Soon the matter escalated from a dispute between a few pawns and reached the ears of Gan Ning and Xiahou Dun. Now that they were still young and energetic, they naturally refused to admit defeat and started fighting.
When Tong Dahu arrived with Zhu Kui, he saw a group of people gathered in a circle. Wang Cheng and Zhou Tai held the battle for Gan Ning, while Xia Houyuan and the Cao brothers held the battle for Xiahou Dun. The two had been fighting for an hour, and they were indistinguishable.
Victory or defeat, the soldiers of both sides shouted and shouted.
On the way, Zhu Kui already knew that these were Cao Cao's men coming to Changshe, and he did not want to have a grudge with Cao Cao like this.
"Third brother, stop first."
Hearing Zhu Kui's cry, Gan Ning's iron rope visibly slackened and he wanted to give up. But Xiahou Dun didn't recognize Zhu Kui. Seeing his opponent's flaw, he took advantage of the opportunity and went up, chasing him non-stop, forcing Gan Ning to parry.
force.
Zhu Kui was furious and blushed. He did not speak, nor did he stop Wang Cheng and Zhou Tai, who were already angry, to ride their horses forward to start a group fight. Cao Ying saw three fighting one, so naturally he refused, and the Cao brothers and Xia Houyuan also
Shout out, "Stop bullying the few with more."
There was a five-on-three fight, and Wang Chengyong was so powerful that he held the three brothers Cao Hong, Cao Ren, and Cao Chun alone, while Xia Houyuan was taken over by Zhou Tai. Seeing the fight taking turns in the field, Zhu Kui thought about whether he should go up and kill these people.
The result was that Cao Cao would have no generals to use in the future and his foundation would be destroyed.
But before Zhu Kui could make up his mind, a burst of fast horses galloped in the distance. It was Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun and a short young man with a black face who arrived on horseback. When the young man with a black face saw the situation in front of him, he shouted:
"Yuan Rang, why don't you stop?"
"Sure enough, they are brothers from Cao Cao's clan. No wonder the third brother and the others can fight against each other." Zhu Kui thought to himself.
Among the Three Kingdoms, if anyone's family is the most famous general, it is naturally Cao Cao. Five of his family members are all famous generals. Without these five people, how could Cao Cao have made a fortune? The Cao family is even better at giving birth to sons than Liu Bei and Sun Quan.
Superior.
When the Xiahou brothers and the Cao brothers heard that Cao Cao was coming, they both rode out of the ring and stopped. Gan Ning was unwilling to give up. Just when he was about to stop, the other party pursued and beat him fiercely. He didn't know who the black-faced young man was now.
After flattering him, he followed him up, took out the black iron sword from his back, held the sword in one hand and the rope in the other, and started to fight randomly.
"Third brother, the two generals are here and they are still messing around."
Zhu Kui shouted to stop, then turned around and came back unwillingly.
Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song, the two men with the highest official positions, stepped forward and asked, "Why do you not know the laws of the army and fight in private? Do you take me and the two of you seriously?"
Gan, Ning, Xia and Houdun, they talked to each other and quickly explained the cause and effect.
Huangfusong and Zhu Jun thought for a moment: "You are the first offender, so I won't be held accountable. This matter is over, don't mention it again, just expose it. If there is another time, I will not be lenient."
For the sake of Cao Cao and Zhu Kui, these two men were given a light sentence.
"Yes, General Xie Zhonglang." The two snorted at each other and retreated.
In the military camp outside the city, Zhu Jun introduced Cao Cao: "This is Cao Cao, the cavalry captain from Luoyang, Cao Mengde." Then he pointed to Zhu Kui and said: "Mengde, this is Zhu Kui of Moling, named Huaiming.
This plan to burn Bo Cai was all done by his own hands."
Cao Cao came to Zhu Kui with a smile, raised his head slightly, and saluted: "Brother Huai Ming, Meng De is polite, Gang Yuan gave way to Wu Zhuang, I apologize to you on his behalf." He already knew that before he came,
Zhu Kui had already tried to persuade him to fight, but Xiahou Dun didn't appreciate it, so he apologized.
