Chapter 476 Cai Xi Meeting
Cai Mao even held the power of the Xiangyang Navy. Even Zhang Yun, who was sent to check and balance him, was unknowingly attracted by him and became his wings.
As the lord of Jingzhou, Liu Biao often had to take into account the Cai family's ideas when he acted. Faced with Cai Mao's growing power, he could only turn a blind eye.
Cai Mao and Cao Cao met in their youth. The two have been dating for many years. They know each other's roots and deep friendship.
Cai Mao knew Cao Cao's talent well, and knew that he was extremely intelligent, had the world in mind and had a great ambition, which was beyond the reach of ordinary people. However, Cao Cao had a strong personality, decisive behavior, and was suspicious and jealous by nature, and could not tolerate any sand in his eyes.
Cai Mao knew very well that with Cao Cao's personality, in order to realize his ideals and great cause, he would never tolerate the Cai family continuing to be so powerful in Jingzhou.
If Cai Mao was asked to choose between Liu Biao and Cao Cao, Cai Mao would choose Liu Biao without any hesitation. It’s a pity that Liu Biao is old now and Jingzhou has suffered heavy losses again, so it is really not enough to rely on. Between Cao Cao and Liu Feng, Cai Mao would definitely choose Cao Cao.
Although Liu Feng is not as suspicious as Cao Cao, he is strong by nature and has the style of ancestors. His suppression and restrictions on aristocratic families are more than Cao Cao. His methods are a bit smooth and secret, and they are not easily observed.
"What if...?"
Ms. Cai sat aside, holding the handkerchief in her hand unconsciously tightened, with a hint of unconcealed worry in her voice: "Was the old man unable to do it?"
She bit her lower lip, her face full of anxiety, and a hint of panic appeared in her eyes.
A trace of anger flashed across Cai Mao's face, and he snorted coldly, saying in a deep voice: "Even if my brother-in-law fails to do it, then Meng De must have known that if he wants to be peaceful and peaceful on the ground in Xiangyang, he can only help me, the Cai family, not Han Degao, Deng Zixiao, Fu Gongti."
Cai Mao's words were loud and loud, with an unquestionable confidence, which was also the confidence brought by the unbreakable position of the Cai family in Jingzhou. "What does this mean?" Mrs. Cai asked in surprise, her eyes full of curiosity, and her body unconsciously got closer, as if she was afraid of missing every word Cai Mao said next.
Cai Mao glanced at his sister and explained patiently: "Now Fu Xun and Han Song who went to Luozhong are very close to each other. Deng Yi is simply Han Song's person, and everything he has to do with Meng De and the court is in their hands. Now that he surrenders, his first merit is Han Song's, and this merit will be recorded in the names of Deng Yi and Fu Xun. What kind of me can I do? A defeated general, lost his army, lost his territory, and what face does he have to compete for me with them?"
After saying that, he leaned on the back of the chair, with a little helplessness, annoyance and reluctance in his expression.
Recalling the crushing defeat in Zhouling, he almost lost all his capital. If it weren't for this, he should have been the one who presided over the overall situation at this time, so how could it be Han Song and the others who took the lead? This made Cai Mao feel unwilling.
Sometimes ago, Han Song stood up and handed over the military power in the city to his command. Cai Mao was really grateful to him. But after thinking about it carefully, Han Song was also helpless. None of the people on his side had ever led the troops and did not hand them over to him. I am afraid that Xiangyang City will be in chaos immediately. On the contrary, the other party issued orders in the hall to maintain the situation. In contrast, his disbelief was undoubtedly revealed, which made Cai Mao feel very uncomfortable.
"Stern brother, you think carefully."
Mrs. Cai nodded in agreement at first, but then her brows frowned again, her eyes full of worry, but she said worriedly: "It's just that if you do this, what should you do if you anger the general?"
"Sister, you are relieved."
Cai Mao smiled, with a confident look on his face: "I have been with Meng De for many years. He is very resourceful and good at governing, and meticulous. I think I'm thinking of me This little thought cannot be hidden from him."
Mrs. Cai was shocked, her face was filled with panic, and her voice trembled slightly, "What should I do?"
Cai Mao laughed out loud, and a proud look on his face: "Sister has gone where I think, when will I hide my thoughts? Isn't Meng De guessing what I think is exactly my purpose?"
His laughter echoed in the room with a kind of confidence that he was determined to win.
"At that time, even if Meng De would not give up Han Song and others, he would definitely give our Cai family a reasonable reward."
