Wenpin and Hua Xiong were still left to garrison Lushan. After Cao's army began to retreat, Long Fei also led the army and set off back to Wancheng. Everything seemed calm, but just as the army reached the city gate, a fast horse suddenly rushed in front of the army.
The way was blocked. The knight on the horse staggered and fell off the horse. Zhang Xiu hurriedly stopped the soldiers, took the horse, and sent someone to check.
This man did not have any injuries. He probably fainted from overwork. Zhang Xiu shook his head and was about to ask someone to carry the man aside so as not to block the path of the army, but the man woke up, his eyes opened slightly, and they were dry and cracked.
His lips moved: "General, I want to see the lord!"
Zhang Xiu was stunned. Hearing that the man sounded like he was one of his own, and he called him Lord Long Fei, he must have been following him for a long time. Zhang Xiu immediately jumped off his horse and stepped forward to ask carefully. As soon as he asked a question, the man fainted again.
When the man woke up, Long Fei was in front of him. The man opened his mouth: "My lord! My lord! Save General Xu Chu!"
"
Xu Chu and Chen Dao were sent to Dongjun by Long Fei, firstly to disrupt Cao Cao's base camp, and secondly to avenge Xu Chu. Ten people dressed up as businessmen and entered the territory of Yanzhou. Chen Dao used his identity as Hei Bing to travel to Yanzhou along the way.
He kept asking about the situation in Dongjun. After Cao Cao sent troops, he left Cheng Yu and Cao Hong to guard the rear. Cheng Yu was busy raising food and grass for Cao Cao every day, but Cao Hong was happy and free.
Cao Hong and Cao Cao both have the surname Cao, but they are not of the same lineage as Cao Cao. Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, was originally the son of the Xiahou family. Later, he adopted Cao Teng, one of the ten permanent servants, and changed his surname to Cao. He and Cao Hong's father became brothers. Cao Hong followed his uncle when he was young.
Cao Ding went to Wu Commandery. Cao Ding served as the prefect of Wu Commandery, and he could be said to be a free local emperor. Cao Hong had been idle since he was a child, a guy who specialized in causing trouble. When he came to Cao Cao's subordinates, he was still like that. Relying on his relationship with Cao Cao, he did not
No one except the Xiahou family and the Cao family took it seriously. The battle ahead was fierce, and Cao Hong led a group of clan members to hunt and fish all day long, completely ignoring the crisis in Yanzhou.
Cheng Yu wanted to say something, but after thinking about it, he didn't. Firstly, no one could control him when Cao Cao was gone, and secondly, he was a relative of the Cao family, and he, as an outsider, was suspected of sowing discord. He could only blame everything on himself.
Try your best to provide logistical support for Cao Cao's war.
At noon that day, Cao Hong was carried back. Cheng Yu hurried to Cao Hong's home. More than a dozen doctors were treating Cao Hong's injuries. The children of the Cao family kneeling outside the door were also injured, covered with dust, and
The clothes were in tatters, obviously from a hard fight.
Cheng Yu's eyes widened: "What's going on? What kind of beast is it, so powerful?"
No one spoke. A doctor came out of the room. The Cao family members hurriedly gathered around him. The doctor sighed and shook his head repeatedly. Many of the female relatives stood aside and started crying. Cao Xiu grabbed the doctor's collar and said, "Say! I
What happened to my brother?"
"Don't worry, General. General Cao's life is fine! It's just..."
Cao Xiu pulled out the short knife with a choked sound and put it on the doctor's neck: "***, if you have something to say, please tell me quickly. What is it?"
The doctor broke into a cold sweat and kept saying: "It's just that the injury was too serious and the head was hit hard. I don't know when I will wake up!"
Cao Xiu's eyes widened: "I think you haven't been treated properly. Get back here quickly. If my brother doesn't wake up, all of you will die!"
According to people who went out together, when they were hunting in Dongshan, a dozen masked men in black suddenly rushed out. One of them seemed to be very familiar with Cao Hong. He called Cao Hong's name and immediately attacked.
