Cao Cao received several battle reports in a row. The first one was from Liu Yan. Liu Yan not only sent the battle report, but also escorted Cai Yang back to Yecheng. The second one was from the prefect Chenliu. The letter contained roughly the details of the Battle of Yangdi.
After explaining it all, and saying that Liu Yan had lied about the military situation, Long Fei did not return to Jingzhou, but set up an ambush to capture Cao Ren and Cao Chun on the way. The third letter was from Xia Houyuan, the commander of the army who stayed in Changshe. Xia Houyuan also knew about Cao Ren.
The letter also talked a little bit about Cao Chun's arrest, but mainly asked whether he wanted to attack.
Cao Cao looked at the three battle reports and couldn't make up his mind for a moment. Cheng Yu said: "Long Fei insulted us like this, my lord should order an attack on Jingzhou as soon as possible."
Jiang Ji hurriedly said: "Absolutely not, Cao Ren, General Cao Chun is still in Jingzhou. If we attack at this time, Long Fei will definitely threaten us. These two generals are the mainstay of our army. If something goes wrong, it may be disadvantageous. I hope my lord."
It will be appropriate to send people to Jingzhou immediately to retrieve the second general!"
Cao Cao sighed: "Hey! Now that Long Fei is reasonable, it may not be easy to let him go easily. I don't know what conditions he will offer. It's a pity that none of my three thousand tigers and leopards have come back!"
As Cao Cao's envoy, Jiang Ji came to Jingzhou. This time, unlike the last time, the city gate was deserted, and there was no one to receive him. He entered the city, handed Cao Cao's letter to the Yamen, and took care of things.
He glanced at Jiang Ji a few times and said coldly: "Do you still have the nerve to come?"
Jiang Ji tried his best to keep the smile on his face: "My lord has important matters to discuss with General Long, please let me know!" Jiang Ji took out a piece of gold from his arms and handed it to the steward.
The manager shouted and stood up: "You want to harm me? Our Jingzhou is not your Hebei. If you accept money, you will be beheaded!"
Jiang Ji hurriedly apologized. The steward threw Cao Cao's letter aside without even looking at it, and said coldly: "Just wait! Our Lord is recovering from his injuries. We will wait until he recovers!"
After leaving the Yamen Gate, there was no one to arrange a post office, so Jiang Ji had to take his entourage to find any inn. He entered seven or eight inns in a row with the same result, they were full! The common people and merchants on the street stared at them angrily when they saw them.
, searched almost the entire Xiangyang City, and finally found a small inn in an alley. The entrance of this inn was deserted, and the lights in the lobby were dim. Only the shopkeeper was sleeping at the table.
Jiang Ji was worried about being rejected again, so he stepped forward in person. He did not dare to say that he was from Cao Cao, but only said that he was staying in the hotel. The boss slowly raised his head, looked at Jiang Ji with sleepy eyes and nodded: "How many days will you stay?
"
Jiang Ji smiled: "Stay here for ten days!"
The boss stretched out his hand: "There are eight of you in total, you can stay for ten days and get one tael of gold!"
"What? You want a tael of gold for a shabby place like yours?" A servant couldn't hold it back anymore.
The boss yawned: "If you want to stay, you can stay. If you don't, please let me know. I know you are Cao Cao's people. I am afraid that I am the only inn in Xiangyang City that dares to take you in. If it were anyone else, I would have kicked you out."
"Stay, let's stay!" Jiang Ji took out a piece of gold from his arms and put it on the counter: "Boss, please arrange some better rooms for us."
"There is only one room, you can live there!" The boss reached out and took the gold on the counter: "There is no food, no hot water, and there is a stove in the back. If you are hungry, you can get it by yourself! It is best not to disturb my sleep!"
He turned his head to the side and continued to sleep on the counter.
Inside the room was a large bunk, and the dim light could only illuminate a small area. Opposite was the stables. As soon as they entered the room, a pungent smell immediately hit their foreheads. Jiang Ji and others subconsciously
Covering his mouth and nose. The servants began to complain, and Jiang Ji sighed: "Hey! Bear with it, who can let others hold the handle on us? We only hope to see Long Fei and leave Xiangyang soon."
He stayed in a room like this for five or six days. That afternoon, Jiang Ji couldn't stand the smell in the room, so he came out to get some fresh air. The shopkeeper came in with an official and pointed at Jiang Ji. The official went up and down.
After looking at Jiang Ji for a few times, he hurriedly covered his nose and said, "You are Cao Cao's envoy. Our Lord Chang Shi has invited you!"
Jiang Ji nodded hurriedly. The official looked at him: "Go change your clothes first and take a shower. What does this smell like!"
Xun Yu and Jia Xu were sitting at attention, and beside them were Xu Shu, Li Ru, Guo Jia, Jiang Gan and others. All of them had serious expressions, without a trace of smile on their faces. Jiang Ji coughed hard, then took off his shoes and came in.
He smiled at the people who held their hands. Xun Yu waved his hand and motioned for Jiang Ji to sit down. The tables were clean, not even a glass of water.
None of them spoke. Jiang Ji was the first to speak: "Why don't you see General Long?"
Xu Shu snorted coldly: "My lord was ambushed by you and was seriously injured. He is still bedridden. Why? Do you want my lord to greet you even though he is sick?"
Jiang Ji waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no, no, I have no such intention. This time I was sent by my lord to have important matters to discuss with General Long. However, General Long is not here, so..."
"If you have anything to say, it's okay to say it!" Xun Yu looked at Jiang Ji.
