After leaving Heilvjian, the group marched nearly a hundred miles westward. When they arrived near Xiping, the sun was already setting in the west.
In the distance, Xiping City is clearly visible in the afterglow of the setting sun. At this time, it is difficult to find the Xuzhou Army around. Chu Nan looked at Guan Yu and said with a smile: "Go further west and you will reach the boundary of Nanyang. There are few generals and they are gone."
It only takes one day for us to cross Nanyang, so we should be considered safe now!"
Guan Yu looked at Chu Nan, looking far into the distance. After confirming that no one was following him, he nodded and said to Chu Nan: "Since you are willing to believe me, Guan will never betray your will. Sir, go ahead."
"If possible, I really don't want to be an enemy of the general. Unfortunately, things are unpredictable. The next time you and I meet, it will probably be on the battlefield." Chu Nan nodded, clasped his fists at Guan Yu and said, "General Guan, see you on the battlefield!"
Guan Yu glanced at Chu Nan with complicated eyes. In the past, this small businessman who was shaken to the ground by Zhang Fei's roar suddenly had a very strong aura. When he looked at it again now, Chu Nan's demeanor was astonishing.
That kind of courage is no less than that of any prince in the world.
It's a pity that there is no regret in this world, but Chu Nan made Guan Yu feel respected. He clasped his hands and said solemnly: "See you on the battlefield!"
There is no nonsense. The hatred between the two parties has been forged and it is impossible to resolve it. The politeness has become redundant. The next time we meet, it will most likely be on the battlefield, and it will be a matter of life and death.
After Guan Yu finished speaking, he led his men and horses away and soon disappeared from sight.
"Lord, this man is really..." Zhou Cang looked at Guan Yu's retreating figure. Along the way, he admired Guan Yu's brotherly loyalty, but he didn't have much knowledge. He looked at Chu Nan and held it in for a long time.
He just choked out one sentence: "He is truly a righteous man."
"He is a righteous man. If it were someone else, I wouldn't dare to follow him out like this!" Chu Nan nodded. If it were someone other than Guan Yu, he might not be as loyal as Guan Yu. In the wilderness, Lu Bu and Huang Zhong were gone.
A general like this threatens to kill you with just one blow.
"Let's go." Watching Guan Yu go away, Chu Nan led the two of them onto their horses and set off again.
"Lord, the direction is not this way." Zhou Cang couldn't help but be confused when he found that Chu Nan was not going back, but chasing Guan Yu.
"Let's go to Nanyang. The decisive battle between our army and Cao Cao is about to begin. We don't have enough troops right now. Let's go to Nanyang to get some and invite a capable man to come over." Chu Nan said without looking back.
Nanyang also sent people to contain Cao Cao in this battle, but because of Jingzhou, Nanyang only sent 3,000 soldiers and horses to Luyang, which was fine. Nanyang's main army was still in the Xinye area to guard against the coming incoming troops.
Attack in the direction of Jingzhou.
However, given the current situation, Chu Nan speculated that Jingzhou's direction had reached its limit. Zhang Xiu was able to bring out some reinforcements. It didn't take too many, just ten thousand, so that Lu Bu could use troops more freely.
Zhou Cang and the others didn't know why, but when they saw Chu Nan leaving directly, they naturally didn't dare to neglect them. Together with Chu Nan, the three of them formed an formation and headed straight for Wancheng.
The afterglow of the setting sun was gradually swallowed up by darkness. The three of them did not stop, using their horse power to run for several hours, and finally arrived at the foot of Wancheng at the third watch.
The defenders at the head of the city were dozing off when they suddenly heard the rapid sound of horse hooves coming from outside the city. They were shocked. In the middle of the night, there was a sudden sound of horse hooves that was obviously wrong. They quickly called on the soldiers to cheer up and at the same time follow their respective directions.
He formed a formation to prevent the opponent from making a surprise attack, and he quickly threw the torch down to the city to have a look.
"I am Chu Nan of Xuzhou. I fought side by side with General Zhang last time. Today I have come to discuss important matters. I would like to ask the officers and men on the city to pass the news!" Before the torches thrown by the generals who defended the city fell to the ground, Chu Nan had already ordered Zhou Cang to do so.
He and Pei Yuanshao raised the torch to clearly illuminate their heroic faces, and said loudly to the top of the city.
Chu Nan's name is not unfamiliar to Nanyang people. He has lived in Nanyang for a period of time and has a good relationship with Zhang Xiu, Jia Xu and the senior generals of Nanyang. Nanyang officers and soldiers also know Chu Nan's name.
At this moment, hearing this, the tense nerves immediately relaxed a lot.
Now that Lu Bu and Cao Cao have gradually gained the upper hand in the battle, one side is well-deserved as the hegemon. Even regardless of the alliance between the two sides, when Chu Nan announced his family status, the soldiers guarding the city did not dare to neglect and hurriedly sent people
to inform about this.
Zhang Xiu obviously did not dare to neglect Chu Nan, Lu Bu's envoy. Chu Nan did not wait at the city gate for a long time. About a quarter of an hour later, the city gate suddenly opened. The general who defended the city came forward and saluted Chu Nan: "Sir,
My lord has just gotten up and is unable to come out to greet you in person. Please come with me, sir!"
"Thank you!" Chu Nan nodded, and led all the way to the city under the leadership of the general.
Chu Nan was naturally no stranger to Wancheng. When he arrived at Zhang Xiu's prefect's mansion on a familiar road, he was a little surprised that not only Zhang Xiu was there, but Jia Xu was also called.
However, Jia Xu was obviously not in a good condition at the moment. His face that was full of wealth had a listless expression, and there was obviously a bit of resentment in his eyes when he looked at Chu Nan.