Cai Mao said with some sensation: "And brother, I just want all that."
At the same time speaking, Cai Mao raised his head slightly, his eyes flashing with a shrewd light, as if he had already seen the future wealth and glory of the Cai family.
Mrs. Cai then turned into surprise and praised, "My brother is really a hero in Jingzhou."
**
The next day, amid the eager waiting of many parties, Cai Mao finally appeared and met Xi Lu on behalf of Liu Biao.
Xi Lu, as a dignified court angel, carries an important mission and is also the target of help that Jingzhou is looking forward to. However, he did not show any arrogance because of his special identity. On the contrary, from the moment he stepped into the meeting hall, he showed low-key and humility, especially when facing Cai Mao, a key figure in Jingzhou, he was even more courteous.
Unfortunately, Cai Mao did not know how cruel and cruel Xi Lu was when he was a cruel official in the original time and space. If he had any understanding, he would have been full of vigilance at this moment, and he suspected that the other party had hidden some ulterior motives.
Xi Lu took the lead in action. He bent forward slightly, with the right range of movement, which not only showed the respect he deserved to be Cai Mao, but also did not lose his identity and demeanor as an envoy of the court.
Then, he spoke slowly, his voice calmly and gentle: "Before going south, I was fortunate to receive a letter from Cao Gong. In the letter, Cao Gong mentioned the deep friendship with Cai many times. His words were filled with nostalgia and attachment to that period of time, and he was even more impressed and praised him. Unfortunately, today's turbulent and chaotic situation made Cao Gong never have the opportunity to drink and have a long talk with Cai Gong and have a long talk all night. Now, my subordinates are ordered to visit Jingzhou. After Cao Gong learned about it, he specially wrote a letter, asking him to ask him to say hello to him on his behalf."
After that, Xi Lu sent a letter written by Cao Cao at the same time.
Cai Mao opened the letter and saw that it was Cao Cao's handwriting, and he felt better. Cao Cao did not record any secrets in his letter, but just greeted Cai Mao in accordance with the rules and brought up several interesting past stories, which resonated with Cai Mao.
But at the end of the letter, Cao Cao persuaded him, hoping that Cai Mao could stand on the side of surrendering to the court, and hinted that he would never treat the other party unfairly.
After reading the letter, Cai Mao couldn't help but feel a surge of joy in his heart.
I didn't expect that Cao Cao is now in a high position and is famous all over the world, but he still values his past friendship so much. Thinking of Cao Cao's current status and fame, he still attaches so much importance to himself. How could he not feel a little proud and even feel a little complacent?
Han Song and others in the hall changed slightly after hearing Xi Lu's words. Obviously, they had never expected that Cao Cao and Cai Mao had such a deep old friendship, and they did not expect that Cao Cao would cherish this friendship so much.
Although Cai Mao was happy, he still had to look humble and polite on the surface. He lowered his head slightly and said in a slight tone: "I am really ashamed of thanks to Mr. Cao's love."
Next, Xi Lu and Cai Mao went back and forth, and were polite to each other for several rounds. Every response shows the courtesy and sleekness of the officialdom. With these greetings, the originally slightly restrained atmosphere in the hall gradually became relaxed and harmonious.
Seeing this, Han Song and others communicated with each other with eyes, without saying too much. They were thinking quickly in their minds. Faced with this new situation, how should they adjust their attitude towards Cai Mao and their response strategies.
After being polite, Xi Lu knew that the time had come, so he quietly brought the topic to the right track: "Dare you ask Mr. Cai, what is the situation in Xiangnan now?"
Cai Mao's face changed slightly when he heard this question, and the smile that had just hung on his face suddenly closed. He hesitated for a moment, and a hint of embarrassment appeared in his expression. He slowly said, "The Yangzhou Army's military is very sharp and has now advanced to a hundred miles south of Xiangnan. However, our Xiangyang military and civilians are united and united, and have successfully blocked them at the Yishui line."
The newest ⊥小⊥小小⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利⊥利�
Yi River, as one of the important tributaries of the Han River, has a unique origin. It actually comes from Jingshan, and has two sources. These two sources gather together fifty miles upstream of Yicheng, thus forming Yishui. Afterwards, the Yi River rushes all the way through Yicheng, and finally merges into the Han River downstream of the country.
