Chapter 301: Lost Phoenix, Lost Dragon and Tired Xiangyang
Chapter 301 Lost the Phoenix and Lost the Dragon in Xiangyang
Under Xiangyang City, Cao Cao was sitting with a large army, waiting for Liu Biao to send his son as a hostage. But after waiting for two days, there was no news. Liu Bei ran further and further away, and he heard that Sun Ce had captured Changsha and Guiyang. Cao Cao was in a bad mood.
It was extremely bad. But if Liu Biao didn't send his son, he couldn't lead his troops to leave. If Liu Biao intercepted his food route, he would have a headache!
Of course, another way is to attack Xiangyang. But Liu Biao is a clan member of the Han Dynasty, and Cao Cao's reason for sending troops to Jingzhou is to help him. If he attacks Xiangyang, Cao Cao's excuse will be gone! Although Cao Cao often goes back on his words, he is forced to do so.
Otherwise, he doesn’t want to break his promise and get fat!
"Your Majesty, there is someone outside the camp asking to see you!" When Cao Cao was sitting in the tent with a troubled face, a junior high school student walked in.
"Could it be Liu Biao's envoy?" Cao Cao suddenly thought, "Invite me!"
"See Duke Cao!" Under the leadership of Xiao Xiao, Pang Tong entered Cao Cao's tent.
"No courtesy!" Cao Cao frowned when he saw Pang Tong.
I can't blame Cao Cao, Pang Tong is so ugly! He is about 1.5 meters tall, has a flat nose, small eyes, a shoehorn face, and his face is pockmarked, like a beach after the rain. Not to mention his appearance.
It's Cao Cao, even Liu Zhang would frown upon seeing him!
"Why did Liu Jingsheng send such a thing?" Cao Cao was confused, and because he had been in a bad mood for the past few days, he asked arrogantly: "What are you doing here?"
"I came here to see the hero Cao Mengde, but no one expected it to be like this!" Pang Tong was talented and had a good temper. When he saw that Cao Cao didn't even ask his name and was bossing around, he thought that Cao Cao judged people by their appearance.
"Bold!" Cao Cao was already in a bad mood. Seeing Pang Tong being so presumptuous, he said angrily: "Is Liu Jingsheng going to die? I sent you here! Someone!"
"What does Liu Jingsheng have to do with me?" Pang Tong blinked his eyes, looking puzzled.
"Huh?" Cao Cao was stunned for a moment and asked, "You are not Liu Jingsheng's envoy, then who are you?"
"I..." Pang Tong had the urge to hit someone, but at the same time he gave up the idea of defecting to Cao Cao. He smiled and asked, "May I ask Prime Minister Cao, have you ever heard of rumors about Jingzhou?"
"What rumors?" Seeing Pang Tong's mysterious behavior, Cao Cao became even more displeased.
Pang Tong said with a smile: "There are rumors in Jingzhou that if you have a sleeping dragon and a phoenix chick, you can bring peace to the world! I wonder if Prime Minister Cao has any intention?"
"This is natural!" Cao Cao's eyes lit up when he heard this. He didn't know about Wolong and Fengchu, but he didn't have specific information and there was nothing he could do to find it.
"I'm here to recommend talents!" Pang Tong said with a smile: "Wolong's real name is Zhuge Liang, also known as Kongming. He is from Yangdu, Langya. Now he lives in seclusion in a place called Wollongong, forty miles outside Xiangyang City. Wollongong belongs to Longzhong
.As for Feng Chu, her surname is Pang, her name is Tong, and her courtesy name is Shiyuan. She is from Xiangyang."
"Oh! Thank you sir!" Cao Cao said happily: "If you hadn't told me, sir, I wouldn't have known that this great talent was right beside me!"
"You're welcome, I can't bear the pearl to be dusted!" Pang Tong cupped his hands and said, "Prime Minister Cao, go quickly and visit Wolong, Fengxia! I'll take my leave!"
"Sir, please wait!" Cao Cao chased him out of the tent and asked, "May I ask your name, sir!"
