If Zang Ba knew that Cao Cao regarded him as a loyal man, I don't know what he would think.
He didn't care about the life and death of Lu Bu's family. Whether they were safe or sound, or whether they were ruined and ravaged by Cao Cao, it made no difference to Zang Ba. What he was worried about was just that he was afraid that he would be saddled with the family of a betrayer.
Just a bad reputation.
Although Zang Ba was not a person who cared about his reputation, he still valued his positive reputation. He finally came up with an excuse to offer up Xiaopeicheng to make it look like there was nothing wrong with him. Zang Ba could
I don't want to leave any other infamy.
As for Zang Ba's embarrassed expression, Cao Cao misunderstood him and thought he was worried about Lu Bu's family, which made him even more fond of him.
Perhaps this is the so-called hit-and-miss approach.
Cao Cao knew that Lu Bu's wives and concubines were all beauties, and his concubine Diao Chan was the most beautiful in the entire Han Dynasty. Cao Cao was not a gentleman, on the contrary, he was very lustful by nature. He might be able to ignore Lu Bu's other wives and concubines, but for
He really wanted to have Diao Chan, a peerless beauty, in his room.
Since ancient times, beauties have brought disasters, so be sincere and do not deceive.
However, although Cao Cao was impatient, he also knew that accepting Diao Chan was not feasible from a rational point of view, at least it was not the time yet.
Let’s not talk about others, let’s talk about Zhang Liao. Although he has surrendered to himself for a while and has made some achievements, he still has an old love for Lu Bu. During this expedition to Xuzhou, Cao Cao originally wanted to take Zhang Liao with him, because
There was a possibility of confronting Lu Bu, so Zhang Liao specifically requested Cao Cao to let him stay in Xuchang.
If he learns of Lü Bu's death, Zhang Liao will probably be sad for a while. If he learns that Lü Bu's concubines are taken by him, then Zhang Liao may be dissatisfied with him. It is true that Cao Cao loves beautiful women, but he is more fond of beauties.
When it comes to beautiful women, he loves heroes who can conquer the north and south for him. Zhang Liao is a rare good general. If he lost such a good general for Diao Chan, Cao Cao would never do it.
Therefore, it is not impossible to accept Diao Chan, but not now. At least until Zhang Liao and other Lu Bu's surrendered generals have completely returned to their hearts, have forgotten their feelings for Lu Bu, and will not have any objections because of their acceptance of Diao Chan.
No longer thinking about Diao Chan, Cao Cao turned his attention to Chen Gong, who had just been escorted up.
"Gongtai, long time no see." Cao Cao sighed.
Chen Gong looked at Cao Cao coldly and remained silent.
"Since Gongtai has been captured today, are you willing to help me achieve my great cause?" Cao Cao was not too angry when Chen Gong treated him coldly, but instead extended an olive branch to him.
"I don't want to." Chen Gong's answer was simple and clear, as if he was unwilling to say even one more word to Cao Cao.
"Lü Bu is a reckless man. Although I dare not claim to be a hero, I am still much more confident than that Lu Bu. If Gongtai is willing to serve Lu Bu, why wouldn't you want to serve me?" Of course, Cao Cao could not give up the idea of recruiting Chen Gong so easily.
Although there was no shortage of counselors around Cao Cao at this time, Cao Cao had always had a special affection for Chen Gong. Although Chen Gong hated Cao Cao very much, Cao Cao had always been looking forward to taking him into his account.
"Everyone has his own ambition. I think Lu Bu likes me, that's all." Chen Gong replied in the same cold tone, "Now that I have been captured, I just want to die, that's all."
Although Chen Gong wanted to die, whether Cao Cao tried to persuade him or threatened his family, his heart was as strong as iron and he would not be shaken at all.
Afterwards, the soldiers escorted Chen forward. Cao Cao knew that the man in front of him was also a talented general. The elite soldiers he trained were even comparable to those in the trapped camp outside Pengcheng. Of course, for such a good general, Cao Cao also very much expected to defeat him.
The other party recruited him into his account. However, Chen Dao was also very loyal to Liu Bei. No matter how Cao Cao tried to persuade him, he was determined not to surrender to the death.