They were highly skilled in martial arts and were masters of fighting. The ten personal guards responsible for protecting Cao Hong were eliminated in an instant, and several Cao family members were also killed. Because they called for help in time, the troops and horses from both sides hurriedly arrived, and the group was killed.
They forced him to retreat. However, Cao Hong had already been slashed with a knife, hit in the chest, and kicked in the head before he passed out.
"Men in black?" Cheng Yu immediately asked, "Do you know them?"
Everyone shook their heads. Cao Xiu said coldly: "Sir, give me five hundred soldiers. I will go out of the city to search for them. I must catch them to avenge my brother. If they dare to come to Yanzhou to cause trouble, I think they don't want to live anymore!"
Cheng Yu said: "Major General, please be patient. We haven't figured out the identity of the people coming. Where can we find them? What clues can these men in black leave behind?"
A boy said: "They didn't speak, and they moved so fast that there was no time to observe! But these people's weapons are very complicated, they don't look like soldiers!"
"If they're not soldiers, they're bandits!" Cao Xiu said: "There are such powerful bandits near Dongjun, and they dare to attack my brother. I think they are tired of living! Brothers, go and destroy them!"
Cheng Yu hurriedly stopped him: "Everyone, wait a minute! After my lord took control of Dongjun, he had already sent people to exterminate the nearby bandits. Besides, there are no such strong bandits. General Cao's personal guards are all dead soldiers, and just a few bandits can do it."
It is completely unreasonable that it can be easily eliminated! This matter is not that simple!"
"Then you can't just sit here! Maybe they have run away!" Cao Xiu was furious and wanted to attack Cheng Yu.
Cao Zhen [note] hurriedly hugged Cao Xiu: "Brother, listen to what you have to say!"
Cheng Yu looked at these young children of the Cao family and thought for a moment: "Let's do this! You guys immediately let out the news and say that General Cao is fine! If my guess is correct, there must be something big between those people and General Cao.
Hatred, if nothing happens to the general, they will definitely come to seek revenge and kill him in one fell swoop!"
Cao Zhen nodded: "What a great plan, sir!" He glanced at Cao Xiu and said, "Brother! Just listen to sir, and you will definitely avenge Brother Hong!"
Xu Chu was a little angry, and he stabbed Guan Bao again to kill Cao Hong. But the soldiers arrived, and Chen Daofei insisted on pulling him away quickly. If he was given a little more time, he would be avenged. He lost this
If this opportunity comes, Cao Hong will definitely never come out again, and he doesn't know when he will wait until his next revenge. Xu Chu punched the pillar, and the inn house shook a little, and fine dust fell from the roof.
Chen Dao frowned and came in from the door. Xu Chu snorted coldly, turned around and sat on his seat. Chen Dao entered the room, poured a glass of water for himself, took a sip, shook his head and sighed. Xu Chu asked angrily
Said: "Hmph! If it weren't for you, I could have killed that Cao Hong, and I wouldn't be unable to leave now!"
"Impossible!" Chen Dao was confused: "I saw you stabbing Cao Hong, but you said it was nothing serious! Could it be..."
"Do you doubt my swordsmanship?" Xu Chu stood up in a loud voice: "If you take one stab from me, you won't die, but for a guy like Cao Hong, it's best not to die and let him lie on the couch for the rest of his life!"
Chen Dao shook his head repeatedly: "I believe in your sword skills, but all the news says that Cao Hong is fine and will recover soon. If Cao Hong is fine, Dongjun will naturally not be in chaos, and the master's mission on our behalf will not be completed."
, No, I’m going to explore the reality tonight.”
"I'll go too! If Cao Hong isn't dead, I can just make up for it!"
Because of the assassination of Cao Hong, Dongjun City became tense. At night, every house closed its doors and windows, and even the wine shops that were not closed at midnight were closed after dark. All inns did not accept anyone at night. In fact, they did not
If you come here at this time, the streets will be filled with soldiers, one after another. If you show your head, you will be discovered sooner or later.
Chen Dao and Xu Chu climbed over the wall and moved to Cao Hong's home according to their planned route. As Chen Dao, a master of assassination, walked carefully along the way, avoiding the patrolling soldiers who came and went, saving a lot of distance.
