Chapter 74 Sanding

After Yang Xiu returned from Jiaozhou, he did not adopt the method suggested by Sun Shao. He felt that the method was too risky. Once he failed, Cao Zhi would certainly lose the possibility of competing for heirs, and his Yang family would also be unlucky. Therefore, he chose a relatively safe method and asked Cao Zhi to order Cao to march to the west and wait for the opportunity to make contributions. With credit and strength, even if the final struggle for the heir fails, at least he can keep his life and glory and wealth, so that he will not be dealt with by others as Sun Shao said, and he has no power to fight back.

Things were going smoothly. After Cao Zhi did paperwork beside Cao Wei for a period of time, Cao Hong was defeated by Zhang Fei, and the left army was not progressing well. At this time, Cao Zhi took the initiative to ask for support. Cao Wei didn't believe it at first, but he couldn't stand Cao Zhi's persistence, so he sent him there. In order to get ahead, Cao Zhi listened to Yang Xiu's advice and took a risk. He took 300 tigers assigned to him to climb the mountain and advanced more than 300 miles. He successfully cut off Zhang Fei's grain road and forced Zhang Fei to retreat to Langzhong to hold on.

This battle saved Cao's army's advantage, and also greatly raised Cao Zhi's position in Cao Jian's mind. Immediately after Cao Zhi sent out another strange army in an attempt to attack the Sword Pavilion. Unfortunately, this time, they were not very lucky. They got lost in the mountains and were found by Liu Bei's scouts. After a fight, Cao Zhi took only a dozen left. The individual returned to Langzhong. The danger along the way is self-evident. Cao Zhi was injured. After Cao Jian heard the report, he was surprised and happy. What surprised was that Cao Zhi was too adventurous and almost gave his last name. What he was happy was that his use of soldiers was as unconventional as writing articles, which was unexpected. Therefore, he ordered Cao Zhi to be the general of Pingnan Zhonglang and preside over the war of the left army. He should be serious and could not do such a dangerous thing again.

From this order, Cao Zhi felt his father's love and love for him. The pain he suffered was rewarded, and everything seemed to be very valuable. Therefore, he obeyed Yang Xiuyan, and he had a wonderful premonition about the war, but this premonition was very vague and needed to be supplemented by Yang Xiu through sophisticated analysis. The two complement each other and cooperate very well.

Now he has this premonition again, but Yang Xiu said that there may be something wrong with Xia Houyuan, the general of Zhengxi, not with him. He felt that it was a little incomprehensible.

Yang Xiu put away the pieces on the chess pieces one by one, and thought for a moment before saying, "Our army is the response. General Zhengxi is the main force. Zhang Fei is firmly guarding Langzhong. We basically have no possibility to move forward. Zhang Fei's pressure is not great. He doesn't need to send any strange soldiers. Just guard Langzhong City honestly. The general's army in the west was close to the deputy sword pavilion. He used troops boldly and had always been as anxious as thunder. This time, the soldiers and sword pavilion would definitely attack fiercely. Liu Bei did not dare to relax at all. Naturally, his brunt was to solve the general of Zhengxi. And..." Yang Xiu was silent for a moment: "General Zhengxi is probably a little angry this time."

Cao Zhi smiled, raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and was a little complacious. Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan are both cronies of Cao Pi. Xiahou Jun, the son of Xiahou Dun, and Xiahou, the son of Xiahou Yuan, are said to be Cao Pi's best friends. The Caos are probably the same. They all have a good relationship with Cao Pi and do not lean towards him. It was Yang Xiu who moved Cao Hong when he was able to go on an expedition this time. Cao Hong and Cao Pi had conflicts. For his own interests, he was willing to give Cao Zhi a chance. This time, Cao Hong was defeated by Zhang Fei, which was the opportunity given to him by Cao Hong. He seized this opportunity well and became a general of Pingnan in a short period of time, with nearly 10,000 people under his men. He, a partial army, suddenly emerged, but Xia Houyuan, as the main force, was unable to break through the Sword Pavilion for a long time, and some fire was inevitable.

If people are in a hurry, they will inevitably show their flaws. Yang Xiu said so, and there is also his reason.

"Shall we remind him?"

"Remind, but don't be too sure." Yang Xiu smiled and said, "Let's say it's the general's speculation. Believe it or not."

Cao Zhi's eyes turned and immediately understood Yang Xiu's meaning. He got up, sat in front of the bookcase, and worked hard to write a book. In a short time, a book was written. He handed it to Yang Xiu. Yang Xiu took a look and raised his thumb and praised: "The general is really Wen Siquan, and the words are very good. I think it's a word. It can't be changed."

Cao Zhi laughed: "Then Sun Fengxian may have written such an article?"

Yang Xiu shook his head: "He is a martial artist. How can he be compared with the general?"

