years? If the enemy thinks that I, Cao Cao, are really in the camp, they will establish a position hundreds of miles away from the enemy, and from August to now, they have wasted time doing nothing. How can this abnormal phenomenon be explained? ? I’m afraid the enemy has long been suspicious, right?” Therefore, he impatiently sent military envoys to Xuzhou, and sternly ordered them: "Urge them to attack Xuzhou immediately to find out the truth."

Cao Cao's military envoys arrived at the front line of Xuzhou within a few days. The two generals in charge of the siege, Liu Dai and Wang Zhong, came out respectfully to greet them, and they asked doubtfully, "What is your envoy's business here?" The military envoy conveyed Cao Cao's order to them: "The prime minister asked you, 'Why do you stand still with a living army? Do you want to learn from the scarecrow?' The prime minister is very dissatisfied with this, and you must not hesitate for a moment!" After listening to Cao Cao's order, Liu Dai said on the spot: "The prime minister is right. For so long, we have just set up the banner of the prime minister and did nothing. I don't think there is a way. General Wang Zhong, you should attack first. Let's see how the enemy's situation changes, how about fighting a battle?"

Wang Zhong shook his head hastily and said, "What's the matter? You are so anxious now, it's really unexpected. When we left the capital, didn't the prime minister teach you the strategy in person? So you should fight a battle first and test the enemy. strength of the army." "No, no, no! I am now shouldering the heavy responsibility of the siege marshal, how can I go into battle easily. You are the vanguard, and you should fight first." "What strange words, you are equal to my rank, why do you regard me as your subordinate?" "No, how could I see you as my subordinate?"

"Judging from your tone just now, don't you just regard me, Wang Zhong, as your subordinate?" The two people were arguing on the spot, and the military envoy frowned dissatisfiedly, and said: "There is no time to wait any longer. Now that the first battle has not been fought, I have internal disputes. I really did not expect the performance of the two of you to be so poor. .I think it’s still like this. Instead of arguing pointlessly, it’s better to think of a fool’s way. I’ll draw lots, and then you two will draw lots to decide who is the vanguard and who is the defender. What do you think?”

"Your envoy is right, this is also a solution." Both Wang Zhong and Liu Dai agreed.In order to avoid any objection, according to the requirements of both parties, the military envoys made two lots, and then asked them to draw lots. As a result, the word "Hou" was written on the lot Liu Dai drew. The word "first" was written on the lot that Wang Zhong drew. So no matter whether he agreed or not, Wang Zhong had to lead an army to attack Xuzhou. At this time, Liu Xuande was in Xuzhou City. After hearing the news of Cao Jun's siege, he immediately patrolled the defense line, and then asked Chen Deng for advice on countermeasures.

Before that, Chen Deng was skeptical about the erection of the prime minister's flag in Cao's army that was besieging the city.He saw through the opponent's conspiracy and thought it must be Cao Cao's trick. Chen Deng replied: "I want to send people to resist first, so that we can know the enemy's strength, and then make a plan on this basis." "That's the best, let me go. I'll try whether the enemy is fighting with bluff or strength." A person in the seat came out and said so.As soon as he heard such a loud voice, he knew that this person was Zhang Fei.

When Zhang Fei was about to leave to defend against the enemies outside the city, Liu Xuande suddenly showed displeasure on his face, and said, "You bastard, usually has a violent personality and is unstable in doing things. Wait a minute, wait a minute." Liu Xuande called Zhang Fei to a stop, and didn't say whether to leave or not. "I'm a warrior, can I panic like this when I'm in danger?" Zhang Fei said dissatisfied. "No, I know your temper. The biggest problem is that you are too careless. I only know that making noise can easily spoil things. I am extremely afraid of this." Liu Xuande said without concealing it.

Zhang Fei puffed up his face and replied glibly: "If I met Cao Cao and came back after being beaten completely by him, my brother might be worried. This is really ridiculous. If Cao Cao really came out, I would be surprised." Lucky for me. I'll grab him and bring him back to town." "Shut up! You still like to talk nonsense so much, what a 'crazy and reckless man'. Cao Cao has a terrible intention of treason against the Han Dynasty in his heart, but don't forget that he is a The prime minister often appears to issue orders on behalf of the emperor. Have you forgotten? So if we become enemies with him today, we will fall into his favor, and it is very likely that we will be regarded as enemies of the court."

"At that time, what do you still want to do with that title? If he comes to attack us, we won't resist, will we just capture him without a fight?" "If Yuan Shao can come to the rescue, maybe this crisis can be resolved, but it seems unreliable now. If Cao Cao is hostile again, alas, we have nowhere to die... Today is simply the day of my life and death, Liu Xuande. " "Ouch, ouch, how can a general say such depressing words? You can't weaken the morale of your own side." "Knowing yourself and the enemy is the quality that a general should have. I am definitely not worrying about myself in vain. Do you know that the military rations in the city can last for a few months now? And most of the soldiers who eat this military ration were originally borrowed from Cao Cao. They They must all want to go back to Xudu. If they don’t have enough to eat, how can such weak bodies resist Cao Cao’s army? I can’t help but think of this. The one-thousandth hope is Yuan Shao’s help, but..."

