The visitor stopped a long way away. The leading general shouted: "The last general is Cao Jun, a general at the bottom of the Yanzhou Shepherd's tent. On the order of my lord, I came to greet the servant Li Li. I didn't know that Mr. Li was in front of me. "Cao Ang inherited the official position of Yanzhou Mu from Cao Cao's General Fenwei. Although Yanzhou was already in the hands of Wenyuan, Cao Ang was reluctant to take up this official position.
Liu Sima turned back and smiled at the hale old man. He raised his voice and said, "Since I know he is an envoy from the imperial court, why don't you hurry up and greet him?" Cao Cao's army rushed forward to greet him. The leading general stepped forward to greet him while letting his subordinates guard the Jin army. outside the circle.
Liu Sima seemed to be deliberately trying to dampen the visitor's momentum. As soon as they met, he started to make things difficult: "Since Cao Ang knew that the imperial envoy was coming, why didn't he come to greet him in person?"
The leader, General Cao, seemed to have been prepared. He said without being humble or arrogant: "My lord is busy with affairs, so I can't come in person to force him to do it. However, my lord has ordered people to prepare everything in Shouchun. We are waiting for the imperial envoy to arrive."
What he said was neither out of etiquette nor dishonorable to Cao Ang. The servant Li Li stuck his head out and took a look. There were probably more than a thousand soldiers responsible for welcoming Cao Ang. The leading general also looked smart and capable. He nodded. It seemed that Cao Ang had put a lot of thought into welcoming him.
With the addition of more than a thousand Cao soldiers, the escort team suddenly became a little bloated. One thousand five hundred sergeants blocked the avenue that could accommodate six horses parallel, and sent two to three hundred steps away.
While walking on the road, the general named Cao Jun said: "Master Taipu, we are still more than five hundred miles away from Shouchun. If we walk, we still have fifteen days' journey. If we take the Yingshui River and enter the Huai River, we can take a boat. You can reach Shouchun in two or three days by flowing down the river. I don’t know whether your servant wants to take the water route or the dry route."
Li Li thought for a while and said: "Since the waterway is faster, let's take the waterway."
General Cao listened, with an unnoticed smile flashing in his eyes, and said: "In that case, there is our fishing port in Qiutoudian not far ahead. Where can we mobilize ships to send the servant to Shou by water? spring."
Sima Liu, surnamed Liu, suddenly said: "Wait a minute. Is this waterway still peaceful?"
A strange look flashed in Cao Jun's eyes and he said: "Peace. The people are safe and peaceful under the rule of Duke Jin. My lord has also managed the two counties in an impressive manner over the years."
Sima Liu, surnamed Liu, nodded and said nothing more.
The car drove for less than two hours. Just after noon, we arrived at a fishing port where people gathered. Cao Jun was quite agile. Li Li and his party had not finished a meal, so Cao Jun found more than a dozen boats. However, due to the limited number of ships, each ship can hold twenty or thirty people. After discussion with Liu Sima, Cao Jun and Liu Sima decided that these dozens of ships would be reserved for the guards led by Liu Sima. Cao Jun only led a team of people to serve as guides. The others Cao Bing returned to Shouchun by land.
After boarding the boat, Li Li and his party immediately moved much faster. Taking the boat not only eliminated the bumps along the way, but also did not require any use of legs and feet. The most important thing was to go down the river. They could travel one or two hundred miles a day. In this way It only takes two or three days to reach Shouchun. Li Li was very pleased to see that Cao Jun's arrangements were so appropriate.
The boat sailed for half a day and covered sixty or seventy miles. Seeing that the sky was getting dark, Cao Jun gave an order and more than a dozen boats came to the shore. If it were not an urgent situation these days, sailing in the dark could still be avoided. Otherwise, It wouldn't be good if you got sidetracked or fell into a haystack.
Everyone got off the boat. Liu Sima ordered them to set up camp and bury pots for cooking. Cao Jun found an excuse to leave the camp and walked for several miles. In front of a dense forest, he learned a few bird calls from the forest.
After a while, there was also a chirping of birds in the forest. Cao Jun no longer hesitated and walked through the forest. He was led by a man in black to a fire. Several men in black were already waiting around the fire. .And looking through the fire towards the depths of the dense forest, I could vaguely see densely packed military tents in the distance.
Before Cao Jun sat down by the fire, a tall man in black who looked like a leader had already asked: "How about it? Can you do it?"
Cao Jun seemed to have already thought about it on the way. He shook his head and said: "No way. The guarding Jin army is quite heavily guarded. The leader Sima is not an easy guy to deal with at first glance. In my opinion, in order to play it safe, I'd better stay on the river tomorrow. Just take action."
The burly leader heard this and said displeased: "Don't they only have 500 sergeants? What are you afraid of? I have been given 2,000 elite soldiers this time. Are you afraid that I won't be able to deal with them?"
Cao Jun heard this and hurriedly admonished: "The Jin army is famous all over the world for its bravery. General Xiahou must not underestimate it. Such an important task has been entrusted to the general. The general does not want to make any mistakes and let the news get away..."
The burly soldier pondered for a while and nodded: "Okay. Then wait one more night. When we pass Ruyin tomorrow, let Mr. Li Li be buried in the belly of the fish together with those Jin troops."
