Chapter 477: Consensus reached
What Xi Lu said is indeed true. When Zhang Ji first joined the King of Hongnong, the batch of precious food he presented truly helped the emperor to survive the most difficult time.
If it weren't for his kindness, it was still unknown whether the emperor's car could support Duan Wei.
Overall, the emperor's attitude towards Zhang Ji was relatively tolerant compared to Li Jue and Guo Si, and he was a tolerant martial artist of Xiliang. This is also why after Cao Cao entered Guanzhong, he drove Li Jue and Guo Si to death without mercy, but he kept allowing Zhang Ji to stay in the mall and never took action against him.
Cao Cao has now gradually realized the disadvantages of his own power lacking population, and Zhang Ji's troops have nearly 20,000 people, most of whom are young and middle-aged. As long as this force can be included in his own command, it is equivalent to an additional military service that can be drawn out of a population of 200,000 for no reason. This is undoubtedly a powerful boost to Cao Cao's power development.
Then, Xi Lu saw Cai Mao's face hesitation and knew that the time for persuasion had come, so he continued to persuade him: "King Cai is now taking charge of the situation in Xiangyang, and the Yangzhou army is at the city, and the situation is critical. At this critical moment of life and death, should you still stick to the grudges of the past and ignore the overall situation in front of you?"
"This..." Cai Mao showed a hesitant look on his face when he heard this. It is naturally unpleasant to be scolded in person by people using big principles.
In the end, Cai Mao sighed and expressed his true thoughts: "The angels don't know that all the martial artists of Xiliang who were under Zhang Ji's troops were brutal and liked to kill. All the counties and towns in the northwest of Nanyang left their blood debts. Now the general sent them to aid Jingzhou. What if these people took the opportunity to attack after entering the city and did something wrong?"
Xi Lu stood in the hall, his brows slightly frowned, and his expression was a bit solemn. He knew very well that this dispatch of troops was of great significance and could affect his whole body with one blow.
The eyes of General Cao Cao were hanging high above Xiangyang's head at this moment, always watching the development of the situation here. Behind Zhang Ji, there was an elite Cao army, like a sharp dagger that was pressed against his back waist. As long as there was a slight movement, it could immediately give a fatal blow.
Once Zhang Ji dared to play something, Cao's army and Liu Biao's army would instantly close together and tie him tightly in the middle. Their destruction would be nothing more than a blink of an eye.
Don't underestimate Liu Biaojun.
Although on the surface, the Yangzhou army was pressing against him as if he was under the pressure of Mount Tai, it does not mean that Liu Biao's army had no power to fight back against Zhang Ji. The Nanyang counties alone closed their city gates, held their doors, and cut off the supply of food and grass from Zhang Ji's troops, which was enough to force him into a desperate situation.
After all, although the Xiliang Army performed well in the field, siege was their shortcomings, which is already well known in the world. Otherwise, Zhang Ji led more than 10,000 veteran soldiers who had experienced hundreds of battles to attack Nanyang County repeatedly, but it was difficult to conquer even a small county?
In the past few years, Zhang Ji invaded Nanyang several times, but most of the time he could only take advantage of the autumn harvest season to plunder some food outside the city or attack some small forts to barely make a living.
Based on this, Cao Cao was naturally fearless and was not worried that Zhang Jihui would rebel at all. However, Cai Mao and the senior executives in Xiangyang had completely different ideas. After all, once Zhang Ji really turns against each other, they will be the ones who suffer the first loss.
Xi Lu was willing to guarantee Zhang Ji, but Cai Mao and the people in Xiangyang might not believe it.
Just when the two sides were in a stalemate, Han Song stood up and broke the deadlock: "General, now it's time to use people, and there is a general coming forward to protect him. Why don't you believe Zhang Ji this time? "
After saying that, he turned to Xi Lu, and continued, "The angel shows that the habits of the martial artists in Liangzhou are like barbarians, both cunning and treacherous. Since Zhang Zhendong is here to help me Jingzhou this time, it's better to limit him to only garrison in Zhuyang. In this way, he can use his troops and be prevented."
Xi Lu secretly applauded in his heart and immediately agreed: "What the other driver said is very true, and Wu also thinks this plan is feasible."
Cai Mao's eyes swept back and forth over Han Song and Xi Lu, thinking in his heart.
With Zhang Ji's 20,000 troops stationed in Zhuyang, and Cao's army was a supporter, if he had been in a place, if he was Liu Feng, he might not have dared to siege Xiangyang easily.