Liu Xuande's heartfelt sigh made everyone present in the curtain feel sad. The protagonist is also too cowardly, causing his generals not to know what to do.Zhang Fei thought angrily, he gritted his teeth and remained silent. At this moment, Guan Yu also left his seat and came out. He said: "My lord's deliberation is not unreasonable, but we can't sit still. So I should go outside the city to test the opponent's reality so that my lord can formulate countermeasures on this basis. " Chen Deng agreed with Guan Yu's opinion.Perhaps Liu Xuande also thought that Guan Yu was safe, so he immediately agreed, "Go!" Guan Yu led three thousand soldiers and horses out of the city.It was October at this time, the sky was covered with gray clouds, and heavy snow like goose feathers was falling between the sky and the earth. The three thousand soldiers and horses from the city flew up the snow on the ground and rushed towards the attacking Wang Zhong's troops.In an instant, Xue and horses, Xue and halberds, Xue and soldiers, and Xue and flags fought together in a "swastika" shape. "Is that Wang Zhong over there? Why do you like to hide behind the shield?" Guan Yu held the Qinglong Yanyue Saber in his hand, and shouted loudly while riding a horse towards the enemy's Chinese army. Wang Zhong also leaped forward and cursed loudly: "You idiot, why don't you surrender as soon as possible? Prime Minister Cao is in our army. Haven't you seen his flag?" Guan Yu shook the frost and snow on his face, and laughed like a peony blooming: "If Cao Cao is here, he is my best opponent, tell him to come here quickly!" Wang Zhong spat and scolded: "What kind of person is our Prime Minister, how can we fight with such a lowly barbarian like you? Go and have another reincarnation!" "Don't talk too much, Wang Zhong!" Guan Yu patted his horse and rushed forward, and Wang Zhong also stabbed with his spear.Guan Yu handled it skillfully, and deliberately turned his horse's head to escape. "You bastard!" The careless Wang Zhong chased Guan Yu smugly. "Am I only talking big words? If so, I'll give you Wang Zhong half of the saddle. Come here quickly!" While talking, Guan Yu quietly changed the Qinglong Yanyue Saber to his left hand.Seeing this situation, Wang Zhong hurriedly turned his horse's head and ran back, but Guan Yu quickly grabbed his armor belt. "Don't move!" Guan Yu shouted loudly, gently clamped Wang Zhong under his arm, and galloped away. Guan Yu's army defeated the defeated Wang Zhongjun in one fell swoop, obtained a hundred horses and twenty packs of weapons as spoils of war, and returned smoothly after a beautiful victory. As soon as Guan Yu returned to the city, he immediately tied Wang Zhong tightly and offered it to Liu Xuande.Liu Xuande asked Wang Zhong: "Who are you? Did you pretend to be Prime Minister Cao for the sake of fraud?" Wang Zhong replied truthfully: "It was not our intention to cheat, but the prime minister ordered us to do so. He asked us to set up the prime minister's flag as a trick for suspicious soldiers." Then, Wang Zhong said confidently: "The Prime Minister will destroy Yuan Shao in a few days, and then go around to Xuzhou. A place like Xuzhou will be flattened in about a day." For some unknown reason, Liu Xuande untied Wang Zhong on the spot, and said, "After hearing what you said, I sincerely feel that Prime Minister Cao's scheme is indeed very ingenious. Since that incident, we have been angered by Prime Minister Cao, Now he is being punished by him again, so I have no choice but to stay in Xuzhou City. I, Liu Xuande, have no intention of being hostile to the prime minister. You should stay in this city for the time being and wait for the situation to change." As he spoke, he asked someone to lead Wang Zhong into a beautifully furnished room, and gave him new clothes and delicious food and drink.After putting Wang Zhong under house arrest, Liu Xuande once again called his close ministers to a meeting in a pavilion. Liu Xuande asked: "Is there any good general who can capture Liu Dai alive from the enemy's formation?" Guan Yu started talking as if chatting: "Brother is still worried about this matter? In fact, when I was fighting Wang Zhong, I wished I could kill him with a single knife. But I felt it was wrong, and I suddenly thought that my brother's original intention might be not to fight Cao Cao Discord? That's why I deliberately captured Wang Zhong alive." After Guan Yu finished speaking, he felt that his thoughts were still unfinished, so he asked Liu Xuande bluntly if he had guessed his intentions correctly.Liu Xuande smiled knowingly: "Yes, yes. Guan Yu said no war, no peace, which shows that he has understood the strategy in my heart very well. Just now I stopped Zhang Fei from going to fight, and this is also because Zhang Fei Fei has a violent personality. I am worried that if he goes, he will definitely kill Wang Zhong. Killing Wang Zhong and Liu Dai will not do us any good, but will only inflame Cao Cao's anger. If we let them live, Cao Cao's attitude towards us Maybe it will ease up." Hearing what Liu Xuande said, Zhang Fei got up again and said, "I understand what Big Brother means. If you do what Big Brother wants, let me go to the challenge this time. I will definitely capture Liu Dai alive and bring him back. How about it? Big Brother, please send I'll go." "You can go, but you have to know that Wang Zhong and Liu Dai are two different opponents." "How are they different?" "When Liu Dai served as governor of Yanzhou, he participated in the Battle of Hulao Pass and fought against Dong Zhuo. He was a person who even gave Dong Zhuo a headache, so he is an enemy that must not be underestimated. If you can understand what I mean If so, then you can go."