Chapter 35 Flooded Xiapi

Xiapi County is the first county of Xiapi State in Xuzhou. In the early Han Dynasty, Han Xin was granted the title of King Chu and used this place as his capital.In the south of the county, Sishui flows from west to east, and in the east of the county, Yishui flows into Sishui from north to south, forming the mouth of Sancha River, which is a natural barrier; the county town has a radius of twelve miles, with three walls inside and outside, all more than four feet high, piled up with white rocks , the south gate of Wai Guo is the most majestic, and the folks call it "White Gate Tower".

When Cao Jun's brigade arrived, Chen Deng had led Guangling soldiers as the vanguard and surrounded Xiapi City.Simply surrounded by a large encirclement and a small encirclement, more than 20,000 soldiers trapped the city in an instant.Cao Cao passed through the crowd and came to the front, looking up at the big city, worried suddenly - it is too difficult to break the city!Even if a strong attack can break through the outer wall, there are still two layers of city walls inside, and it will damage the soldiers and horses and take time.Thinking of this, he ordered the soldiers to shout repeatedly, calling for Lu Bu to come out and answer.

Lu Bu was on the city at the moment, and he was startled by the encirclement in front of him.In the battle of Yanzhou in the past, he defeated Cao's army several times, and even knocked Cao Cao's helmet with Fang Tian's painted halberd. Cao Aman was so frightened that he knelt down and begged for mercy.But today everything changed, the dwarf from Peiguo Qiao County had such strong strength, surrounded by a vast number of soldiers.Looking at the crowd again, the banners of Liu Bei and Chen Deng are all among them. The enemy teamed up with his subordinates to betray him. Lu Bu was furious. Die! Right here now, what can Thief Cao do to me?"

Chen Deng rode out of the crowd and laughed, "Lu Fengxian, you rebelled against the imperial court and have been cut off from your official position. What face do you have to call yourself a general again? There is one more thing to tell you. The Xu Si and Wang Kai you sent out to ask Yuan Shu for help, Seeing that your situation is over, you have already transferred to Liu Biao in Jingzhou! Although Zhang Liao has gone to the seashore, Zang Ba and others are afraid of Tianwei and dare not send troops. Lu Bu, you are finished!" "Bah!" Lu Bu yelled, "Chen Deng is so stupid! Repeated villain! Ingratitude! Shameless!" He wanted to use all the evil words he knew on Chen Deng.

Chen Deng looked up and laughed loudly: "Lv Bu, Lv Bu, what kindness do you have for me? Pat your chest and think about it. Did you give me Guangling prefect or the court?" Lu Bu was speechless by him... Yes!The official book was given by Cao Cao! Chen Deng raised his face and looked directly at Lu Bu: "You said I was a villain repeatedly, but I would like to ask you, what have you done in the past half of your life! You are a warrior from Wuyuan County. You came from a humble background and were taken in by Ding Jianyang. You are my confidant, and I have a deep affection for you. Later Dong Zhuo went to Beijing and bribed you with money, officials and nobles, and you betrayed the master and begged for honor and killed Ding Yuan, and turned to recognize the thief as your father! It took only a few years to save Dong Zhuo, and the disaster star did not fade away. Again, he had an affair with his concubine, and in order to prevent the scandal from being corrupted, he took refuge in Wang Situ and assassinated Dong, and in a blink of an eye he became a loyal and good man who saved the country.

"Abandoning the dark and turning to the bright is right. When Li Jue and Guo Si broke Chang'an, you should follow Wang Yun's death, but you took refuge with Yuan Shu with the head of the thief father in your arms. Yuan Shu blamed you for being ruthless and unwilling to take him in. You turned your face and refused to recognize anyone, and immediately turned to Yuan Shao. It’s all right to follow Yuan Shao, indulge your subordinates to rob people’s women and plunder property. Yuan Benchu ​​drove you out of Jizhou, and you joined your former colleague Zhang Yang. Zhang Yang treated you with confidence, but you colluded with Zhang Miao and committed Yanzhou again, abandoning your friends. Pity You are so virtuous that you can’t compete with the majestic Cao Gong, so you fled to Liu Xuande in Xuzhou. Liu Xuande provided you with food and supplies, but instead fulfilled you, an unfamiliar wolf! When Liu Bei and Yuan Shu confronted each other, you snatched people away The seductive soldiers of the land seized Xuzhou, and then turned their faces to beat Yuan Shu!" Chen Deng's sentences were stern, and he shook off all the injustices of Lu Bu like flowing water, "Lu Bu! You are so ruthless, so double-faced and 3-swording, what you have done Harm the people everywhere. The common people want to kill your corpse, eat your flesh, sleep your skin! Like you who are unfaithful, filial, benevolent and unrighteous, everyone has to kill him!"

