The 380th chapter forced you to swallow the bitter water
Zhao Yan took the letter and looked at Cao Hong's face, which was bruised and frightened. He seemed to have guessed something.
"General Yan, doesn't General Zi Lian get up with your subordinates to see the Prime Minister?"
Zhao Yan asked tentatively, seeming to still hold on to a glimmer of hope, hoping that Yan Liang could also release the general of the Cao family clan in front of him.
Yan Liang sneered, his laughter full of irony.
Zhao Yan looked a little ashamed, and Yan Liang's laughter made him feel that he was asking a childish question.
With Cao Hong's identity, unless Cao Cao and Yan Liang had a complete reconciliation, how could Yan Liang return this powerful hostage to Cao Cao for nothing?
"Cao Zilian, do you want to go with Zhao Yilang?"
Yan Liang did not answer, but instead asked Cao Hong. The meaning of his words seemed to be that it was up to him to decide whether to go or not.
For a moment, great surprise flashed across Cao Hong's face, and his longing eyes seemed to have seen a glimmer of dawn.
But in the blink of an eye, Cao Hong realized that Yan Liang was just joking with him. If Yan Liang really wanted to let him go, why bother forcing him to write that degrading letter?
His expression suddenly darkened again. Cao Hong gave a bitter smile and replied insincerely: "Hong Yu wants to ask General Yan for advice on martial arts. Zhao Yilang, you should go back by yourself first."
Zhao Yan was not an idiot. Of course he knew that Cao Hong was forced to do nothing, but as a prisoner himself, he couldn't help himself, so how could he care about Cao Hong.
At that moment, Zhao Yan could only sigh secretly, cupped his hands and said, "General, please take care of yourself."
After saying this, Zhao Yan immediately asked Yan Liang to resign, fearing that the night would be long and he would have many dreams.
Yan Liang had no intention of keeping him, so he ordered him to be released from seclusion and ordered several surrendered soldiers to escort him to Cao's camp twenty miles away.
After leaving Wuguan City, Zhao Yanru was pardoned and rode straight to Cao Ying.
…
Twenty miles north of the city is Cao Ying.
In the large tent of the Chinese army, Cao Cao was frowning. He was staring at the map, and in his sunken eyes, the helpless look of helplessness appeared and disappeared.
Even though he had unparalleled counselors such as Guo Jia and Liu Ye by his side, facing the majestic pass twenty miles away, these resourceful men all lost their fire. No one could think of a way for him.
Here comes the strategy to defeat the enemy.
There is no way, Wuguan just lies across the mountains, blocking the way, and the enemy occupies an absolute advantage. Under such terrain conditions, in addition to using the lives of soldiers to attack the city, even a very smart person like Guo Jia,
It's hard to think of any other good ideas.
Just when Zi Zi was looking sad, his own soldiers came to report him urgently. Yi Lang Zhao Yan, who was said to have been captured by Yan Liang, came back safely.
Cao Cao was refreshed and issued an urgent order.
After a while, the curtain was lifted, and Zhao Yan, who was dusty with travel, stepped into the tent.
"Zhao Yan, the sinner, pays homage to the Prime Minister. Please punish him." Zhao Yan fell on the ground and apologized to Cao Cao with great shame.
Cao Cao hurriedly helped him up and said, "Zhao Yilang's words are serious, why are you guilty?"
Zhao Yan said sadly: "Yan failed to defend Wuguan. Even if Guancheng fell into Yan Liang's hands, how can he not be blameless?"
"That's all, you were just passing by on patrol. The fall of Wuguan was all Zilian's fault, so you don't have to blame yourself too much."
Cao Cao did not protect his brothers, and placed all the responsibility for the fall of Wuguan on Cao Hong.
Zhao Yan was relieved and thanked him repeatedly.
At this time, Cao Cao remembered business and asked Zhao Yan how he could escape from Yan Liang.
Zhao Yan said with shame: "It was not because he escaped from the official position, but because Yan Liang took the initiative to put down the official position and come back."
Everyone, including Cao Cao, had strange expressions on their faces.
Zhao Yan coughed a few times and said, "The reason why Yan Liang put down his official position and came back is because he wanted him to give a message to the Prime Minister."
"What message did that man ask you to bring?" Cao Cao suddenly became suspicious.
Zhao Yan hesitated, unsure for a moment whether he should tell the truth to Cao Cao.
Cao Cao saw some clues and said solemnly: "What exactly did he ask you to say, but it doesn't matter."
Zhao Yan gritted his teeth and could only tell Yan Liang's threatening words truthfully in a trembling voice, and presented Cao Hong's letter.
The big tent immediately fell into a deathly silence.
Cao Cao's scorched face was suddenly blazing with angry flames.
The rest of the civil and military officials were also filled with indignation, angered by Yan Liang's threatening remarks.
As the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, no one in the world was afraid of him. Except for Yuan Shao back then, no other prince in the world dared to threaten him like this.
But now, that Hebei traitor general, a common man from a humble background, and nominally Cao Cao's son-in-law, dared to speak such arrogant words and blatantly ignored Cao Cao. This was simply a huge provocation to Cao Cao.
"Prime Minister, Yan Liang, a despicable dog thief, has gone too far to bully others. If you want to send an army to attack Wuguan, you will take the dog thief's head and offer it to the Prime Minister."
Xiahou Dun was so angry that he was the first to stand up and ask for a fight. At this time, he was so angry that he no longer cared about Cao Hong's life.