This is the time when people are most asleep, and no one would be in a good mood if they were woken up. Looking at their faces and puffy eye bags, even if Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu directly used force on themselves, Chu Nan would
Wouldn't be too surprised.
"Mr. Wenhe is here too?" After Chu Nan greeted Zhang Xiu, he greeted Jia Xu again. He had a nice smile and was harmless to humans and animals.
"Zi Yan came to visit late at night, something big must have happened. How dare Xu not come?" Jia Xu had the same harmless smile on his face as Chu Nan, but Chu Nan could feel the slightest trace of resentment in his voice.
"Sir, please forgive me, time is tight, so I have to do this. I'm going to disturb you all!" Chu Nan didn't have much respect for Zhang Xiu, but he was extremely humble towards Jia Xu.
"Zi Yan doesn't have to be like this, and Wen He doesn't really blame you, but why do you come so anxiously and don't know what's wrong with Zi Yan?" Zhang Xiu felt that the atmosphere was good now, looked at Chu Nan and asked with a smile.
"The decisive battle between our army and Cao Cao's thieves is approaching. Thinking of our past feelings, I have come to invite the general to accompany him. This can also help the general avenge his past revenge!" Chu Nan said to Zhang Xiu solemnly without any nonsense.
"Borrowing troops?" Zhang Xiu looked at Jia Xu in surprise when he heard this. Before he asked Jia Xu why Chu Nan came, Jia Xu casually replied to him: Mostly borrowing troops.
Now when Chu Nan opened his mouth, it was as Jia Xu expected. Although he did not explicitly say that he wanted to borrow troops, he still sounded like he was doing it for your own good. But how could Zhang Xiu not understand the core meaning? It was exactly the same as Jia Xu's prediction. He naturally
surprise.
"It seems that Sir has already figured out why I came here." Just looking at Zhang Xiu's expression, Chu Nan roughly knew what happened. He looked at Jia Xu and said with a smile, "Sir, you are really a god!"
"Don't blame Zi Yan for his unintentional words." Jia Xu said with a smile.
"No, no." Chu Nan smiled and shook his head: "Sir, he knows things like a god. He is indeed a role model for our generation and a model for Nan to learn from."
"Compared with Zi Yan's demeanor these days, he can't compare to Xiao Dao'er." Jia Xu shook his head modestly.
"Sir, you are too modest. Although there are many wise men in the world, those who can compare with you are like a rare thing. There is no one in the Central Plains, so I became famous. If there is a wise man like you, I will never dare to say more than a word. When I meet
Turn around and leave."
"Ziyan's self-effacing attitude is a bit excessive..."
"Ahem~" Listening to the two people complimenting each other, it was normal at first, but it became more and more outrageous later on. Zhang Xiu couldn't stand it anymore. He coughed a few times, interrupting the mutual sympathy between the two, and saw the two people's eyes.
It seemed that Zhang Xiu was a little embarrassed and said: "Zi Yan, I won't borrow it unless I am, but I think Zi Yan already knows about the matter in Jingzhou."
"I know." Chu Nan looked solemn and nodded: "I am here to discuss this matter with the general."
"Oh?" Zhang Xiu looked at Chu Nan, waiting for the next words.
Chu Nan thought about it and said: "General, I have a humble opinion. This move of troops by Jingzhou is not Liu Jingzhou's intention. Is that correct?"
Zhang Xiu nodded dejectedly. He and Liu Biao were originally partners and allies. They had previously facilitated the trade between Hanshui River and Xuzhou, bringing a lot of wealth to both Nanyang and Jingzhou.
But Jingzhou is not Jingzhou owned by Liu Biao alone. To be precise, Jingzhou has never really belonged to Liu Biao, and the rights are basically still transferred between Jingzhou city groups. The Jingzhou gentry class united to use troops against Nanyang, and Liu Biao's objections were useless.
Cao Cao almost sidelined Liu Biao with this move, which was quite cruel.
"I don't think Liu Jingzhou would be so willing to be ignored by the local nobles." Chu Nan looked at Zhang Xiu and said solemnly: "Now that the Jingzhou tribe's power has been mobilized to intimidate Nanyang, Jingzhou needs someone to govern.
The clan traitors always need someone to suppress them. Isn't it the time for Liu Jingzhou to consolidate his position when employing people like this?"
Under the mobilization of Cao Cao, the noble forces came to embarrass Zhang Xiu, and the rear area would naturally be empty. If something happened, Liu Biao would have no choice but to promote new people to deal with the problems in the rear area at this time. This is completely reasonable and reasonable.
It is also very reasonable to take the opportunity to let people from the Liu clan, such as Liu Pan and Liu Hu, control some real power in the name of fighting against thieves.
Zhang Xiu was slightly startled. This theory seemed to be correct. Jingzhou could take care of one side, but could not take care of the other side. Because the battle between Cao and Lu had not yet been decided, Liu Biao turned a blind eye to it.
To avoid public outrage.
But now that the battle between Cao and Lu has reached this point, although Cao Cao is strong, he is suppressed in terms of victory and defeat. Even if Cao Cao finally wins this battle, he may not have time to take care of Qingzhou in a short time.
Liu Biao naturally saw this. Without the control of Cao Cao, the powerful clans in Jingzhou could not be eliminated!
So Chu Nan's current intention is to continue to form an alliance with Liu Biao. While he is reforming in Jingzhou, he will take Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu to join Lu Bu and jointly deal with Cao Cao.
Seeing Zhang Xiu's hesitation, Chu Nan was not in a hurry: "This matter really needs to be thought through, but according to our army's detailed investigation, the general's aunt has now been taken as a concubine by Cao Cao. Apart from asking for reinforcements, I am here.
I also want to ask the general if he needs to be brought back?"