Lu Bu was ashamed, ashamed, hated and annoyed by his scolding, his pale face turned red, his facial features stood erect, and he yelled strangely while holding the female wall with his hands: "Wow... I'm so angry!" "What's the use of qi?" Chen Deng flicked his sleeves and turned to look at the soldiers, "Guangling soldiers will listen to the truth! You are all citizens of Xuzhou. If anyone has suffered from the oppression and looting of Bingzhou warriors, he will hate this cruel man." , just shout 'kill' three times and tell him to listen!"

kill... kill... kill... The shouts resounded earth-shatteringly through the sky, and when the third shout came, not to mention people from Xuzhou, even people from Yanzhou and Yuzhou yelled at the top of their voices. Lu Bu stared wide-eyed at this thrilling scene, and his unrivaled heroism disappeared without a trace in an instant... It's over!It's over!Lu Bu's heart is dead... Originally, he could still use the halberd drawn in the palm of the red rabbit to win blood, but now he can't, he trembles... What if he escapes?Further to the east is the sea. Yuan Shao in the north hated him to the bone, and Yuan Shu in the south had offended him. He went west to his old friend Zhang Yang, but Cao Cao's territory was from Yanzhou to Yuzhou; Zang Ba, Sun Guan, Yin Li and others stood still. All the roads are blocked, although the world is big, there is no place to stand... Lu Bu felt dizzy, and fell down on the parapet.

Cao Cao could see clearly from below, he waved his arms to signal everyone to silence, lightly urged his mount out of the group, and said loudly: "General Lu! General Lu!" Lu Bu heard that he still called himself a general, so he forced himself to look down.Cao Cao seemed to sigh, and said slowly: "General, don't be discouraged, there is still a glimmer of hope for abandoning evil and doing good. The general once assassinated the thief minister Dong Zhuo, and attacked the rebellious Yuan Shu. These achievements are still remembered today, and the old man always cherishes them." Now that the army has been defeated, instead of defending the isolated city, why not surrender to the people?"

With a single word to wake up the dreamer, Lu Bulan's faint eyes lit up, as if feeling a glimmer of life, before he was about to agree, he suddenly heard a shout from behind: "The city can be broken, the head can be killed, and I swear to the death that I will not surrender the Cao thief!" Everyone in the city and those in the city were surprised. Looking around, they saw a middle-aged Wen Sheng with a disheveled and haggard face sticking out of the parapet—it was Chen Gong! Cao Cao's heart trembled, he cupped his fists and cupped his hands: "Gongtai, are you safe?"