Cao Zhi blew the ink and arranged someone to send it out immediately. Then he smiled and said to Yang Xiu, "What's the use of Wencai? A literati without military merit is worthless. Although Sun Fengxian is not as talented as me, how can I expect his military achievements? Brother Dezu, I didn't know how boring it was to be addicted to the article until today.

Yang Xiu grinned and didn't say anything. He thought of Kong Rong. Kong Rong was amazing. He learned well and wrote the article well. Unfortunately, in front of the butcher's knife, the knowledge and the article were useless, and he only came to the end of a clan. Cao Zhi is right. Without military merit and strength, no matter how good the literary talent is, it can only be used to express his own pain and cannot solve any practical problems.

... Xia Houyuan received an urgent letter from Cao Zhi. He took a look and disdained it. He didn't care about Cao Zhi's self-righteous behavior. You have only fought for a few days, and you dare to teach me how to do it.

Seeing that Xia Houyuan's face was wrong, Xia Hourong picked up the book and looked at it, and put it back on the case: "Father, I think what Zijian said makes sense."

Xia Hourong is the fifth son of Xia Houyuan. He is only 13 years old this year. He is a child prodigy. At the age of seven, he can be literary and has the ability to never forget. Cao Pi admired him very much. Once he was invited to a banquet. More than a hundred guests attended, and each of them had a name card, which was written about each person's township name, that is, the so-called Jue Li. Cao Pi asked Xia Hourong to take a look at it one by one, and then inquired. As a result, there was no mistake, and everyone was shocked. Xia Houyuan's sons are all talents, and Xia Hourong is the most popular. Xia Houyuan fights outside all year round, taking him by his side to relieve boredom. Now when he heard him say that, he rarely smiled, "Why do you say that?"

Xia Hourong looked at Xia Houyuan with big black and bright eyes, showing a sweet smile: "Father, Zijian, you can enter or retreat."

Xia Houyuan's eyes turned, and he understood what he meant. Cao Zhi reminded him that Liu Bei might send someone to sneak up. If this happened, and Xia Houyuan was not prepared, that was, Xia Houyuan would seek death by himself and did not listen to people's advice. If Xia Houyuan was prepared, it was also Cao Zhi's foresight to help Xia Houyuan get through a difficult time. If Liu Bei didn't send someone to attack, he would not be ashamed. It's always good to be careful in war, and it's not bad to be more careful.

"He is very attentive." Xia Houyuan curled his lips and smiled secretly.

"Does my father think this could happen?"

Xia Houyuan smiled faintly: "Of course it is possible, but Liu Bei is now guarding the Sword Pavilion, can he still draw out his strength to sneak up on me?"

"Sneak attacks don't need a lot of people." Xia Hourong shook his little head: "Zijian only used 300 people to cut off Zhang Fei's grain road. If he hadn't been familiar with the terrain, he might have succeeded in the sneak attack on the Sword Pavilion. Father, you have to be on guard."

Xia Houyuan rubbed his chin, nodded, turned his head and called Sima Guohuai, asking him to take 3,000 people to pick up the heavy team carrying grain.

"Father, wait for the credit for your son." Xia Hourong said with a smile, showing the unique childishness of this age.

"Are you sure he's right?"

"Do you have to work hard, right?" Xia Hourong nodded vigorously: "Father, Mr. Cao asked Zijian to make contributions. Haven't you seen his mind? These two wars have shown that Zi Jian has the ability to use soldiers. Even if he can't be a son, he will be a heavy general in the future. Now that he takes the initiative to show his goodwill, why do you have to refuse people thousands of miles away?

"Is this appropriate?"

"It's appropriate. You're just reporting according to the facts, and it's not virtual beauty. Don't worry about what the Cao Guild thinks." Xia Hourong said confidently, "As an important minister trusted by Cao Gong, my father should report the real situation to Cao Gong."

"You don't like Zihuan?"

"It's not whether I like it or not." Xia Hourong shook his head: "It's Cao Gong who doesn't like it. Otherwise, he should have set up an heir in the 16th year of Jian'an. Why wait until now?"

Xia Houyuan thought for a moment and nodded.

Two days later, Guo Huai sent back the news that he had received a heavy team more than a hundred miles away. The heavy team was besieged by Huang Zhong and Wei Yan. They were in danger. Fortunately, they arrived in time to save the grain and grass. Huang Zhong and Wei Yan returned without success. Xia Houyuan was shocked and glad that he was very happy. Without saying a word, he immediately reported the incident to Cao Shen and vigorously praised Cao Zhi's ability to make enemies like gods.

Cao Qian, who received the report, was overjoyed and sent someone to praise Cao Zhi, asked him to guard against arrogance and impatience, and continue to work hard. At the same time, he sent heavy troops to protect food and fodder to avoid being attacked by Liu Bei again.