"I have a famous assassin, Prime Minister, please ask the junior high school!" came the voice, Pang Tong had already walked out of Cao Jun's camp, and soon disappeared.
Watching Pang Tong retreat, Cao Cao suddenly felt as if he had missed something. He immediately called the principal and asked, "Did that man have a famous thorn just now?"
"Keep it!" The principal held the famous thorn in his hands. Cao Cao's eyes widened when he saw it!
"Xiangyang Pang Tong? Mr. Feng Chu!" Cao Cao grabbed the soldier's collar and roared: "Why didn't you give it to me earlier?"
"I..." The principal was grabbed by the collar by Cao Cao, strangling him so hard that he could not breathe, and his face turned red. In fact, it was not that the principal did not give the famous assassin to Cao Cao, but that Cao Cao was in a bad mood and did not notice the assassin in the hands of the principal.
Famous assassin!
"Come here!" Cao Cao pushed the schoolmaster hard and said to the four guards who rushed in: "Drag him down and behead him! Hang his head outside the tent for public display! If anyone dares to make the same mistake again, the clan will be destroyed!"
"Lord! Spare my life..." Amidst the screams, the small school was dragged out. Soon, a head was hung on the flagpole outside the Chinese army's tent.
Cao Cao was very depressed after missing Pang Tong, but when he remembered what Pang Tong said, he immediately thought of Mr. Wolong who was forty miles outside Xiangyang City. He immediately called the Xiahou brothers, ordered three thousand tiger and leopard cavalry, and headed towards Longzhong.
go.
"My lord, you are just a scholar. Why do you go there in person? I don't believe it. You are recruiting me as the prime minister. How dare he come!" Xiahou Dun poked the blindfold on his face with his finger, showing the aura of a pirate king.
"You kid, you are still so reckless!" Cao Cao smiled and shook his head and said: "Wolong, Fengchu are all great talents, and talented people naturally have tempers. I missed Mr. Fengchu, how can I lose Wolong again? No nonsense.
Say, follow me there honestly, if you offend Mr. Wolong, be careful I skin you!"
"Uh..." Xiahou Dun was stunned, but he did not dare to disobey Cao Cao, so he had to shut his mouth and follow behind.
Forty miles was not far away. Under the protection of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, it only took Cao Cao an hour to reach Wollongong. Looking at the bamboo forest, flowing water, small bridges, and thatched cottages, forming a paradise-like beauty, Cao Cao sighed
He said: "It is indeed a place where wise men live in seclusion. In troubled times, there is still such tranquility."
"My Lord, that thatched cottage should be Mr. Wolong's home! Xia Houyuan smiled and said: "Let's go there!"
"Wait a minute!" Cao Cao ordered: "I ordered the soldiers to stand by outside the bamboo forest. You two get off your horses and follow me on foot!"
"This..." The Xiahou brothers wanted to object, but seeing Cao Cao's displeasure, they had no choice but to obey the order.
A group of three people came to the thatched cottage. Cao Cao walked to the door and knocked on the firewood door. After knocking for a long time, no one answered the door. Xiahou Dun was impatient and rushed forward to push the door open. He only heard a creak and the door was ajar.
It actually opened.
"My lord, something seems wrong!" Xia Houyuan said in a deep voice: "My brother and I will go in and take a look first!"
"Okay!" Cao Cao nodded, and the Xiahou brothers drew their sabers and began to search the inner hall.
Entering the inner courtyard and bypassing the corridor, Cao Cao, led by the Xiahou brothers, came to the main hall of the thatched cottage. He saw a bamboo curtain hanging in front of the hall, and there was only a couch and a small case in the hall, and no one was there.
"What's going on?" Cao Cao and the Xiahou brothers looked at each other and entered the hall together.
"Lord, there is a letter here!" Although Xiahou Dun only had one eye, he focused all his eyes on that one eye, so that one eye was very sharp and he could see the letter on the small case at a glance.
Cao Cao took the letter and opened it. It turned out to be that Zhuge Liang had specially left it for him. While he was shocked by Zhuge Liang's plan, he read the contents of the letter. After reading, Cao Cao sighed in his heart. He missed Pang Tong, which made Cao Cao quite regretful.