Although Chen Dao and Chen Gong both preferred death to surrender, Chen Gong even kept shouting at Cao Cao to stimulate him to kill him quickly. However, Cao Cao did not take the lives of the two men immediately, but ordered the soldiers to take them into custody.
Xiapi has not been broken, and Liu Bei's power is still there. After he is completely eliminated, perhaps Erchen's mind will change and become more relaxed.
This is what Cao Cao is thinking now. He hopes that after Liu Bei's power dies, Chen Dao and Chen Gong can change their minds and surrender to him. Of course, if they are still stubborn by then, the only option is to kill them.
.
———————————————————————————————————— “You said... Xiaopei is lost?” Liu Bei stared blankly in front of him.
The messenger's expression turned extremely ugly.
Only one day had passed since Cao Jun's army arrived at Xiaopei City, and Xiaopei City had already changed hands! Isn't he Lu Bu known as a flying general, with unparalleled courage? Why don't you at least give me a few more days?
!
Xiaopei fell, and Xiapi had to face the front of Cao's army alone. The situation was very bad.
Although at the beginning of Cao Cao's expedition, Liu Bei already knew that he was in danger this time. However, the strength of Cao Cao's troops and the speed of his advance were beyond his expectation. In the previous battle of Pengcheng, Guan Yu originally wanted to win through
The opponent's generals fought to suppress the morale of the enemy's army, thereby increasing their own fighting spirit, but it was self-defeating. In the contest with Zhao Yun, Guan Yu himself was defeated by the opponent. After seeing that his general was seriously injured, the entire army suddenly became helpless.
Fighting spirit. With his military morale completely unavailable, Chen Dao had no choice but to lead his troops to withdraw from Pengcheng and flee to Xiapi to preserve his strength, thus handing over Pengcheng.
And now, Xiaopei City was defeated after only resisting for one day, which made Liu Bei feel so embarrassed. Cao Jun's advance was so fast. How long did it take from entering Xuzhou's territory to occupying Xiaopei City?
I heard from the soldiers that Lu Bu had died in battle, and Xiaopei was dedicated to Cao Cao by his old subordinate Zang Ba after Lu Bu's death. His own general Chen Dao was also captured by Zang Ba, and now he is Cao Cao's
Prisoner.
Chen Dao is indeed skilled in training and has a loyal heart. If he is killed by Cao Cao, it will be a big loss for him...
Liu Bei really hated Zang Ba for surrendering to the city.
But at this time, Liu Bei didn't have much time to worry about Zang Ba. The most important thing at the moment was, what should he do in the face of Cao Cao's army?
Abandoning Xuzhou and fleeing was the first idea that came to Liu Bei's mind. But if he wanted to escape, could he really escape? Even if he could escape, where would he go next?
"Brother, there is nothing to hesitate about. Give me some soldiers and horses, and let me take the head of Cao Cao. The enemy will retreat!" Seeing Liu Bei's uncertain expression, Zhang Fei shouted.
Among Liu Bei's troops, only his younger brother Zhang Fei could say such arrogant words without thinking.
"Nonsense!" Seeing Zhang Fei's arrogance, Liu Bei scolded him sternly, "Your second brother, and that Lu Bu, are not as brave as you, but what happened to them now? Your second brother was seriously injured and can't stay here until now.
, as for Lu Bu, he has already perished. No matter how brave you are, how can you withstand tens of thousands of troops by yourself?"
Liu Bei carried Guan Yu out and pressed Zhang Fei, and Zhang Fei was convinced. But when Liu Bei mentioned Lu Bu again, Zhang Fei was a little disapproving. In Zhang Fei's view, although Lu Bu's martial arts did have two brushes, it was hard to be serious.
If you fight with yourself, you will definitely not get any benefits in front of yourself. However, Liu Bei's expression was quite serious at this time, so Zhang Fei did not dare to refute.
"Brother, tell me, what should we do now?"
"If it really doesn't work, I think the only way is to surrender to Cao Cao." Liu Bei frowned and pondered for a long time, and finally just replied in a depressed manner, with a trace of deep helplessness and unwillingness in his expression.
"What! What! Surrender to the traitor Cao!" Zhang Fei opened his mouth wide, looking unbelievable and unacceptable.