Only then did they arrive at the wall outside Cao Hong's mansion. Chen Dao took a look and saw that the courtyard wall was more than a foot high, and it was so dark that it was hard to see what was going on above.
The flying tiger claw was thrown up, and it was still strong after a try. Chen Dao climbed up first. The two of them entered the yard smoothly, and there was no sound at all. All the lights in the surrounding rooms were turned off, and it was impossible to tell where Cao Hong's residence was.
.Xu Chu looked at it: "Which one?"
Chen Dao shook his head, and the two of them separated to look for each other. Xu Chu walked around three arches, and suddenly saw a light on in a house in front of him, so he walked over quietly. Two soldiers were standing outside the door, and a faint smell of medicine came from the room.
The water floated out, and several maids came and went from time to time. Xu Chu was secretly happy and concluded that this was Cao Hong's room.
He slowly pulled out a single sword from his back and was about to rush out. Suddenly, torches lit up all around, illuminating the entire yard. Xu Chu, who was hiding behind a small tree, quickly closed his eyes. His burly body could not be blocked by a small tree.
There was still half of it exposed outside. A large group of servants and soldiers holding sharp swords were standing around. A half-year-old child laughed loudly: "Sure enough, it's here! Let's see where you run this time, get in!"
With a murderous look on his face, Xu Chu walked out from behind the tree, his bright sword glowing coldly under the torch. A dozen soldiers surrounded him, and Xu Chu snorted: "Humph! It's all up to you!"
Cao Xiu smiled: "We have laid a trap for you, don't even think about escaping today!"
The soldiers shouted and wielded their weapons to kill them. Xu Chu did not hesitate and greeted each other with swords. The two sides fought together. With a scream, one soldier's wrists were cut off and he wailed loudly. Before the others could make a move, the soldiers shouted.
In response, Xu Chu cut the other guy in half with another "Haidaoyue", blood spurted onto the pillar and slowly flowed down. Others were a little too scared to rush up any further.
Xu Chu seized the opportunity and went straight to Cao Xiu. Suddenly, Jue tripped on something, became unstable and fell to the ground. A large sheet fell from the sky and covered Xu Chu's whole body. Xu Chu struggled twice, and the harder he struggled, the harder he fell.
Tight. As soon as he turned over, a bright weapon was stretched out in front of his eyes. Cao Xiu slowly squatted down: "How is it? Is it Tianluodi?" He stretched out his hand to pull down Xu Chu's mask.
"Despicable!" Xu Chu was furious, but he was restrained and couldn't do anything about it.
Cao Xiu raised his foot and kicked Xu Chu hard: "Despicable? When you assassinated my brother, weren't you despicable? I really want to cut you assassins into pieces right now! Tell me, where are your accomplices now?
?”
Xu Chu said: "Grandpa fell into the hands of a kid like you. Grandpa is unlucky. Don't ask any more questions. If you want to kill me, I'll kill him!"
Cao Xiu immediately raised his knife: "If you dare to speak harshly, I will kill you now!"
Cao Zhen hugged him hurriedly: "Brother, wait a moment! This person seems to be one of Long Fei's subordinates. It's better to wait for the master to come back before dealing with him!"
Cao Xiu threw Cao Zhen away: "What about Long Fei? My lord, Long Fei will definitely lose in this battle, and he will still be killed when the time comes, so why bother!" As he spoke, the steel knife in his hand fell down.
Note: Cao Zhen, also known as Zidan, was a descendant of Cao Cao, Emperor Wu of Wei. According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Zhen’s father, Cao Shao, recruited soldiers for Cao Cao. He was later killed by Huang Wan, the herdsman of Yuzhou, so Cao Cao adopted the deceased Cao Zhen. But another
According to the records in "Wei Lue" cited by Pei Songzhi, Cao Zhen's surname was Qin, and his father Qin Shao had always been on good terms with Cao Cao. When Cao Cao went out for reconnaissance, he was hunted down by Yuan Shu's tribe. Fortunately, Qin Shao took his name and was killed by Yuan Shu's tribe.
Killing, Cao Cao escaped the disaster. So Cao Cao adopted Qin Zhen and changed his name to Cao Zhen.