The sneak attack failed, and Liu Bei was very depressed. He had to grit his teeth and stick to it, looking forward to the news from the East.

Three days later, Zhuge Liang sent Fei Hao to escort a batch of grain and fodder to the Sword Pavilion. Liu Bei urgently summoned Fei Cao: "How is the situation in Chengdu?"

"The situation is critical." Fei Hao said bluntly, "So far, all the grain stored in Yizhou has been shipped to the front line, and there will be no more grain before the autumn harvest."

Liu Bei's face sank: "This military grain is only enough for me to support for a month at most. There are still three months to the autumn harvest. Can't I drink the wind for the remaining two months?"

Fei bowed and saluted: "Master, there is really no food in Chengdu. The military master has used all the means to scrape the ground almost three feet. Not only food, but all the men who can be soldiers in Chengdu have been requisitioned, and there are no soldiers in Chengdu.

"There is no such reason." Liu Bei couldn't help it anymore. He was furious: "If you want soldiers, you don't have soldiers. If you want food, do you want me to surrender to Cao? Go back and say to Kong Ming..."

Fa Zheng coughed, and Liu Bei turned his head to look at him. Seeing that Fa Zheng benodding at him, he had to suppress his anger. Fa Zheng waved to Fei Hao. Fei Hao quickly walked to the front of Fa and bowed: "What's the general's order?"

"In the face of the current dilemma, what is Kong Ming's arrangement?"

Fei Hao took a look at the terminally ill Fa Zheng and sighed secretly. Zhuge Liang could not compare with the position in Liu Bei's mind. If he were here, it would be impossible to let Liu Bei calm down with a cough. Only when the law is right can we experience Zhuge Liang's good intentions. He leaned forward and said whether it was big or small.

"The military division said that there is a shortage of soldiers and food at present, but Cao Qian has also reached the end of the crossbow. Whoever can persist to the end is the final winner. Moreover, Cao's soldiers came out, and Xu County and Ye City were empty, and it was inevitable to change. Maybe the turning point was in front of us.

Fa Zheng nodded, and he knew all this. Is there a way to solve the matter of soldiers and food?

"There is no way for soldiers, but there is no way for food."

"What's the way?"

"Buy grain from Jiangdong."

Fa Zheng and Liu Bei looked at each other and felt a little unreliable. Although the food in Eastern Wu is not as tight as that in Yizhou, they do not have extra food to support Liu Bei. They are also preparing for the war. Although they are allies, they have cheated this ally many times. Sun Quan is willing to cooperate with him to send troops this time. It seems to be too much for him to consider himself and ask him for food again.

"It's okay." Liu Bei gritted his teeth and looked rogue: "If he doesn't sell it to me, I will defeat him, and he won't be good."

Fa Zheng smiled bitterly. Liu Bei played this shameless trick in a hurry, but you still have to see if Jiangdong has any food. He can't tighten his belt to support you.

"Does he have food?"

Fei Hao smiled and said, "There is food. The military division received the news that Sun Shao and Bu Qian paculated Jiaozhou last year and shipped a large amount of grain back from Jiaozhou. Not only did they start with all the leases last year, but the 30-year reserves of the Shi Xie brothers also became their trophy..."

Before Fei Hao finished his words, Liu Bei's eyes turned red: "Sun Quan's vertical hair!"

Fa Zheng also came to his spirit. He forced himself to sit up: "Master, Kong Ming's plan is feasible. It's okay to buy grain from Jiangdong or borrow grain, which can help us get through the difficulties. With food, the military heart will be stable, and we can stick to it for a longer time and wait for the change of the world.

Liu Bei touched his chin and said worriedly, "I'm afraid that Sun Quan will take the opportunity to bite me. As soon as I buy this grain, I'm afraid that all the money in Yizhou will go to Jiangdong."

Fa Zheng can't laugh or cry. When is it? Do you still want to bargain? I don't know whether they want to sell it or not. Seeing his strange expression, Liu Bei also felt that he thought too far from the topic, so he had to laugh dryly: "Since Xiaozhi thinks it's feasible, it's naturally feasible."

Fei Hao breathed a sigh of relief, took out a brocade box from his arms, and sent it to Liu Bei with both hands: "Master, this is a sharp weapon that the military master asked me to give to the Lord."

"A sharp weapon?" Liu Bei's eyes lit up. What he needs most now is sharp weapons, but how many sharp weapons can there be in a brocade box? He opened it and saw that there was a beautifully carved copper pipe inside. He looked at Fei Hao suspiciously, "What's the use of this?"

"Lord, please take a look." Fei Hao fiddled with the copper pipe, and then handed it to Liu Bei. Liu Bei took it over and looked at it doubtily, and immediately showed a look of surprise: "Good thing, it's really a good thing. Is this something made by the military division?"