Chen Gong was filled with grief and anger: "Bah! The old thief Cao Cao has never been kind. What kind of hatred did Yuan Zhongfu, Bian Wenli, and Huan Wenlin have against you in the past? The three families were all killed in a moment of anger! Jin Yuanxiu was expelled from Yanzhou by you, and was eventually killed by you. Yuan Shu's massacre! When you attacked Tao Qian, you massacred five cities in the East China Sea, how can you claim to win the hearts of Xuzhou's people now?" Just now Lu Bu was embarrassed and annoyed by Chen Deng's scolding, but now Chen Gong's few words made Cao Cao feel ashamed again.The things he has done cannot be blamed. Killing the three sages every day, expelling Jin Shang, and slaughtering Xuzhou are all sins that Cao Cao will never wash away in his life. Facing Chen Gong who knows the details, what excuse can he have?Seeing this, Chen Deng quickly took over the quarrel: "Chen Gongtai must be crazy! What does it mean to be disaffected by the people? If the people's hearts are not attached, how could so many Xuzhou soldiers come to besiege the city!" Suddenly, another person jumped out from the top of the wall: "Shut up! Chen Yuanlong, you defected and killed my countless brothers in Bingzhou. I, Gao Shun, have three inches of courage, and I would rather die than surrender!" "It's up to you to help the tyrant to abuse you!" Chen Deng immediately retorted. One sentence from you, one sentence from me, one sentence from him, Chen Deng, Chen Gong and Gao Shun scolded hard.As the coach, Lu Bu couldn't get in the way, and couldn't suppress the pressure. Seeing that the situation was out of control, he couldn't do anything about it. He sighed and left, and simply left the tower to them... At first they were still scolding each other, but then Gao Shun was so annoyed that he grabbed the soldier's bow and arrow and shot down.All the soldiers hurriedly kept Cao Cao and Chen Deng back to the team.Immediately afterwards, a large number of arrow branches and falling rocks crashed in the air; the Cao soldiers below cursed and shot again-as if the battle had started again! Cao Cao retreated all the way with his own soldiers, and withdrew from the encirclement, sighing as he watched the noisy Baimenlou.Xun You, Guo Jia, and Cheng Yu also left the battlefield and followed behind.Cheng Yu had experienced it from the Yanzhou era. He knew that Chen Gong's words hurt Cao Cao just now, so he apologized and said with a smile: "Ming Gong, don't worry, I will pay the children of the three armies for the war in Xiapi. This is the place of the past. , let's go to the west for a tour, shall we?" "Okay." Cao Cao nodded disappointedly.The four steered their horses to the west, looking towards the mouth of the Sancha River, only Cao Chun and Xu Chudu accompanied by hundreds of tiger and leopard riders. Cao Jun besieged the city this time, soldiers and horses from all walks of life gathered, and camps were set up for several miles.The four people led the team through one by one, and every time they passed a village, the generals who stayed behind came out to greet them on their knees.Cao Cao didn't speak, just raised his hand to signal them to get up, and continued to walk west.Seeing that the outermost area was Liu Bei's stockade, Guan Yu led his own soldiers to salute and see him off at the gate of the stockade. When Cao Cao saw the majestic Guan Yu with five long beards, he felt quite relieved, and said, "Yun Chang, please get up quickly." Guan Yu stood up with his long beard in his hands, and said, "Ming Gong has worked hard." "The generals and others are the real hard workers. I will definitely reward the three armies on the day I return to the court." Guan Yu lowered his head and stammered, "I hope that Duke Ming will not forget about Qin Yilu." "Oh?" Cao Cao was stunned for a moment, then laughed, "I remember this." Seeing Guan Yu felt ashamed, he couldn't say anything in front of everyone, and led Cheng Yu and the others to continue on their way.This is the second time Guan Yu has brought up this matter. Cao Cao wondered in his heart, Guan Yunchang is a strong man in Guanxi, how could he fall in love with that Du family so much?I want to make up my mind so far, I must meet this Diao Chan girl first in the future! After leaving the camp, everyone looked up.How can there be any charming scenery in the middle of winter?You can't see the ruins of the overlord Xiang Yu, you can't see the wise and brave Han Xin, you can't see the green grass and flowers blooming in full bloom, and you can't see the people inside to make a living.However, the sky is cloudy and the setting sun is impenetrable, the wilderness is desolate and desolate, the ground is full of withered grass killed by autumn frost, trembling and trembling