"Brother Meng De, you don't have to be like this. My third brother has always been reckless. Maybe it's because I didn't discipline my brothers well and bumped into Yuan Rang. When I turn around, I will order those two soldiers to be beaten with twenty military sticks."
What Zhu Kui is talking about here is that his soldiers ridiculed Cao Cao for grabbing credit.
"Huai Ming doesn't have to be like this. General Zhonglang said, just let it go. Meng De admires Huai Ming's heroic behavior of going deep into the enemy camp, capturing the enemy's leader, and burning the enemy camp. It is really a role model for our generation. "….
Cao Cao waved his hand and didn't mention the conflict at all. He just praised Zhu Kui, and his words made people feel very cordial and like a spring breeze. He sighed in his heart that the number one hero of the Three Kingdoms was really extraordinary. He couldn't imitate him if he had a single temperament. .
"Okay, okay, both of you are my heroes, don't push me back and forth. Since everything is fine, Yizhen and I will go back first."
Zhu Jun chuckled, and soon returned to the city with Huangfu Song. There were still many military matters waiting for them to handle in the city.
Soon the soldiers who were watching dispersed one by one and returned to the camp.
In Zhu Kui's camp, he sat in the center and glanced at his three brothers. The look in his eyes made the three of them dare not look directly at Gan Ning. Go mess with Cao Cao and those people."
"Yes, brother." Gan Ning lowered his head and replied.
"Okay, third brother, go back and beat the two soldiers who caused trouble with twenty army sticks each." Zhu Kui wanted to fulfill his words to Cao Cao.
When Gan Ning heard this, he couldn't sit still and argued: "Brother, Huang Lie and Ma Cheng are all unintentional mistakes. You don't need to take it so seriously."
Zhou Tai also begged for mercy: "Brother, Cao Cao is very friendly to me and has said he doesn't care in public. Moreover, Huang Lie and Ma Cheng have been brothers of our Gaojiazhai for more than ten years, so we are afraid of hurting the hearts of our brothers." , Brother Yan cannot protect his brothers."
"Hey." Zhu Kui patted his thigh and explained: "Do you really think that Cao Mengde is a broad-minded person? This person is often jealous and narrow-minded. He has already kept what happened today in mind. Now I don't want to be with him. I've hurt my feelings and turned against him. That's all, third brother, this beating is definitely going to happen. You can ask the executioner to weaken his stick and make a show of it to Cao Mengde."
Historically, Cao Cao had a jealous and narrow temperament, which he concealed very well in the early days. Later, after his power became stable, Yang Xiu, for example, was sentenced to death for trivial crimes just because he guessed his thoughts many times.
At this time, Zhu Kui suddenly remembered why Guan Hai was nowhere to be seen: "A Cheng, where is Guan Hai? Why is he nowhere to be seen?"
Wang Cheng replied: "Oh, third brother, Guan Hai said he went in to buy wine. I think he should come back soon."
"Buy wine." Zhu Kui said with a steady expression: "Guan Hai is still waiting for him to be the commander of the Yellow Turban Canal. He is so undisciplined and has no military discipline. Ah Cheng will turn around and ask him to come to the city to see me."
"Okay, I'll go back to the city first, and you three don't cause any more trouble for me."
On the other side, Cao Cao's camp. Cao Cao was chatting with his relatives about Zhu Kui.
"I heard from General Zhonglang that Zhu Huaiming surrendered soldiers for the sake of the 60,000 ant thieves. He tried his best to offend the general, but also tried to delay the time to figure out the source of the food and fodder for these surrendered soldiers. His move was kind and righteous, and it really made people happy. Zhonglang changed his mind, and the 60,000 surrendered soldiers burst into tears of gratitude."
Cao Cao raised the corner of his mouth and said with some meaning: "Yuan Rang, who is the young general who fought with you today? Zi Xiao said that you fought with him for a long time."