…………
Early the next morning, Li Li's driver boarded the boat and set off. After half a day's journey, the boat arrived on the ground in Ruyin. Ruyin is a large county in Runan and an important transportation road. There are several tributaries such as Yingshui River and Cihuai River. The Huai River waterway. The fleet moved forward slowly on the Ying River at first. With Cao Jun as the guide, Li Li didn't think much.
When Liu Sima was not paying attention, Li Li quietly gave the order to sail the boat into a slightly narrow waterway. There were obviously not many ships traveling along this waterway. There were dry reeds on both sides, and the river was getting narrower and narrower.
Liu Sima had never been to Runan and was not familiar with the roads. But after walking for more than ten miles, he gradually felt that something was wrong. He boarded the front boat and found Cao Jun and asked: "Captain Cao, what is going on? Boat The team hasn’t entered the Huai River yet? Why is the river getting narrower and narrower?"
Cao Jun smiled calmly and said: "General Liu, you don't know if you haven't been here. This is the section from Yingshui to Huaihe River. From here, walk another twenty miles and you will almost reach the mouth of Huaihe River. "
Liu Sima glanced around vigilantly. He saw that the river was only a dozen feet wide now. The embankments on both sides were towering. The river banks were covered with reeds. It was extremely dangerous. He couldn't help frowning and said: "The terrain here is dangerous. Captain Cao, there will be no water around. A thief or a bandit or something."
Cao Jun was startled when he heard this. He laughed and said: "What's the matter? General Liu is too worried." Although Cao Jun said it easily, his eyes were wandering around. His forehead was already sweating in the winter. .
After another two or three miles, Liu Sima felt more and more something was wrong. He shouted: "Stop the boat. Captain Cao, order your people to stop the boat and dock quickly. I want to move the car to land."
"General Liu, this is not good. We are almost at the mouth of the Huaihe River. Why is General Liu so suspicious?" Cao Jun said perfunctorily while quietly winking at the deputy beside him. The latter quietly nodded in understanding. More than a dozen Cao Jun The soldier quietly pulled out the steel sword from the sheath. Because it was the leading guide boat, more than 20 of Cao Jun's thirty confidants were on this boat. And because the space on the boat was limited, Liu Sima only brought He took two guards and boarded Cao Jun's boat.
"Stop the ship quickly. If you don't stop the ship, believe it or not, I will kill you." Liu Sima roared and pulled out his sword. In his opinion, Cao Jun would definitely be frightened and beg for mercy. But what he saw was Cao Jun. A sinister smile on his face.
"General Liu, aren't we already at the end of the field?" Cao Jun said with a ferocious smile. He had already seen the iron ropes blocking the river in front of him. The ambush site had finally arrived.
"Cao Jun, what are you trying to do?" Liu Sima instinctively felt something was wrong. But as soon as he opened his mouth, a burst of tearing pain came from the lumbar spine in his back. Before he could react, he had already heard the sound of kissing. Wei's scream.
"Chop them for me and throw them into the river to feed the fish." Cao Jun sneered and shouted. A dozen of his henchmen had chopped Liu Sima and the two guards into minced meat. Cao Jun shouted, and the bow of the boat turned towards the shore. As we drew closer, a loud arrow shot through the air from the boat. Suddenly, there was a burst of cannon fire from both sides of the river bank.
"What's going on? Where's Liu Sima? Come and see what's going on." Li Li was older and was taking a nap in the cabin. When he heard the sound of the cannon, he sat up with a startled sound. He called a military advisor and asked.
The sergeant reported back angrily: "Sir, it's not good. We were ambushed by thieves. Liu Sima has been killed by Cao Jun."
"Cao Jun, Cao Ang, this untrustworthy villain." Li Li's expression changed and he cursed angrily. When he stumbled to the side of the boat, he saw that the river banks on both sides were already densely covered with crossbowmen with bows and arrows. They were sharp and sharp. The arrows were aimed at Li Li and others who were wearing them.
With so many crossbowmen, even if they rushed to the shore in a boat, they would still be shot by crossbows. Seeing this, Li Li panicked and said: "Quickly, rush through in a boat." But as soon as he finished speaking, there was a sudden sound from the bottom of the boat. There was a violent earthquake. Several sergeants standing on the side of the ship lost their footing and fell into the biting river water. In this deep winter weather, if they fell into the water, they would be frozen to death even if they were not shot to death.
"What's wrong?" Li Li almost escaped being thrown into the river by the violent earthquake. Thanks to a few sergeants who pulled him away from him.
The sergeant exclaimed: "It's not good, sir. Wooden stakes and iron ropes have been driven into the bottom of the river. The river has been blocked and boats cannot pass."
Li Li said: "Then quickly turn around and run upstream." The way forward was blocked, and there were dead ends on the left and right. Li Li was so anxious that he almost vomited blood. But just as the fleet turned around, he heard another scream from the sergeant on the boat behind him. .
"It's over." Li Li looked back. This time he was completely desperate. More than a dozen fire boats filled the river and flowed down the river. They crashed straight into the rear of the fleet. It was really a dragnet from front to back and left and right.
"Set up rockets. No one will be left alive." On the river embankment on the south bank, the burly man wrapped in black smiled coldly, waved his hand and shouted. The sergeants on both sides of the bank did not carry any flags, nor did they wear standard uniforms. However, the strong bow and crossbow in his hand clearly belong to the military standard.