Thinking of this, Cai Mao finally made up his mind and nodded and agreed, "Since the virtues are also protecting Zhang Ji, what else can I say? However, ugly words are ahead. If Zhang Ji and others really dare to do anything evil in my Jingzhou, I will definitely pay his blood debts and blood!"
Han Song's face turned dark when he heard this.
He just wanted to save Xi Lu and Cao Cao and leave a favor, but he didn't expect that Cai Mao was so insidious that he tied himself and Zhang Ji tightly together with his backhand.
According to Cai Mao, since he was protecting Zhang Ji, if the army of Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu does any evil deeds, the first person to be implicated is himself. On the contrary, Cai Mao looked like a generous and tolerant person. What's more terrible is that Nanyang is his hometown. At that time, he will become an embarrassing situation where he is not a human inside or outside.
Han Song was secretly angry, but he did not fight back immediately. He took a deep breath, suppressed the dissatisfaction in his heart, nodded, and reminded Xi Lu as Cai Mao said: "General Cai is very much. Please ask the angels to remind Zhendong to restrain his troops and purify military discipline. Don't cause trouble on the ground of Jingzhou."
When things turned around, Xi Lu finally fell into the ground. He was full of joy and had completed this extremely important task and was in a good mood. After hearing Han Song's words, he immediately responded with ease: "Don't worry, I will write a letter to the general for this matter and submit it to the general, begging him to strictly restrain Zhang Ji's troops and ensure that everything is foolproof."
After the consensus has been reached, the follow-up matters are progressing extremely quickly.
In the afternoon of the same day, Cai Mao took out the seal instead of Liu Biao, ordered Zhuyang City to be liberated and Zhang Ji was allowed to lead his army to settle in.
Zhuyang City is not large in scale and can accommodate 20,000 people.
So, Zhang Ji led his personal soldiers and the personal guard camp to the city to station, while Zhang Xiu led his main force to camp outside the city, forming a horn-like momentum with the city, echoing each other, and having both offense and defense.
At the same time, Xiangyang also took action quickly.
The fleet was allocated from Xiangyang, loaded with various materials such as weapons, food and grass, and sailed towards Zhuyang in a mighty manner.
Now the city of Xiangyang is extremely well stocked, and the only shortage is the soldiers. Therefore, in terms of the supply of military ordnance, the people in Xiangyang took great care of it, and they also had the intention of appeaseing and pleasing Zhang Ji. They hoped that Zhang Ji could effectively restrain his subordinates and not harm Zhuyang. I also hope that the other party can do their best in the next battle and put more efforts into Jingzhou.
In addition, Cai Mao signed another official document allowing Cao's army to enter Wanxian and Rangcheng.
These two cities are both located in Nanyang County and are extremely important transportation centers. Needless to say, Wan County was the seat of Nanyang County during most of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Its prosperity was comparable to Luoyang and it was the number one county in the world.
Rangcheng is also not to be underestimated. It is located on the turbulent water, surrounded by vast plains, the land is fertile and oily, and four rivers are surrounded by double-handed, making it a fertile land. It’s just a pity that this is also the place where Zhang Ji was shot by a wandering arrow in the original time and space, and eventually died of serious injuries. Now there are 20,000 Zhang Ji's troops along Zhuyang. If Cao's army comes out of Wuguan, it will be inappropriate to take this path.
At that time, choosing the Rangcheng and Wancheng lines will undoubtedly be the best marching route.
From here, you can reach Xinye, just over a hundred miles away from Xiangyang. Moreover, this route is located on the right side of Xiangyang, echoing Zhang Ji's troops. Once a war breaks out, it can support each other and form a strong military synergy.
**
The various events that happened in Xiangyang City were still like fog at this moment and were not known to Liu Feng. However, this did not affect the burning anger in Liu Feng's heart at all.
The reason is that Xi Lu has left Xiangyang and is rushing towards Zhengguocheng.
Xi Lu had successfully completed his most important task when he was in Xiangyang. His next destination is the Junguo City where Liu Feng is located. This time he visited Liu Feng, caring about another task assigned by Cao Cao, which was to persuade Liu Feng to accept the request for a full-scale ceasefire.
Before leaving, Cao Cao had an in-depth conversation with Xi Lu through letters. In the letter, Cao Cao revealed many secret things to Xi Lu that he had never known before.