As the most prestigious person in the army, Xiahou Dun asked for battle, and other generals such as Le Jin also asked for battle one after another.
Cao Cao clutched the letter that Cao Hong had written in his hand, almost gnashing his teeth with hatred. At that moment, he really wanted to send troops immediately to fight Yan Liang to the death.
"Prime Minister, Jia thinks that this is definitely not the time for the Prime Minister to fight Yan Liang to the death."
Amid the indignant calls for war, Guo Jia went against the crowd.
All the generals were furious and wanted to question Guo Jia.
However, Cao Cao suppressed his anger and waved his hand to signal the generals not to get excited. Then he turned his eyes to Guo Jia and said in a deep voice: "Yan Liang is so arrogant that he has threatened to enter Guanzhong. Fengxiao, please tell me the truth."
Why can't we fight to the death with this thief?"
"If Yan Liang really had the intention to attack Guanzhong, he would have mobilized all his troops before the Prime Minister's army returned after he had previously attacked Wuguan, and took advantage of the situation to advance into the Guanzhong Plain, and he would not have waited until now. Jia believes that from Yan Liang's various actions
For the sake of peace, he probably just wanted to capture Wuguan and ensure the safety of Nanyang, but in fact he had no intention and did not have the ability to enter the pass."
Guo Jia Yang spoke eloquently and explained his reasons.
This thorough analysis allowed Cao Cao's anger to calm down a little, and his mood gradually calmed down a lot.
Guo Jia continued: "Although Wuguan has fallen, there are still Shang County, Shangluo and other counties. Our army only needs to mobilize people to reinforce these cities, and then we can build a barrier to defend Chang'an. Although Yan Liang has
There is nothing to be afraid of if we occupy Wuguan. When the prime minister has destroyed Ma Teng and Han Sui, completely occupied Yongliang Prefecture, and his strength has greatly increased, then there is nothing wrong with sending his army south to recapture Wuguan.
"
At this time, Cao Cao completely calmed down and began to think carefully about what Guo Jia said.
At this time, Liu Ye also said: "Prime Minister, your words of filial piety are justified. The most important thing for our army at the moment is to wipe out Ma Han and completely occupy Yongliang Prefecture. Although Wuguan is lost, it will not threaten Guanzhong."
, I’m afraid it’s not a wise move to ignore Xiliang just for a mere Wuguan.”
After Liu Ye finished speaking, Guo Jia followed up and said: "Moreover, now General Zilian has fallen into Yan Liang's hands again. Since he dares to use Zilian as a shield, if the Prime Minister attacks Wuguan, General Zilian's life will definitely be in danger. Please give me the opportunity."
Prime Minister, please think twice."
Cao Cao, who had been silent all this time, finally let out a long sigh when he heard this.
The two counselors looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts. They knew that their repeated admonitions had finally brought Cao Cao back from the edge of the cliff of anger step by step.
As soon as Cao Cao's fighting spirit subsided, the rest of the excited generals also cooled down in their anger.
In the big tent, silence returned again.
After a while, Cao Cao sighed and said coldly: "What Fengxiao and Ziyang said is absolutely true. Yan Liang, a despicable and insidious common man, wants to use some provocative methods to disrupt the original situation and eliminate Ma Han, and completely occupy Yongliang."
With his pace, how can I be fooled by him? Give me the order, early tomorrow morning, the entire army will withdraw back to Chang'an."
Cao Cao finally suppressed his anger and made the decision to withdraw his troops.
The civil and military officials, perhaps happy or sad, dispersed, leaving only Cao Cao in the tent.
Cao Cao once again picked up the letter written by Cao Hong, with a cold murderous intention filling his brows.
"Yan Liang, if I allow you to be arrogant for a few more days, I, Cao Cao, will one day have to repay you twice as much for today's shame!"
######
Thousands of miles away, Bohai.
On the boundless sea, several warships were slowly sailing northward along the coastline.
At the bow of the boat, Chen Duo set up a pergola and looked at the endless coastline, his eyes filled with confusion.
In Chen Dao's eyes, it seemed that all the coastlines were exactly the same. Sometimes after sailing for a whole day, he felt that he was still treading water.
Sailing at sea made Chen Daodao feel insecure. He could only rely on a few experienced fishermen on the boat as guides to know where he was.
Chen Dao has never figured out how those fishermen got the ability to tell their location just by looking at a few desert islands or rocks.
A wave came over and rocked the warship a few times. Chen's stomach churned for a while, and he seemed to have the urge to vomit again.
He rushed to the side of the ship and vomited acidic water for a long time with his head facing the blue sea water, and then he straightened up weakly.
The boat trip had been going on for more than ten days, but Chen Dao still couldn't overcome the annoying seasickness. At this time, Chen Dao felt that the happiest thing was to be able to stand on land with both feet.
"Where are you ahead? Haven't you arrived yet?" Chen Dao wiped the sour water from the corner of his mouth and asked impatiently to the fisherman guide next to him.
The fisherman narrowed his eyes, observed it carefully, and said happily: "Sir, we are reaching Yuyang County just ahead, right ahead."
Yuyang County and Youzhou have finally arrived.
Chen Daoru was granted amnesty, a look of ecstasy appeared on his gray face, and he immediately shouted: "Finally, he is coming. Hurry, bring that kid up."
The order was given, and not long after, several soldiers brought a disgraced man up from the cabin.
Chen Dao patted him on the shoulder and sneered: "Yuan Tan, we are here now. You can finally reunite with your coward brother." (To be continued)