by the northwest wind, the Surabaya and Yi rivers are rushing, and the old trees and branches on the riverside are withered and twisted... Cao Cao bursts of sadness came from it. Cheng Yu's interest remained undiminished, and he pointed to an ancient stone bridge above Sishui in the distance and said, "Duke Ming is proficient in the art of war, and he recorded the key points. Do you know where this is?" "Huh?" Cao Cao was taken aback, carefully looked at the stone bridge and flowing water in front of him, but shook his head. Cheng Yu smiled and said, "This is the Sishui Bridge!" Hearing this, Cao Cao also laughed: "It turns out that this is the place where Marquis Liu meets Duke Huangshi." Liuhou was Zhang Liang, a famous official who founded the Han Dynasty.He was originally a survivor of South Korea among the Seven Heroes. When he was young, he had the ambition to overthrow the Great Qin and restore South Korea, so he made friends with the strongman Cang Haijun and assassinated King Qin Yingzheng in Bolangsha.Unexpectedly, the assassination failed, Cang Haigong was captured, and Zhang Liang fled to Xiapi.It is said that when he passed the Sishui Bridge, he saw an old man sitting on the bridge and fishing.It happened that the old man's shoes fell into the water, and he called Zhang Liang to go into the water to get them, his words were harsh and rude.But Zhang Liang thought about his old age, so he jumped into the water to pick up the shoes for him, but the old man told him to go over and put the shoes on for him, Zhang Liang obeyed without hesitation.The old man said, "Children can be taught!" He ordered him to come back in five days, and he should pay for the letter.Five days later Zhang Liang came, but the old man refused to join him, so he postponed it for another five days.After repeating this, the old man awarded three volumes of military books.Zhang Liang read this book to be wise and resourceful, and assisted the great ancestor Liu Bang to pacify the world.This old man is Huang Shigong, and the three volumes of military books he bestowed are "Sanlue". Guo Jia jokingly said, "Since it's where Zhang Zifang got his books, let's go and have a look." Cao Cao nodded in agreement, and the three dismounted and strolled to the small bridge.But all around was barren, the stone bridge was broken, the north wind was blowing, and the Surabaya was rushing, and there was no sign of the sages at all.Cao Cao sighed: "I don't think the folk rumors may be true..." The same scene, in the eyes of different people, has different meanings: Cao Mengde held the stone bridge in his hands and sighed, the dead flowed like water, he will be forty-five in a blink of an eye, and the cause of his struggle is still bleak!When will the suffering of all living beings in this world come to an end?Turn your head and look down again, when will such a fortified city be broken?Yuan Shao in Hebei sharpened his sword like a jackal! Cheng Zhongde looked at the flowing water and his heart was surging, and the heart of a strong man was moved.Born in troubled times, he should make great achievements, and in the future, his name will be recorded in the history of Lantai, so that he will be famous for future generations.Looking back and looking at Xiapi City, it really is a battlefield where dragons and tigers fight! Xun Gongda closed his eyes and meditated, feeling sad.Recalling the past, Zhang Zifang originally intended to revive Korea, but in the end it was Liu Jierlang who called him lonely!Thinking that I am a Han official now, even if I have worked hard all my life, I don’t know whether Liu or Cao will sit in court in the future!Opening his eyes, he saw Xiapi City again, the capital of Han Xin, the king of Chu, where Han Xin made great achievements, but in the end, Empress Lv of the Weiyang Palace was killed by a knife! Guo Fengxiao tightly closed his clothes and cursed secretly, the weather was cold and the north wind was cool.These three old fellows wandered around with nothing to do, they might as well go back to the camp to study the war and discuss it in detail.Looking back at Xiapi City, why did Chen Gong and Gao Shun not surrender... The four of them stood in a daze for a long time with their own thoughts, and finally Cao Cao spoke first: "Zhongde, how many children do you have under your knees?" Cheng Yu was taken aback for a moment, not knowing why he thought of asking this, and said with a smile: "I'm not talented, the only one is Cheng Wu." "What are the talents and weaknesses of having a son?" Cao Cao waved his hand.Even so, he had a small calculation in his heart. He was about the same age as Cheng Yu. Cheng Yu had only one son, and besides Cao Zhen, Cao Bin, and He Yan, he now had five sons under his knees, Cao Pi, Cao Zhang, Cao Zhi, and