At first, Xi Lu thought that Cao Cao's request to persuade Liu Feng to cease fire was like a daydream. After all, under such a situation, who would easily stop the army?
However, after learning about the secrets from Cao Cao, Xi Lu instantly understood why Cao Cao was so sure and why he had the confidence to make such a request.
Xiangyang is only more than 100 miles away from the country of Zheng, and the waterways are unobstructed, making navigation very convenient. After only five days, Xi Lu successfully arrived at the port of Zhengguo.
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Liu Feng learned of Xi Lu's visit because the other party encountered the troops led by Gan Ning on the waterway.
When Xi Lu revealed his identity and purpose, Gan Ning knew that the matter was serious and did not dare to neglect anything. He immediately sent two hundred guards to follow Xi Lu closely, slowing down all the way to escort him to the country of Zheng. At the same time, Gan Ning also specially sent a clutch to head south as quickly as possible, and arrived at Zhengguo Port before Xi Lu to inform Liu Feng.
It was not until this time that Liu Feng finally learned about Xi Lu's visit.
Although Liu Feng was furious, he did not blame the department responsible for the detailed intelligence work.
After all, the situation on the front line of Xiangyang is now extremely tense. The city gate of Xiangyang is closed, and only one city gate is opened every day, and it is to allow the people to go out to collect firewood and pick up firewood to maintain basic living needs.
Under such circumstances, it is difficult for the scouts and meticulous workers in Yangzhou to get into the city. The meticulous works lurking in the city also face many difficulties in passing the message. More importantly, many rivers in the north, such as Danshui, Mianshui, Tuoshui, Jingshui, Bishui, etc., gathered into a vast main stream under Xiangyang City - Hanshui.
In this way, even if there is any information in Xiangyang City, it will be difficult to transmit it through water. You must first send someone to walk dozens of miles and take the information out of a certain range before you can send it to the rear via water.
It is precisely because of these complex reasons that the intelligence collection capabilities of the Yangzhou Army have dropped sharply. Even the Yangzhou army failed to grasp the movements of Cao Cao, Zhang Ji, Xi Lu and others in the north in time. Especially Xi Lu, he was almost at the sight before he was discovered. "Lord, in my opinion, we may not be able to enter Xiangyang City for the time being." There are naturally very few people who dare to talk to Liu Feng so bluntly. Apart from Liu Feng's father Liu Bei, as well as several uncles such as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and Taishi Ci, only Zhuge Liang has such courage and qualifications. Even Lu Xun and Pang Tong were still slightly inferior when talking to Liu Feng.
After hearing this, Liu Feng couldn't help but sigh, how could he not understand the truth?
In fact, if you really want to attack forcibly, Liu Feng is not completely without a chance. Not to mention anything else, the Destroyed Front Army under his command has been raising energy for a long time, with high morale and explosive combat power.
If the Defeat Army is released at this time, it will definitely gain the upper hand against any enemy army. The Wanlan Army is then responsible for restraining the enemy forces, so that the remaining troops can gather at least 30,000 to 40,000 people and launch a siege on Xiangyang City.
However, many things cannot be just looking at the situation in front of you, but also need to fully consider the consequences.
Liu Feng knew very well that as long as he refused to give in, Cao Cao would never make any concessions. By then, a full-scale war would inevitably break out between Cao and Liu, and the Nanyang Basin was the first to be baptized by the war.
Liu Feng was not afraid of confronting Cao Cao head-on.
Now that I and my father are strong and their total troops are almost catching up with Yuan Shao, so naturally they will not be afraid of Cao Cao, who has less than 100,000 troops. However, although Liu Feng had the chance to defeat Cao Cao, he was not sure that he could completely eliminate Cao Cao.
Once it only hurt Cao Cao hard but failed to completely defeat him, but instead forced Cao Cao to Yuan Shao's side, the next situation would become extremely bad.
At the same time, there is another crucial factor to be considered.
Liu Feng still has a lot of areas for expansion in his hands. For example, Jiangxia County and Nan County, which have just been included in the army, and a small part of Xiangyang County, these newly occupied territories require time to digest and consolidate.
In addition to these newly acquired territories, there are four counties in Jingnan and seven counties in Jiaozhi, which are all potential incremental areas. Before these incremental areas were fully digested and absorbed, it was too irrational to have a full fire with Cao Cao because a semi-remnant Nanyang County had a full fire.
The most important thing is to calculate the time. It is August 199 AD.
(This chapter ends)