Jiang Ji nodded repeatedly: "I heard that Generals Cao Ren and Cao Chun came to Xiangyang from Yecheng because they wanted to see their niece, but they did not return for more than ten days. My lord wanted me to come and see what happened.
, I hope the two generals can return to Yecheng as soon as possible, so as not to delay the business!"
"Hahaha!" Jiang Qian laughed loudly: "Mr. Jiang is really eloquent! The ambush of my lord was brought over so easily. Cao Ren and Cao Chun attacked General Zhennan and have been taken into custody by His Majesty. Tomorrow
Ask and behead immediately at noon!"
"A man shall be spared by the sword, a man shall be spared by the sword!" When Jiang Ji heard this, he felt a little panicked. He naturally knew that what Jiang Gan said was not the truth, and he still had to act a little excited. If he got angry,
If these people really kill Cao Ren and Cao Chun, it will not be easy to deal with.
Guo Jia smiled slightly: "Mr. Jiang, please be patient. My lord once said that nothing in the world is impossible. From the look on his face, I know that Cao Cao really wants to take the two generals back, but these two
The person who murdered my lord was the one who came before me, and I don’t know if he was instigated by someone. Your Majesty is investigating, and now the evidence is quite conclusive. As long as my lord must report, your Majesty will have to kill these two people." Guo Jia looked at Jiang Ji.
: "Of course, then again, everything can be turned around and said, if my lord does not report, your Majesty will naturally have no reason to kill the two generals."
"Then what should we do so that General Long can let go of the anger in his heart?" Jiang Qian understood that now he got to the point.
Jia Xu said: "General Cao's 100,000 troops are stationed in Changshe. I'm afraid his sincerity is not enough, right?"
"And!" Li Ru immediately added: "Cao Ren, Cao Chun led tens of thousands of soldiers and horses to attack my lord, causing 20,000 damage to our army, and the lord was seriously injured. According to estimates, at least 100,000 dans of food and grass are needed.
Only one hundred thousand dollars can allow those injured soldiers to live and work in peace and contentment!"
Jiang Gan nodded: "I understand, I will inform my lord of this matter as soon as possible and will give General Long a satisfactory explanation."
After sending Jiang Gan away, Long Fei turned out from behind the screen, looked at Jiang Gan's back, and shook his head slightly. Xu Shu hurriedly asked: "Why are you unhappy, my lord?"
Guo Jia smiled: "My Lord, he thinks we don't want enough!"
"One hundred thousand dollars plus one hundred thousand dans of grain and grass is still not enough?" Li Ru was a little confused.
Long Fei looked at everyone and said: "You still don't understand the secret of doing business. This business is called demanding high prices and paying back the money on the spot. Jiang Ji did not refute the conditions we offered, which shows that Cao Cao's estimate is much more than this.
One hundred thousand dollars plus one hundred thousand dans of grain and grass is a big figure for us, but it is a piece of cake for Cao Cao. Cao Cao's men control the land of seven states and there are so many people, so this little money is not worth doing anything at all!"
"What do you think my lord means?"
Long Fei thought for a while: "Cao Chun, Cao Ren's price per person should be in line with Cao Cao's expectations!"
"That's 200,000 yuan plus 200,000 dans of grain and grass!" Li Ru's eyes widened. He didn't know what 200,000 yuan could do. 200,000 dans of grain and grass was enough for half a month's ration for an army of 100,000 people. Li Ru's eyes widened.
Eyes: "I don't think Dong Zhuo had so much food and grass in Meiwu back then! My lord is so ruthless!"
Three days later, Jiang Ji came to the Yamen again with Cao Cao's letter. This time, no one stopped him, and he met Li Ru directly. After reading Cao Cao's letter, it was clear that Cao Cao had agreed to the plan. Li Ru looked at Jiang
Ji looked at the letter again and frowned: "Mr. Jiang, this number is wrong!"
Jiang Ji hummed, hurriedly came over and looked at it for a long time: "That's right, that's what we said in the hall that day, a total of one hundred thousand dollars and one hundred thousand dans of grain and grass!"
Li Ru chuckled: "We remember that this is not what we said in the hall that day. Cao Ren and Cao Chun, two generals, each caused us losses. This one hundred thousand money plus one hundred thousand dans of grain and grass is only enough
Half of the cost of this loss of our army, in this case, we can only let one person go!"
Jiang Ji was a little at a loss and didn't know what to say for a moment: "Master Li, when did this become one hundred thousand yuan per person and one hundred thousand dans of grain and grass again? We have already agreed, but now we are raising the price, isn't it appropriate?
"
"Mr. Jiang, why do these words sound so unpleasant?" Li Ru's face darkened: "Our army has suffered heavy losses, and my lord is seriously injured. If Master Cao doesn't want to, there is no need to send it. It is just right to use these two
Human blood brings bad luck to my lord!"
Seeing that Li Ru was angry, Jiang Ji didn't say much, so he agreed to write another letter to Cao Cao. Before leaving, he looked at Li Ru and said, "Master Li, you talk like this and don't mean what you say. You can't be called a man. You are not afraid of the people in the world."
Ridiculous?"
Li Ru glanced at Jiang Ji: "Mr. Jiang, you can't talk nonsense. It's clear that you didn't hear clearly, but you are blaming us. My lord is magnanimous. If it were Cao Cao and you insulted the court ministers like this, you would definitely get a slap in the face!"
"
Jiang Ji really had no temper, shook his head and walked out with a wry smile.