Cao Zhi. Xuan, Cao Chong, recently the concubine of the Zhou family in Wancheng was pregnant again. Cao Cao had told him before going out to fight that if he gave birth to a boy named Cao Jun... at the age of forty-five, he could still have a son during the Southern and Northern Wars Childbirth, this shows that the body is still very strong! Cao Cao felt a little relieved, looked at Xiapi City and murmured: "Huang Shigong's "Three Strategies" has a saying: "The end has not been seen, and people can't know; the gods of heaven and earth move with things; they are impermanent, transformed by the enemy; they don't do it for them." Beforehand, move and follow.'Who in the world can reach this state?" He chanted repeatedly, "If you don't do it beforehand, you will follow it... If you don't do it beforehand, you will follow it..." Suddenly With a helpless face, he said to the three of them, "I think Lu Bu's army is weakening, and he must be powerless to do harm. The city of Xiapi is hard to conquer, why don't you return to the court for the time being..." "My lord, you must not withdraw troops hastily." Xun You objected, "Lü Bu is courageous but has no plan. Now he has lost all three battles, and his vigor has weakened. The three armies are dominated by generals, and the army will not be motivated if the leader is weak. Husband Chen Gong is wise. It's too late, now that the distribution of qi has not recovered, the palace plan has not yet been decided, and if the princess withdraws the troops, it will be a disaster. Now Zhang Xiu and Yuan Shu are two thieves who are at the end of the road, and now they will leave Lu Bu. Although they are all extremely poor, three of them can become tigers!" Cao Cao naturally understood this simple military principle, but what he was afraid of now was that Yuan Shao would suddenly go south after conquering Yijing. If you leave, Xu Du will be in danger.Xun You had already penetrated his mind, twisted his beard with his hand and said, "I know what my lord is thinking, but in my opinion, it is not difficult to break the Pi." "Oh? What's the strategist's plan?" Xun You pointed under the bridge: "The way to defeat the enemy lies at our feet." Guo Jia was the first to react: "Drain water to fill the city." "Wonderful... There are two big rivers, Sishui and Yishui, no less than a hundred thousand soldiers." Cao Cao repeatedly patted his forehead, "Zihe, send an order quickly, and order the soldiers to dig the river and divert the canals, and flood the city of Picheng!" "No." Cao Chun replied under the bridge, and galloped away immediately. Seeing that Cao Cao had made a decision, Guo Jia hurriedly said, "Have you heard the good news from Xudu? Li Jue and Guo Si are finished!" Li Jue and his nephews, Li Ying, Li Bie, Li Xian and others in the same party; Guo Si escaped by chance, and was beheaded by his subordinate Wu Xi. "Yeah." Xun You nodded repeatedly, "The heads of those two thieves will be sent to Xudu in a short time. In addition, Duan Yan, who has done the most meritorious service this time, volunteered to come to the pilgrimage, so he can be surrendered to the generals in Guanzhong Good job!" Cao Cao was quite touched: "As long as you submit to the imperial court, why bother to compare pennies and bahts? I intend to send people to the seashore to lobby Zang Ba, Sun Guan, Wu Dun, Yin Li and other young and powerful figures to submit and let them still rule the old land. As long as they don't Create chaos, let them listen to the instructions and not listen to the propaganda!" This is an expedient measure, and Yuan Shao's biggest crisis is Yuan Shao, who only waits for Xiapi to be broken and prepares for Hebei quickly, but he has no time to care about an inch of ground with those local snakes. Xun You, Guo Jia, and Cheng Yu all understood, and said in unison: "Duke Ming is magnanimous!" Cao Cao turned around and looked to the north——Yuan Benchu, is your Yijing battle going well?I already have a plan to break the xiapi.I watched you change from a minister of the country to the overlord of Hebei, and a friend of twenty years has come to this step, it is sad!Pain too!Hate too!Although my military strength is far inferior to yours, I will be one step ahead!You have no less than 100,000 armored men in Hebei, and I am only 30,000 to 40,000 people... But behind me is the emperor, justice, and the people!I will rely on my justice to boost my morale, let's fight with your 100,000 troops!Let's see if you, the fourth generation and the third father, are powerful, or I, the eunuch and ugly man, are victorious!Old friend, I'm waiting for you...Cao Mengde stood majestically at the head of the Surabaya Bridge, and when the cold north wind came against him, he stood still with his sword hilt in his hand!