"Exactly." Fei said with a smile.

"Hey hey, with this thing, we can expect the enemy prophet to take a lot of advantage." Liu Bei looked at it again and again. He couldn't put it down. Finally, he handed the copper pipe to Fa Zheng. Fa Zheng took a look and nodded repeatedly: "It's indeed a sharp weapon. Kong Ming is really clever and full of strange thoughts."

"Is this the only one?" Liu Bei looked up and down and seemed to suspect that he was still hiding on his body. Fei Hao smiled and said, "This is the first one. The military division is stepping up the supervision. It is estimated that ten more can be sent to the lord in a month."

"Good thing." Liu Bei rubbed his hand and was a little excited: "Go back and let him hurry up. He can arrive earlier and play a role one day earlier. In addition..." He thought for a moment and waved his hand: "As soon as the thing came out, he immediately sent one to Guan Yunchang and Zhang Yide, especially Guan Yunchang. With this thing, he may be smoother."

"Oh." Fei Hao nodded and yes.

... "Sitting." Sun Quan pointed to the opposite seat, motioned Sun Shao to sit down, and then looked at Sun Shao's face with a smile: "How's it going? How does it feel to go home?"

Sun Shao nodded with a smile: "Thank you for your concern. I'm fighting outside. What I miss most is the supreme family and homesickness. I really can't sleep at night. When I got home yesterday, I finally had a good sleep.

Sun Quan smiled, will you miss me? Only the ghost believes in you. You slept peacefully at home, but we were busy all night. I discussed your plan with Ziming and others, and I think this plan is very good. If it can be implemented smoothly, we can not only strongly support Liu Bei, but also expand our strength. But..." Sun Quan stopped talking and stared at Sun Shao: "It's very difficult here."

Sun Shao raised his eyelids and looked at Sun Quan, who wanted to speak, but did not speak. Sun Quan said that he just wanted to set a trap for him. He couldn't speak easily, otherwise he would definitely suffer.

Seeing that Sun Quan didn't say anything, he had to continue: "In addition to the Qingxu Water Division, Xiahou Dun's subordinates also had nearly 40,000 horses, including nearly 5,000 cavalry, and we only had more than 40,000 people, and there were no established cavalry. Even if you defeated the Qingxu Water Division, I'm afraid that once we went deep into the Jianghuai River, we would still be able to speed up. Win."

Sun Shao nodded, but still didn't say a word and listened to the following.

"Therefore, we feel that the most urgent thing at present is not Jianghuai, but Jingzhou. If Guan Yu can quickly defeat Cao Ren, he can go straight to Nanyang and go straight to Xu County. At that time, Cao Yan can only withdraw troops from Hanzhong to guard the capital.

"What does the supreme mean?" Sun Shao gradually heard a little meaning. Sun Quan still didn't want to take risks. He wanted Guan Yu to work first, and then see if he wanted to take action according to the situation. If Guan Yu wins, either Xiahou Dun retreats, then he can take advantage of the opportunity to take Jianghuai directly, or Cao Yan withdraws, then Liu Bei is also saved, the whole strategic task is completed, and Jiangdong has no loss. In case Guan Yu loses, what he wants is to give up Liu Bei directly, seize Jingzhou in front of Cao, and be ready to protect Jiangdong.

"I'm going to send Sun Gao to assist Guan Yu, but Sun Gao and Guan Yu have been facing each other for many years, and I'm afraid they can't trust each other. Therefore, I hope you can go to Jingzhou to assist Guan Yu in the battle.

Sun Shao thought for a time: "Is this for me to go to more than 10,000 sailors? Is there anyone else to cooperate with?

Sun Quan shook his head: "The Aurora sailors can't go all. I still need you to keep a part to help me guard the river. During this period of time, the generals have lost a lot of ships, and it is not difficult for them to defend the river alone." He smiled and said, "Don't worry, I have arranged another trustworthy person to cooperate with you in Jingzhou. One is Zhou Xun, and the other is Sun Huan, how about it?

Sun Shao smiled and said that Sun Quan was really well-intentioned. On the one hand, he divided the Aurora sailor into two, and on the other hand, he mixed himself with sand. Zhou Xun is his prospective son-in-law, and Sun Huan is the lieutenant of Wuwei beside him, who are all his direct concubines. However, these two people have something to do with themselves. Zhou Xun is his cousin. Sun Huan's father, Sun He, is the uncle of his brother Sun Shao. Sun Huan and Sun Shao are brothers, that is, their own subordinate brothers. If they do not accept the two of them, they will offend the Sun clan and the Zhou family, which makes people feel that he is selfish and ignores family. In this era of extreme clan concept, ignoring family affection is a very serious crime.

However, is it that easy to make sand in the Aurora Mariner? Sun Shao smiled faintly: "It's all up to the supreme arrangement."

(to be continued)