.Cao Cao was somewhat relieved after not meeting Zhuge Liang.
"Lord, Zhuge Liang has left, let's go back!" Xia Houyuan was a little angry. In his opinion, Cao Cao was a wise master, and anyone who was unwilling to serve Cao Cao should die! However, Cao Cao did not speak, and he did not dare to say more.
"Let's go!" Cao Cao sighed and walked out of the thatched cottage with his Xiahou brothers.
"Come here!" After joining the army, Xiahou Dun suddenly ordered: "Chop down this bamboo forest and burn the thatched cottage!"
"Yes!" Xiahou Dun had an order, and he had his own soldiers to carry it out.
"Slow down!" Cao Cao shook his head and said: "This place is rare, so don't destroy it!"
"My lord, if Zhuge Liang refuses to eat and drink as a penalty when toasting, and doesn't give him some color, isn't it..." Xiahou Dun's face was filled with anger, and his character was much more irritable than Xia Houyuan's!
"Forget it! Let's go!" Now that Cao Cao had made his decision, the Xiahou brothers said no more.
Back at the camp, Cao Cao became more and more angry as he thought about it. If Liu Biao hadn't been stalling for time, he wouldn't have missed Pang Tong, and maybe he could still see Zhuge Liang. The angry Cao Cao immediately ordered his troops and came to the gate of Xiangyang City.
"Tell Liu Jingsheng to come out and see me!" Cao Cao rode his horse down to the city and looked at the Jingzhou soldiers on the city with a serious face. At this time, the Jingzhou soldiers were also a little panicked.
"Meet Duke Cao!" A big man came to the top of the city surrounded by a teenage boy.
"Who are you?" Cao Cao frowned and asked, "Call Liu Jingsheng out!"
"To report to Duke Cao, it's not that my lord doesn't want to come, but that he is seriously ill and unable to travel!" The big man pointed at the young man and said with a smile, "This is my lord's son!"
"Sick? What a coincidence!" Cao Cao sneered: "I don't care if Liu Jingsheng is really sick or fake. If he doesn't send out the hostages at this time tomorrow, don't blame me for attacking the city!"
"This..." the young man said in embarrassment on the city: "Mr. Cao, I am Liu Cong, the second son of Liu Jingzhou. My father unfortunately caught a cold due to guarding the city for several months, which caused the wind and cold to enter his body. Now he has turned into typhoid fever.
I need children to take care of me. How can I send my brother away at this time? Please give Mr. Cao a few days of grace!"
"I will grant you mercy, but who of you will grant mercy to me?" Cao Cao sneered: "Now two of the four counties in Jingnan have fallen, only Jiangling in the north of Jingzhou, and the two counties of Xiangyang are still under Liu Biao's control. If you hesitate again, let the four counties in Jingnan fall.
If all the counties fall into the hands of Sun Jian and Liu Bei, I can only take all the five counties in Jingbei!"
"Uncle, what should we do?" After hearing Cao Cao's ultimatum, the young man looked anxiously at the big man beside him, and this big man was Cai Mao, the commander-in-chief of the Jingxiang Navy, Liu Biao Xuxian's brother, Mrs. Cai.
"What else can we do!" Cai Hao sneered: "We can only send your brother out! Otherwise, if Cao Cao attacks the city, we will all be finished!"
"But my father hasn't woken up yet, so if we send my brother out like this, will it happen..." Although Liu Cong is young, he is very smart. It's a pity that he was born too late! If he had been born ten years earlier, Liu Biao might have died for him.
You can still give it a try!
"Cong'er, I don't want to send your eldest brother out like this. But if I use him alone to exchange for the safety of the entire Xiangyang City, what do you think I should do?" Cai Mao has long wanted to get rid of Liu Qi, and now is a good opportunity.
.In addition, Cao Cao's army was powerful, and Cai Mao really didn't want to be Cao Cao's enemy. He was considering whether to use Liu Biao and his son as an audience ceremony!