"Brother, that man's name is Gan Ning, whose courtesy name is Xingba, and he is Zhu Kui's third sworn brother. There is also a man named Zhou Tai, whose courtesy name is Youchang, who is his second brother. The last one is called Wang Cheng, whose courtesy name is Jizu, and it is said that he is
He has been his playmate since childhood." Apparently Xiahoudun and others had already done a rough investigation on Zhu Kui's side.
"Brother, Gan Ning and Zhou Tai are not afraid. Their martial arts skills are not much in line with mine. However, Wang Cheng is a young man whose martial prowess should not be underestimated. Zi Lian, Zi He, I, and I surrounded and fought with him, but we were still alive.
He was at a disadvantage." Cao Ren interjected.
"Well, this Zhu Huaiming is really extraordinary. He has such a brave man by his side." Cao Cao sighed with emotion.
"Brother, why do you need to be more ambitious than others? Don't you often say that peace in the world depends on strategy and wisdom, not the courage of an ordinary man." Xia Houyuan responded with what Cao Cao had taught him.
"Okay, Miaocai said it well, brothers should bear it in mind."
Cao Cao just said this, and added in his heart: "The courage of an ordinary man, paired with a wise man like Zhu Huaiming, would be terrible."...
That night, in the city.
Zhu Kui and Xi Zhicai sat opposite each other, with some food, wine and food placed on the banquet table. The two calculated the exact amount of food and grass they had.
"Sir, count the grain and grass you brought from Moling County, plus the grain and grass you received from Lujiang, and the grain and grass received from General Zhonglang. The total amount of grain and grass collected by the battlefield commander is more than 70,000 shi.
, enough to support your headquarters of 3,000 soldiers and horses for more than a year, but if you add 60,000 surrendered soldiers, I'm afraid it can only last for one month. Maybe the general will ask Zhu Zhonglang again, he likes you very much, maybe he can
Open a wide net.”
Xi Zhicai said slowly after reading the record.
"Sir, I also know that it is calculated based on the ration of a soldier. A soldier consumes two tons of rations in a month, and 60,000 people consume 100,000 tons of rations in a month. Even if you save more, you and I both know how the food and grass in the army are. So Zhu Zhonglang
Only then will I agree with Huangfu Zhonglang's decision." Zhu Kui said helplessly with a prominent frown on his delicate face.
Xi Zhicai raised his head and stared at Zhu Kui's worried expression. His eyes were full of clarity, as if he wanted to see through the depths of his heart.
"Sir, you take these surrendered soldiers into your own hands, but you really can't bear their tragic deaths?"
Facing this sharp look, Zhu Kui responded calmly, not noticing anything strange at all: "This is natural. Why do you ask this, sir? Most of them surrendered to me. I once said that those who surrender will avoid death. Now I will
As for the trap and killing, everyone in the world said that I, Zhu Kui, was a dishonest villain, so how could I have other intentions? Furthermore, this was also for the consideration of the imperial court. Killing the prisoners today will definitely shock the ant thieves, and they will fight back to the death, and then they will be suppressed.
It will be more difficult and not conducive to counterinsurgency."
Seeing Zhu Kui's affirmative answer, Xi Zhi looked at it for a long time and then said leisurely: "The enemies of Yingchuan are mountainous and densely wooded. When I was young, I often went into the mountains to hunt hares with my father. I knew that in autumn, in the mountains and fields,
It is rich in all kinds of fruits, and people often eat them to satisfy their hunger."
"Sir, what you mean is to lead the soldiers into the mountains to hunt and collect fruits to supplement their food needs."
"That's right, sir, the Yuzhou area has basically been pacified. In addition to Zhang Mancheng from Nanyang Wancheng, there are still 100,000 thieves, but they are alone and there is no need to worry."
"This time we have completely wiped out the bandits in Yingchuan. There are no more enemies in this area. We can boldly send the logistics soldiers into the mountains to hunt and gather. Don't you have a large number of crossbows in your hands? If you hunt with this, you will have a sure harvest."
"Secondly, although the merchants in the city donated a lot of grain to the court before the war, the merchants are very profitable. They must have other granaries at home. If there is a way to buy some from them, they can at least get a month's worth of grain."
Xi Zhicai spoke out his suggestions in one breath, which he had thought about for most of the day.