Now, the Zheng Kingdom has been captured by Liu Feng, and the entire front is distributed in Yicheng, Zhongxiang, Qi Kingdom, Shanghong and Hannan. Among these places, except for Zhongxiang, which is located in the lower reaches of the country, other cities are located in the upper reaches of the country. This is also the reason why Cai Mao would say that the front line is currently stalemate on Yishui.
Once this Yishui defense line is broken by the Yangzhou army, there will be only the last line of defense left in the south of Xiangyang, namely Zhonglu and Liqiu. However, these two cities cannot completely effectively cover Xiangyang, and can only play a role in dispersing the forces of the Yangzhou army, forcing them to divide their troops while advancing Xiangyang.
Even so, Cai Mao had already made a countermeasure. He reinforced 2,000 troops to the two cities of Zhonglu and Liqiu, causing the number of defenders in these two cities to exceed 5,000 in one fell swoop.
Although this strategy weakens the garrison power of Xiangyang City to a certain extent, it is actually quite cost-effective if you think about it carefully. After all, as long as these two cities are still tenaciously sticking to each other, they can at least restrain the Yangzhou army several times. In this way, the Yangzhou army can be at least weakened by 10,000 or 20,000 troops under the city of Xiangyang.
After receiving reinforcements from Zhangling's reinforcements and several defenders in northern Xiangyang, Cai Mao now has more than 20,000 troops available for allocation. The increase in troops also made him more bold and decisive in his actions.
After answering Xi Lu's question, Cai Mao also asked back: "Dare to ask the angel, I wonder when the reinforcements from the court will arrive in Xiangyang?"
Xi Lu heard that he showed a pretentious expression on his face and said slowly: "The first batch of reinforcements from the court have set off from Wuguan and moved south quickly along Danshui. Haven't they arrived in Xiangyang yet?"
The reinforcements that Xi Lu mentioned were exactly the Xiliang soldiers led by Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu. They suddenly moved south from Wuguan, and this action really shocked all forces in the entire Nanyang Basin.
Fortunately, Zhang Ji took out the documents signed by Cao Cao himself in the general's seal, which avoided the possible conflict between the two sides and did not make the situation uncontrollable.
But even so, Zhang Ji and his team's march were not smooth.
When I first entered Nanyang, I saw a dilapidated scene along the way. Danshui, Nanxiang and Shunyang counties have all been reduced to ruins, and the murderer who caused all this was Zhang Ji and the Western Liang army warriors.
After crossing this unmanned land of more than 100 miles, Zhang Ji arrived at the foot of the city of Qing County.
From here, Zhang Ji's marching speed was forced to slow down, and he was even blocked by local defenders, forbidding them to continue moving forward.
With Zhang Xiu's hot temper, he almost broke up with the Nanyang defenders and started a war directly. Fortunately, at the critical moment, Jia Xu was still mediating from it. In addition, they had the status of the imperial court as a supporter, and finally successfully persuaded the Nanyang County Army to open up the roads and also supplemented them with some food, fodder and supplies.
In the days when Xi Lu arrived in Xiangyang, Zhang Ji's troops had also arrived outside Zhuyang City and set up camp here.
When Cai Mao heard that it was Zhang Ji's troops coming to help, he immediately showed an unhappy expression on his face, and said with obvious dissatisfaction in his tone: "The martial arts of Xiliang have always been traitors, and Zhang Ji's troops have invaded our Nanyang County many times and formed a bloody feud with our Jingzhou. If you send them as reinforcements, we will really not be blessed to suffer."
Xi Lu listened quietly to Cai Mao's speech, with a focused and serious expression. He knew in his heart that he was carrying many important tasks this time, one of which was to convince the scholars and people of Jingzhou to accept the help of Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu.
To the minimum, we must also achieve the goal of allowing Zhang Ji to station troops in Zhuyang and obtain sufficient supplies. If we can go further and allow Jingzhou to allow Zhang Ji's troops to be stationed in Zhuyang City, it would be better.
As for letting Zhang Ji's troops go directly to Xiangyang, even if Cao Cao himself came in person, he would probably not dare to have such an idea easily.
"Mr. Cai is such a bad word!"
As soon as Cai Mao finished speaking, Xi Lu immediately retorted: "Zhang Zhendong was originally a high-ranking general of the court. When the emperor returned to the east, Zhendong also personally led a large army to Hongnong to serve the king, and also presented precious food to solve the emperor's urgent need. Later, Li Jue and Guo Si launched a mutiny, and Zhendong had already left Hongnong and returned to the mall. How could there be any traitors and traitors?"
(This chapter ends)